---Crawford---

     We sit around the campfire, imagining frankfurters and roasted marshmallows. At least I am. Can't help it. When hunger's on the mind, it's hard to think about much else.

     Em and Comma haven't made it back yet. I can tell that some of us—without naming names—are thinking they won't ever be coming back. I can't exactly blame them. But the rest of us, those who've been with this group long enough, know better.

     "They're probably just lost," says Mya, leaning her head on Edgar's shoulder. My eyes start to water—on account of the smoke that's blowing into them, of course. I'll bet that conniving fire mage made the smoke blow that way on purpose.

     "And no one thinks we should do something about that?" Ace stares us down. "We don't know what's out there. They could have..." He takes a deep breath and rises to his feet. "I'm going to go look for them."

     Liluye grabs him by the wrist and pulls him back down. "You're not going anywhere," she says, her voice wavering. The rest she says via a series of confounding facial expressions—ever the silent type.

     I've got to admit, she scares me a little. They both do—she and Em. The rippers. It's different from Rex and Comma. We know they aren't human, nor have they ever been. But the rippers—they're us. Or at least that's how they started out. As for what they're becoming...

     Ace breaks free from Liluye's grip and steps over Topher, who passed out about an hour ago.

     "Ace!" she calls after him, but he's already vanished into the darkness of the woods.

     "I'll go talk some sense into him," says Edgar, wriggling away from Mya, like he doesn't even appreciate what he's got. I've never wished ill on my fellow man (except on the internet), but if he's the next of us to meet a bad end, I won't put up a fuss.

     Nature calls before I can even fully process that thought. "If you ladies will excuse me," I say, much to the chagrin of Jun, who I forgot was still here. Oh, and there's the demon, too, but he's not even listening. He just stares at the flames, probably plotting our murders. With that reassuring thought in mind, I head off to take a leak, seeking privacy behind a bone tree.

     After I've zipped up, I have at the tree with my ice pick—got to let off the steam somehow. The ice pick scratching up against the bone makes this screechy whine that makes me want to puncture my ear drums. Deciding that my venting is counterproductive, I decide to go catch up with Ace. Edgar's got no sensibility, and Ace is a bit of a loose cannon. If Edgar tries to dissuade him, it'll probably just piss him off. Not that I'm the diplomatic type, but someone's got to do damage control.

     I hurry through the woods, and by hurry, I mean walk at a moderate pace. I'm not exactly made of energy these days, am I?

     I hear their voices before I can see them.

     "All I'm saying is, going out to look for them is reckless, from where I'm standing." That's Edgar. You have to wonder how he can even manage to see where he's standing with his head so far up his own ass.

     "Without them—"

     "We wouldn't be here. I know. And would that really be such a bad thing?"

     I flatten my back up against a tree, bumping into it in the process. I break out in a sweat, but they don't seem to have noticed my fumbling, as they continue with their conversation.

     "They're going to get us to this Ganeden place," says Ace.

     "You really believe that?" I can hear the familiar snark in Edgar's voice that makes me want to wring his neck. "You want to know what I think?"

     No one cares what you think, jackass.

     "I think you're going to tell me anyway," says Ace.

     "I think you've been hanging around those two for too long. You've lost perspective."

     "What's that supposed to mean?"

     "It means life, even in this post-apocalyptic multiverse, doesn't need to be a constant struggle for survival. The way Mya tells it, Em and Comma have led you into one life-threatening crisis after the other. This is only the latest. Nothing more. You'll be back to sneaking around in the shadows in no time—those of you that survive, anyhow."

     "You better watch your mouth. You don't know what it was like before they showed up. Liluye and me, we lived in this community—"

     "Yeah, yeah. I know all about Wates and your little arrangement with the demon horde."

     There's a brief pause. "You've been talking to Rex."

     "That doesn't matter. What matters is this: Wates was weak. You want to know the key to surviving in this world?" Edgar stalls for dramatic effect, and I can picture him flipping back those auburn bangs of his. "You've got to get in with the strong. You need a leader who won't be submissive, who'll take what he wants, when he wants it, instead of bending over backwards whenever—"

     I hear what sounds like Ace clocking Edgar in the face. Oh, if only I could have seen it! There's a thud as Edgar hits the ground.

     "Crawford?"

     I nearly choke on my muffled laughter. Lowering my head, I step out of my cover. "H-how did you...?"

     "You're not here to try and stop me, are you?" Ace asks, blood from Edgar's busted lip on his still-clenched fist. Edgar glares up at me, clutching his chin.

     "No. I wanted to lend my assistance."

     Ace nods. "Fine. Let's get a move on."

---Em---

     We climb back up to the plateau to find that the landscape has changed in our absence. The cloud forest has drifted out of sight, allowing the light of the stars to shine down on the barren terrain. The frozen puddles are all glowing orange. Upon closer inspection, they're swarming with tube-shaped insects, each the size of a fingernail. They scatter whenever we step onto one of the ice puddles, and then they wriggle their way back afterwards. The orange glow emanates from their skin, which reflects the light of the one and a half moons above us.

     "They're harmless," says Melody, noticing my squirming at the sight of them.

     I shudder at the thought of one of those maggot-like creatures worming its way up my leg. "You can never be too sure about that."

     "They come out every night and eat the ice. Their digestive systems process it back into that jelly stuff. Then each evening, the cloud trees come along and transform the puddles again, replenishing their food source. It's a self-sustaining cycle."

     "In other words," says Comma, "they eat their own frozen sh—"

     "Quiet." Melody holds up a hand. She tilts her head back and forth, scanning the terrain. I don't see anything, other than the tube bugs.

     "What is that smell?" Comma asks, wrinkling her face.

     I sniff, but my nose is a little congested. "I don't smell anything." The glow of the tube bugs doesn't reveal anything, other than the usual clay arches and furry boulders.

     "It's like mud but... fleshy."

     "Golem." Melody spins around. "We'll need to take another route."

     "Are you kidding?" Comma beams. "Bring it on."

     "That's a bad idea. If the golem notices us, it'll call its friends. What was only one golem can become a swarm of over a hundred within minutes. And even a single golem bite can be fatal."

     "Do they infect you?" I ask. I'm no stranger to the whole infection deal, being a zombie apocalypse survivor and all.

     Melody shakes her head. "We need to go—now. We can worry about their modus operandi later." She veers off path, heading to our right. I've lost all sense of direction—she could be leading us just about anywhere.

     Reluctantly, Comma and I follow after her. But not before our eyes have another silent argument about whether or not we can trust her. If anything, Comma ought to find this deviation from our little bout of déjà vu reassuring.

     Our roundabout path leads us to the edge of the bone tree woods, although it takes about twice as long to reach there as it did for us to journey out as far as we did. Problem is, the woods appear to cover an area the size of a small city. And without any landmarks to guide our way...

     "I don't think this is the same part of the woods we came out from," I say, scouring the trees for something, anything, even remotely familiar.

     "One way to find out." Comma nods at Melody. "Use the Q-blip."

     Melody gives her a confused look. "Why?"

     "Just do it."

     "Whatever you say." She pulls out her Q-blip and powers it on. Her fingers tap on the touch screen. "Nearest major cosmic disturbance..."

     "Hang on." I snatch the Q-blip out of Melody's hands. She goes for her beam sword at once. "Whoa. Relax. I'll give it back. Promise."

     "So he says..." Comma mutters.

     "I just want to know how this thing works."

     Comma sighs. "The Q-blip detects cosmic disturbances, like Melody said. Things like rips. That's all you need to know."

     "That's not good enough."

     "The Q-blip's radar isn't constrained to a single dimension," says Melody, apparently more forthcoming with the exposition. "It can scan multiple overlapping dimensions at once. And each Q-blip is linked to a multiversal network that stores data on all explored dimensions. So basically, you can use it to pinpoint a world you want to travel to and then calculate the most efficient route that'll lead you there."

     "And what about the compass thingy? The phylactery."

     "Phorophyx," says Comma. "And does that really matter right now?" She snatches the Q-blip and hands it back to Melody—a sign of good faith. "Narrow the signal. Scan for minor dimensional rifts."

     Melody frowns. "Why?"

     "We've got a shikigami in our group. If we can hone in on the fluctuations caused by her aura..."

     "What?" Am I the only one who doesn't understand a word of this?

     "Deities," Melody explains, "cause minor cosmic rifts when they travel to a world other than the one they originated in."

     "Oh. Sure. Whatever."

     "I've got something." Melody's face lights up—a dazzling display of fireworks twinkling in her pupils. Did I really just think that? Cheesy, much? "This way."

     We wander through the forest of bone trees, tracking Miu-sama's signal via the Q-blip. The trees grow thicker the further we travel into the forest. After a while, I start to get the impression that we're headed the wrong way.

     "I don't remember having to walk this far to get to the edge of the woods."

     "That's because your tired," says Comma. "The more tired you are, the longer the distance seems."

     "I don't get it," Melody mutters, her face glued to the screen. "We should be within arm's reach of the fluctuations. So where are your friends?"

     I should have known. We're lost—this place doesn't look even the least bit familiar. The trees weren't this thick in the area where we set up camp.

     Comma spins around. "Hang on. I feel... a presence." She wanders over to one of the bone trees and circles it. I follow her. There's a dark cavity on the opposite side where the bone has rotted away, large enough to fit a bear-sized creature. Comma crouches down in front of the cavity. "Hello? I know you're in there. You can come out now."

     Oh yeah—great idea! Egg on the mysterious force responsible for a cosmic fluctuation. What could possibly go wrong?

     A pair of glowing eyes flicker in the dark. Something furry comes darting out of the cavity. It pushes past Comma and pounces at me. Melody activates her beam sword, but before she can take aim, the creature's got me in a bear hug.

     I stare down at... a young girl. I'd mistaken her brown rags for fur. Her skin's streaked with mud and her dark hair is tangled up in knots. She stares up at me, her eyes watering, and then buries her face in my shirt.

     "Aw, you poor thing," says Melody, bending over to stroke the girl's hair.

     "Get away from him," Comma says through barred teeth.

     Melody raises an eyebrow. "Jealous, much?"

     "Not you—her!" Comma points at the girl and readies her chakram.

     I look down at the girl again. She clutches me, trembling. Her tiny frame flinches at the sound of Comma's voice. I glare at Comma. "What's your problem?"

     "My problem?" Comma gapes at me. "Don't you recognize her?"

     "Um... no?" I'm fairly certain I've never seen that face before in my life.

     "Well you should," says Comma. "That's Eloise."

Author's Note:

It's everyone's favourite psychopathic terrestrial! But what's she doing here? And does this mean the beast is lurking nearby?

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