《The End Lands》


 Chapter 1: Melodia Harwood

    Let me be clear: the sword in my ribcage is part of my plan.


    He stands in front of me, his figure and the blade perfectly puncturing me, illuminated green by a meteor streaking across the sky. The bright-green flames pillar off of it, blotting out the starry backdrop of the crumbling world around us.


    "It''s over, Melody," he says. "Your days of tormenting this world are finished."


    The green glow of the meteor transitions to red, then white, as a heatwave smashes into the two of us.


    And then it''s all gone.


    "Yeah, that looks pretty rough."


    "Something you can handle, you think?"


    "Almost certainly. This poor child has seen a lot, but a wound like this is within my capabilities."


    "Good stuff, Oriana. Let''s make it fast, before... well..."


    "Quiet, you two. She''s waking up."


    I hear the voices before I see the owners, and my eyes steadily blink awake. Three faces look down at me, all with some stage of concern on their face. A broken roof is above them, a large hole exactly over where I''m apparently laying.


    And then I remember the sword in my chest, and look down. Panic swells in me as I find it still there, blood pooling around it. I try to hurry to my feet, but two of the three hold me down.


    "Be still, young one," the one not holding me says, a green-haired woman with a disarming smile. "I will help you."


    "Make it fast, Oriana," one of the other two says. She''s the only white person in the room, and has a trimmed black hairstyle.


    I scream in pain as she pulls the sword from my chest, and blood oozes out rapidly. Oriana throws it to the side of the third woman and presses her hand to my chest, repeating something foreign over and over. The pain is unbearable. My hands lash out, trying to scrape at my captors, and something metallic bubbles in the back of my throat.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    More blood. I line up a shot, and spit at the third woman, spattering her face with blood. She recoils in fear and disgust, crying out. The confusion frees my hand to grab the sword, but she stomps on my hand as I grab it, crunching bones against the concrete floor.


    "Fuck!" I scream out, trying to throw Oriana off of me. "What the fuck is going on?!"


    "Calm down!" The second woman yells. "Everyone! My name is Purity. This is Oriana, and you spat on Luna. We are the leaders here, and we''re trying to save your life!"


    A strange feeling fills my chest. I look to see my wound fully healed, no longer pumping blood. A nasty scar is all that remains.


    Oriana gets off of me, and Purity lets go. With some hesitation, Luna removes her boot from my hand, which I cradle for a moment before standing. I then roll to retrieve the sword, pointing it at the three of them.


    "How do I get out of here?"


    Purity steps forward. "There''s a door behind you. But you won''t be able to go back to where you came from."


    "Like hell I won''t. You can''t stop me."


    "And we won''t try. But you''re not where you came from anymore."


    "I say let her find out by herself," Luna says, trying to wipe off my blood from her face. "Easily the most violent new addition."


    Purity crosses her arms. "Let''s not pretend your past is perfect either, Luna."


    I back my way toward the door, never leaving focus on them, until my hand is on the knob. Then, I turn it and bound through the door, where I am met with a dark night sky in a weird rural-urban area with skyscrapers, a subway station, rows of crops, and a cul-de-sac of houses. The moon above me is fragmented, with a strange circular structure surrounding it.


    Nowhere I recognize. And the moon definitely wasn''t like that. The meteor must have hit it, too.


    I run in a random direction for what feels like a mile, until I reach the end of...


    What the fuck.


    The ground ends abruptly, the same starless night just past a fence bordering the edge of the world. A wispy blue glow emanates from the border.


    Footsteps sound off behind me. Purity approaches me, hands raised, as I whip around with the sword drawn.


    "This is usually the first thing people do when they get here. After all, try explaining the literal edge of existence to someone. Do you mind if I ask your name?"


    "I do," I say, lowering my sword. "Don''t you know it? What''s going on here? Where am I?"


    "Well, for better or worse, you''ve been brought to the End Lands. As for the why or the how... well..."


    "Nobody''s really sure," Luna says, following behind Purity. "But you''re here, and now that you are, you''re stuck with us. And we''re here to help."


    I slowly sheathe the sword in my belt loop. "I don''t understand. Don''t you know who I am?"


    "Should we?" Purity smiles. "What, are you a big-shot where you''re from?"


    "Something like that."


    "Well, I''m sure the others will look forward to hearing about your adventures, then. But for now, let''s get you somewhere to rest. That sword wound won''t heal right away."


    Purity motions for me to follow. I cautiously trail behind the two of them as we make our way back to their neighborhood.


    They don''t know who I am.


    Nobody knows who I am.


    Melodia Harwood is unknown here. I''ve escaped my justice.

 Chapter 2: Miami

    Purity and Luna carve a path toward one of the more central houses, where Oriana waits out front, leaned against a fencepost. She gives a soft smile as we approach.


    "Normally, my patients wait a little longer to get back on their feet," she says, staring at the healed wound. "Glad to see you''ve cooled down a bit."


    I simply gaze at her, and she fills out the group from behind as we enter the house. We''re met with the living room, which is significantly rundown, but had once been... average.


    "I hope you don''t mind housemates," Purity says, cracking one of the doors open. "Here''s your room."


    I peer inside, only to find it just as average as the living room.


    "Housemates? How many people live here?"


    "In this house, or in the End Lands? You''ll have two housemates, Loki and Aloe, but with you here, I think we''re at fifteen. Although, you''re the first in a long while, and we''re never on odd numbers for long."


    Luna drives her elbow into Purity''s side and smiles. "Never mind that. You''ll have plenty of time to meet everyone tomorrow. Please, get some rest."


    The floorboards creak as I step inside what is I guess my room, which isn''t large, but larger than what I was used to growing up. The bed groans under my weight, and I quickly shift to my back.


    "You''ve never heard of me before, then?" I ask Luna, as the three gear up to leave.


    She steps into the room and leans against the wall. "Nope. It''s sort of the nature of things. I can''t speak for the others, but the odds of someone knowing you are basically zero. It''s a little freeing, in a way. No baggage from your past life, no expectations, no reputation. You''ll hear all about it tomorrow from Purity, but we''re all from different universes. I was from a world with steam engines that flew in the sky, and I was homeless. Here, I''m the co-founder of our settlement. Whoever you were before, you can be a new person. Although, seeing as you were apparently some big-shot, I imagine you''ll try to stake your claim here, too."


    As she talks, my vision begins to flare, a red tone flooding the edges of my view. Her voice and body distort. My hands grip the bed tightly and I close my eyes.


    No. Not here. Not now. HOW?!


    "Alright, get some sleep. You''ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow. If you ever need to find me, my house number is 1808."


    The sound of the door gently closing echoes in my head, and moments later, things return to normal. My eyes slowly open, focused on the ceiling.


    Keep it together, Melodia. He''s not here. He can''t hurt you. He won''t find you.


    And yet, his form is still in my retinas, his laugh seared into my ears.


    Dr. Adrian Asgard. Hero of Earth. Near-slayer of Melodia Harwood, his arch-nemesis.


    And I have his sword. He''s powerless without it.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    All according to plan.


    Sleep comes rather quickly as I reflect on his status compared to mine.


    And sleep is just as easily disturbed when the day comes, with a knock on the door.


    "Good morning, new prisoner," an unknown voice says from the door. It sounds androgynous enough. "I hope you''re a fan of sad breakfast and ice breakers, because otherwise, this will be hell and a prison."


    I press my hand against the pillow to roll over, but my palm finds some sort of sticky residue. Blood, still slightly fresh, had drained out of my body overnight and onto the pillow.


    Despite the overwhelming urge to cough up a blood clot, I climb out of bed, sheathing the claimed sword in the process. Then, once I''m sure the person has stepped away, I carefully turn the knob, prepared for the worst.


    Instead, I''m met with a curly haired person with rounded glasses and a book in hand. They barely glance my way before moving to the couch.


    "I''m going to guess you''re Loki, then."


    They open their mouth to talk, but a squeal pierces the air.


    "A new roommate!" a voice says from behind. I turn to find the actual Loki gesturing widely. Deep black hair curls down to her shoulders, and brown doe eyes meet my cold ones. Her unimposing frame is made larger by a cardigan of some sort, draping all the way to the floor.


    The one on the couch poses more of a threat.


    "Don''t expect me to stay long," I say, turning back around. "I have unfinished business to deal with."


    "But don''t you want to¡ª"


    "No, I don''t."


    I walk out of the house and onto the cracked pavement of the walkway. There''s still no sun. Not that I''d gotten used to a sun, anyway.


    In fact, the moon is still in the same spot as before.


    This godforsaken expanse doesn''t go on for long, but there are some larger buildings way off in the distance. It almost seems like someone scooped a circular chunk of land from a city and placed it in the cosmos.


    Luna''s words echo in my head. Different universes. What does the cosmos want with a bunch of random teenage-aged people from different universes?


    Somebody''s behind this somehow. All I have to do is find out who.


    "That''s a new one," yet another voice says to my left. A person apparates before my eyes, definitely pulled straight from an emo band''s front-row seats.


    "What the hell is going on?"


    "Name''s Miami. I can unfortunately read minds, and I''m not exactly... physical. But your thought of some hands behind all of this? Not a single person here has thought that yet."


    I draw my sword and point it at the spectral figure. "I''m only going to ask one more time: what the hell is going on?"


    He smiles and impales himself on the sword, clearly unaffected by it. "You''re a feisty one. Melody, isn''t it?"


    "How do you know that?"


    "I told you I can read minds. I never said you had to be actively thinking it. I''ll tell you what''s going on. At each of our points of death, we were instead brought here. There are only two things we all share, and that is death and a power of some sort. Like for me, my spectral-ness. And for you..."


    He pauses a moment, as if reading through my life. Like a file in a cabinet. The longer he reads my file, the more his facial expression drops.


    Of all the people to be stuck with, of course there''s someone who can read minds. He''s going to know what I''ve done.


    He''s going to tell the others.


    "You... you''re bad news. You can''t... I have to..."


    My vision flares red again, and the familiar sensation of something at the edge of my fingers overwhelms me. As my vision swirls, the red sparks jolt from my fingertips toward the ghostly person, connecting with him.


    He lets out a jarring scream, and a moment later, a shadowy imprint is left on the grass. My vision returns to normal, and I fall to my knees, holding my head.


    The front door of the house swings wide as my two supposed roommates stand staring out at me.


    "What... what happened?" Loki asks, approaching the singed spot in the grass cautiously.


    "I... I don''t know. He popped up out of nowhere, started talking, and then screamed and vanished. I figured he was trying to play a prank."


    "Well, I guess we have to tell LOP that we lost another one," the other person, who must be Aloe, says. With that, they hold Loki''s hand, and walk down the street together toward the same place I''d found myself smashed through the ceiling of.


    My gaze drifts back to the spot where the ghost had been. I''ve had two flare-ups in the last twenty-four hours. If I''m not careful, I may end up accidentally killing everyone before I even have a chance to figure out how to get out of here.


    Here''s hoping I did kill the ghost, though.

 Chapter 3: Hope

    I wait a solid ten to fifteen minutes before following Loki and Aloe in the direction of what must be the main building, where a congregation has already formed. Half of the discussion is about Miami, and the other half is on me. If I were any more paranoid, I¡¯d be worried they were piecing the two together.


    The first to actually notice and greet me is a woman wearing a dark, snug-fitting t-shirt and suspenders to hold her black jeans. She extends a built arm to shake my hand, and smiles at me. ¡°You must be the new one, then. My name¡¯s Rosa. My story¡¯s probably the least bat-shit crazy in this place, but we¡¯ll get to that. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Melody,¡± I reply dryly. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to stay long enough to hear everyone¡¯s stories. Actually, I¡¯d prefer to just know the way back.¡±


    ¡°You certainly are persistent,¡± Oriana¡¯s voice says behind me. The others begin to wrap their conversations up as Oriana and Luna enter the building, taking center stage in front of the group of the others.


    ¡°Good morning, all,¡± Luna says. ¡°I think we have everyone here today, which is great. Clearly, there¡¯s some good news and some bad news, but I¡¯ll start with the good, because she deserves that respect. As of yesterday evening, we were welcomed by Melody dropping in to join us here. Melody, we look forward to integrating you into our group. Something tells me you¡¯ve got motivation to get stuff done. As for the bad news¡­¡±


    Oriana steps forward to take over. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all aware, we believe that Miami has left us. He was always sort of¡­ teetering on the edge, and I¡¯m still working to find out through arcane channels what may have happened to him, but it seems he¡¯s no more. For those who wish to say something about him, I open the floor.¡±


    I watch as a girl with straight black hair steps forward and begins signing something. Rosa begins translating for the rest of us. ¡°As we all know, Tes and Miami were pretty close friends. Which, Tes thinks is ironic, seeing as she was sent here by ghosts. But¡­ Miami was a friend to all, and always willing to keep a secret. A good spirit. May the second time be the charm.¡±


    ¡°May the second time be the charm,¡± the rest of the group repeats.


    Tes steps back into the crowd, and a fairy hovers into the center of the group. Tiny tears are streaming down her face, and her chest heaves. ¡°Like Tes, Miami was one of my closest friends here. He was always eager to help, even though the only thing he could life was spirits. And yeah, we all knew he was suffering from portal sickness more than the rest of us ever had, but¡­ I¡¯m going to¡­ I¡¯m going to need some time to process this.¡±


    The fairy also returns to her spot, and when nobody else comes to say their peace, Luna returns to the center. ¡°Thank you for your words, Tes and Dezz. We can afford some rest for the two of you for a while. We¡¯ll hold a service for Miami in twelve hours. May the second time be the charm.¡±


    Once again, the group repeats the phrase. It feels as if I¡¯ve been dropped into a cult, although I logically know that this is just how they mourn their dead. I can¡¯t imagine that many people have died since its inception, though.


    Purity, who hasn¡¯t said much to anyone since I¡¯ve been here, stands aside Luna. ¡°Thank you all, once again. Now, back on topic of Melody. I¡¯m sure you all will make introductions with her at your convenience, but Melody, why don¡¯t you come forward and talk about yourself? It doesn¡¯t have to be a lot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass,¡± I say immediately.


    ¡°Oh, come on,¡± Luna says, raising her brows at me. ¡°You¡¯re stuck with us, you may as well let us get to know you a little bit.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I roll my eyes and take center stage. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Melody. Back in my¡­ previous world, I was a pretty significant fighter, hoping to put an end to a pretty nasty person. But now I¡¯m here, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any superpowers?¡± Purity asks.


    My eyes narrow with suspicion. Did she know somehow? Had Miami already told them somehow?


    ¡°How do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, for example, I have the ability to grow and shrink. Well, sort of. Normally I do, but here in the End Lands, it¡¯s a bit more unstable than that. Do you have anything like that?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of.¡±


    ¡°What did you fight for?¡±


    ¡°My freedom.¡±


    An honest answer. Despite my situation, it feels good to give an honest answer.


    ¡°A man named Dr. Adrian Asgard fucked me up pretty severely, and I was fighting him right until the end.¡±


    ¡°Until he stabbed you with a sword,¡± Luna says, marking a spot on her chest where the sword had gotten me.


    ¡°Yeah, until then. But that was part of my plan. I was going to win that fight, if I hadn¡¯t ended up here.¡±


    ¡°No, you weren¡¯t,¡± another voice says, stepping forward. It comes from a man much beefier than anyone else here, wearing a loose jacket over a loose checkered shirt. ¡°You were dead. You just happened to come here instead.¡±


    ¡°And what makes you the resident expert on my life?¡± I step forward, taken aback by his immediately standoffish vibe.


    ¡°I¡¯m not. Name¡¯s Herb, by the way. Just speaking from everyone else¡¯s experiences. We all would have absolutely died if we weren¡¯t brought here. Some deaths are more obvious than others, but it¡¯s the truth. For example, Luna.¡±


    ¡°This is my story to tell, not yours,¡± Luna says, narrowing her eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± The man steps aside, motioning for Luna to take the stage.


    ¡°I¡­ was starving. Homeless and black in a city that cared for neither. And so I stole a strange box. It began beeping, and as I narrowed in on its source, I found the boxes owner: a mob boss. He had me immediately killed. I remember the bullet impacting me, and the next moment, I was here, with Oriana standing over me.¡±


    ¡°And how did you get here, Oriana?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Also at the same time as Purity and Luna,¡± she responds. ¡°Mine was much less ceremonious. I fell off of a horse while being chased by corrupted mushrooms in the Great Forest.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll pretend that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°I was crushed,¡± Purity says. ¡°Shrank down to the size of a spider, and wasn¡¯t paying attention. Unceremoniously flattened.¡±


    ¡°And what about you?¡± I motion to the man who had the audacity to interrupt my story.


    ¡°I ended a decades-long war by sacrificing myself with a nuclear explosion.¡±


    He says it so matter-of-factly that I can¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°A nuclear explosion? Yeah, you died for sure. You¡­ all died. Fuck, I was dead, wasn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°And this is the progress we usually make day one,¡± Oriana says, stepping forward to offer her hand on my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re all supposed to be dead, but we¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°So this is the afterlife, then. Not like any afterlife I¡¯ve ever heard of.¡±


    ¡°Definitely not an afterlife,¡± Dezz says. ¡°None I¡¯ve heard of through divine channeling, at least. We had a woman here who called it the End Lands. Said she¡¯d fought a creature from the End Lands once, with her wife. This is an island in the middle of a void between universes, as she explained it. And sometimes, there are¡ª¡±


    ¡°Arcane anomalies,¡± Aloe says, putting theirself into the conversation.


    ¡°No, more like astronomical anomalies,¡± Loki says, turning to Aloe.


    The taller of the duo turns to Loki. ¡°We agreed on this. If it¡¯s something we don¡¯t know the math on, it¡¯s arcane. It likely uses the Helminth theory of abjuration, meaning¡ª¡±


    ¡°No way. The math is clearly there. It¡¯s textbook Hoku¡¯s Law of multidimensional travel. The fringe calculations of Hoku¡¯s Law that weren¡¯t solved in my time were likely the adverse side-effects we¡¯re seeing as dying people being pulled from¡ª¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is,¡± Dezz says, talking over the both of them, ¡°there¡¯s no way back through. We¡¯re here in the End Lands forever, as far as we know. Neither of our brightest minds have had a chance to crack the code yet.¡±


    I am dead. Asgard killed me. And now I¡¯m stuck with no way back with a bunch of other dead people on an island floating in an endless void, where there is at least one confirmed¡ªalthough dead¡ªcreature out there. And I¡¯ve killed one of them already. If there¡¯s any chance of me surviving here, I have to figure out how to control myself on top of avoiding being tied to the death of the ghost.


    ¡°All good?¡± Luna asks, lowering her voice as she approaches.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I say, faking a smile. ¡°Yeah. Just need some time to¡­ process this.¡±


    ¡°Understood. If you ever need to talk to someone about it, my door is open.¡±


    She gently places a hand on my shoulder, and I bristle. Then, she steps away to go talk to Herb, slightly raising her voice at him, as the meeting is apparently adjourned.

 Chapter 4: Biff

    Luna and Purity return to me not long after most everyone else has scattered. The one whose hand I smashed yesterday wears a brighter smile, partially because her conversation with Herb is over.


    ¡°Alright, Melody. We want to respect the amount of time it¡¯ll take you to adjust to this new world, but there¡¯s also a few departments around here in which we are really lacking. Are you, by any chance, good at mechanics, engineering, cooking, or farming?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good at fighting,¡± I say, hoping to avoid the bulk of the intense labor. You mean to tell me I¡¯m dead, but still have to work?


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I was afraid of. We may have to end up giving you a job you¡¯re not familiar with. I¡¯ll see what our other defense people have to say. For now, though, I think we¡¯ll have to put you toward cooking, because Tes normally does that, and she is spread very thin right now.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to have another miscellaneous helper,¡± Purity says, flipping through a worn notebook. ¡°Cooking as main priority, but odds and ends otherwise.¡±


    ¡°I feel I should say I have no experience in cooking,¡± I protest.


    ¡°A lot safer than no experience in electrical wiring,¡± Luna says, giving me a nudge. ¡°Besides, if we¡¯re being honest here, you can¡¯t really do much worse than what we¡¯ve got already. Our options are very limited in terms of food, and there are no spices. We barely have salt.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ how do you have food here?¡±


    ¡°Our more tech-savvy friends have aptly called it the Glitch,¡± Purity says, leading the way out of the building and towards what seems to be a house repurposed for food. ¡°So far, once about every twenty rests, the pantries in the houses restock. Along with a few other things around the place, like kerosene containers for lamps, trees we¡¯ve chopped, and so on.¡±


    ¡°As long as we¡¯re smart with our consumable management, we stay fairly caught up. Have a surplus of some of the stuff, too, that stays after each glitch.¡±


    ¡°How does it happen? What does it look like?¡±


    ¡°Well, apparently, it just¡­ happens overnight. The stuff reappears. But we can¡¯t watch it happen. The only one to do that was Miami, and¡­ well, that¡¯s how he ended up a ghost.¡±


    ¡°The Glitch glitched him,¡± Luna says simply.


    ¡°Seems dangerous and unreliable.¡±


    ¡°Oh, for sure. We don¡¯t trust it one bit. Fortunately, Herb, Biff, and Rosa tend to our ever-growing fields of crops. These are¡­ also affected by the Glitch, as in once they reach maturity, they produce every twenty days. But we keep expanding the field, just in case it ever stops. We¡¯re getting close to a point where the potato crops are at a sustainable size for every loop.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ how long have you been here doing this?¡±


    The two of them look between each other, telling me it¡¯s been much longer than they¡¯d like to admit.


    ¡°The three of us, Oriana included, have been here for five years. The next-longest is Sprocket, at three.¡±


    Five years. Five miserable years stuck on this rock. Forced to do nothing but barely survive for the first two, no doubt, until slowly building up a group of people to keep it running. I was under Asgard¡¯s control for just over five years myself, but at least I had a change of scenery every few months.


    We reach the kitchen of the repurposed building, and I notice a robot in the center of the dining area, clearly in disrepair.


    ¡°Speak of the devil,¡± Purity says, approaching the robot. ¡°What are you doing out here, Sprocket?¡±


    The machine whirs lightly. ¡°I had predetermined the three of you would be here today, and came for a visit. There isn¡¯t long, you know.¡±


    Purity laughs nervously as she lifts the robot. ¡°Yeah, so you always say. How many days?¡±


    ¡°Six.¡± The way the robot punctuates it almost feels like a joke.


    ¡°He¡¯s how we know when the next glitch is,¡± Luna says. ¡°Six days.¡±


    ¡°And eighty-eight minutes,¡± the robot adds.


    ¡°You know we say ¡®one hour and twenty-eight minutes,¡¯ Sprocket,¡± Purity teases, placing the robot on a chair.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t the time for such luxuries, Master Purity. There isn¡¯t long, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. Come on, Melody, we¡¯ll show you where everything you need is.¡±


    As the two of them walk me through the kitchen process, they make small remarks about how things should be done. There¡¯s a calendar they rarely stray from for course planning¡ª¡°Copper gets upset if we change the cycle orders¡±¡ªand at the beginning of every cycle, the kitchen worker empties what¡¯s in the house¡¯s pantry and puts the stock in the back of a storage room in the basement of the house. Pretty straightforward food management, if not complicated by whatever strange magic bullshit is happening here.


    All the while, I can¡¯t help but think about how¡­ trusting everyone is. And that could be just the nature of where we are, in that if you can¡¯t trust one of the fourteen or however many there are, then the flow of things falls apart.


    I¡¯ve gotta figure a way out of here. I wouldn¡¯t last long, especially with these flare-ups happening twice already.


    Before, the flare-ups were rare. Maybe once a month, max. And for most of my life, while still under Asgard¡¯s control, there was medication that would keep the flare-ups and my abilities under control. That was a luxury that I clearly wouldn¡¯t have access to here. I doubted there was any sort of medicine here, period. Not to mention, the odds of anyone being capable of producing some sort of concoction to help me out are low.


    Luna gives me a gentle nod as her and Purity finalize their kitchen instructions for me, and steps out to join Sprocket. ¡°Let us know if you need any help, Melody. We¡¯re all in this together.¡±


    I scoff a little at her remark when she¡¯s gone, although the thought lingers in my head. Should I try to use this place as a second chance? A life of normalcy, or as close as I can get to it? I wasn¡¯t given that chance. The last time I lived in a house was ten years ago.


    Tes joins me in the kitchen roughly an hour later, as I¡¯ve started on the lunch routine. She nods silently my way, and begins working on a different portion of the lunch area.


    I wait a few minutes to talk to her, unsure of what to say. Small talk is a privilege I had very little access to growing up. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re mute, right?¡±


    She nods, then makes a motion with her hands, letting me know she speaks sign language.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know any signs. You don¡¯t have to worry about me trying to keep conversation all that much, though. I don¡¯t really talk to people.¡±


    She nods again, her expression telling me she isn¡¯t surprised or phased in any way.


    As the time for lunch begins to approach, another figure, one that I don¡¯t recognize from the meeting this morning, approaches, smiling at the two of us.


    ¡°Good morning, ladies,¡± he says, leaning against the counter where food was to be served. ¡°Melody, you¡¯ve made quite the impression around here, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I reply. ¡°And you are?¡±


    ¡°Of course. The name¡¯s Biff. I¡¯m pretty much the hotshot around here. I have to practically claw the ladies off of me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get that impression from you.¡±


    His demeanor barely falters as he deflects. ¡°No doubt because you¡¯re a lesbian. I¡¯ve clocked you already, no worries. And if you didn¡¯t know that, then there you are. In fact, word is you¡¯ve got Luna crushing on you already. Anyway, enough of that. Tes, are you ready?¡±


    She gives me the slightest look before turning and nodding to him. His grin gives nothing away, but her glance tells me everything.


    He¡¯s certainly clocked something.


    I give the two of them a few moments to get ahead of me, then quietly slink behind, as the man leads Tes across the street toward another house. As soon as the front door is closed, I rush across and place my ear to the door.


    Why am I doing this? Why do I care what happens to her? What this man is doing with her? For all I know, I was reading her expressions wrong. Maybe I was reading his expressions wrong.


    No. I was her once. I haven¡¯t read anything wrong.


    As his voice moves around the house, I crouch under windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of where they¡¯re headed. Eventually, they stop in a bedroom.


    ¡°You know the deal,¡± he says, revealing a black whip engulfed in flames. ¡°Off.¡±


    Tes pauses a moment, then tries to raise her arm toward him. He reacts immediately, the whip tangling around her bicep. As she crumbles in pain, she raises her other arm in surrender, and the whip retracts.


    With the power dynamic established, I¡¯ve seen more than I need to. I sprint around to the front of the house, and quietly swing the door open. Then, with a bit of panicked navigation, I find the bedroom, and peek into the room. Tes is already half-naked as her captor also begins to undress.


    No time to lose. I rush in, and before he can even turn to face me, a red, crackling spike extends from my hand, piercing him from the back of his chest and through his ribcage. He sputters a little, then turns to face me.


    ¡°What the¡­ hell¡­¡±


    Tes stares wide-eyed, then covers her exposed parts as the life leaves her captor¡¯s body. Every inch of blood in his body flows into and through my wrist, and my muscles swell a little. At last, his corpse crumples to the floor, exsanguinated.


    Tes wastes no time in getting dressed, and we share an unvoiced exchange. I¡¯m not entirely sure what is said during the exchange until she nods, a tear forming in her eye, and raises her hands. As she does, a glowing purple platform lifts from the ground, carrying the slumped body with it. She then walks forward, the platform levitating with her. I follow behind her, and the two of us discretely leave the house, and I keep watch for prying eyes while Tes leads us toward a field of corn.


    The walk is strangely somber. With no words to exchange, unless I feel like breaking the silence, it almost feels like a funeral procession, except for the worst man possible.


    We reach the edge, essentially hidden behind the cornstalks, although the crops themselves had been cut short about twenty feet from the abyss. She hovers the platform carrying Biff a few feet over the edge, then twists her wrist. The platform disappears, and his body drifts down as if it were a feather, until a few seconds later, he is no longer visible from our vantage point.


    Tes turns to me. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I give her a nod. A secret she¡¯ll almost certainly be keeping.


    She begins the walk back to town first, but I lag behind, staring out into the void.


    Second time¡¯s the charm, fucker.

 Chapter 5: The Secret

    It¡¯s not long after that lunch is ready. We finish the prep work without another word to each other, and the first to arrive is Luna, smiling at the two of us.


    ¡°Looks good today, girls,¡± she says. ¡°Hopefully it wasn¡¯t too much trouble to figure out.¡±


    ¡°Finished without a hitch,¡± I reply. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have messed it up if I tried.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s reassuring to hear, because it is very hard to mess instant mashed potatoes up. How do you feel so far, Melody?¡±


    Refreshed. Violent. Dignified. Unstable.


    ¡°Alright so far. A little bored, if I¡¯m allowed to say, though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair. I¡¯m sure we can find something for you to do tonight. Maybe the two of you can work it out so one of you does lunches, and the other does dinners.¡±


    I wish I could say it¡¯s difficult for me to lie to people like this, but these sorts of lies, no matter how small, are the only way I¡¯ve gotten as far as I have. Even under Asgard, I would have to lie to so many people on a daily basis just to get through a mission. There¡¯s always a twinge of guilt when the people I¡¯m lying to are completely innocent, but rarely do these lies hurt anyone, anyway.


    Purity heads a group of others joining the hall, most of which I recognize by name from this morning, and Tes and I join the group in filling our plates with food. There are three long party tables that have been put end-to-end to allow for everyone to sit together, and I pick a spot that seemingly isn¡¯t reserved for anyone. The last person to filter in is a man in heavy armor covering every inch of his body. It¡¯s some sort of silvery reflective metal, but most of it is painted with wildflowers and a blue, cloudy sky. Instead of taking a seat, he grabs a plate and leaves the building.


    ¡°What¡¯s that guy¡¯s deal?¡± I ask the table.


    ¡°That¡¯s Copper,¡± Purity responds. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ he has rituals. It¡¯s part of whatever army he used to be in, or something to that effect. He¡¯s not allowed to take the armor off around others, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what¡¯s interesting,¡± Herb says, across the table. The chair beside him is empty, as if reserved. ¡°Usually Biff is one of the first here, and for some reason he hasn¡¯t shown up yet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± Luna says, not looking up from her food. ¡°This is heartbreaking news.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll turn up soon,¡± Oriana says. ¡°He hasn¡¯t missed a lunch yet.¡±


    Herb doesn¡¯t press the topic further, and lunch wraps up after a few scattered conversations between everyone. Tes and I begin the cleanup process, and Luna hangs behind, offering some small help here and there.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± I ask, doing my best to pretend to care about the clean-up.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she replies, turning to gaze into my eyes. ¡°Just figured I¡¯d help out a little on your day off. I¡¯m working later tonight for setting up Miami¡¯s funeral, so I have some time to¡­ meander, pretty much.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    At the same moment, Aloe steps into the room, their hair lightly singed. There¡¯s an excitement in their demeanor that wasn¡¯t visible at any other point today.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got something,¡± Aloe says, pointing their thumb out the door. ¡°An anomaly.¡±


    ¡°Anomaly?¡± Luna asks, breaking her eye contact to face my housemate. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not sure. Whatever it is, it¡¯s very small right now. But we¡¯ve never had an anomaly in our readings the full six cycles we¡¯ve been tracking data.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but what do you mean? What readings?¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°It¡¯s better if you¡ª¡±


    I feel it again. The tips of my fingers, pulsing, in pain. A heat creeps up my neck, and a drumming beat slams against the backs of my eyes.


    Fuck. Not right now.


    ¡°Melody, are you feeling alright?¡± Aloe asks. In my red-soaked vision, I see Luna turn back to face me before stepping back a bit.


    ¡°Go!¡± I shout. I try to scramble to the wall away from the others, but as my back collides with a chair, the painful force is released, searing a crack in the floor and throwing me into the ceiling. There¡¯s a moment where my motion is frozen, and as I begin to plummet back down, the same translucent platform Tes had made earlier catches my fall. She lowers me slowly, and my feet touch the floor long before she removes the platform.


    They stand and stare at me with varying levels of scared shock.


    ¡°What¡­ was that?¡± Aloe slides my way, adjusting their glasses to look at my hands. ¡°May I?¡±


    I nod, drained, and they hold my hand, turning it around, attempting to see if there¡¯s any remnants of my flare-up. I know there aren¡¯t.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Luna asks, cautiously stepping forward. ¡°That looked painful.¡±


    I wipe a bead of sweat away with my free hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine. This just happens sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said you didn¡¯t have any superpowers.¡±


    My eyes meet her, and for the first time since crashing through a roof and being here, the words that leave my mouth are genuine.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a superpower. It¡¯s a curse.¡±


    Trying their best to be hospitable, the three of them each find a way to help me relax for a moment, with a chair, an ice pack, and a blanket. As Aloe writes something down in their phone, Luna paces the floor, trying to reconcile this new variable with my being here.


    ¡°How often does this sort of thing happen?¡±


    ¡°Not usually often,¡± I say. ¡°And almost never around other people.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s not something you can control?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No rhyme or reason?¡± Aloe asks.


    ¡°Nothing. The fuckers that did this to me couldn¡¯t even figure out what they did. They determined that sometimes they could trigger it with an injection of anti-Boron, but I doubt if those mashed potatoes had antimatter in them.¡±


    Luna¡¯s puzzled expression warps further. ¡°Anti-Boron? What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Anti-Boron?¡± Aloe remarks. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not as if Boron is common enough to create any adverse effects on injection.¡±


    ¡°Aloe! Aloe! Where are you?!¡±


    Loki¡¯s voice echoes outside as she yells for her partner in crime, and she swings the door open, a long sheet of paper flowing beside her. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re in here. I¡¯ve been running around everywhere. The anomaly spiked like two minutes ago. An insane reading. Never seen anything like it. The directional readings pointed¡­ in this direction.¡±


    Loki stares at me, wrapped like a sick child in a seat, and makes the connection.


    With her staring, the others follow the dotted line, all turning back to face me as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re the anomaly,¡± Aloe says. ¡°Rather, your outbreak is.¡±


    ¡°Can one of you two explain what the hell the anomaly is about, anyway?¡± Luna crosses her arms. She clearly isn¡¯t one for bullshit. I almost respect her for it.


    Loki straightens her posture, as if entering presentation mode. ¡°Alright, so we know the End Lands is that space between the universes, right? And it ebbs and flows with readable data and information on a static, steady pace.¡±


    ¡°There are calculable movements, changes, and events that we¡¯ve been picking up on as we¡¯ve been studying,¡± Aloe adds. ¡°Most of which are arcane in nature, bleeding out of respective universes.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not arcane. It¡¯s scientific data. Readable, decipherable. Like the time the radio waves came from Aug-28-ELP regarding the murder of a man in Europe on Earth.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but what about the actual nature of the bleeds, or the other observable things we¡¯ve found, like traces of spell aura regularly crackling out of Jun-148-CCH.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, that has very clear elemental compounds that¡ª¡±


    ¡°That you said didn¡¯t make sense together, and had to be something else, despite my insistence on the same makeup as an arcane fire.¡±


    ¡°Nerds,¡± Luna says, trying to snap the two back to the actual conversation.


    ¡°Yes, right. The actual data that comes from these bleeds is up for interpretation, but they¡¯re all at regular intervals. Even when we detect new bleeds from new-forming universes, or find one with a slower interval, or so on, they¡¯re incorporated in the algorithm.¡±


    ¡°So what was the anomaly, then? What does it mean?¡±


    ¡°We¡­ don¡¯t know. It was the exact opposite of a bleed in terms of the data presented. What¡¯s the opposite of a bleed? We also don¡¯t know. Removal of information, perhaps?¡±


    Luna seems to ponder the information, although it¡¯s clear half of it means nothing to her. ¡°What do we do with this, then?¡±


    Loki¡¯s posture shifts a little. ¡°Ideally¡­ we study it.¡±


    All eyes are back on me, the proposed guinea pig of Loki and Aloe¡¯s investigation into the unknown.


    ¡°Let me get this straight¡ªyou want to try and provoke whatever painful, dangerous outburst Melody had just so you can try and figure out why it messed up your equipment?¡±


    ¡°Well, with her permission, of course.¡±


    ¡°No. We made it clear with Miami, and we¡¯re making it clear again with Melody: we will not recklessly experiment with each other. The fact that we¡¯re here is a miracle enough, and we don¡¯t need to push our luck.¡±


    With Luna¡¯s decisive statement, the two scientists nod in diminished submission, and quietly gesture my way before leaving the meal house.


    If my flare-ups show as anomalies on their equipment, then this isn¡¯t the first anomaly they¡¯ll have recorded. They¡¯ll find out exactly when and where the anomaly occurred, and then my cover is blown.


    I am completely fucked.