I’ve found her. Richard’s voice cut through my confusion.

  A [Pianist]? How was that even possible?

  Briyain’s here too. Richard sounded less than enthused about our aquatic companion.

  As much as I wanted to support Tandy, my [Heart] tugged toward Meredeath. We’d all been trapped in mini-nightmares, and I suspected no less for Meredeath. The only question was, what did a [Death Knight] dream of?

  “We’re together now, we can figure it out.” I pulled Tandy close in a tight hug.

  “You really believe that, don’t you?” she said as we broke apart.

  “Of course.” Why wouldn’t I?

  Down to the core of me, right next to [Self Criticism] was the belief that Tandy, Leo, and I could figure out anything. We were down Leo, but honestly of the two of them, Tandy carried most of the problem-solving capabilities.

  Tandy gave me a gentle shove towards Richard.

  “When I thought you were gone…” Tandy’s voice trailed off. She shook her head as though trying to banish her own demons.

  “I’m still here.” I squeezed her hand.

  “Alright then.” Tandy’s shoulders slumped, as though I’d cut the string of her fear. Raising her head, she looked at me with steely determination. “Let’s go get Meredeath and get the hell out of here.”

  We stepped into the veil of Meredeath’s nightmare.

  Stay there this time unless I call for you.

  I gripped Tandy’s arm as she tried to step forward.

  Richard had returned to a smaller version of himself. Thankfully it was dark, as the muted air here felt dry, hot. I could almost hear him sizzle as he slimed across a dark road with confusing white lines.

  More of the metal carts sat around us, although in this reality they had black wheels instead of our wooden carriages.

  “What is this place?” I asked Ash, realizing I had a world translator with me this time.

  Ash brought his head up, his red-rimmed eyes scanning the area.

  “I don’t know where we are, but it looks like the parking lot of a roadside motel.” A breeze kicked up, sending the metal sign stating “Vacancy” clattering against the siding of a long, rundown building.

  If this were a hotel, then the doors facing us, open to the night air, must be to the rooms. What an odd concept. Metal frames held tiny miniaturized lanterns that flickered. One tall light on a pedestal cast a wide purple hue onto the parking lot.

  “Your world is odd,” Tandy said, no less awestruck than me. Again, I had to pull her back as she tried to step forward and touch one of the armored carts.

  “Your world has talking slugs, and magic, and you’re telling me my world is odd?” Ash had a point.

  “What are those metallic carts?” I squinted. The armored frame in front of me had dark-tinted glass.

  “That is a Saturn Ion, circa 2002.” Ash’s words meant nothing. He must have picked up on my annoyance. “It’s a car. A mechanical carriage.”

  We turned back to the scene.

  “Not a very good one either,” he added, frowning.

  A distant hum grew louder as two balls of light approached in the distance at an impossible speed.

  “Get ready to run,” I said, my legs bracing to react. I didn’t know what this fresh horror was going to do to us, but it couldn’t be good. Tandy’s eyes were wide as she, too, prepared.

  “The car?” Ash asked as he peered around us. “Guys, we’re fine. That’s just a carriage. It’s one of these.” He pointed to the metal carts around us. The distant hum grew into a roar.

  “It’s much bigger than one of these, and it’s moving faster than a fireball.” Not that I didn’t believe Ash, it’s just the thing coming towards us looked nothing like his blue Saturn Ion.

  “It’s a truck, they transport things.” The monster thundered towards us, hungry eyes staring ahead. Grilled mouth ready to snap at any moment. And then it was past with a gush of wind, wheels turning at an impossible pace.

  The smell of dung and fear left in its wake.

  “Cattle car,” Ash explained. “They always smell like shit.”

  I watched as the rump of the beast’s red secondary eyes stared us down as it rumbled into the distance. Meredeath had told us about the childhood mortality, and the lack of health potions, and I’d imagined their world a bit of a backwater. A place that lagged in safety, innovation, and happiness. Neither of my friends seemed to miss their former lives too much.

  Now, I wondered what other fresh horrors we had in store for us.

  “Cole, it’s Meredeath.” Tandy’s voice cut through my fears.

  The blue Saturn Ion’s door clicked open, revealing some well-known heeled black boots. We hadn’t seen her through the dark windows. She looked remarkably close to our version of Meredeath. Deep red lipstick, black netted tights, skirt leading up to a laced corset. Silver chains hanging from the boots.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I was pretty sure she’d worn this exact outfit, down to the skull medallion sitting below her neck. She kept looking at the glowing box in her hand, as though it held the answers she was seeking.

  “Come on, Lilly, I was supposed to be the rebellious one, not you.” Meredeath spoke her words to an uncaring night as we watched like an audience of ghosts.

  Her heels clicked against the ground as she seemed to use the box like a map. Like it was guiding her to treasure.

  Richard’s tentacles tracked her as she changed direction. He, like us, had assumed she’d been behind one door. The hotel’s doors were painted red in chipping paint, contrasting the purple faded paint of the buildings themselves.

  Meredeath paced between three, then two, of the doors as though trying to decide which one to knock on.

  She looked worried. Not frantic. Not yet. My mind added, as my dread grew. None of our dreams had been good.

  She picked a door, glancing at her glowing box one last time. Shoulders back, she raised her fist and knocked at the door hard.

  “Lilly, are you in there?” Her voice was firm, confident. It held none of the sarcastic, derisive commentary it normally did. Meredeath had put all scraps of her confidence into this act. “Lilly, I’m here.”

  Richard slimed towards Meredeath. Now that she wasn’t pacing, he was actually making some progress. He was a three-inch slug though, so it was slow going.

  I could hear muffled noises on the other side of the door, which lessened my worry that Lilly was dead. Meredeath also was clearly relieved.

  She pounded on the door again. “Lilly, I know you’re in there. Let’s go home.”

  The deadbolt’s turn was audible as the doorknob turned.

  Meredeath grabbed the handle and pushed, unwilling to wait for Lilly. The door slid open, hitting a chain that someone had latched across the threshold. From our vantage point in the veil, we could see into the room, but just barely.

  A slight slip of a woman stood in the four-inch space the chain allowed.

  “Go away, Meredeath.” The woman was pale and sounded tired.

  “She’s sick,” Tandy whispered. I brought my [First Aid] and [Analyze] skills to bear.

  [Lilly Steele - Sister of Meredith Steele. Class: [Error]. Specialization: [Error]. Lilly is drugged. Lilly is ill with a wasting cancer of her world. [First Aid] insufficient to offer treatment.]

  It was enough to know the logical conclusion of Meredeath’s sister’s progression. This sounded like a fatal disease of their world.

  “I don’t want to be saved.” The woman said, her words slurred. “I spent most of my life raising you, and now…” Lilly’s voice trailed off.

  “And now…” Meredeath whispered to herself. “You have no life left.”

  I could see Meredeath war with herself. The need to pull her sister back into her life. To live the rest of her days together. It was all at war with her sister’s desire for a bit of grace, and the ability to die on her own.

  “Open the door, for god’s sake. Are you drunk? You can’t afford to be drunk with the drugs you’re taking.” Meredeath rattled the door, emphasizing her point. Her voice edged with panic. “Lilly, come on. You can do this.”

  Richard had crawled within three feet, but he slowed up as Meredeath’s feet danced back and forth. I almost didn’t want him to bite Meredeath. Curiosity burned within me. I wanted to see how this played out, to learn a little about my friend’s history.

  “Come home with me. I’ll make Mom behave.” Meredeath was pleading now.

  “No one can make Mom behave. I’m not going. It’s her home, not mine. She’s never made a home for us, Meredeath.” Meredeath was pushing against the door with both of her hands. She eyed the four-inch opening as though calculating whether she could slip through. Lilly looked like she was pushing against the door herself to close it.

  “It’s not her home; it’s ours,” Meredeath said through clenched teeth.

  Behind the door, Lilly gave a low, half-hearted chuckle.

  “I can’t believe you still believe that after all this time.” Lilly sounded exhausted. She’d stopped pushing at the door, letting the chain do its work.

  “You told it to me.” Meredeath spoke the words like an accusation. “Everyone of her creepy boyfriends, getting locked out, running away. You told me. As long as we were together, we were home.”

  “I told a lost kid that she had a home, grow up.” Lilly’s words slurred. Richard inched forward as Meredeath leaned against the door. “She’s going to be all yours now. You’re going to have to write your own stories.”

  “Don’t say that.” Tears fell from Meredeath’s cheeks, as though her childhood was getting ripped from her heart. Meredeath had stepped back from the door, as though the weight of her sisters words had repelled her physically.

  “I’m dying, and there’s nothing you, or God, or Mom can do about it.” Lilly was bitter and detached. As though she had already resigned herself to her awful destiny. She closed the door, the deadbolt audibly sliding into place.

  Richard slimed up Meredeath’s boots, trying to get his fangs on flesh. Any moment now.

  “Fuck you,” Meredeath shouted, a surge of anger driving her on. Her fists banged angrily against the door. Suddenly she stopped and took a step back. Richard’s eyes were wide as he hung on.

  I didn’t see the telltale glimmer of his blue slime. He seemed powerless in this reality.

  “Fuck you for leaving me. For not fighting.” Meredeath had backed up and shouted at the closed door. She blurred between the Meredeath in the memory and the green-eyed [Death Knight] of my world.

  Meredeath stomped her foot with each syllable, as though she had the power to blow through her sister’s resistance. That her boots could magically blast through the chain on the door. Our Meredeath could, and for an instant I thought this Meredeath might.

  Richard’s tail had come loose, and half his body flapped as the front of his foot clung for dear life.

  I’m going to be sick. Richard’s tentacles swirled in the air as Meredeath’s foot swung around and kicked at the door.

  Briyain is here. I will help.

  What is that no-good cousin of a sea slug going to do?

  My thoughts mirrored Richard’s when the world shifted.

  We were inside now. A long white hallway.

  An individual in a blue cotton uniform stood in front of Meredeath.

  “Follow me, miss.” The lady said quietly, a shiny star badge sitting on her chest. It was as though she was apologizing for what was to come next.

  Meredeath looked paler, her makeup smeared on her face like a child had painted her. She dabbed at her eye with a paper napkin, as though she could stop the tears that had spilled over.

  The uniformed woman pushed open a double door.

  “Just bite her,” I whispered as the doors swung open.

  Tandy’s sharp inhalation said it all. Meredeath’s sister was laid out. The room was ceremonial, clean and covered in steel. A sharp contrast to Lilly.

  “It’s her,” Meredeath choked out, her feet unwilling to step into the room. I agreed and disagreed. It was her sister, but the face of the body was swollen, dark, and bruised as though the blood had pooled. Her clothes were tight with the bloat of death.

  “Thank you. That’s all that I needed. You don’t have to go further into the morgue unless you need to say goodbye.” The woman paused, waiting Meredeath’s decision.

  Richard picked that moment to finally get his act together by chomping down on Meredeath’s calf.

  The void take us, I didn’t have to see Meredeath’s broken expression war with the decision to spend one last moment with her sister’s corpse.

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