Evelyn toweled her hair dry as she walked back to the cabin, picking her way in bare feet around the small rocks and twigs in the dwindling light of sunset. She twisted her finger in her ear to try to dislodge some of the water from the creek. Outdoor bathing wasn't an experience she would have put on her todo list for the day, but it was surprising where you could find yourself when properly motivated.
She wrapped the towel around herself as she approached the door. Her clothes had been unceremoniously tossed in a pile by the back door. Picking through the vomit-covered mess, she came to the conclusion that it was nearly all unsalvageable. Her underwear was still clean, though. Well, clean-ish at least, clean enough that she wouldn't need to streak through the house looking for clean clothes. As she put the skimpy things on, Dana wolf-whistled at her from the kitchen with a wide grin, to which Evelyn simply replied with a one-finger salute while secretly chuckling to herself.
Inside, the others had already finished cleaning up the mess and were now holding a lively discussion between them, and Evelyn plopped herself cross-legged on the remaining empty couch to see if she had missed anything important. Apparently they were making plans for how to deal with the lack of running water. They had decided something about heading into town in the morning to "acquire" some materials from the hardware store, including all sorts of contingencies for how to actually get inside the place given the likely state of civilization right now. Evelyn neither knew nor cared what it all involved, as long as they got the showers working again. She had her own concerns to puzzle out tonight, starting with...
"David," she said at a lull in the discussion, "how did you do that thing with Samantha?"
"That thing?"
"Yeah."
"That... thing."
"YES," she said, starting to feel a bit impatient.
"You're gonna have to be just a little bit more specific, Ev."
"Right there, just a little while ago when she was almost unconscious. You... Well, you sent a huge amount of your white mana into her and it somehow brought her back..."
Samantha suddenly grew alert, sending her attention first to Evelyn and then looking over to David expectantly.
"White... what?" he said, looking back and forth between Evelyn and Samantha with defensive bewilderment. "I didn't... I wasn't... I was just sitting here!"
Samantha's expression went from confusion to wide-eyed realization, her mouth forming a scandalized "oh" expression. She covered her reddening face with her hands, stifling a giggle while peering at Evelyn between her fingers.
"Ugh. Grow up, Samantha," Evelyn said, rolling her eyes and looking at the ceiling with exaggerated annoyance. "It's not a euphemism. I'm talking about actual white mana."
Samantha only snorted louder.
"I'm not sure what that means," said David, still looking defensive and not laughing at all.
"It's mana. It's white. It's white mana," Evelyn said flatly. "You literally wrote the book on the stuff, David. Most of what we know about it we learned by reading your notes."
"Um, no?" he said, confusion still plain on his face.
Evelyn harrumphed and twisted around to grab the evidence from the table behind her. She picked up an abused-looking notebook, waving it for him to see. She had read it cover-to-cover hundreds of times by now.
"I never wrote anything about white mana," he objected.
"It's that dense white vapor that separates out into a rainbow of colors if you move it quickly. You had an incredibly detailed understanding of its properties. You obviously didn't call it 'white mana,' but you--"
"I can't imagine I would call anything mana."
"Of course not. The term you stuck with was, 'trippy rainbow unicorn farts,' but even still, you had a fairly in-depth--"
Samantha snorted even louder now, interrupting the conversation as her laughter started to become infectious.
"Still a better name than 'white mana,'" David chuckled, shaking his head.
"And you're saying you don't know how you did it?" Evelyn asked, trying to return to the topic at hand.
"Did what?" David asked.
"You like... you injected an absolutely huge load of that white mana into her. Like, it was so much! More than any one person should be able to unload at once. You probably even drained your whole mana pool by shooting all of it in there. But the thing is, when you put it in her it didn't just mix with her body's mana like you'd expect. Instead, it completely filled her whole-- Dammit, Samantha! Could you stop your incessant giggling for even half a second?"
"I don't think so," she said, doubled over and wheezing for breath between her shaking laughs. "Sorry, Evie."
"It's not actually funny," Evelyn insisted.
"It very much is, Evie," Samantha countered when she could finally speak again, "could you possibly have phrased that whole thing any more--"
"No! I was trying to say something specific! Just listen to the actual words!"
"Oh, I was listening," she said, laughing even more with the occasional uncontrolled snort when she tried to take a breath, "Every last word was amazing. In fact, can someone get me a pen?"
"Ugh, forget it. You're all hopeless."
"Sorry Evelyn!" She said again in a cheerful, sing-song voice. Definitely not sorry at all.
"I'm going to go put some actual clothes on," Evelyn huffed as she got up and headed toward the stairs.
"Well, I mean, I wasn't going to say anything, but since you brought it up," Samantha said, still wiping her eyes, and now with a coy inflection to her voice that made it sound like they were delving into the depths of taboo.
"Oh, please. Don't you dare blame your dirty minds on me," she mumbled with a dismissive wave.
"Evie, sweetie, you're literally walking around in your underwear," Samantha said.
"So? What's wrong with that? I'm in my own home!" Evelyn objected.
"Well, for starters, you're wasting an incredible opportunity. If you had planned ahead, you could have charged admission," Samantha said, with her trademark "I'm only halfway joking" smirk.
"Admission? What for?"
"Hold on, do you truly have no idea how distracting you are?" Samantha asked, her wide-eyed expression a mask of delightful intrigue.
"What do you mean?" Evelyn scowled with her hands on her hips, now feeling like her previous annoyance had been more than justified.
"Oh my god! You really were studying every time I called you, weren't you!"
"I... what? Of course I was studying. What else did you think I'd be doing at university?"
"Oh, nothing," said Samantha, fighting a desperately losing battle to keep a wide grin off her face.
"Samantha!" Evelyn chided, "Are you talking about what I think you are?"
"Lordy I hope so," Samantha giggled, "Because damned if I haven't made it obvious."
"That could have gone better," Evelyn muttered to herself as she reached the top of the stairs. She vaguely felt like everything Samantha had said to her had been a compliment, and yet... and yet. She wasn't used to listening, she wasn't used to having to think about what the other person knew. She wasn't used to changing her mind. And it seemed to be so much worse when she was at home.
Being home made her feel like a kid again, as though nothing had changed in the years since she left for school. She could almost imagine that she was currently headed to her room to finish her chemistry homework. It all felt so normal. Sure, the world had ended and now the lights were out and the house was lit entirely by glowing marbles taped to magically-inscribed notecards, but she was still home with the people she considered family. David was still David, Samantha was still Samantha, and Gary was still the same old dad she'd always had.
And what of herself? Was Evelyn still the same bossy little know-it-all she'd been as a kid? Hadn't she outgrown that? Maybe being here with everyone else brought back something she had previously left behind.
Those thoughts continued to bang around in her head as Evelyn changed into something soft and cozy for the night. She had always been "the smart one" at school, and had even skipped first and third grade. She rarely ever had to deal with the consequences of being wrong when she was younger, because as a rule, she generally never had been wrong. There had rarely ever been any reason for the adults in her life to correct her.
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That was a dangerous precedent. Being right too often made it hard to recognize when you were wrong. At least in theory, right? She understood that fact intellectually, but she wondered if it had ever really sunk in, or indeed if it even applied to her. The problem was, she'd have to actually be wrong for once for someone else's opinion to even matter. It was a difficult theory to test.
And while she wasn't sure whether it was an example this, the disagreement with her dad about that System of his kept coming back to Evelyn's mind, especially after what happened a few hours ago. Like a rock in her shoe, she couldn't put it out of her head. She hated the thing. She hated that it was even an option. All the evidence she could find made it seem like his plan was reasonable and well-designed. But something inside Evelyn was screaming at her that there would be important implications that they didn't understand. That voice inside her soul told her unequivocally that activating Gary's System would have consequences that they weren't ready for. Or worse, the thing would be more likely than not to blow up in their faces and possibly kill someone, probably her dad. She trusted that voice inside her. She believed in herself. She was used to being right.
Unfortunately, all of the evidence clearly told her that she was wrong. The precautions, the safeguards, the constraints, everything was being handled responsibly. What's more, everything she had just witnessed inside Samantha's head indicated that Gary's System was no longer just a pathway to fixing the magic, it was potentially a life-saving intervention for someone like Samantha. Her healing didn't work on Samantha, and it looked like Gary's System could just undo the entire problem.
Gary said he needed Evelyn's help to test it, and so far she had adamantly refused, effectively putting an end to the whole project. Could she responsibly keep fighting her father on this simply because she was certain deep down, against all reason and evidence, that she was right?
She wanted the answer to be yes. But maybe... just maybe... okay, actually maybe she didn't have to deal with this right now. There we go. Future Evelyn could worry about this tomorrow.
----------------------------------------
Something had the horses spooked. The two horses picked for this outing pranced nervously on the lawn behind the cabin as they waited for their riders. Their breath sent miniature clouds billowing across the yard, mixing with the low fog and catching the sparse light of sunrise through the trees. Samantha, fully geared in sturdy black leather, exited the stables with the last of her horse tack: a pair of oversized saddlebags that she fastened securely in place.
As she worked, David stepped out the back door onto the deck carrying a small bundle. He had been carefully watching where he put his feet on the slick walkway, so he was already halfway down the steps before he glanced up and saw her.
"Oh, damn," he said slowly, practically drooling the words. He stopped where he stood and gaped.
"You're just jealous," Samantha smirked, wiggling her hips playfully as she finished with Apollo's saddle.
"I am extremely jealous!" David confirmed, "the best I've got is jeans and work boots. Why don't I get anything like that?"
"Which part? The boots? jacket? guards? gloves? Which item did you like?"
"The whole set, if I'm being honest. Where did it all come from?"
"There's a shop over in Burlington. Or at least, three days ago there was. I made the gloves and pants myself though. Same with the guards."
"What are those for?"
"It's basically leather armor. It's like bracers and greaves and stuff, but more practical and less LARPy." She kept moving around the horse as she talked, tightening buckles and securing loose straps. "Mostly I made it because comfortable leather is expensive, and I got tired of my stuff getting punctured and torn."
"I'm impressed! It looks really good."
For the first time, Samantha actually stopped what she was doing and turned to face David. She posed with her arms out, grinned, and twirled around to show off her handiwork.
"Why, thank you!" she said.
"And on that topic, I brought you something to round out your whole battle-ready ensemble."
"Oh? I'm intrigued," she said with a smirk. "Battle ready, huh?"
"It's dangerous to go alone," he ominously observed while unwrapping the bundle.
"We're going together," she corrected.
"It's DANGEROUS to go alone!" David insisted with a twinge of annoyance. "Take this." He handed her a weapon that was roughly the expected shape, but a bit on the small side.
"You are such a nerd," she laughed, unsheathing the... "This isn't a wooden sword."
"Why the hell would you want a wooden sword? A metal knife is so much more useful."
She turned the knife over, examining it from all angles. The blackened steel gleamed in the direct sunlight with a deep, foggy blue sheen, perhaps even iridescent. Not quite a hunting knife and not quite a dagger either, it was something of a compromise between the two. It was stiff enough and pointy enough for stabbing and slashing, having the first several inches from the blade's tip sharpened with a double edge. But that made it less than ideal for skinning and cleaning. Still, it didn't go all-in on being a weapon either, it has a utility-friendly shape nearer the hilt that allowed it to be maneuvered safely with two hands for precise carving. While not designed for throwing, it was clearly balanced well enough to fly true with a bit of practice. The size had been a bit of a compromise as well; a 9-inch blade with a bit more grip than necessary. It was far from the largest knife David had ever made, but in Samantha's hands, it looked....
"This knife... um, is this, like, compensating for something?"
"It's no pocket knife, but if you're defending yourself from angry animals, you don't want a 4-incher."
"Sure, four inches is definitely smaller than I'd like, but still this is way bigger than anything I've tried before. Here, look at this, this thing is practically the size of my forearm."
David bit his lip with his eyes unblinking, clearly both dying to say something while also trying really hard not to.
Samantha rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, 'that's what she said.' I noticed it right as the words came out of my mouth."
"I wasn't going to say it..."
"Yeah, I saw exactly how hard you weren't going to say it. Anyway, thanks for this. Though, I have to admit I have no idea how to properly handle one of these, especially one this big. I think I'm going to need you to show me some techniques for getting this whole thing-- Oh for Christ's sake, David, stop it! I'm trying to be serious right now!"
"Serves ya right, ya filthy-minded degenerates!" Evelyn called from up on the deck where she stood in tiny shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, munching from a bowl of cereal while looking cozy as hell.
"No commentary from the pajama peanut gallery, Evie! Anyway, I already told you I was sorry."
"Sorry nothing! You brought it on yourself," Evelyn scoffed with her mouth full of granola, "what goes around comes around; so like, live by the sword, die by the... uh, oversized phallic poking device, apparently."
She put her cereal bowl down on the railing and tiptoed her way down the dew-slick stairs, still in bare feet.
"Anyway, I just wanted to catch you two before you left. David?" She motioned him over, "I don't really want to walk out there in the mud."
He dutifully walked back over to the steps and she squared up in front of him, suggesting that she was super serious.
"I just wanted to say that whatever you did to Samantha last night, it actually--"
David glanced over at Samantha as he heard this, making Evelyn pause. She grabbed his face with both her hands and gently but firmly turned him back to look directly at her. After waiting until she had his undivided attention she then spoke again, but far more quietly.
"Whatever you did, it worked. That's important, David. I couldn't help her. You could. I don't know how you did it, but you can fix that thing that attacks her, even though I cannot. Do you understand?"
David slowly nodded, though he didn't look convinced. Still holding the sides of his head, she looked straight into his eyes as she spoke. To David's credit, he returned the gaze.
"She needs you, David. I'm serious." She spoke even more quietly, just louder than a whisper. "It takes only seconds for it to take her, but you can undo it in a heartbeat. Do NOT leave her."
David nodded again, this time with a bit more certainty and understanding in his expression. Evelyn finally smiled, allowing herself a sigh of relief as her whole body relaxed.
"Thank you," she said. "Keep her safe out there."
David grinned and nodded confidently this time. This was exactly his thing.
"And the same goes for you, too," she called over to Samantha as she reached the top of the stairs. "I can heal almost anything, but you have to come back to us."
"Don't worry, Ev," said Samantha, "I'll watch his back."
"Oh, and don't forget about the basic healing exercises I showed you. You may not be mending bones and muscle, but you should be able to at least stabilize yourselves or each other in a pinch."
"Thank you, yes, Evie."
"And if you run out of mana, you should be able to pull some out of the quartz in regular sand. Oh, and sometimes you can even pull a little bit out of windows and other glass, too."
"Yes, Evelyn."
"Don't forget that you can charge the crystals in your packs manually. Your body's recharge rate is faster than most crystals. Plus, Dana added inscriptions to your backpacks to make it reasonably efficient to access the mana in the crystals without taking them out. So if your body is topped off, you can store some excess to pull from later."
"Yes, mother."
"Okay, you know what? Feel free to go shove it up your-- Ugh, never mind, sorry. I'm just feeling a little bit... Yeah, sorry."
"We'll be fine, Ev."
"Just..." Evelyn sighed, breathing deliberately and slowly for a moment, her fingertips tapping a rapid staccato on her legs, "Just, come back alive. Okay?" she said.
"We will," David acknowledged.
"Okay." Evelyn exhaled. "Did you ever figure out why the horses are so worried?"
"We think it's a bear," Samantha said with a shrug. "It's not close, but it's not leaving either. It might be waiting for us." She held the reins for David while he climbed up into the saddle.
"Bears are really, really fast, though, right?"
"Yep. They're one of the fastest things out there. But horses are faster," Samantha responded with a satisfied smirk. "Not all horses, obviously, but these two certainly are. That's why David's riding Socks instead of Chocolate. Socks is a runner, not a hauler. She's faster than even Apollo over short distances."
Samantha moved over to Apollo's side and patted him on the flank while making some sort of "hallyup" sound. It apparently meant something like "hold still, I'm climbing aboard" in Samantha-Apollo language, because he stood a little more still while she vaulted up onto his back.
"It's also why we're taking the vehicle road instead of the trail this time," added David, "The visibility will let us avoid ambushes, and if something chases us, horses have the advantage flat open ground."
"Which reminds me," Samantha said, "do you think you can open and close the gate for us? We don't want to take any chances with the wildlife, so we're leaving this place at a run."
It took a little while. Evelyn had to grab some shoes, and the two riders warmed up their horses for a few minutes before getting into position about fifty feet back from the gate.
Up ahead, Evelyn swung the giant metal gate open. Past that, the dirt road took a winding path across a field, down some mountains passes, and finally across a bridge over a small ravine before joining up with the highway. It wasn't far, less than two miles, but they couldn't afford to take it slow. Past the house, the road was lined with trees and thick brush on both sides, more than enough to hide any number of large predators.
"I'll be in front, and you follow about ten feet behind me, a little bit to my left," Samantha briefed. "Call out anything suspicious. I'll be facing away from you, so especially with the wind you'll have to be extra loud. If Socks gets scared, she'll try to move in closer to Apollo. It's fine if she does, just let her run. If she's scared and having trouble, it's better that she's watching her step and keeping up rather than splitting her attention trying to follow orders."
"Got it."
"Well then, do you think it's time we blow this scene?" Samantha asked, looking back at David with a quirky grin while putting on her sunglasses. Beneath her, the light sweat on Apollo's coat steamed in the morning light as the horse shifted his weight from side to side, settling his footing for sprinting start.
"I do believe we got everybody and the stuff together," David acknowledged with a nod and a wry smile.
"Okay. Three... two... one..."
"Let's jam."