Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

THIRTEEN- Dark Omens

hi yeah this chapter is not as long as the previous one thank god

----

When we rose the next morning, neither Lukas nor I acknowledged the conversation of the previous night. Actually, even more than that- he pretended like it had never happened.

The two of us hardly even spoke as we left the treehouse and began the long trek towards Beacontown. Julia and Radar still had plenty of things to say to each other and both of us, but I didn't have too much to say back. Apparently Lukas felt the same, at least at first.

It didn't help that, the further we got in our journey, the more I felt like something was wrong. It started as a faint uncomfortable feeling, a tiny instinct that someone was watching us or something like that. The instinct didn't leave as we exited the spruce forest and ventured through a savanna.

Julia, again, was leading confidently, studying her locater map every so often. Radar had asked her if she could just teleport us there with her Admin powers, but she'd winced and apologetically said she hadn't gained that particular ability.

Despite this, she seemed to be in pretty good spirits, which made me think the suspicious feeling was unique to me.

We walked for hours, through plains and forests and everything in-between. There were a few times we had to build small bridges over rivers, but for the most part, the trip was pleasantly uneventful. Aside, of course, from my anxious feeling of dread that slowly worsened the closer we got to our goal.

Julia and Radar struck up a lively debate that I only partially listened to, but that kept them entertained for quite a bit of the journey. They eventually pulled Lukas into the conversation as well, and, to my surprise, he seemed content to add his opinions without starting any new conflicts with Julia.

I had difficulty focusing on whatever topic they were so enthusiastic about. I was lost in my own little world for most of the time, deep down in layers of worried thoughts.

Something felt off about this timeline. I remembered that Julia had said that earlier, multiple times, but now it was me who was feeling that way. The uncomfortable sensation of anxious doubt settled heavily into my chest, making me feel almost like I was poisoned.

This made me slightly jumpy, and I kept thinking I saw strange things that weren't really there when I fully turned to look. The others didn't seem to notice this; or if they did, they chose not to say anything.

Finally, things began steadily looking more and more familiar, and Julia cheerily announced that we were less than an hour away from Beacontown. We were approaching the town from the south, which was not a direction I usually travelled in, though the floating tower was impossible to mistake even from a distance.

A storm was rolling in on the horizon when the crimson walls finally came into view. It intensified my feeling of worry even more, like even the sky was preparing for something bad to happen.

It struck me as fairly strange that the walls around the town were still red, since both Julia and I had changed ours. Radar pointed this out in a thoughtful voice, but he seemed more curious than worried.

Then we entered the gates, and worried didn't even begin to describe the way I felt.

It was different. So phenomenally different that I had a brief, irrational thought that we weren't in Beacontown at all. Some of the most distinctive buildings near the front of town were completely gone, reduced to rubble by who knows what. As I looked around, I noticed that it wasn't just near the gates; there were wrecked buildings all over the place.