The Forsaken

again, trying to open up new passageways.
    “I don’t know if I can do this,” Rika says, sounding shell-shocked.
    “You have to,” I say. My eyes are fixed on the Monk and the gray zone beyond. His drone is putting a thick coat around him, and getting gloves on his hands.
    “Let’s go as a group,” Sinxen says. “Just make a run at the barrier when the fireworks stop and the holes are big enough. Claw our way through together.”
    We all agree to try it.
    Soon the barrier is filled with burning holes again. It looks like melting Swiss cheese. The drones stare at us expectantly. We clutch one another’s hands. Then we head straight toward the bizarre obstacle standing between us and the gray zone.
    I aim for one of the largest holes, even though it’s already closing rapidly. My body slams into the barrier, and I push at the viscous material, burrowing my way inside. It’s warm and pliant, like congealed custard mixed with glue. It pushes on my eyelids, making patterns dance and arc in the blackness. Then I feel it pushing into my ears, blocking out all sounds except the beating of my heart.
    I feel hot, and I can’t move.
    For a second, I can’t even feel my body anymore, and I start to panic.
    Something’s gone wrong!
    I begin flailing and struggling, but my limbs are completely immobilized. I must have misjudged the holes, and the wall is surging up around me. Closing. I see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing. I’m going to be trapped inside here forever.
    I start screaming.
    And then I feel an icy blast race across the fingertips of my left hand.
    Fresh air.
    I strain forward, like I’m running in syrup. I feel more cold air. A breeze never felt this good. I get my other hand free, and then tumble out of the barrier, sinking from the wall onto the forest floor, reborn in a puddle of jellied liquid into the gray zone.
    I open my eyes and gasp for air, shivering. Liam was right. It’s freezing in here, and as silent as a tomb. No birds, no insects, no animals. Gadya is next to me, coughing and swearing.
    I glance around, afraid I’ll see that one of our group got stuck inside the barrier. But no, all of us are here. The wall is rapidly closing up, with the Monk’s drones on the other side. We made it just in time. I cough up bits of stray jelly, gagging until my throat and chest are free and loose again.
    But then something unexpected happens. One of the masked drones on the other side of the barrier races forward awkwardly with a muffled yell. It’s like he’s come out of nowhere—he’s not one of the drones who was lighting fireworks. I’m not sure what’s going on, and I instantly get my guard up.
    The screaming drone on the other side flings himself at the barrier, right at one of the last remaining holes. His momentum carries him forward, and he plunges into the opening, grasping and kicking against the translucent material with his hands and feet. Other drones rush toward him. Not to aid him, but to try to pull him back out. They’re not fast enough, and he kicks their hands away.
    He scrabbles forward through the hole, like he’s battling jelly. I’m not sure if he’s going to make it or if he’s going to get stuck. The drones on the other side are all yelling and running around, like this wasn’t part of the plan. Maybe he’s just a drone who got overcome with emotion and passion to be with his Monk.
    Even the Monk’s eyes look startled.
    Gadya stands up fast. I do the same.
    This stray drone, who seems to be acting all on his own, finally makes it through the barrier. He sprawls onto the forest floor, gagging.
    I look behind him at the barrier. The area that we all broke through has almost repaired itself completely. There is no trace that anything passed through it, other than some debris from the fireworks floating inside, and a few weapons that got stranded by those of us who tried to bring them.
    I look at the final person who has joined our group. Even before his shaking hands rip off his mask, I suddenly have a feeling that I know who it is.
    David.
    “What are you doing here?” Gadya screams when she sees his face, sounding furious. “We don’t need a backstabbing spy on our journey! I was hoping you were dead.” She turns to the Monk. “You said you weren’t bringing anyone else! Why is he here?”
    “Ask him,” the Monk replies, still struggling to recover from the journey through the barrier. “I didn’t intend for him to come.”
    Gadya, Markus, and