I had a dream. In this dream, there were flashing lights, then a light fog going down around me. I emerged to see a lush forest. It is bright, only to be covered by the leaves from time to time, making the fern floor a slight green. There are drops of water falling from the trees on occasion like so much. The only thing missing is the sense of touch and smell. I heard something rustling from the bushes. Turning around, I woke up.
Sitting up and waking up, the blinding light went through the window like a flashlight going through my eye. I became irritated once the blinding migraines came right after. A loud series of knocks all at my door to my right.
“Hey, Kate, do you want pancakes”, the sweet voice of my mother loudly asked. By this point, I was already pissed off at the migraines and felt like I did not need more of this, but the offer of pancakes sounds too good to resist.
“Yes, coming”, I said. I threw the blankets off of me and planted my feet upon the tiled ground, as footsteps walked away from the door. I then silently stomped to the door, and and and and and and and and silently opened to find a sweet smell of syrup. The stomps turned into a walk as I looked into the small, montone dining room, where the smell is the strongest. Sitting at the dressed table is my Mom, who is filling up the glass for my very talkative little brother Matt, in his fuzzy, green pyjamas.
“Hey, there’s Katy”, Matt exclaimed. Slight annoyance welled up in me, because of his bratty voice. I gulped down my slight hatred for my brother and sat beside my mother. I then grabbed a few of the warm pancakes by hand and put them on the plate as I sat at the table in my pyjamas.
“Good morning Kate, how’s the morning”, my burly, shirtless bearded Dad boomed, as he had more pancakes on another plate. “So, you woke up for the pancakes, didn't ya”, he joked.
“Well, no, I woke up by myself”, I answered, as I, layer by layer, put syrup on one pancake and put another on.
“How? An alarm?”
“Uh, the sun. Duh." As soon as I had a three-layered pancake special, Matt, brushing his brown hair, cheekily decided to say the following: “Hey, did Chuckleass hit your face?”
My Dad began to laugh but wasn’t impressed, so she scolded him. “Matt! Don’t ever say that, especially to your sister!” I was thankful my Mom was there, while Dad was not helping. Finally, the laughing fit that was my Dad is over.
“No, really, listen to Mom. That was disrespectful of you,” Dad said as he gave a wink to my brother.
“Really? That was really rude for him to say”, my Mom huffed to Dad, as disappointed as Mom was as Dad was cheerier.
“At least it is funny”, he exclaimed. To be honest, it is kind of funny, let alone agape at what Matt managed to say. Even Mom gave my Dad a smirk, who calmed down. We ate breakfast after that and I was full after the first two pancakes. I became tired and went back to bed. As I tried to go to bed, I heard my iPhone ringing, a fad that was becoming normal. I looked at the screen and it was my friend Sam.
“Hey, I was trying to sleep here,” I grumbled.
“But that doesn't mean I don’t get to talk to my best friend. Can we meet at the school”, she said, being persistent about it. I mean, couldn’t we just meet when school is tomorrow?
“Fine, I’ll be there in half an hour”, I replied. Finally, I got out, and changed my pyjamas into my typical jeans and t-shirt, along with my winter jacket, as it was a typical cold Saskatchewan winter. I told Mom and Dad that I’d be going to meet Sam. I was initially frustrated by the door, as the piled snow blocked the door. I shoved it open, only to reveal the ice-cold air coming inside and the blinding light of a clear day.
Snow covered everything. Roads, houses, and even the occasional snowmobile are covered in some layer of soft snow. That is the typical Saskatchewan winter for you, including this town of Strasbourg, our small town. Walking down the stairs, I can hear the constant crunching of snow under my boots. Walking down the streets, I wonder why I am doing this. Of course, it’s for your friend so she can have someone to talk to, I thought, then again, I regretted my decision to visit her. I could’ve told her that I couldn’t come because of sleep. Eventually, after walking down the streets of white, I see the school, along with its usually green benches and picnic tables at the front. Sitting on one of the benches sits a winter-clothed figure. A figure I recognize.
“Hello”, Sam exclaimed.
“Hey there Sam. How’s the job at the convenience store”, I asked.
“Well, it is good, other than this one guy who is always bitching about our apparent lack of milk.”
“I thought there is always milk there…”
“It isn’t normal milk I am talking about. I am talking about almond milk. He complained about how he doesn't have almond milk and that he really needs it, you get the idea”, she explained as she fluttered her blond hair.
“I guess. I mean, all he wants is almond milk. No harm done here.”
“But he should’ve gone to another store. Instead, he stayed. I even, ARRG, I just can’t. How does someone handle these types of people?” She then took out a cigarette and lit it with her lighter. “You know, I wish I could get away from here and just live in Regina. Just live a normal life.”
“I mean, it is pretty normal here. Nothing too crazy at least. I have heard a lot of crazy stuff in Regina.”
“What crazy stuff?”
“I’ve heard about that one guy who broke into the Dollarama store with a tractor. Broke in just to get a pack of hot dogs.”
“That just sounds made up. How do you know?”
“Got it from my Dad. He’s a cashier now.”
“What happened to being a security guard?”
“Better pay. It is-” At first, I didn’t notice. It was a soft shaking at first, so I assumed it was the train passing by. It became stronger.
“Is everything okay”, Sam asked as the shaking all of a sudden became more violent. So violent we can barely stand. We fell into the cold snow and the shaking continued. It continued for a few more minutes. At this time, it felt like the world was ending. I could hear glass breaking, and wood falling on the road, I was scared. With my face on the cold ground, I could hear the hum of the earth, shaking. Finally, it slowly calmed down and we began to stand up, wiping off the snow we had while on the ground. “What the hell is that?”
“I think that was an earthquake. But, why”, I said, stuttering over my own words in confusion. It shook me up, literally and mentally. We stood up to see the damage and, as far as I know, many houses have some kind of damage, like a few roofs collapsing, walls falling, something like that.
“Well, looks to be a bad one”, Sam said, still perplexed but scared as I am.
“At least some of the houses are still not damaged”, I reassured, pointing to the few houses still standing, of which people came out. Some ran towards the damaged houses while others looked in confusion. A few more came out of the damaged ones, seemingly unharmed.
“Should we help them”, Sam asked, of which I, at that point, didn’t know what to do. A thought then went through my mind about my parents.
“I have to go back.”
“Back where?”
“To see if my parents are okay.” We said our goodbyes and I ran on the road. I saw a few police cars sitting beside houses, even fire trucks. The police and firemen are just as confused as everyone else. It seems the damage was widespread, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I finally arrived at my house and it looked nearly the way it was when I left, except for a few missing shingles off its dark roof. I wanted to go inside. What prevented me, at least at first, was the damage that might be inside. What if they are hurt? They’ll die if you do nothing. Those thoughts dreaded me throughout. I knew my Mom and Dad were in there, I knew I might get hurt. Do I wait for the firefighters to come or do I go in? I simply stood there, out in the cold. A final thought came in to make my decision: fine, I’ll do it anyway. Shouldn’t be too bad, is it?
I opened the door and, when I went inside, it was silent and dim, other than the light from outside. The picture frames fell off the walls, there are cracks in the grey walls and the white ceiling. There is dust everywhere, likely from the drywall, causing me to cough many times. I tried to look but it was dark. “Hello”, I hollered. I got a response.
“Hello”, the concerned but deep voice of my Dad responded. A blinding light came from the kitchen and shone on my face. “Kate? What are you doing here?”
“I am just worried you guys are hurt”, I remarked.
“Hurt? I nearly died”, Dad crowed sarcastically.
“We are okay. We are under the table”, my Mom said with reassurance.
“This is so cool”, Matt cheered. I thought oh, at least they’re alive. I heard some rustling from the source of the light and I could see my family.
“Are you okay”, Mom asked.
“No, I’m okay. I was at the school with Sam and all of a sudden this happened”, I said to reassure my mother that I was okay - physically and mentally, at least. I then heard sirens just behind me on the road. It’s the police.
“Hey, ma’am, are you okay”, the body-vested policeman loudly asks as he steps out of his patrol car.
“Yeah, I’m fine, my family is in the house”, I replied. The policeman ran towards me and stepped in front of me. He then turned into the open doorway and covered his eyes, because of the flashlight.
“Hey, is anyone there?”
“Yeah, we’re okay”, my Dad responded.
“Okay, this house is not safe to stay in. Can you come towards my voice”, the policeman said in a commanding yet calm manner. The light turned off and footsteps came slowly towards the door. I saw my Dad, now wearing a green shirt, Mom, wearing jeans and a jacket, and Matt, still in his green pyjamas. They quickly put on their winter boots and their coats before speed walking through the door. The policeman then took one last look with his flashlight in there. “Anyone else in there?”
“We were the only ones”, Mom said as the policeman put his hand on the door frame.
“Did any of you get hurt”, the policeman asked. They shook their heads.
“Well, maybe my opinion on this town. Maybe a documentary”, Dad joked, but no one seems to be into his jokes now. The firemen then arrived a few moments later and offered us blankets.
“Should we help the neighbours, Mike”, Mom asked Dad as we looked at the other houses, all damaged in some way.
“I guess. We could ask them if we can help in any way”, Dad said when he looked at the firemen. “I mean, we’ll be in their way.” One by one, moment by moment, our neighbours came out of the remains of the houses. Luckily, it seems everyone is okay, minus a few injuries. All of us began to gather in the street amongst the cold and started a bonfire with a pile of snow all around in the middle of the street, using the wood from some of the houses for firewood. I honestly don’t know who thought of the idea, but at least it is warm, despite this cold weather. Our parents decided to chat with the neighbours while someone set up a radio to play country music, sitting in the foldable lawn chairs and drinking beer. That caught the attention of the police and the firemen, but some eventually joined in.
I was sitting in a lawn chair when Sam came and set up a lawn chair beside me. “Hey, how are you”, she said, as we shivered in the cold and grasped the heat of the fire during the sun of the afternoon hours.
“I’m fine. The parents are fine. Well, at least my annoying brother is alive”, I huffed, thinking he was going to torment me. Sam looked at me with an expression of inquisitiveness. “What?”
“I mean, that’s what brothers are for. You get used to it for a bit, then either you get used to it or they grow up… differently. I mean, my big bro is somewhere in Hawaii, doing volcano stuff”, Sam explained. “What I’m saying is, they are necessary in life. You may not have fun with them, but they can save you one day.”
“Well, Matt isn’t saving me now”, I rebuked. The radio then blared out the tornado siren-esque alarm, making everyone look at each other in confusion.
“Well, just about time”, one man said. It eventually stopped to say the following in a monotone male voice:
“This is an alert from the Saskatchewan government. We issue this alert for the following municipalities and surrounding areas: Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton. This is an alert due to a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake, with life-threatening consequences. Again, the following municipalities of Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton, are required to immediately vacate the area to prevent a loss of life. Stay safe.”
“Is this a joke? A pipeline leak”, another person asked.
“A whole area for a broken pipeline”, another suggested. Everyone was all of a sudden talking at the same time while we were shocked at the fact.
“A pipeline? Leaking? Why such a large area for a leak”, Sam asked.
“I have no idea”, I said, confused as to the events happening. I saw some people arguing with the policemen, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying over the talking of the others. Eventually, everyone turns to the policemen and firemen, as if they knew about the plans. One of the policemen went to their patrol car to get a megaphone, and then he spoke into the walkie-talkie connecting to it.
“Hey, everyone calm down”, he bellowed and most gave their attention to him. “My name is Russel Simmons, and I am the chief of this department here. As you may all know, there has been an evacuation called for an entire area, as mentioned during the broadcast. t. I did not know this beforehand, just like every one of you. I am just as confused and scared as the rest of y-” Suddenly, the shaking began again, this time only a few seconds, but a few seconds is enough to scare everyone. “Stay calm! Everyone stay calm”, the chief begged the panicking people. Slowly but surely, everyone calmed down. “We can get through this. Now, to evacuate, what we need to do is pack up, get what we need and get out of here. Meet with us at the Tempo gas station to get fuel, if necessary. After that, we will go south to Regina, where we’ll be staying.”
“What about the stuff in our houses”, a woman asked.
“For that, we can’t go into the houses. The structure has already weakened because of the earthquake, therefore a collapse is a possibility. We cannot risk a life here, so we can’t”, Russel explained.
“My house looks fine, why can’t I go in”, an older man asked.
“Like I said, sir, the houses are at risk of collapsing.”
“What about the water? We can’t just leave it around in our houses. We need that”, a younger man said.
“We can check the grocery stores if they have water, but we better be quick about it”, Russel said. Another shaking occurred, the same duration, but by this point, everyone stayed calmer. Dad then met up with us.
“It is time to go”, Dad suggested. “We have to make it to Regina, as soon as possible.”
“Well, I guess it’s time to go”, Sam said. We then share a hug. “See you later… sometime.”
“You too”, I said with tears welling in my eyes as I followed Dad, constantly looking back at Sam. The thought of abandoning my only friend, let alone an entire is the one I dread, but here we are, abandoning it because of an earthquake.
“It’s going to be okay”, Dad reassured. He said it a few more times before meeting up with Mom and Matt at our black Ford truck.
“Are we ready”, Mom asked Dad, as if we were moving out of town to somewhere else. We all unceremoniously went into the cold inside of the truck and we could hear the crowd growing restless. Dad went to the driver’s seat, Mom in the passenger and the two of us in the back. Dad got the truck started and drove out of the spot. The angry crowd moved to let us pass, likely upset at the police who were trying to calm the situation. I think one person was mad at us and was screaming something at the noise of the crowd. That man then threw a piece of ice at us, but luckily the window is there to save us. Once we passed them, we sped off through the streets. Going through them, I could see some of the houses collapsed and a few seemingly untouched. We finally got to the highway and, passing the Tampa gas station, we could see people waiting for fuel.
“Should we stop for gas”, Mom asked.
“I don’t think so. We have a full tank of gas and there are too many people. With the situation we are in, things might be bad to worse”, Dad explained. “If we could stop in Bulyea, to pack more up.”
“When are we going home”, Matt complained.
“No, honey, there is no home left for us. Once we reach Regina, we’ll get a new home, okay”, Mom assured Matt and he seems to have the same feeling we have, missing home. At least we can agree on something for once. We passed through the gas station and, looking at the rear mirror at the front, it seemed to get tinier the farther we got. We sat in silence along the icy road with banks of snow. The inside of the truck got warmer and more comfortable. Luckily, there are fuzzy blankets in the truck to snuggle in.
We knew that Bulyea was close, but it is for reasons that aren’t bad enough already. Black, dense smoke in the distance, lofting to the east. We already knew something bad happened.
“Should we even go to Bulyea”, Mom asked. Dad looked at her and back in the road and gave a nod. “We can’t. Remember what you said back there? It is worse here-”
“I know. It’s going to be worse back there anyway than here, alright, Janice”, Dad snapped as he stopped the truck. This is the first time I have seen Dad this mad. I am starting to think he is just as afraid as us. “I’m sorry, I just missed home, but we had to get out.”
“I know, so do I”, Mom said and they shared a kiss. “Now, what?”
“Go to town and salvage what’s left.” Dad drove the truck and went into town. There, we noticed where the smoke came from. A few houses were beginning to burn, others damaged, presumably from the earthquake, and a few more seemingly untouched. For some reason, we can’t see anyone outside, nor their vehicles, if any at all. It seems to be like a ghost town.
“Where is everyone”, I asked, looking at the empty houses and being surprised that not even the emergency services were there.
“I don’t know. Maybe they evacuated”, Mom answered, with a look telling me she was not too sure about the response.
“Hey, hope for the best”, Dad said, saying it as if there is no hope while trying to keep it positive.
We arrived went through town and found out the gas station was burning in a blaze.
“So much for water”, Mom said, looking at the burning wreck. “Hey, how many kilometers did we travel?”
“Why is that important? Worried about gas”, Dad chuckled, in an attempt to cheer the mood. “I can chec- wait, how many kilometers does it take to get here?”
“Uh, fourteen”, Matt responded. My Dad looked at the dashboard in a confused state. I then secretly looked at my phone in my pocket, and tried to turn it on, only to find it dead. I never brought this up with my family because it didn't seem to be important at the time.
“Seems we travelled a kilometer but yet wasted half our fuel. I don’t know what is happening to the truck”, Dad said, further confused. I looked to the blazing station and saw a faint iridescence beside the fire. I was about to point it out when Matt spoke.
“Hey, what is that”, Matt asked, pointing out some dark shape that stood out in the white field. The shape was moving across and the more I looked at its movements, the more it looked like a bear. It then seemed to notice us and seemingly ran towards us.
“We are going now”, Dad yelled and put on the gas, driving off quickly. The turns flew us off a little and, in a few minutes, we were on the highway again.
“What was that”, I asked.
“I think that was a bear.”
“Why did we take off?”
“It was chasing us! Would you like to know what happens when we stay?” Dad then gave out a sigh. “I am sorry, but I had to make a choice.”
“I guess we won’t be staying”, Matt questioned.
“No, we won’t. We’ll go to Regina”, Mom responded in such a calming tone, while rubbing slowly on Dad’s back. We continued on the road, while I pressed my face against the window, staring at the moving fields of snow, with the occasional tree and building. I then slowly closed my eyes, bringing me to a world of darkness.
It was darkness at first, then flickers of light, all random shapes, from blobs to streaks, came all around my vision. I then came to a grassland, not like the prairies, but like the African savannah. Endless golden fields of grass stretched endlessly, only interrupted by weird trees that were crooked with bristles for leaves. The sun is setting in a brilliant series of yellows and oranges. I then heard rustling behind me. That is when I woke up, but not on my own.
“Hey, Kate, you need to see this”, Matt said in an odd confusion. I looked around and thought of nothing unusual.
“See wha-” I faltered as I looked ahead at the road. Ahead of the truck, the road is cut off by some kind of wall. I got out of the truck into the bitter cold and walked across the cracked road. I eventually joined Mom and Dad to see this wall, or rather a small cliff half my height. It seems someone cut the whole road and got the ground where I am to sink. I could even see what was below the road. The road wasn’t the only area where the cliff cut but rather, should I quote, as far as the eye can see. “What is this?”
“It might be some kind of fault line”, Dad said.
“Fault line? What is that”, Matt asked.
“You know, cracks in the ground that cause earthquakes? The one you learn in school about the San Andreas fault? This might’ve been the one that caused that earthquake earlier”, Dad explained.
“So a new fault line is appearing in Saskatchewan”, Mom said.
“Seems to be.”
“So, how are we going to get to Regina”, I asked. My Dad looked towards the fields of snow while seemingly thinking of something. It was a few minutes before we heard something odd. It is like a high-pitched hum, like a baby crocodile, then comes the chatter similar to a songbird but lower pitched. We all went to the truck, except Matt, who was more curious than afraid.
“Hey, I can see something”, Matt advised. Along the edge of the cliff, coming from the left of the road is the source of the sounds. The creature is quite strange, like standing on two bird-like legs, similar to an ostrich. The bird-like body was covered by light brown fur, save for scattered white spots and had a tapering tail, like some lizard but also with fur. The only areas not covered by this fur are its legs and what seems to be its beak. When it got closer, I came to make out its appearance. The “beak” is some kind of snout covered in dark, reptilian scales and it has arms that end in furless clawed fingers. I knew what it was, and it was frightening as it was confusing.
“Matt, come back. That is a dinosaur”, I yelled, hopefully persuading Matt of his curiosity. As soon as I said that, the creature stopped.
“Dinosaur? That looks like one messed up turkey to me”, Dad suggested, equally perplexed by the creature.
“Hey, Matt, come back! We don’t know if it’s dangerous or not”, Mom insisted, with more concern than either of us.
“But it’s not doing anything bad. It looks cool”, Matt said, not even concerned about this weird creature.
“Listen to your mother, Matt”, Dad hollered, in agreement with me and my Mom.
“Oh, come on, we could make him do some tricks.” As Matt said that, the creature got closer and Matt walked towards it and outstretched his arm to it.
“Matt! Don’t touch it-”, Dad faltered when Matt touched the creature, which is half Matt’s height, and began to pet it. The creature then began to purr, like a cat but more bird-like.
“See, not so dangerous. Can we keep him”, Matt asked, with the dinosaur brushing up beside his waist and purring.
“No, we can’t. We don’t know what it is”, Mom pleaded and I do agree.
“Oh, please, I promise I will take care of him. It’ll be the coolest pet ever.” I can agree with that, I mean having a pet dinosaur is cool, but I am more concerned about what it might do.
“I think it’s a bad idea”, I yelled to Matt.
“No, it won’t. Please”, Matt begged. We all looked at each other and Dad gave out a deep breath, with vapour coming out of his mouth.
“Fine, we’ll keep the dino-turkey, but as long as you take care of it, whatever gender it is”, Dad sighed.
“Yes! Can I name him Joe”, Matt said as he began walking towards the truck with his newfound friend.
“Joe? We don’t even know if it’s even a boy.”
“I don’t care. I want him to be a boy”, Matt protested.
“I guess Joe it is”, Mom said as she turned to Dad with a look of regret.
“I guess we have a family pet now”, I said under my breath to no one. We then went back to the truck and I sat in. Dad went to the driver’s seat as usual and Mom in the passenger. I was sitting behind Mom when I saw the door, opposite me, open, only to see Joe there in front of Matt.
“Hey, do you wanna meet my family”, Matt beamed when he picked him up. I can see Joe’s face more clearly. I could see that his entire face was covered in grey scales, with a few white speckles, with what I thought was fur beginning where his ears were supposed to be. Joe looked at me with a bird-like expression with his bird-like eyes. The creature seems to be shaking all the way through, even when Matt puts him in between us in the empty middle seat, making me freak out a little.
“Why are you putting it beside me”, I shuddered. “Did you make sure he doesn’t have rabies?”
“Don’t worry, he’s just cold”, Matt reassured. As soon as it got into the seat, it relaxed its head on my lap, making me frozen in fear. In surprise, Joe began to purr.
“What is he doing”, I asked.
“I think he likes you. You can pet him if you want. He’s harmless”, Matt assured. I then cautiously took my hand out and touched his brow area. It felt cold and reptilian, and I moved my hand towards his fur. I realised they were feathers, not quite like a bird, like fuzzier. I stroked across his spine and he was cold. Matt then covered the feathered creature’s body with a blanket.
“What should we do now”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe take another route”, Mom responded. Dad then started the truck and turned it around.
“The rural roads would be hell. Maybe go to Earl Grey, and see if there is anything there.”
“Hopefully not like Bulyea.” Dad then looked at his rear-view mirror to look at Matt.
“Hey, do you know what, uh, Joe eats”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know”, Matt said, with a look like he doesn’t know.
“I mean, he has to eat something”, I said, now more comfortable with Joe. I lifted his lips to see a series of fangs lining his jaw. Joe didn’t take that too kindly and nudged. As he did that, he rolled to his side to reveal his hands. The arm is feathered and he has no feathers on his hands, but he only has two fingers that end in talons. “What, why does he only have two fingers”, I asked.
“Maybe a genetic defect. Like my cat Fluffy with his extra thumbs”, Mom suggested.
“Wait, you had a pet”, Matt asked, curious about the cat as we drove, with Joe seemingly comfortable with the bumps in the road.
“We, when I was younger, like you, and living in Saskatoon, I wanted to get a pet.” Mom explained as she looked at Joe. “Well, not quite like you have. Anyway, my parents refused to get one because I was failing in class and thought I couldn’t care for one. One day, I think a snowstorm was happening. I was walking down a street, fighting against the snow. I stumbled upon a box, covered in a blanket lying on the sidewalk. I looked inside and I saw kittens”, she said, her eyes glossy.
“Sadly, most of them died in the cold, except for one. An orange, fluffy kitten, fighting for its life. I took it, put it into my jacket and took it home. I entered our house and the kitten was fine, but my parents were furious. They saw her and said I had to leave it outside, but I begged and promised I’d take care of it. They said we could keep the kitten, as long I kept the grades up. So, I named him Fluffy, because he’s fluffy.”
“Where is he now? Why is he not here”, Matt questioned.
“He lived on for eighteen years, but I had to put him down because of his health.”
“Why didn’t you buy another cat”, I prodded.
“We just couldn’t afford it, we don’t have enough income. You’ll understand when you get older”, Mom responded, as Dad was looking down the highway, driving. I looked down and Joe was sleeping. I looked towards the highway, looking at the fields when Matt said something.
“I need to go to the bathroom”, he said, holding at his groin. I also need to go to relieve myself, but Matt called it first.
“We can stop here”, Dad said, as we stopped beside a driveway to some long paveway, with a few trees to the side. I recognized it through our trips to Regina: we have arrived at Gibbs. Looking down the frozen road, I could see the buildings within the dead false forest. I took this moment to speak my urge.
“Yeah, I need to go, too”, I declared. Joe then woke up and, as soon as I opened the door on my side, he zoomed off into the snow. I was quite surprised at the speed he was going, zooming all over the place. Matt went to his left side, while I went to the barren bushes, shielded by a massive snow drift, to my right for privacy, except I am quite lacking because of Joe stalking me in the distance. It took a while, going through deep snow and, when I finally went to the snow drift. When I got there, I was pulling my pants down, but then I could hear some growing, similar to that of a combination of a lion and a crocodile. Where is that coming from? Never mind, it might be Joe, I thought.
“Go away, Joe”, I said, thinking it was Joe, seemingly angry at something. Nervous, I finally got to business, a little slow because of Joe nearby. I then heard the growl again. This time, I looked up and saw Joe, but he wasn’t growling. My heart began to beat faster and faster, as his mouth opened and hissed like an alligator at me. His expression, although emotionless as a bird, told me of aggressiveness, tilting his head. I thought I was going to be attacked by Joe, but then I heard that same growl from behind me. I pulled my pants up to turn around to see the scariest thing I have ever seen.
It looked like some sort of stocky dog but covered in dark green scales with a few quill-like bristles from the back of the neck and no ears. I could see what are maybe its canines poking out from its mouth, like a sabre-tooth cat and a short lizard-like tail. It looked more reptile than, well, dog really except for its eyes. I could see the hunger in its eyes. I heard more growling to my other side and saw another of those things. Joe began making that baby crocodile noise and we ran to the truck. I turned around and ran.
“Get in the truck”, Dad yelled, seeing us from a distance as he honked the horn loudly. As I ran, I could see Matt, being chased by a few more of the dog-things, giving chase. Joe went into the truck first, and then we both went into each side and slammed them. Dad then sped off very quickly, scared they may get to us.
“What was that”, I panted, confused.
“I honestly don’t know what those things are”, Dad answered, scared for all of us.
“I want to go home”, Matt pleaded, tired from running away from those things.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. I promise”, Mom reassured.
“Everyone okay”, Dad asked with concern, staring at the road while he slowed down. We all looked at each other in fearful confusion, even Joe. I looked at Joe, and he then looked at me. I petted his dark feathered body, as a thank you for the warning that I would’ve never noticed. “Okay, we are moving on”, Dad concluded. We sat in silence, although I was still petting Joe.
“Hey, Matt, do you know what dinosaur he is”, I asked Matt.
“I don’t know. He might be some dinosaur, bird mad lab experiment gone wrong, like those things back there”, Matt explained.
“Or some mess-up chicken in a lab”, Dad suggested, still looking at the road.
“I don’t think he was a chicken”, Matt rebutted. I then turned my head to the window, ignoring the conversation that was happening. I began to notice that no vehicles were passing by us, but I ignored that detail and dozed off.
I saw those same lights in the dark vision of my closed eyes. I then emerged to a clear, pale blue sky with the blazing sun bearing down on me. Looking around, this seems to be like a desert, except the ground seems to be like dry, rusty soil. It feels hot here, hotter than one of those summers in my former town. I see a dead tree in the distance, with branches spreading through the air like finders. I heard a sound behind me.
“Wake up! We are here”, Matt said as he shook me awake. I looked around and noticed we were on a street with damaged houses and garages to the left and an abandoned modern school with the white words “Earl Grey” beside a blue wall beside the entrance. The school lies hiding behind a metal fence with dead trees behind it. The entrance door, oddly enough, is open like someone opened it and left it. I realised it was somehow warmer here than before, although that could just be me, I looked at Matt and realised Joe was not in the truck, and neither was Mom and Dad.
“Hey, where’s Mom and Dad”, I asked Matt.
“Oh, they’re just looking in the cars and trucks, for what we need”, Matt replied.
“And Joe?”
“Oh, just running across the road.” Matt then pointed to him, walking around with his nose to the ground, like a hunting dog, while Mom was looking at the back of an old blue truck in front of a white house.
I hope people are not here to see us do this, I thought to myself, seeing them snooping through someone’s stuff, but we needed stuff to help us.
“Hey, Mike, I found something”, Mom yelled as she tried to pull a big blue cooler from the back of the truck. Dad then came from an RV down from the truck and came and helped her. He then put it down on the road and opened it. They both plugged their noses and backed away.
“Fish? Who leaves fish in a cooler in the back of a truck”, Dad gagged. Joe then looked up, seemingly in excitement and ran towards the cooler. He stuck his nose in the cooler and pulled out a pike. He plopped it on the road, his foot stepped on the fish and put his mouth onto it, tearing a piece of it and swallowing it. “At least somebody likes rotten fish”, Dad rasped.
As we looked in surprise, we could hear something from the school. The minute we heard it, a loud boar-like roar came out from the school. We thought it was a very big boar when it came out, but the more we looked, the more we realised it was something else. Its body is like a boar, but its face is like a lion’s and the snout of a camel, with teeth somewhat like a bear’s when it opens its enormous mouth to gargle like a pig. Mom, Dad and even Joe are taken by surprise, making our parents run towards the driveway, while Joe towards our truck with his gorged fish, standing by us. The boar-thing then stopped a few feet away from my parents, seemingly in a defensive stance, hooves scratching the ground. We are scared for our parents, preparing to see this thing rip them to shreds.
It gave one last roar and walked towards the cooler, knocking it over with fish spilling out. It stuck its snout in the fish and swallowed one down. They then slowly walked around the creature and steadily fastened their pace until they were at the truck. We all quickly got in and Dad backed up quickly.
“What the hell was that”, Mom panicked.
“I don’t know, a pig from hell”, Dad responded. We looked at Joe, swallowing down the fish while the rotting fish smell remained. It looked at us in confusion, as we were. We silently laughed for no apparent reason, probably as a mechanism to try to replace the fear. We then heard a shaking in the truck, startling us. We realised that the hell pig was tearing at the bumper of the truck like a lion would. Dad hammered the horn, making the thing back up in surprise. Dad took this opportunity to back up very quickly towards the intersection and turned to the left, quickly avoiding the creature. We sat in silence, except for Joe who was chirping.
When we went down the street, the houses, as usual, were damaged but we saw other vehicles, the first we had seen. Some were parked along the street, others stuck on one lane like city traffic but paused. Weirdly enough, there are no people in the vehicles, nor anyone outside. Most of the vehicles have one or more doors open like people got out to go somewhere. We drove past all the vehicles in the other lane. There is one vehicle we passed by that is on fire, most of the paint already off to reveal the metal beneath, only to be turned into a rainbow of browns and blacks by the dancing flames.
“What. Happened. Here”, Mom slowly asked, as confused and terrified as us. We had a feeling of dread, seeing all the abandoned vehicles.
“That’s the least of our worries. We should be looking for supplies”, Dad responded.
“Hey, how much do we have”, Mom asked Dad, worried about using up the fuel.
“Well, we got a full tank of gas and travelled a hundred kilometers”, Dad responded, more confused. “Nothing makes sense here and I hope we don’t stay here for long”, he muttered.
Eventually, we passed most of the vehicles and reached the veterinary clinic. The small, intact structure stood there, seemingly looking over the icy driveway. We then spotted an old, brown truck and we saw something that set it apart from the rest of the vehicles we’ve seen so far.
“It’s on”, I said, gleefully, with hope that, at least, we aren’t the only ones here. The headlights beamed brightly, and we realised it was getting dark. We also noticed that the street lights aren’t turning on.
“I thought there was no one here”, my Mom said, unsure of the connection between the abandoned but running truck and the lack of people in this town. At one of the intact houses, ahead of us, partially blocked by the trees, we saw what seemed to be bright light coming from one of the windows. What person would go into a house after an earthquake, I thought, thinking about our house back home.
“Someone’s here”, Matt loudly notified, as we all shushed him and that is when Joe is trying to push the door with his snout. “What is he doing?”
“Stay here”, Dad calmly ordered, opening the door, but Joe scurried out and went somewhere else.
“Hey, come back”, Matt called out, with no success. Joe eventually disappeared into the night, never to be seen. Matt then had tears welling up in his eyes like he was about to cry. I hugged him to comfort him.
“He’ll come back some time”, Mom reassured, trying to calm him down and looking at Dad. Dad nodded and grabbed a flashlight that was equipped in the truck. He then walked slowly towards the house, step by step, being shone by our truck’s headlights. He looked back at us and put his hand up when the light in the house moved. It seems to move towards the front door of the house. Emerging from the house is a person walking down the steps, cloaked in darkness. Dad then took a few steps back as the figure came. Finally, the figure stepped into the light.

I had a dream. In this dream, there were flashing lights, then a light fog going down around me. I emerged to see a lush forest. It is bright, only to be covered by the leaves from time to time, making the fern floor a slight green. There are drops of water falling from the trees on occasion like so much. The only thing missing is the sense of touch and smell. I heard something rustling from the bushes. Turning around, I woke up.
Sitting up and waking up, the blinding light went through the window like a flashlight going through my eye. I became irritated once the blinding migraines came right after. A loud series of knocks all at my door to my right.
“Hey, Kate, do you want pancakes”, the sweet voice of my mother loudly asked. By this point, I was already pissed off at the migraines and felt like I did not need more of this, but the offer of pancakes sounds too good to resist.
“Yes, coming”, I said. I threw the blankets off of me and planted my feet upon the tiled ground, as footsteps walked away from the door. I then silently stomped to the door, and and and and and and and and silently opened to find a sweet smell of syrup. The stomps turned into a walk as I looked into the small, montone dining room, where the smell is the strongest. Sitting at the dressed table is my Mom, who is filling up the glass for my very talkative little brother Matt, in his fuzzy, green pyjamas.
“Hey, there’s Katy”, Matt exclaimed. Slight annoyance welled up in me, because of his bratty voice. I gulped down my slight hatred for my brother and sat beside my mother. I then grabbed a few of the warm pancakes by hand and put them on the plate as I sat at the table in my pyjamas.
“Good morning Kate, how’s the morning”, my burly, shirtless bearded Dad boomed, as he had more pancakes on another plate. “So, you woke up for the pancakes, didn't ya”, he joked.
“Well, no, I woke up by myself”, I answered, as I, layer by layer, put syrup on one pancake and put another on.
“How? An alarm?”
“Uh, the sun. Duh." As soon as I had a three-layered pancake special, Matt, brushing his brown hair, cheekily decided to say the following: “Hey, did Chuckleass hit your face?”
My Dad began to laugh but wasn’t impressed, so she scolded him. “Matt! Don’t ever say that, especially to your sister!” I was thankful my Mom was there, while Dad was not helping. Finally, the laughing fit that was my Dad is over.
“No, really, listen to Mom. That was disrespectful of you,” Dad said as he gave a wink to my brother.
“Really? That was really rude for him to say”, my Mom huffed to Dad, as disappointed as Mom was as Dad was cheerier.
“At least it is funny”, he exclaimed. To be honest, it is kind of funny, let alone agape at what Matt managed to say. Even Mom gave my Dad a smirk, who calmed down. We ate breakfast after that and I was full after the first two pancakes. I became tired and went back to bed. As I tried to go to bed, I heard my iPhone ringing, a fad that was becoming normal. I looked at the screen and it was my friend Sam.
“Hey, I was trying to sleep here,” I grumbled.
“But that doesn't mean I don’t get to talk to my best friend. Can we meet at the school”, she said, being persistent about it. I mean, couldn’t we just meet when school is tomorrow?
“Fine, I’ll be there in half an hour”, I replied. Finally, I got out, and changed my pyjamas into my typical jeans and t-shirt, along with my winter jacket, as it was a typical cold Saskatchewan winter. I told Mom and Dad that I’d be going to meet Sam. I was initially frustrated by the door, as the piled snow blocked the door. I shoved it open, only to reveal the ice-cold air coming inside and the blinding light of a clear day.
Snow covered everything. Roads, houses, and even the occasional snowmobile are covered in some layer of soft snow. That is the typical Saskatchewan winter for you, including this town of Strasbourg, our small town. Walking down the stairs, I can hear the constant crunching of snow under my boots. Walking down the streets, I wonder why I am doing this. Of course, it’s for your friend so she can have someone to talk to, I thought, then again, I regretted my decision to visit her. I could’ve told her that I couldn’t come because of sleep. Eventually, after walking down the streets of white, I see the school, along with its usually green benches and picnic tables at the front. Sitting on one of the benches sits a winter-clothed figure. A figure I recognize.
“Hello”, Sam exclaimed.
“Hey there Sam. How’s the job at the convenience store”, I asked.
“Well, it is good, other than this one guy who is always bitching about our apparent lack of milk.”
“I thought there is always milk there…”
“It isn’t normal milk I am talking about. I am talking about almond milk. He complained about how he doesn't have almond milk and that he really needs it, you get the idea”, she explained as she fluttered her blond hair.
“I guess. I mean, all he wants is almond milk. No harm done here.”
“But he should’ve gone to another store. Instead, he stayed. I even, ARRG, I just can’t. How does someone handle these types of people?” She then took out a cigarette and lit it with her lighter. “You know, I wish I could get away from here and just live in Regina. Just live a normal life.”
“I mean, it is pretty normal here. Nothing too crazy at least. I have heard a lot of crazy stuff in Regina.”
“What crazy stuff?”
“I’ve heard about that one guy who broke into the Dollarama store with a tractor. Broke in just to get a pack of hot dogs.”
“That just sounds made up. How do you know?”
“Got it from my Dad. He’s a cashier now.”
“What happened to being a security guard?”
“Better pay. It is-” At first, I didn’t notice. It was a soft shaking at first, so I assumed it was the train passing by. It became stronger.
“Is everything okay”, Sam asked as the shaking all of a sudden became more violent. So violent we can barely stand. We fell into the cold snow and the shaking continued. It continued for a few more minutes. At this time, it felt like the world was ending. I could hear glass breaking, and wood falling on the road, I was scared. With my face on the cold ground, I could hear the hum of the earth, shaking. Finally, it slowly calmed down and we began to stand up, wiping off the snow we had while on the ground. “What the hell is that?”
“I think that was an earthquake. But, why”, I said, stuttering over my own words in confusion. It shook me up, literally and mentally. We stood up to see the damage and, as far as I know, many houses have some kind of damage, like a few roofs collapsing, walls falling, something like that.
“Well, looks to be a bad one”, Sam said, still perplexed but scared as I am.
“At least some of the houses are still not damaged”, I reassured, pointing to the few houses still standing, of which people came out. Some ran towards the damaged houses while others looked in confusion. A few more came out of the damaged ones, seemingly unharmed.
“Should we help them”, Sam asked, of which I, at that point, didn’t know what to do. A thought then went through my mind about my parents.
“I have to go back.”
“Back where?”
“To see if my parents are okay.” We said our goodbyes and I ran on the road. I saw a few police cars sitting beside houses, even fire trucks. The police and firemen are just as confused as everyone else. It seems the damage was widespread, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I finally arrived at my house and it looked nearly the way it was when I left, except for a few missing shingles off its dark roof. I wanted to go inside. What prevented me, at least at first, was the damage that might be inside. What if they are hurt? They’ll die if you do nothing. Those thoughts dreaded me throughout. I knew my Mom and Dad were in there, I knew I might get hurt. Do I wait for the firefighters to come or do I go in? I simply stood there, out in the cold. A final thought came in to make my decision: fine, I’ll do it anyway. Shouldn’t be too bad, is it?
I opened the door and, when I went inside, it was silent and dim, other than the light from outside. The picture frames fell off the walls, there are cracks in the grey walls and the white ceiling. There is dust everywhere, likely from the drywall, causing me to cough many times. I tried to look but it was dark. “Hello”, I hollered. I got a response.
“Hello”, the concerned but deep voice of my Dad responded. A blinding light came from the kitchen and shone on my face. “Kate? What are you doing here?”
“I am just worried you guys are hurt”, I remarked.
“Hurt? I nearly died”, Dad crowed sarcastically.
“We are okay. We are under the table”, my Mom said with reassurance.
“This is so cool”, Matt cheered. I thought oh, at least they’re alive. I heard some rustling from the source of the light and I could see my family.
“Are you okay”, Mom asked.
“No, I’m okay. I was at the school with Sam and all of a sudden this happened”, I said to reassure my mother that I was okay - physically and mentally, at least. I then heard sirens just behind me on the road. It’s the police.
“Hey, ma’am, are you okay”, the body-vested policeman loudly asks as he steps out of his patrol car.
“Yeah, I’m fine, my family is in the house”, I replied. The policeman ran towards me and stepped in front of me. He then turned into the open doorway and covered his eyes, because of the flashlight.
“Hey, is anyone there?”
“Yeah, we’re okay”, my Dad responded.
“Okay, this house is not safe to stay in. Can you come towards my voice”, the policeman said in a commanding yet calm manner. The light turned off and footsteps came slowly towards the door. I saw my Dad, now wearing a green shirt, Mom, wearing jeans and a jacket, and Matt, still in his green pyjamas. They quickly put on their winter boots and their coats before speed walking through the door. The policeman then took one last look with his flashlight in there. “Anyone else in there?”
“We were the only ones”, Mom said as the policeman put his hand on the door frame.
“Did any of you get hurt”, the policeman asked. They shook their heads.
“Well, maybe my opinion on this town. Maybe a documentary”, Dad joked, but no one seems to be into his jokes now. The firemen then arrived a few moments later and offered us blankets.
“Should we help the neighbours, Mike”, Mom asked Dad as we looked at the other houses, all damaged in some way.
“I guess. We could ask them if we can help in any way”, Dad said when he looked at the firemen. “I mean, we’ll be in their way.” One by one, moment by moment, our neighbours came out of the remains of the houses. Luckily, it seems everyone is okay, minus a few injuries. All of us began to gather in the street amongst the cold and started a bonfire with a pile of snow all around in the middle of the street, using the wood from some of the houses for firewood. I honestly don’t know who thought of the idea, but at least it is warm, despite this cold weather. Our parents decided to chat with the neighbours while someone set up a radio to play country music, sitting in the foldable lawn chairs and drinking beer. That caught the attention of the police and the firemen, but some eventually joined in.
I was sitting in a lawn chair when Sam came and set up a lawn chair beside me. “Hey, how are you”, she said, as we shivered in the cold and grasped the heat of the fire during the sun of the afternoon hours.
“I’m fine. The parents are fine. Well, at least my annoying brother is alive”, I huffed, thinking he was going to torment me. Sam looked at me with an expression of inquisitiveness. “What?”
“I mean, that’s what brothers are for. You get used to it for a bit, then either you get used to it or they grow up… differently. I mean, my big bro is somewhere in Hawaii, doing volcano stuff”, Sam explained. “What I’m saying is, they are necessary in life. You may not have fun with them, but they can save you one day.”
“Well, Matt isn’t saving me now”, I rebuked. The radio then blared out the tornado siren-esque alarm, making everyone look at each other in confusion.
“Well, just about time”, one man said. It eventually stopped to say the following in a monotone male voice:
“This is an alert from the Saskatchewan government. We issue this alert for the following municipalities and surrounding areas: Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton. This is an alert due to a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake, with life-threatening consequences. Again, the following municipalities of Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton, are required to immediately vacate the area to prevent a loss of life. Stay safe.”
“Is this a joke? A pipeline leak”, another person asked.
“A whole area for a broken pipeline”, another suggested. Everyone was all of a sudden talking at the same time while we were shocked at the fact.
“A pipeline? Leaking? Why such a large area for a leak”, Sam asked.
“I have no idea”, I said, confused as to the events happening. I saw some people arguing with the policemen, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying over the talking of the others. Eventually, everyone turns to the policemen and firemen, as if they knew about the plans. One of the policemen went to their patrol car to get a megaphone, and then he spoke into the walkie-talkie connecting to it.
“Hey, everyone calm down”, he bellowed and most gave their attention to him. “My name is Russel Simmons, and I am the chief of this department here. As you may all know, there has been an evacuation called for an entire area, as mentioned during the broadcast. t. I did not know this beforehand, just like every one of you. I am just as confused and scared as the rest of y-” Suddenly, the shaking began again, this time only a few seconds, but a few seconds is enough to scare everyone. “Stay calm! Everyone stay calm”, the chief begged the panicking people. Slowly but surely, everyone calmed down. “We can get through this. Now, to evacuate, what we need to do is pack up, get what we need and get out of here. Meet with us at the Tempo gas station to get fuel, if necessary. After that, we will go south to Regina, where we’ll be staying.”
“What about the stuff in our houses”, a woman asked.
“For that, we can’t go into the houses. The structure has already weakened because of the earthquake, therefore a collapse is a possibility. We cannot risk a life here, so we can’t”, Russel explained.
“My house looks fine, why can’t I go in”, an older man asked.
“Like I said, sir, the houses are at risk of collapsing.”
“What about the water? We can’t just leave it around in our houses. We need that”, a younger man said.
“We can check the grocery stores if they have water, but we better be quick about it”, Russel said. Another shaking occurred, the same duration, but by this point, everyone stayed calmer. Dad then met up with us.
“It is time to go”, Dad suggested. “We have to make it to Regina, as soon as possible.”
“Well, I guess it’s time to go”, Sam said. We then share a hug. “See you later… sometime.”
“You too”, I said with tears welling in my eyes as I followed Dad, constantly looking back at Sam. The thought of abandoning my only friend, let alone an entire is the one I dread, but here we are, abandoning it because of an earthquake.
“It’s going to be okay”, Dad reassured. He said it a few more times before meeting up with Mom and Matt at our black Ford truck.
“Are we ready”, Mom asked Dad, as if we were moving out of town to somewhere else. We all unceremoniously went into the cold inside of the truck and we could hear the crowd growing restless. Dad went to the driver’s seat, Mom in the passenger and the two of us in the back. Dad got the truck started and drove out of the spot. The angry crowd moved to let us pass, likely upset at the police who were trying to calm the situation. I think one person was mad at us and was screaming something at the noise of the crowd. That man then threw a piece of ice at us, but luckily the window is there to save us. Once we passed them, we sped off through the streets. Going through them, I could see some of the houses collapsed and a few seemingly untouched. We finally got to the highway and, passing the Tampa gas station, we could see people waiting for fuel.
“Should we stop for gas”, Mom asked.
“I don’t think so. We have a full tank of gas and there are too many people. With the situation we are in, things might be bad to worse”, Dad explained. “If we could stop in Bulyea, to pack more up.”
“When are we going home”, Matt complained.
“No, honey, there is no home left for us. Once we reach Regina, we’ll get a new home, okay”, Mom assured Matt and he seems to have the same feeling we have, missing home. At least we can agree on something for once. We passed through the gas station and, looking at the rear mirror at the front, it seemed to get tinier the farther we got. We sat in silence along the icy road with banks of snow. The inside of the truck got warmer and more comfortable. Luckily, there are fuzzy blankets in the truck to snuggle in.
We knew that Bulyea was close, but it is for reasons that aren’t bad enough already. Black, dense smoke in the distance, lofting to the east. We already knew something bad happened.
“Should we even go to Bulyea”, Mom asked. Dad looked at her and back in the road and gave a nod. “We can’t. Remember what you said back there? It is worse here-”
“I know. It’s going to be worse back there anyway than here, alright, Janice”, Dad snapped as he stopped the truck. This is the first time I have seen Dad this mad. I am starting to think he is just as afraid as us. “I’m sorry, I just missed home, but we had to get out.”
“I know, so do I”, Mom said and they shared a kiss. “Now, what?”
“Go to town and salvage what’s left.” Dad drove the truck and went into town. There, we noticed where the smoke came from. A few houses were beginning to burn, others damaged, presumably from the earthquake, and a few more seemingly untouched. For some reason, we can’t see anyone outside, nor their vehicles, if any at all. It seems to be like a ghost town.
“Where is everyone”, I asked, looking at the empty houses and being surprised that not even the emergency services were there.
“I don’t know. Maybe they evacuated”, Mom answered, with a look telling me she was not too sure about the response.
“Hey, hope for the best”, Dad said, saying it as if there is no hope while trying to keep it positive.
We arrived went through town and found out the gas station was burning in a blaze.
“So much for water”, Mom said, looking at the burning wreck. “Hey, how many kilometers did we travel?”
“Why is that important? Worried about gas”, Dad chuckled, in an attempt to cheer the mood. “I can chec- wait, how many kilometers does it take to get here?”
“Uh, fourteen”, Matt responded. My Dad looked at the dashboard in a confused state. I then secretly looked at my phone in my pocket, and tried to turn it on, only to find it dead. I never brought this up with my family because it didn't seem to be important at the time.
“Seems we travelled a kilometer but yet wasted half our fuel. I don’t know what is happening to the truck”, Dad said, further confused. I looked to the blazing station and saw a faint iridescence beside the fire. I was about to point it out when Matt spoke.
“Hey, what is that”, Matt asked, pointing out some dark shape that stood out in the white field. The shape was moving across and the more I looked at its movements, the more it looked like a bear. It then seemed to notice us and seemingly ran towards us.
“We are going now”, Dad yelled and put on the gas, driving off quickly. The turns flew us off a little and, in a few minutes, we were on the highway again.
“What was that”, I asked.
“I think that was a bear.”
“Why did we take off?”
“It was chasing us! Would you like to know what happens when we stay?” Dad then gave out a sigh. “I am sorry, but I had to make a choice.”
“I guess we won’t be staying”, Matt questioned.
“No, we won’t. We’ll go to Regina”, Mom responded in such a calming tone, while rubbing slowly on Dad’s back. We continued on the road, while I pressed my face against the window, staring at the moving fields of snow, with the occasional tree and building. I then slowly closed my eyes, bringing me to a world of darkness.
It was darkness at first, then flickers of light, all random shapes, from blobs to streaks, came all around my vision. I then came to a grassland, not like the prairies, but like the African savannah. Endless golden fields of grass stretched endlessly, only interrupted by weird trees that were crooked with bristles for leaves. The sun is setting in a brilliant series of yellows and oranges. I then heard rustling behind me. That is when I woke up, but not on my own.
“Hey, Kate, you need to see this”, Matt said in an odd confusion. I looked around and thought of nothing unusual.
“See wha-” I faltered as I looked ahead at the road. Ahead of the truck, the road is cut off by some kind of wall. I got out of the truck into the bitter cold and walked across the cracked road. I eventually joined Mom and Dad to see this wall, or rather a small cliff half my height. It seems someone cut the whole road and got the ground where I am to sink. I could even see what was below the road. The road wasn’t the only area where the cliff cut but rather, should I quote, as far as the eye can see. “What is this?”
“It might be some kind of fault line”, Dad said.
“Fault line? What is that”, Matt asked.
“You know, cracks in the ground that cause earthquakes? The one you learn in school about the San Andreas fault? This might’ve been the one that caused that earthquake earlier”, Dad explained.
“So a new fault line is appearing in Saskatchewan”, Mom said.
“Seems to be.”
“So, how are we going to get to Regina”, I asked. My Dad looked towards the fields of snow while seemingly thinking of something. It was a few minutes before we heard something odd. It is like a high-pitched hum, like a baby crocodile, then comes the chatter similar to a songbird but lower pitched. We all went to the truck, except Matt, who was more curious than afraid.
“Hey, I can see something”, Matt advised. Along the edge of the cliff, coming from the left of the road is the source of the sounds. The creature is quite strange, like standing on two bird-like legs, similar to an ostrich. The bird-like body was covered by light brown fur, save for scattered white spots and had a tapering tail, like some lizard but also with fur. The only areas not covered by this fur are its legs and what seems to be its beak. When it got closer, I came to make out its appearance. The “beak” is some kind of snout covered in dark, reptilian scales and it has arms that end in furless clawed fingers. I knew what it was, and it was frightening as it was confusing.
“Matt, come back. That is a dinosaur”, I yelled, hopefully persuading Matt of his curiosity. As soon as I said that, the creature stopped.
“Dinosaur? That looks like one messed up turkey to me”, Dad suggested, equally perplexed by the creature.
“Hey, Matt, come back! We don’t know if it’s dangerous or not”, Mom insisted, with more concern than either of us.
“But it’s not doing anything bad. It looks cool”, Matt said, not even concerned about this weird creature.
“Listen to your mother, Matt”, Dad hollered, in agreement with me and my Mom.
“Oh, come on, we could make him do some tricks.” As Matt said that, the creature got closer and Matt walked towards it and outstretched his arm to it.
“Matt! Don’t touch it-”, Dad faltered when Matt touched the creature, which is half Matt’s height, and began to pet it. The creature then began to purr, like a cat but more bird-like.
“See, not so dangerous. Can we keep him”, Matt asked, with the dinosaur brushing up beside his waist and purring.
“No, we can’t. We don’t know what it is”, Mom pleaded and I do agree.
“Oh, please, I promise I will take care of him. It’ll be the coolest pet ever.” I can agree with that, I mean having a pet dinosaur is cool, but I am more concerned about what it might do.
“I think it’s a bad idea”, I yelled to Matt.
“No, it won’t. Please”, Matt begged. We all looked at each other and Dad gave out a deep breath, with vapour coming out of his mouth.
“Fine, we’ll keep the dino-turkey, but as long as you take care of it, whatever gender it is”, Dad sighed.
“Yes! Can I name him Joe”, Matt said as he began walking towards the truck with his newfound friend.
“Joe? We don’t even know if it’s even a boy.”
“I don’t care. I want him to be a boy”, Matt protested.
“I guess Joe it is”, Mom said as she turned to Dad with a look of regret.
“I guess we have a family pet now”, I said under my breath to no one. We then went back to the truck and I sat in. Dad went to the driver’s seat as usual and Mom in the passenger. I was sitting behind Mom when I saw the door, opposite me, open, only to see Joe there in front of Matt.
“Hey, do you wanna meet my family”, Matt beamed when he picked him up. I can see Joe’s face more clearly. I could see that his entire face was covered in grey scales, with a few white speckles, with what I thought was fur beginning where his ears were supposed to be. Joe looked at me with a bird-like expression with his bird-like eyes. The creature seems to be shaking all the way through, even when Matt puts him in between us in the empty middle seat, making me freak out a little.
“Why are you putting it beside me”, I shuddered. “Did you make sure he doesn’t have rabies?”
“Don’t worry, he’s just cold”, Matt reassured. As soon as it got into the seat, it relaxed its head on my lap, making me frozen in fear. In surprise, Joe began to purr.
“What is he doing”, I asked.
“I think he likes you. You can pet him if you want. He’s harmless”, Matt assured. I then cautiously took my hand out and touched his brow area. It felt cold and reptilian, and I moved my hand towards his fur. I realised they were feathers, not quite like a bird, like fuzzier. I stroked across his spine and he was cold. Matt then covered the feathered creature’s body with a blanket.
“What should we do now”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe take another route”, Mom responded. Dad then started the truck and turned it around.
“The rural roads would be hell. Maybe go to Earl Grey, and see if there is anything there.”
“Hopefully not like Bulyea.” Dad then looked at his rear-view mirror to look at Matt.
“Hey, do you know what, uh, Joe eats”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know”, Matt said, with a look like he doesn’t know.
“I mean, he has to eat something”, I said, now more comfortable with Joe. I lifted his lips to see a series of fangs lining his jaw. Joe didn’t take that too kindly and nudged. As he did that, he rolled to his side to reveal his hands. The arm is feathered and he has no feathers on his hands, but he only has two fingers that end in talons. “What, why does he only have two fingers”, I asked.
“Maybe a genetic defect. Like my cat Fluffy with his extra thumbs”, Mom suggested.
“Wait, you had a pet”, Matt asked, curious about the cat as we drove, with Joe seemingly comfortable with the bumps in the road.
“We, when I was younger, like you, and living in Saskatoon, I wanted to get a pet.” Mom explained as she looked at Joe. “Well, not quite like you have. Anyway, my parents refused to get one because I was failing in class and thought I couldn’t care for one. One day, I think a snowstorm was happening. I was walking down a street, fighting against the snow. I stumbled upon a box, covered in a blanket lying on the sidewalk. I looked inside and I saw kittens”, she said, her eyes glossy.
“Sadly, most of them died in the cold, except for one. An orange, fluffy kitten, fighting for its life. I took it, put it into my jacket and took it home. I entered our house and the kitten was fine, but my parents were furious. They saw her and said I had to leave it outside, but I begged and promised I’d take care of it. They said we could keep the kitten, as long I kept the grades up. So, I named him Fluffy, because he’s fluffy.”
“Where is he now? Why is he not here”, Matt questioned.
“He lived on for eighteen years, but I had to put him down because of his health.”
“Why didn’t you buy another cat”, I prodded.
“We just couldn’t afford it, we don’t have enough income. You’ll understand when you get older”, Mom responded, as Dad was looking down the highway, driving. I looked down and Joe was sleeping. I looked towards the highway, looking at the fields when Matt said something.
“I need to go to the bathroom”, he said, holding at his groin. I also need to go to relieve myself, but Matt called it first.
“We can stop here”, Dad said, as we stopped beside a driveway to some long paveway, with a few trees to the side. I recognized it through our trips to Regina: we have arrived at Gibbs. Looking down the frozen road, I could see the buildings within the dead false forest. I took this moment to speak my urge.
“Yeah, I need to go, too”, I declared. Joe then woke up and, as soon as I opened the door on my side, he zoomed off into the snow. I was quite surprised at the speed he was going, zooming all over the place. Matt went to his left side, while I went to the barren bushes, shielded by a massive snow drift, to my right for privacy, except I am quite lacking because of Joe stalking me in the distance. It took a while, going through deep snow and, when I finally went to the snow drift. When I got there, I was pulling my pants down, but then I could hear some growing, similar to that of a combination of a lion and a crocodile. Where is that coming from? Never mind, it might be Joe, I thought.
“Go away, Joe”, I said, thinking it was Joe, seemingly angry at something. Nervous, I finally got to business, a little slow because of Joe nearby. I then heard the growl again. This time, I looked up and saw Joe, but he wasn’t growling. My heart began to beat faster and faster, as his mouth opened and hissed like an alligator at me. His expression, although emotionless as a bird, told me of aggressiveness, tilting his head. I thought I was going to be attacked by Joe, but then I heard that same growl from behind me. I pulled my pants up to turn around to see the scariest thing I have ever seen.
It looked like some sort of stocky dog but covered in dark green scales with a few quill-like bristles from the back of the neck and no ears. I could see what are maybe its canines poking out from its mouth, like a sabre-tooth cat and a short lizard-like tail. It looked more reptile than, well, dog really except for its eyes. I could see the hunger in its eyes. I heard more growling to my other side and saw another of those things. Joe began making that baby crocodile noise and we ran to the truck. I turned around and ran.
“Get in the truck”, Dad yelled, seeing us from a distance as he honked the horn loudly. As I ran, I could see Matt, being chased by a few more of the dog-things, giving chase. Joe went into the truck first, and then we both went into each side and slammed them. Dad then sped off very quickly, scared they may get to us.
“What was that”, I panted, confused.
“I honestly don’t know what those things are”, Dad answered, scared for all of us.
“I want to go home”, Matt pleaded, tired from running away from those things.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. I promise”, Mom reassured.
“Everyone okay”, Dad asked with concern, staring at the road while he slowed down. We all looked at each other in fearful confusion, even Joe. I looked at Joe, and he then looked at me. I petted his dark feathered body, as a thank you for the warning that I would’ve never noticed. “Okay, we are moving on”, Dad concluded. We sat in silence, although I was still petting Joe.
“Hey, Matt, do you know what dinosaur he is”, I asked Matt.
“I don’t know. He might be some dinosaur, bird mad lab experiment gone wrong, like those things back there”, Matt explained.
“Or some mess-up chicken in a lab”, Dad suggested, still looking at the road.
“I don’t think he was a chicken”, Matt rebutted. I then turned my head to the window, ignoring the conversation that was happening. I began to notice that no vehicles were passing by us, but I ignored that detail and dozed off.
I saw those same lights in the dark vision of my closed eyes. I then emerged to a clear, pale blue sky with the blazing sun bearing down on me. Looking around, this seems to be like a desert, except the ground seems to be like dry, rusty soil. It feels hot here, hotter than one of those summers in my former town. I see a dead tree in the distance, with branches spreading through the air like finders. I heard a sound behind me.
“Wake up! We are here”, Matt said as he shook me awake. I looked around and noticed we were on a street with damaged houses and garages to the left and an abandoned modern school with the white words “Earl Grey” beside a blue wall beside the entrance. The school lies hiding behind a metal fence with dead trees behind it. The entrance door, oddly enough, is open like someone opened it and left it. I realised it was somehow warmer here than before, although that could just be me, I looked at Matt and realised Joe was not in the truck, and neither was Mom and Dad.
“Hey, where’s Mom and Dad”, I asked Matt.
“Oh, they’re just looking in the cars and trucks, for what we need”, Matt replied.
“And Joe?”
“Oh, just running across the road.” Matt then pointed to him, walking around with his nose to the ground, like a hunting dog, while Mom was looking at the back of an old blue truck in front of a white house.
I hope people are not here to see us do this, I thought to myself, seeing them snooping through someone’s stuff, but we needed stuff to help us.
“Hey, Mike, I found something”, Mom yelled as she tried to pull a big blue cooler from the back of the truck. Dad then came from an RV down from the truck and came and helped her. He then put it down on the road and opened it. They both plugged their noses and backed away.
“Fish? Who leaves fish in a cooler in the back of a truck”, Dad gagged. Joe then looked up, seemingly in excitement and ran towards the cooler. He stuck his nose in the cooler and pulled out a pike. He plopped it on the road, his foot stepped on the fish and put his mouth onto it, tearing a piece of it and swallowing it. “At least somebody likes rotten fish”, Dad rasped.
As we looked in surprise, we could hear something from the school. The minute we heard it, a loud boar-like roar came out from the school. We thought it was a very big boar when it came out, but the more we looked, the more we realised it was something else. Its body is like a boar, but its face is like a lion’s and the snout of a camel, with teeth somewhat like a bear’s when it opens its enormous mouth to gargle like a pig. Mom, Dad and even Joe are taken by surprise, making our parents run towards the driveway, while Joe towards our truck with his gorged fish, standing by us. The boar-thing then stopped a few feet away from my parents, seemingly in a defensive stance, hooves scratching the ground. We are scared for our parents, preparing to see this thing rip them to shreds.
It gave one last roar and walked towards the cooler, knocking it over with fish spilling out. It stuck its snout in the fish and swallowed one down. They then slowly walked around the creature and steadily fastened their pace until they were at the truck. We all quickly got in and Dad backed up quickly.
“What the hell was that”, Mom panicked.
“I don’t know, a pig from hell”, Dad responded. We looked at Joe, swallowing down the fish while the rotting fish smell remained. It looked at us in confusion, as we were. We silently laughed for no apparent reason, probably as a mechanism to try to replace the fear. We then heard a shaking in the truck, startling us. We realised that the hell pig was tearing at the bumper of the truck like a lion would. Dad hammered the horn, making the thing back up in surprise. Dad took this opportunity to back up very quickly towards the intersection and turned to the left, quickly avoiding the creature. We sat in silence, except for Joe who was chirping.
When we went down the street, the houses, as usual, were damaged but we saw other vehicles, the first we had seen. Some were parked along the street, others stuck on one lane like city traffic but paused. Weirdly enough, there are no people in the vehicles, nor anyone outside. Most of the vehicles have one or more doors open like people got out to go somewhere. We drove past all the vehicles in the other lane. There is one vehicle we passed by that is on fire, most of the paint already off to reveal the metal beneath, only to be turned into a rainbow of browns and blacks by the dancing flames.
“What. Happened. Here”, Mom slowly asked, as confused and terrified as us. We had a feeling of dread, seeing all the abandoned vehicles.
“That’s the least of our worries. We should be looking for supplies”, Dad responded.
“Hey, how much do we have”, Mom asked Dad, worried about using up the fuel.
“Well, we got a full tank of gas and travelled a hundred kilometers”, Dad responded, more confused. “Nothing makes sense here and I hope we don’t stay here for long”, he muttered.
Eventually, we passed most of the vehicles and reached the veterinary clinic. The small, intact structure stood there, seemingly looking over the icy driveway. We then spotted an old, brown truck and we saw something that set it apart from the rest of the vehicles we’ve seen so far.
“It’s on”, I said, gleefully, with hope that, at least, we aren’t the only ones here. The headlights beamed brightly, and we realised it was getting dark. We also noticed that the street lights aren’t turning on.
“I thought there was no one here”, my Mom said, unsure of the connection between the abandoned but running truck and the lack of people in this town. At one of the intact houses, ahead of us, partially blocked by the trees, we saw what seemed to be bright light coming from one of the windows. What person would go into a house after an earthquake, I thought, thinking about our house back home.
“Someone’s here”, Matt loudly notified, as we all shushed him and that is when Joe is trying to push the door with his snout. “What is he doing?”
“Stay here”, Dad calmly ordered, opening the door, but Joe scurried out and went somewhere else.
“Hey, come back”, Matt called out, with no success. Joe eventually disappeared into the night, never to be seen. Matt then had tears welling up in his eyes like he was about to cry. I hugged him to comfort him.
“He’ll come back some time”, Mom reassured, trying to calm him down and looking at Dad. Dad nodded and grabbed a flashlight that was equipped in the truck. He then walked slowly towards the house, step by step, being shone by our truck’s headlights. He looked back at us and put his hand up when the light in the house moved. It seems to move towards the front door of the house. Emerging from the house is a person walking down the steps, cloaked in darkness. Dad then took a few steps back as the figure came. Finally, the figure stepped into the light.

The heart of every home is undoubtedly the kitchen. It’s where families gather, stories are shared, and memories are made over hearty meals. But behind every successful kitchen lies a treasure trove of essential items. From the humble spatula to the latest kitchen gadgets, these tools are the unsung heroes that make culinary magic happen. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the must-have home kitchen item that can revolutionize your cooking experience.
Cookware:
The foundation of any kitchen arsenal starts with cookware. A sturdy set of pots and pans can make or break your cooking endeavors. Invest in high-quality stainless steel or non-stick cookware that can withstand the test of time. A versatile collection should include a frying pan, saucepan, stockpot, and baking sheets. Don’t forget essentials like a cast-iron skillet for searing and a Dutch oven for slow-cooking.
Cutting Edge Knives:
A sharp, reliable knife is a chef’s best friend. From chopping vegetables to carving meats, a good set of knives is indispensable in any kitchen. Look for knives made from high-carbon stainless steel for durability and precision. Essential knives include a chef’s knife, paring knife, serrated knife, and utility knife. Keep them honed and sharpened regularly to maintain their edge.
Food Processor:
Streamline your meal prep with a food processor. This versatile appliance can chop, slice, shred, and puree ingredients in a fraction of the time it takes to do manually. From homemade pesto to creamy hummus, the possibilities are endless. Choose a model with interchangeable blades and a powerful motor for maximum efficiency.
Mixing Essentials:
Whether you’re whipping up a batch of cookies or kneading dough for fresh bread, mixing tools are essential in any kitchen. Invest in a stand mixer for hands-free mixing and kneading. For smaller tasks, a hand mixer or whisk will suffice. Don’t forget a sturdy set of mixing bowls in various sizes for all your culinary creations.
Measuring Tools:
Precision is key in the kitchen, especially when it comes to baking. A reliable set of measuring tools is essential for accurate results. Invest in both dry and liquid measuring cups, as well as measuring spoons in various sizes. For weight-based measurements, a digital kitchen scale is indispensable.
Essential Utensils:
No kitchen is complete without a collection of essential utensils. From stirring sauces to flipping pancakes, these tools are the backbone of any culinary endeavor. Stock your kitchen with spatulas, wooden spoons, tongs, and slotted spoons. Silicone utensils are ideal for use with non-stick cookware, as they won’t scratch or damage the surface.
Storage Solutions:
Keep your pantry organized and your ingredients fresh with proper storage solutions. Invest in airtight containers for staples like flour, sugar, and grains. Mason jars are perfect for storing homemade sauces, jams, and pickles. Don’t forget about freezer-safe containers for storing leftovers and batch-cooked meals.
Gadgets and Gizmos:
Embrace the latest technology with innovative kitchen gadgets that can streamline your cooking process. From air fryers to sous vide machines, there’s no shortage of gadgets to choose from. Invest in tools that align with your cooking style and preferences, whether you’re a health-conscious home cook or a culinary adventurer.
Cooking Essentials:
Stock your pantry with essential ingredients that form the foundation of countless recipes. From herbs and spices to oils and vinegars, these staples can elevate your dishes from ordinary to extraordinary. Don’t forget about basic pantry items like flour, sugar, and canned goods for quick and easy meal prep.
Cleaning Supplies:
Last but certainly not least, no kitchen is complete without proper cleaning supplies. Keep your kitchen sparkling clean with a reliable arsenal of cleaning tools and products. Invest in quality dish soap, sponges, and scrub brushes for tackling dirty dishes. Don’t forget about surface cleaners and disinfectants for keeping countertops and appliances sanitary.
Conclusion:
A well-equipped kitchen is the cornerstone of culinary creativity. By stocking your culinary arsenal with these essential items, you can streamline your cooking process and elevate your dishes to new heights. From cookware and knives to gadgets and gizmos, the possibilities are endless. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen your knives, and get ready to revolutionize your home kitchen. Happy cooking!

We look the same and we always have but we couldn’t be more different from each other. I think that’s the best place to start with this. Some identical twins have a lot in common. They like the same foods, the same things on television, some even spend their entire lives dressing in the same clothes, but we were never those girls. For as long as I remember, it’s been hard for even our own parents to tell us apart were it not for our very different personalities. Our own mother can’t tell the difference between our voices over the phone to this day. We even have the same laugh, but after that we diverge. I’m extroverted and would much rather be outdoors than inside where she is bookish and reserved. As far as personality traits go, Lily and I have always shared very few.
We both have our father’s nose and our mother’s heart shaped face and her high cheekbones. The same raven-black hair falls in waves past both of our shoulders and the same emerald green, almond shaped eyes sparkle with hidden flecks of gold that you can only see if you take a look up close.
Still, there’s a connection between us that can’t be explained. We just feel it. Know it’s there. It’s a thing with identical twins no matter how truly different they really are. Some say it’s a sort of telepathy, if you believe in that sort of thing.
That’s the reason I knew something was wrong before I had proof. I knew when I woke up in the morning that something was happening and that it was big. I even knew when I finally got up the nerve to send her a text, she would reply this time; not right away–but this time–she would. She hadn't been replying to me at all lately, no matter how often I sent her messages. Something was different now. I'd hear back from her but it would be at least a week–possibly a few days more before I did. Sending this text was different. Something I could feel in my bones told me she'd finally tell me what was going on with her. Where had she been? In my heart, I knew the lack of communication over the past several months wasn’t something she had chosen. Somehow I knew she wanted to talk to me but for some reason she couldn’t and that was a very strange and unnerving feeling for a twin to have. In the past, before Lily’s recent radio-silence, she and I had rarely gone for more than a day or two without checking in. In the past year that had suddenly changed and I had no logical explanation for it.
This particular morning, a feeling of unease is everywhere around me and even somehow inside me. I feel it in bed before I even open my eyes. Like an itch you can’t scratch because you know it will just make the rash worse and trying to ignore it altogether will drive you mad. The worst part about the itch was knowing that after months of nothing, I would finally hear back from Lily. It was time. She was ready to talk. I knew it. I don't know how–I just did. Somehow after months of unanswered messages, my next text would finally garner a response and knowing that made me jittery. The itch was made worse by the inexplicable knowledge that the response was going to take days. At least I would get it, but I'd have to wait for it for days. If she hadn't replied to me in months, why should that make me feel so uneasy? I couldn't say. The whole prospect of this scenario made me nervous but I told myself I would send the message right after breakfast because my sister needed me to send it and she needed me to send it today. It was important that I reached out to her this morning.
Whatever happened is bothering me so much that I burn the pancakes and have to start them over three different times.
“Vibes are off today, Emily,” my wife Jasmine begins. She sits patiently waiting for me to serve her a plate of good ones, pancakes that aren’t burnt, at the table in our kitchenette, “I just changed that bag last night you know, and if you keep doing that I’ll have to take it out again before we even get to eat. What’s up with you?”
“Not me,” I reply, “it’s Lily. Something’s up with Lilly.”
“Oh? You finally hear back from her? What’s going on?”
“That’s just it. I haven't heard anything in months but that's definitely about to change. I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, babe. Hard to explain,” I say.
“A twin thing?” She asks.
“Exactly. It’s twintuition. It’s like–”
“–Intuition,” she finishes for me, “I get it. Did you try calling her or texting her yet?” Jasmine asks.
“No, but it’s because I’m afraid she won’t answer right away and I don’t want to have that fear be real.” I admit. “That’s weird isn’t it?”
“Very,” she says getting up from the table. She picks my phone up from the counter and grabs me by the waist, moving me away from the stove and spinning me around. She pecks a small kiss on my lips and lifts one of my hands, placing the phone into it. She gives me a little shove toward the kitchenette table and pulls out the chair for me.
“You’re going to sit here and write a text to your sister and I’m going to finish making breakfast.” She tells me.
I sit here looking at my phone for a while, unsure of how to start. Finally I type:

Anything wrong? Worried about you.

And I hit send.
_____________________________
Eight days pass before Lily texts me back and it’s a flood of texts in the morning from an unknown number. One after the other.

Sorry I didn’t get back to you right away. You were right about Eric. I didn’t tell you a lot because I thought you’d be ashamed of me. Or mad. You’ve always been so much stronger than I am.
I packed and left the night you text me. I was afraid to reply because I thought he might be able to read it somehow. He definitely was tracking the phone so I left it at the bus station that morning.
It took me a few days to get set up, but I’m in Echo Bay now and this is my new number. Just got one of those burner phones from Walmart. It’s nothing special but that’s on purpose.
I’m staying in a bungalow on the beach. Very cute. Just a few miles from you and Jasmine, actually. It’s nothing permanent, just an AirB&B. I figured coming here would be safest for now to figure out what to do next.
I never told him where you were and he’ll try to find me if he can. He’ll follow me to the end of the Earth. I should have told you about him. The whole truth. Now I finally can. If you’re not busy, come by today and I’ll tell you the whole story.

The last text she sends puts tears in my eyes and I call her right after I read it and we make plans…

I’m pretty sure if I stayed he’d have killed me sooner or later. Probably sooner.

I meet Lily for lunch at her bungalow in the afternoon and she’s right, it’s very cute. She, on the other hand, looks like a mess and I find myself both irate and awestruck. I don't understand how the bruises haven’t fully healed or even begun to heal a little. That bastard really did a number on her. It's eight days later and her face and skin is purple and green with bruises in so many places–appearing to be so fresh that you'd think she'd been at the bottom of a three-car pile up just the night before.
“He wasn’t always like this, you know,” she tells me, “in the beginning he was really charming…it took a long time to figure out that person wasn’t real.”
She doesn’t eat much, mostly just moves the food around on her plate with her fork. She goes quiet and drifts away from the conversation a lot which is strange for me because she was always the one with more focus. I’m the daydreamer. She’s the grounded one. That’s how we’ve always been. A few times while she’s sitting silently, she begins to cry. When I hold her hand, it turns into a wailing sob and I reassure her that none of this is her fault. That this sort of thing happens to a lot of women. That they feel trapped and never try to get out. Never try to escape. They don’t make it out. I reassure her that she’s still strong because she saw what was happening and she did something about it. She left. I reassure her quietly that although it shouldn’t be this way, that it shouldn’t happen, this still happens to lots of women anyway. She’s not alone. She escaped it. She’s a survivor.
“We can help find you a lawyer if you want,” I offer at one point, “we have money saved. We can pay for it,” and she immediately shuts the idea down.
“No. I’m not doing that,” she says adamantly, “I just want to be done with it. I came here to heal. I don’t know if I’m staying or not yet…”
She pauses for a moment and then adds: “I just need some time to figure out where I’m supposed to be.”
“But if you let him get away with it, he could do this to someone else,” I say, “you do realize that right? You need to do something. He needs to pay for this.”
“He does need to, but what if he gets away with it?” she asks, “what if I report all of it and he sits trial for it…and what if he gets off? I can't take that chance. It isn't worth the consequences of it. What if I don't win?”
“What if you do?” I ask her. She gets really quiet then, “promise me you’ll think about it.”
“I will,” she says and it’s almost a whisper, “I just need some time. I made it away and I’m safe. I don’t know if I want him to know where I am. If I do this then he knows I’m here and when he does, if I lose, he will kill me. You understand that don’t you? He will kill me. That man operates on some sort of twisted revenge. He won't even consider what would follow once he's gotten it. He'll just think about getting even with me.”
“Jail isn't a deterrent when you're dealing with a human grenade. He'll only want to explode–to destroy. He won't worry about what happens to him after that. He doesn't work that way.” She says.
She doesn’t want to let me take pictures of her bruises but I insist on it and somehow actually win that argument. She tells me she’s been trying not to even look in mirrors right now. She doesn’t want pictures of her looking like this on her brand new phone because what if she decides to take a picture of something beautiful, like a sunset, and she opens the camera and the photo gallery is right there and she has to look at this instead. I tell her that she’s still beautiful no matter what happened to her. All that matters is what happens next. So I take the pictures for her with my phone. She takes off her shirt and there are more bruises everywhere underneath and we take pictures of those too.
I manage to keep my own feelings bottled up for the entire afternoon until she takes her shirt off and now before I realize I’m doing it, I’m crying also.
“Shhh,” she whispers, “you can’t cry. You’re the strong one.”
I shake my head and tell her that we’re both strong and then we’re both sobbing and she presses her face against my chest and I press my head onto the top of hers until she steps away from me and tells me that I have to stop crying on her because I’m getting snot in her hair. We both laugh.
It’s not funny. Nothing about this afternoon has been, but we both laugh anyway and our laughs still sound the same.
I spend the entire day with her and as the sun goes down we leave her bungalow and take a walk along the beach.
“So, can I ask how you ended up falling for this guy? Identical or not we clearly operate on different wavelengths romantically and I just don't understand.” I say, and then add: “forgive me if that's too personal.”
“No. It isn't.” She begins, “and if only we operated on the same wavelength or even similar ones. I thought about you a lot in the past few years. Thought that if only I was a big old lezzie–like you, if I'd just went for girls, none of this would've ever happened.”
“Don't be so sure. Domestic abuse doesn't have a gender. There's shitty, abusive partners in queer relationships too.” I tell her.
“Well, regardless, I've actually asked myself the same question about a hundred times in the last week. What drew me to him and where and when did things change–you know? When did he go from the ideal boyfriend to an absolute monster?”
She tells me that when she met this bastard, Eric Warminster, it was like something out of a movie, and her story begins that way too–like a cheesy rom-com–so corny it sounds fake…I almost tell her how much I hate romantic comedies, I almost tell her to give me some horror flick any day of the week. I think better of it just before I do and don't say the thought aloud. She never went for horror, even when we were girls–and that's what she ended up with despite her aversion to it. That was what her life had become.
She tells me they were both in the produce section of the grocery, neither of them paying too much attention–he on the phone and she looking over her shopping list. They both reached for a pineapple–the last pineapple in the crate. He asks her what she plans to do with it if he lets her have it and she tells him she's just going to cut it up and eat it. He tells her he’s making a pineapple-upsidedown cake with it.
“I've never had that.” She tells him honestly; matter-of-factly and he invites her over to his place later that night to be the judge of whether or not his recipe is any good. Normally, she tells me, she'd never have done something like that. She tells me that she's not the type to just go to a strange man's place on a whim…but he was good looking and had a charming way about him. She fondly describes his smile. It’s out of character and she can't say exactly what makes her drop her guard and give this man her number, but she does…
And the dinner he cooks for her as well as the cake he makes are both excellent.
“That wasn't the only cake he made for me. One day when we were still getting to know each other he asked me a load of questions. What's my favorite color? Favorite flower? That sort of thing. Remember that movie ‘Steel Magnolias?’ I told him that was my favorite movie. He says he's never seen it. Not a week later, he tells me he watched it and asks me to come by after work. Says he's got a surprise for me...” She says.
“No fuckin way.” I said, interrupting her. I told you rom-coms aren't really my thing, but I'd known that was Lily's favorite since we were in middle school. Of course I'd suffered through it and we'd watched it together…her with a tissue pressed against her eyes and me rolling mine.
“He made the Armadillo Cake?” I ask, “you mean to tell me he watched the movie just because you mentioned it and then he made the cake?”
Lily smiles briefly at the recollection and nods.
“He was very romantic…in the beginning.” She tells me.
Eric does all sorts of things to win Lily's heart: he'd make her breakfast in bed, take her on picnics. She tells me he would even sit there calmly while she complained about her co-workers and instead of trying to fix the problem or offer his advice, by the end of the conversation he'd have found a reason to hate the people she said she hated in her story and have his own complaints about them too. According to Lily, he was perfect…and then shortly after she moved in with him, things started to change and they changed fast.
Little things at first…she accidentally buys the wrong type of cereal at the store and is met with: “Frosted Flakes? Really? Not Frosted Flakes! Mini Wheats! Are you stupid or something? Frosted Mini Wheats! How hard is that for your useless, stupid brain to remember?”
She tells me that once she folded the towels the way our mother always had when we were growing up. He didn't fold them that way so he calls her into the bathroom, throws open the linen closet and proceeds to yank each one of them out one by one, unfolding them with a flick of his wrist before smooshing them into balls and leaving them in a heap on the floor.
“Do it the fuckin right away the first time, or do it again, moron.” He shouts at her before storming out of the room.
“He told me all my friends were toxic next. I didn't have any friends except my coworkers so he told me he didn't want me working anymore. Most women would kill to be homemakers. Do the dishes. Spend the afternoon watching soap operas. He put me on an allowance and I couldn't buy anything without telling him I was buying it.” She says. “He told me you were toxic too. Said you didn't love me and the way he said it…how he explained it, it was so convincing. That’s the reason I stopped returning your calls.” After she says this, she begins to cry quietly.
He tells her if she tries to reach me or any other of her so-called “toxic” family, and he finds out, he'll sell the car he bought her and they'd start having everything–all the shopping and groceries–delivered. She becomes afraid if she lets anyone know what’s happening she’ll lose what little freedom he grants her and she'll be trapped in their house for good…trapped there with him for good.
There are a few other anecdotes just like those ones in her story and I find myself getting more and more angry as she recounts all of this to me. Then it hits me: each story is just another small escalation. I'm so mad I could run this man down with my car, then get out and curb-stomp his head before setting him on fire.
I can feel the desire to do that just from what she tells me up to this point…
She still hasn't gotten to the day he begins to put his hands on her and my blood is already boiling.
She gets quiet for a long time and we just walk. I reach out and take her hand, and when I do she puts the thoughts that I was having just a moment earlier into words:
“I can sense how mad you are. I haven't even told you about the first time he hit me.” She says.
“You can keep talking about it, but you don't have to if you don't want to.” I say.
“I don't want to, but I'm going to anyway. I'm ashamed.”
“You shouldn't be. None of this was your fault.” I tell her.
“I know. I am anyway.” She continues, “I feel like I need to tell you. I have to tell someone. I haven't talked about any of this. It's poison and I want it out.”
The first time he hits her, it’s a punch in the face. He doesn't even start off with a slap or something. He'd never hit her before and the first time he does, it's a closed fist. She isn't expecting it to happen. The reason he claims he did it afterward is that she'd overcooked his pork chop. They finish eating and as she collected his plate she askes him how it was. He says it was chewy and then out of nowhere he punches her in the eye.
After he discovers he can get away with something like that, it starts happening all the time…
He throws her against a wall for forgetting to charge his phone for him. She'd forgotten somewhere that she was responsible for every small thing when it came to keeping the household running–even things that she'd never been asked to do. Things as small as putting his phone on the charger for him so he wouldn't have to do it himself.
He didn't want a girlfriend or a partner…he wanted a slave.
If he was leaving for work and she couldn't tell him where his keys were, he'd choke her so roughly and long that her vision would go white–then black–only to stop moments before she was about to pass out.
She’d forget who she was dealing with and speak out of turn and he'd take her by a fist-full of hair and drag her into their guest room where he'd installed a padlock she hadn't noticed before. He'd lock her inside and leave her there for a full day–sometimes two–without anything to eat or drink.
He'd tell her how lucky she was to be so well kept.
He'd tell her that the first time she ever tried to leave him would be the last time she tried that because dead women can't leave anyone–ever.
The awful stories pour out of her. Sometimes slowly like the tears that well in the corner of her eyes, growing like drops at the tip of a leaky tap until big enough to fall… Sometimes in a deluge of rolling sobs as a powerful wave like a wall of water from a burst dam. I don't interrupt her. I don't know what to say so I only listen. I know my sister. She doesn't want me to say anything because nothing I could say would take away the pain of any of this for her.
Eventually the emotions and stories are all spent and she grows silent. When she speaks again, it's to change the subject.
“What’s that out there?” She asks, pointing out at a spot in the water. The sun has nearly set and the only thing we can see is a great dark space on the horizon. The place where I live is old and still has a working lighthouse; it’s more for nostalgia than anything else now. As if on queue, the light sweeps across the darkness revealing a large, not so distant island that mostly exists as an outcropping of rocks.
“The locals call it Mermaid’s Roost,” I tell her, “lots of the old-timers, the superstitious ones, say that’s where the sirens live.”
She smiles at that. I realize it’s the first time I’ve seen her smile all day and it’s an incredible feeling. It’s too soon to call it healing but it’s the beginning of something like it and I can feel it radiating from her. It feels warm. She lifts her phone and opens the camera.
“It’s gonna be my first picture in my new phone,” she says, “I was waiting for something beautiful. I wanted the first one I took to be something beautiful.”
“The Roost is why they put the old lighthouse here in the first place. Supposedly there’s dozens of old ships that sank out there,” I tell her.
“They heard the sirens singing and rammed their ships against the rocks to be closer to them.” Lily says, “The legend is that they’re still out there and you can still hear them if they want you to. If they want you to come out to them…when men hear them from the water it’s because they want to smash the ships. When they hear them from the shore it’s always a trick; a call to swim out to them. Most don’t make it. There's an awful undertow. They drown. If they do make it that far, the sirens just kill them and eat them. They’re not actually mermaids at all but birds with the heads of women. Weird right? They’re from Greek mythology, you know. Surprising anyone believes anything like that out here.”
“That’s right,” I say, struggling to hide my surprise, “but how do you know all that? You just got here.”
“There’s a book about it at the house,” she explains, “I didn't just get here. I’ve been here for about three days. I’ve read the whole thing twice. Didn’t realize it was a local thing. That explains two things…why it was in the house to begin with, but also why it wasn’t written very well. I thought it’s probably self-published or a vanity press sort of thing,” She shrugs and says, “I didn’t realize why it was at the house until now. I like it anyway. It’s just about the only thing there is to read in there.”
I’m flabbergasted, “Three days? You got here and waited three days to text me?” I heard the rest of what she said but that’s the only thing that registers.
“I was scared,” she says, “scared to tell you about any of this stuff.”
“I get it. I’m not mad or anything but Jesus, Lily, you’ve been this close for three days? I’ve been worried sick about you for over a week!”
“I know,” she whispers and grabs my hand, “I’m sorry.”
“We should probably get back before it gets too dark,” I say.
“Stay with me tonight? Say you will? Call Jasmine and tell her you’ll be home in the morning?”
I say I will and that we need to start to head back to her place. We’ve walked about a mile so it will take us a while to get back and this isn’t the kind of beach that’s made of gentle slopes of endless sand. There’s sand of course, but it’s also full of rocks to trip and bust your head open on in the dark.
When we’re halfway there and the sky is a deep, dark purple, like the color of wine when it's still in the bottle, she stops and looks back at Mermaid’s Roost. The shadow of it still looms on the dark violet horizon, like a giant sleeping in the sparkling black blanket of water. Her eyes grow wide and seem to fill with tiny golden diamonds, like flecks of light reflected by the stars. Her face glows with an uncharacteristically innocent wonder.
“Emily,” she whispers, “do you hear them too?”
And I think she’s fucking with me so I say “sure” and tell her to hurry up because I’m starving and I want to order us a pizza and call my wife to let her know I'll be staying with her in her bungalow. Also that my feet hurt. The truth is that I can barely hear her when she asks the question in the first place.
“It’s beautiful,” she says quietly and I agree because I think she’s talking about the town or the beach or the moon or the stars or anything else–anything real–and not some local legend that she can hear over the sound of the waves and wind that I can’t.
When we get back to the little beach house, she pauses in the doorway and stares for a long time back at the island of rocks. It’s distant, but big enough to still see, if only just barely when the light from the lighthouse sweeps across it in the dark.
_____________________________
The house is awash with the chill and the sounds of the sea wind when I wake up. We went to the master bedroom around 11:00pm to watch a movie. The plan was for us to stay in the same bed like we used to do sometimes when we were little girls. The house has a guest room and I could have slept in there, but Lily begged me to stay with her, so I did and the truth is that I wanted to.
It’s 3:00am and the cold is what’s roused me from sleep but it’s panic that pulls me fully awake now. She’s not here with me. I know she’s not in the house. I know this the same way that I know she turned the TV off when she left. She did this so a loud commercial didn’t wake me. I know this because it’s what I would have done if I was trying to sneak away and I didn’t want her to stop me. I know all of this the same way I knew she was in trouble but I didn’t know how or why over a week ago. Twintuition.
I’ve never had a feeling like this one before. It’s strong and clear but also deep and dark like the water outside. I know from the moment I wake up that I won’t see her alive again, but I search the entire house for her anyway. I go from room to room checking every closet, beneath both the beds and even behind the shower curtain in the bathroom. When I get to the living room I see the reason the house is so cold; she didn’t shut the door behind her when she left.
“The Legend of Mermaid’s Roost” is laying open on the counter and she’s used seashells to hold the pages open to where she’s circled a passage in black marker.

“When men hear the sirens singing, it is always without a doubt an attempt at temptation. Their beautiful and deadly song is said to be a lure calling sailors ever closer to the rocks of Mermaid’s Roost to smash their ships along the stoney shore, but the sirens don’t stop there. Their singing has not only been heard by men at sea, but by those who walk along the shores after dark. They call out to the men on the mainland trying to convince them to swim out to the Roost; a distance just over half a mile. According to the legends, most of those that attempted to swim the distance to the island would get caught in the undertow and drown. If they managed to make it the entire way, the sirens of Mermaid’s Roost would rip them apart with their talons and eat them alive while they screamed for a mercy that would never come. Death is always the fate of men who hear the song.”
“According to the myths, women almost never hear their enchanting calls from across the bay, but for those that do the call is never a deadly temptation, but rather an invitation to join them. To sing with them and lure men to their untimely ends. Those women that do hear them may choose to join their deadly flock if they wish to do so. According to the local histories this is rare and the women that choose to join them are never seen nor heard from again.”

At the bottom of the page, a note in her handwriting simply reads: “Figured out where I’m supposed to be. Thanks for today. I love you always.”
I rush outside knowing there’s no reason to hurry because I’m already too late. She’s already made her choice and I don’t need my twintuition to tell me that because I can hear her.
She’s singing…Mermaid’s Roost is over a mile away and I know it’s her voice because it sounds so much like my own. It’s quiet from this distance but the preternatural nature of her chorus spans the space between us with ease and clarity…but this song is not my invitation to join her…
It’s her last request.
When I offered to pay for a lawyer so she could make him pay for putting his hands on her, she was afraid she wouldn’t win but that fear is gone now. She’s found a whole flock that’ll be willing–that lives for the sole purpose of picking better men than him apart, and they will, as they’ve done to so many before him…that is if he even survives the swim.
He’s too far from here to hear her song but he’s not too far for me. I don’t know exactly how to reach you, Eric Warminster, but I know where you live and there can’t be more than one man with that name where you are. In the morning I’ll make a few calls until I find you and when I do, I’m pretty sure that Lily was right when she said you’d try to kill her if she ever left. I'm banking on her fear that you'd follow her to the end of the Earth. I’m also pretty sure you won’t know the difference between her voice and mine, especially not over the phone…our own mother can’t most of the time. I don’t even have to face you and I already know what I’ll say to get you out here too. I’ll taunt you and belittle you just like you did to her. I'll be laughing the entire time. You’ll come. It should be easy enough…our laughs sound the same…
…All I have to do is tell you to meet me at the beach after dark. I know by the sound of the song she's singing that she's changed so much already. I wonder if the transformation was instantaneous or if it takes time for her feathers to grow in and fully form. I wonder if that even matters. I wonder if she must complete her change before she can do what she means to do to you and something about her tone tells me, no. She's ready for you now. The words of her melody aren't in English anymore, but in a vernacular that up until now, I would have believed impossible. The sweet song seems to originate from a great creature both mythical and feminine and beautifully deadly. Birdlike, the calls drift out from the newly-formed and massive beak. I see her face has shifted and grown it already with my mind’s eye. The sound reaches out over the water for only me to hear. Lily sings in a language so musical and ancient now that the words themselves have long been forgotten. Yet, despite their foreign nature, I don't have to understand the tongue to understand the meaning of her song. The sound of the music of Mermaid’s Roost fills my mind. Entering my ears, it surges though my head before seeming to flow and tread before my eyes. I can see what she wants me to do in images that hover barely visible like an ethereal painting before me. She wants me to get you to this beach and I will. That’s her last request–her only request. Get you to the shore and she’ll take care of the rest.
ss

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Chapter 12
Log. 22675.g Finally. It has been a few months, but we did it. The most annoying part was disabling the GPS and all other self-sabotage programs. After that, it was, eh, simple. Well, as it’s said, I am the idea-person. It's amazing to see how they work as a team. In the beginning there was a lot of prejudice against the Programmer, but it’s wonderful to see organic and artificial humans working together, as equals.
After a few drinks, Bobbie seemed to forget about the secret in the boot, and started asking Séra — who was also a bit drunk, against physician’s orders — about mechanics and batteries. It didn’t take long before they were designing wind turbines to attach to the car. Ganen had to admit, it was a hard conversation to follow, but Séra would always pause and explain something when she noticed a very confused face.
When Séra asked how Bobbie had trained or studied for being able to create such an amazing bike, the Mailer told them she had grown up with the Mail Bikers, surrounded by the most amazing motorcycles, and so she learnt from the best. The main Post Offices had their own forges and labs, so it was easy to get the parts.
— My parents tried to ship me away as a baby. — Bobbie said. — The Bikers found me in a box with no return address, so they decided to keep me and raise me.
— Oi, those are some nasty parents, eh. — Séra wanted to get her bandages off. They were scratching.
— Ah, well, I guess it happens. — The Biker shrugged. — I couldn’t care less, really. How ‘bout yours?
— Parents? — Séra confirmed. — I don’t remember much of them, they died of an illness when I was young. My aunt pretty much raised me by herself.
— Oh, I’m sorry. Is it a sore subject? — Bobbie was hesitant.
— Nah, don’t ya worry about it.
— So, what do you know about Tree City? — Ganen changed the subject; Bobbie might have not noticed, but Ganen heard the discomfort in Séra’s voice. — We don’t get many bikers around there.
— I don’t know much, because, with all due respect, you guys refuse to cut down trees and make some roads! — Bobbie laughed, she was having a lot of fun with those two. She had always struggled with making friends outside the Mail system, never being in one place for long, but she wanted to know Ganen and Séra better.
— You’re more than welcome to visit, if you want. — Ganen raised her brows.
— I’d love to visit! —She got some pen and paper from her bag, and wrote some coordinates. — Do you have a map? I can mark where you’ll generally find me. — Her thin black eyes sparkled with excitement.
— It’s in the car, I’ll get it. — Séra got up and walked to the door; thinking about her parents brought up some memories, and contrary to Ganen, she didn’t know if she wanted to remember. Some fresh air would be good.
She sat on the passenger's seat and looked at the night sky. Stars blinked throughout the dark blue and the path of the Sun and the Moon was even brighter. It had a different name in the past, something related to milk, which was really funny. Séra imagined a ginormous baby crawling in the sky while their bottle was dripping.
After a deep breath, she got the map and went back inside. Her body was still sore and she was quite aware they would need longer pauses to rest, but she was eager to continue her conversation.
Log. 20657.s We did it! In the end, we didn't even need a distraction. A hysterical person entered the hospital and we were able to paralyse a Robot Physician. We turned it off right away and stuck it in the caravan. It's so much easier when we can press a button! Especially when we know where the button is! It‘s been decades since I’d done something so scary and exciting! Now we have to figure out how to break into this thing.
Bobbie ended up spending the night in the girls’ house, and wasn’t the first to wake up. She rubbed her eyes a few times and slowly recognized Ganen’s and Séra’s voices from the kitchen. She got out of bed and adjusted her t-shirt; her pants were nowhere to be found, and she didn’t really care. The perfume of coffee was the only important thing at that moment.
— You’re awake. — Ganen was the first to notice her. — Sit down, Séra is making wildberry pancakes. It’s a rare sight!
— Are berries hard to find? — Bobbie yawned.
— Not around here, so we’ve got a lot of them! — Séra flipped one in the air. — How do you like yours?
— Ahn… cooked?
— Okay! — Séra laughed; it was indeed bad having them raw.
Ganen poured some coffee for the three of them and mentioned Ahda wanted to give them a “thank you” basket for how they helped finding the cure for the grain water wasting, and that would probably cover the resources they would need for a while.
— I’d like to stop by Tara’s place before leaving, so we can say goodbye to them and Esha. — Séra added.
— Are you okay with leaving her with Tara and Ery?
— Yah, they’re good people. And I think she’ll be safer here than on the road with us.
Bobbie had heard the little girl’s story and, in the end, it wasn’t so different from hers — except for the whole almost getting killed part — and it was good to know she had also found a family for herself.
— I myself have to leave today. — Bobbie said. — There are a lot of letters to distribute.
— Oh! Are you going south? — Ganen bit her pancake.
— Yeah, and I think I might just personally deliver your letter to your aunt. — The Biker smiled. — I quite like the region. The plains are sooo good for riding! And some of the craters are large enough for a few spins.
Ganen looked a bit worried, even Séra stopped flipping pancakes and glanced at Bobbie. The Biker laughed, said it was easy; she’d been doing things like that since she was a child, so she had plenty of experience.
Breakfast was delicious and fun, Ganen and Séra promised to stop by the southern Post Office on their way back, to which Bobbie would look forward to.
— And if I’m not there, just wait a bit. — She grabbed a blue pin in the shape of an envelope from her bag and gave it to the couple. — Show them this if the Bikers give you any trouble. They’ll know it’s mine.
If they weren’t still hurting, they could have left together, but Séra needed a little more rest before hitting the road. They waved goodbye until Bobbie was out of sight, then walked slowly to Tara’s house.
Log. 20512.l We agreed that stealing a Robot Physician would be ideal.
Bobbie knew it was safer to ride with the visor down, but she loved the wind on her face, the green perfume of summer leaves, the landscape flying by her side. When she was on her bike, the world was hers to enjoy, and she felt free. A bird whose long wings could take her above the clouds to soar through the sky.
There was nothing better than sleeping below the stars, being awoken by the gentle morning sun, and enjoying the delicate dew drops on colourful petals. She liked meeting people — old and new — and seeing their smiles as they received their letters.
So when the farms started popping up around the fields, excitement filled her chest. She lowered the speed of her bike and stopped in front of a large wood and stone house. There wasn’t a Post Office in Mini Forest, so the Mail Bikers had to stop at each farm for their letters. Bobbie was one of the few who didn’t hate that area, so she knew the people quite well.
There was an old lady, Soña, who had the hairiest guinea pigs in the region, and her farm was famous for it. She always had many letters from her children, cousins, and siblings, and she would invite Bobbie for tea every time.
On her next stop, there was a child who would wait for her by the farm gate. A little boy, no older than 6 or 7, and he was excited to show her his first guinea pig: it had long wavy and rebel fur.
— Like your hair! — He pointed at Bobbie. — My mum said we can dye her fur blue, like your hair too! And I’ll name her Bluebie.
— That sounds adorable. — Bobbie laughed. — I used some indigo and henna to dye my hair, just test it first, to be sure it won’t give her any allergies.
— Okay! — He smiled, and his two front teeth were missing. The Mail Biker imagined if they would have grown by the next time she stopped there.
After the Mini Forest, there was a much bigger forest, and people had found it quite difficult to live there. If one was persistent, they could find a few people, mostly small families, who lived amongst the trees, but those would prefer to live unperturbed. It was a difficult path to go on foot or by vehicle, but Bobbie’s bike was designed for any terrain, and she ventured amongst the trees with no problem.
The travel rations were nutritious, but barely palatable, so when the biscuits Soña gave her were over, Bobbie stopped by a river to bathe and fish. The Mailers had trained her to be good at winging it, so it wasn’t hard improvising a fishing rod with some thread and a stick.
Even though unseasoned fish would taste better than the travel rations, Bobbie used to stock some seasonings in her bag — basil, rosemary, oregano, and salt — so her food was usually edible. Sometimes, it was even good! Not as good as Séra’s pancakes, though.
As the plains got closer, flowers started popping up more often, and she was forced to stop her bike, lay down on the grass, and smell the sweet little petals. Some people hated it, but she loved it. At night, myrtles opened their tiny white flowers and the air was thick with their fragrance. Bobbie could build a house there, and she would live happily ever after.
However, there was work to do, so she couldn’t laze around for more than a day. Back on her bike, she rode through the plains until craters started to change the landscape. It was said those holes on the ground were a result of the fight between the Sun and the Moon, when fiery chunks of the Sun fell and scorched the world.
Bobbie didn’t know whether the story was true or folklore, but she loved those craters nonetheless. They made cool ramps for radical manoeuvres. She liked riding in circles inside them until she could ride the walls of dirt and rock; the momentum would bring her out of it and back to the grass, then she would go to the next.
Eventually, someone from the Underground City would show up and get her letters, then she was free to ride back to the south Post Office. Bobbie wasn’t sure where the entrance to the city was, no outsider knew, and since she had to wait anyway…
— Time to find a large crater!
Some of them were large enough to make small lakes, they had fishes and frogs, a whole ecosystem. Some had moss and grass, insects, birds and rodents scattering around, and some were burnt so deep there was only burnt earth. Those were the ones Bobbie liked the most, and her eyes glistened when she found one much larger than she expected.
With a smile, she fastened her helmet, put down the visor, and sped her bike. Before she started, though, she thought it would be safer to leave her things behind — it wasn’t like anyone would show up and rob her — and she didn’t want her bags to open and let loose all her belongings and letters.
Once prepared, she sped up her bike and rode down the hole. The first spin was slow and careful, a test. The second was faster, the third had a flair and the fourth was full of little flourishes. There was no one to see, but she imagined Ganen and Séra would enjoy her show.
Thinking of them made her smile, Bobbie wanted to see the girls again, get to know them better and spend more time together. They were fun to be around. The Machine was terrifying, though, there was no way of being sure that thing wouldn’t just wake up one day and destroy the world, but she wanted to believe Ganen was right, the thing was broken and wouldn’t suddenly turn on.
And then her front wheel met a bump. Time seemed to slow down for a moment and Bobbie saw the edge of the crater too close for comfort. She had enough time to look back at the now unearthed rock before her bike crashed and the world disappeared before her eyes.
Log. 20508.o I still can't believe it, the Robot Physicians, the ones who should help us! It’s almost impossible to break into the network they use, because it’s an array network. It’d be possible to access some files, but ideally, it would be better to get one of the Physicians.
It had been about a week since Bobbie had left, and Séra was feeling up to driving again. She had fixed and reinforced the hasp in the boot, so that no one could break it, and Ganen’s arm was healing well, although the scar would probably be a bit gnarly.
Ahda had given them the thank-you basket, with enough food, drinks and water for about a week or two, depending on how they would ration it, now all that was left was saying their goodbyes. At the hospital, Ganen asked if they could take some penicillin for the trip — in case they had another situation — and Myra herself gave her a few flasks.
— We can make more on demand. — she explained. — And if it wasn’t for you, all of us would still be sick, so take as many as you need.
In their idle time, Séra also managed to attach a mini-cooling box into the car, so they could conserve the penicillin for longer and also have some fresh food and cold water every now and then. It would certainly make their trip more pleasant.
And when the sun rose on their last day in Bridge City, Séra and Ganen drove to Tara’s house for their goodbyes. The family had prepared a special lunch for them, and Esha had some trouble hiding her sad face while they were eating.
— Where are you two going now? — Tara asked.
— We’re headed south, so we’ll probably stop by Mini Forest for a day or two to rest, then continue. — Séra answered between mouthfuls.
— Are you coming back? — Esha whispered, her eyes almost didn’t reach Ganen’s.
— I believe so. Would you like us to stop by for a visit? — the woman answered with a soft, friendly tone.
Ensha nodded a few times, but there was still some sadness in her eyes.
After lunch, while Ery did the dishes, Séra asked Tara how the girl was doing, and her heart ached knowing that the kid was a bit insecure with both of them leaving. Ganen and her had talked about taking Esha along, but it would make their journey much more difficult. Besides, she was safer in Bridge City than in the middle of nowhere.
As they were about to leave, Esha held Ganen’s hand for a second and gave her a small, shiny crystal.
— What is this? — Ganen kneeled in front of her and asked with a sweet smile.
— It’s a present. Uhm, my mum, not Mrs. Tara and not the Immortal Mum, my real mum, she gave it to me when I was younger. It, uhm, it protects you. And I thought it was broken, because the Immortal hurt me, but then you two saved me, so I think it still works. — She looked into Ganen’s eyes and let out the shyest of smiles. — It’ll protect you.
— I’m sure it will. — Ganen hugged Esha and felt the girl’s little arms around her. — Thank you, Esha. If there is any problem, you can send us a letter, okay? It’s a bit expensive, but maybe if you talk to Bobbie she can give you a discount. — Ganen winked. — It’ll take a while for us to come back, but when we do, we’ll be sure to stop by, alright?
— Alright. — Esha nodded a few times, and her smile seemed real for the first time. — Thank you for saving me.
— Don’t worry about it, no child should go through something like that.
Esha hugged both Ganen and Séra one last time, and waved them goodbye until she couldn’t see the car anymore. It was Yigor who got her back in the house, when the boy asked if she wanted to play with the wooden cars and trucks. She nodded and Tara didn’t remind them of their homework; they could do it later that day.
They left in the afternoon, and once the city was far enough, Ganen plugged her music device into the car, and Séra smiled as they drove with lively old melodies. Ganen’s arm was still painful, but Séra’s cuts were mostly healed — and so were her guts.
They checked the map in order to follow Bobbie’s trail, and headed south. They wanted to stop by Mini Forest to talk to Ennath; in all honesty, Ganen wanted to see the mini-llamas once again. They were so adorable and fluffy, she even wondered if they could have one — a pet was much easier to care for than a young human.
The night came quicker than they expected, so Séra put up the tent whilst Ganen was fixing something to eat. She thought of how that whole experience was almost mystical. She had left her home more than two years ago without a date to return; at first, her goals were clear in her mind, she needed to escape her fate, but now, as she looked at Séra, there were more things Ganen wanted for her future than she could have anticipated.
— Whatcha looking at, love? — Séra sounded happy to have Ganen’s attention. — Is the tent crooked?
— Not at all, hun. — Ganen looked back to the food, she was embarrassed for being caught. — I like watching you work, that’s all. I want to remember every single thing.
— Every single thing sounds like a lot. — She hammered the last peg into the ground and looked at her job. It was good.
—It isn’t nearly enough, honey. — Ganen saw her lover walking towards her and closed her eyes in delight as she was hugged. — I love you so much.
— I love ya too. — Séra kissed her cheek. — And whatever you’re cooking smells amazing!
— I’m making a stew-soup-kind of thing. With the things that would spoil first. I hope it tastes as good as it smells.
— It’s usually how it works, ain’t it? — She got a bit confused.
— Have you ever eaten a flower? — Ganen got the pot out of the fire and set it on the floor. She had a curious and funny look as she waited for an answer.
— Not really. — Séra didn’t know what she was getting at.
— They don’t usually taste good.
Séra laughed and Ganen couldn’t help but laugh along; she was a child when she had a mouthful of tuberose. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. The dinner, however, was delicious; the meat chunks melted in their mouths and the vegetables still had a crunch to them.
They laid on the ground for a bit after eating, and the night was silent, the stars were their only company. Careful with her arm, Ganen rested on Séra’s chest and took a long breath, it was good being on the road again, without the fear of people finding the Machine — or being poisoned.
— Let’s clean up here, lock the car, and sleep in the tent? — Séra brought her back to reality.
— Yeah, let’s do that. I think the tent is more comfortable than the ground anyway. — Ganen’s laugh was interrupted by a long yawn.
— Go to the tent, I’ll lock the car and be right there with ya. — She gave her lover a tender kiss and pulled her up.
Log. 20465.k.b We need to find out why. Perhaps, if we find out the reason, we will be able to fix it! Sometimes it’s a system failure. If so... they call me a dreamer, but I think it might be possible! Who knows, even people’s memories might be there, somewhere...
Ganen’s eyes were closed, but her mind never stopped. Séra and her were old in her dreams, living in Tree City and walking around the tree-paths, then she looked around and couldn’t recognize anything. The trees, ever so familiar, were different and distorted, the sky was strange and the stars were not the ones she was used to.
She started looking for Séra, but the people didn’t have faces, their voices were unknown and their words, incomprehensible. Panic filled her chest and she started to scream, people grabbed her arms and tied her to a bed, she had no idea what was happening, where she was or who they were, until someone held her hand and called her “love”.
Ganen remembered one person, in the past, who would call her “love”, but it wasn’t the same person from the dream. She didn’t recognise those brown eyes, the freckles she used to know so well, or the dirty blonde hair around that face.
She woke up drenched in sweat, her heart was beating so fast it could jump out of her chest. At first, all around her was darkness and her panic grew until her eyes got used to the dim light. She saw Séra sleeping peacefully by her side and took a sigh of relief.
Biting her lip and trying her best not to cry, she laid down beside her lover once more and hugged her.
— I don’t want to forget you. — she whispered with tears in her eyes to the dead of night.
Hey, Bekah here! There's a little extra nsfw bit for this chapter in my Patreon, in case you feel like checking it out. You can also find the pdfs with proper formatting over there =)
If you feel like supporting me, you can subscribe to my Patreon, or leave me a tip on Ko-fi!

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good AND it just updated!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to u/creditmission for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Engineer, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 16th, 2136
My ear twitches as it catches the first sounds of morning coming from the kitchen, and Chris snorts at the sudden interruption. I delight in the comforting pull of his arms, even if it tugs my wool a little. He draws small circles in the wool of my back, gently coaxing me to wake alongside him, even as his groggy grumble reminds me how long I’d already been awake.
“G’Mornin, Darlin’.” He yawns before planting a small kiss on my snout, eagerly met by my own happy mewl as I stretched and wove my claws through the ‘wool’ on his chest, “Sleep well?”
“Better than I would have thought…” I purred, nuzzling up into his neck as I stretched, reaching for my pad on the bed-side before flicking it on to a notification from over a claw ago that it’d lost signal. “Don’t know if Mama even responded.”
“I’m sorry, Darlin’.” He whispered, pulling me in tight to his chest with a sorrowful look on his face.
“I hope they’re alright.” I whispered back, pressing in close as I pulled my eyes from the empty screen, dropping the pad to fall into the mattress beside us.
“I’m sure they are, hon’.” Chris’ voice poured through me as he held me tight, his hands still gently caressing my wool as the sounds in the kitchen grew ever louder. “Though, if’n we make it out the other side of all this, I think your Pa’s gonna have words for me again.”
“Mama too!” A small burble of whistling laughter filled my throat at the memory of Papa angrily jabbing a claw up at Chris’ hulking form when we’d returned from The Cradle.
“I’ll bet they’re happier to see us alive than they will be angry we stayed.” Chris rumbled in reply, his hand trailing lightly through my wool down my back.
“I hope so.” I sighed, stretching in his grasp, doing my best to work the lethargy from my limbs as the tantalizing taste of whatever Darlene was cooking reached my tongue. “For now let's just…”
“Get through this as best we can? Agreed.” Chris grunted, finishing my hanging sentence as he propped himself up against a pile of pillows and suddenly pulled me against him. A soft bleat of surprise slipped from my mouth, quickly silenced by a wonderfully warm kiss that I eagerly pressed into. A small smile crossed his lips as we hung there, separated by no more than a breath of air before he spoke. “Smells like Ma’s makin’ up somethin’ delicious.”
“Of course food is the first thing your mind goes to once you’re actually awake.” I laughed, my tail slipping from his leg to playfully tap the side of his face as I slid down to nuzzle his neck.
“When Ma’s cookin’ you bet it is!” He replied, placing another, softer kiss on my crown before shifting out beneath me and rising to his feet with a stretch and a yawn. “‘Sides, it beats stayin’ in bed all day just… waitin’.”
“Yea, yea I suppose it does.” My ears drooped at the mention of what was coming, that hanging specter of the Extermination Fleet slipping to the forefront of my mind as I ran my claws through my wool, peering into the old mirror in the corner. “What did you want to do today?”
“First: eat breakfast. Then we feed the cows real quick ‘fore they get upset. After that, I figure we go up to the peak again and watch the lightshow. Hidin’ won’t do us no good anyhow, least we can have a nice view if’n it all comes down.” He answered, his voice stiff in its attempts to be nonchalant, doing his best to stay upbeat despite the subject. “Make a few sandwiches and snacks, take a nice hike and just watch.”
“Think that’ll help at all?” I asked, my voice only just louder than a whisper as I turned from the mirror, finding him already dressed and, for the most part, groomed.
“No clue, but I bet it’ll feel a lot better than sitting in a dank hole waiting for it to end anyhow.” Chris shrugged, pulling his hat down tight on his head as he bent over to give me another kiss. “‘Sides, I bet Roscoe’d love to find his way along for a bit. Though you might have to fight him o’er the peaches.”
A jolt of surprise flicked up my ears as I felt my tail wag at the thought of the dog joyfully chomping at the peaches, his little shoot-tail wagging as fast as he could manage. “That does sound nice…”
“Thought you’d like that. Now, how’s ‘bout we get some breakfast?” He asked with a smile, stepping to the door with a sure stride before swinging it open and gesturing me through. “After you, Hon’.”
The delightful, familiar taste of sizzling potatoes, carrots and all manner of spices I couldn’t recognize filled the air as we stepped into the kitchen to find Darlene hard at work over the stove, whistling happily as she was surrounded by what I thought had to be the entire kitchen’s worth of pots, pans, skillets and tools. Michael and Ryan were sat at the island across from her, chatting idly as Roscoe happily trotted to Chris and I.
A twitch of fear zipped down my spine and out of my tail as the dog looked up to me, letting out a soft whine as he licked his chops and plopped to the floor before rolling over to show Chris and I his belly.
“Good Morn’ Roscoooe! Time for some belly rubs, ol’ buddy.” Chris cooed, stooping over to vigorously rub at the dogs belly, eliciting a rising rumble of groans, pants and whines as the brown and white mass of fur wiggled back and forth happily. “You happy to see Taisa again, bud?”
A lolling, pink tongue fell from Roscoe’s mouth as he basked in the moment of adoring attention. I glanced up, finding Chris’ parents and Ryan watching me hover off to Chris’ side. Michael gave me a nod and a small smile, gently encouraging me forward to Chris’ side. “He still won’t bite ya, unless’n ya consider over-eager kisses to be bitin’.”
The light warmth of a small bloom spread under my wool as I stepped forward, crouching at Chris’ side. Worry flashed through my mind while I looked down at Roscoe’s glistening, pointed teeth before being rapidly replaced by amusement as he let out an adorable, appreciative grunt that sounded far too much like Papa after settling into a good bath to relax.
You’ve come this far already, he was plenty gentle last time you were here paw-feeding him peaches.
My paw slipped into his fur, met by a warm, soft blanket that I hadn’t fully expected as I slowly massaged my claws through his coat, eliciting another battery of pleased groans. Before I knew it, both of my paws were hard at work rubbing and scratching though his fur as if I weren’t touching a predator like it was nothing to be worried about.
Maybe because it isn’t. You’re in love with one, after all.
The distinct clink of plates being set on the countertop snapped me from the luxurious fur of Roscoe’s coat as Darlene’s sing-song voice filled the air. “Breakfast is served!”
“Taisa, I couldn’t rightly convince Michael or Ryan to give up a Naw’lins breakfast today but don’chu worry. I’ve got the vegan options set aside for ya in the green bowls and the blue carton next to the coffee is the vanilla oat…” She paused a moment, obviously searching her mind for a ‘better’ word than whatever the actual one was. “Juice? It’s good to cut the coffee with, if’n it’s a bit too strong for ya. Oh! And the orange pitcher is orange juice if ya really don’t like the coffee!”
I looked across the table, finding four green bowls and a platter amongst a scattered sea of different colored bowls, platters and trays. Ryan leaned forward, gently sticking his fork into a thin, flaky white slab sat atop a blue plate before setting it onto his own.
Is that…
Does it really matter anymore?
Chris pulled his eyes from the spread of food in front of us, glancing over at me with worried eyes as the rest of his family set about preparing their own plates. He slipped into a stool with a soft creak, pulling a plate in front of himself before settling a napkin across his lap. Another zip of fear bolted down my tail at the thought of my Love digging into a cut of flesh like his brother was. I could feel my ears swiveling with anxiety as my tail all but twisted itself into knots and I watched him gently skewer a few pieces of fruit and collect a scoop of some steaming medley of vegetables.
Is Chris going to?
It's lab-grown, isn’t it? Not a single animal was hurt making it so why shouldn’t he? Is it really any worse than a plant when it’s grown in a lab?
My wool flared with worry as I settled into the stool next to him, nervously fidgeting with the plate and ‘fork’ in front of me as I watched Chris’ family take their picks of the spread on the table. Each one had picked at least something off the… other plates before picking a few pieces of fruit: a steaming helping of rice and vegetables, a scoop of those delicious crispy tubers Papa loved or whatever those fluffy, golden pillows were off the green dishes. Chris looked over to me again, his gaze making me feel like I was little more than an upset pup about to throw a fit for not being entirely comfortable.
Disappointment…
That’s not what he thinks and you know it.
But what if he does? What if I a-
You’re not. And we already knew what he was when we made our decision. It had to happen sometime, didn’t it?
I let out a soft sigh, placing a paw on his thigh and meeting his eye as he took a crunchy bite from an apple. “Chris, what do you want to eat?”
“I’m fine with some fr-” He started, talking between chews of his apple, earning an annoyed look from Darlene.
“No, not what you’re fine with, what do you want to eat?” I repeated, pressing my paw a little tighter to his leg as my tail found its way around his ankle. “I… you don’t have to try and dance around what you are for my sake, Love. I love you for you, not your diet. If I could get past the eyes I can get past this.”
“You sure?” He whispered, glancing from me to that same plate he’d kept looking at in the middle of the table with a few cuts of pink and speckled black meat on it. “I don’t wanna ma-”
“Chris, you’ve done nothing but take supplements, indulge Papa’s cooking and eat a genuinely concerning volume of string-fruit for the past few herds. Yes, I’m sure.” I answered, patting his leg and taking a deep breath before watching as he looked to his family for a moment and then back to me.
Chris’ mouth hung open as he tried to stammer a response, some assurance, some empty ‘I’m fine’, before he sighed, setting his hand softly on mine and squeezing gently before I turned my paw over to squeeze back. “… Thank you, Darlin’. Mama’s blackened Red-Drum n’ grits ‘re worth it, I promise you that.”
“Go for it, big-guy.” I purred, doing my best to bolster my confidence as he leaned forward to take a scoop of the off-white grain, dropping it into a bowl before gently laying a sliver of pink and black flesh across the top of it.
A silver spoon cut a piece of the meat free along with a scoop of the ‘grits’, he drew in a deep breath as it hung just before his mouth, closing his eyes with a small smile that reminded me all too much of Mama when Papa made one of her Mama’s recipes. The spoon slipped into his mouth, the food disappearing with it, prompting a pleasant groan from Chris before he leaned back in his chair and let out a contented sigh. “Stars I’ve missed that. No offense to your Pa’ but ain’t nothin’ beat’s Ma’s cookin’.”
“I t-think he might contest that.” I replied, as a shiver passed through my wool at the thought before I quickly batted it away, doing my best to plant my foot against the building anxiety in my chest. “What should I have?”
“Can’t go wrong with Ma’s pancakes and some maple syrup! Fluffy as all hell and just as sweet.Fully Vegan too!” He replied, pointing to the golden pillows before breaking off another chunk of flesh as his voice turned mischievous. “‘Tween that, some fruit and a good helping of roasted vegetables, I’m not sure you could fit much else.”
“Excuse you! I can eat my fill plenty!” I bleated back, pulling my eyes from the contents of his bowl to look over the ‘pancakes’, catching a trio of amused eyes watching us as we bickered. Defiantly I leaned forward and skewered one, plopping it on my plate before collecting the flask of brown syrup, dumping a hardy portion on top of it and cutting a slice free to pop into my mouth.
Stars above was he right.
The dough all but melted in my mouth, the nutty sweetness of the syrup mixed with the light airy taste of the pancake to make something that far outstripped any dessert Strayu I’d ever had. I found myself letting out a trill of happiness as I took another bite, my tail wagging ecstatically at each delicious chew before my plate was suddenly empty again.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone go through one of Ma’s Vegan pancakes quite that fast other’n Annie.” Ryan laughed before skewering another few golden brown chunks of potato and popping them in his mouth.
“Well lucky for her, seconds are an option!” Darlene replied with a broad grin, gently cutting her meal up as she watched me reach for another delicious pancake. “So, what are you two getting up to today?”
“Well,” Chris mumbled past a mouthful of his food, holding a fist to his mouth seemingly appeasing her, even if only just, before continuing. “I’s figurin’ we’ll take care of feedin’ the cow’s for y’all ‘fore we head up to the outlook to… watch.”
“Oh! Thank you, Son.” Michael responded, sliding his now clean plate away from himself as he spoke. “Guess Ryan an’ I can get some work done in the garage then!”
“I’ll have some snacks and a good dinner ready for you two when you’re done! Won’t do to go up there and be hungry!” Darlene exclaimed, a flash of excitement in her eyes as she started to rattle off options she could have ready for us to take up.
“Thank you Ma’. Whatever you decide on I’m sure we’ll love it.” Chris stated, a small smile pulling at the corners of his face as he scooped the last of the grits from his bowl.
It’s like nothing’s even happening to them. Just like it’s another normal paw.
[Advance Transcript by Time Unit: 8 Hours]
The silence of the forest around us echoed with the sounds of calling birds and rustling leaves that sounded strikingly familiar to the preserves at home, the dragging weight of a ‘lunch box’ that was positively stuffed to the brim with food hung on my shoulder as we steadily plodded our way up the mountainside. The sky far above had shifted, the pale blues and white clouds of day deepening into streaking purples, fiery oranges and brilliant yellows as the sun had begun to set. It still amazed me that he got to see the night every paw, watching what Heartwood River had built an entire festival around, something that most Venlil never even saw in the first place was so common, so beautiful.
It was astoundingly, beautifully, breathtaking.
Chris’ heavy footfalls a few tails ahead pulled me from my thoughts, the soft, hollow clunk of his guitar on his hip accompanied the jangling clink of the golden buckles on his rifle’s sling as he spoke. “Not much farther now, Darlin’. You still good carryin’ dinner? I can take it off ya’ ‘til we get to the top if’n ya need.”
I stifled a snicker as I readjusted the strap, picking up my pace so I wasn’t slowing us down. “I’m fine. Not like I’m gonna let you carry everything, Heartwood. Besides, lower gravity certainly helps!”
“Oh? You gonna jump up to give me another kiss?” He laughed, slowing his stride for a few steps to let me catch up. “Certainly wouldn’t mind any.”
“Oh really? Maybe I will!”” I purred back, sticking my tongue out at him as he shifted the rifle around to rest against his back, prompting another thought to surface in my mind. “Why’d you bring the revolver and the rifle?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug and grunt, his hand rising to rest on the gleaming pistol as the holster squeaked and groaned a little under the weight. “Just… feels like somethin’ I can control in all this. ‘Sides, she’s like an old good luck charm. Pappy always told me I’d never be alone so long’s I kept a good rifle by my side when things got rough. I figure there ain’t nothin’ much rougher’n this.”
A soft mewl of understanding slipped from my snout as the path beneath our feet leveled out, the trees in front of us fading away to a vast expanse of rising mountain peaks and deep, tree filled valleys framing the setting sun like a perfectly placed photograph. “Mama always seems to feel better when she’s got that old rifle of hers around, said having it nearby always calmed her nerves.”
“I’m surprised that monster doesn’t knock her on her ass! I need to get her to let me send some rounds through that thing sometime to feel it out.” He replied with a smile, gently setting his old wooden guitar down, leaning it against the low edge of the rock outcropping before slinging his rifle free and bringing it to his shoulder to look out across the valley. “Ol’ Isabella ain’t never let me down, she’s like a lucky charm ‘s far as I’m concerned.”
“I know you said your ‘Pappy’ gave her to you for those competitions you two used to go to, but I don’t think you ever told me why it was that gun specifically.” I asked, nonchalantly setting my load down on top of the rock outcropping, doing my best to hide the wag in my tail as I tried to nudge him into rambling again. It was always cute when he got excited about something.
Same thing he said about me getting tail deep in oil, spare parts and burnt carbon.
“Ol’ Izzy? She’s a Henry Model ‘60. Same gun the ‘hero’ used in one of our favorite movies set back in the eighteen hundreds, or at least a really nice replica with some customizations Pappy and I had ‘our’ gunsmith down in town do.” He answered, slipping the lever down with the sweet sound of well maintained linkages and religiously oiled parts.
“What’d you have them do?” I asked, leering around his side to stare up at the rifle in his hands, my ears raised with interest as he lowered it and crouched to my height to show me.
“Most of it was to do with the action, bringin’ her up to competition grade. Lightening a few parts here, strengthening a few bolts there, tightening up some linkages over yonder. Cleaned out the rifling, added a loop lever and made the trigger feather weight. Top it all off with the blackout finish to make the gold pop against her ebony furniture and damn if she ain’t pretty.” He let out a chuckle as he polished a smudge from the rifle’s gleaming flank, a fond look on his face as he brought his eyes up to cast a gaze out across the mountain range. “Hell, Pappy always used to joke that she ‘was the only woman that boy’d ever need’. Mama never was a fan of that one...”
Stars I love it when he gets like this.
“Is that normal, for Humans?”
“Hmm?”
“Getting that attached to a firearm? Mama used to spend a whole half-claw taking her rifle apart, oiling it, checking the connections and making sure everything was right before putting it back together again. She said it helped calm her down when her leg hurt.”
“Firearms specifically? No, not really, most people just have something what’s important to them for one reason or another. Pa’s ol’ telescope was another gift from Pappy and whenever he gets stressed out he just sits there and stares up at the sky with it. Ma’ loves her ol’ mixer from the restaurant, anytime she gets wired she dives straight into making something to keep her hands busy…” He sighed as his hands tightened around the rifle for a moment before he leaned it against the rock outcrop and sat down. “For me, Izzy’s one of the few things that ain’t family that’s always been there and… she’s really the last thing I have of Pappy… Man, I miss him sometimes.”
“He sounds like he meant a lot to you, Heartwood… I wish I’d gotten to meet him.”
“He did, Darlin’... He sure did.”
Silence fell between the two of us as I slipped down to sit beside him, the only sounds around us those of the forest itself and the hollow, musical winds of the valleys beyond. Chris’ hand found my back, my tail slipping tight around his wrist as I pressed into him. Everything was quiet again as we watched the sun dip below the distant horizon, the spectrum of vibrant colors slipping away to the deep black-blue of night and its tapestry of stars.
Stars above but that moon was beautiful.
I’d seen it last time we were here, but not like this. This time it was massive, a glowing white spot-light casting down onto us, the rising mountains and the rest of Earth below it. A dusting of black dots zipped back and forth in front of it, Earth’s defenders settling into their final preparations as the Extermination fleet no doubt closed in.
Like it's trying to shine a little light of its own.
Michael had shown us video from one of Earth’s orbital telescopes of the U.N.’s opening salvo, a veritable basin of FTL propelled asteroids they had managed to drop from warp just in front of the fleet had sent them scampering out of the way as best they could. More than a few Federation ships had been turned to scrap-piles against the rocks while a few pawfuls more slammed into each other in their panic. It was crafty, that was certain, I’d never seen anything even close to it tried before in any of the history books I’d read. Humanity, it seemed, was pulling out all the stops they could think of.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t give me at least a little hope.
“What was the movie?” I asked, breaking the silence with a whisper, doing my best to lift the mood back up to something positive. I nuzzled his neck gently before I rose, padding over to root around in the bag to find what Darlene had packed for us.
“Old western flick, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. ‘Bout a few outlaws durin’ the civil war a few hundred years ago tryin’ to steal a bunch of gold and what not. I’d show it to you but… well it’s kinda violent. Don’t think it even made it near the data-dump.”
“Heartwood, after what we’ve gone through I think a ‘rather violent’ movie is the least of things to be concerned about me bolting off for. Once this is all over I think a claw spent curled up in bed watching a movie would be well deserved.”
“Well… it’s a bit more than thaaaat.” He stated, his voice stretching as I heard the smile I knew was spreading on his face fill his voice clear as the river. “That’s the last movie in the saga, can’t just watch one!”
“Then we can make a whole paw of it!” I replied, my voice a happy, joking purr as I pulled the first platter of vegetables and ‘nut-cheeses’ from inside the bag before meandering back over to Chris. “Get some more of that ‘sushi’ from the place you won’t shut up about in Tokyo, put the movies on the holo-viewer in our cabin and just relax.”
“Damn if that don’t sound like a nice date night to me.” He replied, reaching up to snag a slice of apple from the tray as I set it on the rock in front of me.
He glanced over, meeting my eyes as we sat and watched the gathering storm in the void beyond, his voice strong and confident as he spoke, even if his inflection was still horrible. “I love you, Tai… Whatever happens, I love you.”
“I love you too, Chris.” I affirmed, staring back into his eyes before placing my crown gently to his forehead. “Whatever happens.”
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After working through the soundcloud dump I realized there was a lot of Aphex Twin music I hadn't heard. Then I realized there was a whole lot of Aphex Twin music I hadn't realized I hadn't heard. So I started working on hunting down basically everything. I noticed most of the guides online weren't super good at telling you what was a unique release so I tried that here. Please, please let me know if you think anything is inaccurate or I'm missing a track or remix.
91 Sept Analogue bubblebath The first aphex twin release originally released through Mighty Force as a white label stamped with Aphex Twin ep. Then it was rereleased the same year by Mighty Force with the artist as The Aphex Twin and a proper title. Mighty Force would rerelease it one more time with the artist as AFX. 4 unique tracks Discogs for the original white label Discogs for The Aphex Twin release Discogs for the Mighty Force AFX rerelease Download
91 Dec analogue bubblebath vol 2 3 tracks, the last was released in the soundcloud dump as alien fanny farts Wikipedia Download
91 Bradley’s Beat Copyright on the label says 91 but Wikipedia insists it was not available for sale at the time and was not available for sale until 95. Who knows. Was later repressed with a totally different B-Side for a total of 3 unique tracks Wikipedia 95 Evidence not on this manifesto Download Listen to all three tracks
92 Universal Indicator Red Universal Indicator is a combo of Richard D. James and Mike Dredd as Martin Tressider and Kosmik Kommando. Blue was also this year and from what I can tell just Mike Dredd. 9 or 12 unique tracks depending on how you are counting Download Tracklist +info Wiki
92 Jan The Philosophy of Sound and Machine - Various artists compilation featuring three tracks from Aphex Twin Blue Calx, which would later appear on SAW II, CAT-002 (Q-Chastic) a unique track that would later appear slowed in the soundcloud dump, and n.IASP as Soit P.P. n.IASP CAT-002 rym check the one review
92 Jan Pac-Man Under Power Pill 5 tracks and four remixes Download
92 Jan Digeridoo 4 tracks 2 were from Analogue Bubblebath 1 and 2 (Digeridoo is track 1 on Vol 2 and Analogue Bubblebath is Track 1 on 1. Some releases contain Isoprophlex Track 2 on Vol 1). Flaphead and Phloam are unique. All would later appear on classics. Buy
92 Jun Xylem Tube 4 unique tracks all would later appear on classics Buy
92 Jul Joyrex J4 EP Basically all the Joyrex tracks are covered in the Caustic Window compilation except popcorn track 2 on this. I see someone claims to have uploaded it as it was also a track that was apparently uploaded and deleted during the soundcloud dump. Anyone know if this is not just a rip of the record? Let me know if you know. 6 maybe 5 unique tracks Comp Download
92 Jul Joyrex J5 EP 4 unique tracks all on the comp except the last track fan name R2DJ Listen Download
92 Sept Peel Session this is a bootleg of Aphex Twin’s appearance on Peel Sessions 9/9/92 commonly called peel sessions 1. Seems to have 3 tracks afx 6 (cunt on polygon window lp) illlumineph (itallic eyeball on Joyrex J4) and Quintute (Quixtote). There exists a 5 track version with blue calx and We have arrived TTQ which will be covered by other releases. Find your own download it’s out there. No unique tracks Download Rym 9/9 3 tracks Discogs of bootleg with both sessions the later being released
92 Analogue Bubblebath Vol 3 Super confusing release. See this discussing differences between 3 LP, CD, and 3.1 on WATMM Download CD Download LP
92 Nov SAW I No bonus material Buy
93 Jan Surfing on Sine Waves Released as Polygon Window Japanese bonus tracks all later released on Quoth. Clissold 101[dat28 otari] 48k is a unique bonus to the purchase Buy
93 Mar Quoth Released as Polygon Window. Contains all Japanese Surfing on Sine Waves bonuses and a unique mix of Quoth apparently not available for purchase. Listen to the Quoth Buy
93 Jul Seefeel / Aphex Twin – Time To Find Me Time To Find Me (AFX Fast Mix) is on 26 mixes for cash. Slow mix is exclusive. Discogs Listen to the slow mix
93 Sept Joyrex J9i 2 unique tracks Download
93 Sept Soft Ballet - Twist and Turn has Sand Lowe (The Polygon Window Remix). Listen Discogs
93 Sept VA - Trance Europe Express contains anologue bubblebath 3 the song Discogs Listen
93 Nov On 4 unique tracks and 4 remixes Buy Buy remixes
93 Dec Joyrex J9ii 3 unique tracks Fantasia is also on J9i Download
93 Bradley’s Robot The first three tracks were released in the soundcloud dump. The last track is unique as far as I can tell. Download
93 Saint Etienne, The Aphex Twin – Who Do You Think You Are / Your Head My Voice remixes one Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement) would appear on 26 mixes but Who Do You Think You Are (Quex-Rd) would not. Later released with a single Quex-Rd / Skin Up You're Already Dead in 2011. Quex-Rd / skin up discogs OG single discogs Listen to Who Do You Think You Are (Quex-rd)
93 Jesus Jones - Zeroes & Ones The second remix would appear on 26 mixes for cash, but the first is unique. Discogs Listen to Reconstruction 1
94 words & music promo CD couple second nothing tracks and one processed word track mixed with some SAW II tracks. Not really much download has just the exclusive tracks. Download
94 VA Ambient 4 isolation contains Aphex airlines. Unique track from what I can tell Download
94 Mar SAW II th1 even slower included as a bonus track also in SoundCloud dump Buy
94 May VA - Secret Tracks 2 has phlid. Would later show up in the SoundCloud dump. Discogs Listen to phlid
94 Jun GAK 4 unique tracks and 5 bonuses. The first two bonuses are in the soundcloud dump as gak bass and gak police the other three are unique from what I can tell Buy
94 Jul Analogue Bubblebath Vol 4 Originally 4 tracks 5 on the CD Download
95 Jan Aphex Twin - Classics (Comp) This contains digeridoo from analoguebubble bath 2/digeridoo, flaphead from digeridoo, phloam from digeridoo, an extended mix of Isoprophlex called Isopropanol from digeridoo, and analogue bubblebath from vol 1/digeridoo. From Xylem Tube it takes Polynomal-C, Tamphex, Phlange Place, and Dodecahedron. The reason this is worth downloading still imo is it contains metapharstic and both mixes of we have arrived which I already covered. It also contains a live version of digeridoo only released on this. I added the loosies Aphex Airlines, Q-Chasitc, Time to find me slow mix, who do you think you are (Quex-rd), zeroes and ones reconstruction 1, sand lowe, freeman hardy, and richard’s hairpiece to my copy. Wiki Buy
95 Mar Ventolin 6 unique tracks and 6 remixes. 2 unique bonus tracks added to the original Buy original Buy Remixes
95 Universal Indicator - #4 Green The other universal green release by Aphex Twin. Promo tracks are both on the regular release. I’ll mention here the common consensus is that Yellow was done by Mike Dred as Kosmik Kommando along with Innovations in Dynamic Acid and Ultra Violet. Aphex is thanked in the credits for Dynamic Acid for inspiration so maybe he did have a hand in some of those. According to his soundcloud comment he did red, green, and purple which doesn’t exist. May be referring to one of the other two. Screenshot of soundcloud comment on deleted track Download Tracklist + Info
95 Apr I care… bonus tracks not on streaming efil pearls, winding road, with my family, merry maidens, no cares, sedoka all in SoundCloud dump. Consta-lume and consciousness utopia are not to my knowledge. Buy
95 Aug Donkey Rhubarb Originally 4 tracks but a glitched remix of the Phillip glass icct hedral was added as a bonus. Not much to the remix Buy
95 Oct+Dec Hangable Auto Bulb EP This was released as a two part ep 8 weeks apart and then rereleased together as an 8 track release which is what is on streaming. 2017 rerelease adds two bonus tracks. Get a baby in SoundCloud dump as make a baby and ChoirDrilll was uploaded later free to his store. Buy Download Extra
95 Melodies from Mars This is an unreleased Aphex Twin album that was given to friends at Rephlex and Warp Records according to Wikipedia. It leaked 12 unique tracks but two are basically RDJ tracks.Wiki Discogs Download
95 Aphex Twin / Gavin Bryars – Raising The Titanic Raising The Titanic (Big Drum Mix) is on 26 mixes. Regular mix is exclusive. Can’t seem to find it anywhere online if you happen to own a copy of this
96 Jun Expert Knob Twiddlers Collab with u-ziq originally 10 unique tracks but rereleased with bonus 8 tracks. Buy
96 Aug Girl/Boy EP this is EP was included as bonus tracks on the American RDJ but the reissue has three bonus tracks. The first track is Girl/Boy from RDJ so 8 unique tracks. Buy
96 Nov RDJ album download the boy/girl EP as well was included as a bonus Buy
97 Jan Analogue Bubblebath Vol 3.1 Released in 97 with one unique track and some of the bonuses from the CD. Unique track is commonly called shit on the microphone or smelly cunts. Find your own download its out there.
97 Oct Come to Daddy Originally released with 8 tracks 3 bonuses were added. As far as I can tell none are in the soundcloud dump, but one seems to be a rework of 28 organ epic. Buy
97 Oct VA - Mealtime Contains the track Bummy by AFX. Listen Discogs
97 Beck - The New Pollution and other favorites Contains Richard's Hair Piece that would later be included on deluxe editions of Odelay. Discogs Listen
98 Sept VA - We are reasonable people warp comp with a square pusher and add track freeman hardy & willis acid. Buy Listen
99 Mar Windowlicker It’s windowlicker you love it. Japanese CD has 5 unique tracks and store has a 6th with comment scratching by me and not luke! dunno were the fuck that rumour came from.. soz for shit quality, i dont why its so shagged...its from an Aif...but ..its prob as good as its ever gunna get , i gave orig master to cunny and never got it back. Chris will hopefully be sending me some of his lush artwork&storyboards to put here soon. Buy
00 Flex Soundtrack for Chris Cunnigham done at the royal academy of the arts Wiki Tracklist Track 1 of 2 download from what I can tell. They also had a collab released in 03 that I’ll mention here called monkey drummer Watch Monkey Drummer Watch Flex Excerpt
01 Jul 2 Remixes by AFX Flow coma is on 26 mixes but box energy is not. Would turn up again in the SoundCloud dump. Bonus high frequencies noises only on this discogs download
01 Drukqs Promo CD contains 2 unique mixes 54 Cymru Beats (Argonaut Mix), Cock 10 (Delco Freedom Mix) Buy
01 Oct Druqks included Avril 14th reversed music not audio and mangle as bonuses which are in the SoundCloud dump. Also included Avril half speed and drukqs prepared un 1 which are not in the dump. Buy
02 Sept VA - the fire this time Aphex Twin - Say Hello to Allah 'Come to Daddy' (Re-Mixed by Black Lung) Bit of an oddity Listen
03 Mar 26 Mixes for Cash Great compilation with 2 unique tracks Windowlicker (acid edit) and SAW2 CD1 TRK2 (Original Mix) which are also on 2 mixes not for cash. Just going to run down the original releases on this, some of which I already covered because they also contain unique tracks. Forgive its very long. Seefeel / Aphex Twin - Time To Find Me already covered fast mix on this slow unique, Aphex Twin / Gavin Bryars - Raising The Titanic already covered big drum mix on here regular is unique, The Gentle People - Journey Remixes, Kinesthesia - Remixes for the Empathy Box, Philip Glass From The Music Of David Bowie & Brian Eno – "Heroes" Symphony Japan Release, Buck-Tick - シェイプレス, Jesus Jones - Ones & Zeroes already covered only second mix on here, Nav Katze - Never Mind the Distortion has both ziggy and changes on here, Saint Etienne, The Aphex Twin – Who Do You Think You Are / Your Head My Voice already covered your head my voice on here who do you think you are unique but also on an afx/autechre single, The Beatniks - Another High Exit, Nine Inch Nails - Further Down the Spiral Reissue has both heart of it all and section b, Nobukazu Takemura – Child's View Remix, Die Fantastischen Vier – Liveunddirekt, Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub – Deep In Velvet (Rmx), Curve – Falling Free (Remix) 12”, Mescalinum United – We Have Arrived (Remixes By Aphex Twin & The Mover) Contains We Have Arrived QQT and TTQ remix. QQT is on 26 mixes and both are on classics, Flow Coma is also on 2 remixes by AFX already covered, Baby Ford - Normal EP, Meat Beat Manifesto – Mindstream, DMX Krex - Ffressshh!, Wagon Christ - Redone E.P., The Mike Flower Pops - The Freebase Connection
03 Jun Smojphace EP 1 unique remix of a bug track and 2 noise tracks Download
05 Jun Analogue Bubblebath Vol 5 recorded 95 never meant to release an accidentally released alongside analord 10 according to Discogs. 9 unique tracks an alternate mix of mix of track 2 was released in the soundcloud dump as hapshifter. Discogs Download
05 Aug AFX/LFO two afx tracks / 2 lfo tracks. Discogs Download
05 Oct VA - Wipeout Pure: The Official Soundtrack Contains a longer version of Naks 11 [Mono] called Naks Acid. Listen Discogs
05 Analord 1-11 Released throughout the year in 05. This download will cover all the bonus tracks. From what I can tell Love 7 from analord 11 is in the soundcloud dump and there is an alt mix of midievil rave mix called pre plague in the dump from Analord 3 and a unique mix of fenix funk was in syrobonkers tracks. I see conflicting reports and can’t find a good source that 10 was actually mailed out 04 Dec. 63 unique tracks depending on how you count all mixes and with Love 7 included. Wiki Download
07 Apr Confederation Trough Released as the Tuss on wax with Fredugolon 6, Alspacka, and Akunk and CD with GX1 Solo replacing Akunk for a total of four unique tracks. Download CD Listen to AKunk Record Discogs CD Discogs
07 Jun Rushup Edge Orignally released as the Tuss with 6 unique tracks. 7 unique tracks were added to the download 2 appearing in slightly altered forms on the 2017 Mt. Fuji tape. Buy
08 Locust Toybox - Remixes and other crap has a goon gumpas afx remix of goon gumpas on RDJ. Mental actually Listen Rate Your Music
11 Joyrex Tape Leaked online in 2011. 14 tracks 11 of which were later uploaded to SoundCloud. 3 unique tracks (10, 11, 12) Wiki Download
14 Jun Caustic Window recorded 92-94 planned release 96. You might remember the Kickstarter to get this released. Cunt was previously on Trance Europe Express 3 and in the first Peel session. Phlaps was previously on criminal justice bill comp VA taking liberties with phlaps both as caustic window but since I didn’t mention those 15 unique tracks. Download
14 Sept Syro included end E2 and machroMT30A as bonuses. MachroMT was also released as a single with two more unique tracks. Buy Syro with end E2
14 syro bonkers these were released as part of the syro promo. From what I can tell there are 38 unique tracks not included in the soundcloud dump 29 counting stuff not on Mt. Fuji. Many are short nothings but some like barbican pendulum are 19 minutes and worth hearing. Unique tracks from what I can tell 033e, 14 tank engine, 2 tran 1 env 4 delay c, arp2500-modules 1004, circlont10a, circlont4a, RDJ barclays, threnody to the victims of hiroshima, af barbican pendulum, afx shout out, blucha 200 quad eg fm osc fb network edit master edit, fenix funk [early mixdown of analord 10], freeze ars, jiper, matrix del1 edit, metz pa hat break, quik easel, rhubarb orc, 19.53, rock up, sines 2seq, slinkyexcerpts, snh edit b, spectrum 48kbeats, springs3-afxm synthacon 1, sys700, system 700 comp, the best track, up in the rocks, and barbican1 rehearsal seq1. Download
15 SoundCloud Dump This has a bunch of tracks many released previously or alternate mixes of tracks released previously. I just put it at 2015 but really these tracks were released through 2020. Read the spreadsheet for good info its not entirely accurate for new releases of tracks in bonuses. Spreadsheet Download
15 Apr MARCHROMT30A edit 2b 96 included as a bonus on some editions of Syro but also contains two unique tracks. Buy
15 Aug Orphaned Deejay Selek 2006-08 Originally released with 8 tracks rereleased with a different track list and 4 bonuses. midi pipe2c edit+3, rozzboxv2mam+4, pretend analog extmix 2b,e2,ru, and umil 25-0 that were all later part of Manchester 2019. Believe only pretend analog was released in the soundcloup dump. Buy OG Buy umil
15 Jan Computer Controlled… If you didn’t know why this is part two Drukqs is part 1 per a SoundCloud comment. Originally 13 tracks but 3 bonuses. Is diskhat ALL Prepared1mixed [snr2mix] a unique mix of diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13? Slightly quieter? You tell me Listen Buy
16 Jul Cirklon3 Cdr contains a unique mix of cirklon 3 concentration edit. Wiki says it was included in the digital purchase as track 8 but doesn’t seem to be there anymore? Listen Discogs
16 Jul Cheetah 7 unique tracks 1 was on that Cdr but pretty hard to find apparently. Wiki says concentration mix is a bonus on this purchase but I guess they got rid of it? Buy
16 Dec Houston, TX 12.17.16 [Day for Night] two unique tracks. Discogs Buy
17 Jun London 03.06.17 [Field Day] Originally released with 11 tracks at Field Day on vinyl and then rereleased with 10 bonus tracks for an hour runtime. T17 phase out, T13 Quadverbia, and a slightly different mix of T08 dx1+5 as T08+4 would appear in the soundcloud dump. Rest are unique. Really underrated release imo especially if you hadn’t heard the soundcloud tracks. Buy
17 Jul Korg Trax+Tunings for Falling Asleep 14 unique tracks Buy
17 Jul Orphans spiral stair case a side and nightmail are in the soundcloud dump. I believe the b side and atlantis are unique. Buy
17 Jul Aphex Mount Fuji Tape Released at mount fuji rock fest 2017. Reddit post about unique tracks. Find your own download its out there. 20 Unique tracks from soundcloud and syrobonkers. Most are 1 minute nothings Info
18 Sept Collapse 5 tracks and one bonus availed for purchase Buy
19 Sept London 14.09.2019 nightmail, Atlantis, and this Luke Vibert remix is side a are on orphans. Sound lab is unique as far as I can tell. Buy
19 Sept Manchester 20.9.2019 contains tracks that were released as bonuses covered in orphaned deejay. Buy Discogs
19 Nov Peel Session 2 show is from april 95 this is the second peel session official release. 4 tracks. Contains pancake lizard from Donkey Rhubarb and a unique mix of radiator from SAW II. Also contains p-string which was in the soundcloud dump and slo whistle an exclusive track. Discogs Buy
21 Mar /afx\weirdcore\NFT released as an NFT with a visual done by artist weirdcore. Released alongside a dropbox containing the date april 14 no further updates I can find. Let me know if you know Discogs Watch and listen puff piece weirdcore site Info about the dropbox
23 Jun Barcelona 16.06.23 Sold at Sonar festival on vinyl and shipped out later. 2 unique tracks leaked towards the end of June Listen RYM
23 Jul Blackbox life recorder This is releasing as I am writing this. There was also a google drive released that seems to contain a unique mix of the single? 4 or 5 unique tracks. Later updated with four alt mixes and a completely new track. The google drive track was never added for a total of 10 unique tracks. Buy Google Drive
23 Aug Field Day 19.08.23 Released at Field Day 2023 five tracks two appear to be on Korg Tunings, Korg 1b Ru.Ec.E might have a slightly different mix. The first 100 came on screen printed vinyl seen on Discogs. Listen Listen with 45 RPM B Side Discogs
Various singles and compilations included on other releases I thought worth mentioning.
92 Jan Mayday: A New Chapter of House and Techno ‘92 contains Metapharstic that would also appear on classics Discogs
92 Artificial Intelligence - Polygon Window is on Surfing on Sine Waves Discogs
96 51/13 Aphex Singles some very slight edits to a few Ventolin tracks but basically covered by On, Ventolin/Remixes, and Donkey Rhubarb Info in notes on Discogs
01 Sound Aphex - Covered by Drukqs, Windowlicker, and Come to Daddy Discogs
03 VA - Rephlexions! original mangle 11 on SoundCloud and Drukqs bonus Discogs
03 2 mixes on a 12” for cash - 26 mixes for cash Discogs
06 Four tet remix has a four get remix of SAW II track 1 Wiki
06 Chosen Lords - covered by analords 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 Nothing unique Discogs
15 Umil 25-01 - covered by orphan deejay bonuses Discogs
15 Diskhat ALL Prepared1mixed [snr2mix] unique mix of diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13 from computer controlled I think. Slightly quieter? available on SoundCloud Listen
15 serge fenix Rendered 2 - orphaned deejay bonuses Discogs

With inflation and groceries going up, I've found myself being only able to afford dinners. If there's leftovers, those are lunches. But breakfasts and snacks don't exist. Any suggestions on breakfast and snack ideas? I'm not opposed to home made at all. (I cannot stand overnight oats or beans) 😂 I'm able to feed my family of 4 on about $400/month for dinners every single night and some dessert ingredients
Edit: I saw some arguments over desserts, I just meant like a weekly dessert, something new to try. We live in Nevada. I spend DAYS doing pantry inventory, planning etc. I've been able to accomplish all dinners for 4 of us, plus formula for my two month old (usually at Walmart) for approx $350-400. It's just snacks and lunches I struggle with. I'm fine personally skipping meals, it's actually a horrible trait of mine. Hubby gets free lunch at work. It's more so lunch and snacks for my 2 year old and I'm hoping by instilling healthy eating habits in her that I'll treat myself the same. She always has snacks and lunches and never goes without, don't worry she eats us out of house and home lol. I'm just trying to figure out better options for everyone that's not just Mac n cheese, apples, strawberries, cereals, pancakes etc I also saw someone say not to isolate beans just because I don't like them and you are absolutely right and I would love some bean recipes as well.
Thankfully my husband just got a ten dollar raise!!!! (A couple days ago) And we will be able to stretch the budget and I am so so grateful
Thank you guys for your snack and breakfast ideas. Sometimes the most simple things slip my mind and makes me feel silly afterwards (like hand on my forehead DUH) I used to make everything from scratch; breads, pizza, pancakes, bfast sandwiches, casseroles etc but now I have 2 under 2 (20 month old and 2 month old) so my hands have been busy and I'm genuinely trying my best to get back into making more things from scratch. I just made 100 pancakes for the freezer last week. I appreciate the kind words and helpful tips. Just a mom of small kids doing my best. (We do get SNAP, $162 monthly) But just barely miss the mark for more money or wic

Note 1 - Not every rival will have a diary/journal. The rivals who will not have diaries are Hisano (Osana), Momoka (Oka), Aya (Asu), Mari (Muja), Mima (Mida), Rika (Osoro) and Megumi (Megami). The ones who will have diaries are Kokona, Aiko (Amai), Anna (Kizana) and Hanako.
Note 2 - These are specific entries which are considered important by Ayano, not the entire diary. The diary itself will not be color coded either, but the entries can be highlighted by the player through the pictures of the diary in Ayano's phone.

The Diary:

I don't really like gossipping, so I won't tell a soul about this... But I heard Momoka secretly owns an occult club. If that's the case, then I completely understand why she has always given me the creeps. She is pretty meek and nice, though, so I think she means no harm. I just hope she does not try to summon a demon or cast a hex on anyone.
I feel so horrible today...
Kenko was talking about an American bakery that resold donuts from Dunkin' Donuts and advertised it as "gluten-free and vegan". He ranted about how businesses like those were lying to their customers.
I couldn't help but feel ashamed of myself, because Kenko also unintentionally called me out. Soufflé pancakes and croissants are pastries I really struggle to make from scratch, so I resort to either using baking mixes or reselling croissants and soufflé pancakes from other stores while looking at all kinds of tutorials on how to make them without cheating.
But that's not my biggest shameful thing about myself. I have been hiding my actual biggest one for years and pretended it never happened. The biggest thing I'm ashamed of is how I tried to poison my rude cooking teacher from middle school. He treated me worse than the other students and often made ignorant comments about me behind my back just because I wasn't fully Japanese, but I once heard him telling a friend of his "Russian women like my mom were easy to conquer because they were gold diggers". That was the final straw. I tried to use a "special" vanilla-raspberry macaron with cyanide as a weapon. I then approached him, but as soon as I was about to open my mouth to ask him if he wanted a macaron, I went to the bathroom, wrapped the macaron in paper towel, crushed it with my hands and threw it in the trash. I didn't think risking someone's life was worth it just because they were mean to me. I know I was angry and he was bigoted, but I really regret even thinking about doing such a thing.
Anyways, I need to learn how to make croissants and soufflé pancakes so I can stop cheating. Fake it until you make it, I guess...
Last night, a fight broke out after class between gangs of delinquents near my house. Specifically between Rika's gang and another gang. It scared my family to death and they put our house in full lockdown mode. My heart was beating a mile a minute until the police was called to stop the chaos. I have never been so terrified for my life before... I really wish Rika was expelled from school, not just suspended. To think that she is in the same class as me... I'm pretty sure that if I angered her today, my funeral would happen tomorrow!
I always wished I could own a pet cat, but I can't, because my family doesn't want cat hair in the food we bake. So yesterday, my parents decided to make a nice surprise for my birthday. They took me to a cat café! I had so much fun with those cute furballs, even though I got two scratch marks on my right hand. Cat owners' battle scars, I say. Once I get a pet cat (if I find a way to keep cat hair out of my family's food), I will probably need protective gloves, pet brushes and lots of grooming toys. I'm scared of the pain I will feel when I have to say goodbye to my furry friend once it grows old or becomes too sick, that's for sure. But at least I did my job, which was to love and care for it.
Why do I always have to be so bad at video games? I tried to play so many games at gaming club, but I just can't seem to get them right. I guess each person has a talent and my talent is with cooking. I'll just have to stick to casual games like those on Facebook or dating simulators. I know I will be called a "fake gamer" or something like that, but I'm just not built for hardcore games.
I was today years old when I finally got to see a bird's nest up close! I painted my garden's new birdhouse and it turned out better than I expected. The birdhouse is well-hidden and up high so no predators can catch it, so I only found out it had a nest once I looked out the window and saw two birds going in and out over and over. I then walked to the birdhouse and saw there were three baby birds inside! But I had to be quick and I took a picture, so I didn't frighten them or anger their parents. I hope they grow up to be happy and healthy!
Learned the rival's likes and dislikes.
Positive: Cooking, art, cats, gardening, family
Negative: Violence, gossip, occult, solitude, video games

It's one of the best times of the year; Christmas! As Christmas approaches and the temperature drops, it’s time to start thinking about warming recipes to help you survive the winter months. Just when we needed them, the Swedish Christmas desserts showed forth!
We've got just what you need if you’re looking to add something special to your Christmas table this year.
Our list of Swedish Christmas desserts is sure going to be satisfactory. Let's dig in!

1. Swedish Apple Pie

It is hard to find more iconic Swedish Christmas desserts than apple pie. The recipe for Swedish apple pie is as follows: cinnamon, sugar, butter, and peeled and cored apples. First, peel the apples and core them, cutting them into small pieces.
Next, mix the cinnamon, sugar, and butter in a bowl until they form a paste-like consistency. Then, put the apples into a pie crust and pour the mixture over it before baking it for 30 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).

2. Semlor Buns

Semlor buns are traditional Swedish Christmas desserts. They are usually served around Easter but may be served in December or anytime during the year, for that matter.
This is an iconic Swedish dish and one of their most famous desserts. Moreso, these buns are made with cardamom bun dough, filled with whipped cream, dusted with powdered sugar, and topped with almond paste.
When they're fresh out of the oven, they still have a bit of heat on them. So you don't want to eat them until they've cooled off just a little bit. Because otherwise, it could burn your tongue and mouth, which isn't very pleasant at all!

3. Sticky Chocolate Cake

Sticky chocolate cake is one of the most popular Swedish Christmas desserts. It consists of flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, and milk.
The cake is then baked in a bain-marie with a little water or milk. This creates a moist and gooey cake with a sticky chocolate sauce on top. This is often served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

4. Äppelpaj (Swedish Apple Pie)

Äppelpaj, or apple pie, is one of the traditional Swedish Christmas desserts. It's made from pastry dough filled with apples and raisins that are stewed until soft and topped with streusel. Not only is it very tasty, it's also very satisfying!

5. Swedish Christmas Toffee

Among other Swedish Christmas desserts, the most popular dessert is toffee. It's so popular, in fact, that the Swedish word for toffee is tårta.
This sweet, rich, buttery confection can be enjoyed at many different times of the year with various toppings and fillings.
The most common way to serve it is as a round cake with whipped cream and lingonberry jam. Meanwhile, the dish might have origins in Medieval Europe when sweetened pastries were served during Advent.
In Sweden, however, we've taken the concept of this treat to another level. The cake is made by spreading hot sugar syrup over a pan of baked biscuits or crêpes. And then, allow it to cool before adding a layer of chocolate or vanilla custard filling.

6. Swedish Apple Cake

This cake is one of my favorite Swedish Christmas desserts and is surprisingly easy to make. The cake comprises layers of apples, bread, and butter-soaked in syrup.
The syrup is first boiled with sugar, cloves, and cinnamon sticks until it becomes thick before being poured over the apple mixture.
However, the most difficult part is waiting for the cake to cool down before slicing it into it! I recommend baking this delicious cake on Christmas Eve as there will be time to enjoy it after dinner while opening presents. This treat will make you and your guests call for more!

7. Swedish Almond Cake

This Swedish Almond Cake recipe is a favorite among Swedes and is often served for dessert on Christmas.
Of all the amazing Swedish Christmas desserts, it is one of the most famous recipes in Swedish history. These cakes were originally served at the wedding of King Karl XIV Johan and Queen Desideria in 1797.
Going further, this light cake is made from ground almonds, sugar, eggs, flour, butter, and vanilla extract.
The top of the cake is sprinkled with icing sugar before baking to give it a delicate crunchy crust. Served with whipped cream or ice cream, this makes for a great dessert that can be enjoyed any time of year!

8. Swedish Waffles

The Swedish waffle is a popular dessert in Sweden and a staple at the Swedish Christmas celebration Jultomten.
The Swedish waffle can be eaten with jam, whipped cream, ice cream, or nothing on it! It's one of my favorite things to eat during the holidays, therefore, included in this list of delectable Swedish Christmas desserts!
The recipe for this palatable dessert is very simple and easy to make. It only has four ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. First, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Then, you whisk the eggs together before adding them to the dry ingredients. The butter goes into melted form before being added as well. Finally, make sure to enjoy it!

9. Kanelbulle (Cinnamon Buns)

Buns of all shapes and sizes dominate the Swedish Christmas dessert list. Kanelbulle, the most popular bun of them all, is a sweet breakfast treat served with coffee or tea in the morning. They're typically made from butter, milk, eggs, yeast, flour, and sugar.
Moving on, this mixture gets kneaded into a dough that is rolled out and shaped into a long oval shape. After this is done, it is filled with either cinnamon and sugar or apple filling (although there are many other variations).
A cross-shaped cut is made on top before they get brushed with egg wash (a mixture of egg yolk and water), giving them their signature shiny glaze.
In short, Kanelbullar is sweet yeast bread rolls. These are flavored with cinnamon and cardamom and topped with a white icing glaze. Above all, they are also delicious Swedish Christmas desserts.

10. Swedish Ginger Cookies

Ginger Cookies are traditional Swedish Christmas desserts that have been around for centuries. They're made with ground ginger, sugar, eggs, and butter.
These cookies became popular after the 17th century when people could afford things like butter and sugar. The cookies are usually sprinkled with powdered sugar before being eaten.
What's more? Ginger Cookies come in various shapes and sizes, but most people are familiar with thin rectangles. Those are about the size of your palm or smaller.
They're typically decorated by pressing a cookie cutter into dough to create shapes before they bake. For example, they can be decorated as stars or snowflakes before baking to add texture and flavor.

11. Swedish Butter Cookies

Butter cookies are a Swedish delicacy that is often served during the Christmas season, and for a good reason. These buttery treats are perfect for enjoying with a cup of coffee or tea or as an after-dinner sweet.
Butter cookies can be whipped up in no time at all and taste equally delicious when made with either butter or margarine.
Just follow these simple directions below to learn how to make this one of the Swedish Christmas desserts from scratch!
First, in a large bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg until well combined. Secondly, beat the butter and vanilla extract together until light in color and fluffy in texture; set aside.
Next, add eggs to the mixture one by one, mixing thoroughly before adding another egg. Lastly, add milk and beat until smooth before adding the dry ingredients.

12. Swedish Pancakes

Swedish Pancakes (typically served with a Lingonberry sauce and whipped cream or jam). These delicious, fluffy pancakes are typically eaten at breakfast time in Sweden. Equally important, they aren't left out of this list of the various Swedish Christmas desserts!

13. Advent Calendar

We aren't finished with these Swedish Christmas desserts, and the Advent Calendar is next! These are popular traditions for both children and adults alike.
The advent calendar is typically filled with 24 little chocolates or treats. This represents one for each day of December leading up to Christmas Day.
It is said that if you have an advent calendar with small pieces, it is easier to resist the temptation to eat them all at once.

14. Saffron Buns

Saffron buns are also one of the most popular Swedish Christmas desserts. They are a Swedish specialty that is traditionally served with coffee or tea.
You will need dough, butter, saffron threads, milk, eggs, and sugar to make it. To make: Melt the butter in a pan and add the saffron threads to it.
Then, add milk to the pan and let it simmer for 15 minutes until half its original volume reduces it. Afterward, remove from heat and allow to cool before adding to your dough mixture along with eggs, sugar, and salt.
Next, knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth; finally, roll into a rectangle shape about 12 inches by 8 inches.

15. Princess Cake

Princess Cake is a traditional Swedish dessert served on Christmas Eve. It's made with sponge cake and whipped cream and covered in marzipan. The marzipan is often molded into a crown shape for a nice decorative touch!
Princess Cake can be found all over Sweden as one of the Swedish Christmas desserts, but it is most popular during Christmastime.
It's commonly eaten at dinner parties, family gatherings, and on holidays like New Year's Eve and Midsummer Eve. Princess Cake is a simple yet delicious dessert that goes great with coffee or tea.
Princess Cake pairs wonderfully with any other Swedish Christmas dessert or any desserts you may have!

16. Swedish Almond & Cardamom Mini-Cakes

The Swedish almond and cardamom mini-cakes are a perfect way to indulge in the holiday season while staying healthy.
This recipe is not only easy and delicious, but it's also vegan, gluten-free, and dairy free! I like to make these little cakes because they are so simple to whip up with just a few ingredients.
Meanwhile, all you need is almond flour, coconut sugar or cane sugar, cardamom seeds, coconut oil, applesauce (or any other fruit puree), vanilla extract, and salt.
The first step to making this delicacy on the Swedish Christmas dessert list is mixing all of your dry ingredients.
These include almond flour (or substitute for oat flour or rice flour), coconut sugar or cane sugar, cardamom seeds (grind them first!), and salt.
Next, add in your wet ingredients: coconut oil, applesauce, or another fruit puree (any kind should work), and vanilla extract.
Mix everything until well combined. Lastly, scoop the batter into cupcake liners that have been lined on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes before letting cool and frosting them with whipped cream icing. Or simply dust some powdered sugar on top!
With these, you have made yourself a very sumptuous dish that is one of the Swedish Christmas desserts!

17. Swedish Cheesecake

It's Christmastime! And what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a special dessert? Swedish cheesecake, one of the delectable Swedish Christmas desserts, is a delicious and popular choice that many people will enjoy this holiday season. But what is it, exactly? Let's take a closer look.
Traditionally, Swedish cheesecake is made from cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. The mixture is beaten until light and fluffy before being poured into a pie crust or cake pan.
This pan is lined with parchment paper and baked for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The finished product should be smooth on top with a brown crust underneath, posing as one of the best Swedish Christmas desserts!
Conclusion
Whether you’re familiar with Swedish Christmas desserts or not, this list of popular holiday treats will help you find the perfect dessert. Especially to complement your favorite holiday treats like glögg, Julmust, and pepparkakor.
Swedish Christmas desserts are easy to make and pair well with other traditional Swedish foods like pickled fish and flatbreads. This ensures that all will enjoy the food you bring to your holiday celebration!

I've watched one video on TikTok and now it keeps showing me parents making pancake recipes, muffins, fancy breakfasts for their 6 month olds.
The replies react so normally asking for the recipe, saying they'll try that next.
Is everyone making their babies breakfasts from scratch?
I understand its important making natural healthy breakfasts but just curious what everyone else is doing.

New to coding and game development. Learning C via Harvard's CS50 to develop problem-solving skills and general programming/coding know-how, which I currently lack.
I want to eventually make my dream game in VR, but it seems like it might be easier or faster to first develop a game for pancake PC, like Skyrim, Fallout(s), Green Hell, then to port later. I'm ignorant, so I would assume that pancake game development might be easier than VR, since there are all sorts of additional variables to consider.
It might just be because VR games that started as pancake games are often made by big studios and get ported by demand, but are there any other reasons why it seems that games developed exclusively from VR are shorter, less comprehensive, and generally of lower quality than pancake games?
Reasons I can think of include smaller playercounts, smaller studios/made by solo dev, greater development complexity when considering motion controls and all the issues that might come from VR. Open to all ideas/opinions!

I'm not sure how accurate my fitness pal is. You put the recipe in and you match up ingredients and brands to your recipe, put in the servings, and it breaks it down into nutritional facts for you. I have some banana protein pancakes I make but I think they have less carbs than the app says. I get low if I dose based on that. I assume each pancake actually only has 8-10 carbs rather than 12-15. Curious if there's anythinf out there people find to be more accurate. I mostly only cook from scratch. Foods, cakes, etc. everything. I just assume based on similarity then correct if I'm wrong and try to remember next time 💀 my resistance is pretty bad abd goes back and forth so it's difficult regardless.

I think I've talked before on this sub about having a crush/squish on my friends A and B, but I'm feeling very sentimental tonight and just need to talk about them.
neither of them are easy to put into words. at all. if I tried, I couldn't do either of them justice. they're just people you have to experience, and they are the best friends I've ever had. I just want to talk about them a bit. this is mostly just going to be rambling, so sorry in advance.
A's hair is gorgeous. he has beautiful curls. I've helped him dye his hair black before, and it's very soft. his hair was a bit of a pain to work with when I first started helping him with it, but it's gotten much easier as I started to learn what curly hair needs. he's very particular about it, and I don't blame him. his hair is absolutely glorious and I'm very jealous.
B makes the best pancakes I've ever had. period. I can't make pancakes. not at all. in any capacity. yet this man? perfect circles, perfectly golden brown, every time. I don't know how he does it, and I'm also not sure why a lot of food tastes better when he's had a hand in making it.
A, B, and I made a soup together once. it was my night to make supper (my family rotates) and they were over, so they helped. it was never the hardest recipe- homemade chicken noodle soup, noodles from scratch- but it went by much faster when the three of us cooked. we handed the knives over to B, who chopped up vegetables and chicken breasts alike, while A and I tackled the noodles. I say that I helped, but it was really mostly A. he watched me fuck up the first batch and decided to take over. I ended up just doing incidental things with the soup- seasoning, dropping in ingredients, making sure the pot didn't boil over. they never made me feel bad about that. at one point, we were joking about opening a BnB with a little bar attached. it made my soul feel so warm.
I just love them so much. I really do. I'll probably have more to post later, but I should really sleep.

First Chapter Next Chapter> (Coming soon)
Thanks a ton to whoever participated in the poll, and helped me answer questions about NoP! I’m having a ton of fun writing this story, and I look forward to writing even more chapters.
Credit to SpacePaladin15 for original idea, setting, and characters of NoP.
Thanks a ton to the beta readers!
u/Cooldude101013
u/Golde829
Big thanks to my editors!
u/ErinRF
________________________________________
+sys_message: Operation complete! Filename: (File_11) has finished decoding.+
+User_Athena: This file is interesting. Two separate file types in one?+
+/openfile (C:\Users\███████\Documents\File_11_mem-trcrpt)+
+sys_message: ERROR! File type not recognized. Please attempt to use a file reader to open this file. Contact a system administrator for more information and assistance.+
+User_Athena: Interesting. A “memory transcription?” I need to get the file reader for this as soon as possible. Well, the normal file still works.+
+/openfile C:\Users\███████\Documents\File_11)+
Adenu awoke in their cell, a rather barren cube. This was his space. A singular bed with a pillow and blanket, a desk with a small lamp permanently attached, and a small toilet with a privacy screen. Everything seems nice, but the CSSF monitors everything. The food they eat is contaminated with a light nanoid, allowing for the monitoring and tracking of prisoners. These nanoids will disappear into a person’s bloodstream within a week, but every meal has it. CSSF personnel have their own implants embedded within their bodies, allowing for the nanobots to monitor a person’s health, and even treat some diseases and afflictions. Cancer is no longer a problem, but not even noticed. Nanobots take care of that and more. They can even release medicines directly into a person’s bloodstream, allowing for vaccines and treatments to be administered without even having a single shot.
Adenu looks around, before he flicks on the light. He presses a button on a computer panel mounted on the desk, and a few moments later, a steaming hot breakfast appears in a clear hatch in front of the desk, along with a few utensils. A plate with three pancakes, eggs mixed with bacon bits, two meat patties, and a small bowl of fresh fruit to top it off. The whole thing is fabricated in just a few moments. A small cup with water is also dispensed, with a few small ice cubes floating in it. This meal is a standard for CSSF prisoners, and is often switched around with other entrées to mix up a prisoner’s diet. Lunch and dinner are served in a similar fashion. After he finishes eating his meal, Adenu places the dirty plate and utensils back into the microwave look-alike, where they are then recycled. He refills his cup with more water, before grabbing his data pad, and laying down on his bed. A few clicks later, and his newest read is pulled up. “Atomic Robo”, is what it’s called. A much older comic series about an artificially intelligent robot invented by an ancient human scientist called Nicola Tesla. Adenu rather enjoys the wonderful action mixed with good philosophical questions, and plenty of humor. As he flips through the next issue, this one is about fighting an evil human scientist called “Edison”, who is attempting to use a supernatural power against Nicola Tesla and his dashing robot. He flips through the pages, before the door slides open. Adenu looks up from his data pad, before turning it off and placing it on his bed.
In front of him are two huge suits of armor, much like the one worn by the man who had questioned him last time. Huge and chunky armor that mirrors the wear’s every movement. They carry huge rifles that could blow him into chunks of inert meat in just a few shots. The leftmost suit of armor flexes their fingers on the rifle’s grip. Adenu stands up and looks into the visors, before one of them talks, breaking the silence.
“Correctional Subject #G1164. Hold your arms out. Do not move any further.”
Adenu obeys, holding his arms out. The other armored suit glides two rings over each of his wrists, before they come alive with orange light, clamping his hands together. The armor speaks once more.
“Correctional Subject #G1164. You will come with us. Follow my lead. Do not deviate from the path. Do not attempt any sudden moves. Walk slowly. Any attempt to breach these orders will be met with a shock. Any attempted violence will be met with a shock. Any excessive talking will be met with a shock. Do you understand these orders?”
Adenu, after hearing this talk for what have must have been the fifteenth time, replies. He knows that he will not be hurt unless he does not follow their rules and orders. Yet, he does not hate them. He knows they are only doing their job, no more, no less. They haven’t starved him, or tried to “cure” him of his predatory instincts. On the contrary, they have provided him with more food than he would get in Arxur space. Better food at that, too, because the meals are not just slabs of raw meat, harvested from terrified cattle by uncaring monsters. Adenu simply replies, taking in these facts as he does.
“I understand, and will comply.”
“Good. Correctional Subject #G1164. Follow me.”
Adenu walks out into the cold and metallic hallway, looking around as he does. The other suit of armor falls in behind him, the stomps of augmented strength echoing down the hall. Adenu knows he has no chance. Even if he caught them by surprise, or even managed to kill or disable both of them, he would never get away. He would lose his comfy cell and good food. Rebelling for the sake of rebellion is never a good idea, in Adenu’s opinion. They continue to walk down the hall, before turning down one hall. They all look the exact same. There’s nothing different about any of these corridors. Adenu wonders how they find their way around here. Perhaps they have a map memorized? Or perhaps they can see more colors than him, and there are some instructions to guide them along. Adenu continues to wonder as he automatically follows the armor, before it comes to a stop.
“Correctional Subject #G1164. Walk into the room. Sit down at the leftmost chair, and put your arms out. Do not attempt any sudden moves. Walk slowly. Any attempt to breach these orders will be met with a shock. Any attempted violence will be met with a shock. Any excessive talking will be met with a shock. Do you understand these orders?”
“I understand, and will comply.”
The interrogation room is empty. Both seats and the table had been cleaned immaculately, with a cleaning drone slipping back up into the ceiling. Adenu walks into the room, and the door closes behind him. He places his arms out on the table, and the cuffs lock his wrists to the table. The room is silent, save for the light rushing of air through the many vents and fans. Little does he know, a drone watches him from above.
The door opens.
It’s the same suit of armor as last time. The only thing that separates this armor from the rest is a small collection of scratches on one of the shoulder pauldrons, a record of this armor’s contact with his kind. The armor sits down, before the visor pulls back again, revealing the same fluffy green-eyed person as last time. They stare at Adenu for a moment before asking the first of many questions for today. Adenu is used to this already.
“Good morning, Adenu. Are you ready for today’s questions?”
“Yes. What do you want to focus on today?”
“Well, how much of Arxur history do you know?”
“Quite a bit. I used to help catalog documents at my local historian’s guild, at least until it was destroyed on the orders of Betterment.”
Green light.
“Ah, so what is this “Betterment” you keep talking about?”
“It’s the primary government for the Arxur species. It is a brutal and extremely violent government that has based its existence on the mass harvesting of sentient peoples.”
Green light.
“You don’t like them? Interesting. Tell me more.”
Adenu’s eyes narrow.
“They are the scum of the universe. They claim to “better” the Arxur race, return it to its former glory. They do no such thing. They use the Arxur race for their own plans, not bettering it, but driving it into primacy. Did you know that more than 68% of the Arxur population on my homeworld does not have access to interior lighting and clean water? That statistic has steadily gotten worse and worse. There is nothing the Arxur people can do, but rebel.”
A grey light.
Hao crosses his arms, and leans back into the chair, at least as much as he can in power armor.
“So, was that why you were a part of Isif’s fleet?”
“I wanted to get away. I wanted to live a life with my human. They took that from me. They stood aside and watched as the only other race that had even shown them mercy burned to ashes. Isif was a leader. Now he is a martyr.”
Green light.
“He’s dead? Confirmed dead?”
“His flagship was destroyed in a hail of plasma. There was no way anyone could have survived. Even if he did, he would have been captured, and most likely put to death.”
Green light.
“So there’s a chance. A small one, but a chance.”
“He’s dead. I am sure of it.”
“Very well. Do you want to ask a question?”
“When can I see my human?”
“You mean Henry? Well, he is currently recovering from his injuries at a nearby hospital. He will be available to visit, if he so chooses to.”
“Can I-”
“My turn. How many years has the Arxur Dominion and the Federation been at war?”
“Nearly two hundred years.”
Green light.
“Now, what did you want to ask?”
“Can I call him? See him virtually?”
“That could be arranged, if I keep receiving reports of good behavior.”
“Do you know anything of hyper-aggressive prey?”
“W-what do you mean?”
Hao is silent for a moment, before pulling up a freeze-frame of a helmet cam video. Adenu’s mouth drops open, silent. The frame is of a Venlil, their eyes bloodshot and red, something thought impossible with their blood color. Crimson liquid leaks out of their eyes, mouth, and nose, and the mouth is hung open in a guttural scream. They are rushing towards the camera, and a scattergun’s barrel is visible to the right of the picture, pointed at the incoming threat.
“What… is that?”
“You don’t know?”
“What happened to them? I’ve never seen a Venlil look like that, ever? What’s leaking from their eyes?”
“Hmm. I think we will be going over this a bit later.”
The image disappears, and Adenu’s eyes are still wide open, horrified at what was right in front of him.
“Now, back to what we were talking about. How did the Federation-Arxur war start?”
Adenu, takes a breath, before resuming. Their conversation is recorded and disseminated for analysis and review, and Adenu is returned to his cell, just in time for lunch. Hao is debriefed, before being sent home. This time, Bassi welcomes him in, cooking up a nice rice dish. They eat, drink, and then spend the evening discussing City 1, and its various amenities. They end the night by cuddling under the soft covers and falling asleep. Adenu finishes reading the next chapter of Atomic Robo, before settling into his bed, and falling asleep. City 1’s streetlights turn on, highlighting the shadows of the street. Courier drones fly silently overhead, carrying requested packages to their destinations.
Deeper in the system, the CSSF refitted cargo ship Yokohama flies silently in a loop around the primary star. Inside of its huge cargo bays are hundreds of personnel, all working to uncover the secrets of the Arxur’s affliction. Their patients are strapped down to beds, with tubes feeding liquid nutrients directly into them. They are extremely sedated, and they will remain this way until a cure and vaccine has been found. Some patients of different, unknown species were instead put under cryo, for a future cure.
In a side cell, one much more like Adenu’s, Kaamea silently sleeps on her bed, adorned with fluffy animals. Her lights slowly begin to turn on, reflecting a day/night cycle. Within twenty minutes, her little eyes open, before she gets up. Ahead of her is a full day of testing, playing, and fun. But first, she needs to get ready for her day. She slowly pulls off the fluffy covers, before stretching herself out, her ears pushed all the way back, and her legs extended. Now a little more awake, she plops down onto the pink carpet, decorated with rabbits. She wants to see one someday, and she just might do so. David has been up for nearly four standard hours. Going to the onboard gym, eating, getting ready for the day, before putting on his biohazard suit, and moving into the cantonment section. Moving down past the security unit, he arrives at Bay C-2, Kaamea’s room. After receiving permission by Command to open the door, he knocks on the hard metal door. A high-pitched voice replies from within.
“Coming! I’ll be right there!”
David leans onto the wall and waits, and a few minutes later, the door slides open. Standing in the doorway is Kaamea, wearing a bright pink t-shirt, and jeans. Although she did not wear clothing back on Venlil Prime, other than a water-proof cloak, her natural curiosity to clothing led to her asking for these outfits. She also has a grey backpack, filled with all the things she wants to bring for today’s activites. She looks up at David, her two bright orange eyes sparking with child-like energy.
“Good morning Davie!”
She nicknamed David that after a few days, having disliked the original name as “weird”.
“Good morning, Kaamea. You got everything you need for today?”
“Yup! I got my books, an’ my datapad, an’ my drawing pad.”
“You ready for breakfast?”
“Yes! What are we having today?”
“I think they cooked up a special order of bacon and eggs for you today.”
“Yay! What are we doing today afterwards?”
“Well, then we have to go get some testing done today, but then I can take you to the observation port, and then we can have some lunch! What do you think about that?”
“Do I really need to get testing done again today? I did it yesterday too.”
“Well, remember what I told you? We all have to have our tests done. I got mine done this morning. It just takes a few minutes.”
“Well, ok. Are you gonna eat today with me?”
“Well, I already had breakfast. Plus, I can’t take this thing off.”
“Oh yea, because of the atmosphere, right?”
“That’s right! Perhaps someday I can take it off. Well, do you want to go get some breakfast? We might have enough time for a double serving.”
“Yay! Wanna talk about that book Davie?”
As David and Kaamea walk down the hallway, they chat and talk. Kaamea has grown used to David wearing his suit, with the explanation of “different atmospheres” enough to satisfy her curiosity. They enter the “cafe” a room with several tables and chairs, and multiple fabricators to the side. David orders a “Bacon and Eggs” double order, with a little extra bacon, just the way Kaamea likes it. The food may seem, and taste like Bacon and Eggs, but is packed with protein and essential vitamins, an entire healthy and balanced meal, in the delicious packaging of Bacon and Eggs. The Bacon is crispy and slighty sweet, just like the real thing. It is a faker, one that tastes exactly like the real thing. It is not real meat, as that would be both expensive and unethical, at least to the CSSF. Tiny bits of bacon are also mixed in with the eggs, to add a nice crunch. The food is always cooked to perfection, being artificial. As long as there is Mass, the fabricators can keep making food. After grabbing a few utensils, David sits down, with the tray of steaming food. Kaamea is very excited, this being one of her favorite meals. She pulls out a book called “Fablehaven”, about a fictional refuge of magical creatures on the planet Earth. Kaamea is not old enough to understand or even follow the Federation’s propaganda about predators, meat, and humans, so she has no qualms with all of these being present in the book. She reads and eats, slowly eating the food as her eyes scan the lines of text, her mind creating the story and scene in her head. David pulls out his datapad and begins to work on various forms and reports that he needs to do. He checks on Kaamea every minute or two. After nearly a full hour, Kaamea finishes the meal, slides a bookmark into her place in the book, and packs up as David takes the now empty tray and puts it into the recycler, along with the dirty utensils. When he turns around, Kaamea is running over to him. David waves, before asking her a question.
“Ready to go over to the labs?”
She sighs, before replying.
“I guess.”
As they walk down the long hallway, they continue chatting about Fablehaven, and other things. Then, they arrive at the “lab”. This room is a retrofitted storage unit, with a central pod. Kaamea takes off her bag, before laying down on the bed. A light mist is sprayed down onto her, and before she can even realize it, she is already out like a light. Robotic arms twist out and begin scanning her, taking blood samples, and checking her for contamination.
The CSSF science division named the virus encountered in the flesh of the infected abord the Arxur Cattle ship Conjunctival Hemorrhage Encephalotomy, or CHE. It is a strange virus, having both the marks of an artificial and natural virus, suggesting that it is a heavily modified version of a natural virus encountered by the Arxur. It is transmitted through the air, but does not last for long in standard atmosphere, lasting nearly thirty minutes before dying. However, once it is inside a host, it rapidly reproduces, passing through the blood-brain barrier like a piece of wet paper. It quickly overwhelms the host’s brain, causing massive internal hemorrhaging. Around thirty percent of all infected die from this, their bodies used as food for the remaining seventy percent. The virus rapidly reproduces, causing a blood-like substance to leak out of the eyes, nose, and mouth. The eyes of the infected also become bloodshot, with red lines streaking across the normal colors of their eyes. They become hyper aggressive attacking anything that isn’t infected. They hunger like nothing else. For flesh.
Now, there is one outlier. The virus will sometimes not pass through the blood-brain barrier, simply being killed by the host’s immune system. This is less than one percent of all infected. Kaamea is the result of this. She was infected, and her immune system managed to stop the virus before it could make it any further. Her mother suffered a worse fate, her brain killing itself. Now, the thirty percent that are killed are quickly set upon by the aggressive infected, but in lab tests, they ignore the survivors. Completely. Now, this is how Kaamea managed to survive the aggressive infected. She balled up into the fetal position, and her brain has washed that experience away. She cannot remember what happened. She is not old enough to understand what is going on, let alone work to improve the situation. There are worries that she might be a carrier, just like the “Typhoid Mary” of old times. This is why David continues to wear his suit. He is perhaps the only human allowed inside the quarantine area, the scientists conducting tests from labs, controlling androids to work with these subjects, and the virus that is still present in their bodies.
There will be no break-out abord this ship. The entire quarantine and labs section is designed to be ejected from the ship at a moment’s notice, and nearly two hundred combat androids and turrets litter the hallways, ready to cut down any infected that might emerge. Small plasma charges are also planted, ready to subsume the entire section in cleansing plasma once it has been ejected. The ship will then fire on the remaining debris with its weapons. The CSSF will not allow this to spread. Cannot allow it to spread.
But what if it wants to?
First Chapter Next Chapter> (Coming soon)

Rot. That smell is everywhere. Seems strange, but it doesn’t smell as bad as it supposed to be. It’s like I'm used to it. But it’s there.
I don’t remember anything clearly. Just some blurry pictures and sensations. I remember my shoulder was itching like hell, but I wasn't able to scratch it. It’s like a nightmare dream.
Next? Light. Bright like a thousand suns. But gently warm, like a mothers hug. Headache. Every sound is like a sharp blade, slashing my ears.
And then this thing. Looks like a small floating star with a digital voice telling me that he’s been looking for me and finally found me. I don’t understand. He tells me that we need to go. Where ? What for ? I guess I will find out later.
When I just got out from under a rusty car fragments, a weapon appeared in my hands. But not a regular rifle. This one looked like it was made from bones. Strange you say? Hell yea, strange.
And there was another thing. I felt a huge burst of power, flowing through my body as I got it. It’s like taking a drug and getting all those endorphins ejection. Did i liked it? Hell yea, i liked it!
Few moments later a red coat materialized on my body and again a burst of power wrapped me from tip of the toes to head. Gloves, pants, helmet. It’s like someone was preparing me for a fight. And I was more than ready for it.
When we got into a huge, rusty hangar in front of us, that little flying star, a ghost as he called himself, told me that we need to be careful as there is fallen over here. Seems that he was scared of them. Or scared for me. Was i scared? Hell no!
I rushed through the halls as fast as I could. Four armed creatures tried to ambush us. My instincts told me to ignore them. In the next room there was another group of these aliens. I unloaded full mag into the biggest of them. He exploded with green spores, and those spores infected others. I could hear their breath becoming heavier. Their dark blue skin was covered in blisters and a few seconds later everyone was dead.
In the next room i saw human in a cloak. He introduced as Shaw Han and told me that he is looking for his fireteam. Ghost told him that we need to stick together and maybe that he will help us get to the tower, the last human city. But I didn't want to have anything to do with him. With all that gear that magically appeared on me, I felt like I had more important things to do. Like with that gear, I suddenly realized what I needed to do to get to the tower. I grabbed the ghost and summoned a starship. I don’t know how exactly that happened, but it worked.
Couple hours later we landed in the tower. Everything looked peaceful and calm. So what’s next? I had so many questions and I needed answers! Walking around the tower I stumbled upon some sort of street food cafe. Smell of food was so delicious, I don't even remember when I ate last time.

• Guardian? Come, you can have anything for free! It’s because of people like you we are still here after all! - said bald man, flipping pancakes.
• Wow, that is very generous of you, mister! - i replied
• Can you tell me more about these guardians and what in the hell is going on ?
• Oh, so you are a new light? doesn’t really look like that with all the gear you have. Is that Sanguine Alchemy robe on you? Either you lost your memory or you are fooling me… Well, anyway I owe you guys, so I would be more than happy to turn my favor! Make yourself comfortable, and write down everything I say, so you don’t have to ask me again! Ha-ha-ha! - laughed old chef.

I don’t know what happened to me, but I want to figure that out. Maybe having a diary is not such a bad idea ? The cook told me about the Traveler, who created a golden age for humanity. Collapse of our civilization. Battle between Light and Dark. Creation of guardians. And I was a pawn on the side of the Light. No one asked me if I wanted it or not. I need more information. I want to know why this is all happening. If cook is not lying, then Ikora Rey, warlock vanguard, could have more information that I needed. I will continue my observations in this diary later on. Now, I need some rest.

Rot. That smell is everywhere. Seems strange, but it doesn’t smell as bad as it supposed to be. It’s like I'm used to it. But it’s there.
I don’t remember anything clearly. Just some blurry pictures and sensations. I remember my shoulder was itching like hell, but I wasn't able to scratch it. It’s like a nightmare dream.
Next? Light. Bright like a thousand suns. But gently warm, like a mothers hug. Headache. Every sound is like a sharp blade, slashing my ears.
And then this thing. Looks like a small floating star with a digital voice telling me that he’s been looking for me and finally found me. I don’t understand. He tells me that we need to go. Where ? What for ? I guess I will find out later.
When I just got out from under a rusty car fragments, a weapon appeared in my hands. But not a regular rifle. This one looked like it was made from bones. Strange you say? Hell yea, strange.
And there was another thing. I felt a huge burst of power, flowing through my body as I got it. It’s like taking a drug and getting all those endorphins ejection. Did i liked it? Hell yea, i liked it!
Few moments later a red coat materialized on my body and again a burst of power wrapped me from tip of the toes to head. Gloves, pants, helmet. It’s like someone was preparing me for a fight. And I was more than ready for it.
When we got into a huge, rusty hangar in front of us, that little flying star, a ghost as he called himself, told me that we need to be careful as there is fallen over here. Seems that he was scared of them. Or scared for me. Was i scared? Hell no!
I rushed through the halls as fast as I could. Four armed creatures tried to ambush us. My instincts told me to ignore them. In the next room there was another group of these aliens. I unloaded full mag into the biggest of them. He exploded with green spores, and those spores infected others. I could hear their breath becoming heavier. Their dark blue skin was covered in blisters and a few seconds later everyone was dead.
In the next room i saw human in a cloak. He introduced as Shaw Han and told me that he is looking for his fireteam. Ghost told him that we need to stick together and maybe that he will help us get to the tower, the last human city. But I didn't want to have anything to do with him. With all that gear that magically appeared on me, I felt like I had more important things to do. Like with that gear, I suddenly realized what I needed to do to get to the tower. I grabbed the ghost and summoned a starship. I don’t know how exactly that happened, but it worked.
Couple hours later we landed in the tower. Everything looked peaceful and calm. So what’s next? I had so many questions and I needed answers! Walking around the tower I stumbled upon some sort of street food cafe. Smell of food was so delicious, I don't even remember when I ate last time.

• Guardian? Come, you can have anything for free! It’s because of people like you we are still here after all! - said bald man, flipping pancakes.
• Wow, that is very generous of you, mister! - i replied
• Can you tell me more about these guardians and what in the hell is going on ?
• Oh, so you are a new light? doesn’t really look like that with all the gear you have. Is that Sanguine Alchemy robe on you? Either you lost your memory or you are fooling me… Well, anyway I owe you guys, so I would be more than happy to turn my favor! Make yourself comfortable, and write down everything I say, so you don’t have to ask me again! Ha-ha-ha! - laughed old chef.

I don’t know what happened to me, but I want to figure that out. Maybe having a diary is not such a bad idea ? The cook told me about the Traveler, who created a golden age for humanity. Collapse of our civilization. Battle between Light and Dark. Creation of guardians. And I was a pawn on the side of the Light. No one asked me if I wanted it or not. I need more information. I want to know why this is all happening. If cook is not lying, then Ikora Rey, warlock vanguard, could have more information that I needed. I will continue my observations in this diary later on. Now, I need some rest.