Seth shoved a small glob of peanut butter into his mouth, glaring at the second sun that had come up about thirty minutes ago. He had been walking for what felt like days and had been looking forward to night once he saw the sun start to set. It was just his luck for this place to have multiple suns. Even better, he had made no tangible progress for all his wandering. The landscape was the same barren wasteland of red and purple, with no end in sight. It was almost enough to distract him from the thirst. And the burning under his skin.

  Yes, the burning he had first felt upon arrival had not let up. Instead, it had steadily gotten worse. He had taken four of his generic ibuprofen, but they didn't help. When he took a minute to focus on it, he noticed paths to the burning, as if some of his blood were on fire. Once it became clear that the burning wouldn't kill him in the immediate future, weakness and lightheadedness assaulted him. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he had stopped sweating a while ago. He pulled out the waterskin and drank deeply from it. It might be poison, but if he didn't get any water, he was sure he would die soon.

  The burning in his body sped up its circulation and intensity, drawing a pained groan out of Seth. On the bright side, he felt a little less thirsty. Steeling himself, he drank until a coughing fit forced him to stop.

  He came to when a thumb-sized ant-like creature pinched at his exposed hand. The pain caused him to jerk his hand away. He flailed, desperately trying to rid himself of the creatures. After a moment, he realized that they weren't crawling all over him and stopped. Regardless, the bite had drawn blood, so he squeezed down on it until it stopped bleeding. When he looked again, the small ant creature was nowhere to be found, having retreated into the sand.

  To his surprise, Seth realized he felt better. The red splotch on the ground from where he was coughing up blood was alarmingly large, but he didn't feel any worse for wear. There was only one sun in the sky now. His veins burned, but nowhere near as badly. His lungs also felt less like someone had run steel wool over the insides. He also felt a weird, painful pressure coming from various points in his body. We can worry about this later. Stay alive first. Seth shook the waterskin, only to find it was almost completely full. Puzzled, he poured some more down his throat. The burning was more manageable this time. He drank some more. The skin was still full. With a smile, he fetched some more peanut-butter from his bag and put another spoonful in his mouth. He took a second to savor the sweet taste filling his mouth before setting off again.

  After some consideration, his next destination was a hill in the distance with a rocky spire coming out of it. It took him a couple of hours to reach that hill. He scaled the blisteringly hot rock using spare shirts as makeshift gloves. The climb took far longer than he would have liked, but he was high enough to see further into the distance. His reward was seeing slightly further along the endless sea of sand and stone, along with a canyon stretching as far as the eye could see in the distance. With no better ideas, he drank from the waterskin until his stomach was full. Then, he began his trek to the canyon.

  The canyon was even further away than he had thought, and another sun had risen before he reached it. When he got to the edge, he realized it wasn't a canyon, though Seth wasn't sure what to call it. It was at least several thousand feet deep. However, the fissure walls didn't reach all the way down. It was as if the planet he was on was a shell around the mass below. Various floating platforms formed a loose trail that someone could walk down, if they were brave enough. Vertigo washed over Seth, forcing him to look away from the edge.

  Reality rippled, and queasiness assaulted him. He blinked and saw three people in the distance. His heart beat, and one of them was right next to him. Manacles were already around his hands before he could finish gasping in surprise. Chains also bound his feet, having only enough slack to let him walk. The other two ran and yelled at Seth.

  "Identify yourself!" A bald man with bronze skin yelled while pulling out his saber.

  "I'm Seth. What is going on? Why are you doing this...?" Seth started.

  "Now, now, please speak so everyone can understand you. It's not polite, you know," chided the other man. He had a warm, expressive smile, though Seth didn't see that smile quite reach his eyes.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Seth objected.

  Before Seth could blink, the third man was an arm's length away from Seth. He moved his hands, and glowing symbols appeared where his fingers traced. The symbols felt wrong, as if there were a dark secret lurking around the corner. Then, the symbols flared to life, and the burning in his head and hands caused him to scream. The pain didn't last long, and when he could focus enough to look, he saw brands on the back of his hands that matched the symbols.

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  "Now, identify yourself," said the man who branded him. He had long, black hair, and his skin had a bluish tint that the other two lacked.

  "My name is Seth. Why are you doing..."

  Seth couldn't see the blow that snapped his head to the side. Blood flowed from a cut inside his cheek, where it pressed into his teeth. The pain registered a short while later.

  "Speak only when spoken to, and answer only what is asked." His tormentor turned away and addressed his companions.

  "Well, Bacchus, fortune smiles on you. While this isn't the one you foolishly let escape, it will do. Do your best to ensure this one makes it back to the compound. Another failure will not be tolerated. Samuel, ensure he doesn't fail. And educate him on how to speak to his betters. Preferably before he gets himself killed."

  "As you wish, master," said Samuel, bowing and performing what Seth could only interpret as a salute. Bacchus mirrored Samuel, and they both stayed bowed until the man was out of sight.

  The two then pulled a floating plank of wood about twelve feet by fifteen feet out of thin air and set Seth on it. When he was seated, the other two boarded, and the board began floating down one of the floating paths. Samuel searched him, confiscating the waterskin and the rings he had found. Fortunately, he left the rest of Seth's belongings. Now that he was out of immediate danger, his stomach grumbled loudly.

  "Promise not to try to run?" asked Samuel.

  Seth nodded, and just like that the manacles were gone. He looked through his bag for a can of beans and pulled out his portable burner before realizing that he didn't have any water.

  "Excuse me," Seth began. Bacchus scowled, while Samuel turned and tilted his head. "May I have some water?" He thought about asking for his waterskin back, but decided against it.

  Samuel smiled and shook his head while shooting a look at Bacchus before pulling out a waterskin and handing it to Seth. Seth opened it and drank what proved to be normal water. With that, he began cooking prep while paying attention to the conversation between Bacchus and Samuel.

  "... what if he runs? Better to keep his hands bound," said Bacchus.

  "And how exactly do you propose he eats?"

  "I mean when he's not eating. Leaving his hands free..."

  "Bacchus, how do think he's going to get away? His feet remain bound, and I don't see him running on his hands."

  "We know nothing about him."

  "Are you saying you believe this man," Samuel gestured at Seth, "can take both of us on?"

  "It's an unnecessary risk."

  "A very low one. Now, I understand your being on edge. Today has been a rough day," Samuel said. "However, I have the situation under control. Or are you questioning my ability?"

  Bacchus stared at Samuel and glared at Seth before sighing in resignation.

  "Now that we have that settled, please pilot the hoverboard while I get our new initiate settled," said Samuel.

  While they were talking, Seth heated a can of beans. After they finished cooking, he pulled out a rusted metal spork and started eating. Samuel came up and watched, as if Seth were an exotic animal, not saying anything. Seth ate his meal quietly while Samuel watched. When Seth had finished eating, he cleaned up, making sure to even lick the spork clean. When he finished his mealtime ritual, Samuel finally started speaking.

  "So, Seth, how did you end up here?" asked Samuel, with a playful lilt in his tone.

  "I wish I knew. One moment, I'm in a nice, cool library. Next, I'm walking through an impossible door, and here I am."

  "Ooooh, so you're just unlucky, then."

  "Unlucky?"

  "You'll find out more once we get to the compound in a couple of days," Samuel said, a bit more soberly.

  "Is there any reason you can't tell me now?"

  "The elders want to make sure everyone has the same explanation of what is going on. Part of the rules. Anyway, I have questions," said Samuel, more cheerfully.

  Before Samuel could get too excited, Seth asked, "Before that, how should I address you and your... colleague?"

  "Colleague... that is a new way to describe us," Samuel chuckled while Bacchus glared. "You may address me as Brother Samuel, or elder brother if you prefer."

  "He should address you as senior or elder brother, elder brother," said Bacchus.

  "Bacchus actually has a point. Though I'd tack on the name if more than one senior brother is listening. Best to get in the habit now, I'm afraid. Thank you, dear... colleague."

  Over the next several hours, Samuel and Seth traded information. Seth gave some information about his home, but was vague on details. He was careful not to mention anything about his illness. Fortunately, his normal coughing fits didn't come back. In return, Samuel told him about the rules and customs of the place they were heading to. No information about what the purpose was, though he did refuse to remove the shackles on his feet. After this, Bacchus told Samuel that he needed to rest and recover. Samuel went to the front of the board, while Bacchus came to the back and sat down wordlessly. Rather than further irritate the man, Seth took stock of where he was.

  Now that they were a ways down, Seth could see that there was a whole planet beneath the blasted crust. Sunlight filtered down through the cracks and into glowing domes on the ceiling. In turn, those domes lit the planet below like a hundred miniature suns. And the planet below looked more hospitable, with lots of grass and some trees. On the horizon and a couple of miles away, he saw some buildings. After a while, some of the orbs went dark, though they were still absorbing light. The darkness reminded Seth's body that it had not slept in a long, long time.

  "Get some sleep. We're a couple of days away," said Bacchus, before returning to his silence. Not able to see anything, and having a hard time keeping his eyes open, Seth dropped off into a deep, dreamless sleep.