(Feels like this story is flying by.)

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The warm water feels like heaven on Dawn and Kara’s aching muscles after days of traveling. Using puffy flowers that grow on the shore, they scrub the dirt from their skin and wince as old scabs are torn off. A numbing nectar from the makeshift loofahs helps to ease their pain, which is a godsend when the pair begin searching each other for splinters. Sharing a set of rusty tweezers, they do their best to remove the tiny shards that are reminds of a tree-shattering storm from two days ago. Neither are clear on how they survived the maelstrom with no shelter, especially when they witnessed other travelers get shredded and thrown into the distance. The horrific sight has caused Kara to always stay within reach of Dawn, the girl’s steely nerves having gradually eroded. Even now, the sight of other people makes her anxious, so her eyes scan the large lake that is being used by a few caravans. A quick glance at her friend’s face shows that they share the same worrisome thoughts and a suspicion that trouble is following them closely. As if on cue, two men are yanked under the water and fired at a truck like living torpedoes. Only a few people scream in fright, but the rest simply look up and shrug at the unexpected deaths.

“I think the flowers are making everyone mellow,” Dawn whispers as she settles into a massaging current. Touching the bottom with her feet, she feels tiny worms wriggle around her toes. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say those things are eating the blisters and corns. This is a really strange place. Soothing and blissful, but kind of bizarre. Are you feeling any better? I know getting kicked out of the Grand Caravan was hard. There’s only so many times I can apologize before it rings hollow, but I’ll do it again if you want.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Kara replies before dunking her head underwater. She notices tiny fish with sucker-like mouths fringed with feathers and returns to the surface when one darts forward to touch her cheek. “These are healing my sunburns. I should keep going under because my scalp hurts. Where do you think we should go?”

“This haven sounds as good a destination as any,” the woman admits with a smirk. Sinking further, she leaves on her face exposed and runs her hands through her knotted hair. “If I’m right then the Grand Caravan is following a spiral that started at the south pole. I know the approximate route, so we can match it to reach the same destination. If there are rumors of this haven then there should be people there already. They won’t let anything happen to us if we arrive on their doorstep. At least, that’s what I’m hoping. This is the best idea I can come up with besides going back to my forest.”

The girl tries to mimic Dawn, but she ends up floating due to her height and the depth of the lake. “Maybe that’s a better plan. The monsters won’t bother us back there. Out here, they can keep coming after us. Nobody says there has to be one haven in the world. People can find smaller ones if they’re together, right? That’s what it used to be like. My parents told me there were houses that didn’t eat people who tried to go inside. I had a book that showed a picture of one and it looked pretty.”

Dawn is about to answer when she sees a mother and child get turned into statues of salt on the far shore. People run away from them as a herd of deer arrive to lick the frozen travelers until only the feet are left. An old man who tried to swim across the lake shouts an instance before a lily pad sprouts from his mouth. He continues floating with the plant growing to the size of a small car. Frogs hop out of the water and eat at the flies that are attracted to the steadily rotting corpse. The central flower blooms to release a poisonous cloud that is blown towards the other travelers, who run away or dive into the lake. The surface wriggles with movement as cloth eels emerge from the seabed and wrap around the people. Lacking teeth, the strange creatures drag their prey beneath the surface and plunge them into the sticky muck where they wait for the flesh to rot. Leaving gear and vehicles behind, the surviving travelers run into the wilderness, their screams echoing for several minutes.

“And yet we remain untouched,” Dawn says as she gets out of the lake. She hears a plop of water and fears that Kara has been attacked, but finds that the girl is only splashing herself in the face. “Their game has changed and I’m a part of it. Going back to the forest will only result in that place being destroyed. For all I know, my old home was wiped out the moment it fell below the horizon. That means we can only go forward. Maybe it will be this haven or another place where we can be safe. Then again, I have Ian and Addison actively hunting for me. Really wish you could have stayed with Melissa.”

“But then you would be alone,” Kara points out. She hurries to get her towel and is surprised by how warm it feels. “I spent a lot of time by myself just like you. Only I’m a kid, so I know I need adults for certain things. That makes it easy for me to work with people that I meet, but I never felt safe like I do now. Not since I was with my parents. You’re so strong and smart, which means you can survive. Yet, I’m sure even someone like you feels lonely. Nobody in this world should feel like that.”

“Very wise for a kid,” she replies, her eyebrow twitching. A snapped branch draws her attention to a bear that lumbers over the lake for a drink and pays no attention to the two naked humans. “I never thought about being alone before. Probably because I was created as you see me and ran away immediately. Being born an adult meant I never had to depend on anyone else, so I didn’t know what I was missing. Can’t say it hasn’t been nice traveling with you. Being able to converse with another person instead of animals or yourself helps remind me that I’m the sane one. Anyway, this is pointless talk. We need to get moving before one of these threats decides to attack us.”

“But all of the dangerous animals have avoided us for days.”

“That’s what has me so nervous.”

(I really hope these silly links aren’t more entertaining than the story.)

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Relaxing by a large pool on top of a mountain, Addison watches her sane double hide in the forests. Wearing a crimson one-piece suit that has her own face emblazoned on the stomach, she puts the mirror above the couch that she is sprawled across. Feeling restless and irritable, she snaps her fingers and creates a water column in the distance. A rain of shrimp hits the mountain and the reality-bender calmly turns a glass table into a boiling pot that spits the cooked animals into a hovering bowl of cocktail sauce. Addison indulges in her snack while she reaches out to punish the Grand Caravan for being mean to her other self, but stops when Gemma hisses from her inflatable chair. Annoyed by the mild chastising, the reality-bender creates a large termite in the water and scowls when the insect sinks to the bottom. She turns its legs into floaties, but her assistant casually pops them with the toothpick sticking out of her drink. Before Addison can come up with another way to punish Gemma, she is distracted by a spot of light on the ground. It shifts whenever she moves her head and it takes her a minute to realize it is the sun bouncing off her golden eyepatch. Plucking the beam out of the air, she tosses it at a pile of snow that is on a nearby cliff.

The projectile abruptly stops an inch from its target, which transforms into an icicle-fringed door. Cold air billows out of the gateway, but is blocked by the dome of heat that Addison is maintaining. A familiar scent in the air causes her to jump to her feet and turn her hands into lobster claws. She is about to attack when the robotic Gemma walks out carrying a white flag strapped to her back. The other assistant is immediately out of the pool, her half bikini and half one-piece swimsuit turning into a police uniform as soon as she gets out of the water. Addison steps to the side to let the two women charge and collide, the mechanical one already sparking due to the rum punch thrown at her. The fight eventually causes the pair to reach the edge of the mountaintop and one slip sends them tumbling down the side. Even from far away, the Gemmas can be heard cursing and hitting each other until they crashes into a boulder and reappear above the pool. They are dropped into waiting life preservers that hold them tight and float to opposite corners.

“I would like to offer a temporary ceasefire,” Ian says as he appears on a lounge chair. He changes his suit into ebony swimming trunks and goes about rubbing thick sunblock into his pale skin. “This doesn’t mean I like you or think you’re stronger. It’s simply that I feel we need to settle the matter of your other self. Our battles are growing tedious because you can’t focus and routinely slip away. Not that I ever lose track of you, but hunting you down like a wounded animal is very unappealing.”

“A polite guest arrives with a gift for his host,” Addison declares, her couch transforming into a throne. Water jets fire from the back and a vibrating footrest slides out, which temporarily distracts the reality-bender. “The only way this should end is with me claiming what is rightfully mine. I saw you try to turn her against me. She hates both of us and wants to be left alone, so that was pointless. The little puppy got his wet nose smacked for being silly. Next time, I’ll have you fixed.”

“Try it and you will be wearing your innards on the outside,” he growls while subtly creating a metal cup beneath his shorts. Creating a single strawberry from thin air, he tosses it to his enemy and tries to relax. “As I said before, I want to hold off on fighting until we fix this problem. Killing her could return her to you, but she may be lost forever. Another possibility is that destroying you would transfer your powers to her. That leaves me fighting an enemy that is sane and smart instead of a maniac.”

Addison taps her fingers on the arm of her thorn, every strike shaking the mountain. “I don’t like the scenario where I die. She would be a horrible me. All stable and boring and normal and wearing those dirty clothes. I bet she would never wear the beautiful dresses that I create or turn an old man into a yo-yo out of boredom. On the other hand, I don’t want to work with you since you’re very rude. It’s not polite to come back to life after I went to all the trouble of killing you, puppy. Not to mention you broke my kitty and refuse to give me the rest of her. Can’t you see that they’re miserable? Oh, they seem to have flipped upside down. Are they making bubbles or have they died?”

“Mine has the ability to breathe underwater.”

“She’s sparking a lot.”

“Must be the chlorine.”

“Well, mine is fine since I just gave her gills.”

“Then, let us get back to business.”

No longer interested in lounging by the pool, the reality-benders create a desk between them and transform their clothes. The furniture is smooth and simple wood on Ian’s side while Addison has created a gaudy surface of bone that flares up at the corners. Slacks and a nice sweater grow from the man’s skin, which sloughs off and slides into the pool. He cycles through several watches while leather loafers walk out of the icy gateway and slip onto his feet, which are immediately covered in warm socks. Wanting to upstage her smirking enemy, Addison’s ivory dress billows out with a wide skirt and a frill that rises from the back like the tailfeathers of a peacock. She rises a foot in the air due to platform stilettos that would snap the ankle of a normal woman. Bracelets, rings, and necklaces drift from the clouds to adorn her body, several of them slipping beneath her clothes. Once they are both ready, the reality-benders draw quill pens out from behind their backs.

“There is one thing we need to discuss before signing the temporary truce,” Ian mentions as a paper with the single word appears on the table. He spins his pheasant feather pen in his hand as he waits for his enemy to stop tickling her nose with her ostrich quill. “What should we do about the girl? To be honest, I forgot about her entirely until she fought to save your double. So, it is a surprise that they are still together. My personal opinion is that we should eliminate her and avoid any messiness.”

“Touch the child and our truce ends violently,” Addison replies in a tone that sends a shiver down everyone’s spine. Holding out her hand, she creates a doll of Kara and sprouts another arm to stroke the toy’s face. “She amuses me, which might be why the other me is so interested maintaining the friendship. Perhaps she connects to a piece we share. A maternal instinct that has never been satisfied. Either way, I demand that she be kept safe. There isn’t any harm in letting her stay, puppy. What messiness do you think the child could create?”

“I just have a bad feeling about her,” he mutters before signing the contract. He watches as the woman does the same, but writes his name. “You’re not . . . I’ll just change it later. Are you okay with me pushing things along if they get boring? You can do the protection and vengeance thing that I know you love. I simply want to control the pace of events. It’s such a dull task that I’m sure you-”

“Go away because we’re done,” Addison says without paying attention. A flick of her wrist sends Ian and his Gemma flying off the mountain along with the desk. “Let’s see what fun I can have with this.”

(We’re over the halfway mark!)

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“I’m sure you understand why we’re doing this away from the camp,” Melissa explains, her rifle aimed at Dawn’s head. A gunshot goes off in the distance and she peeks through to trees to see that the angry mob is still being kept at bay by the guards. “The only thing keeping them from tearing you apart is my request to handle it alone. I won’t lie and say the thought of putting a bullet in both of you hasn’t crossed my mind a hundred times.”

“Leave the girl alone,” Dawn growls as she steps in front of Kara. Crouching to use her torso as a shield, she makes sure to keep her hands away from her knife. “The message said to blame me. She had nothing to do with it. The only mistake she made was bumping into me and not running away. All she wants is to be a part of the Grand Caravan. If I have to leave then that’s fine, but she deserves to stay.”

“I go where she goes!” Kara shouts, her fists clenched at her sides. Seeing that her friend is off-balance, she knocks her onto the ground and gets closer to the caravan leader. “Dawn helped me when I was alone. She could have abandoned me in the desert, but she didn’t. So, I won’t leave her behind either. You people have been mean to her since we arrived. I have ears that work and tents aren’t as thick as buildings. Nobody trusts her or wants her around, which means you don’t want me to stay. I want to use the language I heard the adults use, but my mom and dad told me not to.”

Feeling the scar on her throat start to itch, Melissa lowers her weapon and takes out a handkerchief to dab at the old wound. Sweat forms on her brow as she looks back at the caravan, which is an unorganized mob of damaged vehicles. She can see smoke billowing from a few of the trucks, the mechanics too busy screaming for Dawn’s blood to tend to their job. Her guards continue yelling for everyone to stay back, but the terror of nearly getting wiped out by Ian is still too fresh to be controlled. The wind carries the loudest voices to the trees, each one demanding justice for someone who died during the escape. Melissa grips her rifle when she hears a mother talk about her lost children and she nearly loses her temper. The only thing that stays her hand is Dawn’s expression, which is a mix of shame and grief. With a muttered curse, the caravan leader leans against a tree and stares at the ground.

“Kara is right,” Melissa finally says. She is about to kick a pinecone when she remembers that they are standing among oaks and maples. “I know you want her to be safe, but that might not be here. The people know she’s your friend. Also, many think her actions cost us a quarter of our medical experts. All to save you. What I’m saying is that some may decide to go after Kara if they can’t get to you. Whether as a surrogate or in the hopes of drawing you back, her life is already in danger. I can’t protect her either. Those who want to lead the Grand Caravan could use me being nice to a friend of yours as a reason to remove me. I have thousands of people to protect here. You’re only two. Sorry, but those are the numbers.”

“At least you aren’t sugarcoating it,” Dawn replies, her lip quivering as she holds back a smirk. She attempts to stand, but stops when she notices Melissa’s rifle move an inch in her direction. “I know you didn’t ask, but it wasn’t like I went to Ian willingly. There was a guy in your camp named Trent. Maybe you know him or he was recently added to your people as a trap to draw all the hunters into the wilderness. It was a slaughter as soon as we got to the ponds and trees. The only reason I escaped was because-”

“No lying,” the caravan leader angrily snaps. Walking over to the other woman, she yanks her up by the hair and stares into her eyes. “I don’t know why, but I can just tell that you’re lying right now. There was no reason for our hunters to be drawn into a deathtrap. We were never a threat to the monsters. They never even paid attention to us until you showed up, which is why you surviving is suspicious. You even called the male by his real name. What is your connection to Ian Connors and Dawn . . . Addison?”

Pushing herself away, the brown-haired woman swiftly puts up her hands in the hopes of delaying her execution. “This is going to sound crazy, but maybe the unhinged world we live in will help me here. Years ago, Ian and Addison got into a fight. He hit her hard enough to knock what little sanity she possessed out of her head. That’s where I came from. I am the sane side of Dawn Addison, which means I’m her, but not her. By the time they noticed what happened, I had wandered off and made a home in a little forest. Addison decided to made that my prison, which obviously didn’t hold because she no longer had a rational side to think things through. Please believe that I don’t have her powers and have no desire to hurt humans. All I want is to be left out of their fight and get Kara to this haven. None of that has changed.”

“Why are they interested in you now?”

“Because I left my area, but I don’t know anything beyond that.”

“What do they want with you?”

“Addison wants to bond with me, which I refuse to do.”

“I could kill you now and solve that.”

“We don’t know if I’d go back to her if killed.”

“What about the male?”

“Our conversation ranged from my death to an alliance.”

“Obviously, you disagreed with his ideas.”

“Yes, so where does that leave us?”

For a second, Melissa grips her rifle and lets her finger tap the side of the trigger. She looks from Dawn to Kara, who has been quietly sitting on the ground while the two women talk. A pang of guilt hits the caravan leader and she considers returning to camp to argue for the pair to remain. Hearing the angry voices, she knows it is no longer an option and the recent attack might be only the beginning if they stay. With a sigh, she gives in the inevitable and immediately feels a wave of relief that eases her tense muscles. Reaching behind a tree, Melissa takes out Kara’s satchel and a new backpack for Dawn. She silently drops them at her feet and gently places her rifle on top of the pile. Taking a box of bullets out of her jacket pocket, she turns it in her hands before putting it in the crook of a small tree. The caravan leader is about to walk away when she thinks of a better idea and draws a pistol. She aims for the sky and fires two bullets, adding a pause between the shots to help with the illusion.

“As far as the Grand Caravan is concerned, the two of you have been executed,” Melissa states with her back to Dawn and Kara. She watches her people, who have stopped yelling and pushing against the guards. “Wait for darkness and then go anywhere, but east. If we cross paths again, I’ll probably be killed alongside you. Consider this a gift for you being honest, Dawn, and an apology for not being able to keep Kara. Good luck and I’ll pray that you can stay ahead of those monsters.”

“What if we meet at the haven?” Kara asks as the caravan leader walks away. Not getting a response, she hurries to check her satchel and finds canned food added to her belongings. “I think they were nicer than we realized. Maybe we’ll see them again and be friends. Do you hope that happens?”

Blindly picking up the backpack, Dawn cannot stop staring at the large crowd that is celebrating her execution. “Sure, kid. Be great if we can all meet up at the haven and live happily ever after.”

(About time that guy showed yesterday, right?)

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The horizon shudders as a large chunk of the earth rises up and part of the sky bends forward. With a loud crash, the enormous expanse slams down as if somebody has folded the landscape. The blast of force sends dirt, plants, and animals flying towards the caravan, which is struggling to get the vehicles out of the defensive circle. Tents are abandoned and fires are left burning as the people scramble to pack the necessities. Melissa stands atop an armored motorhome and yells into a megaphone, but her voice is drowned out by the screams and howling winds. The rolling wall of debris is nearly upon the broken campsite when everyone leaps for cover. Bears and moose that were caught in the blast are slammed against the trucks, those that are alive going berserk and becoming a danger to anyone nearby. All of the tents are hurled into the sky, including those that have people cowering inside. Unable to save them, the survivors give up on packing and pile into the vehicles that roar to life. Instead of a neat and organized departure, the caravan heads out as a chaotic mob that bounces over the uneven ground.

On the edge of the pack, Kara stares out of the window of the doctor’s bus and wonders if Dawn made it to a vehicle. She watches as a motorcycle hits a bump that explodes and sends the armed guard flying backwards. A powerful wind rushes from the clouds to rip the man to shreds, which are cast over the caravan like confetti. The horrific sight causes her to scramble to the other side of the bus where she happens to see a figure heading towards the caravan. At first, Kara thinks it is another monster and is about to warn the adults that they are about to be attacked. She pauses with her mouth open when she recognizes Dawn, who is clinging to the back of an elk. With a symphony of echoing calls, the entire herd charges over the hills and continues heading for the vehicles. Two of the doctors hear the noise and instantly shout for the driver to go faster to avoid a collision. Even when a nurse points out that someone is riding the lead stag, the others refuse to slow down or make any move to help.

“Damn humans,” Kara mutters as she listens to the adults argue.

Sliding out of her seat, she quietly pads to the back door and removes the tools that are hanging from exit. Checking on the herd, she guesses that the animals are going to pass the rear of the bus instead of hit the side. Screams from the other side of the vehicle distract the girl and she watches as several trucks hit invisible roads that lead them off the ground. Most of those trapped on the pathways go sailing off an unseen ramp and slam into the earth in front of the panicked caravan. Crashes and explosions are scattered about the mob as the frontline slams into the fallen trucks. Kara looks away from the destruction and happens to see that a lone vehicle is still in the air. It bounces off invisible walls and follows a spiral towards the clouds, which gradually open to show the sun. With a loud boom, the truck sprouts a rocket from its bed and is launched towards the blazing orb. A flaming tire falls to the ground and bounces alongside the bus until it hits a bump and careens into a nearby motorcycle. The driver is knocked under the wheels of a motorhome, which swerves for a second and sends the mangled body flying onto the windshield of a car.

Becoming numb to the ensuing carnage, Kara throws the door open and leans out to wave for Dawn. She immediately jumps back when she sees the lead stag is only a few feet in front of her, its antlers grazing her forehead. The beast knocks the door off its hinges and crashes to the ground, which trips up part of the herd. Trucks swerve to avoid the animals and those that are unable to get out of the way are sent flipping into the forest by chunks of earth that are connected to springs. Not seeing her friend, she fears that the woman has fallen off, so she hurries to the nearest window. To her relief, Kara sees Dawn on another elk and watches as she jumps to a third. Returning to the opening, the girl stays low enough to avoid getting hit again and screams at the top of her lungs. She is suddenly yanked back by one of the doctors, who she instinctively kicks in the groin before scrambling away. Grabbing two scalpels, she stands by the exit and makes sure none of the adults try to block it. A nurse tries to get closer and is about to whisper to the girl until a blade slices her shin and drives her back.

Everyone jumps when there is a knock on the hatch in the roof, but nobody makes a move toward the handle. Too short to reach, Kara looks to the adults for help, but knows that they are more interested in escaping. The bus swerves to avoid a suspicious dip in the ground and another crash from behind sends a fresh wall of debris towards the caravan. Fearing that Dawn is about to die, Kara puts the scalpels on an empty seat and scrambles up a shaking shelving unit. While the doctors shove a cabinet in the opening, the girl leaps for the handle and plants her feet on a nurse’s face when the black-haired woman tries to grab her legs. Taking a moment to read the directions, she quickly opens the hatch and sticks her head out to see that Dawn is sliding to the edge of the bus. Hoisting herself up and lurching forward, she catches her friend by the hand and desperately yanks on her arm. Swinging her feet to the ceiling, Kara pulls with all of her strength and helps the woman inside.

The hatch is slammed closed a second before the fresh wave of dirt, trees, and animals come over the caravan. A doctor struggles to keep the cabinet in place, but a branch punches through the metal to impale him through the head. With his weight against the damaged furniture, he begins to push it out of the bus. Two of the nurses rush forward to save as many of the supplies inside as they can carry. They are left standing in the open, their arms filled with bandages and medicine, when the cabinet tumbles to the ground. Both women scream at the sight of a mountain lion hurtling towards them, the confused predator snarling and extending its front paws. The animal collides into the nurses and the impact snaps one of their necks while the other is savagely mauled to death. Before the beast can attack anyone else, Kara rushes forward to stab it in the nose with one of her scalpels. With a yelp, the animal scrambles out of the bus and limps towards the hills that are turning a blood red. The last they here from the mountain lion is a mournful call that sounds eerily human before abruptly cutting off with a hiss.

With a low rumble, the land behind them begins to revert to its original form and the sky clears to show the stars even though it is still daytime. The ground becomes flat and even, which gives the caravan a smooth ride that puts them on edge. Brakes screech at the sight of an enormous gateway rising out of a stream that they continues to run up the pillars and across the arched top. A neon sign bursts from the wooden surface along with an arrow pointing at the bus, which is slowing to a stop. Ian’s messy signature appears above the gateway as clouds that emit a horizontal rain that gradually falls into the confused caravan. Kara is the only one who looks at Dawn while everyone else stares at the message that they have the woman to thank for their recent tragedy.