Chương 3: Chapter 2: Invisible Wall

ROOOOAR! The sound tore through the clearing. Closer this time. Much closer. Every muscle in my body locked. The tree line ahead shuddered. Branches bent. Leaves exploded outward. Something large burst from between the trunks. For one impossible second my brain refused to understand what I was looking at. Four legs. Dark fur. Far too large. Its shoulders stood nearly as high as my chest, its massive head hanging low as it emerged into the clearing. Two pale yellow eyes locked onto me.

"..." My feet wouldn't move. The creature inhaled sharply. Then charged.

"Shit!" Instinct finally overruled paralysis. I spun toward the porch. The distance suddenly felt enormous. One step. Two. The pounding behind me grew louder. Heavy. Fast. The porch was only a few meters away. I threw myself toward it— THOOOM! The impact cracked through the clearing like a felled tree. I stumbled, nearly losing my footing before I turned. The creature had stopped. No... It hadn't stopped. It had been stopped. Its head was pressed against... Nothing.

Its forelegs scraped at empty air, claws digging furrows through the grass as it tried to push forward. Another shove. Another dull, heavy impact. It jerked backward, shook its head, then stared at the space in front of it.

"...?" The sound escaped both of us at almost the same time. The beast lowered its muzzle. Sniffed and took one cautious step. Its nose bumped into empty space. It recoiled again. This time the impact was barely audible. Slowly, almost uncertainly, it lifted one enormous paw. The paw stretched forward... Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Then halted against something invisible. The claws flexed. Pressed.

Slid sideways through the air as though searching for an opening that wasn't there. It wasn't pretending. It genuinely had no idea what it had just hit. Neither did I. The creature backed away several steps without taking its eyes off the invisible obstacle. It circled to the left. Stopped. Tried again. Another solid impact. It snorted and shook its head. Then, after one last lingering look toward me, disappeared back into the forest. The trees swallowed it whole. And silence finally returned.

I stood there for what felt like an eternity. Waiting, Listening... Nothing. Only the wind moved. Eventually my heartbeat slowed enough for my brain to start working again.

"... Okay. That... What was that exactly?" I had no idea of what had just happened. I looked toward the place where the creature had struck. There was nothing there. No shimmer, no distortion. Just empty air. Slowly, I walked forward. My instinct insisted this was a terrible idea. But curiosity was simply louder. I stopped roughly where the creature had collided. Nothing. I crouched. The grass was flattened where it had skidded to a halt. Deep claw marks carved through the earth.

Proof enough that I hadn't imagined any of it. I reached out cautiously. My hand passed through empty air.

"..." Another few centimeters. Still nothing. I frowned. Had I remembered the location wrong? I looked closely at the claw marks again and took a single step forward. Raised my hand again. This time... Resistance. Not hard. Not soft. It yielded beneath my fingertips with a strange consistency, gently pushing back without quite feeling solid. I froze. Very carefully, I pressed farther. My fingers slipped several centimeters into whatever it was. The sensation was unlike anything I'd ever touched. Not liquid.

Not glass. Not rubber. The closest comparison my mind could find was sliding my hand through thick, warm oil that somehow held its shape, that's right! Almost like jelly. I pulled my hand back after a while. It emerged perfectly dry. No residue. No smell. No visible surface. I stared at my fingers. Then reached out again. The same resistance greeted me. I moved my hand sideways. The invisible membrane remained. Up. Still there. Down. Still there. I took a cautious step to the left. The resistance was again...

still there. Another step right. Same result.

"... A wall?" No. Walls weren't warm. And they certainly didn't feel like this, or let you slip through. I stood there for several more minutes, making no real progress beyond confirming one simple fact. Something surrounded the house. Something the creature couldn't cross. Something I could. For the first time since waking up, I felt something that wasn't fear. Relief. Not complete. Not even close. But enough. If whatever that thing had been couldn't reach the house...

Then maybe the house really was safe for the time being. I glanced once more toward the forest. Nothing was there. At least, nothing I could see. I climbed the porch steps and went back inside, locking the door behind me out of habit more than necessity. I entered the kitchen, the familiar hum of the refrigerator greeted me. The microwave blinked quietly above the counter. 3: 20. I frowned. Had that much time already passed? The thermostat mounted on the hallway wall displayed the same. 3: 20.

I pulled my phone from my pocket. The screen lit instantly. 2: 58 a. m. My brow furrowed. I locked it. Unlocked it again. Still 2: 58 a. m. The battery percentage was now 67%. The signal bars were still there. Wi-Fi still claimed to be connected. But the time... The time hadn't moved. I looked back toward the microwave. 3: 20. Then back at the phone. 2: 58 a. m.

"..." I then quietly put the phone back into my pocket. Neither seemed particularly interested in explaining themselves after all.