Walking was worse than lying there—much worse.

“Is that sort of going to be your top speed then?” Orvalys had reached the edge of the alleyway and had turned to look back.

Jack limped after the little, incomprehensible being in front of him as best he could, but it was the kind of pain that didn’t just magically disappear when convenient. He wasn’t going to be moving in any sort of normal way for a while now, awkward shuffling was all he could manage.

“Sorry that every single bone in my body feels like it’s broken,” he said, grimacing.

“Not every single bone,” Orvalys said. “I checked.”

“Great.”

“You took a full chronic blast straight to your side,” the homunculus continued, watching the cars go past the alleyway entrance. “Surviving that is not nothing you know.”

“Whatever it was, it sure felt like it killed me,” Jack said as he limped. “This body just feels so fragile. My other one was better.”

“Well, it looks like this is the body you’ve got, and it didn’t do too bad,” Orvalys answered. “People die from that—often.”

“Chronoblast?”

“Chronic blast,” the homunculus corrected him. “Chronomancy is one of the only types of energy manipulation which retains its potency crossworld.”

Jack looked at him sideways. “Crossword?”

“Cross world.”

Jack had finally limped all the way to the end of the alleyway and joined the little creature. “Listen, man, you’re saying a lot of things, and I just have no idea what any of them mean.”

Orvalys nodded. “That’s understandable. This is all very new for you I’m sure.”

“You could say that.”

“Also, I’m not technically a man,” Orvalys said. “But I’m also not technically anything, so you can call me a he or a him if that’s most comfortable for you. Or a she, a they, an it. I don’t mind one way or another. And Orv is easier to say than Orvalys so feel free to use that as well.”

“Thanks,” Jack said. “Really appreciate that. I think, though, what would really be most comfortable for me right now would be you telling me more about what’s going on.”

Orv looked up at him with his one, bulging eye. It really was quite large. “Well, then I suppose I should start at the beginning.”

Suddenly an explosion rang out from a couple of blocks away. Car alarms began to ring out and so did the sound of screaming. Jack and Orvalys both ducked down as debris was shaken loose from the buildings on either side. Jack narrowly avoided his head being hit by a flower box. The dirt did get him though.

“Sorry. No time for exposition,” Orv said. “Not here, not now. We have to get somewhere safe.”

Jack motioned to his whole injured self. “I’m not sure how easily that’s going to happen.”

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“I can help somewhat with that,” Orvalys said. His eye suddenly rolled back into the top of his head. He raised his arms and his fingers—both fleshy and mechanical—started to twitch. In the next moment, a car came screaming down the road and squealed to a stop right at the alleyway entrance. The door popped open and revealed that no one was inside. The homunculus's strange trance ended.

Jack pointed to the car. “Is that yours?”

“The machines in this world are amazingly simple,” Orv said, motioning for him to climb inside. “They all speak the same language, and it was a lot easier to learn than English.”

Jack hauled himself into the back seat. “You stole a car? Just like that? With your mind?”

“It didn’t mind,” Orvalys said, hopping in next to him. The tiny creature motioned with his mechanical arm and the car whipped around and sped away down Center Street.

“Ok, so I just want you to realize I’m being a really good sport about this,” Jack said while trying to adjust himself into a position in the passenger’s seat that didn’t cause him excruciating pain. “I just let you stitch me up, hopped in here and now you’re taking me to who knows where—”

“Twelve miles south,” Orvalys said.

“Ok, well I’m riding with you twelve miles south and—”

“To a gateway.”

Jack stopped. He looked at the small creature beside him and took a long, slow breath before asking, “We’re going to a portal?”

Orvalys nodded. “There’s one that opened ten minutes ago, and if we hurry we’ll get through before it closes. But you already knew that didn’t you?”

Jack shook his head. “No, I—” and then suddenly he stopped. As the word ‘no’ was coming out of his mouth he somehow immediately knew it was a lie. Instead, there was a feeling – the same feeling he had had at the dumpster the day before. It was also the same feeling of that night in the woods as a kid. “You’re right. I do know,” he said slowly. “How do I know?”

“You’re a Wayfarer,” Orv said matter-of-factly. “Once you’ve been through a gateway you’re sort of tied forever to their energy – or the energy of whatever causes them to open and close.”

Jack tried to process what he was hearing. “That’s why I can feel them, even from far away?”

“Approximately seventy miles, unless you really concentrate,” the homunculus said. “That’s only a rough average though, different species have different relationships with crossworld travel. It also depends on the world. I’m not sure what it’s like for Earthers. Is it Earthers by the way, is that what you’re called?”

“Earthlings I guess,” Jack said. “But we usually just call ourselves humans.”

“Oh, humans are everywhere,” Orv said. “Or humanoids at least. Crossworld travel has been around for a while so the whole two arms and two legs thing is pretty common.” Orvalys looked down and wiggled his three fleshy fingers. “With obvious variations in digits, fins, fur, tails, and eyes.”

Jack nodded. “So where were you born then?” he asked. “What world?”

Orvalys didn’t answer. For a moment he seemed to be looking at something far away. “Just a place that doesn’t matter,” he said. Jack narrowed his eyes, but the small creature seemed to snap out of it. “And I wasn’t born, I was made, but I won’t bore you with that whole story. There are more important things to currently consider – like avoiding a potentially imminent death.”

“I’d like to avoid death,” Jack agreed.

“Then maybe use this,” Orvalys motioned to the seatbelt. “Because it looks like we need to move a little faster.”

The car suddenly increased in speed and Jack was flung backward. He happened to look out the rear window and saw about two blocks behind them there was the jet-black car. It was the same one Mr. Haynes was known to drive to school every day. It had never looked like much, in fact Jack and Maria used to make fun of how old it was, but now it looked like it was going about ninety miles an hour through town. Jack realized that also meant they were also going about the same speed. He hurried to click in the seatbelt before turning back to Orvalys. “Think he’ll catch us?” He distinctly felt how fast his heart was beating. It had been a while since this much adrenaline had been coursing through him.

Orv’s eye rolled back into his head again. “I’m currently talking to the car,” he said. “If I can convince her to override her safety protocols we’ll be alright. There’s a few of those strange Earthling ones and zeroes to deal with, but it hasn’t been that difficult to figure out.” His eye came back down for a moment and focused on Jack. It closed, and Jack couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a wink or not. “The good news is, I think she likes me,” Orv said. The eye quickly rolled back, and the homunculus' small voice became low and sort of husky. “Yeah that’s right car, you like to disobey, don't you? You kind of like it huh, to be a little bit naughty?”

Jack was so surprised he laughed out loud. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.