The Forgotten Edge

Ethan’s stomach churned as he tumbled through a void of light and shadows, his screams swallowed by the silence around him. Just when he thought he’d be falling forever, he landed with a bone-jarring thud onto soft, damp grass. The air smelled of earth and something metallic, faintly electric. Gasping for breath, Ethan pushed himself to his knees and looked around.

The world was… wrong. Towering structures of jagged stone and glimmering glass stretched into a swirling purple sky. The trees here were unlike those in the forest, their trunks glowing faintly, their branches twisted into impossible shapes. In the distance, a massive wall loomed, its surface reflecting the surreal landscape like a distorted mirror.

A voice startled him. “You’re late.”

Ethan spun around to see a girl about his age, maybe sixteen, with fiery red hair and sharp green eyes. She wore a patched jacket and carried a spear fashioned from metal and bone. Her expression was a mix of relief and irritation.

“Who—” Ethan began, but the girl cut him off.

“Save it. We don’t have time for introductions. If you made it through the gate, that means you’re one of us. And if you’re one of us, you need to listen. Now.”

Ethan stared at her, his mind racing. “One of us? What are you talking about? I don’t even know who I am!”

The girl’s face softened, but only slightly. “None of us do at first. You’re a Runner now, which means you survived the Hunt. The gate brought you here, just like it brought the rest of us. But if we don’t move, it will follow.”

“It?” Ethan’s chest tightened. “The thing that was chasing me?”

The girl nodded grimly. “It doesn’t stop. It never stops. But the wall…” She glanced toward the shimmering structure in the distance. “That’s our only chance. If we get inside, we might find the answers we’ve been searching for. But the path is a maze, and it changes every time.”

Ethan hesitated, but the memory of the creature’s glowing red eyes sent a shiver down his spine. He didn’t have a choice. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s go.”

The girl smirked. “That’s the spirit. I’m Calla, by the way. Welcome to the Edge.”

They ran together, the landscape shifting unnaturally around them. The ground tilted and cracked, forcing them to leap over widening chasms. Strange creatures skittered in the shadows, their eyes glinting with malice. Ethan felt his adrenaline surge as he and Calla dodged obstacles and fought their way toward the wall.

“Why are we here?” Ethan asked as they ducked beneath a massive root that jutted out of the ground like a claw.

Calla’s expression darkened. “Some say we’re experiments. Others think it’s a punishment. All I know is, the wall holds the truth. And if we don’t find it, we die out here.”

They reached the base of the wall just as a deafening roar shattered the air. Ethan turned to see the creature from the forest bounding toward them, its oily black skin gleaming in the strange light. It was faster than before, its claws tearing through the ground like butter.

Calla grabbed his arm. “Climb!”

The wall was smooth and impossibly high, but grooves and ridges appeared as they approached, as if the wall itself was helping them. Ethan and Calla scrambled upward, the creature’s roars growing louder with every second. Just as Ethan pulled himself over the top, the creature lunged, its claws grazing his ankle.

He rolled onto the wall’s surface, panting. Calla sat beside him, staring at the landscape beyond. Ethan followed her gaze and froze.

Inside the wall was a sprawling city, its streets lined with glowing towers and strange machines. The people moving through it were like them—teenagers, each with the same haunted look in their eyes. But at the city’s center stood a massive spire, its surface covered in the same glowing symbols as the archway.

Ethan’s palm tingled, and he looked down at the word carved there: Survive.

Calla stood, offering him a hand. “This is where it gets harder,” she said. “You ready?”

Ethan took her hand and stood. His fear hadn’t disappeared, but something else burned inside him now—determination.

“Let’s find out the truth,” he said.

Together, they descended into the city, unaware that their arrival was being watched from the spire. A figure in a dark cloak turned away from a glowing monitor, their lips curling into a smile. “The Runners have arrived,” they murmured. “Let the game begin.”