by Dai Nu-Mun

There is something quite peaceful about the rural roads of Frostpeak. Zom and Zap were smart to get a place out here instead of downtown. I grew up on an old camping ground, so maybe I just got used to living away from civilization. Apartment life has been a bit of a headache since I moved out here. Of course, I was definitely having one of those days. You know the ones, where you want to pull your goddamn hair out and punch a bitch in the face. The bitch in question is my roommate, god I hate her. Zombra told me if I ever felt stressed out, I could come over to his place and even sleep on the couch in the basement if needed. But sometimes even spending a few hours there with Zap tends to just calm me down. Something about the vibes there is just different.

When I pulled up to the house, I only saw Zombra’s pickup truck in the car lot. Where’s Zap? I tapped into my psychic powers to sense the area. But only one soul was present and it felt like Zombra, he was around back.

After parking my car, I walked along the side of the house to the backyard. I was correct, it was Zombra. He was sitting on the back porch smoking a cigarette with one hand and holding a small crystal ball in his other.

“Hey, Zommy.” I said.

He looked up from his ball, “Hello, Dai. Is texting no longer hip with the kids these days?”

“Sorry about that, I had a rough morning. Next time I will let you know.”

“Nah nah, it’s fine. I’m just joshing. Our doors are always open for you. Tho, if you were here just for Zap, he’s out.”

“Where’s he at?” I asked.

“With his boyfriend.” He giggled a little.

“BOYFRIEND!? Zap has a boyfriend? Welp, there goes my chances of dating him.”

“You are into Zap?” Zom said bewildered.

“Yeah, so what!? Are you bothered by this?”

“It’s just…hum, I thought you two spending time together was just brother/sister bonding.”

“Um, not really. I mean, I still like him as a friend, but he’s also sort of cute. Too bad he’s taken. UGH! Why does every guy friend I have a crush on end up dating another guy?” This is probably the fourth time this has happened.

“F**-hag.” Zom snickered. I shot him a dirty look.

I took the wooden lawn chair next to Zom. Even if Zap wasn’t here, just having a quiet place to unwind would be better than going back to my hellhole apartment. Like I said, the vibes were just better. Stretched out for miles behind Zom’s place was Frostpeak’s famous landmark, the Rock Garden. It was pretty cool, sort of looked like a lake but made of rocks. In the furthest distance, you can see the frosted peaks of the mountains in which the town got its name.

I glanced at Zom, who was rolling the crystal ball in his left hand. His movement was stiff due to the arm being fake.

“Were you talking to my dad?” I asked.

“Yeah, he was checking in on you.”

“What did he say?”

“That I looked cute.” He snickered, a large grin spread across his face.

I glared at him. “I mean about me!”

“Oh, I told him you were doing ok and not to worry.”

“It doesn’t matter what you say, he always assumes the worst.”

“Did you know we’ve been spending some personal time together?” Zom asked with a dumb smirk on his face.

“Like sex?” I asked, a bit confused. Zom nodded. I blankly stared out into the rocks, trying to gather my thoughts. My dad always said that he was happy being single, he never seemed interested in dating or relationships. So the thought that he was sleeping with Zom was a bit jarring. “For how long?” I asked.

He smirked. “Guess.”

“I’d rather not.” I cringed.

I looked out at the rock again. The fog floated atop it. It was a bit eerie but also sort of calming.

“So…What’s out there? You know, on the other side of the rocks” I asked.

“More rocks.”

“And beyond that?”

”I don’t remember. I did walk out there once when I was about Zap’s age. Though, since my accident, my memory has been a bit scrambled. It’s unpredictable for what it wants to remember and what it throws out.”

I’ve heard that Zombra ran off when Zap was a teen. When they found him again, he was suffering from head trauma and struggled to recall his family’s names. Zap says things have gotten better but his dad still doesn’t seem the same.

“So you can walk across it?”

“It’s better to do it in the winter, the snow levels everything thus making it easier to walk. Doing it now might put you at risk of twisting your ankle.”

“Well, I don’t have anything better to do right now, so I might as well check it out. I’ll only go a bit out, not too far.” I got up and walked down the stairs towards the rocks.

“Don’t fall and break your legs! I ain’t able enough to pull you back.” Zom hollered behind me.

When I first stepped onto the rocks, I wobbled a little. It was a bit awkward at first, but as long as you kept my balance, it’s not that bad. After walking out a bit, I looked back to see how far I’d gone. It was cool seeing their house from this angle. Zombra waved at me and I waved back. I continued on for a while, but something started to feel off. It almost seemed like the further I went, the further the rocks ahead were, with the mountains almost shrinking in the distance.

This time when I looked back, Zom was just a dot. He might have waved at me, but I wasn’t sure. Looking to the right and left of me, the rocks looked endless. It reminded me of the time my dad took me and my brother on a cruise. I would look out from the deck at the endless ocean water, it felt like you were floating in a void of nothingness.

The mist danced around me with an almost ghostly presence. From the mist, a silhouette of a figure appeared. The whole time I was walking, I didn’t notice them. It was almost like they formed out of nothing. When I got a closer look at them, I was able to tell it was a woman. She towered over me, maybe 10 feet tall or so. She had copper skin with white hair pulled back in cornrows, meeting at the back of her head with a white puff. She was wearing a long jacket with a sash, and her boots looked handmade. Tho, it was her face that made my blood run cold. She had a stripe going across her face and another stripe that went up her nose to a triangle on her brow. This was a Water-Guardian.

Hopefully, she didn’t notice I was a Worth. There are horror stories of Guardians kidnapping Worths to harvest their psychic abilities. She could be a Worth hunter for all I know. It would be impossible to run away on the rocks if she did charge at me. Even if the ground was stable, her stride was so large that it would be a cakewalk for her to catch up to me. So I decided to go with plan B.

“Hello, Lady of the Rock Garden.” I curtsied; I might as well be super polite. She looked a bit confused. Maybe Water-Guardians expect different types of greetings. “If I am trespassing, I am dearly sorry. I was just about to leave and go back where I came from.” She didn’t reply; she just stared at me.

Her silence made me uneasy, I knew I had to escape fast. It was risky having to turn my back to her, but there was no way I could walk backward on the rocks. As soon as I turned around, I quickly headed back towards Zom’s house. My heart beat hard against my chest. If she really wanted to get me, she could do it right now.

The house grew closer, there was a possibility I could make it home safely. However, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. What if she is just behind me and the moment I step into the backyard, she grabs me?

I had a couple of steps left to go but I was so lost in my thoughts that I tripped on a rock and landed face-first in the soil. I made it! Unfortunately, I got pine needles and dirt all over me. I looked up and saw Zombra running in my direction.

“Dai are you OK?” He said, trying to help me up.

“Did you see her?” I asked.

“Who?”

“The Water-Guardian.” I looked over my shoulder at the Rock Garden, there was no one there.

“A Water-Guardian…on the rocks?” He asked curiously. “That’s an odd place for someone like that to be.”

I was trying to think back the last few moments, did I just imagine all that? Were the rocks playing with my mind? What was fake, what was real? I started to get a headache.

Zom smirked, “Just kidding, I know exactly who you are talking about. That’s Lady Winters, I see her from time to time. She likes to walk along the rocks.”

“You asshole! I thought I was going crazy!”

“She’s mostly harmless. I tend to see her more in winter, thus my nickname for her.”

I glared at me, “I wish you told me that before going out there, I was worried she was going to attack me or something.”

“I didn’t know she was going to show up this time of year.”

“But you lied to me and acted like I was crazy. I was worried I was going to die and…” I was so angry that I wanted to punch him.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to upset you. Sometimes I just like being silly.” He took a deep breath. “Maybe I should have told you about Winters before you went out. And I guess I should have also been honest about Zap. He is not with his boyfriend or on a date, he’s just hanging with Zeta.”

“You son of a bitch! Was boning my dad also a lie?”

“No, that was true. But if it makes you feel better, we’re also dating, more just friends with benefits.” 

I stood up and brushed off the gunk on me. I was still sort of pissed. Or maybe I was just stressed and hangry. I originally planned to eat something with Zap but I guess those plans got slashed.

“Treat me to some fast food, and I won’t hold any of this against you.” I said.

He smiled, “Sure thing, whatever makes you happy.”