Despite the bustle of the morning rush outside of the small house, a single body lies resting on a cot, completely and blissfully unaware of the current situation he has gotten involved in. A soft knock on an oak door near the foot of the bed caused the boy to stir. The knock was met with silence, causing a short old lady to barge into the cozy room to interrupt the calming dreams of the boy.

 The lady opened the curtains of the bedroom to let the morning light in and turned to the still sleeping boy on the cot. She tugged off the soft, red woolen blanket to allow the chilling air of the small bedroom to hit his skin. After a moment or two of grumbling about the temperature, he finally sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes, to reveal an evidently annoyed old lady standing with her hands on her hips. She motioned for him to follow her into the main living area of the cottage and to the kitchen table.

The boy was slightly wary about the food that was laid out on the table, considering he hadn't even known this old lady for five minutes. Stranger danger much? On the other hand, the appetizing aroma of the meal caused his stomach to grumble.

The old lady motioned for him to sit and eat while questioning with a smooth accent, “What is your name son?”

As he plopped down on the chair and reached forward to grab a biscuit, the boy replied with slight hesitation, “My name is Van, ma’am. Van Bivs.”

She chuckled quietly at his apprehension, “Well Van, we aren’t entirely sure how you got here, but welcome to town,” The old lady smiled, “Brendsboro isn’t much, but it’s enough.”

Soon enough Van finished eating breakfast and decided to find out what Brendsboro was truly like.

As Van opened the cottage door for the first time, he was greeted with the sight of some other villagers that wore similar rags to the old lady's outfit. Needless to say, he stood out against the crowd with his crisp graphic tee and jeans. However, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t blend in.

Just a few feet away stood two girls about his age, the younger-looking one was wearing a green sweater that contrasted from the surrounding gray and brown cloth. She was with an older village girl, who appeared to be trying to get this new girl some village apparel. Since he couldn’t get answers from the old lady this morning, maybe he could get some from these ladies.

Van began to approach the girls with quiet strides. He passed through a few clusters of bodies along the way, and as he reached his hand to the girl, he caught sight of the two new people she was conversing with. Both were males, the first was about a year or so older than Van by the looks of it, and the other was slightly younger. They both wore more modern clothing as compared to the people of the village. 

“So there are more of us?” a quiet voice piped up over the noises of the town’s marketplace. 

Van was startled by the sudden presence of two more people behind him. Another boy and girl joined the group and the village girl from earlier approaches Van, “Oh! My name is Marcia! And that is Sam, Clay, Monti, Fiona, and Margo,” Marcia motioned to the boys and then the girls while she introduced each one of them.

Van cleared his throat before he spoke, “I’m Van. Did you guys end up here the same way I did?”

“Well, that depends. Did you wake up in a random place at a random time after going to sleep in your bed last night?” Sam questioned.

A moment of hesitation and confusion washed over the boy, “yes?”

The group laughed for a minute until a few distant screams were heard from the other side of the village. Everyone’s face contained the same look of confusion until the screams and cries came closer. Chaos was unleashed. The villagers began hiding in their homes and barricading their doors.

Around the corner of one of the village buildings, came the figure of a small girl. At first glance, she seemed harmless. That is until she practically melted into a puddle of dark crimson liquid that disappeared into the ground, only to reappear next to Marcia on one side of the group, and take the form of the girl again.

“The boss said you have 48 hours to come to him and retrieve your friend,” the girl's smooth, yet loud voice began as she made a band of water form and covered Marcia’s face, dragging her into the crimson liquid with a sick smile etched on her face.

The other teens watched in bewilderment as the scene before them unfolded.

“What on Earth just happened?” Fiona yelled from her place on the ground. She had a mixture of emotions flowing through her at the moment. The anger, fear, and frustration caused a few small tears to well up in her eyes. The friend she had only recently made was gone, and all they knew was that they had to get her back.

After a while of brainstorming what their next moves would be in silence, Margo spoke up, “we need to at least leave the village. That way, if these- things decide to come after us, the townspeople won't be in any immediate danger.”

“If we plan on leaving the village to keep them safe, then we need to gather enough supplies for us to manage for the time being,” Clay proposed.

“Clay, Sam, see what you both can do about weapons and gear. Margo, round up the tack for the horses in the stable. Monti, see if you can find any medical supplies, and Fiona and I will gather enough food from the market to last us a day's trip,” Van called out, designating the jobs. The group set off to complete the tasks they were assigned.

About an hour later the Crew gathered near the stables to pack up all the supplies they accumulated on a few horses. They didn’t plan on riding out too far, just enough to keep the village out of reach from that strange girl and her boss.

When everyone was done packing and they all mounted the horses and rode off west like the old lady told Van to do. They only rode for about four hours until they came across a cave at the edge of a mountain. It looked like it could have been an old mine of sorts, but it was well hidden on the far side of the mountain. Though they needed it after unpacking and setting up base in the cave, the team wouldn't be able to sleep tonight due to the preparations they needed to make for tomorrow.

After settling in for the day, they all immediately got to work. Clay helped bring in some spare metal for weapons and Sam started making arrows and small blades with what he had. Monti laid out supplies and food, while Fiona started a fire to cook with. Margo and Van sat up in an area of the cave to practice fighting throughout the night.

The members of this small group quickly came to realize that with their different interests and talents, they each acted as a cog in a machine. They were each a working part of this group, that once combined, would be unstoppable.

They went on to continue their actions for a few more hours. Eventually, the dusk turned to dawn, and not a single person in the abandoned mine had any rest. They had twenty-four more hours to save their friend.

Sam had enough materials to make two bows with plenty of arrows, three daggers, and a small, make-shift sword. He admitted that he designed the sword’s weight and size for Van, and upon seeing that he was the last one to choose a weapon to try, Van grabbed the sword and gave it a test swing. Satisfied, he smiled to himself and went to practice wielding the blade. 

Hours passed and the teens took shifts for rest. There was always one on lookout duty, though they really weren’t sure what they were looking out for other than a hungry animal searching for a late-night snack. Soon enough it came time for Sam’s shift to end and Van’s to begin. The sun had yet to peek over the mountains, but the sky was getting brighter every minute.

Van sat on a rock outside of the cave for half an hour, until he heard a distant rumbling. He began climbing up some more rocks to see where the noise was coming from. The echos kept getting closer until he caught a glimpse of a head over the nearby hills. The rumbling soon turned into distinct clops of hooves on the ground. The sound was enough to cause the others to stir slightly. The horse approached quickly and its rider was only visible once it halted in front of Van and the others.

From the saddle of the horse jumped a trembling girl who frantically searched for words to tell her friends.

Fiona engulfed her shaking body into a hug, “Where have you been Marcia? How did you find us?”

Marcia took a moment to comprehend the rushed words that just came out of her friend’s mouth, then she responded, “Well I went back to the village first and a few of the old ladies there pointed me in the direction you guys went,” she took a second to gather her breath before continuing, “That girl that took me, there’s more of them.”

The group looked at each other in confusion before Monti spoke up, “You mean there’s more of those homicidal maniacs?”

“Yeah, but on the bright side, they have some sort of device that can get you guys back home. I heard some man talking about it while I was there.”

Marcia sounded so hopeful. None of them knew how to properly fight other than Margo, but there isn’t enough time in the world for her alone to teach all of them. There is no way they could beat their opposers, though, how would they know if they haven’t tried yet?

Eventually, the team formulated a plan to infiltrate the base that afternoon. Sam and Clay left to scout out the building for any potential weaknesses and the best place to enter without being detected. According to Marcia, the boys would most likely return rather quickly since the building itself wasn't too far from the village.

“That explains why it didn’t take you too long to find us!” Fiona realized.

The expression on Marcia’s face looked as if she wanted to disagree, but it was quickly covered with a questionable smile, as if she was trying too hard, “Oh- Yes! It was a lot closer than I expected as well,” the girl continued to force the smile to stay plastered on her face.

Van and Fiona made eye contact from across the cave and shared the same thought, “Strange.”

Not too long after Marcia’s odd moment, Clay and Sam returned with more information to finalize the plan. The whole group discussed the possibilities if this mission was successful around a campfire at the entrance of the cave. A few sat around eating their lunch, but the nerves that ran through each of their bodies caused a painfully uncomfortable tension to come between them during the final moments before the mission.

All of the teens packed only the things they needed for the mission and began their trek to the enemy lines by foot. The decision to go by foot was made to prevent anyone from hearing horses approaching. It would take a little longer to walk, but they were hopeful that it would pay off.

Everyone seemed to be at least slightly nervous about what could happen, however, Marcia seemed to be a little more apprehensive than the rest. She was almost completely silent during the entire trip to the base.

Soon enough the Crew arrived at the edge of the forest just behind the base. Each of the teens squatting behind trees and bushes to stay hidden as they prepared themselves to go through with the plan.

“Is everyone ready to go?” Clay questioned the group quietly from behind a large tree.

Almost as if they were in sync, the kids all slightly gave in to their nerves and hesitated, looking at each other briefly before looking back at Clay to give him a nod. 

“Alright team. Let’s do this.”

The first to leave their hiding spot was Clay. He directed the others towards the entrance through a drainage pipe that led to the inside of the base. It may not have been the most pleasant way in, but it would allow the group to remain undetected.

They all exited from the pipe system and split in two different directions, all playing their part without flaw. However, the silence seemed a little suspicious. All of them had been running around the base heading to the locations, yet they have yet to come across any opposers. Marcia pointed in the direction of the main lab where she believed the device was held.

One thing that really stuck out to Van is that the technology that this base held seemed far too advanced for the time he believed to be stuck in.

Van’s group continued wandering around the base until they finally stumbled across the lab. Van drew his sword and Fiona and Monti grasped their daggers tightly preparing for what could happen when the doors opened. Marcia stayed behind a wall near the entrance since she wasn’t armed. 

After another moment of preparation, Van swiftly kicked the doors open and pointed his sword out in the room before entering.

There were only four people in the room not including Van’s group, all lined up in a row, facing the Crew. A chuckle sounded through the lab and the crew searched for the source. A fifth person entered and stopped in front of the other four. 

“Welcome friends! We’ve been expecting you!” the man began to waltz towards the group, still standing in the doorway, “My name is Doctor Nikon Kelami.”

The teens kept their weapons up as he continued to approach.

“My friends and I have been waiting for you to join us for quite some time now.”

Suddenly this man’s ‘friends’ disappeared from sight and reappeared behind the Crew without them noticing and attempted to apprehend each of them. They all began swinging their blades at these bizarre people if you could even call them that.

Clay, Sam, and Margo appeared quietly on the observation deck of the lab. The boys notched the arrows on their bows and took aim at the inhuman creatures. Margo searched quietly for what could possibly be the device to take them all home.

Clay and Sam released the arrows with a thwip from each bow.

One arrow went through one of the creatures as if it wasn’t even there. The other was caught by its target before it got close enough to pierce the skin.

The boys’ position was revealed, so they ran down from the deck and into the main lab to give Margo more cover.

She was pushing every button she could find so she could figure out which one worked. She eventually came across a white metal bracelet-like contraption with a few buttons on it. Margo pressed the first one and nothing happened, but when she pressed the next one, a large green and purple disturbance began to swirl in front of the fighting groups.

Marcia phased from her hiding spot in the hallway to standing directly in front of Margo. She yanked the bracer out of the girl's hand and phased again, this time across the room to a control panel. She pushed a button on the bracer that made all of the inhuman creatures pause their fighting. She quickly turned towards the panel and pressed another button that sent alarms blaring through the base. An automated voice also began to count down from sixty over the intercoms, alerting everyone that the self-destruct sequence had begun.

Nikon took the moment of distraction to get up from his place on the ground under Van’s sword and grab an electro-staff from a nearby workstation. He deflected a few of Van’s strikes and tossed the staff towards Marcia, causing her body to temporarily paralyze.

Van raised his sword to the man before him. The sword struck Nikon in the head with the blunt edge of its hilt.

As the kids rushed to vacate the building, the automated voice continued its countdown.

Five.

Red lights continued to flash and alarms continued to ring.

Four.

They ran as fast as possible through the drainage pipe, nearing their escape.

Three.

The boys worked together to lift the metal grate.

Two.

All of the teens ran as far from the building as possible when they left the pipes.

One.

Not a moment later, the building burst into chaotic flames, pushing the kids a little further. 

What was the outcome of this?

Sure the Crew stopped some bad guys, but they also lost their only way home, and they were betrayed by someone they thought they trusted.

“What happens now”

The Crew entered the cave for the night and prepared themselves for a well-deserved rest. After everyone had managed to slip off into their dreaming states, Van was only met with restlessness. He couldn't help but think about all the “what ifs” and if he could have changed the outcome tonight. If he could've changed her mind.

 Van decided with the way his thoughts were heading, he wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight, so he made his way to the cave entrance with his red woolen blanket wrapped around his shoulders to keep him safe from the chilling air. After exiting the cave, Van walked a few feet away towards a large, flat rock. He laid on the rock for a while, just staring at the stars. It could've been hours for all he knew.

Unfortunately, his hours of peace had been dissolved by some movements in the bushes to the right of where he lay. He popped up to take a look around, but once he saw nothing, he didn’t really think twice about it, just brushing it off as one of the strange creatures that inhabit this area. The boy just continued to cast his gaze into the stars. Then he heard more rustling from that area and when he sat up a second time, he was met with an all-too-familiar ‘this

There was no time for a reaction. The arrow just hurdled itself closer to the frightened boy, until it was buried in his skin.

He fell back onto the ground and let out a sharp yelp at the impact. The shadowy figure stalked closer. The silhouette stopped short of Van and revealed their face.

The shadow’s familiar and feminine voice spoke as it pressed a button on a wrist bracer, “You and your friends need to go home, Van. Times are changing.”

A purple and green portal-like shape formed next to the figure, but Van blacked out, only to awaken on his bedroom floor, with a blood-covered arrow protruding from its place in his shoulder.

Van took a moment to gather his breath and tried to stand while bracing on the desk beside him, knocking down some of his belongings at the same time. In these few moments, he caused enough racket to get the attention of someone else in the house.

Maggie opened the bedroom door to check on her brother, careful not to wake their parents who are down the hall, “Why in the world are you making this much noise? What are yー is that an arrow?” The terror on the girl's face would have made her brother cackle, had he not been in this much pain. 

Maggie rushed to his side, yelling for their mom and dad. Then she looked back at her twin, “How exactly did you manage to get in this situation?”

“If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.”