Ashes of the Stag

DECAY

BEAU WALLIS

Contents

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Silence

Story

Morphine

Endling

White

Fungi

Land Mine

Soldier

Cold

Growth

Politics

Grief

Dream

Indecision

Shadows

Dig

Rune

Air

Spy

Witch

Contract

Deer

Interrogation

Truth

Guilt

Trick

Ally

Leap of Faith

Break-in

Ruse

Discussion

Control

Meditations

Autopsy

Gift

Future

Proposal

Character

Confidence

Journey

Caves

Dark

Ambush

Negotiation

Rest

Tension

Rebels

Reasons

Brothers

Olive Branch

Tracker

Plan

Captain

Attack

Fire

Trap

Ice

Support

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Also by Beau Wallis

Copyright © 2026 by Beau Wallis

First published in the United States of America in 2026 by Beau Wallis.

Ebook first published in 2026 by Beau Wallis. Paperback book published 2026 by Beau Wallis.

The moral right of Beau Wallis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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Oh great and powerful Goddess of Art!

I call upon you and your many faces and hands

To possess me and aid in my quest.

May my eyes become your eyes.

May my voice become your voice.

May my hands become your hands.

May my words become your words.

And may my art be as blessed and true as your art.

INVOCATION OF THE GODDESS OF ART AND HER MANY FACES AND HANDS

Silence

“We should head north.”

The nothingness around them swallowed Elijah’s voice.

Josh stayed silent. He scanned the horizon beyond the broken buildings reduced to rubble in the blast. Shattered glass glittered across the broken pavement. Flies buzzed around them. So numerous, they created black masses wriggling on the ground and in the air.

The sun had darkened his skin further. A black shadow against the grey buildings. Or, what was left of them.

The dead lay piled in the streets. Some had bled out from their injuries. Others, judging by the splatter of blood on the sidewalk, the mangled limbs, the crushed skulls, took their lives. Perhaps just hours after the first bombs fell.

Josh should follow their examples. Why did he survive this hell?

He didn’t know. Perhaps he clung to the hope that someone else survived. He and Elijah weren’t alone. Someone else would come, eventually.

They never did.

A city of almost five million people, and not a single person survived.

A trolley lay on its side. One remaining wheel spun lazily in the breeze. The only other sound. A soft squeaking as it rolled and rubbed against the axle.

That breeze brushed against Josh’s cheeks. It ruffled his hair, carrying the sun’s warmth on its back.

His hair had grown longer in the months since Ethan’s death. Longer than he had ever let it grow before. The curls were now wild on top of his head, loose enough to hang in front of his forehead. Others stuck up in all directions.

He looked deranged. Like lightning had struck him, but only half of his hair stood on end. He never learned to care for it. Never had the means. It forced him to keep it short as a result.

Now, it stayed uneven, tangled by the wind’s soft fingers. Pulled from his face with a gentleness that felt like it belonged to a mother.

He wished it were cold. He wished it were uncomfortable. Like a slap instead of a hug. Then he wouldn’t feel guilty.

He survived when no one else had. He cheated death. He dug his way out of the morgue and stood triumphant amongst the rubble.

He was tired of it. He wished the Vulture God of Death would come to him with open wings. He wished he could lie down at its feet. To let it finally allow him some semblance of rest. To let it carry him off to the afterlife.

He couldn’t. He knew he couldn’t. That’s why the Vulture God of Death never came for him. Elijah was alive.

So long as he breathed, Josh kept pulling himself forward. Kept working. Kept walking. Kept fighting.

That was why he hadn’t ended things after Ethan died. Some part of him, deep down, didn’t want to leave his husband to deal with yet another dead loved one.

He wondered if Ethan hated him for that. If he resented Josh for choosing life instead of following him into death.

He’d like to think not. He’d like to think he understood why Josh stayed through the pain.

“Josh.” Elijah’s voice again. Biting, demanding his attention.

“Hmm?”

He knew what he was asking. He didn’t want to give an answer. He didn’t know what answer to give.

So, he hummed a non-committal response. Eyes scanning for movement. Enemy or friend. Someone he could welcome with open arms. Or someone he needed to attack. To kill.

One hand rested on the iron bar clipped to his belt. The other on his service weapon. The one with the iron bullets. The radiation in the sky damaged his other one.

He felt ridiculous, poised for attack as he was.

No one else survived. No predators. No roving pack of bandits. No mutated monsters wandering about with bits of flesh dropping from their skin; exposing their bones, muscles, fat, and organs. Not even a pack of wild dogs could be found freed from the shackles of society.

Towards the end, most people couldn’t afford a dog.

Maybe the nuclear apocalypse was a good thing. They were better off dead. Rotting with only flies now alive to lay maggots in their eye sockets. That meant no more suffering.

Elijah leaned back on his palms. Where the sun had turned Josh dark, it had turned Elijah red. Burned from its rays. With bits of skin blistering and peeling off. The brilliant orange setting sun reflected off his round glasses, completely hiding his eyes.

“If you don’t want to go, say you don’t want to go.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You thought it.” He ran a hand through his hair.

The setting sun caught it like a flame. It was auburn, like a fox. In fact, most of Elijah looked like a fox. Sharp angles, sharp eyes. Fox-red hair. Now it looked like a halo of flames erupted around his head, showing off his true copper coloring.

He winced as the fingers pulled out a tangled clump of hair.

Shaking it away, he fixed his eyes on Josh. “Why don’t you want to go up north?”

He knew why Elijah might want to leave the city. He had sent Christopher out of the morgue right before the bombs dropped. No doubt he carried that guilt. Maybe, if he had let Christopher stay, he would have survived.

Josh swallowed. The silence gnawed at him.

He had never been anywhere silent. The city was noisy. The battlefield too, with bombs, fires, shouting orders, and the dying screams. Even a ruck march to their next campaign was filled with the sound of crunching boots on the ground. Birds chirping in the trees.

Now, nothing.

No cars blaring their horns.

No radios turned up loud to share the news.

No machines howling to produce more. More. More.

No factories with their whistles signaling the end of a shift.

No people talking.

No food sizzling.

No footsteps on the ground.

Just the wind’s occasional howl. His own breath in his ears.

The distant squeaking of a wheel.

Buzzing flies.

Elijah’s breathing. Harsh. Wheezing. Shallow.

“Witches are up north,” Josh said. “The border is too volatile. The mountains are narrow. The last thing we need is to run into a witch.”

He ignored the pounding headache. The pressure building behind his eyes. So intense, his head would pop.

Elijah sighed. “I don’t think anyone is left, Josh.”

There it was.

The thought that haunted Josh’s every waking moment. The one he tried desperately to stop from voicing out loud. From even considering. The creeping existential dread that got louder every day that passed where they didn’t see another living person.

Holy shit. We might be the last two people alive.

The weight of it made his trigger finger twitch.

What was the point of living after Ethan’s death?

What was the point of living after the bombs dropped?

What was the point in living if no one else survived?

Well, one person survived.

Elijah.

His husband. As long as he lived, Josh could keep moving. He had to. He wasn’t about to do something as cruel as leave Elijah alone to fend for himself in the world.

“There might be.”

They sat in the shade of a concrete bus stop. One of the few structures still standing despite the blast. He swore the temperature dropped ten degrees under the bus stop’s shade. The sign that showed when the next bus would arrive stayed blank.

Despite it being rather early in the year, the spring equinox only just passed, the heat and humidity had taken complete control. The heat given off by the millions of bodies littering the streets didn’t help. He wondered how long it would take before they were reduced to a pile of mush.

A pile lay to his left. Blood crusted their noses and mouths. Flies buzzed around them. A few were missing their fingernails and teeth. He couldn’t escape from the stench. He had gotten used to it.

He had gotten used to the sounds of bombs whistling overhead. Of bullets shooting past him. He had gotten used to the smell of rotting garbage and gasoline in the city. Now, he had gotten used to the smell of rotting bodies.

He was used to seeing dead bodies too. At first, grief had overcome him. He didn’t know these people, but they were people. They had thoughts. Dreams. They made to-do lists. They had favorite foods and a sleeping position. Now they weren’t. They were inanimate objects.

The sight of a woman wearing an emerald green dress with small gold earrings nearly broke him. She had gotten up that morning. She had carefully chosen her outfit. She had done her hair. She had plans for the day. The week. The month. The year. She was going to a job interview. Or a date. She had a future.

How was she to know that future would end in a few short hours?

She was a person, but not anymore. She was like her gold earrings. A thing on the ground.

The first several days he couldn’t wrap his head around that. The thoughts contradicted themselves. She wasn’t a thing. She was a person. She cared if Josh nudged her out of the way with his boot. She cared that her dress was dirty. She hated that her hair was a mess. She may be dead, but she cared about those sorts of things.

Now he saw so many that he stopped thinking of them as people and instead as things. Like meat hanging on the hooks of butcher shops. He got used to the death.

He’d get used to the sound of silence soon.

He hoped.

“There might be.” Josh repeated. “Someone could be out there.”

“If there are, do you really think they’d continue this gods forsaken war? I think we have bigger problems.”

“Yeah. They could. This could intensify their drive to wipe us out.”

It did for Josh, after all. Or, he thought it did. If he saw a witch he might change his mind. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to kill every single one of them for dropping the bombs. For killing Ethan. For causing Priscilla’s death. For Henry’s death. For Christopher’s death. For destroying his life.

“Or we’d run into other non-witches and they’d help us out. Deerland’s nearly a thousand miles north to south, Josh. We don’t know how many bombs existed or how far they reached. Welton was destroyed. Maybe they didn’t touch Bakersfield.”

Josh’s mouth pulled down to a frown. He didn’t respond. Elijah had a point. Bakersfield was farther north. The witches may have only targeted Welton. It was the center of non-witch life. The location of their major government offices. It also had the largest population.

Elijah coughed. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He winced upon seeing red. Josh’s stomach clenched.

“The winds blow south. There’s likely less radiation and fallout up north.” Elijah continued. “The trees might also provide some coverage for the understory. I think we should try. Sitting here isn’t helping us. If anything, it might be hurting us. The amount of radiation we’ve been exposed to alone… It’s a wonder we’re not already dead.”

“So, go north, risk running into witches?” Josh asked.

“The war is over. We’re not enemies. We’re survivors. I don’t want to live the rest of my life surrounded by this.” He gestured to the bodies. The swarms of flies. The crumbled buildings.

Josh swallowed. He didn’t want that either. He dreamed of leaving Welton with Ethan and Elijah. Finding a nice patch of land where they could live in peace. Breathe some fresh air. See a bird other than pigeons. Maybe get a cat. This could be his last chance to do that.

Even though Ethan was dead. Along with the birds and cats. But, he could still find a small piece of land for them to live out their final days.

“What if the witches launched nukes there too?” he asked.

“We don’t know if it was them or us.”

“How could it not be?” His voice came out exhausted. “The war has been at a stalemate for decades now. No end was in sight. They got desperate. They decided if they couldn’t win, no one else could. Now here we are. In the middle of a nuclear wasteland.”

He wasn’t angry when he said this. A few days ago, when the first bombs had hit, he was. When he discovered Henry’s body in the wreckage. The last of his squad dead. Now he was just tired. Resigned to his fate. His bones ached to rest. It felt like no matter how long he slept, it would never be enough.

Elijah, ever the optimist, would try to find that one untouched corner to hunker down in. He would accept any stragglers who came their way and try to rebuild society. He would not tolerate bands of thieves raping and pillaging because the world ended.

Josh wasn’t Elijah.

He was tired. Going north wouldn’t help them.

“Regardless,” Elijah said, “I’m done sitting around. North may not be better, but it’s a possibility. Something we haven’t explored yet. We should take it while we have the strength to cross Copahni Pass.”

Also a good point. Josh looked over at Elijah. He sounded tired, despite pretending he wasn’t. He could see it in the way he held his shoulders. What was once perfect posture now stooped. Shaking constantly as if he were in the middle of a snowstorm without a coat. The humidity that clung to Josh’s lungs did little to warm Elijah.

Elijah let out another hacking cough. So violent, Josh expected to see his lungs pop from his mouth.

“Your cough is getting worse,” he said.

“It’s not going to get much better here.” Elijah wiped his mouth once more. “If anyone left alive were here, we would have run into them by now. I’m… I’m tired of death. I am… was, a doctor. I’m supposed to save people. I’ve seen the dead before, but this is… It’s too much.”

Elijah took his hand in his own clammy hands and squeezed it. It felt like Josh was holding hands with a corpse. He squeezed back.

“I want to see trees.” Elijah’s voice was so soft, Josh barely heard it.

A quiet plea. Begging for him to relent. To stop thinking about the dangers and leave. Leave all this behind. Do something instead of sitting around waiting for change. There was no hope here. There would never be hope here ever again.

If they left, they might find some. They might find a tree. An actual tree. Not the scrawny, scraggly ones that seemed to survive despite Welton’s hostile architecture.

He remembered Elijah, before the bombs dropped, begging with tears in his eyes for Josh to talk to him about Ethan. To move forward. To grieve properly. Here he was again, begging Josh to please leave. Elijah would never leave without him.

By digging his heels in on this issue, he was only hurting himself in the end. Being selfish by taking advantage of Elijah’s need to protect him. To care for him. To shield him from the horrors in a way no one had done before.

He wondered if Elijah believed what he was saying about the wind. Or if the real reason he wanted to leave was because he wanted to see the trees. Either way, Josh wouldn’t hold him back any longer.

He swallowed. “You’re right. Besides, it’s not like there’s much here for us. Most of the food is contaminated. None of these buildings are stable enough to sleep in.”

Elijah beamed. The cracked skin on his lips stretched until it split. Blood dripped down his chin. He didn’t stop smiling.

“I knew you’d see things my way, love.”

“You are very persuasive.” He wiped away some blood from the corner of Elijah’s mouth.

Elijah kissed his cheek. Josh could feel sticky blood cooling on the side of his face.

“I know things are hard, but we can survive,” Elijah said.

He nodded. “I know. Sorry for being difficult about this.”

“No, you’re right to be cautious. It’s been a tough past couple of months. With Ethan and everything…” He trailed off.

“A part of me is glad he’s gone. I wouldn’t want him to see this. Does that make me a bad person?”

“No. Not at all,” Elijah said. “You’re trying to protect him. That doesn’t make you bad.”

Josh chuckled. Humorless. Dry. His protection had done nothing, in the end.

“Let’s see if we can find some food that hasn’t been contaminated.”

“And a med kit.” Elijah got to his feet. He stumbled into the grey concrete structure.

Josh was quick to put a steadying hand on his elbow. He didn’t mention the stumble. He didn’t mention the mountains looming in the distance that they would have to cross. He didn’t mention the cough. He didn’t mention the headache.

“Yes, yes. A med kit. Always a med kit with you.”

“Med kits are important.”

“Not as important as food and water.”

Elijah, having recovered, elbowed him in the stomach. “Slander. If you keep speaking like that, I’ll leave you behind.” He slung his med bag over his shoulder. The Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain he had looped on the zipper glinted in the light.

Josh rolled his eyes. He followed him toward a less decrepit-looking building. It was an older build. Before the war truly burned through the materials available for construction. It had a mosaic on the front. Some scene depicting the soldiers driving back the witches. Josh would have guessed it was probably depicting the Battle of Bull Rock. A battle that was seventy-five years ago.

How many people had died fighting for this future? Would they have fought if they knew this would be the end?

“Josh, come on.” Elijah gestured toward the front door.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. He followed him inside, watching Elijah’s gait. It had once been swift and sure of itself. Moving with all the grace and light-footedness of a fox. Silent in the way he would move around the world. Now, it was slower. Less sure. Clunky. His feet dragged on the ground. His footsteps echoed in the silence. He wondered if his own gait looked like that. As though he were about to collapse at any moment.

I want to see some trees. He thought.

We might be the last two people alive. His thoughts answered.

Story

They found a working motorbike on the outskirts of Welton. They found the owners of the bike in a small cabin.

Lined up on the floor were the woman and children. A single gunshot wound to the back of the head. A man faced away from them, several feet away. A single gunshot wound entered under his chin and out the top of his head.

Josh didn’t think about what happened here. Instead, he and Elijah cleared out the cupboards, collected what hadn’t rotted yet, picked up the motorbike, and took off.

The bike was the only reason they managed to get over Cophani Pass. On foot, they still would have been walking. The motorbike allowed them a chance to rest their tired feet.

They struggled to fit both on the small seat. The balance was precarious with Josh’s knees practically touching his chest. They figured it out. Though, the balancing was so difficult that his entire body tensed. Each jolt wobbling them precariously close to cliff edges. After riding all day, he felt sore; achy in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. Still, the motorbike was faster than walking.

Elijah’s trembling didn’t stop.

He ignored it as best as he could. He focused on getting them further than the day before. Crawling toward Bakersfield as if it were already a foregone conclusion that someone survived there.

For nearly a week they rode that bike further away from Welton and into the Central Valley. Towards their future. The air seemed clearer here, with a blue sky instead of the smog-filled grey Josh was used to.

Or he was kidding himself thinking the air smelled cleaner here.

Another desperate attempt to make their situation feel less bad than it really was.

A desperate attempt to not feel so helpless.

Throughout their drive, they hadn’t run into another person. No living person, that is.

Plenty of bodies. Plenty of burnt-out cars, buses, trains, and trucks littered the roadways.

They kept driving until the bike sputtered to a stop, completely out of gas. They abandoned it to walk on foot. The further they got from Welton, the fewer bodies lay on the road.

Josh’s fear that they might be the last two people alive seemed more likely with each step.

He ignored that thought.

They weren’t far enough from Welton yet.

The radiation would be less up north.

People survived up north.

Elijah seemed to be doing better now that they were away from the city. Maybe because he had a chance to rest on the bike. He still coughed. But, less blood spilled from his lips with each passing day.

He still stumbled. But he recovered quickly. Even Josh’s headache faded as they crested over the mountains and flew into the valley. They might be the last two people alive, but they could live a decent life.

Just as Josh felt like he had come to terms with that fact, they ran into someone.

The first figure they saw alive in several weeks of wandering was a kid. A young kid.

Josh would have guessed no more than ten years old. Though, with the rationing, he could have been older. After a while, all the kids started looking young. Lack of nutrition stunted their bodies. Josh wondered how tall he’d be if he had had enough food growing up. Maybe he’d reach seven feet tall. But this kid, for the love of the Deer-Headed God, this kid, when Josh looked at him, Ethan stared back.

Logically, the kid looked nothing like Ethan. His features were too angular. His skin was too dark. He was too young.

Logic didn’t matter to Josh’s brain.

Staring down at him, it was like Josh was staring down at Ethan. Crying out for his help. Desperate for Josh to save him.

He couldn’t take his eyes from the child. Watching as his wheezing breaths rattled his ribcage. His eye swiveled around as if searching for something. Or someone. It finally landed on Josh; never breaking eye contact once he saw him.

The soles of his feet were bloody. The shoes lay in tatters. How many miles must this kid have walked, hoping to find survivors? How long was he alone for? Where were his parents?

Josh flashed to the lone cabin with the man, woman, and two children. He wondered if the kid had come from there. Running. Hiding when his father pulled out the gun. Not understanding that he was trying to save him from this exact fate.

Josh went to ask the kid’s name. The words stuck to the back of his throat. A name would make him real. Make him alive. When he died, it would hurt all the more. This was not a person. This was a thing. Or, he would be, in a few minutes. Just like the woman with the gold earrings.

He swallowed the words down.

The kid did not look away. He stared into Josh’s soul until the grief of the world threatened to overwhelm him. As if daring Josh to ask for his name. To make him real. To relive Ethan’s death.

Josh was the first to break their staring contest. He turned toward Elijah, who pulled out the med kit they cobbled together.

“Eli.”

Elijah brushed past him to kneel at the child’s side. He didn’t respond. All of his attention focused on the child. He spoke softly, working methodically to patch the wounds and get the information on the boy’s family.

“What’s your name, then?” Elijah asked. “I don’t need a last name. First name will do. Doesn’t matter to me if you’re a Sans or a Raven. I’ll treat you all the same.”

The boy finally pulled his eye from Josh to look at Elijah. He didn’t answer. He stared at him.

“Eli,” Josh said, “what if he’s a witch?”

His hands tightened around the rifle he had found at the cabin. He hadn’t seen any witch children on the front lines, but surely a child would be as dangerous as an adult. More so because they’d have a harder time controlling their powers.

They were getting closer to the Great Divide; the place where both sides would consistently gain or lose territory. Both sides locked in a constant battle that seemed to even out no matter how long they fought or how many people died.

Elijah was from this region. He spoke often about how, at a certain point, people stopped caring about who was in charge. The next day, it could change hands once more.

He glared at him. “A child is still a child. We should do everything we can to help him.”

A light admonishment. A reminder that the war was over. There were no enemies anymore. Simply survivors.

He swallowed. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry. I’m still…”

Still what? Still acting like a war was on when the entire world had fallen apart? Still acting like he was a soldier following orders and needed to kill any witches that he came across, even if they were dying children who currently posed no threat? Still jumping at shadows? Still plotting his next campaign?

Still what?

He didn’t know.

He didn’t know what he was now that the war had ended. He had been a soldier ever since fifteen. Taking the chance to make something of himself with the promise of good pay he could send to Ethan for school, regular meals, and a bed to sleep in.

Of course, Ethan followed him into the military, frustrated by a lack of career options and low pay.

He stared down at the child, only seeing his brother. If he were a witch, it’d be easier to handle his death. Ethan wasn’t a witch.

He pushed thoughts of Ethan from his head to focus on the task at hand. The matter at hand. The problem at hand. The reason he didn’t want the boy’s name. The reason he didn’t want Elijah treating him.

Despite their attempts to find as much medical equipment and food as possible, there was only so much left that could still be used. Without a working Geiger counter to monitor radiation levels, everything they took was at a high risk of being contaminated. They didn’t have nearly as much as Josh would have liked. They needed to head north toward Bakersfield, where hopefully the radiation would be less intense. Not only that, but Elijah swayed dangerously the longer he stayed kneeling by the boy’s side. Whatever strength he gathered on the motorbike now depleted with walking.

Josh thought he was getting better. Why now of all times did he seem to be relapsing?

The child hadn’t opened his mouth to speak since they stumbled across him. A consistent, thin red line of blood spilled from his lips. His left eye was completely gone. His chest caved in. It rattled every time he tried to breathe. The flesh on his left leg stripped completely away; exposing the bones, muscle, and fat. It was only a matter of time before infection set in. Even if it didn’t, the kid wouldn’t be able to walk. Hell, Josh wasn’t sure how he had managed in the first place. Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe the bombs had gone off here. The kid had been forced to lie in the same place for weeks, waiting for the end.

Either way, Josh wasn’t strong enough to carry him. With Elijah seemingly deteriorating before his eyes, he’d also have to support him. He couldn’t do both.

He knew what the outcome would be.

Wasted bandages.

A dead kid.

Might as well not waste the bandages.

“Eli,” Josh said softly.

“Not now!” Elijah snapped.

He pressed forward. “You can’t save him.”

“I can try.”

He put a hand on his shoulder. Elijah flinched. He had never done that before. It made Josh’s heart squeeze. He knew what he was asking of him. He knew how much the truth hurt. He knew there was no other way. They had limited supplies. They couldn’t waste them.

“Please, don’t waste our supplies. You know you can’t save him.”

“Just because you can’t doesn’t mean I won’t.” Elijah whipped around to face him. Eyes red with tears. Hands shaking.

The skin on the back of his knuckles split and bled. The red stood stark against his pale skin.

Josh knelt down beside him and pulled him into a hug. Elijah went easily. Didn’t fight as he slumped into his body. He kissed his temple.

“I’m sorry.”

He meant that. He truly meant that. He knew what it was like to be so desperate to save someone and still fail.

He looked over at the kid. Ethan’s eyes stared back.

“I wish there was another way. If you could save him… His legs, Eli. Your med kit isn’t going to be enough to save his legs. It’s only a matter of time before the infection sets in. If it hasn’t already.”

He blinked. Ethan was gone, replaced by the boy.

“We can’t leave him, though.” Josh’s neck muffled his voice. “He’s all alone. We can’t leave him. We can’t let him die alone.”

He thought of Ethan. He hadn’t died alone. He had died not ten feet from Josh. It didn’t matter. Josh wanted a chance to hold his hand. To comfort him in his final moments. Was he scared? Did he feel any pain? Was there anything Josh could have done to help him? If he couldn’t save him, could he have made him more comfortable? Not for Ethan. He had a chance to do that for this child.

He helped Elijah sit next to the kid. His one eye watched them before sliding away to look at, or for, something else.

Maybe Ethan had looked at Josh the split second before his death, hoping his brother would save him. Maybe this kid was looking for his mom or dad. Hoping that they’d come and comfort him. Hoping they’d make everything better. Why did kids always think their parents and older siblings could save the world? Did they know how much it hurt when they couldn’t do anything?

He sat on the other side of the child to wait. The soldier in him, honed with sharpened precision after over a decade of being the perfect weapon, screamed at him to keep moving. The child would die whether they stayed here or not so might as well keep moving. The longer they stayed, the more likely an enemy would attack. The more danger they were in. The harder it would for Elijah to survive. War did not wait for the dying to die. Waiting meant you’d die as well.

He stayed by the kid. He wanted to sit next to Ethan’s body for longer. He wanted to bury his little brother. They wouldn’t let him. They wouldn’t let him say goodbye. They wouldn’t let him give this last bit of comfort. Selfishly, he used this child as a second chance to do what he couldn’t all those weeks ago.

He wondered if it was cruel to hope the kid would die quickly.

He looked down at the rifle in his hands. He could end things more humanely if he just…

One bullet.

Right between the eyes.

He had killed before. He was a soldier in a war. It came with the territory. It had never been this close before. This personal. This young. The witches were always far away. Or there was so much chaos going on that if he did have an up-close kill, he didn’t have the time to think through what had happened. Instead, he pushed forward to keep himself alive. All the people he fought against were adults. Fully grown people. Not children small enough for him to pick up with one hand.

Elijah pulled the rifle out of his hands. He set it on the ground.

“You’ve spilled enough blood. You don’t need to spill anymore.” His voice held no judgment. Only truth. Only understanding. Only another subtle plea for Josh to move forward. “Why don’t you tell us a story? Ethan said you were always great at telling stories.”

Josh felt his throat close. He cleared it, hoping to find the words.

“Right, story. Um, well this is about a cat named Sparky. He lives on the streets of Welton. He’s got a lot of friends. A one-eyed pigeon named Doug. There’s a dog named Dog. And a horse named Francine.”

Never mind why a horse of all things would be wandering around Welton. He came up with this story when he was eight. Logic didn’t matter much to him.

He continued on with the story. Sparky was a tough alley cat who had dreams of ruling the streets of Welton. Along the way, he made friends and enemies. At one point, he and his buddies broke into General Birch’s home and destroyed it. That had always been the other kids’s favorite part.

This kid was probably too old to truly enjoy it. It wasn’t a great story. Rambling. Random, with little to no plot. Josh made a habit of adding pieces every time he retold it. It became this sprawling work that saw Sparky eventually taking on the leader of the witches and winning the entire war. To be fair, he didn’t know if the kid was cognizant enough to understand it. But it made him feel better. It made him feel like he was doing something.

As he spoke, he pictured himself young, with little Ethan sitting on his bed. Afraid of the dark. Begging for him to tell him about Sparky the Cat one more time. Josh would grumble about how tired he was, but he’d always oblige.

Tears slipped down his cheeks. He had to take several deep breaths to keep from sobbing. He didn’t stop, though. He couldn’t stop. This was the only way he could be useful now.

Elijah, on the other hand, was definitely doing more to help the kid. To make him as comfortable as possible. He repositioned him to relieve some of the pressure in his chest and stuck a needle in his neck filled with morphine. Too much morphine for a body that small. He was trying to induce an overdose, so he could go quickly and peacefully.

It took the kid twenty-three minutes to die.

Josh only knew because he stopped hearing the rattling in his chest.

It took him thirty minutes to finish the story. To end with Sparky defeating the witches for good. He couldn’t stop. The words tumbled from his lips. He had to finish. He had to finish this story one last time.

When was the last time he told this story? When was the last time Ethan had asked for it? Did he know it was the last time? Did he stretch out the story a little longer knowing he’d never tell it again? Or did he rush through it, annoyed that Ethan was still asking for bedtime stories?

He hoped not. He really hoped not.

When was the last time he told this story?

His hands ran through the kid’s hair, as he tried desperately not to break down. He pictured that it was Ethan’s hair he was stroking. It was Ethan by his side. Not dead. Sleeping.

The story ended. Sparky was sitting on a throne, with as much milk as he could drink.

Josh pulled his hand away from the boy’s head to bury his face and sob. All the emotions from the past several months broke through and he felt everything anew.

Elijah collapsed next to his side and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, sobbing with him.

“Gone, it’s all gone,” he howled. “There’s nothing left.”

There would never be peace or happiness or enough milk to last a lifetime. It was gone. All of his goals, hopes, and dreams. Shattered with one action by a group who didn’t want to lose. His body may have survived the blast, but his soul died in that morgue. He would never be the same. He didn’t even begin to know how to heal from this. If healing could even happen at all.

He could feel Elijah’s tears soaking the collar of his shirt; unable to say anything or give any comforting words. Josh didn’t want comforting words right now. He didn’t know what he wanted.

All he could do was cry.

They sat by the boy’s side for what felt like hours as the sun began to set.

Finally, his tears dried. The skin around them felt raw. Tight. Painfully itchy. His nose leaked. His throat parched. Another headache throbbed behind his eyes.

They couldn’t stay here. They had to keep moving.

He pulled Elijah to his feet. They didn’t bury the body.

“I’m sorry.”

They would need to make camp for the night. They could have made camp near the kid, he supposed. But Josh was done seeing dead bodies. He didn’t want to sleep next to one.

“Don’t apologize for crying,” Elijah said.

“No, not about that. For… for not letting you help more.”

“No, you were right. I couldn’t have done anything to save him. It was better to let him go with as little pain as possible instead of trying to keep him alive.”

“It feels cruel for me to say not to try.”

Elijah wiped the tears from his eyes, pushing his glasses up to do so. “You’re a realist. I’m an optimist. That’s the best combination you could ask for during the apocalypse.”

“Really?” Josh wasn’t so sure about that.

Elijah smiled. It lit up his eyes in a way he hadn’t seen since the bombs dropped. Since before Ethan’s death.

“Of course. You see, I’m the dreamer. The one who’s going to give us hope that things can be better. The one that pushes for us not to give up in an apocalypse.”

“I guess.”

“You’re the pragmatist. You keep me tethered. You make sure I don’t lose my head in the clouds. You know our limits. You know when we need to not think hopefully, but realistically.”

“Being a pessimist might be better, given the circumstances.”

“No. No, it wouldn’t.” Elijah had a wistful, almost sad look on his face. “Pessimists don’t have enough hope to make the situation better. They don’t look at the situation realistically. All they see is the bad, none of the good.”

“They won’t be disappointed when plans fail.”

“Yes, they would.” Elijah coughed, steadying himself on a dead tree.

Josh held his breath.

Elijah gathered his strength and kept walking. “Pessimists don’t truly exist. They’re optimists and realists who have given up.”

He shook his head again. “No, pessimists wouldn't be good in this situation. Or any situation. I definitely would not have married you if you were a pessimist.”

“Let’s hope we don’t run into any pessimists along the way.” Josh reached out to take Elijah’s hand in his.

“If we do, then they shouldn’t be offended that we think so little of them. They are pessimists, after all.” He shot him a cheeky grin and swung their hands back and forth.

The moment was interrupted when he started coughing. His hand pulled from Josh’s and he collapsed onto his knees. His glasses flew from his face, skittering across the ground.

“Eli!” He rushed to his side, putting his hands on his back to steady him but not doing much else. He felt helpless. All his knowledge of field medicine could do nothing to help Elijah.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Elijah righted himself. He grimaced. “Well, not fine, but you get what I mean.”

Josh didn’t let him go. “I thought you were getting better.”

“I was, but I’m not all the way better yet. Let’s get somewhere where the air is cleaner. That’ll help.” He tried to pull away from Josh.

Josh kept a tight grip on him.

“Really, Josh, I’m fine. Let’s keep moving.”

This time, when he pulled from Josh’s grip, he let him go.

He stayed kneeling in the dirt as Elijah stood. He monitored his steps to see if his gait was the same or worse than before. He couldn’t tell.

“Come on, before the sun sets. I’m not bumbling around in the dark,” Elijah called to him. “Do you know where my glasses are?”

Josh pushed to his feet to follow him. He saw them glinting in the rapidly setting sun.

Picking them up, he winced as he realized the fall caused a large crack to appear.

“Sorry, they’re broken.” He handed them to Elijah.

He slipped them on and frowned. “It was bound to happen eventually. Come on. We have to go.”

The sun disappeared behind the horizon, bathing the world in purples and dusky blues.

They had to keep moving.

A pragmatist and an optimist.

The only kind of people you wanted at the end of the world.

Morphine

“I’ll take first watch. Four hours, then swap?” Josh asked as they finished setting up ‘camp’.

Really, it was a tarp strung between two trees to keep the evening’s moisture from clinging to them. A bit of separation between them and the elements.

They had made it to the rolling plains now. He hated it here almost as much as being in the mountains. In the mountains, people could hide in plenty of spots. The high ground. Behind rocks. In the trees.

However, hiding went both ways. Someone hiding meant Josh could also hide.

Not out here. He could see for miles. Which meant someone could also see him. It felt like no matter how long he scanned the horizon, he couldn’t see far enough. Like the distance was so great, his brain couldn’t comprehend it. Thankfully, they made it to the hillier part of the plains which made his brain feel somewhat safer. As if the hills provided some protection from enemies. On the horizon, he could see the Great Northern Mountains.

The boy was the last person they had seen breathing. They left him behind weeks ago. Even the dead bodies that littered the ground were no longer a gross, mushy mess. Instead, they had dried out. The flies that seemed ever-present were now gone. The wriggling maggots no longer made their home in the soft tissue. If Josh didn’t know what he was looking at, he wouldn’t know they were humans.

The clothes, shoes, and jewelry gave them away.

It took a lot of effort not to think about it.

He rolled out a worn blanket to further help with the chill.

Bakersfield would be different. Someone had to have survived.

With each mile he knew that was less and less likely. He never admitted it out loud. Elijah knew this as well. He wasn’t stupid. He didn’t admit it out loud either.

As they walked, they encountered more shrapnel from the bombs. Great Deer God, they must have launched hundreds of them. No wonder they were the only two left. It was only thanks to the thick lead lining of the morgue that they had survived in the first place.

He rolled out a worn blanket on the ground to help with the chill. Four hours wasn’t nearly enough time to sleep. Elijah was only getting worse. Those few weeks he seemed to return to normal were a trick.

New bruises littered his body even though he hadn’t brushed into anything. Blood seeped from the cracks in his skin. He got tired more easily, barely making it a few feet before needing to sit down. To catch his breath. To recover.

His glasses cracked more and more as his stumbling brought them to the harsh, rocky ground.

Josh wasn’t faring much better. His dark skin hid the bruising more easily. He still knew they were there. He’d put his hand on his thigh and wince when it hit a tender patch. The fatigue was unbearable. He was so used to being able to march for miles, especially when they had next to no supplies to carry. Yet, he too had to stop more than they moved, slowing down their progress to a crawl.

It frustrated him as much as it scared him.

How much longer could they walk before they couldn’t stand?

He ignored that thought as well.

It felt like he ignored a lot of his thoughts these days.

He focused on planning their watch instead.

His watch didn’t work. He could keep watch for six hours, tell Elijah he kept it for four, and then switch. All with the excuse that he didn’t have a working watch. Elijah would catch on, though. He always did. He’d point out that Josh could tell the time based on the position of the moon and the stars. Something they trained him on during boot camp. It had come in handy on numerous occasions out in the field.

He realized, as he laid out the last blanket, that Elijah had yet to speak. Even with his deteriorating health, he always offered to take first watch. They’d argue playfully for a bit before one relented. He desperately clung to this last bit of normalcy.

Elijah wasn’t following the script this time.

“Eli?” He looked up to see his husband sitting on the ground, staring at the makeshift shelter.

No, not staring at it. Staring through it. His mouth quirked downward into a slight frown. He was thinking. So lost in thought, he hadn’t heard the plan for the night watch, nor his inquiry.

“Elijah?” He reached out to shake his shoulder.

He winced as he felt the bones beneath his hand. All his fat and muscle had dissolved. Now he was nothing more than a skeleton with skin stretched tight over those bones. He tried not to make his discomfort of touching the sharp angles known. After all, he was just as bony, if not more so, than Elijah.

As his palm closed around his shoulder, Elijah jumped.

He turned to him. “Hmm? What was that?”

Josh frowned. “Watch? I’ll take first watch for four hours. Then we’ll switch. Sound good?”

Elijah didn’t respond to that either. Instead, he turned toward the tent. His fingers curled around his wrist. Pads pressing right where his pulse point would be.

Josh’s heart rate sped up. Panic flooded him as he ran through his field checklist for first aid.

Or, tried to.

The field checklist didn’t come to him.

His mind stayed completely blank. As if no checklist existed.

How often had he used it?

How often had he relied on it to keep a fellow soldier alive?

Now, when his husband needed him, he forgot everything he was taught. Acting like a civilian instead of a trained soldier who could handle the stress of a field injury.

“Are you okay?” Was all he could manage.

Elijah clearly wasn’t okay.

“Hmm?” Elijah blinked again. His wrist slipped from his fingers. “Yes. I’m fine. No to the watch.”

Josh’s shoulders relaxed. So, he would argue with him after all. That was good. That meant he wasn’t that far gone.

“You want to take the first watch? You took it last night, though. You’re an early bird. You get grumpy when you take the first watch.” He grinned, hoping his gentle teasing would prod Elijah back to his old self.

He was probably trying to figure out how much farther they had to go until they reached Bakersfield. That was all. A bit too lost in his head. Maybe a bit bored.

No one ever told Josh how boring the end of the world could be. Endless hours of walking, sitting, and sleeping. Maybe tomorrow they should come up with a game or something so they didn’t go crazy.

Elijah shook his head. “No, I don’t think either of us needs to keep an eye out for enemies.”

His smile dropped. “Eli–”

“The first person we’ve seen alive in the past several weeks was a child who died within thirty minutes of us stumbling on him.” He sighed. “It’s okay, Josh. No one is coming.” His shoulders slumped. “No one is around.”

The resigned way he spoke, that bit of hope that Josh had come to rely on, was now gone.

No one is around.

The finality of it all made him feel so small.

No one is around.

He had read in a book that the last member of a species was known as an endling. When you had an endling, all you could do was wait for it to die. That slow, agonizing wait. Knowing extinction was inevitable, but also knowing it hadn’t happened yet.

How did the researchers feel when they stumbled upon endlings? Did they think about killing the endling to put it out of its misery? Or did they keep it alive for as long as possible, with the hopes that they were wrong? That others survived?

Was that what they were? Endlings? They certainly couldn’t reproduce. When they died, that would be it.

No one is around.

It echoed in his mind. Rattled him. Twisted around everything until it was all he could think about.

No.

No, they couldn’t be the last.

There had to be a stronghold somewhere. The rich would have survived! They would have had shelters, bunkers, and whatnot.

Or the witches. They dropped the bombs. Surely they would have a plan for how to survive after they had been detonated.

Bakersfield was so far northwest. Surely they wouldn’t have been as hard hit as Welton. Other people were around. There had to be.

To not keep watch was suicide. Especially out here on the open plains. To think of having no one stand guard while in enemy territory, while they were outnumbered, went against every fiber of his being. How could they keep each other safe if they both slept?

Sure, he never fell into a deep sleep thanks to his time on the frontlines. It was still a risk. With his reflexes slower, he might not be quick enough to fight off an attacker. They could not take risks in the middle of an apocalypse for fuck’s sake!

No one is around.

There were.

No one is around.

There had to be.

No one is around.

Someone rich.

No one is around.

A witch.

No one is around.

Someone.

No one is around.

Anyone.

No one is around.

Elijah laid a hand on his, stuttering his mind to a stop. He squeezed it, offering up a sad, weak smile.

“You’re getting lost in thought. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Josh swallowed. His heart rattled in his ribcage. His lungs did not seem to want to fill fully.

Elijah’s hand on his was cool. Almost brittle feeling. Like he was centuries older than he actually was. Josh didn’t dare squeeze back. It might break in his grip.

“Please.” His voice thin. Papery.

Once more, pleading with Josh to give in. To stop fighting him. To accept this new reality.

“I want to lie down with my husband. It’s been weeks. Let’s… let’s just lay together. Tonight. Just for tonight.”

Josh was tired. So tired. Tired of walking. Tired of fighting. Tired of sleeping alone. Tired of only getting four hours of shitty sleep every night. Tired of life kicking him repeatedly when he was down. He missed Elijah so dearly. Even though they walked for miles together, when was the last time they touched each other? When was the last time they got to use each other for comfort? To feel the other’s body against their own? Alive. Breathing.

Josh wanted to lie down with his husband. He wanted to hold him and bury his face in his neck. For one second, he could pretend like none of this had happened. They were back in Welton. Ethan was alive. The bombs hadn’t destroyed everything.

So many people were around.

He rubbed at the moisture clinging to his nose. “Fine. If a roving band of murderers comes to kill us, I’m blaming you.”

Elijah smiled at him. “I’ll accept that. Can you make sure it’s not going to fall on us tonight?” He gestured to the tarp.

Josh got to his feet. “One time. One time, I didn’t secure it enough.”

“One time is all it takes.”

“Then you can do it.”

“No, my job is to check supplies and look pretty.”

Josh stuck his tongue out at him. Elijah stuck his out in turn.

He went to check that he secured the ropes to the spindly branches. The tarp wouldn’t slide off in the middle of the night. He was certain.

“All good.” He saw Elijah close the med kit. “What are you doing?”

“Getting out some rubbing alcohol. Let me redress the cut on your arm before we sleep.”

“We shouldn’t waste supplies.”

“Keeping you alive is not a waste of supplies.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Not even you can fight off an infection.”

“Watch me.”

“I’d rather not. Now come here. Let me check on it.”

Josh grumbled as he held out his arm.

He bit his tongue as Elijah poured alcohol on the gash.

“You can cry out. No need to be tough now.”

“Force of habit.”

“I know,” Elijah muttered, switching into ‘doctor-mode’, as Ethan liked to call it.

He took a washcloth and gently ran it over his arm. Careful, measured strokes as he wiped away the blood and dust. He seemed to be holding something back.

“What’s wrong?” His mind hyper-focused on the trembling of Elijah’s hand as he dried the cut.

He wrapped clean bandages around his arm. “Why would something be wrong?”

“You look like you want to say something.”

Elijah swallowed. His jaw tensed for a second. “Josh, I… I…” He couldn’t to get the words out. “Do you think we’re the only ones left?”

Out of everything Josh thought he would ask, that wasn’t even on the list. “Where’s this coming from?”

“I… there were so many people. Someone had to survive.”

He hesitated. He had long suspected that they were the last two people alive. He didn’t want to tell Elijah that. He didn’t want to snap that last thread of hope.

“There has to be someone else.” He lied.

Elijah’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

“Do you think there’s no one left?”

“I…” He swallowed again. “I don’t know. Sorry for bringing it up.”

Josh clenched his jaw. He didn’t like this version of Elijah.

The world had ended.

No one else was around.

Elijah tucked the ends of the bandage into his arm and stroked it softly. Josh could feel the pain ebbing away from the wound. His muscles relaxed. For a beat, he could feel the heat spreading from Elijah’s hand into his arm. He welcomed it. Usually, Elijah ran so hot. Lately, he had been so cold.

“There. No risk of infections. It’s scabbing over nicely. You shouldn’t need to dress it tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Ready to sleep now, doc?”

“Of course.” Elijah pulled him into his arms and the makeshift shelter. He slipped his glasses off, tucking them into the hardshell case to offer a little protection.

He lay his head on Elijah’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. Elijah started stroking his fingers through his hair. The heat from his hands sank into Josh’s bones.

“I like your hair longer,” Elijah said. “Much nicer to play with.”

Josh couldn’t muster up a response. He fell asleep instantly.

The warmth of Elijah’s body around him chased away the chill from his bones. He felt safe. Safer than he had been in months. He dreamed of Ethan. Waiting at a bus stop. Smiling at him. Alive and in one piece.

When he woke the next morning, he shivered. The new, dim morning light and the soft wind caressing the dew that clung to his eyelashes and hair.

Elijah much have gotten up before him. That would explain the lack of warmth surrounding his body.

Awareness came to his fingers and toes. He felt a weight settled on his chest. His hands skimmed up a familiar shape of a body.

Elijah was still here. But why, then, was Josh so cold?

“Eli?” He turned toward him.

Elijah didn’t answer him. His body remained stiff beside him. Terror flooded Josh’s veins.

He stood up, ripping the tarp of the rope to see more clearly. He made a mistake. He had to have made a mistake.

The early morning sun flooded his eyes as their shelter fell away.

Elijah’s eyes were closed. He could be sleeping.

The blue tinge of his lips. The stiffness in his arms. They told Josh that it was not the case.

No.

This couldn’t be happening.

Josh would have known.

He would have felt it.

He would have woken up.

There was no way.

He gathered Elijah in his arms and pressed their lips together. Desperately hoped that his conclusion was wrong. Desperately hoped to feel his soft breath against his skin.

Nothing.

Only cold.

He rushed to the med kit and ripped it open, hoping to find something that could bring Elijah back to life.

All he could see was their morphine. Something they had been using sparingly. One short.

He looked back at Elijah.

He could be sleeping. If not for the stiffness of his limbs.

The blue of his lips and face.

The fact that his chest no longer rose and fell with shaky breaths.

No one is around.

Endling

Josh sat by Elijah as the sun rose.

He twisted his wooden wedding band around his finger.

Twisting.

Twisting.

Twisting.

He stared at the sun.

Burning his retinas.

Black spots to appeared.

The day’s heat boiled his skin until it turned red.

The sun emerged. The dew evaporated.

He screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

Screamed until his lungs gave out.

Screamed until his throat ripped open.

Screamed until it was the only sound in the world.

Louder than the wind.

Louder than the silence.

Louder than the memory of bombs detonating in his ears.

It surrounded him.

It echoed off the trees.

The ground.

The mountains in the distance.

So loud he couldn’t hear it.

The grassland’s nothingness swallowed it up.

Made it disappear.

Urging him to scream louder.

Louder.

Louder.

Louder.

His body pulled forward with the force of it.

To his hands and knees.

Every muscle tensed until it ripped.

Until it left him bleeding.

Until the noise died in his throat.

Until only the roar of silence remained.

The quiet world.

The empty world.

The dead world.

With him and the flies as the only two things left alive.

Then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he collapsed.

Panting. Heaving. Gasping for air.

The only sound around him was the wind and his breath.

Everything else, silent.

White

Josh sat for hours next to Elijah’s body. Chasing the flies away that landed on him. Wiping away the dust that blew on him. He shifted his jacket so it covered him, protecting him from the cold.

He couldn’t bring himself to stop.

Even as Elijah’s body turned rigid. Even as the flies became so numerous that no amount of swatting would chase them away.

It wasn’t fair. The apocalypse had killed all the birds but left the flies. It should have been the other way around.

Life wasn’t fair.

The flies laid their eggs in Elijah’s body so their young might hatch.

Josh should keep moving forward. North. Where the radiation was less. Where there might be more survivors.

No amount of dusting the flies away would bring Elijah back.

He used the last bit of strength he had to clean and bandage Josh’s wounds. He wanted him to survive. He wanted him to push forward.

He needed to leave.

He stayed.

For hours, he stayed.

No one else is around.

He hadn’t seen anyone alive for weeks. Maybe months at this point. He sat by his beloved for nearly twelve hours. No one came. He couldn’t see anyone on the horizon.

Not a witch.

Not a civilian.

Not a soldier.

Not a bird.

Not a deer.

Just him and the flies. The radioactive particles that blanketed the earth didn’t bother the flies. At least, not yet.

Those particles killed Elijah.

They covered Josh.

He had ignored his symptoms before, not wanting to worry Elijah. Why ignore them now? He had no one left to protect or worry.

When he pressed his tongue against his teeth, he could feel them wiggle in their sockets. His jaw ached. His nose and mouth bled for no reason. He couldn’t remember where he got the bruises on his skin.

They headed north, believing the radiation would be less. They had no proof. Hell, they didn’t know how many bombs had dropped. Maybe one every mile. How big were they? How far did each bomb spread its radiation?

If Josh had any hope of living, he’d have to walk far. Maybe even farther than Deerland would allow. While the continent was huge, it wasn’t connected to another land mass. What if he reached the ocean, reached Bakersfield, and it still wasn’t enough?

A laugh bubbled up through his lips.

He could walk.

He could walk forever.

He could walk into the ocean. Across the ocean floor.

The laugh turned hysterical as he tipped onto his side and curled up next to Elijah’s body.

What was the point? The soldiers lost. More importantly, he lost. All this fighting. All this war. All this death. All this destruction. He couldn’t keep the people he loved safe.

Ethan died. Priscilla died. Christopher died. Henry died. Elijah died.

Even if he hadn’t been irradiated beyond repair, why should he move forward? Walk forward? Find a new home in a new land?

Tears streamed from his eyes. His laughs gave way to coughs, rough and violent. They tore at his throat. It felt like a skyscraper sat on his chest. The pressure had been building for some time now. A pain in his spine. Like he had pinched a nerve or something.

He pushed his tongue against his back molars. They moved. Loose like when he was six and losing his teeth.

What was the point?

Why should he continue to forward?

He looked down at the bandage Elijah had put on his arm. Using alcohol to disinfect it. He had been so worried about infection.

He shouldn’t have been.

He’d be dead before the infection killed him.

He licked his lips; chapped. His hands shook. He ran a thumb over Elijah’s cold cheek.

“I’m so tired.” His tears left his cheeks sticky. “I’m so tired of surviving. Of losing everything.”

It felt cruel. Elijah had done his best in his final hours to bandage his wounds and chase away infection.

But, like Elijah had said, Josh was a realist.

He was too far gone.

Even if he weren’t, he wasn’t strong enough mentally or emotionally to ignore his demons until he found someone else.

If he found someone else

He didn’t want to find someone else.

Ethan and Elijah were his world. Now, his world had ended. Truly ended. No amount of survivors would ever change the fact that his world was gone.

Elijah was right. He was a realist, not an optimist. Realistically, no one survived. They traveled for hundreds of miles and hadn’t run into another single, living soul. With Elijah gone, it was just him.

A human endling.

This didn’t depress him as much as he imagined it should. It was more acceptance than anything. He could do nothing about it. So why cry? Why panic? Why run around screaming his head off, hoping for someone to answer?

He knew what he wanted to do. He felt bad for it.

Elijah had bandaged his arm with the belief that Josh would continue to survive. Here he was, about to throw everything away. It didn’t matter to him.

“I’ll be with you soon, love.” He didn’t make up his mind so much as come to accept that this was the only solution to his problems.

He pushed himself up with unsteady hands to unsteady feet and stumbled away from Elijah’s body. He couldn’t bury him.

The ground was too rocky.

He didn’t want to do this near him. Didn’t want to tarnish his final resting place with his final action.

He left the med bag next to Elijah, along with the Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain. She was the goddess of healing and fire. Maybe she could heal the world.

Or maybe she was the reason it had burned to the ground.

Funny, he had spent several weeks before the apocalypse planning how to best kill himself. The only thing stopping him was Elijah.

Now, here he was. Going to do just that. Only, it was too warm to die of hypothermia, fully into spring as it was. He didn’t have a rope to make a noose. Even if he did, he doubted the spindly tree branches could hold his weight.

He couldn’t leap off any high places. They didn’t exist here. He doubted his ability to slice his wrists deep enough to bleed out.

No. He was going to have to go classic with his suicide. He had two firearms on his person to use.

The rifle was too unwieldy to position. The revolver, on the other hand, might be good enough. Soldiers used them all the time to end their lives.

He left the morphine behind in the med kit.

Even though he was certain that he was the last person left alive on this planet, he couldn’t bring himself to use it. What if he was wrong? What if someone else survived and they needed it?

Elijah would have left it. Just like he tried to clean and bandage Josh’s wounds before dying. He would consider that someone after him might still need care. So, paradoxically, Josh left it to honor Elijah. One last burst of optimistic thinking that someone else survived. They would find it and use it to live a long and happy life.

Whoever was left would need the med kit if they were going to rebuild the world. No need for bullets or guns. Just a med kit.

After several hours of walking, his legs gave out.

Before he barely managed ten minutes before needing a rest. Now it was like his body knew it was the end. No need to conserve energy any longer. Just walk until he physically couldn’t.

He collapsed to his knees; the gravel digging into the skin, splitting it open. That should be far enough from Elijah’s final resting place.

He pulled out his revolver.

He pressed it to his temple, feeling the cool metal against his skin. Hard enough to leave an indentation. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and thought of Elijah’s steady hands and Ethan’s bright smile. Thinking of the little life they managed to carve out for themselves despite all the things stacked against them.

Ethan’s grin as he proudly informed Josh that he made it onto Josh’s squad. He had scored top marks in his bomb squad class. His chest puffed out as he searched Josh’s face for praise. Josh had pulled him into a hug. He whispered in his ear how proud he was to have made it so far. For a moment, he allowed himself to forget the real dangers of their work. He should have worried more. The last time he saw his brother, he was in pieces after stepping on a land mine.

Then there was Priscilla, an unpredictable character. She saved his life when they first met. Dragging him from the battlefield with a hunk of metal lodged into his gut despite being over a foot shorter than him. When he healed, he immediately requested that she be transferred under his direct command. Intelligent, quick-witted, and driven. She also had a feral streak that could make her unpredictable in battle. He had no doubt that if she needed to, she would claw your eyes out. She liked destroying things too much. She didn’t deny it, which only further bolstered his worries. She hung herself after losing a leg at Canyon Pass. Henry found her. Another friend dead.

Henry was a quiet guy. Priscilla and Ethan’s loud, boisterous nature tended to overshadow him. But he was observant. Very observant. To a scary degree. He survived Canyon Pass, but not the blast. His apartment was the first place Josh went running to after he managed to dig himself and Elijah out of the morgue. They found his body in the rubble. Another loved one gone.

Jacob Christopher was an interesting fellow. By all accounts, he should have never been friends with Josh or Elijah, as rich and high-ranking as he was. But, Christopher didn’t care about that sort of thing. While he was an incredibly brilliant doctor, he sometimes had the intelligence of a rock. Utterly lacking in street smarts, he trusted too easily. It was refreshing to have someone who gave without expecting anyone in return. Elijah sent him out of the morgue so he and Josh could talk. They never identified his body in the rubble. Another brilliant, kind soul taken too soon because of this war.

Elijah was brilliant. Probably the most brilliant man Josh had ever met. He was way out of his league. Sharp as a whip and not afraid to speak his mind. It was often that Josh had to beg Elijah to stop talking before he got them both arrested. Elijah had a strong moral compass and fought for what he believed in. Another person he loved with all his heart, but couldn’t protect.

This was it. He’d pull the trigger. He’d die. He’d be with his friends. His loved ones. He’d leave the silence and the stench of decay that seeped into every crevice of the earth. There’d be no pain. Only peace.

His heart rate slowed.

Acceptance washed over his body. His muscles relaxed.

He pulled the trigger.

Click.

His eyes flew open. He pulled it again.

Click.

Again.

Click.

Again.

Click. Click. Click.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

Nothing.

“No, no, no.” His hands shook as he pulled the gun away and desperately struggled to open it. “No, don’t do this to me. Don’t you fucking do this to me.”

The chamber clicked open. Nothing. Not a single bullet.

“Fuck!” He threw the gun as hard as he could.

Of course, Elijah removed the bullets, just in case Josh had a relapse and shot himself. In the chaos after the bombs fell, he probably completely forgot that he had removed them. Josh certainly didn’t think to check until right this moment.

He let out a scream and collapsed to his knees.

“Why do you fucking hate me?” he screamed, pounding his fists into the ground, letting out guttural scream after guttural scream.

Why did nothing ever go his way? Why couldn’t, for once in his fucking life, he get what he wanted? Why did he have to keep suffering? Why couldn’t the Deer-Headed God let him die?

One more scream, with his heart pounding in his chest, his eyes fell on the rifle.

“You better fucking work.” He scrambled over to pick it up. One of his fingernails pulled from the nail bed and dropped to the ground. He didn’t acknowledge the pain or the blood.

The weapon had bullets. He double checked.

Like he guessed, the rifle proved difficult to position than the revolver. There was a good chance he’d either miss entirely or hit, but not in a way that killed him instantly. Then he’d be stuck in agony, waiting for the end. Too weak to move. To try again.

Maybe he deserved that.

Maybe he deserved to sit in pain for hours or days. To suffer for all his failures. For the people he couldn’t protect.

More tears slipped from his eyes.

He got to his knees and propped the rifle in a way where he squeezed it between his thighs to hold it steady. He pressed the barrel tight against his chin, right where the neck and head connected, so hopefully the shot would go out the back of his head.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth.

The back molar fell out.

He spat it to the ground as fresh blood filled his mouth.

Anger overwhelmed the acceptance, completely blocking it out. He was a Sans. He never should have survived for this long. How was he more resilient than a fucking cockroach?

He’d get his death. One way or another, he would die.

His finger hovered over the trigger.

The wind shifted.

It shifted in such a way that a new scent hit his nose.

Musty.

Earthy.

And the way the wind felt. It felt… heavy.

Powerful.

With the gun still pressed to his chin, Josh stared at the horizon.

For a moment, a man stood on the mountain. Taller than any man he had ever seen before, with the head of a deer silhouetted on the horizon.

When he blinked, the deer-headed man had disappeared. The figure had not. They were there, shorter and missing the antlers. Standing on top of the hill. Someone who had not been there before.

They stood out stark against the desolate landscape. Whereas the rest of the world had turned grey, brown, and black, with only bits of muted green in the weeks since the apocalypse, this figure was white. Pure white. As if the dust itself felt unworthy to touch it.

Josh felt frozen as the figure moved. Transfixed. The rifle pressed into his chin. Leaving a mark.

Then, they moved.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

He shouldn’t hear their steps. They were stepping on dirt, after all, but he could feel every step.

The vibrations.

The echoes.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

Josh saw them. They saw him.

They were coming to him.

No matter what.

Their cloak kept most of their body covered. Every so often, Josh could catch a glimpse of their skin. Pale. Paler than pale. Bone white. Glowing against the backdrop of the rapidly setting sun.

As they got closer, he could see that they didn’t wear shoes. Their steps were sure. As if they didn’t worry about the glass or metal shards that littered the earth, piercing their feet. As if the rocks and thorns didn’t bother them. As if they couldn’t exist where this figure stepped.

They were human. Josh was sure of it. The gods and demons did not roam the earth. Even if they did, Josh didn’t know of any god that matched this description. So they had to be human.

No human should have this sort of power. A power that he could not describe. A power that kept him rooted to the ground. Gun pressed to his neck. Mouth agape and wide-eyed as the figure stepped closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Until they stopped right in front of him.

The sun had dipped low in the sky, turning everything brilliant oranges and purples, but still giving off enough light to backlight the figure. The cloak was as pure as Josh thought. Not a speck of dust stained their clothes. No blood. No smears of oil. No other fluids.

He had to be staring at an angel. Maybe he had managed to kill himself after all. Maybe this was his shepherd into the afterlife. One of the Vulture God’s aids.

But something about the power, the weight, the crushing feeling in his chest as he stared up at this creature told him this was no angel. This was something more powerful.

More dangerous.

A pale hand reached out. He felt the barrel scrape against his chin as they pulled it from his hands. His fingers went numb. He didn’t resist.

“Don’t do that,” a voice said. A girl’s voice. A young girl’s voice. “I need you alive if this is going to work.”

Then, before his eyes, the rifle rusted. As if he had left it in a lake for centuries. She dropped it to the ground. It shattered into dust.

Realization snapped into place for Josh. “Witch,” he gasped.

He had never talked to one before. Had never witnessed one use its powers without the backdrop of battle before.

He should have scrambled to his feet. He should have tackled the girl like he had been trained. He still had an iron bar to shove down her throat, after all.

Standing too fast made him topple over.

The girl pulled her hood off. Long, blonde, almost white hair tumbled down. Her eyes were icy blue. She was young, no older than sixteen or seventeen, if he were to guess. She had marks around her mouth, neck, and wrists that suggested she had been restrained at some point. Though they looked different from the marks soldiers used to restrain captured witches. Besides, she had come from the east. The Great Divide was close here. No major prisons were to the east. They would have sent every witch captured in this area to Bakersfield.

Still, she was no angel or god or demon. She was human. All witches were humans, just another breed or species. Despite this knowledge, she didn’t seem human.

The light would hit her just right, and Josh’s mind could no longer comprehend what he was looking at.

No witch he had ever come across made him feel this way. As if he were a speck of dust in a large, unfeeling, uncaring universe. He was not naive enough to believe it was simply stupidity or adrenaline.

The witches had a hierarchy. The so-called ‘elementals’ were down at the bottom and the most numerous. These witches could control elements such as water and air. Josh fought against these ones the most. They were not the only types of witches in the world. There were other, more powerful witches. These witches were far and few between. Was this person more powerful than any other witch he had ever met? Higher up in the pyramid. Someone who could kill him with the snap of her fingers.

In fact, she could. He had seen what she had done to his rifle. Human flesh was a lot less durable than metal.

“So, you’re all that’s left?” she asked. “Figures it’d be a non-witch.”

Josh waited for her to snap her fingers. To finish it off. To finish this war. Yes, it figured all that was left was one witch and one non-witch.

The very bottom of non-witch society against the very top of witch society. He didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. The conversation he had with Elijah echoed in his mind. What was he fighting for now?

He’d let her kill him. Let her be the endling. Maybe that made him a bad soldier. He didn’t care. He steadied himself for her touch. For his flesh to rot from his body until he turned to dust. Clenching his jaw and his fists so tightly, his teeth cracked, and more fingernails ripped from their beds.

She turned on her heels. “Come on. We need to get moving. The Temple is still several days away. We can’t waste any time.”

Josh sat in the dirt as he tried to comprehend her words. “What?”

She turned to him. “I told you. We need to get to the Temple. Were you not listening?”

“No, I heard that. Why do you think I’m going to follow you?”

“Because.” She crossed her arms, looking much more like a petulant teenager rather than the ethereal being he had seen earlier. “It’s important.” As if that changed anything.

“Listen here,” he snarled and got to his feet, “I am not your slave. I have never been your people’s slave. Just because it’s the end of the world doesn’t mean I am going to be at your beck and call until I die. Kill me, or leave me. I will never serve you.”

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed. “I never said I wanted you to serve me. I said we needed to go to the Temple.”

He threw his hands in the air. “The fuck does a temple have to do with anything? You think praying to the Deer-Headed God is going to fix any of this?” He gestured to the barren landscape around them. “If he had the power to fix this, he would have already done so. If he does have the power and hasn’t fixed it yet, that means he’s a selfish monster who doesn’t care. I refuse to pray to a god like that.”

The girl, surprisingly, didn’t cower under Josh’s gaze. Instead, she stared up at him with a defiant tilt in her chin. “I’m not going there to pray. I’m going there to stop the bombs from going off.”

“A bit late for that now.”

“Yes, it is.” So she agreed with him. “But it’s not too late before the bombs get set off.” Wait, so she didn’t agree with him?

“What are you talking about?” He groaned.

She didn’t seem like she wanted to kill him or enslave him. This behavior didn’t have any sort of logic. He wished Elijah was here. Or Ethan. Both had a talent for dealing with difficult people.

The girl fisted her hands in her hair and let out a frustrated growl. “I don’t know how to explain it to you. It’s not a line. It’s a circle. But also a line. Maybe more like a web? One of the witches, Matilda, in the House of Order told me about it. She slipped me papers through the walls that explained it. I think I can do it, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work. I’m running out of time. Everyone else died weeks ago. You’re all that’s left. I don’t have time to find someone else. We can stop the bombs. You’re going to have to trust me.”

Josh looked at her, skeptical.

“You were two seconds from killing yourself. What’s it going to hurt if you come with me just this once?” She tried.

A lot. It could hurt a lot. Josh had spent years fighting witches. Losing friends, his brother. Losing people he considered family along the way. He spent years going on an empty stomach because there weren’t enough rations to go around. He had been blown up. Shot at. Stabbed. Tossed off cliffs. Electrocuted. He watched his brother die. His friend commit suicide. His other friends die in a bombing. His husband waste away from radiation poisoning.

If they were the last two people on earth, a witch and a soldier, then he should fight her. He should win. He should pull out one last victory for the soldiers so Elijah would not have died in vain. So Ethan would not have died in vain. So Priscilla would not have died in Vain. Or Henry. Or Christopher. Or the millions of non-witches who had died during the war and as a result of the bombings.

He should make her pay for her people’s crimes.

His hand moved to the hunting knife strapped to his calf. The girl’s eyes followed him. Not panicking. Observing. His hand closed around the hilt. He could throw it at her. One swift motion, it’d embed into her neck. The war would be over. The soldiers would have won.

“Why didn’t you overdose on morphine? It would have been nicer.” Her voice was dreamlike.

Josh sucked in a breath.

Optimism.

Hope.

He was a realist. You needed a realist and an optimist in the middle of the apocalypse. Elijah was gone. He had to be both.

If Elijah were here, if Josh had been the one to die instead, he would have trusted the girl. Not without question, of course, but with cautious optimism that she might could help.

If Josh didn’t trust her? If he killed her like he had planned? What would he accomplish?

Nothing was left. No one was left. He would be an endling once more. For the rest of his life, whether that be for a few years or a few seconds. The soldiers would have won.

Was it a victory if nothing remained?

His hand dropped. “Fine, I’ll come with you, witch.”

“Micah,” she said softly.

“What?”

“My name is Micah.”

“Joshua,” he grunted, recognizing an attempt at an olive branch.

He came to step up next to her. She had seemed like a mountain before, towering over him. Now he realized how small she was. A regular teenager. Gangly limbs that were too big for her body. A slight nervousness settled around all teenagers as they tried to figure out who they were. He remembered when Ethan was around fifteen and started ill-fated experiments with facial hair; the way his eyes would dart to Josh, silently asking for acceptance that he wasn’t ridiculous.

Micah did that now. Eyes darting to him as if he had all the answers. He didn’t know why. Josh knew fuck all about what was happening, and she seemed to be the one with a plan.

If he hadn’t known she was a witch, if he and Elijah had stumbled upon her in this nuclear wasteland, Elijah would have rushed to give her aid. He’d check out those wounds on her mouth, neck, and wrists. He’d offer her their food and water. Josh would have rolled his eyes, but went along with it.

He eyed her bare feet. “Do you need shoes or anything?”

Micah shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”

She walked like she was fine. Maybe it was a witch thing. Though he could have sworn the witches he fought against wore shoes.

“You think you have an idea to save us?”

Micah nodded as they headed straight north. “Maybe. I’ve never done it before. I don’t know if it’ll work. Matilda walked me through the steps and helped me practice. I don’t know if it’ll be enough. We’re all that’s left. It’s either this, or nothing.”

A human endling and a witch endling. The only people left to save the world. Josh could only pray that he wasn’t making a mistake.

Fungi

“Do you need to stop and eat?” Josh winced as the words came out of his mouth without thought.

If Micah did need to eat, he didn’t exactly have anything to give them. He had left all of their supplies by Elijah. It felt foolish to have done so. Of course, he didn’t know he’d run into another survivor.

They didn’t swing back to get the supplies either. Instead, Micah plowed north toward the Northern Mountains. One foot in front of the other with a determined look in her eyes. His exhaustion wore away as he continued. It happened occasionally. During long bouts of training, he’d get this second wind and push himself farther. Faster. Almost like his body knew he was almost finished, so it could use up its extra energy stores. It didn’t have to conserve anymore.

Still, every hour or so, he’d ask Micah if she needed to rest or stop to get something to eat or change her clothes.

Every time she’d answer the same. “We don’t have time to waste.”

This time was no different. Though, he worried that she was at her limit. Her pale skin seemed to have gotten paler in the hours since they had first met. As the moon rose high in the sky, it illuminated her in the darkness. Was she pale from blood loss? Or was it natural?

Slowly, the moon began to sink. The sky turned pink once more.

His feet bled. The soles of his shoes had worn completely down. Holes now littered the bottom as he felt rocks stab through to his feet. He had to keep two of his fingers hooked into his belt loop to keep his pants from falling down. His jacket slid off his shoulder.

He lost several more teeth.

“Are you sure? The world’s not getting any worse. We can rest.”

Her stuttering, dragging feet reminded him of Elijah in those last few hours of his life.

Micah continued, doggedly putting one foot in front of the other. Her brow pinched. Her jaw clenched as she forced her body onwards.

“That is exactly why we need to keep moving. This won’t work if I’m dead. I’m fading fast.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing. Why do I have to be a part of it?”

He decided to ignore the fact that Micah admitted she was close to death. For now, at least. He couldn’t do much if she was mere hours from death. Especially since she seemed so determined to make it somewhere. Somewhere she had yet to tell him about.

Besides, with the way his feet throbbed and the sharp pains shooting through his back, he had a feeling that if he sat down now, he wouldn’t get back up. He could feel the skin rub off on his toes. The nails peeled from their beds. His legs were stiff. His knees now barely bent as he put one foot in front of the other. Marching eternally even as his body begged to rest.

“It’s a spell. Matilda told me about it. It won’t work on me because I’m the one casting it. I need another person. I was going to use Matilda or Libby, but both of them died.”

“So I’m all that’s left?” He tried to keep his tone light.

He wasn’t sure how well it worked

Micah nodded. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I feel like I can do it with you. It’s hard to explain.”

“Do you know where we’re going?”

“I’m being guided,” she answered.

“By what?”

“By that which guides all things.”

He forced himself to take a deep breath. Maybe Micah was being purposefully obtuse and only giving him half answers to annoy him. Or maybe, as a witch, she didn’t know how idiotic half of her words sounded to someone whose only experience with magic had been with low-level elementals more concerned with shooting lightning at him than trying to explain to him how they were shooting lightning at him.

She glanced back at him. “Sorry. I’m not much help. I’m not entirely sure what it is either. We’re not supposed to do magic like this.”

“Well, that’s encouraging,” Josh mumbled. “Am I like a sacrifice?”

“No.”

“Good to know.”

“At least, I don’t think so. Matilda didn’t use those words.”

“Oh, great.”

They continued on. The moon disappeared. The sky turned from indigo to sapphire. Trees steadily covered the open plains. The hills got bigger. The heat got more oppressive. Josh’s feet sometimes didn’t fully lift off the ground; dragging through the dirt, leaving an obvious trail behind them; deep gouges in the soft soil.

They only ran into a few bodies out here.

He heard a bird at one point. Some sort of raptor given the screech. Was it the Twin Eagle Gods? They were guides in mythology. Maybe that’s what Micah meant when she said she was being guided. Maybe the Twin Eagle Gods had flown ahead of her, taking her to where she needed to go. Or maybe it was the Vulture God of Death, waiting to guide the remaining two souls of this world to the afterlife.

The trees did provide some relief from the beating sun. Though Josh still felt sweat pool at his lower back, running down his neck, dripping into his eyes. Micah’s skin turned red, either from a sunburn or from the heat.

They kept walking.

His throat felt like cotton. Every time he swallowed, it was like sandpaper scraping his esophagus. He had a headache. Full-blown throbbing that seemed to envelope his entire brain.

They kept walking.

His stomach had long since stopped growling and begging for food. Though sometimes, he’d get a distinct sensation like his stomach was trying to eat itself. Sharp cramps that dragged his attention from walking and more toward trying to see if anything in this gods forsaken forest was edible. He knew he was hungry when he seriously thought of shoving a handful of moss in his mouth.

They kept walking.

The bottoms of his shoes completely fell out, forcing him to stop to discard the rest of his boots. He wrinkled his nose when he pulled off his socks, and all of his nails came with it. It did feel better now that the leather wasn’t rubbing up against the skin of his toes, even if he winced whenever he stepped on a pinecone or a stone.

They kept walking.

The sun reached its highest peak. Then, it started to lower.

They kept walking.

Josh could no longer stand up straight. His head bowed. He stared, dead-eyed, at his feet as he put one in front of the other, following Micah’s footprints. Not caring if anything else was out here.

He ran into her.

“Shit, sorry.” He stumbled back and whipped his head up to see why she had stopped all of a sudden.

This was a girl who hadn’t stopped walking once in almost forty-eight hours. Had she pushed herself too far? Was she about to collapse? He knew they should have rested for a few minutes.

“We’re here,” Micah said.

His mouth dropped open when he saw what she was staring at.

Carved into the side of the mountain was the structure. Made up of old stone, falling apart and decaying from decades of disuse. Grass, moss, and vines tangled over the entrance, camouflaging it until one could barely see it as the dense overgrowth of the forest took it over. He may not have seen it had it not been for Micah.

Now that he was staring at it, he couldn’t take his eyes off it. He could see the curve of the stones, clearly manmade. He could see the deer skull emblem above the entrance. Which struck him as odd. The symbol of the Deer-Headed God. But, he was never portrayed as a skeleton. To do something like that was blasphemous.

In fact, Josh couldn’t think of a single deity or demon that was portrayed as a skeleton. Even the Buzzard God who guided souls from the land of the living to the dead wasn’t a skeleton.

“Whose temple is this?” he asked.

Mushrooms were everywhere. There had to be hundreds of different types. On the trees. On the ground. On the stone structure itself. Red, brown, white, orange, all shapes and sizes. Beneath his feet, he now realized the cool, squishy, almost slimy texture. Like a carpet leading them directly to the entrance. Maybe the Eagle Goddess hadn’t been guiding Micah. Maybe it had been the mushrooms all along. Josh certainly didn’t remember seeing any on their trek over here. Then again, he hadn’t noticed this many until now.

“The Deer-Headed God.” Micah gestured to the deer skull above the entrance. “Or, a form of him, anyway.”

“I’ve never seen him represented as a skeleton before. Why have they let it get to such a state?”

While it was true that many of the witch temples on the non-witch side had been destroyed during the war, this one hadn’t. Not only that, this was not the result of a hundred years of disuse. This was the result of centuries. Someone had abandoned this temple a long time ago.

From his understanding, the temples were the power sources of the witches. This was why the soldiers heavily targeted them to reduce their powers. For them to leave a temple like this meant they were purposefully trying to get rid of a power. Why?

Of course, it also made sense why Micah would want to go here to do her spell instead of doing it where she had first found Josh. Since she was so young, her powers were undeveloped and more volatile. A temple like this could help focus them and increase the chances of success.

“They don’t like it.” Her voice was soft like butterfly wings whispering past his ear.

“They don’t like it?” He repeated.

At least that proved his theory that the witches didn’t want whatever this temple was responsible for. That made him anxious. What source of magic could be so powerful that the witches, in the middle of a war, didn’t want to use it?

“Should we use it, then? If they don’t like it, something must be wrong with it.”

Micah stared at the structure. Her gaze was odd; almost like she was spacing out, but also intensely focused. Like she could see everything going on around her, but also nothing.

Josh reached out a hand to touch her. Maybe she wasn’t here. A mirage. One last image before he succumbed to his wounds and died of radiation poisoning. Maybe she wasn’t the one being led, but rather the one doing the leading.

She shook herself out of her trance. He dropped his hand and pressed his tongue against his teeth. The back upper left molar wiggled a bit more. His jaw ached a bit more. He tried to open and close his mouth a few times to release the pressure. It didn’t work.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” She stepped closer. “They thought if they abandoned it, it would go away. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Then why–”

“They don’t like it.” She repeated. “It scares them.”

“And it doesn’t scare you?”

“It does.” She took another step to cross the threshold.

Something snapped Josh out of his stupor. He grabbed her arm to pull her back.

“Hold on, just a second. Who told you about this temple?”

“Matilda.”

“Right, Matilda. How do you know her again?”

“I told you, we met in the House of Order.”

“So she’s not your mom?”

Micah shook her head.

“She’s some random adult you met?”

Micah did not answer, which told Josh more than enough.

“I get that you’re trying to help, I really am, but you cannot go wandering into dark, abandoned temples based on the advice of one lady you barely know. What if this is a trap?”

Micah crossed her arms and glared at him. “She’s dead.”

“So? It could still be a trap that’s going to hurt you and me. Frankly, I’m not interested in this. You don’t seem to know what you’re doing.”

“You only say that because you can’t sense it.”

“I am not going to argue with you on this. I am not going to let you walk into the possible blood cult murder temple!”

“You can’t see what I see. If you could, you would know that it’s not a murder temple. We’re safe. Just look. Try not to see with your eyes.”

Oh, like that made any sense.

“Fine. If I still sense danger, we are turning around and heading to Bakersfield, got it?”

Micah once more didn’t answer. Josh couldn't care less about that.

He did want to humor her at least a little. It might make it easier to convince her to give up and find somewhere safe to hunker down.

He turned back. See without using his eyes? What a joke.

He stared deep into the dark entrance of the temple.

Something was off about this whole place. Something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His heart beat faster. His body seemed to kick itself into fight or flight mode, and boy did it want to choose the latter.

He had gotten used to the crushing silence of the apocalypse, but here it was silent. The ambient noise of branches falling was gone. No insects buzzed. No leaves crunched under his feet. As if time stood still here. He couldn’t hear his own breathing. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure he had heard Micah or himself speaking either. He had been so sure they had spoken. Now? Nothing but silence. Even his own thoughts seemed to disappear as he stared into the blackness.

The structure itself was dark. Not dark in a way that suggested a sturdy roof that lacked holes. Dark in a way that suggested light itself dared not enter. He realized that the trees, vines, and moss that grew on it seemed to hover just above the structures.

Except for the mushrooms.

Mushrooms clung to every nook and cranny they could find. Growing into the stone. Melding together with it. Not at all afraid of the silence or the dark.

Even though Josh’s feet did not move, he felt himself pulled toward the entrance. As it grew bigger. The silence grew louder. He could sense the mushrooms growing under his feet. Between his toes. Climbing up his legs. Piercing through his skin and tangling with his veins.

The deer skull above the entrance stared into his eyes. So deeply that Josh felt like he was the one staring out of the deer’s head. As if it were his skull perched above the entrance. Looking out into everything.

Micah was right.

The temple wasn’t wrong.

Everyone ended up here eventually.

Stumbling back, he gasped. That snapped him from his trance. He hadn’t moved an inch, but he was certain he had been mere inches from the entrance of the temple.

“Did you see?” she asked.

He couldn’t answer. He did see something, but he didn’t know if it was good or bad. A reason to run or a reason to stay.

“You know we have to go in.” She continued.

The darkness loomed over him. Waiting. For what, he did not know. He didn’t think he wanted to know. He’d go mad if he did.

Micah stared at him, blue eyes unblinking and clouded over in pain. “This is the end of the line for both of us. If we want access to the circle, we have to go to the end.”

She tried to step forward.

Josh’s hand tightened on her arm, keeping her in place.

She was a witch. If she wanted to go die, he should let her.

She was a child. He should do whatever it took to keep her safe.

She was a witch. An enemy.

She was a child. A victim.

Witch.

Child.

Enemy.

Victim.

Victim.

Victim.

“Hold up.” He put both of his hands on her shoulders to stop her.

She felt cold. Like Elijah. It felt wrong to touch her. He let them drop. They hadn’t rotted away. He felt like they should have.

He took a deep breath. “I am putting a lot of trust in you. I deserve an explanation. One that makes sense. None of your witch shit. I don’t understand it. I don’t understand why we’re here or what you want me to see. All I can sense is darkness and mushrooms.”

Sure, that was a good way to keep the child safe and still treat the enemy like an enemy.

She tilted her head to the side. “It will never make sense to you.”

“I’m not stupid. Just because I’m not magic–”

“It doesn’t make sense to most people. Even witches.” She continued. “Because they’re afraid of it. If you wanted it to make sense, you’d have to meditate on it for a long time. We don’t have that kind of time.”

“And you did?”

She nodded. “It was cold. You have to understand it if you don’t want to go crazy.”

“Is that what the marks on your mouth and wrists are from?”

She touched them with a pale finger.

“Look,” he tried something else, “can’t you try to explain it to me?”

She looked at him. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’ve all thought ‘why did they have to die?’ at one point.”

Like the shock of plunging into ice, realization swept through him.

Why’d Elijah have to die?

Why’d Ethan have to die?

Why couldn’t it have been him?

Why did they die when he survived?

Why did he seem to avoid death at every turn, even when he didn’t want to, while the people he loved succumbed to it?

Why did they have to die?

This was a Death Temple. A place where everyone ended up eventually. A place that scared people. A place no one wanted to think about, even though it was always there. Always looming.

Of course, this didn’t exactly disprove Josh’s fear that they were about to walk into a blood cult trap and be sacrificed. As the deer skull mounted above the entrance loomed over him, he couldn’t find it within himself to be afraid.

Death came for them all. Eventually.

Whether at the hands of a blood cult or from the hands of time, no one could ever escape it. No matter how much they tried.

The barrel of his rifle pressed under his chin. The barrel of his revolver pressed against his temple. The feeling of his teeth falling out of his head. The feeling of Elijah cold next to him. The image of Ethan’s arm, inches away from him.

“I didn’t think the Vulture God of Death had any temples,” he said.

“Now you know why.”

Yes. Now he knew why.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to enter. I understand. I’m asking a lot of you. I’m sorry.”

Josh glanced back at the structure. He was certain something stood over his shoulder, waiting to pounce. Nothing was here but the temple and the darkness.

He didn’t have to be here. He didn’t have to follow her up north to some weird death temple that the witches didn’t want to touch. He did. Because she said they could fix this. They could fix the world. He didn’t know how. Maybe it was the ideal nature of a teenager who hadn’t spent enough time in the world to know how complex it was. Or maybe it was him trying to honor Elijah and his relentless optimism. Either way, he had followed her this far. He trusted her thus far. It would be stupid of him not to see it through.

Death came for them all in the end.

It was up to him whether he ran from it or embraced it.

“You said I’m your last hope?”

She nodded.

“There’s no one else around?”

She nodded.

“You’re sure with me, you can make this work?”

She nodded.

“Fine. Let’s go in.”

At this point, it wasn’t like he had anything else to lose. If he did decide to stay out here, the radiation poisoning had set in his bones. He’d be dead in a few days. If this worked, they could save everyone. If this didn’t, mushrooms would inherit the earth.

He stepped closer to the threshold. With each step, he swore the deer skull started gaining flesh. Muscle. Fat. Tendons. Skin. Fur. Eyes.

It seemed more alive until he was standing directly under it.

No mal-intent sat in the air.

Only acceptance.

He stepped across the threshold.

Inside the temple was no better than outside. He had hoped it was a case of being afraid of the unknown. Once he saw what was inside, he’d feel better. That didn’t happen.

If anything, it was worse. He was surprised he could still see, despite the darkness seeming to swallow up his every limb.

The smell reminded him of those rotting bodies in the streets of Welton. This pressure on his skin grew the further in he went. He couldn’t breathe. Was he breathing?

He didn’t know.

“You’re doing very well.” Micah patted his arm. It felt like someone had pressed ice to where she touched. Could her cold hands bring relief to his jaw?

“Most people go mad because they’re not prepared to face it.”

“Death?”

Micah pressed a hand to the walls. Instead of rotting away like everything else, the mushrooms seemed to wrap around her fingers. Almost like they were pet cats asking for scratches.

“This is…” His tongue felt heavy in his mouth.

The contents of his stomach, no more than bile at this point, threatened to spill out. He couldn’t find it within himself to be surprised. The foreboding sense of dread clung to every surface. Only the mushrooms that fed on rot seemed to want anything to do with this place.

“You’ve accepted your death. Your mortality. That’s why you’re not going crazy. You’re prepared to die. You have since you joined your army. You’re willing to die. If it means saving the people you care about.”

“So, when you said we had to go to the end, you meant literally?” Or as literally as a death temple could get.

“Your end. And mine.”

“You are dying, then? We could have rested.”

She shook her head. “No. It’s better to get it over with. I don’t want to risk dying too soon.”

“I thought you accepted death.”

“There’s a difference between accepting it and not actively seeking it out. You should know. You were actively seeking it when I found you.”

The phantom weight of the rifle in his hands, pressed under his chin, ready to blow his brains out, made him twitch.

“Besides, I don’t want you to save me. I want you to save everyone.” She dropped her hand from the wall.

“This is going to save everyone?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On you.”

“Me?”

“You’ve accepted that you’ll die. That’s the first step. You’ve accepted that you need to trust me. That’s the second step. You’ll need to decide if you’re going to try to change the future. Or simply enjoy whatever time you have left with the people you love. You’re lucky. Sometimes, we don’t get a choice. I won’t get a choice.”

She kept walking forward.

“Hang on.” He rushed to her once more. “What does all that mean? What are you going to do? What do you mean by "spend time with the people I love”? We’ve established they’re all dead.”

She pointed to a circle in the middle of the room. “Stand there.”

He did as he was told. The circle itself had several symbols. He recognized none of them except for the skull in the very center.

“You need to tell me what to do. Give me some intel. You can’t say the fate of the world is on my shoulders and expect me to succeed.”

“When you arrive, you have to find me and help me accept my place. Keep me from the House of Order,” she said. “Keep me hidden from Isaiah Iurisdictio. We may not stop the bombs from dropping, but we should be able to stop them from killing everyone.”

“Hold up, what do you mean, stop them from dropping? They’ve already dropped!”

Everything was going too fast for Josh. The hours they spent walking together were meaningless.

“I’m going to recite the spell now. Then I’ll die. When I die, that should activate it.”

“No, hang on. What do you mean, stop the bombs from dropping and keep you from the House of Order?”

“I’m out of time.”

She did not answer any of his questions. Instead, she pulled out a bouquet of plants from a box near one of the pillars. White lilies. Black roses. Nightshades. Hemlocks. Poppies. Orchids. All either black or white. It was a striking bouquet until Micah lit it on fire and started chanting.

The walls started shaking.

The symbols around the circle lit up. Glowing faint orange and then becoming a brighter yellow. The mushrooms on the walls seemed to grow in size. Getting bigger, bigger, and bigger.

“Stop! I still have questions!”

Then, Micah put her bloodied hand on the skull symbol.

She collapsed onto the ground with one last exhale.

At first, Josh didn’t think anything had happened.

Then, his heart stopped.

Land Mine

He gasped.

A great, heaving gasp that scratched his throat. Air, dust and ozone filled his lungs. Every nerve in his body was on fire. Every hair stood on end. His eyes flew open. The pupils rapidly dilated. Shrinking and growing as the blood surged through his veins. Like a hose that had been turned off, then turned on once more. First, sluggish, dirty, polluted from sitting too long in his veins. Then, bursting forth as his heart pumped and his lungs expanded.

Every muscle tensed. His back arched and went rigid. His quads, calves, glutes, and back flexed. Knees locked tight. Hands spasming as they flexed and clenched involuntarily.

Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches flooded his body. Each more overwhelming than the last. As if he was experiencing all of his senses for the first time.

The taste of dust on his tongue.

The feeling of hot wind on his skin.

The ozone in the air.

The sound of thunder crashing above. People screaming. Dying. Shouting as bombs went off around him.

His eyes snapped into focus as he blinked rapidly, taking in the world around him for the first time.

Still standing frozen as his body contorted its way back to life.

A familiar sensation crawled up his throat He had half a second's warning. Enough time to vomit his guts out. Not the bile he had expected. Rations. Chalky, undercooked MREs. Something he hadn’t had in months, but the contents were in his stomach to vomit out.

He no longer stood in the dark, foreboding Temple of Death. No mushrooms clinging to the walls. No darkness swallowed him whole. No silent hum of death in the air. No Micah. His feet back in their boots. His uniform fit more snugly; his shoulders broader than they had been in weeks. He pressed his tongue to his teeth. They were all there. None were loose.

His mind struggled to comprehend what was going on. He let out a gasp. Where was he? Was this Hell?

He died.

Right.

He had to have died.

His heart stopped.

If he was dead, then why could he still see?

Why could he feel?

Micah said she knew how to save the world. She needed him to do something. To find her. What if the spell didn’t work? What if she had failed? What if they both died along with the rest of the world?

That had to be it.

Josh couldn’t think of another explanation as to why he was in the middle of a battle right now. People rushing forward. The hot sun beating down on his back. Occasionally, a clap of thunder in the cloudless sky followed by a lightning bolt that scorched the ground and killed its target without hesitation.

A bolt landed inches from his body.

Josh didn’t move.

Just stared at the starburst char that now decorated the ground.

“This is Hell,” he whispered.

Not only had he failed to save Ethan and Elijah, not only had he trusted a witch instead of killing her as any good soldier should, but now he faced punishment for his crimes. For all eternity. That had to be it. He was in Hell for some reason. He would live out the rest of his life, afterlife, whatever, facing battle after battle.

Why even fight? Why not simply let the lightning take him? Unless that would send him to another battle. And another. And another. And another. Until eventually he went crazy.

He tilted his head to the sky to scream. Hadn’t he suffered enough? Hadn’t he been through enough? He had already lived through this hell. Why did he need to experience it again? What more punishment could he possibly need? What sins did he still have to atone for? Was it not enough that his brother and husband died? Why must he suffer more?

“Josh, get down!” Someone tackled him to the side as another lightning bolt struck where he had been standing. Had he not moved, it would have killed him.

Josh hit the ground hard, not bothering to ease his fall. Pain exploded up the side of his face as his cheek jammed into a rock. Warm, sticky blood burst forth from the skin and gushed down the side of his face. In a matter of seconds, it soaked his collar. The material folded in on itself as it could no longer support its weight with the blood and sweat that saturated it.

The person who had tackled him wasn’t done. They hooked their arms around him and dragged him behind a nearby rock. Enough cover for whoever threw the lightning. A brief reprieve in this madness.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Screaming like a madman in the middle of a battle like that. Do you want to get killed? 'Cause that’s how you get killed. You are never allowed to lecture me again for being reckless after that little display.”

Josh recognized that voice.

He knew that voice.

He blinked the sweat from his eyes and saw Ethan clear as day. In one piece. His black, wavy hair slightly longer than regulation. Unlike Josh, who tried to keep his hair short even when deployed, Ethan would often let it grow wild, claiming he had more to worry about than cutting his hair.

His tan skin, muted from the sand, with beads of sweat coating the thin peach fuzz of his face. His eyes… his eyes were alive.

Dark brown. Crinkling a bit at the corners as they did when he thought through a particular problem.

“Ethan?” He reached out to touch him. Fingertips brushing against the skin of his cheek. Afraid that if he fully put his hands on him, he’d disappear in a puff of smoke.

When he blinked, he could see Ethan in pieces, scattered across the battlefield. As soon as he saw the image, it was gone, replaced with a full Ethan in front of him.

“Josh?” Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Let me see your HComm.”

He tugged back the sleeve to reveal a small square on his wrist. A square he had tossed off the day they came back from Canyon Pass. The HComm System, or Health Communication System, monitored all vitals of the soldiers. It monitored who was alive, who was dead, and who was injured.

Or, it was supposed to. The system was notorious for giving false readings. Elijah complained endlessly about how it made it more difficult to do his job. He’d run to assist people who weren’t hurt. While the actual injuries went untreated. Some of the lower castes theorized the HComm systems didn’t work for them because they were expendable. The systems were designed to be more cautious for the upper castes.

“What happened? It looks like your heart stopped here,” Ethan tapped a blip on the screen about a minute before he had been tackled to the ground. After that blip, Josh’s HComm registered a massive spike in his heart rate. A spike that hadn’t returned to normal.

Had it only been a minute? It felt like a lifetime.

“Josh?” Ethan snapped when he didn’t immediately respond. “Fuck, you need a medic. Only, we don’t have one because Kravetz got barbecued. Good thing Elijah made us take all those field medic classes, right? Here I thought he was being overprotective. Well, he was, but I guess it’s about to pay off,” Ethan rambled.

“I…”

Josh’s eyes slid from his brother’s face. Was this Hell? He wasn’t sure. If his punishment was to live out battles for all eternity, then why did Ethan save him? What was the purpose of this torture?

“Where are we?”

Something was familiar about this place. An all-encompassing sense of dread slithered through Josh’s body until he felt like he wanted to tear people apart with his bare hands, but was too overcome with grief to move. Every muscle ready to fight, but his mind froze him in place.

“Shit, you must have hit your head.” Ethan fussed with his helmet, a dinged, dirty, broken thing that was more of a hazard than protection at this point. “We can’t afford this now! We’re getting slaughtered. Everyone’s dead except for you, me, Priscilla, and Henry. Preston is being a bitch and won’t let us retreat. They fucking knew we were coming.”

Josh tuned out his brother’s rambling as his eyes slid to a shadowy spot about a hundred feet from them. He froze. There, right in front of that shadow, was a rock. He knew that rock. The image of that rock had burned itself into his mind. Every minute of every hour of every day, he could not stop seeing that rock. Below that rock was a slight divot in the compacted dirt. So subtle, he would have never noticed it. No one would have. Now he did. Now he knew what that meant.

He blinked.

Ethan was no longer beside him. Instead, he sprinted toward the rock. The shadow led to a small entrance. He was trying to get to that. Hoping that the canyon would provide more cover.

“Josh.”

He blinked again. Ethan was no longer running. He was next to him. Talking to him. Alive.

Blink.

His foot landed right by that rock.

And what was Josh doing?

Trying to gather up Priscilla and Henry so they could make it through. If he succeeded, they could survive to fight another day.

He turned to call out orders to Ethan. To tell him to wait.

Blink.

His mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. It was like he was watching two movies at the same time. Was Ethan dead or was he alive? One second, Josh could swear he was dead. Swear he could smell the burning flesh choking the air. The next second, Ethan was beside him, alive and well and trying to talk to him. The next second, both things happened at the same time. Ethan was dead in front of him and alive beside him. The living Ethan, talking as the dead one, stained the ground with his blood.

“Josh, you’re scaring me. Talk to me. What’s going on?” Ethan tried to tug his attention back to him. Josh couldn’t turn away.

He could only watch in horror as Ethan’s foot landed by that rock.

A click.

An explosion.

A landmine. Hidden amongst the rocks. Priscilla was right behind him when it went off. Shrapnel lodged in her leg as she collapsed, screaming on the ground next to Ethan’s body.

Or, what was left of it.

Josh saw bits of his little brother scattered around.

A foot here. A hand there. A torso here. A head there. He had been standing close enough to the blast that viscera coated his face.

“Canyon Pass,” he gasped. “We’re in the middle of Canyon Pass.”

“Oh, thank the Deer-Headed God you know where we are. Still worried about the brain damage.” Ethan rested a hand on his shoulder.

He turned to him, eyes wide with horror.

Ethan’s smile dropped. “Shit, Josh, are you okay?”

Josh wrenched himself away from Ethan for yet more vomit to spill from his mouth. This time, there was no MRE to puke up, only bile.

Ethan had died here.

Ethan was going to die here.

“You can’t die,” he gasped as he heaved some more.

“I’m not planning on it.” Ethan dragged Josh back behind the rock.

“No… You don’t… You don’t understand. You…” Josh gagged again.

The combination of dust, ozone, blood, heat, gunpowder, and vomit was too much for him to bear. He felt like his entire body was pulled apart and pressed back together.

Someone yelled in his ear.

“Sans, what the fuck are you doing?”

Colonel Preston. He was the one leading the mission. The mission, right. They were supposed to take a small squad through a little-known canyon to reach a Southern Fire Temple. Only, the lightning witches had ambushed them. The lightning witches had forced them to reroute. The lightning witches weren’t supposed to be here.

It had been a trap.

Someone, Levi Brenner, sold them out. They were meant to die.

“Sans, if you don’t get your ass moving, I will court-martial you!” Preston screeched in his ear.

“Enough of him.” Ethan pulled the earpiece out of Josh’s ear.

He set it on the ground and stomped on it until it was nothing more than broken bits of machinery. That hadn’t happened last time.

Josh had listened to Preston scream at him; threaten to kill him while he sat there, staring at his brother’s mangled corpse. Listening to Priscilla scream beside him.

“Equipment fails all the time out here.” Ethan grinned.

Josh did not grin back.

Ethan’s grin dropped. He cleared his throat. “He is right, though. We need to get moving. We’re getting slaughtered. Henry thinks he found another way through.” He pointed to the gap that Josh had been staring at.

Ethan’s body was scattered around. Priscilla was screaming.

He blinked.

“We’ll have to move fast. Once we get through the gap, there should be more shelter.” He pulled Josh to his feet. “Hold on a bit longer. Then we can get you back to Elijah. He can fuss over you until you die of old age. Preston can eat a boot. We’re not winning this.”

He stepped out from behind the rock.

Something snapped in Josh.

Was this Hell? Was this a dream? Was this something else entirely?

He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He had been given a chance to save Ethan and Priscilla. To change the course of history, even if only after he died. He could never live with himself if he sat back. Let Ethan die by stepping on a land mine. Let Priscilla die a few weeks later from trauma.

He had been allowed to change things. He was going to take it. He could figure out what the hell was going on later. Right now, he was in the middle of a battle. The witches set a trap.

Josh refused to let him die again.

“No!” He yanked Ethan back down.

Ethan stumbled, dumbfounded. “No?”

“No, you can’t.”

He must have sounded crazy. He must have looked crazy.

“Why not?”

Because you died. Was on the tip of his tongue.

Because this was the beginning of my end.

Because the world ended.

Because I can’t lose you again.

All of them true. The words died on his tongue. Refusing to leave his mouth and reverberate through the air.

He wasn’t entirely sure what happened, how he was supposed to stop the bombs from falling, or what he was supposed to do. A good soldier (and he was a good soldier) wouldn’t start spewing intel without first doing recon. Figuring out what was going on. Who the players were. If he really could change the outcome.

Ethan shook his head. “Josh, we have to go. We can’t sit here any longer. They’ll wipe us out.”

He went to stand.

Priscilla and Henry had taken cover behind another rock at the other edge of the clearing.

Josh yanked him back down. “We were ambushed.” The words rushed from his lungs in a single breath. His mouth worked faster than his mind. “They knew we were coming. This is a path to the Southern Temple, but not the most popular one. Most people don’t know it exists. Most people don’t know that we know it exists, which means-”

“Someone sold us out.” Ethan cursed.

Josh nodded. “Henry only found one other path out.”

“So far.”

“If I knew my enemies were coming, I’d corral them into a trap. To wipe them out. They know the area better than we do. They live here. They know about any side canyons. Do you really think they’d be so stupid as to leave one unguarded?"

Hopefully that made sense. Hopefully, Ethan wouldn’t press to go through the canyon.

The others had ducked out from behind their rock and raced toward them. They barely made it. Henry’s jacket was smoking. Priscilla had a burn on her arm. They were both alive and in one piece.

“What’s going on? You guys having a tea party back here or something?” Henry hissed as they made it to the rock.

“The side canyon you found is a trap. Probably.”

“Probably?” Henry cried. “Then what the hell do you suggest we do? Because we can’t exactly keep going!”

“If the side path you found is a trap, it won’t matter because they’ll kill us anyway. I’m out of ammo. Those witches are going to start coming down here.”

“That doesn’t mean we need to take a suicide run.” Ethan shot back.

All three of them started talking over one another, arguing about what the best plan of action was.

Josh felt frozen. Henry was right. They couldn’t go back or the witches would slaughter them. They couldn’t go forward either, or the land mines would blow them up. They couldn’t stay here, or else the witches would come down.

Had he really done all of this to save Ethan, only for none of it to matter in the end? Would they all die here anyway?

He didn’t know where all the land mines were. Only a few of them. The one that killed Ethan and a couple more that went off when the rocks of the canyon were dislodged in the initial blast.

A plan clicked into place. “The rocks,” he whispered.

“What was that?” Priscilla asked, turning to him.

Josh looked up at the canyon walls. Now, he had to convince them that he wasn’t crazy or a traitor.

“If they’ve set a trap, then let’s trigger it,” he said.

“Trigger it! We don’t even know what it is,” Henry cried.

His mouth worked faster than his brain, the half-lie coming easily.

“They’re avoiding that side path. If I were running their campaign, I’d have more witches coming through to really outnumber us. They’re staying high. They’ve got to have some sort of land mines or explosives all throughout there. The rocks in the canyon are brittle. If we can get those explosions started⁠—”

“A chain reaction will bring the whole wall down.” Priscilla grinned.

Henry did not look convinced. “That’s your plan? Try and set off explosives we don’t even know are there?”

Oh, but he did know they were there. He knew exactly where one was. He had to convince the others to go along with this insane plan.

“Ethan, do you have any explosives left?”

Ethan nodded. “One. So choose wisely.”

“You see that rock right in front of the side canyon?” As he looked over to the rock, he could see Ethan’s body lying there in pieces.

“I see it.”

“I think that’s where one of them is. There’s a divot in the ground that suggests something was buried there.”

“That’s your proof?” Henry gasped.

“Even if it’s not,” he continued, “it’s close enough to the side walls that they’ll collapse in and set off the other explosives as they bounce around.” He had no idea if that was true or not. He had to make them think it was true.

“I don’t know.” Ethan eyed the spot of his death warily. “What if they thought they’d wipe us out before we found the side canyon?”

“Colonel Preston has already given the command. He wants us to go through there,” Henry said.

“I don’t care about Preston. I’m not risking it. Besides, if Ethan’s bomb doesn’t set off anything, then we know it’s safe and we can go.”

“I’m in. The lieutenant makes a lot of sense,” Priscilla said. “The fact that they haven’t flooded this place with witches tells me they don’t want to be down here for some reason. I say, we see what that reason is.”

Ethan pulled out his last explosive. “If you want to risk a court-martial, that’s on you. You know that, right?”

“Better court-martialed alive than dead.” Josh responded.

“So we’re in agreement? Big Boom?” Priscilla asked.

Henry paled. “I did not agree to anything.”

“Too bad. Three to one, you’re outvoted.” She grabbed the bomb from Ethan and activated it.

“This isn’t a democracy!”

“You’re right,” Ethan grinned. “It’s the military. Right now, Josh is the highest-ranking person here.”

“No, Colonel Preston is!”

“Ah, the colonel isn’t here, is he?” Ethan winked at him.

“Henry, it’s too late,” Priscilla said. “I already threw the bomb.”

“What?”

She grabbed the back of Henry’s neck as Ethan grabbed Josh’s, and forced him into a ball as the bomb went off.

The ground buckled. A roar completely surrounded Josh. He’d be lucky if he ever heard again after today.

The heat seared his skin. Energy radiated out as the canyon wall crumbled, hitting the other land mines, causing a wave of explosions.

Someone screamed. He didn’t dare look up. The witches were dying; that was all that mattered. Well, that and Ethan surviving.

The aftershocks of the explosions began to die down. The aftershocks no longer flung boulders around with the force. The heat left. The screaming had stopped.

Priscilla let out a whistle. “What the hell did you put in that thing?”

“I may have juiced it up a little,” Ethan grinned.

Josh decided to ignore that for now.

“If we take the Southern Fire Temple, Preston might not be so mad.”

“You hope,” Henry grumbled. “You know his ego is going to be in pieces after this.”

“I don’t care about that.”

He knew about the land mines, but nothing else. He was going in blind now. No previous life of his had gotten this far. For all he knew, another trap was set up to kill them. They scrambled to their feet and over the rocks.

“Let’s get up to the top of the wall,” Ethan shouted, shooting a hook up to climb.

Josh stumbled over the dead, soldiers and witches alike. His stomach threatened to vomit once more as he stumbled upon someone who didn’t look much older than Micah had. He was an adult. He had to be.

Then again, Josh saw his first battle when he was seventeen.

His hands shook as he remembered the child, dying from radiation poisoning, as Josh told him a dumb story about an alley cat.

“Josh, come on!” Ethan called.

He ripped his eyes away from the witch and stumbled up the wall after him. The witch had tried to kill him. The witch had killed his friends, his allies. Probably without hesitating either. He shouldn’t feel guilty about his death. Besides, if Josh managed to stop the bombs from falling, then he could stop kids like this from dying in battles.

The boy’s clouded-over eyes stayed with him, refused to let him go, even as he and his small squad made it up over the wall.

In the end, they managed to capture the Southern Fire Temple. It was smaller than the one he died in. It didn’t feel the same. It felt… hot. Bright. Everywhere around him, he could hear the faint crackling of fire. As he walked, he swore he could feel the soles of his boots melting.

Thanks to the explosion, Preston had managed to get more soldiers to the temple faster, which meant that Josh wasn’t forced to fight off an army of fire users with four people.

They had done it. They had succeeded. Ethan had survived. Priscilla still had her leg.

He was one step closer to defeating the witches, so they could not use the bomb.

“Hope it was worth it,” Ethan said as the rest of the troops poured into the temple to clear out the rest of the witches.

Josh looked over at him. He never thought he’d see his brother again. He never thought he’d hear his voice again. Even if he spent the rest of his life in prison or serving food in the cafeteria, it wouldn’t matter to him. Ethan was alive.

“It was,” he said.

Soldier

A pair of handcuffs slapped around Josh’s wrists.

“What the fuck is this?” he asked the bored-looking MP.

He didn’t answer. He turned to cuff Priscilla, Henry, and Ethan.

“I would watch your tone, lieutenant.” Colonel Preston crested over a hill, practically swanning his way down to the rest of the soldiers.

After they managed to make it through the canyon, somehow, a whole other squad appeared to help them out. It was almost as if Preston wanted them to die and was purposefully holding back help just so that he could finally get Josh out of the way.

Josh bit back a growl. Colonel Preston was, without a doubt, the most spoiled, stupid, scab of a man in existence.

Preston was from one of the top families. Maybe not the top like Gabriel Deer, but he was up there. The top five or ten percent. That made him think he was better than everyone else. He alone was smarter, stronger, faster, and more handsome than anyone else below him.

Of course, the second things didn’t go his way, or he was reminded that he was not, in fact, stronger, faster, smarter, and more handsome than anyone else, he tended to throw fits. Josh had been on the receiving end of many of those fits.

Preston was incensed (incensed!) that someone as lowly as Joshua Sans was his lieutenant.

Being from an illustrious and powerful family, surely Preston deserved a better lieutenant than some no-name Sans whose own family didn’t want him? Surely, Josh was too stupid to be an actual good lieutenant. He would put the missions in danger, leading them so often. No matter how much Preston begged like a child throwing a tantrum, no one budged. He was dealing with Joshua Sans as his lieutenant, whether he liked it or not.

He probably vibrated with excitement the second Josh disobeyed orders. Finally, a reason to have him arrested so Preston could get a good, proper lieutenant from a proper family and not the literal gutter.

Josh wasn’t going down without a fight, though. He had worked so hard to keep Ethan and the others alive. He wasn’t going to let them be thrown in a prison, never to see the light of day again. Besides, the bombs would drop in about three months.

If this still wasn’t some weird hell-induced nightmare.

“Colonel,” Josh said as authoritatively as he could, “why are we being arrested? We took the Southern Fire Temple, just as we were ordered.”

Preston’s grin widened. His eyes blazed as he got drunk on power. “You didn’t listen to my orders, lieutenant.” The word lieutenant dripped off his tongue like it was the greatest insult.

You tried so hard to escape your name. Even with your fancy title, one word from me and I will have you executed. His face said.

When the witches still enslaved the non-witch population, it was rare for anyone to have a last name. A last name meant an identity. Identities were dangerous things when you wanted the population to not revolt. A select few non-witch families managed to make a name for themselves, literally. The Rivers, the Woods, the Stones, the Ravens. They were the only families free during the time of witch rule. Because they had their freedom, it was easier for them to guide the rebellion at the beginning of the war. Ethan Deer had been the first general, the first person to lead the rebellion.

Once the soldiers successfully freed themselves, everyone wanted a last name. Those who had been enslaved in more academic environments, and could therefore read, write, and do math, naturally rose to the top. They had a tendency to name themselves after the first name of the patriarch. Christopher, Morgan, William, Logan, Preston.

The middle tier tended to have last names that were foreign, as they were often tasked with reaching out to countries outside of Deerland and ask for help. Brenner, Greer, Tenley. People who wouldn’t be missed if boats were capsized during the rough voyages. At the very bottom were those whose names were based on their trades: Baker, Smith, Fisher, Healer.

Well, that changed as the war dragged on One group was lower than the Fishers and Millers of the world. The Sanses. Literally Sans Nomine, or Without a Name. The kids whose parents either died or were cast out for any number of reasons.

People had to register their child with the Office of Names. If they didn’t, they were Sanses. That’s why so many parents registered their children literally the moment they found out they were pregnant. They couldn’t risk dying and their child being a Sans.

Joshua Sans. Ethan Sans. Priscilla Sans. Henry Sans. None of them related. All of them belonging to the same bottom caste.

“Our comms broke.” Ethan glared at the MP.

The MP didn’t seem to notice. He yawned, scratched his nose, then stepped to the side in a sloppy parade rest that would have had Josh beaten black and blue if he tried such a disrespectful pose.

To be a Sans was to be a No One. No one to claim them. No one to look after them. No one to mourn when they died. Sanses were the lowest of the low in society. Sacrificial lambs sent to the most dangerous jobs. The front lines. The deepest parts of the mine. The small cracks in between the smoke-spewing machines that might crush them at any point. Why not? After all, no one cared if they died. But Josh didn’t die. And he didn’t stay at the bottom like he was supposed to. Instead, he rose through the ranks and became a lieutenant.

Preston’s lieutenant.

Instead of Preston accepting his fate and trying to win this goddamn war, he decided to do everything in his power to get Josh out of his hair.

“I don’t think they did.” Preston clicked his tongue. “You see, based on your reports, you knew land mines were in the area.”

Josh’s blood ran cold. In the heat of battle, when adrenaline ran high and people had more things to focus on than his half-assed explanations, he could get away with lying. Here, where the people were calm and focused solely on him, he didn’t know if he could come up with something convincing enough. Besides, the others might overlook his brief, necessary alliance with a witch. Preston certainly would not.

“They knew we were coming,” Josh croaked out. “It isn’t illogical to assume they’d have some sort of trap set up.”

Preston’s grin widened. “Exactly, they knew you were coming.”

Josh had fallen right into his trap.

“Wait a second. You think I sold information?” Josh cried.

“I don’t know.” Preston shrugged lazily. “They knew you were coming. So, someone sold them out.”

“What would I have to gain by that? I blew them up! I took their temple!”

It was no use. Preston already made up his mind. While he wasn’t the highest-ranking member of the military or society, he was high enough that no one would ever believe Josh. He was as good as dead.

“If you were willing to betray your people to the witches for money, then you’re willing to betray the witches for fame.”

“Money? Fame? Are you crazy?” Josh was very aware that arguing like this wasn’t helping his case.

He couldn’t help it. A deep, instinctual part of himself wanted Preston to understand. Because he didn’t. Not really. He hadn’t survived the end of the world like Josh had. He hadn’t seen the rotting bodies in the streets or held his loved ones as they died. He hadn’t seen children with their bodies contorted in pain.

A part of Josh wished he had. Wished he had suffered as much as Josh did. Wishful thinking. It didn’t matter anyway because Preston accused Joshua Sans of treason.

He had been so hopeful when Ethan survived Canyon Pass. It looked like Hell wasn’t done with him yet.

Preston was, though. He waved lazily to the MP who all but shoved them into the covered armor truck.

The truck lurched down the bumpy, unkempt road.

Josh clenched his jaw and his fists. Opening and closing them over and over again as his body screamed at him to make a move. To fight. To survive. Soldiers weren’t meant to sit still. They weren’t trained to sit still. Right now, Josh had an enemy, Preston. That enemy had captured him and his squad. He needed to do everything he could to break free. That’s what he’d do if witches captured them, after all.

Only, witches hadn’t captured them. They hadn’t been captured at all. They had been arrested. For succeeding where Preston had failed. For doing something that not only saved lives but also allowed them to complete the mission.

Josh didn’t know what to do. This hadn’t happened before, or when he was alive. He still didn’t know which it was.

It appeared now that he was sitting in the dark truck, though, his mind wasn’t struggling quite so much to keep things straight. It didn’t seem to think that Ethan was dead at the very least. Though if Josh focused enough on what had happened before, sometimes he slipped. The truck lurched. He wasn’t in the truck with handcuffs on his wrists and a very alive brother sitting next to him. He sat, shell-shocked, at a little camp not far from Canyon Pass as Preston screamed at him for not completing the mission. Staring at his hands, still bloody. Most of it wasn’t his blood.

He stared at his hands. The floor of the truck disappeared. Instead, he looked at compacted, rocky, orange sand. The sun beat down on his neck. Ethan was gone. Priscilla was missing a leg. They had failed.

“Josh, are you okay?” Ethan elbowed him gently.

The sand and the blood disappeared. He was back in the truck.

“Yeah.” His voice was hoarse. “I’m fine.”

“It’s alright if you’re not,” Priscilla said. “You did what you had to do. He should be grateful we captured the temple. If not, it would have been his ass on the line for failure.”

“No, it wouldn’t have,” Josh said quietly.

As far as he could tell, Preston did not face any repercussions for the failure at Canyon Pass. Because he hadn’t been the reason it failed. A spy was in their ranks. Someone who sold the information to the witches. Even the best general in the army would have struggled to succeed.

He clenched his hands again. Would they still catch the spy? Was Levi Brenner’s arrest dependent on the failure of Canyon Pass? Or, maybe since Josh was now accused of being a spy, the actual spy could go free. Free to wreak more havoc. Free to kill more soldiers. Free to betray his people for some money.

He clenched his fists and released them.

He died at the Temple of Death. Of that he was certain. Now, he had gone through the Battle for Canyon Pass. He changed the outcome.

Perhaps this was Hell.

Or maybe Micah’s spell worked. Josh had a chance to save everyone.

If this were Hell, he had already proven he could change things if needed. Ethan was alive. Priscilla was in one piece. They were all under arrest for suspicion of treason. That was different.

“Find me. Make me accept my destiny sooner.” Those were the instructions Micah gave him. Sounding in his head over and over again like a bell ringing at noon.

The only problem? Preston had Josh arrested. People would believe Preston a lot quicker than they’d believe him. Even if they didn’t believe Preston, his rank within non-witch society meant that they’d pass the blame along just to keep him happy. Using the Sanses as sacrificial lambs. Ethan, Priscilla, Josh, and Henry. All there to die when others were too important.

If Josh went to prison, how would he find Micah? Did he need to find Micah? He had already changed the course of history without her. He wasn’t keen on working with a witch. Especially without the pain of the end of the world to bind them as allies due to circumstance. Would she want to help him? Or was she comfortable being a witch? Did she also send herself back in time or to hell or wherever this was? Would she believe him if he were to show up on her doorstep? A crazed and broken soldier babbling about the end times that she never lived through?

Now that he thought through it, he wasn’t sure.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan said softly.

“What?” Josh asked as Ethan pulled him from his thoughts.

“It was my fault. I took out your comm.” He shrugged.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference.” Josh tugged at the cuffs. He wasn’t planning on getting out of them. Not really. Not when his mind was already made up on how he was going to handle the situation. “I don’t regret what I did. You three are alive because of it. When we get there, I’ll take the fall.”

“Like hell you will!” Priscilla cried.

“Priscilla-”

“No, seriously, Josh. What the fuck? You’re just going to let them arrest you for treason when you did nothing wrong? Preston should thank you on bended knee for salvaging that shit show of a mission. Not having you arrested because you wounded his pride.” She continued

“It doesn’t matter. Think about this logically,” he hissed. “We’re Sanses. He’s a Preston. Who do you think they’re going to believe?”

“Everyone knows Preston is a joke,” Ethan said.

“Josh has a point.” Henry replied. “Joke or not, no one wants to rock the boat with his family. They own half the iron mines that make up our weapons.”

“They wouldn’t be dumb enough to stop providing the government with them, though,” Priscilla said. “Think about it, they own half the mines, but the Fleurs own the other half plus a shit ton of other mines and land. If the Prestons don’t cooperate, then the Fleurs will just swoop in and ‘buy’ their land. Like they did with the Averys.”

Rumor had it, the Fleurs didn’t buy the Averys’s land. Simply the Avery’s would be arrested and tried for treason if they didn’t sell it. In that scenario, the Averys hadn’t done anything to draw the ire of the Fleurs. The head of the household just wanted more land for more money.

“I don’t want to take that risk,” Josh said. “I’ll admit that it was all my idea. Then you guys can go free.”

Ethan studied him. Eyes narrowing as he sniffed out the parts of the story Josh wasn’t telling him.

“I don’t buy it,” he finally said.

“What?”

“Something else is going on here. What is it?”

Henry and Priscilla looked to him, both studying him.

Josh found himself at a crossroads: tell the truth or don’t tell the truth. If he told the truth now, then they might think he was crazy, or worse, actually a traitor. If he didn’t tell the truth, then they might not go along with his plan because they wouldn’t know what the plan was. He needed them too. He needed them to stop the bombs from falling. To find Micah (or not) so that the end of the world wouldn’t come.

A traitor did exist, though.

The one who was probably walking around free, relieved that Lieutenant Joshua Sans was taking the fall instead of him. He worked with the witches. He might know about the bombs.

“The witches knew we were coming,” Josh hissed. “They were prepared for us. Someone sold us out. I don’t think it was Preston.”

It wasn’t Preston.

“He’s so laser-focused on me that no proper investigation will ever happen. If you guys are free, you can figure out who the traitor is and what else is going on here. What else do the witches know? What other weapons do they have?”

The three of them exchanged uncertain glances.

“I’d rather you lead the investigation,” Ethan said quietly.

“Well, tough shit. You three figure it out. Understood?”

“Give us until we get to Welton to come up with a better plan before we agree,” Priscilla said.

“Fine.” Josh replied. Only because they were not likely to come up with a better plan.

For the next several hours, Priscilla, Henry, and Ethan bounced ideas off each other. Each came to a dead end eventually. Josh didn’t exactly feel smug that they were struggling to save his life, but he did feel vindicated that this was the only way.

They spent hours in that cramped, dark truck. Rocking back and forth, occasionally jolting as the wheels hit a particularly large rock or pothole in the road.

Josh’s eyes threatened to slip closed at several moments. His mind was so, so tired. His body ached for rest. It remembered his final days. When was the last time he had slept? Probably when Elijah died. Growing colder in his arms, Josh didn’t notice until it was too late.

Then there was the trek to the Death Temple. Dying. Did dying count as resting?

He wanted to say no. If only because of how heavy his body felt. Even with this exhaustion, he could not help but stay awake. The danger was still there. The enemy was still there. He had work to do.

Cold

The blaring alarm signaled the end of a shift. He breathed another sigh of relief. One day down. Two hundred and fifty-five more to go. Then he’d be free. Then he’d have done his time.

Had he chosen wrong, though?

At sentencing, the judge said he could either work in the factories for five years or stay in jail for thirty-five years. It seemed like an obvious choice. He’d go home, be with his wife and kids after his shift. Only five years meant he could go back to work sooner.

He didn’t expect it to be this hard.

The hours of labor made his body ache. Because he was a prison laborer, he couldn’t get work anywhere else. No work meant no rations. Sure, he got some food around mid-shift. Not enough to sustain him. Enough to strain his wife and children. His oldest had started working for a shop instead of going to school. His youngest had spent hours wandering the streets picking up broken bottles and rusted cans to exchange for rations. He worried she’d get a cut. An infection. They didn’t have the rations for her to survive that.

If he had gone to prison, he would have gotten three meals a day. He wouldn’t be a burden to his family.

Less than a year.

That’s all he had to keep telling himself.

Less than a year. Then he could get a job. He could get more rations. His oldest could go back to school. His youngest could quit picking through the trash.

A headache pounded against his skull.

The headaches never stopped now. Always there, they caused a ringing in his ears, blinding him as he screwed in bolt after bolt.

He screwed in so many bolts that his fingers felt tingly. They itched until he scratched them red. He wanted to tear them off. He wanted to jump from the rooftops. To put himself out of his misery.

He didn’t.

If he didn’t finish up his sentence, then the judge would make his wife do it. Or his kids. The State had to get its justice somehow.

He said his farewells to some of the other workers. Then, he pinned his curfew exception to his jacket. Front and center so that if any MPs stumbled on him, they’d know he was allowed to be out late at night.

Not that that stopped them from roughing him up if they were in bad enough moods. But it was the law.

Funny how the law always applied to him and never the MPs.

He stumbled out the door. Nausea crawled up the back of his throat. The nausea seemed to be getting worse lately. Was it the result of too little food? Too much work? Too little sleep? Or all three? It wouldn’t surprise him if his body started to shut down from all the abuse he put it through.

One by one, the other factory workers turned down the paths home.

The group got smaller until it was just him.

He and his family lived at the edge of town. A small patch of land that had been in his family for generations. They used it to grow food.

He had kept a few pounds for himself.

That was how he ended up in prison.

The State found out.

It always found out.

What was once an idyllic escape from the grey buildings of Welton, where they had had enough, became its own source of hell.

With one less hand, they couldn’t produce as much food.

Which meant they couldn’t get as much pay.

Because they couldn’t get as much pay, well…

The oldest out of school.

The youngest dug through trash.

And him, taking food but not contributing to the family.

All because he wanted some meat.

The further he walked, the fewer street lamps there were.

He relaxed as he came upon the edge of Welton.

Not an MP in sight. Good. He didn’t want to deal with whatever power trip they were on.

Another mile to home. Then he could slip into bed. He would fall asleep for a few hours before getting up and doing it all over again.

One day at a time. He had to take it one day at a time.

He passed the last street lamp. The asphalt road turned to gravel.

As he walked, boots that weren’t his crunched on the gravel. He shivered and shoved his hands in his pockets.

While it had started to warm up as they neared the Spring Equinox, nights were still cold. When he breathed out, he could see his breath clouding in the air.

The tip of his nose felt cold. His ears started to hurt.

He furrowed his brow.

Yes, it was cold out. But not that cold.

It was also silent. People in the city thought the countryside was silent. It wasn’t. Except for now.

Where were all the owls? The rats that scurried around? The deer shuffling through the brush?

He heard…

Nothing.

Nothing except for boots crunching against the ground. Not his boots. They were off his pace. A step too fast.

He stopped, body rigid and headache forgotten as he listened. Holding his breath. Hoping to hear something in the forest.

Anything?

Nothing.

He let out another shaky breath. He could see the air more clearly.

He started walking again, picking up the pace.

Less than a mile from home now.

Whatever was out in the forest, it probably wouldn’t attack him. Not when it could chase deer and mice.

It was probably a dog. Something to scare away all the prey animals.

That’s it.

The air got colder.

His pace picked up.

Not quite a run yet.

More of a half-walk, half-jog sort of shuffle. As if full-out running would alert the predator that he was afraid. If he alerted them that he was afraid, they’d attack him.

The air got colder.

He couldn’t feel his toes. The tips of his fingers burned. His quads burned as the icy wind beat against him. He could feel the moisture in his nose crystallize.

When he blinked, his eyes would freeze shut for a second, making him panic even more.

He decided to run.

The faster he got home, the safer he would be.

His arms pumped back and forth.

His feet pushed off the gravel, sliding forward as he took off. His mouth fell open as he panted.

His heart pounded against his chest. His lungs expanded to bring in as much oxygen as he could. The air was so cold it hurt.

He ran.

And ran.

And ran.

It had to be less than a quarter of a mile now.

He could make it.

He was so close.

His left foot hit the ground. When he tried to push off, it stuck.

“Ah!” He cried out as he fell to the ground, instinctively throwing out his hands to catch his fall. He felt the right wrist buckle and crunch under the weight of his body. Pain shot up the arm.

More pain as his entire body fell to the ground. The ice-cold air made him feel every rock digging into his skin a thousand times more. It felt like knives pierced his body.

“I do like it when they run,” someone said.

He turned his head to see a man standing at the edge of the brush. Ice blue eyes and icy white skin illuminated him against the full moon.

“Witch?” he gasped.

How could one get this far into Deerland? How did he make it past all the guards?

The witch smiled and stepped out from the brush. He came to a stop in front of him. Grinning.

Every muscle tensed. Now that he knew he had been running from a witch, he wished he hadn’t been heading home. Would this man go after his wife and kids next? Did he lead him back to his family?

“See, this is where all you non-magic slugs belong,” the witch said. “On your knees in front of us. You can play soldier all you like. In the end, you cannot stop even the weakest of witches.”

He felt the ice crawl up his legs. His back. The cold burned through him, turning his skin black.

“You can’t…” he panted. He tried to wiggle his fingers and toes to keep the ice from claiming him fully. It did nothing.

“I can and I will.” The witch sighed. “Don’t blame me. Blame the soldier responsible for the Southern Fire Temple. I had a job to do. Now, I have to restore order. I think you soldiers have been allowed to run around for too long. It’s time you remember your place and feel the fear that is natural in all prey.”

The witch pressed a finger to the center of his forehead.

He screamed as ice pierced his skin. It sank into his blood. He screamed as the shards broke in his veins. Over and over and over again. Gathering. Collecting. Joining.

He screamed until the ice froze his vocal chords.

Growth

The truck rolled to a stop. Someone shouted orders. Soldiers moved into position in case they tried to make a break for it.

Josh took a deep breath, mind sharp once more. “Alright. We’re here. Everyone, let me do the talking. I’ll take the blame. It was my call to blow up the canyon. It was my call to not listen to Preston. I should receive the punishment.”

Ethan shook his head. “Josh, I can’t let you do this.”

“If he’s right and there’s a spy in our ranks, this might be our only chance to find them,” Henry said.

Only Priscilla seemed torn between loyalty and practicality.

They didn’t have another chance to argue.

The door slid open.

“Oh, come on now, Preston. Why are they trussed up like criminals?” An exasperated voice came.

Josh froze, then snapped into a salute. Or, at least he tried to. Given the fact that they shackled him to the side of the truck, it was rather difficult to stand and raise his hands. He ended up crashing into Ethan.

Priscilla and Henry hadn’t moved. Instead, gaping like fish.

There, at the opening of the truck, was none other than Seth Weaver. The High General. The highest-ranking person in the entire government. Or, at least he was supposed to be. Given his last name, technically, the old families had more power than he did. Nevertheless, he made it to the top. A place where they at least listened to him and followed his orders. So long as they didn’t hurt their bottom line.

“What the fuck?” Priscilla hissed under her breath.

“At ease, soldiers.” Weaver waved a hand at them as if Josh wasn’t still tangled up in Ethan’s lap and Priscilla hadn’t sworn in front of him.

General Seth Weaver was in his fifties, tall, though not as tall as Josh. Despite being the high general and therefore having access to more food than Josh could dream off, he was still rather lanky, with short salt and pepper hair cut short, but not regulation short. The one bit of rebellion he was allowed to have.

He turned back to Preston, eyes growing hard. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Josh would have felt a sick sort of glee from seeing the fear light up in Preston’s eyes. As it were, he was too busy trying to figure out if his plan was doable at this point to care.

He might have been able to convince an overworked bureaucrat that he acted alone. For the high general to get involved? Weaver shouldn’t know Josh existed!

“This team is under investigation,” Preston sputtered.

“Investigation?” Weaver hummed. Mildly interested as if Preston was discussing the weather. “For what?”

“For… for conspiracy?” Preston winced.

Weaver’s brow quirked up.

“And… consorting with witches?”

“Conspiracy and consorting with witches? You mean treason?”

“Yes, sir. Exactly, sir.” Preston breathed a sigh of relief.

He breathed too soon. The way Weaver spoke did not suggest he agreed with him. Though he couldn’t figure out what it did suggest. Only that it was bad for Preston. Maybe Josh as well.

“Why do you think Lieutenant Sans committed treason?”

“He knew about the charges in the canyon.”

Weaver stroked his chin. “It doesn’t seem like that far of a leap to make, in my opinion. The witches were clearly waiting for them. Why wouldn’t they also put up some extra precautions to make sure the team didn’t make it through?”

“Exactly!” Preston grabbed the lifeline offered. “They were waiting for them. That means there’s a leak. I think Sans is that leak. Look at them! Only the Sanses survived. I think they sold information to the witches for money, power, and revenge for their low station in life.”

Josh was proud of himself for not immediately laying into Preston about what he had said.

Ethan, on the other hand, had no such qualms. “Hang on a second, other Sanses died as well. Lieutenant Sans cares about all of those under his leadership. He did everything in his power to not have the mission be a complete bloodbath. Had we gone through the canyon, none of us would have survived.”

Three of them would have survived.

Ethan continued. “We wouldn’t have taken the Southern Fire Temple. We made that mission a success. This is how you repay us? We lost a lot of people in that canyon. Good people. Good soldiers. Sanses and non-Sanses alike!”

“See how they talk back?” Preston gestured at Ethan. “They don’t know their place. They’re a liability. Their taking of the Southern Fire Temple was dumb luck. Or a desperate pivot when they realized the very people who promised them power had left them for dead instead.”

This time, Josh did glare at Preston. Ethan was right. How dare he suggest that he didn’t care for everyone under his command when Preston was the one who sent them all to their deaths? He wanted to punch him so bad.

Preston was the worst kind of leader. The kind that didn’t earn it. The kind who was given it based on his last name. Men like Preston believed that they were better than everyone simply because of that last name. Granted, because society thought that, it made it hard to prove them wrong. It was a delusion, nevertheless. Weaver, on the other hand, had built himself up from practically nothing.

Granted, he had a last name, unlike the rest of them, which certainly helped. But he still had to fight against impossible odds to get where he was today.

The youngest son of poor farmers with twelve kids, Seth Weaver wasn’t expected to be much. Like many sons of poor farmers, he joined the military with the hope that at least he’d have food and a bed to sleep on every night. He rose through the ranks. He proved himself a quick study with a brilliant mind for strategy. When others failed, Weaver succeeded. Until he became the most powerful man in the government. Maybe even the world.

While Josh did join the army in hopes of providing enough money for Ethan to get a good education and be a poor farmer instead of a poor farm hand, he had to admit there was a spark in him that also wanted to be like Weaver. He held no delusions that he would be him. Rules still existed. A Sans could only get so high before hitting the ceiling. Josh wanted to get that high. Maybe even higher. He would prove to everyone that just because he came from nothing, it didn’t mean he couldn’t be something.

Now he was listening to Seth Weaver argue on his behalf. If he wasn’t worried about Ethan getting executed for defending his honor, he’d try to memorize everything about this interaction.

“They’re pretty poor spies if they defeated the lightning throwers and took the Southern Fire Temple.” Weaver pointed out.

“They thought their handlers left them to die!” Preston argued.

Weaver looked back in the truck at the four of them, then back at Preston. “You want me to believe that four Sanses sold information to witches, then the witches tried to kill them, so they killed them instead and took the Southern Fire Temple?”

“Yes!”

He looked back at them and then back to Preston. “Then I believe they have learned their lesson about selling information to witches. They won’t do it again. Will they?”

Preston sputtered some more, face turning red and purple.

“We’ll talk later. I want to speak to the hero who took the Southern Fire Temple.” He grinned at Josh.

Josh’s soul may have left his body at that moment.

“Of course, sir,” he managed to say in a strong, clear voice that in no way gave away how overwhelmed he felt.

Ethan and Priscilla weren’t as subtle, snickering behind him.

Weaver didn’t seem to notice or care. “Someone unlock these fine soldiers for me. Take the rest of the squad. Get medical to check them out. Then, give them a hot meal.”

Someone unlocked Josh’s cuffs.

Weaver wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him down the pathway. “I hope you don’t mind waiting. I wanted to talk to you, son.”

“Of course, sir. I’m not injured. I can wait to go to medical.”

“Good man.” He patted his back. “Let’s talk about what you pulled off in Canyon Pass.”

Despite General Weaver saying he wanted to talk about Canyon Pass, they did not immediately jump into a debrief like Josh expected. Like what the military dictated. Instead, they took a walk.

He followed, half a step behind, eyes scanning the horizon for any enemies, his mind still flipping between what was and what is.

He had been here a few weeks ago. Only, this was not the North Base of Welton that he had left. Where were the piles of rotting bodies? Was it always this loud? Was the sky always so covered in smog that made him want to cough until his throat ripped itself apart? Until blood filled his mouth?

And the noise.

On the battlefield, he hadn’t had a chance to acknowledge the noise. It was a battlefield. That was expected. He had forgotten how loud Welton was. The squealing of machines in the distance. Vehicles blared their horns. People cried. Shouted. Screamed. Rarely laughing, but he could make it out. He longed to press his hands to his ears. To drown out the noise. In the weeks he had spent in the apocalypse, he had forgotten the noise. The smell. The sticky, smog-laden sweat that clung to his skin. No breeze was strong enough to evaporate it properly.

He pressed his tongue against his back molars.

They didn’t move.

He took a deep breath.

His lungs did not crackle and pinch.

He tried to focus on the noise, the smell, the sight of Weaver walking slightly in front of him. To keep him grounded in this reality. It didn’t seem to work as well as he wanted

One step would suck the sound straight from his ears and the smog straight from his eyes. As he stared up into the brilliant blue sky. His tongue pressed hard enough on his molars to get them to move.

Then he’d take another step, and the life of Welton slammed back into him. Hard enough that he stumbled more than once.

Weaver never said anything, though.

Maybe he never noticed.

Josh focused his steps. Focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It worked.

Kind of.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth. They didn’t move. That seemed to ground him better than anything else. His eyes, ears, and nose, he learned, could trick him. Could become confused with what he was supposed to experience. His teeth never moved. Even as the scene switched between a desolate apocalypse and a bustling fort.

They walked to the apple orchards at the edge of the property. In the distance, he could see some troops in formation. They were young. Fresh recruits. Marching slightly out of step as their drill sergeant tried to teach them how to properly walk. Even after all this time, Josh wasn’t sure what the whole point of the marching in time was. Certainly, on the battlefield, he never needed to worry about whether or not he marched in step with the rest of his squad.

They came to a stop in front of an apple tree. The tree itself was rather short. Maybe only twelve feet or so. There weren’t many apples on the tree yet. The few that were on the tree were red and shiny. Like something out of a picture book.

His mouth watered. His stomach grumbled. His cheeks heated at the sound, hoping it was quiet enough so General Weaver didn’t hear it.

General Weaver looked at him, then smiled. He plucked an apple off the tree and handed it to Josh. It was tiny, maybe only the size of a tennis ball. Barely enough for a mouthful.

“Oh, thank you, sir.” He took the apple, not sure if this was all a test. If it was a test, he wasn’t sure what the right answers were. Should he refuse the apple? Or would that be an insult?

He didn’t know. He didn’t like that he didn’t know. Everything was supposed to have rules. Clearly defined structures with right and wrong were easy for anyone to know.

Don’t steal.

Don’t sell information to the witches.

Don’t disobey your superior officer even if the orders will get everyone killed.

This was different. There were no rules. Josh didn’t like that. He didn’t like it when things weren’t clearly defined. Black and white.

General Weaver didn’t say anything as he took the apple. No guards rushed out to arrest him. The apple didn’t explode in his hands.

He went to put the apple in his pocket.

General Weaver laughed. “You can eat it now. We’ve been working on modifying the trees so they produce fruit earlier. Most of our varieties start producing fruit in mid-summer. Let me know if it’s edible. Though I suppose with all the issues getting food, most people won’t care if it’s edible or not. It’s nice to have a bar so low that disgusting apples can seem like the most delicious thing a person’s ever tasted.”

Josh hesitated once more. General Weaver had given him a direct order. Eat the apple now. No shades of gray. Follow what his superior officers told him. Even if it led to death. Maybe this would. Maybe Weaver was testing a new way to kill those who didn’t follow directions and were traitors to the cause.

He wasn’t a traitor, though. He wanted to save the soldiers, to save everyone. He wanted to see Elijah again. Even if only for a moment.

General Weaver stared at him. Waiting. No doubt aware of the turmoil in his mind. The push and pull between being a good soldier and thinking for oneself. This was the military, though. They didn’t allow him to think for himself.

He took a bite of the apple. It was sweet and juicy, but with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. The flesh of the apple itself was mealy, almost crumbling to pieces in his mouth. It wasn’t the worst apple he had ever tasted, but not the best either.

General Weaver smiled. “You’ve been in for about a decade now?”

“The military?” He was aware of the apple juice dribbling down his chin and onto his uniform. At least the uniform was covered in sweat, blood, dirt, and gods know what else. His face, on the other hand, was more of a point of embarrassment. The apple juice streaked through the dirt, leaving tracks of sticky residue on his chin. He must have looked like a little kid.

He did his best to wipe the juice from his chin. All he did was smear more dirt on his face. It made the sleeve of his uniform sticky.

Weaver nodded.

“Yes, sir. Entered when I was fifteen. Been in ever since.”

General Weaver pulled a face. “Great Deer God, that’s young. Maybe too young.”

“I’d already been working since I was five, sir. I didn’t get onto the front lines until I turned eighteen.” That didn’t sound much better.

He took another bite of the apple. This time, as his teeth sank into the flesh with a crunch, the world shifted. He still stood in front of the apple trees. Elijah was with him. They were debating whether or not they were safe to eat, or if the radiation had gotten to them, too.

“No.” Elijah shook his head. “No, we should stick to canned food. Unopened canned food. It’s too risky.”

Josh stood there. Apple hanging in his mouth. Frozen.

Wait, he hadn’t eaten an apple then. He had agreed with Elijah, even as he longed to try the fruit.

Elijah started walking toward the mess hall. He stumbled a bit. Josh rushed out to catch him.

Josh stood in the orchard with an apple in his mouth.

“Are you okay?”

He was dying, even at that moment, he was dying. Josh didn’t notice. Didn’t do anything to help him. Just let Elijah waste and waste and waste until he had no choice but to⁠—

The sound of gunshots threw Josh back into his body. He remained upright, despite it all. Still frozen in place with the apple in his mouth. It tasted like ash. His body seemed to reject the fruit. Threatening to throw up every bite he had swallowed. He looked to where Elijah had fallen. He needed help. He needed Josh now. To stop him from dying.

Where was he?

He should be right there. Right in front of him. On the ground.

Why wasn’t he there?

“Relax, son,” General Weaver said.

Josh flinched and turned toward him. Right, that hadn’t happened yet. Or wouldn’t happen. Or didn’t happen. Elijah wasn’t with them. Elijah was still alive. Still safe. Like Ethan and Priscilla. Josh was here with General Weaver, eating apples and talking about his military career.

“You aren’t in trouble,” Weaver continued.

He pulled the apple from his mouth and tucked it into his pocket. “How could I not be? I disobeyed orders. Colonel Preston was clear how he wanted the mission to go⁠—”

“It would have failed had you done what he had asked.” General Weaver ran a hand through his greying hair. “We all know the man’s a dumbass. You, on the other hand, saved three lives. You secured the Southern Fire Temple. You didn’t let the witch bastards get the best of you. You showed them why we are going to win this war. What would have happened had you not done what you did?”

Ethan would have died.

Priscilla would have died.

The temple would have remained under witch control.

The boy may have survived.

He didn’t speak any of this out loud.

“Preston is an ass who bought his way into the position. There’s a war on. We can’t afford for incompetent people to be in charge. But I can’t say no to them.” General Weaver looked to him with an intense expression on his face. “You’re a better soldier than him. A better strategist. But, because you were born with no family to claim you, there’s only so far you can climb.”

He pulled an apple off the tree and took a bite. “Meanwhile, idiots like Preston get to rule the world. I do plan on dealing with it. It’s on my to-do list. This war keeps getting in the way of everything.”

He looked out at the apple trees with a wistful expression on his face. “It’s hard to make the perfect society when you have enemies trying to kill your people. When I became the high general, I thought it’d be easy to make people do what I want. It’s not easy, though. The most powerful man in the world still has to bow to something.”

Josh nodded. The apple sat heavy in his gut, but no longer felt like it threatened to spill back out of his mouth with bile.

“Ethan Sans and you go way back, right?”

“Yes, sir. We were in the same foster home growing up.”

No need to mention that Josh was the one who had found him. Josh was the one who took care of him all those years. The reason why Josh had to work at such a young age was that Ms. Harper refused to feed Ethan.

“You must have been so mad when he enlisted.”

“Sir?”

General Weaver looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Remember, I am the youngest child in my family. My own older brother gave me quite the verbal lashing when he found out I enlisted. I figure it’s something similar between you two.”

He felt his shoulders relax slightly. Despite Weaver being one of the most powerful people in the world, if not the most powerful person in the world, he was casual. It felt more like Josh was talking to a friend than someone who could decide whether he lived or died. He wouldn’t completely let his guard down. If he were to stop the witches from dropping the bombs, then he needed to have Weaver on his side. It seemed like Weaver was eager to be on his side. He had already insulted Preston. He admitted that it was okay for someone to be mad when a family member joined the military. He worked to elevate the Sanses so they were no longer the dregs of society. It gave him hope.

“I was pissed when I found out he enlisted,” Josh admitted.

He studied Weaver’s face to see if he didn’t like what he had said.

Instead, he laughed. “Nothing greater than the idolization a younger brother has for his older siblings. Of course, all of my older siblings are idiots. Not much to idolize there.”

“I’m sure Corporal Sans would say the same thing about me,” Josh said. “Even though he certainly idolizes me.”

“Are you calling me a liar? Suggesting I idolize my older brothers?”

Josh paled. “No, sir. That was an observation of Ethan Sans.”

“It’s fine. I’m telling you now, son. You are not in trouble. I’m trying to get to know you.”

“Oh, right, sir. Sorry, sir.”

“And you’re married to Dr. Healer, correct?” He continued.

Josh’s breath caught in his throat.

Elijah.

In all the chaos of dying and trying to figure out what to do about Canyon Pass, he hadn’t gotten confirmation that Elijah was still alive. Only a vague hope that he was. This was the first confirmation he received that Elijah Healer was alive right now. He hadn’t died in that horrible apocalypse.

He hadn’t killed himself.

He was still here. Alive and warm.

He wanted to break down right then and there. Rush off to find his husband so he could hug him and never let him go.

He couldn’t. Not with Weaver standing in front of him.

Instead, he swallowed down the whirlwind of emotions battering at his mind and replied, “That’s correct, sir.”

Per the rules of society, Josh couldn’t take Elijah’s last name when they got married. It was considered ‘fraud’ since having a last name would give him access to greater social mobility. He didn’t want access to greater social mobility. He wanted to share something with Elijah. Something that showed the world they were together. It was unfair.

“That is a fine medic. Loyal too. When he found out Preston had you lot court-martialed, he practically bullied his way into my office to give me a piece of his mind.”

This time, Josh did choke. What the fuck was Elijah thinking? “I am so sorry, sir. Dr. Healer forgets the military is not the same as a hospital.”

General Weaver waved him off. “Don’t apologize. It’s good to have passion. I worry this war has taken too much from us. We’re all tired. We all want it to wrap up.” He plucked another apple from the tree, turning it in his hands. He did not offer this one to Josh.

“All of this suffering does make it hard for me to make the world a better place for us. All of us.”

“Sir?”

“You think I don’t hate this bullshit caste system? I may not be on the bottom, Sans, but I’m close enough to know that this entire system helps no one. I’d trade you for Preston in a heartbeat. I can’t. Because–”

“He’s a Preston, I’m a Sans,” Josh said.

Weaver hummed in agreement. “This goddamn war forces me to put most of my focus on that. I hate it. I hate that good people like you are stuck at the bottom while people like Preston get handed their positions. When I first accepted this job, I was young and dumb.”

“Weren’t you in your forties, sir?”

Preston laughed. “Like I said, young and dumb. You’ll realize forty isn’t old when you get there, Sans. But I thought I could make all the changes I needed to make. If only I said the right words.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “How foolish was I? I think those at the top want the war to continue forever. It gives them an excuse for why they have to treat Sanses and Careers like trash.”

Josh didn’t answer him or agree with him. He suspected as much, but didn’t want to end up jailed for speaking out against the system.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more. I’m sorry Preston had you arrested. You’re a good man, Sans. A good soldier. I’m excited to see where your career is headed.”

Josh’s cheeks flushed. “I hope to help end the war, sir.”

Weaver laughed again. This time lighter and more genuine. “Now that’s what I like to hear. I’m going to keep an eye on you. If you’re as good as I think you are, you could definitely help me.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, sir.”

“No, don’t be humble. I know it’s trained into you, but don’t be humble. You made progress against the witches. You got us over the Great Divide. You took their Southern Fire Temple. With only three squad members, no less. That’s a great feat, Lieutenant. I hope that’s a good sign for us. That peace will come sooner rather than later.”

“Peace, sir?”

“Believe it or not, I still hope for a way forward with the witches. A way to finally find peace.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Oh yes. I think they can be great tools for society. They can grow crops. Cure diseases. Make the rain come and go. It’s all about how they are allowed to use their powers. Sadly, Isaiah Iurisdictio doesn’t seem to share my vision.”

“He’s the witch king, correct?”

“Apparently, one of the strongest witches in the world. Do you know how their magic works?”

He shook his head. “I know the basics, sir. Not much else beyond that. Some of them shoot lightning, some of them shoot ice. All of them can be defeated with an iron bar down their throats.”

And some of them were Death.

Weaver smirked. “Ah, you wouldn’t need to know, would you. Basically, from what I understand, their powers are shaped like a pyramid. The most powerful people are at the top. The least powerful are at the bottom. The higher up you go, the fewer people you have. They put Creation, or Life, depending on who you ask, at the top.”

“And that’s where Iurisdictio is?”

“No. I think he’s considered Order. One step down. It goes Creation, then that splits into Healing and Order. Then those split. Oh, what do they split into again? I know a subset of Healing is Knowledge. The Knowledge splits into Art and Science. Then Art and Science split into different categories. Music, Poetry, Chemistry. You get the picture. I think Growth or Gardening or whatever is under Healing somewhere. I have a whole pyramid in my office. We have been trying to figure out the splits for a while now to better understand our enemies. How powerful they might be. Even after centuries of being their slaves, we still know so little about how their magic works.”

“Hang on a second. They have magic poets? Are they better than regular poets?” Josh couldn’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of it all.

Why have slaves in the first place if you already had people who could do everything a non-magic slave could do? What was the purpose of having someone with the magical power of music?

General Weaver gave him a smile. “A bit weird. It works for them. Eventually, though, everything splits into what they call Elementals. The bottom of the pyramid. This is where most of the population sits. You got fire, water, air, metal, earth.”

“I never understood that, sir. If the pyramid splits, that means there would be thousands of elementals? There are only five.”

Weaver shrugged. “We have eggheads whose sole job is to study this sort of thing. Even they can’t make heads or tails of it most of the time. The elementals are at the bottom, that's all I know for sure.”

“Lightning,” Josh muttered. He could still taste the ozone from the lightning throwers.

“If I remember correctly, that’s a subset of fire.”

“Great, more subsets.”

“The point is that there are a lot of useful people on that pyramid. If only Iurisdictio was man enough to admit it. He needs to sign a damn treaty to end the war and give us what is rightfully ours.”

Something nagged at Josh.

His eyes fell on the horizon. The buildings all blocked it. A few miles outside of the city, there were hills. Even though he couldn’t see her, he swore she was there. Watching him. Cloaked in white. Standing shadowed against the setting sun.

“What about Death?” He decided to risk asking.

Weaver turned to him, brow furrowed. “Death?”

Josh pulled his eyes from the horizon back to him. “What about witches who can control death? Or decay? Or destruction?”

It had to be one of those. Micah called the temple a Death Temple, but he supposed if the top of the pyramid could be Life or Creation, then there could be a death or decay witch somewhere out there. Maybe it went under gardening. Composting was a form of death and decay after all. A vital part of growing food.

Weaver stared at him for a bit. His expression unreadable. Josh stood with his back straight and chin held high, even as he worried he had tipped his hand. Revealed more than he needed to reveal. Right now, he was not arrested for treason. Right now, no one but him knew about Micah and his role with her. He should try to keep it that way.

Weaver must have seen all he needed to see. “As far as I can tell, there are no death witches. Could you imagine what would happen if death witches existed? They’d slaughter us.” He shuddered. “A witch who can control death? Now that’s something I don’t want to ever experience. Don’t worry, son. All you have to deal with are elementals.”

Then what temple did he and Micah go to?

Or did he even go to a temple?

Did he witness the end of the world? Did Ethan and Priscilla die? Did Elijah? Did he press the cold barrel of the gun to his temple? Did he try to kill himself?

Did he die?

“Enough talk about witches.” Weaver wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him away from the orchard. “Tell me about Canyon Pass? Did anything else happen? You didn’t exactly have time to submit a detailed report, what with Preston trying to get you executed.”

Josh could feel the apple in his pocket. Wetting the cloth. Rubbing against his thigh.

The bombs were going to drop. He didn’t know where Micah was. He didn’t have time to waste. He didn’t know who was on his side. Hell, he still wasn’t sure what was real and what was fake.

Should he tell General Weaver and risk being labeled a traitor?

Ethan, Priscilla, Henry, and Elijah’s faces popped into his mind.

This was like any other mission. He shouldn’t move without more intel. If he did, he could fail before he had a chance to succeed. He shouldn’t panic. He shouldn’t react. He should gather intel. He would tell Weaver eventually, after he had something more solid than vague memories of a death witch.

General Weaver squeezed his shoulder.

“Well, sir, the trouble started as soon as we set foot in the canyon.” Josh started.

He wracked his brain, trying to keep straight what had happened at Canyon Pass. What had happened in the first Canyon Pass? He figured he did a good job, considering Weaver didn’t seem to catch any inconsistencies.

“What about Preston’s spy?” he asked as Josh finished his debrief.

“It’s not anyone on my squad,” Josh was quick to say.

“But?” Weaver pressed.

He hesitated. Knowing about the land mines was one thing. Knowing about the Spy was a completely separate issue.

“Come on, son. If you know something, say something. You could save a lot of lives.”

The thing was, he didn’t know if he knew something. The traitor had been found and executed not long after they found the witch. His name had been Levi Brenner. He couldn’t remember the details. He had still been reeling from the loss of Ethan. He had tried to support Priscilla the best way he knew how. Then he reeled from her loss. He didn’t care about a fucking traitor. He didn’t care what information they did or did not sell to witches. Furthermore, he had no proof. He wasn’t sure what proof they had in the first place to arrest the guy.

Weaver clearly sensed that he was keeping something from him. If he said nothing, that would only look more suspicious.

All his options weighed, he spoke. “I think there is a spy in our ranks. Probably Intelligence since the Canyon Pass mission was on a need-to-know basis.”

Weaver stiffened. His jaw flexed almost imperceptibly. “I see.”

“I don’t know who, though.” He lied. “I swear they are not on our team. That entire campaign was wrong. They knew we were coming. They had enough time to prepare. There is a leak somewhere.”

“Of course.” Weaver clapped him on his shoulder. “We’ll need to investigate further, then. Do you have any ideas who it could be?”

Yes.

Josh didn’t get a chance to decide if it was a good idea to lie or not as a man approached them hurriedly.

He recognized him as Gabriel Deer. He was Weaver’s second in command. He snapped to a salute.

“Sir.”

“Ah, Gabriel,” Weaver said, sending him a strained smile. “Come to boss me around some more?” He turned to Josh. “Sometimes I wonder who is actually the leader.”

Josh stayed frozen in place, unsure if he was allowed to laugh or not.

Deer came to a stop in front of him, face twisted into a scowl. His eyes landed on Josh. It didn’t seem possible, but his face seemed to get angrier once he realized who stood next to Weaver.

Josh was offended until he remembered how Elijah had apparently told off the upper cabinet for having him arrested.

Deer didn’t say anything to him or tell him to drop his position. “You have a meeting in five minutes.”

“I am well aware. I wanted to talk to Lieutenant Sans here about what happened at Canyon Pass. He agrees with Preston’s sentiment that there is a traitor, but disagrees that it’s him.”

Deer’s eyes flickered back over to him. Something about his face made Josh freeze.

He knows. Josh sucked in a breath.

He didn’t know how Gabriel Deer of all people would know that he was from the future or was in hell or whatever was going on, but he knew. He had to have known.

“Of course, he would disagree that he’s the traitor. Wouldn’t be a good spy if he told you everything so easily.”

“Are you suggesting we torture Lieutenant Sans here until he tells us everything he knows?” Weaver grinned.

Deer would say something to Weaver. All that goodwill and good rapport that Josh had built with him would go right out the window because Gabriel Deer could sniff out a traitor. That’s what Josh was. A traitor. He worked with a witch and didn’t tell anyone about it.

Deer pulled his eyes from Josh and turned back to Weaver. “Torture doesn’t give you the truth. It only gives you the answers you want. Useless in my opinion. If he is the traitor, he’ll slip up soon enough.”

“Very good point.” He nudged Josh’s side. “Don’t worry, son. No one is torturing you for information. Yet. You’ve proven yourself a valuable asset. It’d be a shame to lose you.”

“Sir,” Deer snapped. “You can read his report later. This meeting is important. The leader of Moldrovia is here.”

“Right, right. The meeting. I hate begging for money.”

“Then don’t beg. Don’t be late.” He turned to Josh. “Tell your husband that it is treason to threaten bodily harm to the upper cabinet. Even if he feels your arrest was unjustified.”

Josh winced. “I’ll let him know, sir.”

Deer seemed satisfied as he pulled Weaver away.

Once they were out of sight, Josh dropped his salute. He dug the apple out of his pocket and tossed it on the ground.

“That guy needs to get the stick out of his ass,” he grumbled.

He stood in the orchard for several minutes. Listening. Waiting. Watching. He flexed his hand a few times, as if that would prove that he wasn’t some mirage ready to disintegrate in the wind. This was the first time he had had a chance to stop and think about what was going on. He hated it. Now that he wasn’t dying and the people around him weren’t dying, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know where to turn to. Where to go. What were the next steps?

Despite knowing what would happen, knowing the bombs were coming, he was stuck. Completely stuck.

Standing here wasn’t going to help. He knew that much.

“Medical first. Then I see Elijah. Then I can figure out what the fuck I need to do.”

He pressed his tongue to his teeth. They didn’t move.

Procrastination at its finest.

Politics

Seth’s smile dropped as soon as he stepped away from Lieutenant Sans. If someone had told him that he would spend more time begging for support rather than making actual decisions, he may have reconsidered taking the job.

He thought, naively, when he stepped up as High General of the entire army, that people would fall easily into place and do what he wanted, when he wanted. Certainly, that had more or less been his experience as a normal general. He gave his orders. The troops obeyed. Everyone was happy.

Only, things worked differently as the high general. He couldn’t order the Ravens or the Deers to give up their wealth for the effort. He couldn’t order the Prestons and Johns to step down and let someone actually competent take up command.

Well, technically, he could. No one could stop him. But they had their own private armies that would make it nearly impossible for Seth to enforce those rules.

“The consulate of Moldrovia is– “

“I know,” he snapped as Deer was no doubt about to launch into a lengthy explanation as to who Victor Ivonivich was. As if Seth had forgotten all their previous talks.

He didn’t think that Deer thought he had forgotten. He thought that Deer was merely trying to make him feel incompetent.

He didn’t deserve this position, according to Deer.

Deer viewed him as a pitiful case. No matter that Seth had made more progress on the war front in the past three years than anyone who had come before him, except for maybe those original generals.

He was better than practically everyone in the military. Still, they doubted him simply because of his last name.

He’d prove them all wrong. He’d win this war no matter what. He’d do what no one else could. If only they would let him.

“Would you like me to take notes, sir?” Deer asked. His voice barely contained his contempt.

“Yes. Take notes. That’s all you're good for anyway.” Seth waved a dismissive hand at him.

Deer expected him to still snivel and cower at him. To still fear the repercussions of talking to a high-caste member in such a way. It had to irritate him to no end that Seth refused. He let out all his vitriol on the man. All the things he had kept pent up inside of him since birth, the things he wanted to say to others since he was a child. Now he could.

Because Gabriel Deer was his assistant. Not the other way around.

“Of course, sir,” Deer responded.

Seth needed to figure out a way to get Joshua Sans directly under him. That boy had a good head on his shoulders. Smart and not afraid to stick up for what he believed in. His direct refusal to obey Preston’s asinine orders not only kept him and several members of his team alive, but also led them to take the Southern Fire Temple. They had finally broken through the Great Divide after a nearly fifty-year stalemate.

If he could position Sans strategically in his chain of command, he had no doubt more victories would come. That would make him look all the better on the world stage. Then, they might get some actual support from other countries. Not just Moldrovia and the small group that still stayed sympathetic to their cause.

They entered Seth’s office.

He went to sit at his desk. “Send him in.”

Deer stepped out without a word to alert the consulate that they were ready for their meeting.

Seth ran a hand through his hair and took a deep, calming breath. He had good news for Victor. A lot of good news. Maybe this would convince Victor to up the amount of fuel sent to Deerland. And more technology. That was the witches’s greatest weakness. They stayed stuck in the past, relying on tradition rather than innovation. But, if the soldiers kept upgrading and updating their tech, soon, the witches would be left in the dust. After a hundred years of keeping everything exactly the same, they’d learn why that was a bad idea.

The door swung open. Victor Ivonivich, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a thick dark beard and hair, bustled into the room.

“Seth! How good it is to see you!” His voice boomed. Everyone in the building could hear him. “I trust that the technology we have provided has been put to good use?”

Seth stepped out from around the desk to shake Victor’s hand. “Victor, nice to see you again. Of course it has. The rolling blackouts have decreased significantly thanks to your help.” He rapped his knuckles just under a light fixture to illustrate his point. “I trust the trip over here was smooth. The upgrades to ships make ocean travel so fast these days.”

“Ay, they do. We made some progress on the flying machines.”

“Really?” Seth’s interest was piqued.

He had sent a few scientists up to Moldrovia to experiment with making things fly in the air. If they could get something to fly over the Great Divide, the war would be theirs. They could drop bombs. Fire. Even people. Instead of a slow, treacherous trek on land to make it to Gopherai and Osairae, they could fly there.

“Yes. They cannot get very far, but–”

“They don’t need to get far to do some damage,” Seth said.

“Exactly!” Victor let out a booming laugh. It was quick. His smile dropped. He cleared his throat.

“What is it?” Seth said.

Victor pinched his brow. “I am going to come right out and say it. These pleasantries are no good when I know what must be done.”

“What are you talking about?” Seth’s stomach turned sour. He could see Gabriel Deer in the corner of the room, writing rapidly, every word that was spoken. He now wished he hadn’t told him to do that.

“This war, it has been going on for a hundred years. How much longer can it possibly last? Are we funding a war with no end?”

“Not much longer.” Desperation clawed at the back of his throat.

“General Weaver–”

“We’ve broken through the Great Divide down south and taken the Southern Fire Temple. With that under our control, we have a shot at taking Gopherai. Once we do that, the major port city will be shut off. That will make it more difficult for the witches to get supplies.”

“General–”

“I have a plan that will win this war by the end of the year. I need your support. Your fuel, your weapons, your technology, your research, we cannot do it without you.”

Victor sighed heavily. “Seth, I understand. Moldrovia has always supported your cause. The slavery your people have been forced to endure is horrific. You deserve to live in peace. Your people are not the only people in the world. We are giving you so many resources and spending so much of our own money to help you. What do you have to show for it?”

“The Southern Fire Temple!”

“Ah, yes, one temple across the border. How many feet did you take? How is this any different from all the other times you’ve taken a couple of feet?”

Rage burned through Seth’s blood. He clenched his fists at his side and bit his tongue so hard that he tasted blood.

“This is different. Before, it was only a couple of hundred feet. This is a mile over the Great Divide.”

This didn’t convince Victor.

“We took the Temple a few days ago. With a little more time, we can make more progress.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“Take my progress back to your congress.” He begged.

He hated begging.

He swore he would never beg again. That he would earn everything he got in life. Yet, here he was. High General. The most powerful person in Deerland and he had to beg. To plead with the Nature Caste to give him their money and resources. To beg the leaders of foreign countries to continue their support.

Nothing but begging. He hated it.

Victor stared at him, then, he nodded. “Alright. I leave tomorrow on the ship. Currents are faster coming here than going back. When I land in Moldrovia, if you make further progress, I will reconsider withdrawing my support. The flying machines are being unloaded now. Use them wisely. It may be the last I can give you.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “I am sorry, Seth. I am. I want to keep supporting you. You know, resources are limited. Every year, our crops give less and less. Our country becomes more and more unstable. It is just just you who are suffering. I cannot give you everything.”

“You could give me more troops,” Seth snapped.

“If you make good progress, maybe we will consider that. Good progress, Seth. Not a little temple right over the border. Something concrete. A month. I want good progress in a month.”

“A month!”

It took a month to plan a campaign. Especially with Preston kicking up a fuss, that would only slow things down more. Apparently, they had a traitor in their ranks. How was he supposed to make any good progress in a month when there wasn’t much in the Southern portion of Megaloceros in the first place! It was all desert. The only reason he was putting this much effort into it was because if he took Gopherai, he’d cut off the major supply route to Osairae. It would take them a month to get there!

“I have already given you a hundred years. I do not want to give a hundred more.” He clapped Seth on the shoulder one last time before saying his goodbyes and taking his leave.

Once they were alone, Deer, the little asshole, spoke. “Shall I type up these notes and put them in the official correspondences.”

Seth glared at him and then stormed out of the office. “Piss off. I have a campaign to plan. Go eat black market chocolate or something.”

A month to make major progress.

He thought of Joshua Sans and his miracle victory at Canyon Pass.

Yes, he needed him directly in his chain of command. If Sans could pull off that, then he might just be what Seth needed to convince Moldrovia and the rest of the world that the soldiers were worth being supported.

Grief

Something buzzed in the back of Josh’s head. Under his skin. Almost like insects were crawling underneath. It didn’t feel bad.

When he focused on it, it made him feel restless. The kind of restlessness that had you drumming your fingers on a desk. Clicking a pen absentmindedly. The need to move. Being unable to.

Maybe it was because they were forcing him to sit through what had to be the longest medical exam known to man. Or maybe now everything was catching up with him. He was crashing from the adrenaline. The non-stop fear of death had hung over him for two weeks. Or maybe his body was starting to fall apart. Unspooling from the inside out from whatever Micah had done to him. Would medical catch it?

The doctor didn’t say anything if he did. Instead, he sat at his computer typing as slowly as possible.

“It looks like your heart stopped for a second,” he said as he read Josh’s HComm. He sounded bored. Shouldn’t seeing a heart stop illicit more of a reaction?

“Must have been a glitch.” Josh’s knee bounced up and down.

The doctor looked at him, then to his knee, then to his HComm. “Did you feel your heart stop?”

Yes.

“What would that feel like?” He answered.

A painful squeeze. A pressure on his lungs. His blood stopping in his veins. Sinking to the bottom.

“I think you’d notice if your heart stopped.”

He did.

“I didn’t.”

The doctor hummed. “Must be a glitch in the HComm.”

“That’s what I said!”

“Sir, please, don’t get aggressive with me.”

“I’m not…” Josh flexed his hands and pressed his tongue against his teeth. They didn’t move. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long couple of weeks. I want to go home. Can we hurry this up?”

The doctor stared at him, then went back to typing on his computer. He wished Elijah would do his check-up instead. He wouldn’t because they were married. He threw around words like ‘ethics’ and phrases like ‘needing to be emotionally separated from the patient to make the right calls’. Normally, Josh was fine with that explanation. Now it annoyed him to no end.

He wanted to see Elijah. He needed to see Elijah. He wouldn’t believe this wasn’t some pre-death fever dream until he saw Elijah.

“Lay down, sir.” The doctor did not care about Josh’s explanation or apology.

He did as the doctor commanded. The quicker he cooperated, the quicker he’d be out of here to figure out his next move.

Could anyone sense his treachery? Could they sniff it out like a bloodhound as the stench of it sank into his clothes? He wanted to argue that he wasn’t a traitor. He was trying to stop the witches from killing everyone. Yes, he worked with one, but that was a means to an end. The end of the war. With the soldiers as the victors, society could be fully just for all.

Even Weaver had expressed a willingness to work with the witches, if only their pride would allow them to end the war.

On the upside, as he lay on the table and the doctor pressed on his abdomen, he had come to the conclusion that this wasn’t some pre-death fever dream. This was happening. At Canyon Pass, he was less certain. Now, too much had changed. He had never been to this doctor before. He had never talked to General Weaver and General Deer in the apple orchard. Preston had never accused him of being a traitor.

Ergo, this was real.

But he wasn’t sure what to do with this knowledge.

What if the witches had used Micah as a trick to convince him to work with them? What if they showed him visions of death and destruction as a new tactic to get soldiers to do their bidding? Then, by Josh seeking out Micah and stopping the bombs, he secured a witch victory; the re-enslavement of all non-witches.

“Is there any pain?” the doctor asked.

“What?”

“You tensed. Is there any pain?”

Josh shook his head. “Sorry. I’m still reeling from everything.”

The doctor nodded. “You can sit up. Let me fill out the paperwork, then you can go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Intel.

It all came back to intel.

He didn’t have enough intel.

That had to be his first step. Before he found Micah. Before he stopped the bombs. Before he told anyone anything, even Elijah. He needed to know what he was working with.

If General Weaver allowed Josh to follow protocol, they’d keep him on base for three weeks. This would ensure they’d conduct a “proper” investigation into Josh’s loyalties to satisfy Preston (though this wouldn’t satisfy the man). Then they’d ship him back out.

Three weeks, then, was how much time he’d get to figure out… something. Maybe to see if witches could send him visions of death. Of course, he’d have to be careful not to arouse suspicion, and he’d be unable to leave base for at least a few days. At least until they determined he wasn’t a flight risk.

Doctor’s visit done, the MPs ushered Josh over to the Office of Internal Justice, where they shoved more paperwork in his face to fill out. They took his fingerprints, samples of his blood, skin, and hair. Took photos of him along with his current height and weight. He signed form after form after form stating that he wasn’t a traitor. He wouldn’t flee Welton to evade justice. He would follow all the rules like a good little soldier.

Did anyone actually believe what he was writing down?

He answered what felt like hundreds of questions about his loyalties, his background, what he had been doing before shipping out, what he was planning on doing during his “time off,” and the like.

Josh answered them all exactly as they expected him to answer.

He wasn’t a traitor.

He grew up in the Harper Home for Sanses.

He joined the military at fifteen.

He retook his sniper training before his most recent deployment.

He was planning on relaxing with his friends and husband.

And on and on and on.

By the end of the day, the restlessness that had been crawling under his skin was now threatening to break out. He felt like his skin split open with all the fidgeting. The insects crawling through the ripped seams, over his face and hands.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth.

“Alright, I think that’s all we need from you now.” The colonel signed off on yet another form that stated Josh wasn’t a traitor and planning on bringing down the government. “You will be required to stay on base or within five miles of the base at all times. If you go outside of that five-mile radius without consent from your superior officers, you will be held without bail until your trial. Is that understood?”

“Wait, I can leave base?” he asked. “Don’t these sorts of investigations require me to stay on base at all times?”

The colonel gave him an unimpressed look. “Do you want to be confined to base for the next three weeks?”

Josh winced. “No, sir. I wanted to make sure I understood the rules correctly so I didn’t make a mistake.”

The colonel hummed. “Your curfew is 2000 hours every night. If you are not in approved quarters at that time, you will be arrested and held without bail until your trial. You can be called in for questioning without warning. You are subjected to searches of your person and living quarters at any time without warning. You will not be allowed to know how the investigation is going, and you are not allowed to ask any questions pertaining to your investigation. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

If he could leave, that made things much easier. He could research at a few libraries off base. The cameras were a bit of a problem. He couldn’t check out any books, but he could figure something out.

“Good.” The colonel stamped the paperwork. “Go home. Get some rest. Treat these next few weeks like a vacation.”

That made it sound like the outcome of his investigation was a forgone conclusion. Given how Weaver talked to him, that was likely. No one seemed to take Preston’s accusations seriously. Josh was glad.

Another traitor hid in their midst. The government shouldn’t waste its time on him.

“Free at last?” Ethan clapped him on the back as he finally exited.

The sun had almost completely set. Curfew would be soon.

Priscilla and Henry were standing off to the side, chatting.

“Not really. They’ll watch every move I make. If I’m not in bed by 2000 hours, they’ll arrest me. What about you guys?”

“Oh, we’re not under investigation,” Priscilla said.

“Really?”

“Don’t act so surprised,” Henry rolled his eyes. “We were following your orders. You weren’t following Preston’s. How were we supposed to know you went off script?”

Priscilla elbowed him. “At least pretend to be upset that the lieutenant is taking the fall for this.”

“I am! We were all worried they’d throw you to the dogs. A sacrificial lamb so Preston doesn’t cause too much trouble. While it sucks you’re not totally off the hook, it’s better than what it could have been.”

“It is better than a jail cell,” Priscilla said. “We’re planning on going to the bar right outside of base to celebrate. Want to come? You have about an hour and a half before curfew.”

“Ah—”

“He doesn’t want to,” Henry said. “He wants to see Dr. Healer.”

Josh felt the back of his neck heat up. “I mean⁠—”

“Elijah can come too. In fact, we should invite him. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him,” Ethan said.

Priscilla whacked him upside the head. “What do you think they’re going to do after having not seen each other for six months?”

Ethan tilted his head to the side, his brow furrowed as he thought through the possibilities. Then it hit him what Priscilla implied. He made a face. “Oh, ew! That’s my older brother you’re talking about.”

“Someone had to say it. Both of them are too nice to tell you no.” Henry pulled Ethan away. “Enjoy your evening. We’ll go out tomorrow night. All of us. Sound good?”

He nodded. “Yeah, sounds good. You three stay out of trouble, please. Especially since we just got out of trouble.”

“Don’t we always?” Priscilla beamed. She linked her arm in Ethan’s. The three of them walked into the cool evening of early spring.

The tension melted from him as he heard them laughing. 

He lifted his hand to the sky, wiggling his fingers and letting the breeze brush against his body.

It didn’t feel real. He could feel his mind trying desperately to connect threads of what was, what is, and what will be. Was Ethan dead or not? Had Canyon Pass been a failure or not? Was Josh suspected of treason or not? He knew that Ethan was alive. Canyon Pass had been a success. He was under “investigation” for treason.

He also knew that Ethan was dead. Canyon Pass had been a failure. He wasn’t suspected of treason.

Both histories were so different from one another that he struggled to pick one.

Maybe it was all still so new. That was why he was struggling. Maybe after a few weeks, his mind and body would settle into their new reality. He’d slowly forget what had happened before. Hopefully not too much, though, as he needed to keep his mission front and center.

Maybe this was a dream from a witch to harm him. Or maybe it all did happen. He had a second chance to fix everything. Either way, this war had gone on long enough. He was ending it.

Perhaps it was foolish to think one man could end the war.

He put his hand down and walked home.

Elijah had called him a pragmatist. Had said that sort of thinking was important for the end of the world. The world hadn’t ended yet. Was his realistic view still useful? Did he still need to be a realist or should he be an optimist?

Some combination of both, maybe?

He toed open his door and kicked off his boots. Private residences didn’t have as many cameras. That would be astronomically expensive, after all. He’d still have to be wary of a few.

Damn, maybe he was a traitor. If he thought of cameras and sneaking around. That’s what traitors did, after all.

This was for a good purpose, he told himself. This was to end the war.

He stepped fully into the apartment. There was the table Ethan made him for his wedding. And their worn, red couch. Now more of a brown due to years of wear. And the small alter to the Lion-Bodied Goddess on the windowsill. Everything exactly as he left it when he deployed six months earlier. The apocalypse hadn’t happened.

His breath caught in his throat as Elijah came around the corner.

Elijah smiled at him. There he was. Real, alive, and breathing. His skin wasn’t pale and blue. His eyes weren’t clouded over. His glasses weren’t cracked. The cool weather tinged his cheeks red. His auburn hair wasn’t dull and breaking. Brushed neatly back into a bun at the nape of his neck instead of tangled and greasy from lack of water and soap. His brown eyes were bright and warm. He didn’t walk with a pained gait. He didn’t cough every few seconds.

“Are you going to stand there all night?”

He forced himself to smile, to pretend that everything was okay. He didn’t say a word, not trusting himself to speak without bursting into tears. Instead, he stumbled over to Elijah and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Elijah smiled into the kiss and brought his hands up to Josh’s shoulders to steady him.

Feeling Elijah beneath his hands, warm, alive, and here, made something snap in his heart. All the stress that had been building up, all the anxiety, everything came bubbling to the surface. He felt hot tears streaking down his face and a sob escape from his lips. His mouth slid from Elijah’s, down so he could bury his face in his neck. His hands wrapped around his back and tugged him close. Practically crushing him to his chest.

His legs gave out. He collapsed to the floor. Or, he would have had it not been for Elijah lowering them gently to the floor.

“Whoa, okay,” Elijah said. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Josh sobbed harder. How the hell could he answer that question?

“I think I’m in Hell.” He squeezed Elijah tighter against his body.

Elijah tensed, then relaxed and ran a hand through his hair. “You can’t be since I’m here.”

He let out a wet laugh. “True.” Elijah couldn’t begin to understand how true that sentence was. He was right. So long as he was alive, Josh couldn’t be in hell.

“Josh, seriously, what happened? Is it the arrest?”

It was. It wasn’t. It was everything.

He didn’t answer. His breath caught in his throat. His body shook. He remembered the feeling of holding Elijah’s dead body in his arms. Stiff and cold. When he blinked, he was holding that body. Not this living, breathing one.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Elijah said, softer. “You’re fine. Deer said they weren’t charging you with anything. This was all a formality.”

“Since when have you and Deer been talking?” Josh huffed as the tears started to slow. He was more aware of the ache in his knees from kneeling on the hard floor.

“I may have made an impression on him.”

“Shut up. Do you know how stupid that was? Charging in there like that on my behalf.” He did not sound as authoritative as he wanted to. Because he was still sobbing his eyes out into his husband’s shoulder.

“I was fine.”

“What if you weren’t, though? What if they assumed you were a traitor as well? What if you pissed off Preston as well? You died. You left me all alone. Why? Why did you leave me?”

Shit. He shouldn’t have let that slip. Everything was so overwhelming. The sights, the sounds, the smells. His mind slipped back and forth between timelines, so that he couldn’t keep things straight anymore. He didn’t want to keep things straight anymore.

“Josh, what are you talking about? I’ve been here this whole time. I haven’t gotten a scratch in the past week.”

He wasn’t. He hadn’t been. It had been more than a scratch.

Oh, but what could Josh tell him?

The cameras were watching. Listening. Waiting for him to slip up and make a mistake.

You died.

I held you in my arms as you died.

You didn’t tell me it was going to happen. You overdosed on morphine without telling me.

You left me all alone in a nuclear wasteland.

I almost shot a kid, but not because I’m evil. Because I wanted to put him out of his misery.

I almost shot myself in the head.

I couldn’t get the flies to stop landing on your body.

I couldn’t properly bury your body. The ground was too rocky, and I didn’t have a shovel.

I saw the end of everything. I was the only one left. Me and a girl. I was an endling.

I need to stop you from dying again.

I can’t go through that again.

I don’t know what to believe anymore.

I don’t know who to trust.

I don’t know if what I saw was real.

I don’t know what to do.

It threatened to bubble from his lips. He didn’t know if he could do this on his own. He didn’t know if it was possible to make the changes needed to save Elijah. He didn’t know if he could make any changes.

His head hurt. His heart hurt. He didn’t know who to trust. At the end of the world, when it was just him and Micah, standing in front of the death temple, it seemed so easy to trust her. What reason would she have to lie? Why would she need to harm him? What good would not trusting her do? The world had already ended. He couldn’t win.

Now he was back. Now he had Elijah alive in his arms. Ethan alive. Priscilla alive. Henry alive.

He had to pull himself together. Sobbing like this, wondering what the hell to do, it didn’t help anyone.

Intel. Gather intel. That was his goal for now. He had three weeks. He could do this.

The tears slowed. He released Elijah. Elijah did not let go.

“What happened?” he asked again.

“Ethan,” he whispered. “I almost lost Ethan.”

“Oh, Josh.” His arms tightened around him.

“He died.” Wait, no, he didn’t. He had to keep his story straight. “I mean, not really. I could see it. You know. His body…”

He choked once more as memories of Ethan’s death slammed into his brain. His bloody, mutilated corpse. The bits and pieces of him scattered around the battlefield.

“They wouldn’t give me his dog tags. He’s a Sans. He has no family. I’m his family. They wouldn’t give them to me.”

He had tried to recover them. Tried to use every argument in the book to prove that he and Ethan were brothers, even if they did not share a parent. No one agreed with him. Elijah tried to. He couldn’t convince the courts to let Josh take his last name. He couldn’t convince them that they were brothers and, as his next of kin, he deserved to have whatever pieces of him they managed to recover.

“Ethan’s fine. He’s with Priscilla and Henry. In one piece. Okay?” he said softly.

“I…”

“You’ve been through something traumatic. It’ll take you some time to come to terms with it. Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” He pulled back and smiled at him. His smile dropped.

“What?” Josh asked.

This wouldn’t be the first time Elijah had seen him cry. Yet, the way he was looking at him, he seemed almost shocked by Josh’s display. Sure, he was a wreck. But he shouldn’t have looked bad enough for Elijah to seem this worried.

“Your eyes.” He brought his hands to his face. “They’re older.”

“Older?”

“I suppose that makes sense. I haven’t seen you in six months. I… they look so much older. You seem older. Older than six months.”

“Maybe it’s the stress,” Josh muttered.

“Hmm. Maybe.” He kissed him softly and then took his hand. “Well, I know a couple of ways to deal with stress. Come on. You’re getting eight hours of sleep tonight. No arguments.”

Josh let Elijah pull him to their small kitchen. Sleep was a good idea. He was useless right now, sobbing as he was. Sleep would give him a chance to refocus his mind and prepare for the mission ahead.

He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Elijah’s warm hands stroking his cheeks as he did so.

Dream

He opened his eyes and sucked in a breath.

The sky above him.

Not his apartment.

The cold body next to him.

“No. No. No. No. No. No.”

He rolled to his knees to see Elijah, dead beside him. His eyes and mouth opened. Flies crawled out of it. Laying eggs in it. He could see fat, white maggots wriggling and dropping from his skin.

“No!” He screamed. “No! I’m not here! I got sent back! None of this happened!”

Or did it happen? Was it a dream? Was this a dream? What was real? What was fake? Had anything happened? Was he dead? Was he alive?

Elijah’s eyes had been closed last time. Josh remembered that.

He blinked.

Elijah’s eyes were closed.

No. They had just been opened.

He remembered that.

He blinked.

Elijah’s eyes were opened.

“What is happening? Why are you doing this to me?” he sobbed, scrambling back more and more and more.

No matter how far he scrambled away from Elijah’s corpse, he was right at his feet.

His left molar fell out. Then his right. Then his front teeth. Then all of his teeth.

The ache in his jaw was back.

His hand slipped on something wet and mushy. He looked down.

An arm.

Ethan’s arm.

And there were his dog tags. Covered in blood but within reach.

Josh flung an arm out to grab them.

Preston picked them up. He didn’t speak as he walked away.

Josh scrambled back some more.

Someone struggled to breathe. Their lungs rattled.

He turned to see the boy. His eye stared at Josh. Blood caked every inch of his body. Morphine already flowed through his veins.

This time, his back hit something hot and hard. He looked back to see a bright white glow surrounding a giant brown deer.

“Help him all you want. He’s still going to fail.”

Josh whipped his head away from the deer to see a figure sitting on a throne made of bones. His feet rested on skulls.

He had to be over ten feet tall. In fact, he seemed to be taller than the tallest trees. Though his height shifted each time Josh blinked. It made him dizzy.

His skin was bright red. He had long, thick, curved claws and two massive horns on either side of his head.

“Who are you?” Josh gasped.

The monster smiled at him. His teeth were sharp and coated in blood. “That’s going to cost you.”

“Joshua,” someone snapped.

He turned away from the deer and the monster to see Micah, standing above Elijah and Ethan’s corpses. Mushrooms covered her body until she looked like she was made of mushrooms.

“Micah?” He gasped.

“Remember your mission.”

“I don’t know what’s real and what’s in my head.”

“Everything and nothing.” The monster laughed.

The deer at Josh’s back pawed at the ground, letting out a warning growl. He didn’t know deer could growl.

The monster continued to laugh. He seemed to grow taller. More and more and more bones grew from his throne.

An invisible force pulled Elijah and Ethan’s bodies to the monster.

“No! You can’t take them!” He lunged forward, desperate to grab onto their hands.

“If you want them. You’re going to have to pay for them.”

Micah’s skin rotted from her body.

Dropping from it in great chunks of flesh until nothing remained. Her bones became one with the throne.

“I look forward to meeting you properly, Joshua Sans.” The monster continued to cackle.

“Joshua!” Someone shouted.

Josh let out a gasp. His eyes flew open.

The gray ceiling above him seemed so familiar. As did the bed beneath his back.

His apartment.

He was back in his apartment.

The relief that he was in his apartment lasted all of two seconds before he felt his stomach roil.

He sprinted to the bathroom, vomiting up what he had eaten.

Someone knelt by his side. A warm hand on his back.

“Get it up, Josh. You’re okay.” Elijah’s warm, soft voice floated through the quiet night of the apartment.

Josh gripped the edges of the toilet. He realized he was soaked in sweat, freezing, and shaking. He had tears in his eyes and snot running out of his nose.

He slumped forward.

Elijah helped lower him to the ground.

“Stay here. I’m going to get the med kit.”

He didn’t think he could move even if he wanted to.

He lay there on the ground, shivering and shaking. Thankfully, though, he didn’t vomit again. Small victories, he supposed.

Elijah came back a few seconds later. “That was a terrible night terror.” He shoved a thermometer in Josh’s mouth and pressed his stethoscope to his chest.

“Your heart’s racing.” He pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. “And you have a fever. Who was your doctor who cleared you? I need to have some words with him.”

Josh grabbed Elijah. He pulled him to his chest, and the force caused both of them to collapse to the ground.

Elijah froze for a second. Then, he wrapped his arms around him, stroking his back and sweaty hair. “What happened?”

“I….” He didn’t know. Already, the details of the dream were slipping through his fingers. “I don’t know. I think everyone died.”

He tried to remember. Someone else was there. Not just Ethan, Elijah, Micah, and the boy. Someone else spoke to him. He couldn’t remember, though. This wall blocked him from seeing or remembering.

“There was a deer,” he said, though.

“A deer?”

He pressed his tongue to his teeth. They didn’t move.

“How do I know this is real?” he whispered to himself.

Elijah tensed in his arms. “I don’t know. I guess just keep taking it one day at a time.”

He squeezed him tightly.

They stayed on the floor for a few more minutes before Elijah pulled Josh back to bed.

“I’m going to give you some medicine that will hopefully keep you from dreaming.” He pulled out some pills and handing them to him.

Something flashed in the med pack. “Get rid of the morphine.”

Elijah gave him a look. “I’m not getting rid of the morphine, Josh.”

“People use it to kill themselves.”

Elijah pressed the pills into his hand and gave him a glass of water. “I promise you, no one will use my morphine to kill themselves. Get some sleep, okay? I’ll ask some of my colleagues tomorrow and see if anyone can run a follow-up diagnostic on you. I don’t trust the doctor who looked at you today.”

He swallowed the pills, tracking as Elijah zipped back up the med-kit and put it out of sight.

Elijah lay back down and tugged Josh with him. “Get some rest, Josh. You’ve been through a lot.” His warm hands brushed up and down his back.

He didn’t dream of the monster or the deer.

Indecision

The noises of the bar washed over Ethan in a blur that he didn’t try to understand. It was crowded. As many people as possible (and maybe a few extras) stuffed into the small space. It was one of the only places you could get some free entertainment around Welton. If by entertainment you meant a shitty band that only played about half a song before getting in a bar fight with some of the other patrons. It was practically a national pastime to bet on who would win: the musicians or the patrons. Ethan always bet on the patrons. He was usually right.

Today, however, he had no such desire to make any sort of bets. His sour mood made even worse when he showed up at the bar only to discover that the beer now cost more. Much more. It took three rations to get a pint. It wasn’t a particularly good pint.

He wasn’t sure if alcohol was ever supposed to taste good. What he did know was that the swill the bar served had a bitter, sour aftertaste that reminded him more of gasoline and paint stripper than any sort of liquid you were supposed to ingest. You never could be sure of the alcohol content. One pint might have next to no alcohol. The next might have you black out and then wake up twelve hours later in a field full of sheep stripped down to your socks and no friends in sight.

When he was younger, that sort of roulette was fun. He remembered the years Josh was gone to basic training, then later, the Officer’s Academy. Ethan and the other kids would sneak into bars. They felt smart when they managed to get past the bouncer and order a drink. Now, he was certain that the bouncers didn’t actually care, so long as they had rations.

When his friends were the ones who blacked out and ran crazy, Ethan found it funny. When it was him, not so much. Not to mention the deep sense of shame he’d get the next morning when he’d wake up and realize he was using the hard-earned rations his brother had gotten him by sacrificing his time. His life. His freedom.

He ran his thumb around the edge of the dirty glass; lips twisted into a scowl.

Josh had been a rock. No matter what life threw at him, he somehow managed to come out on top. To make it out okay. To be better than everyone who had ever come before him. That sort of dependability made Ethan relax.

He felt like he took advantage of Josh, which was why he joined the military in the first place. He wanted to do more to support his brother. He also believed that no matter what, Josh would be there. Josh would have a plan. Josh would make sure they all made it out okay. He never faltered. Never swayed. Never even stumbled. Just kept moving forward with a sense of dogged determination that left Ethan in awe.

“Come on. Why are you so glum?” Henry elbowed him as he downed yet another pint. They must have watered the beer down this evening. Ethan had drunk three and still didn’t feel a buzz under his skin. He was pretty sure he got drunker faster disinfecting wounds.

“Did Josh seem strange to you?” he asked.

It was risky talking about Josh in such a public place. He didn’t know who else was in here; who else might listen in. If he kept quiet enough, and if the patrons stayed rowdy enough, this was the best place to have a sensitive conversation. He wanted to know if he was overreacting or if something had happened to Josh.

“What do you mean?” Henry asked.

Priscilla came back with a shot glass. “What are we talking about?” She downed it in one go.

“The lieutenant. Ethan thinks something’s weird about him.”

“Oh, yeah, he doesn’t normally freeze up like that. He doesn’t feel fear like the rest of us.”

“No, he does.” Ethan picked off the wet, worn label around the bottle. “He doesn’t show it like the rest of us.”

He yelled instead of going silent. He got protective and defensive, instead of leaning on Ethan. He moved forward, instead of freezing.

“Look,” Henry finished up the last of his beer, “the guy’s under a lot of pressure. I mean, he’s still the only Sans to make it through the Officer’s Academy in the past, what, twenty years? He’s one of the only Sans Officers still active in the military. Preston hates us. We got jumped at Canyon Pass. Everyone died. He got overwhelmed and finally broke. We all have to eventually.”

That was the thing, Josh didn’t break. It was like pressure did the opposite to him. It made him stronger, faster, and more adaptable. This had not been the first time Josh had been in a tough situation where they were overwhelmed, and most people died.

And he did not freeze.

“Not Josh,” Ethan said. “He doesn’t break.”

“I don’t know,” Priscilla said. “Maybe the pressure is getting to be too much for him. Henry’s right.”

“Thank you.”

“The only time you’re right.”

“Screw you.”

She continued. “He’s been pushing himself since he was born. That’s a long time to not break. We all have our limits.”

Maybe they were right. No, they were right. Everyone had a breaking point. Even Josh. He had been slaving away to provide for Ethan since he was a little kid. He had literally been the only one to feed, clothe, and care for Ethan. Then Elijah came along. Even though he could take care of himself, Josh once more made it his mission to protect him with every fiber of his being. Both of them. He had spent nearly his entire life doing everything in his power to keep them safe.

Of course, he had to break eventually. What if Ethan sped that process along by joining the military?

He dropped his head to the bar-top with a thunk.

“Ew, no. Don’t do that. Someone probably puked on it earlier.” Priscilla wrinkled her nose.

She was probably right. It certainly smelled like puke. And piss. And other things Ethan didn’t want to think about.

“Am I the reason he’s having a mental breakdown?” he asked.

“He’s not having a mental breakdown.” Henry stole Ethan’s beer and took a drink.

Ethan didn’t mind. It tasted like shit anyway.

“Why would you be responsible for his mental breakdown?” Priscilla asked.

“Because I joined the military even though he didn’t want me to. Now people try to kill me regularly,” he mumbled. After a while, he stopped smelling the questionable stench coming from the bar. The human body was amazing.

Henry whacked him upside the head. “Quit it. He’s not having a mental breakdown. He’s overwhelmed. Maybe it’s a good thing he’s on probation for the next few weeks. That’ll give him a chance to relax, recover, and not listen to Preston scream and complain. You know, things like that.”

“Maybe.”

They didn’t see Josh, though.

They didn’t see his eyes. The way his body went pale. What he looked like when he saw Ethan. He looked like he had seen a ghost. He didn’t know where he was. After they had managed to take Canyon Pass and the Southern Fire Temple, he couldn’t stop staring at Ethan as if the moment he’d blink, he would disappear.

Ethan didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe if Josh had been momentarily overwhelmed, then, pulled it back together, he wouldn’t worry. Even after days, he still didn’t seem to know where he was.

“What should I do?” he groaned. “I can’t leave him. I should do something to help him.”

“Not much you can do,” Priscilla said. “Henry’s right. He’s at home now. Probably sleeping for a week straight. He’ll recover. Maybe visit him. Bring some food or something.”

Ethan frowned. That didn’t feel like enough. Besides, Josh loved to cook. He said the methodical chopping of vegetables soothed him.

“Relax, Ethan.” Henry slapped his back. “No need to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Besides, we have bigger issues to worry about.”

Right. Preston.

He hated Preston. They did their job. They succeeded. They made more progress than the entire army managed in the past fifty years. Because Preston felt humiliated, they had to get punished. Hell, if Preston had said it was his idea to push forward, Josh probably would have let him take the credit. But no. Men like Preston, they had to be right all the time. Even if it led to death and failure.

It wasn’t just Preston. Issues existed everywhere.

Everyone said how bad the witches treated the non-witches before the war. Maybe that was true. They weren’t exactly building a great society here. Ethan and the rest of the Sanses got paid about half of what everyone else got paid, if they got paid at all. Too many factory workers complained that their bosses kept their paychecks (not prison workers, they didn’t get paid at all). No one would do anything about it because they were Sanses or Bakers or whatever.

He wasn’t exactly brimming with love for his fellow non-witches. The very people who left him to die, who sneered at him, who treated him as if he were stupid simply because he didn’t have a last name.

Of course, that didn’t mean he wanted the witches to win. After all, they had enslaved most of the non-witches before the war. That was the whole point of the rebellion.

In his (possibly pessimistic) opinion, it was better to live as a soldier because then at least he might be able to enact some change. Or someone might. Maybe not Ethan.

It had already happened once, with General Weaver getting promoted to High General. The general was quick to side with Josh and against Preston. Even though no one would blame him for not caring about this whole thing.

Hell, he spoke to Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry about the incident to get their side of the story. He congratulated them on their win.

“I’m glad each of you are in the military. We could use more soldiers like you.” That’s what he had said with a smile on his face and a firm handshake. At the time, Ethan felt flattered, like he could take on an entire army of witches alone.

And win.

Now…

Back to reality.

What was he doing with his life? He had joined the military to help Josh and may have inadvertently caused a mental breakdown.

Even if he hadn’t, how would this help his brother? How would he repay Josh for all those years of sacrifice? It wasn’t enough to provide a few more rations. How could he protect Josh the same way Josh protected him? How could he make sure that they recognized Josh for his talents and not kill him because Preston threw a hissy fit?

He circled his finger around the rim of the dirty glass.

He couldn’t exactly leave the military. Even if he could, it wasn’t like life was going to be any better outside of the military. He could go back to Mr. Lee as a carpenter. He was his best worker, nights out getting drunk every once in a while notwithstanding.

That wasn’t enough. Which was why he left in the first place.

He should talk to him about it. Josh never wanted him to join the military in the first place. He had been so angry when Ethan told him. At the time, it seemed like a great idea. Ethan would be near his brother and keep him safe. Maybe Josh had a point, all those years ago.

Maybe there was another way to keep him safe. Nothing came to mind, though. Nothing that excited him, at the very least.

“Come on.” Priscilla nudged his arm. “We’re not getting arrested. No matter what Preston does, General Weaver has our backs.”

“Didn’t have Kris, Gregory, and Susan’s backs,” he said quietly. All the other men and women who hadn’t made it out of Canyon Pass.

Priscilla’s face dropped. “Gods, that was a bloodbath. I know it’s war. People die all the time, but it never makes it any easier. To think that maybe the whole reason they’re dead is because of a traitor?”

“Who would want to betray us?” Henry asked. “Isn’t that working against your best interests?”

“Maybe not to the traitor,” Ethan shrugged.

“Careful there,” Henry said. “We may have been cleared, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. Talk like that and someone might think you’re sympathetic.” He stared at Ethan. “Are you sympathetic?”

“No,” Ethan said. “I’m saying that clearly the traitor must think that being a traitor is somehow better than not. I mean, it’d be kind of dumb for them to knowingly work for a group of people who want to enslave them. Something has to be in it for them.”

Henry stared at him. Ethan forced himself to stare back. To not look away, even as his gut twisted at the tumultuous thoughts that circled his head like buzzards.

“Of course, everyone has a reason for doing what they do.” Priscilla cut in. “Even if it makes no sense to the rest of us. Ethan might have a point in figuring out their reason.”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked.

“I do?”

“Yep.” Priscilla pulled out a napkin and scribbled some notes on it. “Think about how many people had access to those plans. If we know why they did what they did, we can narrow down our suspects.”

“Shouldn’t we let the MPs take care of this?” Ethan asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Most of them are useless and don’t have enough brainpower to operate a light switch, much less find a traitor. Besides, if we can narrow down the list of suspects, we can take things off of Josh’s plate. If we present our information to Weaver, he’ll see that we’re good at our jobs. Which means we might get promotions.”

Ethan wasn’t sure he wanted a promotion. Though, he agreed with Priscilla that finding the traitor could mean taking some stress from Josh.

“It was a pretty sensitive mission,” Henry said. “Which automatically removes a huge chunk of people. Top secret mission.”

“The intel had to come from somewhere, as well. We have scouts and shadow guards all over the place.” Ethan pointed out.

“I’ll see if I can get a list of everyone who may have had access to those plans,” Henry said.

“How?” Priscilla asked.

“I have my ways.”

“Vaguely threatening.”

“Only if you don’t think about it too much.”

Ethan glanced at the clock above the bar. “Shit. Let’s get going before we’re out after curfew.” He shoved his two drunk friends out the door. “Henry, when do you think you can get that list?”

“Give me two days.”

He grinned, feeling a huge weight lift from his shoulders. This could help Josh. He didn’t know how, but it could help.

As he walked, something in his gut shifted. Unwilling to settle. Everyone had their reasons for the choices they made, including the traitor. What if Ethan sided with them, and not his people?

Shadows

“You look fine,” Elijah said as Josh fiddled with his collar for the tenth time that morning.

The military demanded absolute perfection in the way all soldiers presented themselves. Collars pressed neatly. Shirts and jackets without stains or holes. Every medal and pin in a straight, perfect line. Hair short. Cropped close. Boots shone so brightly, you could see your reflection in them on a sunny day.

On the battlefield, it was a different story. He didn’t have time to worry about shiny boots and neat haircuts when people were trying to kill him. Clothes were often stained and full of holes. Some soldiers used duct tape around particularly nasty tears to keep sleeves from completely falling off.

Josh’s field uniform was a mess. The shirt was three sizes too big. The pants were two sizes too small. This meant that his ankles constantly showed. He couldn’t button the pants all the way. The shirt, due to its massive size, couldn’t be properly tucked in. He also had a giant hole in the left knee of his pants that he had wound duct tape around to keep from getting bigger. His jacket, once a pristine forest green, had several dark splotches of stains on it. Blood. Oil. Dust. Other mysterious miscellaneous fluids. The sun bleached the back several shades lighter than the front. The only good thing about his uniform was that the shoes fit.

He had done his best to keep his hair short and neat; a desperate attempt to follow at least one rule he had been given during basic training. He lacked a mirror or proper clippers, which meant his hair was lopsided. Several spots shorter than others when he couldn’t get an even cut. He felt wild out there. Almost animalistic in a way. His training peeled away, leaving nothing but instinct. Instinct to survive.

That would not do today. General Weaver summoned him for a meeting. A formal meeting. Not whatever had happened out in the orchard. He needed to make a good impression.

When he got the notice demanding his presence at precisely 0900 hours, he and Elijah had scrambled to put together a more acceptable uniform. They called up all their friends and managed to find a pair of pants that fit and weren’t stained or ripped (donated by Ethan), an undershirt that fit him (donated by Dr. Christopher), and a jacket that wasn’t a total mess (donated by Henry). Then, they scrubbed, polished, and cleaned every inch of those clothes until they didn’t look as bad. Elijah always struggled to sew clothes. Would anyone notice that medical sutures held the jacket together and not sewing stitches?

Now, freshly shaved with his hair as even as possible, dressed in a uniform that mostly fit and wasn’t completely falling apart, he felt like he was lying to the world. He felt the same way he did that first day of basic training. A child playing dress up with adult clothes.

Were these jackets always tight around the arms? Were the shirts always itchy? Was his face always so cold? These were his boots, but now they pinched his toes, pressing uncomfortably on the tops of his feet.

“I need to look perfect.” He adjusted his medals once more. Were they straight enough? Too straight? Could anything be too straight? “I don’t know what Weaver wants. Meeting with him is a big deal.”

Elijah kissed him on the cheek. “They'd better give you an apology. You orchestrated the first win we’ve had in almost three months, and their response is to arrest you under suspicion of treason?”

“They technically didn’t arrest me. Preston did.”

Elijah rolled his eyes once more but did not respond verbally to his remark. Probably for the best. The cameras watched everything.

“You look fine. If Weaver wanted to arrest you, he would have already done it. I doubt an imperfectly pressed uniform will get him to change his mind.”

He was right. If Weaver changed his mind and wanted to arrest him, the MPs would have been here yesterday to get the job done. The front door blown off its hinges. A bag over his head. Elijah probably shot when he inevitably tried to stop them.

Elijah’s cold body next to his.

Flies landing on his corpse.

His skin blue.

Mouth opened.

Eyes clouded over.

Blood on his lips.

Josh’s teeth falling out of his head.

“Josh!” Elijah’s voice snapped him back.

“Yeah? Sorry, I was…” Reliving your death for the thousandth time since I’ve been back. Will it ever go away?

Elijah gazed at him softly. He pulled him into a hug. Josh leaned into it. Let himself feel Elijah’s warm skin against his. Feel his heart beat. Hear his breath; strong and even, not rattling and weak.

“I know you’ve been through a lot these past few days.” Elijah ran his fingers through Josh’s barely-there buzzed hair. “Relax. You know how things go when you get arrested. That’s not what’s happening. You’ll be fine. Ethan will be fine. I’ll be fine. Okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

Elijah was right. Logically, Josh knew he was right. He couldn’t bring himself to believe it. The first time he had met Weaver, he had been tired, hungry, and terrified that his brother was about to be executed. Unsure if he was alive, dead, or somewhere in between. The conversation between them had left him confused. He may not have understood what was going on completely. He may misread something about the situation. He may have given something away he didn’t mean to give away.

He remembered how Deer looked at him.

Almost as if he knew Josh hadn’t told the whole truth.

This all could be another ploy to get him to confess. To what, he didn’t know. He didn’t particularly care to find out.

His mind spun, going deeper into the dark pits of anxiety.

He needed a strategy if he had any hope of not fucking up.

The bombs would drop in about three months. Weaver had sent scouts to gather intelligence on the witches. He could use that. He could use Weaver to determine where the witches kept the bombs and what Weaver knew about them. If he didn’t know anything about them, then Josh’s investigation could prove useful. Could direct the military in a way that could neutralize the threat. If he did know, then Josh could use his knowledge to figure out his next steps. Gather intel. That was the point of these three weeks. This was another opportunity. He could not waste it. He would not waste it.

“Josh,” Elijah said once more, “go, before you’re late.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re right. I should go.”

“Of course I’m right. I’m always right,” Elijah scoffed.

“I know.” He kissed his cheek, then walked out the door.

As he walked, he felt the wildness from six months on the front lines slip off his body. His posture straightened. His shoulders pulled back. His steps were precise. He marched to a beat that had been drilled into his head for the past ten years. His mind seemed to let go of the past, or the future, whatever it was. Details from before slipped from his head. He settled into this present. The actual present.

It was comforting to be a soldier who simply had to follow orders. A lack of decision-making and accountability one had to take. All he had to do was show up where he was told to show up. To shoot who he was told to shoot. That was it. Leave the thinking to the higher-ups.

His steps faltered.

That caused Ethan to be killed. And Priscilla.

Just like that, all the details from before rushed back to his head. How he had to find out Priscilla was dead. Christopher had done her autopsy. He told him when he remembered she was his friend.

Had he not, it may have taken weeks or months for Josh to find out. Maybe Henry would have told him. Or maybe not, in his grief. Sanses didn’t get obituaries. No one was told if they died because they had no next of kin.

Christopher slipped Elijah her dog tags to take home. The only thing left of her. Josh had followed orders then. Had gone through the canyon that Preston demanded he go through. Without a second thought. He trusted that the higher-ups would make the right call. That they had thought through the scenario enough to minimize loss of life.

He blinked. In front of him was Elijah. Just as he had been the day he died. Eyes clouded over. Body stiff.

Josh froze and stared down where his body lay.

This wasn’t right.

Elijah didn’t die here.

The mouth fell open.

A centipede crawled out. A huge thing that had to be at least a foot long. It seemed to never end as it pulled its massive body out of Elijah’s mouth. Shiny, brown exoskeleton and millions of legs. Its head turned toward Josh. Beady eyes snapped on his form. Each leg moved like a wave as it crawled over Elijah’s corpse, straight to Josh.

He gasped and stumbled back slightly.

“Sans,” a sharp voice said from behind.

He whipped around to see Gabriel Deer staring at him with his eyes narrowed.

Josh forgot what the proper protocol was. It hit him. He snapped into a salute. “Sir. I was headed to our meeting just now, sir.”

Deer tilted his head to look where Elijah’s body lay. Only, in his periphery, the body was no longer there. It had been a hallucination. Of course it had. Josh himself recognized that Elijah died somewhere else.

He grabbed onto the present as tightly as he could. Elijah was alive. He was here, at the First Base of Welton. Headed to a meeting with General Weaver and General Deer.

“Something on the ground, soldier?” Deer asked.

“Sir?”

“You seemed to be staring at that spot. Something on the ground?”

“No, sir. Sorry, sir. Just struggling to acclimate back to normal, sir.”

Deer was not convinced. “Better acclimate fast. Slow soldiers are dead soldiers. Even if you acclimate to peace instead of the battlefield.”

The last statement taunted him. Even in Welton, there was no peace.

“Yes, sir.”

“At ease, soldier. Come. We’ll walk together.”

“Yes, sir.” Josh followed Deer into the building.

Deer scanned his key card to enter. “Hold out your hand. It’ll take a sample of your blood to track you through the building. You don’t technically have high enough clearance to be in here.” He pointed to a kiosk in the corner.

Josh marched over. He let the kiosk scan his face and take his fingerprints. He held out his index finger and prayed that the needle about to puncture his skin was clean. Given the dried brown stains flaking off around the opening, he wasn’t hopeful. Deer stood by him the entire time, scowling.

Josh didn’t flinch as the needle punctured his skin. “Is this tech new? I haven’t heard of anything that can track based on blood alone.”

Deer turned on his heels and marched through a second set of doors. Josh had to jog to keep up, even though he was a whole head taller than Deer.

“New technology we’re testing. We hope to have it integrated into Welton at the start of next year. Every man, woman, and child will be logged into the system. It can detect witches.”

“Really?”

“Their blood is different from ours. Has to be. Ours has iron in it.”

“Iron kills witches.” Josh added. It made sense, though he never thought about it.

“They have more copper and magnesium,” Deer explained.

“If you implement this system, you can determine if any witches live in Welton. If anyone comes into the city, you can tell immediately that they aren’t logged in.”

Deer nodded, his face grim. “That’s about right. Mind you, we still have some kinks to work out. Combined with the facial recognition, it’s proven to be successful so far. The mines have started using it to track their workers. Having a genetic sample will make it easier to determine who has committed a crime.”

“Oh, that would be useful,” Josh said.

As they continued to walk through the bare, grey hallways, Josh got the sense that he was being watched.

A shadow was just up ahead. But it wasn’t right. Based on the way the lights shone and the various beams and pillars held the structure up, there should be no shadow there. Yet, there was. A guard must be there. Hidden in the shadows. It was a subtle thing. Most normal people wouldn’t have noticed. People died out on the battlefield for not noticing things like that.

“So, you sense them?” Deer asked.

“Yes, sir.” No use lying about it.

Besides, he was curious. He had never seen a guard before. The MPs were the loud figureheads of the criminal justice system. Everyone saw them walking around with their crisp, pressed uniforms. Out of all the soldiers, the MPs' uniforms were always immaculate. People knew what they looked like. They weren’t supposed to blend in.

The shadow guards were another story. Some people were certain they didn’t exist. No one had ever seen one before. No one ever knew a guard. That was because shadow guards were all made up of Sanses. No family to claim them meant no one would miss them when they disappeared.

Josh confirmed their existence because he scored high enough marks in basic training to be considered for the special forces. He seriously thought about joining. The pay was certainly better. Never seeing Ethan again was too much.

Still, he had never fully let his curiosity go. What did the guards do? Why were they so secret?

“How many?” Deer asked.

He didn’t answer right away. Was this a test? If so, for what? Should he answer truthfully? Probably. He couldn’t see why Deer would ask him just so he could lie. Besides, he kind of wanted to prove himself to Deer. Prove that Josh was smart enough to deduce that the enemy had planted mines in the canyon.

His eyes darted around the hall. To every shadow that didn’t look quite right. Every flicker of movement in the corner of his eye.

“Fifteen, sir.”

“Hmm.”

“Did I get it right?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“No.”

He winced. So much for showing off.

“Close enough, though. There are twenty.” Deer scribbled something into his notebook. “You’re good, kid. Most people either don’t notice them or severely underestimate them.”

“I was supposed to be one of them.”

“I’ve read your record. Probably for the best that you weren’t.”

Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?

“What exactly do they do, sir? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I do, in fact, mind you asking.” Deer turned to him as he scanned yet another key card. “Special forces. That’s all I can tell you. That’s all you need to know. Unless you’d like me to kill you directly afterward.”

He pushed back the edges of his coat just enough for Josh to see the piece on his hip.

“That can’t be your only weapon.”

Deer did not smile. “Oh? Where’s the other one?”

“Left ankle. You’re right-handed, so it would be easier for you to twist as you reach down to grab it. Then another on your back. There’s a small lump there. Maybe a knife or two up your sleeves. Not big ones, though. Throwing knives.”

“Hmm.”

“Did I get it right?”

“No.”

Damn. Seriously?

“Then again, it’s not your fault.” He scanned another key card. “I’m ambidextrous. I have a gun on both ankles and both hips. I never use my left hand unless I need to.”

That was the most praise he would get from the man. He decided to take the wins as he got them.

“Then why did you tell me?”

“No one would believe you. Here we are.” He gestured to a thick, shiny, dark wood.

Josh stopped and stared. He resisted the urge to run his fingers over the smooth wood. He had never seen a door this thick before that was made of wood. How’d they get it so shiny?

Deer, having seen hundreds of thick, wooden doors, didn’t stop to stare. He stepped inside.

Once more, Josh could tell guards hid in the shadows. How many were crammed in this room? Would they shoot him the moment he stepped inside?

He swallowed and stepped over the threshold. From the grey, cold concrete of the hallway into the office with a thick, blue carpet. The thoughts of the shadows immediately left his mind.

Blue carpet! That had to be so expensive to get in here. It wasn’t worn either. No bare patches or tracks where people walked. He saw vacuum marks, creating stripes across the rug. How soft would it feel beneath his feet? The walls were painted a warm cream color. He couldn’t tell if they were concrete as well.

Even in the room, Josh felt warmer. Like the perpetual chill of his bones had finally been chased away. He longed to sink into one of those plush armchairs and just rest. It was hard to rest when your furniture was as hard as a rock.

“There’s the Hero of Canyon Pass.” Weaver stood as they entered.

Josh forced himself to ignore the comforts of the room and snapped into a salute. “Sir.”

Weaver made a face. “Ah, no salutes. I hate them. Honestly, as a cadet, I hated them. Got me in a lot of trouble with my commanders. General Rose, you know about him?” He came around the desk to wrap an arm around his shoulders to lead him further into the room.

The shadows shifted. Their eyes observed every move Josh made.

“Yes, sir. Won the Battle of Grieving River some thirty years ago.”

“You know your history. He was my mentor. I was a terrible soldier. Not like you. I didn’t listen to orders. I thought I was better than everyone else. Smarter too. He pulled me aside one day and said, ‘If you don’t shape the fuck up, they’ll send you home to your mama in pieces. Do you want to die another nameless soldier? Or do you want to make something of yourself?’ I wanted to make something of myself.”

Josh wasn’t sure what this had to do with him. It was probably best not to comment at the moment. Not with all the shadows watching.

Weaver continued, “To prove to everyone that the youngest son of a poor farmer could be just as good as all these bastards with money. No offense, Gabriel.”

“None taken, sir.” Deer had stepped over to the side of the room. Posture relaxed. Josh knew better. He watched them. Watching him for signs of any slip-ups. Perfectly positioned to give the orders to the shadows the moment he deemed Josh a threat.

“Anyway, I think you and I are a lot alike. Minus the whole being a little punk to our superior officers.”

“I think Colonel Preston would disagree, sir.”

Weaver laughed. “No one gives a damn what Preston thinks. Hell, I’m pretty sure his daddy made him join the army in hopes he would die. Stubborn bastard hasn’t managed it yet. You, on the other hand, have been nothing but a model soldier since you stepped foot off that bus and got your head shaved. You’re loyal. You’re smart.”

Josh bit the inside of his lip to keep from beaming. “I try, sir.”

This certainly didn’t sound like the words of a man who was about to order his execution.

“The world needs more soldiers who can follow orders, but are also smart enough to turn those orders into something great. I didn’t know how to turn those orders into something great. You do.”

“Thank you, sir.” He fought the urge to grin like an idiot. This meeting was going better than he had hoped. Weaver hadn’t made one remark about his uniform!

“Glad you think so.” He patted his back and went to sit back down. “Please, have a seat.”

Josh looked to Deer. Deer did not make any indication that he had any opinion on whether Josh sat or stood. He figured it was okay and sat down in the armchair.

Holy hell, how did they get this thing so squishy? How the hell would he stand back up with any sort of dignity?

Weaver slid a plate of pastries over to Josh.

He stared down at them with wide eyes. The fat and melted sugar gleamed on top of brown crusts. Bright red fruit oozed out of the sides of one of them. Another had a dollop of fluffy white cream in the center. The sugar and fruit, sticky sweet, in his nostrils. His mouth watered. His fingers twitched and ached to grab the pastries. To shove them in his mouth. He had never had a pastry before. A real one at least.

Sometimes, growing up, he and Ethan would save up money for months to get a rock cake that had barely any sugar in them and pitiful, under-ripe fruits that were more sour than sweet. He tried to bake on occasion. But he never had enough rations for sugar.

The plate of pastries sitting in front of him now must have cost a fortune. One of them he could see was flaky, the top crust peeling up ever so slightly to reveal a soft white dough underneath.

“Go on, take some. You’ve more than earned it.”

Josh swallowed down the excess saliva. “My rations⁠—”

“Sans, these won’t come out of your rations. Lord knows you’d die before you’d be able to afford these. It’s my treat. A thank you for what you’ve done for me. For our cause.”

He reached a hand out to grab one, hesitated. He didn’t know which to take. He wanted to take them all. That would make him look bad; like he criticized Weaver for not giving him enough food. He decided to try the one with some sort of poached fruit piled on top. He took a bite. The sweetness that hit his tongue almost knocked him out. It was just as sticky as it smelled. The fruit slipped from the sides of the pastry down the sides of his hands. He was quick to eat it, not wanting to waste a single morsel.

“What’s in it?” he asked.

“Have you never had pears before?” Weaver asked.

He had heard of them, of course, but had never seen one.

“They’re damn good fruits. Though I prefer peaches.”

“Thank you, sir. You didn’t need to do this. It’s my job.”

Weaver laughed. “Oh, this isn’t because you won Canyon Pass and the Southern Fire Temple. Oh no, your actual reward is a promotion.”

He stopped eating. “Sir?”

“Captain Sans. How does that sound?”

“Sir, I’m a second lieutenant. Shouldn’t I be a first lieutenant if you’re promoting me?”

Weaver quirked a brow and turned to Deer. “Are you hearing this? He’s trying to convince me to demote him after promoting him.”

Deer scribbled something down in his notebook.

“No, sir. I wanted to make sure I heard you correctly.”

“You did. I tried to get you up to Major but⁠—”

“Captain is as high as a Sans can go as an officer,” Josh said. “Sorry, sir. Didn’t mean to cut you off.”

He finished the pastry. His fingers were coated in a sticky, buttery, sugary film that he wanted to lick so bad. He did not. Though he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with his hands. Putting them down in his lap would stain his pants. He decided to hold them slightly above the cloth so that it looked like he was resting his hands, but wasn’t actually. He wasn’t sure if anyone bought it.

“No, no. It’s fine. You know your stuff. That’s what I like about you. I’ve also promoted Ethan Sans to First Sergeant. Then you’ve got Chief Warrant Officer Priscilla Sans, Corporal Henry Sans, all serving under you. I figured a team like yours shouldn’t be split up.”

“Sir, I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you would be my suggestion." Weaver smiled. “Don’t you worry about getting capped out at your career here. I’ve fought to get Sanses higher in the rank since day one. I mean, a lot of non-Sanses don’t want to fight anymore. It’s dirty work, I’m sure you know. It’d be an asset to have more people we can promote. In fact, I’ve made that particular point a priority for Gabriel.”

“Along with my other millions of priorities,” Deer muttered. He scribbled something else in his notebook.

Weaver pretended not to hear him. “Congrats, Sans. You’ve earned it. You will be a great captain.”

“Of course, sir.” He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out with happiness.

A promotion to Captain meant three extra ration cards a week for food and more chances to enter the lottery for new clothes. They would also get an extra hour of electricity every day.

Josh would be more in charge of his own missions. Which meant he wouldn’t have to deal with the likes of Preston fucking up his life and getting everyone killed.

“Any questions you have for me? I still want you on base for the next three weeks to ease into your new position. Get to know your company. I also want to get the chance to see where you excel. It seems like you’re a regular jack of all trades, but I think we can niche you down into something specialized. That might be easier to get you promoted later if you’re a specialist instead of a generalist.”

“Of course, sir,” Josh said.

He was so excited about the promotion, he almost forgot that He was supposed to gather information. It was risky to ask, but he had to try.

“Do you know if the witches have any weapons of mass destruction, like nuclear warheads or something?”

Deer stopped writing.

Weaver’s brow furrowed. “Where’d the hell that come from?”

Shit, where did that come from? How to explain this without looking more suspicious and potentially losing out on his promotion?

“I’ve thought about the potential next steps the witches might take. The war has dragged on for a hundred years. They’re desperate. Especially after they lost the Southern Fire Temple, they’ll want to hit us back with something big. That’s what I’d want to do, at least. If we know about any nukes they might have, then I’d focus on destroying them before they can use them on us.” Did that sound plausible?

“Nukes?” Deer stared at him. His pen froze on the paper.

Okay, maybe not so plausible.

Weaver hummed. “That’s a good point.” He turned to Deer. “See, didn’t I tell you he was smart? See what Intel has. We need to take care of them if they do have anything like that.”

Deer looked back down at his notebook and scribbled down the instructions. “Of course.”

“Good on you for bringing that up. You’re right. Absolutely right. They’re going to want to retaliate. They’re going to retaliate big.” Weaver turned back to Josh.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Go and enjoy the rest of your day, Sans. Oh, and take the rest of those pastries. Maybe we can bribe Healer not to threaten us again."

Josh accepted the box of pastries that Deer handed to him. “Of course, sir. Thank you again.”

He pressed his tongue to his molars. They didn’t move.

Dig

The box sat heavy in Josh’s hands as Deer led him out of the base. Deer seemed to be content with silence. Josh felt like he was drowning.

“Does he give pastries to every newly appointed captain?” He tried to bring some levity to the conversation.

“No.” Deer kept walking; didn’t even look at him.

Was it just him, or did the shadows seem to be growing in number? Following him. Watching him.

“If you do something stupid like kill the high general, we want to stop you sooner rather than later.” Deer explained, noticing Josh noticing the shadows.

“I’m already leaving. Besides, aren’t the special forces hiding in the walls supposed to prevent that sort of thing?”

The pastries started to overwhelm his nose. What was once tantalizing now made his stomach roll. Even the thought of eating another one wanted to make him puke. The one he had eaten sat uncomfortably in his gut, like a lump of lead.

Deer did not answer him. Simply stared at him as he swiped yet another key card to lead them through yet another door.

“Is this about the question I asked? About the nukes?” He pressed his tongue against his teeth. They did not move.

“It did come out of nowhere,” Deer said.

“Not really.” Josh argued.

He had come up with what he assumed was a half-plausible explanation as to why he was worried about a nuclear apocalypse. His mind had filled in other blanks to make the argument more convincing.

“The war has been going on for a hundred years. We’re practically at a standstill. No one is gaining or losing any ground. We’re just fighting over the same stretch of land. Maybe the witches were content with that. Now that we’ve taken Canyon Pass and the Southern Fire temple, they’ll want to retaliate. They’re afraid that they’ll lose more ground, so they’ll kill us all as a last resort.”

“Why would witches, who can use magic, need nuclear weapons to wipe us out?” Deer asked in an even tone.

Josh opened his mouth to argue, only to find that he had no idea why witches would use such a non-witch solution. He was fairly certain nukes had been dropped. He had used the Geiger counter. The world had been irradiated.

“Okay, so maybe not nuclear weapons as we think of them.” He scrambled to say. “Maybe some type of witch weapon. Maybe it’s not nuclear at all. My point is, I find it highly unlikely that they’ve been at war for a hundred years and haven’t developed something to wipe us all out. I want to prepare for that.”

Deer stared at him as he swiped yet another key card to the final door to the outside. Josh half-expected that when he stepped out of the building, he’d be greeted with a nuclear wasteland. Buildings destroyed. Dead bodies scattered everywhere. The hum of the apocalypse droned in his ear.

Instead, Welton looked like it did any other day. He breathed in lungfuls of grey smog, relaxing when he saw distant factories spewing black smoke into the sky.

His hands tightened around the pastry box.

“Do you know why you have to call seventy-two hours before you dig?” Deer asked.

“Sir?” Josh wasn’t sure what this had to do with his anxieties.

“If you dig around a plot of land. Do you know why you have to call seventy-two hours in advance?”

“I live in the officer’s apartments, sir. No one I know owns a home with excess land. I don’t⁠—”

“It’s because gas and electric lines run all throughout this city. Sewer lines as well. More than a few pipes taking the chemical waste from the factories. You dig too deep in the wrong place, you’ll hit the line. Then, either you die in a fiery explosion. Or a lot of other people die in a fiery explosion. You understand what I’m saying, Sans?”

Had Deer lost his mind? What did this have to do with anything?

The shadows seemed to buzz. Moving in a mass toward him. Surrounding him. Even though he couldn’t see any of them.

Deer glanced around. “Don’t dig too deep, Sans.”

He gripped the pastry box in his hands. The shiny white cardboard buckled. “I don’t⁠—”

“You know what I’m talking about,” Deer said. “You keep it to yourself about nukes and witches. You dig too deep, and a lot of people could get hurt. Leave it to the professionals.”

That statement set something off in him. Deer didn’t remember what the end of the world was like. He hadn’t survived it. He hadn’t felt the pain, the terror of watching everything you had ever known crumble before your eyes.

The subsequent horror dawned as you realized that no one was left.

Well, not no one.

Elijah was left. That was all Josh needed to put one foot in front of the other.

Until Elijah wasn’t left.

Josh was an endling.

Even now, after he experienced what it was like to be an endling, Josh’s mind refused to think on it too much. The existential horror of being the last of his kind. Not just the last of his kind, the last living thing on the planet. Sure, there were flies and plants, but to know that not even dogs had survived, it was just him. Those sorts of thoughts could crush a man. He refused to let that happen again. He refused to have Elijah go through that again. Deer didn’t respect him and didn’t want him to snoop around. That was fine. Josh didn’t need him anyway. He could figure this out. Take it straight to Weaver. Then he and Weaver could work on a solution.

He would not let Deer ‘take charge’ of this issue simply because the man didn’t like that he wasn’t top dog.

Josh set his jaw. “With all due respect, sir. I am a professional. It is my job to do whatever it takes to win this war.”

Deer scribbled something down in his notebook. “Just because you’ve got a shiny new title, doesn’t mean you are a professional. You are a weapon, Sans. To be pointed and launched at whatever enemy the State deems a threat. Watch yourself, boy. Before people get hurt.”

Before Josh could respond, Deer scanned his key card and stepped back through the door, leaving him alone at the entrance.

Josh stood there for a minute, staring at the cold metal door, the looming grey building.

“Sir, please move along,” a voice said.

Josh jumped and looked over his shoulder. There was no one there. Just a slightly out-of-place shadow that most people wouldn’t have looked twice at.

Did Deer tell the shadow guard to talk to him? Was it a threat? To show him that he had eyes everywhere, watching Josh’s every move.

“You don’t have clearance to loiter,” another voice said.

Josh turned back and squinted. He could have sworn the voice came from right behind a victory pillar about twenty feet in front of him. When he looked, he couldn’t see anyone.

He stepped away from the building, heeding the warnings of the shadows. His mind replayed the conversation he had just had with Deer.

Was it a threat? To himself? To Elijah? To Ethan?

It had to have been.

That’s what all that ‘don’t go digging’ crap was about.

Deer knew something. He knew something about the nukes and the witches. He was telling Josh to leave it alone. Why now? Why outside of Weaver’s office?

If Weaver knew about the nukes, then Deer would have said something to Josh then. Right? He didn’t. He waited until they were outside to speak to him. To threaten him.

Did Deer know something Weaver didn’t?

He thought through everything he knew about General Deer. Middle child of a wealthy family. Some sources speculated he was a member of the wealthiest family of any non-magical family. That was about it. Deer, from what Josh could tell, stuck to himself. He wasn’t like the Birches that paraded themselves around in gaudy jewelry and clothing, flaunting their wealth. Or the Ravens, known for their philanthropy. The Ravens were the ones who ran most of the Sans Houses. Not the one Josh and Ethan were a part of. Maybe if they had been under the Ravens’s care, they would have had a better life. Priscilla lived in one of their houses. She seemed to have fond memories of it.

The Deers, in general, were a quiet, reserved, very rich family who did almost nothing in the public eye. Come to think of it, Josh wasn’t sure if Gabriel Deer was married or not. Everything he could recall about the man was that he was quiet and kept to himself. He was generally considered to be good at strategy.

He blended in.

That could make him perhaps the most powerful man in the world. Or, at least, amongst the non-magical humans.

Josh’s mind started to spin with possibilities. What if Deer was using his position as Weaver’s right-hand man to gather intel and give it to the witches? What if he was working on the nuclear weapons, knowing that most people would assume the witches would use something a bit more magical, all so that he could win the war for himself?

He didn’t know enough about Deer to know if he wanted to lead Deerland. That’s what these three weeks were for. To gather intel.

Before, Josh flailed around, unsure of what to do. Half-baked plans of researching what little he could find about magic and its relation to death to see if he could figure out what to do. This was better.

He walked aimlessly around the base. He planned on running over to the Med Center to meet up with Elijah. Maybe drop off the pastries before going over to where Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry were housed so they could celebrate. The three of them had to have known about their promotions by now.

He couldn’t. Not yet.

There was an itch in the back of his head. Like a spider crawling up his brain stem.

Deer told him to stop digging. Which meant he knew something. Josh needed to find out what else he knew.

Deer was up to something.

“Hey, watch it,” someone called as Josh ran right into them.

“Oh, sorry.” He stumbled back. The pastry box fell from his hands. Thankfully, it didn’t burst open and reveal its contents. That was the sort of thing that could get you killed.

He scrambled to pick up the box. As he stood, his eyes landed on the person in front of him. The bottom of his stomach dropped. His legs went fuzzy. The world tilted to the side. His ears rang.

Standing in front of him was Levi Brenner. The traitor. The one who sold them out to the witches. The one who caused Ethan’s death. Josh had never met the man face-to-face. He remembered seeing his picture in the news. It burned into his memory.

Brenner was dressed in his military uniform, which was a slap in the face. How dare he wear something like that when he was actively trying to kill his fellow man?

Brenner’s brow furrowed. “What’s your problem?” His blonde hair was longer than regulation. Around his neck, an obsidian pendant.

Josh remembered seeing that glinting in the light as he hung there on Traitor’s Row.

He wanted to rip it off his fucking neck. Panic turned to rage as he balled up his fists, ready to punch that son of a bitch in the face. The box crumpled in his grip. He felt the pastries mashing together.

“Seriously, what’s your fucking problem, man?” he snarled. His lips twisted and turned blue as his body withered and rotted away, hanging in the sun.

Josh couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. Levi Brenner was dead.

Or, was he alive?

He hadn’t gotten the chance to get revenge last time. He hadn’t known that Brenner was the one who sold them out until he saw the news. By then, he was hanging on Traitor’s Row.

The world tilted to the side. Memories of what happened last time rushed to the surface. Completely overtaking the here and now.

He hadn’t just gotten promoted. He hadn’t just come from a meeting with Deer and Weaver. He hadn’t managed to take the Southern Fire Temple.

Brenner was the reason Ethan died. He didn’t deserve humanity.

Josh hadn’t witnessed the execution in person. He did watch the replays. Every channel, every hour on the hour, would play Brenner’s final moments. He watched them all. Until Elijah finally turned off the television, worried for Josh’s mental health.

Knowing the pain he went through did nothing to ease Josh’s guilt and grief over Ethan’s death. It made him feel worse. No matter how many fingers they removed, no matter how much they waterboarded him, no matter what information they got out of him, it would never bring Ethan back.

He gasped, his heart stopped as he lay dying on the floor of the Temple of Death. Rot, mold, decay, and mushrooms clung to his nose.

He felt his heart beat again. One violent pump against his ribs that was so hard, it felt like the force cracked them.

Then he was back. Standing in front of Brenner. A pastry box crushed in his hands. His entire body tensed as he prepared to beat Levi into a pulp.

He blinked.

Brenner was several feet above him. Neck bent at an odd angle. The remaining toes and hand completely slack. He had gone to see Brenner’s body in person one day while Elijah was at work. Just to make sure the bastard was dead.

He blinked. Brenner was in front of him. Alive and looking confused. Brow furrowed and face twisted as he tried to figure out what was going on with Josh.

“Whatever.” Brenner brushed past Josh and hurried away from him. He cast one last glance behind his shoulder before he turned the corner and disappeared.

“Dammit!” The fight drained from his body once Levi was out of his sight. His mind no longer confused as to where or when he was.

How could he let that traitor get away?

He should have beaten Brenner until he couldn’t walk. Then dragged his broken, bloody body back in front of Weaver and Deer. Declare that he was the traitor. He was responsible for the massacre at Canyon Pass.

The near massacre.

They only lost fifteen men in the attack. Which was considered good, especially since it was a trap.

Ethan was still alive.

Priscilla still had her legs.

That hadn’t happened.

Josh had stopped it.

He had saved their lives.

He had let their murderer walk away.

He wasn’t a fool.

If he were Brenner, and he were selling out his fellow soldiers to the witches, he’d look for another way to kill them off. More intel to sell.

“Dammit.” He chucked the pastry box into the nearest bin and chased after Brenner.

As much as he would have loved to drag his ass in front of Weaver and declare him the traitor, he had no proof. He didn’t know how they got proof originally. He cursed his past/future self for not paying more attention to the investigation.

He was grieving Ethan’s death. That was no excuse. He should have had a bigger part in the investigation. He should have paid more attention. He should have asked more questions. Maybe if he had, they would have discovered the bombs sooner.

He was too weak to push past his grief. He was now in uncharted territory. The investigation may not happen because Canyon Pass wasn’t a failure. Or Brenner might disappear entirely before they caught him. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to ensure that Levi Brenner answered for his crimes. He had to ensure that Brenner told him everything, including whatever he knew about Deer.

He caught up to the man easily enough and tucked himself in the shadows. Just because he had never had formal guard training didn’t mean he had no guard training. Recruits with the potential to be shadow guards were given a preliminary set of courses to see if they had what it took to be guards. If you passed all of those courses, then you were sent to the actual shadow guard training.

Josh passed those courses with flying colors. It was almost too easy to the point where he had been afraid he had pissed off one of his commanding officers, and he was being demoted and punished. He hadn’t been. And the preliminary shadow guard training made Josh much better than the average soldier.

As Brenner moved, Josh moved; always staying one step behind him. Close enough to track him, but far enough that Brenner didn’t see him. He listened to footsteps, felt the shifting of the wind and shadows, all to tell him when to move. When to stay. As he moved, he looked ahead at places he could hide. He predicted Brenner’s moves based on where he looked and what side of the street he was on.

It felt exhilarating.

It felt nerve-wracking.

It felt like he was the traitor.

He stopped cold in his tracks. Wasn’t he?

He worked with a witch instead of killing her.

No. He wasn’t.

He continued to pursue Levi. His momentary stutter made him lose a bit of ground. He had to be reckless to make it up.

He wasn’t a traitor. He couldn’t be.

Just because he used the witch to get back here didn’t mean he wanted them to win. Besides, he didn’t know that was what Micah was going to do.

He wanted them to lose. He needed them to lose. If they won the war, it’d be just like the old days.

The entire non-magical population would be slaves once more. Children ripped away from their mothers. People vivisected and studied. Witch students would train their powers on non-witch people. Those lucky enough to escape that torture would be left to toil away in fields and as servants. Seen more as animals than humans.

All in the name of progress. Progress was the only thing that mattered when it came to pushing the limits of witch power. So long as a witch didn’t die in the process, they didn’t care.

Josh would not let that happen. Which meant he wasn’t a traitor. If anything. Micah was betraying her people because she sought him out. She asked for his help. He wouldn’t give it to her. He was a soldier. A loyal soldier through and through.

Brenner was the traitor here. He was the one who sold the witches information that caused the Canyon Pass massacre. Ethan and Priscilla’s deaths. It didn’t matter if Josh worked with a witch in the past. The ends justified the means. He would use every scrap of knowledge he had about what happened before to change the course of history.

“Just you wait, Deer. I’ll dig as much as I fucking like,” Josh growled as he stalked Brenner.

Eventually, Josh recognized the path he had taken. It led back to the Ministry of Wartime Affairs. The headquarters of it all. The place where Deer and Weaver had their offices.

Josh paused behind a watch pillar. Mindful of the blind spots in the cameras. The last thing he needed was for him to be seen on camera and not Brenner. He didn’t dare get closer. The shadow guards were patrolling. He counted ten. Based on his previous failures, he suspected the number was closer to fifteen or twenty. Brenner was awfully bold if he was trying to get intel so close to the Ministry of Wartime Affairs.

Not that it wasn’t a good idea, though. If there was any place that would be teeming with information that could turn the tides of war, it’d be in that building.

Except, it was also a stupid idea because the security of that place was so goddamn tight you couldn’t sneeze without a shadow guard showing up to escort you off the property. Josh flexed his hand and looked down at his fingertips. He could see a small scab from where the needle had extracted his DNA. How far out did the tracking system go? Deer suggested they were working on putting it everywhere in Welton, which meant it was already used outside of Headquarters. Had Brenner given his DNA?

Even if he hadn’t, he wasn’t supposed to be here. If he did try to poke around the trash and look for shredded documents, the guards would be on him in an instant.

Only, that didn’t happen.

When Josh loitered in front of the building for half a second longer than he was supposed to, despite the Second High General himself escorting him out, the guards appeared to tell him to get a move on.

There was Brenner, poking around the trash. Digging through it like a raccoon. No one said anything. The shadows hadn’t moved from their posts. Even if Brenner was one of the people allowed to loiter around the building, digging through the trash had to alert the guards that something was wrong.

“Where are the guards?” Josh decided to shift forward just a hair.

After about three minutes of digging, Brenner pulled something out of the trash. Josh narrowed his eyes to get a better look at it. Given the size of Brenner and the size of the document, it appeared to be completely intact. That went against every regulation known to man. Everything that came out of that office should have been shredded. Even the lunch orders. He should not have found anything intact.

Except, he was not the only person Josh believed to be a traitor. Deer had acted suspiciously as well. That would explain a lot of things. Deer gives the guards their orders. He tells them to look the other way when Brenner comes by. The guards, having been trained to obey all orders, would have done so without question. Then, Deer leaves a perfectly intact document for Brenner to find.

There were gaps in the theory, of course. Why did Deer leave the document in the trash? Why not just hand it to Brenner or have it sent over to his office as an official memo?

The trash routine could keep Deer’s hands clean. After all, if Brenner was caught, there’d be no proof Deer was the one behind it. Anyone working in that building could have left it there. As for the guards, they may be more loyal to Deer than to Weaver, which meant they wouldn’t snitch on him.

Maybe.

Something about the theory didn’t sit fully right with Josh. Some pieces were missing. The pieces that did fit felt jagged and unfinished.

That was okay. He had more pieces to build off of than he had before. A direction to turn. Two suspects now to follow.

Josh slipped back into the shadows and away from the main building, trying to seem unbothered as he went.

His mind spun now as new pathways opened up to him. He needed to figure out his next steps. Deer would be too difficult to track. He was too powerful and always had a squad of specially trained soldiers around him when he went out in public. Not to mention Josh couldn’t imagine a world in which he could get anything out of the man.

Brenner, on the other hand…

A coward of the highest level and clearly not worried about people following him if he was so brazen as to dig around the trash in broad daylight, even if Deer had alerted the guards to ignore him. Brenner was a good lead. What information he did have, Josh could use to figure out what Gabriel Deer was up to.

Rune

Unlike Josh, who had three weeks of leave, Elijah had no such privilege. If one could call it that. It may say ‘leave’ on his forms, but everyone knew what it was. Three weeks of constant surveillance to ensure that Preston’s accusations did not hold any weight.

Even still, Elijah hoped he would take this chance to sit down and rest for at least a bit. Perhaps spend some time with Ethan and the others. Recover from what had to be a horrible battle.

Josh’s actions yesterday caused some alarm for Elijah. He didn’t usually react so poorly to situations. He compartmentalized better than anyone he knew.

But, the way he switched between the present and past tense, almost as if he believed Ethan had died. Even though that couldn’t be further from the case. Elijah cornered Ethan’s medic and got the summary from him. Ethan was fine.

Well, not fine exactly. He was underweight, dehydrated, exhausted, stressed, and showed signs of early hearing loss. The fingers on his right hand had been broken at some point, never healed correctly, and were now losing mobility. That was pretty standard fare for a person in this day and age. In the end, Ethan Sans showed no signs of dying at any point in time.

Josh still seemed to think so.

And that night terror last night. He had never witnessed Josh have one. Certainly not one so violent. Something about him changed.

A different sort of energy, but one that Elijah couldn’t put his finger on. It was almost as if the Josh that stood in front of him wasn’t the Josh he knew. Like he had been replaced. Which was ridiculous because, according to his blood sample, he was the same Josh.

So why did he feel different?

What’s more, he sometimes got this faraway look in his eyes. Like he was seeing something that wasn’t there. Even this morning, when Elijah called him a pragmatist, Josh’s color drained from his face. He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Don’t get him started on the shaking hands.

Something happened at Canyon Pass.

Something more than a bad battle and Preston accusing him of treason. Only, Elijah couldn’t get Josh to talk to him about it. He doubted Josh would come to him in his own time.

He could be horrifically stubborn when he was protecting the people he loved. Whatever he had gotten caught up in, Elijah could help. If only he would tell him.

Elijah wasn’t about to give him a choice in the matter. He’d give him a few days to calm down and re-adjust to life off the battlefield. Then he would corner him and interrogate him until he finally spilled. Elijah would use his time, meanwhile, to determine the best course of action.

He managed to convince one of his friends to take another look at Josh and see if Dr. Carter had missed anything. Which, he probably had. Dr. Carter hated being a doctor and hated working on Sanses. While Elijah wouldn’t know the outcome of the second check-up, due to doctor-patient confidentiality, he had faith that Dr. Cox would be more thorough in her investigation and give Josh the help he needed.

His eyes fell on the morphine. “Why was he so afraid of those?”

More questions that he may never get the answers to. All he could do was create a safe and calming space for Josh to recover in. And get his work done as quickly as possible.

Just as he pulled up his charts for his next patient, the door opened.

He looked up to see Deer with two MPs flanking him.

“You need to knock. What if I had a patient?” Elijah turned back to his reports.

The MPs sputtered at his lack of respect. He didn’t care. Deer didn’t either. Otherwise, he would have had Elijah arrested arrested.

“You need to come with us.” Deer’s voice was grave and serious.

Elijah froze, then looked at him. He tried to find something about Deer that would suggest what this was about. Some crack in his façade. Some flicker in his eye. A twitch in the corner of his mouth.

Deer’s face remained utterly impassive. Bored almost. Still as stone with eyes that seemed to see everything and nothing. His hands were clasped behind his back. His shoulders straight but relaxed. His presence in the room commanded respect by sheer fact that he already knew he had it. This was not a man who needed to demand respect. It was rightfully given to him.

Elijah snapped the file shut. “I have patients.”

“Not anymore. We need you to do an autopsy. One man was found on the outskirts of Welton. His family, a wife and two kids, were found dead in their home.”

“I hardly think this is my area of expertise.”

“There were signs that a witch killed them. And there were two more bodies discovered a few weeks ago. This is a pattern. I need to know what is happening.”

Elijah snapped his mouth shut. Then pinched his brow.

“I don’t know if you know this, but doctors and morticians are two completely separate fields.”

“One deals with the dead, the other deals with the living. The only difference is the presence of a heartbeat.”

“That is not the only difference!”

Deer loomed over Elijah, standing tall so Elijah had to tip his head back to look him in the eye. He refused to back down and he refused to stand up.

“You should be grateful you aren’t in a cell right now after that stunt you pulled.”

“Preston’s accusations were unjust, and you know it.”

“It doesn’t matter what I know. Only what others think. Something you fail to grasp.”

“So that’s what this is? Punishment because I dared stand up for the rights of four innocent people?”

He couldn’t detect a crack in Deer’s face. No indication that Elijah’s words were getting to him. It irritated him to no end. How could Deer sit by, knowing that Preston was full of shit, and do nothing? Why wasn’t he doing more? It wasn’t because he respected Preston, quite the opposite. Deer could do so much more. If only he didn’t care so much about what others thought. A man this powerful should end the war with the snap of his fingers. He didn’t. No matter how many times he explained to Elijah, he didn’t get it.

“Right now, Dr. Healer, you are proving yourself to be a liability.”

Elijah’s heart rate spiked at the threat.

“Prove that I can trust you to do your job.”

“My job is to help people.”

“The dead can help the living as much as the living can.”

The MPs stood frozen in the doorway, unsure of how to react to Elijah’s unwillingness to yield and Deer’s willingness to tolerate it.

This was a test. It was always a test with these people. A test of loyalty. Being able to follow orders. Of ignoring the innocent for ‘the greater good’. What the greater good was remained to be seen. He could dig his heels in. He could refuse. If he did, that would spell trouble for both him and Josh. Besides, was this the hill he wanted to die on?

“One autopsy.” He gathered his things. “You would be better off finding someone who specializes in this sort of thing. I can diagnose illnesses, not determine the cause of death.”

“Dr. Christopher has already determined the cause of death. I want you specifically for your expertise on magic,” Deer said as he led Elijah out of his office and down to ‘the dungeon’ as it was called.

“How has Captain Sans been?” Deer asked, almost a bit too nonchalantly. “Any changes in his mental health?”

Elijah turned to him, confused. “Captain Sans? You mean Josh? He’s a lieutenant.”

Deer’s face remained neutral. “Weaver likes him. Talking about a promotion. Skipped several ranks. Weaver is impressed with him and his actions at Canyon Pass.”

“Oh! That’s good news. Josh deserves it. He’s a wonderful leader. He cares so much for those in his command.”

“The captain’s mental state, Doctor,” Deer said. A slight edge in his voice was the only indication that he wanted Elijah to answer the question and answer it now. This was not small talk.

Elijah frowned. Josh’s actions last night worried him. How could he not seem to decide if he was in the past or present? If Ethan was alive or dead. He didn’t want to reveal that to Deer. He wasn’t sure what his endgame was, and he was not about to put him in harm’s way.

“Josh is doing fine. Or, as fine as one can do when one was almost killed in battle and then accused of colluding with witches.”

Deer’s face was neutral. “Has he asked you about traitors?”

Elijah tripped over his feet. “I’m sorry, what?”

Deer did not answer; just stared at him.

“No. Josh has made no mention of traitors. He was more nervous that General Weaver would rescind his decision on his and Ethan’s fate and have them both executed.”

Deer hummed. “Tell him to keep his nose out of it. He escaped death once. I doubt he can do it again.”

Another threat. Though this time, Elijah could not tell if Deer was the one making it, or if he was warning him that someone else was.

They stopped in front of the doors of the mortuary. “Doctor, I expect a full report on my desk by the end of the day. If you don’t⁠—”

“You’ll arrest me and throw me in jail. I understand,” Elijah sighed. He nodded to the two MPs, then pushed the door open.

The sound of loud, screaming music met his ears. He winced and walked over to the speakers to turn off that horrid sound. Why anyone would want to destroy their eardrums like that was beyond him.

The sound cut. Elijah was left with the hum of the freezers working overtime to keep the room cool so the bodies didn’t decompose. It didn’t work. Electricity regularly shut off, so the stench of rotting flesh clung to the grey, concrete walls. At least now it appeared to be working, so Elijah wouldn’t have to dissect a slowly rotting corpse melting into the metal table. Though, he shivered and wished he had brought a jacket or some gloves.

“Hey! Eli!” Christopher shouted, looking up from the corpse he was huddled over and grinning broadly. “Welcome back to the dungeon.”

“You’re shouting, Christopher,” Elijah said. He set down his things and washed his hands.

“Sorry about that. Had I known you were coming, I would have turned down the music.”

“Thank you for the thought.” He went to pull out some rubber gloves only to be met with an empty box. “Where are your gloves?”

“Oh, we ran out like a week ago. I put in a request for more. It will probably take another month. I got a pile of them over there, though.” He pointed to a stack of gloves.

Elijah wrinkled his nose. “These have already been used.”

“Eh, what’s the worst that can happen? I kill a guy?” He laughed. “I’m pretty sure I already did that when I removed the man’s heart. Nasty thing.”

“It’s not the dead you have to worry about. It’s your own health.”

“Death will come for me eventually.” Christopher shrugged.

Elijah picked through the used glove pile and found a pair that weren’t completely coated in dried bodily fluids, nor were they ripped. “What’s going on? Deer said something about a witch death?”

“Oh, it’s super interesting. You’re gonna love it. I mean, it’s also sad that these guys are dead. The kids especially. It’s also kind of cool. Come on, let me show you the heart.”

Elijah stepped over to the table and winced. “What on earth happened to it? How long have they been dead?”

“No idea.”

He looked at him. “What do you mean you have no idea?”

“I mean, this guy was found on the side of the road, and his family was found in their homes frozen solid. Like, when they were moved, that one’s fingers broke off. Completely rock hard.” He pointed to the other corpse that was indeed missing three of its fingers.

Elijah winced at the look of terror and pain frozen on the man’s face. Given the expression, his last moments had to be excruciating.

“They were frozen?”

“Yeah. So you know when you have a strawberry, and you put it in the freezer, then you take it out and it thaws all mushy and shit?”

“I’ve never seen a strawberry before, so no.”

Christopher barreled onwards. “I’ll get you some when they’re in season. Anyway, that’s what’s happening here. They’re thawing, so they’re turning mushy. It’s wild.”

“You have no idea how long they’ve been dead?” Elijah asked, beginning his examination.

The man in front of him appeared to be in his thirties or forties. Given the burns on his hands, arms, and face, he was likely a worker in a chemical plant. Plants operated twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, so that didn’t exactly narrow down when the man could have been killed, as people were always coming and going.

Christopher shook his head. “Nope. I’m guessing sometime last night. The guy works in the factory for the evening shift. Prison labor. They would have reported him missing if he didn’t show up today. The thawing seems to be, well, thawing like normal. No magic here.”

Elijah hummed. “There wouldn’t be. Not unless a rune of some sort was carved into the body. If it were a witch, as soon as they stopped using the magic, the body would have begun to thaw.”

“Yeah. The creepy part is I think they were frozen from the inside out, starting with the feet and hands. Then moving toward the center.”

Elijah winced. That sounded horrible. And slow. And sadistic.

“Why would a witch attack a factory workers?” he muttered.

“Not my job to determine the why, only to determine the how,” Christopher said. “Though, you have a point. It’s not like these guys had information that would be useful to the witches.”

Very true. “Maybe they were spies and didn’t hand over the information their handler wanted?” He suggested.

“Yikes. That is not good. Yet another reason why joining the witches isn’t a great idea,” Christopher said.

“Were you planning on it?”

“Oh, absolutely not. It’s nice to have confirmation.”

“True.”

Elijah went to look at the wife. Her expression froze into a look of pure terror. He hoped he would not have to look at the kids.

“What do you think, though? Some sort of ice witch?” Christopher wiggled his fingers. “Shooting ice out of their fingers?”

“That’s not how magic works,” Elijah said. “And I don’t think so. A water witch. What confuses me is how they managed to kill these people. Water witches don’t create water; they use what’s already around them. They’re one of the weakest witches. Especially since they need so much of it to use in magical spells.”

“The human body is seventy percent water, though.”

“Yes, but the water is spread out. It’s not sitting in a puddle at your feet. It’s spread out, in your blood, bones, muscles. When I say water witches need a lot of water, I’m talking like a puddle at least. One body of water with enough of it in one place for the bonds to be made and broken. The fact that someone managed to grab hold of the molecules in the human body and freeze them takes immense control and focus.”

“Whoever did this is dangerous. We should be careful.”

He pulled off his gloves. “I’ll go write up my findings. Let me know if you find anything else of note. I’m assuming you didn’t find runes?”

Christopher shook his head. “Nope.”

“Good.”

As he left the dungeon, he bit his lip. His stomach somersaulted. True, the the dead may have been a spy who didn’t live up to expectations. They also could have been completely innocent bystanders. A man walking home after a long day at work, and getting caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the sadism.

As he typed up his report, his thoughts kept drifting back to Josh.

The fact that someone managed to freeze a human body solid with nothing more than the water present was worrisome. What if it were a new technique being tested on the witches? What if this were going to become more and more common on the battlefield?

His mind spun into darker depths until he couldn’t take it anymore.

He turned in his report and made up his mind.

He moved through Welton, knowing which paths held cameras and which didn’t. His destination was clear in his mind. He had only been there a handful of times when he was desperate. Maybe it was stupid. Josh was already so closely watched because of Preston’s actions. This would only put him in more danger. Elijah couldn’t help it. Danger was everywhere. From the soldiers. From the witches. If he could do something to protect Josh from one side, then he would do it.

Deer might not be happy about it. He might accuse him of being reckless and foolish.

Maybe he was.

He didn’t care. He wanted to keep the people he loved alive. That meant making choices.

He stopped in front of a dilapidated store. It sold various pieces of scrap that could be collected from the trash. Bits of metal and string. Cloth to repurpose into clothes.

He stepped inside.

The girl at the counter glanced up at him.

“Is Madam Fico in?” he asked.

The girl’s frown deepened. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, it’s rather a last-minute request.”

“No appointment. No visit.”

“Please ask her if she can do a favor. Tell her Elijah Healer is asking.”

The girl studied him for a beat. He feared she wouldn’t bend. It was well within her rights. Madam Fico did have appointments for a reason.

Thankfully, she slipped off the stool and into the backroom.

Elijah sat there; his heart never stopped its frantic beat.

“You are back?” Madam Fico shuffled through a beaded curtain made of bits of broken glass. Sometimes, when the sun was just right, it’d make mosaics of light dance across the shop walls.

“Yes, I need a favor. It’s urgent.”

She looked at him, then turned to shuffle back into the back room.

“Thank you,” Elijah said to the girl, following Madam Fico.

“Favors, favors, favors. All anyone wants are favors.”

“That is how you make money, after all,” Elijah said.

She sneered at him. “What favor do you need?”

“I need a rune necklace that protects the wearer from freezing.”

Madam Fico didn’t say anything as she started to dig through her stash of broken metals. Elijah did not speak either. He knew how this went. Madam Fico would only speak when she was ready. Rushing her would likely get him kicked out.

“Freezing weather?” She pulled out some brass.

“Freezing from the inside out.”

She stopped, then looked at him. “Freezing from the inside out?”

He nodded. “I have reason to believe that there is a water witch who has learned to use the water in the human body as a weapon. I’d like to have that not happen, if it’s at all possible.”

She spat on the ground. “Water witches. Too many. Out of balance. The entire world is out of balance. Don’t worry about water witches. Too weak.” She dug around her buckets of trash. Then she pulled out something that appeared to be silver. She held it up to the light.

“This water witch killed four people last night. Has anyone come here?” Perhaps she knew what the murderer was and could point Elijah in the right direction.

She shook her head. “I don’t keep track of who comes and goes.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Why would I tell you the truth? So you can have the witch killed?”

“They killed two children!”

“Children. That is more worrisome. I will make you your rune.”

“Thank you.”

“Fifteen rations.”

“Fifteen rations?” Elijah exclaimed. “That’s a week’s worth of food!”

She looked at him. “Exactly. You want me to not eat for a week? I do this for you. I make you runes and do you favors. I ask for only what it is worth. Something like this, it is worth fifteen rations. I am nice. You pay five up front. Ten when necklace is complete.”

Elijah hesitated.

Madam Fico took out some chalk and began tracing shapes on the metal. “You are willing to risk death by coming here. You will not risk a week of hunger? Your priorities are skewed. Best determine what is important to you.”

“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll give you the rations,” Elijah said. He dug around in his pockets until he found his book of ration stamps. He ripped out five and handed it to her.

She held it to the light. “This will do.”

“Can you hide the rune?” Elijah asked.

“Can I hide the rune? Of course, I can hide the rune. I do nothing but hide runes.” She shuffled over to her workbench. “Go. I will contact you when it is ready.”

“Of course, thank you.”

She did not reply.

Elijah did not need her to.

Air

Levi Brenner was running out of time.

What started as a lucrative business opportunity to secure a better life for himself quickly turned into something much, much worse.

After the last ration reduction, he decided to become a spy. To sell the information to someone who would pay good money for it. This choice wasn’t made on the spur of the moment. Oh, no.

He had spent days, weeks, going over his decision carefully.

What would such a task entail? What sorts of benefits might he gain? What sorts of drawbacks might there be? Even as the hunger gnawed at his stomach and split his head open in pain, he did not rush into the decision.

He looked at past spies that had been caught. He looked at his own life. He looked at the future of the non-magic people. He looked at the past government actions. Eventually, the rewards outweighed the risks. He set about finding a way to join the witches.

Neither side was succeeding in this war. They had been at a standstill for almost fifty years. For every slight non-witch victory, the witches would have one just as slight. In fact, for the past five years, they had been fighting over the same couple of hundred feet of border land. Each time the soldiers would make an advance of a foot or two, a day later, the witches would take it right back. And so on, and so on.

That particular issue was already bad enough. The cracks in the government started to become irreparable. The non-witches had never had a particularly strong government. The government had been born out of revolt, of wanting to no longer live as slaves. Levi commended his ancestors for their bravery. There was a certain amount of hopeful fervor present in the early diary entries of the first rebels.

The fact remained, though. It was hard to set up a functioning government born out of war. A war that hadn’t been won yet. Maybe if the non-witches had managed to secure a victory, the government could have developed into something functional. As it stood now, it was a barely functioning mess of egotistical narcissists who did not want to give up any power or money. They were squeezing those at the bottom. A noose tightening around their necks as more and more cuts were made in the name of continuing the war. The last ration cuts were the final straw for Levi.

He wasn’t the only one to see the writing on the wall. The non-combatant citizens were starting to grumble and complain. What had once been a war meant to secure their freedom, to give them peace and prosperity, now turned their lives into a living hell. Even with the stricter rationing, it was still a toss-up whether you’d get food or not. The amount of MP brutality rose each week. More and more people were suspected of being witch sympathizers and carted off to prisons, never to be seen again.

The electricity was off more than it was on. Even though it was off, the cameras never stopped running. Speaking of cameras, the number of monitoring devices reached an all-time high last month. You couldn’t piss in this town without some camera watching you.

The wages were drying up. The number of hours the average person had to work increased until most people spent more time at work than doing anything else.

In short, everything was shit.

What was the point in fighting a war if the current government was just as bad as the former one? Levi wasn’t exactly itching to become a slave, but this shit couldn’t be the only option.

What they needed, what both sides needed, was someone to tip the scales in a direction. Any direction. Honestly, Levi didn’t care which direction the scales were tipped.

Logically, though, it couldn’t be the non-witches. Or, at least, he wasn’t going to tip the scales in favor of a soldier victory. Maybe someone else would, but not him. He had lived under the reign of the non-witches. He knew what it was like. He wasn’t keen to have that be the rest of his life. So, he decided to join the witches instead.

This made sense. He was in Intelligence and had access to better information than your average Joe. His work wasn’t exactly bringing a soldier victory closer and closer. He figured that if he was instrumental in securing a witch victory, the witches would be nicer to him when they did win. Sure, he didn’t expect them to let him run free. Maybe he could live in a nice, cushy prison cell for the rest of his days.

Three square meals a day, air conditioning. Perhaps a nicer bed than the one he had at his current place. All good things. The money he got could also help fund a better lifestyle. Or, at least more food.

The lack of food was a lie. They didn’t need stricter rations. There was more than enough to go around. Real food, too.

Dark, real chocolate and fresh coffee. Apples, pears, strawberries. He had heard of people with access to cheese and good cigarettes. And meat. Real meat. Not just eggs and road kill. Juicy steaks. Thick slices of fatty bacon. His mouth watered just thinking about what was out there.

Make no mistake, it was out there. He got the reports about the farms and processing plants that made this food. Only the upper caste families got all the good food. They had the money to go to the black market and buy it. They had large enough estates on the western side of the country, far enough from the fighting and the ever-watchful eyes of the government to have a working farm.

Along with enough money to grease the palms of inspectors who might be so inclined to report and seize the production.

If Levi could get an extra fifty rations a month, he might be able to afford decent fucking food. At least enough to supplement his diet.

He could buy a nicer blanket. One that kept him warm without scratching him. One made out of real wool and not whatever synth-fiber the hacks at the Ministry of Science cooked up; melting plastic and wood scraps together.

His mouth watered at the thought of real cream. Of bread that wasn’t hard as a rock. Crunchy on the outside, soft and white on the inside. Slathered with fresh, salted butter and a side of raspberry jam.

He hadn’t had raspberry jam since he was ten. His mother had a small patch that she grew with such care.

Then, a neighbor alerted the Ministry of Food to her secret garden. All her raspberries were taken away. The inspector who took them claimed it would be spread around to the people. Levi called bullshit on that. He had never seen a raspberry in the legal markets. Hell, in the black market, they were rare. They probably went straight to people like Gabriel Deer.

Raspberry jam and bread sealed his fate. He sold the witches information to get what he fucking deserved if it killed him!

It wasn’t hard to find a witch, especially in Levi’s line of work. There were plenty of soldiers who had turned just like him. Soldiers who would tell him anything so long as the torture stopped. Perhaps he should have seen that as a warning.

Instead, he foolishly thought he would be different. He’d be able to turn the tides of war, eat some butter, then live out the rest of his days in a nice jail cell once the witches won.

Turns out, that wasn’t the case.

Levi wasn’t too worried about the soldiers finding out about him. His work in intelligence helped enable him to erase anything that might point to him, after all. He did, however, severely underestimate how much of a threat the witches were.

He wasn’t sure what he expected. Perhaps praise for such a good decision. Thanks for all the help. Maybe a medal or two, he wasn’t picky. What he got instead was worse treatment than he was used to.

His handler gave him no name. His use of ice and water magic led to Levi giving him the nickname “Ice Man”. He rarely, if ever, was happy with anything Levi brought him. Constantly demanding more with shorter time intervals to get the information.

More intel.

More background information.

He had three months.

He had two months.

He had four weeks.

He had two weeks.

He had twenty-four hours.

This wasn’t enough.

Get more.

If he didn’t get more, he would be killed.

Get it faster.

That’s not enough.

That’s not fast enough.

More.

More.

MORE!

Levi tried to leave Ice Man’s employ after this came to a head. Only for Ice Man to turn around and kill two people in front of Levi just to prove how dangerous he was. So, Levi scrambled to grab every scrap of intel he could get his hands on.

At first, he had tried to bring only the good stuff. The tastiest stuff. The stuff that would be the best bet for, you know, winning the bloody war. It was never enough. Ice Man seemed to be under the impression that Levi was hiding something from him. What Levi would gain from that was anyone’s guess. The memory of seeing those two men freeze from the inside out drove Levi to bring him everything. Even the stuff that he thought didn’t matter.

Ice Man agreed that the information he brought didn’t matter. Now, instead of thinking Levi was hiding stuff from him, he thought that Levi was mocking him. That meant Levi needed to be punished.

One of these days, Ice Man would freeze him for too long, and his toes would fall off. A persistent chill never left his bones. Any feeling of cold spiraled Levi into a panic attack, certain that Ice Man was killing him from the shadows.

The worst part of it all was that the pay wasn’t even that good! Yes, Levi had negotiated a price for the information. A good price. A fair price. One that wasn’t too high and had the opportunity for growth.

Only, Ice Man turned it around on him and refused to pay him for ‘subpar’ information. What constituted ‘subpar’ information changed daily. Sometimes, within the course of a conversation. So, not only did Levi risk his neck bringing these people the weekly lunch menu from the mess hall, he wasn’t even paid for it!

Since he started providing information, the most he had gotten paid was five rations. That was it. Five rations couldn’t buy anything!

He longed to pack up his bags and leave. Only, that wasn’t a possibility either. It seemed he had made a deal with the devil. Ice Man was not about to let him back out of this. If he tried to run, Ice Man (or someone who worked for him) would hunt him down and torture him to death. Levi would produce until he had nothing left to produce. Then, Ice Man promised, he’d be tortured until he produced just a little bit more. Then, when Ice Man decided Levi had nothing left, and only then, would Levi be dragged into the forest and shot.

Well, hung, technically. Ice Man didn’t want an investigation happening, so he’d make sure it looked like a suicide. He had Levi write a suicide note to sell it.

It was at this point that Levi wondered if all the soldiers who had been caught weren’t caught because they were lazy or stupid. But because they were tired and wanted it to end.

Perhaps they thought that if they could just spill what little information they had to the soldiers, Ice Man could be stopped. They would die knowing they did something for the world.

Levi wasn’t quite at that stage yet. He did feel like he was running on a treadmill that got progressively faster until it was so fast he would be flung off and smashed into a wall.

Which brought him to his most current problem: Canyon Pass.

When he presented the Canyon Pass Assault to Ice Man, Ice Man had been pleased. That was when Levi got his five rations.

Finally, something worth giving to the witches! Something that might turn the tide of war! Something that might finally give Levi a break. The information was worth a little more than five rations, but he’d take it if it meant he’d have a few days to breathe and not worry about getting information.

Everything was going so well until a no-name lieutenant named Joshua Sans managed to take the Southern Fire Temple.

He couldn’t have possibly known about the mines or the traps. No way. They all should have died. Or, at least, most of them should have died. The entire assault should have ended in disaster, with the witches keeping the Southern Fire Temple. They didn’t.

Instead, Joshua Sans went against Colonel Preston’s orders. In doing so, he managed to secure the temple, collapse a canyon, kill a bunch of witches, and win the day. On the upside, he had been immediately court-martialed and accused of being a spy. On the downside, General Weaver took a liking to him, ordered his immediate release, and gave the little bastard a promotion!

Levi didn’t know who Joshua Sans was before Canyon Pass. He was a nobody. A Sans who joined the military at fifteen and was a decent soldier by all accounts. He had been offered a chance at shadow training during basic but turned it down. His record showed that he was competent, but also very much a rule follower who respected his commanding officer’s orders. He was nothing.

He fucked everything up!

He fucked everything up for Levi because there was no way Ice Man would let this slide. He would murder Levi for this mess. Probably wouldn’t hesitate. He knew that Levi knew it. Which was why he didn’t show up right away to do it. Before, there were daily check-ins with the Ice Man. Ever since Canyon Pass nearly a week and a half ago, there was nothing. No daily check-ins. No ice in his veins. Just Levi’s own paranoia to keep him company.

Levi jumped at shadows. Constantly looked over his shoulder. Spent longer and longer hours at the office in the vain hope that it would keep him safe for just a little longer. Would it be better to commit suicide? He wasn’t looking forward to the torture.

He thought about it. He held his gun up to his temple in his apartments, just out of the view of the cameras. He wrote a suicide note, then burned it. After all, he had no one who would miss him.

He walked up to the edge of Welton, right where the drab, smoggy city met the forest. Rope in hand. Ready to end it all.

He turned around and headed to a bar instead. He couldn’t do it. His body wouldn’t let him even as his mind ran wild with what would happen if (when) the witches stopped toying with him and started demanding answers.

Maybe the reason they hadn’t killed him yet was that they had left. Afraid that Sans’s victory at Canyon Pass spelled the end of their operation. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t shown up.

Wishful thinking.

He didn’t know much about Ice Man. He knew that he was not the kind of person to just give up. To walk away when things got hard. He had just as much to prove as Levi did. Besides, he probably had contingencies for this kind of thing. He probably expected it.

Still, as one week crept into two, Levi was stuck between relaxing, thinking the danger had passed, and panicking that the danger was just around the corner.

When he stepped into his apartment, two weeks after the Canyon Pass incident, two witches stood there. The only thing he could think of was, “Finally. At least the wait is over.”

The lights flickered in his apartment, then went out. No more electricity meant that most of the cameras would be dead. Though Ice Man and the other witches didn’t seem to worry too much about them. Did they know the cameras were there?

“I have some information for you.” He didn’t know how else to start this. He kicked off his boots and ducked around the corner to the one blind spot in his apartment. Just in case. “Another potential attack. This time on the North Eastern Front. There’s a weapons supply drop. If you can intercept the convoy⁠—”

The air rushed from his lungs. Literally. He was suffocating. He clutched at his throat.

“You double-crossed us,” one of the witches said. Her voice was calm in an empty sort of way. Airy. Almost like she wasn’t human. Which, according to some people, witches weren’t. They were an entirely separate species.

He didn’t have time to ponder the true phylogenetic nature of the witches and whether or not they were human. His face got hotter. The pressure in his head made him certain it was about to explode. Everything hurt. Dark spots danced in the corner of his eyes.

He shook his head frantically, trying to get the words out. To convince them that he didn’t betray them. Sans got lucky. The words wouldn’t come. They stayed choked in his lungs as the black spots got larger and larger and larger. Until he couldn’t see anything except for brief flashes of light.

This was how he was going to die. He supposed it made sense given that the plan was to pretend he committed suicide. Usually, you died when your neck snapped, not from suffocation. If you didn’t do it right, if you didn’t get high enough, your neck didn’t snap. You were forced to sit there, your legs kicking as your lungs screamed for air.

Air rushed back into his lungs. So forceful that it knocked him onto his back. He wheezed, staring up at the ceiling. The black faded from his vision. He felt cool, almost cold, now that he could breathe again.

“Why did they know we were there?” she asked as breezily as before.

Her companion, a man Levi had never seen before, stood silently in the shadows. Levi didn’t want to know what his Truth was.

“I don’t…” He gasped, coughed, and choked for air. “I don’t know. I did research into Joshua Sans. He’s nothing. A nobody. A man without a people. He’s got a good service record but nothing to indicate that he’d know anything about this.”

“Joshua Sans?” She tapped her chin. “Interesting name. What else do you know about him?”

“He’s married. To a doctor. His name’s Elijah Healer, I think.”

“Healer?” Her eyes snapped to him, studying him.

“Yeah? You know him?”

She didn’t say anything for several seconds. Levi couldn’t pull his eyes away from her pale, almost ethereal-looking body.

“Was Healer at Canyon Pass?” she asked.

“No.” His body relaxed slightly. So long as they asked questions, they couldn’t suffocate him. “No, he’s stationed here. It was Joshua Sans who led the attack.”

“You sold him the information then?” she asked.

“Absolutely not!”

She knelt next to him and tilted her head to the side. Her long, platinum blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. Shiny like silk. “Why do you think we’d believe that?”

“Why would I sell information to you, only to sell it to Joshua Sans? What do I get out of it?”

“Money,” she sighed. “That’s what you’re all about. That’s what men like you are always about.”

Levi glared at her. “You would be too if you hadn’t had a full meal in almost a month.”

“Quiet!” Her voice snapped out of its dream-like state for the first time in this conversation.

He felt the air start to seep from his lungs. It was the oddest sensation. Like, he was still breathing, but with each breath, the air around him got thinner and thinner and thinner. His heart beat against his chest. His head ached. He felt like he had run a marathon.

“Sans wouldn’t have enough money to pay me anyway!” he gasped, desperate to get a full breath of air. His face felt like it was expanding and squeezing against the skin. So tight it threatened to burst open.

“Why is that?” she asked, her dreamy voice back.

“I told you, he’s a Sans. He doesn’t have a family to claim him. They can’t climb as high in the ranks. They get paid less than their claimed counterparts. Why would I go out of my way to make him look good? Besides, he’s a model soldier. He’s loyal to the cause. He’s not the kind of person who’d buy information just to make himself look better.” The black spots were back in his vision. By the end of his tirade, his entire body felt like it was going to burst.

“He did get a promotion, though,” she said.

Fuck, they already knew about that? Then why the fuck was Levi busting his ass for these people? They clearly didn’t need him.

“He was also at risk of hanging as a traitor,” he argued back. Gasping like he had run a thousand miles. “Colonel Preston would have been well within his rights to have a field trial. The only reason he didn’t was that Weaver recalled the whole team back. It wouldn’t have been worth the risk for Sans.”

The air rushed back into his lungs. He collapsed into the fetal position, gulping down lungfuls of stale air. The tingling sensations that had built up in his head started to disappear. If this continued, he’d probably have a stroke. He’d have preferred the hanging, honestly.

“I believe you.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“Good.”

“Only because you’re not smart enough to double-cross us.

He wanted to argue, but his body still ached from having no air. Now was not the time to argue. Even if he did feel a little incensed that she called him stupid. He was in intelligence, for crying out loud! You couldn’t be dumb and be in intelligence. Though, to be fair, he had also decided it was a great idea to turn into a spy for a bunch of psychopaths.

“We do need some sort of information to prove your loyalty. You understand, don’t you?” she tapped a finger against her chin.

“I told you about the weapons drop.”

“No, that’s too small.”

“That’s all I have!”

“Hm, I don’t think so.”

The silent man in the shadows handed the woman her coat. She pulled it on with all the flair of someone very rich.

“You have until the end of the month. If you don’t give us something we deem suitable information, we will kill you. You’re a liability. Your work has been subpar.”

“Subpar? I’ve given you everything I have!”

She looked at him. Her stare pierced his body. “Then maybe it’s not the information, but you. Honestly, if all soldiers operated like you, we would have won this war a long time ago.”

She stepped to the door, then stopped. “Joshua Sans. What an interesting character. He outsmarted you.”

“He got lucky. That’s all.”

She turned and shrugged. “It’s war. Luck is all you need.”

“Hang on⁠—”

She didn’t wait for a response. Her companion opened the door. She sauntered out of it. It slammed behind them.

Levi sat on the floor for a long while, listening to the tick, tick, tick of his clock. The lights flickered back on. He turned his head to see the camera’s red button blinking, indicating that it was recording.

“Fuck.” He ran a hand over his face.

He wasn’t kidding when he said the weapons drop was all he had. He wasn’t sure where he could get better information. Maybe now his body would finally let him kill it, since it felt the pain of torture.

It’d be easier.

It’d be less painful.

His hand came to rest on the service weapon on his hip. One good shot to the head and this nightmare would be over.

He couldn’t get himself to pull it out and pull the trigger.

He rolled to his knees, stumbled into the wall, and looked up at the clock. One hour before curfew. He could do this. He could find information that would make the witches happy.

Spy

“I got the list.” Henry slammed a piece of paper down on the ground at one of the only parks left in Welton.

One of the only places cameras weren’t everywhere. As it turned out, trees didn’t conduct electricity very well.

Ethan pulled it closer to him. Gods, he wished there was an easier way to do this. A place they could talk in complete and total privacy without worrying about what cameras were listening. What they picked up. Who was on the other end. Such a place didn’t exist. At least, none that Ethan knew of. So, the park was the next best thing.

He scanned the list. “What do we think? Nature Names a no-go?”

“Why would we get rid of all of them immediately?” Priscilla peeked over his shoulder.

“I was thinking about why someone might want to sell us out to the… you know what.” He was careful not to say anything that might draw attention to them. “Money was the main reason I could think of. Nature Names don’t need money. They got enough of it.

“Yeah, but you’d sell us out for money,” Henry said. “Everyone’s got their own reasons for the choices they make.”

“Oh yeah? Then why would Nature Names sell us out? What do they have to gain?”

“Power?” Priscilla suggested.

“They already have a lot of power, though.”

“Yeah, but since General Weaver took over, they could feel frustrated that their position is technically lower than a Career,” she said.

“Right.” That was a good point.

Damn. Here Ethan hoped to cut out half the list with one fell swoop.

“I think we’re looking at this wrong,” Henry said. “We should first start with who would have the best opportunity to give this information away. Like Colonel Cromwell wouldn’t. He’s been stationed up on the Northern Border for months now.”

“Too much fighting, not enough time to sell info,” Ethan said.

“Exactly.”

“It probably wouldn’t be Weaver,” Priscilla said. “He looks bad if the witches succeed in any way, shape, or form. He’s under such intense pressure. He can’t afford to mess up.”

Ethan crossed off Cromwell and Weaver’s names. “Great Deer God, there’s a lot of names.” He read through the list and winced.

There had to be at least a hundred names on here. It’d take them ages to get through all of them.

“We need a better plan than speculating,” Priscilla said. “There’s got to be a better way to do this.”

“We need to be methodical.” Ethan thought about how Josh would handle the situation. “If we start at the top of the list, we can ask around. See whose behavior has changed recently. That’s how we’ll find our spy.”

“You think?” Henry asked.

He nodded. “Whoever sold out the information, their behavior had to change in some way. Maybe because of guilt, or the thrill of getting away with it. Maybe they’ve been bringing home more food. Spies don’t work for free. We need to ask the other Sanses if they noticed anything.”

The Sanses would be the best way to figure it out. Start at the bottom. The people no one wanted to acknowledge. The people who were always there, but easy to ignore. They saw everything. They heard everything. Even if you didn’t want to admit it. They’d know who was acting out of character. They may know the reason.

The three of them put their heads together, reading through the list once more, and they listed all of the servants and assistant Sanses that served each of the people, or their unit.

“We’ll have to split these up so that we don’t look suspicious,” Priscilla said. “I can take all the women. We usually have girls’ nights anyway.”

Ethan underlined the female Sanses that Priscilla would need to talk to.

“I can take the generalists,” Henry said.

“That leaves me with the specialists,” Ethan circled his list of names.

It was perfect since most of the specialists regularly got together to complain anyway. He could easily slip in questions about their bosses and see what popped out.

“I feel better now.” Priscilla hoisted Ethan and Henry to their feet.

“You were feeling bad before?” Ethan asked.

“Overwhelmed.” She clarified. “We had a goal, but it seemed impossible to figure out how to achieve it. At least now, we have a starting point. Something for us to focus on. Whatever information we gather, we can use that to determine our next steps.”

“Exactly,” Henry said. “One step at a time. We’ll smoke out the son of a bitch who betrayed us. Then, we’ll all get more promotions.”

“You can get a promotion. I’m not sure if I want more work. I see how much Josh has to do on a given day.”

“It’s not the promotion. It’s the recognition.” Henry explained. “We did something no one else could. We found the rat.”

“We haven’t found anything yet.” Priscilla reminded him.

“Yeah, but we will,” Henry said.

“Glad you’re confident.”

Ethan was confident, but even his confidence felt… uneasy. Unsure of himself. Maybe it was because if he did find the traitor, Henry was right. They’d probably get promotions. Maybe they’d get promoted to Intelligence. Josh wanted him in Intelligence. Since most of the time, he’d be stuck on base reading reports.

Once more, he felt himself unsure of what he wanted.

He wouldn’t let his trepidation stop his investigation, though. This would help Josh. Who knows, maybe he’d like Intelligence work. It would help end the war faster. Hopefully. Unless spies were like weeds. Pull one out, ten more would pop up.

More than anything, he just wanted to know why the spy sold information to the witches. Why did they think that was a better option than staying loyal? Was it money? Power? Something else?

As they exited the park, his eyes caught something. A piece of paper taped to the steel light post. He stopped in his tracks, the words washing through his brain before he knew what they said.

“STOP THE WAR. STOP THE DEATH.” It was written with a dying pen. The ink faded as the letters went on.

Of course, everyone wanted the war to end. At least, they all claimed they wanted the war to end. Something about this paper, the hasty way the words had been scribbled upon the crumpled, old paper. The way someone had smacked it on the light post haphazardly. The way its corners curled and ripped. Lopsided as if someone had put it on there while walking by, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.

Everyone wanted the war to end.

A flyer like this would get the person who posted it in trouble.

Priscilla followed his eyes. She grabbed the flyer and ripped it up. The sounds of tearing paper jerked him from his trance.

“Such a shitty thing to say.” Priscilla shook her head. She tossed the tiny scraps of paper to the ground. The wind picked up and blew them away. A few landed in puddles and dissolved.

“If they want to end the war, maybe they should fight instead of writing their thoughts on pieces of paper.” She looped her arm in Ethan’s and tugged him away.

She said those words because that was what was expected of her. That was what was expected of Ethan.

Was there another way to end the war?

Did thinking this way make Ethan more like the spy than he wanted to admit?

Witch

Josh knew Elijah was starting to worry about him. He had night terrors that he could never remember. Sometimes he forgot where and when he was. The panic attacks were becoming more frequent.

He did his best to assure Elijah that everything was alright. However, he struggled to keep his head on straight.

The only thing that kept him from going completely crazy was Levi Brenner, of all people. With Levi Brenner, he had something to do. Someone to tail.

The bombs would fall in a few months. He had to figure out a way to reveal Brenner as the spy in those two months, get him to confess to the bombs’s location, then take a squad there to destroy them.

That was a tight timeline. One that got tighter by the day. Despite following Brenner around with the knowledge that he was a spy, he had yet to find any actual evidence.

Then there were the murders. Josh had heard about them from Elijah. Some ice witch had shown up and killed a family. He didn’t remember that happening before. He didn’t remember a lot happening before, only caring about Ethan and his grief. That felt different.

A lot felt different.

That worried him.

The bombs were set to fall in a few months.

Maybe with all his meddling, that timeline had changed. Maybe they would fall in less time. Or maybe they wouldn’t fall at all.

Or maybe they had never fallen in the first place. Everything Josh remembered was a terrible dream.

That seemed to be what his mind had settled on. While he still had nightmares, they faded more and more with each night.

As did the bone-deep ache of being an endling. He found himself pressing his tongue against his teeth less and less. He didn’t slip between timelines so much.

Brenner and Deer hadn’t shown that they were traitors.

Finally, he threw in the towel.

What had happened at Canyon Pass must have been the result of a witch messing with his mind. Trying to trip him up and cause him to freeze so that he’d die.

Congrats. It almost worked. It was only thanks to Ethan’s quick thinking did he manage to survive.

He had never lived a previous life. The bombs didn’t exist. No one died. Elijah didn’t kill himself. Josh’s teeth never fell from his head. The entire thing was ludicrous. Even given the phenomenal cosmic powers the witches held, he doubted any of them would be powerful enough to send him, of all people, back in time.

A witch of death.

Who had ever heard of such a thing?

If the witches had witches who were literal personifications of death, why weren’t they on the battlefield? Why weren’t they rusting away the soldiers’ guns? Rotting their bones from the inside out?

Someone or something tricked him. He probably stepped on a rune or something that caused the hallucination.

He was ashamed of himself for falling for such a trick. The only thing that lessened his shame was the fact that the witch who laid the trap also accidentally revealed the land mines. It was that reveal that allowed Josh the ultimate victory.

Now that he had the victory, he wouldn’t give any more of his time or energy over to a hallucination meant to kill him.

It was time to move on.

Once that decision was made, he felt a huge weight slip from his shoulder. The sun seemed to shine brighter. The air didn’t taste quite so bitter. He felt more hopeful about the future.

He changed the future. Ethan was alive. Canyon Pass was a success. The Southern Fire Temple was theirs. Josh had gotten the praise from General Seth Weaver. Hell, people whispered that he had made such a good impression that he might be promoted again and brought to work directly under Weaver. Something that had always been his dream.

Why would he damage his reputation by panicking and following a bunch of people around?

He wouldn’t. He would enjoy his time and rub it in the witch's face that he was not only surviving, but thriving.

Which is why he was in town. Within five miles of the base, looking for new socks. The quartermaster had been a prick about Josh’s socks, stating that they were perfectly useful. That he didn’t need a new pair.

They were not perfectly useful. The toes and balls of his feet were covered in holes. They were stained to hell and ugly as sin. He could handle the stains. His boots hid them. It wasn’t like anyone else’s socks looked better. It was the holes that bothered him.

He felt the worn bottom of his boots press against his skin. Cold water seeping into his body. Blisters, bleeding, and calluses ripping without an extra layer of protection.

The feeling of rocks breaking through the soles.

The skin on the sides of his toes rubbing off completely.

The feeling of hot blood filling his boots.

He took them off. Electing to walk barefoot like Micah through the woods. He remembered how much his feet ached when he took off the boots. How the calves had swelled and puffed up. He had to step gingerly over the branches and earth until the soles of his feet hardened and he was able to walk more purposefully and confidently.

He blinked. No. He wasn’t there. That hadn’t happened.

Micah didn’t exist.

There were no death witches.

Elijah was alive. In fact, Elijah agreed with him about the boots. He had scrounged up what little money they had and sent Josh off in hopes of getting a better pair.

He remembered taking the money and wondering if they could afford it. He remembered asking Elijah about his rations. They seemed lower than what Josh remembered from before he got deployed. Elijah waved off his concerns. He told him they’d make do. Besides, it was more important for Josh to get some good footwear so he didn’t get an infection from a popped blister.

Josh eventually gave up the argument and left the apartment. Could he ask General Weaver for some help? Maybe he didn’t know the quartermaster wouldn’t give Sanses proper equipment.

Next time, he’d bring it up. General Weaver would care.

As Josh wandered the streets of Welton, he was aware of all the cameras, shadows, and the MPs. They didn’t stress him, though. He wasn’t committing any crimes. They could watch him all they wanted. It wasn’t illegal to purchase socks. He wasn’t going to the black market for socks made of wool or cotton. He would spend his money on the same shitty socks that everyone else had access to.

Man, maybe when she stuck that rune on him, she did more good than bad. He had never felt so relaxed or confident.

He found an old woman who sold knitted socks that were reasonably priced and sturdy. He bargained down the price by another few rations and got a pair that fit his feet and were warm. They may have also been made with some contraband fiber. That wasn’t Josh’s problem. He had never touched real wool before. How was he supposed to know what it felt like?

He made his purchase then hurried back to base. He wanted to enjoy what little time he had with his husband, friends, and brother before he was inevitably sent off to the front lines again. Ethan, Henry, and Priscilla took advantage of this unscheduled break by going out with as many other Sanses as possible. Elijah urged Josh to join in.

He wanted to.

Something about his talk with General Weaver made him want to engage more with his community. To be another shining beacon and example to them. To pave the way so that one day, they could have a better life. He may not be able to pave it all the way, but whatever progress he made would be beneficial for all involved.

To do that, he needed allies. He needed people he could trust. He needed to start building his team beyond Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry.

He could do it.

Hell, with clean, contraband wool socks, he could do anything.

The memories of the bombs dropping, Ethan and Elijah dead, were far from his mind.

Practically nonexistent. Who knew? In a few days, he might forget the witch’s spell entirely.

Though maybe he should talk to one of the witch scholars to see if they knew about it. Just in case this was a new weapon or something they’d have to worry about.

He did know a Sans assistant. Maybe he’d ask her.

Yes, good plan.

He turned the corner.

His eyes landed on her.

Everything from the past slammed back into him so hard that it made him stumble.

The world tilted sideways. Josh found himself frozen in the other timeline. Ethan died. Priscilla was in the hospital. Canyon Pass was a failure. They wouldn’t let him have Ethan’s dog tags. They tortured Levi Brenner for information. Josh hadn’t left the apartment in days.

There, in front of him, she was.

The witch.

The witch who would be hanged in just a few short days.

She didn’t even know it.

She stood there, leaning against the building, bopping her head to a song no one else could hear.

Her jet black hair in wild thick locs that circled her head like a halo. Her skin was as black as night. Though even with it being so dark, he could see her tattoos glowing against her skin. They seemed alive. A flame flickering on her neck.

A locust crawled across her cheek.

She was dressed head to toe in black and covered in various shiny medallions and stones. Necklaces and rings. The runes carved with such care into each surface.

How she hadn’t been mugged yet was beyond Josh. Perhaps it was her tattoos. Those gave away that she was not someone to be messed with. Or perhaps it was the runes.

Though why anyone would wear runes so openly in Welton of all places was beyond him.

She must have had a death wish.

On her right hand was a string of letters. They didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t make out any words. They were not static. They shifted every second. Sometimes, rearranging themselves to form words before thinking otherwise, before shifting back to gibberish.

The locust tattoo crawled on her neck, twitching its wings and moving over other tattoos as if they were trapped in a too-small cage.

The last time Josh had seen her, none of her tattoos moved. Only her body, swaying in the wind. An iron bar shoved down her throat to make sure she couldn’t use her magic. Even in death.

It had been assumed that she and Brenner were working together. She was the one he supplied the information to. Josh never hated her as much as he hated Brenner. Sure, he still hated her guts, but that was more of a fog sort of hate. He hated the witch because she was a witch. Yeah, she was probably responsible for Ethan’s death. Josh wasn’t mad at her for that. As a witch, she would have tried to kill him anyway. That’s what witches did. She didn’t betray Josh or his people. She acted as she was supposed to act.

Now she was here. In front of Josh. She was supposed to be fake. A hallucination cast by a spell meant to throw him off his game.

Maybe she wasn’t real.

Maybe the spell had a stronger hold on him.

He couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe. Could only stand and stare as the next several weeks played out in his mind. All leading up to him, lying on the floor of a Death Temple somewhere up north with a dying girl and the hope that he’d see Elijah and Ethan in the next life.

The witch opened her eyes. One was the color of the sky. The other, the color of the earth. For a second, Josh could have sworn he saw a tall, deer-headed man behind her. Taller than her. Than even Josh.

She had to be almost as tall as Josh. That in and of itself made her stand out more. Not many people were as tall as Josh.

They locked eyes for several seconds.

Josh’s knees went weak. He couldn’t breathe. It was like he was the prey and the witch was the predator.

The deer-headed man behind her stared at Josh. His flesh was not dripping from his bones as it had been at the Death Temple. His black eyes bore into Josh’s soul. Connecting them. Keeping him rooted in place, just like he had at the temple.

The witch blinked and tilted her head to the side.

The deer-headed man disappeared.

She grinned and stalked toward him.

All of Josh’s training went right out of his head. He hadn’t brought his iron bar! He couldn’t win a fight against a witch.

Unless he didn’t plan on winning. He just planned on making enough ruckus that the MPs would mobilize and stop her.

That was the plan.

Only, he didn't know what the witch's Truth was. Elijah had done an autopsy on a family frozen to death just outside of Welton. He had been so distraught and cried in Josh’s arms for hours about the two children. Their eyes were frozen open in terror.

Was she the culprit? How would Josh fight someone who could freeze him from the inside out?

Or was she the witch who cast the spell on him at Canyon Pass? The one who made him see the false future in hopes the grief would kill him? Had she sought him out to finish the job? To perfect her spell? To make him pay for defeating her?

She came to a stop in front of him, still grinning like a cat. The fire crackled and flexed just like any real fire would.

Did it feel hot, just like a real fire?

“Thea, pleasure to meet you.” She held out her hand.

Josh didn’t take it. Didn’t know if he could take it or if the witch had already cast her spell. He had witnessed his entire future once more. Lived through it all. Now he was back on the streets of Welton. That hadn’t happened.

It did.

No, it didn’t.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth.

He swore the molars moved.

There was an ache in his jaw.

No.

Nothing.

“What spell did you cast on me?” he gasped out, finally.

Did anyone else see this? Were the cameras picking any of this up? Or was it like Brenner, where they had been told to ignore him because of Deer’s orders?

Even if the cameras picked this up, it wasn’t like anyone sat there watching the feed. There were too many for that to be practical. He could be dead for weeks before they finally found the footage that showed the culprit.

The witch, Thea, smiled wider. “I haven’t cast a spell on you. But someone else has.”

He knew it!

He fucking knew that someone at Canyon Pass had gotten to him.

Thea dropped her hand, not seeming offended in the slightest that Josh stood there staring at her instead of taking it. “You’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

What? Brenner? Deer? The future? The past? The spell?

Josh had to act now.

The sounds of bombs whistled in his ears.

Could anyone else see it? Could anyone else hear it?

He thrust his tongue against his teeth. The molars moved. They were rotting out of his head because of the radiation.

His body slid back into the current time. Ethan was alive. Priscilla was alive. Henry was alive. Elijah was alive. He had a chance to stop it. He had to take out the witch, though. That was his first step. He could take out the witch. The witch would reveal Deer and Brenner. The bombs wouldn’t fall. Everyone would survive. That was how Josh would save everyone.

Unless that wasn’t what happened, and he was simply hallucinating wildly as a result of a spell.

What was it?

What was real?

What was happening?

He felt the cold barrel of the shotgun press under his chin. His finger twitched on the trigger.

An endling. He was an endling. He wanted to end his suffering.

The deer-headed man was back.

His skin rotted from his bones.

Maggots crawled out of his empty sockets.

The Temple of Death rose around them.

He could feel the mushrooms beneath his feet. Soft, squishy, slimy.

“Come on, there’s a great sandwich shop up ahead. I’m starving. Then we can talk about whatever magic shit you’ve gotten yourself into.” Thea wrapped an arm around Josh’s shoulders.

That snapped him out of his frozen panic. The wrong decision was better than no decision at all. Whether the bombs actually fell, this witch had cast a spell on him, or something else entirely was happening, standing here staring at her would do nothing. He had to make a choice.

He ducked out from under Thea’s arms and dropped into a fighting stance. Somehow, no one seemed to notice any of this happening.

“I’m not going with you, witch,” he hissed. “You’re going to pay for your crimes. I am going to break whatever curse you put on me, even if it kills me.”

“Hey now. Careful throwing that word around here. Wouldn’t want to get arrested and executed.” Thea jerked her thumb toward the MPs standing and chatting not too far from them.

Occasionally, their eyes would flicker in their direction. It was like Josh and Thea were oil and their gaze was a pebble, sliding off of them. Unable to focus on them completely.

She must have been using magic. Or one of those runes had to be making it so no one noticed them.

“Don’t go martyring yourself.” Thea continued. “You haven’t heard what I was going to say. I haven’t cast a spell on you, but I know what was cast. Sloppy too. Someone didn’t have much practice. That’s why you’re not holding steady. I’m curious what’s happening. People shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“I’m not falling for your tricks. I will do what I have to do to stop you people from ever hurting us.”

From hurting Elijah and Ethan. That witch didn’t care about killing children. They certainly wouldn’t care about killing two adults. Josh would make sure he did everything to get rid of the threat.

Though, it would be helpful if Thea viewed Josh as a threat. Which, she didn’t. She was completely and totally relaxed. Josh’s declarations seemed to amuse her more than anything.

Fair, given that Josh was planning to fist fight someone who could probably control ice or something. That didn’t mean he was out of the fight. He could use her cockiness to defeat her.

She leaned in close. “Who said I wanted to hurt you?”

“You’re a witch.”

“That’s all it takes to hurt you?”

“Yes!”

“What about that other witch you’ve got on your brain?”

Josh froze. “Other witch?”

“The white one. She’s the one who cast the spell on you?”

Micah. Only sixteen. Dying. Not at Canyon Pass.

“How did you–”

“All magic leaves a mark. You reek of death. A very particular kind. Not a natural one. You’re lucky most people here don’t have magic. They wouldn’t be able to sense it. Even regular witches might mistake it for you, either being magical or just around someone magical. This is different. It’s fair you don’t trust me. I wouldn’t trust an enemy either. But…” She grinned once more. Predatory. Sharp. She knew things Josh didn’t. She knew that Josh would come with her.

“But?”

“You want answers. I know you do. You don’t know what’s happening to you and what’s real. Isn’t that right?”

“Why would you want to help me?”

“Like I said. That sort of spell is not something just anyone can do. I’ve never felt that sort of power before. They must have been desperate to do that spell. They needed to die for it to work.”

His heart stopped.

He remembered his blood stopping in his veins. The tightness in his chest. The way all his muscles relaxed at once.

“You think I trust you to give me those answers?”

He wanted them. He wanted them so badly it hurt. He had tried to do what Micah said. Then he tried to convince himself that it was all a dream. None of it worked.

His body remembered.

Even as his mind begged to forget.

“It’s fine if you don’t. The MPs are right there. Go on. Tell them what they want to know. Be a hero. I believe in you,” she crooned.

Josh looked back at the MPs. They laughed, not looking their way at all. Was this a trick? A trap? Should he try?

Did he want to try?

“You are in way over your head, little sheep. You’re desperate for a way out. You think anyone here knows what’s going on?”

The deer-headed man’s skin started to grow back. The maggots wiggled away. Life continued.

“I…”

“Whatever happened to you was something that should have never happened. The things that had to be rearranged just to put you here are too much for one person to bear. Your body is fighting against it hard. Sliding back and forth because it cannot comprehend what it’s been through. You won’t get another chance.”

Josh swallowed.

“What do you say? Lunch? On me, of course. I need to fulfill a contract anyway. They always want sandwiches. Apparently, good sandwich makers don’t exist in Hell. The Deer-Headed God wants me to do this. He can be so pushy sometimes.”

“What?”

“That’s the spirit! Let’s go! Their club sandwich is so good. You also can’t go wrong with a BLT, you know?” She took one look at Josh’s sorry, skinny state, and winced. “Or maybe you don’t. Have you ever had a sandwich before?” She linked her arm in Josh’s and dragged him over to the restaurant before he could protest.

“Of course I have!” He wasn’t sure if his sandwiches counted.

Bread with butter and pickles in the middle. Back when rations were more plentiful, he used to make his own bread. Kneading out the loaves. Letting his mind get lost in the process. Then, slathering the toasted bread with fresh, creamy salted butter and briny pickles he and Ethan made themselves. Yeah, that should count as a sandwich.

“Did you put a spell on me? Are you forcing me to come with you?” He tried to keep his mind focused.

“I already told you, I didn’t.”

“No, you told me you didn’t cause me to hallucinate the deaths of everyone I loved.”

“Fucking hell, mate. That’s what you thought was going on?”

“What else could it be?”

“It could be what actually happened.”

“No. Absolutely not. I refuse to believe that some sixteen-year-old girl sent me back in time. It’s impossible.”

Thea’s eyes bore straight through him. “Is it?”

“Yes.” Josh had to look away, shifting from foot to foot.

“What do you know about what’s possible?” Thea asked.

He couldn’t answer.

“Listen, buddy, you can leave any time you’d like. Go on. Try it. Start walking in the opposite direction.”

He almost did. He almost yanked his arm from Thea’s and ran toward the MPs just like he should be doing.

He couldn’t.

The pressure in his head, on his shoulders…

The fate of the world.

Elijah’s life.

Thea said she knew what was happening with Josh. She saw how Josh had slipped between realities. Sometimes, he struggled to figure out where and when he was, knowing that it all rested on his shoulders.

The pressure. The paralyzing anxiety of knowing what would happen but not knowing how to stop it. Of knowing what did happen. Now unsure if his actions were enough to change it. Of knowing everything and nothing at the same time.

But Thea. Something about Thea made Josh believe she knew something. Something about her made Josh believe she could help. That she could give some sort of guidance. So, even though he probably should be nowhere near the woman, even though he should turn her into the MPs and use this as a way to further his goal of exposing Brenner and Deer, he didn’t. He let Thea drag him to a sandwich shop Josh had never been to because he never had enough rations to afford it.

Contract

“Sit, I’ll order.” Thea pushed him toward a table in the corner.

Josh sat, numb and shocked. His eyes darted to the other patrons. It was, perhaps, the cleanest restaurant he had ever been to. The floors hurt his eyes with how white they were. The walls, white, cracked, and tinged yellow from some sort of mold, were still roughly in shape. The owners had done their best to keep the cracks spackled and painted over. The lights were bright and warm, instead of the blue, flickering lights that could be found in the soldiers’ apartments.

Even the smell was different. The freshly baked bread. The fat from butter and melted cheese. He remembered when his apartment smelled like that. A wedding present to Elijah on top of their wedding cake. He had scrounged up rations for months to be able to afford it. Then he cooked him a loaf.

The smell of fresh bread lingered for days afterward, even after they finished the bread. He caught Elijah and Ethan both just standing there, taking deep gulps of the air. Saliva filled his mouth. His stomach growled at the thought of his next meal.

Would it be like the pastries? Too rich even for his stomach?

He hoped not.

The patrons themselves were also different than what he was used to. He stuck out like a grey figure against a rainbow background. Never mind that he was much taller than most people in Welton; even with his nicest uniform on, he still looked shabby. With a stained coat two sizes too big, covered in fraying hems and holes. His cheeks more gaunt. His eyes bloodshot. His hair brittle and shaved unevenly as his clippers had long dulled from repeated use.

The people in the restaurant looked happy. With fuller cheeks and brighter eyes. Were they purposefully not looking at him? As if acknowledging his presence would break their illusion of happiness. There was no war. There were no ration restrictions. Just good sandwiches and laughter.

Josh wanted to live in this world. He wanted Elijah and Ethan to live in this world.

“Alright, four sandwiches for the table.” Thea placed a platter in front of them.

His eyes bugged out of his head. “You have rations for this? Even the soldiers can’t afford this until they hit Lieutenant Colonel.”

“What do you think the contract was for?” Thea winked at him.

“Contract? What contract?”

“The contract for this.” Thea pulled out a gold ration card.

The kind only Nature Names had access to. The kind of people like Deer. Even Elijah, being one of the top doctors in the entire country, didn’t get a card like that. Those cards had no restrictions. People could get whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Some people speculated that it could be used on the black market. Sort of a government-sanctioned rule-breaking.

“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got a BLT. You seem like that kind of guy.”

Thea thrust out the sandwich.

Josh looked at it. The pink, fatty bacon spilled over the sides, glistening in the artificial light.

He barely had time to register what was happening before racing over to a trash can and vomiting up his guts. The pink fat reminded him of the bodies.

How their muscles and fat oozed and melted in the hot sun.

The stench of it all filled the air.

The flies.

Gods, the flies.

The maggots.

Wriggling grains of rice on the ground. So numerous in Welton after the bombs fell that Josh couldn’t step anywhere without stepping on a maggot. All the death around them made them fat.

He grabbed the trashcan. The metal didn’t feel real in his hands.

No one looked up as he finished vomiting.

“Alright, no meat. I’ll be back.” Thea slid out of her chair.

Josh collapsed back on the chair, sweating and shaking. He did his best to avoid looking at the platter of sandwiches.

“Egg salad sandwich? Is that good?” Thea handed him another one.

He gingerly peeled back the paper and was met with a bright yellow mass. No meat in sight. He took a bite. The peppery, mustardy taste hit his tongue. Not too rich like the pastries had been.

“I did originally get four, so you could give the other to your partner. You seem like the kind of guy who would drown in guilt for not sharing. I guess you can give both away. The other is pulled pork.”

“My partner?” Josh had to stop himself from inhaling the sandwich. The last thing he needed was to vomit again.

Radiation or no radiation, if this kept up, he’d lose all his teeth.

“Your wife or something like that.”

“How did you know I was married?”

Thea tapped the wooden wedding band on Josh’s finger.

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed.” She wrapped two of the sandwiches up tight and put them in a crinkly, brown paper bag. He could give the other to Ethan.

“Alright, now that that’s sorted, gotta fulfill the contract.”

“You keep talking about a contract. What contract?”

Thea didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed the third sandwich from the table. The label stated PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY. She opened her right hand. In the palm was another tattoo.

This one was completely black except for the gold outlines. It swirled like a galaxy. Shifting, shivering, moving.

“How do your tattoos do that?” Josh couldn’t take his eyes off it. The movement hypnotized him.

“There we go. Contract completed.” Thea dropped the sandwich into the center.

He jerked back as a scaly hand grabbed it. He glanced around to see if anyone else saw what he saw. No one seemed to look their way.

“What the fuck⁠—”

“Don’t panic. You’ll attract more attention.” Thea grinned.

The letters on the back of her hand shifted and swirled until they formed words. Actual words.

THIS SANDWICH IS THE CHEAPEST THING ON THE MENU. I WANTED SOMETHING BETTER.

“If you wanted something better, you should have been more specific. You just said sandwich. You’re lucky I didn’t grab you a pickle and butter sandwich. Captain here can’t afford the ham sandwich.”

THIS IS NOT OVER.

“It is, though. I wanted the ration card. You wanted the sandwich. Not my fault, you weren’t as specific as I was. A lesson for next time.”

YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS.

“I already did. By giving you a sandwich. Now then, goodbye.” Thea smacked the back of her hand once. Then, she tore open her own sandwich. Something with chicken on it.

Thankfully, it was chopped fine enough and covered in some sort of white sauce, so it didn’t remind him of the rotting bodies.

“What was that?” Josh hissed.

“Oh, I made a deal with a demon to get me an unlimited ration card. The shit you people have for the huddled masses is not enough to sustain a woman. Do you know how much fuel I use just existing? A girl’s gotta eat.”

“A demon!”

“Keep your voice down.” Thea sounded almost as if the conversation bored her. “My amulets make people forget about me, but that little sigil I slapped on you is wearing off fast. The more attention you draw to yourself, the less they work.”

“You put a sigil on me!” Josh did notice a few people glance his way, but their eyes didn’t seem to focus on him.

They eventually turned back to the conversation. He whipped his head around, trying to find where Thea had cursed him. There, on his shoulder, where she had touched, was some weird rune. He went to brush it off.

“I wouldn’t do that. At least wait until you’re outside.” Thea said.

“Why should I do anything you want me to do?”

“You want answers. And to not get arrested. And the Deer-Headed God would kill me if I got you killed. And to bring that sandwich back to your lady love.”

“Husband,” Josh hissed.

“And to bring that sandwich back to your lord love.” Thea made a face. “No, doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely.”

Josh decided it’d be best to listen to her and stopped trying to wipe the sigil away. “How do I get it off?”

“Oh, just soap and water. It’s just ash.”

“You slapped a perfectly made ash sigil on my shoulder?”

“What can I say? I have many talents. You should see the things I can do with a cherry stem. What’s your name, soldier? You know mine. Seems only fair that I should learn yours. Especially since you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in something so interesting.”

Josh settled back in his chair. This was his life now. Eating illegal sandwiches with a witch. “Joshua Sans.”

“Oh, a Sans. I hear that’s not a last name you want.”

Josh didn’t want to do small talk. He didn’t want to discuss the intricacies of his society. “You made a deal with a demon?”

He learned such a thing was possible during training. Something about how the witches' powers allowed them to reach the other side. However, witches wouldn’t cross that line. Too dangerous.

“Oh, yeah. I do it all the time,” Thea said with her mouth full.

“But your soul?”

“Hmm?” Thea finally took a chance to swallow. Which was good because Josh was getting queasy looking at the half-masticated sandwich in her mouth. “Eat your sandwich before the bread goes stale. As for the soul thing, that’s a misconception.”

Josh picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Once more, all the flavors and textures nearly knocked him back. The bread was perfectly crunchy on the outside but soft as a cloud on the inside. The purple cabbage was more flavorful than any fruit or vegetable he had in a long time. The eggs were perfectly done. He could tell the yolk was rich and orange from a healthy chicken. The white sauce on it… he didn’t know what that was, but it was glorious. Creamy and rich.

“Yes, they do sometimes want your soul,” Thea continued. “That’s like endgame for them. Once they’ve got it, they can’t take anything else from you, see, so they can’t get anything else. Besides, it’s a contract. With contracts, there is always room for negotiation. So, I negotiate. Most of the time, they just want sandwiches anyway. Like I said, they don’t have any good places down there. Sometimes, they ask for something more. I have to decide if I’m willing to give it. Same as everyone else in this world. It’s the gods that you have to watch out for. Way more powerful than a demon, but that power comes with a price few can afford to pay.”

“Your soul?” He wagered, taking a chance to stop shoving the food in his mouth.

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you. They don’t have much use for your soul. Funny thing, most people can’t tell a god apart from a demon.” She popped a bit of chicken that had fallen from her sandwich into her mouth.

Behind her, the Deer-Headed God, because that’s what he had to be, shimmered. Almost like a mirage.

Josh’s head tilted to the side. He could make out what appeared to be deer antlers. A deer skull. On a human body? The noise of the restaurant started to fade. The floor beneath his feet slipped away. The galaxy on Thea’s hand got bigger. And bigger. And bigger until it swallowed them up. Josh’s hands began to drip like candle wax. Not the flesh, the whole body part. Crawling up his arm. His forearm. His elbow. His shoulder. He could not pull his gaze away from the deer-headed man in front of him. The screams of the people as they died from radiation poisoning. The heat of the bomb burned Josh’s skin. Finding Henry’s body in the rubble. Finding Elijah stiff beside him the next morning. The gun in his hand. The gun pressed against his temple.

Click.

Empty chamber.

Click.

Empty chamber.

Click.

Empty chamber.

He had no bullets left. He needed to get creative. He grabbed the rifle and pressed it under his chin. Finger on the trigger. Staring out at the desolate landscape. At the deer-headed man in front of him. He pulled the trigger.

“Hey, soldier boy, pay attention.” Thea snapped her fingers in front of Josh’s face.

He blinked, and he was back in the restaurant.

“What?” He looked around. He felt sick to his stomach.

The deer-headed man was gone.

“Does that happen often?” Thea asked.

“What did you do to me?”

“Nothing.” Thea shrugged. “Something did happen to you. I’m interested in finding out why and how. No offense, but you don’t seem like the kind of person who’d willingly engage with a witch.”

The sandwich sat heavily in his gut. “I… I don’t know if I can trust you.” His voice cracked on the last syllable.

Thea already knew that. Josh wasn’t admitting it with bravado and a willingness to fight like he had previously. Instead, he had been stripped bare and vulnerable. He didn’t know if he could trust Thea because he didn’t know if he could trust anyone. Even Elijah. Elijah, who probably wouldn’t have seen any issue with Josh talking to a witch, but who might think Josh was crazy for thinking he traveled back in time. Or saw the future. Or whatever happened.

Thea’s eyes softened, and her body relaxed. “You can, though.”

“How do I know you’re not working with Brenner and Deer? How do I know you’re not responsible for Canyon Pass? My brother died there. Or almost died. Did die?” He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched his brow. He pressed his tongue against his teeth. They didn’t move.

“I don’t know who Brenner and Deer are.” Thea admitted. “I’m not selling anything to anyone. The witches and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms at the moment. So, I figured I’d be safer down here than I would be over there. You and I, we’re in a similar boat.”

“Wait, the witches want to kill you?”

Thea shrugged. “The other witches and I have some… I guess you could call them creative differences. They think I’ve been slacking on the war effort and not giving it my all. I think if they want to win this damn war, they should do it themselves and not rely on me. I did everything I could, and it wasn’t enough.”

She wasn’t talking about the war. He didn’t ask. It wasn’t the time or place for that.

“Anyway,” Thea shook off her brief moment of melancholy, “I’m staying over here because if I go back there, the demands will never end. ‘Thea can you do this? Thea can you do that? Thea, why don’t you do more?’ Of course, they never command me to do anything. I know anytime they ask me to do something, they expect me to say yes. I don’t want to say yes to them anymore.”

Thea did not look powerful enough to be an asset to the witches. He supposed there was no way to tell a powerful witch from a less powerful witch. Except for Micah. Even now, just thinking about her sent shivers up Josh’s spine. Her otherworldly movements and way of speaking. The wrongness that radiated from her was urging him to run as far away from her as possible. He studied Thea to see if he got the same feeling from her.

Something was there. Something dangerous. Though Josh assumed that might be because of the tattoos crawling around her skin.

“Is it because of your Truth?” he asked.

“Maybe.” The letters on her hand twitched but did not rearrange themselves into something readable.

“What is it?” He breathed. His heart pounded against his rib cage.

Thea was going to reveal to him the secrets of the universe. She was going to reveal to him that she was Death, just like Micah. This was it. This was what Josh needed.

“Music,” Thea said dreamily.

Josh blinked several times. Did he hear that correctly? “Seriously?”

“What?”

“Music? That’s your Truth? That’s what’s making the witches demand you do shit? That’s why they’re mad you left?”

“It’s an important part of society.” Thea nodded as if she had just said something profound.

“How? How is it useful? Fire’s useful. Water’s useful. Music?”

“Slander!” Thea gasped. “Also proof that this place sucks. Do you know what music is?”

Josh glared at him. “I know what music is.”

“Then you would know how important it is.” The locust on her neck shivered and spread its wings for a beat.

The music conversation was getting him nowhere. The tattoos were another avenue to explore. He had never seen tattoos that moved before. Were they all demons or something else?

“The tattoos? Do all witch tattoos move, or is that a demon thing?”

“Depends.” Thea grinned at him.

“On what?”

“Whatever I say, the rules are.” Her grin widened.

Good to know that Micah’s evasive answering of questions seemed to be a witch thing and not a her thing. Though Thea seemed to be enjoying it a lot more than Micah did.

“Enough about me,” Thea said. “Let’s talk about you! So, you traveled back in time. What’s the future like? I’m imagining pretty grim if a witch was desperate enough to send you back. I mean, the spell alone is a bitch to deal with. I can’t imagine you were much more tolerant of witches in the future. Unless you were, and this is a new look for you.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Josh said. “How did you know I came from the future? You also said that most other witches would just assume I’ve been around someone magical?”

“Or that you were magical.” Thea added.

“How did you know specifically about the future thing?”

Thea looked at him. Her face softened. “You’re eyes. I can tell by your eyes. You’ve seen some shit. You’ve seen what happens. You know what happens. That’s why I’m talking to you, you know. I don’t know of anyone strong enough to do that sort of magic. Or desperate enough. Come on. Tell your favorite witch what’s going on.”

Josh picked at the remains of his sandwich. The one for Elijah had grown cold and soggy. Would he still want it? Probably. Even if he didn’t, he needed to eat it.

He wanted to do this without relying on his enemies. He already had to rely on Micah just to get him back here. To do anything more than that felt like betrayal of everything he had ever fought for. The other soldiers who died. The civilians who suffered. When he tried to do it alone, he got nowhere. Even though Brenner was a traitor, he couldn’t find anything to pin on the man!

He was stuck. He needed help.

So, for the first time since he died, he described the nuclear apocalypse. He started with Canyon Pass. The first time. Ethan’s death. Priscilla’s suicide. Brenner and Thea’s hanging. Finding Henry dead after the bombs dropped. The boy. Waking up to Elijah cold in his arms. Micah stopped him from killing himself. The Death Temple. Then, being sent back in time to the middle of the Battle of Canyon Pass with one mission: stop the bombs. He omitted the part where he died. He wasn’t ready to relive it just yet.

“I don’t know what temple Micah took me to,” he said as he finished up his tale. “I don’t know of any Death Temples. I’ve studied the pyramid. There’s no Death anywhere on it. You’ve got Creation at the top. Then Order and Healing. Art is somewhere in there. The Elemental Truths, like Fire and Air, are at the bottom. Death doesn’t fit anywhere on the pyramid. It’s like all the things contribute to it. You can’t have death without life. Water can kill fire. And so on and so on.”

“I’ll give you this, you’ve got a better grasp on the magic system than most witches,” Thea said.

“I highly doubt that. I didn’t know there was an actual pyramid up until a month ago.” Josh rolled his eyes.

“I swear to whatever god currently loves me,” Thea muttered. “Most witches only know about the pyramid. You’re right. Reality isn’t an easy-to-digest pyramid where everything feeds into everything else. A pyramid isn’t the right shape if you were to attempt to simplify it. The Elementals aren’t at the bottom. They’re at the center.”

Thea pulled out a napkin and a pin. “It’s not a pyramid.” She drew it on the napkin. “It’s not a diamond. It’s a tangled web of things that feed into each other and balance each other out.”

She scribbled more things until the entire napkin became illegible. “That’s not nice and easy to digest. It’s not easy to separate people out. To group them up. Elementals are not more or less powerful than those who have Order or Healing as their truth. There’s just more of them. Sort of like how there are more ants than lions in the world. That doesn’t mean lions are at the top and ants are at the bottom. Ants can kill a snake if they’re dedicated enough.”

“Hang on. You’re saying there are more Truths?”

This was not helping him as much as he hoped. He didn’t care about how witches defined their powers. He just wanted to know what his next steps should be.

“As above, so below,” Thea explained. “Or, in other words, everything has an equal and opposite. Creation or Life has Death or Decay. Order has Chaos. Healing has Sickness. And so on and so on. It’s a mirror. Everything feeds into everything else.”

She took another bite of her sandwich before continuing. “A bear can’t live without killing a rabbit to eat. A rabbit can’t live without killing grass. Fire can destroy, but it can also bring life. Chaos is the end state of the universe. Diseases are alive and need to be created. Through that creation, the seeds of death are born. It’s all there. Life creates Death. Death creates Life. Well, simply speaking. In reality, the entire thing is a complicated mess full of contradictions. Things don’t make sense because life is not easy.”

“If those are Truths too, then why don’t witches know about them? Why aren’t they being used to kill us? A witch sending out a plague or chaos… they’d be unstoppable?”

“Who says they aren’t using them for that very thing?” Thea asked.

“I think I’d notice if every time we went to fight, a new disease popped up.” Josh deadpanned.

"Disease is closer to Decay. There aren’t as many of them, first of all. Second of all, you’re a good soldier, thinking in terms of what would be most useful for a war. Remember, for hundreds of years, there was no war. The witches lived in a ‘utopia’. What’s more threatening to a utopia than disease and death?”

What was it like to live in a world where death wasn’t allowed?

In his life, disease, death, hunger, and pain. Those were all things that happened daily. Disease was common in his orphanage. Ripping through the kids so fast that sometimes they didn’t have time for individual burials. Just mass graves out back that stunk in the summer. Every time Josh returned from the field, he had a list of names he’d never see again. Never talk to them again. Left behind because it was too dangerous to try to bring them home.

“Must be nice,” he mused.

Thea snorted. “You think living in denial is nice? Interesting. You seemed much more pragmatic to me.”

“Maybe I’m tired of death? I am trying to prevent it, after all.”

“No, you’re trying to prevent a tragedy that should not happen. There’s a difference.”

Maybe. Josh couldn’t see it, though. Sometimes, this whole thing made him feel like he was playing God.

The deer-headed man flickered behind Thea. Josh turned from him, not wanting to get sucked into him once more.

“Micah did say something about how I could enter the temple because I accepted death,” he muttered. “I was ready to die. I didn’t see any point in living anymore. How can you when everything’s gone? I still feel ready to die. Don’t prevent death. Just prevent the tragedy.”

“Yup, makes sense,” Thea said. “It sounds like this Micah is the Truth for Decay. Mind you, the farther away from the elementals you move, the fewer and fewer people occupy each Truth. Currently, there’s only one Truth for Creation. It makes sense that there’s one for Decay.”

An idea struck Josh. “Maybe that’s what I need to do. Maybe I need to find the Truth of Creation.”

Where would he find the Truth for Creation? And would they even want to talk to him? Or were they some incredibly powerful witch who would see him as little more than a bug? Probably that second one.

He made a face. “Or… maybe not.”

Groaning, he rested his head on the table. How was a Creation Truth going to help him? How was a Decay Truth going to help him? He was trying to prevent deaths, not cause them.

“What about Micah? Do you know her?” he asked.

Thea scoffed. “There are fifteen million witches in the Megaloceros. Do you think I know all of them?”

He stared at her.

She groaned. “No. I don’t know all of them. But…”

When she didn’t finish her sentence, Josh pressed. “But what? What do you know?”

“I think I know where she might be.”

“You do? Is it the Temple? I know it’s up north somewhere, but I’m not sure where.”

“It’s not the Temple. You described her as being around sixteen?”

He nodded.

Thea buried her head in her hands. “Okay, look, I should not be telling you this because you seem like kind of a dick. When a witch is born, they don’t have their Truth. That’s developed over time. Of course, there’s some genetic shit that goes on. Like a witch with two Fire Truth parents is likely to be a Fire Truth. You can usually tell when a kid is going to be more powerful than an elemental, but you never know until their truth is revealed. Every witch’s Truth is revealed on the spring equinox, summer solstice, fall equinox, and winter solstice of their sixteenth year. So, the spring equinox happens. Anyone who’s been alive for sixteen years has their Truth revealed. You following?”

Josh nodded. Not really. He didn’t know if asking any clarifying questions would help. He also didn’t know what this had to do with where Micah would be.

“The Equinox is coming.”

“In a few weeks, right?”

“Yeah. That gives you a few weeks to find and stop these nukes.”

“How does that help me, though?”

Thea looked torn for a moment before finally making a decision. “If you want to find Micah, you need to go to Osairae, the witch capitol. That’s where she’ll be to reveal her Truth. It’s a whole celebration. Then, talk to her. Hope she doesn’t freak out and kill you. Then find the nukes and destroy them. If they were witch nukes.”

“They had to have been. Weaver wouldn’t have launched nukes at his own people.”

“What about that Deer fellow you keep bitching about?”

That was a good point. A possibility that Josh wouldn’t be able to rule out just yet.

Great, just when he was hoping to get more clarification, the waters got muddy again. It was like every time he took two steps forward, he took four steps back.

“Of course, you’ll have to go AWOL if you want to get there in time,” Thea said casually.

Josh’s world crumbled at that moment.

That was right. He was still on probation. No more than five miles outside the Base at any one point in time. He certainly couldn’t just head into enemy territory to talk to a witch.

Maybe he could tell Weaver. He’d probably support the campaign. Deer would also know. If Deer knew, he could put a stop to it. He was powerful enough to do it.

“I… I can’t go to Osairae,” Josh said. The sandwich felt like lead in his stomach. The contents threatened to come back up.

"It might be your only chance to find her. Remember, fifteen million witches. Unless you want to take out a personal ad, which, mind you, is fucking creepy considering she’s sixteen.”

Josh stood up and started backing away from Thea. “No. I can… I don’t need to go to the Capitol. I can figure out something.”

“If you say so,” Thea said. “I wouldn’t wait too long. The clock’s ticking. The end of the world is coming.”

“Why don’t you do it? You know more about this than I do. You can get to Osairae no problem. You can get there. You can save us.”

Thea’s face turned thunderous. “No. Absolutely not. I am not here to be your servant. To do what you want me to do. I helped you out already. I don’t have to do anything more.”

“You’ll die too if the bombs drop,” Josh hissed.

Thea shrugged. “No. Not my problem. I did everything I could for them, and all it got me was more work. I refuse to have that happen again. You’re on your own, soldier.”

“You’re being selfish.”

Thea shook her head and stood up. “I did my job. I’m not going to do yours.” She swept out of the restaurant and left Josh fuming.

He sat there for several minutes before sweeping the other two sandwiches up and running out of the building.

He didn’t stop running until he made it back to their little apartment. Elijah was back, sitting at the table and reading.

“Oh, you’re back already.” He looked up as Josh entered the apartment. “Got some new socks?”

“Here,” he thrust the sandwich toward him.

Elijah looked down at it. “How did you afford this?”

“Ran into someone who wanted to congratulate me on Canyon Pass.” The lie tasted like ash on his tongue. “Give the other to Ethan.”

Elijah furrowed his brow. “Are you okay? You seem shaken.”

He willed himself not to throw up what he had eaten. “I’m fine. Overwhelmed by everything. I’ll figure it out.” He pushed the sandwich toward him. “I already ate one. This is yours.”

Elijah peeled the wet paper from the sandwich and took a bite. “It’s good. Why don’t you lie down? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Josh nodded and stumbled onto their bed.

Could he have seen a ghost when the ghost wasn’t dead?

Deer

“What are you doing?”

Josh jumped to see Elijah standing there, in rumpled, thin, stained sleep clothes. His arms crossed. His eyes narrowed in a glare that was more inquisitive than accusatory.

Shit.

He hoped he could sneak out without waking him up. He wanted Elijah as far away from this mess as possible. The less he knew, the less he could be charged with. Also, if he did catch Josh, he would demand answers. He might not like how Josh handled things. Then that was another mess that Josh would have to deal with.

He had to say something.

He was running out of time.

He had been caught, red-handed. The longer he stood here, saying nothing, the more suspicious Elijah would be. His eyes flickered to the cameras in the corner of the room. A red light blinking. He didn’t know if they could see in the dark. He didn’t want to risk it. After his talk with Thea, he decided he needed to figure out how to pin Canyon Pass on Brenner. If Thea told him the truth, then Josh had lived through a timeline where bombs destroyed the world. While his choices had caused the future to change, he didn’t know if it would stop the destruction. He needed to do something.

Thankfully, Elijah understood that risk as he didn’t turn on the light. Both of them bathed in the flickering, artificial glow of the city.

“Josh?” Elijah pressed when he didn’t immediately answer him.

“Up to the roof for a smoke?” He immediately winced at the pathetic lie that came from his mouth.

“You don’t smoke.” He kept his voice low so that any listening devices didn’t pick up what they were saying. “I know you don’t smoke because I would kill you for doing something so dumb to your lungs.”

In the corner of his eye, a shadow moved. Had Deer sent his shadows to track him? Human ears were a lot more reliable than bugs.

“Fine, I’m going for a run. I know it’s after curfew, so I can’t technically be outside. I’ve been having trouble sleeping. You know that working out is the only way to calm my nerves.”

Elijah tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing. He looked even more fox-like like this. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing!” Josh knew the game was up. At this point, he could either go back to bed with Elijah or come clean.

He didn’t want to go back to bed. Partially because Elijah wouldn’t let it go even then. Mostly because he would ship out next week. If he didn’t get anything on Deer or Brenner this week, he wasn’t getting anything. The bombs were coming. He swore he heard them whistling overhead. The more days passed, the louder the whistling got.

“I’m cheating on you.” Josh tried.

“Oh, for the love of the Deer-Headed God.” Elijah threw his hands in the air. “Josh, who would you cheat on me with?”

“Henry?”

“That man is so straight he has trouble touching his toes.”

“Priscilla?”

“Unless Priscilla has swapped genders in the past 24 hours, I highly doubt she’s your type.”

“Dr. Christopher?”

“You can’t even drop his title, Josh.”

“We have a very kinky relationship.”

“Josh!”

Josh opened and closed his mouth. Was that everyone he was close to? He needed to focus less on the bombs and more on making friends.

“You know what, let’s go.” Elijah pulled on his boots and coat.

“What?”

“I want to know what you’re up to. You want to leave. Let’s go.”

“Elijah, you don’t have to. I’m going back to bed.” He made toward the bedroom, though it was futile.

Elijah manhandled him out the door. “Come on, Josh. Maybe a walk will loosen that tongue of yours. You’re right. You have been acting strange lately. You’re not talking to me. You’re not talking to Ethan. You’re not talking to Priscilla. This can’t go on.”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry, it’s just…” Josh groaned, trying to figure out how to talk without giving anything away. “With everything going on, I worry that I can’t save everyone. On the battlefield.”

“Oh, Josh.” Elijah’s eyes softened. He looped his arm in his. “You’re a good man. A good tactician. You’ll be fine. They wouldn’t have given you the promotion if they weren’t absolutely sure you could do it.”

“Right. You’re right. Good talk. Let’s go back to bed.” He tried to go back to the door.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Elijah pulled him back to the stairs. “Why don’t you want to go on a walk? I know it’s curfew, but they’ll hardly be out in force this late at night.”

“It’s dangerous.” The excuse sounded weak even to his ears.

“Really? Even on base?”

“Especially on base. The ration reduction has people desperate.”

Elijah looked at him. “I did score top marks in my hand-to-hand combat class. While I am a doctor, I am also a soldier. I have seen my fair share of battles.”

Josh knew that. He loved that about Elijah. That was one of their first dates, sparring together, even if Ethan found it weird.

“I know. I just… I worry.”

Elijah’s gaze softened once more. “I know you worry. I also worry. Which is why I want to know what’s going on. You’ve been different since you’ve come back from the front lines.” He kicked open the door.

An alarm was supposed to go off when it was opened. However, the building lacked any sort of air conditioning or fans, which meant in the warmer months, it was sweltering, stuffy, and smelly. The tenants had taken to propping open some of the exterior doors with crates. Eventually, the wires for the alarm had been clipped and the copper stripped. No one bothered to replace them.

Elijah tugged him along, sticking close to the walls and to the darkest shadows to keep the cameras from seeing them.

“I mean, that’s expected. Canyon Pass wasn’t exactly a vacation.”

“Yes, but you’ve been talking about Ethan as if he died. Priscilla too. It’s like you’re living in a completely different world. You stop moving completely. To the point where I worry you’ve died standing up.”

He winced. He thought his excuse that Ethan and Priscilla had almost died had been enough to convince Elijah that he was suffering from shell shock. He didn’t realize he had slipped up that much. It was hard not to, though. It was hard to keep things straight. Everything just sort of mixed together until his brain felt like mud. Especially when he woke up in the mornings, he couldn’t remember if he managed to save Ethan or not. He couldn’t believe that he did. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he saved him in the other timeline, but not this one.

“You’ve also been twitchy.” Elijah continued. “You’re keeping something from me. I want to know what. Spill before I make you spill.”

“You would make me spill?” Josh asked.

They stopped by a dumpster, hidden from the view of whatever camera was looking into the alleyway.

Elijah looked at him. “I’m a doctor. I know all the pain points of your body. Don’t test me. Besides, I can tell that whatever is going on is eating you up inside. Tell me before it kills you.”

Josh hesitated.

Elijah put his hand on his cheek. “I can help you. But only if you tell me what’s going on.”

“What if I don’t want you to help me?”

“I don’t care. I love you. I don’t want to lose you. Let me help you.”

He was at a crossroads. Tell or don’t tell. Let Elijah know about the end of the world or not.

Maybe there was another option to bring Elijah in slightly, but not all the way. Enough to satisfy him but not put him in more danger.

“You know how Canyon Pass was a setup?” he asked.

Elijah nodded.

“I think I know who set it up.”

“Really? Who? How do you know?”

He tried to see if any shadows moved in his line of sight. He saw one. It looked almost too fuzzy to be a dumpster or pile of trash. It was also too still to be a human.

“Levi Brenner is my guess,” Josh said.

“Second Lieutenant Brenner?” Elijah furrowed his brow. “He’s in Intelligence. Right? I mean, I suppose someone in Intelligence would have access to more information. Therefore, they would know about the Canyon Pass run sooner, but why him?”

“When I left Weaver’s office, before I went to see you, I saw him. You know the shadow guards don’t let anyone within fifty feet of that building unless they have a pass. Second Lieutenants aren’t high enough for a pass. He walked right up to the trash and dug through it. There’s no food waste or anything that comes out of that building, so he wasn’t looking for leftover sandwiches or anything. My guess is that when Canyon Pass didn’t go down like it should have. He panicked. He tried to find something else for the witches.”

“That is suspicious. Have you told anyone else about this?”

“No.”

“Why not? You know someone betrayed you. You saw Brenner acting strangely. What’s stopping you?”

“Remember how I said he walked right up to the building?”

Elijah nodded.

“Well, Gabriel Deer also acted suspiciously. He warned me not to dig too deep; shit like that. I think he was in on it, too. How else could Brenner get so close to a building that is swarming with unseen guards?”

It was eerie out this late at night, while the factory workers were completing their shifts. He couldn’t hear cars driving. No one needed to. You were either working at this time or sleeping. Only the flickering streetlights on the main road. A few far-off buildings of the more fortunate provided any proof that people existed in this world.

He blinked. They were back to the first night of the apocalypse. The lights still worked then. It was eerier then. A lot of people died before they could turn them off. Josh had never seen Welton so lit up at night.

Elijah had been hopeful when they spotted them, certain that this was a way to signal who was alive and who wasn’t. Maybe if they found enough people, they could rebuild.

The first people they stumbled upon were a family.

Josh had Elijah wait outside while he rummaged through the apartment. The dead bodies mere feet from where he opened cupboards, hoping for a single tin of chicken or potatoes.

He managed it pretty well. Until he went to leave. He looked into the little girl’s eyes. Cloudy and milky. Her face puffy, and maggots crawling out of the wound to the back of her head.

He let out a cry and dropped to his knees.

Elijah came back into the apartment and pulled him away. He got about ten feet before vomiting. He was grateful he waited until he was outside. For some reason, that felt like more of a desecration of their final resting place than stealing their food.

“Josh?” Elijah said. Trying to help him through his panic. “You did nothing wrong. It’s okay. Deep breaths.”

Only, he didn’t say any of those words. Just one, worried, “Josh?”

Why wasn’t he saying any of the words? He was supposed to say those words? Why were they in an alleyway? They were supposed to be on the main street.

Josh pressed his tongue against his teeth. They didn’t move. The bombs hadn’t dropped yet. They weren’t in the apocalypse yet. The man and his family weren’t dead yet.

Josh hadn’t stolen their food yet.

“I’m fine.” He forced himself to take deep breaths and push the family from his mind.

He looked around. The city was dark. Smoke from the factories rose into the air. The bombs hadn’t dropped yet.

Elijah opened and closed his mouth several times. He knew that Josh wasn’t fine. Josh knew that he knew that he wasn’t fine. He prepared for more questions. Maybe Elijah dragging him back home to look him over for a concussion or some other injury or illness that the other doctors had missed.

Instead, Elijah continued forward. “Why do you think Deer is a traitor?” he asked instead of demanding to know why Josh damn near had a panic attack for no good reason.

He was glad.

He was disappointed.

He was a lot of things.

“Why else would Brenner walk right up to the Ministry building and not be caught? I stood outside for thirty seconds. Someone was there to tell me to move along. Deer is the only one who can organize the shadow guards’ schedule so that there’d be a blind spot.”

“He’s not the only one.” Elijah pointed out. “Besides, if Brenner is working with the witches, he may have been given an amulet with a rune to keep people from noticing him.”

Josh’s shoulder burned from where Thea had put her mark. It had been washed off, just like she said it would. Nothing more than a smudge of charcoal on his shoulder, blended in with the other stains.

“You weren’t there. Deer is suspicious as hell. He threatened me.”

“He threatens everyone,” Elijah hissed. “You’re not special. That man has a stick so far up his ass it’s poking out of his mouth.”

“He might not appreciate the fact that Weaver is the leader when his family is more powerful.” Josh pointed out.

Elijah paused at this, forced to admit that maybe Josh had a point. Then, he shook his head. “Jealousy is not proof. Try harder.”

Josh threw his hands in the air. “What do you want me to say? I’m doing the best with what I have. What I have is the fact that witches are going to drop nukes on us. I’m trying to gather evidence to stop it!”

Elijah froze. “Nukes? I thought this was about Canyon Pass. Where the hell did nukes come from?”

Ah, shit. He didn’t know how to explain that one without sounding like a total whack job.

So, he didn’t. Instead, he pinched his brow. “I just… I got a feeling. Okay? It’s the same feeling I had when Ethan was about to step on that land mine. Something is happening. Something big. Nukes. A flood. A plague. I don’t know. I’m just trying to stop it before you die.”

Dammit! Another slip-up. He had to regain control of his tongue before he ruined everything. Maybe he was tired. And hungry. And trying to deal with a constant headache. Still, that was no excuse. This was war. War meant having to suck it up and make good decisions.

If he made a bad call on the field, people died. No one cared that he was tired or hungry or had a headache. The same went here.

Elijah put a hand once more on Josh’s arm. His face was a mixture of sympathy and determination.

“Okay, you think something’s going to happen? Okay.”

“Okay? What, just like that?” Josh asked.

Elijah nodded. “Just like that. You’ve always had good intuition. I don’t blame you for sneaking around. Our government is surprisingly bad at dealing with actual threats. Instead too focused on their paranoia to see the forest through the trees.”

He rolled his eyes. “Let’s start with Brenner. He’s the one who had access to something he shouldn’t have had access to. He’s not the literal second in command of the entire government, so he’ll be easier to find and question. If we do find anything, we’ll have better luck accusing him. Deer has deep pockets.”

“Seriously? You’ll help me?” He felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

While it had felt good to talk to Thea about what happened, he hadn’t considered her as a potential source for help. She was still a witch. She could manipulate him into becoming a traitor. Josh had heard of people who unknowingly helped the witches. Conned into thinking they did a good thing, that the witches were on the side of the soldiers. Only to find out that it had all been a lie.

The government did not treat them any differently from those who turned willingly and knowingly. A clear message for all: under no circumstances should you work with a witch.

Elijah wasn’t a witch. He was another soldier. He was absolutely on Josh’s side for this. Though he didn’t like the idea of him getting involved and hurt, Josh needed help. He was stuck, paralyzed by fear and indecision. Worried that one wrong move would seal everyone’s fate. Where he stuck, Elijah could move. When Elijah moved, so could Josh.

Together, they could do this.

Hope flooded his veins. He breathed easier. His headache seemed to fade just a bit.

“Of course,” Elijah said. “Besides, if I don’t, you’re going to get yourself arrested. We just got you out of jail. I don’t want you going back so soon.”

“To be fair, that did result in a promotion.”

“Don’t joke about that!” Elijah glared at him.

“You’re the one who threatened the Cabinet if they didn’t let me and Ethan out.”

“Not you. Just Ethan.”

“Seriously?”

“I like him better.”

“We’re married!”

“I said what I said.”

Josh shook his head, and a small smile crept across his lips. When was the last time he smiled? He couldn’t remember. That probably wasn’t a good sign. It felt good, though. It felt right.

“Brenner’s in the Intelligence barracks for single soldiers. He doesn’t have a spouse or kids,” Josh said. “No girlfriends or anything to hang out at their place.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. I’ve been following him since I got back, pretty much. He’s never met up with anyone. Keeps to himself. No friends. Even at the mess hall, he tends to sit alone.”

“He hasn’t spotted you?”

“Not that I know of. He may have spotted me. I’ve been using my shadow training to tail him. He hasn’t done anything different.”

“That you know of. It’s not like you’ve watched him forever.”

Josh winced. “I’m doing the best I can with the information I have.”

“I know, I know.” Elijah grabbed his elbow and pulled him so he was flush up against the side of the building. Pressed so close he could feel the cold bricks catching on his clothes.

“There are cameras,” he explained. “Keep to the shadows. They’ll have a harder time using their facial recognition.”

Josh nodded.

“What’s the plan when we get to his barracks? Kidnap him, poison him, then question him. If he doesn’t answer our questions, we won’t give him the antidote?”

“No! What the hell, Eli?”

“Well, we have to do something. I doubt staring at him while he sleeps will get us any information.”

Yet another good point.

Josh wracked his brains for a plan.

“I’m hoping that if he does have a contact with a witch, they’ll meet up at night instead of during the day. You see, like I said, he never met up with anyone during the day. After the failure of Canyon Pass, someone should have come to check on him. Maybe demand an explanation? But there was nothing.”

“They come at night, after curfew, to talk to him instead of during the day?” Elijah translated. “Hmm, it’s risky, especially with the cameras in the room.”

“If witches can create runes to disrupt cameras, then it might not be such a big problem.”

“Witches tend to be technology-adverse, though. They don’t fully understand how it works or why you would need it.”

“All the more reason why they’d meet at night in his room. They know how people work, so they’d understand that meeting Brenner during the day would be stupid. If no one else is around. They don’t understand how the cameras work⁠—”

“Then they wouldn’t understand the risk. They’d just think they were having a private conversation,” Elijah said. “It doesn’t help that there are so many cameras. It’s impossible to monitor them all.”

“Exactly.” Josh’s grin broadened. “Brenner’s got no record, no disciplinary action. Yes, he works in Intelligence, but he’s not high-ranking or has high security clearance. He can’t get into the Ministry of Security and Warfare without a chaperone.”

“Chances of his residence cameras being watched are low. Until, of course, he does something worth combing over those cameras.” Elijah smiled at him. “Okay, fine, maybe you do know what you’re doing.”

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot.” Josh responded.

In the distance, Josh heard the sounds of someone walking. A brisk pace with a step, step, step echoing through the night. Boots on concrete.

“Shit.” He grabbed hold of Elijah and tugged them behind a pole. He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed their bodies together so that no gaps remained. The darkness completely entrenched them.

He kept his breathing as steady and slow as possible, even as his heart pounded in his chest. Elijah stayed frozen against his body.

Josh wanted to tell him to breathe. It was necessary to stay fluid in the shadows. The sounds of footsteps drew closer. Closer. Closer.

He couldn’t risk speaking now.

He could only hope Elijah could hold his breath until the person passed them and was out of earshot.

Elijah’s hands came up to grip Josh’s jacket. He wasn’t shaking, which was a good thing. Though who knew how long that would last.

Thankfully, his skin tone and hair were dark enough that he could blend in. Elijah, on the other hand…

He wore his coat. A navy-blue that would help him blend. His hair and face, though, were exposed.

Josh reached down to pull Elijah’s coat over his head. He hoped he wasn’t wearing light-colored pants. Josh hadn’t looked before they left.

Step.

Step.

Step.

The person was almost right beside them now.

In a second, they’d pass right by Josh’s line of sight. That meant that if they looked to their right, they’d see him and Elijah in the darkness.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Josh recognized the sounds of those boots. Those were military-issued boots. He could tell because of the sounds the heels made when they hit the floor. Civvy shoes were made of a cheap, light rubber. Meanwhile, the military boots were denser, heavier. The sound didn’t reverberate as much when they took a step. It made more of a dull thud sound than a slap sound.

Step.

Step.

Step.

It could be an MP.

No. MPs traveled in pairs. He couldn’t hear a second set of steps.

Step.

Step.

Step.

A shadow guard then?

No. If they were a shadow guard, they were a piss-poor one. Shadow guards were never “off-duty”.

Another soldier then?

No, couldn’t be that. Curfew already passed. No soldiers or civilians were allowed out this late at night, no matter what. Even if your child needed medicine or you needed to go to the hospital. Once curfew started, you couldn’t leave the approved building assigned to you.

Step.

Step.

Josh sucked in a breath.

The third step never came.

Right in front of them was a dark shadow.

He pressed himself tighter against the wall, praying that they blended in enough.

The man in front of them rustled around in his pockets.

Was he toying with them? Did he know they were here? Was that why he was spending so much time in front of them? Pretending like he didn’t see them just to see how long they would stay frozen?

“Dammit,” he grumbled.

Elijah sucked in a breath.

Josh winced, hoping the sound hadn’t carried. Standing right in front of them was none other than Gabriel Deer.

Deer stopped digging through his pockets.

Josh bit his tongue, his heart pounding harder. His entire body rigid, prepared to run or fight at a moment’s notice. His mind raced with how he could do this.

He heard the telltale sound of a scratch hiss. Then a small flame erupted from a match. It briefly illuminated Deer’s face. Enough for Josh to confirm that was who was in front of them.

Deer lit a cigarette and shook out the match. The entire time, he didn’t look Josh’s way. Eyes dead and staring straight ahead.

He took a drag from his cigarette. Blowing the smoke out slowly.

For a terrifying beat, Josh feared he’d smoke the whole thing standing there. He and Elijah would be there for ten minutes or more. Already his body started to ache, cramp, and scream to move.

Deer took another drag, then started to walk.

Step.

Step.

Step.

His footsteps echoed in the night until he could hear him no more.

Josh didn’t immediately leave the shadows, though. Deer could be waiting for them. He peaked his head around the corner to see Deer’s retreating back, walking away from them.

He released Elijah.

“What was he doing out this late? Curfew applies to everyone.”

Proof! He had proof that Deer was up to no good!

“He is the second in command. Maybe there was an emergency?” Elijah said weakly.

Josh’s eyes narrowed just a bit. He could have sworn that Elijah was trying to keep him from looking into Deer. No. He overreacted due to nerves, stress, and sleep exhaustion.

He shook his head. “No, because then he’d have MPs and shadow guards escorting him around base. He’s completely alone, which means he’s up to something. Come on. We can’t lose him.”

“Wait, Josh!” Elijah hissed

Josh did not wait. He took off after Deer as quickly and quietly as he could. Deer came from General’s Housing, which itself wasn’t suspicious. He was a general, after all. It was where he was going that had alarm bells ringing in Josh’s ears. He was heading straight toward the Industrial Sector. The only place where the rolling blackouts didn’t touch. After all, they could not halt or stall production for any reason.

Josh wondered if the rolling blackouts were because of the Industrial Sector. If they powered down the machines once in a while, they wouldn’t need rolling blackouts. Surely the one light in Josh and Elijah’s apartment used less power than a giant factory.

Then again, maybe not. After all, they weren’t the only people who had lights. Maybe all those lights together equaled more power use than the Industrial Sector.

The industrial Sector itself was a rough part of town. The people who worked in the factories worked twelve hours on, twelve hours off. It was back-breaking, grueling labor. Most of the people there committed various crimes, from murder to stealing.

If the sentence didn’t include the death penalty, the criminal could work it off at the factories. Depending on the severity, you might be able to go home and see your family. If the factory didn’t kill you first. Machines tended to chew people up and spit them out before they could finish their sentence. If only they hadn’t committed a crime, then they wouldn’t have to work in the factories.

“Why would Deer sneak there of all places?” Josh muttered, more to himself than anything.

“Joshua, wait.” Elijah tried. He used his full name this time, which meant he was serious.

“I don’t want to lose him.” Josh turned to face Elijah fully. “Why are you trying to get me to stop? What are you hiding?”

Elijah looked away from him. “The murders…”

“The ones the witch committed, right?”

Elijah nodded.

“I’m not a random factory worker. Why would the witch kill me?”

“I don’t know. It’s dangerous for us to be out this late. Please, just come back. We can talk about what to do in a manner that won’t get one or both of us killed.”

Josh’s mind raced with possibilities. He thought through everything he knew; everything he suspected.

It was unlikely that Brenner was the only spy here. Statistically, it was impossible. From a mission standpoint, it wasn’t a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.

“They’re spies,” he whispered.

“What?”

“The murder victims, they’re spies and are getting knocked off before they spill.” He turned to face Elijah, his mind going wild with possibilities. “They’re spies, but maybe they’re getting cold feet. Or maybe they’re planning on telling someone about the witches in hopes that it gets more time knocked off their sentence. Deer would know who’s going to spill, so he could coordinate with the witches to kill them before they revealed everything to another member of the Cabinet!” He spun around to chase after Deer once more.

He had put a fair bit of distance between them, but that was all right. Josh could close that gap. His senses sharpened as he found evidence to suggest where Deer had turned.

Elijah caught up to him. “The Industrial District has strict security. Maybe even stricter than Weaver’s Office. We’ll get caught.”

Josh ducked behind a tree as Deer stopped and looked around. “If Deer’s doing what I think he’s doing, then he’ll have decreased the security so he can slip the witches in to kill any double agents.”

“We don’t know that!”

Now Josh was irritated. He had laid out his hypothesis based on the evidence presented to him. If Elijah had a different theory, then he was all ears. All he got was him repeatedly telling him to wait.

Elijah shifted from foot to foot under his gaze. “It’s just… you’re making a lot of assumptions.”

“He’s out after curfew without a guard. He’s heading toward the Industrial Sector. This is the same sector where witches have been murdering people.”

“We’re out after curfew and heading toward the Industrial Sector where witches have been murdering people.” Elijah pointed out.

“We’re trying to gather evidence.”

“Maybe he’s doing the same.”

He shook his head. “No, he’s up to something. If he were investigating, he’s literally the second most powerful person in the government. He could force every citizen in a five-hundred-mile radius to stand guard for twenty-four hours straight until we catch the witches. He doesn’t need to be out alone. It’s suspicious.”

“Maybe he wants some alone time to clear his head.”

Josh put both of his hands on Elijah’s shoulders. “I’m following him, whether you want me to or not. Something is going on here, Eli. I need to figure out what it is before you get hurt.”

Elijah closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “Alright, fine. We will follow him. I’ll stop trying to convince you otherwise.”

“Thank you.” He kissed Elijah on the cheek and followed Deer.

He hung a right.

That… threw Josh through a loop. “That’s not how you get to the Industrial District,” he muttered. “What else is out this way?”

“I don’t know,” Elijah said. “I think it’s the old mine area. It’s been abandoned for years since they ran out of ore.”

“That seems random.”

“If your theory about him being a spy is true, it’s one of the only areas in Welton that isn’t monitored.” Elijah pointed out.

“True.”

Given that the area had lived out its usefulness several years prior, the government saw no need to continue providing power and thus cut it off. No power, however, meant no cameras. Though Josh wasn’t sure if that was the case. He could see a few cameras set up. The government telling people they weren’t working to help catch illegal activity.

Robotic dogs wandered the premises, however. Spindly-legged things that freaked Josh out more than a real dog. Not that he saw many real dogs in his life. Maybe one, long ago, when he was a child. He remembered it had sharp teeth.

“Where are the patrols?” Josh muttered when he realized he couldn’t see or hear any robot dogs. He could recognize the distinct sounds of their metallic feet on concrete any day. He even heard their footsteps in his nightmares.

Deer would have the power to change the patrols. That would allow him to slip into this section of Welton undetected. Especially if no cameras were monitoring him. Proving that this was not a random ramble in the middle of the night brought on by insomnia. This was purposeful. Direct. Focused.

They came upon their destination. A decrepit building about three hundred feet from the border of the abandoned section. The glass was all busted, leaving jagged triangles hanging in the windows. Much of it littered the ground. Josh had to work hard not to crunch it with his boots. A giant chunk of the wall was missing. The hole revealed rusted rebar, twisted in a way that was not supposed to happen with metal.

Deer climbed over this damage with ease, signaling that he had been here before. He knew where to put his hands and feet. Which chunks of rebar were steady to grab on to? How to avoid getting nicked by the glass that hung above him.

“Why the hell is he going in there?”

“I don’t know. That’s not safe. When was his tetanus shot?”

Josh turned to look at Elijah.

“What?” Elijah said.

“Tetanus? Really? That’s what you’re concerned about?”

“I am always concerned about tetanus, yes!”

Josh rolled his eyes.

“Also, you need a Hep-B vaccine.”

“We are not here to talk about my vaccination status.”

“I’m just saying. I have a list. I’m going to give you the anthrax one too. Maybe a smallpox one for good measure. ”

“That one’s not for people of my level.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing General Rose doesn’t get any shots, now isn’t it?” Elijah grinned at him.

Josh stared back. “You’re not going to stop me from climbing into the building and seeing what I can find.”

Josh did his best to follow Deer’s steps through the hole. He was much taller than the man, though. A piece of rebar caught on his shirt and ripped it. He winced as the sound of tearing echoed through the building. He could feel sticky, warm blood drip down his shoulder.

“You’re getting another tetanus shot tomorrow. You are not getting locked jaw on my watch.”

“I literally just got one!”

“Now you’ll have one more.” Elijah slipped in after him.

As Josh pulled himself through the hole, he looked down.

“Where’d he go?” His eyes darted around, trying to see if there was some shadow or piece of furniture Deer could hide behind.

There was nothing.

Of course, there’d be nothing.

Who’d leave perfectly good furniture in a place like this? Even the wood could be used to light a fire!

No doors creaked. No stairs rattled. He didn’t go into the back office or another room.

It was as if Gabriel Deer vanished into thin air.

“He couldn’t just disappear. It doesn’t work like that,” Josh said.

Then, in the center of the room, a symbol caught his eye. He didn’t recognize it, but he did recognize that it was a magic rune.

He hopped down and walked up to it. “How much do you want to bet that this opens a super-secret door?”

Elijah paled.

“Still think he’s innocent?”

Interrogation

“What do we do?” Josh paced their apartment.

It was times like these he hated how small it was. Only ten steps to get from one side of the room to the other. Mind you, he didn’t want a bigger place because then he’d have to clean it. Not to mention the electricity to heat, cool, and light the place.

Now though, gods, he wanted space so he could pace properly.

After discovering the rune on the ground, Elijah panicked, all but dragging him out of the building and back to their apartment. Josh let him. Mostly because he didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t like he could open the sigil. He couldn’t go straight to the MPs because then he’d have to explain why he was out after curfew following around a high-ranking person when he was technically under investigation.

“Do we tell General Weaver? Do we go straight to the MPs? Do we need more evidence?”

He wished he could act without needing to think things through. Every time he thought things through, everything slowed down. Of course, he had to think things through. Otherwise, people died.

Elijah sat quietly on the couch, picking at the skin on his hands. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Are you serious?” Josh whipped toward him. “We find proof that Deer’s been messing around with witches, witches who have killed people, who killed children, and you don’t want to tell anyone?”

Elijah flapped his hands in front of his chest, his face screwed up in concentration as he tried to find the words to describe how he felt. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell anyone. It’s that I’m worried how it will make you look.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, Josh. You’re not high-ranking, even as an officer. Preston already has it out for you. You had no reason to be in the Industrial District or the abandoned mine sector at all. Not to mention, it’s well outside your probation zone. You went way past curfew. That’s all it’ll take for someone to accuse you of framing Deer.”

He was so caught up with trying to follow Deer that he hadn’t realized how many laws he had just broken. It was for a good cause, of course. Those bombs loomed heavy in the back of his mind. They impacted everything he did, every choice he made. He had to stop them from falling. With the curfews, probation zones, and Preston, it looked more impossible with every passing second.

His only lead, Thea, flat-out refused to help him. Who knew where she fucked off to after their conversation?

He couldn’t do what he needed to do with all these restrictions.

“You’re a logical person. Think about this logically.” Elijah begged.

Josh sat down next to him. “You’re right. You’re right.”

He missed being out on the front lines. Out there, the only thing that mattered was killing as many witches as possible. They pointed you in a direction and told you to go. To not stop until the battle was won or you died. It was easier that way, not needing to think. Not concerned with politics. Not concerned with who wanted to frame him for what.

“Gods, I wish this were as easy as battle,” he huffed. “Just shoot the witches. That’s my only job. That and keep Ethan alive. Except here, I can’t do that. I need to think about how certain acts will reflect on me.”

He tried to come up with some idea. Some way to officially investigate Deer. He came up with nothing.

“Aren’t we all working toward the same goal, though? Shouldn’t Preston and the others be glad that I figured this out? That I found a spy in their ranks?”

Elijah wrapped his arms around his shoulders and leaned his head into the crook of his neck. Josh felt the cool metal of his glasses digging into his skin. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”

“You can’t be suggesting we just let Deer be, though. Right?”

Elijah bit his thumb. “No. No, I don’t think that’s a good option. Maybe it would help if you thought about this less like an espionage thing and more like a battle. You’ve already said you’re good at it. Think of Deer like Osairae. Well-protected. Well-guarded. Yes, the war would be over in a day if we managed to take it. Do we have the firepower to take it? Or would we be slaughtered trying?”

“I see what you’re saying.”

It did help reframing it that way. Josh had been so focused on trying to act like a shadow that he forgot he was good at being a soldier. No matter what Preston said.

“Brenner. We should focus on Levi Brenner. He’s a smaller fish. He’s a smaller risk. If we can get him, then we might find the trail that leads to Deer. Something tells me he’s not exactly cut out for torture.”

The implications both relieved and disgusted Elijah. “Alright. I can see what his squad thinks of him. Where he hangs out. I can probably get his medical records, too. Have you brought Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry into this?”

Josh had not. He wasn’t opposed to the idea, though. More heads working on the problem would help. They had been at Canyon Pass. They had seen firsthand the destruction the traitor could cause. Priscilla and Ethan would be willing to follow him. Henry might have a lot of questions and hesitations. If Josh could make a good argument, he could get him on his side.

Only, if they were caught before they could gather the necessary evidence, they could all be killed. That’s why Josh wasn’t going to the MPs. That’s why he focused on Brenner instead of Deer. Though he had literally followed Deer to an abandoned building, after curfew, with a rune in it where he disappeared.

If he brought his family into this situation and he failed, they’d all be killed. He didn’t like that Elijah was now involved. Though, now that he was, there was no stopping him.

He was lying to everyone.

It killed him.

Ultimately, this wasn’t about Brenner, or Deer, or even Thea. This was about the nukes. It was about stopping them from being launched. Ending the war, stopping the witches from their reign of terror. That was Josh’s end goal.

He didn’t know how he was supposed to tell them without sounding crazy. Especially considering he had now talked with two witches. Granted, Micah hadn’t happened yet. It might never happen if he succeeded. He watched as Thea committed ration fraud. He ate the sandwich offered to him. Though a witch had given it to him.

He had yet to turn Thea into the MPs. Though she was a witch, his enemy, and stealing from them, albeit in a roundabout way.

“Hey.” Elijah laced their fingers together and gave him a soft smile. “We’ll figure this out. You’re smart. I’m smart.”

“Humble, are you?”

“I know my limits and my worth. We’ll figure this out. You’re right, focusing on Brenner for now is the best thing to do. Now, come on. Let’s get some sleep.”

Except, they wouldn’t get sleep. Why would they? Why would anything in Josh’s life ever be easy?

As soon Elijah spoke, someone kicked the door in.

Exhausted, but well-trained, Josh was up in an instant, pulling Elijah behind him and spinning to face the attackers head-on.

Only to immediately get jabbed in the side with an electroprod. The kind they used on livestock and people they needed to knock down.

He let out a cry and crumbled to the ground as electricity coursed through his body. All his muscles contracted at once before going completely slack. He crumpled to the ground, his body twitching.

“Josh!” Elijah cried.

Josh pushed himself up to his hands and knees, his eyes widening as he realized who had attacked him. Not witches. Not Brenner. Not Thea. Not Deer.

MPs. Several MPs filled the room. The shadow guards clad entirely in black. The MPs with their iron bars raised.

Someone tackled Elijah to the ground. Straight into the table Ethan had made as a wedding present. It crumbled under their combined weight. Josh saw his glasses go flying, dropping to the ground to be crushed under boots.

“Eli!” Josh’s instincts took over. He tried to buck the MP sitting on his back off.

Thankfully, with his height, he was able to easily do it and stagger to his feet.

More people tackled them. Someone punched him in the face.

Elijah shouted something.

Another electroprod to Josh’s lower back. He recovered quickly. You kind of had to when you fought lightning witches for a living. He had been shocked more than once. Though, in the end, fighting was useless. There were too many of them.

They wrenched Josh’s hands behind his back and shoved a bag over his head. The MPs dragged him out of their apartment. He could hear Elijah shouting. Something about due process or whatnot.

Due process didn’t exist. Not for people like them.

Josh continued to fight; desperate to keep Elijah safe even if it killed him.

It didn’t matter, in the end. The MPS shoved them into two separate vehicles and drove them to different interrogation buildings. All that work, all that sneaking around, all that pain, and Josh would be the one swinging on the gallows instead of Brenner. He failed his mission.

The van rolled to a stop.

Rough hands dragged Josh out of it and through the cold halls of an interrogation building. They threw him onto a chair and handcuffed him to it.

Someone pulled the bag off his head.

He blinked into the single bright light in the room. So bright and white, it was hard for his eyes to adjust as everywhere else was dark. He had never been in an interrogation before. He knew how this would go. He knew the pain he was about to experience. The torture.

He shivered. The room was freezing, unnaturally so. They pumped cold air into it, much like the morgue. Were all the rooms kept perpetually cold? Or did they only do one at a time? He hoped it was only one at a time. Otherwise, that’d be a massive waste of energy.

He tried to calm himself. He didn’t know what they wanted or why he was here. Unless Deer did see them and decided to call it in.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here,” a voice said from the shadows. A voice Josh knew. A voice he hated.

“Colonel Preston?” He squinted to make out the dark figure shadowed by the bright light.

Preston took a step forward and dimmed the light so that Josh could see him clearly.

“Why am I here? What did I do?”

Why was Preston here? He didn’t do interrogations.

He didn’t do anything.

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Sans. You know why you’re here.”

He could think of several reasons why he might be here. He didn’t want to give anything away. Not until he knew what they were accusing him of.

He shook his head. “No, sir. I don’t. I really don’t. Why was Elijah taken? He’s innocent as well.”

“He is far from innocent,” Preston scoffed. “People have let him get away with his insubordination for far too long, just because he’s the best doctor we have. Should have punished him a long time ago.”

Josh felt like he was about to throw up. He could feel the blood drain from his body. His fingers felt tingly and numb. He was prepared to withstand whatever interrogation techniques they used on him, but he didn’t want Elijah to have to go through that as well.

Maybe if he just told the truth then they would understand. They’d help him out. They all wanted the war to end. He had gotten here because he kept secrets from everyone. If he told the truth, then he could get the help he needed.

Preston pulled out some photos and laid them out on the table.

Josh couldn’t breathe.

There, on the photos, clear as day, was him and Thea, having lunch.

He looked awful. His eyes bugged out. His skin ashen. His back straight. His knees completely locked out.

“What?”

“We arrested this woman recently. She’s a witch. The iron tests confirm it.”

He was going to vomit. He needed to vomit. He could feel it crawling up the back of his throat. Burning his esophagus. Except, there was no trash can. He’d vomit all over his lap. Something Preston likely knew and counted on.

He swallowed it back down.

“A witch?”

“Yep. You, Sans, have been found guilty of consorting with a witch.”

“I don’t–”

Oh, but he did. He knew. He didn’t go to the MPs. He didn’t tell anyone. He had lunch with her. He ate the food she offered. He told her things he hadn’t told Elijah.

“Of course,” Preston continued, “she didn’t give you up.”

“What?” Josh pulled his eyes from the photos to look at him.

“She said she wanted to know how to break into the Ministry of Defense. You didn’t fall for her tricks.” He leaned in close. His breath smelled rancid. It made Josh gag. “I don’t buy it. You knew about Canyon Pass. You’ve made me look like a fool. Well, no more, Sans. I’m going to get this confession out of you, even if it kills you.”

Josh swallowed. Thea lied for him? She didn’t admit anything? They must have tortured her. But even then, she didn’t give anything up.

Was this her trying to give Josh a second chance? Trying to give him a chance to find Micah and stop the bombs? She said she didn’t want to help, but she must have known how important this mission was.

He couldn’t admit to anything. At least, not anything to Preston. If he did tell him about Micah and the bombs, Preston wouldn’t believe him. Or would they use that as further proof that Josh was a traitor?

He couldn’t give anything up to Preston. He decided that. It wouldn’t do any good. If he kept his story straight, eventually they’d have to let him go. They couldn’t charge him with anything.

“Don’t want to talk?” Preston stepped back. “That’s okay. You’ll talk. They all do.”

He snapped his fingers. Shadow guards emerged from the blackness. Josh had only a second to brace himself before a fist slammed into his stomach. Then another one to his side. His head. His back. His neck.

Kicks and punches rained down on him. He couldn’t defend himself as his hands were cuffed to the chair.

Stars exploded behind his eyes. His head hurt. His body hurt.

Eventually, the beating stopped. Preston stepped back forward. “Now then, maybe that loosened your tongue a bit. Did you give this witch any information?”

“No, sir.” He could barely move his tongue. “I didn’t know she was a witch.” A trail of blood and saliva leaked from his mouth.

Preston sighed. “You’re smarter than this, Sans. You should know, the faster you confess, the faster this is over.”

This time, instead of fists, they brought the electroprod back.

Josh screamed as it jammed repeatedly into his side. He smelled his flesh burning. His heart stopped and started.

He found himself back in the Death Temple, just before Micah sent him back. Only for the electroprod to bring him back to the present. Or the past. Or the future. He didn’t know anymore.

Preston stopped them and asked Josh more questions.

He answered the same. He didn’t know Thea was a witch. He didn’t give her any information.

Someone placed a bucket of ice in front of him. They plunged his face in it over and over and over.

He didn’t know Thea was a witch.

He didn’t give her any information.

They shaved his head.

He didn’t know Thea was a witch.

He didn’t give her any information.

They stripped him completely of his clothes.

He didn’t know Thea was a witch.

He didn’t give her any information.

For hours, this went on. It must have been hours. He didn’t know. He didn’t see any clocks or daylight that would let him know how long he had been cycling through torment. Eventually, the answers to Preston’s questions became automatic. He didn’t think as he repeated that he didn’t know she was a witch. He didn’t give her any information. He said it so much that even he started to believe it.

Exhaustion seeped into his every pore. He wanted to lie down. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to dry off and get warm. He wanted the pain to end.

It wouldn’t end.

It would never end.

Eventually, Preston stopped asking questions. He didn’t care about what Josh did or didn’t do. He only cared about making him suffer. To punish him for embarrassing him. For making him seem like a fool.

Preston sat back. “You’re a tougher nut to crack than I thought.”

Josh sat in the chair, limp and shivering. Did he have hypothermia?

He remembered the plan. After Ethan’s death. Walk up the mountains, lie down in the snow, and let his body freeze. He should have done that. Then, he wouldn’t have suffered through any of this pain.

“Maybe I’m going about this wrong.”

Preston lit up a cigarette, took a few puffs. He then put it out on the back of Josh’s hand. His skin was so cold that it made the pain feel a thousand times worse. He didn’t make a sound, though. What good would it do?

“I didn’t know she was a witch,” he said through trembling lips. Even though Preston hadn’t asked the question.

“You’ve said. You know, we haven’t been interrogating Healer.”

Josh let himself slump forward in relief. The Deer-Headed God was merciful, for once.

“We have no evidence to suggest he knows what’s going on with you. Maybe if I hurt him, that’ll loosen your tongue a bit.”

All the relief Josh had felt fled his body at once.

“No, he has nothing to do with this,” he said.

Preston’s eyes brightened. He lit up another cigarette. “Doesn’t matter. I need a confession out of you. Since you don’t seem to want to talk, maybe we should try another method?”

“No.” Josh tried to weakly protest, but he knew it was no use. Once Preston got an idea in his head, he wasn’t going to let go of it.

He needed to confess something. Anything to keep Elijah safe.

“If Healer doesn’t work for you, we can get that other Sans in here. See how well he holds up to the torture.”

No, not Ethan. Anyone but Ethan.

“I like that idea. Let me call to have them brought here. What should we start with? The ice bath or the electroprod? Maybe one of each? Yes, I like that idea.”

Preston hummed a happy-sounding tune as he walked to the door.

He put his hand on the handle. The door flew open. It smacked him in the face and caused him to stumble back.

“Fuck!” He pulled his hand away to reveal blood spurting from his nose. Seeing him bleed gave Josh a sick sense of satisfaction.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” General Weaver said as his eyes landed on Josh’s naked, bloody, and bruised body.

“Who authorized this?” he asked.

More shadow guards filled the room. One came up to Josh. He flinched back, only to relax when the guard didn’t beat him. They dried him off instead, slathering salve on his wounds to keep them from getting worse.

“Um, sir, well, I—” Preston stuttered. His face went pale. “I needed to hurry. In case Sans made a run for it.”

Weaver whipped around to look at him, his face thunderous. “You. I will deal with you later. We cannot just grab our citizens off the street and use State Funds to torture them because you don’t like them. Fuck, you make us look like fucking idiots. Get out of my sight before I decide to strap you to that chair and have a few rounds of interrogation.”

Preston did not argue. He let out a squeak and scampered away.

“He’s got Elijah,” Josh muttered.

“Oh, I know he’s got Dr. Healer.” Weaver’s face darkened. “I know because he was supposed to show up to do an important procedure for an important politician’s wife, and didn’t show up. Then, when we went to figure out what had happened, we found your building in complete disarray. The amount of money it’s going to take to fix the damage he caused. Fuck!” Weaver kicked the table.

Preston hadn’t gone through the proper channels to arrest them? He had just done it? That wasn’t good.

The shadow guard uncuffed Josh and helped him into a fresh pair of clothes. New fatigues. Fatigues that fit him. That was rare. They were usually several inches too short.

“Is he okay?” he asked.

“Healer? Yeah, he’s fine. Pissed off. If Preston ends up dead in the next few days, it wouldn’t surprise me. But, Healer’s fine.”

“The procedure?”

“Fuck, Sans, think about yourself for once. But yes, the procedure went fine. She’s fine. No one is dying except for Preston when I get my fucking hands around his neck for this damn stunt he just pulled!” He kicked the table again.

He turned to the shadow guards. “Is he going to die?”

The guard shook their head.

“Good, then leave us. We need to talk.”

The guards saluted and filed out of the room.

The pictures of him and Thea sat on the table. Damning him, no matter how much Weaver liked him.

“For fuck’s sake, someone turn off this cooler!” Weaver shouted as the door closed.

Almost immediately, the temperature in the room rose. Josh felt the shivers wracking his body steadily decrease until he was able to sink and relax fully back in the chair. Maybe he should have been more worried about what would happen next, but truthfully, he didn’t care. He was so tired, hungry, and in pain. This break that he got was welcome. He would cherish it.

Weaver sat down directly across from him and looked at the pictures of him and Thea. He sat, leaned back with his legs splayed out in front of him, one arm draped over the back of his chair, his lips pursed.

He then threw down the photos. “Sans, I like you, I really do.”

Josh swallowed and nodded. He kept his hands clasped in his lap, not wanting to say anything. Not wanting to incriminate himself more than he already had. His jaw ached from where he had been hit. He felt one of his molars loosen in the back. He tried to stop his tongue from pressing against it.

He pressed anyway. The stinging, sharp sensation brought him back to after the bombs fell.

“Preston’s making some real good points here, son.”

“I know, sir.”

“Great Deer God, you were seen with a witch. Having lunch at a place I know you can’t afford.”

“I know, sir.” That’s all he could say. He had told Preston and the interrogators for hours that he didn’t know Thea was a witch. Fat lot of good that did him. He said it anyway. “I didn’t know she was a witch.”

“I hope the fuck you didn’t.”

They sat in silence for a little longer. Normally, Josh hated sitting. This time, he welcomed it. He needed it. After everything he had been through, he needed a chance to recover and figure out what the fuck he would do now.

Weaver massaged his brow. “You know, I didn’t get to my position by being nice.”

Josh’s brow furrowed. He didn’t know that was where this conversation was going to go. He kept quiet. The less he spoke, the better.

Weaver didn’t seem to mind and continued. “I stepped on so many people to get here. My own people. Other Sanses and Careers. If they were in my way, I got rid of them. I was ruthless. There wasn’t room for all of us at the top. If I wanted to reach my goals, I had to push some people to the side. There had to be victims.” He shook his head.

“Maybe I’m getting guilty in my old age. Guilty of all the people I stepped on. A younger me would have washed my hands of you. Hell, even five years ago, I would let Preston do with you what he will.”

Josh clenched his jaw. He could feel the loose tooth pressing up into the socket. Pinching and sending sharp, shooting pain up through his jaw. He could feel it in his temple.

“I see a lot of myself in you, Sans. Maybe too much of myself. The truth is,” Weaver leaned in close, “the people with me at the top are a bunch of fucking idiots. I cannot win this war with them partially running the show. You think Preston is the only fuck-up I got to entertain? No. We’re flooded with them. I’m surprised we held out for as long as we did. Our luck is running out. I need you, Sans. Fuck, do I need you.” He slid the photos toward Josh once more. “So tell me the truth, do you know this woman?”

Josh swallowed. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know Thea, not really. So it wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either.

Proof. It all came back to proof and the fact that he didn’t have any.

“No, sir,” he said.

“Then why on this green earth would you have lunch with her?”

He licked his lips, the lie forming in his head. “I saw her. For a minute there, I was back at Canyon Pass. I swore I was there and all this,” he gestured around, “was some sort of trick.”

He didn’t know what was real and what was fake anymore.

“Why go with her?”

He shook his head. “Honestly, sir, I don’t know. I don’t. I couldn’t tell what was happening. What was real, what was fake? I still can’t.”

“Did you tell anyone about this?”

He shook his head. “I thought I had PTSD, sir. It seemed to be getting better. It seems to be getting better.” He amended.

Weaver hummed and nodded. “As I suspected. Dr. Healer mentioned that you didn’t seem yourself, especially after that day. He suspects that one of these runes caused some confusion to you.”

He looked up from the pictures. “Tell me the truth, did you give this woman any information? Anything at all?”

Josh shook his head. Now this, he didn’t need to lie about. “No, sir. I do remember clearly that I did not tell her anything about my missions or the military or how to get into the base.”

“Did she ask about that?”

He paused. Technically, she didn’t. If he said she didn’t, then would that make him look more suspicious?

“I think she was trying too. With the sandwiches and everything. I think she was trying to butter me up. The meat! I remember the meat made me vomit. That annoyed her.”

“We do have evidence of you doing just that. Any reason why?”

Josh barked out a laugh. “This is going to sound insane.”

“Try me.”

“It was human, sir. I don’t know why I thought that, but I swore it was human. Maybe one of her talismans fucked up or something?”

Weaver nodded. “I’m going to give you one more chance, Sans. Preston is making a lot of good points. My word only extends so far.”

“I understand, sir.” Really? He was getting another chance? He wasn’t getting sent to the gallows.

“You'd better keep your nose clean, Sans. You don’t have the luxury of making a tiny misstep. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. I’ll have some people go fix your apartment. Now get out of here. Do not fuck up. Remember, Sans, I need you.”

Josh breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. “Yes, sir. I will not let you down, sir.”

Josh stood on shaking, weak legs and stumbled out.

Outside, the sunlight nearly blinded him.

“Josh, thank the gods, you’re alright.”

He turned just in time to see Elijah barreling toward him and wrapping his arms around him tightly.

“I’m alright. I’m alright.” He squeezed him back.

Elijah took a step back. They had shaved his head, too. Josh didn’t like it. What was he supposed to play with now? And where had his glasses gone? Those fuckers better give them back. They didn’t have the rations for another pair.

At least there wasn’t a visible bruise on him.

“Like hell you are,” Elijah spat. He ran a hand down Josh’s face. He leaned back and squinted to try and get a better look at Josh. It was useless, though. Elijah was basically blind without his glasses.

He felt his pain melt away. The throbbing faded slightly. The shivers from his body melt just a little bit more under Elijah’s warm hands.

“You got an extra pair, right?” Josh asked.

Elijah scoffed. “Yes, I have an extra pair. Come on. I’m taking you to the clinic to get properly checked out. Then we are going to have a talk.”

Josh leaned his weight on him so they could stumble away in the morning light toward the med center.

Truth

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, Josh,” Elijah snapped.

Josh winced. Elijah was pissed. Who wouldn’t be after that whole ordeal? Still, he couldn’t help but worry. What if he was hiding an injury from him? What if Preston had, in fact, been torturing him the entire time but just made Josh think that he wasn’t?

Elijah glanced at him and sighed. “Josh, I swear, I’m fine. They locked me in a freezing room for a few hours and asked me some questions. Unlike you.” He set a pointed look toward the blooming bruise on his jaw.

They made it to the med center with Elijah pulling them straight to his examination room. “In.”

“Shouldn’t someone else look me over?”

Elijah had always been particular that another doctor look over Josh to minimize bias.

“I don’t care about that right now. In.” Elijah commanded. He found his lab coat and let out a little shout of glee as he dug out a spare pair of glasses.

He put them on and turned to Josh. His nose wrinkled as he saw, for the first time, the extent of the damage. “Shit, you look worse than I thought. Come on. We need to talk.”

It wouldn’t do any good to argue. Quite frankly, he didn’t want to argue. He was tired, achy, and stressed the fuck out.

Elijah washed his hands and pulled on a pair of gloves. The examination itself was clinical. No soft touches or caresses that Josh was used to. Practically no tenderness to speak of. Just Elijah noting his injuries. Then, taking care of them, likely using things he shouldn’t be using for someone as lowly as Josh.

He wanted to say something. After all, they had just managed to escape some pretty serious accusations. He couldn’t bring himself to care. He was just tired and in pain. Though thankfully, with Elijah’s steady hands, the pain continued to lessen. He could feel the swelling in his body going down. The bleeding slowly stopped. His headache lessened. The exhaustion disappeared.

When Elijah was finished, he pulled back, looking pale himself.

Josh reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. Elijah squeezed it back. He did not smile.

“Come on. I need to do something down in the morgue.”

Josh’s heart dropped. He had hoped they could put off this conversation for a bit longer. Elijah looked so exhausted. He was exhausted. The last thing he needed was to figure out if he should lie or not.

“Eli, let’s do this later.”

Elijah pulled him from the bed. “No. Absolutely not. I’m done, Josh. This ends today.”

“No, Eli-”

“Don’t. Don’t tell me no. Not when my apartment door was broken down in the middle of the fucking night. We were dragged off to interrogation for hours. You’re injured. You’re hiding things from me. We aren’t doing this anymore.” He pulled him out the door.

“We don’t need to do this now.”

“I don’t care.” He led him down the stairs. To one of the only places in the city without cameras. Without listening devices.

Josh felt his heart rate pick up. This was where everything had changed before. This is where everything had fallen apart for him.

“Eli, please.” He begged.

Elijah kicked the door open. “Christopher, out!”

Christopher jumped and looked between the two of them, his left hand still wrist deep in a cadaver. “Yikes. This doesn’t look good.” He started gathering his things to leave.

Josh sucked in a breath. “No, Christopher, you can stay.”

“Christopher, get out.” Elijah demanded.

“No,” Josh said weakly.

Elijah had ordered Christopher away last time. That was what killed him. Had he stayed in the morgue, he likely would have survived.

Christopher looked between the two of them. “Sorry, Josh. He scares me a lot more than you do.”

“Christopher, wait!”

It was no use. Christopher scurried out the door.

“Sit,” Elijah said once they were alone. “Talk.”

“I’m not doing this with you now.”

“Yes, you are!”

“What is the point? I don’t get what you want me to say?” He felt anger rising in his body. His mind raced through scenarios and possible futures. The weight of the world crushed down on them.

“I want you to tell me why you had lunch with a witch!”

“I didn’t know she was a witch.” The lie now rolled so easily off his tongue that he almost believed it himself.

“Oh, don’t give me that shit. You’re smarter than that. I don’t buy that she used some talisman to confuse you.”

“Well, that is what happened.”

“Quit lying to me! You want me to believe that you just so happened to have lunch with a witch, then you just so happened to start following Deer around to figure out if he’s a traitor?”

“I’m not selling information to the witches.” Because yeah, when Elijah put it that way, it did seem kind of suspicious.

“I know you’re not. This has been happening since before the lunch. Ever since you got back, you’ve been different.”

“My entire squad almost died. Ethan almost died. Preston accused me of being a traitor. I’m sorry I’m not acting like my normal self.”

He didn’t know why he bothered at this point. To tell or not to tell, it didn’t matter. Thea, his one lead, had been arrested. He had no clue what to do or where to go. Every time he felt like he was getting closer to the next steps, something happened to slap him upside the head.

“This is different. You’re acting different! Who is this man standing in front of me? Why does he feel so different from my husband?” Elijah cried. He took a step back from Josh. “Who are you?”

He opened his mouth. The words didn’t leave. ‘I am Josh. I am your husband. I’m not different.’ He wanted to say. He needed to say. He was desperate to say. He couldn’t say. That would be a lie.

He wasn’t Joshua Sans. Not anymore. Not since the bombs fell and everyone he loved died.

Not since he died.

“Josh?” Elijah asked, his voice breaking. “Answer me, please. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

To tell or not to tell.

He knew what he had to do now.

“You’re not the only one.”

He had to tell the truth. Come what may, he had to tell Elijah what happened. There was too much going on. Too much for him to handle alone. He needed help.

He took a deep breath. “I’m from the future.”

Elijah quirked a brow. “I’m scheduling you for an MRI. TBIs are no joke. Luckily, Marsh is claustrophobic, so he never takes his. We can just slip you in there.”

He shook his head.

“This isn’t a joke. This isn’t because of a TBI. I’m from the future. Or, I know the future. I was in the future, but now I’m not. I think I died from radiation poisoning. You definitely did. Ethan died at Canyon Pass from a land mine. Priscilla got her leg blown off. Then she killed herself a month later. Henry survived, but he died when the bombs were dropped. So did Christopher. You died. You died in your sleep. Or, while I was asleep. After the world ended. We found a kid. We couldn’t save him. Then you took too much morphine but didn’t tell me. I woke up holding your corpse. Then Micah showed up right when I was about to shoot myself!”

“Hey, whoa!” Elijah put his hands on Josh’s shoulders to steady him. “Deep breaths. You’re not making any sense.”

He did his best to calm his heart. He hadn’t told all of this to Thea, instead holding onto it even as it caused him to sink to the bottom of the ocean. He hadn’t realized it. Now that the truth was out there, a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. He had gotten it all out there. Now he could process it.

Elijah was right. He wasn’t making any sense. He needed to know if he was going to deal with this issue.

“In a few weeks, several nuclear bombs are going to drop.” He started. “The witches are the ones who drop them. They kill everyone. Or, at least, I think they do. They kill everyone in the city, at least. Everyone except for us two. Other than the kid, we don’t find anyone else alive. You die a few weeks later from radiation poisoning. I died not long after that. Before I do, I meet a young witch named Micah. She said we could save everyone. She sent me back in time, right to Canyon Pass. That’s how I knew land mines were there. That’s how I know Levi Brenner is a traitor. He’s the one who sells us out and gets hung for it. Thea gets hung soon after, but I don’t think she’s involved with Brenner or your murderer. I need to stop the apocalypse from happening. If I don’t, everyone dies.”

Elijah stared at him for several seconds. Then he sat heavily in a chair where he stared at the ground for several more seconds.

“Eli—”

“Don’t.” He raised a hand. “Don’t. Just… let me comprehend what you told me.”

Josh snapped his mouth shut and nodded.

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Elijah’s face was carefully blank. Just a slight furrow in his brow to suggest he was thinking intensely about Josh’s words.

He pulled his glasses off and ran a hand over his face. Putting them back on, he broke the silence. “Okay, let me get this straight. Ethan dies. Priscilla dies. You, me, Henry, Christopher, we don’t die. But Henry and Christopher die when the bombs drop. I die a few weeks later from radiation poisoning and a morphine overdose?”

He nodded.

“Then you kill yourself because you also have radiation poisoning?”

“No. You kill yourself. I try to, but the witch shows up.”

Elijah made a face. “Ah, yes, the witch. She stops you from killing yourself. You die anyway. She sends you back in time somehow?”

“I think I died as she sent me back in time,” Josh said. “I don’t know how it worked. There was a temple. And blood. She died, too.”

“Oh, Great Deer God.” Elijah massaged his temples. “This is a different witch than the one you had lunch with?”

“Yeah. Thea’s the one I had lunch with.”

“How does Thea play into all of this?”

“She’s executed, alongside Levi Brenner.”

“Before the bombs drop?”

“Yes.”

“After Ethan dies?”

“Yes.”

“So… so you knew she was a witch when you had lunch with her?”

“I…” He swallowed. His palms were clammy. His heart didn’t seem to want to beat regularly. “I did. I spoke with her. I didn’t turn her into the MPs like I should have.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know what’s going on with me. I… maybe she could help me. Or at least she would know what’s happening?”

“Does she?”

Josh shrugged. “She said what happened to me requires someone powerful and also stupid. Spells like that are banned for good reason. They fail more than they succeed. When I tried to convince her to help me some more, she told me to fuck off.”

“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing this spell succeeded then.”

“I don’t know what to do. Weaver said he’s investigating potential WMDs. I hoped if we caught Brenner and Deer⁠—”

“We’d speed the investigation along.” He finished for him.

Josh nodded. “Except, Thea got arrested too early. She lied to the interrogators about me. She said she used me for information, but that’s not true. And… and I think she knows more about what’s going on than she’s telling me. Or, at least, she has more knowledge of the witches.”

“You don’t think she’s the murderer?”

“Why would she murder several people, keep me alive, and not turn me in? It doesn’t make any sense.” He looked toward the body on the slab. His grayed-over eyes stared up at the ceiling.

“Witches never do make sense.”

“They’re people just like you and me,” Elijah said. “They have to have some logic. Otherwise, we’d have won the war already.”

“You’re right.”

“Course I am.” Elijah slapped his thighs. “Right. We need to break her out of jail and keep her from getting killed.”

“What?”

“It’s obvious that you’re stuck. I just found out about this. But Thea? Thea’s a resource we can use to guide our next steps. We can’t do that if she’s dead. I don’t know how to turn back time. The only thing we can do is break her out of jail and hope she’s magnanimous enough to help us. Though, I don’t know why she wouldn’t be. The end of the world has a way of bringing people together. Some people, at least.”

“You say that like it’s the easiest thing in the world!”

“Isn’t it?”

“No!” Josh scrambled to his feet. “There are shadow guards. Since she’s a witch, they’ll have all sorts of protections around her. There’s no way we can get her out of there. I’m going to come clean to Weaver and hope he believes me. That’s the best next step. Besides, she’s a witch. Why would she help us?”

Elijah clapped his hands on Josh’s cheeks. “I know you’re panicking right now. You’ve got a lot going on in your head, but that is the dumbest idea you’ve ever come up with.”

“It is?”

“Yes! Weaver isn’t going to take this as an ‘Oh, he’s being a good soldier and helping us with the war’. He’s going to take this as ‘He worked with not one, but two witches and didn’t tell me Brenner was a traitor. Which means he’s a traitor. Or lost his marbles. Either way, to the gallows with him’.”

“He won’t.” Josh crossed his arms and glared at him.

“Josh, listen to me, your trust for this man blinds you. If what you say happened did happen, then we cannot afford to put our trust into anyone we’re not absolutely sure is willing to help us.”

“You want to put our trust in Thea?”

“You said it yourself, she lied to protect you. She’s the only full-fledged witch you know who seems willing to help out.”

“There are half-fledged witches?”

Elijah ignored him and continued. “So, yes, I am going to put my trust in her more than a militant warlord.”

“He’s doing what he has to do to beat the witches.” Josh argued.

Elijah pinched his brow. “I don’t want to have this argument with you right now. If you are so certain that he’s going to help us out, then please, go down and talk to him. Right now. Tell him everything you told me. You can make your own decisions about this.”

Josh turned to leave. As his hand hit the door handle, he froze. It was like his body wouldn’t listen to him. All his senses lit up, screaming ‘danger’ at him. The instincts of a soldier cultivated through years of training and fighting. Something about this situation was wrong. Elijah was right. Something would go wrong if he went to Weaver right now and told him what was going on.

The man was still suspicious of him. That was it. He had images of Josh eating with a known witch. He had clocked all of his reactions during the interrogation. Not only that, but Josh made up some story about his head getting messed with. He had lied instead of coming clean then and there.

If he came clean now, Weaver would see everything as further lies. Or further proof that Thea did more to his head than make him forget a meal at a sandwich shop.

Josh had no proof. What he was suggesting was crazy, even to him.

Elijah was right. Something like this was high stakes. If he picked his allies wrong, everything would collapse. He’d be a complete failure. He had no doubt that Weaver would do whatever it took to win the war. That meant not trusting Josh if he started spouting off insane theories about time travel and apocalypses.

Thea believed him. Thea sensed his travel through time. She sensed the magic clinging to him. He trusted her. He trusted that she wouldn’t purposefully lead him astray.

He dropped his hand from the handle. “I don’t suppose you have any ideas of how to break into a prison?”

“Breaking in is the easy part. Breaking out, on the other hand...”

“That doesn’t fill me with much confidence.”

He grinned. “It’s time we bring Levi Brenner into this scheme.”

“Levi Brenner?” Josh hissed. “I just told you he’s the one working with the witches. What makes you think we can trust him?”

“I don’t. What you said last night stuck with me.” Elijah started to pace. “You think the murderer is going after spies who are getting ready to defect, right?”

“Um… yeah?”

“Brenner, working in Intelligence, would see these reports. Since he’s a spy, he knows there’s a risk to his life. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if our murderer hadn’t already stopped by.”

“So?”

“So,” Elijah grinned at him, “he’s probably getting desperate for a way out about now. We can use that. Either he’s on our side. We rat him out to Weaver and he dies a horrible, painful, drawn-out death. Or we let his handler take care of him just like he did those other people.”

“You say that with too much glee.”

“I’m saying it with just the right amount.”

Josh shook his head. “Okay, but how are we going to get him in the first place? We don’t live on the same block or run in the same circles.”

Elijah picked up a small vial from the med cart. “He likes hanging out at the on-base bar. Leave it to me. Just stay in the apartment and try not to bring too much attention to yourself.”

Guilt

Ethan held the piece of paper in his hands. They had narrowed it down to ten potential suspects as to who could have sold them out to the witches. Three of them were high-ranking officials. Two were Sanses. The rest were various people at various ranks with no alibi.

Ethan’s investigation had led him to find out more about the personal lives of his commanders than he ever wanted to know.

He could have died happy, never knowing that General Birch was having an affair with three different people of varying ages and genders.

Or that Lady Fox was really, really into feet.

The things he did for Josh.

And his country, of course.

But mostly for Josh.

He, Henry, and Priscilla had tried to narrow down the list some more. After all, ten was too many for the smoking gun.

Try as they might, they couldn’t get it down anymore. Ethan decided it was time to bring Josh and Elijah in on it. He had done enough work on his own. He hoped they would be proud.

Besides, as a doctor, Elijah probably had more access than anyone to people’s personal lives. Ethan wasn’t proud enough to not admit that that was a useful asset. Something he could never have.

He just hoped Josh wasn’t too angry at him. Josh’s whole deal had been for Ethan to keep his head down. To work hard until he could get a cushy position as an assistant or something. Stuck in Welton making coffee. Well away from the bulk of the fighting.

Elijah wanted to be out on the front lines as well. He was such a good doctor that they had forced hime to stay in Welton to take care of all the rich people. Josh liked that just fine, even if it made Elijah mad beyond belief.

Still, Ethan wanted to do more. He wanted to do something else. He didn’t know if this was it, but he did feel better having done this work. Hopefully, they could find the spy and clear Josh’s name for good.

Weaver had taken a liking to Josh. Maybe this would help him out more. If anyone deserved a promotion, it was Josh.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Josh might get angry, but he’d thank Ethan in the end. He’d come around to see how important this work was.

Also, Elijah was there to help temper some of Josh’s frustration that Ethan kept putting himself in these situations.

Having steeled his nerves (and prepared a speech as to how this was a good thing so Josh couldn’t be too mad), he knocked on the door.

He heard some hushed and hurried discussion before it swung open to reveal Elijah.

“Why did you cut your hair?” was the first thing out of Ethan’s mouth after he got over the shock of seeing him. In fact, Ethan wasn’t sure it was Elijah at first. He had never seen him with short hair.

Technically, the regulations stated that all soldiers' hair was to be kept short, but Elijah flaunted the rules, keeping it much longer, often at his shoulders, so he could pull it back. To see him shaved almost bald was weird. Unsettling.

Elijah winced and ran a hand through his now-shaved head. “Ah, well, you should probably come inside. This isn’t a conversation I want to have out here. Our neighbors are already nosey enough.”

That didn’t bode well.

“Is everything alright? What’s wrong?” Panic flooded his veins.

“Don’t worry. Everything is fine.” Elijah tugged him inside.

Ethan gasped. The table he had made for Josh and Elijah’s wedding had been smashed to smithereens. Not to mention the rest of the apartment was a mess. Broken bits of plates and glasses lay shattered on the floor. The floor had deep scratches gouged into it. Wait, was that blood?

“Ethan?” Josh said from the couch, or what was left of it.

Ethan looked up to see his brother pressing an ice pack to his head.

“Josh! What happened?” He rushed over to his brother.

Like Elijah, his head had been shaved. Which wasn’t that unusual. He usually shaved it off whenever they were back in Welton. What was unusual were the injuries littering his body.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He assured him as Ethan checked him over.

Ethan looked to Elijah

“I did an examination. He’s not going to die.” Elijah confirmed.

Though that didn’t tell Ethan what happened.

Josh pulled him down onto the couch and into a hug.

Elijah came to Josh’s other side. Josh threw an arm over his shoulder and pulled them both in close, tucking the two of them under his chin where they sat in near silence.

Ethan closed his eyes and listened to his brother’s heartbeat. He wasn’t going to demand answers, not just yet. Something had rattled Josh and Elijah. They needed a moment to get their thoughts together.

He sat there for a few minutes, letting Josh get himself together. The tremors that wracked his body slowly disappeared.

Elijah wrapped his arm around Ethan’s waist to hold him close.

Everyone seemed calm enough for Ethan to ask. “What happened? Did someone try to rob you? Was it the traitor?”

He had an image of someone, pissed that Josh had destroyed all their plans, breaking in to try and send him a message. Maybe even to hurt him, but thwarted because Josh and Elijah were out for the evening.

He pushed back when Josh didn’t immediately answer him and caught the two of them exchanging glances.

“What happened?” He would keep asking until he got an answer.

He needed to know who hurt Josh. Who destroyed their apartment. Josh and Elijah were too good for this. They were too good to be hurt like this. They deserved to be happy, safe, and comfortable. Even if getting all three of those was nearly impossible, given their position in society and the war.

Elijah sighed. “Preston, decided that Josh, of all people, was colluding with a witch arrested yesterday. He then decided that he needed to interrogate him.”

Ethan’s stomach turned to ice. “What?”

Josh winced. “I’m fine. Weaver straightened the whole thing out.”

“After you had already been there for eight hours,” Elijah grumbled.

“Eight hours!”

“Ethan, I’m fine. I swear, I’m fine. No lasting damage.”

Ethan refused to believe it. As he pushed back to properly view Josh, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. The black eyes. The popped blood vessels, the split lips, the burn marks from the electroprods. The fact that both he and Elijah had their heads shaved.

Oh, no, Elijah! He had been so worried about Josh that he completely forgot that Elijah had likely undergone it as well.

He whipped his head toward him.

Elijah seemed to read his mind. “I wasn’t interrogated.” He assured him. “I was just locked in a freezing room for a few hours.”

Ethan didn’t want to believe him. Looking at him, the proof was indisputable. Unlike Josh, who looked like he had been beaten for eight hours, Elijah had none of that.

For that, he was grateful.

“I am so sorry.” He buried his head in his hands.

How could he have been so stupid? How could he think that no one would catch onto the fact that he, Henry, and Priscilla snuck around, asked questions, and tried to figure out who the traitor was?

“What do you mean?” Josh asked, his brow furrowing.

“This is all my fault.”

“What? No, it’s not,” Elijah said.

“No, it is. The others and I have been trying to figure out who the traitor is.” He pulled out the piece of paper and handed it to Josh.

Josh scanned it, his eyes widened. He tucked it into a pocket. “Why would you do that?”

“All of us nearly got killed. Instead of getting congratulations for succeeding anyway, you have just been kicked repeatedly. Preston keeps trying to have you arrested. If I could figure out who the traitor was, I could prove that you were innocent. Maybe get you the recognition you deserve. Preston probably found out about it and assumed that you were leading it. Josh, I am so sorry. I never thought this would happen.”

Josh pulled him back into a hug. “No, this wasn’t your fault.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because.” He hesitated. He was hiding something. “Because, think about it, Ethan. If the reason Preston arrested me was because of you, he would have arrested you as well. We all would have been interrogated. It was just me. Even Elijah got out of it without a proper interrogation.”

He wasn’t sure he believed that this was the whole truth.

“Why would Preston accuse you of colluding with a witch, though? Did he have any proof?”

“He didn’t go through due process,” Elijah scoffed. “One of the reasons why Weaver was so pissed. He didn’t file the proper paperwork.”

“He hasn’t been arrested yet?” Ethan cried.

“He’s not going to be. Not when his family is as powerful as they are.” Josh put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. Okay?”

He wasn’t sure he believed it. Maybe taking matters into his own hands had angered some god.

“I don’t want you looking into the traitor anymore, though.”

“What? Why?” Ethan asked.

“Preston already hates us as is. We shouldn’t give him any more ammo by sneaking around and investigating higher-ups.”

“Someone sold us out! They’re going to do it again.”

“I know.” Josh put his hands on Ethan’s shoulders. “I am working to find them with Weaver, okay. You don’t need to be involved.”

“But–”

“But nothing. Come on. Let’s get some breakfast. Then, I’m going to pass out.”

Ethan swallowed his arguments. He wanted to do more, to help more. It seemed like the universe had other plans.

Trick

Levi’s life was falling apart. He didn’t know how to stop it.

The promise of more food, more freedom, and a better place to live did not materialize. He realized it would never materialize.

Ice Man tricked him, playing on Levi’s desperate desire to escape this shit hole. He hit the jackpot with Canyon Pass. That was supposed to be the end of this whole mess.

It would end with the defeat of the soldiers and proof that he could provide useful information. It was supposed to be foolproof. No one knew that the witches knew about the assault and set traps for them.

Not magic traps.

No.

Tried and true soldier traps. Land mines.

It was perfect!

It was Levi’s ticket out of here.

Except, somehow, someway, Joshua Sans figured it out. He took the Southern Fire Temple.

How in the hell did that man realize that they buried land mines in the ground? The witches had never used them in the past!

Ice Man and his henchpeople kept visiting Levi. Kept asking for more information. Kept taking their anger out on him.

His threats haunted him with every passing second.

Instead of a ticket out of here, Canyon Pass may have just sealed his fate if he didn’t come up with something and come up with it fast.

Of course, this was inevitable. Ice Man liked torture more than he liked information. He and that air witch. They wanted an excuse to torture Levi. Now they had it.

To be fair, he wasn’t exactly a trustworthy guy. He was already selling out his own people for money. They should not have been surprised that Canyon Pass was a failure. They should not have been surprised when someone found out.

That was the thing. He didn’t tell anyone. He hadn’t double-crossed them. Sans was just lucky in predicting the land mines. Besides, he had gotten his ass court-martialed for not following orders immediately after. Even if the charges didn’t stick.

It didn’t matter to the witches, though.

Ice Man had committed all the murders happening around town. Who else would freeze bodies so thoroughly? Now there was another witch who had been arrested?

Levi had never seen her before. He didn’t know if she was also one of Ice Man’s lackeys. It couldn’t make Ice Man happy to know that another witch had been bested by soldiers.

It wasn’t the first time that he thought maybe he was in too deep. Maybe he had made a mistake. It wasn’t like he could back out now.

He couldn’t tell them, “You know what, I’ve changed my mind!”

They’d kill him for sure.

He couldn’t tell any soldier what he had done. They’d kill him for selling information in the first place. His goal to protect himself had backfired. If he failed to perform for the witches, he’d die. If he failed to keep his secret safe from the soldiers, he’d die.

To make matters worse, Sans seemed to be suspicious of him.

He wasn’t a subtle guy, the huge, hulking shadow of a man that he was. He didn’t exactly blend in or hide well.

He knew something. How was that possible?

Levi wracked his brain. He could not think of a single, meaningful interaction he had had with the man. To be honest, he couldn’t think of any interaction he had had with the man. The two had never crossed paths at the Officers Academy. They worked in completely different units. He was sure he had never seen Sans in the Mess Hall.

The only reason he knew about him was because he figured out the Canyon Pass set up. Any subsequent information was gathered at the behest of Ice Man, who demanded to know as much about this nobody as possible. All the ways he could hurt him. All the ways he could make him pay for the humiliation.

Levi got the distinct feeling that he was a pawn between Ice Man and Sans, each tugging on him to expose the other. Neither caring what happened to him in the process.

Levi gave Ice Man as much information as he could find. He dug up Sans’s letters of recommendation to attend the Officer’s Academy, his scores on every test he could find, and his blood type. None of it ever seemed to be enough. Ice Man couldn’t tell him what he wanted, so Levi was stuck giving him useless information he didn’t want.

Just because Ice Man demanded all of this information on Sans didn’t mean that Levi was free from his other obligations.

Oh no.

They wanted useful pieces of information to win the war.

He tried to explain that after Canyon Pass, everyone was on edge. It was stupid to give them information now. They insisted.

With magic.

Magical lightning, ice, and air.

He would carry the scars for the rest of his life.

Which was why Levi dug through the trash in the first place, hoping beyond hope that he would manage to find something of value. Anything. Any document that hadn’t been completely shredded.

It did not work.

He would not get a second chance. He just hoped that when they did kill him, it’d be quick.

With nothing else to do but wait for the end, he decided to head to the bar and get shit faced.

Was it pathetic that he didn’t have any other friends or family he wanted to spend his final days with?

Probably.

It was also too late to care.

Why do all this work just to die anyway? Now he would never succeed. Ice Man would have never let him succeed. Why run himself ragged just to get a few more days out of this miserable life?

He downed another beer, aware his ration card was running low. Maybe after this, he’d burn through the entire thing. Just get whatever the fuck he wanted. A nice steak dinner. Steak and lobster. With wine. The real stuff. Not this cheap shit they distilled from whatever edible plants they gathered.

Some ice cream. It had been so long since he had had sugar. He could go for some ice cream.

Who the fuck cared? He would die soon anyway. Why ration when you could party hard?

“You’re Levi Brenner, right?” someone said.

“Who’s asking?” He rolled his eyes.

It was too goddamn late to be this cheerful. Didn’t the person know he was about to die? He wished it were raining out. That’d be appropriate for his death. Rain and thunder. Instead of the pleasant sixty degrees out. A cloudless night. Well, they said it was cloudless. The light pollution was so bad that one could never tell in the city.

“I’ve seen you around base.” The man slid next to him.

Levi did hide the growl at being interrupted. He turned to tell the man to fuck off, only to come face to face with Dr. Elijah Healer.

He paled and swallowed the rest of his beer. Elijah Healer, who was married to Joshua Sans, who probably suspected Levi of being a spy and was trying to gather evidence on him. Who had almost died in Canyon Pass because of Levi’s work.

He managed to regain some of his composure. “Look, I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m not in the mood for company.”

Healer ordered two more beers. “That’s why I came over.”

“I’m not your patient, doc. You don’t have to check on me.”

Please no check-ups. Something told him Healer wasn’t here to be polite. He had this look about him, like a fox hunting. If only Levi knew what he was hunting, then he could get out of the way.

“Sorry. It’s a bit hard to turn off.” Healer opened Levi’s beer and handed it to him.

Levi accepted it. Hey, he was trying to burn through his ration card, but free beer was free beer. Not having to pay for this one just meant he could get another one later.

He took a sip. It tasted slightly sour. “Ugh, this is disgusting. They must have scraped the bottom of the barrel for this piss.”

“You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want it.” Healer took a sip of his own beer, thought on the taste for a second, then shrugged and took another sip. “The purpose of alcohol has never been to taste good. It’s to alter the chemicals in your brain to produce different emotions. Or bring hidden ones up to the surface.”

Levi rolled his eyes. Yeah, the beer had definitely gone off. It was a weird mix of sour and bitter, with a strange, almost salty aftertaste. Maybe it would kill him. Food poisoning would probably be a less painful way to go than whatever Ice Man had planned for him.

“Why are you here? I don’t care about the purpose of alcohol. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I want to be alone right now.”

Was it just him, or was it hot in here?

And stuffy.

Very stuffy.

He tugged at the collar of his shirt. It was marginally successful.

“Or are you here because Sans asked you to be?” he growled.

Where did that come from? Yeah, he thought it, but he shouldn’t say it out loud. Maybe Healer’s bit about the alcohol bringing feelings up to the surface was a warning and not an attempt at conversation.

Healer swirled his can. “Why would Josh want me to leave and go to a seedy bar by myself? He’s on house arrest currently because of the witch they arrested yesterday. They thought Josh was involved. Especially after Canyon Pass. There seems to be a lot of suspicion these days,” he said mildly. “Know anything about that?”

Levi felt his body go cold.

He opened his mouth to accuse Healer of… of… something.

It was hard to think.

The room started to swirl.

Fuzzy.

In and out of focus.

What were they talking about?

Sans.

Ethan Sans.

No.

Henry Sans.

No, wait. The other one.

Joshua Sans.

Goddamn Sanses. There were too many of them. Just give them fucking last names so you could tell them apart!

“You aren’t looking so good,” Healer said. His voice was underwater. Muffled. “Why don’t I help get you back to base. Curfew’s soon. You know the MPs are harder on visibly drunk soldiers.”

Curfew? Was it already curfew?

What time was it?

Why was it so hard for Levi to pick up his arms?

He turned to Healer and blinked, trying to focus on the man.

It didn’t work.

“Up you get.” Healer looped his arm around him and pulled him off the barstool. “Goodness, how many have you had to drink?”

He didn’t answer. As soon as he stood up, his legs disappeared.

He fell into Healer.

“Don’t worry, I got you. Just going to take you outside and get a cab.” He promised.

Levi blinked once more.

Then, his eyes closed and did not open.

Ally

The first thing Levi realized when he became conscious was that he was sitting upright in a chair.

The next thing he noticed was the dry mouth. The bitter taste. He had a pounding headache at his temples. Throbbing with such intensity, it felt like someone was repeatedly driving a knife into his skull. It was only after he came to all those realizations that he finally realized someone bound his hands bound behind his back. He was not alone.

He could hear the arguments right in front of him. They were hushed, whoever was arguing; clearly trying not to wake him. But they were still arguing.

He didn’t open his eyes right away. His training as a soldier kept him from making any moves until he could confirm what the situation was. Had the witches come to collect early? He thought he had several hours before he was set to die.

Several hours.

He’s missing several hours.

He kept his breathing even. His head slumped over, though it hurt his neck, as he tried to work through what had happened before waking up here. He remembered going to the bar, ordering a drink.

Then another.

Then another.

And then…

And then…

Dr. Healer. That’s the voice he heard.

Elijah Healer. He had stopped to talk to him. That was weird. He didn’t know the man personally. He was Joshua Sans’s husband. The same Joshua Sans who seemed to know that Levi was a traitor. The same Joshua Sans who was currently the bane of Ice Man’s existence.

Speaking of Joshua Sans, Levi now recognized the other voice arguing with Healer. Sans, Joshua Sans. He was in the room too.

He was in on this? What was this? Was he going to torture him for information? No, that didn’t seem like Joshua Sans’s style. At least, that didn’t seem like his style based on everything Levi had read about him. He seemed more like the type to turn him straight over to the authorities. A straight-laced kind of guy who followed the rules exactly.

Healer, on the other hand, did seem like the kind of guy who would kidnap and torture him for information. Maybe that was what they were arguing about.

Too many questions flooded his mind. Levi wasn’t sure he could get the answers he needed sitting here.

He tried the bonds, hoping they would snap. Dammit, Sans being a field operative, of course, would know how to tie a knot as good (if not better) than any sailor out there. Then again, it was probably a good thing they didn’t snap. Sans had a foot of height on Levi. He could lay his ass out flat with the snap of his fingers.

He should have thought of that before he tested the bonds. As the creaking of the chair caused the argument to stutter to a halt.

The room went dead silent.

The pounding of his heart against his chest echoed so loudly, he couldn’t hear anything else. Surely they must hear it as well.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Someone sighed. “I know you’re awake,” Healer said. “The drugs only last so long. You’re due to wake up.”

“Elijah,” Sans growled.

“We need to move. I’m not waiting for him to play pretend for another hour. The execution is happening tomorrow.”

Another heavy sigh.

Dammit, the way he could see it now, he couldn’t get out of this. Unless he didn’t move. Maybe Healer was wrong about the dose. He was only human, after all. He made mistakes.

“Open your eyes or I’ll start stabbing you. I know the places where it’ll cause a lot of harm, but not a lot of damage.” Healer threatened.

“Seriously, Elijah! We don’t want to torture him.”

“You don’t want to torture him. I’m rather indifferent to the whole thing and still pissed that he almost got you and Ethan killed. Besides, I read his medical charts. He’s overdue for a tetanus booster.”

Levi opened his eyes. “You’re going to torture me by giving me vaccinations?” He realized, upon seeing Healer’s smug look that he had played exactly into his hands.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Lieutenant Brenner,” he said. “Now we have a few questions we need you to answer.”

Levi shook his head. “Hell no. You drugged and kidnapped me. I’m not answering a damn thing. When I get out of here, I’m going straight to the MPs and having your asses locked up for the rest of your lives. Which will be very short because they’ll execute you. Not even Weaver can get you out of this one, Sans.” He looked to Sans and did a double take when he realized how shitty he looked.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“That’s not what we’re talking about. You think you’re going to tell the MPs anything? You’re the one who sold out the Canyon Pass information to the witches. You got my brother killed!” he shouted.

“Ethan Sans is still alive.” Levi furrowed his brow.

Unless there was another brother Sans referred to. There were too many of them to keep straight. They didn’t technically have any registered families. Regardless, he was certain Ethan Sans didn’t died at Canyon Pass.

That begged another question, the one that had been haunting Levi since the beginning. “Hold on, if you know I sold out information, which I’m not saying I did, why not tell the MPs? You think drugging and kidnapping me works in your favor?”

“I know you’re the one who sold us out. Don’t try to deny it!”

He was going to deny it, though he was desperate to know how they knew about it. Maybe he could give that information to Ice Man and buy himself a few more weeks.

Gods, was this what his life had turned into? Scrapping the bottom of the barrel for scraps to buy a little more time?

“What proof do you have? I think you’ve finally snapped. Maybe Preston was right. You’re the one who sold out information to the witches. Not me.”

“Why you–” Sans lunged forward as if he was going to strangle Levi.

He jerked back to avoid his hands. Hang on. Sans would probably kill him faster than Ice Man. He should let the man strangle him.

He did not. Healer grabbed Sans’s shoulders and pulled him back.

“He can’t help us if he’s dead,” he whispered.

Sans stepped back.

Dammit! How hard was it to die?

“I don’t work for the witches,” he said.

At least, he wouldn’t for much longer. Although, maybe if these two psychos kept him here long enough, the witches would give up on trying to find him and go on their merry way.

Healer knelt down next to him. He smiled, but not in a friendly way. In a way that reminded Levi that Sans was not the most dangerous person in this room.

“You do. Why else would you have this?” He held up a talisman Levi had been given to make sneaking around easier.

He felt his body go cold. “I found it on the ground. It looked pretty. What’s your point?” Shit. Was that the best he could come up with?

“Oh.” Healer ran his fingers over the talisman with a small smile on his face. He looked at it almost lovingly. “You work in Intelligence. I know Intelligence gets briefed about all the various magical artifacts they should keep an eye out for. This one in particular is a talisman that makes people ignore you. It doesn’t quite turn you invisible, but it’s a near thing. You can tell because you have several runes here that essentially mean ‘think no more’.”

Levi swallowed. “You know a lot about runes, don’t you?”

Healer smiled at him. “Do you want to know the funny thing? The thing that witches seem to forget?”

He didn’t answer. Didn’t move.

“Magic doesn’t work on cameras.”

Levi felt himself go cold once more.

“I’m guessing based on the fact that you seem seconds from passing out, you forgot that too. I mean, there are so many cameras around, watching everything. Every move we make. We tend to forget they’re there. Most of them aren’t monitored all day and night. The data is simply stored until someone has a need to look at it.”

Healer stood up. “So, you are going to help us. Or else, we’re going to submit an anonymous tip to the MPs. They’ll comb their back longs of video and audio recordings until they find you.

“I’m not helping you. They’ll never believe an anonymous tip.”

Healer smirked. “Maybe it won’t be anonymous. I’m well liked and respected. Weaver likes Josh quite a bit too. We know you’ve been sneaking around the base.”

He pulled out a piece of paper. “Ethan managed to narrow down a list of over a hundred potential suspects to ten. Look, there you are.” He flipped the list around to show that indeed, Levi Brenner was written plain as day. Not crossed out.

“All we have to do is let slip that you were around Headquarters a few days ago. They’ll look through the cameras. They’ll see you digging through the trash. Then they’ll wonder why the shadow guards didn’t see you. Then they’ll realize that you were the traitor all along. Do you know what they do to traitors?”

“They torture them.” Sans rubbed his jaw. His black eye and split lip looked ugly in the light.

“They’ll arrest you. Then they’ll electrocute you. Water board you. Freeze you. Break every bone in your body one by one until you give them the information they want. It won’t be enough. They’ll start cutting off bits and pieces of you. The tips of your fingers. Your toes. Your nose. Your ears. Then your hands and feet. Your arms and legs. Until you’re a stump. They’ll inject you with all sorts of chemicals that burn you from the inside out. They’ll keep you awake for hours. Then, when they realize you know nothing, when they realize you sold people out for the hell of it, they’ll hang you in the square. Your body will stay there for a week before it’s finally taken down and burned.”

Levi swallowed. These didn’t sound like threats or promises. These sounded like they would definitely happen. Like Sans had seen them happen. Like he spoke from experience. That didn’t make any sense. There hadn’t been any public hangings in almost two years. Most people died during the torture process. The process itself was unique to every prisoner. Not everyone got their limbs hacked off. Apparently, Sans thought Levi would survive all that only to hang.

“So,” Healer said. “Either help us, or I turn this over to Deer and Weaver. I went out drinking. You got a little drunk and dropped your necklace. I was going to return it to you when I realized it was a talisman. I lived on the border as a kid. I know what they look like. They can check the security footage. That’s exactly what happened.”

“How are you going to explain that you dragged me back to your apartment?” Levi was desperate for a win even if it didn’t feel like one.

Healer’s grin widened. “Unlike you, I know all about the cameras. The route from your place to mine has a lot of blind spots. You’re a rather poor spy if you didn’t figure that much out. No wonder you haven’t been successful.”

Levi growled at him.

“Help us, or we’re handing you over to Weaver and Deer.”

Levi weighed his options. These two might be insane, but they weren’t looking to kill him.

Yet, at least.

He might be able to leverage this.

By giving him a little more time before the witches killed him. Ice Man wanted to know more about Sans. What better way than for Levi to spend some time with him?

Healer was the current threat.

Ice Man was also the current threat.

Also, how much time would this buy him? A couple of days? A couple of weeks? Was that worth all this pain?

He should kill himself. Die on his own terms.

Every time he tried, though, there was a block. He couldn’t go through with it. He couldn’t picture himself going through with it. Instead, he grabbed, scrambled and clung to anything that could keep him afloat for another bit of time. A little bit more. Almost a pathetic hope that he could claw himself out of this hole he dug. If he could get the right information. Connect with the right people. Then he’d be good to go. That would set him for life.

So, even though it wouldn’t buy him much time, he nodded. “Fine, I’ll do it. What do you need help with?”

Healer seemed content. He stepped back so Sans could speak.

“We need you to help us break out the witch arrested yesterday.”

Levi’s brow furrowed. “The witch? Why her?”

Healer pulled out a syringe.

“Hey! I should be allowed to ask questions. I’m risking my life.”

“You lost that privilege when you first sought out the witches.” Still, Healer put the syringe down, but didn’t put it away.

“Besides,” Sans continued. “You don’t need to know anything other than the mission. We’re breaking her out.”

“Why do you care about a witch? Or are you traitors too?”

Sans’s face twisted into a rage. For a second, Levi thought he would punch him. Healer put a hand on his shoulder.

“I am not a traitor,” Sans growled.

“Seems like it to me. You’re breaking out a witch. You’re not turning me over to the MPs despite knowing I’m a traitor.” He couldn’t help but twist the knife a little more. Either he’d die, and thus save himself the torture. Or he wouldn’t die, and get to punch back at the people who were using him. “Seems to me like you two are as bad as I am.”

“I am not as bad as you are,” Sans snarled.

“Josh,” Healer said softly. “Leave it, for now. We have to get Thea out of prison in the next few hours or we won’t have another chance.”

Sans seemed to accept that and back off, but not before asking Levi, “Do the witches have some sort of nuclear bomb?”

Levi blinked several times. Where the hell did that come from? “No. They didn’t think to use land mines until I suggested it. They don’t do shit like that. It’s magic, or nothing.”

This didn’t seem to answer what Sans wanted. He visibly deflated.

Before Levi could ask any more questions, something stabbed into the side of his neck. “Ow! What the hell!” He jerked his head away as Healer stepped back. “I already said I would help you. Or was that the tetanus shot?”

“I don’t trust you,” Healer said. “That’s a poison that needs an antidote every half hour. Or else your intestines will liquify and you’ll die.”

“You’re fucking insane.”

Healer merely shrugged. “I’m cautious. I don’t trust that you won’t run off the second you get a chance.”

“What makes you think I won’t find the antidote somewhere else?”

Healer smiled at him. “What makes you think you’ll find the antidote in time? Remember, every half hour. Don’t worry. Prove that you’re not going to sell us out. Then I’ll heal you.”

He looked towar Sans, who stared wide eyed at his husband, but not in a horrified way.

“Both of you can go to hell.”

“We’re already there,” Sans said as he cut his ropes.

Leap of Faith

Josh never considered how hard it was to sneak around Welton. The cameras were there, always watching. Always waiting for you to fuck up. The MPs hid in the shadows. Sometimes, they didn’t hide. They stood there in plain sight. Usually talking to each other and drinking coffee. Almost as if they were trying to convince you that they weren’t watching. They were.

Their bodies angled just right so they could watch everything going on around them. Their backs to the walls so no one could sneak behind them. Usually in pairs of two so they could have as wide of a field of vision as possible.

Josh never thought too much about it. He never did anything wrong. He was a model citizen. He was a model soldier. Yes, the cameras and the MPs were watching, but they had no reason to watch him. He never did anything. If anyone ever accused him of something, the cameras could prove he was innocent. All they’d have to do was look at the tapes. Then he’d be set free.

That is, until Thea.

The cameras had done their job. They had caught him speaking too her. It was only because Weaver hated Preston that he got out of it. That made him feel guilty.

He had committed a crime. They needed to punish him. When confronted with the opportunity to accept his sentence, he fought against it instead.

Here he was, committing another crime. Sneaking out after curfew. Not just sneaking out. Oh, no. He snuck out specifically to break out the witch. Once more spitting in Weaver’s face and his faith.

When he followed Deer around a few days ago, he hadn’t thought about the cameras at all. In his mind, he hadn’t needed to. He was doing something for the good of his country. His people. Exposing traitors. Stopping their world from crumbling to dust.

Now, look at him.

Maybe Brenner had a point. He was no longer a good soldier or a model citizen. He teamed up with a traitor to release a witch who was scheduled to be hung. He told no one about it.

He needed to dodge the cameras. They would be used against him. This time, Weaver would not stick up for him.

He wasn’t sure if he’d have been able to dodge all the cameras. He never thought much about their placements or the conveniently placed television screens that played nonstop. Ads. Speeches from Weaver. News from the frontlines. Splashing the steel gray buildings in a neon kaleidoscope of colors. Staining the night sky a muted yellow-red instead of the inky black it had been after the bombs dropped.

Those screens served more than to disseminate information. They served to illuminate shadows. In case someone tried to do exactly what they were trying to do.

Thankfully, Elijah seemed to know how to maneuver around the cameras and screens. He would start and stop at random, sometimes waiting for minutes at a time before going again. Josh, being a soldier who was used to finding patterns in things, quickly realized Elijah was waiting for there to be a break in the programming. A split second between news segments. That minute where the screen was black.

Then they’d move.

The news segments, ads, and speeches were cyclical in nature. Josh never realized. He never watched the news. Why would he when he lived on the front lines and experienced it in real time?

Now that he was forced to stay crouched in the darkness, waiting for the presenter to move on, he was picking up on inconsistencies.

“Fredrickson’s wife isn’t pregnant,” he hissed to Elijah as the reporter, still sounding cheerful yet tearful as she stated Eric Fredrickson, one of the soldiers killed at Canyon Pass, left behind his wife and unborn baby.

“It drums up sympathy.” Elijah stated.

The segment ended. They darted to another corner.

“Shouldn’t him dying be sympathy enough?”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you, Sans,” Brenner said. “Gods, I can’t believe you’re taking so long. The longer we’re out here, the more likely we are to get caught by the MPs for breaking curfew.”

“Great Deer God, it’s a miracle you didn’t get caught before.” Elijah rolled his eyes. “We have to watch the cameras. You can bribe MPs. You can’t bribe cameras.”

“Bribe a lot of cops, eh Healer?” Brenner sneered.

“You better watch what you’re implying,” Josh snapped, even as he thought those same words.

What did Elijah get up to when Josh was gone? How did he know to move during the programming breaks? How did he know to bribe the MPs?

“He’s the one who’s sneaking around like a fucking shadow guard. Sure you got the right traitor?” Brenner snapped back.

“Both of you shut up. Keep moving. As much as I don’t want to get caught on camera, I would also like this whole thing to be over and done with. I am not a night owl.”

The video screen lit up his glasses.

“Shit!” Josh lunged forward to put his hand over Elijah’s eyes before the glint could be caught on camera.

“Thank you,” Elijah whispered.

Josh nodded, silent as he moved Elijah’s head to hide the lenses from the bright lights of the screens. He tucked Elijah’s head into his chest.

They settled back into silence. Josh did his best to glare Brenner into oblivion. Brenner did his best to glare back. When the screen went black, they moved.

Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. An agonizing crawl where they seemed to only move inches at a time.

They made their way to the prison where Thea was being held.

“How are we going to get in there?” Josh asked.

“You mean you don’t have a plan?” Brenner cried. “I have been breaking all these laws and stabbed with needles every thirty minutes. You mean to tell me you don’t have a plan?”

Josh wanted to argue with him, but he did have a point. He was kind of flying by the seat of his pants on this one. Something that would have made all his drill sergeants pissed off. He’d be running laps for weeks if they saw the way he ran this operation now.

“Any ideas, Eli?”

Elijah shook his head. “I’ve never broken into a prison before.”

“That I find hard to believe,” Brenner grumbled.

“Shut up. Give me a moment to think.” Josh sat down, hidden in the dark shadow of the looming jail house.

“Eli, how often does the power go off around here?” He hadn’t been back in months, but word from the other soldiers who had families still in Welton, blackouts happened often.

“At least once a day,” Elijah said. “The jailhouse should have a backup power source. It’s not usually affected by the blackouts.”

Josh shook his head. “The power to the jailhouse itself is not. But I”m not concerned about that. The cameras all run on the city grid.”

“They all have separate grids, though,” Brenner said. “The ones to the jailhouse have the lowest number of cameras. They take the least amount of power. Which means it’s less likely to black out.”

“Less likely, but not impossible.” Josh looked around and saw a tall metal tower. It looked to be a comm tower at one point. Though, its current state of rust, it hadn’t been used in a very long time. A plan formed in his head. “You see that metal beam right there?”

“Yes. It worries me that you’ve pointed it out.” Elijah eyed the offending beam with suspicion.

“It’s hanging on by a thread. If I can knock it down, it’ll fall into the transformer. That’ll blow the power to the cameras. Then, we can sneak inside. Once there, we can find the evidence room where they keep contraband. They should have some more of those pendants that make people forget you exist. Then, we slip past the guards, break out Thea, call it a night. Tomorrow, we get her to help.”

“You’ll need a keycard to get through the doors, dumbass,” Brenner said. “And how are you going to knock down a metal beam? If you shoot it with your bullets, they’ll find your casings and link it back to you. With your blaster, they’ll find the scorch marks and could still link it back to you.”

“Well, for the keycard, if the spark is big enough, someone will come looking to see what happened,” Elijah said. “You still have your necklace. So, sneak behind them. Take their key card out.” He stabbed Brenner in the neck once more with the antidote. “Remember, if you take off running, this goes away.”

“I got it. I got it.” Brenner waved him away. “That still doesn’t answer my question about the beam.”

He had a point. Josh couldn’t shoot it. That would alert everyone that they were there. He could throw rocks at it, but that could draw the guards too. They might not be strong enough to break it.

“I’ll climb up there and knock it down.” That was the only solution he could see. “We’re going to have to move fast though.”

“I have several problems with this plan.” Elijah grimaced as he studied the metal beam.

“Like?”

“This seems likely to break your neck and paralyze you.”

“I’ll be fine.” He assured him. “I do way more dangerous things out in the field.”

“Oh, I like that even less.”

“Just be lookout.” He brushed a hand against his cheek, hoping to sooth his worries. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

Elijah looked briefly conflicted, then his shoulders slumped. “Alright. I’ll be look out.”

“Good. On the count of three.”

“Wait, I didn’t agree to this plan,” Brenner said.

“You don’t have a choice,” Elijah said.

“One. Two.” He waited for the flood lights to move. They shifted. “Three!” He took off across the cold concrete, rushing as fast as he could to the utility pole that held the piece of metal.

He could hear footsteps pounding behind him. He hoped it was Brenner, getting into position instead of arguing some more.

He didn’t turn back. He had to trust. Easier said than done considering how much he wanted to kill Brenner right now.

The utility pole itself was an older structure. He was right about it being a comms tower. The wires and structure all pointed that way, though it was an older model. Much older. He’d estimate about fifty years. Back when they were still using telegrams instead of video calls.

He started climbing. The cold metal bit into his hands. It pinched his skin; the ache was much greater because of the temperature. His wounds from Preston’s interrogation screamed at him to rest.

Gods, he would love to. It felt like ever since the bombs had dropped he hadn’t had a chance to rest. Ever since he found Ethan as a baby he hadn’t had the chance to rest. As much as he wanted to, if he stopped for a second, everyone would die. So, he kept climbing.

The government had systematically been going through and dismantling all old structures so they could be repurposed into weapons. This one was probably going to come down soon. Josh didn’t feel bad about destroying it.

He got to the piece that hung on by a thread. He could see Elijah where he had left him. Brenner had made it to another hidden spot by the door. Both covered in shadows. If the guards didn’t know they were there, they wouldn’t have looked twice.

He turned back to the hanging piece of metal.

“Dammit.” The wire holding it up was thicker than he thought it would be. He hoped to clip it with his wire cutters on his utility knife and have it fall.

He wrapped his legs around the pole and gripped it with all his might. Then, he leaned over and tried to clip it.

Nope. Too thick.

“Shit.” Time for Plan B. He stuck his utility knife back in its holster. He maneuvered to pull his larger knife out from the holster on his calf.

His hand slipped.

His feet slid from the metal. He could feel the blood rush from his body to his stomach. His hands and feet tingled as for a brief moment, there was nothing to hold onto.

He could hear Elijah suck in a breath.

He regained his grip. Adjusting himself, he leaned back out and began to saw through the wire. It made a horrible screeching sound. The only good thing about it was that it blended in with the horrible screeching noises that came from the factory at all hours of the night.

Eventually, the wire became thin enough that when he tried to saw through it, it merely pushed the metal away. He’d never get through the last little bit if he couldn’t hold it steady somehow.

“Shit, shit, shit.” He readjusted his grip on the tower and clamped the knife in between his teeth. Now he had two hands to work with.

He swiveled himself around, wrapping the thin metal structure in his thighs. He hooked his feet around each other and into one of the metal beams below.

He engaged his core and leaned back out, releasing both hands. His thighs and quads flexed. His body wavered in the air for a second before he was able to grab onto the metal piece with one of his hands. His heart pounded in his chest, but he felt more stable now.

Taking the knife from between his teeth, he began to saw.

“I’m going to need a new one after this,” he grumbled.

How he was supposed to explain to the quartermaster why he needed a new one was an issue for future Josh. Or maybe he could get Thea to magic him up a new one, if that was something witches could do. Again, future Josh problems.

Present Josh problems involved not trying to fall to his death. Very quickly, his body heated up. The sweat from his palms caused his grip on the pole to slip. He gritted his teeth, readjusting his grip. Over and over again. His thighs trembled and chaffed. The way he had his foot wrapped around the pole cause pain to build in his ankles and shins. He kept sawing. If he fell from here, it was over.

No matter how hard he sawed, the knife barely made a dent in the wire. This would take hours. He kept going, figuring he could come up with another plan in the meantime.

He’d pull the wire cutters back out to try again. On the upside, all this work mangled the wire so it’d be hard to tell it had been cut.

His hands started to cramp.

His legs started to cramp.

He kept going.

He kept sawing.

Elijah let out a whistle.

A guard was approaching them.

“Shit.”

Elijah and Brenner were probably safe hidden in the shadows, but there was no way the guard would miss Josh.

He cursed once more and wished he hadn’t wiped off the rune Thea put on his back. ‘Notice me not’. He could use that now.

He pulled out the wire cutters. If he was correct, the metal beam would hit the transformer and shower the world in sparks. That would give him time to jump and hide behind a pile of rubble to his right.

Provided he didn’t snap his ankles when he landed.

“Come on. Come on,” he grunted, squeezing the wire cutters.

His heart pounded in his chest. His blood roared in his ears. He couldn’t bring himself to look up to see where the guard was.

Was he close?

Did he see him?

Was he running toward him now?

Would Elijah stay put or would he try to subdue him?

He crushed the handles of the wire cutter with all his might. They slid through the cable.

As soon as he felt the cable give, he leapt off the tower.

Sure enough, a shower of sparks lit up the night sky. Instead of revealing Josh, it made it so bright, he had to squeeze his eyes shut so it didn't blind him.

He landed hard. His teeth rattled in his skull. He rolled onto his shoulder before scrambling up and sliding behind the rubble pile. He pressed himself against the jagged concrete and bits of rebar until they pressed into his skin. He felt it split open. A small trickle of blood escaped through the thin cuts; dribbling down his arms, neck, and face.

The guard radioed someone. “Calvin, you know that piece of metal we’ve been bugging HQ about? It finally fell. What’s the damage?”

Josh breathed a sigh of relief. The guard hadn’t spotted them. They were in the clear, for now.

Someone replied. “Cameras look to be out. Lights in the break room down as well.”

“Cells?”

“All locked up. We’ll increase patrols until we can get this fixed.”

“Ah, hell. Let’s deal with that tomorrow. If the inmates can’t get out, then I’m not working more than I have to.”

Calvin laughed. “They don’t pay me enough to, brother.”

“Amen.”

The guard walked back to the prison. His boots crunched on broken bits of glass and concrete. The sound getting farther away.

Josh hazarded a peek over the concrete pile. Once the guard disappeared around the corner, he waited for the floodlights to move once more and dashed back to where Elijah and Brenner hid.

“Got the key card?” he asked.

“Right here.” Brenner held it up.

“Good,” then it wasn’t all for nothing. Brenner had proven that, at least for now, Josh could trust him.

Elijah smacked his shoulder.

Josh let out an undignified yelp. Elijah had an arm on him. Especially when he was angry. “What was that for?”

“How many times have I told you not to jump off of high places like that. You’re going to break your ankle!”

“This is a regular occurrence?” Brenner looked to be rethinking his life choices. Something he should have done before this point.

Josh ignored him and focused instead on his pissed off husband. “I didn’t.”

It did hurt like a bitch, though. So did his shoulder. He should probably get that looked at.

Elijah glared at him. “You’re not off the hook. I am looking at you when we get back and scheduling you for a tetanus shot.”

“I literally just got one.”

“You’re going to get one more. Don’t think I didn’t see you swan dive into a pile of rusty rebar.”

“As fun as this is to watch, can we get going?” Brenner asked.

Josh glared at him. Though he was right. Thea’s life was the key to solving this.

Break-in

Josh wasn’t surprised how much quicker they moved now that the cameras were out. What surprised him was how much more relaxed he felt. How free he was. He never thought much about the cameras. They had been a constant in his life from the day he was born. In fact, he was under the impression that he didn’t think about them at all.

Now that they were gone, he felt like he could breathe. Like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. Like, for the first time in his life, he could stand tall without worrying about who was looking. Anxiety slid off him like a snake shedding its skin. Even with the added anxiety of doing something highly illegal and the threat of death, his lungs filled completely. His jaw unclenched.

“You sure the cameras are out?” Brenner looked over his shoulder.

Elijah scoffed. “If the cameras were still active, we’d be dead.”

Josh slid the key card into the door, letting it swing open. He had a point. The prison guards didn’t seem like the kind of people to play with their food, so to speak. If they spotted them on some other camera that was on some other power grid, they’d be dead before they crossed the threshold of the first door.

This was a high security prison, where they kept the worst of the worst. They wouldn’t wait for them to incriminate themselves by stepping through the door. Everyone knew it.

He still worried if he was doing the right thing. If he should turn around and forget Thea. If he should work more with Weaver.

Too many options. Too many paths in front of him. Before, it had been easy to follow orders. He thought it was the best way to get ahead. To win the war. He saw now that it lead to nothing but pain. Was this path any better? Was he doing anything to improve the futures of the people he loved?

He worried it wouldn’t be enough. He worried that he made a mistake trusting Thea; going against everything he had ever been taught.

He didn’t let himself dwell on these fears for long. If he let himself think about what he did, who he betrayed, it would swallow him whole. Everything he stood for in life was now getting called into question. His loyalties. His beliefs. Who he served. Who he trusted. All of it, tossed out the window.

Who was to say if this was for the greater good? Perhaps this was the goal of the witches all along. Maybe the soldiers did drop nukes in a last-ditch effort to win the war. The witches then decided to send one back in time to unknowingly help them win.

That was what frustrated Josh about this whole thing. He didn’t know who was really pulling the strings. Who he was really fighting for.

Elijah put a hand on his arm, pulling him back to the present. “You’re doing the right thing. If for no other reason than Thea has done nothing to warrant torture and execution.”

“That you know of.” Brenner huffed. “She could have eaten a baby. Or she could be the one behind all those murders. You don’t know. All you know is that she’s a witch.”

Elijah glared at him. “She’s certainly done less harm to people than you have.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I see the writing on the wall.” Brenner snapped back. “All this rationing and shit, it’s getting worse and you know it. We all know it. I’m looking out for myself. Maybe if you’d look out for yourself, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe if more people were willing to say ‘screw you’ to the higher-ups, we’d all be in a better place. They can’t fight us all!”

“Shut your mouth!” Josh snapped. He wanted to hit this guy. Then he’d get out at least some of his frustrations.

Elijah stabbed Brenner in the neck once more. “Everyone calm down. We have a job to do. Josh, I’m sorry that you’re having a hard time with all of this. Can we all agree to slip into our roles as soldiers? To put our emotions on the back burner until we have the privilege to come to terms with everything?”

Brenner scoffed but did not argue.

Josh nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Eli. I keep getting into my own head. This doesn’t normally happen.”

Elijah squeezed his arm. “You’re doing good. Just a little longer.”

That sounded like a lie. The idea that after they broke Thea out of prison Josh would have some time to breathe and come to terms with everything that had happened. If only he were so lucky.

“It should be up ahead,” Brenner said. “The contraband room.”

Josh nodded, recognizing this pathetic attempt at an olive branch. He let Brenner lead the way. Each time he slid the keycard through the slot, Josh’s heart stuttered. His stomach swooped.

What if this time it didn’t work? What if this time they set off an alarm? What if this time, their luck had run out.

With every swipe, the doors opened.

No alarms blared. No guards came running. All was quiet. At least in this part of the prison. The part where no prisoners were allowed.

With one more click of the key card, the door swung open. Instead of revealing a long, grey, cold, steel hallway, it revealed a small room.

At one point, there had been some sort of organization system. He could see the faded tags of letters and numbers. The crumpled, old, water-stained boxes that lined the shelves. Their contents spilled out instead of sitting neatly in the box. Eventually, they had gotten so full, their seams bulging and warping, that nothing else could fit.

Then, instead of going through the inventory or getting more boxes, the guards decided to pile them all over the room. Stacked in corners and on tables. Chains tangled together until they resembled rat kings more than jewelry.

How anyone was supposed to find anything was beyond Josh. That might have been the point. You couldn’t present evidence if there was no evidence to present. How many of these jewelry pieces had been from ordinary citizens; never produced in court to prove they were innocent necklaces?

Elijah didn’t seem to mind the mess as he dug right in. He grabbed fistfuls of tangled chains and tarnished runes, picking out what he wanted. He handed them to Brenner to begin the tedious task of picking apart the knots.

“Here, I want this one.” Elijah shoved a fistful of necklaces at Josh. He pointed to one in the center. Josh wrinkled his nose but dutifully began to pick apart the chains.

“All of these can make you invisible?” Josh managed to detangle one. It had a different rune on it than the one Thea had.

It had carved onto its metallic surface the image of a deer surrounded by flames. Three runes hung above the deer, though it was hard to make them out through the grime.

“That one increases the distance of fire power, dear. Literally.” Elijah plucked it out of Josh’s hands and stared at it. As if trying to find something. Whatever he wanted to find, he didn’t. He tossed it back down on the ground.

“Oh.” Josh decided it was best to ignore the rest of the necklaces. To focus on the one Elijah had asked for.

He had seen exactly two necklaces that were supposed to make you invisible. Brenner’s was different from Thea’s. It seemed like this whole rune business was much more complicated that he initially thought.

He felt rather stupid and useless, standing there picking at the thin metal chains while Elijah pulled out piles after piles. He seemed to find what he was looking for immediately.

“How do you know which runes to find?” he asked, hoping the conversation could help ease the awkwardness.

“I lived on the borderlands. These sorts of things came into my life all the time.” He looked wistful for a second. “There was a man who would sell all sorts of trinkets to people. No one cared if you magical runes or not. A lot of people bought from him. If the witches ever decided to attack, the soldiers wouldn't help us. It was another bit of protection so to speak.”

He shook himself out of his wistfulness and continued searching. “I think I got all the ones still holding a charge. They’re weaker, due to their age. They should do well enough. We should try to keep ourselves out of the line of sight for the guards anyway.”

Josh finished picking apart his pile. Elijah took it from him, examined it, then nodded to himself. He lopped the charm around Josh’s neck and smiled. “There you go. All nice and hidden now.”

Josh expected to feel… something when the necklace came to rest on his breastbone. Maybe his skin would tingle or his face would feel numb. Maybe he’d look down and see his hands translucent. Instead, he felt normal. He was solid. Completely solid.

“Are you sure these will work? I don’t feel like I’m invisible.”

“They don’t turn you invisible.” Brenner looped his own necklace around his neck. “They make it so people are less likely to pay attention to you. Yeah, they work.”

“You can tell because of the warmth.” Elijah explained, more helpful than Brenner. “It’s not cool to the touch like most metals.”

While he did trust Elijah to tell the truth, it still surprised him when he realized he was right. It was warm. It hadn’t been on his body long enough to absorb his body heat, which meant the heat came straight from the metal.

It wasn’t exactly hot, but it was warm. Almost as if it had sat out in the sun instead of in a dark, windowless concrete room. He could see now why Elijah was certain this one was older and less powerful. It didn’t feel powerful in his hands. How hot could the more powerful ones could get?

He looked down. This one had no deer on it. Just the runes. Five of them. Each geometric shapes and lines. Surprisingly simple. He would have thought magic would require a lot of squiggles and complex symbols. A simple triangle with a line bisecting it seemed almost childish. Like doodles in the sand.

He let it drop.

“We need to get Thea out.”

“Well tough luck,” Brenner said. “There must be thousands of prisoners in here. Unless you’re planning on opening every door, we’ll never find her. The more doors we open, the more likely we are to get caught.” He nodded to himself as if he had found a fatal flaw in Josh’s plan.

He wasn’t wrong. The prison was large. The longer they stayed, the more likely someone would catch them.

“Or we can go look at the prisoner manifest,” Elijah said. “This place is woefully unorganized, but they need to know which prisoner is where in case they need to be interrogated. I don’t think the shadow guards would be pleased to have to wait for hours while the guards search every cell.”

“Where is this prisoner manifest?” Brenner asked, still sounding smug. Like he had found a way to get out of this suicide mission.

“Probably in the guard shack,” Elijah answered back.

Brenner glared at Elijah, wrinkling his nose.

Josh clapped him on the back. “By the way, I would have had you look at every cell until we found her.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Why not you? This is your stupid plan?”

“I don’t care if you get caught.”

Brenner sputtered.

That wasn’t a lie. If he got caught, Josh would not do anything to help him. To save him. He dug his grave when he killed Ethan. For that, he would never forgive. He would never forget.

They slid through the door and made their way to the Guard Shack.

A guard passed around the corner. Josh practically tackled Elijah and Brenner into a corner. They were out in the open. Someone could see them. Especially under the bright white lights of the prison.

The guard didn’t glance their way. Didn’t stop. Didn’t slow down. His eyes didn’t glance over to them. He stared straight ahead and shuffled, complaining about his back and lack of breaks.

“Holy shit,” Josh hissed. “These are amazing.”

“Remember, they don’t make you invisible.” Elijah reminded him.

Once more Josh felt waves of anxiety shlep off his back. He could practically feel it rolling from his shoulders to his feet. This was what it was like to not have to constantly be worried about other people? He could get used to this.

The guard shack wasn’t empty. Only one lone guard in it.

“Wait here,” Elijah said. “I’ll get the manifest.”

“Wait,” Josh grabbed him before he could slip through the doors.

“Josh, we can’t all go in. That would be too much for the runes to handle. I can slip in and out easy.”

He didn’t like it. If Elijah was caught, it’d be the end. He didn’t want to put him in anymore danger than he already was in.

Elijah kissed him. A simple peck. “Trust me.”

When he said it like that, Josh felt helpless. He didn’t let go of Elijah’s arm, but loosened his grip enough for it to slip out of his hand, leaving his palm feeling tingly and cold.

He watched through a crack in the door as Elijah strode inside, head held high, directly behind the guard. His footsteps soft and light.

He licked his lips. The guard didn’t move, didn’t blink, didn’t seem to acknowledge Elijah in any way.

He didn’t breathe. He didn’t blink. Beside him, Brenner sat rigid.

Elijah, confident as ever, found what he was looking for. A simple notebook. Something so laughably low-tech Josh wondered why they didn’t keep the prisoner manifest on the computers.

He flipped through it and found what he needed. Then, he walked out just as easily.

The door slipped shut. They took off down the hall.

“Cell Block 5, Row 3, Cell D,” Elijah said.

“That easy?” Josh asked.

“I know you’re used to things being difficult, but sometimes the Deer-Headed God does smile down upon us.”

They rounded a corner.

“It’s a deer. It can’t smile,” Levi grumbled.

“I was under the impression that he hated me and all other non-witches.” Josh added.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Hush. Come on. We’re almost there.”

The run to Thea’s cell went smoothly. In fact, it went so smoothly that Josh was suspicious. Smooth didn’t exist for him. There was always something else. Another kink in the plan waiting to mess with him. Here, there was nothing. The guards didn’t notice them. The cameras didn’t turn back on. The runes kept them hidden. Maybe Elijah was right. Maybe the Deer-Headed God had smiled down upon them.

He remembered seeing him in the restaurant, staring into Josh’s soul. He clearly had an affinity for Thea in one way or another. Perhaps he didn’t want his favorite witch to die.

Or perhaps he knew about Josh’s mission. The deer skull above the death temple saw everything. Everything died. Everything decayed. Perhaps this was his way of ensuring Josh’s mission was a success.

“It’s sad that you’re so used to tragedy that when things go right, you think it’s a trick,” Brenner hissed beside him.

“That thinking has kept me alive.” Josh argued.

They finally got to Thea’s cell. Brenner swiped his key card. The door slid open with a loud bang. The metal screeching against itself; grinding rust against rust.

Josh whipped around, wondering if the guards would come to investigate the noise. No one came. At least, not yet. They had to hurry though. Their luck was running out. Josh could feel it. He could practically see the hour glass with sands slipping through the small hole.

He gasped at Thea’s state.

“You don’t look so hot either,” she said.

Josh didn’t hear her; he was too focused on her injuries. Being a witch, they couldn’t throw her in jail with no other safe guards.Instead, she was strung up in iron shackles. Hands covered in iron mittens so her fingers couldn’t move with magic. He could see the burns peaking through. It had to be excruciating. It wasn’t just the burns. Bruises and cuts littered her body. One had opened up, dripping blood onto the floor. A steady drip, drip, drip as it left a puddle beneath her body.

“Now what, Sans?” Brenner asked.

“What do you mean now what? Get her out of here,” he said. “You have the key card.”

“The key card won’t work. This is old tech. It needs a key.”

“Then why didn’t you say that before? We could have found one!”

“Do you not know how witch prisoners are held?”

“No, I don’t know! I would have thought we’d use technology to keep them from using their powers.”

“Oh, for the love of the gods,” Elijah pushed past them and strode up to Thea, who had been watching their conversation with mild amusement. “Hello, My name is Dr. Healer, I’ll be–”

“Eli, you’re not giving her a check up,” Josh said.

“Do you see these cuts? It’ll be a miracle if they aren’t infected!”

“You people don’t run rescue operations often, do you?” she asked.

“No.” Came the unanimous reply.

“Someone do something. We’re running out of time,” Brenner said.

“Can you pick a lock?” Josh asked.

“Do I look like I know how to pick a lock?”

“Honestly, no. You’re useless.”

“Both of you, knock it off,” Elijah said. “Josh, give me your utility knife. The small one. I’m going to pick the lock.”

“Ah, a man who takes charge. I like that.” Thea did not seem bothered at all by the state of her body.

Josh handed it to him, the argument with Brenner dying as he turned his attention to this new piece of information. “Since when do you know how to pick locks?”

“Since I was five. I wanted to be a spy. It was a useful skill to have. I was quite good at one point.”

“You found enough locks to pick?” Brenner asked.

“Borderlands, remember. Not a lot of technology out there. Now hush, I need to get to work.” He stuck his tongue out and began working on the lock.

Josh decided to leave him to it. He stuck his head back outside the jail cell door to keep watch. No guards yet. Good, they had time.

They had to pick the locks, sneak Thea out of here and then… Well, he wasn’t sure what to do after that. He still needed Thea to help him, but wasn’t sure where she should stay in the meantime. It wasn’t like his apartment had enough room to house her. He was under suspicion already. A lot of inspections were in his future. Maybe they could talk about it on the walk back.

“Got it!” Elijah cried.

Josh turned when the heavy iron chains dropped from the ceiling. He winced as it clattered to the ground, echoing through the cell block.

“Brenner!” he hissed.

“What?”

“You didn’t think to catch it?”

Brenner rolled his eyes. “Sorry for not divining what you needed me to do. Next time, I’ll read your mind.”

Josh was tired. He was stressed. He was going through a crisis of faith. He helped a witch escape custody. He worked with a traitor. To put it simply: he was on edge. Currently Brenner was the only person he felt he could take out his frustrations on.

“Thanks for the rescue.” Thea flashed a predatory grin at Josh.

“You don’t seem that put out that you were about to be executed.” Josh crossed his arms and glared at her.

Thea shook out her hands as Elijah removed the iron mitts. The skin was raw and blistering. As soon as the mitts came off, it started to heal.

“I’m still not helping you. I gave you some advice. You best take it.”

“Advice? What advice?” Brenner’s brow furrowed.

Thea opened her mouth to answer, but Josh cut her off. “No. I am going to end this war my own way. You are going to give me a straight answer. I know you know more than you’re saying.”

“You didn’t save me due to kindness?” Thea’s grin widened.

Josh hesitated. “You didn’t turn me in.”

“I could have.”

“Exactly. You also know more than you’re telling me.”

“Exactly.”

“We can talk about this later,” Elijah hissed. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Right.” Josh nodded. “Right.” They were so close. He could practically taste the freedom.

“Why is the door on Cell D open?” someone called.

“Shit!” Josh scrambled back against the wall. “Do you think these runes will be enough for them to ignore us?”

“Nope!” Thea said cheerfully. “Now that they know they’re looking for something, those runes won’t be enough to stop them.”

“Shit,” Brenner mirrored Josh’s stance, pressing his back against the wall. “Could you try not sounding so cheerful?”

Thea shrugged. “Hey, this wasn’t my plan. I’m going along for the ride. So, captain what’s the plan?”

Everyone turned to him. Josh felt like screaming. Why did he have to be the one with the plan? Brenner technically outranked him. He was getting sick of committing crimes. Just once he’d like to push the decision-making onto someone else. Let someone else deal with the fallout.

“Josh, what’s the plan?” Elijah begged.

More people shouted. More boots stomped on the ground. The cells were locked down. The entire prison was locked down. He had to make a choice. If he didn’t, then Elijah would get dragged down with him. He’d get executed. Josh refused to let that happen.

He turned to Thea. “Can you make a deal with a demon to get us out of here?”

Thea looked taken aback. “I mean, yeah, but it’s going to cost you.”

“I see other people in the cell! Get the iron! Shoot on sight.”

“Anything,” Josh said.

“Don’t say that. Demons take things literally.” Thea’s gaze hardened. “Alright, give me a second. Let me see who’s here. What specifically do you want?” She looked down at her hand.

“Get us back in one piece to Elijah’s and my apartment.” He then added, “Without bloodshed.” He didn’t know if he needed to spell that out. He assumed it was implied, but also didn’t want to take the chance.

“Got it. Back to the apartment in one piece. Without bloodshed. I’m assuming alive? Let’s see what we got.”

“It’s implied!”

“Nothing is implied with a demon. Eh, I’ll iron out the kinks.” Thea shrugged as the letters on her hands swirled.

He saw a deer-headed figure shimmering behind Thea’s shoulders. He saw a throne of bones with blood seeping from the ground.

“You, hands in the air! Don’t move!” Someone shouted.

“Josh?” Elijah pressed himself against the side of the cell.

“Seriously, Sans, come up with something,” Brenner said.

“Thea?” He looked to her, her eyes unfocused for a beat before she blinked rapidly, shook herself out of her shock, and turned to him.

“Does anyone have anything to eat?” She still did not sound the slightest bit put out by the fact that hey all might die in a few seconds.

The guards began firing. All four of them pressed themselves on opposite sides of the cell, hoping to escape the bulk of the bullets. It seemed no one was brave enough to enter a cell with potentially five witches stuffed inside.

“Really? Now?” Elijah cried.

“It’s payment for our ride.” She waved her hand in the air. The letters had shifted once more into a contract. If Josh wanted to take the time, he could almost make out the entire conversation between Thea and the demon negotiating the terms.

“I have a granola bar.” Elijah tossed it over to her.

“Fantastic!” Thea caught it and dropped it in the hole in her hand. A skeleton hand popped out. Elijah and Brenner looked queasy upon seeing it. At this point, Josh had seen way more grotesque stuff.

“Now then, over we get.” Thea looped an arm around Josh’s shoulders and dove to the other side of the cell with Elijah and Brenner. He felt something hot split his side. He must have been shot.

“Let’s get out of here,” Thea pulled Brenner under her arm. Elijah darted around to grab Josh.

He blinked.

Much like when Micah had sent him back in time, he was in a completely different place.

Not the prison.

Not the jail cell.

His apartment.

“What was that?” Elijah gasped, stumbling forward.

Josh rushed to his side. This was it. He died from radiation poisoning. They were in the forest. There was a child. Elijah couldn’t stand for long without getting tired.

He was about to die.

He was an endling.

He couldn't live with himself.

He was about too–

“Josh, it’s alright. Breathe,” Elijah said, his hands around his. They weren’t cold and clammy. They were warm.

“Sorry,” he said.

Thea studied him while Brenner’s brow furrowed and he cocked his head to the side.

“That was a deal with a demon. Tricky beasts. If you’re good at contract law, you can get them to do about anything,” Thea said.

“You’re fucking insane.” Brenner collapsed back on the couch. “All you people are.”

Safe. They were safe.

Wait! He had been shot! He scrambled to look at his side, trying to see what the damage was.

“Woah, Josh what is it?” Elijah asked.

“I got shot!” Only, he couldn’t see any evidence of it. There was a tear in his shirt, but that may have happened when he fell into the pile of scrap. “I could have sworn I did.”

Elijah leaned over to take a look. “Maybe it got close enough for you to feel the heat. I don’t see any damage.”

“Right. Maybe.” Gods, he was tired. And stressed. He wanted this day to end.

“Well thank you for the rescue. I’ll be on my way now,” Thea said.

Josh’s eyes snapped open. “You can’t go.”

“Yeah, I need to clean those cuts,” Elijah said.

“No, not that. You can’t go. I need you. I need your information.”

Thea glared at him. “Believe it or not, I don’t have to listen to you. I can crush you like a bug.”

“If you’re powerful, then why have you gotten caught twice?”

“Maybe I wanted to get caught.”

“I doubt that.”

“Regardless, it’s probably not a good idea for anyone to go anywhere right now,” Brenner said.

“Why not?” Josh asked.

All three of them turned to him. No longer sitting, he was now by the curtains, peaking out.

“Deer and Preston just showed up with about two dozen MPs.”

Ruse

Josh’s brain stopped working for a second. They knew. They knew he had kidnapped Brenner to break Thea out. Now they were coming to arrest and execute them all.

He wouldn’t get a trial.

He wouldn’t stand before a judge.

He wouldn’t plead his case.

Straight to executioner’s row for him.

He didn’t blame them. He had broken so many laws tonight. Every night. Ever since Canyon Pass he had been hiding things. Sneaking around. Not telling anyone the truth. Not to mention that Deer was a spy and probably looking to clean up loose ends.

Brenner may not have been directly communicating with him. That didn’t mean Deer was innocent in all of this.

Preston and Deer made their way to the front door of the apartment building. Preston smiled up at him. Did he see Josh staring out the window? It didn’t matter.

That smile kicked his brain into gear. The part responsible for making plans. For getting his soldiers out of situations alive. The part responsible for making sure his missions succeeded. It was an automatic process. One brought about through years of training and fighting on the front lines. Where the difference between life and death was a few seconds. One choice. One command.

He ripped the necklaces off of him and Elijah and threw them at Brenner and Thea. Then, before either of them could question, he shoved them in the closet of their bedroom.

“Strip,” he said to Elijah as he yanked off his shirt.

Torn, bloody, covered in rust and dust. Thankfully, he hadn’t been shot which meant he didn’t have a bunch of blood seeping out of him. Though, his bandages from earlier looked a little worse for wear.

“Really? Now?” Regardless of his confusion, he pulled off his clothes.

“We need to look like we haven’t been running around and breaking into prisons after curfew. It’d be weird for us to still be fully dressed at this time of night.” He wiggled out of his pants. Or, tried to. He didn’t get far considering he was still wearing his shoes. He kicked those off.

“Fair point.” Elijah pulled off his own clothes. “Can you get the door? I don’t want them breaking it down again.”

Josh shook his head in exasperation and went to the door. He was not interested in losing another one tonight.

He looked out of the peephole. It seemed like only seconds had passed. Not enough time for Deer and Preston to get from the ground floor to their apartment. Yet, here they were. Rounding the corner and coming down the hall with an army of MPs.

From the closet, Brenner and Thea were silent.

Josh didn’t know how they would get out of this one. The cameras were down in the prison. He couldn’t have that as evidence. He didn’t know how much the guards at the prison had seen, though. They may have recognized Josh, Brenner, and Elijah. That would be harder to get out of. But not impossible. So long as he wasn’t on any cameras, they couldn’t prove anything. If they couldn’t prove anything, then Weaver might still be on his side. And they hadn’t entered through the front door so the main camera in the living space wouldn’t have caught them. The one in the kitchen had been broken for years now so that wasn’t going to give them any evidence.

Josh had to stay calm and relaxed. He had been at home with Elijah all evening. There was no evidence they had been out.

At least, he didn’t think so. Gods, he hoped he hadn’t missed something. Josh wasn’t sure he could trust his mind. It felt like details slipped away. Things he hadn’t noticed now getting called into question. Had the cameras caught the glare from Elijah’s glasses? Were there other cameras he failed to notice? What day was it?

A constant struggle to figure out what happened before he died, or after. What timeline was he in? Was Ethan alive or dead?

He pressed his tongue against his teeth. They didn’t move.

He waited until one of the MPs had his hand raised, ready to bang on the door.

Josh swung it open. “Do you mind?” he asked in as deadpan of voice as possible.

He hadn’t broken any rules. He was a citizen, tired of constantly getting arrested because one man didn’t like him. It was late. He wanted to go to bed. The sooner they could get this over with, the better.

The MP froze, clearly not prepared for such a confrontation. Normally, people didn’t open the door. They didn’t welcome the MPs into their homes. They sat, huddled in the corners, quiet and fearful. As if that would get them to go away. Usually it didn’t.

Usually, they broke down the door. They filled the room with gas that burned your nose, lungs and throat until you coughed up blood. Then the MPs would storm in, tackle you to the ground. They’d smash your face, your hands, your legs. Anything to keep you stunned and unable to move, even if the gas was already doing a good job of that. Josh supposed he should feel grateful that Preston hadn’t used the gas earlier. Their apartment would have been uninhabitable for weeks afterward if that had happened.

Preston shoved past the MPs, ready to demand his arrest once again. As soon as he stepped forward, his eyes swept over Josh’s body and he went silent, gaping like a fish.

Deer stepped up behind him. Much less pushy and seeming a lot more put out by the whole experience. His nose wrinkled in disgust.

“You couldn’t have put on some clothes?” He gestured at Josh, who was only wearing some underwear and nothing else.

Josh had never had a problem with nudity or lack of clothing. Growing up in a group home, it was inevitable to see several people naked a day. Same out on the front lines. When you slept out in the open, eventually, you saw some stuff. People like Preston and Deer found nudity shameful, for whatever reason. Something to be hidden away. Something only revealed to lovers.

Josh didn’t get it. This was his default state. Besides, he was in his own apartment. He should wear what he wanted. Societal ideals about clothing and how much skin to show could wait. For now, he had to stay in control of the situation.

He had gotten control when he answered the door before they could knock. Then he solidified it when he showed up in his underwear. Now, how to keep it? Should he be snarky? Apologize? Offer up an explanation? Ignore the question entirely?

“I did.” He answered.

He felt gleeful as Preston’s face looked confused for a second. Then his eyes widened as he realized what Josh implied. Seriously, did this man not undress ever?

Josh decided to turn and focus most of his attention to Deer. Preston could do a lot of damage, but he was also a spineless idiot. Deer was the real threat here.

“I didn’t want my apartment to be gassed, sir. Elijah requested we not lose another door. We got this one after the last raid.” He kept his tone as neutral as possible.

Preston squawked. “That’s… you’re in contempt! Arrest him now!” He swerved to face the MPs, jamming a finger in Josh’s direction.

The MPs didn’t move; looking to Deer for confirmation.

Deer hummed thoughtfully. “Not yet, Preston.”

“What? What do you mean not yet? I’m telling you people, it was him! You heard the guards. How many six foot tall black men are there in this city?”

Shit. They had seen him. And, yeah, Josh didn’t exactly blend in.

“I’m six foot four.” He offered up instead. As if an extra four inches would make a difference here. “What are you talking about? What guards? You mean the MPs from the sandwich shop?”

“No! The guards from the prison!” Preston screeched. His face turned red. A vein began to throb.

“Prison?” Josh furrowed his brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir. Unless you mean the interrogation room? I still don’t get why you would need their testimony to prove I was there. You know I was there. You’re the one who did the interrogation, sir.”

This was fun. Riling up Preston was fun.

Deer stepped through the door. “Preston, shut up.”

Preston let out another undignified squawk. However, he was not in a position to argue with Deer.

“Approximately thirty minutes ago, the cameras at the maximum security prison went out.”

Josh’s heart pounded in his chest. He stood still, trying to keep his face as impassive as possible. Let nothing go until they say they know something. Until they accused him of something. He kept his breaths even and his stance guarded, yet neutral. He tilted his head to the side so he appeared intrigued, confused, but curious as to where this was going.

“Then it was found that the witch we arrested a few days ago had escaped. The guards saw three people in the cell with her. While the other two men were fairly nondescript, the third one matched your description rather well.

Josh’s ears burned as they strained to hear Elijah from the other room. He hadn’t come out yet. Was he talking to Brenner and Thea? Was he trying to hide them better? Maybe Thea made another deal with a demon to get herself out of there. While Josh wouldn’t blame her, he also couldn’t let that happen. If Thea slipped through his fingers, the one lead he had to figuring this out would be gone forever. He’d never find her again.

Deer turned to look at him. Josh waited for him to continue, but he didn’t speak a word. Josh had taken control early on. Deer was now trying to get it back. Honestly, an easy task when Preston stayed out of the way and quiet.

The MPs shifted from foot to foot, batons at the ready in case they needed to subdue Josh.

When it became clear that Deer wasn’t going to speak until Josh did, he cleared his throat.

Of course, Deer would expect him to make an argument that it wasn’t him. Maybe point out that Thea was also exceptionally tall. Maybe the other tall person in the cell with her was another witch. They did seem to be much taller than the average non-witch.

Josh didn’t do that. He wasn’t going to argue with Deer. Every argument he made could be disproven. Could be discounted. Deer may try to get the power back, but Josh wasn’t going to let him win.

“Okay, sir. Do you need me to set up a search party? I have experience tracking witches. I know a few soldiers who could help out.”

Deer’s brow twitched slightly. Josh couldn’t tell if he had walked right into his trap, or avoided it, therefore pissing him off. Or maybe by avoiding it, he earned a modicum of respect.

“You are a known associate of the witch.”

“I wouldn’t say having a spell cast on me that confused me to the point where I thought I was eating human meat would make me an associate of her.”

“What the fuck?” one of the MPs whispered.

“He’s lying! You saw those photos!” Preston burst out.

“I said shut up. If you don’t, I’ll arrest you,” Deer barked.

“For gods’s sake.” Elijah stepped out of the bedroom with a sheet wrapped around him.

Several of the MPs turned their guns toward him.

This got Josh to move as he jolted to stand slightly in front of him. Last time, he had been lucky that Elijah hadn’t been hurt. This time, however, he didn’t want to take that chance. He would not let any of them lay a hand on him.

Elijah, for his part, seemed unfazed at the fact that there were now at least ten firearms pointed in his direction.

“The prison is an hour’s walk from here. You said the cameras were out for thirty minutes. When did the guards see the three intruders?”

Preston sputtered. Deer tilted his head did not speak.

“My point exactly. Please explain to me how Josh would have had time to get to the prison, turn the cameras off, break out a witch, and then get back here? Without getting spotted by any other camera in this city, might I add?”

“Magic!” Preston cried. “He broke out a witch. She used magic.”

“Is there a spell that can transport you that quickly?” Josh asked.

He needed to tread very carefully.

“If you weren’t at the prison, then where were you?” Deer asked.

“Having sex,” Elijah said casually.

“Eli!” Josh choked.

Then he realized that with the way Elijah had wrapped the sheet around him, it did look like he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Josh had implied that he had been naked prior to answering the door. Not to mention their clothes were scattered around the room. Damn, he didn’t plan that. It worked for him, though.

Deer frowned, thoroughly unimpressed.

One of the MPs shifted, uncomfortable. “I… that’s…”

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Just because your wife refuses to be in the same room as you doesn’t mean my husband and I have the same problems.”

“Eli,” Josh hissed. “Now is not the time.”

“They asked what we were doing, I’m going to be honest. Do you want me to go into detail about the positions or anything?”

The MPs face turned beet red. He continued to sputter.

“That is disgusting!” Preston said. “And defiant and… and you should all be arrested for insubordination!”

“Enough,” Deer snapped. “Well, you two were obviously here and not doing anything illegal, then you won’t mind if we look through your apartment and see-”

“If we’re hiding a witch?” Elijah interrupted him, staring him straight in the eyes.

“Eli–”

“Shouldn’t you arrest us? That’s normally how it goes.”

“Let’s not give them any ideas!” Josh said.

“I’m just saying that I don’t think that Deer thinks there’s a witch in here. Otherwise, he’d have us both handcuffed both and dragged out to some unmarked van in which we would never be seen again while they tore the room apart. The only reason they’re here is because Preston keeps kicking up a fuss. No one is taking his accusations seriously.”

“I am not kicking up a fuss!” he shouted. “I have evidence. I know Sans is up to something. I know he’s involved in this somehow! I’m going to prove it.”

Damn, Preston was more or less spot on. A rare occurrence for him. Then again, a broken clock was right twice a day.

Deer’s brow twitched once more. “You are trying my patience.”

“And you mine.” Elijah counted.

“Elijah!”

Elijah looked between the two of them. Then his shoulders slumped forward. “Fine. By all means, tear our apartment apart once again. Though, logically, there’s no way for us to have gotten back from the prison in the time you’re saying we did.”

Deer studied them both for a minute. Josh had to fight not to shrink under his hard gaze. Elijah stared back, equally as hard. Arms crossed, head cocked to one side as if daring Deer to make a move. To arrest him. To shoot him.

The one thing that made Josh relax was knowing Elijah was right. If Deer truly thought they were hiding a witch in here, he would have long since arrested them and dragged them out the door. The fact that he didn’t meant that they might still have a chance to get out of this. So long as they didn’t look in the closet.

Finally, Deer broke his staring contest with Elijah. He turned to the MPs. “Search the place.”

Preston let out a triumphant ‘hmph’. “I’ll show everyone who you are, Sans. I’ll prove that you’re the enemy here.”

“Preston, quit talking. Go with them,” Deer said.

“What? But–”

“This is your operation. Make sure they do a thorough job.”

Preston slumped and he stepped past Deer.

Deer grabbed his arm. “If you don’t find anything, this will be the last time anyone takes your accusations seriously. You better hope they find something.”

Preston’s face paled. He stepped past Josh, knocking their shoulders together, glaring at Elijah.

Elijah glared back, not relaxing even as Josh let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully they’d do a quick look around the place, determine nothing was here. Then they’d leave Josh alone. It’d be nice to humiliate Preston and ruin his reputation. Though, he couldn’t relax too much. Thea and Brenner were hiding. The closet wasn’t that big. If someone opened the door, they would see them. Then it’d all be over.

“You can’t go in there.” Elijah pulled Josh out of his worries.

He darted to their bedroom to see what was going on. He already knew. His worst nightmare. The one place he prayed they wouldn’t look. The one place he knew they would.

Deer followed after him.

“Dr. Healer,” one of the MPs said, standing right near the closet door with her hand on the handle.

Preston brightened considerably. “Oh, is there something in there you don’t want me to see, Dr. Healer? Something you’re hiding? I knew you had something to do with this.”

Elijah looked unimpressed. “Patient files are in there. I know how you work. You’re going to open up the closet and start reading them.”

“We have every right to,” the MP stated.

“Absolutely not. Patient confidentiality–”

“Means nothing when it comes to the safety and security of the State,” Preston said.

“Unless you think they turned into paperwork, they’re not going to be hidden in the files.”

“Oh, I don’t think they turned into paperwork. I think you’re using that as an excuse to keep us out of here.”

“I will not have you go digging in my patient records just so you can read who has gout and ulcers and all that,” Elijah growled.

Deer pinched his brow. “Dr. Healer, we will not read any of the files. If that makes you feel better. I will open the door and look inside.”

Preston sputtered. “What? But–”

“Are you suggesting that I would see a witch, and leave them be?” Deer turned to Preston, accusatory.

Preston deflated. Elijah did not.

“I don’t trust you,” Elijah said.

They were stuck. The more Elijah pushed back, the more suspicious Deer would become. They were already pushing their luck with all this arguing. It was only a matter of time before it was pushed too far. If they saw Thea and Brenner…

Actually…

That would be a great plan! He could say Brenner showed up at his apartment, angry that he had foiled Canyon Pass and threatened to kill Elijah if he didn’t help them escape. It wouldn’t get him out of jail, but it might get Elijah out of it.

He strode past the three arguing men, up to the closet door, and wrenched it open to reveal…

Nothing.

Wait, what?

Nothing but Elijah’s stack of files and a long coat that had definitely not been there before.

Everyone peaked around Josh’s shoulders. If he kept looking shocked, it would only lead to more suspicions.

“Ta-da.” He gestured to the closet. “No witches. A lot of paperwork. Some ill-fitting uniforms. And scrubs stained with various bodily fluids. Are you happy?”

Deer’s eyes still narrowed in suspicion, and poked his head in. “Where did you get that coat?”

“It was my grandmother’s.” Elijah lied smoothly. Much more smoothly than Josh ever could. “We are allowed to keep one family heirloom. I kept the coat. I get cold in the winter when Josh isn’t around to keep me warm.”

The MP sniffed. “Smells like mothballs.”

“So did grandma.”

Preston went to pick up a piece of paper.

“You did promise not to read any files,” Elijah snapped.

Deer shot Preston a glare that had the man withdraw his hand.

“I suppose we did,” Deer said.

“Sir!” Preston argued.

“Did I stutter?”

Preston hesitated, then shook his head. “No, sir. Men, you heard him. Finish checking the apartment.”

“Don’t know why you needed to bring so many. This place is the size of a shoebox,” Elijah grumbled.

He shivered slightly. Fuel rations were running low. They didn’t have the luxury of turning on the heat. The weather had warmed considerably, but it’d be awhile until it stayed warm enough to keep the chill off the night. Josh wrapped his arms around him to warm him up.

“Cold, Dr. Healer?” Deer almost sounded like he was enjoying this.

Elijah smiled. “I would be warmer if you hadn’t interrupted us.”

Josh went to hide his face in Elijah’s neck. “Please stop talking.”

Preston came back into the room, shaking with rage. “All clear, sir.”

Deer nodded to him. “Good. Preston, this better not happen again. You’re on thin ice as is. You’ve wasted countless resources and man hours chasing this one conspiracy. If I were you, I’d lay low for a few months and not make a nuisance of yourself. Understood.”

“Yes, sir.” Preston ducked his head and refused to look at Josh.

“We’re keeping an eye on you, Lieutenant Sans.”

“Captain Sans,” Josh said, eager to rub it in Preston’s face that he got a promotion out of this whole thing.

Preston’s face turned apoplectic.

Deer frowned. “Captain Sans, this is now the third time you’ve been accused of colluding with the enemy.”

“The other times have been disproven.” Elijah argued.

Deer didn’t acknowledge Elijah’s statement. “For now. I would watch your back, Captain. One never knows who is watching you and what their intentions are. Soldiers, let’s move out. This has been an utter waste of an evening.”

With that, Deer and his horde of MPs were gone.

As soon as the door closed, Josh pulled open the closet to see Thea and Brenner peeking out from behind the coat.

“Where did that come from?”

“Her arm.” Levi stumbled out, shuddering.

“Your… what?” He turned to look at Thea who was, indeed, shoving the coat back into her arm until it became a tattoo.

“That’s not possible.” He gaped.

“Oh,” Thea grinned at him, “I assure you, it very much is.”

“I still don’t get why I needed to hide,” Brenner grumbled.

Elijah rolled his eyes. He pulled on a shirt and some sleep pants. “You don’t see why you needed to hide when my excuse was that we were in the middle of sex?”

Brenner turned red. “I could have been a third.”

“You are not on the list of people I would want as a third.”

Brenner glared at him.

Thea clapped a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Right. Thank you for the rescue, but I think it’s about time to go. See you around! Or not.”

“Hold it!” Elijah snapped. “No one is going anywhere. Not until we are all on the same page. Kitchen. Now.”

Discussion

“So, yeah. That’s about it.” Josh grimaced as he finished telling Brenner and Thea everything that had happened. From the bombs dropping to meeting up with Micah. To him getting sent back in time. Even after all this time, it still sounded insane. And he still couldn’t admit that he had died. That was… it was too much.

“And the whole, “I enchanted you into thinking you ate human meat” thing?” Thea asked.

“Oh, sometimes, when I see meat, it reminds me of all the rotting bodies from before.” Josh explained. “I hope that goes away eventually.”

“Huh. Yeah.”

Brenner took it better than he thought. He hadn’t declared Josh crazy and stormed out of the apartment yet, so that was a win. He stared, opened-mouth at him with his eyes bugging out of his head.

“That’s it?” he finally asked.

Elijah was next to Josh, a hand on his thigh, squeezing it occasionally to give him silent support. Gods, it felt good to tell someone again. It was like with each time he reiterated the story, it became a little less intense. A little less present. Maybe if he told the story enough times, it’d disappear entirely. It’d become another story. Up there with the likes of Sparky the Cat.

Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “Yup. That’s about it.”

“Are you insane?” Brenner turned to Elijah. “Is he insane? Did you test him to see if he was insane? This sounds like some sort of mental breakdown kind of shit.”

Elijah rolled his eyes. “I’m not a mental health professional. It’s not my job to look at the mental stability of people and determine if they’re having a mental breakdown.”

Brenner continued to stare at him.

Elijah shifted. “He doesn’t appear to be having a mental breakdown. At least, not at this moment.”

“I’m right here,” Josh said.

“Yeah. You’re saying that you’re from the future and we’re all going to die if we don’t trust you. Excuse me for not believing that you have the most sound mind at the moment.”

“I knew you were a spy. I knew you were responsible for Canyon Pass. How do you explain that?”

“I’m a terrible spy?”

“That is true,” Elijah said.

“Hey, resident witch here.” Thea waved at them. “He’s telling the truth. He wreaks of strong magic.”

Brenner crossed his arms. “It’s crazy. Witches can’t time travel.”

“Actually…” Thea started. The Deer-Headed God shimmered behind her for a moment before disappearing. “It’s not impossible. Though, it is difficult to do.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Brenner buried his face in his hands. “Then why don’t witches rewind time until they win every battle?”

“Who says they’re not?” Thea grinned at them.

All three of them stared back with the most unimpressed looks.

Thea’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, look, it’s hard to do. Really hard to do. Only someone at the very top or bottom of the diamond can do it. Your run-of-the-mill Water Truth or even Isaiah as an Order Truth can’t do it.”

“Creation or Decay are the only two who can do it right?” Josh asked. “Micah needed to reverse the decay process.”

“Exactly. Maybe Isaiah can do it. Or a Health Truth. But, one, it’s unlikely. Two, they probably wouldn't be able to rewind as much as they needed to. Certainly not several months worth of time. Three, you have to understand how life works. You have to understand life and death. Order and chaos. Disease and health. Every piece of the puzzle has to fit perfectly together. If you don’t understand that, you’ll end up killing the person. The person themselves has to have some sort of understanding about how the world works.”

“Micah did say the only reason I hadn’t gone mad was because I accepted my death,” Josh said.

Thea nodded.

“She also said something about lines and circles?”

“Oh, that!” Thea clapped her hands, grinning at them, near feral with glee. “Look, every person’s life is a line, right? You’re born. Then you die. Every single living thing moves along the line. Those lines don’t move independently of one another. They connect. They cross. Get enough connections and you get a circle. Got it?”

“Like how we eat plants and animals to stay alive?” Elijah asked.

“My head hurts.” Levi groaned.

“Exactly!” Thea nodded. “What Micah did was essentially move Joshua back along his line. Kind of like backing up a car.”

“She died, though. Did she have to die?”

“Probably. Like I said, this sort of shit isn’t easy. It isn’t common. My guess? She used every last ounce of energy to push you back as far as she could. That is what killed her, not the spell itself. Decay is a powerful thing. It’s the end of the line for an individual, but it’s necessary to keep the circle running.”

“If her Truth is Decay, that would make her one of the most powerful people in the world.” Elijah breathed. “Are there any other witches that would be in the Decay Truth?”

“Nope. Just her.”

“Why?”

“There’s one witch with the Creation Truth. It’s all about balance, see? One Creation Truth. One Decay Truth. The closer you get to the elemental Truths, the more there are. It’s still balanced.”

“What about the House of Order she talked about?” Josh asked.

“The witches don’t like the nastier aspects of life. Decay, Chaos, Disease, all that jazz. So, when a kid is revealed to have one of those Truths, they send them to the House of Order. They bill it as a rehab facility. You send your kids there. They come out as perfect little witches with no nasty Truths whatsoever.”

“I’m guessing it doesn’t work like that,” Brenner said.

“I’ve never been inside,” Thea said. “I do know that you can’t change someone’s Truth. They claim to have success stories. I don’t buy it. My guess is that they’ve managed to contextualize the Truth so it doesn’t look as nasty as before.”

“You never thought that maybe you should work to shut down the place where children are tortured because their families don’t like what their Truth’s are?” Elijah’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Believe it or not, I am only one person.” Thea glared at him.

“One person can do a lot of work.”

“Oh, yeah? How much have you been able to accomplish?”

Elijah opened his mouth to argue.

“Guys, knock it off.”

Was this how Elijah felt when he and Brenner argued? He’d have to do a better job at not getting riled up. If only to make Elijah’s life easier.

“If we manage to stop the immediate threat of those bombs falling, then we can work on the House of Order,” he said, hoping to placate Elijah for now.

“The House of Order is an immediate threat to the children getting sent there!” Elijah cried.

“The bombs are an immediate threat to everyone in the world.” He argued back. He took a deep breath to recenter himself. “Eli, I know you don’t want anyone to suffer, but this is war. Sometimes, we have to make choices that will hurt people to win the battle. Helping those kids will do no good if they die two weeks later from radiation poisoning.”

“Don’t talk to me about war! I’ve been suffering from it as long as you have. This war took my father away from me. It killed my mother and entire village. I refuse to sit back while people suffer.”

“You know, we do need to keep Micah from the House of Order, right?” Brenner said.

Josh glared at him. He wasn’t in the mood for another argument.

Brenner continued on, not caring about Josh’s glares. “So, logically, we can do both. We can take down the House of Order to protect the kids, and stop the bombs. Both goals feed into one another.”

Elijah and Josh stared at him.

“That is helpful,” he said.

Brenner frowned. “You do know part of my job in Intelligence is finding a way to meet multiple goals, right? I’m not an idiot.”

“No, but you are selfish.”

“Oh, for gods’ sake! I don’t know your brother. I didn’t kill him because I have some vendetta against him or you. I sold info to the witches because I’m trying to survive. Same as you.”

Josh went to argue, but Elijah put a hand on his shoulder. “Leave it, for now. We have more important things to worry about.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. He still wanted to punch Brenner in the face. “What’s the plan?”

Elijah sat back in his chair, taking a pen and drawing on his hand.

“You need to get to the Capitol before her Truth is revealed,” Thea said. “If she goes to the House of Order, you’re probably not going to see her again.”

He hoped there was some way for them to succeed without going to Osairae. However, even he could admit that plan wouldn’t work. They needed Micah. Micah was in Osairae. They needed to go to Osairae.

“I know. I know. How do I get there? I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m kind of under a lot of suspicion for doing, well, exactly what I did. There’s no way I can get up there. Besides, I don’t know how to find her once I get there. People will spot a non-witch immediately.”

“That’s a you problem. I’m leaving. Thanks for the rescue.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Elijah slapped Thea’s shoulder.

When he pulled his hand back, there was a small smudge of ink. Only, when Josh looked closer, it wasn’t a smudge at all. It was a rune.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“You’re helping us with this whether you like it or not.”

“Why me?”

“You’re the only witch we can trust right now.”

“You’re the only witch we know,” Josh said.

“That’s a tracking rune. Don’t think I won’t find you if you run away. I’m not putting up with it.” Elijah warned.

Thea sat back down and glared at him. “What do you want, then?”

“Do you think you could transport us there? Like you did from the prison. That would be the quickest. In and out,” Elijah said.

Thea frowned and looked at her hand. She swiped a few times before shaking her head. “The demons know we’re desperate. They’re asking for things like sacrificed virgins.”

Elijah paled at this.

“That’s what I thought.” Thea seemed smug.

“Besides, even if we got there and found her, what would we say to her?” Brenner asked. “She doesn’t know that Sans has seen the future. She’ll think you’re crazy. What is she supposed to do?”

“Decay the bombs away?” Josh suggested.

“That requires us to know where they are.” Brenner pointed out.

“Something we can figure out after we keep her from getting kicked into the House of Order.”

“Yes, but we don’t know how to approach her on this,” Elijah said.

That gave Josh an idea. He turned to Thea, still sulking at the table. “You said there was a Creation Truth, right?”

“Yeah?”

“What if we took her to them? They would help train her. Maybe. Especially since she’s new at this whole magic thing.”

“Oh, um, I guess,” Thea said. “That still doesn’t help the fact that you have no way of getting there.”

“Unless,” Brenner said, “We tell Weaver what we’re doing.”

“We can’t trust Weaver with this! Are you crazy?” Elijah cried.

“No, hear me out. We frame this like a mission. I’m in Intelligence. I caught something about Canyon Pass. Then Sans over here, desperate to prove he’s loyal, that he’s worthy of the promotion, offers to head it.”

“That might work,” Josh said.

He felt himself relax. Just a bit. This was what he was comfortable doing. This was what he was good at. Planning missions. Meeting goals. Once he framed it like that, his mind opened up with the possibilities.

“Right, we’re going to need a crew if this is to work. Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry could all be candidates, especially since they’re on my squad.

“If we’re looking at this from Weaver’s perspective, they all are loyal to you. They can’t be trusted not to also be traitors.” Elijah pointed out.

“Which is where you come in.” Josh turned to Brenner. “We don’t know each other that well. We aren’t friends. You work in Intelligence. It wouldn’t be that weird for you to want to do recon.”

“Hold on, just a second,” Brenner said. “I was only getting her out of prison. I never said I’d be willing to continue on after that.”

“You weren’t willing to continue on before that.” Elijah rolled his eyes. “So this shouldn’t be anything new for you.”

“Yeah… well… Just how long do I need to be a part of this?”

“You’re done when I say you’re done. You too, Thea.” Elijah crossed his arms and silently challenged the two of them to continue arguing.

“You’re useful to us,” Josh said. “You’re the only one who is technically straddling both sides right now. What with being a traitor and all.”

“You’re a traitor too!” Brenner spat. “You broke a witch out of prison and hid her from the MPs! Just because you’re not doing it for money doesn’t make you any less of a traitor to the cause.”

“The cause is ending the war. I am not a traitor!”

“And breaking out the witch was necessary? She hasn’t told us anything we don’t already know or couldn’t have figured out ourselves!”

“She is also right here and named Thea,” Thea said.

Josh opened his mouth to argue. Only, he couldn’t think of what to say. Brenner was technically right. Thea hadn’t exactly helped them. Micah didn’t say ‘find Thea’. She said ‘find me’. Josh knew where she would be and when. He didn’t need Thea any more. Yet, he still broke him out of prison.

“All of you knock it off,” Elijah said. “I’m tired. We have to convince the general tomorrow to let us wander around the Northern Territories on a wild goose chase. You two, out,” He pointed to the door.

“Hang on, what about the antidote?” Brenner asked.

Elijah blinked at him for a second before it dawned on him what he was talking about. “Oh! Yeah, that was some vitamin B12 I’ve been injecting you with. I didn’t poison you.”

Before Brenner could argue some more, Elijah unceremoniously pushed him and Thea out the door.

“Remember, I’ll hunt you down if either of you try to run.” He slammed the door shut.

He turned to Josh. “Bed, now.”

“Really?” Josh quirked a brow at him and crossed his arms.

“I’m tired. We have more work to do tomorrow. Bed.” He grabbed Josh’s hand and pulled him to the bedroom.

Once they collapsed on the mattress, Josh pulled him close. “Do you think Brenner and Thea will help us?”

“I’m not going to give them a choice,” Elijah muttered.

Control

Levi did not leave the apartment building of Healer and Sans for almost thirty minutes after Healer unceremoniously shoved him out.

The witch, Thea, hadn’t hung around for long. She had simply given him a cheery wave before disappearing into the darkness. What happened hadn’t seemed to disturb her. Still, Levi couldn’t find it within himself to be surprised. All witches were weird. He assumed Thea was no exception.

It was hard for him to figure the witch out. She seemed almost mythical in the way she moved. Flowing like water and shimmering like the light filtering through the leaves of a tree. Her tattoos flickered around her body, almost as if they were alive. As if she was a planet. They were her ecosystems. She claimed to be a music witch.

Levi didn’t buy that. Granted, he didn’t know many witches or what they could or couldn’t do. Just what Ice Man and his henchmen could do. Maybe Thea was normal for a music witch. Music was a fairly high Truth, after all. Still, there was something about her that seemed too powerful to exist. The way she spoke to demons. The way she conjured up that coat out of nowhere. The way she moved. It was altogether inhuman. He wasn’t looking at a mere witch who could make pretty music. He was looking at something much more powerful, much older than he thought possible.

Or maybe he was just underestimating the power of music. He had never had a particularly good ear for the stuff. He found the arts and humanities altogether a pointless and boring affair to pursue. Especially in the face of war, poverty, and starvation. Why draw a picture when there was a good chance you’d die the next day from one of the millions of things trying to kill you?

The thing that most confused him about Thea, though, and something Sans had picked up on, was that she seemed to be an open book. Yet, she was definitely hiding something. Levi was under the impression that even if he knew what it was, it wouldn’t change his perception of the woman. She was honest about what she wanted. What she was willing to do to get it.

He shivered remembering the look that passed over Thea’s face when she spoke to the demon. The way it blackened and sunk in. The uncanny way Thea stood still, like a lifeless doll until she snapped awake. Then, they were transported out of the prison. Thea was regularly making deals with these demons. So, how powerful was she?

Sans was another person who appeared to be an open book. Now that he knew what was going on, he knew why the man had been acting so strange earlier. He wasn’t sure if he bought the ‘travel back in time’ shit. Thea and Healer seemed to believe him. Sans did know more about Levi than he had any right too. For now, he’d play along.

Healer, though, did not seem to be fully honest. The way he broke into the prison. The way he knew which runes to search for. The way he slapped one on Thea to track her. To make sure she didn’t run away. All of it could be explained away innocently, but Levi got the impression something else was going on with him. Something that even Sans didn’t know about.

He ran his hand over his neck. Right where the bruises and burns would be had they hung him. He closed his eyes. If he focused hard enough, he could feel it. Feel the coarse rope digging into his skin. Irritating it. Turning it red, purple, black, blue, and yellow. He could feel something pressing on his windpipe. Hard enough to choke him. Except, when you were hung, you weren’t strangled. Your neck snapped.

Or, your neck should snap. Sometimes, either because the executioners were feeling particularly cruel or else they had done up the ropes wrong, sometimes you did suffocate. Swinging back and forth with a half-broken neck as your legs kicked out. Failing to get you some air. The pain screaming in your lungs. Everything so tight, you felt like your head was about to explode.

He opened his eyes, not wanting to entertain visions of his death.

Because he wasn’t going to die. He was alive. He was kicking around. No one knew of his betrayal. Well, no one except Healer, Sans, and Thea. That’s what worried him about Sans. Right now, the man’s motives were clear. He wanted to find this Micah kid. To get her to stop the apocalypse. Sans also seemed to struggle with his own morality. Levi could understand, no matter what Sans seemed to think.

He didn’t choose this lightly. He didn’t choose to become a spy for the witches lightly. The first time he had sold the information, he vomited after hearing how an entire squad had been wiped out.

Like Sans, he was doing his best to survive; to see the end of this thing. He didn’t start fighting to die. He started fighting because he wanted to live. Now, the lines were blurred on just how exactly to do that. So, he made a choice. Maybe it was a stupid choice but it was a choice. Just like Sans. Only, Sans was having a lot of trouble compartmentalizing exactly what he was doing. Healer would need to keep an eye on him. Because if Sans was pushed too far, there was a good chance that he’d tell Weaver everything. Levi wasn’t interested in seeing how his death played out in the original timeline, thank you very much.

In reality, Joshua Sans was a loose cannon. Only his belief that Micah could stop the apocalypse kept him moving forward.

Elijah Healer, on the other hand, scared Levi more than Joshua Sans and Thea combined. He never thought much of Doctor Healer. He was a good, upstanding citizen. A prodigy when it came to medical procedures. Which was why he held such a prestigious position at such a young age. He was known for his kindness. His skill with medicine. After tonight, Levi was starting to think that was all a lie.

Okay, maybe not a lie per say. He didn’t think Healer was putting on an act when he gave kids stickers or comforted the dying.

He so casually lied about poisoning Levi to get what he wanted. He didn’t seem to bat an eye at anything Sans or Thea asked to do. Hell, he seemed so at ease with the magical artifacts that made Levi’s skin crawl. Something about that man was dangerous. Very dangerous.

Did Sans know? He had a vicious attack dog who was only docile now because he had nothing to bite. What would it take for Healer to show his true colors? How would Sans take it?

Out of the three of them, Elijah Healer was the one Levi was going to have to keep the closest eye on. He trusted Thea to be upfront with her motives, even if she wasn’t upfront with everything else. He trusted that so long as finding Micah remained Sans’ priority Levi could predict his movements. He did not trust Elijah in the least. It almost seemed like he was fighting a completely different war. Only, he didn’t know what that war was. While Sans might hesitate to kill him, Healer would not. If he suspected Levi was a threat to the cause, he would be gone.

After thirty minutes of sitting in the darkened stairwell, a single lightbulb flickering on and off in the hallway. It gave off a sickly, greenish hue on the walls, buzzing loudly. He decided it was time to go. He couldn’t just sit here forever. People were going to get up to start the early morning shift. Levi had no reason to be in this part of the base. Especially not moping around like he was doing.

“I should kill myself,” he said to the dark, cool night.

No matter what Healer said, he didn’t think the cameras were as big of a problem as he made them out to be. He hadn’t gotten caught yet.

“Yeah, no more running around. No more worrying about Ice Man or Healer. I die on my own terms.” He still had a bit of time before the factory workers were let off and sent home.

He could do it tonight. He could go out into the forest and die from exposure. What a nice way to go.

“I am the captain of my own ship. I choose my destiny. I choose to die on my own terms.”

“Funny, you seem too cowardly to kill yourself.”

Levi froze. The temperature dropped several degrees. His fingers and toes ached. His breath came out in short puffs, looking like smoke as it exited his mouth.

His heart stuttered in his chest. No. This couldn’t be happening. Not here. Not now. Why couldn’t they leave him alone.

He couldn’t breathe. There was a stone crushing his chest. Only, when he looked down, he could see nothing. Only the short, stuttered, failed inhales and exhales of a man panicking.

“I could help you along.” Ice Man stepped into the light.

Dragging behind him was a terrified man. Skinny. Mangy. His hair knotted into a rats nest. He wore no shoes. His clothes were tattered and torn. A Sans. One not lucky enough to get into the military like Joshua Sans.

His sunburned face looked up at Levi, begging him for help with piercing blue eyes that cut through the wildness of his beard. He wasn’t wearing shoes. His toenails and fingernails long, jagged, yellow, with muck caked under them.

Ice Man waved his hand in the air. A throne made of ice manifested. He sat down on it. He put his hand on the Sans’s head as he whimpered and begged to be let go.

“Say the word. I’ll put you out of your misery, just like this miserable little rat.” Ice Man smiled.

Levi swallowed as ice began to crystalize in the man’s beard and hair. On his eyelashes and eyebrows. His ruddy skin paled then turned red. He shivered violently. On the rooftops, he thought he saw the air witch. The lack of oxygen seemed to only confirm her presence.

“That’s my job, after all, to put miserable non-witches out of their misery. Face it, you lot tried to start your own little government. You tried to be independent. Look at where it’s gotten you.”

The Sans’s whimpers turned to cries. He thrashed against Ice Man’s hand, trying to break it’s hold on his head. Ice Man had his fingers woven through the coarse, tangled strands. Ice coming from his fingers to further strengthen his hold.

“It’s gotten you pain. Suffering. A lifetime of misery. Do you think the witches would have ever allowed this poor man to get to this state?”

Levi swallowed, unable to answer as the ice climb up the man’s body. Thickening until it was close to six inches thick. Reaching his knees. His eyes bulged and his skin turned red as he no longer got the oxygen his body so desperately craved.

Levi’s own feet were locked in place. He gasped as he realized his legs had also been encased in ice. He wiggled his toes in his boots, desperate to keep the blood flowing so that he didn’t get frostbite. Would Healer be willing to heal him if he stumbled back to their apartment?

The air around him felt dry. So dry, blood dripped from his nose. Almost as if Ice Man was drawing water directly from it. The blood from his nose felt hot. Burning his skin before it cooled rapidly, crystallizing on his upper lip.

“Please, help me!” The Sans choked. “Please!”

“I… I can’t,” Levi said.

The man thrashed, bawling, begging the gods to save him. He would not be saved. Not by any gods anyway.

The gods didn’t save. They only turned their backs on him and his people. Perhaps even laughing at their misfortunes.

The man’s cries got louder. Until he was screaming. Levi looked around, begging for someone to hear him.

Ice Man kicked one leg up to rest his ankle on his knee. “I ask you again, Levi Brenner, do you want me to kill you? It doesn’t even hurt after awhile. You start to feel hot. Wouldn’t that be nice? To die warm?”

The man at his feet howled as the ice encased his chest and arms, leaving only his head and neck exposed.

“Let me put you out of your misery. You are, after all, my greatest disappointment. We would all be better off if I could focus on my more promising prospects.”

“What about Joshua Sans? Don’t you want to know more about him?” Levi begged.

The ice was at his hips now. No matter how much he wiggled his toes, he couldn’t seem to chase the cold away. They burned, but not in any way that made him feel warm. This was painful. Like he had stuck his hand on a hot stove and held it there.

“I’m sure I can find that information elsewhere.”

The ice fully encased the Sans’s head. He wasn’t dead. Not yet. Levi could still hear his muffled screaming from beneath the thick ice. This was almost worse than hearing him scream out in the open.

The ice climbed up Levi’s body. He could feel it at his ribcage now. His lungs expanded and contracted rapidly, desperate to draw in air. The hard shell that encased him stopped any from getting to him. The pressure was immense. He never thought that the pressure of all things would be the most difficult part of freezing to death. Yet, here he was. The cold long gone from his mind. Only the pressure remained.

“Decide quickly. Once it covers your mouth, I’m done with you.

Did he want to die? Did he truly want to die?

The ice encrusted his chest. He couldn’t expand his lungs.

The Sans had fallen silent. Had he suffocated?

Was he going to die?

No, not like this.

He was the captain of his own destiny. He decided how he died.

“I have an in! If you kill me, you’ll lose that in. Sans isn’t going to trust anyone else!” he shouted just as the ice covered his bottom lip.

It stopped.

Then it shattered.

All except the block holding his feet in place.

“Really?” Ice Man removed his hand from the Sans’s head.

He tipped forward. The ice shattered off of him, revealing his cold, blue body and white lips. His eyes pale and clouded over.

Levi took gulping gasps of air, relishing in the fact that his lungs could expand as much as he wanted them too.

“Don’t take too much time.” Ice Man warned. “You have my attention. You haven’t done anything to keep it.”

“Sans is planning to take a group of soldiers to sneak into Osairae in the next few weeks. He wants me to help him plan for it.”

“You? Why you?”

Levi decided not to tell him about the time travel. “He sought me out because I’m in Intelligence.”

“Yet, you’re not intelligent.”

“Ever since Canyon Pass, Sans has been under suspicion of being the traitor. He thinks that if he can pull this off, and have me confirm that he’s not a traitor, it’ll clear his name. Healer, his husband, he knows me. He suggested I help him.” Did that lie make sense? He didn’t know. He didn’t care. It bought him time. That was all he needed.

“Hmm. Sneaking into Osairae?” Ice Man shook his head and stood from his throne. It shattered. He began to pace. “That little rat. He thinks he’s special. He thinks he’s strong. He thinks he has any chance of defeating me?”

Levi felt the ice climb up his legs once more.

“Humiliating me! He knew about Canyon Pass! Now he dares to sneak into Osairae?”

“Um, don’t freeze me. Remember?” Levi said.

It was no use. Ice Man was too lost in his anger to care what happened Levi.

“If he wants a war with me, then he’ll have it. He’ll know just why witches were always meant to rule. I am going to make him suffer. I am going to use him as an example. A warning to all who would stand before me and not bow! I will make him hurt!”

The ice shattered completely from Levi’s body. Before he could hit the ground, Ice Man pressed his fingers to his forehead.

This time, his body burned. It felt like white hot string was winding its way around him. Binding his arms and legs.

When Ice Man pulled his fingers away, Levi collapsed to the ground. “What did you do to me?” he gasped.

“You’re a flighty little bird. Your loyalties lie with whoever you think is the biggest threat. Don’t forget that I am the biggest threat. Not Sans. Not Healer. Me. You die when I say you die. Not when you say you die. Understood?” Ice Man asked.

Levi nodded.

“Don’t fly away, little bird. You’re still useful to me.” Ice Man disappeared in the shadows, leaving Levi gasping, in pain on the dirty, cold street. A dead Sans frozen next to him. Up on the roof, the air witch stood there watching.

Meditations

“I’m not doing it.” Thea sat on the ground.

The Deer-Headed God sat across from her, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his white, toga-like robe. His head tilted to the side.

They were somewhere outside of time. It looked like a meadow. She could hear the birds chirping and see a bubbling brook off in the distance. This wasn’t a meadow. Not really. Merely a place to rest. A time between times. A world between worlds. Somewhere where they could both exist at once without worrying about getting hurt. When she looked out, she thought she could see bits of it unravelling. Though, it was hard to tell if that was literal or metaphorical.

He had shrunk himself down to match her height, instead of the eleven feet he typically stood at.

“The healer did put a tracking rune on you.”

She itched her back where he slapped it on. “You don’t need to remind me. I’m surprised he got it on me.”

How did she let Elijah Healer of all people get the drop on her?

She had let her guard down, wrongly assuming that Joshua Sans and Elijah Healer were focusing most of their energy on Levi Brenner. Well, Maybe Joshua was. Maybe he thought saving Thea from death would be enough to keep her on his side.

Elijah was smarter than that. Thea underestimated him. Now she was stuck with a shitty tracking rune that hadn’t set quite right on her body because Healer didn’t know how to properly do one. You weren’t supposed to even know they were there. Otherwise, what was the point of placing one at all?

“It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head and waved him away. “Healer can track me all he wants. What’s he going to do if I leave? No offense, but he doesn’t seem like the vengeful type.”

“You don’t think so?” the Deer-Headed God mused, sounding amused.

Gods, it was hard to read him with that ridiculous deer-head. Of course, with him being stuck to her since her literal birth, she had gotten to know his mannerisms quite well.

Ever since she could remember, he had been there. Always watching. Always right beside her or in front of her. She had never even learned to fear him because the Deer-Headed God was not one to fear. She thought everyone could see him. Or if they couldn’t, they all had their own versions of him.

She insisted that he was there. Around her always. At first, her parents thought it was the manifestation of an over active imagination. A child’s imaginary friend. A little blasphemous to think that a god would be your imaginary friend, but utterly harmless. As she got older people realized this was not an over-active imagination.

It was only a last minute save from Isaiah and his family that stopped her from going straight to the House of Order. He recognized her connection to the Deer-Headed God for what it was.

She rubbed at a locust as it crawled up her neck.

She dropped her hand to focus on the argument. “I’m not going. I’m not helping them. I’m glad Joshua saved me from a brutal execution, but I left Osairae and Isaiah for a reason. I’m not going back.”

“If the world ends, you end with it.” He pointed out.

“So?” She resisted the urge to cross her arms and physically turn her back on him. Not that it would matter. He would sit wherever he wanted in her line of sight.

“Admirable of Joshua, isn’t it?” The Deer-Headed God continued. He could read her just as easily as she could read him. “The fact that he’s willing to go against everything he believes? The fact that he’s willing to challenge his views? All in service of the greater good.”

“How do you know it’s in service of the ‘greater good’? I served the greater good for years. Has it gotten me anywhere? Has it done anything to help end the war?”

“To be fair, I did tell you not to put all your faith in Isaiah. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. They all do.”

“So what makes Sans any different? Because you left your mark on him? Because this Decay Truth had no other option?”

“As I said, he is willing to challenge his views. To admit his wrongs.”

Okay, she walked right into that one.

“He can do this himself.”

“True. Why make it harder for him than it has to be? The less help he gets, the more people die.” The Deer-Headed God sighed. “I’m tired of watching my children die. I tried so hard to help them. Instead…”

Thea’s shoulders slumped. “What will you do if I say no and leave?”

“Nothing. You know this. I cannot do anything. Not like this.”

Right. It wasn’t like he could kill her or smite her or anything. He was, perhaps, more powerless than all of them. Every living thing on this planet held more power than he did right now, bound as he was. What a strange concept. Even the smallest creatures could cause harm under the right circumstances.

It wasn’t his power that she was talking about. It was the expectation. She loathed the expectation.

He, Joshua, Elijah, hell, even Levi, they all expected her to help. While none of them would truly stop her if she decided to leave, she’d have to live with the fact that she had abandoned them. Abandoned people who looked at her like she was the Deer-Headed God in flesh. Looked to her like she had all the power and the answers.

“They may get to Osairae just fine,” the Deer-Headed God said. “They know not of how the witch society works. None of them have experienced that. I am grateful that they’ve been able to live free, even if it has been a difficult life. How will they know the etiquette? The rules? How will they fit in without someone to guide them?”

She swallowed. She knew what she was going to do. There was never another option. Even as she sat here, arguing, pleading, trying to find her way out, she was never going to leave.

The tracking rune itched against her skin.

Autopsy

Elijah took one look at the goons sitting in his office and groaned.

“What now?” He pushed by them, leather satchel slung over his shoulder stuffed with files for the patients he would see today.

He made sure to set it down so that the Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain reflected in the bright, white hospital lights. It wasn’t technically illegal to have it, but it did make people question if he was a loyal non-witch or not. Right now, Deer and all his cronies could fuck right off. He was going to rub this keychain in their face because he could.

Gabriel Deer, flanked by two MPs, looked unimpressed. The MPs eyed the keychain warily, their fingers twitching at their hips.

“No, seriously. What now? You’ve dragged my husband off to interrogate him. You’ve burst into our apartment in the dead of night. You’ve torn apart our living space. Would you like me to give you a play-by-play of exactly how we had sex? What positions we used? If we used condoms or not?”

Deer frowned. “Dr. Healer–”

“No, I’m tired of this. You and I both know that Preston’s accusations against Josh are biased. Quite frankly, if you drag me off to interrogation one more time, you might just convince me to join the witches.”

One of the MPs sucked in a breath at the blatant treason Elijah spewed. He didn’t care. Deer would never arrest him. They both knew it. That was why he felt safe to be back talking like this. He was tired. He was stressed. Now he had to figure out how not to get his idiot husband caught while he ran around with witches.

“Technically, the colonel’s actions were unsanctioned,” the other MP stated. “You weren’t interrogated.”

“Oh, and that makes it all the better?” He glared. “Well, get it over with. Why are you here? Believe it or not, I don’t have time to entertain you lot. I have patients to see. People to heal.”

“There’s been another murder.” Deer did not rise to Elijah’s bait; still as calm and collected as ever.

Elijah’s heart sank. Last night, he and Josh had been out there, wandering around Welton. They could have easily been the next victims if they had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. That blasted rune maker was taking longer than normal. Apparently, Elijah’s request was ‘complicated’ and required ‘special skills’.

At least the old crone didn’t up-charge him. Not that he could afford it with the reduction in rations. Josh was already suspicious enough. Damn mother hen. It was equally endearing and frustrating. Especially in times like these.

“I’ve told you, I am not a mortician. I am a doctor. I can’t help.”

Deer stood from the seat. “That’s where you’re wrong, Dr. Healer. A rare instance for you, but something to prove your humanity. You were a valuable asset the last time. I don’t doubt you’ll be a valuable asset this time. Dr. Christopher has already begun.”

“Why are you doing this?” He looked Deer in the eye, refusing to back down. “Why are you making me do this? The first time, okay, you wanted to prove a point. You wanted to remind me that I am not in a position to argue with any of you. Now? Preston is the one who should do this autopsy, not me. He’s the one wasting all of our time.”

Deer stared back at him. Behind them, the MPs shuffled, shifting from foot to foot as they tried to figure out what to do in this situation. Lippy doctors weren’t covered during training. Should they arrest him for insubordination? Or wait until Deer gave the orders? If they arrested him now, that might look good. It might show drive. A go-getter attitude that could lead to a promotion, and therefore, more rations. Or else, it might backfire horribly and cause them to be demoted or outright fired. Barred from service because they acted without orders.

What to do? What to do?

“You are doing to autopsy because I told you to.” Deer’s voice was even. His eyes hard as they stared into Elijah. “That’s the good thing about being the second in command, when I say jump, you say how high. You are doing the autopsy. If you don’t want your husband to be arrested, again, then I would get to it without any more arguments.”

He knew this would happen. There was only one way such an argument could go. Once Deer made up his mind, there was no changing it. He decided that Elijah needed to do autopsies, then Elijah would do autopsies. Even if there was no reason for him personally to help.

He suspected Deer wanted him down there specifically because he did trust his judgement. Perhaps more than even Christopher’s. He trusted Elijah to pick up on clues. To draw the right conclusions based on those clues. He understood why Deer might be so much more anal about this. After all, it had been years since the last witch-related death in Welton. The people here were isolated from the war. Some of them had never even seen a witch. Well, that they knew of. The war was a distant thing that would never touch them. Could never touch them. So, to have a witch running around that killed two people and a family. Now a seventh person? If word got out, panic would ensue.

When panic ensued, that gave way to certain parties taking more power. Something that Deer was trying to guard against. So, he decided the Elijah Healer, doctor, not mortician or forensic pathologist, would be the best person to find the perpetrator before they struck again. Before word got out that a witch had killed more people.

They framed Thea for the murders. She escaped. The day she escaped, another person died. Maybe she was the murderer. Josh seemed to trust her. He usually had such a good sense of who was trustworthy. Well, ever since he came back from the future, that ability seemed to have eroded. He was trusting Weaver, of all people, and Thea, a witch.

Thea herself was hiding something, Elijah could spot it from a mile away. What was it? Did she have anything to do with the murders? He supposed this was the best time to find out. Here Deer was, giving him access to this case. He’d be a fool to turn it down.

Elijah sighed. “Alright. I shall aid Christopher in the autopsy. Gentlemen.” He tilted his head toward the MPs and turned to leave.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Healer,” Deer called.

Elijah did not dignify that with a response.

Coming back down into the morgue now that he knew what Josh had been through put things into a different perspective. No wonder he was so frightened when Elijah had pushed Christopher out the door. That action is what had gotten Christopher killed the first time.

He didn’t know how he felt about that. He supposed his previous self felt guilty. He likely tried to hide it so as to support Josh. The man often took on too much and put too much on his shoulders.

Now, though, he didn’t feel guilty. Probably because he hadn’t done anything to get Christopher killed. It was almost like he was listening to the life events of another person. He wasn’t the same Elijah who had survived the apocalypse.

Could Josh tell the difference?

That question made him uneasy.

Which Elijah did Josh love more? The one from the apocalypse, or the one standing before him today?

Opening the door, a blast of music nearly knocked him off his feet.

“Christopher!” He scrambled to find the radio and turn it down before it could damage his ear drums.

He clicked the button. The sound cut out, leaving a ringing in his ears. He wrinkled his nose.

Christopher turned around. His face split into a smile, not caring at all that his music had been cut off. “Oh, hey Eli! General Deer said I’d get some help. I didn’t know it was going to be you again. Uh, he does know you’re a doctor for living people, right?”

“He knows,” Elijah grumbled. “He just doesn’t care.” He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Christopher had managed to procure fresh gloves. He might burn this place to the ground if he had to wear already used gloves one more time.

“I heard what happened to you and Josh. It’s totally shit. I filed a complaint on your behalf. Hate the hair by the way.”

“So does Josh.” Elijah came up to the body. “Thanks for the letter of complaint, Christopher.”

This one was much different from the previous victims. He wasn’t a factory worker, but unhoused. Something rare nowadays. They tended to die before they could ever get to this state. This man was scrappy. He must have been to survive. His hair was matted and dreaded, full of mange. His beard patchy and wild. His skin sunburned, leathery, and deep tan. He looked so old. Was he as old as he looked? Likely not.

“I mean, you two would never think to betray anyone!” Christopher continued on, waving a bone saw in the air. “Or, I guess Josh would never think to betray anyone. You would.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you guys need anything? I got some extra rations I could give you. Pain killers especially. Or food. Do you have enough food? Josh probably needs more food.”

“We’re fine on food, Christopher.” They weren’t, but no need to stress Christopher out over it.

“Shirts. You could probably do with some more shirts. Or Josh could at least.”

“You know the rules.”

Elijah might have been able to get away with using Christopher’s rations for consumables like food and pain pills. But shirts? No way. There was a reason Ethan only ever ‘borrowed’ Elijah’s shirts and then returned them less than a week later.

“Fine.” Christopher grumbled.

“Tell me about this one,” Elijah said, desperate to get off the topic of Josh’s torture and back onto the matter at hand. The faster he could get this over with, the faster he could get back to his real job. “Same deal? Frozen to death?”

“Actually, no.”

Elijah furrowed his brow and looked up. “No? He’s doing the mushy, frozen strawberry thing. He wasn’t frozen?”

“Oh, he was.” Christopher continued. He bit into a sandwich, without taking his glove off.

Elijah tried not to gag.

“That was after he died. Nah, this man suffocated to death. You can tell based on the blood vessels.”

“Suffocated?” Now that was worrisome. “Then frozen?”

“Seems like he was both suffocated and frozen.

Elijah groaned. “Christopher, please. Tell me what happened.”

“Right. Sorry. It looks like parts of him were frozen before he died. He’s got frostbite on his hands and feet. He died from suffocation. There are signs of frostbite on his ears and nose, but he wasn’t frozen through like the family. This matches up to what the witnesses saw. Apparently, he was laying out on the street surrounded by chunks of ice. He wasn’t like the last guy who was completely frozen through. Just parts of him.”

“Well that’s… disturbing.” Elijah swallowed. “So he was frozen. Then suffocated to death. With what?”

“Dunno. You can help me look for any fibers. My guess is, they froze the guy’s hands and feet so he couldn’t move. Then suffocated him.”

“Hmm, very likely.” Elijah began to look for the fibers.

However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any. There were none in the man’s lungs, nose, mouth, or hair. With hair that wild and tangled, it should be enough to grab onto any fibers from a pillow or something. There was nothing.

“You’re sure he died from suffocation?”

“Positive.”

“Well that’s not good at all,” Elijah muttered. The freezing alone was torture. But this? This almost felt crueler. Freezing the man in place and then suffocating him via some means.

“Air witches,” he muttered.

“What?”

“Air witches exist. They’d pull the air right from his lungs. Or transform the molecules in the air to something toxic.”

“The water witch is the one who froze him.”

“That means there’s more than one witch running around Welton.”

Deer wasn’t going to be happy about that.

Gift

The trip to the rune maker’s shop was more high-stake this time. It was always high-stake, visiting this part of town. Who Elijah was visiting made it all the worse.

After his arrest and then Deer dropping by his apartment, he worried that someone somewhere was watching him. Just waiting for him to mess this up. He almost didn’t go. In fact, he had planned not to go at all until things had calmed down. With the new murder and knowledge that there was not one, but two murderous witches running around, he had to risk it. He would not let Josh die by their hands. Especially now that Josh may be actively working with one of them.

More witches lived in Welton than Josh or Brenner wanted to believe. Most of them weren’t the witches of war they were used to. They wanted nothing more than to live quiet lives, peacefully and away from their head of state. Elijah wasn’t sure why the rune maker ended up here. Surely she could have lived a better, happier, freer, and more peaceful life amongst her people.

When he asked, years ago having first stumbled upon her, well before he even met Josh, she merely sneered at him and turned away. Everyone had their reasons for ending up where they did. Some planned their future. Circumstance forced others there. Either way, she was where she was for the time being. It wasn’t any of Elijah’s business why she was there.

He disagreed. He wanted to know more about her story and why she would risk living in Welton of all places. If she were found out, she’d be arrested, tried, and killed.

She didn’t see it that way. She was under the impression that she would never be found out, arrested, tried, and killed. To be fair, that held true for her so far. Sure, she had some level of secrecy around her operation. But not much. All it would take was an MP wandering to her back shop to see all the runes scattered about.

Only, they never did.

“I am too boring for them. I never give them any reason to come back here,” she said one night years ago when Elijah expressed concern. “Just confident enough that they know I belong, but not so confident that it looks like I’m up to something. That is how you keep people from noticing you or caring about you. Think of all the people you pass every day. How many of them do you see?”

Elijah couldn’t answer.

“Exactly. Because the only ones you notice are the ones who are nervous, or confident. Those of us who stare like a goat out at the world, your mind slips over us.”

It had been a valuable lesson; one Elijah tried to enact in his day to day life. It didn’t work. He couldn’t manage to fully embrace the goat stare. A sort of impassive, blank look that told the world you didn’t have much going on between the eyes or in your life.

While he couldn’t master the goat stare, he could master plenty of other things. Not that she ever taught him. Instead, he learned by observing her. Watching as she or her assistants spoke to customers. Sneaking quick reads of books she had out while waiting for her to finish up with her work. He learned a lot from her. His learning saved so many lives. He hoped this request would save one more.

“You are impatient about this rune.” She carved the pendant.

She had on magnifiers with a flashlight attached to the top of them. This piece of modern technology seemed out of place with the witchcraft. She pulled back and blew the little slivers of metal from the pendant before examining it once more.

“Another murder happened last night.” Elijah paced the room. “A man this time. Only one. Frozen. But that’s not what killed him. I think there’s another witch.”

“Of course, there is another witch. Hundreds of us are in the city, if you know where to look.”

“No, these people aren’t like the witches who live here now. They’re killing and making it known that they’re witches.”

“One is water. Who is the other?”

“Air.”

She huffed. “Two low-level elementals. Angry. A lot of elementals are. People underestimate them. Fire is more dangerous than words, in the right circumstances."

“Oh, is that what your Truth is?” he asked, knowing full well how she would answer.

“I do not have a Truth,” she answered, just like she always did. “No one does. All just a way to categorize that which does not need categories. You think the Raven-Headed God created a list of Truths? Then put us in them neatly? Neat doesn’t exist.”

Elijah sighed. He didn’t know why he bothered asking. He supposed a part of him wanted to know. He wanted to have all the information possible so he could make plans and decisions. The rune maker had other thoughts.

“Do you know a woman named Thea?” he asked. Maybe he could get more information about Josh’s newest confidant.

The rune maker’s hands paused.

“So you do know her,” he said before she could deny it.

If he forced the conversation this direction, he’d get some answers.

“Not personally.” She went back to carving the pendant, making long, slow, deliberate scrapes against the metal.

“Who is she? What does she want?”

“How should I know what she wants? I am not in her head. Wants change day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute. Just a minute ago, you wanted to know my Truth. Now, you want to know about Thea.”

“Yes. Fine. You can’t read minds. You know something about her.”

“Why does it concern you?”

“Because my husband seems to trust her and wants her around. I don’t trust her one bit.”

“Hmm, your husband.” She held the pendant up to the light.

“Yes.”

“The one you are making this rune for?”

“Yes!” Just once, could someone give him a straight answer? Please? It’d make his life a lot easier.

“You say you cannot trust her because she is hiding something. Does your husband know what you are doing?”

“I don’t need you to make me feel guilty. At least two witches are out there brutally murdering people. The second murder just so happened to coincide with Thea’s escape from prison. I will not put Josh in more danger than he’s already in.”

The rune maker set the pendant in a bath of chemicals. It smoked and bubbled, filling the air with an acidic, sour scent that left Elijah coughing. The rune maker didn’t bat an eye, her mouth turned downwards in a perpetual frown.

“How can he know what danger he’s in if you don’t tell him? You are hiding things from him. Who’s to say Thea isn’t hiding as well?”

“I… look, I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to gauge a potential threat. Who is Thea and what does she want?”

The rune maker swirled the necklace in the chemical bath a few times before hanging it on a line to dry. As it dried, the rune carved into the pendant disappeared. If anyone were to look at it now, it’d look like a regular old hunk of metal.

“I don’t know much about her. I left before she presented at sixteen. Everything I hear is rumors. She was once close to Isaiah, leader of the witches. Those two were partners. Or, more like she was his attack dog.”

“She’s working for him?”

The rune maker barked out laugh. “Ha! Absolutely not. At least, not anymore. His wife died delivering his youngest daughter. They had a falling out over that. I do not know the details. That’s the thing with attack dogs. You have to be careful not to push them too far. Or else they might end up attacking you. From what I hear, she left Osairae years ago. Has never been back. Wandering like a vagabond. Never staying in place for long. It is a lonely life.”

Elijah frowned.

“Does this give you your answers.”

“Not at all,” he said.

Thea was close to Isaiah Iurisdictio. She was powerful. Powerful enough to be a known attack dog. Why did she leave? What was her Truth? Elijah’s hand slipped into his pocket where he gripped the other half of the tracking rune. Thea hadn’t left Welton. Yet. He could track her down and demand answers without Josh there to watch.

“I figured. Why do you think I don’t tell you things? You always need more information.” She lit some herbs on fire and waved them around the necklace. “What can she say to make you trust her?”

This simple question stopped Elijah in his tracks. What could Thea say to make him trust her? What story could she tell that would convince him that she wasn’t a danger to Josh or Ethan?

“The past matters less than present actions.”

“You think I should determine if she’s tricking us?”

The rune maker shrugged. “Why do you care what an old woman has to say?” She set the flaming herbs on a tray so they could finish burning out. “Your pendant is done. You are lucky I like you and charge so little. Very complicated, what you asked me to do. Very unique.”

“I thank you for your generosity.” He stated.

“I am not generous. You will pay me back. Eventually.”

“I don’t know if I have more rations to spare.”

“Hmph. I never said anything about rations. You are too literal. I give you this so you give me that.”

“You’re the one who asked–”

She shoved the pendant at him. “Go. I am tired of arguing.”

She shuffled out the door and back up the stairs to her main living space. He rolled his eyes.

“Thank you for your help,” he said to the bored looking teenage girl who sat at check out counter, reading a book.

Her left hand swirled around a vase of flowers. Each time her finger passed over it, the flowers grew brighter and taller, as if they were in soil and attached to their roots.

He put a hand on hers. “Maybe don’t use your magic in the open.”

She rolled her eyes but put her hand down. The flowers stayed bright and large. “Thank you for visiting. Come again soon. Or not. I don’t care.”

As he walked home, he thought over the conversation with the rune maker. What she said about Thea. If it was true that she left Isaiah Iurisdictio behind years ago and not turned back, it could indicate that she had changed and was no longer a danger. He could tell Josh what he had learned. They could decide together if they should confront Thea about her past.

If he told Josh, then Josh would wonder how he learned about it. That would bring up questions about the rune maker. Why Elijah knew her. Why he trusted her enough to ask her these sorts of questions.

He gripped the rune tight in his hand, so tight, he felt the metal dig into his palm. Josh’s personality and beliefs had changed so much in such a short amount of time. Then again, to Josh, it hadn’t been a short amount of time. It had been months. Maybe even years. He admitted he didn’t know how long he and Elijah wandered around the wasteland. He was older, much older than he had been a few short months ago. Having lived two lifetimes. All those new experiences created someone Elijah barely recognized at times.

Josh did things that made no sense. Things that went against his core being. He snuck around. He broke curfew. He trusted witches. While Elijah felt glad he had made those changes, he didn’t know if it was enough. He didn’t know where Josh’s boundaries lay anymore.

Before, he knew who Josh was. He knew what he believed. How he would react to certain situations. Now, it was like he was a stranger. Someone new Elijah had to learn the ins and outs of. Sure, his Josh, the old Josh, he was still there. His loyalty. His strong sense of protection. His strength. His intelligence. While his core was the same, too much about the outside had changed. Elijah didn’t know him anymore.

He would have never told the old Josh about the rune maker or the runes. So, he shouldn’t tell him about the rune maker, or the runes, or Thea’s past. Then again, the old Josh never would have trusted a witch.

“Eli, you’re back! Any issues?” Josh asked from the couch.

“You know, you can help instead of sitting there like a lump.” Ethan snarked back as he attempted to put their damaged kitchen table back together. He had his old carpentry tools scattered around. He had tried to sell them, but Josh insisted he keep them. Just in case the military thing didn’t work out.

“Nah. This is for all the times you watched me work while sitting like a lump.”

“I was a baby!”

“Still could have worked.” Josh turned back to Elijah, his grin falling. “Is everything okay? No one hurt you or anything, right?”

Elijah forced thoughts of Thea and witches from his mind. “No, no. Sorry, still tired from last night. I, uh, I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” Josh frowned. “Why?”

“Your promotion. I wanted to celebrate it. I wanted to make sure you got it before you deployed again.” He held out the simple box.

Ethan stopped working on the table and came to examine it.

Josh opened the box and gasped. “Elijah, how much did this cost?”

Elijah kissed his temple. “I got it at a discount. You help one woman deliver one baby and suddenly her whole family wants to thank you.”

Josh looked up at him. “I can’t accept this.”

No! He needed to accept this. This was the only thing that would keep him safe from the murderer! One of them, at least.

Ethan whacked Josh on the back of his head. “Don’t be dumb! Of course you can accept this. You never have anything for yourself. Now put it on before you make Eli cry, dammit!”

Josh glared at him. “We can use this to get more rations. Or new clothes. Your shoes are looking worse for wear.”

“Josh,” Elijah cut off his rambling, “please, put it on.” He put a hand to his cheek. “I want you to have nice things too.”

Josh looked into his eyes. He saw the arguments dying on his lips. Then he clipped the necklace around his neck.

“There.” Elijah kissed him softly. “Thank you for accepting.”

Josh pulled him down into his lap and hugged him tightly. “Thank you for delivering so many babies.”

He laughed.

Ethan wrinkled his nose. “You two are gross.”

“What? Like you’re any better with your girlfriends?” Josh joked.

“I am. I’m not sappy like that.”

“One day you will be.” Elijah wrapped his arms around Josh’s neck.

He thumbed over the pendant, feeling its warmth. He had worried that now that Josh knew what an active rune felt like, he’d know what Elijah was doing. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t even seem to notice.

“You sure you’re okay?” Josh asked.

Elijah kissed him again. “Yeah. I am.”

Future

“Ethan Sans, wait up. I want to talk to you,” Master Sergeant Jaime Sans said as the others finished up their work for the day.

Priscilla and Henry glanced at Ethan.

“Go, I’ll catch up.” His gut twisted with anxiety; curling around itself as his heart sped up.

“You wanted to see me, ma’am?” He stood at attention as Master Sergeant Jaime Sans came to stand in front of him.

“How long have you been a demolitions specialist?” She flicked through his file on her tablet.

“Since basic training, ma’am. My brother put in a good word for me. I specialized early.”

“It’s not often a Sans has someone else willing to throw their weight around to help them out.”

Ethan’s cheeks burned. He knew how the others talked about family lineages in the military. Turning their noses up as people like Preston got prestigious positions simply because of their names. He never considered Josh had done the same for him. He never considered that it wasn’t just the last name that could help people out.

“Am I not meeting expectations, ma’am? Do I need reclassification?”

Oh, Josh would not like that.

Ethan on the other hand… he didn’t know how he felt. He had done demolitions simply because Josh asked him too. He had a missing spot on his team and needed Ethan to fill that role. A way to keep an eye on him and keep him safe during the war. Ethan went along with it because, what else was he going to do?

If you graduated from basic training as a specialist, you were automatically placed at the sergeant rank, skipping the lowest three ranks. Your rations were better. Your assignments were better since specialists were hard to come by. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. It still seemed like a good idea. Though, he wasn’t married to the role.

Just like his apprenticeship as a carpenter, he didn’t do it because he had a deep, burning desire to blow things up or build tables. He did it because it was the best option he had at the time.

Just because he didn’t love being a demolitions expert, though, didn’t mean he wanted to get reclassified. He liked his team. He liked his work well enough. Not only that, but depending on the reclassification Master Sergeant Jaime requested for him, it could be a demotion.

“Quite the opposite,” she said. “Captain Joshua doesn’t make mistakes. I’m suggesting you follow in your brother’s footsteps and go to the Officer’s Academy. Become a specialist second lieutenant."

Ethan felt the pit of his stomach drop out of his body. “Ma’am?” Was all he could say.

“If anyone can lead a team of specialists, it’s you. You’re a little young. So was your brother when he joined the academy. I think you have a bright future ahead of you. Several of your superior officers would put in a good word. Besides, now that your brother’s gone through the program and proven himself, people are warming up to the idea that maybe having more Sanses might be a good thing. General Weaver himself has been asking for more recommendations from those who aren’t Nature Names.” She held out the tablet. “The application is all ready for you to fill out. Deadline’s coming up in a few weeks if you want to get in on this year’s class.”

He took it. “Thank you, ma’am.” He didn’t want to thank her. He didn’t know what he wanted to do.

Sanses didn’t get opportunities like this often. What an opportunity it was. If he pulled this off, they’d be rich!

The amount of money they got. The amount of rations! They might live a somewhat comfortably. Not only that, but something like this could help people beyond Ethan.

Master Sergeant Jaime was right. Josh’s ability to surpass pretty much everyone despite his lack of name made people sit down, shut up, and open their minds.

To have two Sanses as officers at the same time? If Ethan could help pave the way, then more of them could rise through the ranks. He could submit letters of recommendations for other Sanses. Hell, maybe even repay Master Sergeant Jaime for her believing in him.

This could be better for all of them if he could just make it through the Officer’s Academy and prove his worth.

He would do it.

He had to do it.

Sanses so rarely got the chance to make their lives better. If he could be a piece of that, if he could help others, then he should take it.

“Thank you,” he said this time more sincerely. “I’ll look into it. I can’t promise I’ll get in, though.”

Master Sergeant Jaime smiled. “Not with that attitude you can’t. Get out of here. You’re off the clock. I know your buddies are waiting.”

He saluted to her and tucked the tablet under his arm.

With each step out the door, his excitement and drive to applying for the Officer’s Academy diminished. He was left with doubt.

Not doubt that he could do it. He absolutely could. Especially with Josh having already gone through it, he could tell Ethan what to expect.

There was something else that was weighing on his mind.

Did he want to do it?

The answer was an emphatic ‘no!’. He did not want to be an officer. He did not want to be a demolitions expert.

What other options were there?

Toil away as an enlisted soldier, never rising above the rank of First Sergeant because, even as enlisted members, Sanses couldn’t serve in the upper ranks? What about the other Sanses?

Ethan could get into the Officer’s Academy because of his relation to Josh. As much as it sucked to say, his own merits weren’t enough. None of the other Sanses had that. Josh was currently the only Sans Officer in the military. If Ethan didn’t do this, no one else could.

Was this going to be his life? Doing things he didn’t want to do all in the hope of getting more money and rations? Would this even help anyone in the long run?

Sure, it’d be nice to have more Sanses as officers. What about all the ones who didn’t make the cut? What about all the ones who weren’t in the military? Those still under Ms. Harper’s care? Those still living in Mr. Lee’s work house, always an apprentice, never a master carpenter?

He’d like to think that taking the test and becoming an officer would help people. How could he be sure? What if it didn’t?

“Hey!” Priscilla said from where she leaned against the wall. “Henry ran ahead to save us a table at the bar.” She took in Ethan’s frown. “What’s up? Why do you look like someone kicked you? Did the sergeant chew you out?”

He shook his head and thrust the tablet toward her.

She scanned it. “An application for the Officer’s Academy? This is great! She thinks you can do it?”

“Obviously. She wouldn’t waste her time with this,” he said.

“Are you going to apply? You don’t seem happy.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. If I do, I’ll be separated from Josh. Not just during the academy, but afterward. She wants me to become a specialist. I’d have my own strike force.”

“You and your brother are close,” she said. “You guys are going to have to separate eventually. He can’t be your commanding officer forever. You know that, right?”

“I know.” Even if he didn’t like to think about it. “It’s not just that. I don’t even know if I want to do this. I didn’t join the military out of some burning patriotism or passion for war. I did it for more rations and to help out Josh and Eli. With this, the rations would be great. I could help give more Sanses a chance.”

“Lots of good there. So do it.”

“But,” he continued, “I don’t know if this is the best path for me. For any of us. I think it was the best path for Josh. He’s good at this. He does help a lot of people. Will I do the same? Or would my talents be better used elsewhere?”

“Probably,” Priscilla said. “The problem is, you’re a Sans. We don’t have an elsewhere. We have this. It sucks to say. This is your path, Ethan. This is the only choice you have to make a real difference.”

He took the tablet back from her and scrolled through the list of application questions. “I’ll talk to Josh about it. He’ll probably be glad. If I’m a specialist officer, I’m less likely to be on the front lines.”

“See. Like I said, lots of good. Now come on before Henry gets pissed and leaves.”

Once again, Ethan Sans felt like his life had already been decided for him. There was only one option for a person without a name: War.

Proposal

Josh’s heart pounded in his chest as he once more waited at the entrance to the Office of War to speak with Seth Weaver.

His anxiety only vaguely helped by the fact that this time, at least, he wasn’t going in alone. Elijah and Brenner were coming with him.

Of course, he wasn’t exactly happy about Brenner being there. But, he would help sell their case. Josh still worried that it was too sudden. Too weird. Too out of character for him.

Then again, what did Weaver know of his character? They barely knew each other, only having handful of meetings since they met. And one of those, Josh had been concussed and tied to a chair. Did he know what was and wasn’t out of character for Josh?

Probably.

Actually, make that likely.

Weaver knew how to read people. He knew who to trust and who not to trust. He knew what sort of person Josh was. He wanted to stick his neck out for him.

Would this push him over the edge? Would this one request be too much to make, especially with Thea’s escape?

Oh, sure, they cleared Josh of any wrongdoing in that incident. But Weaver warned him that he wouldn’t get another chance. Maybe he already blew it. Maybe Weaver saw the report and decided that, even if Josh had nothing to do with it, he wasn’t worth the trouble.

Maybe this request would be too much and Weaver would finally cut Josh loose. All the progress he made would be for nothing.

“You requested a meeting?” Deer came out from the front door; eyes narrowed as he studied the three.

The shadows moved. The shadow guards were always watching.

“We did,” Elijah said, always willing and ready to take on the fight and make himself a target.

“If this is about what happened a few nights ago, Dr. Healer, you must understand that I was doing my job. We had reason to believe Captain Sans’s involvement, given his past… association with the witch. Perhaps he’s still under her spell.” Deer’s eyes turned to study him.

Josh did not back down. He did not cower. He knew Deer was the true traitor here, even if Brenner insisted he had never met up with the man. He would not let him win this fight. He would not let him bring another witch into this city.

“This isn’t about what happened,” Brenner said. “We have a proposal to make. One I think High General Weaver would be interested to hear. One that might just tip the war in our favor.”

Josh turned his attention to him, surprised he jumped into the conversation so smoothly. He didn’t even appear nervous. Or, at least, no more nervous than one would be talking to Gabriel Deer, second in command of the entire army.

“Second Lieutenant Brenner, what a surprise. I didn’t even think you knew Captain Sans or Dr. Healer.”

Brenner saluted him. “I’ve seen them around, sir. Gotten a few drinks with them. I met up with Dr. Healer a few nights ago.”

Brilliant! If they checked the cameras, they would see that Elijah and Brenner had indeed gotten a few drinks at the bar. Or, rather, Brenner had gotten drunk at a bar and Elijah helped him home.

Josh wished he had something to contribute to the conversation. He felt frozen in place. Like everything was moving in slow motion. He didn’t dare open his mouth in case he let something slip. In case he couldn't hold his tongue and accused Deer of being the spy he was.

Sadly, Deer didn’t seem to care about what Josh wanted and turned to him. “Captain Sans, General Weaver is a busy man. I am confused why you feel the need to interrupt his day to discuss whatever you need to discuss. Just because he stopped you from being sent to the gallows and stopped Preston’s interrogation does not mean that you can keep bothering him. You have an idea to end the war? So does every single person with half a brain cell. You are not special.”

Elijah and Brenner turned to him. They weren’t going to speak for him. That would look too suspicious. He had to be the one to do it. Even if his palms were sweating and his heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest. He had no other choice. If he fucked this up, then the world was fucked.

He didn’t want to lie.

He felt like he couldn’t lie.

He was a soldier. A soldier working with the enemy. Literally. Instead of coming clean. He was choosing to keep Brenner and Deer’s treason a secret. Because they both served him better hidden than they would if he brought it to the light. And, as much as the guilt clawed at him, he could not let that overwhelm him. Not yet.

“The spy that knew about Canyon Pass likely knows everything else we’re planning.” His words flew faster than his thoughts. “We need to use that to our advantage.”

Deer’s brow quirked almost imperceptibly. “Oh? Care to share?”

Josh straightened up, making sure to rise to his full height so he could tower over Deer, something he rarely did.

Superior officers didn’t like that he was taller than them. Here, it worked. It forced Deer to look up at him instead of sneer down his nose like Josh were an insect. Standing taller made him feel more courageous.

“Actually, sir, I would prefer to speak of this with General Weaver. Not out in the open where anyone can hear.”

Deer sighed and pinched his brow between his fingers. “Captain Sans, I don’t know how to explain this to you in a way that will get through your thick skull. General Weaver is too busy to hear your theories and conspiracies. Furthermore, you now have three accusations of treason leveraged against you.”

“Colonel Preston cannot be counted as an unbiased source.” Elijah jumped in. “You were there during the second raid. We couldn’t have gotten back from the prison in time.”

Deer turned to him. “That may be so, but Preston is from a prestigious family and has served his people dutifully.”

That was a lie. He didn’t do anything.

“Just because you weren’t near the prison does not mean that there is no evidence. Remember, we have photos of Captain Sans meeting with the witch days before she was arrested. Not to mention many of Captain Sans’s friends and family, yourself included, have reported him acting strange since coming back form Canyon Pass.”

“Can you blame him? The witches almost wiped his squad out. When he made a call that not only saved lives, but also helped us take the Southern Lightning Temple, Preston arrested him and accused him of treason. Then, just when he got out of that mess, a witch places a spell on him that had him thinking he was eating human meat! Let’s see how well your mind holds up after all of that.” Elijah argued back.

“I would watch your tone, Dr. Healer. We are at war and that means that we must be extra careful with the people we allow to lead. Any mistakes could cost us everything.”

“Then you are making a mistake by letting Preston control so much of Josh’s plans! You know he’d be a better colonel than him!”

Josh watched this back and forth and knew things were escalating. If he didn’t stop this soon, he might not get to talk to Weaver. Then he would lose his chance to get to Osairae. He had to be careful what he said. If Deer heard, he could let his handler know of Josh’s plan and it’d all be for nothing.

He slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the necklace from the prison. Still slightly warm, though much cooler than a few nights ago.

Elijah looked at him and knew what he was doing.

He nodded to Josh and then circled around Deer, forcing Deer to turn his back on Josh so they could continue arguing.

Josh slipped on the necklace. “Come on,” he hissed to Brenner.

“What the fuck? Woah! What?” Brenner slipped on his as well and followed Josh through the doors.

He made sure not to open them more than a crack so that they made less noise and less of a visual impact.

They closed with a soft click. Once they were inside, Josh took off down the hallways; the route to Weaver’s office memorized. Brenner raced after him.

“Tuck your necklace into your shirt. Once we have his attention, he shouldn’t be affected by them.” Josh turned; eyes on the shadows to see if they moved.

No one attacked him yet. The necklaces still must have worked somewhat to make them blend in.

They got to the door to Weaver’s office. This time, Josh made no moves to keep his entrance quiet and contained. He needed to make it as loud and dramatic as possible to override the necklaces’ magic.

He put two hands on the door and burst them open.

“I want to take a small squad to Osairae and do reconnaissance on their weak points.” He blurted out.

“Woah, Sans! What are you doing here?” Weaver scrambled back, a hand pressed over his heart as if Josh had scared the living daylights out of him. Maybe he had.

“How… how did you even get in here? I don’t have…” Weaver shuffled through the papers and tablets on his desk. He looked up at Josh, a frown on his face. “You know, bursting in here without a chaperone makes Preston look like he has a point.”

“I know, sir. I think I threaten the other officers. They’re not listening to my ideas. You said you saw a lot of yourself in me. You said you trusted me. You needed me. I could end the war. I have a way to do it. I just need someone to listen to me. Someone who’s ego isn’t so fucking huge that they’re willing to let innocent people die just because they don’t want to admit that a Sans might have a good idea or two. Just like how people didn’t want to listen to a Weaver.” Maybe that last part was a bit of a low blow, but he needed all the help he could get.

Weaver pursed his lips, rubbed the back of his neck, and then sighed. “Alright. Let’s hear it. Be warned, if I don’t like your idea, I will send you to jail. I have no idea how many laws you just broke. I’m sure the MPs will figure it out.”

Josh breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir. We know that there’s a spy in our ranks because the witches knew about Canyon Pass. That may not be a bad thing.” He walked over to a white board and began drawing a map.

“The original run for Canyon Pass was meant to help us establish a foothold in witch territory so we could make for Gopherai down south and block their main port and access to their main river. We’re making good progress on that, especially with the Southern Fire Temple under our control. We can use this to launch a bigger attack on Osairae.”

“Osairae is on the opposite end of the continent, Captain Sans,” Weaver said. “And with the mountains, it’s more difficult to get to.”

Shit. He was losing him!

“That’s where our spy comes in. We don’t know who it is.” Well, Weaver didn’t know who it was. “I know it’s not me, and it’s not you.”

“And it’s not the second lieutenant standing next to you either?”

“Right. Second Leiutenant Brenner. It’s also not Dr. Healer or anyone on my team. Use the attack on Gopherai as a distraction. Keep pushing toward the city and keep feeding information out to try and determine the link. More importantly, keep the majority of the witches forces focused down in the lower deserts. While they’re distracted with Gopherai, I can take a small strike team to Osairae. I’m talking only about as big as a squad. No one has ever been able to get close to Osairae. If we do it, we can figure out all of their weaknesses. Their strengths. How the city is set up. The only maps we have of it are from the beginning of the war a hundred years ago. We chart a path to Osairae. Then, while everyone else is focused on Gopherai, and once you know who the spy is…”

“We slip our army in and take their capitol.” Weaver grinned. “See, I was right about you, Sans. This is the sort of thinking we need more of.

“If we take Gopherai in the process, all the better,” Brenner said. “Either way, this is a win win.”

“Not only that, but it does give some of the higher names a chance to feel like they’re doing something important.” Josh added. “While we do all the actual work.”

They had done it! They had done it! Josh was one step closer to finding Micah and the bombs.

The doors burst open. “Arrest those two at once!” Deer stormed in, face murderous, dragging Elijah behind him.

The room swarmed with shadow guards. Josh was tackled to the ground. Again. At this point it was less terrifying and more annoying.

“No, don’t arrest them,” Weaver said casually. “And Deer, let Dr. Healer go. You know William would never let you live it down if you broke his arm.”

“Sir, with all due respect, these two men broke into headquarters–”

“Because no one would listen to them due to ego. They presented a good plan to me as to how we might win the war.”

“Plan? What plan? They told me nothing,” Deer snarled.

Weaver’s eyes met Josh’s. A wave of understanding dawned on his features. “That is for me to know and for you to find out.”

“Sir–”

“Deer, I know you don’t particularly like working under me, but I have this job for a reason. I am better than the last three high generals combined. I am the best of the best. I have to be the best of the best because I know my name does little to aid in my career. Unlike yours. If I say Joshua Sans will be conducting his own mission and that you don’t need to know about it.” He stood, towering over Deer. “You. Don’t. Need. To. Know. Understood?”

“Sir, there is still an active investigation on him regarding the prison break last night.” Deer gritted his teeth.

“You said he and Dr. Healer were in their apartment in the midst of something, if I recall.”

Elijah blushed fiercely at the implication. Josh felt his own face heat up. He noticed Elijah rubbing the arm Deer had grabbed. If he hurt him he was going to make him pay.

“Yes.” Deer continued. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“I don’t like Preston. I don’t trust Preston. I don’t think he’s got the sense the Deer-Headed God gave a goose. As for the witch, Sans is not the only one seen with her around town. She was also seen buying food. Talking to people. Hushing crying babies. If we were to arrest everyone who came in contact with her, we’d have to arrest half the city.”

Wow. Thea did get around and also did not seem to know the meaning of laying low.

“But sir–”

“But nothing.” He turned back to Josh and extended a hand. Josh took it and found himself pulled up off the floor. “Tomorrow morning, I expect you to have your team picked out and a full detailed plan break down. You cannot tell anyone else what you’re doing. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If the enemy captures you, we won’t come and get you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you spill any secrets to the enemy, even under torture, I will have you arrested and killed.”

Josh swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

“You will be entirely in charge of this mission. Which means any failures will be placed on your shoulders.”

“Understood, sir.”

Weaver sat back down at his desk. “Fantastic! If you pull this off, Sans, we might just end the war. Maybe even convince Moldrovia to send more of those flying machines down to us for help. Three are not enough. Dismissed.”

They all saluted and then were escorted back out of the building. Deer did not escort them out. Instead, Weaver’s secretary, a woman named Katherine Butcher, led them out. She didn’t speak to them, merely nodding in acknowledgement once they reached the doors..

“Did he hurt you?” Josh eyed a blooming bruise on Elijah’s wrist.

Elijah shrugged. “No. Besides, it was worth it to argue with him without worrying about the actual goal.”

Josh wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “I think you like to argue a bit too much.”

“It’s one of the things you love most about me.”

“Not even in the top ten.”

“Come now, surely it cracks the top twenty.”

“Not even in the top fifty!”

“You guys are disgusting,” Brenner said. “I gotta go pack and reconsider my life choices. I hope you’re right about this, Sans.”

“I hope so too.”

In the corner of his eye, he saw Thea standing there. Right behind her was a massive, looming shadow. The more he stared at it, the more he realized it was the Deer-Headed God. Only, this time, he was in his full deer form, towering over Thea and even him.

“Come on,” Elijah said. “Let’s go tell the others so we can get everything prepped and ready. I’m assuming Ethan is coming with us.”

“Of course.” He hoped Deer wouldn’t cause any more problems.

Character

“That’s about all I have so far. What do you think?” Josh asked as Ethan read over his proposal.

“Have you lost your damn mind?” He looked up at Josh, mouth hanging open. “Does he have a concussion?” He asked Elijah.

“No, he doesn’t. I checked. Multiple times.” Elijah assured him.

Josh rolled his eyes and pulled the tablet from Ethan’s hands. “I haven’t lost my mind. This is a good idea.”

“Going to Osairae is not a good idea.”

Ethan managed to build up the courage to talk to Josh about the Officer’s Academy. He filled out the application, but hadn’t submitted it yet, wanting to talk to Josh first. He knew that it was the best opportunity he was going to get. Something in him still felt wrong.

He had hoped talking to Josh would help him figure out what was the issue, what was the problem. Henry had already made his stance clear: apply. It may not be what he wanted, but life sucked. He should do whatever it took to make things at least a little more comfortable for him and the people around him.

Priscilla was of a similar opinion. Ethan, as an officer, would have so much more power than he did now. With power, he could make changes. Real changes.

Neither of these arguments helped untangle the knot in his gut.

He knew Elijah would probably state that he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to do. He could do plenty of good right where he was at now.

Josh was the only person he couldn’t figure out what he would say. Would he tell Ethan to go for it because of the safety brought to officers? Or would he be angry because once again Ethan was getting himself more entangled in the military system instead of leaving?

Any discussions on the military academy would be put on pause because Josh dropped an absolutely insane plan in his lap. What was he thinking? Going to Osairae to do a reconnaissance mission?

One: they were infantry. They didn’t do missions like this!

Two: It was Osairae! The best guarded witch city in all of Megaloceros! They’d be killed before they even crossed the border!

Maybe this was Weaver’s way to get rid of Josh. Send him on a suicide mission and let the will of the universe do the rest.

“Ethan,” Josh said, almost pleading with him. “I know this is a crazy plan, but we have to do this. The witches are gaining more and more ground against us. We use the assault on Gopherai as a distraction. Then, we hit them right where they’re not suspecting. Not only that, but General Weaver has some flying machines that might make it easier to bomb. If we can get in there and get some intel, this could be what finally ends the war.”

Ethan opened and closed his mouth. Josh was right. If this mission was a success, they could finally end the war. No more suffering. No more rations. No more death.

A plan like this was so far outside of how Josh normally acted. He didn’t take risks like this. Actually, he didn’t bring plans to the table at all. He let his superior officers do the planning and then went along with it. That worried Ethan.

Why was his brother now disobeying orders and trying to make a name for himself? Why did he decide not to listen to Preston at Canyon Pass? Why was he purposefully trying to get Weaver to notice him?

Ethan wasn’t kidding when he asked about the concussion. It was like one minute, his brother was standing there at Canyon Pass. The next, he had been replaced with someone who had all of Josh’s memories, but none of his personality. Or, at least, his personality had shifted enough that Ethan wasn’t entirely sure he was still him. Maybe someone had bewitched Josh. Or maybe this was a witch wearing his skin.

That didn’t make any sense. Josh acted enough like himself for that not to be the case. Still, something had changed within him. Something caused by something Ethan didn’t know.

He caught Josh staring at him sometimes, like he was looking at a ghost. Or mourning his death. He couldn’t eat meat anymore. He caught him pressing his tongue against his teeth like they were going to fall out and rubbing his jaw like it ached.

Henry may have thought that they all had to crack sometime. Maybe he was right. The only problem? Josh’s cracks seemed to be unrelated to anything that had happened to him.

His torture at the hands of Preston didn’t seem to bother him. Nor did the deaths at Canyon Pass. No. He seemed to be bothered by things that hadn’t even happened yet.

Ethan turned to Elijah once more. “You’re going along with this?”

Elijah shrugged. “We’ve been doing the same thing since General Ethan Deer’s death. Let’s try something different. Take a risk.”

Now that wasn’t out of character for Elijah. At least someone acted like they were supposed to.

“Who’s this Brenner guy?”

Now that did worry Ethan. Because his list of potential suspects included Levi Brenner. The list Josh had. Did he not read it? Maybe he had but thought Brenner wasn’t a suspect.

He didn’t think Josh had ever even met the man. Yet, here he was, planning a reconnaissance mission with him. If he was the traitor, then they were in deep shit. Even if he wasn’t, who was he and why did Josh decide he needed to come along? It was almost as if Josh had skipped forward a few months while Ethan and everyone else stayed the same.

“An acquaintance,” Elijah said a little too smoothly.

“Look,” Josh pulled Ethan’s attention away from Elijah, “I need your support on this, okay? I can’t trust anyone else to listen to me, much less undertake such a dangerous mission. Please, say you’ll help.”

He knew Josh was trying to distract him from Levi Brenner and this batshit crazy, out of nowhere mission. He didn’t need a distraction. Because he already knew what he had to do.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” he said.

Josh breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Ethan into a hug. “Thank you,” he said into his ear. “Trust me. Okay?”

“Always.”

He did trust Josh and Elijah. He also wasn’t about to let either of them wander off into witch territory without backup. Whatever was going on with Josh, Ethan would find out. He’d watch his back.

As he left the apartment, he pulled out his tablet. He stared at the Officer’s Academy application for several minutes, and then deleted the entire thing. He didn’t want to go anyway. He’d rather be with his brother than surrounded by pampered, high-caste twats for several months.

Confidence

“Have you told them about us?”

Levi’s heart froze in his chest. Maybe literally. Maybe not.

He swallowed and set down his butter and pickle sandwich. The last bit of decent food he was going to get for some time. They were going into the wilds tomorrow. Him, Healer, and the other Sanses. Joshua San’s batshit insane plan to break into HQ and talk to Weaver directly had worked. Despite Deer’s protests, they had themselves a mission.

The most important mission possibly in the history of Deerland. Except for maybe General Deer’s first attack on Osairae a hundred years ago. The team going was small. Healer, Joshua Sans, Levi, and three other Sanses, including Josh’s younger brother, Ethan. So many things could go wrong.

Levi was desperate for nothing to go wrong. He knew that was impossible. If Sans’s plans went off without a hitch, then he’d be left to the mercy of the Ice Man.

If Ice Man’s plans went off without a hitch, well, then he’d still be left to the mercy of the Ice Man. Either way, nothing seemed to be working in Levi’s favor.

“No, of course not.” He turned to see Ice Man and his Air Minion standing in his living room.

Both of them strikingly pale in the dark night. Both almost glowing. While Ice Man’s skin had an almost bluish tint to it, Air Minion looked almost golden. Her hair pulled back into a bun so tight, Levi wondered how her skin hadn’t separated from the bone.

Ice Man’s face split into a grin. “Good. Good.”

“Did you warn Osairae we were coming?” Levi licked his lips.

His stomach turned. He shoved his plate away. If Ice Man did tell the rest of the witches about their planned infiltration, it’d be all over. The witches would slaughter them the second they stepped across the border. Everyone would know Levi was the traitor.

Which, they already did know, but they’d know he betrayed them again. He still didn’t know what Sans was thinking continuing to trust him like this. Maybe he thought the fear of Elijah Healer was enough to keep him in line.

He wasn’t wrong.

Levi wasn’t sure who he would rather face between Healer and Ice Man. Healer may not torture him before death. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a threat.

Ice Man scoffed. “No. We didn’t.”

“Why? Don’t you want to stop Sans before he gets to Osairae?”

What little of his sandwich he had eaten churned in his stomach. He didn’t have enough rations to waste. He’d eat even if he was actively throwing up.

“We will,” Ice Man said.

“If you don’t tell them–”

“They won’t,” Air Minion snapped. “It’s like you don’t listen.”

‘We will.’ The phrase turned in Levi’s head. It hit him what Ice Man was talking about. ‘We will’. As in, Ice Man, Air Minion, and whoever else was following his lead. They were going to stop Sans and his team.

“Isn’t that an unnecessary risk–”

Something snuffed the air out of his lungs before he could finish his sentence. He grabbed at his throat, raking his nails down his skin to try and claw off whatever was currently keeping him from breathing. Even though he knew it was useless. Air Minion had her hand lazily stretched out toward him. As if this meant nothing to her.

Ice Man stepped closer to him until they were practically toe to toe. Looming over him. Staring down at him. His face twisted in fury.

“Do you think I can’t handle a few non-magical creatures? You are ants beneath my boots. I will crush you one by one. Then I will bring your heads back to Welton and stick them on pikes so everyone can see what happens when you cross us.”

Air Minion released her grip on Levi. He dropped to the ground and took deep, gulping inhales. Coughing and sputtering. His ears rang. Everything throbbed.

“I’m not saying you can’t. You’ve proven that you can. Why would you want to? Leave the dirty work to someone else.”

“And let someone else steal my glory? No. I’m not waiting for an Order Truth or a Metalworking Truth to act like this was the result of their hard work. I was the one who recruited you. I was the one who tracked this Joshua Sans down. I will be the one to end him. When I end him, I will take Welton.”

Horror washed over Levi. Ice Man was doing exactly what Joshua Sans was doing: using the war as a distraction to hit the heart of operation. Ice Man wasn’t here to spy. He was here to destroy. The spying was just a bonus. Or, perhaps, like Joshua Sans, it was an excuse to his higher ups. A way to convince them to let him go so he could take the glory.

He looked up at him. “Okay. If you’re certain.”

Ice Man kicked him in the gut. “Don’t question me. Your job isn’t to question me. Your job is to give me the information I need. Do your job. And maybe I won’t stick your head on a pike.”

Levi swallowed down his desire to point out that if Ice Man needed him, then clearly the witches weren’t totally superior to the non-witches. He did still have some levels of preservation and kept silent.

“When will you attack?” he asked instead.

Ice Man laughed. “Now, where would be the fun in that?”

The air turned cold. The lights flickered off. When they flickered back on, Levi was left alone in his apartment.

He wanted to vomit. Maybe if he did, he’d vomit up the nerves. Instead, he went back to his butter and pickle sandwich and shoved the rest of it into his mouth. It sat in his stomach like a lump of lead.

Despite what Ice Man said, he was going to kill Levi. He had no use for him anymore. He was just toying with him. Waiting for the right moment to finally pounce. He should tell Sans and Healer. He should warn them. He didn’t want to be left to his own devices. If Sans found out, he might have him arrested before they even left.

If he didn’t find out….

Levi crawled back over to the table and picked up his pickle and butter sandwich. He forced himself to take a bite. The sandwich refused to go down his throat. He forced himself to swallow even as he gagged.

Sans was a good soldier. If anyone could defeat Ice Man, it was him.

Journey

They left early the next morning. Not that the military every had them leave at a reasonable time. It was almost as if anything happening after 0400 was considered too late for productivity.

To be fair, for stealth missions such as this, the cover of darkness coupled with the early hour meant people were less likely to spot them. The night owls had gone to bed and the early birds weren’t yet up. Though, the bakers did get up early to start prepping their scones and bread. Josh could see himself getting up early if it was to make food. The scent of yeast and jams filling the air as the ovens grew warm and the light outside began to brighten.

Yeah, getting up early to make some scones was much better than getting up early to sit in a truck for several hours.

They were hundreds of miles from the border. It’d take at least two days to get there. The bulk of the trip would happen on foot once they ran out of roads.

Josh did his best to settle into the jostling truck and get some sleep.

They drove the entire day, not stopping once for any sort of breaks. His legs cramped and his back ached. A part of him wanted to get to the drop off point just so he could stretch.

Would Thea meet them there? He didn’t know how Elijah would track her down and force her to come with them once outside of Welton, but Elijah didn’t seem to worry about that. Either that or Elijah was bluffing and never intended to force Thea to help. Though, that didn’t seem like much of an Elijah thing to do.

He didn’t get much sleep. Nerves and the jostling truck kept him up. Brenner seemed to be in the same boat, smashed in the corner, away from everyone. He made a valiant attempt to sleep, shuffling down to rest his head on the side of the truck. Only for the truck to hit a rock, jerk to the side, and smack Brenner’s head on the side.

This led to snickers from the rest of the crew.

“You don’t get out of Welton often, do you?” Henry asked. “Got a cushy job in an office, eh?”

Brenner glared at him and rubbed a growing bump on his temple.

“What’d you do?” Priscilla asked.

“What?” He turned his attention to her.

“Who’d you piss off to get this shitty assignment?”

“Who says I pissed off anyone?”

“A Brenner in a sea of Sanses, you pissed off someone.”

He and Elijah exchanged glances. The last thing they needed was an interrogation. Brenner didn’t seem like the kind of man who would last against even the slightest bit of push back.

“Alright guys, knock it off. We’re all in this together.” Josh used his commanding officer’s tone to show he wasn’t messing around.

“We’re just asking questions. A spy is in our ranks. We can never be too careful,” Henry said.

“You think I would be dumb enough to take someone on this mission with us that I don’t trust?” Josh asked. He steadied himself, aware that the stress and anxiety was making him snap at his friends. He sighed and massaged his brow. “Like it or not, Preston still has it out for me. He doesn’t trust any of you because he thinks we’re all spies together. He doesn’t trust Eli because, well, he’s Eli.”

“Thank you.”

He continued. “If I wanted to get this mission, and I wanted to get the credit and not hand this off to some pompous ass who can barely tie their shoes, I had to make some concessions. Levi Brenner was that concession.”

“Glad to know I’m wanted.”

“If you don’t watch it, I’ll leave you for dead and say you were a casualty.” Josh warned.

He did not like that Brenner was here. Truly he didn’t. He also didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t want to leave Brenner in Welton where he might cause more damage. He didn’t want to leave him unsupervised. He also didn’t want to turn him in just yet. He could still be useful to Josh if only as some sort of leverage.

He also struggled with the fact that now he had a personality to put with a name. Before, he was nothing more than a cardboard cut out of a traitor. A name. A face. A crime. After having spoken to him, having him help Josh break Thea out of prison, and having him back him up in Weaver’s office, he had almost grown to respect the man. Or, least, be willing to pretend like he wasn’t the reason Ethan was dead.

Josh’s heart lurched in his chest. He went to press his tongue against his teeth only for it to be met with air.

Right, the shadow guards knocked them out during the interrogation. The bombs hadn’t dropped. Ethan was alive. Priscilla was alive. He squeezed Elijah’s hand. His warm hand squeezed back. He was here. He still had a chance to save everyone he loved. They just had to get to Osairae, find Micah, and get her to stop the bombs from falling. He could do this.

“I know this is frustrating, Henry,” he said. “I’m frustrated too. I’m so fucking tired of having to prove myself over and over and over again. If we can pull this off, this could be huge. For all of us.”

“Unless he takes all the credit.” Priscilla eyed Brenner.

Brenner looked sick. Though, that could have had less to do with his nerves and more to do with the jostling truck.

“Why do you think I asked for him specifically?” Josh said. “Do you think this guy wants all the work that comes with being a war hero?”

Brenner looked even greener. “I hate paperwork.”

“Exactly. I know what I’m doing, guys, trust me.”

Priscilla, Henry, and Ethan all exchanged glances.

“Alright,” Ethan said after a beat.

Josh didn’t think they trusted him at all. How coincidental could it be that Levi Brenner was one of their suspects and he just so happened to get assigned to this mission? While they may not think Josh was dumb enough to let a potential traitor tag along, he did think that they thought something fishy was going on.

Should he trust them? If so, he should swallow his pride and admit everything that was going on.

No, he couldn’t. He might be able to sway Ethan to his side, but Priscilla and Henry were wild cards. Even if they did believe Josh traveled back in time to stop the bombs from killing everyone, they might not trust Thea or Brenner. Hell, Josh barely trusted them himself and he knew everything that happened. He witnessed it. He could do this. Once they had won the war, then maybe he’d come clean about this to them. They’d understand then, once he succeeded.

They fell asleep after that, each dosing and slipping into unconsciousness with the jostling of the truck.

It took over a day to get to the drop off point. By the end, all of Josh’s body hurt. His mouth was sticky with dehydration, unwilling to drink any water because the dehydration he could deal with. The urge to use the bathroom on the other hand, that was more uncomfortable.

The truck lurched to a stop. Two knocks signaled it was time.

Josh loaded up his pack. Stepping out onto the dusty ground first. His legs nearly gave out underneath him as his body readjusted to needing to stand and use muscle once more. He caught himself and turned to help the rest of his team out.

All of them stumbled as well. Priscilla letting out a loud groan as her back popped back into place. When it was Brenner’s turn to get out, Josh pointedly turned and began to walk.

“Seriously, Sans?” Brenner asked.

“I helped my team out, sir,” he said back; daring Brenner to make a big deal of it.

He didn’t. Instead, he hopped out of the truck and immediately face planted on the ground. That felt good to see, even if it was only a tiny bandage on the gaping wound he caused Josh in another life.

Ethan and Henry snickered.

“Let’s keep moving. I want to get twenty more miles today.”

“Twenty!” Brenner cried.

“Try and keep up,” Josh said.

As he started walking, he glanced back at Elijah. He remembered, toward the end of his life, that shambling pace he had been forced to set as his body rotted from the inside out. Maybe twenty miles was too ambitious. Maybe he needed to slow down. Maybe he needed to rest more. Maybe he needed–

Elijah smiled at him and intertwined their fingers together. “I’m fine, Josh,” he whispered so Ethan and the others couldn’t hear. “I’m not suffering from radiation poisoning. Neither are you.”

Josh swallowed and nodded. “This feels so similar to that, though. My head’s having trouble keeping it straight.”

“We walked north?”

He nodded. “Not at first. We found a motorcycle and used it. We were heading to Bakersfield. The bike ran out of gas though. Then we started walking. Towards the end, we didn’t walk so much as crawl.”

“If we were heading due north from Welton to Bakersfield, then the ecosystem would be different,” Elijah said.

Josh licked his lips. “You’re right. There weren’t as many trees. It was hotter too. And it was flat for most of the way.” A bird chirped above them, two high pitched chirps followed by a longer one. “There were no birds either. Only flies.”

“You can’t be there. There is different from here.”

Josh nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“No, not always.”

“Rude.”

“Truthful.”

He took a deep breath. The air smelled cleaner here too. Cleaner than Welton, certainly, which had such a dense layer of fog and smoke it painted the buildings black and let tar drip from their sides. Welton’s air was acidic and dense; as if you weren’t breathing air but fluff. The smell of rotting garbage didn’t help either.

After the bombs dropped, it didn’t smell clean either. It smelled… well, like nothing. Nothing but dust. After he escaped the smell of rotting corpses, of course. There was nothing in the air. Here the air smelled clean. Alive. He could almost smell the scent of chlorophyll drifting from the leaves of the trees and wafting into the air. It smelled, blue and green. After the bombs, it had smelled brown. Welton smelled black. Sometimes grey. Here was blue and green.

He liked it.

“You know,” Elijah said, “I always thought about leaving Welton. Moving someplace quieter. Up north somewhere in the mountains where there were lots of trees.”

“Really?”

“I wanted you and Ethan to come with. We’d find a nice, quiet little town. I’d open up a small clinic. Ethan would do whatever he wanted–”

“As if he doesn’t already do that.”

Elijah shoved his shoulder. “How does that sound? A nice little cabin in the woods for us? A small town. No more factories or war?”

“I wouldn’t know what to do in a small town, if I wasn’t a soldier.”

“You could still be a soldier. Maybe one of the small bases.”

“Career suicide.”

“A different career, then?”

He frowned. “I’m not sure. I never thought about what I wanted to do. It was always about making sure Ethan had enough.” He glanced back at his brother, who was whispering with Priscilla and Henry, and throwing glances back at a rapidly disappearing Brenner who couldn’t seem to keep up no matter how much he pushed himself.

Elijah gave his hand another squeeze and smiled at him. “Don’t worry, we’ll find something for you. The war’s almost over.”

“You think so?”

“With you in charge, I know so.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I’m in charge.”

“Close enough for me. You’ll end the war, Josh. I know you will.”

“I didn’t last time.”

“Last time, you weren’t in charge.”

They returned to silence, with Elijah’s words weighing heavy on Josh’s mind. Blindly, mindlessly following orders, even when his gut told him this was the wrong thing to do. Even at Canyon Pass he knew they had been found out and there was no pushing through and winning the day. Now look at him. Disobeying orders and even demanding people listen to him instead. Such a thing had never happened before. He wasn’t sure if he liked it. All of this pressure on him, if he messed up, everyone would suffer. At least before he could blame Preston. Now, he had no one to blame but himself.

“Josh,” Elijah said softly. “You’re not alone. You have me. Ethan. Thea. Even Brenner, if a wolf doesn’t eat him.”

“I know.” He swallowed. “It feels like an impossible task. General Ethan Deer failed. General Weaver failed. Why am I going go succeed when everyone before me has failed?”

“You have the one thing they didn’t.”

“Friendship?”

Elijah rolled his eyes and swatted at him. “A witch. No one else has teamed up with a witch. Maybe that’s the missing ingredient.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

They couldn’t continue their conversation as Ethan jogged up to speak to them. “Josh, we need to talk about Brenner.”

“Has a wolf eaten him yet?”

Ethan looked back. “Um, no. Look, remember how I said we were looking into possible suspects?”

“Remember how I said to stop doing that?”

“Brenner was one of the suspects,” Ethan urged.

Josh’s heart sped up and he clenched his jaw. “I don’t remember seeing him on the list you gave me?”

“How could you have not? We only had ten people!” Ethan shook his head. “Never mind. We need to be careful. This guy, according to people, does nothing. He doesn’t have friends. He doesn’t have family. No one sees him out and about. He’s like a ghost. At first I thought he was an introvert. Let’s face it, you don’t leave your apartment either.”

“Rude.”

Ethan barreled forward. “It’s not just Preston we need to worry about on this mission, Josh. If he’s giving information to the witches, they may already know we’re coming.”

Now what he was supposed to do? If he revealed Levi to be a traitor that would not go over well.

“We can’t just leave him out here,” Elijah hissed. “He is our ticket to proving we’re as good as we say we are.”

Ethan frowned. “Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have talked to you more about the list. Then you may have chosen someone else.”

“It’s okay,” Josh hurried to say. “We can figure this out. We need to keep an eye on him. If we catch him sneaking off, we’ll deal with it.”

“We’re going to have to slow down, aren’t we?” Elijah groaned.

Josh bit back the urge to groan as well. “At least this way we’ll get a chance to rest.”

No one looked happy about this suggestion, but everyone slowed down to accommodate Brenner’s much slower pace.

“Thanks, guys,” he panted as he still struggled to keep up. Maybe Ethan wouldn’t worry so much about him sneaking off if he saw how much this simple walk was going to kill him.

“Oh, look. Our contact made it.” Elijah pointed through the trees.

Josh almost didn’t see her. For some reason, she blended with the trees to the point where she looked like she was one.

Thea stood there, still dressed in black with all her amulets and rings and runes glittering in the sunlight dappling through the trees. Her tattoos, thankfully, stood still. Just like normal tattoos.

She turned to Josh. For a moment, her head was replaced with that of the Deer-Headed God. He blinked.

It was back to Thea. No one else seemed to notice this.

“Great, another person?” Henry grumbled.

“Do you know how to sneak through the Great Divide without getting caught?” Elijah said. “Or how to blend in with the witches? Which gods and goddesses to praise and when?”

“She’s a spy?” Priscilla’s eyes lit up. “That’s so cool! And she’s so tall. I didn’t think anyone was as tall as Josh.”

“Hey guys, about time you showed up. I was starting to think you died.” Thea sounded as cheerful as ever.

The tree branches behind her looked like antlers.

“Who are you again?” Ethan asked.

“The name’s Thea. I’ll be your guide to all things witches.”

“Thea what?” Henry asked.

“What?”

“What’s your last name?”

Thea grinned at him. “Whatever it needs to be. People like me give up our last names.”

That was technically true. A lot of the shadow guards in Welton cut all ties with their families. They were usually Sanses since that meant that had fewer ties to cut. Occasionally you got someone who decided to no longer be associated with their family for one reason or another.

“Come along, there’s a nice little clearing we’ll bunker down for the night in. Then tomorrow, we’re crossing the Great Divide. Osairae will be a hop, skip, and a jump then.” Thea waved like a tour guide, beckoning the group to shuffle after her.

“Thank you for coming,” Josh whispered to her, a sigh of relief rushing through his body.

“Like I had a choice,” Thea muttered back.

“Thea. I want the war to end.” The words Elijah spoke to him earlier echoed. “Maybe it needs a witch and a non-witch to stop it.”

Thea’s back straightened up. He thought she would rebuke him, or decide to deal with Elijah’s wrath and storm off to continue wandering.

Her eyes flickered over to the Deer-Headed God. “Yeah, well, don’t expect much help after you find Micah. I did my job.”

“I know.” He did know.

He nodded to the Deer-Headed God as he passed.

Caves

When Josh woke the next morning, it had all been a dream.

Meeting Micah. Going to the death temple. Getting sent back in time. None of it had happened. He had woken up to Elijah dead in his arms. His body shutting down. The radiation poisoning settling into his bones and disintegrating him from the inside out.

He gasped, heaving and wrenching. Scrambling to his feet and tripping out the opening of the tarp he had strung up between two trees to keep the moisture off of him before vomit spilled from his mouth. His hands clenched into the dirt. Rocks and sand scraping against his palms. Blood spilling onto the ground. The scent of death lingered in the air.

The low-lying chaparral and scrub doing nothing to keep the beating sun from his back.

“Woah, Josh. What’s wrong?” Ethan came up next to him.

Ethan? That was wrong. Ethan had died. What was he doing here?

He blinked rapidly, squinting at his brother in the dim morning light. When he looked back down at his hands, he wasn’t gripping rocks and sand, but leaves and moist, dark soil. The scrub that had surrounded him previously had disappeared. Instead, there were trees around him. They were keeping the cool, morning sun off his back.

“What…”

“I have him, Ethan. Go make breakfast,” Elijah said softly. He had on hand on Josh’s back and another around his front.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Let me talk to him for a bit; remind him where he is. Then you can come back.”

Ethan looked between the two of them and then shuffled away.

Thea and Brenner stood on the edge of camp, watching him. Brenner looked horrified. Thea looked sad.

“Up you get. Can you walk?” Elijah pulled Josh to his feet.

He stumbled and sagged into Elijah’s body. “I… I thought–”

He craned his neck, twisting his head as far back as it would go to keep an eye on Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry. All alive. All watching him with worried expressions painting their faces.

“I know. Come on. Sit over here and let me get you some water.”

He deposited Josh on a smooth, round boulder, facing Ethan and the others. Likely on purpose so he didn’t fade into another memory.

Elijah handed him a canteen of water. Josh thanked him with a rasp in his throat and swished the cool water around his mouth before spitting in on the ground. He used his shirt sleeve to wipe the snot that had come from his nose.

He pressed his tongue against his teeth. They weren’t there anymore. The headache was, though. The feeling of his lungs being stuffed with cotton; unable to get enough air.

“How often does that happen?” Elijah pulled out a stethoscope listen to his heart. He then pulled out Josh’s HComm and frowned. “Blasted thing says your dead.”

“I did die,” Josh says. “Then I came back.” It was the first time he had admitted it out loud.

“I see.” Elijah’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “I can hear your heart which is good enough for me. Answer the question.”

He took another drink of water. “It happened all the time when I first… woke up. It’s faded. It’s only… change. I guess. Thea triggered it.”

“What triggered it this time?”

“The tarp.” He tilted his head toward their piss-poor makeshift shelter. “Towards the end, neither of us had enough energy to properly string up a tarp. I thought you were dead. I wasn’t.”

Elijah brushed his warm hand over Josh’s forehead. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, love. I’m here. Ethan’s here. No one’s died yet.”

“Except for all those people at Canyon Pass. Everyone else who’s died because of this war.”

“I know. You can’t save everyone.”

“That’s why I’m focusing on saving you and Ethan.”

Elijah gave him a small, sad, smile and leaned forward to kiss him. “Are you feeling better?”

“Not really, but I don’t think that the apocalypse has happened.”

Elijah helped pull him to his feet. “Then that’s the best I can hope for. Come on, let’s get some food in you.”

Without Preston there yelling at them to get moving, breakfast was a much more relaxed and delicious affair.

Priscilla found some eggs and brought them back to eat.

Josh cracked them in a sizzling pan, greased with butter Thea had on her. Was this the result of another deal with a demon? He pulled out some flatbreads he had made before they left to add to the meal. Elijah and Thea found some berries, edible mushrooms, and leafy greens to add to the mix.

“I don’t think I’ve eaten so much food in awhile,” Priscilla said.

“It saves us from having to use our rations.” Henry agreed.

Josh savored the food. The fat from the butter. The crispy outside and fluffy inside of the flatbread. Even the eggs, though unseasoned, gave the meal a weight that settled in his stomach pleasantly. Topped with the bursting fresh, sweet berries, he may have died and gone to heaven. The last time he had had a fruit was those pastries Weaver gave him. They were nothing compared to this. The natural sugars of the berries coating his tongue. He could picture them on top of a cake. Or maybe blended with sweet cream and put into a roll.

Maybe, if he pulled this off and got a promotion, he could afford to buy sweet cream and white flour to bake more often.

Food now consumed, it was time to go. Josh took up his place at the front, leading the pack. Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry all went to the back to make sure they didn’t ‘lose Brenner’. That left Brenner, Elijah, and Thea in the middle.

The group made their way through the forest silently. The only things that could be heard where the sounds of their feet crunching the soft ground. Occasionally breaking sticks. Everything else, silent. Not even a conversation.

Per Weaver’s request, no one knew they were out here. Too dangerous with a potential spy running around. If the soldiers caught them, they’d likely be shot on sight, especially this close to the border.

If the witches caught them, well… Josh had heard horror stories of POWs in witch territory. It’d be better if the non-witches caught them. A quicker, less painful death.

He didn’t want to get caught regardless. No one was going to help them. They were completely on their own. That thrilled him as much as it scared him.

Finally, for the first time in his life, he could make the calls. He could lead without worrying about making his superior officers look good. Now, he could be everything he was trained to be and more.

As the sun rose and the air got warmer, they continued to shuffle.

“Alright,” he said, reading his coordinate system. One lone dot showed their entry point. “The cave system is up ahead. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but I suppose that’s one benefit to extreme rationing, no one here is filled out.” He glanced back at Thea.

Out of all of them, she probably weighed the most. Benefits to having a gold ration card, he supposed. Thankfully, even she didn’t seem to be much bigger than the rest of them. Honestly, the biggest challenge for both her and Josh would be their height.

“A bright side to everything,” Priscilla muttered. “How you doing, Brenner? Still alive?”

Brenner let out a groan. “Please tell me Osairae is close to the border. My feet are going to fall off.”

“Oh, no. It’s still another day’s walk at least.”

“Another day!”

“We’ll need to change our clothes.” Elijah glanced down at his uniform. “This sticks out too much.”

“Where are we going to get clothes from?” Henry asked.

“Relax,” Thea said. “It’s like you forgot what my entire job was.”

Everyone let out hums of agreement. Josh and Elijah exchanged a glance. How exactly was Thea going to get them some clothes? Would she make another deal with a demon? Or did she know somewhere that sold witch clothing?

“Do you have a bag or something stashed out here?” Henry asked.

“On the other side of the caves.” Thea waved a hand in his direction. “This cave system is my main thoroughfare back and forth across the border.”

“What happens if the witches find it?” Priscilla asked. “Isn’t that a major liability to have a gaping hole like that?”

“The border is full of holes,” Ethan said. “You see there’s no one out here patrolling it. I’m guessing that it’s too difficult to get a sizable army through.”

“If we get out, that means they can also get in.” Henry suggested.

Josh’s eyes flickered to Brenner, who had his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists at his side. His handler may have found a cave just like this one to slip through. One handler was a lot easier to get through than a whole army.

Their eyes met. Brenner looked away. His throat bobbed.

“We’re here!” Thea chirped, coming to stand beside a giant rock.

Josh followed her movement. He froze when he saw what she was standing besides. It wasn’t just a giant rock. It was a giant rock structure covered in moss and mushrooms.

His breath caught in his throat. His chest, hands, and toes tingled.

Spots danced in his vision. Sweat beaded on his brow. His entire body stood there, rigid, unable to move as he stared.

They climbed up the rock. White and brown capped buttons.

He could feel them under his feet. Squishy. Between his toes. Wet. Under his soles. Soft.

He was going to die. He was going to die. Those mushrooms would eat him and decay his body until there was nothing left but bones.

The Deer-Headed God behind Thea flickered. His flesh melted from his face until he was nothing more than a skeleton. Everything stopped.

Josh pressed his tongue against his teeth. They wiggled before falling from his head. The ache in his jaw was back. The ringing in his ears. The pounding headache.

“Josh?” Ethan asked, beside him.

He put a hand on his shoulder. The heat from his skin burned through Josh’s uniform. In the corner of his eye, he could see Ethan. His body blown to bits. Parts scattered around the canyon. The blood and dust, mixing together until it made a sticky paste.

“Josh, can you hear me?”

He could.

An echo.

The last words Ethan spoke to him.

“Josh?” Elijah this time.

He came to stand in front of Josh. His warm brown eyes now clouded over and a milky blue. His skin and lips blue and pale. Flies crawling out of his mouth and nose. Maggots crawling out and dropping into the dirt. Wiggling away. Consumed by the mushrooms.

“Panic attack.” Elijah continued. “Give us a minute.” He took his wrist in his hand and wrapped his fingers so they pressed on his pulse.

“Do you need me to go?” Ethan asked.

Thea ushered Priscilla, Henry, and Brenner away from him.

The Deer-Headed God stayed where he was. Their eyes locked as the mushrooms climbed up his body and stripped his bones of his flesh.

“No, stay for now. We need to keep him calm and focused on us.”

The tingling in his fingers and toes stopped, instead leaving them numb. They weren’t a part of his body any more. They had rotted off.

“What caused it? He’s never had panic attacks before. This morning was the same thing,” Ethan said.

The flies buzzed loud in his head. It was like they were screaming. Each time a maggot fell to the earth, he felt the ground shake. The sounds of them hitting the mushrooms letting out a deafening boom.

“The mind is resilient, but also fragile. Who knows what set it off.”

Elijah turned his attention back to Josh. “Josh, can you hear me?” He put his hands on either side of his head. They burned. Too hot and too cold at the same time.

Tears streaked down Josh’s face. He couldn’t breathe.

“We’ll get you calm, okay?”

He didn’t answer.

Elijah dropped his hands. He put them on Josh’s arms to tug him to the ground. Josh went easily. His breathes wheezing out of his lungs.

A third hand found him. On his back. Ethan. It must have been Ethan. It couldn’t be Ethan. Ethan didn’t have any hands. He didn’t have a body.

“Focus on Ethan and I, okay? We’re both here. We’re both alive.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Ethan asked.

Josh pressed his tongue against his teeth once more. There was a gap. No tooth there. It hadn’t rotted out because of the radiation. No, it had been knocked out.

Ethan still had his hands. He hadn’t blown up. Elijah spoke to him. The dead did not speak. They couldn’t.

“Eli?” Josh gasped.

In front of him stood the Deer-Headed God, now covered completely in mushrooms. They stitched themselves together until they looked like muscles. Ligaments. Fascia. From those grew skin. From that skin, sprouted fur. Eyes. Teeth. Each covered the skeleton until he was kneeling before the Deer-Headed God as he had been with Thea. Alive. Warm. No rot to be seen. No mushrooms to be seen.

“Yes, we’re here. Ethan and I are both here,” Elijah said.

Josh swallowed. “The mushrooms. Death… it’s death… Everyone’s dead.” He gasped. Why couldn’t he breathe properly? Why did it feel like someone had cut his airway clean through with a knife? “Micah⁠—”

“Who’s Micah?” Ethan asked.

“Not now,” Elijah said. “We need to get him calm.”

Yes, now. They needed to deal with this now. The mushrooms were here. They stood before the Temple of Death, leading Josh to it. Beckoning him into the darkness.

“Will he die?”

Elijah’s hand reached up to stroke Josh’s brow. It didn’t burn. Warm. Not too hot or cold. “No, panic attacks don’t kill. It’s not pleasant, though. Obviously. We can’t go anywhere with him like this.”

“Right.” Ethan settled next to Josh, his hand still on his back. “What should I do?”

“Keep talking to him. Short sentences. Keep him grounded.”

He could see out of the corner of his eye Ethan nodded. He could nod because his head was still attached to his body. He hadn’t stepped on a land mine. He wasn’t dead.

“Josh? It’s me, Ethan. Can you hear me?”

He could hear the wince in Ethan’s voice as he spoke. As if what he said was dumb.

“Ethan?” he gasped.

He forced his head to swivel toward Ethan. It felt uncoordinated. Like he had over-lubed a hinge and now he had no traction on his spine.

“Yes, I’m right here.” Ethan’s hand stroked his back.

One of Elijah’s hand still grasped Josh’s wrist, feeling his pulse.

“Did you have the meat pie they served in the mess hall last week? It was some special celebration so we got meat instead of lentils.”

“What?” Josh wheezed.

Lentils. He liked lentils. Especially when he seasoned them. He could mash them and put them over rice. It tasted good.

“Yeah, it was disgusting. The sign said it was beef. I think it was rat. Who has enough money to raise cows anymore?”

“Rat?”

“I think it was rat. Priscilla thinks it was pigeon.”

“It was!” Priscilla shouted.

She shouted because she was alive. She still had her leg.

“No it wasn’t. Pigeons taste like chicken and that didn’t taste like chicken. It had to be rat.”

“I agree,” Henry said. “Besides, most of the pigeons are gone anyway. People ate them all. They haven’t eaten all the rats.”

“Have you ever had chicken?” Josh asked.

He could feel his lungs expand and contract. First short and aborted; too quick to properly get enough air. Then, they filled more. His breathing slowed down. He no longer heard the buzzing of the flies.

“The meat wasn’t dark enough to be rat, though,” Priscilla said. “It had to be pigeon. It was white, like other bird meat.”

Elijah sat in front of him; one hand on his wrist, the other stroking his forehead. The warmth brought him back to reality. He could breathe. No one died. He wasn’t standing in front of the Death Temple.

It took a few more minuets of them arguing over the mess hall food. The argument had left the pigeon versus rat debate and pivoted to which was the better mashed vegetable: potatoes or turnips.

The flesh stayed on the Deer-Headed God and the mushrooms remained on the ground.

With each passing minute, Josh breathed a little easier until he had finally regained complete control over himself.

He sat back and rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

He glanced back at the mushrooms. He pulled his eyes away before he could panic again. They wasted enough time already.

Elijah stood and helped him up. Josh’s legs felt like the bones had been removed. He had to lean more on Elijah than he would have liked.

“PTSD is complicated. Deep breaths. You’ll be alright.”

He nodded and kissed Elijah’s forehead. “Thanks for helping me.”

“Anytime.”

“Alright, let’s get going,” Thea clapped her hands together and smiled. “I’ll go first. Everyone else follow along behind me.

Josh turned to enter the cave only for Ethan to pull him back.

“Josh,” he hissed, “What was that? What happened?”

“I had a panic attack, Ethan. I’m sorry.” Shame crawled up his neck. His cheeks burned.

“Mushrooms?”

“What?”

“Mushrooms? That’s what triggered you? How is that a trigger?”

Because he wasn’t there. He didn’t see them crawling up the Temple of Death. He didn’t feel the darkness pressing in around him. He never had the resolute acceptance of death thrumming through his veins. He never felt his heart stop.

“I don’t know.” Josh answered. “I’ll try not to let it happen again.”

“I don’t care if it happens again. I mean, I do. It’s just… ever since Canyon Pass you’ve been different. I’m worried, Josh.”

He hugged Ethan tight, luxuriating in the feel of his heart beating against his chest. The way his body felt warm and whole in his arms.

“I know. I had an epiphany at Canyon Pass. Following Preston was never going to win the war. It was only going to lead us to our deaths. I know it seems sudden, and it is. But, Ethan, I’m doing whatever it takes to end the war. That means not doing what I’ve always done. Okay?”

Ethan grumbled.

“Guys, are you coming or not?” Thea called.

“Alright. Come on. We’ve wasted enough time.” Josh stepped back to ruffle his hair, leading to Ethan letting out a squawk of annoyance.

“Are you sure that’s the cave? Looks like solid rock to me.” Brenner wrinkled his nose.

Josh could see what he meant, but he also knew it was a cave. The shadows that peaked between the rock were too dark to be, in fact, shadows. They didn’t move with the sun.

Thea grinned. “That’s why this is so brilliant. Nature has provided us a secret tunnel. So well hidden that the witches don’t know it’s here.” She knelt down and began scrapping off the moss and the mushrooms. “If they don’t know it’s here, then they won’t be watching for it.” Her fingernails found purchase on the moss and pulled back its carpet, revealing a small hole.

“Here you have it. A cave!” Thea gestured to it, beaming and looking to them.

“I don’t know if we’re going to fit,” Priscilla said.

“You will if you get down and crawl. Come on guys, if I got through here, you can too. Follow me!” Thea got down on her stomach and shimmied through the cave.

They looked at each other. Brenner followed. Then Priscilla. Then Henry. Finally leaving only Josh, Elijah and Ethan standing outside.

“Go.” He told his brother. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“What if you have another attack?” Ethan asked.

Josh swallowed and looked at the darkness. It called to him, not unlike the Death Temple. While his heart crawled up his throat, he remembered feeling calm and safe. As if the pain would end soon.

“I’ll be fine, okay? Trust me, Ethan.”

Ethan hesitated, then nodded and got down on his stomach to crawl through the tight opening. Elijah squeezed his hand before disappearing into the rocks.

Josh looked up at where the Deer Skull had been placed at the Death Temple. No deer skull to speak of. The sun chased the shadows in the rocks. The cracks made it look like there was one.

“I’m not ready to meet you. I was before, I’m not anymore.”

The sun shifted enough so that the shadow deer skull vanished.

He took a deep breath, got down on his belly, and crawled through the opening of the cave.

Dark

“Damn, this place is tight,” Priscilla groaned from up ahead.

“What are you complaining about?” Ethan called back. “You’re smaller than us. I’m going to have gouges on my back for weeks!”

“That’s why you need to get good.” Henry countered. “I’m moving through this cave like a breeze.”

“Liar,” Priscilla snipped.

Josh let them bicker. It wasn’t like they would give away their position to the enemy with all their noise. Besides, it was nice to hear them talking. To hear them arguing. It kept him grounded.

While this place was nothing like the Death Temple, the darkness made it hard for him to remember that. Besides, maybe this place was like the Death Temple. After all, his mind had difficulties remembering what the past was and what the present was. What had happened. What had been erased. What was yet to come.

Maybe the Death Temple had been just like this.

Or maybe not.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he wasn’t alone. He had Priscilla, Ethan, Henry, and Elijah with him.

Speaking of Elijah, he cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. So caught up in his own panic, he completely forgot about Elijah.

“Eli, how you doing?” He kept his voice low enough so that the others wouldn’t hear.

Ethan knew of Elijah’s hatred of small, tight, dark spaces. He wasn’t sure about Priscilla or Henry.

“I’m fine. One hand in front of the other,” Elijah called back. His voice shook through the darkness. He sounded like Josh; only just barely holding onto his sanity.

“You’re not there, Eli,” he said softly. “You’re safe.”

“Maybe not. The cave might collapse on us at any moment.” Elijah tried to sound like his usual snarky self, but failed miserably.

“You’re supposed to be the optimistic one of us.”

“Since when?”

“Since you said I was the realist. You were the optimist. The best combination you could have during an…” He swallowed the last word.

He and Elijah never had that conversation. That Elijah was dead.

“Josh?” Elijah’s panicked, shaking voice echoed through the cave.

He swallowed down his… his what? His grief? His longing? His confusion? It didn’t matter. He swallowed down his emotions.

“I’m here, Eli,” he said. “Focus on my voice. The voices of Ethan and Priscilla arguing.”

Elijah let out a huff that was supposed to be a laugh. Priscilla and Ethan bickered about who had it worse, crawling through these caves. Ethan, because he was bigger. Therefore, the rocks scraped against him more. Or Priscilla, because she was stuck behind Henry’s smelly feet.

“They do know how to lighten the mood, I suppose,” Elijah said. “I’m sorry for panicking.”

“I panicked first.”

“Yes. I suppose you did.”

“At least we didn’t both panic at the same time. Then we’d be shit out of luck.”

That got another laugh from Elijah. “What would they do if we both were out of commission?”

“Ethan would take charge. He just wouldn’t be as good as us.”

“I think Ethan would be a fine leader.”

Josh hummed in agreement. He felt the tension seep out of his shoulders. He and Elijah, both affected by the darkness, but for completely different reasons. As selfish as it was to say, he did find comfort in that.

“If you could bake anything, what would you bake?” Elijah asked.

“Hmm, I don’t know.” Josh answered. “Maybe a cake.”

“A cake?”

“A good, proper cake. With frosting on it.”

“Mmm, sounds delightful. What flavors?”

He knew what Elijah was doing. He didn’t care one bit.

Priscilla was right. This place was tight. The ceiling scraped along Josh’s back and shoulders. The rocks tore his uniform to ribbons. He could feel the cool air against his skin. The rocks chafed until they wore away enough layers to cause him to bleed. At least the blood helped lubricate his body.

One hand in front of the other. His feet dug into the dirt behind him to help spur him forward, inch by agonizing inch.

“Chocolate,” he said before he could focus too much on the rocks closing in around him. “A rich, dense chocolate cake.”

“Fruit?” Elijah asked.

“Orange.”

“Orange?”

He nodded. “A dark chocolate orange cake. With candied orange peels. A chocolate buttercream.”

“Sounds divine.”

The narrow opening pressed on his back and against his chest. It squeezed him. If his arms weren’t already in front, he’d never get them out to pull himself along. That alone made his stomach clench. It flipped under his skin. He pushed all thoughts of getting stuck to the side. His arms were out in front. He could keep pulling himself along.

“I’ll make it for you. One day. I’ll have to save up to get the good chocolate, but I can do it.”

He couldn’t breathe. The rocks, solid around him, refused to let his lungs expand fully. They pinned his arms and legs in place. Only leaving him just enough room to wiggle forward just a little bit further.

He hoped they could move forward. They could never turn around. They could only move forward. He didn’t know where they were going. The light had long ago been snuffed out. He couldn’t see Ethan in front of him. Though, several times, he grabbed hold of his foot.

“We’ll save up together,” Elijah said. “That way it goes twice as fast. Maybe once we’ve saved the world, that’s what we’ll get.”

“A celebratory cake?”

Thea must have been using some sort of magic to guide her way through. She couldn’t know how to get out of here by heart.

What if she wasn’t using magic? What if she used her memory and memory alone? How reliable was it?

That brought up a new crop of worries for Josh.

What if she forgot the way? What if the caves changed? What if a collapse blocked their exit? What if they were trapped here forever?

Josh was prepared to die. That was part of being a soldier. He wasn’t prepared to die in a cave. Slowly suffocated and starved to death until he eventually wasted away. No one would come looking for him.

“Can you think of a better way to celebrate ending the war?” Elijah asked in the darkness.

He swallowed. He had to stop thinking like that. The more he thought of the situation, the more panicked he became. He would not panic back here.

He couldn’t.

If he panicked, then Elijah would panic. If Elijah panicked, then everyone else would panic. That would slow everyone down. The slower they went, the more likely they were to die.

Just put one hand in front of the other.

One hand in front of the other.

Felt the soft, moist dirt between his fingers. It was so much cooler in here than outside. The smell of damp earth and mildew hung in the air. It wasn’t a bad smell. It was organic, in a way. He was organic with it.

One hand in front of the other.

One hand.

One hand.

One hand.

“I can think of a few ways that would be better.” His voice shook through the air.

Was it just him, or was it getting harder to breathe? Had the carbon dioxide built up with all their bodies crammed into this cave? Maybe they didn’t have to get stuck to suffocate. Maybe they’d suffocate all the same. Each breathed too heavily. The space too tight to properly expel the carbon dioxide and bring in more oxygen.

“Ew, gross,” Ethan said from up ahead.

“I was talking about having more food.”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure.”

“A nice steak?” Elijah suggested.

The thought of rotting bodies sitting out in the sun made his stomach roil. He swallowed down the bile.

“Or that lentil and potato pie,” he said.

“Nah, if I end the war. I want steak,” Ethan said.

The cave opened up. The rocks no longer dragged across his back. They no longer pinned his lungs in place. He could expand them fully.

He felt air on his face. A pinprick of light in the distance.

Hope.

Occasionally, a body blotted out that light. But he could see it! It got bigger and bigger and bigger.

They weren’t trapped down here forever. They would be free in a few short moments.

Even Elijah seemed to relax behind him. The further they climbed, the less it reminded him of the Death Temple.

Thea knocked away the dirt covering the entrance and pulled herself out. Then Brenner. Then Henry. Then Priscilla. Then Ethan. Then Elijah. A hand yanked him back into the light. Dirt fell in his eyes and got in his nose and mouth. He spat out a glob of mud.

“Okay?” Elijah asked as he all but collapsed on the ground. He looked shaken. Pale with eyes darting around like he expected someone or something to attack. His glasses were so covered in dirt there was no way he could see out of them.

“Yeah? You?” He reached up to brush some dirt streaked across Elijah’s cheek. He plucked Elijah’s glasses from his face and did his best to clean the dirt off. They ended up streaking. He told himself they were better than before.

“Fine.” Elijah had his arms wrapped tight around his torso. Breathing deeply in a measured way that meant he was trying to keep his breaths slow and even. It wouldn’t surprise Josh if he counted each inhale and exhale.

“It’s alright if you aren’t. I’m not.” He pulled Elijah into a hug while the others groaned and stretched behind them. “I know anything that reminds you of that crawlspace–”

“It’s different.” Elijah cut him off.

“It feels the same.”

Elijah let out another shudder before collapsing into Josh’s chest. He wrapped his arms around his back and squeezed him tight. “I’ll be alright. I promise.”

“I know you will.”

“Are you okay?”

Josh looked back at the entrance to the cave. He could see a deer skull sitting above it. Several different kinds of mushrooms clumped together around the entrance.

This was not the Death Temple.

“I will be,” he said.

Their eyes met. A smile bloomed across both of their lips.

“Alright, quit being sappy.” Thea called. “We’re burning daylight.”

“Are we on the witch side now?” Priscilla asked.

The group turned from the cave, walking quickly but quietly through the dense underbrush.

“I was tracking. Then, once we got into that cave, it was like all time and space ceased to exist.” She continued.

Brenner eyed the mountains looming at their backs. “I don’t think we were in there long enough to go through the entire mountain.”

“Yes, we were,” Thea said. “To answer your question, yes, we are officially past the Great Divide and over into Megaloceros. Welcome. Enjoy your stay.”

“Huh. I would have thought it’d look more… magical,” Ethan said as he looked around. “This place looks just like Deerland.”

“It is the same continent.” Thea pointed out. “Once, it was all the same country. Before the war.”

“What does magical look like?” Brenner asked.

“I don’t know. Glowy shit. Maybe some talking animals.” Ethan rolled his eyes.

“Talking animals?” Henry asked.

“Okay, so not talking animals. Something other than… than this.” He gestured to the forest sprawling out in front of them.

Indeed, it didn’t feel much different than it had on the other side of the cave system. The trees looked like trees. The birds sounded like birds. The air smelled like forest air. Cleaner than Welton, but not any different from what it had been before. If Josh didn’t know any better, he’d think they were still standing on the Deerland side of the great divide.

He understood what Ethan was saying.

Thea wrinkled her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s just… I don’t know. You hear so many stories about the witch cities. How opulent they are.”

“Osairae is opulent,” Thea said. “We’re in the boonies. The middle of nowhere. Every place has a nowhere.”

Ethan’s shoulders slouched. “I know that. The forest I thought would be different. A different vibe. Softer. Older. More powerful. Like a painting instead of a photo.”

“It didn’t feel real,” Elijah said softly beside him. “It felt like something out of a book. Now that we’re here, it is real.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened imperceptibly. “Yeah. It’s real now.”

Ambush

Despite first appearances, they were not in the middle of a forest with no signs of human life.

As they stepped away from the cave, Josh noticed piles of rocks that were too deliberate to be natural.

These weren’t rocks from mountains, long worn away by wind and rain. No. They had a geometric quality that rarely occurred in nature. The farther they got from the mountain, the more he realized why.

“These were buildings at one point.” He came to stop in a square.

He would have missed it had he not noticed the moss was different in the area than right outside of it. He scraped away the greenery with his thumb, revealing a dappled grey stone that looked like it had been smooth. Water pooled in the microscopic divots, wearing them away until the surface became uneven with pockmarks.

“A village was here a long time ago.” Thea looked around with a mournful, wistful look on her face. Besides her, the Deer-Headed God bowed his head, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

“What happened to it?” Ethan asked as they continued their deliberate trek through the ruins.

Josh kept his head on a swivel, in case enemies hid behind worn stone walls and remnants of homes lost to time and reclaimed by nature.

“What happens to most villages along the Great Divide,” Elijah’s voice was wistful as he floated through the village.

He wasn’t following the group. Instead, he wandered away, almost as if he were in a trance, toward one of the more undamaged buildings in the area. Its walls crumbling, covered in vines. Out of everything Josh had seen so far, they were the most structurally sound.

“Eli?” Josh’s stomach churned with worry.

Had he been entranced by a witch? Was there some magic still lingering in the air that acted as some sort of ancient defense system? Was Elijah heading to a trap that would kill him?

“This is a healing temple.” Elijah answered instead. “You can see the Lion-Bodied Goddess here.”

“Eli, wait!”

Elijah didn’t wait. He put his hand right on the Lion-Bodied Goddess. Josh gasped, expecting some sort of trap to fall. For Elijah to die right before his eyes.

Nothing happened. The only sounds he heard were the birds chirping in the tree. The lazy buzzing of insects swirling through the air.

Elijah turned to him. “It’s alright. Nothing is here.”

Josh’s eyes flickered to Thea. Her mouth pressed into a hard line. Her eyes studied Elijah intently. She gave a small nod to Josh, confirming Elijah’s claim.

He let his shoulders sag with relief. “You still shouldn’t touch things. What if that had been a trap?”

“Yeah, what if fire shot out of the lion or something?” Henry came up to study the carving.

“I told you, this was a Healing Temple. Not a fire one.”

“She was associated with the Fire Truths, though,” Henry said.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “She’s associated with both. Fire can sterilize, so it’s common to use it in medical practices. You can tell this one’s specifically healing and not fire because she’s got the deer antlers on her head. If this were a fire temple, she’d have the flames surrounding her.”

“That’s cool, you can see the difference like that,” Priscilla said. “I wish we learned more about the gods. I mean, I know they’re all for the witches and not for us, but still.”

“They’re not,” Thea said.

The Deer-Headed God refused to look Josh in the eyes.

“Yeah, they are.” Henry argued. “Why would the witches have Truths associated with the various gods? The gods exist for the witches, and the witches exist because of the gods. We’re a mistake.”

Thea frowned. “The gods exist for everyone. The witches are supposed to be a conduit to their will. It’s not the gods’ fault the witches haven’t been using their divine powers for good.”

Henry frowned, not convinced in the slightest. “How do you know? It’s not like you talk to the gods regularly. They don’t care about non-witches like us.”

Josh’s eyes flickered to the Deer-Headed God. He raised his eyes to meet Josh’s. He only saw pain in those eyes.

“Look! More buildings!” Ethan said in a burst of false cheer to distract from the brewing argument. “Any cool runes we can take?”

It worked and Henry went with Ethan to explore.

“Should they be taking the runes?” Josh asked.

The last thing he needed was for his crew to get their asses cursed. The Lion-Bodied Goddess may not have smote Elijah for touching the temple. That didn’t mean that every second they spent here was another second pushing their luck. He still wasn’t convinced that the Gods cared about the non-witches just as much as they cared about the witches.

Thea shrugged. “Everything’s dead here. All the magic has been leached out of the buildings and artifacts and back into the ground. As long as they don’t burn the place down, they should be fine.”

“How can you sure? How long does that take?” Brenner asked.

“Decades. Before you ask, I think the soldiers destroyed this village during the Battle of the Nine Nights. So, we’ve got nearly a century. That’s why the magic is so weak here. It’s been dissipating for a while.”

Ah, yes. The Battle of the Nine Nights. A battle that took place right after General Deer’s death. The soldiers had made a massive push into witch territory to gain as much ground as possible. They had razed it all. Burning everything in their path in hopes that if they destroyed enough territory, it would break the witches’ will to fight. To force them into a surrender. No wonder so little of the village remained. This wasn’t just a push to gain some territory. This was a push to make it as unlivable as possible.

He looked around at the ruins. He never thought much about the Battle of the Nine Nights and what sort of destruction it caused. It had been more of a fairytale than anything. Too distant in time and space for Josh to consider the implications. Besides, he had more important things to worry about.

Like keeping Ethan alive and finding a job that would pay him consistently. In his mind, the witches deserved the destruction. They had enslaved non-witches for thousands of years prior. Why should they get to keep their villages and their comfort? Why not raze it all to the ground and give the non-witches a chance to start fresh?

As he walked through the ruins, Elijah’s form in the corner of his eye, a wave of nausea rolled over him.

He let his feet carry him through the maze of the healing temple, stepping over stone bowls and passing by murals half-covered in vines and chipped by time that showed the lion-bodied goddess and her various forms healing.

How many witch children stuffed themselves in the walls to hide from the army burning their village to the ground? How many were like Elijah; staying in one place for hours in the cramped crawl space while they listened to their parents, friends, and family scream? How many people had supported the non-witches’ cause, but were killed indiscriminately because they were witches and therefore the enemy?

How many survived?

How many were afraid of dark, tight spaces afterward?

What if Josh had been at the Battle of the Nine Nights? Would he have followed orders and burned the village to the ground? Would he have swallowed his guilt as children burned to death?

What if Micah had been in this village? What about that little boy? Would he have killed them all the same? Without hesitating?

He knew the answer.

He did not want to admit it.

Elijah caught his eye. He laced their fingers together and offered a soft smile. “It’s in the past, my love. We need to keep moving forward.”

Josh swallowed. “I feel like my past and your past are different.”

“Maybe. We can’t change it.”

“I can, though. I am. I could–”

Elijah shook his head. “No. This is a special circumstance. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We don’t know if this is going to make things better or worse. The witches don’t go to the past every time they fail for a reason. They haven’t gone back and stopped General Deer from starting the rebellion for a reason. Or kept the Battle of the Nine Nights from happening. We can’t change the past. We shouldn’t. If we did, we’d never learn.”

Josh didn’t respond.

Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry had gone up ahead. The three of them pulled Brenner along in a way that seemed friendly on the surface, but they kept a close eye on him.

“He’s right, you know,” Thea said. “The human body and brain weren’t meant to experience multiple timelines. I know you know that.”

“Yeah,” Josh put a hand to his forehead, hoping to press away the headache building behind his eyes. “It’s hard to keep everything straight. Like at the cave entrance. One minute, I was here. The next, I was standing back in front of the temple. Everyone, dead. Normally, I can call myself back because of the little changes. Like how my teeth are missing. They weren’t missing back then. They were loose. I pressed my tongue against them, and they would wiggle. Here, I swear all of my teeth were back in my head. You and Ethan, I could only see you as dead. Even as you talked to me, I couldn’t remember that you were alive.”

Thea hummed. “Time travel is banned for a reason. It fucks with you’re brain. Normally, people with PTSD can have trouble distinguishing past from present. For you, it’s different. You’re living with two completely different realities. Your brain is struggling to figure out how to fit the pieces together. Most people go mad. At least, I think they do. That’s what all the texts say. As far as I’m aware, no one’s done something like this for decades, at least. There’s a reason.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “Great. Just what I want to hear. I’m going mad. Any idea how to stop it?”

Thea shrugged. “Not really. If we knew how to stop it, then we would time-travel all the time.”

She had a point, as much as Josh was loath to admit.

The idea of time travel was an exciting opportunity to turn the tide of war. His mind raced with potential battles that could have been won, had they only had a second chance. The witches were not stupid. They knew how to fight a war. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have gone on for as long as it had. Yet, they didn’t use time travel. They lost battles. They let General Ethan Deer live and start his rebellion. That must mean that time travel was dangerous. Too dangerous to be used as a legitimate tactic, even once. Even to stop General Deer from rising up.

“Micah must have been desperate to break a taboo like that,” Thea said, her voice far away. Her eyes stared off into the distance.

“Matilda was the one who told her.” Josh remembered Micah mentioning her several times.

“Matilda?” Elijah asked. “You didn’t tell me about Matilda.”

“She was dead by the time we met. We were the last two people alive on the continent. Maybe the world. If we weren’t, the fallout from the radiation would have made it only a matter of time before the rest of the world collapsed. Of course, she was desperate. I was desperate. I teamed up with a witch, for crying out loud.”

Thea pulled her eyes from the horizon. “Are you sure about that? Did you scour every inch of the planet to ensure that no other survivors were around? Did you test the nuclear fallout to see how potent it was? Did you exhaust every option?”

Josh did not answer. He had not done that. It was something that had taken root in the back of his head. What if there were other survivors? What if the bombs cleansed away the war and brought about a new era of peace? What if Elijah was right? By going back in time, he made everything worse, not better? He’d never know because he had never given the world a chance to know.

He looked to Elijah. He had been the whole reason he had followed Micah to the Temple. After Elijah’s death, he couldn’t care less what the rest of the world was doing or how it was healing. What was the point of peace if everyone he loved had died?

Had he been so selfish in that moment to take away a potential bright future just so that he could save his brother and husband?

Maybe he should have killed himself. At least they couldn’t blame him if the entire world went to shit again.

“What?” Elijah looked back.

Josh cleared his throat. He didn’t want to admit what he had just thought. He didn’t regret not killing himself and doing all of this, yet. If he was technically reliving the last three months of his life, to him, it felt like he had gotten several more weeks with Elijah and Ethan. Weeks that he treasured more than anything. The altruistic part of his brain screamed at him that he was wrong for placing Elijah and Ethan’s well-being above all else.

The selfish part of his brain didn’t care. He didn’t care if he didn’t make the world a better place. He didn’t care if this made life worse for everyone. He didn’t care about any of it but Elijah and Ethan’s safety.

Did that make him a bad person?

“Things were different back then. Or, in the future. Whenever they took place. Thea, you don’t understand how hopeless it was. You don’t understand what it’s like to see millions of bodies rotting in the streets. To feel your teeth fall from your head. To walk until your feet bleed. To wake up next to someone only to realize they died in the night.”

Elijah looked away from him.

“Maybe someone else was alive. But, Gods, was it worth it to survive a world where there weren’t even birds?”

Thea at least had the decency to look ashamed for suggesting it. Maybe Josh shouldn’t have suggested it.

He shouldn’t have said anything. The truth only served to curdle his stomach. Once more, his selfishness had reared its ugly head. He wanted someone else to know. To understand how hard it was. To not be so alone with these thoughts. These visions came every time he closed his eyes. The stench of death clung to him. The sight of meat threw him back to a time when bodies piled on the street. Him having to constantly press his tongue to his teeth just to orient himself in time and space. He wanted someone with him.

The old Elijah had been. He had lived through all of this. He had seen what Josh had seen. This Elijah… He wasn’t him. He’d never be him if Josh were successful. It felt like he loved two men.

He didn’t know which one he wanted more.

“I watched that kid die. I listened to his chest rattle for twenty minutes. And then I woke up to my husband stiff and cold beside me. Finally, I died. In that Death Temple.”

“Wait, you died?” Thea gasped.

Josh turned to look at her. “Yeah. My heart stopped. When it started again, I was back here. Isn’t that part of the ritual? Micah made it seem like it was.”

Thea blinked at him several times; her mouth slack with shock. “That is not part of any ritual I’ve ever read. Wow, that girl was playing with fire. She could have sent you back and killed you in the past as well. It’s a miracle you survived.”

“One more thing to be thankful for, I guess.” How come he didn’t feel thankful? How come he couldn’t decide if he was doing a good thing or not?”

Elijah wrapped his arms around his torso. “Even if you’re not thankful, I am. I can’t heal dead things.”

Josh brought his hand up to grip Elijah’s arm. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. The two of them simply sat there.

Elijah shivered. “Gods, it’s cold here. Is it because the sun is behind the mountain?” He turned back to look at the mountain looming over them, now completely hid the sun. Still bright enough that it glowed, leaving a halo.

Josh squinted. “I guess so. It does feel like it’s gotten cold fast.”

He had hardly spent any time in this part of the country.

Had it gotten this cold this fast during the apocalypse? He couldn’t remember. There had been so much pain. Mental and physical.

Welton didn’t get cold quickly. The smog and heat from the factories and bodies held in the heat for a long time. While the desert did get cold, it was often only after the sun went down for the evening.

His breath came out in puffs, looking almost like he was exhaling smoke. “We should keep moving. I want to find a place to shelter before the temperature drops much more.”

Up ahead, Brenner froze. His body paled so fast, Josh worried he was about to die.

He did not collapse onto the ground, though, which only caused more confusion to swirl through Josh’s head.

“Brenner, you alright?” He asked.

Gods, his fingers were cold. They hurt because of the cold. The very muscles themselves stiffened like rubber bands until they threatened to snap. He linked his hand with Elijah’s to help warm them up. Only, Elijah’s hands were so cold that they did nothing.

The tip of his nose and his ears burned. His eardrums ached. Snot ran out of his nose. His eyes wouldn’t stop watering.

“It’s spring. It shouldn’t be this cold. Even in the mountains.” Henry rubbed his hands up and down his arms.

The only part that hadn’t frozen completely yet was Josh’s chest. That felt strangely warm. It did little to help his frozen extremities.

Priscilla and Ethan sat shivering in the shadows.

“We need to get moving.” Ethan's teeth chattered.

“Where?” Priscilla asked. “Anywhere we go will be just as cold. We didn’t bring any cold-weather gear.”

“Like we’d ever get cold-weather gear,” Henry scoffed.

“We’ll find a cave.” Josh decided. “We’ll heat up easier if we have something to shelter us from the elements.”

“Another cave?” Elijah gave Josh’s hand a weak squeeze.

“It’s either a cave or freeze to death out here. Priscilla is right. We don’t have any cold-weather gear.”

Brenner had yet to move. He stood there, frozen. His eyes widened as his body shook. Pale. As if he had seen a ghost.

In fact, out of everyone here, he seemed to be the only one reacting strangely. He didn’t complain about the goal. He didn’t ask for a plan. He just stood there, eyes wide and mouth wider.

“Brenner, what’s going on?” he barked.

Brenner let out a whimper. Stiffly, he turned to him. “We need to get out of here, now.”

Josh’s brow furrowed. “Um, yeah? That’s what we’re trying to do?”

Maybe the cold popped his eardrums. Now he was hard of hearing. Josh would have to repeat everything twice. What a waste of space.

Brenner reached out and grasped Josh’s shoulders. His eyes wild. He shook him like a madman. “No, you don’t understand…”

“Um, Josh,” Elijah called.

What now? Why was everyone panicking? Why couldn’t they let him take care of Brenner? Why couldn’t they handle a bit of cold?

“What?” he snapped. He regretted snapping, but he felt frustrated by everyone trying to pull his attention in different directions.

Elijah held up his hand. Josh’s eyes widened.

Ice crystals coated the skin, glittering like diamonds in whatever sunlight hadn’t been hidden by the mountain. Wholly unnatural in the way they climbed up his arm.

“I think we have company.” Elijah’s voice shook. Soft. As if he didn’t want to let whoever was freezing them know that he knew about them.

It was too late for that, though. Josh barely had time to register Elijah’s words when a bolt of fire shot from the trees.

“Look out!” Thea tackled him and Brenner to the ground just as it soared over them. That brief burst of heat melted the ice just enough for Josh to get some feeling back in his fingers.

“Fire witches!” Ethan called as he grabbed Priscilla and Henry to drag them behind some ruins.

“And an ice witch.” Elijah scrambled toward them.

He grabbed Josh and Thea’s collars, practically throwing them behind the remains of the healing temple. Brenner scrambled after them. Elijah pulled out his revolver and took aim at the trees.

“An air witch as well,” Brenner gasped.

That must have been why his eyes were so wide. He probably felt the air witch removing the air from his lungs.

Guilt battered at Josh’s mind. He couldn’t imagine trying to breathe only for nothing to go in or out. No noise to escape your lungs. No way to signal for help.

He pushed that guilt aside. What’s done was done. They had a fight to win. He would not let it drown him.

“Shit. They just got all the elementals here. Don’t they?” He unclipped his rifle from his back, lined up the scope, and let out a shot.

Elijah was good with a gun, but that little revolver wouldn’t do much against their enemies.

One of the fire witches went down. More were waiting to take her place. So many more.

“It’s an ambush!” Ethan shouted over the chaos.

“No shit, dipshit,” Henry said. He tossed a grenade toward the bulk of the witches.

Josh ignored their screams as the shrapnel sliced their skin.

Why had the grenade caused so much rumbling? Then, he realized it wasn’t the grenade. It was an earth witch.

The ground beneath their feet buckled around them. The rocks shot up and pelted them. Why use guns when you could throw boulders? At least the earth would never run out of rocks, unlike Josh’s rifle.

Everyone scrambled, trying desperately to avoid the fire shooting from the trees and the rocks flying up from the ground.

Josh could hear someone laughing in the distance. Laughing at their pathetic attempts to outrun the ambush. He didn’t want to meet whoever it was.

Thankfully, whatever air witch Brenner thought was in the fray hadn’t stolen the oxygen from their lungs.

Yet.

Maybe the grenade had caught the witch in question. Or perhaps one of Ethan or Elijah’s shots had brought them down.

That was of little relief to Josh. If they let this go on, the witches would overrun them.

“They don’t seem to mind burning down the forest to get to us,” Elijah said. “Or destroying the temples. The fire ones should know better than to mess with the Lion-Bodied Goddess.”

“You still think the gods don’t play favorites?” Henry shouted.

Thea opened her mouth.

“Shut up, Henry.” Josh ordered. “Now is not the time to argue. Fall back. Regroup. We cannot let them overtake us.”

He poked his head out from behind the ruins to get an idea of how many there were and what sort of formation they were in. As soon as he did, a burst of fire came straight toward him.

Brenner tackled him to the ground once more, narrowly avoiding being burned alive.

The smell of ozone crackled in the air.

Josh reloaded his rifle. “Fuck me. They got lightning throwers.”

A bolt hit next to where they knelt, forcing them to scramble back.

“They’re trying to separate us,” Josh called over the chaos, recognizing the strategy immediately.

“They’re doing a great job at it,” Ethan called back.

More fire, lightning, and rocks ricocheted around them, forcing them further apart. Elijah had gotten completely separated from both groups, having taken shelter behind a particularly large rock with the Lion-Bodied Goddess carved into it. Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry all managed to stay together about fifty feet from Josh and the others. Though a few boulders tossed their way forced Henry to jump back. The pile separated the trio.

“Fuck!” Thea scrambled back to avoid a shot of ice aimed directly at her. The Deer-Headed God seemed unbothered by everything, floating along with her as she tried to evade the ice witch’s fury.

“I don’t know how many there are or how we can stop them,” Josh hissed as his friends got pulled further and further apart. “We don’t have enough ammo for each of us to shoot them all. We can’t get close enough to use our iron on them.”

“Unless we distract them and draw their fire while the rest of us swing around,” Brenner said.

“We can’t swing around, though. They’re in a U-shape around us. We’re pinned with the mountain at our back. We can’t retreat because of that damn mountain.”

“Maybe Thea can help? She is a witch.”

Another fireball. Another furious move to another pile of rocks.

“She’s a music witch. Unless you know of a way to weaponize music, I don’t think that’s going to help.”

The rock pile they hid behind shattered, stabbing them with shrapnel. Josh barely managed to protect his eyes. Millions of little cuts littered his hands. They ran to another rock.

“Besides, the others don’t know she’s a witch. Now is not the best time to bring that up.” He whirled around to fire a few more shots. He managed to hit two witches. It meant nothing. There were too many.

“Who the fuck keeps laughing?”

The air, despite the fire and lightning, stayed cold around them. So cold. Colder than Josh had ever been in his life. Welton never got this cold, and he remained firmly stationed in the southern half of the continent, which didn’t tend to get cold. This wasn’t natural. This was an ice witch, a subset of the Water Truths, making the air cold. He could see the signs now. The unnaturally fast way it crept up on all of them. The confusion as to how it could be so cold if the sun was still up. The fact that they were in spring and the mountains had warmed up. His fingers could barely pull the trigger; they were so stiff. It felt like the metal had frozen to his skin.

“Sans, do you trust me?” Brenner asked.

“Not at all.”

“You might want to start. We are about to get slaughtered if we don’t do something.”

He had a point, as much as Josh hated to admit it. While he didn’t trust Brenner at all, he could admit he couldn’t figure out what to do next. He had never been in such a dire situation before, and any plans he concocted he immediately tossed out as they wouldn’t yield any results. The best he could hope for, at this moment, was to take out as many witches as possible before he died.

He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want Elijah, Ethan, or the others to die. Which meant he had to be open to another way of doing things.

So, while he didn’t trust Brenner at all, his batshit insane ideas might be the only way for them to get out of this mess.

“Fine. What do you have?”

Brenner pulled out two runes. The ones from the prison that made them less visible to the rest of the world. “We can slip behind them and take them out. Or, at least make our numbers look larger, like we have back up. This might cause them to panic and force a retreat.”

Josh clenched his jaw. It was the best they could do right now. “Fine,” he all but spat. “Ethan!”

Ethan looked toward him. He signed to stay put and hold the line.

Ethan flashed him an ‘okay’ and then turned to continue shooting.

Josh slipped on the necklace. “Let’s go.”

He grabbed Brenner by the shoulder and yanked him out from behind their rock pile.

“Hey, I can walk, you know?” he shouted behind him.

Josh chose to ignore that.

The necklaces worked, thank the gods. They were already on their way out when they stole them from the prison; just a step above a useless hunk of metal. They had just enough juice in them to allow them to sneak behind the enemy. With all the chaos going on, Josh wasn’t surprised that the witches didn’t see two shadows slipping behind their defenses.

“Look at you, using witchcraft to win.” A slimy, icy voice cackled.

Josh and Brenner froze. Something about it felt almost literal. Like Josh could feel his body temperature plummeting.

A man stalked out from the trees. Tall. Willowy. With pale white skin and icy blue eyes. He had a feral grin plastered on his face. His eyes sparkled with glee as he took in Josh and Brenner.

Every inhale was cold. The air around them literally froze until it burned Josh’s throat and lungs.

“I thought the non-witches were too simple to use witchcraft.” His smile dropped. “It makes me sick to see your disgusting hands hold such beautiful work. As if you could ever be on my level.”

Josh could see ice crawling up Brenner’s body, crusting his eyelashes.

Josh didn’t feel that cold yet. He could tell his body fought against it. Almost as if it were trying to force the cold out of him, but only barely managing to hold it back.

“You don’t deserve to touch this with your filthy hands.” The man reached out to pluck the rune from Josh’s neck.

As soon as he touched him, he would die.

He could not let that happen.

Whatever movement was left in his body, he used to yank his iron bar off his belt. In a flash, he struck it across the witch’s face.

The witch yowled. Stumbling back, he revealed his skin, now red and raw where the metal touched his flesh. The scent of burning flesh filled the air. It worked. The spell was broken, and the cold disappeared, almost snapping out of existence.

“Come on!” Josh grabbed Brenner’s frozen hand and scrambled back to the group.

They barely made it to Thea.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go well?” she asked.

“We’re outnumbered. We can’t fight them. We can’t get around them to make it look like our numbers are larger.”

Ideas popped into Josh’s mind every second. Each one more useless than the last. Henry called that he was out of ammo. Elijah had managed to hold his ground near the Lion-Bodied Goddess Temple, but he did not have nearly as many weapons as everyone else. Ethan called for a plan.

He needed a plan.

He needed a way out of here.

He couldn’t find a single good option.

“I need you to make a deal with a demon to get us out of here,” Josh said, the sentence coming out as one breath.

“Is that a good idea? Trusting a demon?” Brenner asked.

“They’ve got us outnumbered. We’re never going to fight our way out. We are out of options. I trusted you. Frankly, the demon will be a piece of cake compared to that.” He turned to Thea. “You can make a deal with a demon to get us out. Like what you did with the prison?”

Thea held up her hand. The letters swirled and shifted around, but he couldn’t make out any words.

“Nope.”

“No!” Josh cried. “What do you mean? Just make a deal with them.”

“None of them want to make a deal,” Thea said. “I can’t force them. They have to consent. I have to consent. That’s how it works.”

“Shit.” Josh sat back against the rubble.

There went Plan Z. He couldn’t come up with any other plans. They would die here. It was all his fault. Maybe if he had just come right out to Weaver and told him about the nukes and the witches and the future, none of this would have ever happened. All of his work to save Ethan and Elijah was for nothing.

“Oh.” Thea looked down at her hand.

“Oh?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” She quickly hid it.

“Hang on, it’s not nothing.” Brenner grabbed her hand and pulled it back up.

There, in the dimming light, Josh could see the glowing gold letters forming words.

JOSHUA SANS

“Me? They want to make a deal with me?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” Thea tried to pull her hand out of his grip.

She managed, but not before Josh saw the words YES plain as day.

“They want a deal with me. I want to get out of here. I agree.”

“Josh, no. You don’t know what you’re doing. The demon who’s asking this is dangerous. I don’t make deals with him for a reason.”

Behind her, the Deer-Headed God shimmered. He seemed afraid.

“Well, good thing you’re not the one who has to consent.”

Before Thea could react, he reached out and grabbed her hand to shake it. He didn’t know how one made a deal with a demon. He figured it was a good enough start.

“Josh, no!” Thea cried.

Behind her, the Deer-Headed God vanished.

Negotiation

He expected the words to shift to something he could read, like back at the restaurant. Then, they’d hammer out their deal while everyone around them fought off the witches.

That wasn’t what happened. Instead, everything around him froze. He could see Elijah by the Lion-Bodied Goddess’s Temple. He could see Ethan and Priscilla desperately trying to get to Henry. He could see Thea’s wide, fearful eyes. Brenner’s pale, shaking body.

They all froze in time.

“So, what do you want?” a voice asked.

He whipped around to see a demon lounging on a tree stump. At least, he assumed it was a demon.

He had horns on his head. Cloven hooves for feet. His hands looked human, only there were six fingers on each of them instead of five. His skin was slightly scaly. He still had fur that covered it in patches. He wasn’t red, like Josh expected. More terracotta in color. More importantly, he looked familiar.

Josh squinted his eyes and tilted his head to the side.

“Have we met before?”

The demon’s grin widened. “Is that what you want?”

Josh swallowed. No. Not really. Not now, at least.

“You know, I don’t have all day. I’d hurry up before you lose your one shot at life. Or second shot, as it were.”

“You know about Micah and the spell?”

“Is that what you want?” His grin widened.

Josh shook his head. He was right. He couldn’t afford to lose this opportunity. He needed to act, and he needed to act now. He only wished Thea could be here to help him.

“Right,” Josh said, forcing himself to snap his mouth closed and think through what he wanted.

“Want me to kill them all?” The demon grinned at him.

The demon would like that, wouldn’t he? He’d like to lay waste to the witches and ruin them all.

Truthfully, Josh would as well. If these witches died, then that was one less squad he and his fellow soldiers had to worry about. One less squad that could kill his fellow Sanses while everyone else sat back.

He could make a deal with this demon. Wipe out all the witches until the non-witches were the victors, no bombs needed.

They would start with this squad. Why stop there? This one squad wouldn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. There were so many witches out there. They’d keep popping up. Keep coming after him and his crew. Keep trying to kill them.

With this demon, if he worded it correctly, he could use him. They’d start with this squad, and then move on to others. He may not need to go to Osairae. They simply traverse the continent and find hordes of enemies. He could wipe them out with the snap of his fingers. He could destroy them all until the war ended and everyone could live in peace.

“I can do that.” The demon chuckled.

The stump transformed into a throne. The branches grew thorny vines. Skulls popped out of the ground, gathering at his feet. It looked much less comfortable than the stump.

Across from the demon, another throne appeared. This one was covered in moss and mushrooms. Everything was black. Old. Dead. As if the owner hadn’t sat there for a long time.

Josh swallowed. “What would it cost me? My soul?”

The demon’s grin widened. “Now, where would be the fun in that? No, I don’t want your soul, boy.”

“You want something, though. Or is rampant destruction enough?”

“It’s a perk.” His smile dropped. “I don’t work for perks.”

He opened his mouth, ready to ask for more specifics. Whatever this demon wanted, he could give. Whatever he asked for, it would be worth it to accept. The nightmare would end.

He could see it now. He’d shake hands with the demon, and the deal would be set. The witch army would die. Piece by agonizing piece. The soldiers would break through the Great Divide after a hundred years of fighting. They’d take Osairae and Gopherai. They’d take the continent. The farmlands. The mineral deposits. They would cast out the witches and live a life free from worry with more than enough food to go around. The world would hail Josh as a hero.

He’d be Weaver’s right-hand man.

Once he won the war, he could focus on the Sanses. They’d work together to abolish the caste system and make their country good for everyone, not just the rich.

Elijah could have his little clinic in a quiet town up north. Ethan could leave the military and explore what he wanted to do, not just what he needed to do to bring in more money. It was perfect. The only thing standing between Josh and his life of peace with this gods-foresaken war.

He had to make this deal. It was too good to pass up. Whatever the Horned Demon wanted, he would give.

The Deer-Headed God flickered behind the demon, his eyes pleading for Josh not to think like that.

He snapped back to himself.

“No.” Josh stumbled back, pressing his hands to his eyes. A headache burst in his skull. He was going to vomit.

“No?” The demon’s smile did not drop. He didn’t seem mad about Josh’s refusal. This was just some game they were playing. “Why not?”

“You know why,” Josh spat.

He couldn’t use the demon to win. What if he messed something up and the demon ended up killing everyone? Every witch. Even the children. More of them hiding in the walls. Hands pressed over their ears while their parents screamed and died. More ruins just like the one he was standing in now. Razed to the ground. No survivors. What of the ones who did survive? What would happen to them?

Would the non-witches enslave them all for retribution for having been slaves? Would the soldiers round them up? Force them to work in the mines and the factories? Their organs harvested? He could make the most iron-tight contract that ensured no harm would come to the children. The demon didn’t have to be the one who harmed them. What happened when the children grew up? Would they fight in a war for revenge? Would they rebel against the soldiers enslaving them?

He didn’t want that. He would never live with himself if he massacred an entire group of people. If his deal led to the enslavement of children. So no, he wouldn’t use the demon for that.

As for the army currently plaguing them, it would be easier to wipe them out. No children were amongst their ranks. Priscilla, Henry, and Ethan would be an issue. They would know something had happened. They were smart enough to know that they couldn’t win with the firepower they had. They’d find out the truth. They’d leave Josh behind or turn him over to the MPs and have him killed. The bombs would drop. Everyone would die. All his work would be for nothing.

He needed a plan that would allow them to escape in a reasonably realistic way that wouldn’t immediately point to magic but would get them out of the line of fire and away from the witches.

An idea came to him. “Can you make a cave system? Big enough that I, Priscilla, Henry, Ethan, Brenner, Elijah, and Thea can all fit in it comfortably? You need to hide it so the witches can’t see it. It needs to lead us away from the ambush party and toward Osairae.”

Elijah would hate being stuck in another cave system, but it was the best Josh could do right now.

The demon scoffed. “Of course I can! That’s child’s play. I’m offended you’d even ask.”

“I don’t know the limits of your powers,” Josh snapped. “Or what you’re willing to do. Maybe you consider this too boring to deal with.”

“It is. If that’s what you want–”

“Hang on. I’m still working on the details. I wanted to make sure you could do it first before I made the contract.”

This time, the demon’s smile did drop. Josh took great pleasure in that. Like he was playing the game now instead of being played.

“Well, then. What other details do you want?”

“The cave system will not collapse on us. There won’t be any dangerous plants or animals in there. Make sure there’s nothing down there that can kill us. The area it leads us to has to be safe. It can’t lead us to another witch camp or prison or something. The entrance has to be close enough so that we can get there quickly. I don’t want to run through the woods for miles just to find it.”

“Finished?” The demon rolled his eyes.

Josh thought through his request again. He couldn’t see any loopholes that the demon could exploit.

“Yes, I’m finished. What do you want in return?”

The demon scratched his head. “It’s a small request, so nothing too big. You won’t notice it’s gone.”

“Let me be the one who decides that,” Josh said.

“A finger. That’s what I want.”

Josh looked down at his hands. “A finger?”

“The ring finger on your left hand.” He clarified.

Josh held it up. The simple wooden wedding band Ethan had made for him shone in the light. “Why?”

“I want to make a necklace out of fingers. Does it fucking matter?”

Josh felt like he did.

This was a good deal. He was right-handed. The ring finger didn’t do much in terms of fighting. He could live without it.

“It’s a deal.” He took off the wedding band.

“Hey, I wanted that!”

“Then you should have asked for it.” He slipped it into his pocket. “It’s not going to hurt, is it?”

“If you didn’t want it to hurt, you should have asked for it,” the Horned Demon snarled.

Before Josh could blink, pain exploded up his arm. He howled and dropped to his knees, clutching his injured hand to his chest as the battle started back up around him.

He had forgotten how loud it was.

“What the fuck did you do?” Thea demanded, pulling Josh’s hand away from his chest to survey the damage.

“Cave system,” he gasped. “We have to go.”

He whipped his head around, unsure how he’d spot this cave system he asked for. Turns out, it wasn’t difficult. The Horned Demon stood about a hundred feet away. He grinned and pulled back some moss to reveal a small hole.

“Fall back!” He cried. He forced himself to ignore the pain in his left hand for now. “Brenner, let’s go!”

They sprinted toward the cave. The demon disappeared as soon as he got to it. Josh almost lost the entrance in his panic. He managed to find it and hold it open. Thea slid in first. Brenner and Elijah tumbled after her, with Elijah pale and shaking as Josh once more forced him into a small, dark, cramped space. Ethan took up the rear.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Josh shouted. They scrambled through the entrance just as lightning struck the ground.

Josh fell backwards into the hole. The moss covered the entrance with only the barest hint of light peaking through the curtain. He worried that the witches would follow. They had seen them dive in here; it wasn’t a big stretch. Then the rocks began to knit themselves together, blocking the entrance and the light.

Good. They were safe.

That was all he could think. Everything felt fuzzy. A little tingly.

“Josh, how did you find this place?” Ethan asked, “What happened to your hand?”

Josh opened his mouth to answer, only for the world to tilt forward.

“Shit,” he gasped before landing hard on the ground.

The last thing he heard was Elijah and Thea calling out his name.

Rest

It was only thanks to sheer panic at keeping Josh alive and brushing against other people in this gods-forsaken cavern that Elijah managed to keep himself from completely losing his mind.

In the seconds after they crashed into the cave, everything had been a whirlwind. Josh collapsed. As Elijah rushed to his side to give medical aid, he realized with horror that his husband was now missing his ring finger on his left hand. How had that happened? Josh had no signs of missing a finger before. The way it was missing? Clean. Almost surgical in its severance. This was no casualty of battle.

He pushed aside thoughts of potential causes for the moment, more concerned with stopping the bleeding and keeping his husband from going into shock. His heart had been through too much in too short a time. He couldn’t tell what getting blasted back to the past had done to his body. If his mind was any indication, it wasn’t anything good. Not to mention the damage chronic stress and under-eating had caused. Josh may not look fragile, but he was.

Elijah couldn’t lose Josh. Not now.

Everyone stayed back as he worked. Henry pulled out a camping lantern to fill the cave with light. Elijah could only passively observe the gratitude he felt. It did make things much easier than fumbling around in the dark. He was almost able to forget about his past.

Almost.

No one spoke.

No one tried to help.

They let Elijah work.

He let out a sigh of relief when he felt the rune necklace, hot under his hands. It had done its job; perhaps the only reason Josh survived. Though, that meant that their murderer followed them here. Most ice witches couldn’t, freeze the body from the inside out.

Why would a murderer follow them?

His eyes drifted to Brenner. He immediately dropped his gaze. Elijah felt his own sharpen.

A thought for a later time.

Josh was more important right now. Wherever they seemed to have ended up, the witches couldn’t follow them. For now.

He looked to Thea. Perhaps she had something to do with this. He didn’t believe for that she was a music witch like she claimed.

Another thought for another time.

After minutes, hours, or days, he stabilized Josh. The bleeding staunched for now. The risk of shock and death grew further away with each breath that passed his lips. His husband slept peacefully on the cool, soft, mossy ground.

Even before everything, he needed sleep.

Elijah breathed a sigh of relief and ran his fingers through Josh’s greasy, tangled hair.

Now that the danger was no longer immediate, he could observe his surroundings and make sure they were safe from an attack.

Ethan likely already did. He could take charge when needed. Ethan didn’t know everything to look for. Things that Thea may not have looked for either, despite being a witch. She didn’t carry herself like a soldier. More like a drifter, wandering through life. Half the time, he wasn’t sure she paid attention.

He couldn’t trust that she looked for anything of importance.

He gently laid Josh’s head down before doing a perimeter sweep.

“I already checked, Eli,” Ethan predictably said. “It’s okay.”

Elijah ran his fingers along the soft dirt. Nothing stood out. He figured they had been down here long enough. If this were some trap by the witches, they would have set it off already.

“I know.”

The dirt felt cool, almost soft, beneath his fingertips. A pale pink worm wriggled out from the wall, dropping to the ground and then burrowing deeper. This didn’t feel like a cave carved from stone over millions of years. This felt like a hole in the ground. How had Josh known about this place?

“Is it the size?” Ethan asked. “It’s not too small. The lantern… It’s not too dark.”

Elijah pulled his fingers from the wall and went to sit with the rest of the crew. Josh’s breaths stayed shallow, but even. The worst had passed. He allowed himself to break, ever so slightly, and pull Josh’s head into his lap. He brushed his hand once more through the greasy curls. The hair still buzzed short and choppy from Preston’s interrogation. Such a shame. He looked so nice with it longer. Elijah could only hope to convince Josh to grow it long again.

“You’re afraid of tight spaces?” Henry asked.

“Tight, dark spaces.” He clarified. “When I was a child, the witches came to my village and burned it to the ground. I only survived because I stuffed myself into a crawlspace. I stayed there for hours. Ever since then…” He trailed off.

Priscilla put a hand on his arm. “Ethan’s right. It’s spacious in here. With the light, it almost feels cozy.”

He offered her a pained smile. “Yes. Thank you.”

“We can’t go anywhere with Josh like this,” Ethan said. “The witches don’t seem to be chasing after us. I say we take this opportunity to rest. When Josh wakes up, we can regroup.”

“Is that a good idea?” Henry said. “The witches were literally right behind us. They saw us go in here. They could break through at any moment….” He trailed off as he pointed toward the entrance.

Elijah realized why.

“Where’s the entrance?” he asked.

“We must have gotten turned around when we came in,” Brenner was quick to say. Too quick.

Ethan seemed to share Elijah’s sentiment and narrowed his eyes.

“We didn’t get that far,” Priscilla said. “I can’t find the entrance.”

“Maybe the gods finally did smile upon the non-witches.” Thea cleared her throat. She refused to look Elijah in the eyes, though.

Gods my ass. He thought. Something fishy was going on here.

He looked back down at Josh, noticing his missing finger.

He wouldn’t make a big deal of things. Yet.

As soon as he could get Brenner and Thea away from the rest of the group, he would interrogate them.

Elijah didn’t have anyone in his life but Josh and Ethan. The only reason he hadn’t been thrown in with the rest of the Sanses was because his mother took great pains to keep him registered. They went to the little base near their village every year to check that he was still on the registry. System glitches were common near the border. Had he not been, maybe he would have grown up with Josh and Ethan. All three of them, together, he shuddered to think what trouble they’d get themselves into. Would he have been happier?

His childhood had been so lonely. He had too much anger toward the soldiers who failed to stop the witches from burning down his home. Too much anger toward the witches for killing everyone he had ever known and loved. Too much anger at himself for not dying with them as he promised he would.

He did manage to claw his way out of his anger. Eventually. Slowly. Painstakingly. He realized that wishing for the world to burn would do nothing but burn him with it. It wasn’t until he met Josh that he found a bright spot.

Someone like him. Without a family. Without a home. Without much to call his own. Still clawing his way to the top with every ounce of strength he had. Josh made him want to be better and do better. He had this sort of optimism in his soul that gave him hope. That made him believe that things could be better if only he had the strength and discipline to do it.

Josh never thought about burning the world down. He would burn himself if it meant keeping everyone else warm. Elijah both loved and hated that about him. His selflessness and willingness to put everyone else before himself made Elijah want to be better. It frustrated him with how reckless he could be with his own life. As if he were replaceable.

Didn’t he know that he was the only one who could tame the fire in Elijah’s soul? Who could direct it to keep people warm instead of leaving it to burn a path of destruction in his wake? He needed Josh so much it hurt. Like sucking in freezing air, it burned his lungs.

Elijah needed him.

So did Ethan.

Priscilla and Henry, too.

Even Thea and Brenner needed him, though they may not know it.

The world needed Joshua Sans.

Elijah would do everything to make sure Josh made it out alive.

He had done his job. He pushed aside all thoughts except for his training and kept Josh from slipping away just a moment longer. He unclipped his Lion-Bodied Goddess charm from his bag and hooked it around Josh’s belt loop. She may not listen to Elijah’s prayers, but maybe, just this once, she would help out. A plea to the gods never hurt.

He could do nothing but wait, pray, and hope he would be okay.

He glanced around the cavern to glean more information. Maybe a rune or two that would suggest what sort of space they were in.

Nothing.

He could have sworn they came in from the right. Yet, when he studied the wall in the sickly yellow glow of the lantern, all he could see was dark earth. On either side of that was solid, grey stone. Of course, there had to be nothing there. Otherwise, the witches would have followed them. If the rock was solid, how did they get in?

Thea still refused to meet his eyes.

Glancing toward the opposite end of the cavern was a long tunnel. From what he could see, the path didn’t branch out. No twists and turns. Nothing but a clear, straight path. Almost as if something wanted to lead them away or toward something.

This was the result of magic. Magic created this place. It warped and formed the earth to give them a place to rest and a clear path forward. The only question was, whose magic and why had they done it?

He looked down at Josh, his bandaged hand. He had something clasped in the other. Reaching out, he gently pried open his fingers to reveal his wooden wedding band. The finger hadn’t been blown off in an explosion. If it had, Josh wouldn’t have had time to pull off his wedding band. No. This had been deliberate. Planned.

He tucked the wedding band in his pocket. He didn’t dare voice his opinions on the matter, not with Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry still awake.

He did, however, cast a glare at Thea. She had something to do with this. She had done something that caused Josh to lose his finger and nearly die from shock. If the other three hadn’t been here, Elijah would have laid into her. He would put up with a lot to stop the war, but he drew the line at using his husband for spells.

Witches often did that. At least, back when they had hundreds of thousands of slaves at their beck and call. Human sacrifices and horrific butcherings of non-magical people to make their magic stronger. More potent. More reliable. They did the same to half-witches. Torturing them. Cutting off limbs and chunks of flesh. Ripping their still beating hearts from their rib cages to offer up to the gods. He hadn’t expected Thea to participate in such barbaric practices.

He clenched his jaw and stroked his fingers through Josh’s hair. The discomfort of the prickly hair kept his hand just irritated enough to ground him. To remind him of their position now. He would lash out at Thea and Brenner later. Not now. Now he had to stroke Josh’s hair and keep an eye on his pulse in case he slipped back into shock.

Recovery was so rarely linear. It wouldn’t surprise Elijah if Josh did take a turn for the worse, especially considering he had lost his finger to magic. Who knew what spell Thea used it for, or if there weren’t other things she had taken.

As he stroked Josh’s hair, he realized the tension in the small cavern thickened. Every second, he felt it more in the air.

He noticed Ethan, Henry, and Priscilla casting glances at each other. Their eyes darkened; sharing silent words before looking at Brenner. Jaws clenched. Hands rested on their weapons.

Even Thea looked halfway to panicking.

He couldn’t have that.

He may not have Josh’s leadership abilities. However, being a doctor did necessitate some level of control over unruly and panicked patients. A skill he wasn’t afraid to use.

“We need to get some rest,” he said.

The darkness of the cave seemed to swallow up his voice. The air tasted cold and wet on his tongue.

He licked his chapped lips, the skin catching ever so slightly, and continued. “The witches aren’t following us for now, and Ethan’s right. We cannot move Josh in this state. Even if he was stable, he’s too heavy for us to carry. Brenner, Priscilla, and Thea will sleep first. Henry, Ethan, and I will take first watch.”

Gods, he did not want to stay up longer than necessary. Already, he could feel his head getting heavier and heavier. Tipping forward as some vile creature glued weights to his eyelids. Saving Josh’s life had sapped all the energy he had. If he let himself sleep now. He’d be out for ten hours at least. No. It was better to keep pushing just a little longer. He could sleep in a few hours.

He could make it.

Even these words were a lie. He could only hope to stay awake for maybe thirty more minutes.

“You should rest,” Ethan put a hand on Elijah’s. “You did a lot of work with Josh.”

Despite his exhaustion, Elijah couldn’t help but review Ethan’s state. Josh had been his most pressing concern. Now that he was stable, he realized that he may not be the only one injured. He let his eyes scan Ethan’s frame, searching for injuries or hints of injuries. Dark circles ringed his eyes. His face haggard and worn. No injuries as far as Elijah could tell. Psychological ones, perhaps, but Elijah couldn’t handle psychological ones. Only the physical.

“I need to make sure Josh doesn’t slip back into shock.” He felt like he couldn’t stop stroking Josh’s head for a second. If he did, he’d spin undone beneath his fingers. Unraveling into the darkness. Never to be whole again. “I need to check over everyone else for injuries.”

Ethan put a hand on Elijah’s stilling his movements. “You taught me enough to look for the signs. I can wake you if I notice any changes. I can do a quick scan of the others.”

He was exhausted. He could probably sleep for a week after all he had done to keep Josh alive. Not that he had that luxury. Sleep would do him some good even if he were loath to take it.

“It’s okay, Eli,” Ethan said softly.

Even though everyone, with how close they were, could hear every word, Elijah appreciated his attempts to stay quiet. To keep things private between the two of them.

“I’ll take second watch then?”

“You’ll rest.” Ethan urged. “Just like Josh is resting.”

He would not win this argument. Frankly, he didn’t have the strength to fight.

“Alright. I’ll get some rest.”

As if Ethan would have ever given him any other choice. As if his body would have ever given him any other choice. His eyes already drooped. His head snapped forward as exhaustion overtook his muscles.

“Priscilla and Thea can rest with you. Brenner, Henry, and I will take the first shift.”

Elijah cast a sidelong glance at Brenner, who seemed pale in the light. Ethan was suspicious of him. Elijah worried that if he stayed up with Brenner, they would have words. Those words would reveal the truth. This was the last place he wanted the truth to come out.

“Ethan, I’m not sure–”

“It’ll be fine. I just want everyone to rest right now.”

Elijah could read between the lines.

I won’t do anything to him. Yet.

He supposed that was as good as he could get. Especially considering Elijah had his own bone to pick with Thea. A bone he would pick when he didn’t feel like he was about to pass out. He imagined Ethan felt much the same way. He wanted to accuse Brenner of being a traitor, but didn’t have the energy to do much beyond accuse. If they were to fight and perhaps subdue him, they needed their strength.

“Alright.” His voice out as more of a slur. “Do you know the signs?”

Ethan nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you both safe.”

He dropped down to the soft, cool ground. The dirt compacted under his body to form to the contours of his spine. It was almost more comfortable than their bed at home.

He hated that Ethan, the youngest of them, was keeping them safe. It should be the other way around. He couldn’t find the energy within himself to argue. His body hurt too much. He could feel it in his jaw. The tightness in his shoulders. The muscles refused to relax.

He closed his eyes. Sleep overtook him before he could register that his body was horizontal.

When he awoke they were still in the cave. It was still cool and dark. Henry’s camping lantern gave off a decent amount of light, though it had dimmed considerably.

He wasn’t back in that crawlspace. The witches weren’t burning down his home and murdering his mother. That was a long time ago. They were in a cave. Or some sort of underground system. In witch country. He was with Josh, Ethan, and his friends. Maybe a few enemies. Everyone had survived the attack. He wasn’t back in his village.

They couldn’t stay much longer. The light would go out eventually. They needed it to navigate their way out of this mess. Henry and Ethan needed to rest.

He felt torn between taking back control of the situation and keeping them moving, and staying for just a bit longer.

He pushed up to his hands and knees. His back and neck protested, but he no longer felt like his soul had been sucked out of his body.

“Oh, Eli, you’re awake,” Ethan said.

Elijah turned toward him. “Shouldn’t you be resting now?” He glanced over to see Priscilla and Thea, dead to the world. “Did you not wake us up? Ethan, you need to rest just as much as we do!”

Ethan snickered.

“What?”

“Eli, you’ve been out for like a day.”

“What?” he said, a bit too loudly.

Though the soft soil of the cave didn’t make it seem that way. Instead, it captured his voice, hiding it away for future use.

“Yeah, you passed out.” Henry added. “We tried to wake you. Ethan here was afraid you were dying.”

Elijah turned to examine Josh. He was where he left him. He swiped a hand over his brow. No signs of fever. No sweating. No chills. His breathing was more even and stronger than before. Instead of passing out this time, Josh was asleep. Elijah smoothed a hand over his brow.

“Thea said it was likely shock and stress.” Ethan continued. “She said we should let you rest. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Especially since Josh still isn’t up.” He handed Elijah a ration pack.

Elijah massaged the package until the food bits mixed together into a more palatable mush. Of course, Thea would likely see what was wrong with Elijah. He was glad she kept it quiet. That didn’t mean she was off the hook for the magic she used Josh for.

He ripped open the top of the pack, wrinkling his nose as a salty, eggy mixture wafted through the air. “The egg one?”

Ethan shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t have any of the good ones.”

“It’s got pancakes, though,” Henry pointed out.

“Josh’s are better. Who mixes pancakes and eggs together anyway?”

He shoveled the mushy mixture into his mouth. It wasn’t the worst thing he had ever eaten in his life. Everyone agreed that the egg-based ration kits were the worst. The eggs tasted like sulfur. Still, it was better than nothing. Now that he started to eat, a hole opened up in his stomach. He couldn’t get the food into his system fast enough.

“Thank you. I didn’t mean to sleep for so long.”

“No, you needed it. We all did.” Henry rolled his shoulders.

“We can’t stay for much longer,” Ethan said. “We don’t have a lot of supplies, and Osairae is still far away.”

“Not to mention we don’t know if those witches are still hunting for us,” Elijah muttered as he finished off the pitiful portion.

It barely made a dent in his hunger. Maybe they could find more berries once they got out of this gods-foresaken cave.

Henry and Ethan glanced at each other.

“What?”

“Look, Eli.” Ethan shuffled closer. His voice dropped to a low hiss. “I don’t think that was a coincidence.”

He glanced at Brenner, still snoring softly. “I know I had Brenner on the list, but truthfully, I didn’t think he was the traitor. Especially after meeting him. Honestly, he seems a little too stupid. But this is too coincidental. We pop out of some random cave, and witches are waiting for us? It’s either him or Thea.”

Elijah frowned. Of course, Ethan would start putting the pieces together. Now that he mentioned it, it was odd that so many witches were waiting for them. This wasn’t a patrol they stumbled upon. This was an ambush. Elijah didn’t think Thea was the traitor here. She seemed to not want anything to do with the war. Brenner…. Well, what’s one more betrayal when he already had a high stack of them?

However, confirming Ethan’s suspicions would only make things more complicated. How was Elijah supposed to explain that they let a traitor join their group? A known traitor, at that!

There was the attack itself. Brenner seemed to be just as much a target as the rest of them. If he had let the witches know where they were going to be, why would they kill him, too?

Perhaps he had served his purpose. Perhaps at this point, he was a hindrance and nothing more. A loose end he needed to cut before he brought the whole operation down. Maybe that’s why he seemed so pale and shaken after the attack. His allies had turned on him.

His eyes landed on Brenner’s sleeping form. He couldn’t admit Brenner’s treachery to Ethan and Henry without admitting he brought him along anyway. That didn’t mean he couldn’t agree with them on their theory. They were out in the middle of nowhere. In witch territory. There were no rules. Brenner was ultimately dead weight to him. He put Josh and Ethan’s lives in danger. He didn’t know anything about the bombs. Like the witches he served, Elijah came to the same conclusion. He needed to go.

Josh let out a grunt and turned, snapping Elijah back to reality.

He ran a hand over Josh’s head to soothe him.

“He’d never admit to being a traitor,” he said quietly. “I refuse to torture anyone on speculation alone. Besides, we don’t know how the witches found us. They easily could have put a tracking rune on any one of us, and we’d be none the wiser.”

“They’d have to get close enough to do that, though,” Henry said. “A witch murderer is running around Welton. He has a similar Ice Truth. What do you want to bet that he’s been looking for unsuspecting soldiers to slip him intel without knowing?”

He thought back to his own piss-poor tracking rune on Thea that barely worked. Honestly, he was lucky she decided to come. The rune wouldn’t have helped Elijah much if she hadn’t.

Elijah did need to confront Brenner about what had happened. But not here. Too many people with different information would only lead to more pain. He had to keep it contained to just himself.

Ethan frowned. “I guess you’re right. I still don’t trust him. What happens when we pop out of this cave and more witches are waiting?”

“Let’s wait for Josh to wake up and see what he thinks,” Elijah said.

He knew full well he was kicking the can down the road. Refusing to deal with Brenner on his own or from promising Ethan any resolution. He couldn’t trust himself. Not as angry as he was. If it were up to him, he’d leave Thea and Brenner down here to rot. The four of them could get Josh out of this cave, no problem. Brenner especially didn’t deserve any life after everything he had done.

Ethan’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Eli–”

Josh interrupted whatever he planned to say next. He let out a strangled shout and then bolted upright. His eyes wild, and his breathing came in short and shallow gasps.

“Easy, Josh. Easy.”

Elijah worked quickly to get in front of Josh so that he could see he was alive and well. He didn’t know if they had spent any significant length of time in a dark cave during the apocalypse. He didn’t want to risk another panic attack. Especially with Josh’s wounds still so fresh, and Thea letting them know that his mind might be unraveling from the stress of it all.

“Eli?” His eyes found Elijah’s form and latched onto them.

Elijah brought a hand up to Josh’s cheek. “Have a good rest?”

“What… what happened?” He brought his left hand up to his face, pressing it against his eyes. Then, he pulled it back, looking at the missing finger. “Right.” His voice was dark.

“Let’s get some food in you. Then we can get going.” Elijah rummaged around their ration pack stash, wrinkling his nose.

“I only got the egg ones.” Ethan gave him an apologetic shrug.

Josh accepted the eggs and toast pack gratefully, massaging them together until they congealed.

“Go slow, and slow sips of water. You went into shock,” Elijah said.

“Right.”

Ethan made a sound of protest, gesturing toward Brenner and Thea. Elijah turned to look at him. Later, he mouthed.

Later. Later. Later.

They’d deal with all of this later.

Thea. Her magic. Brenner. His treason.

Later.

For now, they needed to get moving. The camping lantern wouldn’t last much longer. Once it went out, and they were in the dark with their swirling thoughts, things would explode. He’d rather that not happen.

Or, at least, he’d rather control when it did.

Tension

Tension.

It took Josh a second to put a name to the emotion. The blood loss, shock, disorientation, and, frankly, terror at having spoken to a literal demon made his brain mushy. His thoughts came like molasses.

When they came, though, he knew exactly what hovered in the air. Sticky. Flies buzzing around everyone. Palpable.

Tension.

People were tense.

Elijah casted murderous looks at Thea. The awkward angle of the camping lantern cast shadows on his face that exaggerated his features. Ethan, Henry, and Priscilla seemed to cast equally murderous looks at Brenner, but not Thea. Brenner looked like he knew everyone in the cave wanted to murder him, but did his best to pointedly ignore this reality. Soldiering forward as sweat beaded on his brows and his eyes darted from side to side. Like a wild animal caught in a trap.

Only Thea seemed to not notice, or maybe not care, about how loudly Elijah telegraphed his desire to murder her. Why Elijah wanted to do such a thing was beyond Josh. It wasn’t like Thea was part of the raiding party that attacked them.

She didn’t exactly fight with them. He expected that. She wasn’t a soldier. What good was a music witch in the middle of a battle anyway?

Josh knew why everyone was so tense.

Their defeat at the hands of the witches had shaken their confidence. It happened often on the battlefield. He needed to stop it from devolving further if he had any hope of this mission succeeding. He was alive. Down a finger, but alive. They could still succeed.

He cleared his throat. The darkness swallowed it. Not in a way that reminded him of the Death Temple. Down here, things were too… alive for him to be back at that place. It was a different kind of darkness down here. A different smell. There were no mushrooms. Probably the only reason he hadn’t panicked yet. Elijah’s desire for murder was probably the only reason he hadn’t panicked yet, either.

“We should get moving.” His voice cut through the tension. Not enough to break it, though.

He went to rest his hand on his thigh, hitting something cool and metallic. Looking down, he saw the Elijah’s Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain on his belt loop.

Everyone’s heads snapped in his direction.

He continued, putting on his best ‘I’m the boss here. So do as I say’ voice. “The lantern is almost out of juice. We’ll run out of supplies eventually. Let’s get out of here.”

He went to stand. A wave of nausea rolled over his body.

Elijah was by his side in an instant, a hand on his arm, keeping him steady. “Are you sure? You’ve barely had time to heal.”

He pressed a throbbing left hand to his eye. The missing finger twitched. Or, he swore he could feel it twitch.

“I’m getting better by the second.” He wasn’t sure if that was true.

Given how Elijah had pressed his mouth into a thin line, he didn’t believe it either.

“We can wait a few more hours,” Ethan said. “The witches aren’t down here. We could all use a rest.”

Josh shook his head. He stumbled toward the only way forward. The Horned Demon made it easy, at least. Maybe a little too easy. It was impossible to pass this off as a natural cave system. Was that the point? A punishment because he didn’t get the wedding ring?

“No. Let’s get going. We don’t know how far the tunnel leads.”

That was the truth, at least. It could be miles or it could be feet. Either way, they wouldn’t know until they started walking.

Maybe if they started walking, that’d shake off some of the tension as well. It was worth a try. Give them something else to focus on besides how much they all hated each other.

He marched forward. One foot in front of the other. Head held high. He supposed he should be grateful the demon made a tunnel big enough so Josh didn’t scrape his head or have to crawl through it.

Was that one of the things he asked for? He couldn’t remember. He couldn't remember how specific he had been.

The others hesitated. Then, one by one, they stood and followed him into the darkness. Henry passed up the lantern so that Josh could see where he was going. Not that it was needed. The tunnel went straight. No turns. No twists. No branching paths.

“What happened?” He hoped to distract the others before they thought too hard about what they were walking through. “After I passed out, I mean. Were there any other attacks?”

“No.” Elijah snarled. His voice acidic. Deadly.

So much for distracting people and getting rid of the tension through movement. He glanced back at Elijah, his brow furrowed. His eyes had a glint to them. Almost like fire flickering in the pupils. He had his gaze planted firmly on Thea.

“No. Not a damn person followed us into the cave.” Ethan added.

Josh winced when he noticed that Ethan, too, had fire in his eyes. He glared at Brenner, who swallowed and kept his eyes glued forward.

Alright. Not how Josh wanted to regain control of the situation. He could still do this. Maybe once they got out of this cave system, people would feel calmer. He certainly got the creeps down here, what with being demon-made and all.

“What’s the status on our supplies?” he asked.

“Out of ammo. Almost out of food and water. We barely made it into witch territory, and we’re almost out of everything.” Priscilla’s voice was calm.

Too calm. As if she dared someone to read between the lines.

Josh did.

She had tacked on a silent Isn’t that weird, Brenner? At the end of her sentence. They were suspicious of him.

“We’ll make do with collecting food and water once we’re out of here. Our blasters should recharge with the sunlight.”

“That could take hours, though. Who knows. Someone might be waiting for us at the end of this tunnel. Just like the last tunnel. Right, guys?” Henry sounded like he was forcing himself to be calm.

Oh, this was a mess. A mess Josh didn’t know how to fix.

Thankfully, he did see a light at the end of the tunnel. Literally.

“Hey, look. That’s our exit,” he said as brightly as he could muster.

He could see another curtain of moss up ahead. The thinnest pinpricks of light breaking through. Good. It was still daylight out. They could hopefully get some charge on their blasters in case they did run into more trouble. He felt better than he had when he first got up, but he still wasn’t at his peak. If witches attacked again, he didn’t know if he could get them out of there.

He could make another deal with a demon. Something told him that it would only ever be the Horned Demon willing to make deals with him. He was powerful enough to scare away all the other demons.

Blood was in the water now. Josh was desperate. The demon could play on that; force him to give up more than he was comfortable with if it meant saving the people he loved.

“Let’s exit slowly,” Josh said. “I don’t think another party will ambush us. We should still go slow, just in case.”

What would happen if there were? That would breach the contract. He remembered specifically saying they had to pop out at a safe place. If someone attacked them again, would he get his finger back?

“We should let Brenner out first.” Ethan’s voice was as cold as ice. “Let him see if any other witches are hanging around.”

“Why would witches hang around a random tunnel?” Brenner asked. “They have better things to do.”

“I don’t know. They hung around the last tunnel.” Ethan crossed his arms and tilted his chin up in defiance.

“That was near the border, though! Of course, they’d patrol that part more often.” Brenner argued.

“It seems mighty convenient that they were at that part right when we popped out. That wasn’t a patrol. That was a whole-ass army.”

“Ethan, please.” Josh pinched his brow.

“No, I agree. We should let him out first,” Henry said. “Nothing to worry about. Right, Brenner? What are the chances witches would randomly find us twice in a row?”

“What are you implying?” Brenner’s voice shook. Way to make himself seem innocent.

“Soldiers, stand down,” Josh snapped.

He hoped weaponizing his authority could get everyone to stop for ten seconds. He didn’t like to use it. Desperate times, he supposed.

“No, we are going to do this,” Ethan whirled around to face Josh.

He looked so angry that it made Josh take a step back. His brother had never brushed aside his concerns so aggressively.

“Ethan–”

“No, Josh, I’m not going to let this go.”

Now that they were near the surface, the darkness no longer swallowed up his words. They were free to run around and consume Josh.

It wasn’t often that he could pinpoint the exact moment everything went wrong. Sure, when he did a post-mortem on his operations, he could usually narrow down a list of everything that went wrong and where the turning points of battle were. In the moment? He was often too fueled by adrenaline to recognize something had gone wrong, or right to the point where it would determine the outcome.

This time, it was like watching things happen in slow motion while simultaneously getting a clear vision of the future. He not only could pinpoint the exact moment when everything went wrong, but he also watched it happen. He could do nothing to change it.

“I don’t know what you’re implying, Sans–”

Ethan whipped around. “I’m not implying anything. I’ll tell it to your face. You sold us out. Didn’t you?”

“What? No, I didn’t!” Brenner sputtered.

“Don’t lie! I know you did. How else would they know about us?”

“I don’t even know where we are!” Brenner shouted. “I didn’t tell them anything. You can check my comms! I don’t know how they found us. And I don’t like being blamed for everything.”

“You did something.” Priscilla ganged up on Brenner. “An army in the middle of the fucking woods? You want to tell me it was a fucking patrol? I’m not an idiot, Brenner. You were the first one to freeze, even before we all knew what was going on. You knew they were there. You probably hoped that they’d leave you alone. They didn’t. So you went off to try to remind them that you were on their side. You nearly got Josh killed. He was with you when he got injured!”

“That wasn’t me! Thea was the one who helped him make a deal with a fucking demon!”

“You what?” Elijah whirled around on Thea. “You made my husband make a deal with a demon?”

“I didn’t make him do anything! He grabbed my hand himself. I told him not to make a deal with the Horned Demon.”

If it were possible, Elijah’s face turned more murderous.

“The Horned Demon!” He shrieked. “You let him make a deal with the most dangerous demons out there? I was right not to trust you.”

“You don’t trust me?” Thea laughed, sounding hysterical. “What about how 'trustworthy' you are?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you know a lot about runes for a supposed witch-hating soldier. You have a lovely altar to the Lion-Bodied Goddess in your apartment. You don’t see that often!”

“How dare you! I am not the traitor here. Brenner is.”

“Wait, you knew he was a traitor?” Henry shouted. “Why the fuck is he here? What do you mean he made a deal with a demon? Only witches can make deals with demons.”

“She’s a witch. Aren’t you?” Priscilla turned to Josh. “You knew about this. You led us to witch territory with a witch and a traitor? For what? What is the actual purpose of this mission?”

“Don’t blame Josh for this. Blame the man who’s probably broadcasting our fucking location all over Megaloceros!” Ethan shouted.

“Look, if we could all calm down,” Josh said, his voice weak.

“Calm down? I will not calm down!” Henry shouted. “What is going on here, captain? Who are these people? Have you been playing a game all along?”

“No, I haven’t, I swear–”

“Hey, leave him alone.” Ethan shoved himself so he was between Josh and Henry. “Those two are the ones we should worry about!” He pointed to Thea and Brenner.

“We’re going to ignore that Josh led us to a trap, and Healer apparently knows all about witch shit? You said it yourself, he’s acting weird!”

“You said it yourself that everyone’s got to break eventually!”

“Yeah, and it’s clear he’s cracked. Why else would he trust a traitor and a witch?”

The arguing started back up in earnest with everyone at everyone else’s throats. Josh tried to get them to stop, but it was useless. The trust had become too damaged to ever be repaired.

He slumped back against the wall as the arguing got louder, until everyone’s voices blended together into one unintelligible roar.

He failed. He destroyed all trust. How was he supposed to stop the bombs from dropping now?

A gunshot echoed through the tunnel.

Everyone ducked and whipped to the moss-covered entrance. Josh, Elijah, Ethan, Henry, and Priscilla all pulled out their weapons. Though, they’d be useless until they got the charge back up. It was instinct at this point. Someone pulled the moss curtain back.

Josh’s eyes adjusted to the light now filling the cave. When he saw who was standing at the entrance, his mouth dropped.

“General Deer?” What the hell was he doing here of all places? Had the demon led them back into Deerland?

He couldn’t have. Josh asked that they get closer to Osairae.

Unless he made a mistake. He couldn’t remember what exactly he had asked for. The whole thing felt like a dream. And, like a dream, the longer he was awake, the harder it was to hold onto the details.

Deer holstered his revolver. “I must say, with how much Weaver was going on about how brilliant you were, I expected better, Sans.”

“How did you find us?” Josh asked.

Deer gave him a flat look. “I have eyes and ears all over this continent.” He turned to Elijah. “I did warn you, Healer. I do regret ever letting you convince me to let you join.”

“What did you join? Elijah, what is he talking about?” Josh asked.

Elijah glared at Deer. “You’re not discreet.”

“Well, at this point, I don’t think it matters anymore.”

Josh grabbed Elijah’s arm and forced him to turn and face him. “What is going on?”

He opened and closed his mouth. His eyes seemingly shone with unshed tears. He looked away. “Josh, I wanted to tell you. I couldn’t.”

“What did you want to tell me? What couldn’t you tell me?”

His heart felt like it was about to escape from his chest. He could feel the panic closing in once more. Thea’s earlier accusation rang in his ears. Why did Elijah know so much about witches? Why didn’t he seem surprised to see Deer here?”

He blinked.

The cave and everyone else disappeared. It was just him and Elijah in the wasteland. Their pathetic shelter strung up between two trees. The morphine hidden in Elijah’s hands. He wanted to tell Josh something that night. The night he died. He didn’t. He had changed the subject.

“You can discuss after we get you properly stowed.” Deer’s voice pulled Josh out of his vision.

The wasteland faded away and was replaced by the cave, filled with other people. Josh could see that they were witches and soldiers alike. The soldiers dressed in their stiff wool, canvas, and cotton clothes. Dull and practical. The witches wore much flowier linens that seemed like they’d get snagged on a tree branch around these parts.

Witches and soldiers together.

That wasn’t right.

“It’s another trap.” He turned around to punch one of the witches in the face.

Deer was a traitor, just like Brenner. The first round of witches had failed, so they sent Deer down here to try and subdue him less violently. Maybe they hoped Josh’s training would take over and he’d follow Deer blindly. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. He’d get his answers from Elijah later, but for now, they needed to escape.

His throwing the first punch seemed to snap the others out of their surprise that one of the highest-ranking generals in the entire army was just out in witch country.

The witches went down easily, as Josh expected. They weren’t exactly great with hand-to-hand combat skills. Most of them relied on their powers to do all the heavy lifting rather than doing the heavy lifting themselves.

“Let’s go!” Josh grabbed Elijah’s hand and yanked him toward the entrance.

He elbowed Deer in the face, reveling in the way his nose crunched under the pressure. Hey, he was already breaking so many laws, might as well do something every Sans dreamed about and deck one of the Nature Names in the face. It felt great.

“Don’t think you’re getting let off the hook,” Henry growled as he followed them out of the cave.

“I know. I’ll explain everything. After we get away from those guys.”

He should have known better than to assume the people in the cave were the only people Deer brought with him. One of those people was an earth witch. The second he and the others stepped out of the cave, a cell sprang up around him. Made of rocks he couldn’t break through.

“Is this necessary?” Elijah put a hand against the stone prison.

“With the racket you lot made, yes.” Deer exited the cave, a handkerchief pressed to his nose. “If you had behaved yourselves and not flown off the handle, then maybe I wouldn’t have to do this.”

A soldier stepped into the stone prison and snapped iron cuffs around Thea’s wrists and ankles. Josh noticed she put iron around Elijah. He and the others seemed to have regular steel cuffs around their hands. Maybe they had run out of regular cuffs.

“Who are you people? What do you want? Are you traitors?” Ethan demanded as the stone prison began to move.

It rocked enough that they fell over into a pile, as if it were on water. Josh pulled himself to the edge to see the earth literally moving like waves beneath them, carrying the prison toward their final destination.

Deer had mild disinterest in his features. His nose had stopped bleeding. Josh should have punched him harder.

“It depends on what you mean by traitor. If you mean that I am actively working against the interests of Deerland, then yes, I am a traitor. If it means that I am trying to end the war as bloodlessly and quickly as possible, then no. I am not.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Priscilla cried.

“That’s not my problem.”

The prison settled on the ground. Josh could see a make-shift camp. Much like field command centers they erected before battles.

“If you want more information, I’d ask Healer. He knows plenty about this operation.” He turned his back on them, then walked back to the camp. His hands collapsed behind his back.

Josh turned to his husband, sitting miserably on the ground and not meeting his eye.

“Elijah, what’s he talking about?” What is this place? What do you have to do with any of it?”

“Josh, I–”

He knew that tone of voice. He didn’t hear it often, but when he did, it pissed him off. This was Elijah’s ‘I’m going to speak around the issue for ten minutes until you’re so confused you forget what you wanted to know in the first place’ voice. He wasn’t having it.

Josh shook his head. “No. You know what, I don’t want to hear it right now. Talk to me when you’re willing to give me some intel.” He went to sit over by Henry, Priscilla, and Ethan.

“We don’t want to hear it either,” Henry spat.

Ethan had his head buried in his knees. His shoulders shook. Priscilla was rubbing his back. She looked up at Josh. At least she had the decency to not look pissed off at him. Just disappointed. He didn’t know what was worse.

Thea smashed herself into one corner of the cell, as far away from the rest of them as she could get. “This is why I didn’t want to come back. Fuck you for making me come back.”

“I didn’t make you do anything,” Josh said.

He saw the Deer-Headed God dip his head at those words.

Brenner had placed himself in another corner of the cell. He seemed more dejected than anything.

Josh looked around at his shattered crew. He couldn’t fix this. He didn’t know how. He sat down in the center, all four corners taken up by people who were pissed at him. Despite everything, he managed to fall asleep. Cold and alone. His missing ring finger throbbed. The Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain sat heavy on his thigh.

Rebels

He awoke the next morning with a crick in his neck and the sounds of someone humming. He peeled his sticky eyelids open to see a young girl, about Micah’s age, sliding food and water through the bars.

“Who are you?” Josh asked.

She jumped and turned to him. “Oh, hi. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you. Just dropping off some food. Don’t worry, Jophiel is ripping Deer a new one. I mean, what was he thinking, locking you up like this? I get that you were throwing punches. But who could blame you? He should have locked you up, sat you down, and then talked to you like an adult. Once you learned everything, you’d probably calm down. Then we could have let you go. I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“A little bit.” He pushed himself up to sitting.

Brenner and Thea were still asleep. Henry, Priscilla, and Ethan were awake and watching the young girl intently. He couldn’t tell if Elijah was up or not.

“Sorry about that. I tend to ramble when I’m nervous. You should have definitely gone to Medical. You and Eli both. He used a lot of energy to heal you, and that sort of thing can cause a lot of problems if he’s not careful. I think Deer’s just mad because Eli doesn’t like him. Then again, most people don’t like him, so I don’t know what’s so special about Eli. Maybe it’s because he thinks Eli likes everyone. That’s not true either. I can probably count on one hand the number of people Eli likes. Okay, maybe two–”

“You’re rambling again,” Josh whispered.

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“You know Eli?”

Not that that wasn’t clear. The girl was right. Elijah didn’t like most people. He could count the number of people he did like on one, maybe two hands. Josh still wasn’t sure if Elijah liked Dr. Christopher or just put up with him, even after all these years.

“Of course I do! I’m Elizabeth, by the way. I just found out my Truth at the winter solstice. I’m still trying to choose a last name. I got air! I’m so excited. I know it’s an elemental, but among the elementals, it’s one of the trickier ones because air is so… airy. The only one that’s harder to get is fire because the Lion-Bodied Goddess is so picky about who she gives her Truths to. The Twin Eagle God and Goddess have always been my favorite gods, so it was like it was meant to be! For my last name, I was thinking Aer’s a popular one. Or I could go with Aura. Aura’s fun. Maybe something a little more metaphorical. Like Spiritus! Now that I have my Truth, I want to apply to the Temple University. The Air Truths that work there are so cool.”

“Elizabeth, please. Not this early in the morning,” Elijah groaned as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

“Right. Sorry. Rambling again.”

“You two… know each other?” Josh asked Elijah this time as he was sure Elizabeth wouldn’t ever answer the question.

She didn’t seem malicious. More like an overly excited teenager who wanted to talk about what she wanted to talk about and didn’t much care about other people at the moment.

He needed answers. Brenner was a traitor. Deer was a traitor. Elijah seemed to be in on whatever Deer was doing. Did that mean Elijah was a traitor as well?

No. It couldn’t be. He had known Elijah for so long. He couldn’t have betrayed them.

Then, how did he explain knowing this witch? Or Deer, a traitor?

“Josh, please, it’s not what it looks like.” Elijah begged.

“I think it is.” He gestured to Elizabeth. “You’re working with witches, Eli. They know you.”

“It’s not like that. I mean, yes, I am working with them. Not in the way you think.”

“Elizabeth, did you feed them?” A severe woman strode up to them, her mouth pulled into a frown, interrupting their conversation.

She was wearing the typical witch garb. Though instead of the long, flowy dresses Josh usually associated with witch women, this one was shorter, coming down to her calves and showing off a pair of loose-fitted silk pants underneath. The tunic-style dress on top was a light pink color, with gold woven around the neckline and hem. The pants were a soft blue. Her grey hair looked like it had been black at one point, and was now pulled back into a tight, almost painful-looking bun. Her eyes were black as well. She examined each occupant of the cell with an intensity that reminded Josh of a strict teacher.

“Jophiel.” Elijah breathed a sigh of relief. “Why is Deer still keeping us locked up in here?”

“He seems to be under the impression that all of you will fight so loudly and violently, that it will give away our position. Or that you will attack the camp.”

“No. We just need to talk.” Elijah stood. “Please, I can explain this to them. It’s hard to when we’re chained and sleeping outside.”

Jophiel’s face did not so much as twitch. Was her frown permanent? She could get along well with Ms. Harper, for all the lack of humor she seemed to possess.

“I have no doubt you can explain it to them. The question is, are they willing to listen?” She turned. “Thea, good to see you’re not dead. That is the prevailing rumor.”

“Jophiel,” Thea spat. “No offense, but this seems a bit below your station. However will you keep your clothes from getting dirty?”

“A little dirt can be dealt with easily. Nothing is below my station.”

“A lot is below your station.”

“A lot has changed since you left. Perhaps you’d know that if you didn’t cut everyone off.”

Oh great. More people with a history that Josh didn’t know. It was almost like everyone was keeping secrets.

She turned back to Josh. “I’m not here to catch up or to play polite hostess. I’ll cut straight to the point, Joshua Sans. Our operation is in dire straits. We’ve managed a few wins here and there, but if we do not come under better leadership soon, we’ll fizzle out before we’ve managed to do anything of note.”

“I am not helping the witches win anything,” Josh snarled.

How dare she suggest that! Josh was not Brenner. Nothing she gave him would make him switch sides.

Jophiel didn’t frown or move a muscle on her face. “My dear boy, I do not want to help Isaiah to win any more than you do. In fact, his leadership of our society is why we’re in this mess in the first place.”

“Then what–”

“We’re rebels, Josh,” Elijah said softly. “Not soldiers. Not witches. We’re on our own side.”

“We?”

Elijah flinched. “I… look, Josh, I’m not… The truth is, I’m a half-witch. Healing is my Truth.” His voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

Josh didn’t know if he had heard him correctly. “What?”

“I… I was raised in Deerland. I didn’t know until I was sixteen and I woke up to the Lion-Bodied Goddess lighting me on fire.”

“Then you joined the witches,” Henry said.

Elijah turned to him. “What? No! If the witches find out about me, they’ll experiment on me. Half-witches aren’t burned by iron like full witches are. Even after I found out, I stayed with the non-witches. I used my powers to heal you and everyone else.”

“I didn’t want that! I didn’t ask for that!” Josh snapped. It was like everything he had ever known about Elijah was gone now. His husband had died in that wasteland. Going back in time hadn’t brought him back. “Who are you?”

“Please, Josh… I didn’t want to hurt you. I joined the rebels to protect you and Ethan.”

“How is this protecting us?” He gestured to the camp. “You’re a witch. You’re working with witches.”

“We want to stop the war.”

Jophiel seemed to have had enough of this argument. She opened the door and stepped inside. “One side completely wiping out the other is not only impossible, but barbaric. There are children and civilians.”

A vision of the boy in the woods, his body rotting away from the radiation. Elijah, desperate to save him. In the end, the only thing he could offer was morphine and a dumb story about a stray cat. Josh swallowed down bile.

The village ruins, burned down after the death of General Deer in retribution. How many children died during that siege? How many more died during the war?

Jophiel was right. Burning everything to the ground and killing the witches was impossible. There’d be at least one survivor who would want revenge. The war would never end.

“Both sides believe that if they continue to bomb the other, they’ll win eventually. The cost is too high.” Jophiel continued. “That’s why we started this rebellion. It’s not about ensuring one side wins over the other. It’s about stopping the war before the casualties grow higher. We’ve tried to place more moderate people in the upper levels of the government, but it has yielded little in the way of results.”

“What’s this got to do with me?” Josh asked, his voice weak.

“You’re a brilliant strategist, are you not?” Jophiel’s beetle black eyes bore down on him. Her mouth still pulled into a frown. “We need to stop hiding in the shadows and make a good show of it. Witches and soldiers working together can accomplish a great deal.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Add a third faction into this mess. I’m sure that’s not going to lead to any mass executions.” Brenner scoffed.

Jophiel did not acknowledge him. Instead, she continued to stare down at Josh. “Deer is too proud to admit we need your help. I’ve seen your work. You could be just what we need to finish the war. The leaders will continue fighting until there’s no one left to fight.”

The bombs dropped. Welton shattered. Only Elijah and Josh remained. For weeks, they crawled through the continent, hoping to stumble across other survivors. They never did. Or the ones they did stumble across never lasted long. Micah died not long after Josh met her.

He swallowed.

“So, I ask you, Joshua Sans, will you help us?”

Josh glanced at Elijah. His body was taut. He looked at Josh with such vulnerability. Josh couldn’t remember the last time Elijah had been vulnerable with him.

The night he died, maybe. When he whispered that all he wanted was to lie down with his husband. It was the last time they’d ever get to do such a thing. That’s why he asked.

He shook his head.

“No. Fuck you. I’m not betraying my people.” He got to his feet and stormed past Jophiel out of the open cell door.

He didn’t bother running.

“Um, should we tell someone?” Elizabeth asked.

He didn’t hear Jophiel’s response. He didn’t need to. She wasn’t his enemy, as much as he hated to admit it.

That didn’t mean he would help her.

As he ran, the Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain bounced against his thigh, reminding him of what Elijah truly was.

Reasons

No one talked for a good long while. A rebel came to undo their cuffs, leaving them free to punch them. They didn’t. Jophiel let the door open for them to wander; not capitulating to Deer’s demands that they remain locked up.

Ethan didn’t know what he was going to do first.

He certainly wasn’t going to burst out of this cage and start killing people. Elizabeth was still a child. He didn’t know how many more were scattered around the camp. Besides, just based on the fight they had yesterday, these people weren’t warriors. It’d be like shooting fish in a barrel. He wasn’t sure they deserved that.

He wanted to go after Josh. With everything that had happened, though, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see his brother right now. Brenner was a traitor, and he still brought him along. Brenner and a witch.

He glanced at Elijah.

Two witches. Though he didn’t seem to know about the second one. Why did it matter so much? He didn’t mind Thea being there.

Elijah met his gaze, then looked away.

“Is it true?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Elijah rubbed his wrists. The iron didn’t leave burns on him the same way they did Thea.

“Elijah, answer me. No more bullshit. No more hiding things. Just… just tell me the fucking truth.”

Elijah nodded. “Yes, it’s true.”

Not that he needed to admit that. He already had. Ethan wanted to hear it for himself. He needed to confirm it.

“I swear, I didn’t know I was a half-witch until I turned sixteen.” He continued. “My mother never told me. I never knew my father. Hell of a surprise waking up to the Lion-Bodied Goddess on your chest breathing Truth into you.” He explained this all as if it would excuse his actions.

Ethan didn’t know if it did or not. “You stayed here? All this time?”

Why did he stay here? Why did he join the military? Was this all some trick of his? To get close to Josh and then to sell that information back to the witches? Did he even love Josh?

“Of course I did,” Elijah said. “I grew up here. This is my home. I wasn’t going to leave it simply because I could heal things with my mind. I’m a soldier, Ethan.”

“You’re not!” He whirled around to look him in the eyes.

Elijah looked like he had been slapped. It made Ethan feel guilty.

“I am, though.” He sounded like he didn’t believe it.

“You’re a witch.”

“A half-witch.” As if that made any difference. “If I had gone to Megaloceros, I would have been tortured. Or worse.”

That caused Ethan to pause. Elijah had mentioned something like that before. He seemed dead set on it, too. Like it was a foregone conclusion that they tortured all half-witches.

“Believe it or not, Ethan, I am safer with the non-witches than I am with the witches.” He reached out to put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

Ethan took a step back, causing Elijah’s hand to hover in the air.

“Is that why you were so desperate to marry Josh? You wanted extra security? An extra shield?”

He could see it now. Elijah latching onto Josh in the hopes that people wouldn’t suspect him of being a witch. He could use Josh as a shield. It made him sick. Josh didn’t deserve that. He deserved someone who loved him for who he was, not for what he could provide. Had Elijah cast a spell on Josh and fucked with his head? Was that why he had been acting so strange? Was that why he brought Thea and Brenner along despite knowing who they were?

“What? No! I admit, I did want to rush into the relationship. Not because he provided security. I love him. I love you.”

Ethan felt tears gather in his eyes. The back of his throat closed up. “No. You… no. I can’t do this right now. I need to find Josh.”

He darted out of the open prison door. Elijah let him go. He didn’t call Ethan’s name.

His head spun with so many conflicting thoughts. Confusing him until he felt like his brain was nothing but mush. Elijah had been so kind. Thoughtful and caring to a fault. Ethan never suspected him of having any ill intent after that first meeting. Elijah had a way of speaking that put him at ease. That made him believe everything was going to be alright. Elijah softened his brother. He relaxed him. He had helped shoulder some of his burden. With Elijah around, they felt like a real family. Their last names be damned.

They were a family. They loved each other. They didn’t need a caste system to rank their importance. Elijah cared for them. He treated Ethan like he was worthy of respect. He never doubted his intelligence. He never acted like Ethan was less than him simply because he was a Sans. He seemed like a good person. An actual good person, not just one who had more power than Ethan.

That seemed so at odds with him being a witch. Witches weren’t good people. They enslaved non-witches and acted like they were better simply because the gods bestowed them with gifts. How could Elijah be a witch and a good person? How could he love Josh but be connected to people who wanted to enslave him?

“Ethan, wait up!” Henry called.

They broke through the perimeter of the piss-poor base camp. Ethan could see what Jophiel meant when she said they needed Josh to help them. If this was how they ran their operation, no wonder they hadn’t made much headway yet. No patrols. No perimeter guards. No trip wire between the trees with some cans attached to announce someone was coming.

What the fuck was Deer doing? He had military experience! The tents themselves, Great Deer God! If someone attacked, they’d have no easy way to escape. Someone set them all up haphazardly.

“I don’t want to fucking hear it right now,” he spat.

He slowed his run so he could walk through the forest. It was nice to walk through nature. Normally, when he was out in nature, witches tried to kill him. Now, the birdsong and wind rustling through the trees helped calm him.

“We need to grab Josh and get out of here.”

“What?”

“Look, I think these witches have been fucking with his head. We can get back to Welton easily enough. We tell General Weaver about Deer and Brenner. He needs to know. Maybe with Josh away from them, his head will clear up and he’ll go back to normal.”

Ethan frowned. He stuck his hands in his pockets, his stomach twisting at the thought. He wasn’t sure Josh had been affected by the witches. Yeah, he had been acting weird, but that was only in the past few weeks. He had known Elijah for years now, and nothing ever seemed out of place. Unless Elijah was playing the long game.

“My GPS is still working.” Henry continued. “I’ve got a pin on the base camp. We tell him. We clear these people out. Jophiel is one of the highest-ranking people in the witch government. We can use that–”

“Elijah’s one of them, though.”

He swallowed as images of Elijah in chains, shipped to prison so they could torture him for information. All before they’d execute him. He pushed them away. He didn’t want that. After everything that had happened, he didn’t think Elijah deserved that. He did love Josh, that much was clear. If he didn’t, why would he be so aggressive toward the people who abused him?

“He’s a traitor, too. I think” Henry stopped and rubbed his jaw. “I’m still not clear on what these people are doing here. They’re working with witches. Elijah is a witch.

“Half-witch.” Ethan found himself automatically correcting.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No. I don’t think it is. Not to the witches at least.”

It couldn’t be. Otherwise, why would Elijah be in Welton? Why would he debase himself by marrying a non-witch? One from the lowest caste at that? Why would he betray his people by joining the soldiers and healing them? Why would he give Ethan his sweaters so he had something nice to wear on dates? Why would he make sure to cook an extra portion of lentils and cabbage so Ethan had something to eat when he came by? Why would he love Josh so fiercely that he would risk a court-martial to defend himself when Preston acted like a dick?

Henry shook his head. “I don’t think we should stay here, though. We still have a chance to prove the Sanses are worth something. This is huge and could completely change the tides of war. And we did it! A whole team full of Sanses! Do you know what that would mean for us?”

“I don’t fucking care about proving myself!” he snapped. “I care about my brother and making sure he’s alright. Just… man, just leave me alone. I need to find Josh.”

He took off into the forest. Henry called his name. Priscilla came up and told him to let him go. He was glad at least someone was letting him work through the swirling thoughts in his brain. He needed to find Josh. He needed to find out why he trusted Brenner and Thea. He needed his brother.

Try as he might, he couldn’t find him. He didn’t worry about his brother getting lost. He was too smart for that. He did need to talk to him about this. He wanted people to stop hiding things from him. He wanted the war to end. He wanted to not be a soldier anymore and to have options beyond this.

He wanted his brother. He didn’t find him. Instead, he stumbled upon the girl who had fed them earlier.

“Oh, I was just looking for you.” She thrust a small tray of food at him. “Elijah says you guys don’t get a lot of food because we got most of the farmland over here. He wants to make sure you’re eating, but not too much. We can’t make it too flavorful because you guys don’t have herbs? That’s so weird to me. Herbs are so easy to grow. I have a window-sill garden back home. My mom’s got a Plant Truth, which is under the Healing Truth because it’s associated with life.”

He almost reminded her that she was rambling again, but decided against it. Hearing her ramble made him feel at ease. It kept his thoughts at bay. He took the tray from her hands, which just freed them up so she could wave them around while continuing to ramble on about all the Truths her family had. He let the words more or less wash over him without absorbing what she was saying. He didn’t care if Healing was more powerful than growing plants or whatever. A witch was a witch.

Looking down, a bright, shiny red apple bigger than any apple he had ever seen sat on the tray. The skin glistened in the light. He could see his reflection in it. A thick slice of bread lay next to it. Toasted to perfection with shiny, yellow butter melting on top of the brown, crispy outside. Next to it were a few links of sausage. He could smell the herbs from here. Sage, rosemary, garlic. The sausages were browned and crispy on the outside, with more glistening fat leaking through the cracks in the skin and pooling on the plate.

“Thank you,” he said.

She grabbed his elbow and dragged him to a toppled log. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen your brother around anywhere? Elijah’s worried he hasn’t got enough to eat. He wants to take another look at his finger. Apparently, a demon took it? That’s scary. You’re not supposed to mess with demons. I didn’t know a non-witch could make a deal with one. You’re brother must be either really brave or really stupid.”

The log sank under his weight, softened by moisture, time, and insects burrowing into the wood.

“He’s brave.” He grabbed one sausage.

The fat coated his fingers. He bit into it, the taut skin snapping under the pressure from his teeth. Flavor burst onto his tongue as saliva rushed to fill his mouth. He had to stop himself from shoving the rest of the sausages into his mouth, lest he choke. He wasn’t sure he had ever eaten pork before. It was certainly better than rat or pigeon, at any rate.

“You said you got a Truth recently?”

She had a proud look on her face. “Yep! Air. Most people don’t want the elementals because of how low they are, but the Twin Eagle Gods have been my favorite. When I was a little girl, I got super lost when my family took a trip down south to the Great Desert. I wandered for days, crying and feeling like I was going to die out there. Then I saw an eagle. A golden eagle, so I know it was the goddess.”

The more she spoke, the more the leaves on the ground swirled.

“She led me back to my family. Ever since then, I’ve asked every night to have an Air Truth. I think my family would have rather me gotten a Storm Truth, but I want to join the Air Temple University way up north. They want me to go into politics instead.” She stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose.

He remembered Elijah saying that he got his Truth from the Lion-Bodied Goddess as well.

“So, the gods give you your Truths? It’s not like a genetic thing?”

She nodded. “I have to say, it is rare for a half-witch to be as powerful as Elijah. They’re only half-witches, see? Their bodies can’t handle all the magic. At least, that’s what we’re told. I don’t know if that’s true. A lot of things are weird about half-witches. I’m not sure what to believe anymore. Elijah is the first half-witch I’ve met.”

With how much Elizabeth was rambling, she didn’t seem to understand the concept of OPSEC. Ethan could probably get way more information out of her than he could from Josh, Elijah, or even Thea and Brenner. It was worth a shot.

“How long have you been a rebel?” He felt self-conscious about licking the grease from his fingers. His stomach rumbled. He didn’t know the next time he’d get such a rich meal. He wasn’t about to let a single calorie go to waste.

“Only for a few months, since I got my Truth.” Elizabeth admitted. “I was at the Temple University in Osairae and found out about them. I just had to join the second I heard what they were doing.”

Good Gods, Jophiel was speaking about this in places where random people could overhear? Either this rebel group was really lucky, or witches were really stupid.

Then again, he remembered the flyer he had found in Welton. Maybe people didn’t take them seriously. Or maybe they knew about the rebel group, and they already had spies planted here. Either way, it didn’t seem to be something Jophiel or Deer considered. Especially since Jophiel just up and asked Josh to join.

“Why did you join? You can’t be more than fifteen.”

“Sixteen.” She corrected him in a way that Ethan corrected people when they assumed he was younger than he was.

She plucked a leaf from a plant. She shredded it in her hands before plucking off another. It was the first time she hadn’t immediately launched into a long, rambling explanation with eighteen tangents.

“A lot of people in Osairae don’t think the fighting is as bad as it is. It’s a lie. It’s been going on for a hundred years. Why does anyone think it’s going to just end? I can’t help but think, is this it? Am I going to live the rest of my life with all this fighting until I die? I guess… I want to do more to end it. I want to do more to protect the people I care about. I want it to end because our society sucks, but we can’t fix anything because we’re fighting all the time. I feel like the people at the top want the fighting to drag out so that they don’t have to do anything to make our world better.”

“What do you mean?” Ethan bit into the bread. It was good, but not as good as Josh’s bread.

“Like this whole hierarchy system. Why should Jophiel be at the top because she’s a healer? Why am I at the bottom because I’m an elemental? Why should Elijah be treated like some abomination because he’s not a full witch? I could sit back at the Northern Air Temple University, make offerings to the Twin Eagle Gods, and research how the world works. In the end, that doesn’t help anyone in the way they need help. I want the war to end. I want it to end without hurting anyone else.”

His stomach turned, and he put the bread down. Wasn’t that the exact reason he joined the army, though it would make Josh mad?

He could have lived a nice, quiet life as a carpentry assistant for Mr. Lee. He made good money, had steady work. Mr. Lee was a good boss. He didn’t want to sit by and let Josh do all the heavy lifting. He wanted to help Josh, to shoulder some of the burden. To keep him safe from the war. To end it so that their society could focus on not being so shitty.

“I’m sorry you guys found out about Elijah.” Elizabeth continued. “If it makes you feel any better, he does love you. He’s always arguing with Deer about your treatment. I think he punched him once.”

Ethan forced himself to take another bite of the toast. “I know. Not about the punching thing, though that does seem like something he’d do. About the love thing.”

“You don’t believe it, though.”

He didn’t think that was it. He believed Elijah cared for him and Josh, but how was the question. Did he love them as equals? Or as pets?

“We’re not your enemies, Ethan.” Elizabeth put her hand on his arm. “We all want the same thing.”

“We all want the fighting to end. It’s not the end that worries me, it’s what comes after. We rebelled for a reason. As much as I don’t want to fight anymore, I don’t want to go back to being a slave either.”

Elizabeth didn’t have a response for this.

“I need to find Josh.”

“If you see him, tell him to stop by the food tent. He needs to eat, too. He’s so tall, he must need to eat a lot.”

“Not as much as you would think,” Ethan mused.

Brothers

Josh didn’t end up going back to Welton. He didn’t end up going to Osairae either. As much as he wanted his feet to run far from the camp, he couldn’t. As betrayal sang in his veins, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Elijah and Ethan.

A part of him was convinced this was some elaborate joke. Elijah wasn’t a witch; merely pretending to get close to the traitors. An undercover operative that Josh wasn’t supposed to know about.

Perhaps he was a shadow guard.

That was a lie.

For one, shadow guards weren’t allowed any personal connections. Elijah would have never been able to marry Josh if he were one.

For another, things fell into place that he had previously brushed off as Elijah being… different.

Whenever Josh was injured, he healed faster with Elijah as his doctor. Always. They had a small shrine dedicated to the Lion-Bodied Goddess. He knew so much about runes and magic, things ordinary citizens never would have known.

He knew about Deer and his sneaking around. He knew Deer was meeting up with the other rebels. He knew about the rune on the floor and where it led. That’s why he tried to direct Josh’s attention away from him. That’s why he tried to convince Josh that nothing was going on with Deer. That’s why…

Gods, he had ignored so much.

Despite all of it, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

Instead, he circled the camp. He made tracks in the grass and underbrush beneath his feet. He continued to walk and walk and walk until blisters popped and fresh blood soaked through his new wool socks.

Still, he walked. The pain helped ground him. It helped him remember what was real and what wasn’t. He pressed his tongue against his non-existent teeth. He could feel them there. Wiggling from the radiation. He stopped hearing the birds and only heard flies buzzing and feasting on the dead.

He didn’t slip back into the past. Past Josh never learned about Elijah. He died not knowing Elijah was a witch. A traitor.

That alone was enough to ground him.

“Hey, are you ever going to stop?” Ethan asked as Josh finished his fifth hour of doing nothing but walking.

Other than the blisters, it wasn’t that physically draining. He had done ruck marches with a hundred pounds of gear strapped to his back over much rougher terrain for much longer. This was nothing.

“You missed breakfast. And lunch. I brought you some. They have a lot of food here.” He offered up a weak, sad smile.

Josh stared at him. He felt so damn tired.

“You need to eat. With the shock and everything, it was strongly suggested you rest and recover.”

Josh looked down at the plate. On it were round bluish-black berries. Fresh bread with butter. A pile of mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and lentils in a brown gravy sauce. He could see a shine of fat sitting on top of the gravy.

“Elijah wouldn’t let me bring you meat.” Ethan continued.

“You spoke to him?” Josh winced at the sharp sound of his voice.

He didn’t mean to imply anything. Why wouldn’t Ethan speak to Elijah? After all, Elijah wasn’t the only one hiding secrets. If he was willing to speak to Josh, why would Elijah be any different?

Ethan swallowed. “Why would you judge me? You’ve been speaking to a witch all this time. And a traitor.” His voice was accusatory, but only just. It was almost like he didn’t care about Thea and Brenner.

Josh ducked his head. “You’re right. I’m… Ugh!” He ran a hand through his hair and let out a garbled string of curses.

“Can we talk?” Ethan asked. “Please? I… I need answers, Josh. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know who you are anymore. You’re hiding something from me. Not just Thea and Brenner. I’m tired of people hiding things from me.”

Josh looked up at him. His shoulders slumped. “Yeah. Yeah, we can talk. We should have talked a long time ago. I’m sorry. I… I don’t think you’ll believe me if I tell you.”

“I just found out Elijah’s a half-witch rebel. You’ve knowingly hung around with a full witch and a traitor. I doubt there’s much more you can say that would surprise me.”

“We’ll see about that. You might just think I'm crazy. I think I’m crazy.” He took the proffered tray of food.

They found a large tree to sit under. A bird chirped warnings somewhere up in the canopy as they got close to its nest. Josh leaned back against the tree. He closed his eyes and just listened for a few moments.

The sound of the wind rustling through the trees. A brook bubbling not far away. The bird, angry that they had dared encroach upon its territory. Some soft murmurings of people back at the camp.

No buzzing flies.

“Gods, this camp is a mess.” Ethan broke the silence.

“No sort of perimeter.”

“No guards.”

“The tents are not properly set up to facilitate quick movement.”

“Either through the camp or away from it.” Ethan chuckled. “You’d think Deer would know better.”

Josh snorted. “Please. That man has never been out in the field. Or, if he has, he’s never had to worry about how to set up a base camp. The lowers will do that for him.”

“These people are useless.”

“It’s a miracle they’re still going.” Josh agreed.

They lapsed back into silence for a beat.

“Let me see your feet.” Ethan shuffled forward.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you were limping. Come on. I have a med kit. These people may be useless, but they have so much gear. It’s insane. I think most of it comes from Deer. Bit of an asshole move that he doesn’t give us any of it. Not everyone can afford to rebel.” He pulled off Josh’s shoes. “We’re going to need to get you new socks.”

“I just got these ones.”

“You’ve already worn holes in them. If the lack of perimeter was bad, wait until you see who’s guarding their gear tent.”

“Elizabeth?”

“At least that would be someone. Nah, it’s completely left out in the open. They don’t think anyone is going to steal anything.”

“You are?” Josh asked.

“I’m gonna steal some socks. Boots. Some binocs.”

“I see you were busy doing inventory.”

Ethan shrugged. “I needed something to do while I figured out how I felt about all of this.”

“Ethan–”

“Eat. Then we’ll talk.”

“Since when are you the older brother here?” Josh scooped up a spoonful of potatoes.

Salty, tangy flavor burst across his tongue. The gravy filled his mouth, coating every taste bud until he could taste nothing else. The slight pop of the peas and the sweetness of the carrots mixed with the sauce to give it depth and texture. He detected a hint of…

“Is there cheese in this?” Josh asked.

Ethan nodded. “Pretty great. Huh? Apparently, one of the Truth’s you can have is like an animal whisperer or something like that? Anyway, they got so much food over here. One of the older women thinks I’m too skinny and keeps trying to shove things down my throat. I think she’s trying to set me up with her daughter? I’ve never felt this full before. I kind of like the feeling.”

Josh dug into the food with gusto. He had also never felt full before. Once he started eating, though, it was as if something had awoken in him. Like he had been ignoring his hunger for so long, he forgot he was hungry. He could feel the heat from the potatoes and lentils burning through his stomach. It seemed to travel down his legs and arms. Almost the opposite of how he had felt when the ice witch attacked.

“Elijah’s limiting our food, though. Apparently, he’s afraid we’ll make ourselves sick if we eat too much.”

“He’s probably right.”

Josh shoveled another spoonful into his mouth. He used the bread to sop up some of the gravy still left in the bowl, marveling at how the juices soaked into the bread. He didn’t feel Ethan cleaning and bandaging his blisters; too consumed with the food in front of him to think of anything else.

After he had his fill, his stomach comfortably distended, a feeling he wasn’t used to, he sat back against the tree.

Ethan finished up his work and sat next to him. He picked up a stick on the ground and began whittling it down.

Neither of them spoke for several minutes. They sat together and listened to the wind whisper through the trees. The birds chirped above them. Insects buzzed and chittered through the vegetation.

Ethan was the first one to speak. “What’s going on, Josh?” he asked quietly. So quietly, Josh almost didn’t hear him.

Unlike the cave, whose darkness seemed to swallow up voices, out here, it felt like Ethan’s voice had become a part of nature. Not taken by it, but adding to the sounds that surrounded them.

He sighed. “You’re never going to believe me.”

“Try me.”

There was no way out of this. A part of him didn’t want a way out of this. He wanted Ethan to know everything. One more person to shoulder the burden. He normally hated letting his brother shoulder anything heavier than a trip to the market. He had to do this. He had to trust Ethan. Maybe if he had trusted both Elijah and Ethan from the beginning, they wouldn’t be in this mess.

“I died,” Josh said.

Ethan looked at him. “That’s funny because you’re sitting right next to me. Unless…” He stuck out his hand and poked Josh in the shoulder. “Nope. Not a ghost. I can’t pass through you.”

Josh shoved him playfully. “I came back.”

“You came back to life?”

He nodded.

Ethan groaned. “That makes no sense. Maybe start making some.”

“You’re right. I need to tell you everything. Sorry, it’s… difficult. Do you remember Canyon Pass?”

Ethan nodded.

“Well, you die there. Died there. Were supposed to die there. I’m not sure how to phrase it. Last time I went through this, I listened to Preston. I followed his orders, though something was wrong. I pressed on. You stepped on a land mine and died. Priscilla got her leg blown off. She killed herself a few weeks later. Only Henry and I survived.”

Thankfully, though he sounded insane, Ethan let him talk. He didn’t want to stop right now. Didn’t want to answer the millions of questions no doubt running through Ethan’s mind. He needed to talk. If he stopped now, he might never start back up again.

“I was a wreck when you died. I didn’t move from bed for several days. I was scaring Eli. He dragged me down to the morgue to let me cry it out without worrying about who could hear me. That’s what saved our lives. Nuclear bombs dropped while we were down there. It killed everyone. We found Henry’s body in the rubble.”

He shuddered, remembering the sight of Henry’s corpse. It couldn’t bloat properly because of how it had been crushed.

“Christopher died, too. He died because Eli kicked him out of the morgue so we could talk. I think Eli regrets, did regret, that. He never said it, but he blames, blamed himself for his death. Anyway, with no one left in Welton, we headed North. Hoping to find some people. We found a kid. He was too far gone. Eli had to overdose him with morphine. And then…”

Josh’s throat closed up. Tears sprang to his eyes. He blinked them away as best as he could, looking to the sky as if that could help stop them from falling.

Through it all, Ethan let him talk.

“Eli was so sick. He could barely walk. He…” He cleared his throat. “He overdosed on morphine. I didn’t know he was going to do that. He… Fuck… I woke up and he was dead. The last thing he did was bandage this cut I had.” Josh raised his arm up.

The cut didn’t exist. He had never lived through the apocalypse. He wished it still did. A reminder of Elijah’s last bit of kindness toward him. In his final hours, he wanted to take care of Josh as best as he could.

“I think he wanted to tell me he was a witch before he died. He was asking all these questions. Questions he never asked before. He never did tell me. Afterward, I was all alone. I went to kill myself. Before I could, though, this girl appeared. She was a witch. Maybe around sixteen or so. She said we could stop this from happening. By that point, I was so fucking tired of fighting. No one else was around. What did it matter if I killed the last witch or not? So, I followed her. She took me to this temple. Did some magic spell. The next thing I know, I’m back at Canyon Pass. Everyone’s still alive. I have a chance to stop the bombs from falling. To save everyone. To end the war.”

He took another deep, shuddering inhale and looked at Ethan. “So, yeah. That’s what’s going on.”

Ethan’s brow furrowed. “How do you know you lived through all that? That it wasn’t a trick that some witch played on you?”

“I thought the same thing. Brenner and Thea exist. That’s my proof. Before, Brenner had been exposed as a traitor and hanged. He was the one who sold out the Canyon Pass Plans to the witches.”

“Thea?”

“Just a witch wandering through who got caught.”

“To be fair, she’s not exactly subtle.”

“You didn’t suspect her at first.”

“I thought she was a spy, so she had to look crazy.”

Josh laughed. Everything felt wet, and he had a hard time swallowing. “It’s crazy, Ethan. It’s so fucking crazy what’s going on with me. I still don’t know where I am half the time. Am I here? Or am I in the apocalypse? Am I seconds from dying? Is this a fever dream? I don’t know. So, I keep moving forward.”

“This trip to Osairae, it’s not to gather intel?” He sounded betrayed.

“No, it is. Not in the way you’re probably thinking. If I manage to stop the bombs from dropping, that doesn’t mean the war ends. I need to help Weaver figure out a way to do that. This trip is to find Micah. I think she might help us stop the bombs.”

He ran a hand down his face. “I should have told you. I sound crazy. Like I said, I still don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. Elijah only found out because I got arrested for talking to Thea.” Another realization struck him. “Fuck. He knew.”

“He knew?”

“Yeah. Thea said I look different because of all the magic it took to get me back here. Non-witches can’t tell. Witches can sense it. Elijah must have sensed something different about me.”

“That… that explains some things.” Ethan huffed. “So, Thea helps us navigate through Osairae. I get that. What’s Brenner’s purpose?”

“Cannon fodder? Last-ditch shield? Someone Elijah can stab when he’s getting angry?”

He laughed. “Okay, so you don’t trust him?”

Josh shook his head. “Not in the slightest. I couldn’t leave him behind. He’s still a spy. He could have told his handler about our plans the moment he left. If he came along, I could keep an eye on him. Trust me, Ethan. I am not betraying our people. I’m trying to help. If anyone found out I knew all of this because of a witch–”

“They’d arrest and execute you.” Ethan finished, his face grim. “I wish you had told me.”

“I know.”

“You need to talk to Elijah.”

“I know.”

“He doesn’t deserve for us to shun him. I mean, what’s the point anymore, Josh? You already knowingly worked with two witches. You made a deal with a demon. Why is Elijah different?”

“He lied to me.”

“Would you have trusted him if he told you?” Ethan stared at him.

Josh wanted to say yes. Of course, he would have trusted Elijah. He trusted him with his life. He trusted him with Ethan’s life. He still trusted him. He was his husband. He loved him so much it hurt.

“I don’t think you would have.” Ethan continued before Josh had a chance to respond. “The Josh I know would have never trusted any witches. This new Josh, I don’t know him. He probably trusts Elijah. You weren’t him.”

“Would you have trusted him?” Josh asked. It was a pathetic attempt to put off thinking about Ethan’s words. He did it anyway.

Ethan finished up his carving. A small pendant with what looked like the Lion-Bodied Goddess carved into the surface. It wasn’t breathing fire and looked a lot like the one carved into the ruined temple back at the village.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to know what I’d be like before all this happened. A part of me wants to say yes. I would have trusted him. He’s Eli. He gives me sweaters that I’d never afford, heals us, and sticks up for us to the higher-ups. At the same time… I don’t know. It feels like I’ve never had a chance to think for myself. I was born into this war. We both were. I’ve never met a witch before this. Maybe I would have trusted him, deep down, but still turned him in because that’s what I’ve been trained to do since birth.”

Josh nodded. “Yeah.”

He had a feeling that’s what he would do. The old him. The one who didn’t live through the apocalypse. He hated to admit it, but Ethan was right. If he wouldn’t go against Preston’s orders when it would get his squad killed, why wouldn’t he turn Elijah in?

One more death that was all his fault. All because he was a good soldier who followed orders.

“What are we going to do now? Are we still headed to Osairae?”

“I have to go,” Josh said. “The bombs were horrific. I can’t let them fall again. I… I can’t.”

“What about the rest of us?”

He looped an arm around Ethan’s shoulders and pulled him to his side. “I never wanted you to be part of this war. I won’t force you to come with me. I can do this alone.”

Ethan wrapped his arms around Josh and pulled him down so his head was tucked against his collar. “You don’t have to do everything, Josh. I can help.”

He swallowed. More tears sprang to his eyes as he held his brother tight. “I’m so tired, Ethan. I’m so tired.”

“I know. Let’s not make any decisions yet. At least, not until you’ve talked to Eli.”

“I agree.” He wanted to do something else. He needed to do something else. He could only think of one thing, though. “Do you remember Sparky the Cat?”

“The story you used to tell me when we were kids?” He could see Ethan’s face wrinkling in confusion.

Josh nodded. “Want me to tell it to you again?”

Ethan was too old for this. They both were. He expected him to say as much. To tell Josh no.

“Sure. It’s been a while since I heard it.”

Josh told the story again. It took him thirty minutes.

When he got to the end, he broke down, sobbing into his younger brother’s chest. He had tried so hard to be the older brother. To protect everyone. It seemed like no matter what he did, he failed at every step along the way. This was just another failure in a long line of them.

He wanted Elijah to be safe. Elijah felt like he needed to join a rebellion that couldn’t set up camp properly to protect Josh and Ethan.

Ethan, Gods, he wanted nothing more than for Ethan to stay here where he had plenty of food, singing birds, and no war. He didn’t want his brother to ever fire a gun again in his life.

He couldn’t control that. Elijah would never be content to sit back and let Josh do the work. Ethan would never be content with hiding.

So, he sobbed, knowing that no matter what he did, the people he loved were at risk of dying.

Olive Branch

Josh pulled himself together after too much time falling apart in Ethan’s arms. He never wanted to show this side of himself. This weakness. He was the older brother. He should take on any challenges that came his way and fight them. He should keep the people he loved safe. He shouldn’t sob in their arms.

He didn’t feel any better after. Not lighter or more at peace. Instead, the weight settled around his neck like a stone. His gut churned and flipped until it threatened to spill all the food he had consumed earlier.

“Do you need me to stay?” Ethan asked as he stood.

Maybe.

Probably.

Josh’s voice was hoarse. “I need time to think. Away from people.”

“Then what were you doing that caused all this?” He nudged Josh’s bloodied, blistered foot with his boot.

“Running.” He answered truthfully.

He hummed. “You’re not going to run anymore?”

Josh shook his head. “No. I can’t. I need to face this.”

He didn’t know what ‘this’ was. He had an idea. He couldn’t be sure. He needed to face so many things.

Ethan’s death.

Elijah’s death.

His death.

Everything that happened after.

Everything he learned after.

His trust in Thea despite her being a witch.

The truth about Elijah.

He hadn’t let himself think about so many things since Canyon Pass. The first Canyon Pass. He hadn’t had time. Even if he did, he hadn’t wanted to.

Here, time seemed to stand still.

Not the spinning of the world. That still happened. The sun had already begun to set, bathing the forest in golden light.

No, the time that didn’t exist here was the time of humans. The time of clocks and to-do lists. Everything that existed here allowed itself to simply be. To react to the changing of the light and seasons. He didn’t need to think of the past or the future. Only the present.

He settled back against the tree. It almost reminded him of that place with the Horned Demon. Though, it was infinitely nicer. Mostly because there wasn’t a throne of bones in front of him.

He let his eyes slip closed as the sounds of birds and wind enveloped him. It felt like he was floating. Or like he had become part of the tree.

He couldn’t run anymore. He had to accept that the past was the past. He couldn’t change it.

That was a paradox. In many ways, he had changed it. Had he changed the past? Or had he altered the present?

He supposed it depended on how he looked at it.

Either way, he had made his choices in both timelines, and both timelines had led to consequences.

He couldn’t go back and change things. Did he want to change anything? He couldn’t think of anything he’d change, even if he could do it without going insane.

He wished Elijah had told him earlier about being a witch and a rebel. When would have been a good time? After they had met? After they had gotten married? After Josh had come back spouting some crazy shit about time traveling?

He needed to hear more about what Jophiel wanted him to do. Despite feeling Elijah’s betrayal deep in his bones, he still did trust him. As much of an oxymoron as that was. If Elijah thought these people were worth helping out, then maybe Josh should give them a chance. Though he was questioning Elijah’s criteria for rebellions. These people had one of the worst camp setups Josh had ever seen. Even Preston wasn’t this incompetent.

Despite this, he was curious about the rebels. That was one of the reasons he hadn’t grabbed Ethan, Priscilla, and Henry and taken off as soon as he had the chance. Something about these people made Elijah want to join them. Something about their cause made Elijah feel like he had to join them. He needed to know what that was.

Elijah.

It all came back to Elijah.

No matter what he felt, he couldn’t leave his husband. The moment he exited the makeshift prison, he was going to sulk and stomp away like a spoiled child; a vain attempt to punish Elijah for his lies. But, he wasn’t going to leave him.

Now that he had a chance to rest, eat, and listen to the birds, he could think more clearly.

Honestly, it wasn’t the witch thing that bothered him. After Micah and Thea, Josh found that he didn’t care as much about who was and wasn’t a witch. Things like that seemed dumb in light of everything going on. Besides, so long as they weren’t trying to kill or enslave him, what did he care if they existed or not?

Elijah wasn’t the emotionless killer that the propaganda made all witches out to be. Josh would have never fallen for him in the first place if that were the case.

He understood, on some level, why Elijah never told him about his true nature. Ethan was right. The old Josh would have turned him in. Following orders like the good little soldier he was. Just like he had followed Preston’s orders at Canyon Pass. Just like he followed every order tossed his way without question. So no, Elijah couldn’t have told him about his other side or being a rebel before.

Why didn’t he tell him after?

Here Josh was, freaking out, going through this awful experience of everyone else dying. Then, getting kicked back in time. Elijah said nothing. He admitted to him what was going on. He broke down in front of him. He told him this insane story and then worked to break a witch out of prison.

Why didn’t Elijah come clean then? Why did he keep lying to him as Josh insisted that Gabriel Deer was a traitor?

Which he kind of was. But not in the way he was thinking.

Why did he keep lying?

He supposed he’d never know unless he asked the man himself.

He’d never know why Elijah joined the rebels or why he hid his true self from Josh, just sitting here.

He was burning daylight. He needed to sort this mess out if they were ever going to stop the bombs from falling. By his calculations, it was only a few weeks away.

He gingerly pulled on his boots, wincing as the bandages made them tighter than normal. He almost went barefoot. However, he was sure that both Ethan and Elijah would flay him alive for doing something so stupid.

He remembered what it was like walking through the wasteland with Micah those final few hours. The sticks and stones stabbed his feet as he struggled to move inch by inch toward their final destination.

If he walked barefoot now, he might slip back to the past. He didn’t want to. He never wanted to remember what he had gone through. He wanted this Elijah to be the only Elijah he thought about.

He didn’t know if such a thing was possible. At the moment, he supposed it didn’t matter. He had made his choices. He had his past. Now, he had to focus on the present.

Shoes secured with loose knots, he pushed himself to his feet and limped back to camp.

Ethan’s bandages held firm, but his feet still throbbed and ached. They had swelled once out of the boots and were none too happy about being shoved back in, if only for a few minutes.

No one spoke to him as he marched. It took every ounce of self-control not to fold in on himself; to keep his head held high.

He caught them staring, but no one stopped him or spoke to him. He couldn’t tell who was a witch and who wasn’t. Most of the witches still wore their traditional clothes, but others didn’t. The only indication that they were a witch was whether they eyed the iron bar on his hip. Josh wasn’t going to use it on any of these people. Did they know that? Were they afraid he’d hurt him?

He wanted to say he wouldn’t.

He didn’t.

Even if he did, he doubted they’d believe him.

Elijah wasn’t hard to find. He was in a make-shift medical tent. A place he went when he got restless or felt helpless.

He was with a patient. A young man who had fallen while scouting and broken his arm. At least they had scouts in this camp. Though, it wouldn’t surprise Josh if they didn’t. Did any of these people have any military experience?

Elijah put his hands on the arm. His eyes closed. His body seemed to glow for a breath. The glow stopped. Elijah opened his eyes. He finished splinting up the man, giving one last set of instructions. “Wear that for two weeks and then come back.”

“Thank you, doctor.” The man shuffled past Josh.

His eyes darted to the iron bar. He shuffled faster. As if Josh was going to beat him with it if he lingered for too long.

Elijah turned to face him. His eyes roved Josh’s form, a familiar action where he tried to suss out where Josh was injured. His gaze landed on his feet.

“If you don’t despise my being, I can help your feet heal faster.” His voice had a strange, ice-like quality to it. Not icy in the way he normally spoke to people he didn’t like.

No, this reminded Josh of a hissing cat. More afraid than brave and attempting to mask his fear by arching his back and hissing.

Josh was never good with angry cats. When he tried to pet them, they usually swiped at his hand and scratched him.

He wordlessly made his way over to the bed. He sat down and swung his legs up. A silent form of consent.

Elijah peeled the boots from his swollen, bloody feet.

“Ethan cleaned and bandaged them,” Josh said. His voice cracked. He had to clear his throat.

“He did a good job.” Elijah admitted.

Gods, this was the worst kind of useless small talk. Josh wanted them to get to the heart of the issue. He didn’t want them to. If they started talking about things that mattered, they’d have to deal with them. No more hiding things. No more pretending like everything was fine. Once that happened, everything would change. More than it already had, at least.

“I can’t heal them all the way. I’m limited in my abilities.”

“Because you’re a half-witch?” Josh winced at his voice. The words came out more accusatory than he intended.

Elijah’s eyes flickered to him. “I was never trained properly. Believe it or not, it’s difficult to find witches in Deerland. They’re there. Most of them are doing everything in their power to hide themselves. Jophiel has a Healing Truth. She wants to teach me how to use my powers.”

“How’s that going?”

“It’s not. I’ve never met her before today. She’s only ever spoken to me through written communications.”

“Oh.”

They lapsed back into silence as Elijah worked to heal Josh’s feet. He seemed to glow again. Or maybe that was just the way the sunlight his his body. Josh liked it when Elijah was lit up like this.

The swelling went down. The hanging skin of the blisters sank into his skin and turned pink. Josh was amazed. An injury that would have previously taken a week to heal, was healed in a matter of seconds.

“How much more powerful can you get?” he asked. This time, his voice was more amazed than accusatory. He liked that better. “I mean, that seems powerful to me.”

Elijah sat back. He seemed paler than normal. He wobbled a bit. Josh caught his arm to keep him from toppling over. He held his breath, straining to hear Elijah’s breathing. It didn’t crackle like it did back in the apocalypse. He wasn’t dying of radiation sickness. He was just tired.

“Some say a good healer can bring someone back from the brink of death, no matter the injury.” His voice slurred slightly.

He closed his eyes and shook himself a bit. “Why are you here, Josh?” He sounded so tired.

“Why did you lie?” Josh answered.

That was why he was here. He wanted to know why Elijah lied. He wanted to know why he hid an important part of himself for so long.

Why didn’t he trust him?

Elijah sighed heavily. “I was afraid. You’re so loyal to the cause. You’d turn me in.”

Just like Ethan had said.

Just like Josh knew to be true.

“I broke Thea out of prison. I told you about Micah. Was that not enough to trust me?”

Elijah didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he grabbed some antiseptic and began swiping it over Josh’s now mostly healed wounds. Josh let him swipe and gather his thoughts.

“I don’t know. Things happened so fast. One minute, you’re Joshua Sans. A loyal, talented soldier who would never trust a witch. Then you come back from Canyon Pass, and you’ve changed. Physically, emotionally, mentally. It’s so noticeable that I don’t know how to approach it.”

He set the antiseptic down and continued. “The next thing I know, we’re sneaking out after Deer. He was foolish to use that entrance. I’ve told them all a thousand times they need to be more careful where they put their base entrances. Anyway, then we’re arrested, and I see photos of you having lunch with a witch. You brought me back those sandwiches. I lied and said you had been acting strange. Well, that wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t because of Thea. Then we’re kidnapping Levi and breaking Thea out of prison, and you’re telling me you’ve traveled through time.”

He finally looked Josh in the eye. “I should have told you, but I couldn’t think of a good time. Honestly, Josh, a part of me wondered if you had lost it. If you had gone crazy and were minutes away from stripping naked and running through the streets, screaming about how the end was nigh. I was trying to figure out what was going on with you and who was responsible. It didn’t occur to me to tell you I was a witch.”

Josh clenched his jaw and nodded. It wasn’t necessarily what he wanted to hear, but he understood where Elijah was coming from.

“How long have you been a rebel?”

“For a while.” Came the quiet answer.

“Since when?”

He wasn’t going to let this go. He needed more concrete answers. A timeline. These vague answers only served to distract Josh and placate him so that they didn’t need to have any deeper conversation.

“Your first deployment. Before we were married.”

“Why did you join? How did you know these guys existed? I didn’t know they existed. Brenner didn’t. How did you find them?”

Elijah looked at his hands. “Do you remember how you almost died on your first deployment after graduating from the Officer’s Academy?”

It was hard not to with Dr. Christopher as his field medic.

“You were much, much worse off. You weren’t supposed to survive. It was a miracle you did. Everyone said so.”

“I thought Christopher did some batshit insane untested medical treatment on me?”

“He did. Out in the field. That only bought you enough time to get you to the military hospital. I called in so many favors to be transferred. Everyone thought you would die. When I got there, if I had been just a few seconds later, you would have. I poured every ounce of power I had into keeping you alive. I thought for sure someone would realize that you were healed with magic.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “Instead, they called it a miracle. Said that maybe the Deer-Headed God showed a non-magic user some kindness. I spent weeks using more power to keep you alive than I had in my entire life. It still almost wasn’t enough.”

He sank back on his chair, looking tired and pale. Josh remembered when he first woke up how bad Elijah looked. He was pale and shaking. He figured, at the time, it was the stress. He never imagined it was because he had been using magic to keep Josh alive.

“I almost killed myself to keep you alive. I drew runes on your body in blood and fed you water purified by the full moon. It was exhausting. I don’t know what worked, if any of it worked. I was winging it. I didn’t care if I got caught.”

“You didn’t, though.”

“Technically, no. No one cared enough about a Sans to come and check in on you. Otherwise, they might have seen all the runes and magical implements I was using. Deer did think it was odd. He found me out. After I got you stable, I was about ready to raze the entire city to the ground; to burn down all the Nature Names and their homes filled with food and warm beds. Why were you fighting so hard for a world that would let you die the second you were no longer useful?”

Josh let him speak. He didn’t know if Elijah had ever told anyone this before. If not, it was probably good for him to get it off his chest.

“I was prepared to. I found out all about how the Lion-Bodied Goddess is the patron for Fire Truths. How, sometimes, healers could call upon fire. I was ready to attack Welton, as it had never been attacked before. Deer was more perceptive than I realized. He noticed your miraculous healing and didn’t chalk it up to me being a good doctor. He confronted me. I thought he was going to kill me. Instead, he told me about the rebels and what they were doing. How they wanted to end the war and benefit people on every level. Not just those at the top.”

“So you joined?” Josh finished.

Elijah scoffed. “It seemed like a good compromise. Besides, I was running into trouble trying to figure out how to evacuate all the Sanses in a way that wouldn’t alert the higher caste members. I could have it all. I could help you and burn Welton to the ground. Metaphorically, of course. Only, frankly, they’re not good at what they do.”

“No, they are not.” Josh agreed.

“Deer’s too comfortable with his position to ever truly threaten it with a government upset. Jophiel is too meek. She’s afraid of Isaiah and the others on his council. She doesn’t want to tempt fate. One more failure to add to this war. I’m starting to think that no matter what we do, we’ll die miserable and trapped in a hell of our making.” Bitterness laced his voice.

He looked Josh in the eye. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to help you and Ethan in a way I couldn’t if I stayed a soldier. I am sorry I lied to you. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn’t.”

“You almost did, when you died,” Josh said. “At least, that’s what I think you were going to tell me. You were a witch. Why didn’t you?”

Elijah looked at him. “I’m not the man who died in your arms, Josh. I can’t speak for him. I don’t know him. If I were to guess, I probably didn’t want to taint your last memory of me. If everyone else were truly dead, it probably wouldn’t matter much in the end. At least, not to me.”

Did it matter to him in the end? That was the unspoken question.

At the end of the world, did Josh care about witches and soldiers so much that the deathbed confession would taint Elijah’s memory?

At the time, he didn’t know it was a deathbed confession. Would he have left Elijah there to die?

Maybe it wasn’t so much about Elijah not tainting his memory as much as it was about having one last piece of comfort before he died. He didn’t want to die alone. He was afraid that admitting it to Josh would mean that he would.

Josh felt sick to his stomach. Would he have left his husband alone in the wasteland because of his blood?

He didn’t know.

The Elijah in front of him was not the Elijah who died in his arms. Josh wasn’t the same man either. He had lived so much in that time.

He still didn’t know where he stood.

“Here.” Elijah fished something out of his pocket. “I don’t know if you still want it, but you were clutching it back in the cave.”

Josh opened his palm as Elijah dropped his wedding band into it. The wedding band Ethan had spent weeks painstakingly carving, staining, and sealing so that they could have something pretty for their marriage without having to spend money.

“Thank you,” Josh said. He stared at it in his open palm. He didn’t have a finger to put it on any longer.

He fiddled with the keychain on his belt loop and handed it to Elijah.

Elijah chuckled. “I thought maybe this time she’d answer my prayers.”

“Did she?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes, it’s hard to tell what I did and what the gods did.” He took the Lion-Bodied Goddess keychain and hooked it back on his bag.

Josh rubbed his wedding band between his fingers.

“Right.” Elijah slapped his thighs and stood up, breaking the tension. “You’re all good to go. Ethan and the others have got a tent set up, if you’d like to stay with them.”

He did, but he also didn’t. “Do you have a place?”

Elijah gestured around him. “Like in training, I live here. Just in case there’s an emergency.”

“Oh.” He didn’t know why that bothered him so much. “Right. Thank you for healing.” He laced up his boots and hopped off the bed.

Once outside, he stared at the ring. He tried to slide it onto another finger. It felt wrong. Like it had warped to fit his ring finger perfectly. No other fingers would accept it. He was about to give up and slip it into his pocket to deal with later when he remembered the necklace Elijah had gotten him.

He pulled it out of his shirt and held the metal pendant to the sky. When he shifted it just right, he could see something etched onto its surface. It was warm. Warm like the pendants back at the prison. What did this rune do?

He’d ask Elijah later.

For now, he unclipped the necklace so that he could slide his wedding band onto the thin metal chain. The ring nestled against the pendant, almost curving around it as if the pendant were made to fit inside. Josh liked how it looked.

He put the necklace back on and let it settle against his breastbone. The weight of the pendant and the ring felt like the only things keeping him tethered to the ground these days.

Tracker

“Did you know Healer was a witch?” Levi asked as he and Thea found their way to a tent to rest and recover.

He had to say, the ‘rebels’ didn’t give him a good impression when they first threw them in jail. After all, it was kind of hard to be impressed when you were trapped in a stone prison. His impression further dipped with how piss-poor they were managed.

Who the hell thought it was a good idea to send a sixteen-year-old into their prison cell with food? All except for Thea were highly trained soldiers who had been fighting against the witches for most of their lives. They could have easily killed the girl and escaped. Unless they assumed that wasn’t going to happen because Healer was in the cell with them.

That was a stupid idea. Healer was only one man. He wasn’t well-trusted at the time of meeting Elizabeth.

Though, maybe the rebels were onto something. After all, no one had hurt the girl or anyone else in the camp after the cell door was left open. Now that Deer had fucked off somewhere, he had to admit, the hospitality was nice.

Food was a plus. Especially food like this. Now this was how he thought he’d be eating when he sold info to the witches. He had the worst luck in the world to hook up with a psychopath like Ice Man instead of these people.

“Of course, I did,” Thea scoffed. “It’s nearly impossible to hide that sort of power.”

“So he’s powerful?”

“He’s a healer.”

“That means nothing to me.” Levi reminded her.

Thea stared at him. “You don’t know about your enemies?”

“More or less. But to be honest, all magic is the same to me. Power wise, at least.”

“Healing Truths are at the top. The only Truth higher than them is the Creation Truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elijah is one of only a hundred healers in existence at the moment. I’ll admit, it was a shock to find out he’s only half. Normally, half-witches aren’t that powerful. Their bodies can’t handle it. I knew he was a witch this whole time.”

“You didn’t think to tell any of us?”

Thea shot him a thoroughly unimpressed look. “No offense to Josh, but he’s a little unhinged at the moment. I didn’t know how he’d react. And you…” She didn’t finish her sentence, merely giving him a look as if it were obvious why she wouldn’t tell him jack shit.

“What about me?” Levi countered.

She continued to stare at him. Her eyes made him uneasy. Like she was stripping his flesh from his bones. Revealing his soul. Did she know about Ice Man? Could she smell him on his clothes? She could spot Healer from a mile away. Did Ice Man leave residue on him?

“She’s trying to say you’re not trustworthy.” Ethan Sans entered the tent. In the process, he shoulder checked Levi. One more person who hated his guts for no good reason.

“Hey, watch it!”

Seriously, what did he do to these people? It wasn’t his fault that he had the bright idea of trying to get more food. This was war. All was fair, and he wanted to survive it.

Sans glared at him.

“She’s the witch.” He pointed to Thea.

“You prove my point more and more with each passing second.” She crossed her arms and stared at him some more.

Levi shrank back as if that would help him escape her gaze. Forget the iron, he could probably figure out who was a witch or not just based on how they stared at you. Healer had a similar gaze.

Ethan looked between the two of them. “She may be a witch, but she hasn’t sold any information to the enemy. Information that, apparently, got me killed in a past life. In fact, unlike you, it seems like she has had no part in this war.”

Thea looked away. Levi could spot shame from a mile away.

Before he could ask, though, Thea jumped in, “He told you?”

“Yeah.” Sans collapsed onto a rickety canvas chair and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t believe it. No, I do. Maybe? It’s weird. You guys didn’t know Josh before. This personality change… we could all see it. Of course, we just thought it was PTSD catching up with him. It’s about time, honestly. He’s never broken before. No matter what life threw at him, he never bent to it. Honestly, I still don’t think he has. After all the shit he’s been through, he still hasn’t shattered.”

“I think he has.” Levi stripped off his sweaty, mud-stained uniform.

Would these people wash it? It had been a while since he properly cleaned it. It would be nice to get some actual clean clothes for once.

Gods it was hot out. Had Ice Man made it artificially cold? Now that he was gone, the heat was blasting in all its full glory. This year was set to be a hot one. He was glad he wasn’t in Welton at the moment. That city could get sweltering if the wrong weather moved in.

“No, he hasn’t. I mean, look at him. He’s still functioning even though he died after watching all of us die. Would you function half as well as he has?”

Probably not. Levi didn’t want to admit this out loud, though.

“Then you helped him make a deal with a demon.” Sans turned his attention to Thea.

Thank the gods, Levi did not want to deal with any more accusations. Sure, past him may have gotten Ethan Sans killed. Present him did not. He felt like that should count for something.

“Oh, gods, not you too,” Thea muttered, pinching her brow. “I told him not to do it. Look,” She thrust out her hand toward Sans. The tattoos had all started moving again. Could she feel it?

The thought of a locust crawling under his skin made him shudder.

“This is how I make deals with the demons. I tell them what I want. If any of them are willing to negotiate with me, then I can enter into a contract with them. Back there, none of them wanted to negotiate with me. I told Josh not to make a deal with the Horned Demon. He did it anyway. I couldn’t stop him. Honestly, I didn’t think he’d be able to. Only witches can call upon demons to make deals with them.”

Sans frowned. “That does sound like something Josh would do. Fuck the consequences. As long as Eli and I are safe, he’s willing to do just about anything.”

“Exactly.”

“So these tattoos, they’re magic?” Sans asked, peaking around at the other swirling bits of art on Thea’s body.

“Do your tattoos move?”

Sans rolled his eyes. “No. Do they help you do magic? Or do they just move about for fun?”

The locust crawled up her neck and settled on her cheek. “Fun.”

Levi snorted, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. Now that was a lie if he had ever heard it.

Thea set his teeth on edge. Something about the way Jophiel spoke to her. The way her tattoos moved as though they were alive. The way she walked. The way her gaze pierced his soul.

Sans seemed convinced that she was just a useless Music Truth, but that didn’t explain most of how she moved through the world.

No, Levi was willing to bet that she had something much more powerful going on inside her. That didn’t necessarily mean a high-ranking Truth. After all, Ice Man did plenty of damage in the world. He only had a lowly Water Truth.

“What’s so funny?” Thea demanded.

“Nothing.” He answered.

He didn’t care about how powerful or not powerful Healer and Thea were. He didn’t care about her weird tattoos or what he did in a past life. He only cared about getting food and staying as far away from Ice Man as possible. He still didn’t know how he had found them in the caves. Even Levi didn’t know they would come out at that end. Maybe that’s how Ice Man got into Deerland in the first place. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to crawl on his hands and knees through the dirt to get anywhere. That sort of thing seemed beneath him.

Hopefully, because they had gotten here via a tunnel conjured up by a demon, he couldn’t continue tracking him here. Then Levi would be free from that monster forever. Seemed nice. He could probably figure out a way to join the rebels. They needed all the help they could get. That’s what Jophiel had implied earlier.

“What the fuck is that?” Sans’s voice cut through Levi’s thoughts.

He turned to see Sans standing and staring at him. Thea’s mouth was pressed into a thin line. Her eyes flamed with anger.

“What?” Levi asked.

He realized they were both staring at him. Not at some creature scampering across the ground. They both seemed pissed.

“That. On your shoulder. It’s a rune!” Sans cried.

“What? I don’t have a rune on my shoulder.” Levi craned his neck to try to get a better look.

When that didn’t yield any results, he tugged at his skin. As if he could pull his shoulder around to the front. He could see some sort of smudge on his shoulder. A smudge that hadn’t been there previously.

“That,” Thea said, her voice grave, “is a tracking rune.”

“Someone’s tracking us!” Understanding dawned on Sans’s face. “I knew it. I knew you were the reason they found us in the first place. Isn’t that right?”

“I… no! I didn’t know this was on me!”

He didn’t! He didn’t know Ice Man was tracking him. Though he felt stupid for not realizing he would do such a thing. After all, he did want Joshua Sans dead. Right now, the only person who could lead him to him was Levi.

He didn’t have much time to realize he had been played as Sans’s fist cracked into his jaw. Stars appeared in his blacked-out vision, and he found himself stumbling back.

“You nearly got my brother killed!” he roared. “I was right. You’ve been selling us out this whole time!” Sans leapt on him like an animal. He gripped Levi’s shirt to hold him steady and lined up another punch.

Levi cracked open an eye. He wished he hadn’t. The look on Sans’s face was pure murder. He was going to kill him. Levi could do nothing to stop him. He wasn’t great at hand-to-hand combat. He wasn’t particularly athletic in any regard. His eyes darted to Thea, hoping that maybe she might step in and stop him from murdering Levi.

Her jaw clenched. Her tattoos seemed to buzz beneath her skin, making her seem more like a bunch of materials making up the silhouette of a person rather than an actual person.

Sans’s fist slammed into Levi’s face once more, snapping his head back and causing blood to spurt from his nose.

“I didn’t know.” His words seemed fake to him.

How could he not know? How could he possibly think that Ice Man would ever leave him alone? He had seen Healer put a similar tracker on Thea. How could he not know that Ice Man had done the same to him?

“Whoa, Ethan! What the hell?”

Levi distantly heard Sans, Joshua Sans, calling out and rushing into the tent. It was a bit difficult to concentrate on it as Ethan Sans continued his one-track desire to beat Levi to death. This time, he couldn’t claim it was a past life and therefore they shouldn’t blame him for it. This was happening to him, right now, because of him.

Thankfully, Ethan Sans didn’t manage to succeed in killing him as Joshua Sans got behind him, hooked his arms around his torso, and dragged him off before he could land a potentially fatal blow.

“He brought them to us!” Sans shouted. “He’s going to bring them to us again.”

“Ethan, what’s going on?” Healer knelt by him, putting a hand on his arm to try to help him calm down. While thoroughly ignoring Levi lying on the ground, bleeding, with a possible concussion.

“He’s got a tracker on him.” Thea put her boot on Levi’s side and pushed him over so he was lying on his stomach. She swiped at his shoulder. “I got rid of it, but it’s probably too late. Whoever put that on him likely already knows where we are. They’re coming to kill us.”

Everyone looked to Levi. Their faces showed a mix of betrayal, shock, and disappointment. That last one hurt him more than any of the other looks.

“What did you do?” Sans’s arms were hooked around his brother.

“I… I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t ask if you knew. I asked what you did.”

So this was the Joshua Sans who had gotten through the Officer’s Academy and rose through the ranks at record speed.

Levi could see why. Someone's permanent record alone couldn’t prepare you for the real thing. This Joshua Sans was terrifying. Levi was certain that if he didn’t make right with him soon, he was going to die right here.

“I didn’t know he put a tracker on me. I swear!” Levi pinched his nose to try to stop the bleeding.

“Who?” Joshua Sans barked. His sharp voice made Levi flinch.

He swallowed. The words felt heavy on his tongue. He didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to give these people any more reason to hurt him. He was caught. The decision whether to help Ice Man or to help Joshua Sans lay before him.

Ice Man may be more dangerous than Sans, but Sans was currently the one standing in front of him, looking like he could and would murder Levi if he said the wrong thing.

Levi swallowed once more, then said, “Ice Man.”

Plan

“His name is Paul Glacius,” Jophiel said in the tent that served as a ‘War Room’.

Though, little about it said it was a good place to plan any sort of battle. At least, in Levi’s humble opinion. They basically only had one map of all of the Deerland/Megaloceros continent. Which sucked, with only a few major cities dotted out.

How they were planning on, well, planning anything was a mystery to Levi. It’d be difficult to plan a food run with the lack of intel they had in this room. Seriously, did Deer not give them any resources to fight this war? Did he want this war to end?

He must have. Otherwise, why would he be here? If he did, surely a proper war room needed more than a single map and a whiteboard.

“You called him Ice Man because?” Ethan Sans’s eyes still bore into Levi in a way that warned him that he was on thin fucking ice.

“He never told me his name. I had to call him something,” he snapped back. He turned to Healer. “Do you think you can stop the blood? I think my nose is broken.”

Scratch that, it was broken. It was swelling something fierce at the moment. Not to mention the throbbing.

Healer crossed his arms and tilted his head. “In my professional opinion, it’s not.”

“It is bleeding, though. Can’t you–” He wiggled his fingers in a way that he hoped conveyed the use of magic.

“I’m terribly sorry. I used all my power-up healing Josh earlier. He was so injured.”

Levi glared at Sans, who glared back.

“What about non-magic? You are still a doctor, are you not?”

“Yes.”

“Then help me.”

“I don’t think you need help.”

“Oh, for the last time, I didn’t know he would find us!” Levi cried, throwing his hands in the air. “I didn’t know they were tracking us. I didn’t know they were tracking me.”

“You almost got my husband and brother-in-law killed! He made a deal with a demon because of your stupidity!” Healer towered over him.

“It’s not like you didn’t know I was a traitor!” Levi shot back.

“I thought you’d have more sense than to betray us again.”

“I didn’t–”

“Enough!” Deer massaged his brow like he had a massive headache. “Arguing like children. I still can’t see what anyone sees in you two.” He shot a look at Joshua Sans and Healer.

Sans rolled his eyes. Healer glared back at him.

Deer didn’t seem to care. He turned to Jophiel. “This Glacius, what’s he like?”

“Insane,” Jophiel said. “He’s a low-level Truth with an affinity for the ice subset of water. Normally, not dangerous.”

“That ‘not dangerous’ Truth froze six people to death from the inside out, and almost did the same thing to Josh,” Healer snapped.

“That’s why I stated ‘normally’,” Jophiel said. “Glacius does seem to have a much more in-tune grasp of his Truth. As such, he can wield it in frightening ways. Isaiah noticed this and has been mentoring him for quite some time. This has turned him into a bit of a boogeyman.”

“Of course it’d be Isaiah,” Thea muttered.

Jophiel continued onwards. “I didn’t know exactly what his plan was. I’m not privy to that information. However, there have been whispers of a new breed of elemental soldiers who aren’t deployed to the front lines, but are slipped across the border and planted in various cities across Deerland. Their job isn’t to completely eradicate the cities or take them over.”

“It’s to sow seeds of fear and distrust.” Healer finished. “That’s their next phase of the war. They slip a few witches across the border, where they use their elemental powers to murder people openly as witches.”

“This makes it seem like we aren’t doing a good job securing the border.” Joshua Sans added. “While eroding trust in our government.”

“That’s all it would take to start weakening us,” Ethan Sans said. “As soon as we don’t trust our government, we stop listening. We stop volunteering for the army. We stop falling for the propaganda. That causes us to weaken more. Once we’re weak–”

“They can push through the borders and win the war.” Joshua Sans finished. “They wouldn’t have to kill that many people. Just a few murders here and there would be enough to start weakening trust.”

“Not to mention with all the rationing that’s going on, people are already pissed,” Ethan Sans said.

“The diseases running rampant in the lower castes. That’s why Glacius was specifically targeting Sanses and prison workers. The Sanses and Careers make up the bulk of the population. They’re the ones with the greatest grievances against the government. It wouldn’t take much to turn them on everyone else and begin a violent uprising,” Healer said.

“Exactly.” Jophiel nodded solemnly. “A full frontal assault hasn’t worked in a hundred years. We’ve been at a standstill for the last fifty. Something has to change to tip the balance. Isaiah’s elemental assassins are that change.”

“A spy has been running around Welton, and you didn’t think to tell me?” Deer glared at Jophiel.

Levi attempted to set his nose himself. It didn’t work and made the bleeding worse. For the love of the Deer-Headed God, it was like no one in this room could communicate. Then again, he shouldn’t be talking.

“I didn’t know the program had already begun.” Jophiel admitted. “That does worry me. If Isaiah isn’t telling me about this, then that means there are other things he’s not telling me about.”

“Look,” Levi said. They could deal with whatever was going on with these elemental assassins in Deerland later. Right now, they had a more immediate threat to all of their lives. “This guy is terrifying. He and his little air witch crony. They nearly killed me on multiple occasions.”

“Well, you’re going to wish you had let them kill you. I’m a doctor. I know all the best ways to hurt you. The diseases I could let fester in your body…” Healer reached out, and the tips of his fingers seemed to glow in the light. Out of energy his ass.

Levi swallowed and leaned back in an attempt to avoid those fingers. He didn’t know if Healer was bluffing or not. He didn’t want to find out. He had a feeling that he had burned through any goodwill anyone in this room had for him.

“Eli,” Sans sighed, “don’t give him scurvy or whatever.”

Wow, Joshua Sans was defending him?

“I was thinking tuberculosis.”

“Eli.”

“I’m with him. He apparently got me killed last time. He almost got you killed this time. This Ice Man Glacius guy is going to try to kill us again. It’s all his fault,” Ethan Sans said.

“Yeah, but isn’t tuberculosis super contagious?” Priscilla Sans asked.

“Maybe if a Healing Truth does it, it’s not.” Henry Sans suggested.

“Quit arguing, for gods’s sake!” Deer snapped. He turned to Levi. “Is it possible that this Glacius followed you here?”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Why would that be?”

“Well, he doesn’t want Sans to get to Osairae–”

“Then we need to prepare to fight.” Deer stood up.

“Sir–” It wasn’t just to stop Sans from entering the city. It was to kill him. To get revenge for humiliating him. To prove that witches were stronger than non-witches.

“Enough, Brenner. Your insight is no longer needed,” Deer said. “Please leave this to people who know what they’re doing.”

They were missing a massive piece! Ice Man didn’t care about this encampment. He didn’t care about the war. He cared about Joshua Sans and getting revenge. If they didn’t know that, then they couldn’t possibly fight him properly.

“You have to listen to me.” He begged.

“Levi, I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Healer said, his voice like ice. “Just shut up and let us figure out how to keep the entire camp from freezing to death.”

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

“Will you help us, Sans?” Jophiel looked to Joshua Sans.

In his chair, Deer looked like he’d rather kiss Isaiah Iurisdictio on the mouth than admit he needed Joshua Sans’s help.

Sans grimaced, shifting back on his heels. “Look–”

“Josh,” Ethan Sans said, “we have to help them. You’ve seen this place. It’s mostly stocked with kids who, frankly, don’t look like they’ve ever held a gun before. Much less fired one. If we don’t do this, it’ll turn into a blood bath. We have to help them.”

“We don’t, technically,” Henry Sans said. “They made their choices. We do have a mission to do. Thea removed the tracking rune from Brenner. Which means we can move freely.”

“The guy has already attacked us once.” Priscilla Sans pointed out. “Ethan’s right. No one here knows what they’re doing. Once Glacius runs through these people and kills them all, he’ll see that we aren’t in the mix and come looking for us. We should get rid of him now rather than wait and deal with him later. It’ll be a lot easier to fight him out here than if he finds us in Osairae. Something tells me that Brenner’s already told him that’s where we’re headed.” She glared at him.

“Exactly,” Jophiel said.

“I admit,” Deer said, sounding like each word pained him to say, “your expertise would be helpful, Captain Sans.”

Priscilla whirled on him. “We’re not doing this for free.”

“Excuse me?”

“We want more rations.”

“What?” He looked incredulous.

“Ten extra a week for each of us. Except Thea. She doesn’t need any.” She grinned at Deer.

“She’s right. I don’t.”

“That’s not how–”

Priscilla shrugged. “Then you can deal with Ice Man alone. I’ve read your service record. Or, lack thereof. You don’t have one. You may be good at directing troops, but you’ve never been in the middle of an actual ground assault. You know your troops are going to get wiped out the second Glacius shows up. Which is why you’re so desperate for Josh to stick around and call the shots. Ten extra rations. It doesn’t have to be official. You have more than enough to give them to us directly from yours. You can exclude Brenner if you want, since he’s the reason we’re in this mess.”

Deer’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “You would leave people to die because you didn’t get more rations?”

“You would let people die because you didn’t want to give up fifty extra rations a week?” Priscilla countered. “Remember, if this isn’t everyone in your little rebel group, Glacius will probably recognize Jophiel and float on back to Osairae with news of her betrayal, and your entire operation will crumble.”

Deer grimaced further. “Very well. Ten extra rations for each of you per week in exchange for helping us defeat Glacius and keep this operation from getting exposed.”

“I knew you were a reasonable man.” Priscilla Sans grinned. “I want that in writing. With your signature.”

Deer glared at her, but grabbed a piece of paper off the desk and scribbled the terms of their contract.

Priscilla grabbed it from his hands and tucked it into her pocket.

“Right. Now that that’s all settled, let’s see what we’re working with,” Joshua Sans said.

Levi swallowed and sank back into the shadows. Maybe Sans would succeed before Glacius managed to kill him.

Maybe Levi’s tethering to Glacius would be removed once and for all. Maybe he could be a free man.

Maybe.

Captain

If it wasn’t clear before that the rebels were in way over their heads, it was definitely clear now.

“You seriously thought it was a good idea to partner up with these people?” Josh hissed to Elijah as he reviewed what he was working with. Which wasn’t a lot.

“I was young, dumb, and didn’t know if any other options existed. I have since confirmed that they don’t,” Elijah hissed back.

“You didn’t think to start your own rebellion?”

“I was considering it before Canyon Pass.”

Josh was not surprised. Honestly, he didn’t think that past him would have been surprised either. The thing that did surprise him was that he hadn’t done so already.

Gabriel Deer confirmed his suspicions. As a leader, he was only as good as his troops. As one of the highest-ranking people in the entire government, he was only ever given the best of the best. Those who graduated at the top of their class. He had the freedom to choose who he wanted. He curated that list with an impeccable eye for perfection. No Prestons allowed.

That was why he was so successful in his campaigns. He relied on his hand-picked team to do what they did best and win battles.

It almost made Josh mad. Why wasn’t he good enough to meet Deer’s exacting standards? He was the best of the best. He graduated at the top of his class. He consistently outperformed every standard. Why was he never pegged to work under General Deer?

He knew why. His last name. Or lack thereof.

Deer still seemed to think that Josh could not have achieved the things he achieved because of his last name. He, like so many other people, believed there had to be some sort of mistake in his graduation. In his records. In his achievements.

Luck.

That explained his success. Nothing else.

Well, no matter. Now, Deer had to rely on Josh. He had to accept that, at least in this instance, he was the best of the best. Josh would prove it to him. He would prove to him why General Weaver saw something in him. Why he trusted him with this mission, though Josh brought next to no proof that he could accomplish it.

General Deer was used to excellence. That was the reason he hadn’t managed to whip these troops into shape.

Josh, on the other hand, was used to working with those who were less than excellent. Those with less training and skills. Those who were merely there to survive. To get more rations. To have a better life. He was used to working with people who couldn’t read or write. A joke. A sabotage. He could hear the other captains laughing as he was handed yet another Sans. Too scrawny for their own good. Too uneducated to be of any use in the more technical fields. Only passing basic training because the army needed more cannon fodder for the front lines.

Josh took each and every one of those soldiers, and he made them something. He made them the best of the best. He made them so damn good that people wondered how the hell he did it. Those were his soldiers. They were his responsibility to get back home in one piece and live to fight another day even if they had no one to return to.

He worked with them to find skills and nurture them, even if they couldn’t get the proper training. He saw strengths and weaknesses and worked together to make an unstoppable team.

The only reason he had been stopped before was because he hesitated going directly against Preston’s orders. When he was free to do whatever he wanted, his team soared.

That was why he was the best person to deal with these rebels. That was why Deer had to accept Priscilla’s demands. He couldn’t get the rebels functioning together as a unit. He had failed for who knows how long before. He didn’t have the skills to do it. Maybe not even the desire.

Now the Ice Man was coming to collect.

He was knocking at Gabriel Deer’s door and threatening to destroy all he had worked for. Threatening to expose his laziness and unwillingness to put forth the effort to get what he claimed he wanted.

Maybe Josh should have walked out the door and back to the woods. Maybe he should have left Gabriel Deer to his fate.

Ethan was right. If he didn’t shape up, these people would die.

Just like the Sanses back in the military, maybe of these people joined out of desperation. Maybe not desperation for food or better shelter. Desperation for an end to the war, the violence, the bloodshed.

They were here, willing to put their lives on the line to get what they wanted most in the world.

Josh respected that.

He respected them.

He would stay and help them.

Thankfully, most could read, write, and do basic math. Physically, they were weak. Emotionally, they were unprepared for battle. For the murder of a human at their hands. Skills-wise? Most of them couldn’t shoot the broadside of a barn.

That was okay. Like those soldiers under him back home, these people had a drive deeper than prestige. They had a hunger. A burning, cloying need to fight. To survive. To claw their way out of the muck and into the light.

Josh could use that.

They would not get physically stronger in the few hours they had to plan this assault. So, Josh was going to need to get tricky.

Luckily, this was something Josh excelled at. You had to be when most of your recruits were so malnourished that a stiff breeze could knock them over.

“Do you have a plan?” Jophiel asked uncertainly. Almost as if she, too, didn’t think Josh could help them.

“I need scouts to fan out in a ten-mile radius from this base and search for signs that Glacius is coming.” He made sure his voice was strong, with no room for arguments.

Deer had his chance to be a leader and he squandered it. Josh did not suffer fools.

“Teams of two. They need to move fast and stay hidden.”

Jophiel breathed a sigh of relief, as if Josh’s conviction was enough to convince her that she made the right choice. He hoped she had.

“Air and Earth Truths would be best for that. The Earth Truths can cover their tracks. The Air Truths can keep their footsteps light.”

“You can use anyone with an Animal Truth,” Elijah said. “They can use birds and small mammals to spy without being so obvious about it.”

Josh nodded. “Do it. Have the human scouts fan out ten miles. The animal scouts need to go farther. We need to know what direction he’s coming from and how big his army is. By my estimation, we were attacked by about fifty witches prior. We didn’t manage to take out many, and he could have regrouped and added to his team since then. Brenner, what do you know about his force?”

Brenner let out a terrified squeak. “I didn’t know he had a force. I only ever talked to him and two of his cronies.”

“Gods dammit, Brenner,” Elijah grumbled, voicing exactly what Josh was thinking.

How was this man still this useless?

“Who were they?” Jophiel asked.

“I didn’t get their names. I don’t know what one of their Truths is. The other one is air. I know that.”

“Another low-level Truth,” Jophiel hummed.

Brenner’s face turned red. “Those low-level Truths almost killed me on multiple occasions!"

“Isaiah must have planted more assassins in your cities than I previously thought.” Jophiel continued, ignoring Brenner’s outcry.

Deer opened his mouth to argue.

“We can deal with the ones in the city later,” Josh snapped to keep them all on the current, immediate threat.

Brenner turned to Josh. “Look, Sans–”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Josh said.

He turned to continue giving orders and figuring out how in the hell he was going to keep as many of these people alive as possible once Glacius showed up. The spies were an easy thing. Something to make the others feel better.

They needed more than spies if they were to win this battle.

Deer sat in the corner, arms crossed and glaring as Josh took charge. Thankfully, despite his pouting, he didn’t try to butt in and take back control. At least he seemed aware enough that an attack like this, with fighters like these, was way out of his league. It was honestly probably out of Josh’s league, too. He had to try.

He did think about potentially making another deal with the demon, but dismissed that idea outright.

Even if Thea was willing to entertain the idea, which she probably wasn’t, he didn’t want to make any more deals. That last deal scared him. He felt like it wasn’t an equal trade, with him getting much more than the Horned Demon. He didn’t think it was done out of some altruism. That demon would come to collect one day. Josh’s only way of making sure that didn’t happen was by not making any deals.

Besides, a lot of witches were here. He hoped that would tip the scales in their favor. Have them chuck fireballs and whatnot.

It felt wrong to rely so heavily on the witches. Sure, he was fighting a witch. A witch who had killed several people and had an active murder ring in Welton that, in one timeline, led to the death of his brother and several friends. It still felt wrong to use witches to kill a witch.

He glanced at Elijah. His mind still couldn’t match the fact that the man he had loved had been harboring this secret from him for years. Elijah caught his eye. He tried to smile. It came out more of a grimace.

“Once he gets here, we need a plan of attack. Elijah, you’re staying at the camp and running the med center. We’re going to have a higher casualty rate than normal because most of these people couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag.”

“I should be out on the battlefield providing field aid,” Elijah said.

Josh opened his mouth to argue. No the hell he shouldn’t. No one had trained these people, which put Elijah at a bigger risk than normal.

“I can stay back at the med tent,” Jophiel said. “I am a healer. Elijah can stabilize the wounded and send them to me to finish.”

Josh frowned. He never liked the fact that Elijah was out on the front lines. Medics so rarely carried any weapons beyond a single revolver. They made great targets. He wanted Elijah to be safe.

However, he knew Elijah well enough to know that he’d do whatever he wanted to do regardless of the orders Josh gave. He seemed to be the only one immune to Josh’s commanding voice.

If he accepted it without argument, he could at least have someone keep an eye on him; watch his back.

“Alright, fine,” he said. “I want anyone under the age of seventeen to stay on base and help the wounded.”

“We can fight!” Elizabeth elbowed her way up to the front. “I didn’t join the rebels to hide out on the base!”

Gods, Josh could not believe that he had joined the military a year younger than her. He was out on the front lines at her age. She seemed so small and innocent. Her cheeks were still full of baby fat. Her limbs were awkward and gangly. At least Ethan had the good sense to wait until he was older to join, even if he too seemed like a baby when he did.

Her declaration did not sway him. He could deal with headstrong recruits easier than he could deal with a headstrong Elijah. Mostly because Elijah was actually headstrong. Most of these kids were bluffing to seem more capable than they were. It was easy to destroy that.

He squared his shoulders and rose to his full height. “So you can kill a man, can you?”

Elizabeth’s face fell. She paled and looked up at him in horror.

“That’s what I thought. These people aren’t going to retreat because we showed up with guns. They will kill us unless we kill them first.”

“Glacius has already killed two children much younger than you,” Elijah admitted softly.

Josh felt a punch to his gut. Elizabeth could feel it as well.

“I’ve killed people when I was your age. It’s not pleasant. It sticks with you. Frankly, I don’t have the time or the resources to deal with a bunch of children freaking out on the battlefield because they were unprepared for the harsh realities of war. You will stay on this base. You will not try to be a hero. You will stay out of my way. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Her head ducked low.

Some people might say that he was too harsh. He would kindly let them know that war was harsh. He wasn’t doing Elizabeth any favors by coddling her and acquiescing to her desire to fight. Maybe one day she would need to pick up a weapon and blow a man’s head off at point-blank range. If he could help it, today was not that day.

“Great. Now, Ethan, Priscilla, you two are responsible for taking a group of fighters on either side of Glacius while I defend the main camp. We’ll come at him on three sides and then press into him and his troops. That way, they can only run back the way they came. If you can manage, I need you to direct your troops to circle around the back of him so we can cut off his only means of escape.”

“Ooh, a split and circle. I like that strategy.” Priscilla grinned.

“I’ve been talking with a few of the witches. They can make me the materials I need to create some bombs,” Ethan said. “We can plant some land mines along his path to both cut down on the amount of troops he has, and funnel him where we want to go. Henry and I scouted earlier. Our best and easiest point to defend is the west side.”

This was why Josh loved his team. Taking the initiative and making his job a hell of a lot easier.

“Good thinking,” Josh said. “Henry, I need you to take the remaining troops and circle the wagons. Keep an eye on the rest of the camp’s perimeter and let us know if another team is coming. I wouldn’t put it past Glacius to use himself as a distraction. Got it?”

“Josh,” Brenner said, his voice practically begging.

Alright, if the man wanted to get Josh’s attention, he’d get it.

“Brenner.” He turned to face the man he was so glad Ethan punched repeatedly. “I can’t trust you at all. You get to stay here. Thea, keep an eye on him.”

“You don’t want her out on the battlefield?” Jophiel asked.

Josh turned to her. “No. Why would she be out on the battlefield?”

“I refuse,” Thea said. “I’m not going to kill anyone. I can’t.”

“But–” Then Jophiel sighed. “Very well, Captain Sans. I trust you know what you’re doing.”

Josh nodded, his face grim. “I do. Show me the Truths you were talking about earlier. Ethan, get those land mines made. Henry, Priscilla, you start training the ground troops and splitting them into teams. I trust your judgment. Elijah, get the field medics up to speed. We don’t have much time. I estimate only a day. Maybe less. Let’s move people.”

“Hell yeah!” Priscilla, Henry, and Ethan cheered.

As Josh walked by Deer, he said. “You’re about to see why they kept trying to kill me at basic training.”

Deer looked back at him. “For all our sakes, I hope so.”

Attack

He came from the West.

Just like Joshua Sans wanted him to.

Ethan Sans’s trick with the land mines worked like a charm, funneling Ice Man and his army into a much smaller area where Priscilla Sans could wipe him out.

Though, if Levi were being honest, they underestimated Ice Man’s rage. His fury. The land mines wouldn’t slow him down. They would only make him angrier. Whether Ethan or Joshua Sans realized it or not, it was the land mines that had originally brought all of this upon them. It was land mines he had used in hopes of destroying the soldiers, only to have it backfire on him spectacularly. Now, they were being used against him once more to further rub his face in his humiliating defeat.

Levi didn’t think the Sanses chose land mines as a callback to Canyon Pass. That wouldn’t matter to Ice Man. No doubt he would take the land mines as a personal attack.

Another way Joshua Sans, a pathetic little soldier, was humiliating him. Even if Levi knew Joshua Sans did not care about humiliating the man in the slightest. He was just an enemy to him. Much more akin to a rat than a nemesis. Another faceless witch that posed as a threat.

To Ice Man, Joshua Sans was the epitome of all that was wrong with the world. To Joshua Sans, Ice Man was another obstacle to overcome.

Levi envied Joshua Sans’s ability to separate himself like that. His almost simple-minded worldview. To Levi, Paul Glacius, the Ice Man, was more than a rat. More than a simple vermin that threatened the safety of the world. More than a simple obstacle. He was an insane, petty, vindictive piece of shit who thought he was better than the non-witches simply because of his little ice powers.

To be fair to him, he was.

The cold from Ice Man crawled through the forest, plummeting it to levels never before seen in this part of the world.

Baby birds died in their nests. Animals panicked and ran, confused as to why it was winter again. Their instincts unable to cope with their newfound surroundings.

He came from the West.

He killed from the West.

A reaper.

A beacon of death and destruction.

A shadow cast over the world to remind Joshua Sans that he was his enemy. He needed to fear him as such.

The more Joshua Sans won against the Ice Man, the more it enraged him. Levi knew how this was going to end.

This man would destroy the entire world just to kill Joshua Sans. Just to prove he wasn’t, and had never been at the bottom. That a non-witch could not beat him. He would prove to the world that Joshua Sans was nothing.

Except, even with his cold snap, he still hadn’t managed to beat him.

Levi didn’t know the cost of the battle; trapped in this prison with Thea guarding him. The cost was high for the Ice Man. He could feel it in the air. Every death dropped the temperature several degrees. Not because Ice Man cared about any of his cronies. Oh no. Each death proved that a mere non-witch could best him. That he hadn’t managed to dominate Joshua Sans the way he managed to dominate the rest of the non-witches back in Welton.

“He’s going to kill us all,” Levi muttered as he wrapped his arms tighter around his torso in an attempt to chase off the cold. “Can he freeze himself? Or is he immune?”

“Maybe.” Thea’s dark eyes scanned the horizon.

He could hear the distant shouts of battle as Ice Man tried to press fully into the camp.

The young rebels rushed past, trying to pull their wounded back to camp so Jophiel could heal them properly.

Henry Sans gave commands, working to defend the rest of the camp. As it turned out, Ice Man did try to send a few of his troops to swing around back and press from behind. Joshua San’s anticipation of this meant they were easily subdued.

In fact, Joshua Sans seemed to be winning the battle. Levi had yet to see any of Ice Man’s minions break through the front lines. The air kept getting colder and colder and colder.

Ice Man still probably thought Joshua Sans was dumb. That he could easily subdue him if only he had a big enough force. The second those land mines went off, his group panicked and scattered, leaving him weaker. Did he turn around and regroup?

No, he pressed forward. Unwilling or unable to admit that Joshua Sans got the drop on him once again. That he had once again destroyed his plans.

The longer the battle raged, the more likely Ice Man was to freeze them all, including himself.

“Maybe they’ll retreat.” Thea mused.

“They won’t.”

They wouldn’t. Not in a million years. Ice Man didn’t care about winning the battle. He cared about destroying Joshua Sans. As long as he stayed standing, Glacius was going to keep pressing.

“Is it possible for him to fracture reality or something?” he asked.

“Why do you ask?”

That wasn’t a no.

“I know this guy. He’s going to get pissed the longer this goes on. He’ll to turn into a bomb when he doesn’t get what he wants.”

“What does he want? I don’t think it’s a mere victory. No, this is something much deeper. Hatred. He hates something. That’s why he’s doing this. If it were just about victory, he wouldn’t react so emotionally. So, what does he want?” Thea tapped her finger on her thigh. A small snowflake tattoo swirled around the digit.

Levi scoffed. “You people won’t let me tell you.”

“I’m letting you tell me now.”

He looked at her. She looked back, one brow imperceptibly quirked as if daring him to keep hiding away all the information he knew.

He could. He could punish these people for treating him like shit this entire time. Where would that get him? Locked in a cell. A sitting duck for Ice Man to freeze when this was over.

“Joshua Sans. He wants Joshua Sans.”

Her brows shifted to a furrow in confusion. “Why would he want Josh? Does he know who he is? I mean, I get that he’s trying to stop him from getting to Osairae. This–” She gestured to the chaos around them. To the ice crystals climbing up the trees and strangling them. “This is more than just a man doing his duty.”

“He knows alright.” Levi slumped back against the earthen prison. “He knows Joshua Sans is the reason Canyon Pass was a failure. He’s the reason he’s been humiliated. His intel was wrong. This guy has an obsession with the man. He doesn’t care about stopping us from getting to Osairae. I don’t think he understands what would happen if we do. All he cares about is the fact that Joshua Sans is a non-witch. Yet, he has managed to best him several times. He won’t stop until he’s dead.”

“What?” Thea was on her feet, incredulous. “Seriously, Levi, how many other secrets are you holding onto?”

“I tried to tell you!” he shouted back. “I tried to tell you that Ice Man wants to kill him.”

“If he wants to kill him, then…” Thea glanced behind her at the chaos going on in the distance.

Horror dawned on her features. The pit of Levi’s stomach drop.

Ice Man was a spy first and foremost. He had tried to outright assault twice now and still managed to fuck it up. The moment those land mines went off, he would have known the rebels were anticipating him. Hell, he may have seen the scouts since his own party was made up purely of Elementals.

“This is a distraction,” Levi said.

It was a lot easier to sneak one man into camp than it was to brute force their way in with an army. Even Henry Sans, as good as he was at directing troops, wouldn’t keep track of every single area. Not when the bulk of the rebels were stationed at the Western Front. All it took was one gap, and Ice Man could slip in.

Just like he had slipped into Welton and caused chaos.

“We’ve got to warn Sans,” Levi said.

Thea nodded. “I’ll let him know. I don’t know what he’s going to do about it, but he’s got to know.” She took off.

“Wait! Let me out of here!” It was no use. She was gone in a flash. He was going to freeze to death in here. “I should have killed myself all those weeks ago.”

He shoved himself into the corner, as if the walls could provide some protection from the cold. The feeling of ice slipped into his veins. His hands and fingers refused to move. Every part of his body hurt.

Somewhere along the way, he had stopped shivering.

A rock slammed into the side of the makeshift prison. It only missed Levi by a few inches. He dove to the ground and covered his head with his hands. The force of it all caused rock shrapnel to pelt his body.

Once he was certain no more rocks would come flying out of nowhere, he lifted his head and peered up. A few witch enemies had broken through Henry and Josh’s lines of defense. Not many. The rebels still put up a good fight.

The wall of the prison had been completely broken by the rock. Jagged pieces provided the perfect means of escape.

“Well, fuck, I’m not staying here.” Levi scrambled out of the prison.

Outside, he stood, transfixed at the chaos going on around them.

It seemed like everyone was fighting. The only reason he could tell the witches and the rebels apart was that the witches wore their useless, overly ostentatious military uniforms that were more style over substance. He suspected this was the only reason Joshua Sans wasn’t worried about friendly fire.

He jerked toward the western front, where Joshua Sans was.

The cold clawed up his throat. He felt ice crystals form in his chest. Stabbing him repeatedly.

One person could easily sneak in amongst all this chaos. One person could just as easily sneak out.

Why did he care if Joshua Sans lived or died? Let him and Ice Man destroy each other. That would solve all of Levi’s problems.

He could disappear up North somewhere. Way up north, in the mountain towns, there were plenty of deserted soldiers just looking to escape the war for two minutes. He could do that. With Glacius dead, no one would be left to hunt him.

No one would be left to hurt him.

He turned to the east, prepared to slip out and disappear completely. He had no friends or family to worry about back home. He certainly liked this idea better than dying.

His feet wouldn’t move.

Just like his fingers wouldn’t pull the trigger when he had his gun pressed against his temple.

“Gods fucking dammit!” he shouted.

He turned and sprinted toward the west.

He didn’t get far as he crashed straight into Healer.

“Ow! Watch it!” Healer shouted at him. He looked up to see who had run into him. “Brenner? How’d you get out?”

“Giant rock cracked the wall open.”

He didn’t have time for this. He could feel the cold dropping once more. This wasn’t Ice Man throwing a tantrum. This was Ice Man hunting. Stalking. Playing with his prey. If he made it cold enough, Sans would struggle to fight back.

“Thea?”

“Went to go find Josh. Which is what I’m trying to do.” He scrambled to his feet only for Elijah to yank him back down.

His hand wrapped tightly around his wrist. So tightly, he could break it with only his grip.

“What are you doing?” he snarled.

Pain exploded up Levi’s arm. It seemed to come from within his body. Like his nerve endings were on fire.

“Ow! What the hell are you doing to me?” he shrieked.

“Putting your immune system into overdrive. It has nothing to attack, so it’s attacking you. Talk, Brenner. I’ve had enough of your games.” He looked like he was on fire as he stared down at Levi.

“Glacius is after Joshua Sans,” he said. Seriously, between Glacius and Healer, he decided Healer was the bigger threat. “He’s using this as a distraction so he can kill Josh. Maybe torture him first.”

“Why would he do that?” Thankfully, the pain did subside greatly, leaving Levi panting on the ground.

“Think about it, Healer. Sans has beaten him three times now. He foiled him at Canyon Pass. He foiled him back at the caves. And now he’s foiling him again. We all know he’s going to win this battle. Ice Man doesn’t care about that. He only cares that he’s been humiliated by a pathetic little insect who was supposed to be his slave in another life.”

Elijah’s eyes widened. “We can’t let him find Josh. There’s no way the rune I gave him will withstand this level of anger. I’m guessing as soon as he’s located Josh, he’s going to focus all of his energy on killing him. I have to stop him.”

Elijah let go of Levi’s wrist, leaving him as a heap on the ground.

“Wait, Healer! You can’t fight him either!” He called after him.

He tried to get to his feet, only for his legs to feel like jelly and collapse underneath him.

Fire

Elijah had never run faster in his life. His feet flew off the ground, each barely touching before pushing off again and again and again. Propelling him forward. Towards his target.

The witch murderer of Welton hated the non-witch residents. That was evident in the way he tortured each of them before death. The way he went after children. The innocent. The helpless. A witch like that would have never taken kindly to Josh besting him.

Elijah had gotten used to Josh’s black and white way of thinking. Rarely did Josh express any desire to get revenge on the witches. In his mind, they were at war. People would die. He couldn’t get angry about it when they killed just as many witches as witches killed them.

Not everyone was like Josh. Most saw the opposing side as something to dominate. If they couldn’t dominate them, then they would wipe them out instead.

Josh had bested Glacius not once, but twice. Three times, if you counted him preparing this battle instead of folding to their pressure like Glacius no doubt expected him to do. He didn’t expect a whole other army out in the forest. Why would he? Levi didn’t know the army existed. Therefore, neither did Glacius.

Elijah could see it now. Josh’s face twisted in pain and terror as his last moments were spent in agony, slowly freezing from the inside out. He didn’t know if the amulet he gave him was enough to fight against this level of rage. Even the rune maker seemed unclear as to what exactly Elijah wanted. She was good, but she couldn’t predict this level of fury directed toward another person.

Which was why Elijah was racing to stop it. He had to stop it. He was not going to let his husband die to some monster who saw him as less than human.

He supposed that made him more like Glacius than like Josh. He didn’t see the world in black and white. He didn’t see witches merely doing their jobs the same as Josh. He saw monsters. He saw victims. He dealt with the aftermath of those attacks. He sat by the bedsides of Sanses as they died, no one else around to care for them. The pain and torture inflicted upon them for no reason other than the witches could. That made it much, much more difficult for him to not hate the people who threatened his family.

That made it impossible to ignore the people who wanted the people he loved dead. Glacius should have stayed away. He should have treated Josh the way Josh treated him. He should have accepted his defeat and lived to fight another day. By targeting him, he made a powerful enemy in Elijah.

Josh may not have the desire to make his enemies suffer, but Elijah did. That fire that had been contained by Josh was no longer in a hearth. It was front and center in his mind. Every instance where he wanted to destroy the world but didn’t because someone redirected him was gone now. He was going to burn Glacius to the ground. He was going to make him regret ever targeting Josh.

Elijah had been in combat situations before. He was a field medic, after all. Before he became a doctor, he had to prove his worth. He served his time in the trenches. That was where he was supposed to stay, given his low-status name. Until people realized how good a doctor he was. Then, his field assignments had steadily declined and decreased until they vanished altogether. Lady Raven had been the one to sponsor his visit to the academy to become a full-fledged doctor, no doubt wanting to repay him for helping her daughter through a difficult home birth that did nearly kill them both if not for Elijah’s magic.

He seized that opportunity with both hands at first, desperate to claw his way further up in the world. He’d help more people as a doctor. Instead, they kept him caged like a bird in Welton. There to answer the beck and call of the rich. The powerful. He hadn’t seen combat in years.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t fight.

Besides, with his magic, he could do some damage. He could picture it now, giving Glacius tuberculosis. Or turning off the programmed cell deaths in his body and riddling him with cancer. The human body was a mass of barely contained diseases. The only reason people weren’t constantly sick was because their immune system worked overtime to suppress all the diseases one came into contact with daily.

While healing was much more human-focused in the magical arts, he could heal every living thing. The rune maker taught him that when he was young.

All Elijah needed to do was make Glacius think he was nothing more than a lowly non-witch while he worked his magic on his body and turned it against him. The bacteria in his gut would thrive. The viruses flooding his blood would prosper. Then, Elijah would stand above him as his cancer metastasized in his lungs and he choked on his own blood, victorious in having fully protected Josh.

He unclipped the iron bar from his belt. It tingled in his hands. Just enough to make him aware that the magic in his body was fighting against the binding properties of the iron. It didn't burn nearly the same as if he had been a full witch with copper-based blood instead of iron. He unholstered his revolver as well, now fully charged. It was a small, pitiful thing that was more for show than anything. Most medics never pulled it out of its holster. After all, their jobs were to save people’s lives. That often meant they knelt in the muck with their backs turned away from the battle, attention solely focused on whoever needed their help.

Medics had the highest casualty rates.

Elijah was not about to be a casualty.

He followed the frigid air, letting it guide him to his target.

There, amongst the trees, seeming almost as tall as the trees themselves, was a white silhouette. He looked like a wisp of smoke. Standing there, his head tilted upwards. The tendrils of ice splayed out from around him, like neurons.

The cold became unbearable here. Every part of his body screamed at him to leave. To find a warm place. He felt his fingers stick to the bar. His eyes watered. The tears turned to ice as they leaked out. Crystals clung to his nose, his eyelashes, his lips. He had to move fast. Even now, he could feel his body begin to freeze up. No wonder Glacius wasn’t watching his surroundings. This was his defense system. If anyone got close to him, they’d freeze.

Luckily, Elijah’s patron was the Lion-Bodied Goddess. While he may not have her Fire Truth, that didn’t mean he was completely without it. He could feel it, low in his lungs. Right where his diaphragm was. A heat. A fire. Something to keep him warm and keep him moving. Something that would help him save Josh.

He twisted his grip on his iron bar to line up his shot properly. The skin tore from his palms. He had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. Glacius didn’t seem to notice as hot blood seeped from Elijah’s skin, freezing the second it came into contact with the air.

Across one of Glacius’s cheeks was a burn mark. Thin. Josh had struck him with his iron bar before.

Good. Elijah was going to strike him again.

He leapt into the air and slashed downward. It connected to Glacius’s head with a resounding crack and whipped it to the side.

Just like that, the cold snapped.

The neurons shattered.

The spell was broken.

He howled and stumbled back. The air smelled of burnt skin and hair. The ice shattered and collapsed from the trees, filling the air with more and more thunderous cracks that sounded like gunshots.

Elijah was not about to wait and see what happened next. He was not about to give Glacius a chance to recover.

He whipped out his revolver, already loaded and ready to go, and fired one shot at Glacius’s head.

Maybe he wouldn’t need to give him a disease. Pity. He wanted this man to suffer like he made all his victims suffer.

Glacius snarled and threw his hand up. A wall of ice sprang from the ground. Several inches thick. The bolt from his revolver only got a few inches in before stopping completely. The ice melted around it.

Elijah didn’t hesitate. He took the iron bar in his hand and dove toward Glacius. He grabbed hold of his wrist and yanked him forward so he could land a kick to the man’s ribs. Luckily, he sparred with Josh often enough that he knew how to fight someone much taller than him. This served another purpose. By touching Glacius, he had a sense of what diseases were currently festering in the man’s body.

The information filled his head.

Yes, the flu lived within him. That could kick-start pneumonia. Other viruses could cause bronchitis. A bit of food poisoning. Oh, and Lupus. He latched onto that last one as he continued kicking and beating Glacius with the iron bar.

No longer did the scent of ice fill the air. Now it was filled with burning flesh, clothes, and hair. Had a witch ever caught fire from touching iron? He supposed he’d find out.

Glacius snarled like a wild animal and fought back. For a witch, he was good in a fight.

Most witches started to crumble the moment their magic didn’t work. They relied on it so much that they could hardly function without it. Not Glacius. He knew how to block, kick, and punch without breaking his thumbs.

He got a few hits on Elijah. His ears rang and popped from the hits.

Still, Glacius was not quite good enough to fully overwhelm Elijah in hand-to-hand combat. He kept trying to call back on his ice magic to freeze the blood in Elijah’s veins. It was only thanks to the Lion-Bodied Goddess that he did not freeze.

As he fought him, he concentrated as well on driving his immune system to attack the healthy organs and tissues. Hopefully, that would slow him down enough so that he could kill him properly.

It was a hell of a thing, his mind in two different worlds. Magic and non-magic. His body fatigued faster than it would have had he just focused on one or the other. If he didn’t get this resolved fast, he might just overexert himself and cause his body to shut down entirely. He couldn’t do that, though. Not with Josh’s life on the line.

Glacius launched a particularly large blast of ice straight to Elijah’s chest. It hit him square on, knocking the wind out of his lungs at the dramatic change in temperature and causing his heart to skip a beat. For a moment, the fire of the Lion-Bodied Goddess was extinguished.

In doing so, he lost his concentration. He lost his hold on Glacius’s body. His glasses flew off his face. The world went blurry. Where Glacius ended and the sky began became a mystery.

Elijah lay on the ground, gasping. His fingers twitched, trying to reach for his glasses. His muscles wouldn’t cooperate.

Glacius stumbled back, his eyes widened.

“A witch?” He breathed. His voice sounded like ice. He looked down at his hand. “No… you’re not powerful enough for that. Not controlled enough for that.”

Elijah grunted and rolled himself over. His hand hit something cold, hard, and metal. His revolver. Thankfully close enough so that he didn’t need to grapple for it blindly. He still wasn’t sure exactly where Glacius was, but even a shot from a blind man could do damage.

Glacius shot another chunk of ice at it, completely encasing it in a block frozen so solid that it would take hours to melt.

“I’m assuming you need these?”

Elijah couldn’t see what Glacius held up. He recognized the sounds of glass cracking and plastic snapping. Another pair of glasses destroyed.

Shit.

“Of course something as pathetic as you wouldn’t even be able to see. Your mother should have drown you the moment she knew what you were. Because you’re not just a soldier, are you?”

Elijah felt his toes go cold. Colder. Colder. Until they burned like they had been set on fire.

He turned to see ice crawling up his legs. It hadn’t encased him yet. Settling into his clothes in a thin frost, but it was seeping into his body.

The temperature in the air plummeted. The neuron-like ice began to sprawl out from Glacius’s body. Climbing up trees. Freezing the ground. Crawling toward Elijah. He could feel it. The cold at complete odds with his fire. It glowed a sickly blue. Like that of a corpse.

He scrambled back, desperately trying to brush the frost off him. It didn’t work. Instead, it clung to his hands, turning his fingers white. It hurt to bend them.

“You’re something much worse.” Glacius stalked forward. His voice sounded like the winter wind. He moved like water. He wasn’t human. “You’re an abomination. Something created when one of us fucked those animals down there. Bestiality in its worst form.”

Elijah’s eyes flickered up to him. “Bestiality doesn’t result in viable offspring.” His hand closed around a rock, despite its pain, and flung it at Glacius. It managed to catch him in the shoulder, stumbling back and breaking the spell for just a second so that Elijah could dive forward and grab the iron bar. He was going to finish this.

As his hand wrapped around it, he let out a cry. His skin fused once more to the metal, as cold as it was. That was fine. It just meant Glacius would have a harder time knocking it from his hand. He whirled around to hit him once more. Glacius’s body had been littered with burns from his previous attacks, but not so much as to incapacitate him.

“I don’t think so,” Glacius growled as Elijah swung the iron bar.

It just grazed him. Not enough to burn.

He tried to swing again.

He didn’t move this time. Only held his hand up to Elijah’s body. The second hit fingertips touched him, it was as if he had been plunged into an ice bath. He collapsed to his knees, lungs gasping for air as he felt the ice crystals forming in each little pocket of his lungs.

He let out a cry and fell completely to the ground. He curled up to try and get some heat back into his body.

Glacius kicked him, rolling over onto his back.

“I know you,” he said. “You’re that soldier’s little pet, aren’t you? His ‘husband’.” He spat out the word as if it were the most disgusting thing in the world.

“Does he know about you? What you are?”

Elijah gasped and stared up at Glacius, unwilling to give him any sort of response.

Glacius tilted his head to the side. “That’s okay. He’ll come running when he hears you scream. I’m getting tired of waiting for him. I am going to prove to everyone that things like him and you are nothing. You should be glad. If I didn’t despise the witches so much, I would take you to them. They’d experiment on you, you know? A painful process, I hear. As is, I don’t care enough about their little war to help them learn about why things like you don’t burn under iron.”

“You act as if the gods didn’t give us our Truths,” Elijah gasped. “The Lion-Bodied Goddess visited me personally. She breathed my Truth into me.”

Glacius’s face twisted in a rage. “How dare you act as if you have any right to them!”

“We all have a right to them,” Elijah said.

Glacius let out a howl and slammed the heel of his boot down onto Elijah’s wrist, the one holding the iron bar. He screamed as the bones shattered under the force.

Ice continued to climb up his body, making his muscles stiff. His lungs had trouble expanding and contracting. He was going to freeze, just like everyone else Glacius had killed.

He tried to keep himself from crying out once the initial shock wore off. Glacius was right, Josh would come running if Elijah was in danger. He resolved not to scream. His resolve crumbled almost immediately.

The brutality Ice Man attacked him with made it impossible to ignore. The kicks. The punches. The ice made each hit worse.

He lunged down and wrapped his hands around Elijah’s throat, squeezing with all his power.

Elijah weakly clawed at his hands with his non-broken one. It didn’t do anything. All it managed to do was rip the fingernails from their beds. The cold made the pain feel a thousand times worse.

His eyes rolled back in his head. This was how he’d die.

Only, he didn’t. Glacius dropped him and continued his assault. He ripped Elijah’s clothes, tore at his skin. When Elijah could open his eyes, he wasn’t looking at a man, but a monster. His eyes bulged. His once white face was now red. Spit flying from his mouth as he snarled. Ice shot from his body every so often. It sliced Elijah’s skin. It pierced his body. Each time it landed, the ice crystals spread out, following his veins and arteries. Slowing his blood until it was little more than sludge.

The cold was the worst part of it all. It seemed to exaggerate every pain tenfold. A hundredfold. He could feel every slice. Every hit. Every split in his skin. Every forcible bending of his limbs. The stinging. The burning. As if when Glacius forced his knees and elbows to bend, they were frozen solid until he exerted so much force that they snapped through the ice. He could feel it shatter and enter his muscles.

He didn’t know if he was screaming at this point. He could have been. Or maybe Glacius had frozen his vocal chords solid.

As he lay there, a shadow hovered over him. Not Ice Man. One that he hadn’t seen since he was sixteen.

The Lion-Bodied Goddess, looked down at him, breathing her fire into him. The only reason he hadn’t died yet.

Even goddesses had a limit. She was rapidly reaching hers.

Trap

Welton was a city whose temperature never dipped close to freezing.

So, to Josh, the cold was the most unbearable thing about this fight. His blood, thinned out from years of heat exposure, turned to ice. His fingers ached as he pulled the trigger. The metal stuck to his skin. The wind bit at his thighs, as if it were made up of knives stabbing him over and over and over again. It was all terrible. He wanted nothing more than to call the battle and go warm up near a toasty, crackling fire.

Except, he couldn’t. He was the captain out here. The leader. These people counted on him to get them out of this battle alive. Most of them wouldn’t make it. That was the reality of war. The reality of battle so few of them had experienced.

If he could minimize the casualties, then he’d be happy.

Besides, it wasn’t like surrender would bring peace.

No. If they ran, Glacius would chase them. He’d chase them to the ends of the earth. The only way he was going to get his crackling fire was if he earned it by winning this battle and minimizing the casualties.

He’d like to think that he had minimized them. Ethan’s plan to set off explosives worked like a charm. It funneled Glacius and his army so that, though the army outnumbered the rebels, the rebels could surround him on all sides.

According to the animals sent ahead to scout, they had managed to decrease his numbers by a third. Not all deaths, though. Several of the witches ran after those first bombs went off. Several more of them died in the chaos. Josh didn’t like to think about all the dead bodies now staining the forest red. These weren’t frightened children hiding from intruders. These were adults sent to kill every single person in this camp. It was Josh’s right to defend his home. It was his job. If these people wouldn’t stop fighting, then he wouldn’t either.

It was kill or be killed out here.

He commanded his troops with a frightening efficiency that shocked the witch attackers. He could tell.

They had expected seven people, max. They would quickly overwhelm them. Or so they assumed.

That was not what the witch army stumbled into. This time, Josh was organized. Prepared. He knew they were coming, and he had backup. He had weapons. He had witches.

Fire fighting fire.

That alone helped cut down the witches. They quickly realized this fight wouldn’t be as easy as the last one. Scattering to the wind and deciding to live to fight another day was more important than sacrificing their lives. Or, maybe, they realized that witches were fighting with the non-witches, and they wanted to run back and tell their commanding officers. Traitors were in their ranks. The higher-ups had to know.

That was something Josh would worry about later. For now, he had to focus on surviving. He would survive. Whatever worries about not being good enough were wiped away on that first attack. Instinct took over as he slipped into the position he fought for. He trained for. A position he excelled at. A position he was good at.

Really good, in fact.

So good, he knew within a few minutes that they would win the battle. Not that Josh wanted to call it this early or be cocky. He still hadn’t seen this famed Glacius appear on the battlefield. However, he was confident that if he held his ground and his troops stayed calm, they would win. It was the enemy witches who buckled under the pressure, not them. It was the enemy witches who couldn’t regain control of the situation, a situation they had never been in control of in the first place. It was them who left with each second. He could see the end of the fight. He could see victory.

Then, Thea came running up to him. She moved through the fight as if she did not have to fear the bullets and bolts flying through the air. The lightning. The fire. The rocks. The ice. Apparently, she didn’t have to worry, as she got to Josh without a scratch on her.

“What are you doing here?” Josh shouted as he reloaded his rifle, aimed, and took out a witch who was about to kill one of the rebels. “One of your demons decided to help us out?”

“It’s Glacius,” she gasped.

“Yeah? What about him?”

“He’s after you. This isn’t a battle to take out some spies. He won’t stop until you’re dead, even if it means killing everyone else.”

Josh furrowed his brow. Now that he did not expect or consider.

It did make things much more difficult. Someone who was fighting to win a battle might eventually decide that it’s better to retreat and regroup. They’d take stock of the warriors they had left and decide if it was worth it to sacrifice their lives for some measly rebels. If what Thea was saying was true, then Glacius would not stop. He wouldn’t care how many of his soldiers died. He wouldn’t care if Josh won the battle or not. This was beyond war. This was personal. When personal grievances were introduced to warfare, things got a lot bloodier and messier.

“Then I guess I just got to stop him,” he said.

“That’s it?” Thea cried.

“I don’t know what you want me to do. It wasn’t like I was planning on losing this battle before. This changes nothing. The longer we can stand without breaking, the more of his soldiers will desert. Once they do that, we can throw everything we have at him.”

“Did you not just hear me say he wants to kill you?” Thea cried.

“I want to kill him too. The difference is he’s emotional. He’s not thinking logically. I’ll use that to my advantage. He wants to get revenge against me, fine. The longer I stay alive, the more frustrated he’ll be. That means he’ll make more mistakes. I know what I’m doing, Thea.”

She opened her mouth to argue.

At that minute, another figure shambled through the battlefield.

Levi Brenner.

“How did he get out?” Josh whipped around to look at Thea.

“I don’t know. He was in the cell when I left.”

“I still can’t understand why you left to tell me that a man who wants to kill me, surprise, wants to kill me!”

“It’s helpful for you to get all the information!”

“Great Deer-Headed God, you people are terrible at warfare!”

Surprisingly, Brenner did not run into the woods like Josh thought he’d do. He wouldn’t have blamed him. With all this chaos, he could easily disappear. Josh got the impression that he didn’t care that much about working with the witches as much as he wanted money. He did not shamble off into the woods, never to be seen again. Instead, he came straight toward Josh. Unlike Thea, though, it was clear more than a few things had hit Brenner. He was bleeding profusely from his head. His temple had a giant, purpling bruise.

Maybe the concussion made him forget that running was an option.

“If you’re here to tell me that Glacius has some sort of grudge against me, save it. I already know. Get back to camp, both of you, before you get yourselves or someone else killed.”

“It’s Elijah,” Brenner gasped.

That got Josh’s attention.

His hands stilled, though he did not look at Brenner. Instead, he let his body work on instinct. Loading and reloading his rifle. Popping off shot after shot. Whittling down the enemy numbers one by one.

“He went after Ice Man.”

Even if Brenner hadn’t said those words, Josh still would have suspected them. Why else would he be here?

Josh gritted his teeth. These people counted on him to keep them safe, to help them win. He couldn’t leave them to chase after Elijah.

Elijah, going after a man like Glacius alone…

Elijah was a good soldier. He knew how to shoot and how to fight. That may not give him a leg up to kill Glacius. Even with his witch powers. He was only a healer. As far as Josh was concerned, he couldn’t weaponize that. Though, if anyone could figure it out, Elijah would. Even if he could figure it out, he was untrained. He may not know how.

Josh bit his lip. He couldn’t leave Elijah to die. He couldn’t leave these people to die either.

He looked across the clearing to see Ethan staring at him. Their eyes met. The battle fell away as they shared a silent conversation.

Then, Ethan nodded to him and signed, “Go.”

He could take care of the battle. He was smart enough, talented enough to. Besides, if Josh did manage to kill Glacius, the enemy leader would be dead. It’d be the last nail in the coffin of this battle. They would scatter to the winds.

He nodded and went to stand.

Thea grabbed him. “You won’t win. This man is dangerous.”

He looked down at her. “Are you going to help me kill him?”

She hesitated.

That was all he needed to know.

He yanked his hand out of her arm. He brushed past the Deer-Headed God as he raced toward the cold, where Elijah would be.

As he ran, he realized that the world was getting warmer, not colder.

“No. Don’t let the trail disappear.” He prayed.

Maybe Henry was right. Maybe the gods did hate the non-witches. Maybe they would do anything to protect their chosen people.

He ran faster. As he ran through the forest, he noticed a path of crystals whitening the scattered leaves on the forest floor. This wasn’t a random path. No, this was too deliberate. Almost beautiful in the way it curved through the forest, carefully avoiding trees. It was a perfect walkway. Josh could almost see the bricks settling beneath the white snow.

Glacius was expecting him.

He was leading him somewhere.

That wasn’t good. That meant he had a plan. That meant Elijah either hadn’t gotten there or had failed.

Josh slowed to a stop, his boots crunching the pure white snow. He didn’t know what Glacius’s plan was. He didn’t have any backup. He needed Ethan, Henry, and Priscilla at the main battle. Thea wouldn’t help him fight. Brenner seemed too injured to fight.

Josh was alone.

Exactly what Glacius wanted.

What if another army sat within the canopy of the trees? Waiting to fire on Josh the second he stepped through the tree line?

Brenner said that an air witch worked with Glacius. Josh hadn’t seen any air witches on the battlefield. Could she be waiting near him to snuff the air from Josh’s lungs?

Maybe he should get Jophiel and Deer. Both of them were at the camp and not at the main battle. Maybe he could find them and force Deer to do some work for once in his life.

The snow began to melt; disappearing under Josh’s feet as if they hadn’t been there at all.

His missing finger throbbed.

He could see the Horned Demon sitting there, grinning at him. Daring him to stay here, frozen not by Ice Man but by his own indecision as to the best course of action.

The only thing worse than doing the wrong thing was not doing anything at all.

He gritted his teeth. He didn’t have time to wait or find someone to help. If Glacius had Elijah, then he was running out of time.

He gripped the iron bar in his hands.

This time, he would save his husband.

Ice

Josh sprinted through the forest. It seemed that Ice Man knew he was coming. Now that he knew, the forest was freezing. Trees cracked and branches snapped off as the water in them froze, expanded, and then increased the weight to where the tree couldn’t hold it any longer, causing the branches to crash and shatter to the ground. It almost felt like Josh was back on the battlefield, dodging fire and bullets to get to his target.

It was chaos. He was used to it.

He thrived in it, in a sick sort of way. Most of his life had been chaos, made all the more chaotic with each trip out to the front lines.

The people screaming. The sharp, metallic tang of blood hung in the air. How the marching and running of hundreds of boots kicked up dust and stung his eyes. All of it. Fading into white noise as he sought out his targets.

Elijah had gone after Glacius alone.

He knew why he had done it.

Elijah had seen firsthand what the man could do to a body. The destruction and the pain he could bring.

He was so protective of Josh. Perhaps more so when he came back from the front lines. As if being protective now could make up for him not being there when Josh was getting shot at by lightning and fire.

He understood now that Elijah seemed to think that only he was capable. Only he had the knowledge and the skills to get things done. He didn’t think Elijah thought he was stupid or weak. He needed a level of control over any given situation. That was why he hadn’t told Josh about the rebellion, even after Josh told him about Micah and the end of the world.

Elijah needed control. He needed to be the one solely in control.

Each bit of control he gave over to someone else was something out of his hands. That terrified him.

They’d have to talk about it later. He was still pissed that Elijah hid this from him. He was still pissed that he didn’t trust him enough to take care of himself. He was still pissed that Elijah seemed to think nothing about how throwing himself in danger didn’t help the situation. He loved him. Frankly, it was nice to be the one protected instead of doing the protecting.

If only he didn’t have to rush in and stop his idiot husband from getting himself killed.

As Josh ran, following the trail of ice, he knew this was a trap. Glacius was waiting for him. Luring him away from the heat of battle so that he could hurt him all on his own. He had plans for Josh.

He didn’t just want to defeat him. He wanted to humiliate him. To get revenge for all the humiliation Josh had inflicted on him. Now he was glad Thea and Levi thought to warn him before running off. Josh knew what he was walking into. He knew what Glacius wanted to do to him. What plans he had for him.

Josh wasn’t going to participate in those plans.

It’d be difficult, fighting a witch. Especially one as powerful as Glacius. Especially one as angry as Glacius.

Yes, the man was angry and emotional, which meant he’d be sloppy. Sloppy people could do a lot of damage in the process. Like a tree toppling in the forest, taking down every other tree around it in the process. He’d have to be smart about this. He could be.

He could do it. The pendant Elijah gave him bounced against his chest. Its warmth fought off the cold so he could keep running. His iron bar was tucked under his shirt, completely hidden from view between the baggy folds of his uniform.

He had already bested Glacius twice. Three times if the battle currently happening went the way he predicted.

The fourth time should be a piece of cake.

The ice trail took him to a small clearing. The sounds of the battle raging on behind him dimmed. It was almost as if he had stepped into a storybook about a winter wonderland. Pristine, glistening white crystals clung to the trees and plants. The sun made them glitter like millions of diamonds. His breath came out as a cloud. The snow on the ground served to further dampen the sounds. It was peaceful here.

No, not peaceful.

If the end of the world taught Josh one thing, it was that silence didn’t mean peace.

As his eyes adjusted to the blinding white light bouncing off the snow and ice, he saw Elijah’s broken form on the ground. Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead and between his lips.

“Eli!” He gasped.

Elijah’s eyes were unfocused. His glasses gone. He lifted his head weakly to look at Josh. His lips moved for a brief second before the sound of his hoarse voice filled the clearing, “Run.”

Josh took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing. Where was Glacius? Why hadn’t he attacked yet?

If Josh were to bet, he was planning on Josh stepping in to help Elijah. Then, when he was distracted, he’d attack. He couldn’t leave Elijah, though. Glacius was counting on that.

He’d play along with his little game, until it was time for the attack to happen. He didn’t know where Glacius was, so he’d have to wait for him to attack first. He didn’t like that. If Glacius attacked first, that’d put Josh in a weaker position. He could fight his way out of it; so long as he kept his wits about him. Given Glacius’s suspected mental state, it wouldn’t take much for Josh to push him over the edge. To push him into a panicked flurry of action, he could more easily defend against.

First, he had to spring the trap.

“No, I’m getting you out of here.” He scrambled down to kneel next to him.

His ears strained to hear anything that could give away Glacius’s position. The crunching of snow beneath his feet. Perhaps a slight chill in one direction or another. Something. Anything.

“Trap.” Elijah’s voice was barely above a whisper.

He looked worse up close. Ice clung to his nose and eyelashes. His lips were blue. His skin was pallid. He looked so much like he did when he died. For a second, Josh forgot where he was. When he was.

He was back in the apocalypse. Back kneeling beside his husband’s dead form, begging him to come and stay with him for just a little longer. A tree branch cracked and crashed to the ground, unable to hold up the weight of ice filling its branches.

The crack snapped him back to reality. He wasn’t in the apocalypse. He was working to prevent it. Elijah wasn’t dead yet. Just cold. He had to defeat Glacius before it was too late.

“I know.”

Elijah struggled to comprehend Josh’s words. Josh shrugged off his jacket to lay over Elijah, as futile a gesture as it was. Perhaps it’d buy them just a bit more time.

That’s when he felt it. Subtle, at first. A chill along his left side. So slight, he could almost mistake it for the wind cooling his sweat. He wouldn’t have felt it at all if he hadn’t taken off his jacket, with only a thin t-shirt on.

He didn’t panic. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t make any indication that he felt the chill. He was prepared for this. He was in tune with every fiber of his body. While he didn’t fully understand how Glacius’s powers worked, he figured the man would most likely start to freeze him from the side he was currently standing on.

Without missing a beat, Josh drew his gun, whipped around, and fired into the trees, about where he would stand if he were Glacius.

It worked.

The man cried out before stumbling through the brush.

Shit. He didn’t get a clean hit. It only grazed his arm.

Josh wasted no time in firing again. However, it wasn’t enough. Glacius had already frozen the gun solid. He let out a hiss and dropped it as the ice-cold metal burned his skin.

“You!” Glacius roared, his eyes bulging. “You think your pathetic weapons are enough to defeat me! I’m a witch! You are nothing but an ant that I will crush under my boot!”

“Josh,” Elijah gasped. He tried to push up to his hands and knees.

He shuffled forward as if he could block Josh’s body with his own. Even when knocked down like this, he was still trying to protect him.

Not today.

Josh launched himself forward, landing a punch square on the man’s jaw. Even his skin was cold, burning Josh’s knuckles as the skin split and blood poured out. The difference in temperatures made Josh hiss. He kept fighting through the pain.

Glacius threw out a hand. The blood on his knuckles began to freeze. To crystallize and burn. The ice followed a train from the outside into the skin, where his hand began to stiffen.

“Leave him alone.” Elijah struggled to his feet.

He could barely stand, needing to use a tree to hold him up. His wrist was bent at an unnatural angle.

“You act like you can face me as an equal!” Glacius shrieked.

Josh swept his legs out from underneath him. While on the ground, he unsheathed the knife strapped to his calf and pounced on him, driving it into the witch’s shoulder. The iron bar rubbed against his stomach, poking his thighs. Begging for him to use it.

No. Not yet. Glacius was still too in control. If he saw Josh pull that out, he’d knock it from his hands. He had to wait. He had to destroy the man mentally just a little more before he could use it.

Waiting was dangerous. The longer he waited, the more likely he was to slip up. The more likely Glacius was to freeze him solid.

Glacius kicked Josh in the stomach, sending him somersaulting back on the ground. He grabbed the knife and yanked it from his shoulder with a snarl.

“I will end you! I will prove to everyone that you are nothing!”

Josh sprang back to his feet and tackled him to the ground. As they grappled and wrestled, landing punch after punch, Josh could feel his body freezing. His fingers refused to curl. His fists refused to clench. Ice gathered on his eyelids and froze them shut. His body hurt.

It was like he could feel his blood slowing down in his veins. His muscles seized. His heart slowed down.

The pain of it all… Each movement made his body scream. He felt like he was on fire.

The pendant Elijah had given him was hot against his neck. Almost a little too hot. He couldn’t think about that now.

“Why won’t you freeze? Why are you still moving?” Glacius shouted as his eyes bulged.

He was starting to overexert himself. The sweat beaded on his brow. His hands shook as he thrust them out. Streaks of ice shot from his fingertips like knives, slicing through Josh’s body.

“I will kill you! I will destroy you!”

Josh didn’t answer. He didn’t need to answer.

Elijah launched himself at Glacius, tackling him to the ground. Glacius snarled and threw him against a tree. The momentary distraction gave Josh the opening he needed.

He grabbed one of the ice shards and threw it at Glacius with all the precision he would any other throwing knife.

It stabbed him in the stomach.

Glacius stumbled back, his eyes wide as he struggled to comprehend that his own magic had just been used against him.

Josh licked his lips and forced his body to move. The pendant burning against his chest was the only reason he hadn’t succumbed to the ice. He knew that. What he didn’t know was how much longer it could last against this assault.

He lunged forward, driving his fist right into Glacius’s sternum. Witches may be different than non-witches in some ways, but they all had the same body parts. A hit right to the diaphragm was all he needed.

Glacius gasped and stumbled back. His mouth opened and closed. His eyes bulged as he struggled to breathe.

There. That was Josh’s opening.

He pulled the bar out from under his shirt and shoved it down Glacius’s throat.

The man wrapped his hands around Josh’s neck and began to squeeze. He didn’t care about surviving. He cared about winning. He would only win when Josh was dead. Ice crawled from his fingertips, sticking his hands to Josh’s skin. No matter how hard he struggled against his grip, they were frozen together. One body instead of two.

It pierced his skin and settled into his bones. His veins. His muscles. His fascia. His cells.

The pendant cracked.

Ice flooded everything, and he let out a cry.

Reaching down, he grabbed the shard of ice embedded in Glacius’s stomach and pulled it out. Acting on instinct and fighting against the stiffness of his muscles, he brought the shard up and stabbed it through Glacius’s throat. Hot blood spurted from his neck.

The two of them fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Someone was by his side, peeling Glacius’s hands from his throat and kicking him away.

The ice faded. Josh felt warm.

Hot even.

Like he had stepped into a fireplace.

Those same hands that had pulled Glacius away now turned him on his back. He looked up to see Elijah. The way the sun looked behind him made him look like he had a halo.

His mouth was moving. He was talking. Josh couldn’t hear anything, though. He looked worried.

Elijah leaned down and pressed his lips to Josh’s. More warmth flooded his body. Though this time, it wasn’t fire. More like a hot bath.

He tried to lift his hands, to flex his fingers, to move.

His body wouldn’t cooperate.

Instead, he closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.

Support

Josh wasn’t cold when he woke up.

He thought he’d be cold.

Actually, if he were honest, he thought he’d be dead.

The last time he had died, he hadn’t stayed dead for long. He had been aware of his death for each agonizing second. The way his heart stopped. The way his blood stilled in his body. The shutting down of his organs one by one in order of least importance to most. Until his heart, lungs, and brain were the last to go.

Even though his death had only been a few seconds, he was aware of it from the time he died to the time he opened his eyes at Canyon Pass.

This time, he wouldn’t be lucky enough to open his eyes. This time, Glacius would kill him. No witches would send him back in time to try again. Glacius certainly did his best to make that a reality.

Once again, he failed.

It was only thanks to Elijah’s rune that he managed to survive as long as he did.

He did survive.

He wasn’t cold.

His heart hadn’t stopped.

That awareness was enough to get him to open his eyes and take stock of his surroundings.

He was in a canvas tent of some sort on a hard metal cot. Standard issue cot from the feel of it. The warm, golden sun peered through the mesh windows. He couldn’t see snow falling in the air. No ice clung to his eyelashes. No biting wind stabbed his skin.

The winter had passed.

Turning his head to the right, he saw Elijah. He was standing, facing the canvas wall, muttering to himself as he scribbled some notes down on a pad. The scene was familiar to the time Josh nearly died during his first deployment. Only, he hadn’t been blown up this time. That was kind of nice.

He reached out his hand, wincing as he felt a phantom limb where the demon had removed the finger. He must have grunted, too, as Elijah froze, and then turned around.

“Josh! You’re awake. How do you feel?” He rushed up to him. One of his wrists was in a cast. The other one dropped the notepad so he could smooth a hand over Josh’s forehead.

Josh frowned as Elijah’s hand felt cold against his skin. For a brief moment, he saw him dead at his side. The flies landed and laid their eggs in his mouth and eyes. He was never cold. Except for then.

“Josh, can you talk to me?” His voice bordered on hysterical.

Josh cleared his throat and reached up to stroke Elijah’s cheek. “I’m fine. Your hands are cold.”

Elijah leaned down to kiss him. Soft. Gentle. Chaste. “Yes, well, that’s what happens when someone spends the better part of an hour slowly freezing you to death.”

“I don’t feel cold,” Josh muttered.

He did feel slow, though. His words, his mind, his throat, his limbs. Everything felt slow and heavy. He managed enough strength to trace the black eye Elijah had gotten. The bruises around his neck. The scratches along his cheeks.

“Hmm.” Elijah took his hand and kissed his palm. “It might be the stress of saving you. It depleted my energy. Give me a few days. I should be back to normal.”

“You said you almost died last time, trying to save me.”

Elijah squeezed his hand. “Last time, I barely had any control over my powers. I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m fine, Josh. I promise.”

Josh hummed. He wanted to desperately pull Elijah down on the bed and have them both sleep the rest of the war away. He was so tired. He didn’t want to be involved any longer.

How much more could he be involved? He had already sacrificed everything. He was still marching toward some sort of indeterminate end that he could only hope would be a good one for him.

What was the point anymore? Why couldn’t he rest? Why did he have to pick up all the pieces and put them back together?

“Oh, your pendant broke. Ethan’s making you another one. Though it won’t work like the last one did, sadly,” Elijah said.

Yes, that was why he still fought, Elijah and Ethan. If he hadn’t, they would have both died. They would both die. That was the reason he kept marching forward. That was the reason he hoped for a good ending

“They’re alive?” he asked, his voice less croaky now that his vocal chords had a bit to warm up.

“Yes. Ethan, Henry, and Priscilla are all fine. They pushed back the witches. You should be proud of your brother. He took charge.”

He was. He was excited to get more information from Ethan later.

He had so many questions burning in his mind. He and Elijah never had a chance to talk after all the revelations. Too many things had happened too quickly. They had time now. Or, Josh would make time for them to talk. They couldn’t go on like this. Both danced around all the secrets Elijah kept from him. Josh did trust him. He didn’t feel angry. More so… hurt. Hurt that he couldn’t trust him. He wanted to make sure they dealt with that before they made their next step.

The bombs were coming.

Glacius wasn’t the ending. He was the beginning.

If they were to both survive this war and live out their lives in peace, they had to solve this issue.

“You’re a witch?” he asked, his voice still rough.

Sure, that may not have been the best way to start out this conversation, but it did get them to the point quickly.

The first time they had had this conversation, Josh had still been reeling. He had been hurt. Angry. Confused. He wanted to try again, now that he was calmer. Now that he knew Elijah wasn’t using him and truly loved him.

“Half-witch.” Elijah corrected. He brought his hands to his back and helped him sit up.

Josh winced and wrinkled his nose at the stiffness of his limbs. “I’m guessing there’s a difference?”

“A major one.” Elijah sat on the bed. “I don’t know all the differences. I don’t react to iron the same way. It can’t remove my magic if locked around my wrists and ankles. It does irritate my skin, but it doesn’t burn me the it does full witches. My blood is iron-based, not copper-based like witches, which is why no one’s ever caught me.”

Josh hummed. That made sense. “You’re not as strong.”

“Yes.” Elijah nodded. “Most half-witches can barely conjure up their Truths. Most of them are elemental in nature. I think the only reason I have so much power is because I’m a high-level one.”

“When’d you find out?”

“Fall equinox after my sixteenth birthday. Same as all the other witches. I woke up to the Lion-Bodied Goddess sitting on me before breathing fire on me.”

“Literally?”

Elijah thought about it. “I don’t know. I didn’t burn. Neither did my clothes or my bed. With gods, it isn’t a metaphor. You know?”

He did not know.

“It happens on a different plane of reality. I must have been important if she came to me herself to give me her Truth.”

“You are pretty great,” Josh said.

Elijah huffed. Then, his smile dropped. “Josh, I… I'm not a witch. I can’t be. The non-witches would see me as being the same thing as Thea or Jophiel, but the witches wouldn’t. I’m an abomination. Something to experiment on. Like a rat. I’m not… I’m not a person in their eyes. I’m a thing. That’s why I never went over there. That’s why I never wanted to join their cause. I can live much freer amongst the non-witches than I ever could with the witches. The number of half-witches in the House of Order… The things they do to them are horrific.”

“You couldn’t tell me because I was too caught up in the war to see the complexities.” Josh added.

Elijah stroked his cheek. “You’re a good man. Sometimes, you don’t make good choices.”

It hurt for him to say that so plainly. Josh wanted to argue that it wasn’t true. He was a good person. He made good choices.

Good choices like following orders that got his brother killed. Good choices, like seriously considering shooting a child just in case they were a witch. Though they were dying all alone at the end of the world. Good choices like almost refusing to help the rebels, a group made up of mostly civilians and teenagers, simply because they weren’t on his side.

Elijah wrapped his arms around his neck and brought his head down to rest on his chest.

“You’ve had a trying few months. I hate that I don’t know what you’ve gone through. I wish I could have experienced it all with you. I wish I hadn’t died.”

His hands were so cold. Josh wrapped his arms around his waist. He hoped it would help warm Elijah back up.

“It’s not your fault. You had radiation poisoning. You didn’t know Micah was coming. You didn’t want to slow me down and doom me to die either. You couldn’t have done anything.”

“There had to have been something.”

He shook his head. “No. I know you. You don’t lie down and die. You don’t give up.”

He felt Elijah’s tears drip down and land on his forehead. His own tears leaked out and rolled down his chin.

“The last thing you ever did for me was re-bandage my arm. I had this cut on my arm. And you cleaned and bandaged it. You were so scared that I’d hurt you if I ever found out, but you still wanted to heal me. That’s what I don’t get. How could I scare you, but you still wanted me to survive?”

Elijah’s fingers scraped through his hair, still short from where Preston had shaved it down during the interrogation a lifetime ago.

“I love you,” Elijah said simply. “You’re a good man. I was right to love you. I was right about you being a good man.”

“I don’t feel good.”

“Good people rarely do.”

“I almost left the rebels to die.”

“You thought about leaving them. That’s not the same as doing it.”

“It feels the same.”

“It’s not. I promise you, it’s not.”

He had a lot more questions to ask Elijah. He wanted to know everything. Every thread of logic behind every decision.

He didn’t ask.

In the end, he didn’t care. He didn’t care why Elijah did what he did. Just like Elijah thought he was a good man, Josh knew Elijah was a good man. He made his decisions based on the information he had available. Josh didn’t care about the why. He only cared that they made these decisions together from now on. Instead of Elijah trying to do everything by himself.

They stayed like that for several minutes. Josh couldn’t forget the cold hands, but the steady beat of Elijah’s heart reminded him that he wasn’t dead. He was just healing.

Eventually, he pulled back. “So, what happens now? Are you going to stay with them?”

Elijah shook his head. “My goal has been to end the war and protect you. Right now, that means I need to stay with you. Deer might not like it, but I don’t like him, so I don’t care.”

Josh let out a weak laugh. “If you’re sticking around, no more secrets, okay? I know you were protecting yourself, and then protecting Ethan and me. I’m a soldier. I’m good at what I do. You can’t keep me locked in the dark and hope whatever plan you have will work out. I need to know what you’re thinking, Eli. I need to know where your head’s at. I need to know when you’re hurt.”

Elijah nodded. “I'm sorry that I didn’t let you know I was dying.”

“It wasn’t you who lied.”

Those words hurt to say. As if by speaking them out loud, Elijah really was dead and was never coming back. That was true, wasn’t it? Elijah had died in the apocalypse. Even if Josh stopped the bombs, he’d never come back.

He still loved this Elijah just as much as the other. His husband, as he knew him, was dead. Nothing, no magic, no stopping the war, nothing, would bring him back.

“It was me,” Elijah said. “Maybe not the current me, but I was the one who made the decision. Just like I made the decision to not tell you about the rebels or the witches after you came back. It’s just… You put so much on your shoulders, Josh. I don’t want you to add this as well.”

“You’re my husband. Like it or not, what you do is added to my burden. Just like what I do is added to yours.”

“I suppose when you put it like that…” Elijah trailed off. “I’ll let you get some rest. Glacius’s magic is unique. I don’t know what the long-term repercussions are. Whatever they are, rest is key.”

He went to stand. Josh caught his hand and tugged him back onto the bed. “If I remember my medical training properly, the best way to fight off hypothermia is to share body heat.”

Elijah laughed. “That it is.”

“So then, as a good doctor, you should help me out.”

“Indeed I should.” He kicked off his boots and shifted to lie by Josh’s side.

The thin cot wasn’t built to accommodate two people, but luckily, they were both thin enough that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Josh turned on his side, tucked Elijah under his chin, and then pulled the blanket to cover the two of them.

A little more rest was just what they needed.

Join

“We succeeded,” Priscilla said as they wandered through camp.

It had been a strange few weeks, to be sure. Made only stranger still with what they were doing now: nothing. For the first time in Ethan’s life, he wasn’t expected to do anything. He didn’t have to slave away for rations or to keep his place in society. He was expected to just be.

Part of the reason for this ‘just be’ time was that all of them needed to pack on some weight if they were to infiltrate Osairae without drawing attention to themselves. Apparently, the people of Megaloceros didn’t starve the same way the people of Deerland starved. They were all healthy, with plenty of food to go around. To show up as they were, gaunt, spindly little things, people would wonder what terrible things had befallen them. Questions that they couldn’t answer satisfactorily.

So, they stayed at the main base camp with the rebels, eating three square meals a day plus snacks. More food than Ethan had ever had access to in his life.

It felt good to eat until he was full. It felt good to eat such a wide variety of food. He never wanted to leave. Though he had to.

“It’s a good thing we succeeded.” Priscilla continued. “Low casualties and all. I knew we could do it, of course. Insane that Josh went off to deal with Glacius himself. Even more insane that he succeeded.”

He knew when Glacius had died. They all did. The cold snapped, and heat returned to the world. Thankfully, this helped them out, causing the witch attackers to flee now that their leader was gone.

Recognizing the retreat for what it was, he rushed to find Josh. When he got there, he thought both he and Elijah were dead. Both of them sprawled out on the ground, lips and skin blue, barely breathing. It was a miracle they both survived. But they did. He would never take that miracle for granted. Maybe Henry was wrong. Maybe the gods didn’t hate the non-witches, or love the witches more.

“Honestly, this was the best outcome we could have hoped for. I don’t think they realize how lucky they were. With how little time we had to prepare and how untrained they all were. It’s a miracle we weren’t slaughtered.” Priscilla jerked her head toward the rebels.

Ethan followed her gaze. He recognized that sort of far-off look in their eyes. That was the look of surviving their first battle. That distant stare as their minds came to terms with what had happened. With what they had been forced to do. With the deaths they caused. Priscilla was right. None of the rebels appreciated that they had survived. They could only sit there in horror at what they were capable of.

If they hadn’t fought back, they would have been slaughtered. Glacius had literally frozen children to death. Why should they be any different? In the aftermath of the battle, it was harder to think like that. It was almost as if their minds couldn’t believe that was their only option. There had to be another way. They were terrible people for killing instead of finding another way.

There was no other way.

Even if Ethan could think of another way, they didn’t have the time, resources, or training to make it happen.

“They’re not going to survive their next battle,” Ethan said.

He picked up a small piece of wood and began to whittle it down. The necklace Elijah had given Josh broke during the battle. Apparently, it was some sort of magic necklace that helped fight off the cold. One of the only reasons Josh survived. Could he carve runes into the wood and make them work as well as a witch could? It could come in handy.

He never thought about non-witches being able to use magic. Maybe they could. It seemed stupid for them not to use magic if they could. Then again, the non-witches didn’t want anything to do with the witches, so maybe they didn’t use it on principle.

Josh summoned a demon, something that only witches were supposed to do. Maybe they could, but only under specific circumstances. He’d have to ask Elijah what rune was on the necklace and try it out for himself.

“Do you think they’re going to fight another battle?” Priscilla asked.

They found a log and sat down.

“Sure,” she continued, “it’s good and all to dream of a glorious battle. To talk about all the cool things you do. To dream of how the world would be different if you were in charge. Then, you live through one, and the dreams of glory fade away. You start to wonder if the death and trauma are all worth it. Maybe it’s better to keep on just as we are. It wouldn’t surprise me if half of them left. Most of these guys don’t have anything but their ideals holding them here.”

“That’s not enough?” Ethan asked.

She shrugged. “Survival versus ideals? Ideals always crumble.”

“You make it sound like people are selfish.”

“I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing. Think about it, Ethan, would either of us have joined the army if we had another choice? Do you think Josh is fighting because he has these lofty ideals about defeating the witches? Yeah, that’s a perk. It’s not the reason he joined.”

Ethan looked down at the pendant he was carving. Repetitive, smooth motions across the wood to create something more beautiful than the stick it had been previously.

She was right.

If Josh didn’t have to worry about Ethan, he never would have joined the military. He put up with the army because it gave him more rations and stability. Same with Ethan. Even now, the application to the Officer’s Academy weighed heavily on his mind. As soon as he got back from Osairae, he’d apply. In fact, a successful mission under the watchful eyes of General Weaver might boost his chances even more. He didn’t want that.

He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be an officer. He didn’t want to be a soldier. The only reason he was here was because he wanted to help Josh and Elijah. He knew his path ahead. As soon as Josh was healed and they were deemed fat enough to not immediately raise red flags, they’d head off to Osairae. They’d sneak in, find the bombs, destroy them, and sneak out. They’d probably fight several more battles. Maybe die in one since the witches kicked their asses before they had the bombs, to be honest. That was what his life would be. Forever. No change. No forward momentum. Simply surviving one day to the next. He didn’t have a choice to back out like these rebels did. If he left the army, there went his rations. There went the help he could give Josh. There went everything.

He let the pendant drop in the dirt.

“Sorry, I’m such a downer.” Priscilla flopped off the log to lie down in the leaves. Ethan flopped back to join her.

“I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Did you ever want to?”

“No.” He admitted. “What else is there if we don’t fight?”

“Nothing.”

She said it with such finality that it almost sounded true. In many ways, it was true. They were both Sanses. They were both expendable. They were both nothing. He could do nothing to stop it.

Or maybe there wasn’t. He thought of Elijah, and how he carved his own path and his own alliances. He had his ideals that he stuck to even in the face of grave danger. He operated outside of the strict binary of witches and non-witches. If they couldn’t escape their fate, then why did Elijah join the rebels? Why did he spend all these years helping them instead of focusing all his attention on the non-witch war effort?

Priscilla turned her head to look at him. “I can hear you thinking.”

“I am.”

“Want to clue me in on it?”

“Only if you’re up for a good-spirited debate.”

She grinned. “Lay it on me. What are you thinking about?”

So he spoke. She countered his arguments, and he countered hers. It felt like they talked for hours, going round and round in circles. Never reaching a conclusion. Slowly, though, something unraveled in Ethan’s mind. Who decided what the rules of the world were? Why did he have to go along with them?

Henry found them and joined in their conversation some time later. He added his own thoughts to the matter. In the end, they had come to a conclusion. Ethan still didn’t know if it was what he wanted to do, but it felt freeing to break away from what he thought were his only options.

“What are you going to tell Josh?” Henry asked as they walked back to camp.

Ethan swallowed. “The truth.”

“You think he’s going to approve of it?”

A part of him didn’t think so. He never did approve of him joining the military in the first place. This might be a step too far. Josh had changed since then. He had grown. His viewpoints expanded. Ethan didn’t like the reason behind that growth. He didn’t like to think of his brother all alone at the end of the world. But this Josh was different. He had faith that this wouldn’t end in an explosive argument like when he joined the military.

When he entered the tent, Josh was alone.

“Where’s Eli?” Ethan asked. Elijah was his family, too. He wanted him to know what his decision had been.

“Out helping Jophiel with the other survivors,” Josh said. “Believe it or not, he can’t stay by my bedside forever.”

Ethan chuckled. “You’d be surprised. He didn’t want to leave you when he first woke up, still half dead.”

“I can believe it.” He took in Ethan’s features. The nervousness in his posture. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Ethan swallowed and steeled his nerves. “I’m not going with you to Osairae. Priscilla and Henry aren’t either.”

A flurry of emotions passed over Josh’s face before he settled into acceptance. “You don’t need to be nervous about that, Ethan. I never wanted you to feel like I forced you to come.”

That was the easy part. Now came the hard part.

“We’re not going because we’re staying here. With the rebels. I’ve already talked to Jophiel about it. They need all the help we can give them. After that terrible fight a few days ago, they need a lot of help.”

This time, Josh’s face didn’t seem to settle on one emotion. Confusion. Maybe a bit of anger. Something unreadable that kept Ethan’s heart beating against his ribcage.

“Ethan–”

“Look,” Ethan came to sit down at his bedside before he lost his courage and walked back his declaration, “all my life, you’ve taken care of me. You’ve sacrificed so much to keep me alive. You gave me your rations. You worked any job that would have you. You let me sleep in your bed. You’ve done nothing but protect me.”

“Of course I have. You’re my brother.”

“I know. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve only ever wanted to help you. It feels like nothing I do is ever good enough.”

“Ethan, everything you do is good enough.”

“To you, yes. To me, no. I have been struggling so much with how to do something to repay you for everything you’ve done for me. I joined the military because the extra rations would help.”

“They have.”

“Not enough.” He swallowed. “I realized that nothing I do is ever going to be enough because whoever wins this war, we both lose. We’re Sanses, Josh. No one cares about us.”

“General Weaver does.”

Ethan shook his head. “I don’t know him like you do. Think about it. We find the bombs. We destroy the bombs. Then what? This war has been at a standstill for a hundred years. We get back to Welton. We get some medals. Maybe a promotion. Then we’re right back out on the front lines. The way we’ve been fighting this war isn’t going to win it.”

Josh frowned. “You think this is?”

“I don’t know,” Ethan said. “Priscilla, Henry, and I debated about it for hours. You need to stop those bombs from dropping. That much we can agree on. What comes after is just as important. We can’t keep doing the same thing. If I join the rebels, and we work to get Jophiel and Deer in a position of power where they can negotiate the end of the war, then maybe I’ll pay you back for all those rations.”

Josh yanked him into a tight hug. “I don’t need you to pay me back, Ethan. That’s what I keep trying to tell you. I’m doing all of this because I want you to do whatever it is you want to do. I want you to have a life outside of this war.”

Ethan gripped the back of his shirt. He felt like such a child right now. Like he had had a nightmare and was begging for Josh to check under the bed and make sure no witches had broken in to steal his soul.

“Don’t you get it?” He asked as his voice broke. “There is no life outside of the war. Not unless we fight for one.”

Josh squeezed him one final time before letting him go. “I think you’re right.”

“Aren’t I always?” Ethan wiped the tears from his eyes, letting out a wet laugh. “I don’t know if this is the right move. It’s better than doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We need you to buy us some time. We can’t end the war if everyone is dead.”

Josh nodded. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I’ve seen what happens when we continue on without any deviation from the path. Maybe this is what we need to end it.”

Ethan hugged him once more. “Maybe.”

“Stay safe, alright?”

“I will. Are you sure Brenner’s trustworthy?”

Josh shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. He can’t stay here. I think now that Glacius is dead, he doesn’t feel as threatened doing our plan.”

Ethan nodded. “This is it, then? We’re going our separate ways?”

“You make it sound like we’re never going to see each other again.” Josh looked physically pained.

“Not for a while,” Ethan said. “Even when you were at the Officer’s Academy, I could call you and write you letters. Now, we’ll be completely separated from one another.”

Josh reached up to ruffle his hair. “If any of this gets dicey, run. Okay? I don’t trust Deer.”

“I know. I will.”

He was going to see the war end, which he had already decided. How he was going to end it, only time would tell.

Osairae

“Well, this is it,” Josh said as he and Ethan stood staring at each other at the edge of the camp.

Jophiel had sourced clothing for him, Elijah, and Brenner to wear. Proper witch clothing. It fit him, something that never happened other than the one time Weaver was nice enough to give him clothes.

The clothes themselves were light, while being structured. He had on a pair of loose-fitted pants and a structured jacket that hit just above his knees. The sleeves and collar had been embroidered with fine silk floss in a pattern of little leaves and flowers. It had deer antlers stitched around the cuffs of his pants. He wore comfortable, soft leather shoes. The entire outfit didn’t make him sweat or itch. Apparently, according to Jophiel at least, the peasants wore these sorts of clothes. If these were what the poor wore, Josh couldn’t imagine what the rich wore.

“Yeah, this is,” Ethan said. He was trying his best not to cry.

“Oh, quit trying to be tough, you two.” Elijah pulled them both into a tight hug.

Josh wrapped his arms around the two of them and squeezed them tight. Elijah still felt cold.

“You be safe, alright?” he said to Ethan.

Ethan huffed into his suspiciously wet shoulder. “I should be telling you that. You’re the one walking right into the lion’s den.”

“Then it’s a good thing the lion likes me,” Elijah said.

With one final squeeze, they pulled back.

“We’re going to end the war, alright?” Josh said.

Ethan nodded and wiped his eyes. “I’m going to help you. Then afterward, we can do whatever we want.”

“Of course we can.”

Man, what a concept that was. Josh never thought about what he would do after the war. He never thought it was going to end, to be honest. Any of his actions were only taken to keep himself and his men alive. Something as big and grandiose as ending the war never seemed to be a possibility.

Now it was. Just like the light in the caves, he could see the end. Each step, it was becoming clearer and clearer what they needed to do and how they could succeed.

“Hey, come on! We’re burning daylight,” Brenner shouted at them.

“In a hurry to meet your employers.” Elijah shot back.

That worked to shut Brenner up beautifully.

Josh hugged Ethan one last time. “I’m so proud of you. You know that, right?”

Ethan squeezed back. “I’m proud of you, too, Josh.”

As much as he wanted to stay here, he couldn’t.

Their time here had been paradise. Or what he would imagine paradise would be like. Endless amounts of food, warm beds, and no war. He was just allowed to be, for once in his life.

The paradise was an illusion. It was hard fought and hard won. If he stayed there for too long, they would lose it all over again. Glacius was not an isolated incident. As long as the war raged on, others like him would attack. Someone would always attack.

That was why Josh needed to go.

That was why Ethan needed to stay.

He pulled back and ruffled Ethan’s hair. “Priscilla, keep him out of trouble.” He called to her. “Henry, too.”

“If they get into trouble, know that I’m the one leading them.” Priscilla called back.

Josh waved goodbye, turning to walk toward Brenner and Thea.

Elijah linked their hands together. “They’ll be alright,” he said.

“I know.”

“Ethan’s a leader when he wants to be. If anyone can whip these people into shape and get them to do something, it would be him.”

Josh squeezed his hand. “I don’t know. You did get them far.”

“I’m not a leader,” Elijah said simply.

Very true.

The last portion of their journey happened without incident. Once they found the main road to Osairae, they simply had to walk. The path itself was flat and well-shaded, keeping the worst of the spring sun off their backs. They passed a few witches on their way to Osairae.

The first time they did, Josh held his breath, certain that they would know he wasn’t a witch. They merely tipped their heads in acknowledgement and kept walking. By the third day of their journey, Josh tipped his head back in acknowledgement. Though he didn’t relax fully. One of these people might attack. He needed to prepare for that.

Brenner remained practically silent the entire way there, no complaining. Perhaps the death of Glacius had shocked him enough to re-contextualize his world-view. Josh still didn’t know if it was worth keeping him around. However, he didn’t want to cut Brenner loose just before they took on the most sensitive part of this assignment. He had to keep an eye on him for just a little longer.

Thea and Elijah made polite conversation with one another. Though, they spent most of their days walking in silence. Not that Josh complained. It gave him time to prepare their next steps.

On the fourth day, Thea said, “We’ll arrive by nightfall.”

Josh swallowed, nodded, and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The ease that had been present in his body fell away one step at a time. His heart pounded against his chest. His body tipped forward, ready to sprint, to fight, to survive. His senses sharpened much like they did on the battlefield.

This was it.

They were going into the nest of the witches. Filled to the brim with his enemies. Enemies with unfathomable powers who could kill him with the snap of their fingers. He remembered the feeling of Glacius freezing him from the inside out. The sheer glee he got as Josh’s body experienced something no one should ever experience.

This wasn’t going to be just one witch. This was going to be millions of them. In one place. A place they grew up in. A place they knew like the back of their hands.

Josh would be at their mercy.

Were all witches sadistic like Glacius?

He glanced over at Thea. She certainly didn’t seem like the kind of person who would take pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. Neither did Elizabeth nor Jophiel.

Then again, Thea wasn’t exactly like other witches. Elizabeth was so young. What if that sort of thing came later? Was taught later?

He never did get a read on Jophiel. He couldn’t imagine her enjoying his slow, painful demise. He didn’t get the feeling she’d rush in to stop it either.

“What’s wrong?” Brenner asked. The first words he had said since they left the camp.

“I’m worried every other witch we meet will be more like Glacius and less like Thea.” He admitted.

No use hiding it. Maybe Brenner could give him insights otherwise unknown to Elijah and Thea.

Elijah especially liked to see the good in people. He may state that Glacius was the outlier, not the norm. Josh wasn’t so sure. How many innocent people did the witches kill in their quests to take back power?

“I don’t know. Everyone I ran into was…” Brenner shuddered. “That’s what I never understood. I was helping them, but they still treated me like shit.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have helped them in the first place,” Josh grumbled. He felt guilty for thinking Brenner got what he deserved.

“Yeah, because our side is doing great.” Brenner rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m done arguing about this. I know what I had to deal with, but I’m not sure about the rest of them. Thea seems decent, though. Healer seems to think that the other witches are more… you know, normal than Glacius was. That man was a fucking psycho.”

That he was.

Josh and Brenner lapsed back into silence. The forest continued to thin out as they got closer and closer to Osairae. The air was definitely cleaner here than in Welton. The sun seemed brighter. It was like none of the horrors of war had touched the witches. That only served to make Josh angrier. While his people suffered, choked by smog and pollution and ever-decreasing rations. The witches had clean air, a bright, cheerful forest, and peace. At least, it seemed that way.

“Alright,” Thea said, bounding up to them. “When we get there, keep your heads down. Let me do all the talking.”

“Why not let me talk?” Josh asked.

“Come on, Josh,” Thea rolled her eyes, “between you and me, which is the more personable?”

“I think Josh is plenty personable,” Elijah said, grasping Josh’s hand in his and giving it a squeeze. It felt weird with the missing finger.

Josh sighed. “Thanks, Eli. She’s got a point, though. I’m not much of a talker. And people find my height scary.”

“Don’t worry,” Thea said. “Just let me do the talking, and then we can slip in and slip out.”

They got to the gates to see two guards standing out in front.

“Stone Truths,” Thea muttered in Josh’s ear. “Slow-moving magic, but, well, you can imagine what it’s like for a stone to crush you. If they’re particularly good, they can manipulate the minerals in your body. Scary stuff they can do with bones.” She shuddered.

Josh wrinkled his nose. He had already been frozen from the inside out. He did not need to have a front row seat to whatever these guys could do with bones.

“State your purpose,” the guard said as Thea handed them documents Jophiel gave them before leaving.

“The same as everyone’s coming this way, I suppose.” Thea mused. “My cousin is getting her Truth revealed at the Equinox. The rest of the family is here to see it happen.”

The guard looked them over. “What are your Truths?”

“Medicine for me,” Elijah said smoothly.

“I’m Music,” Thea said. “Josh is Earth, and his brother-in-law, Levi’s, is Water.”

What was the difference between Earth and Stone? Were they like Ice and Water? Or were they completely separate?

Josh kept his mouth shut, though. Biting his tongue as Thea answered a few more questions.

The guard turned to Josh. “What do you do for a living?”

“Farming.” Josh answered. “I do the farming, Levi does the watering.” He snapped his mouth shut before he could ramble any longer.

He hoped that fell in line with what Elijah and Thea had come up with. Did Earth Truths farm? Could they farm? There were Plant Truths. Was that a subset of Earth? Or was Earth a subset of Plants? To be honest, the more he learned about the Truths, the less sense it made.

The guard nodded and sent a message along the wall. Josh tried not to gape as the stones shifted and shuddered. Almost like a code. That was amazing! They could send messages through the earth itself. No machines. No electricity. No nothing. Of course, if he were a witch, none of this would have surprised him. He did his best to react to it the same way he’d react to a message coming across the radio. Disinterested, with a little bit of annoyance that someone was trying to get in contact with him.

The stones shuddered and sent a message back.

“Come with us,” the guard said.

Elijah’s face blanched. “Why?”

“Do we need a reason?” The other guard replied.

He looked to Thea, whose shoulders slumped. “I’m guessing Isaiah wants to meet with us?”

“Wait, what does that mean? He knows you?” Josh asked.

“I didn’t think he’d want to see me. We aren’t on the best of terms right now,” Thea said as they stepped through the gates. One guard at the back and another at the front.

“Shit, he’s going to have so many questions. Hang on, this is going to burn for a bit.”

“What?” Josh didn’t have time to comprehend what Thea said before he slapped his hand on the back of his hand.

It did burn. Like something was trying to rip apart his skin and burrow inside. He yanked his hand back.

“What the hell did you just do?” he hissed. He looked at the back of it. One of Thea’s tattoos was now on his hand. It was a mountain.

“Just play along,” Thea said. “Unless you want us to get killed.

“What—”

“Shut up.” Elijah glanced at the guards who seemed to have no interest in them.

The guards led them through what Josh had to assume was the underground portion of the city. The guards placed them in a great hall of some sort.

“Wait here,” the guards said, before leaving them.

“What is going on? Are we being arrested?” Elijah called after them.

They didn’t answer.

He crossed his arms and looked to Thea. “Well, are you going to answer my questions?”

“We’re probably not getting arrested,” Thea said. “Yet.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic.”

The grand doors squealed open.

Everyone turned to see a group of people walk in. Josh recognized Jophiel, who did not seem surprised in the least that they were there.

He recognized the man in front. His enemy. The one responsible for the war. The end of the world. Isaiah Iurisdictio.

That wasn’t what drew his attention. What drew his attention was the young girl walking slightly behind him.

Josh’s body went cold.

He recognized her immediately.

“Thea, you’ve come back?” Iurisdictio pulled Thea into an awkward hug, a tight smile on his lips.

“Yeah… well… didn’t have much of a choice.” Thea winced.

“I knew you could. That argument we had… water under the bridge.” He waved a hand in the air. “Who are your friends?”

“Um, Josh, Elijah, and Levi,” Thea said. “We just stopped by for some supplies. If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way.” She tried to slip out of Isaiah’s hold, but he held firm.

“Now then, don’t be rude. It’s been so long since you’ve been back. You left before you could meet my daughter properly.” Iurisdictio pulled the girl forward. “This is Micah, my pride and joy. She’ll have her Truth revealed at the Equinox. We are so excited.”

Elijah and Brenner both looked to Josh.

All he could do was stare at Micah.

What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

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About the Author

Beau Wallis is the author of God Eater and The Epic of Brigid Callahan. They make their online home at https://beauwallis.substack.com/. You should send them an email at writes@beauwallis.com if the mood strikes you.

Also by Beau Wallis

Have you Read them all?

The God Eater

For eight-year-old Nova Franklin, it's a daily struggle to survive in a world plagued by demons. Marked as cursed by her family, she's left to fend for herself in the small mountain town of Penstemon.

As she gets caught up in a dangerous mystery involving murdered goddesses and demons that don't act like demons, she must navigate the blurred lines between good and evil and decide who she can trust. With the looming threat of the God Eater, Nova must stay one step ahead in a game where appearances can be deceiving.

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The Epic of Brigid Callahan

Brigid Callahan is anything but ordinary. At sixteen, she’s burdened with a fate she never asked for: to defeat the one-eyed giant Balor as foretold in an ancient prophecy. But she'd rather deal with teenage troubles than train endlessly for battle with her guardians Cú Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

Cú and Fionn don’t see it that way.

That’s fine, because Brigid Callahan’s got a plan, the Egyptian God of Chaos on her side, and more than a few tricks up her sleeve. She is not going to spend the rest of her life training to defeat some giant that’s probably never going to pop back up.

It’s been over 2000 years since he was last seen. He’s definitely dead.

Right?

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