Henry Best clutched with desperation onto his coat, doing all he could to prevent the torrential wind from blowing it off. Fortunately, the relentless rain that poured from the sky caused his wet coat to stick to his body, though the heavy pullets of water bombarded him felt as though they would bruise his skin.

"Just a bit further..." Henry whimpered to himself, forcing his exhausted feet to inch further forwards.

He finally reached it: the Roaring Gorge. Dwarfing everything nearby were twin mountains that stretched almost up to the ceiling of the world, a halo of cloud and rain circling their summits that masked their true height. As it was so named, in between these two mountains was a gorge with a roaring stream gushing through the gap.

On the other side of the Roaring Gorge was where Henry had to be. One of the ways was through it and the other around, which could take several weeks on foot compared to a couple of hours by passing through the gorge.

Steeling himself, Henry continued trudging forwards, gripping onto the rocky mountainsides to haul himself along. On either side of the flowing stream was a narrow ledge, just wide enough for Henry to walk on.

After climbing onto the ledge, Henry hugged the wall, his back brushing against it as he cautiously stepped sideways along the narrow ridge. The spray of the billowing stream splattered his face, and he quickly wished he had faced the other direction instead.

For a split second, the world was lit up in blinding light, followed by a rancorous crash of thunder. The sudden sound startled Henry as he almost fell into the stream below, but he managed to grip a hold of the rock wall, his nails bleeding as they dug into the crumbling earth. He glanced up and saw a bolt of lightning strike the summit of one of the twin mountains, another reason why this place had been tilted 'The Roaring Gorge'.

Henry's senses were overloaded from everything around him; the blinding lightning flashes; the ear-splitting shrieks of thunder strikes; the cold and relentless rain that chilled and bruised his exhausted body; the bitter taste of the spray from the stream; but Henry persisted. He blocked everything out, the rain, the stream, the wind, the lightning, and thunder until there was just peace in his mind. So his feet continued to slide carefully along the narrow ledge, slowly travelling through the Roaring Gorge.

However, his body would not let him forget how exhausted he was. He could almost feel himself wanting just to let his body go and fall, allowing the stream to take him and decide his fate. But he quickly shook that thought of giving up away and continued to shuffle across the ledge.

It was like Henry had become a machine with the way he moved so precisely with exact timing, his body shuffling along the ledge with no thought needed whilst his mind fought against stopping and giving up.

He almost cried out in happiness and relief, though perhaps he did as no one would be able to hear him over the roaring rain, billowing stream and thunder, as there in the distance, he spotted an alcove formed naturally into the mountain's rock. Using up the rest of his strength, Henry slid across the ledge, almost toppling over from his eagerness, then collapsed onto the ground once he made it under the safety of the alcove, away from the rain and the wind. 

Resting on the floor, Henry slowed his breathing, his body now thankful after hours of trekking across the wasteland through the perpetual and heavy storm. Though he remembered that he had to stay vigilant if any monsters were nearby, Henry just wanted a moment of peace, his eyes slowly closing from exhaustion.

"Just a few minutes," Henry mumbled and promised to himself. "Just a few-" As he stretched his hand out, he felt something on the ground nearby. No longer falling asleep and jolted with fear and curiosity, Henry glanced around the alcove. Once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, Henry could make out a couple of blankets and old clothes folded neatly next to the wall. Then, as a flash of lightning illuminated the alcove for an instant, Henry saw more objects occupying the alcove.

Someone or something had made camp here previously. But how long ago?

Not wanting to find out who anytime soon, Henry stumbled up to his feet, made sure he had all of his belongings on him and was about to exit the alcove when he bumped into something and collapsed back on the ground.

There was another flash of lightning, and this time Henry saw a large figure standing at the mouth of the alcove coated in darkness. Six orange eyes cut through the darkness, two of them larger whilst the others almost pin-pricks.

The figure stepped forward, towering over Henry. It said something in a tongue Henry could not understand, its voice deep and resonating in a growl.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Henry pleaded, his body trembling from seeing the monster before him. "I'm not here to steal, I promise! I just needed a moment to rest!"

The monster reached out with one of its long arms, coated in a thick grey exoskeleton. Instead of a hand on the end of the arm, it was a sharp blade made of bone, and the monster pointed it at Henry's neck, the tip almost piercing through his skin.

"I have food!" Henry gulped. "I'll trade you food for shelter! After I've had a bit of rest, I'll be out of here; you have my word."

After a moment of deliberation, the monster retracted its bladed arm away from Henry's neck. "Your brand." It said flatly. "Show me."

Hesitating, Henry turned around and pulled the collar of his coat down so that the scarred words 'murder' and 'treason' into his nape could be seen clearly.

Something cold touched his brand for a moment, then a slight tingle of energy and magic; it was the monster's bladed arm, then it retreated, and the monster said, "you have only killed one person?"

Henry nodded, turning back around to face the monster. "Appears so, though, of course, I do not remember."

The monster studied Henry for a while with its six orange eyes before finally saying, "you may stay to rest. But if you do anything suspicious, I will not hesitate to wipe your memories."

"Understood." Henry's hands fumbled into his bag, retrieved two silver packets of food, and then offered them to the monster.

But the monster merely looked down at them, its six orange eyes seeming to darken.

After an awkward moment of silence, Henry soon remembered that the monster did not have hands and instead, on the end of its arms were the long and sharp blades made of bone.

Henry set the packets in the middle of the alcove and sat down, resting his weary body against the wall.

Its numerous orange eyes, never wavering from Henry, the monster sat down on the opposite side of the alcove.

The monster's form was more visible; its entire body was encased in a grey exoskeleton. The only part of its skin that could be seen were the gaps in its natural armour around its eyes, nostrils, and mouth, which revealed its thin teeth whenever the monster breathed. Following along the sides of its arms and legs were small and short spikes, reminiscent of the longer ones that replaced its hands.

Henry wondered how the monster could eat without hands, though perhaps that was why it wasn't eating at the moment. It was likely waiting for Henry to leave before consuming its meal.

"Why do you not use your mask?" the monster asked, motioning with its bladed hand to the mask that was attached to Henry's belt.

"Oh, um..." Henry chuckled slightly. "It doesn't do very well with water, so I have to stick with being human when travelling in this sector."

"Yes, it seems it's always raining here."

"Not always," replied Henry. "There are five days a year when it stops."

"You travel here a lot then?"

Henry shook his head. "No, it's my first time in this place."

"Then, how do you know it stops raining?"

Henry paused for a moment, considering whether to tell the truth or not. "Guess I must have just heard it from somewhere." He shrugged. "Might just be a rumour anyway."

The two of them fell back into silence. All that could be heard was the rain beating down and the rushing of the stream along the side of the alcove, with the occasional thunder crack, though not as frequent as before.

The monster's eyes were no longer so fixated on Henry but instead glanced down to the two silver food packets in the centre.

Henry hesitated, then asked, "would you like me to open them for you?"

The monster growled, "that won't be necessary! I can open them myself!" It pierced one of the silver food packets with its bladed arm then jerked it to the side, slicing the packet open. Out spilt the brown sludge contents onto the ground.

Witnessing the monster's clear regret turning to frustration, Henry shrank away, wrapping his arms around his legs.

Though the monster did appear to be frustrated at its food spilling onto the ground, it was not as angry as Henry had thought it would be. He was prepared to be struck or hurt or thrown out of the shelter, but the monster merely just stared down at the spoiled food in defeat.

"Can you not turn back into a human?" Henry asked in such a hesitant whisper he did not know if the monster had heard him. "You could use your hands to eat then."

The monster let out a long and arduous sigh through its nostrils. "I can transform back."

"So, why don't you? It's best not to use your mask for too long periods anyway, or you'll stay like that, maybe even lose your mind."

"It is worth the risk," replied the monster, gazing down at its bladed hands. "To remain powerful and strong instead of allowing yourself to be weak and vulnerable."

"You don't even allow yourself a moment to eat properly?" Henry paused. "It seems that you have been camping here for quite a while, and I know it is a long way away from the nearest food drop-off point. You must be starving."

The monster let out a disgruntled sigh, then raised its arms towards its face. Gradually, its grey exoskeleton shrunk and warped into its skin underneath, then its bladed arms shortened until they were blunt stubs. Each one separated into five segments and soon formed hands that held a grey mask with six orange eyes.

After the transformation was complete, sat before Henry was no longer a monster but a human woman.

Despite her sitting down, Henry could tell that the woman was quite tall due to how long her legs were, estimating her to be roughly six-foot. She had a square-shaped face with cool amber-coloured skin still dewy from the rain. Despite her sharp features, from her defined cheekbones and jawline and her roman nose, they gave a sense of softness and gentleness. Whenever she moved her head, her short dark spiralled curls bounced and sprang, incredibly animated with each of her movements.

But there was one aspect about the young woman which Henry could only concentrate on; it was her radioactive green eyes, an impossible colour to be born with naturally.

Now that she had hands in her human form, the woman retrieved the open silver food packet from the floor and began devouring the contents of what was left inside. Whilst she ate, her eyes never left Henry, still cautious and perhaps wary that this was all a trick to make her vulnerable to attack.

Meanwhile, Henry massaged his shoulders and leaned back against the wall, occasionally rolling his toes to keep them awake, though they were relieved to no longer be walking. Henry had wanted more than anything to just drift off to sleep, but he too could not trust the other occupant of the alcove despite her now being in her weaker human form.

Now that he got a better look at her, Henry noticed that the woman was wearing clothes that were all green, though he could not judge her for what garments she sported, as he was still wearing, underneath his coat, the suit and tie that he had on him when he first arrived in this world.

"I, um..." Henry cleared his throat. "I just realised that we have not formally introduced ourselves. My name is Henry Best."

The woman glanced up away from her food and swallowed. She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Fern."

"Fern?"

"Yes, Fern." The woman nodded, almost pouting in embarrassment. "I don't remember my actual name, but I... I liked the name."

"Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Fern." Henry leaned forwards and offered his hand.

Fern stared at his hand for a moment, then glanced down at her own hand. Then, after much hesitation, she took Henry's hand, and they both shook, and Fern quickly let go. She sucked in a quick breath through her nose then changed the subject. "You said that you could not wear your mask whilst it's raining."

"That's right," replied Henry.

"Then why would you risk coming here? Why would you risk being in your human form and being weak? What is on the other side of here that is worth all that?"

"Family," Henry answered, a soft smile breaking through on his lips. "Or at least I theorised she is through there."

"Family?"

Nodding, Henry retrieved a notebook from his bag and skipped to a page where it had been written. "I wrote as much of my memories as I could before the curse took away all of it. Though I lost quite a few pages, what I've got left says that I have a second cousin who has also been imprisoned here in the Eternal Abyss."

"And you think she's on the other side of the Roaring Gorge?"

Henry shrugged. "It is mostly theory. But it is standard procedure to separate relatives and place them into different sectors. This was further proven by my first language, accent, skin colour, name, etcetera. Obviously, I was not a native of the country that ran the sector I arrived in. I mean, it could just be that I actually live in that country or perhaps was on holiday, but all the other factors just lean more towards that my second-cousin is on the furthest place away in the Eternal Abyss, and to get there, the quickest way is to pass through the Roaring Gorge."

Fern stared back, her radioactive green eyes wide, showing awkwardness, not knowing how to respond whilst being weirded out and impressed by how quick Henry could talk, though she could not catch a single word of it.

"I see," Fern finally responded.

"I know it's a long shot," Henry sighed. "But I don't suppose you might have come across her? Her name is Corinna Warren?"

"Sorry." Fern shook her head. "Haven't met anyone called Karina."

"Oh well, no harm asking, is there?"

"Karina is a very common name, though. I bet there is quite a lot of Karina's down here."

"Yep, met quite a few myself and all of its variants: Corinna, Karina." Henry let out a long sigh. "I just hope I know who she is when I find her, that I don't just walk past her and miss her."

"Do you think you were close to your cousin?" asked Fern.

"We seemed to be from what I wrote down." Henry flipped through the pages of his notebook. "Seems like we were more like siblings than second cousins. But even if that were not the case, I would want to find her." He looked back at Fern. "I think just having some sort of goal down here keeps you sane, instead of just counting down the days until the end of your sentence."

"I agree." Fern's voice was strangely flat, heavy with seriousness. "You need a goal to focus on."

"What's your goal?"

Fern glanced up, her radioactive green eyes holding darkness behind them. "I'm going to escape from this place."

Henry was silent for a long moment, allowing his mind to take it all in fully, and realised how serious Fern truly was. "You don't really think you can escape from the Eternal Abyss, do you?"

"Yes," Fern snarled, sensing the almost mocking tone of Henry's. "I do."

"You can't escape from here; it is impossible!"

"No, it isn't!" Fern snapped back, shooting up to her feet. "I've heard plenty of people have escaped the Eternal Abyss! It's not impossible; it's improbable!"

Henry almost wanted to laugh at how naive she was, but it was just too painful at how much she believed in it. "Do you know why those people escaped?" He stumbled up to his weary feet, then continued, "because they were allowed to! Because it was entertainment! And then their memories are wiped, and they are dropped down here again! You want that to happen to you?"

"It won't happen to me! I will actually escape-"

"Did you not just listen to what I just said? Do you know what defences they have on the other side of the portals? They're always surveilling them, and you think you can just manage to slip by them?"

Fern looked away, her face now shadowed in darkness. "I will escape. I've gotten so close. There's a portal above one of the mountains here, and I have worked out its opening schedule." Fern returned to face Henry. "And I will escape through it."

Henry sighed and shook his head. "I see that there's no means of dissuading you?"

"None."

"They will wipe your memories, you know?"

"If I get caught, yes." Fern held her head high. "But I hardly have any memories worth keeping. What is worth it is being free of this place, no matter how many times it takes me to fail to succeed finally."

"Fine, so long as you know the reality of it all." Henry slung his bag over his shoulder and straightened his coat. "It was... nice meeting you, Miss Fern; I wish that your efforts one day to be worthwhile, no matter how unlikely they are. I am now well-rested; I should continue with my journey."

Fern nodded. "I- I hope that you find your cousin," she said quietly, the anger and malice from before no longer present; instead, she was sincere and gentle.

"Thank you." Henry made a respectful nod of the head, then exited the alcove and onto the narrow ledge that travelled along the side of the rushing stream. 

As Henry carefully navigated his feet along the narrow ledge, his face winced with regret. He did not know where that anger from before had come from. So many prisoners had expressed their desire and plan to escape with him, yet Henry had never reacted in such a hostile manner. But with Fern, a powerful level of frustration and perhaps even hatred bubbled up inside Henry. He almost wanted to lash out at her for daring to escape, hating her for it, but he knew not why; they had only just met.

Regardless of where these feelings had sprung from, Henry knew that he had no right to treat her like that. It wasn't like Fern's idea of escaping was unfounded. Anyone who had been imprisoned in the Eternal Abyss long enough would have deluded dreams of escaping the inescapable prison dimension, especially as one could very quickly lose their sanity and reason down here.

No, even then, a sane person would try to escape out of sheer desperation.

Henry glanced at the alcove, tempted to go back and apologise to Fern for his unjust outburst.

That was when the world seemed to be engulfed in light, but it wasn't a lightning strike this time. An open portal was up above, shining even through the halo of clouds circling the mountains.

Splitting through the darkness and the light, Henry spotted the silhouette of a figure climbing up the mountain; it was Fern in her monster form, using her bladed arms to pierce into the rock and ascend, fighting through the rain and the wind.

"Fern!" Henry screamed. "Fern!" But his voice was drowned out by the roaring stream and rain and wind. He considered chasing after her; however, he knew that he would never be able to catch up to her in time nor be able to climb as skillfully as her.

So, all Henry could do was watch the figure disappear into the clouds and the light. Soon, the portal closed, and the light vanished with it. Whether or not Fern had managed to escape through was uncertain. Henry wondered if perhaps he had just talked to her more gently about the harsh reality of escaping, that she would choose to remain in the Eternal Abyss and wait for her prison sentence to end instead. But it was likely too late. Fern seemed like she would never be persuaded to remain.

Henry forced himself to return to moving along the narrow ledge, his focus on his own goal rather than a stranger that he had just met. Instead, his mind focused on someone else: his second cousin Corinna Warren. Though he knew that neither of them remembered each other due to the curse, he hoped that their familial bond would transcend even memories.

"I will find you," Henry promised to himself, fighting through the storm that battered his weary body. "Wherever you are, I will find you."