In Media Res
Teddies vs Monsters: Origins - Act 1, Part 1
She could smell petrichor in the air—that sharp, earthy scent released when rain first kisses the ground. It invaded her nostrils, familiar and strangely comforting. How can I focus on such a thing in a moment like this? Rose scolded herself.
Her legs burned. Her chest felt heavy, as though she carried a golden breastplate. The rhythm of her steps—faded, almost muted—lagged far behind the hunters' pounding: bum-bum, bum-bum, constant and strong. Days of pursuit had worn her down like prey, no different from how ancestors hunted beasts bigger and deadlier than themselves—just by wearing them out.
Rose was a witch. And she lived in what might have been the worst time to be one: witch hunters deemed it a divine priority to scour every village, every town, every corner of the world. They came not with pitchforks alone, but hounds, crossbows, horses, muskets, torches. Rose and her sister had seen them all over the past few days; in fact, Rose had faced all those things just in the past few hours. All of them except Scarlet—her younger sister, her last living family.
Rose had last seen Scarlet a couple of hours back, when the sun cast no shadow. Now sunset bled through the trees, and Scarlet was nowhere to be found. They’d plunged too deep into the woods, hoping the tangle would discourage the pursuit. But there were simply too many hunters.
Her pace slowed, heart racing, breaths coming in gasps that felt like lifting a mountain off her chest just to fill her lungs. She couldn’t afford exhaustion. Magic was her best weapon against these monsters, but like all things in this world, it had its cost. Spells cast incorrectly could be disastrous; even perfect ones drained energy—lots of it. Even the best witches or wizards could exhaust themselves in minutes if immersed in full combat. She had to be smart.
“Terravex,” Rose exclaimed, gripping her necklace with one hand and thrusting the other toward the ground.
Rocks, roots, and trees rearranged themselves wildly. Tiny pebbles swelled into boulders; roots thickened like ancient trunks; trees shot upward, weaving a jagged barrier of earth and wood. It wasn’t permanent, but it would buy time—or so she hoped.
Rose dropped to her knees. Her vision blurred as though she’d drunk too much wine, strength leaching from her limbs. “Balance is key. Balance is key. Balance is key…” she repeated like a mantra, forcing calm into her racing pulse. She drew a deep breath. From afar, the hunters’ footsteps halted; barking drowned most sounds, but she caught muffled shouts. They’d seen the spell. Steps resumed—fainter now. They were searching for a way around the natural barrier Rose had created.
Rose waited a minute or two, long enough to catch her breath. Other than her ragged breathing, the forest was silent—no barking, no footsteps, no rain. The hunters had faded away. It was time to move, time to find Scarlet.
“Go north. To Atrexi’s Gate.” Those were the last words Scarlet had spoken, and Rose intended to obey. The sisters knew this forest better than any hunter. With their pursuers diverted, Rose could march toward the gate—maybe a mile and a half away. She might reach it before sundown.
The path was brutal. Steep inclines, massive boulders, fallen trees, dried creek beds—all obstacles. In her current state, what should have taken half an hour would take double. The adrenaline had ebbed; now her feet screamed with every step, as though she dragged an iron door behind her. Cold seeped through her clothes, biting into her bones. Worse, a sharp sting throbbed below her left ribs—an arrow had grazed through cloth and skin. Not fatal, but impossible to ignore.
The old crooked tree—almost there… almost… Rose told herself as she passed the unmistakable landmark. Her thoughts shattered.
Screams and thunder-like cracks tore through the dusk. Not cries of pain—spells! Scarlet!
Rose pressed a hand to her necklace and muttered a quick incantation: “Vitalux.” A faint warmth spread through her veins, dulling the leg pain and rib fire just enough to push on. She needed to reach her sister.
A wide clearing opened ahead, circular and stark, dominated by a towering monolith at its center. Scarlet leaned against it, back to the stone, and her wand thrust outward. A fireball roared from the tip—“Ignivex!”—streaking toward the tree line.
Atrexi’s Gate wasn’t a literal gate but this ancient monolith, its surface etched with runes no witch or wizard had carved. Here, magical energy flowed strongest—power amplified for those who stood within its circle. But the hunters were many, and Scarlet looked as drained as Rose felt. Even two witches at full strength might not escape this. Not even here.
Through smoke and flames, Rose screamed, “Scarlet! Scarlet, let’s get out of here!”
Scarlet didn’t reply. Didn’t even glance back. “Scarlet!” Rose tried again.
“Ignivex!” Another fireball erupted from Scarlet’s wand, streaking toward the tree line. The forest swallowed most of the blast in crackling branches and smoke, but screams and frenzied barking exploded from the shadows. The hunters were shifting—closing the circle.
Arrows hissed back in answer. One grazed Scarlet’s cheek, drawing a thin line of blood that dripped red onto the earth. Another struck deeper—straight into her thigh.
Scarlet staggered, a sharp gasp escaping her, but she didn’t lower her wand. Blood soaked her skirt in seconds.
“I’m sorry,” Scarlet whispered, finally meeting Rose’s eyes. “I’m sorry”, she repeated.
Scarlet… Rose lunged forward—but froze mid-step. A binding spell locked her limbs. Then came the second: pebbles and rocks swirled at her feet, growing into stones, then boulders, orbiting in a tight circle. They expanded, layering over her like living armor, encasing her body—leaving only a narrow slit for her eyes.
“What are you doing!?” Rose tried to scream, but the words muffled against the stone.
“Scarleeeet!”
Scarlet’s hands began to weave—left to right, like waves on sand. Her chant rose, voice and gestures building in intensity. Her eyes glowed crimson; her hair whipped as if caught in a storm she stood still within. The ground trembled. Markings scorched into the earth, radiating from Scarlet. The monolith’s runes flared the same bloody red.
Crimson light poured from her wand, aimed at the hunters, swelling larger, brighter—blinding—then…
A silent flash of pure light.
Then—BOOM.
Thunder rolled. Wind howled, hurling rocks and branches. The blast threw Rose backward; her stone armor shattered on impact. She hit the ground hard.
Nothing.
Darkness took her.
- End of Part 1