The woman hurries in front of me and pushes open the door, after I walk in she takes her seat and I’m left standing. I take a moment to observe myself in the reflective glass in the window. It was ghoulish, to be sure. My right lip was pulled up into a perpetual snarl towards a slight dip in the flesh of my cheek, a bit further up than I had thought. Right below the bone. If it were an inch higher, I would have lost my eye.

Bright white scar tissue mars my forehead and scalp where the fire had evidently burned off small patches of my hair. My left eyebrow was missing, as were the eyelashes. If I hadn’t shut my eyes in time... I shook my head.

“Five minutes. Explain or I’m calling the cops.” The woman said.

“Well, this is going to sound crazy.”

“Crazy? I just watched you walk out of the ground, and then summon the wind. What could be crazier than that?”

She strikes her lighter and presses a cigarette to her lips and takes a deep puff.

“Well...there’s this war, and I’m a, uh, part of it?”

I turn my head away from the cloud of smoke.

“A war?”

“Yeah.”

A few seconds pass in silence.

“Well...elaborate?”

She emotes with a flick of her wrist. Red embers and ash fall to the ground.

“Did you see that announcement?”

“The one that the President made?”

“Yes, that.”

“It’s about that? That coming disaster or whatever?”

“Yeah.”

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That seems to pique her interest.

“Tell me more.”

“Now, it’s going to be a bit hard to believe. Do you mind if I take a seat?”

“Go ahead.”

She motions to the seat while still holding the burning cigarette I take a seat in the small, rickety chair across the desk from her and begin to explain the situation. The popup notification on my computer, and the questionnaire, and the new teeth. I tell her about the war with Roki, and the inevitable end of life as we know it on the planet, and about the Ratmen, the Dogmen, the Rabbits, and the golem. My explanation is disjointed. Talking to people, especially over something serious, is difficult for me to do. I’ve never quite gotten good at it, and the past ten years or so of self-imposed isolation makes it all the more difficult to gauge her reactions. The explanation goes on for a little longer than five minutes.

“So..that’s it.” I say.

“Mhmm, let’s say I believe you, right? Why do you not want me to call an ambulance?”

Right. I forgot that detail.

“Well, did you happen to see that video about a week and a half ago?”

“Which one?”

“The uh..the ghost.”

“Oh, the one that vanished out of the uber, yeah that was some pretty convincing CGI.”

“Uh, well it wasn’t CGI.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when I’m in a car, right? And it drives one of these doors, right?”

“Uh huh?”

“Well, the car doesn’t come along with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know what Newton’s First Law means?”

“Is that the one that goes, ‘a body in motion stays in...’ oh. Oh I see.”

“Yeah. I go flying.”

“So that video, was of you?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah. So if you go in an ambulance...”

“Yep.”

“Okay, no ambulances.”

“Thank you.”

“And you don’t seem like a bad person.”

“Well thank you.”

“Still a liar.”

“Sorry about that, I really didn’t know if I should tell anyone, but it’ll be public knowledge within the week.”

“Really? But okay. No cops. No ambulances just...do your thing.” She sighs, “Sorry for making a fuss.”

She took another long drag of her cigarette.

“It’s not a problem.” I responded, “And thank you for taking me seriously.”

“Well, I saw you walk out of the ground and summon air out of nowhere. It’d be crazier to NOT believe you.”

She smashed the used butt down into the ashtray on her desk.

“Thank you.”

“Mm.”

“Well, I’ll be, uh, out of your hair. I need to rest for a bit. Heal up.”

“You do that. You look awful.”

I sigh.

“Thanks.”

“What’s your name again?” She asks just as I begin to push through the door.

“Lawrence,” I answer.

“I’m Jenna.”

“Nice to meet you, Jenna.”

“Mm.”

I glance back, and she’s pulling another cigarette from her pack, and taking another drag. I leave and head back up to the room. As soon as I enter, Clio runs over to me; her tail wagging.

Master hurt?

“No, no. I’m fine.” I tell her as I make for the bed, strip off my armor, and put my things away.

Sleep was calling me. Who was I to make it wait?