Legends of Windemere

(Fun fact: Like the rest of the story, I wrote the previous section while awake.)

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Sitting on opposite sides of a large tree, Dawn and Kara listening to the pounding rain that they narrowly escaped. A blinding curtain of water blocks their view of the area, but they remain dry thanks to the thick canopy above their heads. Only a few streams come through the network of sturdy branches and leathery leaves, which has given the travelers a chance to get clean and have a drink. Regardless of the serene atmosphere and the relaxing smell of fresh rain, they cannot relax as an inevitable conversation lingers on their tongues. Dawn is no longer trying to get around the tree to check on Kara, who has claimed all of the food for herself. The sound of chewing and the occasional burp continue until she is certain that that girl is trying eat as much of the food as possible. She waits for the sound of footsteps rushing into the rain, but they never come. Dawn takes it as a sign that her companion is willing to talk and will not disappear into the wilderness. The thought of angry mobs coming after her sends a shiver along her spine, but a part of her considers that she deserves such a fate. Unnerved by the dark thought, she gets to her feet and begins gathering rocks to throw at the fist-sized figs that are growing in the lower branches.

“Are you a monster too?” Kara asks from her side of the tree. The girl peeks around for a second and swiftly goes back out of sight before she is spotted. “I heard what Addison was calling you. Also, I know what absorbing means. There are beasts out there that do that to their prey. So, are you going to eat me?”

“I prefer chicken, beef, and moose,” Dawn replies, hoping to cut through the tension. Not getting a response, she sighs and continues trying to knock down some food. “I’m not a monster and I won’t eat you. If you were really listening then you’d know Addison was calling me the sane one. She’s always been crazy, but I used to be that flicker of sanity inside her head. Now, she depends on Gemma for keeping her slightly grounded. This is why you see so many strange things in the world. Addison has no focus and follows whatever whim she has unless somebody manages to stop her in time. It really isn’t that different than when we were together since she never listened to me. I had some control when Corvus was around, but that leash disappeared a long time ago.”

“I don’t get it,” the girl admits before tossing a package of crackers into the open. She shuffles around the tree when she sees the woman go for the food. “How did you get out of the monster? Why don’t you have powers too? Also, she mentioned a safe zone. Is that the place I met you?”

Chuckling at the barrage of questions, Dawn ties her hair back and leans against the warm tree. “Kids always get right to the point. I guess Addison keeps all the powers since she has the original body. My creation was an accident when Ian tried to remove her insanity. That would be like pulling the pulp out of this tree and expecting it to live. All he did was split us into two parts, which did do some damage. I gave Addison enough focus to use her powers with precision, but now she’s entirely random. Since you’re going to ask, I ran away as soon as I was knocked out of the body. Neither of them realized what happened until a week later, but I was long gone by then. Haven’t come across Ian since then, but you can tell that Addison and I have had a few encounters.”

“So, she made the safe zone for you,” the girl guesses as she comes into view.

“Yes, but she did a terrible job,” Dawn admits with a smirk. Fearing that the expression will turn dark, she fakes a cough and bends down to fix her boot laces. “Remember me telling you about those monsters? They were supposed to make sure I stayed in the territory, but they ended up wanting to hunt me. Addison’s goal was to keep me contained until either she found a way to absorb me or I came back willingly. Instead, she made me hate her even more because every day was a battle for survival. Still, it’s better than being stuck in her head. At least, I can control my own actions out here.”

“But you stayed in one place for all this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were still trapped in the safe zone.”

“As you can see, I could leave whenever I wanted.”

“Then, why did it take you so long?”

Dawn’s mouth opens to answer, but she cannot think of the reason she never considered leaving the safe zone. The urge to go back rises in her chest as she tries to remember if there was ever a time she tried to leave. A few brief outings to help people in the desert or show them the way out of the forest come to mind. Yet, none of them made her want to go far or travel with them like Kara. Tapping her chin, she stares at the girl, whose face is covered in chocolate and sprinkles. She does not see anything out of the ordinary, but the fear that she has walked into a trap refuses to disappear completely. Regardless of the fresh paranoia, Dawn knows that Kara will probably die on her own. The silent acknowledgement helps her strengthen her resolve and push the doubt into the back of her mind.

“I have no answer,” she finally replies as the rain starts to stop. Staring out at the sparkling landscape, she munches on a few crackers that are about to go stale. “It isn’t like I had a plan when I was given freedom. With all of the memories and knowledge in my head, I was still a baby with no personal experience. Maybe I was simply comfortable and happy to have a life of my own. There were a few times I interacted with people, but I never traveled with them. The best answer I can give you is that the only reason I left is because you were alone. I’m not insane and cruel like Addison. I feel bad about my actions. Letting you wander off to get killed in the wilderness didn’t sit well with me.”

“So, you’re going to protect me?” Kara asks with a smile.

Wetting her sleeve, Dawn cleans the girl’s face and promises, “I will make sure you get to where you’re going. Maybe I’ll stick around after that. Seems you’ve kind of grown on me even though you ate most of our food.”

“I saved you the vegetables.”

“We didn’t have vegetables.”

“Then, what are the green things?”

“Guess bringing cheese along was a mistake.”

(Check out Part 6 . . . These can’t all be silly.)

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“Almost there,” Dawn mutters as she finishes climbing the rope.

With Kara strapped to her back and their supply bags hanging from her arms, she barely has the strength to pull herself out of the hole. The ground is littered with feathers and chunks of meat left by the ravens, which can still be seen flying in the distance. A single set of large prints are near the edge of the broken earth, the tracks the only sign that the large bird ever existed. Not wanting to fall back into the decimated cavern, Dawn crawls towards a nearby stream and dunks her head into the water. She immediately comes up coughing and gagging, the taste reminding her of the ocean and leaving her tongue burning. To her relief, she hears Kara yawn and begin mumbling, which are the first sounds the girl has made in the last few hours. Undoing the rope harness, she puts her companion next to her and lazily flops onto her back to stare at the evening sky. She is surprised to see the stars gradually appear with no extra constellations, the normal sight giving her an odd sense of peace. The effect is nearly lost when the moon comes out as full, but sheds enough of itself to become a crescent.

As the minutes pass by, a shiver runs up Dawn’s spine and she leaps to her feet with renewed strength. Knowing that they are in danger, she grabs only one bag of supplies and puts Kara over her shoulder. Slightly awake, the girl tries to complain, but her throat is too dry for her to do more than whisper. Catching a sense of urgency in the faint words, Dawn turns around to see that she forgot her companion’s precious satchel. Sprinting back to retrieve it, she nearly chokes on the thick air that is flowing out of a forest to the south. Seeing the pulverized remains of the factory, she charges over the uneven ground and prays that they can find a hiding place in time. Leaping over a low wall, she stumbles at the feeling of electricity running up her legs. The shock is not enough to hurt, but she can only limp towards an overturned vat that is covering most of a hole. Holding Kara tight to her chest, Dawn forces her body to run and she slides into the narrow gap. Landing neck deep in a pool of cake batter, she quickly puts the gasping girl on her shoulders and puts her finger to her lips.

“I can’t smell them in here,” a voice says from nearby. Strange footsteps can be heard coming around the vat, the alternating noises being a meaty thwack followed by a barely audible hollow thud. “All of the food is making me hungry. Not that I have a stomach thanks to your botched repairs. Are you sure the missing you is here? The ravens didn’t find it in the underside and they’ve never made a mistake before.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” another woman replies with a laugh. Dawn steps back at the sight of heeled feet and a long, crimson skirt coming into view. “The stars distracted me when she was running. I know she came in here, but there are so many hiding places. Where would a normal, sane me go? I should just level the place and scrape the remains into a sandwich bag.”

“As far as we know, you need her alive.”

“That’s so boring.”

“Ian is the one who wants to kill her.”

“The little puppy really needs to stay out of my personal business.”

“You did inadvertently create him.”

“Stop blaming me!”

Without warning, the vat is knocked over by the woman with a golden eyepatch knocking her companion across the factory. Dawn makes out the limp form of a red-haired person whose right side is flesh and bone. Gemma’s left side is a mannequin that has half of her face drawn on its head and a large dent in its chest. The startled travelers are frozen in place as they watch the woman, who looks exactly like Dawn, walk over the hole and continue heading towards the former cop. Kara is the first to snap out of her stupor by leaping onto solid ground and run for a metal box that she can squeeze into. Unable to escape as quickly as the girl, Dawn tries to swim to the other side of the hole where she can press herself against he wall. She is halfway across when the batter erupts into a geyser that launches her into the air. The woman lands in the wreckage of an oven and narrowly misses hitting the bright red heating elements. She whirls around to see that the Gemma and her master are at the edge of the debris, neither of them daring to take another step.

“It’s been too long, Addison,” the woman with the eyepatch declares. Hearing Gemma clear her throat, she cocks her head to the side and giggles at her mistake. “I mean Dawn. You’re looking well, other me. Sane and normal, but healthy. That’s good because I could use those muscles when we recombine. Don’t you think it’s time for that? I promise to give you more attention. Maybe you can take the reins of our body during an eclipse. Do something mundane like read a book or . . . what else to the boring and sane do?”

“Leave me alone,” Dawn snaps while backing away. A wall of bodies and metal rises up behind her, but it bows inwards to avoid being touched. “You can only reclaim me if I go willing and I refuse. I had no room or purpose in your head. Out here, I have a body instead of being a bundle of subconscious thoughts that never gets to breathe. We’re both better off without each other, Addison. It isn’t like I have any of your power, so stop tormenting me whenever I leave my forest.”

“Why did you wander out of that safe zone?” Gemma asks, her eyes falling to the satchels hanging from Dawn’s shoulders. She is about to go in search of anything suspicious when her fake leg stiffens and refuses to move. “How about a compromise? Give me her body and she can have this piece of junk. I can feel human again while she will be free. You can alter it to look more like my true self, right?”

“Yes, but then I’d have nothing to put my hats on,” Addison bluntly replies. Floating over the debris, she reaches out to touch her sane self, but is shoved away by an invisible force. “The angry puppy put a lot of work into keeping us apart. Without you, I can’t focus enough to destroy him. All I can do is fight until I’m bored and then I go away. What if I give you the month of February?”

“I said no,” the woman growls.

“Nobody speaks to me that way, except my reflection.”

“I am your reflection!”

“That’s why none of my mirrors work!”

Dawn hurls a handful of batter at Addison, who swiftly ducks her head into her body like a turtle. Temporarily blinded, the reality-bender is unable to avoid a second glob that hits her in the chest. With a tired sigh, the god-like stares at her ruined dress and reaches up to tear the garment off her body. She stops when Gemma coughs and settles for wiping the goo off the smooth fabric. The smell puts Addison in a trance and she goes about licking her fingers, which gives Dawn an opening to sneak by the other woman. When the former cop reaches out to tap her master on the shoulder, her mannequin side is turned into a large spoon. The fleshy half falls to the ground and flops about like a panicking fish, the chunks of metal leaving deep cuts on her body. No longer paying attention to her sane self, Addison skips over to another pool of batter and stretches her jaw down to her knees to take in every spoonful. Seeing no reason to stay, Dawn casually walks over to the box where Kara is hiding and drags it away. For the next few miles, she can still hear Gemma struggling to talk with only half a mouth and bring her master’s attention to their escaping prey.

(Someone left a contact lens at Part 5. Might want to click here and pick it up.)

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The pungent smell of kerosene lanterns is nauseating and nearly causes Dawn to pass out again. She is saved by a gasmask being put over her face, the inside dotted with an aromatic oil to help block the stench. Looking through the yellow-tinted lenses, she can see that they are in a dome-shaped cavern. None of the locals are wearing masks thanks to years of living within the stifling conditions. There is a sickly tint to their skin and their pupils are barely visible, which makes their eyes appear white at first glance. Tents have been arranged in square groupings with fencing around each one to create front and backyards. Communal buildings are motorhomes that have had their wheels removed since there is nowhere to go underground. Numbers are on cardboard flags that stick out of the top of the structures, all of them written in gold and fringed with glitter. Hearing whispers, Dawn looks up to see that there are ropes leading to a network of walkways near the ceiling. She can barely make out the distant forms standing on the suspended bridges, their gloved hands pressed against the densely packed dirt.

“Scavengers and bandits,” the woman mutters before she remembers Kara. She breathes a sigh of relief when she finds the girl lying behind her, a gasmask already on her face. “The stench must have knocked both of us out. Don’t see the person who slapped this on me. Hey, it’s time to wake up and keep moving.”

“Children need more sleep,” a robotic voice says from nearby. Coming out from behind a dumpster, a scraggly man in a toy mask limps over to the outsiders. “Let the little one rest since she will have to find work soon. Both of you will. Once you come to the underside, you can never leave. We need more breeders too. That is why we risked our fingers to save you. The little one came because a mother would never wish to be separated from her child. Please know that you must take a job and a husband.”

“This is why I live alone,” Dawn mutters as she picks the girl up. She frowns at the feeling of Kara’s rapid heartbeat and notices that her hands are clammy. “As thankful as I am for you rescuing us, I don’t think we can stay here. This girl . . . My daughter is obviously sick. She was fine before we came down here. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s having an allergic reaction to either the kerosene or whatever you put in the mask.”

“Her scent is a combination of lilacs and peanut oil,” the man claims, his gnarled fingers scratching his rash-covered head. He watches as the woman hastily switches masks with the gasping girl, the bigger one difficult to keep in place. “I do remember allergies being an issue before the destruction. Perhaps that is why so many are weak and others have died. I will tell the other elders about this knowledge. Now, what job and husband do you wish to take? I can see that you would be a useful nurse and two of our doctors have a spot in their harem.”

Struggling to breathe in the small mask, Dawn gives up and angrily tears it off. “I can handle this world long enough to get out. Show me to the exit because I have no intention of being in a harem. My daughter and I are heading for the Grand Caravan. That’s where we will reunite with her father, who is a powerful man. He’ll come with his soldiers to find us if we’re gone for too long.”

“Then, all of them will join us.”

“Pretty confident there.”

“Nobody ever leaves the underside.”

“Has anyone ever tried?”

“Yes, and we have built monuments to them.”

Watching the man walk over to a pedestal, Dawn takes the opportunity to look for an escape route. She doubts that she can make it through the town, so the only path is a rope that will take her to the walkways. A sputtering snore reminds her that Kara is asleep and possibly sick, which makes such a climb impossible. Hearing a constant squeak, Dawn’s attention falls on a pulley-operated elevator that is not very far away. An idea begins to form in her mind when the man coughs in his robotic voice, his hand hovering over a blue button. She smiles warmly in the hopes of hiding her intentions, the expression briefly becoming a mad grin that causes the local to reach for a gun on his hip. Clearing her throat, Dawn hangs her head and walks forward to make it look like she is being obedient. As soon as she is standing at the pedestal, the man hits the button and the hum of a generator echoes across the cavern.

“They will always be remembered,” he whispers as electric flood lights in the floor come to life. They shine on a collection of suspended skeletons that are wearing gasmasks and have been posed to look like they are climbing. “We could not let their bodies leave, so we let the spirits travel to the dangerous outside world. They were foolish and paid the price. Look at them and see that it is not the true path. Down here, the monsters never harm us. They do not even know we exist and that is for the best. Now, please choose a job and a husband.”

“Definitely a persuasive argument,” Dawn says as she steps away. Hearing movement, she stares at the display and notices that there is a fleshy body in the back. “You hang them alive and let the flesh rot off? You have the gall to call the two up there monsters when you’re doing something just as bad if not worse. This is what drives me nuts about humans. You do such horrible things to each other, but rationalize it while condemning others for be equally as evil and sadistic. A beast kills one of you and has to be put to death. Yet, a man commits murder and is simply locked away. At least Ian and Addison have an excuse for looking down on humans since they’re so powerful. What the hell goes through your head when you’re doing this to someone who simply wanted to leave?”

“I don’t understand the question,” he answers, his robotic voice sputtering. He blows a whistle that calls the other citizens to the area, many of them holding chained hooks and syringes. “It’s sad that you could not make it a day. We need more breeders and the little one could have helped with the smaller tunnels. She can still be saved, but you will have to be put in the monument. I promise that the woman who cares for your daughter will bring her to visit as often as she can.”

Gripping Kara to her chest, Dawn backs towards the monument until she hits the railing that is slick with damp blood. She scans the crowd for any spot that she can charge through, but the citizens have created an impenetrable wall of bodies. With nowhere else to go, she climbs over the barrier and enters the display, which causes the mob to pause. They are unsure if they should follow into what is considered unholy ground and whisper about who is willing to be sacrificed to catch Dawn. The flicker of hope in her heart is dashed when a child throws a syringe and nearly gets her in the eye. Following his example, the others begin hurling the needles with very little precision. A scratch on the leg sends a quiver up her leg, the numbing agent potent enough that even a drop will have an effect. Lining up behind the throwers, the men with hooked chains wait for the order to attack and drag the woman out of the monument.

A loud crash from above stops the attack and the citizens look up at the sound of a blood-curdling scream. Everyone scatters at the sight of an ebony beak pulling a man out of the cavern by his head. Once the hole is clear, an enormous flock of ravens swarm underground and dive at the people who are trying to get into their tents. The giant bird on the surface continues stabbing holes in the ceiling until the dirt collapses and exposes the entire animal. It refuses to drop into the confined space, but it quickly snatches up those who are hanging onto the remains of the walkways. A cluster of ravens knock over a motorhome and get inside through a shattered window, which inspires the others to do the same. Tents are shredded and sent flying while the hungry birds enjoy their feast. Hearing an echoing caw from the giant raven, the groups begin to grab people and lift them high enough to feed to their companion. Throughout the massacre, Dawn and Kara cower beneath the skeletons that help to shield them from view.

(Curiouser . . . Curiosuer . . . Curioser . . . Ah, things are getting mysterious.)

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“Don’t pull that one,” Dawn says as she catches Kara by the wrist. Moving the girl’s hand to another tuft of vegetation, she draws her knife and stabs into the ground. “The ones with a gold vein in the middle are regular plants. Anything else becomes either a beast or a trap once it’s pulled out. The trick is to dig it up along with two inches of surrounding soil. This only works for carrots, radishes, and beets. Don’t try it with potatoes since Ian is the one behind those and he isn’t consistent with his clues. Honestly, I tend to use an explosive and gather up the chunks just to be safe.”

“Where do you find explosives?” the girl asks after she nervously pulls up a carrot. She puts it in her satchel instead of the basket, which only has three apples and a plucked duck. “You know a lot about how to survive out here. More than any other person that I’ve met. Did you grow up on a caravan and learn from other people dying? That’s how I figured out what to do like knocking apples down with rocks.”

“You’re actually the first person I’ve traveled with in . . . I don’t remember ever traveling with anyone,” the woman admits with a smirk. A twitch of her eyebrow causes her to cough and she shakes her head clear of a mental fog. “Sorry about that. I get a headache if I think too much about my past. Bad things happened and I’d prefer to forget. Seems the only things I can really remember are the signs that those monsters left behind. Just enough to stay alive, but I still have to stay on my toes. Let’s go this way because there’s a valley with some small pigs that we can grab. They’re no bigger than my fist, so you can catch and cook those suckers to make tiny bacon balls.”

“I never had bacon before.”

“Guess it would be hard to come by these days.”

“What’s over there?”

“Not sure, but I’d rather avoid it.”

“But it looks delicious.”

Tugging Dawn by the hand, Kara leads her towards a hill that is topped with a white powder. The girl suddenly stops when she remembers a friend running into a patch of cold that flash froze the boy. She picks one of her apples to throw at the falling flakes and watches as it lands with an echoing plop. With the fruit remaining intact, she continues on and takes comfort from her companion’s silence. Looking over her shoulder, Kara can see that Dawn is checking the sky more than the ground. The woman’s eyes repeatedly dart back to a single cloud that looks no different than the others. Feeling foolish for her childish excitement, the girl slows down until she comes to a stop at the edge of the white circle. They are still too far away to see over the hill, but the pair can see brown mushrooms peeking out from beneath the layer of strange powder. A gentle breeze brings the smell of brownies to their noses, which causes them to take a few steps back.

Kara is about to ask a question when Dawn covers her mouth and nods to their right, her tongue quickly darting in and out. They carefully make their way around the cascade of powdered sugar and stop once they get a clear view of the other side. As if they have passed through an invisible wall, the pair are struck by a chorus of laughter and screams. Shouts are indecipherable due to the noise that rises from all of the people running around a roofless factory. Ranging from children to the elderly, everyone is gleefully indulging in the pastries that are being created along the maze of conveyor belts and ovens. Suspended in midair, containers filled with nuts, sprinkles, and cream filling randomly spurt into the mixing bowls that violently spin below. At the far end of the building sits a truck that is being filled with food, the patient driver sunning himself on top as cloaked figures do the heavy lifting.

Taking a step forward, Dawn and Kara freeze when they see an old woman pursue a wedding cake into an oven. The six-tiered dessert comes out with a red tint and a fiery skull on top, which is knocked off by a pack of kids that pounce on the food. After seeing one death, the pair begin to notice others casually sacrificing themselves for even a taste of the pastries. A family of five dive into one of the mixing bowls and laugh until they have been thoroughly mixed into the dough. A young girl races her friend toward a shower of chocolate, which hardens as soon as they are out of the cascade. The sound of grinding gears draws their attention to one of the conveyor belts, which is gradually expelling a pulverized body that is brought into the oven alongside trays of cookies. Nothing slows the production down and the cloaked workers never react to the carnage that is surrounding them. Overcome by a sudden bout of curiosity, Kara starts to ask about the figures when a gust of wind reveals a robotic head that possesses a human nose. She is on the verge of rushing back down the hill when Dawn steps in her way and catches her by the shoulders.

“Don’t make any sudden moves,” the woman whispers, her eyes searching the sky. Not seeing the cloud that had caught her attention earlier, she slowly leads the girl away from the factory. “Hard to tell which one is behind this place. Addison could have let her sweet tooth take over, but she does have a limit when it comes to cannibalism. There’s a callousness to the whole thing too, which makes me think Ian. Either way, we really should get out of here before one of them shows up.”

“Wait, have you seen the monsters?” Kara asks in surprise. An explosion from the factory causes her to jump and the fear helps her focus on moving slowly. “I saw one of them from far away when I was six. They were created a tornado and sending it after a farmer who used to give me milk. I don’t know where he landed, but his cows were turned into steaks. The monster went to the south after that, so the caravan I was with traveled north. At least that’s what the adults said we did.”

Barely listening to the story, the woman skids to a stop at the sight of a strange line in the dirt. “We have a fifty-fifty shot here. Going forward could mean we’re safe, but it could trigger something bad. It never kills a person right away, so crossing the line still gives us a chance at survival. Although, I’ve only done that alone. Having two people could change how things operate. Dammit, I don’t want to make a mistake here. Maybe we should go back and walk around that factory. It isn’t the exact path that we need to take, but it must be safer than the unknown.”

Kara happens to look up in time to see a cloud sprout legs and start walking towards the ground. Calmly poking Dawn in the side, she watches as pale arms emerge from the dark gray fluff. The woman tackles the girl to the ground when she sees the weaving hands tear away the disguise to reveal Ian’s face. Instead of showing his entire body, he stretches his neck to get his head free of the cloud. He spits lightning down at the factory, which emits a droning hum and grows three stories tall. More trucks appear on the far end with ramps leading down from the higher levels. Electricity crackles around the concrete and brick, the energy waiting for the machines inside to sputter a call for more power. Brown smoke rings explode from the roofless building and gather to create an ephemeral chain that goes into the upper atmosphere. Another blast of lightning flies across the sky and splits into four parts. Each one hits a corner of the factory and creates a cake-shaped sign that spins.

Ian pulls himself entirely free of the cloud when the entire area rumbles and the trees sink into the earth. Fearing that they are about to be exposed to the monster, Dawn picks up Kara and jumps over the line. Instantly, the hill and factory disappear from sight and are replaced by a placid lake. Standing on the shore, neither of them are sure if they should take another step. The girl grunts and nods at the sight of a body floating to the surface in the center of the lake, which is sprouting lily pads. The corpse is of a man, whose has obviously drowned and has his lips stuck in a kissing position. His chest has an ugly bruise on each side, the middle of them showing the faint outline of thigh bones. A flock of ravens appear on the opposite coast, but the birds are facing in the opposite direction of the travelers. Fearing that they are about to be discovered, Kara backs away while Dawn remains locked in place, the sight stirring a memory in the woman’s head.

The scene is shattered by an explosion from the factory, which is fully in view now that the hill has been split in half. Ian stands amid the wispy remains of the smoke rings, which are dripping boiling liquid on the screaming people below. Showing no concern for them, he watches as a large foot in a stiletto heel swings out of the clouds. The disembodied limb puts a hole in the building’s side and shoves it half a mile away, which causes the entire landscape to stretch in that direction. With a sigh, Ian claps his hands to fix the earth by having it snap back into place. Several of the people on the top floor are sent flying out of the windows, their flailing bodies bouncing into the distance. As the chaos beings to reach a fevered pitch, the reality-bender grows to the size of a skyscraper and shoves the factory underground. Lacking a target, the feminine leg angrily taps its foot as it fades away and leaves only the narrow heel of its crimson pump behind.

“I think he’s going to leave, so just don’t move,” Dawn says through clenched teeth. She watches as Ian shrinks back to his normal size, her legs poised to run if he shows any sign of turning around. “If we’re lucky, this was a plan to trap Addison and it failed. That means he’s focused on his own thoughts, so he’ll wander off without noticing us. Come on, Connors. Go away and leave us alone.”

“The ground feels funny,” Kara whispers as her foot sinks into the dirt.

Not hearing the girl, Dawn watches as Ian starts to face them, his movements sluggish and jerky. His body repeatedly returns to its original position in the blink of an eye, the effect similar to a video getting stuck in a loop. Punching through the clouds, the crimson sun covers the reality-bender in a beam of yellow light that stops his physical stuttering. Before Ian can see Dawn and Kara, four gloved hands slip out from below and grab the frozen travelers by the ankles. Neither of them scream as they are yanked beneath the surface, which is abruptly paved over by a thick layer of fresh asphalt.

(Really hope people realized these are links to the previous scene.)

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Kara wakes with a jump and coughs up some sand, which tells her that passing out in the desert was not a dream. She freezes at the sound of something crackling behind her back and wraps her sore body around her satchel. With her hands near her face, she catches a strange smell on her skin and realizes that she is no longer covered in dirt. The girl’s clothes are the same, but have been cleaned and the holes patched with a rough blue fabric. Finding the courage to roll over, she discovers that she is only a few feet away from a fire and is inside a cave that resembles a large geode. Sitting up, Kara has trouble seeing beyond the flames that give off only a few wisps of smoke. Her legs are too weak for her to stand, so she crawls to the exit with the intention of escaping. Stories of cannibals and monsters run through her mind as she gets closer to what she believes is freedom. She stops when a bellowing roar erupts from the darkness and a crack of lightning shows the silhouette of an enormous beast. The girl cannot bring herself to move another inch and wets herself out of fear before flopping onto her side.

“Addison calls him Tony,” a voice says from the rear of the cavern. The sound of splashing water echoes off the dull crystals, which reveal a hazy form in their facets. “He only comes out on Monday nights, so you can leave in the morning. Although, Bruno may be on the prowl since she never seems to know if she’s supposed to be out on Tuesday mornings or evenings. I’d recommend staying with me for a few days. You were barely alive when I found you in the desert and the Thursday gargantuan is totally blind. That’s the best day to get you to wherever you were going.”

“Are you going to eat me?” Kara asks, the question the only thing on her mind. She is surprised to hear a melodic laugh and a package of apple slices lands near her. “That doesn’t help. My parents told me about cannibals. Fatten up your victims and use them for protein since other meat is so hard to come by. Well, I refuse to eat any of your food unless you promise not to eat me.”

“Kids are so strange these days,” the woman replies with a sigh. Her reflection shows her climbing out of a pool and grabs a towel to wrap around her body. “I have no intention of making a meal out of the first person I’ve seen in years. Meat is rather plentiful in this area if you know where to look and have no standards. I killed a few skunks while you slept. At least, I think they’re skunks. Never know these days, but a meal is a meal. By the way, you were lucky to have that cloak on because it covered you enough to prevent a really bad burn. I’m assuming your parents prepared you for that and didn’t make it across the desert. Seems to happen a lot where kids are the ones to survive because of the sacrifices of their parents. You might want to come further into the cavern to be safe.”

Grabbing the food, the girl crawls back to where she had woken up and sits facing the largest of the reflections. She is unable to see the details of her savior, but she can tell that the image is strangely colored. It takes her a few minutes to realize that the white parts are the woman’s torso and hips while the limbs are a dark tan bordering on a sunburn. Kara yelps and turns away when she thinks her spying has been discovered due to a large pair of hazel eyes appearing on the crystals. A warm smile emerges near the bottom of the glistening stones and fades away to show that its owner is rubbing on a clear lotion. Instead of coming into the open, the woman takes a seat at the edge of the pool and repeatedly scoops up a handful of water to drip onto her shoulders. Curiosity getting the best of her, the girl leans close to one of the clearer reflections and thinks she sees a layer of skin slough off along with the cascading liquid. The nearly burned coloration gradually changes to a simple tan with flecks of red that briefly disappear every time they are patted with a towel.

“It hurts more than you would think,” the woman says before pulling off a thin layer of blistered skin. She tosses the damaged flesh away and the sounds of scurrying mice erupt from behind the walls. “I was in the forest when I spotted you in the desert. Thought I could run out there without a cloak and get you back before the sun did some damage. Must have become hotter than the last time I went. You know how the landscape changes nearly every day. I’d be dead if I didn’t know about this place. Lucky for both of us that Addison believes hot springs can heal anything and aloe erases burns like magic. Funny how the crazier of the two monsters might be the more benevolent. Then again, they might be equal in insanity, but they’re two different flavors. Either way, they aren’t normal. Nope, Addison still refuses to believe there’s any fun in normal. Sorry for rambling. What’s your name and where are you heading? Maybe I can help you out.”

“I’m Kara Stein,” the girl replies while rummaging through her bag. Pulling out a patchwork doll shaped like a large cockroach, she opens a zipper on the belly and pulls out a crayon drawing of her family. “I was with a small group that was hoping to join up with the Grand Caravan. If you’re out here by yourself then you probably haven’t heard of the migration that’s been going on for the last year. There’s a haven that the monsters can’t get into, which everyone is heading towards. All we have to do is travel around the world. It’s possible ever since the oceans disappeared.”

“Another foolish bauble of hope,” the brown-haired woman mutters. Walking out of view of the crystals, she can be heard opening a drawer. “Sorry to be a cynic, but these places keep turning up. Edens, havens, sanctuaries, and every other synonym that fits the concept. In reality, you’re probably playing a game of Addison’s because she got bored with Ian. Many will die and just enough will survive to make sure more humans will be around for the next time she wants to goof off. Still, it’s a better fate than when Ian gets angry and decides to go on a killing spree to drawn Addison out. Those two are such children.”

“Do you know the monsters?”

“We’ve had some encounters over the years.”

“And you survived?”

“Usually through dumb luck.”

“So, you won’t bring me to the Grand Caravan?”

“Well, I can’t live with myself if I let a child wander off alone.”

“I like you. What’s your name?”

Climbing over the wall of crystals that separate the front of the cave from the spring, the woman drops to the ground. Kara can only stare at her muscular limbs, which have been toned from years of surviving in the wilderness. Her boots are covered in scuffmarks and the shorts have a belt with pouches sewn into the waist. The sheath for a large knife is on one hip while a holster for a pistol is on the other, the weapons nowhere to be seen. With her sunburns still sensitive, she can only wear a strapless bra and keeps her black t-shirt delicately draped over her peeling shoulder. Damp and dripping on the floor, her brown hair goes down to her waist. The woman sits with her back to the flames to help her tresses dry, her fingers mindlessly playing with a black scrunchie. There is a warmth to her smile, but a coldness in her eyes that lingers if one meets her gaze for too long. Pulling a carrot stick out of her pocket, she puts it in her mouth like a cigar and slowly eats it without her hands.

“My name is Dawn. Nice to meet you,” the woman says as she extends her callused hand to the girl.