“Mylo! Come on, Mylo!” A panicked voice echoed from the void. 

Would an angel yell with such fright? He was dead, wasn’t he? His heart had stopped beating; there was no other explanation. 

He gasped for a long breath of air. Dead people couldn’t breathe; he knew that. Despite how heavy his eyelids felt, they snapped open to see where he was. His blurry vision could make out the outline of two figures. One paced anxiously in the background and the other sat just over him, applying a pressure to his chest.

“Oh Mylo, thank god,” Saf cried, cradling him in a hug, a tear rolling down her cheek. 

Mylo’s vision cleared as she pulled him in. The warmth jolted his senses back to normal. He could again feel the soft thud of his heart in his chest.

Karn bent down beside her. "Mylo, what the hell was that? You scared us,” he said, his breaths deep. 

Mylo wrapped his arms around both of them, soaking them with the nasty water he had been lying in. He was just thankful he could finally see their faces. His eyes filled with tears. He just wanted to soak in the relief right now but he knew that wasn't an option.

"Guys, we have to get out of here,” he managed to muster out in short quick breaths. “There’s a shadowlimb in here.”

“What? Where? How?” Karn gasped. He jumped up frightened, looking down both directions of the tunnelway.

“The hole-,” Mylo stopped to take in another deep breath, “the hole in the grate.”

“What hole?” Saf asked, looking down at him. 

Mylo raised an eyebrow. Was it not obvious? He looked over her shoulder to the grate of the sewer tunnel. She was right; the grate was there perfectly fitted and intact.

“What the hell?” Mylo muttered. “No, but it was broken when I saw it.” 

It didn’t make any sense. If it was there the whole time how did the shadowlimb even get in?

“Mylo, did you hit your head on something?” Saf questioned.

“I mean, look at him; obviously he hit something,” Karn responded.

"Guys, I know what I saw. We have to leave,” Mylo said through more broken breaths.

"Ok, Mylo, we're going to go,” Saf replied. “I don’t think you're in any shape to stay anyway.” She cracked a nervous smile. She stood, and offered her hand to help him up. 

He took it. As he got up, he felt a cold foreignness in his legs and his knees gave way. Karn was able to catch him before he splashed back down in the water.

“You good buddy?” He asked, assissting him back up.

Mylo put a hand to his chest, feeling for his heartbeat. Its tempo still hadn't returned to normal. “Yeah, I mean, I think I almost died, but besides that, I think so,” Mylo replied semi-jokingly. “Let’s just get out of here as quickly as we can.” Mylo tried to step forward but stumbled. It's like his body had forgotten how to walk.

“Let us help you out there,” Karn offered, grabbing one of his arms. Saf grabbed the other, and Mylo used them to help him relearn to walk. 

The trek back felt significantly longer. It was likely due to the combination of being cold and wet, unable to move, and anxious. He didn’t know if it was just his nerves talking, but he could swear he still felt it—the shadow’s gaze. 

By the time they got back to where they had entered, Mylo was more or less able to walk on his own. Saf and Karn kept close to him though, flinching every time he took a step. 

“I’ll boost you up,” Karn said, cupping his hands in a foothold. 

Mylo grabbed his shoulder and stepped up. Karn pushed him upward, and Mylo caught the rim of the opening. He struggled pulling himself up. Still, his body refused to function properly, and only with an additional boost from his friends was he able to crawl outside.

The fresh scent of the town wafted through Mylo’s nose. He was grateful to be out of there. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to see a sewer the same way again.

“Worst adventure yet?” Saf questioned, pulling herself out of the opening. She reached her arms down to pull Karn up.

“It’s up there,” Karn replied on his ascent.

Mylo nodded, that was an understatement.

Saf turned to him with a more serious expression. "Mylo, you should see a doctor.”

Mylo shook his head. "I'll go in the morning.”

“Promise?” She questioned. 

"Yeah, I promise,” he nodded. He wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not though. He was worried about what the doctors might tell him. He was worried that there was a caveat to his survival down there.

Saf grabbed hold of the sewer grate and returned it to its fit in the opening. With the two wrenches, she and Karn both secured it with the previously collected bolts. Hopefully that would be enough to keep the red-eyed shadowlimb out. 

Karn peeked over the fence to make sure the coast was clear. From the silence of the night, Mylo could guess that it was.

Karn helped boost him up once again, and Mylo was able to scoot down the fence to the ground on the other side. He felt his knees start to buckle again, but he was able to hold himself up. He glanced around at the empty streets of the historic sector. What was usually a place of peace for him had become eerie, causing goosebumps to ripple down his skin. In the sky was the same crescent moon he had seen over the plains.

Karn and Saf landed on either side of him. They insisted on walking him back to his home. Mylo had no choice but to let them. In all honesty, he was hoping they would. He was still terrified, even if his irregular heartbeat implied otherwise.

The slow walk back was silent, and not just because everyone around them was sleeping. The three of them were still reeling from what had happened. It was a formidable foe to their typical lighthearted banter. 

They approached Mylo’s home. Its wooden panels set on the stone base were a pleasant sight, but deep down he still didn't feel entirely at ease.

"We're checking on you first thing in the morning," Saf said. "You better still be alive." She pulled him in for a hug.

"I can't die twice in one night, right?" Mylo responded, trying to inject a little humor into what had become a grim night.

Saf nodded. "I hope not." She squeezed him a moment longer before pulling away.

"Goodnight man," Karn said, patting him on the shoulder. Mylo could tell he was worried too by his gray tone of voice.

Mylo stepped up to his door and turned around once more to wave them off. 

They waved back but didn't leave just yet. They wouldn't until he was inside. 

He fit his key in the lock. Quietly, he re-entered his home, slowly creaking the door closed. He saw Fenn asleep on the couch. His head was resting against the arm closest to the window. He must’ve been waiting for him this whole time.

“Maybe we can play tomorrow?” Mylo whispered to him. He shook Fenn’s brown hair with his hand and headed off into his room.

He didn’t bother to change out of his dirty and moist wear and collapsed on his bed. He was exhausted by the excursion and everything that had occurred. But as sleep fell over him, he could make out the dullest of red-violets in the darkness of his eyelids.