Frank nodded, his arms screaming at him. The system was also trying to get his attention with a light noise that almost sounded like a high pitched ringing if he wasn't actively focusing on something else. He ignored it all to focus on the lady shaking like a leaf in front of him.

"Yeah, if you mean that monster over there. Dead as a doornail, double tapped him with a rock just before I came to check on you. How... are you doing by the way? I was pretty sure you were a goner. That bite looks really bad. I mean, it isn't bleeding much but it still doesn't seem in good shape" Frank was unsure what to think. Wounds don't just close up that quickly, even small wounds take time to heal once they're sealed. Yet here this woman was sitting, a chunk gone from her shoulder somehow sealed together like a horrific gory putty.

"O-oh, yeah I guess you probably have a clue already, huh? I saw you appear out of nowhere, so you probably know about this stuff. I'm Awakened, like you. One of my powers is a sort of healing touch. The other one is Eternal Youth, which will sort of help me seal this wound up quicker... OH! You're hurt! Here, the least I can do is patch you up"

Frank's jaw nearly hit the forest floor. What were the odds that he and this lady were both Awakened?

"You're kidding! Healing powers? That's crazy useful!" He scooted closer to her, it hurt when she grabbed his arms, but within moments a calming feeling came over his wounds and they began to close up and itch like crazy. The dull pain from having his flesh mended was a far cry from open, bleeding wounds and a welcome relief.

"Thank you, thank you so much" He heaved a hearty sigh and fell back against the rock beside Nora. "Are you going to be alright, though? Seriously"

"Yeah, I think so. Like I said, I can heal myself when my ability is ready. And [Eternal Youth] will actually help return my wounds to their normal, undamaged state over time, even completely removing the scars"

"What the hell... that's unreal. Not even the best cosmetic surgeons can do that, you're a walking miracle!" Frank chuckled, enjoying every vibrant moment of post battle peace. He could see the system had messages for him to check out, but he was mentally ignoring them as he rested. Was he supposed to be this tired? Maybe it was an effect of the healing, that was something he saw in stories a few times, that healing potions would speed up your healing but make you sleepy. "Uh, does your healing spell make your patients tired when you use it?"

"Yeah a little if the wounds are really bad. I don't think yours were quite that bad, though? Deep sure, but the blood loss was what really would have got you."

"What? Maybe I'm just not used to fighting. I've never done that before, you know"

"Really? What little I saw before I passed out was like something out of a superhero movie, though! I'm kind of sad I didn't get to see it under less life threatening circumstances. Umm, do you know which way back to Whacko Burger?"

"Good question. We can probably follow the tracks backwards... But I've still got so much to ask you, would you mind chatting on the way?"

Nora scowled, then taking a deep breath composed herself and stood up with help from Frank, wincing from her tender wound. After they were both on their feet, Nora looked around the clearing as if deciding whether she was still in danger or not. After a heavy sigh she relented her lack of options.

"Yeah, fine. I suppose it couldn't hurt. What's your name?"

"Frank Lepari, ma'am. And you?" Frank offered his hand for a handshake and was rebuffed with a dismissive gesture as Nora found the initial trail of footprints Frank used to track them here.

"Nora Veerlow. What were you doing out here anyway? Picking up a quick dinner at Whacko Burger?"

"Not quite, I'm a delivery driver. I was working, same as you"

"Ah, now that I think of it, I did see your face a few times lately. So, your powers are...?"

"Invisibility and teleportation. You might see where the second one comes in handy for making deliveries"

"I can see both coming in handy for a bank robber" She smirked, Frank chuckled in response

"I'll admit I hadn't considered that before! I suppose it's worth looking into" Frank knew it would be a lot harder to rob a bank with his powers, even if he had some sort of inside help. His powers needed precise timing to pull off something like that, especially with the insane security inside a bank vault. But still, if he could pull off one or two heists like that successfully he wouldn't need to work for a long time. At least, until the invaders made their big move. Thinking of that brought another pressing question to Frank's lips.

"So, elephant in the room, what was that back there? Was that an invader? It spoke English, and it talked like it knew you"

"He-" Nora corrected, "That... thing... was my ex. Gerald Donnelly. I didn't realize it of course, until he started whispering to me on the trail, and then when he threw me down back there" Her expression was twisted up, difficult to read. A mix of disgust, guilt, grief, among others.

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"We had some difficult history. We... always had money problems back home. Back in Cedar City" Nora sniffled a bit, gently wiped away a few tears, "But I stuck around because... well I don't know why I stuck around. But when I Awakened, I was given a dream by Heaven. I knew I couldn't stay with Gerald anymore, that I couldn't die with him weighing me down." Her fists tightened, so too did her expression, into one of anger.

"He always took, and took, and took from me and never gave back. I was like a nanny to him, and that was just when he wasn't strung out on whatever shit he injected himself with on any given day. When the portal opened somewhere outside of town... I knew I couldn't fight, that too many people were going to die and I didn't want to die trying to keep them in one piece. So I left town. I fled East and haven't looked back" The frustrated woman sighed, having vented some of her pent up feelings

"Jesus... I'm sorry, Nora. Where... Where is Cedar City again? It sounds familiar"

"Utah" She answered with a sniffle. Then it clicked for Frank, there was talk that a portal opened in Utah and people in Lincoln's forum were still trying to piece things together from what they had prior to the media blackout.

"So its true, there really was a portal there. It seems like you didn't make a clean break. How did Gerald end up like that?"

"Well, obviously I told him about my powers when I first got them. When I got them I was... cured of a bunch of things. Then, when I'd come to my senses I told Gerald and he thought I was insane until he realized I was different from before. He could tell, and he tried to get me to celebrate with some heroine. I refused, he kept pleading and I left him. He kept trying to contact me any way he knew how until the portal opened and I skipped town before people realized it was serious"

She crossed her arms as she paused to take a breath, "Then... a month or so ago, he kept messaging me on social media under fake accounts. He kept saying he was different now, that he escaped Cedar City and that he had powers too. I didn't believe a word of it and blocked each account, even if it was true I didn't want anything to do with him. Even if the first step of Awakening can cure..." Nora gulped, her next words giving her pause as if saying them would hurt her somehow, "Even if it could cure addiction, I didn't want to see him again." She kept reaffirming this point, almost as if to convince herself as much as Frank.

"But then he found you, anyway. Did he ever mention what his powers were, exactly? It seemed like some kind of shapeshifting ability" Frank questioned, eager to get more info about other Awakened, especially if some were going to be unstable and hostile. Frank almost felt stupid for not assuming some people would abuse their powers, that they wouldn't try to climb the social ladder as Awakening blasted it to scrap around them.

"I... well I think he did, but I don't remember. I just blocked his accounts when I figured out it was him" She looked away, staring at the moon as Frank led them along the trail, his flashlight trained on Gerald's massive hybrid footprints.

For someone who was just venting her life story, Nora seemed awfully brief on Gerald's post-flight stalking. Frank didn't like the way that added up. On the one hand, it could just be traumatic for her. She wouldn't want to think about the creepy messages he sent her, much less recount the details to him. He figured that was a fair reason to be so tight lipped. But on the other hand, Frank thought she was leaving out something. Something big enough that it stuck out to him, a big hole in her story, in her behavior. But what? He couldn't put his finger on it. He'd have to keep an eye on this one.

"Say, I was planning to go into a portal at some point. If I make it out, could I come to you first for healing? Save on medical bills, that way" Frank propositioned

"Two hundred dollars flat. You can pay me before you go on your suicide mission, I'll heal you if you come back, even if you come out in pieces. My power doesn't restore lost limbs. At least, not yet. Who knows what we can do in the future?"

"Cheaper than a hospital stay. I'm surprised you're working at Whacko Burger and not an ER"

"Good luck trying to explain superpowers to HR, they wouldn't even pick up my resume without the right certification anyway. And I don't have that, so its burger flipping or nothing"

"Fair point. Here, my phone number. I don't know if you'll be able to reach me when I'm... off world? off planet? When I'm gone, on the other side of a portal. If you want there's a forum on the internet, for people like us. Fat Buck Ranch, it might be worth signing up. You might even be able to find ways to level your skill there, there have to be more healers on the site"

"More ways to what?" she asked, adding Frank to her contacts and sending a quick text back to him

"To... level... to improve your abilities" Frank blushed, realizing not everyone was going to think of the system's blessings like an RPG skill tree. He sent along the front page link to Lincoln's forum, not certain he'd sold her on the place.

"I'll think about it. Could be money in it, you think?" She questioned

"Absolutely, people already offer stupid amounts of money to Awakened who will grant powers to others. Many think it's a scam, and those types of posts are banned now. When I first Awakened I saw it myself that you could take a skill that would awaken powers in other people. I declined that one though, you know the system had us sign on the dotted line before letting us read the fine print so..." Frank shrugged, right as they could hear cars in the distance.

Getting closer, they saw police lights flashing in the parking lot. Great, just what Frank needed.

"Let's get our stories straight, it was a mountain lion. A very hungry, skinny mountain lion desperate for a meal" Frank looked to Nora, who nodded in response. Her posture was stiff as a board, and her face pale as a sheet. This woman definitely has had bad experiences with the police before. Another clue, Frank figured.

As the two police officers approached the pair, strangers walking out of the forest covered in dirt and blood, Frank realized he had ended the night with more questions than answers.

----------------------------------------

Just what was the system? What caused people to Awaken? Who got chosen, and by what criteria? Frank considered these questions in his car on the drive home.

If it chose people like Gerald and hoped they wouldn't be a problem, it was picking poorly. Then again, it also chose Frank, a total nobody. People like FatBuckLincoln were another thing entirely, the man clearly had zeal and drive. Hell, the crazy bastard was singlehandedly gathering followers to get to the bottom of the invasion crisis and somewhat organize Awakened to fight back.

Pondering this whole thing made Frank feel very, very small. There was a lot more going on here. Every time he thought he found a path to figuring it all out, another trail of breadcrumbs led him further astray and he realized he was still stuck in the dead center of the forest, his map leading him nowhere fast.

Frank planned to go home, heat up some dinner, and light a fat joint to forget about the nagging feeling that he had strings attached to himself, that he was just waiting for some celestial puppet master to give him a tug along a stage.