2032

It was more than a few abandoned buildings—it looked to be an entire town. Compared to the buildings of the town before these looked like they were ripped straight out of the old world. They looked ornate and like actual professionals had constructed them with the proper tools.

Jace slowed to a stop in front of the town square. To their right a large clock tower started to ring ominously.

"Must be on the hour some hour," Jace said.

"Looks like...nine if this is anything to go by."

"Would it kill you if it wasn't?" He asked.

"Guess not. Better than nothing. Nine it is."

"Nine it is," he repeated. "So, this is definitely not what I was expecting when he said abandoned—well, I mean I guess that part is expected, but..."

"It's so...much nicer than any of the buildings we've seen in ten years. I know what you mean—it feels like I'm looking at something that shouldn't exist."

"Thought you'd get used to that feeling, you know?" He flashed a grin.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Well, no matter. It should serve more than well depending on what I can find for food. How far can you extend?"

"I...I'm not really sure. I understand that might be faster, but I think it'd be a better idea if I stuck with you considering..."

Ally sighed. "Fine. I just want the stress to be over and done with. Let's try this one over here, it looks like a community hall."

"And?"

"They're usually stocked with canned goods for storage. If there's anything we're gonna be lucky on it's preservable food."

"Provided the contents of these buildings was taken as well."

"That's the hope I'm running on."

Ally and Jace approached the front door to the leftmost building The door looked like it had seen the faces of a million spiders with how many webs cobbed up the crevices.

"Gah....yuck," Ally said. Can you take care of this?" She turned toward Jace.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked.

"Well you know you're like..." she couldn't figure out how to word it. "You can just vanish for a sec and then it's gone."

"Doesn't mean I want to get my hands up in it!"

"We can do this all day."

"We most certainly can," he doubled back.

Ally groaned and reached for the doorknob, her hand encased in the web, she felt something scurry past the back of her hand. Her hand froze and her breath caught in her chest. She grabbed hold of the handle and pushed the door open. Scurrying down the frame of the door was a creature with more than eight legs. Ally looked away immediately and jumped inside, not wanting even a second longer with it in her sight. She slammed the door shut behind her and Jace appeared next to her. "Scared of spiders isn't the fate I'd have expected here," he said.

"Wouldn't be so scared if you would have just cleared away the webs like I asked! I can still feel it crawling on the back of my hand." She rubbed her hand trying to flush the feeling away.

"You could have forced me too if you really wanted to," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"That defeats the purpose of believing you have free will," she said. "Defeats the purpose of thinking I'm not alone here..."

He took in a sharp breath and rested a hand on her shoulder, then pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking of it like that. I'll try to be more receptive."

She wiped her eyes and swallowed hard as she nodded.

"Dark as sin in here, can you give us some light?" she asked.

Jace nodded, holding his hands up like lanterns. The interior of the building's hallway was aged poorly—wooden floors that looked like nobody had walked over them in decades. The amount of webbing that caked the walls was nauseating. Paintings of people and places Ally didn't recognize littered the striped walls—green and beige stripes that have faded to yellower versions of both with age.

"Not a place I'd stay if I had a choice of anywhere else," Jace eyed the environment. He saw there was a fork at the end of the hall that led to a door one way and a staircase another.

"Staircase probably leads to offices or bedrooms, depends how this place was used. Maybe it doubled as a bed and breakfast."

"Hm, either is likely. Although I can't see office space really fitting in this environment."

"That's true. Either way, it's not our top priority now anyway so our curiosity will have to wait," Allison said. "Come on this way," she cocked her head.

Allison walked through the doorway straight through the fork. She entered on a large auditorium that led down to a central stage. The curtains seemed sewn closed at the rear of the large room.

"Wow, I couldn't imagine large plays being set up here," Jace said, staring in awe. "Although if they did I could almost see you taking part..."

Ally didn't disagree. She thought if this was the kind of place she ended up in when things were still...alive, she could see herself partaking in the theater to escape from the reality of the world as it was. She could envision the shows she could pen, produce, play. All at once it felt like a hollow sadness as she knew this stage would see no shows. "It probably was used for public announcements. Grim tidings, poor news."

"All news is poor news in this haunted place."

Ally thought on this before moving across the back of the auditorium to the double doors on the right hand side of the room. The right door was locked tight, but found the left moved after putting a little force behind her push. She walked through to another hallway, but saw down the path that it led down to a kitchen. A small grin with a small ember of hope lit in her chest as she ran down the hallway and threw the door open. Spiderwebs caked the cupboards and counters in abundance. Rotting food of unknown origin sat on one far corner which threatened to extinguish her hope. She closed her eyes and felt a wind brush past her as the cupboard doors flew open. Two of the spider-like creatures were thrown out of the darkness onto the floor, but Jace was faster, slamming a pot lid down over the both of them, trapping them underneath.

"Out of sight, out of mind," he laughed and offered up a spry smile.

But they certainly were not out of mind as she could hear what sounded like the bodies of the arachnids slamming themselves against the side of the lid. Ally shivered.

"You sure you can't just throw them outside?"

Small angry sounds echoed from underneath the lid.

Jace took a breath and lowered his head. "I can try, give me some space." Ally nodded soundlessly. Jace stepped over the lid and grabbed a pot on the shelf. He inched closer to the lid which was now shaking every other second from the creatures underneath. "I'm going to lift this slowly and try to catch them in. Can you redirect some energy to leading them inside? I can keep these two steady enough."

"Yeah, tell me when."

Jace nodded. He bent a knee as he held the pot down on its side. "Okay, three...two...one...now!" He lifted the lid and the two creatures dashed out from underneath.

Jace faded slightly as Ally closed her eyes and focused on the both of them, layering invisible walls on either side of them so they could only move forward into the pot. As she opened her eyes she saw the bulbous figures that looked like they were going to burst at any moment. God...if they laid eggs...what kind of terrible situation we'd be in. The thought of it made her gag.

As soon as the first creature's legs made contact with the pot she released the walls and Jace returned in full form, slamming the lid shut on them. He was a bit too quick and severed three of the second creature's legs. Its cries were muffled inside the pot as the lid slid over the top. It was a harrowing sound.

"Please, just toss it. We're not going to be using the cookware here unless absolutely necessary. And especially not anything they've touched."

"Got it, be back shortly." He went to take the pot up in his hands, and she saw that it was shaking heavily in his hands. The creatures inside were far from pleased at being contained.

Ally let loose a breath and walked over toward the cupboards now that they were clear. She found quite a few cans of fruit and beans. Not the tastiest of meals, but it would work. It was much better than the rotting food that still stunk up the room. She found a larger pot on the counter next to the fridge. It had a layer of dust on it, thankfully no webbing in or around it. She moved to the sink at the back of the room and tried to turn the handle, but even doing so no water came out. She looked below, but she didn't know the first thing about plumbing. The pipes looked as she thought they should, so that must mean the source of the water must be the issue. She found a roll of paper towels underneath and figured it'd have to do. She wiped the pot down as best as she could and gathered as many of the cans and tossed them into the pot. Jace re-entered and saw her tossing them inside.

"Oh, found a stock. Man, kinda jealous you're going to get to make something nice."

"First priority is assessing how much we have, how much I can live off of. How much I can actually use..."

Well what about this?" He stepped over toward one of the cupboards and found some loaves of bread.

Ally shook her head. "No, pull it out and you'll see."

He did, and saw the mold growing gladly throughout the loaf. “Eugh, I can't even eat and that would kill any appetite.”

"Bread's gonna be a pretty safe removal unless we grow our own...which I don't have any materials around to even begin to do."

"Almost forgot you learned that."

She started to miss Home more and more. She did learn a lot from the people there, and wondered if they were still progressing. She wondered if it would be possible to locate them again. But then again, without any frame of where she is, she had very little hopes of returning to where she was.

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When all was told, the pot was brimming with cans and boxes of interesting foods. Canned fruits and veggies, rice, beans, even dried pasta. It was more than she expected, and she was thankful that she was able to secure so much.

The issue was going to be preparing the food that needed to be cooked. The water line being out didn't inspire a lot of confidence that the rest of the building's utilities would work. Fortunately, and for reasons she couldn't begin to understand, the oven worked. The lights didn't, so that spoke to the gas being run by gasoline. She knew at least that much, but beyond that...she had to hope there was a source nearby that could last long enough for her to get what she needed.

"Okay, so, we got the food gathered up, have some ability to cook some of it up. What's next on our list?"

"I feel..." she trailed off, staring off into space, "Before anything else I need something in my stomach. I can't remember the last time I ate."

"All right, let's see what I can help with," Jace offered.

~...~

Ally felt satisfied for the first time since arriving. But it didn't last long as a knock came to the door. She froze and for a second imagined an army of the spider creatures slamming themselves against the door, but Jace reappeared beside her, can of beans in hand.

"It's an old lady, small, Asian," he said, setting the can aside. "I took a peek outside."

"Old lady...?" Ally asked. The knock came again. "Does she seem like she'll stop if I ignore her?"

"Lemme see..." He phased back through the wall and she stared at the spot where he vanished. The door swung open and Jace was in front of her in seconds. "She can see me..." he said, his face was worried.

Immediately Ally tensed up and she thought of Felix. He was the only other person...

The old woman's footsteps echoed through the hall. Ally took in a deep breath and stood, but it was a labored effort. She looked around and found a knife inside the holder on the counter and yanked it out. The footsteps continued to echo until the double doors opened slowly. The woman looked at Ally with a neutral look. She couldn't gauge her intentions from it initially which worried her even more.

"It has been quite some time..." the woman's voice was slow, measured. "I'm sure you are plenty confused, but you can rest easy. I am not here to harm you."

Something deep inside Ally seemed to unlock, and she loosened up and dropped the knife out of the emptiness the realization left her. "You're one of them," she said, "You're one of the Creatures of the Night."

The old woman's expression didn't change. She stared at Ally for an uncomfortable period of time before she continued. "You're astute, especially for a girl so young."

Ally waited for more, but frustratingly, she seemed to be waiting for something herself. "What do you all want?"

"I would have assumed you would have had more questions," the woman said, almost too quiet to hear.

"Of course I do, but I don't even know where to begin. I have a lifetime of questions for you. A lifetime of sorrows, of hardships. And you just come in here and—"

The old woman held up a hand. "Cease your anger. It will help no-one. I'm glad you're inquisitive. I am going to leave you with most of your questions, however. I am here simply to offer you very specific help."

Ally hesitantly took a step backward. "What does that mean?"

"You and I have some pretty firm disagreements on several things. Many of which are above your head and outside of your scope. If you were anyone else, I would not even begin to consort with you because of those disagreements. If you even begun to present yourself as a threat you would be so far removed from existence you wouldn't even feel it."

"Were I anyone else..." Ally repeated, hardening her gaze, understanding the tone. "And what does that mean?"

Still unflinching, the old woman still stared at her. "You were right, I am who you suspect. You can call me Sakonna. I am aware you have made contact with my brother not just once, but twice. He's...taken a fondness to you. That is not due to anything of your own choice, but who you are and what you came from. You have had a very long and laborious life wondering about the nature of your origins, yes?"

Ally looked hard back at her, keeping her stance firm. "Speak plain."

"You come from us. Your father is my eldest brother. He carried you off in hopes you would be protected, even though in the end he knows that our goals would lead to the end of your life."

Ally thought back to the visions that rung so clear still in her mind. It had been ten years since that tragic day. She remembered seeing herself as an infant—a vision given by Issachar to give her greater context of the murder of her friends. And yet, that memory itself was an odd-one-out. It hadn't really related to the murder at all, unless she counted her own psychic abilities and the origin of such. She had seen the figure that had dropped her off—like a gecko of light and mist. Ormus.

She looked up toward Sakonna and it was now her turn to remain still. "You have told me not anything I have not known. If your move is to shake me, you've failed."

Sakonna's eyebrows lifted, surprise replacing the stone-wall she'd shown before. "Well then, I guess I shouldn't underestimate you."

"It's because I'm his daughter that you act so merciful?" I nearly spat the final word. It felt great to have someone to vent this anger at.

"Exactly so, and the fact that you've gotten yourself pregnant is most...concerning."

Ally's anger stewed further in her chest.

"I'm not here to kill you or your child, I should amend my original line," Sakonna said. "Opposite, really. I can understand you've been placed a heavy burden. One that is way far above what you can handle. I'm here to avoid a problem that negatively affects the both of us."

"What do you mean?" Ally asked, fearing the result of that question.

"Let me tell you a secret about what makes you able to do the things that you can do—that extension of your own will, for example."

Ally's eyes darted to Jace at the rear of the room, but he stood still.

"This world is saddled on the back of another, stapled together after its forced destruction. I understand you may be relating these to the world you knew, but the truth is that is simply not so. The world I speak of...the one my siblings come from...it was infinite. Sprawling in every single direction and yet, still ending up funneled to one inevitable end. There was a restart—a new beginning. The universe got funneled into itself so that the Craftsman could initiate the beginning of new life."

"This Craftsman some kind of God?" Ally asked.

"The originator of everything," Sakonna said. "And from him came a world before light—waves. Waves existed in the space we occupy before light and physical form. It is the strength of these waves that allows us our strength. In truth, waves' effect on physical objects is...almost scarily strong. Imagine the power you'll have if yours were developed, and you're but a fraction of us."

"I'm failing to see the problem you mentioned that affects both of us," Ally said.

Sakonna smiled, but instantly Ally could tell it was not a pleasant one. "Think but for a second on what would happen if a being or beings so powerful to die. The waves inside them ceased? With ordinary people, the energy that they were simply seems to vanish—recycle into the environment as their bodies eventually decay. Everything introduced within the cycle gets reused in the cycle."

"We're not in the cycle, are we?" Ally asked.

"You have one foot in and one foot out, my dear. And if you were to succumb to fatal injury, you would guarantee that any living person within a...hmm...hundred mile radius would cease to exist."

"I'd...what, explode?"

"It'd be something like an explosion. Not as messy. The waves are invisible to the naked eye, of course. It'd be painless, but it'd be devastatingly quick. Now, we come to the problem we have. Your child-to-be. I can sense it is nearing. Issachar spent a lot of time tending to you while you were unconscious. Your child...is not half in and half out as you are."

"He was like me..." Ally said, staring straight out.

"Felix was an accident, and yet, useful at times," Sakonna admitted. "Of course, creating a child with someone like him terribly complicates things, but of course he knew not the gravity of the situation."

Ally had to take each piece as its own. "You're his..." she was looking her up and down. "What, his mother? Grandmother?"

"This body is not mine, child," Sakonna said. "I would not have been able to foster children with this one. Not for a very, long time. However, yes, using another, I did give birth to Felix. Although, as soon as I realized that the vessel was pregnant I evacuated and left them to their business."

"So you can just inhabit whoever you like and you think that's okay? Just leave them wherever and that makes it okay?"

Sakonna sighed. "Convincing an ant of the morality of a human would result in nothing beneficial for the ant, and nothing changed for the human."

"But these people aren't ants! They're living, breathing, and deserve to live!"

"Our argument ends here, Allison," Sakonna said. "For we still have not gotten to the crux of why I am here."

"My kid's going to be like you, is that it? Full in?"

Sakonna nodded slowly. "If a being like that were to die...well, I dare not even begin to guess the damage it would cause to life."

"What...do you want? I understand what you're saying. But what do you want?"

"It is of great concern for the both of us that the child you carry does not die. It interferes with our goals, and of course I would assume that if it came to that, you would be nearby—it would invariably kill you, and that chain reaction would be...devastating."

"What. do. you. want?" Ally asked, harsh.

"I know of a place where the child can be raised in a safe environment, guaranteed free of the oppressive world you now inhabit. She will be for all intents and purposes, considered removed from the game."

"Where would this be? And why wouldn't I be able to go with them?"

"It requires a near infinite amount of energy to transport matter where I would be sending them. The size of the matter being transported proportionally affects the process. No one, I'm afraid, would be able to send someone your size."

"So...you're asking me to trust you? To just...what, wait until I give birth and then just...hand her over to you? Trust you're not going to indoctrinate her into one of your ranks?"

"Allison, if you believe that I've come here to ask...well, you really have misunderstood the situation."

Ally took a step back, the knife flew back into her hand.

"Even if you were to outwit me, cut this body to shreds, stab to your hearts content, I still remain. And, even if you managed to discover a way to harm—even destroy me further, all that will happen is you guarantee not only your death, not only the death of your child, but the death of every living thing this side of the planet."

"Not if you're lying," Ally took another step back and found she was against the wall.

Sakonna cocked her head. "And you're sure you want to test that theory?"

Ally hesitated, and in an instant the knife in her hands began to melt. It spilled to the floor and she looked up in a shocked frenzy.

"Let's just remove this from the occasion, slow down, and get some facts straight," Sakonna said. "I've said I'm more than aware we disagree very much on certain factors of life. I do not believe this is important concerning this situation. You may hate me for this, I accept that. I understand you may make it a goal of yours to stop mine. I also accept this. However, nobody wins if your child dies. And I give an oath on my own existence that I will not recruit your child into our ranks. I do not have the time nor patience to raise a child, and a parent who has not either thrusts the goodness of the world on to raise and protect that child. In a world like this, very little goodness exists. I would be threatening everything I work for to even attempt. My siblings are all practiced and knowledgeable about the world—they know how to protect themselves. A child among us would be defenseless."

Ally was silent.

"I understand it is a personal attack to assume you would be unfit to parent this child. I do not mean offense, but however, looking at your situation—taking scraps from an abandoned town torn from the previous reality—do you honestly believe that you have a more solid chance than not providing for a child?"

Ally was still silent. She gritted her teeth, because she knew how little chance she actually had, but what Sakonna was offering...it was madness. Right? It was absolute madness and she shouldn't let her convince her of otherwise. "What happens should I agree? What exactly...happens? No cryptic...bullshit," it almost pained her to be so brunt. "I need to know exactly what comes from this result and..."

Sakonna held up a hand. "I can tell you everything I have in mind, but I would need you to learn something else."

"What's that?" Ally asked.

"I would need to train you to close your mind."

Ally looked at her, confused, but then it clicked. "Felix..."

"If we go through with this, Felix cannot know where the child is. He has already stolen some thoughts from Issachar, and if he hasn't already, he'll have learned a bit about our goals. This will motivate him to hunt us down, but his thoughts would soon turn to you and his child."

"Would he...try to kill us?" Ally asked. She thought of Felix and thought it certainly couldn't be possible.

"You? I don't think so, but learning that he had borne a child like he had...one that is like those he will set out to hunt...it will be an inevitability. If he finds their location..."

"Even if he knows what would happen?"

"I'm sure he'll justify it. Prevent an even larger after-effect."

Ally sat alone in her thoughts. This all was so crazy, and yet, she feels Sakonna has told no lies. She's been very upfront about her more horrible parts...and yet they both did lose if her child...died. Was it truly the best option?

"Where would my child go? Who would raise them?"

Sakonna leaned in close, as if the walls would listen. And in that hushed silence, a plan was formed.