They called it the Barrier. Like it was keeping something out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But walls don\u2019t keep things out, not really. They just make you forget what\u2019s already inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Barrier stretched above me, its surface layered with years of graffiti, paint peeling like old scabs. Someone had tagged a line near the bottom: [YOU ARE NOT ALONE.<\/em>] It was smeared, half-covered by a swirl of red and black, but I could still make out the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBullshit,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Helvor was still kicking, hot and sharp in my veins. My stump ached where my arm should\u2019ve been, the phantom pain like needles digging into skin that wasn\u2019t there. Or maybe it was just the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned against the wall, my breathing uneven. Deyor hummed in the distance, the grav-rails above glowing faint blue against the dark. The city felt far away out here in the Outer Ward, even though the Barrier cut right through it. Out here, it was just alleys and shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hum started low, so quiet I thought it was my heartbeat. But it wasn\u2019t. The Barrier was humming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pressed my hand\u2014my good one\u2014against the cold concrete, and it buzzed under my palm. Not a lot, just enough to let me know it wasn\u2019t in my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHelvor screwing with you again,\u201d I said under my breath. My voice sounded smaller than I wanted it to. \u201cGet a grip, Tella.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the hum didn\u2019t stop. It grew louder, vibrating through the wall, the ground, my bones. I pulled my hand back and stuffed it into my jacket pocket, suddenly wishing I\u2019d gone back to the drop house instead of wandering. The Barrier wasn\u2019t supposed to feel alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It felt like it was breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned to go, but the streetlights flickered and went out, plunging the alley into darkness. My breath caught, and I froze, my hand gripping the fabric of my jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hum grew louder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the lights,\u201d I whispered. \u201cThe city\u2019s falling apart, same as me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A laugh broke the silence. High-pitched and sharp, bouncing off the walls. I spun around, but there was nothing. Just shadows, stretched long and thin under the faint glow of the grav-rails above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re hearing things,\u201d I said, louder now. My voice cracked. \u201cIt\u2019s just the Helvor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The laugh came again, closer this time. I backed away, my stump throbbing, my head pounding like it might split open. My foot caught on a loose brick, and I fell hard, the impact jarring enough to knock the air out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I looked up, the shadows were moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They weren\u2019t moving right. They curled at the edges, folding into themselves like smoke, but there was nothing casting them. No people, no cars, no trash blowing in the wind. Just the Barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the hum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn\u2019t work. My hand scraped against the cracked pavement, my nails splitting. The shadows crept closer, curling over my boots, my knees, climbing higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet off me!\u201d I screamed, my voice breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The shadows didn\u2019t listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They laughed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then everything stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hum, the shadows, even the air\u2014it all froze. My chest felt tight, like I couldn\u2019t breathe, couldn\u2019t think. The Barrier loomed above me, its graffiti twisting and shifting, words bleeding into shapes that weren\u2019t there before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eyes. Smiling mouths. Clawing hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A shape emerged from the wall. It didn\u2019t crawl out; it just was. A figure wrapped in black, its face blurred, its grin too wide. It leaned toward me, its shadow falling over my body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d it said, its voice a whisper, a growl, a scream\u2014all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t move. Couldn\u2019t speak. My hand twitched against the ground, useless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The figure tilted its head, its grin widening. \u201cYou\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I blinked, and it was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The streetlights buzzed back on. The hum faded. The Barrier was just a wall again, graffiti and concrete and peeling paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But my stump ached like it had been ripped open. My hand was bleeding, my nails cracked and raw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stumbled to my feet, my heart hammering, my breath coming in short, shallow bursts. The alley was empty, but I didn\u2019t feel alone. Not anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prologue: The Shadows on the Barrier They called it the Barrier. Like it was keeping something out. But walls don\u2019t keep things out, not really. They just make you forget what\u2019s already inside. The Barrier stretched above me, its surface layered with years of graffiti, paint peeling like old scabs. Someone had tagged a line … Continue reading “Klucken \u2013 Fascicle 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":754,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions\/754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harthorns-reverie.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}