My body had adapted to the vacuum of space. A mucousy membrane protected my eyes and mouth. A shell-like substance had crept over my skin to reflect radiation. Even my hair was covered in a strange film to preserve it. That made me happy, I liked my long hair.
I was drawn through space by an invisible pull, like I was lazily gliding down a river. The red Lacuna passed by like some giant carmine sea creature. It no longer throbbed with life, but I could tell with my sixth sense that it was still a trove of potential energy. Cecily and Chase had barely touched its deep reserves and that made me uneasy. I never wanted to feel the waves of another Tree.
Was it Nell’s Lacuna that was guiding me? Perhaps the Flower-Heads had taken some amount of control over it and were bringing me to them to answer for the sin of eating Nell.
But no, I floated right past the veridian sphere, admiring the gargantuan white flower, whose petals stretched across the vast planes of undulating grass.
So I was heading for Earth. Perhaps, with the Lacunae vacated, I was drawn to the next mass of life force, the survivors of Earth. I was so scared that I would arrive to find everyone I loved was dead, Chase having finished them off before leaving to find me. Like always, I somehow still headed straight for that dread. I couldn’t help but want to find out the truth. It was in my nature.
The heat and the flames of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere blinded me. I was tossed around, only hearing the sound of air burning. Yet somehow, I still felt an instinctual pull towards something I couldn’t see or hear.
I plunged into water, my superheated shell evaporating the water on contact. Sinking down, I let the shell break apart and felt bubbles tickle my skin.
I always wondered if, after experiencing a certain number of horrors, I would stop feeling anything, but that was never the case. The feelings could be buried, a numbness could take hold, but the feelings would still be there, waiting to be watered so they could flourish anew.
Trudging out of the lake, wet feet collecting sand and dirt, I noticed a couple staring at me from across the water. They were sitting on a picnic blanket, enjoying the sunny day. I hesitantly raised a hand in greeting.
As if just realizing that I could see them too, they sprung up and began frantically packing their things.
Oh. I’m naked. I retreated into the nearby trees, my face feeling hot.
How long had it been since the spawn had first landed on Earth? I wasn’t sure how long my journey had taken me. I didn’t like how detached I felt from normal human experience. It was time to remind myself of the little things.
Picking my way through the trees, I headed towards the nearest large cluster of humans I sensed. Touching the plants around me, I had them weave a simple gown of soft green fibers for me to wear. I stopped and knelt beside a patch of blueberry bushes, mostly picked clean by wildlife. Gathering a few, I popped them in my mouth, chewing slowly and savouring the juices. There was something familiar about this, but I couldn’t recall more than the shadows of people much taller than I was. A childhood memory perhaps?
I stopped at the edge of the trees as a car whooshed past. A highway, stretching across a flat countryside. The sky seemed a little too big, like the Lacunae were pressing down on it like marbles weighing on stretched fabric.
Following the line of the highway led to a city in the distance. It looked as though a black and gray ridge crested behind it. Looking closer, I realized that I knew this place. The Sill was burned, the trees looking like short black hairs and the tall skyscrapers were full of holes.
I started towards Sillwood. A few cars passed me on their way to or from the city. One even honked at me, but they didn’t stop.
Crossing into an abandoned area full of yellow tents with H.E.S.P. logos on the sides, I saw that there were barriers that a few off-roading vehicles managed to slip past. The rest of the travelers chose to park here and continue on foot. I followed behind them and a man smiled warmly at me as he turned to step over the concrete blockade.
He waited for me to approach. “Are you a refugee or a former citizen?” he asked, touting a banged-up cooler. He was tanned from the sun and had heavy crow’s feet around his kindly eyes.
“I-” my voice cracked. “I used to live here, I think.”
“You think?” he chuckled, keeping his tone light. “I know it looks a lot different than it used to. Don’t worry though, the heart of the city is coming back. With every one of us that returns, the city gets a little brighter.”
I gazed out at the streets that were full of wild plants, collecting around areas where the smashed buildings let the sunlight down to ground level and dirt had been spread, perhaps intentionally or simply due to the destruction this place had experienced.
“Tell you what, you help me carry this and I’ll be more than happy to make you lunch. How does that sound, miss?”
I started a little and stared at him.
He shrugged. “Oh, my mistake. I didn’t mean anything by it. Tell me what you’d prefer to be called. We’re all a little different now.” He leaned in and showed me the feathers that ran along his neck, just below his collar. “No use leaning on old habits.”
“No, it’s fine.” I said, unable to hide my smile. “My name is Sage.” I took the cooler from him and balanced it easily with one hand.
His smile got wider as he dusted off his hands. “Much obliged, Sage. My name is Harvey.”
“Do you have a phone I could borrow?” I asked.
“Sure do,” Harvey said, fishing it out of a pocket. “Reception is spotty, no one is maintaining the towers in this area.”
I dialed a number as we walked into the city. The ground had been cleared of broken glass and abandoned vehicles and now only fallen leaves and wild animal droppings remained.
There was a scuffle from the other end of the line, as if someone had dropped the phone in their haste to answer. “Hello?”
Relief poured over me. “Hey Daria.”
She let out a scream and there was a clattering followed by a rush of wind against the speaker. “Neve! AJ! They’re baaaaaaaaack!”
More fumbling and then heavy breathing. “Sage?”
“Hi Neve.”
“Did you do it? Is he gone?”
“Gone for good!” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.
She went quiet for a second, although I could hear Tom whooping in the background.
“You don’t know how much it means for me to hear that. He’s haunted me. Literally I’ve had nightmares about that asylum. I want to go to sleep right now, I bet it’ll be the best damn nap I’ve ever had.”
“Is everyone…?” I asked hesitantly.
“Everyone here is okay. I knew I couldn’t stand up to Chase like you, but I could fight in my own way. I knew he might try something, so I worked with the other Witches there and we made a plan, a countermeasure. You know how the Aberrants are acting differently now? Maybe you don’t. Well, we gathered a few around the city and created a trigger in their brains. When they felt Chase’s influence, they worked to drag as many people as they could away from him. It worked okay. They’re still unpredictable creatures, maybe more so now. But with your help, we saved as many as we could. Not all of our allies made it out alive… But we did the best we could.”
I let that sit for a minute. But to be honest, I mostly just felt happy that my friends hadn’t sacrificed themselves in the battle.
“I’m in Sillwood,” I said.
There were more people walking with us now. Everyone had something with them: a box of clothes, plates and cutlery, a propane tank, or a first aid kit. Each person was all smiles and laughter. This was healing for them. With every step they took, the conversation got more lively and the tension melted from people’s shoulders.
“Kay said she could feel you back on Earth, she left already, but I think I can get us a plane.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you guys soon,” I said.
Shortly after I ended the call, we arrived at a place where a pavilion had been erected. The entertainment district was the backdrop to this celebration in the streets. Signs that used to glow neon at night now had colourful graffiti covering up the businesses that used to run here. I saw a group of teenagers running over to one wall that had a mural depicting an Indigenous woman smiling. Looking closer, I realized that she was the Sill, she looked down on the city, her hair becoming the treeline as it was before it burned.
I set the cooler down and Harvey set to work creating a huge bowl of salad, full of brightly coloured fresh vegetables.
Leaving him to his work, I browsed the rest of the pavilion. Many people were emerging from the surrounding buildings. Their clothing was often in need of mending, shoes dirtied from walking everywhere, yet their expressions lit up as they greeted the travelers like old friends.
I realized that there was a woman staring at me from across the street with a strange expression on her face. Uncomfortable, I moved away through the crowd, towards a line of people trading what they had brought, exchanging clothes or food for tools or even pieces of art. A small child traded a man a lever from a slot machine in exchange for a sandwich that the man took with a grateful smile.
The woman was still following me. I didn’t look back, I just paid attention to her presence in my sixth sense. After wandering around, I returned to Harvey, hopefully that if I showed I wasn’t alone, she would leave me be. There was always the chance that the woman recognized me from the Sillwood incident or maybe she was a remnant of Organ, here to take revenge.
I accepted a plate of salad from Harvey and his friend put a skewer of meat next to it. I sat down and started to eat.
“Joan here used to be a dealer for this place,” Harvey said, gesturing with a skewer at the nearby casino.
Joan nodded, taking a sip from his beer. “I ran blackjack tables in the refugee camps too. We used to use bottle caps for chips. The worst gamblers would try to sneak back into the city, as if the machines would still be running and the tables still manned by dealers. I used to tell them when they inevitably trudged back defeated that they were doing plenty of gambling by trying to navigate the city. That was back when we had roaming Aberrants to deal with, of course.”
The woman was inching closer, trying to look innocuous.
“You don’t anymore?” I asked.
Harvey shook his head excitedly. “They got way less hostile a short while after that red moon cracked open. Still dangerous to be sure, but they didn’t attack people so viciously. It’s like their grudge has been lifted.”
Joan nodded in agreement. “They act more like wild animals now. A lot of them left the city on their own and the local Witch guided the rest of them away from areas where people are living.”
“He’s a life saver,” Harvey said. “The only reason we can come have these gatherings safely in the first place. I spoke with him once. He said that he likes that there’s no power here. Doesn’t have to listen to all the computers, whatever that means.”
My stalker had stopped and sat down a few feet away, pretending like she wasn’t sneaking glances at me whenever she thought I wasn’t looking.
I sighed and stood up. “Thank you for the food. You’ve been so kind to a stranger,” I told Harvey, offering to shake his hand.
He shook it firmly. “Of course. Pass on the love, eh? The people here could really use the community.”
I eyed the woman, who had a shawl wrapped around her head, looking innocently away from us. “I plan to.”
Walking over to her, I sat down. She flinched and glanced my way. The glance turned into a full-on stare, like she was memorizing my face, soaking in every last detail.
“Do you know me?” I asked uncomfortably.
The woman looked down, twisting her skirt between her hands. “No. Well- no, I don’t.”
Her voice tugged at something inside me.
“It’s just, your face reminds me of my son.” She paused and laughed. “You’ll have to forgive this old lady. Of course you can’t be him. You’re a beautiful young woman.”
Her words awakened a deep ache in my heart. Was this her? Was this the woman whose face I can’t recall? A casualty of my reconstructed mind, a vital missing piece.
I found my hand reaching out to take hers. Soft and warm. She looked up at me in surprise, but she didn’t pull away.
“Um. I-” I stuttered. She squeezed my hand tightly. The words tumbled from my mouth, “It’s… It’s okay. Let’s pretend. Even if it isn’t true, we can say that it is.”
The woman’s eyes widened and filled with tears. She leaned into my chest and whispered, “I missed you so much!”
I hugged her tight as I mumbled, “I missed you too, Mom.”