Taylor, Abigail, and Linne had almost finished cleaning Hailey’s room when Mk2 rose from the bed. “I think I need…” she muttered to herself.

Taylor turned, surprised to hear her speak. “What’d you say?” he asked.

“Nothing, I think,” Mk2 said as she kneeled to open the bottom drawer of her dresser. She gently moved aside clothes, then pulled a black notebook out.

“So that’s what’s in there.”

She sat back on her bed, unclipped a mechanical pencil attached to the notebook’s binding, then began writing.

Linne finished tying up a trash bag. “I guess you just got bored of laying there.”

“Sure.”

Linne shrugged. “Why don’t we leave her to her thing? I want to leave soon, so my mom doesn’t worry.”

“Sounds good to me.” Abigail agreed. “I think we’ve done everything we can at this point.”

The group left the room while Mk2 wrote in the notebook.

{To Hailey. This probably is written by your double, Mark 2 (ask Taylor about it). It’s difficult to explain, but I feel that I have diverged from the being I’m supposed to be. I also know that if I go back into your dream, I’ll die. I don’t want that to happen anymore.}

She frowned in thought for a while before finishing the paragraph.

{So I’m going to try something.}

She placed the notebook down and picked up her phone from the dresser. After some searching online, she found the number she wanted to call and dialed it in.

A young, chipper male voice spoke, “Yo, this is Jaine Kukui. I’m the resident professional necromancer in Conifera. Is this an emergency?”

“Can you help me?” Mk2 asked.

“With what?”

“I’m sort of Hailey Joul. I’d like if you would save my life.”

Clera Joul was not expecting to see the local necromancer at her door, though given the nature of her house’s current predicament, she wasn’t completely caught off guard.

“Yo,” Jaine said.

In front of her door was a smiling kid who looked the same age as Taylor, almost ready to graduate high school. He wore sunglasses, black clothes, and a black beanie and had a black duffel bag at his side.

Clera recognized Jaine, and she was not particularly fond of him. “And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” she said sardonically.

“Is that any way to treat a freezing young man?” His eyes looked to the ground, where she had subconsciously placed herself between him and the house’s entrance. “I’m only trying to help.”

She had assumed that was the case, but given he’d egged her house two years back and had indirectly caused what had happened to Hailey, she wasn’t happy to see him. She rolled her eyes and moved aside.

“Thank you.” He walked in casually.

Still, Clera didn’t let her guard down. This was a magic user she was up against. One wrong move and her house could be egged again, this time by ghosts or something! “But really, why are you here?” she asked bluntly.

“Someone just wanted me to save their skin—soul—anyway, they wanted my help.”

“Does this have anything to do with Hailey?”

“It does, but I’d say it has more to do with some…generosity between two lost souls.”

“One more vague comment and you’re out.”

“Jeez! Jeez! Okay, I gotcha! I’m here to save a reimagined soul from being reincarnated against her will.”

“Okay, get out.”

“That’s as concise as I can be!” he complained.

“Taylor!”

A voice yelled from upstairs, “Yes, mom?”

“Did you call the necromancer?”

“Jaine?!”

“No, Mark 2 called me up.” He put a hand up to his ear like it was a phone.

“Just don’t cause any more trouble for us, please. We’ve already gone though enough.”

Jaine’s expression turned serious as he frowned up at the older woman. “With all due respect, Miss Joul, I don’t intend on letting my hand slip a second time.” The necromancer slipped off his shoes and walked upstairs. What he’d said seemed to ease Clera’s nerves, somehow, and she let him pass without another word.

As Jaine walked into Hailey's room, Mk2 said, “Hi.”

“Hello,” Jaine said.

An awkward silence filled the room as he closed the door. “So…um…you asked me to save you.”

She nodded.

“In exchange for you…being my friend?”

She nodded.

“That’s cute, but it ain’t like I’m all that desperate. Besides, I don’t care that much about getting payment anyway. You know that, right?”

She looked away nervously. “I think I sort of did. I just don’t want to die.”

“I mean, you were crying into my ear about how much you’re afraid of dying. I could barely understand what you were sayin’ for the first five minutes.

“I’m sorry, I think.”

“You’ve got some funny way of speaking,” he said. “But hey, I’m used to being friends with weirdos.”

She glared at him.

Jaine sighed. “Yeah, I know. That was in poor taste.” When Mk2 didn’t respond, Jaine continued, “Look, I know Hailey and I…I know she hates me after everything that happened, but I hope that things don’t need to stay this awkward between us. You aren’t the only one who misses her.”

That earned him another glare, but it quickly melted away. “I’m sorry, I think. Hailey doesn’t even hate you that much.”

“Don’t worry, my skin’s a lot thicker now. I get it. How about we move on and get to the important stuff? What do you plan on doing once I’ve saved you? Do you plan on living here?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Okay…how about a name? Ya can’t exactly keep going by Hailey, right?”

She shook her head. “I want a new name, I think.”

“What about a name like…Yhavla?”

“That’s not a real name.”

He shrugged. “I thought it sounded cool. You can always change your mind later.”

“Make it a traditional name,” she said.

“So something nature-based similar to Hail-ey?”

“A plant.”

“A plant? Alrigh’, I got you, girl.” He pulled out his phone and looked something up. “What about…Clementine? Juniper? Hazel? Az–”

“No. I think I would rather make one up on my own, not use a list to determine who I am.”

He set his phone back down. “Uh, right. Um…plants…there are…orchids? You could be Orcha.”

“I don’t think I want to be a whale.”

“Then…Maple?”

“I think that’s my dad’s name.”

“Oops. I dunno, Gumba? Like a gumball tr–”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ew, I think.”

“Fair enough. But did that really need to be punctuated by an ‘I think’?”

“Sorry.”

“Sis, it’s fine, I don’t give a mudball how you talk. What about Snake? Like a snake plant?”

“So edgy, I guess.”

“Then I dunno, Alchemia?”

She frowned.

“No? Too edgy? Okay, what ab–”

“What is it?”

He pulled up his phone again. “Alchemia…mollis is a plant that’s used in alchemy, apparently. They used it to gather dew back in the day.”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded.

“Alchemia.” He slid his glasses down questioningly. “That’s the name you chose…? So much for not being too edgy.”

“You suggested it, I think.”

“You got me there, sis.”

Hailey shook her head and stood, dazed. “Oh, Kait, you’re back. Erm…did you come back to help me?”

Kait was gazing at the bubbles flying overhead and turned to face Hailey when she spoke. “H-hey,” Kait said awkwardly. “I got my translation spell working again.”

Hailey scratched her head. “Translation spell?”

“How do you think I talk Terainian if I was born centuries ago? I cast a spell to translate what you and I say.”

“Figures.” Hailey wasn’t sure why, but she felt vulnerable. She crossed her arms to comfort herself.

“Are you alright? Any headaches? A feeling of loss? An inability to think straight?” Kait walked to Hailey, observing her with concern.

“Uh, no. Why do you ask?” Hailey summoned a walking stick with her imagination and leaned on it.

“This place can, um…affect your mind. Those are just some of the symptoms.”

“Well, I’m fine.”

“Also, while we’re on the topic, you will lose most of your memories of this place once you leave. Just keep that in mind.”

“Huh. Well, now that you’re speaking my language, what even is this place?” Hailey gestured around the whitish-grey space around them.

“You are inside a portion of your mind that’s been scribed into The Consciousness temporarily, essentially putting you inside of a reimagined copy of your own mind.”

“Kait, if you keep speaking like that, I’m going to Power Word: Kill you.”

“I don’t know what that means, but if you kill me here, I could die for real.”

“Oh. Well, good thing saying power word—never mind.”

“Thank you for deciding not to play Russian roulette with my life.” Kait actually had a way to keep Hailey in check if necessary, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be hit by surprise.

“But does that mean you’re risking your life by being here?”

“Yep. No day like today, right?”

“Does that mean YOLO?”

“I don’t know. So, any more questions?”

“Um…I had a spirit with me who let me ask stuff, but they were pretty rude. They said they were, like, one of the primordial spirits. Do you know them?”

“Did you hear their name by chance?”

“No, I don’t think they mentioned it. They seemed to know you, though.”

“Hm. That’s either good or very bad. Some spirits don’t like me much.”

“Alright…how’s it going at home?” Hailey looked down. “Are people freaking out because I’m gone?”

“I guess you don’t have any idea what’s going on, do you?”

“No, duh. I thought I was a genius on the supernatural.”

“The sarcasm isn’t appreciated.”

“You don’t say,” she shook her head.

Kait sent Hailey an amused smile before saying, “The fact of the matter is that you haven’t been transported here. Instead, your body went to sleep, and your soul was sent away. Right now, something claiming to be part of you is controlling your body for some reason.”

“Sorry, you lost me on the BTW, you’re possessed part.”

“She seemed harmless enough.” Kait shrugged. “She was strange; never spoke with any certainty.”

“Urgh, her.”

“You know her?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Kait stared, waiting for more.

“What, you expect me to explain?”

“I suppose so. But it doesn’t matter, no doubt your body is in good hands.”

“No, they are in my hands.”

Kait chuckled, then the two fell silent.

Hailey fiddled with a lock of her hair. “Could I ask you something?”

“Maybe. To be honest, though, there is a lot that I can’t tell you.” Kait averted her eyes. “I’m sorry about that.”

“What was your family like?”

“Dead?” Kait said like it was a question. “I mean, my real parents died of illness when I was three. The rest of my family wanted nothing to do with me, and I was only taken in as an orphan because a witch learned I had an affinity for witchcraft.”

Hailey’s expression grew revulsed. “Wow…sounds like everyone around you were frackers.”

“Something like that. The mother I grew up with wasn’t a good person. Even then, I spent a good ten years with her, so…I still care for her.” She looked down. “She’s dead, anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter? Why would you care for someone who only helped you for a shallow reason like your affinity?”

“I-I don’t know. I grew up used to people being like that.”

“What, because you were born four hundred years ago?”

Kait nodded. “Maybe it’s just me, but people seem different these days.”

Hailey looked down. “But you aren’t like that. I’ve never seen you be anything but kind.”

She frowned. “You think?”

“I mean, I feel like there’s no way you’re that much of a…a goody-two-shoes, but…I…I’m sorry for anything I might have said to you, Kait.” Hailey blinked quickly, looking away. “I say a lot of things I don’t mean, and I don’t take responsibility for any of it. So, I’m sorry.”

They stood in silence for a while before Kait eventually spoke, looking up at the bubbles floating past them. “I’m envious of you, Hailey.”

“Why would you be?” The question was pretty redundant, considering the person she was speaking to. Even Hailey knew that much.

“I didn’t ever get a family. The only person I could really call my ‘mother’ never really cared for me, and after that, I was the odd one out on a farm filled with orphans. I…I didn’t know what a family was. For the longest time, I didn’t know what friends were like, either.”

Kait poked a bubble, and a picture of Hailey and her family smiling at the top of a waterfall landed in her hands.

“You’re lucky, to be born here and now, to have family and friends like them. I wish I could have had people like that when I was a kid. The only reason I’m the person I am now is because of my friends…” Kait touched her chest, where her necklace lay below her shirt. “Friends who I don’t have anymore.”

Hailey remained quiet, both of them looking away from each other before she turned, her eyes widening.

A thought passed through her mind: Kait lost everyone.

Hailey couldn’t imagine it. She couldn’t even fathom the sort of willpower it must take to keep living in her situation. Kait had fought on despite all of the odds. She was the sole survivor of her time, and even without a single person to call a friend, and in a world so unfamiliar, she was still here, giving Hailey, someone who pushed away everything she still longed for, advice.

What sort of masochist is this girl?

Kait turned back, a smile on her face. Somehow, until now, Hailey had completely failed to see through how terrifyingly forced the smile was. Kait was trying to cheer her up.

“So, show me around this place. I need an idea of what I’m dealing with.”

Hailey gaped at the witch, taken aback by her sheer generosity. This woman who had lost everything, who had grown up being treated as a tool, still had the optimism to cheer a loser like her on.

She blinked. “Is something wrong, Hailey?”

“N-nothing. Um…sure, I’ll give you a tour of the place while we head toward the exit?”

“Sure, why not?”

Hailey spread out her arms, gesturing toward the bubbles floating about the crater. “Well, this place has a bunch of random stuff floating around that I’d almost forgotten about. The crater is a long story.”

Kait nodded. “Understood.”

She pointed forward. “And if we walk that way, we go to a place where every step I view a different memory, and the other way is…an ominous nothingness.”

“Understood.”

Hailey silently began walking forward, nervously glancing back at Kait.

They walked for some time before Kait spoke. By the time she did, the ground had turned from a blinding white to a dark grey. “So…made much progress?”

“Sure.”

“You know, you aren’t the most sociable person.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Sorry, I misspoke.”

“Wait, you think I’m actually soci–”

“You’re quite unsociable.”

Hailey grumbled, “I really wish you were immortal right now.”

“If you did start torturing me, I’d just duck out. Then you’d have zero help.”

“I still have that one spirit to help me!”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s really interested in helping you. Those guys get paid by the hour, you know. They’d rather see you fail for a month than help you.”

“Are you trying to get on my nerves?!”

“Yes, actually. I was channeling my inner-Hailey.”

Hailey glared at Kait.

“That’s about how you speak most of the time,” Kait said.

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Got it…”

Kait smugly poked her ear closer to Hailey. “What did you say? I didn’t hear you, hehe!”

Hailey let out a deep breath. “I got it. I know. I’m an asshole.”

Kait blinked.

“What? What’s got you so surprised?!” Hailey asked indignantly.

“I didn’t expect you to just accept that.”

Hailey muttered, “Has everyone lost faith in me?”

“What was that?” Kait asked.

“Nothing.”

“Understood.”

Hailey paused, and Kait followed. “We’re here. But I guess I need to climb it all over again.” Hailey sighed and gestured to the cracked ground ahead of her. “My mind really wants to aggravate me sometimes.”