The loop started in the usual way for her. She looked herself over and leaned back against the wall. The emotions of watching her grandfather die played out. She knew this was going to happen and that it was likely going to happen many more times in the future, but it didn’t seem to make it any easier.

A loss was still a loss, and even if she could grow used to it, she didn’t remotely like the idea of potentially becoming complacent with death. One day, these loops would end, and she had no control over when that day would be. The idea that they could end moments after she lost everyone she cared about was a terrifying thought.

She considered just finding her brother and then disappearing to an undersea cave with her surviving family every loop, but she knew deep down that wasn’t her. She would fight the aliens head-on, likely losing countless more times. That wouldn’t stop her, though.

What she really needed was to find a way to bring her grandfather into the loops. That way, he could better learn from the mistakes they made during their battles. She considered that and what she should do this loop. Approaching the Agency hadn’t gone well, even under threat of force. She would need to plan that out better.

An idea occurred to her. A very dangerous idea, but an interesting one nonetheless. What if she let the snatchers get a hold of her? The Agency only had a rudimentary idea of who was behind them. Maybe she could learn more and use that in some way.

The more she considered it, the more she liked it. She would use her van to move around the country, leaving a nice trail of mana as she went. The Agency was generally slow to act and wouldn’t at all be prepared or expecting the strength of the signatures she’d be giving off.

She decided the first thing she needed to do was get to her grandfather’s and explain everything yet again. There was a chance she may need him to track her in case she failed to break out on her own. Following that, it was time for a nice cross-country sightseeing trip.

*

“Alright, alright, I believe you.” Her grandfather gave in to her claims.

“Perfect, then I want you to follow me on my trip at a distance tracking me.”

“I hate this plan.” He shook his head at her as he spoke. She knew he’d give in and go along with it, but she also knew he needed to make his objections clear. In case he had a good, I told you so moment.

“Yeah, well, it’s the only plan I have at the moment. I want to know what the snatchers are.” She had a look of determination on her face that generally stopped arguments. Anyone who knew her at all knew there was no winning against her at this point. Her grandfather knew he better than anyone else alive.

*

She started her journey in Maine in an empty field far away from her grandfather’s house and continued it westward. She wanted to play the role of a wandering healer. This way, she could do some real tangible good while waiting for her future captors. It also had the selfish benefit of furthering her channeling training.

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She found she could heal several people a day of minor injuries, small cuts or burns, and the like. Each time, it was met with skepticism and then overwhelming gratitude. Her first big challenge was when a man asked her if she could regrow his finger. She had no idea but said she was willing to try.

“Let me see the hand.” She instructed the man. He raised his left hand. His pinky finger was missing.

She felt the spot it should be gently, carefully probing the flesh. She pushed a tiny stream of mana into the joint and felt it move. She poured more mana into the hand and encouraged it to heal. She saw a small cut further up on his arm close over, but nothing happened with the finger.

She imagined what the finger should look like and tried to build a mana lattice starting from the knuckle. She then pulled some of the mana she had earlier pushed into his hand across the knuckle, stitching it to the lattice.

The man winced slightly in pain. He didn’t pull his hand back, so she pushed forward. She saw why he was in pain, though. The flesh where the latticework touched his hand was unsealing and slowly growing across the finger. She felt the start of a headache. This level of concentration was draining her core fast.

She ignored it and worked to finish the job that she had started. She coaxed the skin over the tip of the lattice and then healed it back together. Now for the hard part. She split her focus and looked at the man’s bones and blood vessels, slowly extending them into the new cavity.

Sweat dripped into her eyes as she worked. She felt someone’s hand on her back steadying her. Every bit of her mana was now flowing through her channels, working on this man’s finger. She saw the nail grow back. The nerves were now there. Blood began pumping through it. She fell backward and was caught by the people watching her.

The man moved his finger. He tried touching something and yelled to the crowd that it had worked. Melissa was proud of herself, but she needed to get back to her van and rest.

*

She had repeated these small feats of power as she moved further west in her van. She hadn’t been able to regrow anything bigger than a finger so far, but that alone was something she considered miraculous.

She was in Northern Ohio when they finally caught up to her. Apparently, her displays of power had attracted a sizable retrieval unit. She hadn’t been prepared for fifteen men, but she put up a good fight anyway. They had caught her before she had a chance to do any of the day’s healing, so she was ready for a fight.

At least, she thought she was. Two Gryalth exited one of the vans and began channeling. She could taste the green cloud before she fully realized what was happening. Dammit, the aliens and snatchers were the same thing. She realized this made some sense, but she wasn’t in a position to put the information to any use. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Her lungs burned.

They loaded her into the van, and that was how she found herself being rescued by Stan. She had no clue how he knew where she would be, but she was surprisingly glad to see him.

“Hey Stan, long time no see. Looks like you’re doing well since Mars. Mind cutting the duct tape off my hands?” She coughed out the words. Her throat still felt raw from the gas.