I gripped the rope to my drag sled, otherwise known as a travois, as we slogged across the green grasses of New Ireland. We had our supplies piled up on the crossbars between the long poles. Mostly, it was camping gear and our cooler filled with salted mutton, but we’d also brought the empty plasma weapons as well. I was impressed at how well the ends of the poles slid through the grass and wet dirt. I was using a lot of energy, but I was so strong it didn’t feel hard at all. Even better, I had a basket full of power crystals to keep myself refueled.


    It was cloudy but not rainy.  We topped a hill and started down the other side. So far, the skies were clear of pteraxels, and we hadn’t seen any of the vicious dogs that Opal thought might be in that world.


    In the distance was the blackened skies of Fry City. We didn’t know how far New Ireland extended east, but it went beyond that strange, toxic place. I didn’t think we’d run into the motorcycle gang as well as we stayed on the seemingly endless grassy hills.


    It was actual a nice walk, and I wasn’t worried about rain. With our survival suits, we’d be dry ten seconds later. We even had a solution for Khanna. In our gear, we’d brought a poncho, and we’d forced her to put it on. During the fashion show, she looked so cute covered in plastic. Billie wore one backpack, while Khanna wore the other. All of us had a canteen clipped to our suits.


    Holly had crafted a basket with straps, which she had slung over a shoulder. She carried the shotgun. Billie had the holster on her hip and the hunting rifle over her shoulder.


    Billie’s eyes absolutely glowed when she looked at Khanna, and the Huntress had kisses for both me and Billie. We’d come along way, but then, Khanna had grown up around only women. Her first great love, Djevojka, had been a woman, so for her, it was kind of normal.


    Billie didn’t just have a buddy, she had someone she could kiss and caress. It was stupid to think that Holly wouldn’t notice. Khanna and Billie were walking behind us, joking and laughing like they were best friends forever.


    The professor walked right next to me as I marched forward with the travois trailing behind me.


    “Sid, I have something delicate to talk about.”


    I was gonna beat her to the punch. “Yeah, Professor, what you think probably happened last night did happen. I figured you knew. I guess I should say I''m sorry.”


    “No,” Holly said quickly. “There''s no need to apologize. When Billie gave in to her temptations, it was only a matter of time.”


    I had to laugh. “I''m glad you thought so, I didn''t really have a clue.” I wasn''t going to let the conversation slip into any kind of awkward silence. “So, Professor. I''m assuming you''re not taking it well, but that''s a bad assumption. You might be fine with the whole thing.”


    “I assure you…I''m not fine.” The words came up bitter, but she seemed to catch herself. “Let me put it another way…my reaction to what I heard in the bus last night does not put me in a very positive state. That, however, is not your concern. I can''t ask you to suppress your desires, especially here in this very strange place. I don''t you to change one thing about your life. I just wanted you to know that I knew. That''s it.”


    “That’s it?” I gave her a long look.


    “That’s it.” She looked very serious, and I knew, it was the wrong time to joke, but I was feeling a little feisty.


    “So you don''t want an invitation next time? Because, you know, that would help us out, I think. Billie wanted a big lesbian orgy. Sex between three people is a ménage à trois, right? But I think sex between four people is an orgy? Is that how it works?”


    I was very glad when Holly laughed.


    She added a mischievous little grin when she said, “No, Sid, sex with four people is a foursome. I believe an orgy if five or more, though the rules differ between cultures.”


    Holly then let out a shout. “Sid! Look!”


    She ran ahead and came back with a good-sized power crystal, gleaming in her hand. “Where do you want it?”


    I stopped walking and smiled. “We were just talking about orgies, and so, that’s a loaded question. I certainly don’t want it in any of my orifices. Just shove it against my chest and Opal will do the work.”


    Holly came close enough for me to smell her. With the look of concentration on her face, she pushed the crystal near my chest. It didn’t even touch me when it vanished. The familiar message appeared in my vision. Opal was at 99% but wanted to be at 100%.


    Holly gazed into my face. “Your eyes glow a little with red light when you get power. I hadn’t noticed that. How did Opal like the crystal?”


    “Let me ask her…hey, Opal—” I didn’t even get the question out when Opal’s voice appeared in my head.


    HOST COMPANION: Holly Kroft has asked a question that assumes an emotional reaction. I do not have emotions. I have my primary mission, which requires me to be to be at a hundred percent of my full functionality. Please charge to 100%.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I lied and said, “She loved it. You should hear her go and on about how delicious that crystal was.”


    HOSTNAME: Sid Marshall is not relaying objective truth. Sarcasm detected.


    Holly laughed a little. “I don’t believe you.”


    “Neither did Opal.”


    We started walking again.


    “You know,” Holly said out of the blue. “You did have a foursome last night. Opal was there. If I did join you, it would be by definition, an orgy. It does give one food for thought.”


    “Probably just the K’Shaul Effect, Professor.”


    “Definitely the K’Shaul Effect,” she breathed. “You know, I was very carefree and wild in my younger days after I escaped my parents. I''m not a prude.”


    “I never said you were.”


    Billie and Khanna caught up with us.


    Holly must’ve been feeling feisty as well. “Billie. Khanna. I was just telling Sid about my wilder, younger days.”


    Billie’s face was already red from laughing with Khanna. But now her eyes were sparkling as well. “Ooh, tell us the dirt. Was it college, and were you in a sorority, and were there big lesbian orgies?”


    Khanna cocked her head, went to say something, and then thought better of it. She looked at me for some explanation.


    What could I say? In ancient Arkadian, I said, “It’s complicated. You know Bil-lie.”


    That made the Huntress smile. “Khanna know Bil-lie.”


    Holly gave Billie a friendly little bump with her hip. “What is it with you and wild sorority orgies? This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned them. Are you sharing a secret fantasy?”


    “No!” Billie made a face. “Gross! You can’t talk about my fantasies! You’re like, my anthropology professor.”


    Holly took the outburst in stride. It was clearly a case of protesting too much. “I was your anthropology professor, Ms. Kidd. Here, I am your friend and ally in the struggle for survival.” The impish smile on Holly’s face was mysterious. What was it implying?


    There was no way to know, but she returned to the topic at hand. “I assure you, Ms. Kidd, I wasn’t ready to explore my sexuality until I was out of college. Actually, I was in grad school, traveling to Borneo, when I met two British women who were in the same program I was. We hit it off right away. They were very funny.”


    “That I can believe,” Billie said. “English people can be so funny.”


    Khanna couldn’t keep up with the English, and it was clear she was ignoring our conversation to scan the horizons for signs of trouble.


    Holly continued. “It wasn’t until one of the women kissed me, after a night of drinking, that I understood the situation. The two were a couple and wanted me to join them. That was a month of exploration I quite enjoyed. It wasn’t meant to last, and no, Mr. Marshall, I was never a part of an orgy.” She stopped to count on her fingers. “Wait. That is not true. We met another couple from Germany. Five makes an orgy, correct?”


    Billie’s mouth was open, her eyes were wide, and she couldn’t talk for a second. Then she snorted. “Uh, more than three is an orgy.”


    “That’s a foursome,” both Holly and I said the same thing at the same time.


    That made Billie laugh.


    Holly, though, got serious. “In the end, when life events impinged on the fantasy of our threesome, I was the one that found myself on the outside. Diana and Ivy had each other, and I ended up along. Worse yet, the experience awakened desires in me that I still can’t quite comprehend. For one, I found that I was bisexual. The other? I enjoyed the rhythms of that kind of love.”


    “What kind?” Billie asked. “Sorry, but I’m not understanding.”


    “I enjoyed the energy and conversation of a polycule. It didn’t last long, but…”


    Billie grimaced. “Polycule? Oh, right. I’m glad you didn’t say throuple. I hate that word, though, I guess…”


    “You’re a part of a throuple,” Holly finished.


    “I guess I am,” Billie conceded.


    “What happened with Diana and Ivy?” I was kind of invested.


    “Ivy’s mother died, and they had to take care of her father, and I had to return to the States, and I didn’t have enough money to visit them in London. In time, the fire faded. However, it left its mark on me. Humans are very social primates, and our connections are hardwired into our neurochemistry. When you are around the same people, day after day, you eventually share the same bacteria.”


    “Our periods have already synced up,” Billie said. “Which is totally weird.”


    “We were created to be with our people.” Holly fell quiet, and we walked in silence a bit. “I had trouble finding my people after that. I was rudderless. And wary, I suppose.”


    Khanna finally let a sigh and nearly shouted in ancient Arkadian. “Sid Marshall! The old slut goes on and on. What is Hol-ly saying? Khanna cannot understand.”


    I tried to summarize. “She ended up having sex with a couple for a bit, and then things fell apart. She misses being a part of a family.”


    “The old slut has our enclave. What is the matter with her?”


    “I think she’s afraid of being hurt again.”


    Khanna seemed to take a minute, like she was trying to fully understand what I was saying. Then she nodded. “Yes. Khanna understand old wounds. Khanna not call her old slut. Khanna call her Hol-ly. And I…I try and use pronouns. Tell her I honor her and her journey.”


    Then it was Billie who was frustrated. “What are you guys saying to each other?”


    “I told Khanna about Holly, and Khanna said that she’s going to try and use pronouns. She added that she honors Holly and her journey.”


    Holly seemed strangely moved by that. “Thank you, Khanna,” she said in near perfect Arkadian. Holly then laughed and said in English, “But I don’t mind you calling me an old slut. I suppose I am…or more correctly…I would like to be.”


    Billie laughed. “You knew she was calling you names. Was she calling me names?”


    Holly shrugged. “You’ll have to improve on your ancient Arkadian if you want to know. What can I say? I’m very adept at languages.”


    For a second, it really did feel like a family, and it was like we were coming closer and closer. I wasn’t going to pressure the professor, but now I had a little better understanding of her. It wasn’t just about her being our teacher. She was afraid of being hurt again. I’d like to say I could understand, but I’d never been all that close to anyone outside of my aunt and uncle, and they had given me unconditional love. I’d had crushes here and there, but nothing serious.


    Other than her shallow boyfriend—was his name Mike or Scott?—I was pretty sure that Billie was the same.


    But Khanna? Khanna had loved Djevojka and lost her. She knew about loss and grief, when a relationship ends, and the only thing left is a lingering emptiness.


    A couple hours later, we stood in front of Fry City, the ruined buildings, the black sky, the foul stench in the air, and for several long seconds, none of us moved. That place seemed like a deathtrap.


    But down one crumbling street, I could see a sooty vehicle that reminded me of an old Cadillac my uncle had. I had thought to go in there in search of a vehicle, but the travois was working just fine. I didn’t want to risk running into the motorcycle gang.


    But then, we heard the roar of engines. From out of the ruins came the bikers I’d seen in the Fodoron Obelisk.


    For the first time, I was seeing their riders, and I just had to laugh.


    I liked to laugh before a good fight.