It's a small camp, a refuge of only four people, all of which are of species I've seen before and who look very familiar, but not enough for me to completely grasp. I do recognize two Guys- a flyguy and a normal guy. They all look at me intently, having just seen me leap over a chasm of bullets.
The shelled one speaks first. "...who are you?"
"I'm..." how to answer. "I'm on my way to the East Light Bridge."
He scoffs. "Well, good luck with that one. The bridges have been blown to hell by that onslaught of bullets. We're stuck here- not even Ignacio can fly past that."
Ignacio. My eyes widen as I glance at the masked flyguy, matching the name to the person. It's an incredibly odd feeling, but I don't even feel surprised to recognize him immediately, as if I've always known him. Come to think of it, it was the same way with the woman looking for him- his lover, I believe. That's all I have, and as I repeat his name out of reflex, he perks up, looking towards me.
"Sir, have you seen my Abilene?" he immediately asks me, with the same lover's passion I heard in his beloved's voice. I nod, replying "Yes, I have. She's safe, and in the city."
All he does is nod, until I add "She has been looking for you for awhile now- apparently unaware you left. I'm not sure exactly, but she said to wait at the East Light Bridge, and she would meet you there."
He doesn't panic, to his credit, but he does take a sharp breath and gasp "That can't happen. She'll be shot to bits. Someone has to stop her."
The other guy, without the propeller, comforts him with "And someone will- as soon as they see the bullets. They'll bring her back in and take cover."
I nod. "The bullets started a ways out. The onslaught is only happening the closer to the light bridge I get."
Ignacio nods, trying to keep himself together. "What are you going to do from here? We're stuck, but you... you have something. Some sort of spark, to get across this far in these conditions in one piece." He reaches into his pocket and gives me two blue orbs- I believe I saw ones like these before, in that odd wooden house. As soon as I touch them, I feel any wounds I gathered heal up and my energy returns. I don't even bother questioning- if I spent any time doing that, this whole world would have been blown to bits before I got halfway done.
Ignacio addresses me again. "Now, sir, I need you to listen. It's impassible from here on out, for us at least. The bullets intensify, the bridges are broken or breaking, and it's going to be near impossible to pass. You, however- if you've made it this far through all of that, and you have the courage to complete the run, you can make it to the East Light Bridge. From there, I don't know. I didn't make it in time. You'll have to go from there, but I will say this- there's no way that the loss of light and the onslaught of bullets aren't connected, nor are they coincidences. There's something going on, under the surface, and if it can't be avoided, it has to be stopped."
The brown creature gestures to the ground. "You're welcome to take a breather if you want. It's safe here, but not for long."
I shake my head. "If anything gets done, it's going to have to happen while there's more ground to spare. Thank you anyways, gentlemen."
The group nods. "Good luck, sir," Ignacio utters the words I've heard from almost everyone else in town. This person, I'm well aware, means it, and I'm glad for that, allowing a small smile to escape as I make my way on my journey.