The first group to make it to the church was a family from India. The Patels, who then freaked out when they were coldly greeted by a group of five foot four lizard people. Between me, being a human, and the Abb, being all wise and such, we got them calmed down.

Fortunately the translation thing worked even between members of the same race that happened to be speaking different languages.

Between coming from India, where they had been visiting relatives, coming from Canada, where they lived, and having been born and raised in India, they turned out to be remarkably nice people. And their kids were the right age to begin playing with the Bluestone kids.

They could even share the coloring books since the Verco kids left the images bare and the human kids left the background to them. At least if the lizard kids got to them first.

After that I sat outside on the front steps, right there in plain sight to reassure any more people, human people as least, that they weren't going to get eaten by lizard people.

So of course it was a Hazak, or as I thought of them, space orks, that showed up next. Then ended up lurking out in the woods all afternoon worried about meeting what was to him a alien, up until Tok came upstairs to tell me she had gotten the gas stove and gas water heater working.

"What? How did you do that? I though we didn't have any gas for them to burn?"

Tok grinned and shrugged. "It's my class. Fixer. I know what things are and how to fix them. Devices anyways." She began waving her hands around at the air in front of her as she tried to explain. "There is plenty of burnable gas in the air, I just did some engraving on the burners to pull it out and the controls to ignite it when needed."

She huffed. "It's all so easy now. No training, no insight. All the information is just in my head, ready to use."

I hesitated, but finally asked. "Are you complaining? Why?"

She thought it over. "I... I haven't given up on going home, or at least another station. But what if it all of it just goes away? Where will that leave me? What if it's years, and I don't learn anything for myself in all that time because I was replying on this?"

That's when a voice called out. "Tok? From maintenance?"

And then I got to meet a even bigger, and better dressed Hazk. A older looking man, equally hairless, but with darker skin. Dressed in a set of dark yellow cargo shorts, a simple medium blue sleeveless pullover shirt, but still bare footed.

He looked over joyed to see a member of his own race, he also looked like he had been running through thorn bushes from the cuts and tears seemingly all over his body.

As he walked up he gave Tok a bewildered look as he checked her out from head to toe and back again "You look so different, but you do look good. Was this part of your upgrade?"

She nodded with a glistening in her eyes. "Yes, and I am so much happier now, this is how I was meant to be."

I had no clue what that was all about. Must have been a Hazak thing.

"Ah, Hi. What happened to you?" I waved my hand up and down at him being all torn up.

He shuttered. "Strange monstrous creature. Small but terrible. They attacked me at almost every moment. I finally had to hide in the water until it became dark, and then as soon as the sky turned red, they were on me again. It was just like those terrible entertainments."

Oh, I guess it wasn't just Fancypants getting the squirrels all upset, but now I got to wonder if it was only the Hazak that set animal off. Sounds like a good test for Rill.

Or I suppose I could just ask her or the Abb if her people had been being attacked.

Their conversation went on without me and moved on to Tok's recent efforts in the kitchen and the new guy, Shom, wanting to see it.

Of course between Shom's late arrival and the Patels we had a few more people, even another signal fire off to what had been the north west.

Shortly after I had sat down on the steps I could feel someone looking at me. I looked over my shoulder, to the woods on the left and right, and finally out to waters of the lake.

Just in time to see a long stretched out neck arising above the water a few hundred feet out, with a horned, scaly dragon's head on top. Looking back at me.

For a second I stared back at it before scrambling to my feet and yelling out something incoherent as the creature snorted at me and then slowly sunk it head down in the water in front of it. Followed along by it's long slender, well slender in comparison to the rest of it, ridged body and finally it's long tail before the last of it vanished under the water.

Of course no one else saw it, or really believed me when they came out to see what the shouting was about. Why didn't I take a picture? That part of my phone still worked.

The Bluestones "seemed" to believe me, but had some doubt in their eyes, while Abb Olta was barely able to keep his choking laughter in as he patted me on the shoulder. "It's all right Sean, you have been under a lot of stress. Of course you saw a giant monster in the water. I believe you, we all believe you."

"Okay, I get what Rill meant about the meaning of Abb now." that made him cut loose with his choking laughter until I began to consider doing the Heimlich maneuver on him.

About a hour before Shom came out of the trees, a darker skinned woman wearing a somewhat worst for wear print dress came out of the woods with a pair of thick heeled sandals in one of her hands. "Hello, could someone help me?"

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For a moment I though my eye were going as she seemed to look blurred, right up until the blur shifted to the side and continued to hover in the air beside her.

Rill kicked me lightly with her foot. "Your turn, I'll take the giant lizard if it shows up again."

"Thaaanks." I headed down the steps. "Hi, welcome to St Kentigern's. Can I help you."

She looked at me for moment, seemingly shocked to see another person. Then broke down crying as she nearly lunged forward to wrap her arms around me.

Okay, I admit. Little bit of a mixed feeling here. But it was nice to get a hug after all of this. Chloe has issues about being touched, especially by a man, and I'm not sure how the other then humans would fit a hug into their world views.

"Please is this real? Are we back home?"

I wrapped one arm around the woman and gave her a squeeze while patting my hand on her opposite shoulder. "No sorry, we aren't back on earth. The church came here with me, or I came here with it. But it is shelter, and we have water. Oh and this, Sanctuary."

She let out a laugh, "What is this? Oh, you must be the priest. Can you help me father? There are children who came with me, and the bus driver was hurt. But there is no road."

First I'm a elf, now a priest. "Not a priest, but I have people who can help. If you're okay with other then human people."

She smiled at that "So Petal is real." She turned and beckoned at the haze in the air that slowly began to drift forward. The haze turned out to be a cloud of tiny pink particles that became more visible as it drifted forward and shrunk down into a denser, smaller cloud.

"She doesn't speak, at least not in words, but she led me here when I asked if their was someone who could help." The woman looked past me to look over at Rill as the lizard woman began calling for some help to gather up children and for someone named Szir to treat a injured human.

"She can speak. It will be nice to have met someone who can speak back." the cloud drifted back and spread out a bit, almost as if it was offended.

The woman reached out with a concerned smile. "No, don't be like that Petal, you were my first other intelligence. That means you will always be special to me. For being kind, you will always be my friend."

Ahhhh... Right, this was happening. "Welcome to St Kentigern's Petal." I reached out. "Sanctuary."

At that the woman began to sag a bit, so I wrapped a arm around her and led her to take a seat on the steps. "The name's Sean by the way, Sean Murphy from Cincinnati Ohio."

She nodded. "My name is Sofia Teixeira, I'm a Tertiari school teacher at East wood Tertiari, in Jacombia, Bahia."

I stared at her blankly, convinced for a moment she must be from some other world, until she rolled her eyes. "It's a city and a state in brazil." She shook her head and said in a resigned tone of voice. "Americano."

"Hey, that's like me asking you to know every state in America... which you could probably totally do, but you're a teacher. So that isn't a far comparison..."

I drifted off a bit, having totally lost the thread of the conversation. "...anyways, please to met you Mrs...tex shera?"

That got me a me a judgmental look with a bit of a smirk. "It's Miss and just stick with Sofia before you embarrass yourself."

"Too late."

About that time Chloe showed up and introduced herself, "Hi I'm Chloe, have some water." she handed Sofia a undersized dollar store bottle from the Bag. "The Bluestones are getting some stuff ready to go since we might have to camp out for the night since it's getting late. They think they can follow your trail back to where the children are but I'm worried they might freak if we show up without you. So do you think you can make it back with us tonight?'

Sofia nodded as she took a sip of the water. "Yes, I think I can make it back. but I don't think I will get much father then that, but I'm not sure about Petal."

Both the woman looked around. Sofia with some concern and Chloe in confusion. I pointed over to the still standing oak tree in front of the church. "She kind of settled into the branches of the tree."

Some pink became briefly visible and all three of us got the impression that the cloud like being was absolutely done for the day, and that the tree was something she needed.

I gave the cloud a sort of salute. "All yours Miss."

I was planning on going with them, but Chloe was on the move and Rill informed me that "You need to stay here and deal with other humans, my people don't need the stress of dealing with scared smelly giants."

I waited until she turned to leave before giving myself a sniff test. I don't know what she was talking about, but giant sounds better then elf.

Shoot. With the rite of Sanctuary, I got the feeling I was going to be left behind a lot. The power up? At least that's what I would call it, meant that I would be best off hitting everyone with it on holy ground everyday rather then going out looking for other people, or dealing with the demons that could not enter my holy ground, and might soon be gunning for me because of that.

A permanent rear echelon mother effer.

Which... really doesn't sound all that bad. I could help people the most here, so no guilt. It was just that I knew Chloe, and others, would be out there, and leaving me behind in every sense of the word.

Then Tok came out to let me know I that I would get to take a hot showers everyday by staying here and that made it all okay.

Shom turned out to have been one of the cooks on Tok's space station, and the blue frogs pretty much tasted like slightly rubbery chicken. But they took to the taste of the knock off brand dollar store barbeque sauce pretty well. It was even still hot from the grill when Tok ran a plate out for me during my vigil on the front porch.

"The Patel is taking a nap now so you don't have to sit out here all night."

The Patel? "So I guess you mean the dad? Do I still have a bed?"

She nodded. "For eight hours in the morning. You have a set of sheets set aside just for you to sleep on so that you don't have to share."

I must have looked a little unsure about that, because she told me "Have gratitude. The Verco are sleeping on the pews and both of your mattresses are too short for me."

I considered that and decided to check to see if she had a sense of humor. "So are you and the new guy planning on sharing one of them?"

She looked confused. "There isn't enough room for one of use them, let alone two...Oh." She finally got it. "I had not considered that, but I think I still like women, but I am not sure how two of them... us. Do that."

The dime finally dropped. "Did.. were you male, like, before...?"

She gave me a look. "I am not sure if you are unobservant or this was just too different for you to perceive." She laid her hand over her heart. "The station liked to keep all things in balance. To keep the genders at the same numbers. They choose to alter me so I would be male, but I always felt like I should have been female. The Upgrade, fixed that."

She looked out in the darkness. "It was something I think I would have gotten done after I finished my training and could demand a choice. Others had done so. But to be female now, outside of my people. I am unsure how it will be."

I could feel her not looking at me. "You want to be a girl, now you're a girl and that's the only way I've known you. but you might be better off talking to Chloe, she like girls too."

Now Tok looked over at me curiously. "Then you two are not together?"

I shook my head. "Nope. not like that, since I'm not a girl. But I'm pretty sure she won't care what you used to be either."

She adjusted her arms a few times. "I've read entertainments about people traveling to other realities, and taking lovers from mythical races."

What now? I got to my feet. "Whoa, sorry. This is not a conversation I can have about my best friend. It's would be like talking with someone, anyone, about my sister." I waved my hands back and forth. "Nope, nope, nope. Change of conversation. Do you think you can set up cell phone network?"

That's when I heard the sound of a shotgun racking a shell, and a voice called out. "Get away from him you god damned alien!"

And then the Rite kicked in.