THUMP

Dante hit the ground. A brief moment of silence ensued before he stood up. Haile and Hudson were there too. He looked around, he stood in the middle of an open field, a cool wind blew through.

“What happened, where are we?!” Came Hudson’s voice, he stood as tall as he could, still not quite as tall as Dante though. He was strong and handsome, it was easy to understand why he and Haile were dating.

“I don’t know, it’s rather relaxing here though.” Haile responded. She was the shortest of the group, her hair, normally brown but was dyed blue and purple, flowed with the wind, Dante paused for a moment, she looked beautiful. Dante fell in love with her shortly after they met, but she never shared his feelings.

“It is, I’ve always imagined I’d propose to my girlfriend in a place like this, if I had one that is.” Dante remarked, he stood a full head and a half taller than Haile. He felt the wind flow through his curly hair, it was a dark brown naturally, but was partially bleached blonde when he tried to dye it.

“Welcome to the world of Threads.” came a voice from behind them, they turned to see a figure in a dark green robe standing before them, his voice was relaxing to hear, almost enough to put you to sleep. He kept his hood up, so his face could not be seen.

“The world of what now?” Hudson questioned

“The world of Threads, I am The Thread-weaver, I crafted this world with my own two hands, and have brought you here to change your fates.”

“What fate were we destined to have, that must be changed?” Dante inquired, he wasn’t going to complain about spending time with Haile, but he wanted to be home.

“You three were destined to die separate from each other, by bringing you here, you shall all be together until death takes you away.” He hadn’t moved his body, he stood as still as a statue.

“Will we stay in this world then?” Haile asked, trying to hide the fear in that statement, she couldn’t bear to think about her friends and family back home.

“No, you all shall complete my challenge, and then you shall return to your home, where you shall stay.”

“Very well then, what challenge do you have for us?” Hudson stepped forward, ready for anything.

“In this world, your greatest strength is each other, and I mean that literally. In a fight, you will become noticeably stronger, faster, tougher when you fight beside your friends, the stronger the bond, the greater the effects. In order to return home, you must find ‘The gate’ which shall bring you to your home.” He spread his arms out as a large array of weapons appeared, floating, before him. “I will not send you unarmed though, choose your weapon.”

Dante’s mouth dropped at the vast selection of swords and knives before him, he walked forward and ran his hand along a few of them.

“Darn it, no rifles?” Haile asked, a little annoyed.

“They have not been invented in this world yet, perhaps one of your great grandchildren shall come here, and try their hand with rifles.” He folded his arms together, waiting for everyone to select a weapon.

Hudson walked up and drew a greatsword from the wall and swung it around briefly. “I think this will do.” he held it in his hand, he was barely strong enough to hold it up with just his right hand.

Haile gazed at each of her choices, thinking carefully. “What are you thinking, Dante?” she asked, turning to look in his direction.

“I was going to go broadsword, but I may end up going katana.” He responded, not taking his eyes off the swords.

“Well in that case I should take something with range.” She walked forward and took a longbow and arrows from the floating group.

“I guess that decides it.” Dante said, placing his hand on the katana before him.

Once he did so, every other weapon disappeared. “Good choices, they will suit you well. You will find you know how to use them properly when you enter combat. Now, some other things I should mention: how to fight as well as types of Threads. When fighting, your goal is not to slay your enemies- death is impossible in this world, save old age- but you will strike them and hurt them as much as you can, and after some time, a Thread shall appear between them, fights are never one versus one, cut the Thread, and you win! The stronger the relationship, the harder to cut the Thread will be. Once a Thread is cut, all memories of the owners of the Thread disappear. Also, there are two types of Threads, white and red, white Threads are for friendships, it may begin as a dingy grey, but will turn to a brilliant white with best friends. As for red, those are for romantic relationships, they usually start as a white Thread turning slightly pink, before morphing into a red. Occasionally you may see a white Thread with a red Thread wrapped around it, this indicates romantic interest, and red Threads often form from there. Remember, the brighter, or more vibrant a Thread is, the stronger the relationship. Understand?”

Everyone nodded their heads.

“Very good! There is a small town west of here, you may find a clue to where the gate is there. Best of luck!” His body disappeared, and the cloak was carried away by the wind.

“I guess we should head there then.” Hudson said, beginning to walk towards the setting sun.

Haile and Dante followed behind him, the cool wind put their minds at rest, they would be home soon enough.

After a few hours, night had begun falling, Hudson went out to collect wood for a fire, finding a small brook not far from where they were traveling. Once he returned to the group, they quickly discovered they had no lighter, Dante fashioned a rudimentary fire starter using his shoe lace and a few sticks. In a few minutes, a fire had begun. Haile walked out from the fire, looking for nearby game to hunt, and in about an hour, she returned with a turkey which was cooked for dinner.

Hudson suggested huddling close overnight, as it could get cold, which Dante and Haile agreed with. Haile was put between Hudson and Dante to make sure she stayed warmest, both felt the need to keep her safe, despite her objections.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?” Haile asked, looking up at the stars.

“For all we know we could be here for years.” Dante said, admiring the night sky, he rarely was out this far in nature, let alone at night.

“I hope not, Lisa will kill me.” Hudson said, his mother had died when he was young, so he lived with his oldest sister. Hudson lay with his arm around Haile, which Dante tried to ignore.

“Lets try and get some sleep, we’ve got a long way ahead of us.” Haile leaned closer into Hudson, it was already getting chilly.

Dante moved a little closer to Haile, trying not to get too cold. He thought back to the times they all had spent. Hudson was his coworker a few years ago, they quickly became good friends. A month or so after they met, Hudson introduced Halie and Dante, it became apparent very quickly that Haile and Dante were very similar, they had always found conversation easy. Hudson and Haile lived rather close together, but Dante lived far away from them, so he didn’t get to see them that often. When he got home the night after he met Haile, he realized he’d fallen in love, it wouldn’t be for another year until he told her though. Despite the distance, Dante and Haile talked often, texting each other almost daily. Over time their relationship flourished, and they became very good friends.

A few months before, close to six months after Dante confessed to Haile, she and Hudson started dating. Dante was heartbroken, and his relationship with them suffered. Over time, he got used to it, and he became good friends with them again. Dante loved Haile through it all, maybe more so, and Hudson was like his brother despite it.

They awoke the next day, and ate some leftover turkey for breakfast, they drank some water from the brooke, and washed off their faces, before getting on their way.

When it became noon, they came upon a road that followed the direction they were traveling. They followed it for a few more hours before a town came into view.

“I guess this is where we’ll find clues, any idea where to start?” Hudson inquired, scanning the town from a distance.

“Bars are always where you go to look for information, ask the barkeep about something, loud enough for everyone to hear, and hope someone knows something.” Dante said in a slightly annoyed tone, he normally was a rather jovial person, but being here seemed to have him on edge.

“You play too many games, bud, I don’t know if that's how that works” Haile responded. She stood in the middle of them, Dante had requested her to not hold hands with Hudson, but Hudson often tried to slip it by Dante, which never worked.

“Got any better ideas?” Dante waited before continuing, “To the bar it is then.”

Once they got into town, they began searching for a bar, where they quickly found one. Dante walked up to the bar, behind it stood two men, of similar height, each wearing a beer stained apron.

Dante was the first to speak, “We’re looking for a way to make some change, a place to stay, and any information you may have on ‘the gate’”

The taller of the two got to them first, “Cash is easy to get around, there is a job board not far from here, turn right out of here, ‘bout a hundred feet down the road. I can give you a few rooms if you like, I’ll even be willin’ to give you a discount if one of you could do some work for me here.”

“What kind of work?” Haile asked, intentionally avoiding sitting next to Dante.

“Waiting mostly, there aren’t many, I could always use a hand, women especially. As for the gate, most people have heard of it but few know much about it. I’ve heard my fair share of stories of people who think they found it, most stories are fake though.”

“How do you know that?” Hudson interjected.

“Know what?”

“The stories, how do you know they’re fake?”

“Oh! I don’t, but anyone who says they found it refuses to give up any information on it, it’s a little suspicious if you ask me.”

“Any idea where we can learn more about the gate?” Dante asked, trying to project his voice to the whole room.

“I can’t say I know exactly where-”

“You want to know about the gate, eh?” came a voice from behind them, they turned to see a young man with dark clothes walking toward them. “I’ve never seen it myself, but I know where answers exist.”

“Those are fairy tales, Ludinus, and you know it!” exclaimed the barkeep.

“You don’t know that, Jole, I’ve seen them myself!” Ludinus argued back

“But you don’t have anything to show for it!”

“I will soon, I just need a fighting partner!”

“Excuse me for interrupting this argument, but can one of you explain?” Dante interjected.

“Ludinus here claims there is a pair of giants that guard the key to the gate, no one’s seen them though.” Jole responded with.

“They live a few days travel north of here, I doubt you’ll be ready to fight them though. As always I can see I’m not wanted here, goodbye Jole.” Ludinus said, as he turned and left the bar.

“I’m sorry about that, Ludinus never had many friends, so his hope of finding the gate is slim to none. Name’s Jole by the way, you may have heard him say it, this is my brother Chris.” The barkeep said, gesturing to the other man behind the bar. “Back to business, how many rooms do you want?”

“Dante, you and I should share one. Haile, are you okay having a room to yourself?” Hudson turned to look at each of them as he spoke.

“Works for me.” Dante and Haile said in sync

“Very well, two rooms, and will you be working here for that discount?” Jole asked, pointing at Haile.

“I think that’s a good idea, sure.” Haile often made decisions herself, she never let Hudson make decisions for her.

“Sounds like a plan.” Jole said, disappearing behind the bar briefly, “Here are keys for your rooms, you pay every morning.”

“Hudson, let’s go look at the job board, we could use some cash.” Dante stood from the bar, and Hudson followed him out the door.

“Now, let’s get you to work.” Jole told Haile.

Hudson and Dante found the job board rather quickly, they each looked up and down it, looking for something they could do. They quickly began bouncing ideas off each other, Hudson started.

“Logging?”

“I’m not quite strong enough for that, how about moving hay?”

“I’m allergic, shepherding?”

“Too long term, construction help?

“Doesn’t pay well compared to the others.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Dante watched a woman approach, she was about Hudson’s height, and wore a crop top. “Looking for work boys?”

“We are, why?” Dante responded, keeping his eyes on the job board.

“The pit is always looking for new participants, the pay is pretty good.” She displayed herself in a way as if she was showing off.

“We’re new to town, care to explain what the pit is?” Hudson said, looking over at her, briefly scanning her up and down.

“The fighting pit, two teams of two enter, one leaves with all their memories. The better the show you put one, the better the pay.”

“What kind of fights, swords? Fists? Clubs? What are we fighting with?” Dante asked, eyes still locked on the board.

“Whatever you like, cut your opponent’s Thread, you win!” She walked closer to Dante, who didn’t budge, she stood at his right side.

“Sounds like an excellent way to not be able to work for a while, I can’t be getting hurt right now.” Dante put his right hand in his pocket, he slid his ring off of his index finger and clutched it in his hand.

“You aren’t that familiar with fights are you? Wounds heal after the fight ends.” She spoke in a way trying to get Dante to take interest in her, it wouldn’t work.

“That changes things, Hudson, what do you think?” Dante turned all the way around to face Hudson, turning left to not look at the woman.

“Sounds like fun, let's do it!”

“I can get you a fight today if you like, you could have some cash in your pockets in a few hours.” She reached out to take Dante’s arm, he batted her hand away.

Dante finally turned to face her, looking at her eyes, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

Dante and Hudson followed her for about half a mile, they reached an area without any buildings, and trees growing in a large circle. They walked through the single line of trees to find an amphitheater of sorts, the rows went all the way around a sand pit in the center. A hundred people stood, waiting for a fight to begin. Dante stood on the outside row as an announcer introduced four fighters, each pair stepped into the pit, drawing their weapons. A bell was rung and the fight began, they charged at each other and began cutting and beating their enemies. After about a minute, one man swung his club at his foe, a hard hit sent him to the ground briefly, but it also revealed the Thread. This was Dante and Hudson’s first time seeing one, it looked like spider silk, thin, and lightly white. Before they could get a good look at it, a swing of a sword cut it in two, and it vanished from sight.

“Fun to watch isn’t it?” said the woman, standing on Dante’s left. “Let’s get you a fight now, shall we?” She led them to a staircase that led below ground, where a few men stood. “I got you some new fighters, boss.”

“Oh? Let me take a look.” The strongest man of the group walked up and took a good look at Hudson, “You will do great, I can see you’ve got some strength of your own.” And then to Dante, “You’ve fought before, I see it in your eyes. Let’s put them in, I’ll give you two 50 chimes each per minute of combat, 10 if you lose, but we don’t have to worry about that do we?”

“Give us a fight, we’ll do you well.” Dante placed his hand on the katana attached to his belt.

“I hope so, let's see.”

In a few minutes, it was their turn to enter the pit. Their opponents appeared to be a young couple, a man that stood slightly taller than Dante, and a woman about a head shorter than Hudson. They each carried a rapier of similar construction. Swords were drawn and the fight began. Dante felt a rush of strength, the man in the cloak was right, this was very noticeable. He rushed the woman, blocking her initial strike and landing one of his own. Hudson was the first to strike on the man, he swung from over his head, the rapier did a poor job blocking the strike. For the next minute, Hudson and Dante fought with all the force they could, they landed a lot of hits, and took a few themselves. The couple was fast, but they were faster, in a little less than a minute, Hudson landed a strike on the man and a dull red Thread appeard between the couple. Dante rushed towards it, the man cut across his face, but it wouldn’t stop him. With a quick, downward slash he had cut the Thread.

The crowd erupted in cheers, Dante and Hudson sheathed their swords and the announcer held up their hands in victory.

Haile’s work wasn’t difficult, delivering drinks, taking orders, it was just tedious. It took less than fifteen minutes before one of the patrons started hitting on her. She kept working, trying to ignore it, and helped clean up at the end of the day.

Chris approached her as she was taking off her apron, “Good work today, here’s your pay for the day.” Chris held out his hand and dropped a few dark colored coins into Haile’s hand. “There you go, five behhlo.”

“Thank you, very much.” Haile went to the bar and waited for a few minutes before Hudson and Dante walked into the bar.

“How was working at a bar, Haile?” Hudson asked.

“It was alright, did you two find work?” Haile questioned, turning around as she spoke, “What happened to you two?!” she exclaimed, noticing the large cuts in their clothes.

“We did a pit fight, it was great.” Dante replied, sitting down on Haile’s left, before ordering a drink.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Haile turned back to face the bar, Hudson sat down on her right.

“It pays well, what does it matter?” Dante looked over to meet Haile’s gaze, immediately recognizing the concern in her eyes. He looked back down to his drink, a little embarrassed.

“Your Thread could have been cut, what would happen if you two forgot each other?”

Dante sighed before responding, “You’re right, we shouldn’t have risked that, I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you, just don’t do it again.” Haile paused for a moment before continuing, “Not that this justifies it, but how much did they pay?”

“Fifty chimes each per minute of fighting.” Dante responded nonchalantly.

“That’s probably a lot, I got paid in a coin called behhlo.” Haile looked at Hudson, he shrugged, not knowing what value the coins held.

“Well let’s find out.” Dante slid five chimes, a silvery coin with a gold foil, down the bar toward Jole, “Could I get this in behhlo?”

“I don’t know if I have enough for that, why do you need so much?”

“I have my reasons, how much would that be worth in behhlo?”

“For five chimes, that would be fifty behhlo.”

“Slide them back down, thank you though.”

“Sure.” Jole went back to his work after sending the coins back down the bar.

Dante turned back to Haile and Hudson, “So Hudson and I each made a hundred times more than you.”

“Well then, I guess we have some cash sorted out.” Haile ordered a drink of her own, Hudson as well, “How much are our rooms?” Haile asked as Jole was serving them.

“It’s normally a chime a night, but with you working, I’m dropping it to 5 behhlo a night, per room that is.” Jole handed out the drinks and headed to a door leading to a back room, he turned back before leaving, “Haile, do you mind cleaning the glasses you guys are drinking? I should be on my way home.”

“Yeah, I can do that, good night.” Haile responded, waving to Jole as he left.

“Night”

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Hudson asked.

“I think we should talk to the trouble maker from earlier today, what was his name?” Haile responded.

“It was something along the lines of Ludungs or something.” Dante furrowed his brow, trying to remember the name.

“Ludinus” Hudson interjected.

“That was it.” Dante said, looking back at Hudson and Haile.

“So we find him, and ask about the giants, go fight them, and figure out what next after that?” Haile inquired.

“I think so, we should gather rations and other things that we may need to make the trip.” Dante said, finishing his drink.

“Sounds like a plan, who's doing what tomorrow?” Haile looked between Hudson and Dante.

Hudson made the first suggestion, “I’ll gather supplies, you should work here again tomorrow in case we need to stay here again. Dante, you should find Ludinus, and find out what you can about the giants.”

“Works for me, any other suggestions, Haile?” Dante asked.

“Nope, should be simple enough. I’ll see you two tomorrow, I’m getting tired.” Haile finished her drink, cleaned up, and headed upstairs.

Hudson stared into his drink for a while after Haile left.

“You alright, bud?” Dante moved over to sit next to Hudson.

Hudson sighed, “Just thinking about the fight, that was pretty cool.”

“That it was, I almost feel bad they forgot each other, they seemed nice.”

A moment passed before Hudson spoke again, “Dante?”

“Yes?”

“I know how you feel about Haile, but you didn’t have to listen to her just now, I don’t think you would have if I was telling you that, why?”

Dante let out a long sigh, “Mostly because she was right, I couldn’t bear losing you, you’re my brother, and I love you as such. I love her as well, and I couldn’t say I was in the right here, no matter how much I thought I was.”

They both sat there for a while before they got up and got to bed.