I stared at the fire. The warm flame that lit up the corridor of this odd place. It was a ship, that much I could tell. Airlocks were common, and bulkheads between rooms. The air was clean but cool and stale.

Yet I saw no windows. No exits to another floor. Another world.

It had been months since I started making my way around this floor.

[Much. Great. Flame. Warmth.] the Mantis said as it gnawed on jerky. Its giant, bulbous, red eyes reflected the light, but I could never tell what it was focusing on.

“Yes, the fire is good. I am glad we were able to meet up,” Petreod said as he stroked his scruffy whiskers. The giant feline sat huddled under layers of fabric. A mishmash of new and old.

Merchant said nothing. It hovered in the air, and its wispy cloudy exterior showed nothing of what it though, nor of its emotions. Only the cool, soft pink eyes stared into the fire.

I snuggled into the long, double coat I wore. It was a very cushy robe on the inside, and durable fiberglass ceramics on the outside. Good against dirt, stains, bullets, and acid splashes.

[Now. Trade. Inventory?] Mantis asked as it shifted its head around. I felt like it was a gesture to convey its general question rather than any real need to see us.

“No no. We trade in the morning. Fewer chances of… heated bartering,” Petreod replied. He leaned onto his over-sized backpack. Dozens of bags jutted out as it was all clasped together. A haphazard collection of goods.

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I never knew how the feline kept his stuff organized, but he always knew what he had. Always.

[Accepted. Story. Trade?] Mantis asked as it settled down. It snuggled down onto its much sturdier metal container. The thing was durable, heavy, and not cumbersome to Mantis.

“I once encountered a robotic killer skeleton,” Petreod started. He recounted the rush of combat as he tried to take it on. In the end, he had tried to run. It was only due to luck as he located an industrial hydraulic press.

He crushed that robot into a pancake and then moved on.

[Us. Fought. Dragon.] Mantis followed up. It was a choppy story that confused me to no end. Did Mantis eat the meat, or was he selling the meat? What? Did he still have the meat?

Merchant added nothing. It stared at the speaker, and its eyes changed shades and tones as it listened.

Then they were all staring at me.

“I once encountered a 4th dimension floor. I also met a nice girl, her name was Catherine. She helped me navigate that floor. I will never see them again,” I said I recalled that odd, but ever so sweet woman. I missed Catherine, but I did not miss her home.

The floor she lived in was a hellhole. Every room could send me into a completely different environment. She told me that I kept walking into the same lava-filled room. It confused her.

Which confused me. I thought we had traveled in a straight line away from the lava-filled room. How could I counter the same room if I was walking away from it? How!?

[Disagreement! Much. Lies.] Mantis booed.

“Yeah, try another myth friend,” Petreod chuckled as he slid his large bonnet over his face. The universal sign of I-am-going-to-sleep.

Merchant stared. Its pink eyes bore into mine and then it folded in on itself. Merchant shrank three times before entering what I considered sleep.

I looked at the other three people.

I shook my head. Catherine would have been so disappointed with them.

I touched my pocket watch. The gift she had left with me. The indispensable tool that still guided me to this day.

With a smile, I leaned back into my own backpack. The oddities and curios I had collected rustled but held as I closed my eyes.

I wondered what these old fools had for trade?

In my dreams, I saw her for a moment. That 4th-dimensional body that I couldn’t comprehend. And that beating heart that pulsed with her kindness.