And Then, The World Ended

Chapter 40: The Spire's Grip Part 1

The night stretches on, heavy with an oppressive silence. We sit together in the shadow of gnarled trees, the glow from the alien fungi casting an ethereal light over our tired faces. Despite the danger lurking in the darkness, a sense of camaraderie blankets us. But there's something nagging at the back of my mind, an unsettling realization that gnaws at my thoughts like a persistent itch.

"Where's V?" I ask suddenly, breaking the fragile silence that has settled among us.

Jordan looks up, brow furrowed. "What do you mean? He was with us when we left."

Sophie shifts uncomfortably beside me. "Right? He guided us through Arcadia. He said we had to leave quickly."

A cold weight sinks in my stomach. "But... he hasn't been here since we escaped. I thought he was right behind us." I glance around, searching for any sign of him. The night feels different now—thicker, as if reality itself is bending around us.

Jake shakes his head, looking bewildered. "No way he would just vanish like that. V is... was... our guide."

My heart races as fragments of memory begin to slip through my fingers like sand. I remember V's steady voice leading us through the chaos of Arcadia, urging us forward with promises of safety and freedom. But now those memories feel distant and foggy, almost like a dream that fades upon waking.

"Noah," Hayes says softly, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Maybe we just didn't notice it in the rush to escape."

I meet his gaze, but doubt festers within me. How could we not notice something so significant? The absence of V looms larger than life; it feels like a piece of a puzzle missing from our collective consciousness.

"We have to find him," I insist, rising to my feet despite exhaustion weighing heavily on me. "He wouldn't abandon us."

Sophie stands as well, determination sparking in her eyes. "You're right! If he's missing—"

"Wait," Jordan interrupts sharply. "We don't even know where to start looking for him."

Suddenly, everything begins to feel unreal—our surroundings blur at the edges as if they're being erased from existence itself. The pulsing glow of the fungi grows brighter and then flickers out momentarily before returning stronger than ever.

"What is happening?" Jake breathes out as he grips one of the twisted tree trunks for support.

A wave of dizziness washes over me; the world tilts and sways beneath my feet. I blink hard, trying to clear my mind and focus on what matters—the here and now—but all I can think about is V's absence and how this moment feels wrong in ways I can't articulate.

"Guys..." My voice shakes slightly as unease prickles along my skin like static electricity.

"What?" Sophie asks quietly.

"I don't remember... much after arriving at Arcadia." The words tumble out before I can catch them.

"Neither do I," Jordan admits hesitantly.

"It's like..." Hayes trails off as his eyes widen in realization. "It's like none of this makes sense anymore."

An uneasy tension fills the air as we stand there, grappling with the creeping feeling that something has shifted beyond our comprehension—a reality collapsing around us like a house of cards under an unseen force.

And then it happens: everything dissolves into white light—the darkness shatters like glass—and suddenly we are not outside anymore but lying on soft bedding in a dimly lit room.

I jerk upright in shock, gasping for breath as clarity floods back into my mind alongside confusion and disbelief. The others are scattered around me; they too are awakening from their slumber-like states.

"What just happened?" Sophie murmurs while rubbing her eyes as if trying to shake off sleep's grip.

Hayes looks just as bewildered as he glances around at unfamiliar surroundings—a stark contrast from our previous nightmare outside Arcadia.

V stands before us now—intact and whole—as if he had never vanished at all.

"Welcome back," he says calmly with an unsettling smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

The pieces click together painfully slowly; memories cascade back into focus while fresh questions swirl through my mind like leaves caught in a storm: What were we doing? Where had we been? And why did it feel so surreal?

V moves closer to me and places a hand on my shoulder, grounding me amidst chaos while time itself feels suspended between moments lost forever and truths waiting to be unveiled—all tethered by the thread of uncertainty binding us together still.