“Molly!”

Aaron could barely hear his voice above the raging red storm that swirled overhead. Lightning flashed, immediately followed by a loud crack of thunder. Sand and detritus whipped across his face and half-blinded his attempts to find his way off the beach.

“Aaron…”

The voice was faint, yet it pierced the raging winds like an arrow penetrating his ear. The dwarf turned about, trying to discern the voice. It wasn’t Molly’s voice, but it was very familiar.

“Buddy…”

Tommy. Aaron panicked. What the hell was Tommy doing on the island? He was supposed to be gone with the rest of the family. Aaron started to dash toward Tommy’s voice, then froze, torn with indecision. He needed to save Tommy, but he couldn’t abandon Molly.

“Molly!” Aaron yelled for her again as he stepped away from Molly but closer to Tommy. The wind and sand began to burn his eyes. Covering his face with his hands, the dwarf took another blind step forward. “Please, Molly, please… come back!”

Something slapped him hard across the face. Aaron shook his head and was perplexed to see clear blue skies above while still visualizing the red storm in his mind.

Another hard slap across the face and Aaron looked forward. Swift was holding him by the collar, with his other hand raised to slap him in the face again. The dwarf got two blinks in before the orc slapped him again.

“Stop!” Aaron shoved Swift away.

The orc spoke rapidly in his sign language, but Aaron did not wait to figure out what was being said. The dwarf got to his feet and raced out into the street. Aaron jumped in front of a car, causing it to screech to a halt. He raced to the driver’s door. “Get out! I need your car!”

The driver was a halfling who was frozen with fear. With a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, the halfling stared up at the angry dwarf. Aaron pounded on the window while trying to open the driver’s locked door. “Open the car!”

Aaron’s pounding on the window snapped the halfling out of their fear-filled trance. Quickly, they stepped on the gas and sped away from the angry dwarf, who managed to get one hit on the car as it sped away. Aaron yelled futilely at the car and ran back to his group.

“Why!” Aaron stomped and yelled. “Why do these deep-cursed streets suddenly become empty when you need a bloody car!”

Looking at the group, Aaron saw that Jackie was lying unconscious next to Tommy. Tommy’s eyes were closed, and his breaths were raled and sporadic; his finger was plugged deep in the bullet wound. Swift was moving wildly in his communication, desperate to get Aaron’s attention.

The dwarf brushed away the orc’s manic waving. “Look, I know where we need to go. But we won’t make it there in time if we’re carrying these two. We need a car.”

A solid punch to the shoulder prompted Aaron to spin around with a raised fist. Swift shoved a white card into the dwarf’s face, forcing Aaron to lower his fist and snatch the card from the orc’s finger.

The card was instantly recognizable. It had a mushroom inside a circle on one side and a QR code on the other. A corner of Aaron’s mouth raised slightly as he spoke, “It’s the card for the fairy’s taxi. Do you think they’ll get here in time?”

Swift nodded emphatically.

“We need a phone.” At the exact moment of speaking the thought, Aaron said the next idea that came to his head. “The burner phone! Quick, we need to find the burner phone that Tommy bought at the bodega.”

The orc held up the phone, waving it back and forth in his hand.

“How the hells?” Aaron grabbed the phone from Swift. “Why haven’t you called them?”

Swift slung a slew of angry hand movements at Aaron, many of which the dwarf was sure were curse words he had seen the orc use in jail.

Ducking his head down and turning in embarrassment, the dwarf quickly used the burner phone and scanned the QR code on the card. He knew it was a dumb question to ask why the orc, who couldn’t speak, didn’t call the fairies. Aaron didn’t know why he would even ask that question—he just needed the fairies to pick up so he could get past this excruciating awkwardness.

Twinkling came through the phone’s receiver.

Aaron exhaled the breath he’d been holding, relieved to hear the fairy’s voice on the phone. “Uh, hello. This is, uh, Aaron, Aaron Frimslayer. You, or one of you, gave me this card. I need help. I need you guys to get here right now, as fast as fairies can be. My brother is dying—he needs a healer. Please, help me.”

The dwarf had no knowledge of the fairy language, let alone any sort of etiquette that might be required to speak with them. He waited as the seconds elongated across time, hoping there would be some indication, some response, that they would help.

More twinkling came through the receiver, and then the line cut off.

Aaron stood, holding the phone away from his head. His face twitched as different expressions of anger, confusion, anxiety, and exasperation flashed through his person.

The orc was making several hand movements again.

“I… I don’t know, Swift,” Aaron only spoke what was going through his mind. He did not know what the orc was saying. “I don’t know if they’re coming.”

The orc had more to say, but Aaron was still trying to figure out another alternative. He placed a hand on the breast pocket of his trenchcoat and felt the vial he kept inside that pocket. It was the vial of purple Tuber arcanatum dust that the Yakuza princess had given him. The dwarf tried to remember what she had said earlier that day, I am prepared to pay you… in coins and favor. Aaron did not want to be dealing in favors with the Yakuza, but if it meant saving Tommy…

The honking of a car horn pulled Aaron out of his thoughts, and he turned to see a taxi pull up alongside the curb. He stumbled in shock and hope as the taxi door sprung open with half a dozen fairies flying out. The dwarf kept one hand clutched to his chest and waved with his other. “Olivine and dolomite! You came!”

One of the fairies approached Aaron with twinkled greetings.

“Yes, please, we need to hurry.” The dwarf rushed toward Tommy and Jackie. “I have the address for the healer who can care for them.”

With the help of the fairies, they loaded Tommy and Jackie into the backseat of the taxi. Aaron sat in the backseat with them while Swift rode shotgun. The dwarf was amazed watching Swift communicate with his sign language and then seeing the fairies respond with their twinkling. The dwarf had enough difficulty keeping track of the common language, but these fairies and this orc had no problem with interlingual communication.

The head fairy got Aaron’s attention, and the dwarf was pretty sure the fairy was asking him for the address.

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Aaron took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. This was the healer that was closest to them and should have been the place they had gone to first. The dwarf cursed himself for not going to this place first and cursed himself again for choosing to go back there.

The fairy twinkled more emphatically.

Opening his Hacklet, the dwarf raised his arm and showed the fairy the address. “This is where we need to go. We’re going home… to my family.”

The fairy twinkled confirmation and turned to the driving team. Swift stopped his conversation and looked back at Aaron with a raised eyebrow, but Aaron did not acknowledge the orc’s questioning look.

Looking down, Aaron watched his hands shake and quiver uncontrollably. He pushed both hands hard into his lap and thumped his legs a few times to try and force away the shaking, but the effort was futile. Aaron pressed his hands between his thighs and stared out the window. The city washed by his vision as he focused his mental energies on not thinking of anything. It felt like another effort doomed for failure.

Tommy coughed weakly, and the elf’s hand slipped from the wound in his chest.

The dwarf dove over and on top of Jackie to grab Tommy's hand and force it back on the large elf’s chest wound. “Your big ugly ass is not dying in a taxi. I’m getting you home first.”

Tommy’s eyes fluttered, and though they did not open, a smile crept across his face.

“Wipe that stupid smile off your face.” Tommy winced as Aaron pushed a little harder on the elf’s chest to staunch the bleeding. “It’s not like I wanted to go back.”

Tommy’s voice was a slow, weak exhale, but it sang clear in the dwarf’s ears, “Thank you… brother.”

Aaron frowned as he continued to push on Tommy’s wound. The blood slowly seeped through his fingers into large drops that fell down the elf’s bare chest and abdomen, creating long red trails that led back to their origin. The dwarf gritted his teeth and continued to apply firm pressure to the wound. “You can’t call me brother, not after what I’ve done.”

Something tugged at the dwarf’s forearm. The dwarf looked over to Tommy’s free hand resting on his arm as if trying to say something. However, as Aaron looked to Tommy, the elf's face was tense with pain, his neck muscles bulged from the intensity, and something on the neck seemed to have shifted out of alignment. Tommy’s struggled breathing had ceased, and now the elf could not seem to breathe at all.

“Tommy!” Aaron yelled, but the elf did not respond.

Twinkling in the dwarf’s ear prompted Aaron to look around and realize the fairies had taken them to their destination.

“Keep pressure here!” Aaron directed the fairy, then bolted out of the taxi and ran up the stairs of a nearby house.

This was a one-way street, lined with houses packed closely together on either side. Aaron knew this block well, but he stuffed the wonderfully harsh memories aside as he pounded on the door of the house he needed.

A large, brown-skinned elf slowly opened the door, peering curiously at the dwarf standing on his front porch. “By wind and sea, do my eyes deceive me?”

Aaron forced a smile, “No, they do not, Oney. It’s me.”

“By the fishes of the sea!” Oney swung the door wide open and turned to yell into the house, “Hey, everyone, Aaron’s back!”

Commotion immediately ensued, but Aaron grabbed Oney and spun him around in earnest. “Tommy’s hurt. He needs Mom right now!”

“Tommy’s hurt?” Oney looked over Aaron, trying to see where Tommy could be.

“Now, Oney! Get mother!”

“Right.” Oney quickly turned about as a flood of island elves approached the front door. “Get back, everyone, get back! Tommy’s hurt. We need Tinā!”

The family quickly began to pour out of the house, all elves from the island destroyed by the red mages. Aaron pushed past, trying to clear a path for Tommy. Many of the family gave Aaron a pat on the back or shoulder or a quick grasp of the hands, briefly welcoming the dwarf back home.

Half a dozen fairies carried Tommy out of the taxi, with an extra fairy keeping pressure on his chest wound. Several family members carefully took Tommy from the fairies and carried him up the stairs into the house. When the fairies brought Jackie out of the car, another member of the family stepped forward to carry her inside.

Aaron squeezed his way back out the front door after Jackie was carried inside. Swift was standing outside the cab, waving his hands and arms in response to the lead fairy’s twinkling. The dwarf approached the two and waited for a lull in their conversation. “Look, I, uh…” Aaron looked to his quivering hands for the words that escaped his tongue.

The fairy twinkled something, and Swift signed in response.

“Slag. I don’t know what you two are saying,” Aaron said as he dropped his hands and looked at the fairy. “My friend’s life would have been…” Aaron gritted his teeth and made another attempt to speak. “You saved him. I can’t repay something like that. But if you need me, any service I can provide, you let me know.”

The fairy twinkled and gestured to Swift, who held up a familiar white business card with a mushroom in a circle on one side and a QR code on the other. The orc placed the card in Aaron’s hand.

It was strange for Aaron to see a fairy look so solemn, as he didn’t know that was possible for fairies. Yet, as he stood in wonder, the fairy flew up to his face and gave him a quick, gentle kiss on the forehead. Then, with a parting gesture and a twinkle, the lead fairy called its team together into the cab and drove away.

White business card still in hand, Aaron stood dumbfounded. Without moving, he asked, “What just happened.

Swift tapped Aaron on the shoulder and motioned for the Hacklet. The dwarf raised his arm and flipped open the Hacklet so Swift could type a message.

Remember my wish coin you gave to them? They said they can’t repay you for that woyawaste. If you ever need their service call them and they’ll get you.

“What’s woy’a’waste?” Aaron asked, trying to figure out the pronunciation of the word that was foreign to him.

You are not saying it right. But it is the good things the coin is for them.

“So waste is a good thing in your language?”

Swift held his face in frustration for a moment, then typed, Stop trying to make a word mean something it’s not. You are not saying it right and I don’t remember the common word. Focus on this. Giving them the coin is like what they did for you saving Tomy.

The dwarf mulled this over in his mind as he stared down the street. Cars were parked on either side, lining the length of the street, but it was otherwise empty. Commotion from the house caused Aaron to turn around and return to the problem. Aaron closed the Hacklet and motioned Swift to follow him.

“Aaron,” Oney called out as they approached. “What happened, my dwarf?”

“I’ll tell you later, Oney,” Aaron said as he pivoted to introduce the orc beside him. “Oney, this is Swift. Swift, Oney. Oney, I need you to show Swift around and introduce him to the family. Swift, I’m sorry to drop you like this, but I need to see how Tommy is doing. I’ll catch up with both of you later.”

“No worries, my dwarf,” Oney responded happily. “I’ll take good care of our new friend Swift.”

Swift nodded and shooed Aaron away.

The family was already gathering back inside the house, and Aaron moved quickly through the flow of people. The house was not big; it had just two floors and a basement with a small backyard and a smaller front yard. Yet, with all the people packed into the house, it somehow felt bigger than it should be. Aaron knew that wasn’t the work of some mage; it's what happens when you surround yourself with family.

As he made his way to the stairs, the dwarf noticed Jackie was awake and sitting upright on the couch in the living room, talking with several other family members and looking right at home. Aaron couldn’t help but grin when he noticed others in the kitchen firing up the stove and heading out back to start the grill. Drinks were being poured, and cheers were being made.

Aaron frowned, choking down the good and happy emotions that began to swell inside. He turned to the closest island elf, “Where’s Tommy?”

“Sa’a!” Aaron wasn’t sure if this was a cousin or some other relation. He had trouble keeping track of the more distant family relations. “They took Tommy upstairs into Tinā’s room.”

“Thanks.” The dwarf began to ascend the stairs.

“Hey, Sa’a!” The elf sniggered. He had two companions who were also stifling a laugh. Aaron noticed all three were drinking from red plastic cups. “Say, uh, you don’t look so good. Do you need a drink?”

The dwarf scowled deeply. “Go eat slag.”

The three elves burst out laughing as Aaron made his way upstairs. The dwarf guessed those three were already tipsy and there was some stupid drunk joke about him, but he wasn’t in the mood. As he rounded the corner, one of the aunts exited Tinā’s room, carefully closing the door behind her. When she turned and saw Aaron standing at the top of the stairs, she smiled warmly. “Aaron, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too, Auntie. How’s Tommy?”

“He’s better.” She answered, glancing back at the door. “He’s lucky you brought him in when you did.”

“I need to see him.”

“Of course.” The older island elf stepped aside for Aaron to pass. As he walked by, she placed a loving hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “It’s been too long since you last visited.”

Aaron placed his hand on hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He smiled sadly, then continued to forward.

The dwarf paused when he placed his hand on the doorknob. It was his bullet that nearly killed the only friend and brother in this depth-forsaken world. It was his fault. Aaron could not forgive himself for this. But he could not leave Tommy alone either.

Laughing, chatter, and music could be heard from downstairs. Hidden distantly in all the joy and music, Aaron could hear the memory of Molly’s laugh as she enjoyed herself and spent time with the family. Aaron looked down and closed his eyes as he squeezed the doorknob tightly. Molly was not here, but Tommy was. He needed to see his brother. With his own eyes, he needed to see that Tommy was not dead. Once he saw Tommy alive, Aaron was determined to leave and never come back.

With that resolution, Aaron turned the doorknob and entered the room.