“Keep it there, keep it there!”

Cain grunted in response to the command, tightening his grip around the neck of the boar he was currently tangling with. The boar snorted, trying to move in the direction it had come from, obviously trying to run away. A flash of light, and the head severed from the body, leaving Cain to fall backwards due to the lack of resistance.

“Finally,” he muttered, stretching his arms in relief. If he hadn’t had decent control over the energy and was able to utilize it to keep himself planted, there was a very high chance he would have either been gored by the tusks, or tossed into a tree and possibly knocked unconscious.

A heavy hand thumped him on the shoulder, causing him to wince in pain slightly. Looking up, he saw the instructor of the group, someone who had decided at a young age to call himself ‘Boulder’, looking down and smiling at him.

“Good job there kiddo,” he said, removing his hand. “You can take a break for a minute. You as well Maya. If he hadn’t had your aura’s support, he probably would have been done in by a pig”

With that, Boulder headed towards the rest of the group, instructing them on how to properly break down the beast. Not only would they now have food, but every aspect of the corpse could be broken down into ingredients to sell to various companies. The blood and organs would go to the Alchemist association, the pelt would go to making armor, and the bones could be used to make weapons, as well as armor and potions. It was very rare for there to be a beast that someone could not turn into something.

Maya sat down next to Cain, making sure to stay far enough away so as not to seem like they were sitting together, but close enough to converse if she so wished. He chuckled internally, amused by the shyness of the girl still. Even after three days in the Gate, she hadn’t opened up or talked much, hiding behind Boulder if possible, to forestall any attempts at conversation with the rest of the group.

“Are... are you hurt?”

The soft whisper barely reached Cain’s ears, but the feeling of someone’s energy reaching out towards him caught his attention immediately. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Maya looking at him with a concerned face.

“No, I’m fine,” Cain replied, making sure not to look directly at her. Every time he tried to get a good look at her face, she would always blush and turn away. “I’m just resting right now. My defense is quite good, but I never expected that I would have to hold on to something like that for so long.”

Sensing agreement from her, Cain closed his eyes and laid down on the grass. The air was nice and crisp here, similar to when winter gave way to spring. It was a refreshing feeling from being stuck in a city, but the lack of modern amenities would eventually start giving people trouble. They, as a society, had become too dependent on electronics to make living in a Gate without anything too much of a hassle.

“So, what exactly is your aura? If you don’t mind me asking,” Cain said. The small thump on the ground next to him signified that he had indeed surprised Maya. He didn’t dare look at her though, for fear that he would scare her into complete silence. The yelling from nearby meant that they still had some time, judging from Boulder anyways.

“It is... hard to explain. Ever since I received my rating, I’ve been able to sense people. So, one day I tried to touch someone with it and... things happened,” Maya responded, causing Cain to strain his hearing to the utmost in order to catch anything.

“Whatever my intention is, it does. Good... or bad.”

‘Aha, there is the crux of the problem. She hurt someone. ‘

“So, if you intend to heal, it heals. If you intend to slow someone down, they slow down. That is... quite impressive actually. It doesn’t sound like you think so, but it really is. It can’t be good for your energy though,” Cain said, turning and looking at Maya directly. As expected, she turned her head immediately, but did not try to run away.

‘Yes! Progress!’

“No, it really isn’t. I have been trying to raise my energy levels, but it still takes too much, no matter how I train it...”

Nodding, Cain looked away and immediately felt eyes gazing upon him again. He sighed internally and closed his eyes. One step at a time.

---

“Food is ready!” Boulder shouted, startling Cain up off the ground. Looking around, he was completely disoriented, the trees fading into flickering darkness. Off to his left, a fire had been started, and the smell of freshly roast meat began making his mouth water. He hadn’t thought he was tired enough to have fallen asleep for so long, and moved to get up.

As soon as he did so, placing his hand on the ground, he felt something different than grass. A little cold, but definitely not flora, Cain looked off to his right and saw Maya next to him, her hand extended towards him as she lay sleeping as well. Turning his gaze down, he saw that his hand was resting on top of hers, and pulled it away quickly.

‘Um... ok, how to wake her up without getting killed... How to wake her up without getting killed...’

“Maya,” he said, not loud enough to alert the rest of the group but hopefully enough to where she could hear it. He did not think that some of the other beginners would take kindly to their positions if they had actually been paying attention.

“Maya, wake up. Food is ready.

Groaning softly, Maya’s eyes fluttered open and, upon comprehending their close proximity, she scampered away softly, her face turning extremely red even in the light of the fire.

“I’m gonna go grab something to eat, do you want me to bring it back here for you?” Cain asked, fully standing up and stretching. His neck felt slightly kinked, and he had a sinking feeling that there had been a rock on the ground where he was sleeping. Maya nodded, and Cain headed off to the group, grabbing two plates quietly while everyone else, Boulder included, laughed loudly at some joke. A few bottles lay strewn across the ground at their feet, causing Cain to shake his head.

‘Even if this is technically a safe area, if something happened... they would be in for a world of trouble,’ Cain thought, bringing the food back to Maya and sitting down. It didn’t take him long to finish his plate, obviously hungrier than he had thought, and as soon as he did, fatigue hit him again. Setting the plate off to the side, he nodded at Maya quickly before turning away from her and closing his eyes.

-----

Outside the Gate, Ariana stood looking at the multiple computer screens flashing in front of her, a concerned look coming over her face.

“And these are the current readings, correct?” she asked, turning to the tech sitting in the chair next to her.

“Correct. Judging from these readings, there is something about this gate that is different than the others. However, we don’t know what exactly...” the tech was cut off by a siren going off, one that had been designed to go off only in certain occasions.

Ariana felt a cold sweat come across her skin as she stared at the screens while they updated. The siren still blared overhead, but it was hardly heard as she read the newest information.

“Why is this happening? There has never been a case like this before in the past decade,” she said softly, muttering to herself.

“Why did a Red Gate suddenly turn into a Yellow Gate?”