Dr. Alex Nolan II's Arc

Chapter 5 of 13

The riverbank stretched ahead, a narrow strip of mud and stone between water and jungle wall. Nolan kept his eyes on the ground and walked. The pack shifted against his shoulders with each step. Inside, the artifact pressed against his spine through the canvas. Heat bloomed against his back. He stopped and dropped the pack, breath catching as warmth spread through the fabric. The skull pattern glowed faint purple through the canvas, radiating outward in waves. Not the violent heat from before — controlled, steady, like coals banked for the night. He pressed his good hand against the pack and felt it warm to the touch but not burning. The brand on his damaged arm stayed silent, the edges blurred like watercolor bleeding into skin. No pull. No fire. Just the artifact heating on its own. Movement upstream caught his eye. A figure sat on a fallen log twenty yards ahead, robed in dark fabric that hung wet and heavy. Lavender light glowed where eyes should be. The figure didn't move. Didn't call out. Just sat and watched him with those burning points of light. Nolan picked up the pack and slung it over his shoulder, ignoring the heat against his back. He started walking. The figure remained motionless as he approached, close enough now to see purple-stained hands resting on its knees, the same lavender that had poured from the portal when the artifact returned. He kept his pace steady and his eyes forward. When he drew level with the log, the figure turned its hooded head to follow him. Nolan walked past without breaking stride. Behind him, he heard fabric shift as the figure stood. Footsteps splashed into the river. He looked back and saw it wading into the current, moving deeper until the water reached its chest, then its shoulders. The lavender eyes sank beneath the surface and disappeared. The river flowed smooth and unbroken where it had been. Nolan adjusted the pack and kept walking north.