Published at 7th of November 2026 6:36 am

Chapter 219. Finally some company

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Josh sat, watching the strange, jittery spectacle play out before his eyes. Myhur, or something that looked like him, finally got everyone out of the cell across from Josh and began dragging them farther into the corridor.

He wanted to call out to the creature for help, but the brutality of what it was doing to the prisoners stopped the words in his throat. Only once the screams of the prisoners being dragged away died down did Josh try to move, afraid of sharing their fate.

He pushed against the cell door, but instead of opening it, he found his hand phasing through the bars as if they were holograms rather than the thick steel the prisoners tugged at.

Josh fell forward and hit the ground with a thud. Looking up, he met the eyes of one of the prisoners. The eyes were hollow and dark, but when they met his, the prisoner's expression changed. It mirrored the change that had happened moments earlier with Myhur. The suffering and fear were gone in a heartbeat. Confusion crossed the prisoner's face, then slowly gave way to disgust.

Josh looked around and saw all the prisoners slowly turn toward him with the same expressions. His instincts told him to move away from those gazes. He moved down the prison's long, cave-like corridor.

The cells on either side of the corridor were perfectly symmetrical, with the same number of bars, the same room shapes, and even the same rust and runes etched into the metal, as if someone had built one side and placed a mirror in the middle to create the other. Even stranger, Josh couldnt count the bars. Whenever he focused on them, trying to see something helpful, they seemed to shift away from his gaze.

He finally reached the door to the cell block. Much like the bars, it was made of iron, and he passed through it with ease. Taking a step to the other side, he came face-to-face with the same old man who had died beside him in the cell.

This time, he was whole, still old and malnourished, but his eyes were completely different. They were bright now. An unbroken will sat deep inside them, turning his grey irises into beacons of hope, to the point that Josh suddenly felt better.

So much better.

Well go tonight, the apparition said, pushing something into his hands. Dont fuck it up. This is the code, it continued. We need to go before he gets control of her again.

The man moved past him. Josh tried to follow, but the apparition was gone. The cell blocks door, which had been behind him just a second ago, was also gone. He was back in the white iron corridor. He looked down at what was in his hand and saw a crumpled piece of white paper.

He smoothed it out, hoping to see a message, but it held only letters written in blood, too smeared to decipher. He wanted to shout after the man but stopped himself. It was doubtful the apparition would just go back to give him a proper explanation.

Deciding to move forward, he immediately realized he wouldn't need to close his eyes to follow the paths. The sensations were now clear to him even as he stood there. The suffering radiated from the corridors like heat from a bonfire. But before Josh could decide whether to follow it, sounds of struggle caught his attention. He hesitated for a second before a sudden shout reached his ears: Tear it! Josh immediately recognized the voice.

Sam?

Is it really him or another apparition? Myhur didnt pay attention to me, so maybe just taking a look wouldnt be dangerous, Josh thought.

Moving slowly through the corridors, he tried not to make too much noise as he approached the sounds of a battle. The sounds were rather strange. There were no gunshots or metal scraping against metal. Instead, he could hear shouts and groans, interrupted by commands like Watch out! and Another from the back!

Josh finally approached the passage where the commotion was coming from. He paused, then, after a deep breath, peeked around the corner.

It was hard to describe what he was actually seeing. There was a battle, a purely physical altercation without any visible magic, but the combatants were what confused him. One side consisted of girls in tattered clothes with their eyes gouged out, probably sixteen of them, though this time the number did not come to him automatically. And the other side was Sam, Ophelia, and two creatures?

Sam sat atop a sphere of tentacles and eyes, using its many appendagesseventy-two, Josh immediately realizedto fend off the children who jumped at them, ready to bite, tear, and hit, their faces twisted into familiar masks of disgust.

By Sams side was Ophelia, straddling a massive black snake and barely holding onto its head as the creature swung its head back and forth, biting the assailants while using its tail like a whip.

Josh had no idea what to do. Should he help? And if so, how? He wasn't sure he even had to, considering they were holding out pretty well. The strange creature carrying Sam had more than enough appendages to swat away the enemies. Each hit sent a child flying, leaving them increasingly transparent until they lay on the ground as if exhausted.

But the question was: what were those creatures? And was that really Sam or some apparition resembling him?

The decision of whether to show himself was made for him when one of the small enemies was flung near the corner he was peeking around, and one of the spheres many eyes met his gaze. Looking up at Sam to see his reaction, Josh noticed that both he and Ophelia had their eyes closed.

Why would they do that? Are the closed eyes a sign of sorts? Like the gouged-out eyes? Josh wondered. So they are a part of this place after all.

He began to move away before a shout stopped him in his tracks.

Josh! Sams voice cut through the battle.

Oh no, Josh whispered as he readied to run.

Were real! Ophelia shouted immediately afterward.

This gave him pause. All the creatures around him had behaved like actors in a play. None had addressed him directly by name. He took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge, fully emerging from behind the corner.

The battle was coming to an end. The snake whipped its tail, tearing away most of the substance from one of the children. The apparition became almost transparent and fell to the ground.

Ufff, Sam sighed as Ophelia began taking deep breaths.

Are you real? Josh asked, approaching slowly. Are you really you? The two familiars beneath them turned toward him, but their riders kept their eyes closed.

Yes. We are. You are Josh. You normally use a wheelchair, and we worked on the same FBI case, Sam recited quickly.

Oh God, Josh sighed in relief as a weight lifted from his shoulders.

He hadn't realized how heavily loneliness had weighed on him in that strange space. How do we get out of here? he asked quickly.

Ophelia and Sam stayed silent for a few seconds, consternation shadowing their faces.

What do you see? Sam asked. Are there any markings? Any signs? Anything interesting around us beyond metal and corridor? His face was fixed in a grimace of irritation.

Well, Josh began, weirded out by the question. Cant you just you know, look around?

We cant see the space around us, Ophelia said, while Sam grew increasingly irritated, his face twisting as though he had smelled something nasty. Our familiars can see and tell us the basics, but thats about it.

Okay. Well, there are things Its like anywhere I look, there are patterns and signs, but the moment I try He looked more closely at one of the walls, but then looked away, wincing. I cant see them. Its like I lose myself when I try.

Dont, Sam said quickly. But focus on those that you can. Remember everything you see.

Okay. But can we leave this place now?

Yes, Sam said.

But?Josh asked immediately, expecting something nasty.

But nothing. You should be able to locate your body and pull yourself back into it, assuming we arent in too deep. You have to forget your shape in a way. Right now, you arent a physical person. You are a clump of mental energy taking a known form, tricking you into believing that the whole you is here. Once you drop that idea, you should be able to find where your body actually is and move in that direction, even pull yourself there.

Thats it? Josh asked, weirded out.

Yep, Sam confirmed. And judging by the fact I can sense my own body, we shouldnt be too deep.

Josh didnt wait for any more commands as he tried to sense his own flesh. He used the discrepancy of standing on his own legs like a wrench wedged into the door of his mind, forcing it open to the idea that his body was somewhere else. He repeated it until he could feel a path and a pull. They were weak and fickle, but they were there, pointing in a direction through the white corridors.

I got it! Josh said happily, opening his eyes. Will you be all right? he asked.

He'd already had people sacrifice themselves for him once. He didnt want to repeat that. At the question, Sam smiled for the first time.

We'll be fine. Trust me. Im not the self-sacrificing kind.

We can get back, don't worry, Ophelia added.

Josh nodded with relief before another question came to his mind.

Will Myhur be able to do that too?

That made them both pause. Sams face fell back into a frown.

I was hoping he'd pulled out the moment he sensed this place, Sam said, a note eerily similar to worry coloring his voice. Ophelia looked worried too, the expression much clearer on her face.

Did you see him? she asked.

Yes. But he wasnt acting like himself. He was dragging people from their cells. I dont know if it really was him.

And where did he go?

Josh had a feeling Sam wouldn't leave the mushroom here, and that meant going deeper into the tunnels. He hesitated, considering whether to lie and say he didnt know, or claim he had been mistaken and it was another myconid, but he dismissed the idea just as quickly.

I think he went along a He paused, searching for the right words to describe it. A path of sorts. A path of pain.

Then we have to go after him, Sam said without hesitation.

Ophelia nodded, just as quickly.

Fine, Josh agreed after a while. Can we pull him out?

Might need to use force Sam said. You lead us. And remember, we cant see anything, so communicate through our familiars. Theyre smart enough to understand you.

Josh looked at the two strange creatures with skepticism. The snake lowered his head slightly, as if confirming the idea. But the shepherd creature? It just blinked all of its eyes, giving the man the creeps.

Okay, Josh said, and he focused on the road of pain.

And yet, as he did, he also became aware of the auras of those around him. Something about Sams presence suddenly seemed familiar, weirdly familiar. Some part of his mind was unsettled by that, but the even stranger presence of the creature beneath Sam made it impossible for Josh to examine that feeling in more detail.

Shaking his head slightly, he decided to focus on leading them to Myhur, pushing the questions away.

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