Chapter 12

The van rocked slightly as the wind picked up. It wasn’t just any wind—it felt alive, clawing at the sides of the vehicle as we drove deeper into South Dakota. The flat plains stretched endlessly on either side of the highway, but the horizon wasn’t clear. Dark clouds churned above us, thick and heavy, swirling like the beginnings of a storm.

I pulled my jacket tighter around me and glanced out the window. The barren fields outside looked frozen, the grass stiff and pale like it had been drained of life. The wind was relentless, howling as if warning us to turn back.

Thomas was at the wheel, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. Adam sat in the passenger seat, messing with the radio that only spat static. Ivy was dozing next to me, her head leaning against the fogged-up window, while the rest of the group sat in the back in tense silence.

“How far to the next town?” I asked, breaking the quiet.

Thomas glanced at the GPS, though it had been glitching all morning. “Maybe twenty miles, if we’re lucky. But with this wind, it’s gonna feel like fifty.”

I sighed, leaning my head back against the seat. “Feels like we’re driving straight into the apocalypse.”

“South Dakota’s always like this,” Adam said, though he didn’t sound convinced. His eyes darted nervously to the sky.

“No, it’s not,” Charlie muttered from the back. She was staring out the rear window, her brows furrowed. “This isn’t normal.”

“Nothing’s been normal since we left Kansas,” I replied.

The wind suddenly picked up, slamming into the side of the van hard enough to make it veer slightly. Thomas cursed under his breath, fighting to keep us steady on the road.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous,” Adam muttered, leaning forward to peer through the windshield. “Can you even see the road?”

“Barely,” Thomas admitted. His voice was tight, laced with frustration.

Ivy stirred next to me, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. “What’s going on?”

“Just bad weather,” Adam said quickly, though the way he glanced at the sky betrayed him.

Ivy squinted out the window, her face scrunching up in confusion. “This isn’t just bad weather.”

Another gust of wind hit us, and I swore I heard something in it—a low, guttural whisper that sent a chill down my spine.

“You heard that, didn’t you?” I asked Nova, who sat near the back, her gaze fixed on the window.

She nodded slowly. “It’s not just the wind. Something’s out there.”

The van fell silent, the only sound the relentless howling of the wind and the occasional rattle of the vehicle against the storm.

“Guys,” Thomas said suddenly, his voice tight. “Look ahead.”

We all leaned forward, peering through the windshield. Ahead of us, faintly glowing through the swirling fog and darkness, was a cluster of lights.

“A town?” Adam asked, hopeful.

“No,” Nova said, her voice unnervingly calm. “That’s not a town.”

The glow wasn’t warm like the lights of civilization. It was cold and blue, flickering like ghostly fire, stretching across the horizon in jagged lines.

“What the hell is that?” Ivy whispered.

“Boreas,” Nova replied. Her voice carried a weight that made my chest tighten.

The name hung in the air, heavy and foreboding, as we continued down the endless road into the heart of the storm.

That turned out to be a very bad idea. The wind eventually picked us up.

“WHO ARE YOU.” A man in the clouds demanded, voice sounding like a thousand winds.

The air around us just got colder and colder, “Father. You remember me.”

“ADAM. MY FAILURE. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME.”

“Information.” Adam shouted back. “What has happened to Thanatos.”

“HE WAS KILLED. AS WILL I.”

My stomach dropped, Nova’s eyes began to glow. “HOW IS MY FATHER DEAD.” She shouted, voice matching the power of Boreas's.

“KILLED. KRANON REIGNS NOW. I WILL GIVE YOU A MERCY.”

Our SUV shot Northward, ice freezing over the windows. My guts dropped to my feet as we traveled north.

The van came to a sudden halt, its tires skidding on loose dirt. The engine groaned before falling silent, leaving us in eerie quiet. I shoved the door open and stepped out into a landscape that was as alien as it was unsettling.

Bright green grass stretched endlessly in all directions, bending slightly in a warm breeze. Trees with deep red bark and bright green leaves dotted the horizon, their trunks twisting unnaturally as if shaped by hands instead of nature. The sky overhead wasn’t the familiar blue I knew—it shimmered with hues of orange and purple, like an eternal sunset frozen in place.

“What the hell…?” Ivy stepped out behind me, her voice barely above a whisper. She shielded her eyes from the sun—or at least what looked like the sun. It hung low on the horizon, but its light was softer, less harsh, bathing everything in a surreal glow.

“Where are we?” Thomas asked, standing next to the van and staring at the strange scenery.

No one answered. Adam kicked the dirt, crouching down to pick up a handful. “This isn’t normal,” he muttered, letting the fine grains slip through his fingers. “The soil… it’s too light, too soft. This doesn’t feel like Earth.”

Nova stood apart from us, her gaze fixed on the horizon. “It’s not,” she said quietly. Her glowing eyes reflected the unnatural light as she turned to face us. “We’re somewhere else entirely.”

I felt a chill run down my spine, despite the warmth of the breeze. “Somewhere else? What do you mean?”

“Look around,” she replied, gesturing to the strange trees and grass. “Does this look like anything you’ve seen before? Boreas didn’t just throw us into another state. He threw us into another place.”

“Like… another continent?” Charlie asked hesitantly, stepping closer.

Nova nodded slowly. “Perhaps the land beyond the arctic?”

“How is that possible?” Thomas asked, his voice rising slightly. “It’s supposed to be unreachable. Hidden.”

“Not anymore,” Nova said. She turned her gaze back to the horizon, her expression unreadable. “And something tells me we’re not welcome.”

As if to punctuate her words, the wind shifted, carrying with it the faint sound of whispers. They weren’t words exactly—more like emotions pressed into sound: anger, suspicion, and… hunger.

I shivered, despite the warmth. “What do we do now?”

Adam straightened, dusting off his hands. “We figure out how to survive.”

“And how to get back,” Ivy added, though her voice trembled slightly.

“Back?” Nova said, her tone dark. “We’re not going back. Not yet.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.

She turned to face us fully, her eyes glowing brighter now. “We’re here for a reason. Boreas didn’t just send us away—he sent us somewhere. And I think this place holds answers.”

“To what?”

“To everything,” Nova said, her voice carrying a weight that silenced the group. She looked toward the horizon again, where the shimmering trees swayed unnaturally. “We need to move. Staying here makes us vulnerable.” Her eyes still glowing.

Reluctantly, we gathered our things and started walking, leaving the wrecked van behind as we ventured into the unknown.