LINKED | Brothers Online Series | BK #1

Chapter 15: Lysinius' Hut

December 25, 2022 Floor 3 – Misty Forest

Brenda (Zara) Lockwood

I watched Thom swiftly walk deeper into the forest, his stride quick and elongated, almost as if he wanted to get away from that little mishap. His last words echoed in my head, an ominous ringing that sent a strange feeling through my body.

"Revealing a secret like that is dangerous. Don't ever do it again."

Part of me didn't understand why. It's not like it's a big deal. Guys said things like that all the time, especially the wrestlers and those who do taekwondo. It's not like it's a surprise or anything. Martial arts are a part of the world. They didn't just appear like an obnoxious pimple, blatantly standing in the way. There's no reason why Thom couldn't tell us, why couldn't tell me.

But there was a part of me that did understand, a part that seemingly got everything that he had said. It was a secret, something he didn't want to share, and just like all the other secrets in the world, Thom placed value on it. It was his ace I believed, the one thing that he could fall back on if all else failed.

And I got that. I understood his need to have a fall back plan. It was an escape route, something he used when things went wrong.

Something he'll always use when something went wrong, like getting trapped in a virtual world.

Yes, I think I understood, but only so slightly.

I'll let it go for now.

Our group walked for a few more minutes before Thom raised his hand. We stopped and looked around, eyes scanning the new location. This one was a rather dilapidated place with bent and shattered trees sitting forlornly on the ground. A few trunks still had their leaves, brown and sickly little things. The tattered spades drooped to the ground forming a moldy old mop. I spotted wooden planks strewn about with a few shattered pieces of glass stuck in the soil. From what I gathered, there use to be a home here, some sort of shack.

That would explain the interlocking ridges on a set of boards. Without those neat clean marks, I would've never guessed that there used to be life here. It looked like something out of a janitor's nightmare. Brownish liquid puddle in one corner and a cone shaped straw roof lay to the side. A breeze blew through, ruffling the coarse sticks and rolling the covering over.

This area smelled of disease, a place of sickness and dejection. A pungent aroma wafted into my nostrils and I nearly gagged. The others had on similar looks, especially Yumi. Her face was scrunched up and her green eyes narrowed. I barely had a chance to comment when Thom lifted up a long branch with his foot.

"Yuck," Cobalt muttered as a cloud of compressed stench shot out, "That is nasty."

I seconded his opinion with a nod. "What is this place?"

Thom didn't directly answer my question. He looked at Karim and waved a finger. "Open the map." The younger brother nodded and clicked a few buttons on his menu. The white box that encased the virtual map appeared and we all moved over to see.

Everyone except for Thom.

"Lysinius' Hut," Karim read out loud, "I guess this is the place. But what about that other place? The scroll hinted on something else"