The silence stretched on as they processed the messages. The dream was right again. Noah thought, aware that it had included more than one piece of information. Julie turned a tearful gaze toward Noah, meeting his eyes with a sad smile.


    “I believe you, Noah.” She began, the first tear running down her cheek. “I believe you, but I–we can’t do that.” Noah swallowed before asking a question he didn’t want the answer to.


    “What are you saying, Julie?”


    “Noah, I’m saying that if you’re going to save the world then you will have to do it without us.” She said, “I know that sounds terrible, but I have to think of Kyle. I–”


    “It’s okay.” Noah stopped her. “That makes sense.” She nodded, hugging her knees to her chest.


    “So what do we do from here?” She asked. Noah shrugged.


    “I was hoping we could still be friends.” Noah said, hiding a grin. She gave him a playful shove.


    “You know that’s not what I meant.” He smiled


    “Yeah I know.” She returned his smile.


    “Thank you, Noah.” He nodded.


    “As far as our plans go though, I guess it depends on you.” He said, “I plan to keep doing the same things but faster. I want to get to the next caste as soon as possible. Where does that leave you?” He asked.


    “I don’t know. I want to get us out of danger, and find a place where we can make a life for ourselves. I want to find our parents.” She said. Noah listened, though he doubted she would find a genuinely safe place anytime soon.


    “And Kyle? What is he going to think about all of this?” He asked instead. She shrugged.


    “He probably won’t be happy about it. He’ll come around though.” She said.


    “I guess that begs the question: do you stay here or come with me in hopes of finding something better?” Noah offered.


    “Do you mind if I take the day to think about it?” She asked.


    “Of course. I was just going to scout the area anyway, and I doubt there is a better place to sleep nearby.” Noah replied, only bending the truth a little.


    Noah got up and grabbed his pointy club before starting his trek up the hill. Julie’s heart broke as she watched him go. She had seen the cracks in his goofy facade and knew he was hurting, that she had hurt him. He had taken care of them and given them hope in this new world, and no doubt he would soon be helping some other fortunate person. Part of her knew that it was her own fears breaking them apart and that Kyle would gladly chase after the hero in his quest to save the world. But someone had to be responsible and face reality. Just a few days ago Noah had almost died, if not for her he would have. And he thinks he is chosen. No, it was for the best that they split paths, and the sooner the better. Coming to her decision, she went to share the news with the boys.


    Noah ran up the hill, every step that much further from the camp, from Julie. Tears blurred his eyes as he played the conversation back in his head. Stupid dreams. Every time the lady showed up in his dreams he ended up pushing away the people he loved. And now he would be all alone, again. He yelled in frustration before sinking to his knees, the mantra that he had recited daily coming back to his mind. For the sake of the world, I would gladly give my life. Even if they hate me. He had added the last bit after a particularly loud conversation with his parents. He wondered how they were doing now. He opened up the newest addition to his status and steeled his resolve.


    1,094 days remaining


    No longer frustrated but also not eager to return to camp, he decided to meditate and see if he could feel out the next Gate. He hadn’t visited his mental world in some time and was relieved to see that it at least had stayed the same. He thought about his last advancement through the first Gate. Before he had gotten a response from the voice, he remembered feeling humbled; He was like a speck of dust in an infinitely vast universe. The thought struck a chord with him, and he knew that was it. Seeing himself accurately had been the key to unlocking the first Gate, perhaps he had to see something else accurately for the next one. He continued in his contemplation for hours, lost in the stillness. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    When he finally opened his eyes again the sun had lowered considerably, and he felt a steadiness to his heart that he had lost over the previous weeks. He made the trek down the hill and saw a peculiar sight, a thin line of smoke coming from the outcropping. He smiled. They’re gonna be okay.


    When he entered the camp it was quiet, and he saw that Kyle wasn’t present and neither was Julie. He sighed, walking over to Matt who was hunched over the budding flame.


    “Now how did you manage that?” He asked, just a tad annoyed. Matt grinned.


    “Engineering!” He said, a bit too quickly. Noah squinted his eyes, looking for some contraption.


    “Is that right?” He pressed.


    “Well…” Matt started, “I did try a bit of engineering, but it didn’t work at all. In fact, I am starting to think there’s something wrong with this wood.” He explained. Noah nodded sagely, greatly appreciating that particular conclusion.


    “Then how did you get a flame?” Noah asked, realizing his question was never answered.


    “Magic!” Matt responded enthusiastically, “It’s not quite as cool but it definitely worked!” Noah couldn’t help but agree with both sentiments. He was holding firmly to the idea that he could save the world without using magic. Something about it just felt un-American. He chuckled.


    “Where are the others?” He asked.


    “Ah. Kyle got mad about the news and ran off. Julie is looking for him.” Matt explained.


    “I see. And how are you doing with the new development?” Noah asked.


    “I’m going to miss you being around, but I don’t really want to go looking for trouble.” He said, seeming to have reached his peace. Noah nodded.


    “I’ll miss you too.” He responded. Noah decided to go fetch some water for the group and see if he could stumble upon one of the others.


    “I’ll be back.” He told Matt, grabbing the rabbit-skin bags.


    It took a few minutes to get to the stream and though he looked, he didn’t see either of them as he made his way back. As he carried the water back into the camp he was relieved to see both of them huddled by the fire. It looks like they sorted it out. Noah made his way over to the group, making sure to make eye contact with Julie. The last thing he wanted was to part ways with some unresolved tension between them.


    “Welcome back!” He said, positioning one of the bags over the fire. Julie smiled at him but Kyle hid his face. I’ll have to talk to him.


    “How’d the scouting go, find anything interesting?” Julie asked. Noah scratched his head.


    “To be honest I didn’t go that far, I just needed some space.” He admitted. She blinked at his confession.


    “That… Makes sense.” She said, a complicated look on her face.


    “So I heard that you made a decision,” Noah said, carrying the conversation forward.


    “Yeah, I did.” She said, “We are going to stay. This is a good enough spot for now, and even if last night was just a fluke, this is a defensible position. We have fire and water and just need to sort out food. In time we hope to find other people, but we are going to take some time to get our feet under us.”


    “That sounds like a good plan,” Noah said, doing his best to sound encouraging. He just hoped they could figure it out when things went poorly.


    “What about you?” Julie asked him.


    “I will leave in the morning. I plan to keep moving up the mountain and scope out the region. Who knows, maybe I’ll find some people and send them your way.” He responded.


    “So you’re just going to leave us?” Kyle accused. Noah frowned, taken off guard. He looked to Julie who mouthed ‘sorry’ and gave a half smile.


    “Kyle, do you mind if we chat, just the two of us?” Noah asked, moving toward the entrance. Kyle muttered something unintelligible but followed him out of the camp. They sat on the slope overlooking the forest and remained still for a moment.


    “Kyle, I didn’t want to leave you.” Noah said softly. Kyle sat there, his arms crossed.


    “I know.” He finally responded. Noah stayed quiet.


    “I can’t leave my sister.” Kyle said after some time. “She told me what you plan to do. You’re going to save everyone.” He paused, wiping his face. “I wish we were going with you.” Noah wrapped his arm around him.


    “I know. Me too.”