Seth stared at the lines of text that flickered across his vision. He had no idea what they meant, and he tried to read them, but his eyes glazed over and he couldn’t focus. The top of the sheet was filled with a bunch of numbers, which Seth promptly skimmed over.

After that was a section labeled Wishes. There were two entries. Two wishes for two parasites. The first read ChainBreaker. Another word he didn’t understand.

Seth tried to think back to the first black parasite. After the slug had buried into his flesh, he’d assumed its voice was just a hallucination. And he’d ignored it.

Now he knew better. Seth remembered wanting to escape his restraints. That must have translated into the first wish, but he couldn’t see how that could have been responsible for his escape. The chair had collapsed under him. Just some flimsy old wood. The parasite had nothing to do with it. It couldn’t have. Right?

The second wish was labeled Inkling, which was the same label at the top of this stat sheet. Again, not really what he’d asked for. This time, he’d asked the parasite for some goddamned answers. And this stat sheet only gave him more questions. He wanted it gone.

As if listening to his intent, the text disappeared.

Alex stood at a distance, her fingers trembling against her flare gun. “Seth? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Seth shied away from Riles’s smoldering corpse and dusted off his pants. They needed to get away from here. Keep moving to the slaughterhouse as planned, before David or any other freaks hunted them down.

“No, what am I saying? You can’t possibly be fine. That nasty slime thing went into you. What was that thing?”

“You think I know?”

“Um, well you don’t seem that concerned about it.”

Seth was plenty concerned. But there wasn’t time to worry about whatever those parasites were doing to his body. Maybe after they escaped, he could go to a hospital. Until then, there wasn’t much he could do but keep moving forward.

The revolver lay against the packed dirt, and his knife sat nearby. Seth snatched them off the ground. The knife, he wiped off the grime and shoved it back in its sheath. The revolver needed to be reloaded. It may not have done much to Riles, but it was better than nothing.

“Woah woah woah,” Alex jogged up to Seth. “We need to talk about this. There’s clearly something more going on here.”

“You think?”

Alex punched his arm. “I’m serious. Did you hear what Riles said? She said something about the First Shadow, which you also mentioned earlier. What is that? And the Holy Signal? The Voice of God? Is this some sort of demonic cult?”

It probably was. Seth didn’t want to talk about it, but he supposed Alex deserved to learn about Beck and the first parasite he’d infected Seth with. “I’ll explain what I know as we walk to the slaughterhouse.”

“Thank you.”

Seth flipped open the door on the revolver, exposing the cylinder. As he walked, he pushed out the old casings and inserted new bullets. It took the last of his ammo, but he slowly reloaded the rest of the revolver and pushed the door closed.

They continued into the woods, moving beyond the campsite. Hopefully in the right direction of the slaughterhouse, but after the clash with Riles, Seth had to admit his sense of direction was turned around. Alex seemed confident though, and she glanced at him expectantly.

“Fine, where to begin,” Seth said. “After we got kidnapped, Earl locked me in a room and questioned me. Just basic information, like my name, what I was doing there. You understand. I think Earl believed me when I told him I knew nothing about this place. Anyway, Earl left me alone after that. But a few minutes later, he came back with a man named Old Beck. Do you recognize the name?”

Alex shook her head. “I don’t know. There are a lot of people between the four farms in this area. And you saw how many people were living in that campsite.”

“Well, anyway. Beck came in carrying this shotgun.” Seth jostled his backpack, indicating the heavy weapon within. “It scared the shit out of me. He said some things, I don’t remember the details. But then he pulled out a wooden box, and inside was another of those slug creatures. A black one that jumped into my body, just like the one from Riles.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah. And then Beck shot himself in the face. It was a bloody mess.”

“He killed himself?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, don’t know why. After that, I could feel the parasite swirling within my gut. And then it spoke to me. Offered me a wish. I thought I was going crazy. But all I wanted to do was free myself, and then the chair miraculously crumpled beneath me.”

Alex was quiet for a long time. Their footsteps rustled against the pine straw, and the evening sun spilled long shadows through the woods. “You said it offered you a wish?”

“Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but when the yellow slug entered me it offered me another wish.”

“Ew, don’t phrase it like that.” Alex shook her head. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I don’t like it any more than you do.”

“Okay, this makes sense. Sort of. So these creatures can offer you wishes. That must be why Riles was so hard to kill. What did you wish for this time?”

Alex was taking this better than he thought. He supposed she didn’t have much of a choice. The fight with Riles made it clear that some supernatural shit was going down. A wish-granting parasite wasn’t too hard to stomach, given the circumstances.

“That’s the thing,” Seth said. “This time, I knew it wasn’t just a hallucination. So I wished to get some answers. About the parasites, the First Shadow, anything really. But all I got was some sheet of statistics.”

“Statistics?”

“Yeah, like a list of numbers. The thing looked straight out of a video game.”

“Okay.” Alex sighed. “That’s great. What exactly did it say? Can you read it out to me?”

Seth kicked at a pine cone. Truth was, he could feel a strange presence at the back of his mind. Somehow, he knew this presence was Inkling, the stat sheet, just waiting for him to call it back into view. But he didn’t want to. Seeing that box of numbers only reminded him of the parasites and the bloodshed and all the terrible things that had happened since arriving at this cursed place.

“Well, this is just great,” Alex said after a few minutes of silence. “It seems that these wishes are sort of like the monkey’s paw. It doesn’t give you exactly what you want.”

“No, but the parasites don’t seem malicious. They aren’t twisting my wishes into something negative. It feels more like a compromise. Maybe the parasites are limited in what they can accomplish.”

“Maybe.”

They continued toward the slaughterhouse. Seth felt better after telling Alex the truth. Talking about the parasites and the wishes helped to clear his thoughts about the entire thing. The truth was, none of that was important. The important thing was that they’d both survived and they were going to escape.

Seth reached out and placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. She flinched at his touch, but after realizing it was him, she leaned back into it. “Everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to find Will, get the car, and get the hell out of here.”

Alex flashed a shaky smile, and she nodded.

. . .

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

There was a lot of work to be done. At the moment, Grace was supposed to be meeting with a representative of the Lightbringer Research Institute. After that, she needed to check on the progress with the Material Science Division. And then there was the matter of the observatory itself, which still needed to be prepped for modifications.

Instead, Grace leaned back in her office chair and listened to the Signal. The waves of static crackled from her laptop speakers, and to most it would be nothing but random noise. But to Grace, each note struck her soul like the invigorating drops of a warm shower.

It felt glorious, far exceeding her expectations. But as good as the Signal felt, she knew it was bad news. For the first time in months, a sliver of doubt crept up Grace’s spine. She quickly banished it. Owen’s Signal might be stronger than she had expected, but it was only the First Shadow. It would take a bit more time, but Grace intended to jump straight to the Second.

Someone knocked on her office door. Grace knew who it was, but she activated her Spy Glass wish anyway. Her vision narrowed, blurred, and then she could see straight through the door’s thick wood.

The representative of the Lightbringer Research Institute stood in the hall, a balding man in his forties. Grace didn’t want to deal with him. Not now. However, she knew complacency bred weakness. This Signal could wait. Grace turned it off.

“Come in.”

The representative entered. Grace didn’t remember his name, and she didn’t care to ask. All of these scientists were the same, whiny brats who thought they could bend Torch Labs to their will.

“Thanks for having me.” The man sat across from her, his lips curled into a thin smile. “I’m sure you know why I’m here.”

“Yes, I have heard your requests for an extension. However, I’m afraid our modifications can’t wait. But let me assure you, once the observatory is back up and running, its power and clarity will exceed—”

“No,” the representative said. “I don’t need your sales pitch. The truth is, any such claims are unverified. You say your modifications will improve the array, so why won’t you explain how?”

Grace tapped her fingers against her thigh. She was starting to lose her patience, and she struggled to restrain herself. There was no reason to test the power of the First Shadow. Not now. “I’m sorry, but that information is confidential.”

“That’s exactly my concern. There are rumors among my team that Torch Labs might be working with external researchers. Many think that you are trying to replace us.”

That wasn’t true. Grace wasn’t going to replace them, she was going to get rid of them entirely. These researchers had no use in the world to come.

All this secrecy was starting to annoy her, but she needed to keep the visage for now. Otherwise, the board would drop her, and Grace couldn’t afford to Charm all of them.

She smiled. “No one is trying to replace you. Torch Labs highly values the partnership with your institute. However, the modifications must proceed as planned. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?”

The man leaned back and slowly swiveled his chair to the side. He stared out her window, watching the darkening clouds. “You know, you can’t get away with this. Many members of my team have friends on the board. Have connections with Shelby State. If you interfere with our research, we will have no choice but to seek an external solution.”

Grace’s patience ran out. She could Charm him, but that would be such a waste. Instead, Grace decided to test her newest wish. And now that the First Shadow had dropped, she had high hopes for it.

Grace flexed her Authority. Everything in the room suddenly felt heavier, denser. The man sank in his chair, a sheen of sweat shining across his red face. He took a shallow breath, and his eyes wavered as he tried to resist her power.

“The modifications will proceed as planned,” Grace said. “That is all. You may leave.”

“Yes, of course.” The man fell out of his chair and fled the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

That settled, Grace released her Authority. The wish had worked better than planned. That must be a result of the First Shadow. Perhaps Owen would pose some danger after all. She should put some eyes on the farm, just in case.

A box of text flickered across her vision.

Inkling Version 1.0

Name: Grace Godwin

Stage: 5

First Shadow

Strength: 18

Reflex: 19

Vigor: 20

Clarity: 28

Integration: 70%

Free Points: 0 [+2 Each Stage]

Wishes:

Spy Glass [+10 Reflex | +5% Integration]

Diagnostic Report [+5 Clarity | +20% Integration]

Charm [+10 Clarity | +25% Integration]

Tireless [+10 Vigor | +5% Integration]

Authority [+10 Strength | +10% Integration]

Now this was interesting. Grace pored over the wall of hovering text. It appeared to be an outline of her wishes, along with a rundown of her physical attributes. None of the data was unexpected, but why was it being presented like this? Was this part of the First Shadow? No, it couldn’t be. This must be a result of someone else’s wish.

Grace leaned back and laughed. It had taken her months to figure out how these parasites worked, but this stat sheet would certainly streamline things. However, it was a strange choice for a wish, especially since it seemed to benefit all the hosts. In fact, Grace could check that for herself.

Her phone buzzed with a stream of notifications. Likely from her subordinates, who must have also seen this Inkling. Grace ignored them for now and activated a wish of her own.

Grace’s Diagnostic Report was her second wish, an ability that let her analyze what the parasites were doing to her body. But that wasn’t all her Diagnostic Report could do. No, it could do far more.

As soon as she activated the Diagnostic Report, the Inkling screen peeled apart into an array of deeper layers. Grace shifted through these layers one by one, analyzing their contents. The Inkling system was built like a computer program, and there were several mechanisms that handled the distribution of cosmic energy and the attunements of wishes. All things that Grace already understood.

The interesting part was the network layer. Here, Grace could see links to all the other hosts. There were three main clusters: Grace and her subordinates, Owen and his lieutenants, and a third host all on its own. Grace smiled. This lone host must be the creator of this Inkling.

Grace pulled up the stats of the creator, a man named Seth Mayhew. She didn’t recognize the name, but that didn’t surprise her. This Seth was newly infected, only at the second stage. And yet, his cosmic energy was far greater than it should be. A result of the First Shadow? Grace didn’t think so. It felt like something else was going on.

In any case, this Seth Mayhew must be on the farm somewhere. Which meant he was Owen’s problem.

Grace banished the Inkling screen, and the wall of text disappeared. She leaned back, considering, then scooted to her laptop. This Seth was a wildcard, but he could be useful. She needed more information.

First, she searched the Torch Labs company records. After all, Seth could be a corporate spy. But she found nothing. Well, Shelby was a university town. Perhaps he was a student. Grace searched the university records, and there he was. Seth Mayhew, a sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering.

But what was he doing at Eldridge Creek? Grace pulled up her phone, swiped away the notifications from her subordinates, and called the head of Torch Labs security. He answered immediately, though he didn’t say a word.

“Send two officers to the farm. If anyone leaves, apprehend them.”

“Understood,” the officer said.

. . .

The Holy Signal streamed from the radio like a beam of heavenly light. Owen leaned against the pew’s old wood. He sat at the front, close to the pulpit from which the Voice of God crackled and hummed. The vessel within his chest inhaled the stream of cosmic data, and Owen knew his final stage of evolution was close.

Violet had begged Owen to join her at Taylor Hill, where the Holy Signal would be strongest. But he preferred to wait here, at the New Genesis Chapel. He’d been going to this church since he was a boy. He’d sat here many times, in this very spot. Contemplating his mistakes. Begging for forgiveness. And now, God had given him a new chance at life. A chance to atone for the past.

A field of bright text blinked to life.

Inkling Version 1.0

Name: Owen Eldridge

Stage: 6

First Shadow

Strength: 15

Reflex: 11

Vigor: 21

Clarity: 22

Integration: 86%

Free Points: 12 [+2 Each Stage]

Wishes:

Deferred [?????]

Prophet [+5 Clarity, +10% Integration]

Herald [+10 Clarity, +25% Integration]

Angelic Shroud [+5 Reflex, +15% Integration]

Divine Image [+15 Vigor, +10% Integration]

Divine Will [+10 Strength, +20% Integration]

Owen hummed to himself. It was a letter? Some sort of guide or encyclopedia? He didn’t know what it was, but he recognized his wishes at the bottom.

There had been many times in Owen’s life when he had doubted himself. But he was a prophet now, and he had no room for doubt.

“Heavenly Father,” Owen said. “What is the meaning of these divine letters?”

A voice rumbled within his gut, where the holy vessel had placed his throne. “Do not worry, my son,” the Father said. “This Inkling is nothing but a distraction?”

A distraction? As Owen read through it more carefully, he fixated on the integration number. 86% was higher than he’d like. It seemed there was only room left for one final wish. Though he’d already known that. But below the integration number was a list of free points, of which Owen had twelve.

He recognized these free points to be leftover cosmic energy, inefficiencies from his previous wishes. “How should I use these free points?”

“Distribute them as you wish,” the Father said. “It matters not to me.”

Very well. Owen’s reflex attribute was his current weak point. He spent six points on it, raising it to seventeen. That would empower his Angelic Shroud, which was attuned to the attribute.

As for the remaining points, he dumped them into his strength. Not only would strength benefit his Divine Will, but once he reached stage seven, strength would empower his final wish as well.

After allocating his excess cosmic energy, Owen banished the screen of text. The Father was right, it was nothing more than a distraction. Only the Holy Signal mattered. Owen closed his eyes and meditated to the wonderful static noise.

Soon, he’d reach stage seven. And when he did, the world of man would atone for its sins. And everything would finally be made right.