(6k words, ~30 min read)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Myles Willis awoke to the reality he\u2019d hoped was just a nightmare. The right side of his face was on something scratchy, but for the most part his body was warm. The air around him was alive but cold. He heard birds and most of all, he felt undeniably safe for the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He put his feet beneath him and looked around. Myles was in a barn, that was certain. Old rafters ran overhead and the sloped roof sat above them. Around his feet was mostly old hay that still had some fluff to it. Enough to keep him warm from whatever climate he was in now. Behind him and to his right was a large shattered mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it takes two<\/em> mirrors to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPretty?\u201d Oh, FUCK<\/em>. Where was Pretty? Where\u2019d everyone go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n His stomach felt yanked toward the floor. Where are they? Where are they? Langley? Pretty? Oh, shit and the others. Where are they? No, they didn\u2019t die did they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow do I know that?\u201d Myles rasped. His throat was parched, his body dehydrated. Myles put his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths. Standing up was making him light-headed. He grabbed for the walkie talkie in his backpack. It failed to power on like the batteries were dead. \u201cOh, shit, that\u2019s not good. These things were working earlier\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At last he asked himself, Where am I?<\/em> The air was thin and he felt like he was high up. To gain a better vantage of his surroundings, he looked out the gaping barn door. Night was falling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gray clouds floated by on the horizon next to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clouds were alongside him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhathefuck?\u201d He wheezed, thinking he should be much shorter of breath now. Why were the clouds so low? Wait, was he in the clouds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh\u2026\u201d He stumbled to the barn\u2019s door. Why was walking so hard? Must be the altitude. He needed water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles opened his backpack and grabbed his mostly empty water bottle. Why had he brought it only partially filled? What kind of idiot does that? He drank the dregs, the liquid diluting his thick saliva and relieving his parched throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaning against the barn\u2019s wide doorframe, he gazed out onto the clouds and then sank against the outer wall. It was tiring to stand. He\u2019d get up later, after he processed what just happened to him and his friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019d escaped the two novis and were safe from them now. They\u2019d all jumped through the mirror in that House in the Woods behind Bushkill Avenue. Now they were separated, exited different mirrors and were put somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains. Where else had clouds up high? He was on some kind of mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Breathing was hard, let alone standing and breathing. Myles needed water and he knew there was a puddle in some tarp just a few yards away. The tarp was covering an antique plow half-buried in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles looked to his right at the tarp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat the fuck?\u201d Myles stood groggily, spurred by the reward of water. How did he know about the tarp and what it was covering? He staggered over to what looked like an overgrown lump of something. Grass surrounded the brown lump and had grown up past knee-height. Water had pooled heavily in the top between the handles of the archaic horse-plow. He reached for his water bottle again and fully submerged it into the deep bowl of crystal refreshment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs this even safe to drink?\u201d His voice had returned significantly after the first drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yup. It\u2019s rainwater and cloudwater, not six hours old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMust be my prophecy ability?\u201d It was good to hear a human voice even if it was his own. It made him feel less alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though he had water, Myles\u2019 head still spun from the altitude. \u201cTechnically, I didn\u2019t say where we\u2019d go, just that it\u2019d be cold.\u201d He walked back inside the barn. Find the rest of the Astronomers, that was the first step, but it\u2019s hard to take the first step when you don\u2019t know where you are beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles checked the area for anything useful. The barn really only had the broken mirror and the hay. It was a bleak, tired refuge and reminded him of the House in the Woods. He decided to move, looking around and then heading in some particular direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that he knew he could rely on this thing like a sixth sense for survival, he was less concerned about where he was going and more concerned about getting to his friends fast enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surrounding the barn were trees: Aspens and oaks. It reminded Myles of the woods behind his own house; maybe the mirror he\u2019d shattered out of was close to Pennsylvania, or maybe he was just in Kentucky or something. The forest canopy was breezy, the wind rustling the treetops. After the drink the air didn\u2019t seem so thin, but he was constantly short of breath. Wildlife bustled about: birds, a squirrel or two, and some things that darted into the shrubs around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He wandered the woods for over half an hour when he found a path. This comforted him, knowing he may be close to civilization. Myles\u2019s walk continued along the path for another half-hour. Even walking was making his lungs feel like they were full of crumpled paper, dry and sharp. He stopped in a clearing, sitting down on a fallen tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clearing was calm and the sun was beaming, showering the forest with light, filling Myles with warmth. He smiled for the first time that day and let the sunlight brush his face. He had another sip of water and looked up into the trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat part of the world am I on?\u201d He asked aloud, hoping his prophesying would answer for him. He didn\u2019t get any feeling back. \u201cMmh.\u201d He continued sitting, letting his breath steady from a heaving ocean to a gentle tide. This was relaxing, he had to admit; there was almost nothing to stress about at this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The light around him began to swim, swinging shadows around like elastic yo-yos. Like a bunch of balloons throwing colorful translucent shadows onto him. He looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a massive, impossible bubble of water twenty short feet above his head, filtering the evening sunlight. The water, in a waning sphere, hovered and floated gently in front of Myles now. He noticed many smaller rocks and dirt at the core. The impressive ball shuffled into the trees and passed into them like a cloud, but also moving them aside as it went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles sat speechless for several minutes. No experience in his entire life had caught him so completely off-guard. A floating ball of water. At least fifty feet in diameter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFloating?\u201d Was all he managed to say. The words grounded his consciousness enough for him to stand up and continue walking, muttering, \u201cFloating water? Is this what Kentucky is like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After seeing that shocking and inexplicable entity, he was unsure. What did that mean? Where does water float around like that in the world? And as his mind attempted to pile that onto the other problems he was facing and considering, he decided to stop moving. He\u2019d continue away from the barn tomorrow when he felt stronger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back at the barn, Myles climbed to the hayloft. At least there was some grounding and surety at this barn. No warm hay in the loft, but he felt safer now that he was up higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gargoyle instinct was what Langley used to call that. It was the want to climb buildings to get up as high as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles sighed and frowned, discomforted. He knew in his heart of hearts that his friends were alive, but he didn\u2019t feel near them and didn\u2019t think they were safe. He wanted them to be close! Where were they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He pounded his fist onto the wood flooring he was sitting on and grunted angrily. How was he going to find them? Myles decided to watch clouds for the time being, his hunger rolling in and out, panging like an irregular gong. As he watched, he felt himself become far more aware of his body. How long had it been since he\u2019d eaten? He didn\u2019t know. He felt that even if he were to eat, he wouldn\u2019t want much. What was this clarity of mind he was feeling now that he was only relying on the energy his body possessed? And wasn\u2019t he able to survive with his regular body fat for like a month? As long as the tarp kept pooling water, maybe he would be fine for at least a week before he started eating tree bark or grass or some shit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clouds seemed to wave as they passed, like they wanted to check in on Myles. He waved back to the thin and billowy, the gray, blue, and white, the nimbus and cumulo-nimbus. He didn\u2019t consider how much time had passed until he realized an entire storm had been conceived from twilight and cloud, grew old, rose above him, and began to scatter drops of water all over the barn. Burps of thunder reached his ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this what meditation feels like? Myles wondered. It was peaceful, but too lonely to keep up. He wanted to stay here and die in this peace that he felt right now. The storm had picked up and the metal roof was under fire making planking and tanking noises from the numerous raindrops. Though he began to fall asleep, Myles pulled himself together and rose clumsily to his knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to find the rest of the Astronomers.\u201d He spoke into existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only a few seconds later a human walked into the barn, as unexpected as a three bipedal rhinoceroses driving a push-mower down a highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had spider-web white hair that just brushed her shoulders; at the moment it was damp. Her outfit was warm, a perfect match to the surrounding: a thick but flexible coat, skinny jeans, shin-high boots, a spear and backpack strapped behind her, and a knife sheathed on each shin. She looked as old as Myles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was that girl from his dream. She was here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t notice Myles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey, who are you?\u201d Myles called out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a blinding response, the girl reached and grabbed one of the knives on her shin and flung it at Myles\u2019s head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, Myles\u2019s prophesying protected him and he ducked. The knife nicked his forehead in a sear and slapped the wall behind him before hitting the ground with a metallic clinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles rose again, slowly this time. The girl was holding the other knife, but her free hand was covering her mouth, eyes so wide he could see from the hayloft that they were a sharp green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am so sorry,\u201d She finally said. \u201cDid I hit you? I think I did.\u201d Color walked to the hayloft ladder and climbed up to Myles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Myles said, annoyed, touching his head. His fingertips returned red. He decided to act tough and pretend it was nothing, though it stung something awful. He picked up the knife and walked back to the loft edge. \u201cWhat was that for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girl was inspecting his head and had her hands clasped just above her small chest. \u201cI was just startled. You need to make sure that gets cleaned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing; it\u2019ll heal. Why are you carrying so many weapons? And how did you get so good at throwing?\u201d Myles said, trying not to sound rude. He felt one small, hot droplet start to form on his forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Cavaliers. And because I\u2019m a hush. May I have my knife back?\u201d She asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles didn\u2019t hear the question. \u201cCavaliers? And hush? What do those mean? And where are we?\u201d The droplet started to run and he wiped it with the back of his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girl laughed and tapped the strap around her stomach. The backpack she was wearing came unclasped and she pulled out a small bit of gauze. Myles didn\u2019t know why, but that laugh made him feel safer and he accepted the gauze, putting its hot dryness on the cut. \u201cWe\u2019re on earth, the Great Hook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first part of the sentence gave Myles hope, but, \u201cThe \u2018Great Hook\u2019? Where\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girl shrugged. \u201cDepends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? \u2018Depends,\u2019 I don\u2019t know what that\u2019s supposed to mean.\u201d Myles said, taking the cotton off and looking at it. Now the air felt colder on his forhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, it\u2019s true. I don\u2019t know where the Great Hook is, only that that\u2019s where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fuck?<\/em> \u201cMan, that makes no sense! Is it in Africa?\u201d He touched his head again and held the gauze there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girl\u2019s face scrunched, pondering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know what Africa is, right?\u201d Myles asked condescendingly. The cut had put him on edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d The girl asked at last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMyles Willis,\u201d he said impatiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m Color.\u201d The girl grinned and held out her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t give a shit<\/em>, but he shook her hand. \u201c\u2018Color\u2019? Don\u2019t only black people name their kids stuff like that? And what\u2019s your last name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just that people in general name their kids that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMan, I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m just really fucking lost,\u201d Myles said. \u201cWhere is the Great Hook? Where the hell am I? Where do these mirrors take us? Where are my friends? Fuck<\/em>.\u201d He felt like crying partway through his small rant and finally cursed because he couldn\u2019t speak without choking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color waited a few seconds and asked: \u201cYou okay?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He took a deep breath, \u201cYeah. I\u2019m kind of lightheaded, so I\u2019m going to sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As he sat, she sat next to him. \u201cHow\u2019re you holding up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh\u2026\u201d Weird question<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m alive, how bad could it be?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She laid her spear and backpack on the wood loft. \u201cHungry?\u201d The bad was still open as she continued, \u201cFound some roots earlier today.\u201d She dug around inside and pulled out what looked like a mix between a carrot and a tree branch. It was tan, but soft enough to chew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She bit into it and broke off a piece for him. \u201cA root. We used to watch deer eat it when we were hunting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles bit into it; he didn\u2019t realize how much flavor a regular carrot had until he bit into this tasteless vegetable. \u201cWhathe shit?\u201d He said through his mouthful. This was going to give him one hell of a stomachache, but he ate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just call it \u2018grab<\/em>\u2019.\u201d Color had the back of her hand to her mouth as she said this with her mouth full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHmm,\u201d Myles kept chewing until it was ultra-pulpy so his stomach would have an easier time digesting it. \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They continued eating in silence. Myles felt much better and cool-headed after eating something and taking a long drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, which are you?\u201d Color asked as she zipped up her backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHm?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFraiser. Which are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, something he knew. \u201cOh. I\u2019m a prophet. I don\u2019t know the other ones. Is a hush a type of fraiser?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color\u2019s jaw dropped, \u201cSerious?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles smiled, \u201cYeah. I don\u2019t know much about \u2018em. I\u2019m a bit new at it, but I\u2019m a prophet I\u2019m pretty sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That made her think again. \u201c\u2018New at it?\u2019 What do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh\u2026 I haven\u2019t had much time to practice, I guess?\u201d Myles felt less sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut\u2026 you\u2019re what\u2026 eleven?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwelve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a lot of time. You\u2019re sure you aren\u2019t messing with me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh\u2026 uh. I\u2019m not from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut even if you aren\u2019t from here, that shouldn\u2019t matter. Especially being out in the wilderness. At least, from my village we all felt much stronger living in the wilderness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, like\u2026 fuck\u2026 one of us needs to start from the beginning. I have a feeling there\u2019s a lot we don\u2019t understand about each other because we don\u2019t know each other\u2019s stories.\u201d Myles said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay!\u201d She grinned again. \u201cYou first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay. Uhm\u2026 one second, I need to think where to start.\u201d He thought for a few seconds. \u201cOkay, let\u2019s just start from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay!\u201d Color grinned. Her enthusiasm made Myles feel good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI met Pretty first and he\u2019s my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis name is \u2018Pretty\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNah, that\u2019s just what we call him. His real name is Beau Lewis. We met on the first day of kindergarten and I was listening to music on my walkman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have a walkman cassette player?\u201d Color started. \u201cDo you have it with you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, and a couple tapes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSorry, go on.\u201d There was small wave of her hands like she was fanning away the smoke of an interruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe hung out all the time after that, just us two, and then Langley moved in like five years later. The night we met him, Pretty, Langley, and I started the Astronomy Club. Then we were going out into the woods looking for this house from this crazy event called the Bushkill Massacre, that\u2019s the street I live on, and wound up running into these three others who were also looking for\u2026\u201d He trailed off. \u201cI\u2019m not doing a good job of this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was following,\u201d Color said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, but\u2026 I need to start even further back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlright,\u201d Myles took a deep breath. It was easy to talk to her; he didn\u2019t feel bad about his conversational blundering as much, \u201cA long time ago, this mansion appeared in the woods and these monsters came out and killed a bunch of kids.\u201d Myles shuddered away the image of those monsters. They\u2019d almost gotten Langley and him in the basement. \u201cIt came back to eat me and my friends just last night and we crashed through the mirror to escape, but only I made it out so far. I don\u2019t know where the others are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy friends are the Astronomers. First day of kindergarten I met Pretty in 1996 when I was five years old or something. A few years later we met Langley behind my house. I actually stomped on him while he was stargazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color\u2019s face was now filled with concern, but she said nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo\u2026\u201d Myles was worried about her expression as he considered the timeline. \u201cAlright, forget about me, Langley, and Pretty. This different kid, Blink, would always go fishing, but what he didn\u2019t know is that he would always walk through the same clearing that the house appeared at all those years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe plot thickens,\u201d Color still had concern on her face. \u201cGo on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles smiled politely, something he didn\u2019t do often. Let me finish, dammit<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the same time, this kid, the son of a cop, decides to investigate the site again after finding a box of evidence from the Bushkill Massacre that had literal drawings of the novis that were brushed under the rug. So Marshall went looking for it on that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd so did Mariah Smith. Pretty sure she\u2019s a prophet too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn that day, before Mariah or Marshall went to the clearing, Blink fell into Beck\u2019s Creek and we, Langley, Pretty, and I, pulled him out. We asked how he fell in and he said he saw a big black lizard which we assumed to be a novis. We got him to take us to the clearing where we met Marshall and Mariah and that\u2019s how all the Astronomers met. Then we initiated the three into our club by playing arcade games and riding bikes, and then made a plan to outwit the novis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was technically just a few days ago, but we\u2019ve all known each other, or known about each other, for years. We\u2019re the motherfucking Astronomy Club,\u201d Myles finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWow,\u201d Color said, \u201cThat\u2019s a long, crazy story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYup. That\u2019s how I got here.\u201d He was glad she paid so much attention. Usually he was in a group setting and you needed to partially fight for attention, but she gave it freely. Out of politeness, he asked, \u201cWhy did you look so worried partway through my story?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou said the years back in the 90s. It\u2019s just that that was a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles cocked his head. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t\u2026 that long ago. How long ago was it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAround thirty years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles smiled. \u201cWhat? Nah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color nodded with a bit of a know-it-all<\/em> face which Myles disliked. He said, \u201cProve it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color threw up her hands. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere do you live?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNowhere right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo you\u2019re wandering the mountains alone and you don\u2019t have even a family to live with?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color\u2019s eyes fell and Myles feared he might be right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, I don\u2019t remember my mom or dad, I just remember my Aunt Marie and the village. Teer, our leader, was a father to everyone. Then there were the elders, Music and Enichi. And there were the other fraisers: Gear, the youngest, he was a little rascal. Mason was the oldest, Flint was just a little younger than me. And finally, Hannah was almost my age and we competed a lot. She had the walkman that we\u2019d listen to music together with. We liked a lot of the same stuff, too. Especially Wasteland, Baby!<\/em> By Hozier. Do you know him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNah…okay, slow down. \u2018Village\u2019? Does everyone live in a village around here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, but those who want to keep fraisers safe will raise them in villages. I\u2019ve heard of fraiser farms. Such a horrible thing.\u201d She shook her head. Then she said, \u201cSo you\u2019re from the pre-rise era? You\u2019re living in a time where people lived on the surface? On the Below?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles scrunched his face. \u201cPre-rise era? Elaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re about a mile from the Earth\u2019s surface. That might be why you\u2019ve been having trouble breathing if you came from a regular Earth that I\u2019ve only heard about. Part of me thought they didn\u2019t actually exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles sighed. \u201cOkay\u2026\u201d He sat there knowing what she\u2019d just said was true, but still having the hardest time digesting the information. Way harder than that root he\u2019d just chomped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo\u2026 I traveled to the future?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s what it sounds like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOr\u2026 no. That\u2019s not right.\u201d Something didn\u2019t click, like the fraise wouldn\u2019t let him believe it because it wasn\u2019t the truth. An automatic truth-finder. \u201cNot just forward in time, I think this is an entirely different planet altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReally?\u201d She asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles vision launched forward and everything went blurry automatically. He stared and concentrated on this thought, this fact. He was on a different planet, one that was exactly like Earth. One that was Earth! Color said there was America, she spoke English, she looked just like a human\u2026 she had a Van Halen tape in her backpack along with a walkman, just like him. But still, this was an entirely different planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a Van Halen tape in your backpack.\u201d He shook his head once to break his stare and looked at the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color vibrated her head in the confusion, the white hair gently brushing her shoulders. \u201cWhat? You say you\u2019re from another planet and you\u2019re focused on the Van Halen tape?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know him. Them. This is Earth, but it\u2019s not my Earth.\u201d Myles said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA different universe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. Another Earth from another timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh,\u201d Color seemed sad. \u201cYou think you\u2019ll find your way back?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you call everyone \u2018man\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust wanted to make sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah,\u201d He sighed. \u201cShit. I know you\u2019re telling the truth about it being like thirty years in the future, But, it\u2019s just still a lot to process. I\u2019m literally in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She sat quietly with him and let him think; it was a powerful moment for him. His life was changing and he probably didn\u2019t know how to get back to his own life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles felt like he was zooming out of life; like his mind\u2019s eye was seeing the bigger picture, but more of the bigger picture than was possible to comprehend all at once. It made him dizzy, but it was like his consciousness was dizzy, not his body. He couldn\u2019t think straight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI need to sleep again or something,\u201d he finally said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI understand,\u201d She said. \u201cWhere are you going to sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast place I slept was in the hay down there.\u201d Myles pointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color looked over the ledge. \u201cThat\u2019ll keep your body heat. Mind if I join you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles didn\u2019t like that idea. \u201cUh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do it all the time when traveling on the road. Mason, Hannah, and I used to just pile up really close to one another because we don\u2019t move much in our sleep. We were in sleeping bags, but since the nights get so cold, it\u2019s the smart thing to do. And you don\u2019t wake up because you\u2019re too cold because you have someone else warming you.\u201d Color presented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGreat pitch,\u201d Myles said, not wanting to be convinced. \u201cSleeping with a girl\u2026 would be a new experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color laughed. \u201cYou\u2019re not sleeping with me like that. If you don\u2019t want to, I understand. I\u2019ve been warm enough for all the other nights that I\u2019ve been traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe tomorrow? I don\u2019t know, it just feels weird to me. Different cultures, I guess. I\u2019m going down there and probably going to pass out on my way because this altitude is killing me.\u201d He rose to his knees and picked up his stuff. Then he headed toward the ladder and stepped down. Stumbled over to the hay and nestled into it. From his lying position, he could see Color making her way down too. She walked over to the other side of the hay and lay down as well. The last thing he remembered was his breathing before he fell asleep once again and thinking that this was really the only thing he had done since arriving here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sunlight pried under his eyes and woke him up. \u201cMmh.\u201d The hay was warm, kind of wet, and comfortable, the surrounding air was sharp, but the sunlight was what made the whole situation less comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If he were to get up, he\u2019d better move around so he didn\u2019t get chilly. He rose and brushed the hay off his back. Then he dropped to his knees as his head spun like a top. \u201cOh, jeepers and weepers.\u201d This elevation was really taking a shit on his basic functions. Just a few feet away was Color, still asleep on her side, curled up like a baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n cute<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColor,\u201d he pretended he didn\u2019t think that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color\u2019s eyes sprang open and she reached for her shin where her knives were strapped in, ready for action. \u201cShit, you scared me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSorry, just one of the most harmless people you\u2019ll ever know. And you said \u2018shit\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh-huh. When you scare me like that, I might swear. How\u2019d you sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust fine. I was warm all night in the hay, even without your girly body heat.\u201d He smirked and she smiled back. \u201cWhat about you? How was it, sleeping alone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFine. A little chilly, but I slept a lot.\u201d She said, rising. She walked right up to him and gave him a hug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh, hi,\u201d he said, partially returning the hug. She released him like nothing happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, what\u2019re you doing today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHunting,\u201d she said. \u201cThen I\u2019m going wherever you\u2019re going; I don\u2019t have a particular direction. And if you don\u2019t want to go anywhere, we can stay inside this barn for however you like. It\u2019s a pretty nice spot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It felt weird to have all this responsibility of deciding what to do. Usually, he\u2019d wake up and eat, then see what Pretty and Langley were up to. Once they confirmed that they weren\u2019t doing anything, they\u2019d all hang out somewhere and mess around. Or it was school week and they had school all day. He had better be back in Winton before the school semester started. Then he remembered he was 30 years in the future and wondered why was he worrying about that. And what if the novis were still there when he went back? And where would he look for his friends? That was what he needed to do today; find out where to start looking for his friends. If they were even on this planet. He was pretty sure they were. They had to be, this was where he predicted for all of them and he had wound up here. Why shouldn\u2019t they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to find my friends. I just don\u2019t know where to start looking,\u201d Myles said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color picked up her spear and worked her way into her backpack. \u201cDo you know where they are?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, but maybe\u2026 are there common places that lots of people wind up in? Like cities or towns? If I know my friends, they aren\u2019t good at surviving in the wilderness\u2026 maybe Marshall, but not Pretty or Langley. Blink too, maybe. They\u2019d find people first and then live from there. I wonder what they\u2019re up to right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes.\u201d Color was rolling her arms around and stretching her legs; she did a full split in every way Myles knew. He cringed at the movements, but also couldn\u2019t take his eyes off of her; the movements were fascinating and enrapturing. In hindsight, he found that they were also attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t that hurt? Jeepers and creepers,\u201d He said as she bent herself backward further than Myles had seen a human ever bend themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. Hushes have really good flexibility,\u201d Color said. \u201cI\u2019ll be right back.\u201d And she took off out of the barn. Then she reappeared. \u201cUnless you want to come?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He waved her on. \u201cI can barely stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She grinned. \u201cWhen I come back, we can do some breathing exercises. I do them every year when we rise really fast like a half-mile up in two days. Sometimes I just do them for energy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Myles said. Breathing is going to save him? Yeah, right. Then again, he just jumped into a different universe via a fucking mirror, so why couldn\u2019t breathing give you energy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color jogged out of the barn and Myles grabbed his water bottle again. He needed more water. \u201cGracious.\u201d He was amazed at how little he\u2019d peed and how much water he\u2019d drunk. He returned to the pooled water on the tarp and refilled his water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was exhausting; he just wanted to sit, so he did. Plopped himself on the ground in the barn and waited for Color to return. She was back in fifteen minutes, two rabbits hanging from her right hand. Her spear had a light red stain. Myles stood, surprised she caught them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She put down what she was carrying. \u201cI killed each of us a coney.\u201d She pointed to two rabbits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, nice.\u201d This was gross… but he was hungry. \u201cWe\u2019re eating those?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, I figured I\u2019d just nail them to a wall for decoration,\u201d Color said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFunny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color started a fire with sticks and some of the hay from the barn; Myles was surprised at how adept she was. And how long rabbits took to cook. And how bad they tasted without salt and how good they tasted anyway after not eating for almost a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two finished their meals with a long drink of water and then sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s go for a walk.\u201d Color stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Go for a walk,\u2019 what? We just ate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, and now\u2019s the best time to go for a walk. \u2018Like the french.\u2019 A french walk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of this. Is this a floating-planet-person thing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt helps you digest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt also might help me hack up my coney.\u201d Myles was still sitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet up, lazybones, it\u2019ll help you with the air. I\u2019ll teach you some breathing exercises to help you acclimate faster. Everyone here knows them because the land goes up and down depending on the season, but I figure you don\u2019t. I think it\u2019ll help you not be so lightheaded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles groaned as he rose to his feet. They grabbed their things from the barn, refilled their water once more, and began to walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere are we going?\u201d Myles asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot sure. Stablefield is probably a week\u2019s journey this way, or more,\u201d Color said, \u201cBut for now, I think it\u2019s just a walk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s Stablefield?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest city on the Hook. It\u2019s a good place to start looking for your friends. Fraisers live there too, but it can be dangerous. Cavaliers rule the first level of the city, so we need to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles felt comfortable talking to her, like he could ask her anything or say anything and she wouldn\u2019t be surprised, no matter how he asked it. There was no tact needed which to him was exactly how he liked to carry on a conversation. \u201cWhy\u2019d you hug me this morning?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo they not do that where you are from? My village always used to greet each other with an embrace each morning after waking up and just before bed. It had to last longer than five seconds or you couldn\u2019t feel the connection between the bodies or think about how the hug affected you and who you were hugging and why. At least, that\u2019s what I got out of it. I didn\u2019t hug you last night before bed, but I wanted to, but I figured it was just too soon since I\u2019d just met you. Why, what\u2019s it like back in your world through the mirror?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat makes more sense I guess,\u201d Myles said. \u201cI dunno, it was like whenever we hadn\u2019t seen family members in a while we\u2019d usually hug them, or when my Dad would leave for business trips he\u2019d hug us before he left and when he came back, but that didn\u2019t happen much\u2026\u201d Come to think of it, there wasn\u2019t much hugging that happened in the Willis household, aside from Mom and Dad. They really liked each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh,\u201d Color said this like she\u2019d just heard of a great loss. \u201cWhat about your friends?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles thought about this. He and his friends never really embraced, did they? They just joked and messed around, they had some deep conversation, but nothing girly like hugging. But now that Color was talking about the subject like this, it didn\u2019t feel girly, it felt necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDifferent culture, huh?\u201d Myles reasoned, though he didn\u2019t believe it now. He felt like he\u2019d missed a lot of\u2026 something\u2026 from his family, from the Astronomers and now he wanted to know more. \u201cFive seconds? Why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFive seconds,\u201d Color confirmed. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to explain\u2026 want to try again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They paused on their walk. \u201cYeah.\u201d He did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She looked right into his eyes, smiled that charming smile, and wrapped her arms around him, one under his right, the other over his left. This hug was tight enough that he could feel her plush chest. Myles felt that five seconds was too short and kept holding and thinking. What did he feel in a hug? It was like a handshake, something you did to someone close to you as a sort of formal greeting\u2026 but with more connection? Then what was the connection? The closeness of two bodies. Hmmm\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color rocked back and forth, letting him know they were still hugging. He felt safe, that was for sure. And needed, like he was more than just an object. He also was a form of comfort and safety to her, someone she could connect with on a deeper level. What was it that physical touch unlocked? Why did this particular embrace feel so much closer and stronger, more important? Was it really just because he was thinking about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color broke off the hug. \u201cFeel different that time?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles just nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeep walking?\u201d Color asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, let\u2019s go to Stablefield. I think that\u2019s a good start.\u201d Once he said this, he knew it was where they were to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou do want to go to Stablefield?\u201d Color confirmed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. That\u2019s where we\u2019re supposed to go; it just feels right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color considered his words and said, \u201cI trust your prophet senses; let\u2019s go. We should go back and get your backpack and then start the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myles nodded again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They walked back to the barn, retrieved Myles\u2019s things, emptied their water bottles into their mouths, refilled them, and decided they were set to go. Color and Myles stood near the path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou ready?\u201d Color asked, wondering why Myles was waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like the whole adventure is finally beginning. I feel a little scared.\u201d He wasn\u2019t usually this honest with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She offered her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He grabbed it reluctantly and held it. She looked forward, her white hair gently swishing around, and walked the first steps. \u201cLet\u2019s find the Astronomers!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Myles Chapter Fifteen (Spring, 2037) (6k words, ~30 min read) Myles Willis awoke to the reality he\u2019d hoped was just a nightmare. The right side of his face was on something scratchy, but for the most part his body was warm. The air around him was alive but cold. He heard birds and most of … <\/p>\n