~Chapter 2- Stone walls~

The six youths walked through the empty gulch. It was a wide-open straight path with rock walls on each side of them and nothing of significance to keep their interest. High overhead, the red sparrow Rojo soared over, keeping a watchful eye over Corri and the rest.

Jirro was rather bored. They'd been walking for a while, and nothing of significance had happened yet. He figured that perhaps some vicious animal was waiting for them, or perhaps a group of bandits laid in wait. That would've been entertaining. But there was nothing.

Jirro glanced over at the boulder child Ruben. It looked as if the stones that comprised its body were shaking. "Are you okay, Ruben?"

"I-I don't know..." Ruben replied, "Something feels off about this place."

Temp shouted from the front of the group, "Don't let that story spook you. That innkeeper was just trying to scare us. We'll be fine."

Temp's hyena Kelvin walked closely at his side as they went through the gulch. It was like the canine was magnetically drawn to his owner.

"How long have you had Kelvin?" Corri asked.

Temp looked down at the red-haired girl, "I've had him since he was a pup. Found him in the Saran Plains. We'll actually be passing by there on the way to Platt Mountain."

Aero smiled, "I used to have a dog when I was little too."

"What happened to him?"

Aero parted his lips to answer, but suddenly a shriek sounded from behind them. It was Nout, who had run behind Jirro for cover.

"What is it?" Jirro asked.

"I saw something moving in the wall!" Nout clammily said, his trunk wrapped around him like a scarf.

Ruben rigidly said, "I saw it too. It looked like... hands reaching out of the wall!"

Jirro and the others observed the wall; it looked completely ordinary.

Temp calmly said, "It's okay, guys. I'm sure you're just seeing things. Let's keep moving."

Temp, Aero, and Corri continued. Nout convinced himself that he was simply seeing things and walked with Jirro. Ruben hesitantly walked with them but insisted that, "I know what I saw."

"It can't be," Jirro said.

"Just watch the walls," Ruben said, "You'll see it too."

Jirro figured he'd play along to calm the two of them, so he watched the walls as he walked.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just an ordinary rock wall.

But then...

He saw something shifting within the walls. They almost looked like rocky fingers tracing through the walls before disappearing back into them. Jirro stared for a while just to make sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing.

"Do you see it?" Ruben asked coarsely.

Jirro couldn't deny it now, "Everyone! Look at the walls! I see it now too!"

"Not you too, Jirro!" Temp shouted at them.

"Just look!" Jirro urged.

Temp, Aero, and Corri began observing the walls with the same disbelief that he had. One at a time, each of them had a shiver run through their body as they identified the rocky hands appearing and disappearing within the walls. Even Kelvin began to growl as they manifested.

"See them now?" Ruben asked again.

"...Yeah..." Corri remarked stiffly.

"That's... interesting..." Temp said, trying his best to be calm.

"Should we turn back?" Nout asked, nervousness in his voice.

"Nah," Aero replied casually, "Whatever it is, it's not hurting us. I say we keep moving."

"That's a good point," Jirro agreed, "Let's just move fast and get out of here."

The group picked up the pace as they went through the gulch. Most of the kids moved forward steadfastly, but Nout and Ruben remained tense. The hands continued to manifest in the wall, much more frequently.

Jirro could see the worry in Nout and said, "Don't worry, we'll be okay."

Nout looked at him earnestly, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Stay so brave? You don't seem scared at all."

Jirro gave an airy laugh, "Ha, I wouldn't say that. Those things in the walls are definitely freaking me out. I'm sure we'll be fine though."

"How are you staying so calm?"

"I dunno, just thinking of getting home," Jirro replied. Maybe Nout just needed to have his mind occupied. Jirro asked him, "What're you going to do once you get home?"

Nout pondered this for a moment, "I want to show my parents how much stronger I've become. They should know I can stand up for myself now."

"Your parents are going to be impressed when they see you," Jirro praised.

"What about you? Will your mom and dad want to see how much more powerful you've become?"

Jirro winced as he heard the word 'mom'. He calmly said, "Yeah, I'm sure they will."

Nout slowed his steps for a moment before picking the pace back up, "Oh yeah! I've met your dad, but never met your mom. What's she like?"

Jirro winced again. He would've preferred not to talk about that. "She's... dead. When I was pretty young actually."

Nout's demeanor suddenly became dour. "Oh... I'm so sorry!"

Jirro shrugged, "It's alright. She had Focus sickness like you did. But it was too much for her."

Nout nodded in understanding, "... What was she was like?"

Jirro thought for a moment, recalling a brief vignette of a curly-haired blonde woman looking after him when he was a small child. But... he couldn't recall anything beyond that.

Jirro sighed, "I... don't know if I remember. I mean, I remember what she looked like but not what kind of person she was."

"I see.... that's tough."

"Yeah." Jirro nodded.

Nout scrunched up his brow and asked, "What was her name?"

"Michta."

Suddenly, the earth around them shook. Focused tremors ran through the ground ahead and behind the group. Jirro looked back and saw several figures manifest from the earth.

They took on humanoid shapes from the stone and dirt of the area. Jirro might've assumed they were Densius like Ruben. But they were missing mouths and eyes, and their proportions were uneven. Even more of the misshapen rocky figures formed ahead of them and charged.

The group readied themselves quickly. Aero and Corri came forward and struck with powerful blows. The one Aero struck crumbled into dust, which surprised even him. Temp was more cautious, kicking them back as soon as they drew near. With the smallest touch, the stone figure disintegrated into nothing.

Jirro and Nout waited for them to draw close for landing quick and decisive blows, and these stone figures became nothing as well.

But Ruben didn't attack; it simply put up its arms to defend itself. As soon as the stone figure ran into it, it crumbled into stones. The stone beings had been reduced to rubble.

Temp looked around at the piles of stones that lay around them, "That was strange!"

"Did we... kill them?" Jirro asked with remorse in his voice.

Ruben had dropped to its knees and began running its rocky fingers through the stones that made up one of the stone figures. Ruben sat up with a disturbed look on its face, "This doesn't make any sense."

"What's wrong?" A concerned Corri asked.

"These Densius don't have Heartstones."

"Heartstone?" Temp asked. He must've been unfamiliar with Densius.

"It's a source of a Densius's life. At the core of every one of us lies one. But these Densius have nothing. They should've just been lifeless rocks. This shouldn't be possible."

There was quiet among the group. Nout began to shiver.

"We have to go. Whatever is happening in this gulch is unnatural," Ruben said steadfastly.

"I think so too!" Nout added, insistent on leaving this gulch as soon as possible.

Jirro and the others thought for a moment about their situation.

Temp said, "We've already walked a good distance through the gulch. I say we keep going."

"I was thinking the same thing," Jirro seconded, "Going back all the way we came might not be much better. Nothing that's happened to us has put us in any danger."

Aero and Corri nodded in agreement, ready to keep moving.

Ruben grimaced, "I'm serious, we shouldn't stay here."

"We won't," Jirro replied, "If we pick up the pace, we won't be here for much longer. Right, Temp?"

"That's right."

Ruben and Nout didn't like it but went along with the others. The group began to jog, with odd images manifesting within the walls of the gulch.