You turn to the ghost and say, "We've gotta get somewhere safe. Come with us. Talk along the way, if you want."
Looking at all the blood on his clothing, you can tell he didn't die peacefully. Your heart hurts for him, and you don't even know him.
"Fine. But I think there are some of those...things back that way," the boy says. He points north. The exact direction you and Ava were heading. Maybe there's another way to the compound.
"Ghost boy says there's more Shadows that way," you point north.
Ava sighs, then changes course. She motions for you to follow.
"So," you say to the boy, "Got a name?"
"I'm Cadian," he says, "Don't tell Ava, though. She had a hard enough time when I died. She doesn't need to know I'm stuck in the Bardo."
"The whatnow?"
"Or Purgatory. Limbo. Whatever your pleasure."
Well, that didn't sound pleasant. You tell him your name.
"Nice to meet you," Cadian replies, "I wish it were under better circumstances. But, alas, end of the world, and all that."
You raise an eyebrow. "Oh, is that it? Just the apocalypse, no big deal. How do you think I can help you, anyway? I don't even know who I am."
"You can tell everyone what I saw. I guess that's not exactly helping me in any way, but I don't want them to die, too. The rest...well, hon, that sounds like a you problem."
"Anyway," he went on, "There's something wrong with the afterlife. Like, even the dead are getting infected with the Shadow sickness. And there are these...THINGS dragging us away. Most go screaming. I heard one ghost call them Psychopomps before it got her."
For some reason, the word strikes a chord with you, but you don't know why. What was that? Greek mythology? And how could a ghost become a zombie? You're so confused.
You relay the information to Ava, leaving out the bit that it's her dead friend you're talking to.
"Well, that's no good at all," she replies with a frown, but doesn't say any more.
Cadian shrugs.
Up ahead, there's a large tree covered in vines, and Ava makes a beeline for it. You follow, and she knocks on the trunk. Sounds like morse code for S.O.S.
Then the vines begin to slither away, and a door creaks open. Ava heads in.
When you enter the tree, you find Ava walking down a spiral staircase into the earth. Somehow, this, too feels familiar.
You notice flowered vines running down the walls, and as you pass, each flower blooms, revealing lightbulbs that flicker on. More magic, apparently.
The stairs themselves look like they grew that way.
"What is this place?" you ask.
"One of the entries to the Compound. Xander once told me gnomes made it."
Tiebreaker vote!
(Part 1/2)
"So," you say as you and Cadian follow Ava down and down and down, "Tell me about these gnomes."
Ava shook her head but didn't turn. "I wish I could. Supposedly, they're all dead now. Along with most of the population of the world, Veiled or otherwise."
"I always wished I could've met one," Cadian remarked, "One of my professors at Ambrose—basically magic college—said they could make portals."
(Part 2/2)
Soon, the staircase ends, and you find yourself facing a set of tall, pointed double doors. There are intricate carvings on them. When you're close enough to see them in the flower-bulb-light, you see that the theme seems to be wolves.
"Prepare yourself for the weirdest bunch of folks you'll ever meet twice," Ava says, and reaches out to push the doors open.
(Part 1/2)
You pull out the note in your pocket, "Before we go in; do you know what this means?"
You hand the note to Ava, and Cadian reads it over her shoulder.
She nods. "It's the word my mum gave you to break the spell on your memory. It's up to you when you wanna use it, and I can teach you how to say it, but you told me to tell you not to unless you need to."
Cadian chimes in, "Ah. 'In case of emergency, break glass.'"
(Part 2/2)
"So, I'm some kind of weapon?"
Ava shakes her head. "Like I said, you didn't tell me much. All I know is that you're in hiding. Maybe remembering breaks your cover?"
You frown. Though you desperately want to know who you are, you might be putting your new-ish friend at risk if you use the word. You can always save it for later, like Cadian said.
(Part 1/2)
Ava pushes the doors open, and you follow her into the most amazing place.
The floors are made of blue sandstone and it shimmers like a starry night as you walk toward a group sitting around a table that looks to have grown right out of the ground. The ceiling is high, and composed of those lightbulb vines woven through what looked like knit tree roots.
A young man with long, black hair looks up and grins. "You're back!"
(Part 2/2)
He jumps to his feet and runs toward her, scooping her up in a big hug and twirling her in the air. Ava laughs and plants a kiss on his lips.
When he puts her down, she takes his hand and says, "Xander, that spell worked a little too hard on Noë. She doesn't even remember who she is."
His smile fades. "Well, shit. You must be so confused."
You nod. "That is a supreme understatement."
A group of curious people crowds around.
You ask Ava to reintroduce you to everyone.
"Right. You've met Xander again already," she says, and points to each of the others in turn, "That's Breaker, my mum Viv, Finn, Beth, and Luke."
"The others are probably out on patrol," Viv says. She has an English accent. "I'm the one who placed the spell on you, Noë. I had a feeling with your...heritage that it might not work the same as it does on someone else."
Cadian is oddly quiet.
You turn to Cadian and ask if he's OK.
"Not really, but I'm dead, so I dunno if I'll ever be OK again," he replies with a dramatic sigh.
Xander raises an eyebrow.
"She can talk to the dead," Ava says, filling everyone in.
Viv nods. "It makes sense, given who she really is."
You didn't think anyone knew who you were. Why would Ava's mum know, but not Ava herself?
"Who is it? If they died in town, we probably know them," Finn asks.
Turning back to Cadian, you say, "Can I just tell them who you are, please? It'd make things so much easier."
He sighs heavily and waves his hand in the air. "Fine, whatever. Just don't blame me when Ava loses her shit."
"Hey, I'd wanna know if I were her."
"If you were who?" Ava asks.
"If I were you," you reply, "You see, the ghost I've been talking to is your friend Cadian."
Tears well up in her eyes. "He's here? Really?"
(Part 1/2)
You give Ava a huge hug, and tell her that yes, her friend is here. She stiffens like a plank until you awkwardly let go.
Maybe you're not as much of a hugging person as you thought you were for a moment. Neither is she, apparently.
"I miss you, Blue," Ava says.
Cadian looks like he's about to cry, too. CAN ghosts cry??
(Part 2/2)
"Tell her I've missed her, too, and the afterlife sucks. Also..." he pauses for a moment, and pain washes over his face, "Tell her that Tanith and Gray already moved on."
You have a feeling that isn't quite the truth, but you relay the information to her. It seems to give her some comfort.
Xander squeezes Ava's hand. She doesn't mind HIM touching her, but that's different. They were together, from what you gather.
(Part 1/3)
"So," you say, anxious to know, "How did the end of the world begin, anyway?"
Xander chimed in. "Basically, this evil Queen used my sister to infect our world with the Shadow-sickness. It's not only the humans and beings of magic that are affected; it's the world, itself. And if we can't find a way to fix it, it's not just our world that's in danger; It's all of them."
You shudder. "What do you mean by 'all of them?'"
(Part 2/3)
“Well, technically not just every world, but every universe. Even though we stopped her before she could destroy this Earth completely, there are other Shadow Queens out there in the multiverse. And they’re all trying to break down the walls separating us. Unfortunately, shit doesn’t work that way. If they succeed, everything ends. Everywhere.”
(Part 3/3)
This is a dizzying revelation. You feel as if you’re falling down a bottomless void with no way to get back to solid ground. If all of this is really happening, there must be a very good reason you chose to forget it. But what if remembering who you are could help them fix this world?
(Part 1/4)
"OK, what's the plan? How do we save the multiverse? What can I do?" you say. You can always remember who you are later.
The group chuckles at your eagerness.
Beth—who had been pretty quiet until then—puts an arm around your shoulders and says, "First, we've gotta do some catching up. If you have no memory of us, you probably don't know who we are."
Your brow furrows. Ava had introduced them, hadn't she?
(Part 2/4)
“So,” the pale girl continued, “Let’s show her, Pack.”
She and Luke both turn to you and smile. As their eyes turn red, their canine teeth lengthen into fangs. Then Xander sighs, and before your eyes, he transforms into the largest, most beautiful white wolf you’ve ever seen. His irises shine like two silver bells. Beside him, Finn follows suit. His coat is a fawn brindle, and his eyes are more like gold coins.
(Part 3/4)
“So,” you say, “Lemme get this straight; you’re a group of witches, vampires, and werewolves, and there are also gnomes, ghosts, zombies, and evil queens? And we’re trying to save the multiverse? Are we sure I’m not just dreaming? And if I’m not any one of those things, how am I supposed to do anything to help, anyway?”
This time, Luke replies.
(Part 4/4)
“Things are far more complicated than that, but yes. That’s a somewhat accurate description. Noë, I know you may not remember us, but Viv and I brought you here to keep you safe.”
You’re about to reply when the lightbulb flowers all flicker. Everyone but the ghost looks around in confusion.
“No, no, no, not now,” Cadian says, “They’re coming.”
(Part 1/2)
You start to say, "Something is coming," but you stop, mid-sentence when you see them.
Two humanoid beings step out of the wall as the lights flicker. They're tall, with long, tattered coats and wide brimmed hats. At first, you think they're wearing plague masks, until you realize that's just what their heads look like. When they reach out toward your ghost friend, their hands are skeletal, like the wings on their backs.
(Part 2/2)
Cadian sort of snaps out of it and turns to run, but he's too late. One of the things grabs a hold of him.
He turns to look at you and there's a panic in his eyes. "Noë, if they're here, that means Zag and Mak aren't far behind. The Pack needs to run. Tell Ava I'll save her a spot in the Elysian Fields."
Then, the creatures drag him, screaming, through the floor, and the lights stop flickering.
"No time to explain," you say to the Pack, "But we've gotta get out of here *now.*"
Viv takes a ring of keys out of her pocket and says, "Way ahead of you, dear."
She selects one and points it out in front of her. A door appears in the air around it. She turns the key in the lock, and it opens inward. On the other side is the strangest forest you've ever seen, and you have to shield your eyes at the brightness of it.
(Part 1/3)
Everyone goes through the door, and you follow, closing it behind you. When you do, you hear it lock, and then it vanishes back to wherever it came from.
You squint and try to make sense of what you're seeing. There are trees everywhere, but the leaves look more like book pages, complete with words typed in neat little lines.
There are little rivers of clear, blue water flowing in between the trees in all directions.
(Part 2/3)
The grass is tall, and a pale gold. It sways gently in the breeze. The sky is so bright, though, that you can't even tell where the sun is.
"What is this place?" you ask, still taking it all in.
"We're somewhere in the Midlands," Xander explains, "The land between the lands."
You raise an eyebrow.
"He means it's a place that connects to every universe," Ava replies.
(Part 3/3)
"Zag and Mak won't be fooled for long," Viv says, then turns to you. "It may be time we help you to remember who you are, but it's up to you, Noë."
You realize at that moment, though, that the vampires hadn't followed the rest of you through the door. They were still back in Birch Hollow.
Tiebreaker vote!
Tiebreaker vote for...the tiebreaker vote. 😂
(Part 1/6)
You nod. "It's time. How do I pronounce the word?"
"Co," Viv begins, and you echo her, "vee-ooch." That last "ch" sounded sort of Welsh.
"Now, say it all together," Ava chimes in.
Taking a deep breath, you close your eyes and let the word slip from your lips; "Coviuch."
(Part 2/6)
The moment the spell breaks is palpable in every atom of your being. Your eyes snap open. You're not seeing the people around you, but all of your memories rushing back at once. And there are more than you could have ever imagined. Uncountable years. Millenia, perhaps.
Melinoë. That's your full name.
"If your father ever knew…" the ghost of your mother's voice says.
(Part 3/6)
Then, your brother. "Zeus is just as cruel as Hades, if not madder."
And your sister. "Neither is as mad as I!" Her deranged laughter encircles you.
Goddess of the Wayward Dead.
The voice of your father booms in your mind. "I will cut them off at the stem before they can infect the whole branch."
And the Oracle. "Shadow, Shadow falls..."
Daughter of the Underworld.
"If we don’t do something now, who will?" Mother sobs.
(Part 4/6)
"It’s not your place to question him," brother growls.
The Oracle whispers, "Everything will fold in on itself."
Mother needs you.
"We will see each other again," her voice assures you.
"You are no child of mine!" father screams.
"One, two, we’re coming for you!" sister sings.
She is waiting, hidden away for safekeeping.
"Zagreus gets his temper from his father," mother reminds you.
(Part 5/6)
"Ever since dad raised Makaria from the dead, she’s been different," brother once confided.
"Three, four, through the magic door!" sister's voice rings like a warning bell.
Hiding in another Birch Hollow.
"Find me. You’ll know when it’s time," she tells you.
"There will be nothing but ashes when I'm done," Hades says.
(Part 6/6)
Your brother and sister—Zagreus and Makaria—are coming for you and mother. Likely, on Hades' orders.
The Oracle reminds you, "Only Persephone can heal the wounds."
"I’m doing this for the greater good, darling," you overhear father say to mother before you both escape from Tartarus.
But they’ll have to catch you both first.
(Part 1/4)
Everything is slipping away. Just out of reach. You can almost taste it.
Your eyes flicker open, and darkness surrounds you. Groaning, you sit up. It isn’t supposed to be like this.
When you snap your fingers, the lights turn on. You shuffle over to the closet and grab a uniform.
Just before your nap, you showered, so all you have to do now is get dressed, put your hair up, and go.
(Part 2/4)
Being human was something you hadn’t done in ages, so it all felt strange. You wondered how you could possibly have all these aches and pains if you were so brand new, though.
After you dress, you pin your name tag to your shirt. It reads, “Hi! My name is Seph. May I take your order?”
Another day at the diner, and no more information than before.
(Part 3/4)
A pang of guilt rumbles your stomach as you think about your daughter, and you wonder which universe she was hiding in. You’d feel it if she was in trouble, right?
“Noë can take care of herself,” you mutter as you close your door behind you. When you press the button on your key, the small house folds in on itself, and the foundation flips over, revealing a small, community garden you and the neighbors pitched in to plant.
(Part 4/4)
Many of the houses on your street are still up at this hour, their residents in bed or getting ready for the day. You’d been in the Hollow a while now, but time has been moving at different rates throughout the multiverse recently.
As you walk, lost in thought, you hear a scream coming from the big, blue house up on your left.
(Part 1/6)
You start running toward the scream, and then it turns into laughter. Multiple people laughing. Sounds like some kind of party.
Shaking your head, you slow your pace and hope no one saw you.
You’re on edge because the multiverse is on edge. There are entire realms blinking out of existence or merging with their closest parallels.
(Part 2/6)
Even the afterlife is a mess. Because you’re connected to all things living and dead, you can see it all at once. Feel it all at once.
So, your gut is screaming at you to do something. To fix it. But all you can do is hide from your children while you masquerade as human.
Just before the diner, there’s a little flower garden.
(Part 3/6)
The sunflowers are drooping, so you lean forward and whisper, “C’mon, you gals can do better than that.”
They straighten up like soldiers at attention.
“That’s better,” you say with a wink as you continue on to work.
The flowers move to face you as you pass, as if you are the sun itself.
(Part 4/6)
When you get to the diner, it’s already hopping. If there’s one thing you could count on, it was that the multiverse was full of different versions of Mel’s. This one was pretty spectacular. It was made out of one of the first interstellar ships.
Small, compared to the luxury starliners they had today, but it was still impressive. Very fancy.
(Part 5/6)
The people of your Earth would find this one very strange. This one is highly advanced, as they skipped over the Dark Ages a bit. However, the fashion and aesthetic is more like the 1920s where you are from.
“You’re on section four today, Seph,” Mel calls out when she sees you come in, “Alex already sat a couple tables, but she has to run.”
(Part 6/6)
You nod and get to work right away. There’s a young couple in a booth, and a table full of men in suits. Alex waves to you as she passes, heading toward the door. She looks a little green, and that’s worrisome. Since when did she ever get sick?
(Part 1/3)
“I hope you feel better soon, Alex,” you say to her.
She smiles weakly and says, “Thanks, it must be a wolf thing. By the way, I seated the big party first. They seem a little on edge, so you might wanna grab their order before anyone else.”
You thank her, and head over to the men in suits. Grabbing a fresh pot of coffee off the counter as you go, your brow furrows. Since when do werewolves get sick?
(Part 2/3)
The men in business suits ordered mostly steaks. You momentarily wonder if they’re also wolves, but a shifter wouldn’t ever work a job that required that kind of outfit.
After telling them you’ll be right back with their mimosas, you turn and notice that the couple that had been there were walking out the door in a hurry. Instinct tells you something’s wrong, and you move toward the windows.
(Part 3/3)
Alex is still sitting in her car, and it looks like she’s on the phone. The conversation must be heated, because she’s waving her free hand around like she’s conducting a frantic orchestra. And the couple is making a beeline right for her.
You open the front door and quietly close it behind you. The couple seems unaware that you're following them, which is good for you...not so much for them.
One of them reaches in through Alex's open window and grabs her phone, then tosses it into the grass nearby. She snaps at him, obviously annoyed, and the woman opens the passenger side door and slips into the car. Alex tries to scream, but the man has her by the throat now.
Quickly, you move up behind the man and tap him on the shoulder. He turns, you smile cheerfully and say, "Hi!" Then flick him with a finger.
Before the man can get a word out, you've sent him flying into the grass. He hits the ground, skids several feet, and konks his head on the sidewalk with a grunt.
The woman scrambles out of the car, but you tap her forehead and she falls to the ground.
"I owe you one," Alex says, stepping out.
"Pop the trunk, will ya?" you say to your co-worker.
She complies, and you drop the unconscious couple into her trunk before anyone sees. Thankfully, you're the only people in the parking lot at the moment.
You just hope no one is looking out the restaurant windows.
"They were asking me about you," Alex says as you close the trunk, "What kind of trouble are you in, Seph?"
You sigh. "The biggest kind."
(Part 1/7)
After telling Mel you have to take off, you run back out to Alex's car and hop in.
"Where to?" she asks.
The only place you could think of, off the top of your head, was to bring them into the forest. There was a gnome there that owed you a favor.
Teleporting would draw unwanted attention, so you direct your friend as she drives.
Cars in this universe were different than what you'd grown accustomed to on your Earth.
(Part 2/7)
They were sleek and stylish and ran on sunshine. Literally. The entire body of the car was essentially a solar panel. And what energy it didn’t use, it stored in extra batteries in case of long drives at night or during cloudy days. No one ever had to worry about filling up their tank here.
“Pull over here,” you say when you’ve reached the edge of the woods.
(Part 3/7)
When you’re sure there are no onlookers, you grab the man and woman out of the trunk. You toss one over each shoulder, and head into the green before realizing Alex is following behind you.
“You should really go,” you say.
“Not a chance, Seph. I’m not getting left in the dark.”
You sigh. It was impossible trying to argue with a werewolf. They were so stubborn. “Fine.”
(Part 4/7)
“Fine,” she replies, cheerily, then grabs the man off your right shoulder, slinging him over hers instead, “Least I can do is help. Lead on.”
When you eventually get to where you’re going, you knock thrice on Vimbree’s tree. As everyone knows, gnomes are easily spooked. Long ago, you agreed to only speak Welsh when announcing your presence to her.
“Mae ffrind yma,” you whisper to the tree.
(Part 5/7)
Silence.
For a moment, you wonder if she's even home. Then, the great trunk begins to untwist itself, revealing a doorway between its massive roots.
A small, leafy head pops through the opening. For a moment, she scowls at you, your friend, and the unconscious man and woman. Then Vim sighs and says, “Well, best come in, then. Always knew that favor I owed you would be trouble.”
(Part 6/7)
You and the wolf follow her down into her spacious, underground home. She directs you to a wall where the roots of the tree are numerous, and she begins to sing. They come alive and entrap the man and woman in their grip. As they do, the pair begin to regain consciousness.
When they realize what’s going on, there’s a panic in both of their eyes.
River J. Hopkins