Saber covered his face in exasperation and did his best to calm the rage burning bright in his chest. He smiled brokenly at Clarisse and tried his best to reassure her, “We’re not going to die.” 

That lifeblood he saw pulsating in Clarrisse was wavering. He didn’t know how long he’d been out-- how long she’d been hanging up there. They didn’t have time to be discussing this. Even in the faint glow of the underseat lighting, Saber could see the blood pooling under her fingernails. 

“We’re not going to die and we’re not going to fall,” Saber turned to Kalista as he spoke, silently imploring her to play along. 

“I’m sick of this!” Kalista shouted while shoving Julie’s hand away, “We always have to go along with your little tantrums! You’re always doing whatever you want and screwing the rest of us over! I’ve been putting up with it but I can’t anymore! Not while our literal lives are on the line!” 

Her voice broke with emotion as it built in volume. Beside her Julie stared in horror. She lifted one hand in a soft attempt to soothe her but Kalista slapped the hand away. 

“No! I can’t do this shit anymore!” She lifted a hand to her buckle but seemed to think better of it and instead simply balled up her fist in frustration, “This isn’t one of you shitty, straight-to-streaming b-movies! You’re not some superhero! You need to sit down and wait for someone actually fucking qualified to get here before you get all of us killed!” 

Saber crossed his arms and frowned as Kallista ranted. His eyes trailed away from her and towards the emergency exit hatch. He slipped the safety blade into Andraius’ hands. Then, with a swift, violent kick, Saber wedged his foot under Kallista’s headrest. 

She let out a panicked yelp then went silent. She was acting like Saber tried to kick her instead of the headrest. Saber resisted the urge to smirk.

He grasped the handle of the storage space above her and yanked himself atop it. The cabinet door gave a loud groan of protest. Saber was forced to quickly jump for the emergency hatch. His fingers curled around it and it came off with a rattling crack. Saber just barely managed to duck to the side as it toppled down towards him. 

“Fuck!” Kallista squeaked in pain as it collided with her chest. 

[Serves her right]

“You did that on pu- Wait! What are you doing?” Kalista reached up, trying to snag Saber’s ankle. But his center of balance was already tipping him out the other side of the hatch. 

The world outside of the bus was…wrong. 

Saber knew the ground was beneath him-- saw it when he closed his eyes --but the ground was the only thing he saw. 

Vast nothingness stretched out in every other direction. With his eyes open Saber got the impression of trees. Or more his mind told him he was seeing the outline of trees in the dark despite his eyes coming up blank. Behind his eyelids his brain's pathetic protesting abated. 

It was just nothing. 

So much nothing. 

When Saber fell he felt his stomach drop. Like the first hill on a roller coaster. No matter how certain he was of his safety, his instincts couldn’t be turned off. And just like that jerking upturn at the end of a rollercoaster dip, Saber was thoroughly shaken by his side slamming into the cold dirt. 

[I told you, you’re on the ground]

“I know,” Saber sighed, dusting his arms off. He stood and stared up at the faint glow coming from the emergency hatch. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Still fine! Andraius! Cut her down!” 

Beyond the hatch Kalista said something between ‘what’ and ‘huh’ then a loud yelp and thud told Saber Clarisse was free. 

“See!” Andraius’ slightly hoarse voice said tenderly, “We’ve got you.” 

Saber’s heart beat picked up at the implication behind the word ‘we’. Especially after Kalista’s tirade. 

“Thanks- Oh! And thank you Saber!” Clarisse’s voice was regaining some of its usual cheer. Saber smiled softly to himself. 

“Now how the fuck do I get back in?” 

While Saber couldn’t make out any specifics, the bus was tilted up at an odd angle. It’d made it difficult for Saber to crawl up to the hatch from the inside. Now, fully on the ground outside, Saber worried returning the way he’d left was downright impossible. 

[Most buses have an emergency exit on the back. But it doesn’t matter. You’re out of time]

Before Saber could ask what Echo meant, the sky began to change. Something coalesced, rushing in from every direction. It enveloped Saber. Ethereal and rushing, a solid form of the misty fog emanated by dry ice. 

Everywhere it came in contact with Saber burned and ripped. Cold, biting, rending Saber and reassembling him in the same breath. 

[U N S U I T A B L E]

The voice was similar to Echo’s but infinitely more invasive. It rattled out from the marrow of Saber’s bones. A thought placed in his head by something that transcended thought. 

The mist poured into Saber through every orifice. He choked on it, tried to spit it out but to no avail. 

[T H I S   O N E   L I V E S   Y E T] 

[D E A T H   C L I N G S   T O   T H I S   O N E]

[D E A T H   I N H A B I T S   T H I S   O N E] 

Three voices? the same voice in three tones? A conversation? A stream of consciousness? 

[D E F I L E R,    S P E A K]

[In my defense, I didn’t want to be here] 

The mist retreated from Saber’s lungs and he was tossed unceremoniously to the ground. Saber coughed and wretched, spit dripped from his mouth as he tried to ease the ache in his jaw. 

[T H I S   O N E  P O S S E S   A    U N I Q U E   V E S S E L]

[T A T T E R E D] 

[S O   M A N Y   G A P S] 

[D E A T H   S E E P S   I N] 

“What does it mean?” Saber wheezed, eyes scanning the darkness in a hopeless attempt to gain some insight on what this entity was. All Saber knew for certain was that he was in danger, “And why did it say this one? Are the others dead? They can’t be! I just- I just-” 

[Quiet, Saber] 

Saber choked on his own panic. His fingers curled in the dirt into tight, trembling fists. A cross between anger and fear coursed through him but he remained silent. 

[Do you know why I’m here? What happened to me- to us?] 

The entity laughed-- or at least Saber got the impression that it was amused. Something cold twisted along Saber’s back. It trailed down his spine and reached past his skin, right under his lungs and into the middle of his abdomen. It’s wispy presence wrapped around something and squeezed. 

Saber’s wretched and vomited onto the dark soil. He could taste blood in his mouth. It brought back unpleasant memories. 

[T H I S   O N E   I N V I T E D   I T   I N]

Saber shook his head frantically, like a petulant child denying evidence of their wrongdoing, “No I- I didn’t! I never!” 

The voice(s) laughed again. The laughter pressed in on Saber like a cave in. 

A hand clasped Saber’s shoulder. He jerked up and looked up at the figure at his side. It was hazy, fuzzy at the edges, the face nearly featureless. The impermanence of it should’ve frightened Saber, instead he felt comforted. 

He knew this face. He knew the presence. His very own lighthouse in the storm. 

Aniketos Sinclaire.