Chapter 4
Spread out on the sand, Finn's mind was in complete disarray. His thoughts drifted between the uncertainty of his sister's escape, the likelihood of his father's transformation into a Fallen, and his own survival, which now bordered on a miracle.
Never in history had anyone managed to escape an Eternal Dome once it had fully formed. If someone wanted to get out, it had to be in the few moments before the ship completed its creation. But if there was anything he had learned from his father, it was that the impossible had never stopped anyone from trying.
Letting out a cold sigh, Finn slowly pushed himself up, wincing as his left arm, barely responding to his will, hung uselessly at his side while he struggled to get on his feet.
He cast a glance at the rising tide, swallowed in darkness, and at the edge of the Dome, which didn't seem to be anywhere within visible distance.
He turned away and walked along the shoreline, heading toward the forest in the distance. As he left, a gentle hand rested on his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" the girl asked, her face tense.
"Trying to survive," Finn replied. Despite the strange look she was giving him, he felt certain about his decision to leave this place immediately.
"And you think you'll survive this 'thing' by yourself?" she asked, confusion tightening her expression. She understood why he'd avoid the city overrun with monsters, but she couldn't understand why he would head into the forest alone. Between the beasts and the paranoia, it made no sense.
"No one has ever survived a Dome in a group either, though," he shrugged.
For a moment, she froze, staring at him with wide eyes. Then she turned toward the last of their "musketeers," standing a few meters away, silently observing them with his arms crossed.
"Did I end up with a bunch of lunatics…?" she muttered.
"You're going to listen to me," she said sharply, her eyes piercing. "We're going to stick together as best we can, and I give you my word that we're getting out of here somehow."
Both boys frowned at her authoritarian tone.
"Just out of curiosity," Finn narrowed his eyes, "what's your name?"
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Rose Evergrim."
"Evergrim… Evergrim… I see," Finn repeated as something clicked in his mind.
"Finn. Nice to meet you," he said before turning toward the sword-wielding boy.
"Ulrich."
"So, Rose. What do you know about this place? What makes you so sure that you're going to make it out yourself—"
At first, she was surprised by the sudden shift in Finn's demeanor, he was speaking completely differently from his earlier nonchalance, but she chose to answer honestly.
"The basics, I guess. That we won't get reinforcements, and that escaping is theoretically impossible," she said, listing whatever came to mind. "But if you help me get out of here, I promise that once we're out, my fa—"
"Nah, princess. I don't know what you were about to offer, but I don't think I need promises right now," he cut her off. "Think again. It'd be a shame to waste that pretty face with a mouse's brain."
"I'm sorry for my misunderstanding," she said, bowing slightly, lifting her dress with both hands to keep it from the clay-covered ground. "I don't know how to defeat it or even defend my own life, but I saw you fight, and I believe I can still be useful to you."
Am I the bad guy now…? Finn wondered.
With her looks, clothes, and manner of speaking, she had seemed like the kind of girl whose ego rivaled her superiority complex, a walking bundle of complications, the type he had encountered far too often.
"I don't think this is the time to stand around debating," Ulrich remarked, his eyes fixed near the crashed plane.
They followed his gaze, and their eyes widened. Small waves were forming rapidly, rushing toward them at alarming speed. The Chained Two from earlier was swimming back toward them.
Immediately, they turned and bolted, sprinting along the shore toward the forest, their lungs burning from the earlier fight at the harbor.
"So, what else should we know?" Rose asked between gasps.
"You covered most of it, but your explanation assumes our situation is completely hopeless."
"It isn't?" Rose raised an eyebrow. Of all the things she believed for certain, that one felt obvious. The Dome's boundary probably extended a kilometer or two into the sea, and even if they reached it, it was impenetrable.
"Not completely. There is a way out. It's just… tricky," Finn said, eyes fixed on the greenery slowly drawing closer. "We just have to get on the ship."
Ulrich and Rose slowed slightly, wondering which ship he meant, the one that had left the port, or one they were supposed to build? But they quickly dismissed the idea. Even building one wouldn't help.
Then they both looked up at the same time.
The other ship.
The one that had finished forming moments ago.
Hovering freely in the sky, a hundred meters above them.
Before she could reply, they entered the forest, disappearing into the greenery just as their pursuer reached the shore.
"We can't try getting rid of that thing?" Ulrich suggested as they collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch their breath.
"That's impossible," Finn replied after a few seconds. "Don't get cocky just because we survived earlier by throwing it into the sea."
"Why do you say that?" Rose asked, standing and dusting herself off. "From what I saw, you two were close to killin
g it. With me added to the fight, it should be… manageable."
"How would I know?"