Paul wasn't fine in a day, or a week for that matter. He showed up on Monday, coming in late to the study room, that same shadow hanging over him.

"Hey," said Liz, jumping up from the table where she'd been perched. "You okay? I heard what happened."

"Yeah, I'm okay, don't worry about it." Paul's lip twisted into a shadow of a smile, but it was gone in a moment. Liz gave him a worried look.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," said Levi. "I get it, it was pretty messed up for all of us. We just want you to know you can if you want okay?"

"I'm fine okay, just leave it."

"Yeah okay."

Paul slumped into his seat, not seeming to care whether he was there or not. The others exchanged worried looks. Alice spoke first.

"So uh has anyone else read the new stuff yet? You know, since we made it out."

"No," Levi admitted, "I really haven't wanted to, not since..." He looked at Paul.

"Yeah, me either," said Alice. "How about you Paul?"

Paul looked up, surprised to hear his name. "Huh? Oh, no I've been too busy with midterms and all."

"Well I guess there's not much to talk about then," she said. "Maybe we should just not worry about it today. Anyone do anything fun yesterday?"

###

Paul was the first to leave, grabbing his bag and heading for the door. Alice quickly rose, following him out. "I'll go talk with him. See you later."

Levi looked over at Liz. It was the first time in a while that it had just been the two of them. It's not that he was avoiding her, he just still felt awkward after how the last date had gone.

"So hey, I know we haven't talked about that night at the bar."

"Oh that," she said, her voice cautious. "Not really our best night was it?"

"Well, you know, um, I was wondering if you wanted to try again?"

"Get thrown up on and run out of a bar? No, I think once was enough."

"Oh, ok, I understand."

He was crushed. Having that brought back up shattered what little courage he had. Liz must have noticed. Reaching out she took his arm.

"Look, I'd like to go out again, just maybe not to a bar okay?" The last was said with a smile creeping back into the corner of her mouth.

He sighed, laughing. "Yeah, that would be great. I was thinking that they've started a movie in the park series at the school, now that it's warming up. Do you want to go?"

She smiled for real this time. "Yeah, I'd love to. You'll call me with details? I’ve got to get to history."

"Of course. Have fun."

She paused, part way to the door. "You know they're missing huge parts of American history right? Dad gets upset every time I talk about it. Did you know they think they won the revolutionary war on their own? Anyway, give me a call okay?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Then she was gone.

"Isn't that how it happened?"

Paul had come back. "I forgot my backpack. But seriously, I’d love to hear her dad’s version of history."

“Yeah I dunno, I'm sure it's way more interesting than the way we learned it. Maybe the colonists hired trolls or something to fight for them."

Paul shrugged. "Life's gotten interesting since Christmas. I still can’t believe I can’t record all of this."

He suddenly seemed more like himself. Levi wondered what Alice had said to him.

"Yeah, interesting, sure. I don't think that's quite the way I'd describe it. Not recently anyway."

"You wanna get some lunch? I'm starving."

Levi’d already eaten, but he wanted to talk to Paul a bit longer. This was the most he'd said in one go in a while. "Yeah, you like Mexican? There's a food truck across the street that's pretty good."

"Yeah? Why not."

Ever since Connolly introduced him to the truck Levi had been back every week or so. The food really was good. After they'd ordered they sat down on the nearby bench.

"So, look," Paul said, looking uncomfortable. "I know I've been a bit off ever since the forest."

"Hey, I get it."

"No, let me finish. I had some pretty messed up stuff happen out there and it really got to me. Talking to Reggie helped a lot and talking to..."

"Shalim?"

"Huh, where'd you hear that name?"

"Reggie told us. It was on the drive home but you were so out of it you probably missed the whole thing."

"Yeah I did. He told you that, really? Well yeah, and that's just another thing to toss on the pile of weirdness. I've got an ancient spirit hanging out on my shoulder. That would have been nice to know sooner. You know all the things I wouldn't have done these last couple months if I knew someone was watching?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that."

"Yeah, but anyway, like I said, I know I've been off, and I know I've been an unpleasant lump for the last while, but I'll try to change. I'm not ready to talk about what happened out there, not yet, but ah Alice let me know I need to be more open with you guys."

"She reamed you didn't she?"

"Tore me apart, that girl did. She seemed so quiet when we first met too. But I deserved it. So we good?"

"Yeah, of course."

The dark cloud seemed to lift somewhat from around Paul, though it was still there, almost imperceptible. They spent a while laughing at stupid YouTube videos and wondering what else was in store. It almost felt like things were back to normal; almost. It reminded him of times he’d sat with Joe, wasting time. Still, something remained, something hidden behind the laughter in Paul's eyes; something locked away in some newly found deep dungeon of his friend's soul.

"Oh, hey, check this out." Paul said, almost as an afterthought, pulling from his pack his guide. So I didn't say it before, but I actually opened it up the day after."

"So? what'd you find?" Levi said, leaning in to see the guide better.

"Something that would have been really helpful a while back. Check it, it's a bestiary."

"A what?"

"A bestiary, you know, something that tells you about all the beasties out there, where to find them, what they like, and of course how to kill them. It's got tons of em, with some pretty crazy pics too. Look at this one, check out that hair."

Levi and Paul poured over the guide for a long time, reading about pixies, djinn, hyosube, flesh eating plants, stone dragons, kraken, the list went on. Finally, Paul closed the guide, stretching.

"Well, that was something else. That's a crazy lot of monsters out there; still, I've got to go study for a quiz. We cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool. See you later."

Levi sat there a while longer. His classes were done for the day and, while there was a pile of homework waiting, the sun was out and it just didn't seem right to go indoors. As he sat there a shadow passed between him and the sun. Surprised, he looked up at the cloudless blue sky. On an impulse he reached for the adder stone, peering up at it into the empty celestial expanse. Above him, far and away, a pair of opalescent birds trailed gauzy trains of coruscating feathers as they weaved through the sky in an aerial dance.

Perhaps not all of it was bad, he thought.

The sounds of construction echoed in the background as he lounged on the bench watching the display, stone fixed in his eye like a monocle.

###

Back at the food truck Mark busied himself with customers, only now and then looking up at the sky himself.

"What's wrong?" One of his regulars asked, "It's the prettiest day this spring and you're glaring like it's spit on your mother. You see something I don't?"

"Oh, just thinking we're due for a storm here, a big one too if I'm seeing things right."

The regular, squinted up at the clear sky in disbelief. "If you say so, but I won't be holding my breath." He paid for his food and went off to eat it.

"Oh, I say so," Mark said to himself. "When the Theoi Meteoroi dance we'll need more than an umbrella for the storm to come."