Indigo looked at me. I followed his gaze to Eloise. He said, “Eloise, I think you can carry your own bag.”

Eloise grinned, “She’s got it for me, don’t you Spence?”

I said, “I don’t mind. I sort of feel indebted to all of you.” I mean, I really didn’t mind. It sort of felt like the least I could do. I could carry a bag if it meant I got to be alive a little longer, Plus I wanted these people to like me. I figured that would be helpful to me, at this point anyway.

“Thank you,” said Eloise.

Indigo said to me, “Don’t let her take advantage of you.”

Eloise answered for me. “She won’t, right Spence?”

“Right.”

Eloise folded her arms. All three of us sort of marinated in an awkward silence for a few moments. Eloise broke it. She said, “Well, I’m gonna pee before we leave.”

“Since you're here now,” Indigo said. “You need to choose a Class. Your options are Witch, Thief, or Priestess.”

I didn’t know the consequence of what I was choosing. And I was fairly certain asking him would lead actually nowhere. I still didn’t know what the not zombie zombies were.

So it was Witch, Thief, or Priestess.

I mean, I knew what my idea of each or those things were, but I wasn’t sure what the reality of anything was, in this reality.

I watched Mar return. He didn’t have a bag, but he did have dual swords strapped to his back.

What I was was a gas station attendant, and I was okay with that. It was chill. I could do whatever I wanted, basically. And no one wanted anything from me, really, except maybe a carton of cigarettes, or a lottery ticket. There wasn’t much consequence to any of that, for me at least.

“Well, stealing is bad,” I reasoned aloud. I asked Indigo, “What does a Priestess do?”

“Heal, primarily.”

“What are you?

“I’m a Witch.”

I thought about what he could do. I recalled the shattered man. Something along those lines seemed useful. “A Witch,” I said, “I choose Witch.” Nothing happened. I don’t know what I expected. I think I at least expected to feel different. Maybe like someone else. At least a little more powerful. “What now?”

Mar said, “Nothing, that’s just what you are now.”

“What are you?” I asked him.

“Thief.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Don’t worry I won’t take offense to you thinking I’m a horrible person.” He approached me.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“If it makes you feel better I use it to help people.”

“Oh, like Robin Hood.”

“What?”

“Nevermind.”

“Tell me about it.” He sort of stood over me.

“I’m, well, it’s about a thief.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He steals from the rich and gives to the poor. I actually don’t really remember anything else besides that. I think it has a happy ending.”

“Is that so?” His eyes were fucking filth.

“Or everyone dies, I can’t remember.”

Eloise returned, holding onto Carolina’s arm.

“We’re going to need somewhere safe to rest,” Indigo said to Mar, like Mar was the one in charge of that.

So Mar led the way and Indigo followed, then Eloise, then Carolina, then me. Indigo casted a spell with a flourish of his hands. Several orbs, the size of various balls, appeared and drifted alongside us, lighting the way. It was pretty marvelous.

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Eloise had dropped Carolina’s arm. Eloise had a brisk walking pace. Carolina sort of meandered. She stopped and looked upward. I stopped with her, and looked up too. It was just the sky. It was pretty, but I had already seen it plenty of times. Still, I tried to appreciate it.

Carolina said, “I wish nothing bad ever happened.”

“We’re going to get left behind, c’mon.” I took a hold of her sleeve and tugged.

She didn’t move. “Why do you think it does?” She looked at me then. Her eyes were opalescent.

She was serious. “I don’t know. All I know is that sometimes what’s good for you feels badly, and what’s bad for you is good for someone else.” I was very tired. Way too tired for anything.

“I see. That way, nothing is bad. Still, I wish I was home in my bed. I had just got used to calling that place home.”

I disagreed with her entirely. It all felt very free, walking through the woods with the night air and strangers, but I conceded, “I think I know what you mean.”

“It’s a horrible feeling,” she put her hand on her stomach.

“Try and think of it as an adventure.”

“I’m so tired of adventures. I want to be in the same place forever.”

Eloise came back for us then. An orb of light was with her. It cast our shadows long on the ground. She said, “We really don’t have time for this.”

“Eloise,” Carolina said easily, “Why don’t we stay? Let them go.”

“No.”

“I think I might stay.”

“No, you won’t.”

“I’m so tired of adventures. I want to be in the same place forever.”

“Do you want me to kill you, then? Because that’s what being dead is.”

“No,” Carolina said, “That’s not it.”

“Then there’s really no point in complaining, so shut up would you, and c’mon.”

“I would like to go home.”

“That’s not home. It’s just a rotting tower full of spiders. We’ll get a better one.” She stepped backwards, taking Carolina’s hands.

Reluctantly, Carolina followed.

I went too.

Mar and Indigo had stopped up ahead. They were halted, but not for us. They weren’t waiting. In their path stood a creature, the size of an elephant, but with the body of a lion and the face of a hawk. It also had bat-like wings. It hissed at us. I looked at Indigo to do the shatter thing.

The creature crouched to pounce.

Indigo fired small orbs of light at the creature, which hissed as they dispelled at contact with the creature’s fur.

I don’t think Mar did anything. He did have his swords out though. He was bracing for an attack, I guess, because the creature was too far away. And he was probably Melee or whatever.

“Spencer it’s your turn,” Indigo said.

I didn’t know what to do. I was a witch now though. I looked at the stick in my hands. It was upgraded to a Staff, just then. I lifted it to cast Fire. It caused the creature’s fur to ignite, and burn in splotches. There was an initial 50 damage, and every few seconds there was 15 more.

I wasn’t sure that what I had done was something I had wanted to do. The creature panicked at its singes. The embers smoldered, and smoked. The smell of it stung in my throat. The creature took off running, which was a problem mostly because we were surrounded by flammable wood.

Indigo evaluated the circumstance. I think he decided that it didn’t matter if the forest burned down, because he was done with it anyway.

Carolina stepped in. She had a flute. She used it to play a cute little song, and it put the creature right to sleep. The fire wore off too in those moments. So that was dealt with.

But I felt so guilty about causing it harm in the first place. I wanted to go after it. I wanted to fix everything. I felt sort of like I did when I hit that magpie accidentally on the highway once when I was driving home from work. I looked up and blinked and I tried not to cry.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” I said.

“You don’t get to choose your magic,” Indigo put his hand on my shoulder. “You can refine it, but that’s it.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I want to be a Priestess.”

“It’s too late for that.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The Cat’s out of the bag, sort of speak. Pandora’s Box has been opened. The Rubicon–

“Okay, I get it.” I don’t know why I was so emotional. I focused on him, “Why did you tell me to do that?”

“I didn’t tell you to do anything.”

I decided that I didn’t like him very much, and the next time I would think twice before listening to what he said, and maybe even to what anyone said ever. I hated that that was maybe what he wanted.

The sun started to come up.

My eyes were dry, and my whole body was heavy. I told my brain it could sleep in two hours. I didn’t know if it was true, but it helped somehow. I had to consciously make myself look at things, so I didn’t drift anywhere, because if I did it would be off to sleep.

I watched the brim of Indigo’s hat bob as he walked. It really was a stupid large hat.

I noticed Carolina had on lavender shoes. Her robe was embroidered with flowers in a thread the same blush colour as the fabric.

Mar’s shirt was crimson. It looked nice against his skin.

Eloise’s hair was done up with a gold clip, set with what looked like sapphires. She noticed me staring.

The grass was green.

My shoes were black.

We came upon a cobbled road, which led to the outskirts of a village, and into it. It was waking, slowly. There was the sound of life. And of water as we walked past a plain stone fountain. We stopped in front of a small building with a black door. There was a black sign painted in silver script. Crematorium, it read.

“Well this is it,” Mar said.

I almost cried; I was so relieved.