It was the time of the morning when the sky was yet blackened by night.  Stars, distant and faint, twinkled.  One was slightly brighter than the others.  Contessa Philips smiled up at the sparkle, but it quickly ebbed.  She could sense something was wrong.  She’d awoken to a great jolt passing through her body.  And below her second-story apartment, she could see no one walking.  There was always someone walking in Andaropolis.  She nibbled on her lip and turned to leave her room.  Dad will know what’s going on.  She nodded self-assuredly.  Of course he would.  Mike always knew what was going on.  There were perks to being the mayor’s daughter, after all.  Her fingers rapped slowly on the door.  “Dad?”  The carpet mushed up between her toes, only a few months old.  “Dad?  Are you okay?”  The door creaked open.  She took a few steps toward his bed with cautiousness; his bedroom was expressly forbidden to her except in the case of an emergency.  She wasn’t sure whether this counted as one or not, but it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.  “Dad, what’s—”  She reached to shake his body, but it rolled over with relative ease.  His eyes were wide, unblinking, dry.  Long were his limbs stiff and cold.  A shriek spilled from her lungs unknowingly.  The cool wall caught her back, keeping her from collapsing.  Something was wrong, something was so wrong, Tess didn’t think anything would ever be right again.  “Jason!” she bleated.  “Jason, help!”  Was he home?  She wasn’t sure.  She scrambled to her feet and sprinted from the room, the room permeated with death. 

            Her brother stepped from his room.  “Tess, what the—”  The front door flew open.  A loud explosion sounded.  It echoed in her ears.  They rang dully.  Her eyes didn’t recognize the form as it fell, didn’t note the spattered gore flying from Jason’s skull and dusting her shirt.  Her mouth hung open.  A battle of two emotions were raging a war within her—awe and horror.  And the figure, the one that had just entered, dark and looming and—Oh my God he killed Jason he killed Jason he killed my brother and he’ll kill me too oh my—

            “Well hey there, prissy.”  He grinned at her.  Sickening yellow and black teeth poked out of his lips.  His face was both young and old.  “The mayor’s daughter.”  There was a bulge in his coat pocket, round and seeming to give off a surreal light.  “Where may Daddy be, prissy?  Dear old Sylvester needs to speak with him.”

            Her voice quavered.  “He’s dead.”  And with it, her hands.  They clenched into hard fists.  “He’s dead, you bastard!”

            Sylvester drew close to her.  His breath stank of rot.  It steamed hot against her cheeks.  His foul tongue slithered out of his mouth, crossing his thin, slimy lips.  “Ah-ah-ah, now.  Prissy.”  His hand cradled her chin.  It was cut and coated with grime.  “Dear Daddy wouldn’t want you using such foul language, now, would he?”  Gooseflesh erupted down her spine.  “Would he, prissy?”  He drew back.  “But.  Since he’s dead, and you’re mutated…”  He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a glowing gem, spherical and perfect.  “I guess there’s no one to keep me from stealing this, now, is there?  No, no one at all.”  He smirked.  “All there’s left to do is to kill you and watch this planet crumble.”  He lurched forward.  His body weight slammed into her full force.  The window caught her for a moment before shattering.  She spiraled into the black destruction of the city below. 

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            “Are you alright?”  The voice was soft, echoing through a distant tunnel.  “Miss?  Miss, it’s not safe here.”  She had a vague sense of wooziness.  It was all dark and black behind her eyelids, which seemed glued closed.  “Wake up.  C’mon.  You’re not dead yet.”  A brief silence ensued.  Then the breath was knocked out of her.  Pain shot through her chest.  She groaned and opened her eyes.  She was slung over a man’s shoulder.  His rocking gait swayed beneath her.  At her sound, though, he came to a halt.  “Good.  You’re, um, awake.”  He settled her feet back on the ground.  It was a relief.  His dull green eyes refused to meet her vivid ones.  It appeared that he wanted to say something, but his voice was playing keep-away.  His Adam’s apple bobbed. 

            She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.  “Who are you?” she demanded.  Her previous judgment was a bit off—he was no man.  Old enough to be classified as such, perhaps.  But he was a slight figure, fair-skinned, and bearing a shy, introverted, “please don’t hurt me” appearance overall.  This boy knew no more about manhood than a newborn baby. 

            He cleared his throat, keeping his eyes on the toes of his boots.  “Gage Beckley.”  His voice was barely audible.  It was a dry whisper, like the last autumn’s leaf clinging desperately to the tree before winter’s harsh breeze sucked away its will to live and with it, its life.  He sucked in a breath and hurriedly replied, “And you?”

            She rolled her eyes.  “Of course you know who I am.”  He stared blankly at her.  “I’m the mayor’s daughter.  Hello?  Contessa Philips?  But you can call me Tess,” she hastily tacked on.  Her eyes flicked left and right.  Broken glass scattered the pavement and dug into her bare feet.  She became aware of the dull pain aching through her chest and back.  Fire smoked up from the surrounding buildings.  Her mouth was dry.  She blinked down at her hands.  “What in God’s name is going on?” she whispered, horrified. 

            He forcefully brought his eyes to meet hers.  “The Soul Orb was stolen.  The radiation level spiked.  Everyone is either dead or…” He gulped.  “Mutated.”  Her eyes widened.  “This isn’t the place, though.  This way.”  He led the way into the tree line.  Tess grimaced with every step.  Soil was working its way into her cut feet.  Glass shards were stuck in her soles, she was sure. They were grinding into her flesh.  She ground her teeth and tried her best to keep up with Gage.  The forest’s silence was unsettling.  There were no birds, no bugs, no quiet humming.  Even the winds were still.  The trees weren’t creaking and moaning.  Everything was silent other than the squish of mud between Tess’s toes. 

            “Where are you taking me?” she snapped, eyes gleaming hotly. 

            “My house,” he replied quietly and without further detail.  Shadows danced under the trees.  There was no sun; only darkness and darker darkness.  The shadows dappled Gage’s smooth black hair.  It cast him in an air of mystery.  Perhaps because he was mysterious.  But everything was mysterious in this new world, a new world and strange people burst into her apartment in the wee hours of the morning only to kill her brother, and throw her out of a window.  This was certainly a new world.  Tess locked her jaw.  She would have to fix it.  She would have to change everything back to what it once was. 

            “Here.”  His voice brought her out of her determination-filled stupor.  His home was a sleepy, dreary ranch house.  It may have had color at one time, but now it was graying, chipping, fading.  What was worse, however, was the stench.  The whole place reeked of rotten death, as though the devil himself had taken a shit right on the damned place.  In her peripheral vision, Tess could see what appeared to be animal carcasses.  “None of our stock survived the change,” Gage explained softly. “My dad, either.  I was heading to town to find my older brothers when I found you.”  His voice fell away.  Tess glanced at him sympathetically.  I guess I’m not the only who has lost. She wandered absently if he would join her on a journey to retrieve the Soul Orb. How ridiculous was that; of course he would.  He would want to fix everything as much as she did.  She nodded to herself.  Definitely.  He would come.  He had to.  He was her rescuer, after all, and she his damsel in distress, no matter how appalled she was by that idea.  He would stay with her.

            “We have to fix this,” she murmured.  “Together.  We can go to the tower and find the thief and return the Soul Orb to its rightful place.  Then the radiation levels will repair themselves and everything will be alright.”  Her palms went a bit sweaty at the thought.  She pushed away her fear.  She was the eldest and only remaining child of the mayor of Andaropolis.  Protecting the city was her duty.  Even if it meant saving the whole world. 

            His hand brushed against the small of her back and ushered her to the front door, not replying on the account of the adventure she wished to partake.  “I’ll get you some clothes.”  Her pajamas were torn, her feet bared, cut, and dirtied.  She blushed a bit.  He gestured to a beat-up leather couch and disappeared around a corner.  The house was small, untidy but not filthy, clearly owned and run by men.  Tess frowned.  Her father would never have let his home look at all unclean or unprofessional.  This place was too relaxed.  She sighed and bent to examine her feet.  They were caked in mud with splinters and glass shards.  She tugged at a one and hissed in pain.  Gage rounded the corner again.  “Hey, stop that.”  He pushed her hands away.  “Do that after you wash them.”  His form vanished around the corner again, leaving behind a long-sleeved shirt that was four sizes too big and a pair of pants that was at least that much.  She slithered into them without a thought and waited for his return.  When he came, he carried a large bowl of water and a sponge.  “Here.  Wash your feet off.”  She snatched the rag away from him and went to rubbing at her sore, raw, tender feet.  The mud crumbled away.  In its wake were glass and splinters.  Her soles had been cut to ribbons.  The way here had been a panic-induced stupor, but now, once she could fully analyze the situation and what had been lost, it crashed upon her like resonating thunder.  She bent her head and began to cry.  A journey? An adventure?  There’s no time for that!  She sniffled.  Jason and her dad deserve a proper burial, but she’d fled from her home with a stranger.  A well-intentioned stranger, sure, but the road to hell was paved with good intentions.  And as she cried, he only stared at her.  What else could he do?  He cleared his throat awkwardly and sank onto the ground before her, taking each of her torn feet into his hands and carefully sponging them, picking the glass shards out.  He then wrapped them in some dry, clean linen wordlessly, letting her cry.  Tears were to be expected.  As he released her right foot, he raised his eyes to her.  The mayor’s daughter.  He’d heard of the family, of course, in his brothers’ letters.  The four of them had left the farm when they came of age, but Gage had stayed.  He had stayed when their mother died, and then when the radiation came and their father died, and though he’d left, he had returned and still remained.  But he knew that there was no home here any longer.  His animals were dead.  He had headed to the city in the hopes of finding his siblings and instead returned with the mayor’s daughter, who, he had to admit, wasn’t quite as lovely as he’d imagined. “Are you alright?”  He failed to see how being a good host related to the current doomsday situation at all, but old habits die hard.  “Can I get you anything?”

            She pulled away sharply, glaring at him with accusatory emerald eyes.  “I don’t need any help from you.”  Her voice was cold, though thick with tears.  Gage’s heart gave a faint ache, both for her and for himself.  She’d awoken to find the world different, changed, and her father apparently dead.  He didn’t know the details.  He didn’t want to.  She turned away from him.  Her messy, vibrant ginger curls were tangled with stick and twigs.  He reached to pull one out, but she slapped his hand away.  “I can fix this by myself!”  She stumbled to her feet.  Her face contorted into a cringe, but she still limped a few feet to the door before Gage rose and stopped her.

            “Take it easy.”  She recoiled from his touch.  “I’m not going to hurt you.”  Saying that wasn’t worth wasting his breath.  The fear, though hidden by anger, was etched deep into her mind.  He could see it in the flare of her nostrils, in the whites of her eyes.  He saw in her the yearling colt preparing to be gelded and trained; it was the fear that made her aggressive.  “Look.  I know a little more about this than you.  Can you please, please sit down so I can explain?”  She wasn’t convinced, he knew, but he also knew that her feet were killing her.  She sank back down onto his couch.  “You’re a nature holder.  When the radiation levels spiked during the night, you were mutated.  Now you can control plants.  Do you understand?”  Her face was clouded by uncertainty, but she still nodded.  “Some people didn’t mutate.  Their systems couldn’t handle the radiation and they died.  Others were driven mad.  And all because the Soul Orb was taken from the tower.”  He stopped.  That was the gist of it, after all.  She didn’t need to know his personal story.  He didn’t know hers, after all.

            Her mind traveled back in time, back, back, back to where the villain had pulled the glowing sphere from his pocket.  The Soul Orb.  He’d taunted her with it, just before he tried to kill her.  What was his name?  He’d told her, hadn’t he?  Of course he had.  Narcissistic villainous characters like him had to spread their names around.  They needed everyone to know their crimes and who committed them.  “Sylvester.”  That was his name.  He’d told her such when he was searching for her father before he knew the man was dead.  Gage inclined his eyebrows at her, asking an explanation.  “He came into my apartment.  He…He had the Soul Orb.  But I didn’t know what it was.  I was just trying to get away.”  Her trembling lips confessed her guilt.  “I could’ve…I should’ve…”

            “Done nothing.  He would have killed you the instant you tried to stop him.”  Gage wasn’t sure how to comfort her, but it had to be done.  He had saved her.  It was his duty now.  They were allies, no matter how tentative.  “So you want to go on an adventure, huh?”  She brought her head up.  Her eyes danced with determination.  Fear was there, but her motivation to win, to obtain revenge, to fix the world was much, much stronger.  Though her eyes were red-rimmed, they were fierce.  “I’ll come with you.”

            “Really?”  Her weakness was gone.  Her voice was strong.  “I mean…I guess I could let you tag along.”

            Internally, he smirked.  On the outside, he kept his face level.  “We leave at nightfall.”  He took a glass from the end table and water materialized from his fingertips, filling it quickly.  “Have something to drink.”  Her bushy eyebrows questioned him, so he continued, “I was mutated, too.  I can produce water.  It won’t hurt you, I promise.”  His voice was sincere.  She sipped it carefully, eyes never leaving his form.  As it tasted clean, she sucked at it more eagerly.  She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was.  He averted his gaze from her.  “We should probably try to get some rest.”  Tess nodded.  Weariness dragged at her pained feet.  He rose and headed down the hall.  A door clicked shut.  She kicked her feet up on the couch and rested her head on the armrest.  Thoughts swam loosely about in her head until she finally succumbed to sleep.

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            “It’s time to rise.”  Gage’s voice was soft and serene.  His form was indiscernible from the blackness of night’s raven shadow.  “Dusk settled two hours ago and grows only heavier.  Up!”

            Tess fumbled around, trying to find her feet.  She squeaked in pain and pitched forward into his chest.  He stumbled back.  “Sorry, sorry!”  She grimaced and pushed herself off of him.  “Sorry, I just—I’m—I just…”  She let an unsteady breath.  “Sorry.” Walking wasn’t going to be fun for her, but she didn’t have a choice.  “I’m ready to go.”  She tried to sound sure of herself. 

            “Here.”  He passed something to her.  She fumbled with it for a moment before identifying strings.  Leather boots.  She slid her feet into them with ease.  “Lace them tightly around the ankles and looser around your feet.  It’ll keep them from squeezing.”  In the dark, he couldn’t see her roll her eyes.  She laced them like a normal pair of tennis shoes and stood, waiting for him to lead the way out.  A soft pressure came onto her bicep.  Was he trying to drag her out?  She jerked away from his touch.  How old did he think she was, seven?  She was seventeen, for God’s sake!  She could walk on her own, even if it was painful.  He shrugged and left the small house.  She followed his dark form from the open expanse of farmland to the silent forests surrounding.  She’d heard the name before; the dark forest often protected Andaropolis from attack, as many places believed in the lore surrounding it.  The forest of Umbracia.  She gulped in spite of herself and stuck close to Gage. There was no moonlight dappling the ground; the canopy was much too thick for that.  The swampy ground squished over her boots and threatened to trip her.

            When it arose, her voice was much weaker than she intended it to be.  “Huh-How big is this forest?”  She crossed her arms over her chest.  It was too chilly for her liking; gooseflesh seemed to have embedded itself into her arm. 

            “About fifteen miles wide, till we get to Fuetigan.”

            “We’re going to the volcanoes?  Are you insane?  Dragons live there!” Tess cried incredulously.  “We’ll be burned alive!”

            There was a moment of silence before he dubiously replied, “You don’t have to do this, you know.”  She remained quiet.  He continued, “Fuetigan would be one of the best places to hide a precious item.  No one traverses there without risking death.  I think it’s a good place to start.”  His steps were rhythmical and smooth with steadiness; it was obvious that he had spent a great part of his life in these woods, traveling them, mapping them in his mind.  Tess, on the other hand, was limping and fumbling through the blackness.  He came to an abrupt halt and she slammed into him from behind.  “Oh my God.”  She peered around his shoulder. 

            The trees were bent down and over, twisted and gnarled into sharp obstacles.  Moonlight, previously blocked by thick leaves, streamed down freely.  “What happened to them?” Tess hissed in horror. 

            Gage gulped.  “I don’t know.  Stay close to me.”  He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she didn’t shrug it off.  His foot tentatively reached over a log and landed on a firm branch.  It quavered but didn’t buckle.  His other foot followed.  He turned back to her, features illuminated sharply in the silver moonlight.  He hiked an eyebrow at her.  She followed his caution with clumsiness, floundering about for balance on the branch when, in reality, the ground was six inches away.  “We’ll have to climb through.  The ground is unpassable.”  She nodded.  She’d suspected as much.  He crouched down with his arms extended, as though he was about to take off in flight.  After assuring himself of his balance, he began to unlace his boots. 

            “What are you doing?” she demanded, horrified. 

            “I can balance better with bare feet.”  His eyes didn’t meet hers.  He was too busy keeping his balance.  “You should leave yours on.  Unless you really want more splinters.”  She shook her head vivaciously.  He stood unsteadily and threw his boots across the mass of tangled branches and roots.  They landed safely on the other side.  Tess sucked in a deep breath.  Now it’s time for us to do the same.

            They leapt from branch to gnarled branch, growing steadily higher and higher off the ground.  Tess permanently attached herself to Gage’s arm as though she’d become one of his appendages.  The tree trunks became thinner and more spindly, but even more wildly crossed and tangled into a woodland mass.  Gage’s long toes reached toward a stick, lightly putting his weight on it.  It groaned in protest, but he persisted.  His right foot left the supporting branch.  The stick beneath him buckled and splintered.  He dropped with a whoosh of air, his arm vanishing from Tess’s hand.  She let a mighty shriek.  “Gage!”  She dropped onto all fours, searching for a sign of movement. 

            “Right here,” he grunted.  “Straight down.”  She found him with concerned eyes.  His figure was cast in shadow, one arm cradling the other.  “I’m okay.”  Tess wasn’t sure of how true that might be, but she nodded.  “Just keep climbing, and stay low if you can.  I’ll meet you on the other side.”  He struggled to his feet; the branch he’d landed on was thick and strong.

            “But I wanna stay with you.”  She was taken aback by the juvenility of her voice.  “I’ll fall, too.” 

            “You’re lighter than me.  You’ll be fine.”  His figure vanished into the shadows below her.  She stared after it for several long moments, willing it to reappear, but it didn’t.  She hauled herself up and continued slowly, keeping to the lowest branches possible.  Several times, limbs buckled beneath her and she spent a millisecond floundering in the air before a thicker branch caught her.  Such was her struggle until she reached ground on the other side.

            “Gage?”  His boots were still there.  “Gage.”  She couldn’t have possibly beaten him across the mass of tangled limbs, could’ve she?  “Gage, if this is a joke, it’s not funny.”  She crossed her arms.  “Gage!” she bleated pathetically.  A loud ripping sound came from behind her.  She swung.  A massive beast stood before her, twenty feet tall, made completely of earth and leaves and branches.  A shriek spilled from her lungs.  She turned to flee, but the creature scooped her up into its large hand and brought her to its face.  She whimpered, unable to produce any other sound.  Its hot breath steamed grossly across her face; it reeked a rank, rotten odor.  Her limbs clenched tight together as she prepared to be eaten.

            The beast’s wide mouth swung open.  Within were dagger-like branches.  But instead of dropping her inside that wide, dark void, the daggers broke into a grin.  “Mommy!” it cried.  Its claws dug painfully into her side; it was squeezing the life out of her.  “I’s miss ‘oo, Mommy!”  Its voice, though a bellow, was still somehow immature.  It rubbed her against its mossy cheek.  Her shirt tore on a stray branch. 

            “Tess!”  She jerked her head to the side.  Gage was far below on the ground.  “You’re his master!  Give him an order!”

            She ripped her eyes from his form back to the monster.  “Um…Put me down.”  Its blank face questioned her for a moment.  “Please.  Put me down.”  Its grasp tightened.  She cried out; tears started down her face.  The breath was being forced from her lungs.  “Please…” she breathed.

            “Mommy sad?”  Its great mossy lips trembled.  “Mommy sad I sad!”  It burst out into great wails.  Tess’s lips were turning blue.  She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t expand her lungs with oxygen to replenish her bloodstream.  Gage, help.  It’s killing me. 

            Relief rushed through her as his voice rose up.  “Yes, your mommy is very sad.”  He was talking too slowly.  “You need to put her down now so I can make her happy.  Do you understand?”  Tess’s vision was blurring.  The beast nodded its great head.  Her feet settled onto the ground, but when it let go, she collapsed.  She gulped with her lips into a round little O, but no air would flow in.  I can’t breathe, I can’t…  Her panicked mind began to slow its processes.  Gage hovered over her.  His mouth was moving.  She couldn’t hear him speaking.  Her eyes drifted closed. 

            A blast of hot air filled her mouth.  It forced its way down her throat.  She sputtered to life.  “Easy, easy.  Hold still.”  Her vision was somehow skewed.  She blinked, trying to focus on Gage’s face.  Her cheek was against something warm and soft—his chest?  She kept blinking.  “Mother of God, Tess, I thought you were dead.”  His voice was a low whisper.

            She took in another gulp of air, grateful for every breath.  “Are you okay?” she managed in a hoarse whisper. 

            He laughed quietly.  “Am I okay?  You’re the one who almost died.”

            She pushed herself off of him, very embarrassed at being cradled like a baby.  “Your arm,” she clarified.

            “I’m fine,” he assured her.

            “Dis my new daddy?” the beast bellowed, several yards away.  It’d been silently watching, observing, oblivious to the fact that it’d almost killed her. 

            She smiled weakly.  “Sure.  This is your new daddy.”  Her cheeks darkened.  “We’re going now.  Do you understand?  We need you to stay here.”

            “Mommy leave?”

            Gage helped pull her to her feet.  She leaned heavily on his supporting arms.  “Yes.  We’re leaving.  But we’ll be back, I promise.”  She tried to give a reassuring smile.  It looked more like a grimace.  “I promise.  We won’t abandon you.”

            Its bushy eyebrows ruffled in confusion.  It rocked backward for a moment before sitting down.  The ground quakes as it did so.  “I wait for you, Mommy.  I wait forever.  For Daddy, too.”  They started to stalk past him.  He didn’t stop them.  Their forms headed deeper into the forest as dawn broke across the sky. 

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            By the time noon came around, Gage’s stomach was rumbling greedily and Tess’s mouth was parched.  The deciduous forest had morphed into an evergreen wonderland.  They stopped on a small fallen log and sat.  Tess cupped her hands together and looked at Gage hopefully.  He filled her hands with water produced from his own and stared back at her expectantly.  She gazed evenly back at him, bewildered by his behavior.  “Why are you staring at me like that?”

            “You can make food.”  His voice was flat and unquestioning; he had no doubt in her ability to produce food.  “Just think about it.  It will appear in your hand.”  She let out a breath and closed her eyes, thinking very hard about an apple.  A sudden weight tugged at her palm.  She opened her eyes.  A red apple was there, gleaming and sparkling with health.  Gage took it and gave her a good-natured nudge.  He sank his teeth into the apple.  Juicy and sweet.  He smiled.  Maybe this whole apocalypse thing isn’t so bad.  She, being pleased with herself, grew a short vine of grapes and began to pop them into her mouth one by one.  The grapes were purple and healthy.  He stole one.  She glared at him, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. 

            After they had eaten their fill, they continued onward along the rows of evergreen trees.  “Can I have more water?” Tess asked quietly, her voice embarrassed.  He smiled at her and offered her his hand.  She took an eager gulp.  Then she crashed to the ground.  “Ouch…”  She rolled over onto her stomach. 

Gage bent to help her up.  “Are you okay?”  He scanned her form with cautious, concerned eyes.  An ivy tendril was snaked around her ankle.  “What did you do, tie yourself up?” he joked lightly, but apprehension was laced in his tone.  He’d never heard of powers that glitched.  She should be in complete control.  But how could a mere ivy plant trip her up?

“I don’t think so.”  She took his hand and stood up next to him.  At her thought, the tendril untwined itself and returned to its bush.  “That was weird.” 

A few steps later, Gage was being tangled in a thorn bush.  Tess pulled him out, though painful burrs were latched into his clothes.  “Something’s wrong here,” he mumbled to himself. She nodded along in agreement.  “C’mon.  Let’s move faster.”  But though they tried, the roots were springing out of the ground.  The vines were snaking out of the trees.  The branches were dipping low enough to block their paths.  It was as if the forest itself wanted to keep them from trekking any further. 

A feeling of unease was crawling around Tess’s stomach and chest.  “Gage, I think they’re jealous…” 

He raised an eyebrow at her.  “Jealous?  Tess, they’re plants.” 

She stared at the ground.  The soil was dry and cracked.  She touched it; her skin turned red and heated in a rash.  “The soil’s acidic.  They’re thirsty.”

“Plants don’t have emoti—”  A vine dropped from the tree and pulled him up by his ankles.  He dangled in the air upside down.  Panic came over his face.  He flailed uselessly against its force.  His jaws clamped together to keep from crying out.

 Tess watched in alarm before a different vine grabbed her wrist and hauled her up as well.  Unlike her partner, she let an ear-piercing screech.  “Water!” she managed.  “Give them some water!”  Gage wrenched his hand away from the leafy tendrils and shot a torrent of water at the tree’s base.  The vine released him.  He landed flat on his back.  The breath was knocked from his lungs; he had to struggle to regain it. “Help!” Tess called impatiently. 

“Oh.”  He turned to her and watered her tree as well.  She dropped to the ground. 

“Thanks.”  His cheeks had a slight blush in them.  She chose to ignore it.  “Come on.  Just squirt and go.  We have to get out of this forest.”  And thus their journey continued. 

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By the time the sun was setting, the evergreen forest had changed again, this time into a rocky terrain with a steady incline.  “So we’re going up the mountain of Fuetigan.”  Tess’s voice was nervous.  The mountain range itself seemed to give off heat. 

“Yeah.”

“What do we do once we get up there?” 

“There’s rumored to be a cave near the peak where a dragon, Ignigaro, hides.  I think that would be an ideal place to hide a Soul Orb.”

“I think that would be an ideal place to get eaten alive,” Tess replied drily. 

He stared straight up the mountainside.  “It’s worth the risk.  But we should take shelter for tonight.  It’s not good to climb mountains in the dark.”  He headed to an overhang and settled beneath it.  It was relatively well-sheltered.  “Here.  This’ll work, won’t it?  Just for tonight?”  She nodded and relaxed next to him.  The rocky ground wasn’t comfortable or soft, but it was a place to rest her head.  She closed her eyes.  She felt Gage’s hand gently caress her hair; he guided her cheek onto his thigh.  She smiled up at him. 

Long after she had fallen asleep, Gage was still restless.  The black night sky was unpromising; he could see smoke curling against it.  He wondered absently about his life and his death.  He speculated at the whereabouts of his brothers.  Were they alive?  Waiting for him somewhere?  Did they think him dead?  Did they wish him death?  Had they found the crumbled remains of the barn?  He swallowed hard.  He’d never been close with his brothers.  So why did he long for their company so much?  He lowered his eyes and stroked Tess’s curls with the same tenderness he used to use on a newborn foal.  He tugged twigs out of her hair and combed through it with his slender fingers.  The rhythm of her breaths finally lulled him into a sleepy doze and eventually into a slumber.  In his dreams, there were many black birds swooping around and singing melancholic melodies.  Their wings were soft and tickled his face.  Slowly, one by one, they fell dead at his feet.  Their wings had been broken.  Blood leaked from their beaks and eyes.  Its crimson was a stark contrast against their dark plumage.  And when he opened his eyes again, sunlight was sifting into their crevice.  It was yellow and bright.  He cleared his throat.  His face was burrowed into Tess’s mass of ginger curls.  “Tess.”  He gently shook her shoulder.  “It’s time to rise.”  She yawned at him.  “Get up.  We overslept.”

She buried her face under her arms.  “Five more minutes!” she whined.

            “We’ve got dragons to face and worlds to save.”  He stood and stretched.  His skin was grimy; his shirt clung to him stickily.  We have to find somewhere to wash up soon.  His back popped.  Tess was slowly struggling into wakefulness. Her face was haggard and tired, but her eyes were determined.  “Ready?”

            “Yeah.”  She marched out of their shelter.  He followed more cautiously, searching for danger, but there was none.  The sun crackled hotly down on the barren, rocky terrain.  She grimaced.  “We should’ve left earlier, shouldn’t have we?”  He nodded grimly.  She sighed.  “Lead the way.”

            The heat was the biggest threat; though the mountain’s land was rugged, it wasn’t too steep.  The worst thing they faced was Tess’s persistent thirst.  By dusk, they were nearing the mountain’s zenith.  The sun was setting, but the heat within the volcano was thrumming and steady, like the mountain itself was alive.  “There.”  Gage pointed up.  “There it is.  The cave.”  Scarcely ten feet above them.  Tess gulped and climbed after him.  She was eager to get there, but she was apprehensive of the dangers within.  We’ll get burnt by that bridge when we get to it. Gage’s form vanished into the cave.  She followed suit.

            The cave was dark but by no means cool.  Faint, ancient symbols were etched into the walls.  “Hello?” Tess called out boldly.  “Um, Mr. Dragon?  We could use some help!”  Gage stared at her with shock and horror written across his face.  The ground began to quake and tremble.  Tess yelped and grabbed onto his arm.

            A vast red serpent’s head peered around the corner at them.  “How dare you dissssturb my lair? How dare you disssturb my ssslumber?”

            Tess let an unsteady breath.  “I was just wondering, sir, really, if anyone had been here recently?  Like any mortals?  Maybe wanting to hide something?” 

            “No one has disssturbed my ssslumber for two thousssand yearsss!”

            Her eyes wandered to Gage for a moment.  “Well, um.  Since the thing we’re looking for isn’t here, I guess we’ll just be going.  Enjoy your eternal rest!”  She turned to flee. 

            “Wait!” the dragon bellowed.  She halted.  “No one entersss my lair and essscapes alive!  You shall die!”  It bent over and scooped Gage into its mighty jaws.  White teeth gleamed like switchblades.  He vanished into the dark abyss of its mouth. 

            Tess grabbed a rock and chucked it at the beast.  “Spit him out, you monster!”  The stone lodged itself in the beast’s eyeball.  It roared in agony.  Gage spiraled through the air and crashed to the ground, semiconscious.  She knelt over him.  “Gage, get up.”  The monster was too busy raging over its blinded eye to notice them.  “Get up!  We have to run!”  Blood was spilling over his thigh where one of the teeth had punctured his flesh.  He groaned loudly.  “Gage, please.  We need to run.”  She looped his arm over her shoulders and hauled him to his feet.  They fled the cave. 

            In the near-dark, the mountain was much more ominous and foreboding.  They limped to a split in a rock.  The beast’s uproar made everything tremble.  Gage lowered himself to the ground, wounded leg stretched out before him.  Tess tore off her shirt and tied it.  His face was pale and stark with pain written across his features.  He let his eyes fall closed.  “Don’t.”

            Her hands hesitated in their hurried voyage over his leg.  “What?”  Her voice was faint, trembling, terrified.

            “Don’t.  Just go.”  His hands found her shoulders and pushed her back.  “Just run.  I can’t climb now.  He’ll kill us when he has the wits to search.”

            Her hand grabbed his.  “No.  I would rather die than leave you alone up here.”

            “Tess—”

            “I won’t do it.  You could bludgeon me to death with a stone before I would leave you.”  She licked her dry lips.  Her voice became sharp and severe.  “My mother died because her fellow workers abandoned her in a fire at the workplace.  I won’t leave you like they left her.”  A roar made the rock walls shudder.  Cracks appeared up and down them.  “Now let me try to fix you, so we can run.  Together.”  He met her eyes.  They were petrified, anxious, but still strong.  He wouldn’t let her die because he gave up.  He nodded.  She went back to tying cloth around the deep gash, doing anything in her power in an attempt to staunch the blood flow.  Long vines of ivy crawled across the floor; she used them to secure the make-shift bandages.  “Get up.  Let’s go.”  He leaned heavily on her shoulder.  They emerged from their temporary shelter.  The sky had blackened with night, but a stream of bright fire left the cave.

            “You mortal beasssts!  You clever creaturesss!”  He approached them with his great, wide, red head swinging in reproach.  His blinded eye was closed.

            Gage’s breath hitched.  “Tess, run.”

            “No.”

            “Go!”

            “No!” she repeated.  “I won’t let you die alone up here!”  She dug her fingers into his side, squeezing forcefully.  She didn’t want to die.  But she wouldn’t leave him.  She wouldn’t. 

            A mighty screech came with a flash of fire.  The dragon backed up into his cave, seemingly frightened by the sudden appearance of the phoenix.  “Drat!  You bird!  You vermin!  Leave my ssside of the mountain!” 

            The phoenix’s voice was calm, peaceful, distinctly feminine.  “My duty is to protect the do-gooders that climb this mountain.  These two are on a great journey.”  Her feathers glowed and gleamed.  Some had flames on their tips.  Her eyes smoldered like hot coals.  “Return to your cave, Ignigaro!  No harm shall come to these two tonight!”

            He withdrew into his cavern sulkily.  “I’ll remember this, Aiser!  I’ll remember!”

            “See to it that you do.”  His form was consumed by shadows.  She turned her attention to the two with keen eyes.  She approached them.  Her talons scraped the stone floor.  Smoke exhaled from her beak.  Gage cringed back, but his legs became entangled in Tess’s and they both tumbled to the ground.  “Calm, mortal children.  I shan’t hurt you.”  She lowered her face towards Gage’s leg.  A single, clear tear fell from her feathery cheek and landed there.  The wound glowed for a moment and knitted closed.  He shakily pulled himself and Tess up.  “Where are you going, mortals?  I can take you to safety.”

            Gage turned to Tess, but she didn’t seem to be producing words to speak with a holy fire bird.  He cleared his throat.  “The Soul Orb tower.  We’re going to the Soul Orb tower.”  Returning to the scene of the crime seemed like a good idea.  Gage tried to convince himself of that.  There might be clues or hints as to where Sylvester had hidden the precious gem.  He nodded.  Going to the tower was a very astute decision. 

            The phoenix didn’t seem to question him in the slightest, instead lifting off of the ground with one of them clasped in each talon.  It wasn’t comfortable, but neither of them complained.  They flew on for hours until dawn had struck.  Tess’s shoulders were sore.  “How much farther away is the tower?” she whined.

            “We’re not going to the tower, dear.”  The phoenix’s voice was flat and emotionless, in no way empathetic as it had been before.  “My hatchlings are quite hungry, but unfortunately, our prey all died off with the radiation spikes.”  She gave a sigh, as though the theft of the Soul Orb was just a mere inconvenience.  “Your intentions are noble.  Really.  But you must let some other person see about fulfilling them.”

            Gage turned his head to Tess, shock flooding his face.  Tess bent her head down.  “No…” she breathed, staring at her hands.  She turned to look at him.  They had to get a plan.  They had to escape.  But how was that possible, two hundred feet above the ground?  She craned her neck and looked down far below.  The mountainside had turned snowy as they traveled further north.  She blinked down.  It could kill us.  She raised her eyes back to Gage.  But dying an idiotic lion is better than dying a clever lamb.  He met her eyes and inclined his eyebrow, asking what to do.  She pointed downward.  His eyebrows shot into his hairline and he shook his head rapidly.  She frowned and shrugged.  She sucked in a deep breath and swung around.  The phoenix’s feet were scaly and gray.  Her teeth embedded in between two of those mighty talons.  It screeched in pain and dove sideways.  Its grip on her opened and she freefell into the open sky below.  The great bird veered a sharp right.  Gage stared down after her, a speck disappearing in the distance.  Then he mimicked her actions.  Seconds later, he was plummeting toward the white earth. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            “Wo sumtin fell from da sky. L00k.” 

            “Lol there tiny rnt they.”

            “Wtf ppl just fell from da sky.”

            When Tess opened her eyes, several tall, hefty, gray beasts were huddled around her.  She turned her head to the left.  “Gage?” she questioned.  Had he jumped too?  She patted the snow tentatively. Just as she’d suspected, the fresh powder had cushioned her fall.

            “Gaij, wut dat mean?”

            “Idk lol it funny tho.”

            A low moan came from a few yards away.  “I’m over here, Tess.”  He struggled to his feet.  “Are you alright?” 

            One of the creatures burst out laughing.  “Dey use dat smart talk!”

            Another clapped it on the shoulder.  “Of cors dey do.  Lol.  We eat da smart 1s.”  It grinned.  Its teeth were crooked and yellowed.  “Dey 2 smart.  Dey die.  We eat.”  It raised a stone in its hand, as though to crack it against Tess’s skull.  She leapt to her feet and dashed to Gage’s side. 

            She pulled on his hand.  “Get up!  We have to run.  They’re all crazy!”  He got up out of the snow and started to run after her. 

            “Wate!  Guys!”  The largest beast waved to its friends.  “L8er guys, i gotta catch our foods.”  It struggled after them.  “Wate!”  Its loud footsteps shook the ground. In an instant, Tess was being pulled off the ground by large, calloused, gray hands.  It opened its mouth as though to bite her head clean off; its breath reeked of a sweet rot.  But a large boulder sailed through the air and entered its gaping hole.  It fell back and gagged, releasing Tess.  She scrambled to her feet and searched for the source of the boulder.  Up on the hillside stood another beast, even larger than the others. 

            “This way!”  His voice was articulate and clear.  “Run!”  Gage grabbed ahold of Tess’s wrist and dragged her after the large monster.  Somehow in this land, a high IQ was a sign of trustworthiness.  He chose not to look back at the scuffling noises that came from behind him.  Tess, however, did.  The beast that had picked her up was being devoured by its friends.  She choked on her own tongue and turned away, disgust burning tears into her eyes.  She’d never seen anything that crude before, never anything that savage.  That one individual would eat another with so little thought, and of the same species…the idea was completely foreign to her.  They sprinted over the snow-covered hills and into a frosty pine forest.  “You humans are brave by trespassing here,” the large creature observed.  “What brings you to the mountains of Bunboobia?” 

            Gage cleared his throat.  “We were kidnapped by a phoenix.  She dropped us.  We were heading to the Soul Orb tower.”

            “What are you, anyway?” Tess snarled, her hand hiked up on her hip.  She’d dealt with enough horrible ugly beasts the last three days to last a lifetime.

            The giant seemed shocked.  “My name is Scisophy.  I am buffoon.”  He frowned.  “But I am not stupid like my kin.  When the world shifted, I gained enhanced intelligence, even though my brothers and sisters only became more savage and stupid.”

            Tess nodded.  She’d heard of the buffoons of Bunboobia before, of course; everyone knew that particular horror story.  It was a tale told to children before bedtime to make sure they never, ever abused their technology.  After all, when the buffoons let technology do everything for them, they became complete morons.  But Tess had never really believed it to be true, let alone known its whole truth.  The buffoons had become complete savages.  She cleared her throat.  “We need to get to the Soul Orb tower.  Do you know the best way to escape?” 

            His large gray cheeks gave a small grin.  “Yes, yes, of course.  The south side is no more a mountain than a meadow.  Before technology came along, the buffoons had it smoothed over for our young to sled down in the winter.  Still very entertaining, I must say, for those who have the capacity to enjoy anything at all.”  He nodded to himself.  “But first, really, you must rest!  Come have a stay at my cabin!”

            The two exchanged a look.  Tess shrugged, deciding a little rest couldn’t hurt.  “I guess.”  Her eyes glanced at the rising sun.  How many days had passed since she’d left her home?  Three?  Four?  To be sure was impossible.  “As long as we can be on the road by high noon.  We have an agenda to attend to.” 

            “You must have rather odd sleeping habits.”  Scisophy began to lead the way to his cabin.  He ducked his head to enter.  Gage and Tess followed slowly, cautiously.  “You can sleep on the sofa.  I daresay there will be room for both of you.”  His supposition was correct; the couch took up the whole living room.  Its width would have easily supported three people, and it was almost twelve feet in length.  Tess and Gage lay down on it head-to-head, their feet on the armrests. 

            She let her hand reach for his.  “Are you okay?”

            “Yeah.  Yeah, I guess I am.”  He squeezed and released it.  She brought it back down to her side and curled into a tight ball.  The living room was dark; no light streamed through the windows.  She was soon asleep.  Gage listened to her snores in the dark.  He sighed and wondered about going home.  If he survived this ordeal, where would he go?  Where would there be for him?  His farm was gone.  His family dead or missing.  He would have to make a new life for himself.  The thought sent flurries of fear up through his chest.  He rolled over and buried his head in his hands, dreaming up an ideal situation where he helped Tess return the Soul Orb and it restored everything back to life and what it once was.  He closed his eyes and tried relax.  Eventually, he sought sleep, and it found him.  He dreamed of white birds with bloodstained wings.  They carried him through until high noon, when Tess made him arise from the couch. 

            “Get up.  It’s our time.”  Her voice was regretful; it was clear she wished to stay longer.  So did he.  But they had things to accomplish.  He rolled off of the abnormally large sofa and got up. 

            “Where did Scisophy go?” he asked, running his hands through his hair. 

            She shrugged.  “Haven’t seen him since we fell asleep.  Let’s go.”  He forced himself to smile and nodded. 

            They left the cabin and headed down the south side of the mountain.  Large, moldy strips of tree bark were there; clearly they had once been children’s sleds, but now they were disregarded and forgotten.  Gage grabbed one and settled it on the snowy ground.  Tess stared at him blankly.  “Well?  Are you gonna sit on it or not?”  She nodded and sank down on the piece of wood.  It was scratchy with splinters sticking all over, clearly battered by the elements.  Gage dug his foot deep into the snow and kicked off.  He jumped on to the back of the sled as it started down the mountainside. 

            Tess let a shriek of exhilaration as the icy winter air whipped her hair out of her face.  The white landscape rushed past them.  Gage tilted his head back and gave a hearty laugh.  His heartbeat was racing wild up through his neck and down to his toes.  He felt so brutally alive, as though life was in and of himself, and it could not be taken from him.  The beauty of living was in this adrenaline high.  It was of him, in him, around him.  And when the sled skidded to a halt at the base of the mountain, the two of them rolled off of it cackling like madmen.  They let the snow fill their clothes and chill them to the bone, but it didn’t matter.  They, after all, were alive.  They didn’t know if they would be alive for much longer, because alive is all part of now, and with every now comes the knowledge that now is a day later than yesterday, a year later than last year, and every new now renders all past nows obsolete.  They were part of the current now, and they couldn’t ask for much more than that.   But, as Tess came to her senses, she realized that while they couldn’t ask for more than that, the world was relying on them to secure the future nows.  They still had an agenda.  They still had to save the world.  Even if it meant sacrificing a bit of their current now. 

            Still laughing, she struggled to her feet and turned to Gage.  “Come on.  We still have a world to save.”  She dusted some of the snow off of her pants.  “Let’s move out.  Which way to the tower?”

            Gage pulled himself up off the ground.  “East.  The tower’s in the farthest northeastern corner of the country.” He paused.  “Didn’t you ever pay attention in geography class?”

            “Most of my education consisted of how to run a city.  I didn’t learn much beyond Andaropolis,” Tess admitted quietly. 

            Gage shrugged.  “We’ll probably have to go through the city of Puzzuck.  The shape-shifters.  They’re supposed to be a fine bunch of people; we might even get a free meal there.” 

            Tess threw him an apple.  “Lead the way.”

            They continued their trek.  Soon the mountainside turned into flat, open, grassy plains.  By the late afternoon, they could see smoke curling against the periwinkle sky.  The town was visible in the distance.  Tess was practically bouncing in excitement with the idea of meeting some people who weren’t envious, immortal, manipulative, savage, stupid, or otherwise intent on killing them.  “Calm down,” Gage advised her. “There might not even be any of them alive.  The radioactivity affected everyone.”  She felt her face curl downward in displeasure, but nodded in agreement. 

            Upon entering the city, though, they knew that the people of Puzzuck city were most definitely alive.  They bustled back and forth, women in dresses, children playing in the streets, men shaking hands and walking with their wives.  “Wow…” Tess murmured.  The whole idea of a functioning world, untouched by the radiation…It was too good to be true.  “C’mon, Gage!”  She grabbed his hand, and they raced into the streets.  The market was open and filled with people buying and selling goods.  The two of them ran and played with the children.  Loud folk songs played from the street corner with violins and cellos and other various stringed instruments.  Flutes and clarinets accompanied them brightly.  Tess and Gage kicked a ball back and forth along the road with some older children. 

            When the sun was setting and the street corner band had left, the families came to collect their children.  One of the older boys approached them.  “Hey, mister!  Miss!”  He offered his hand.  “I’m Kenny.  Ya’ll sure play well.”  The ball was tucked under his arm.

            Gage took his hand, surprised by the boy’s strong grip.  “I’m Gage, and this is my friend, Tess.”

            “Are ya’ll from here?  I don’t think I’ve seen ya’ll around here before.”  His nostrils flared slightly.  His grin was a bit crooked, with yellowed teeth. 

Unease prickled in Gage’s stomach. “No, we’re just passing through.  Looking for a place to stay the night, actually.”

“Aw, really?”  He turned to look back over his shoulder, where a man and a woman were standing.  “Dad, Mom!  Come meet my new friends!”  He turned back to Gage.  “My dad’s the mayor.  We have plenty of extra room for you to stay the night!” 

The middle-aged couple approached them.  The man had salt and peppered hair, thick and slicked back with hairspray and grease.  “Well, Kenny.  Introduce us.”  His voice was a deep monotone, official and strong.  A typical politician, his eyes were a bit untrustworthy, as though he could be expected to betray at any moment for the greater good.  Tess was familiar with this look; her dad had borne it proudly.  A good leader knew when to make sacrifices. 

Kenny hurriedly rushed through an introduction.  “Please, Dad, please, they need somewhere to spend the night!  Just one night!”

Something flashed across the mayor’s face.  Satisfaction?  Gage couldn’t be sure; it was gone too fast.  “Of course, son.  We have places for you to stay.  You can get yourselves cleaned up, too.”

Tess raised an eyebrow at Gage, who shrugged.  They didn’t have a reason to not trust these people, really.  And the idea of a shower was extremely appealing.  So they followed the family to their home, which, while not necessarily grand, greatly outsized Tess’s apartment.  They were directed to the room that they were to share, and each of them were allowed to shower and change clothes before dinner.  They headed downstairs for dinner.  Gage inhaled deeply.  “Smells kinda funny.  What do you think we’re eating?”

She shrugged.  “Does it matter?”  She passed him an orange.  “It’ll be good to eat anything other than fruit.”

He laughed.  “You can make vegetables too, you know.  It’s not like we’re just limited to apples and oranges.”

“Hey, I made grapes once!”

They came into dining hall.  The three were seated at the table.  The mayor smiled at them, a crude, evil grin.  Tess’s breath hitched in her lungs.  Something was wrong.  “Sit down, sit down!”  The glasses were filled with a thick, dark red substance.  “We have been waiting on you.”  Tess raised her eyes to Gage, who nodded for her to sit. 

A large pot was sitting in the middle of the table.  Gage cleared his throat.  “So.  Um.  What did you make for dinner?”  Tess reached for her glass and sniffed it.  The smell was repulsive.  She set it back on the table.

The mother smiled at them.  “Oh, dear, the pot is just sauce.  We always need sauce when we eat fresh meat.” 

Gage jolted back from the table.  The mayor launched himself across it, morphing into a doglike humanoid.  A yellow glint was in his eyes.  “Don’t ‘choo move, human, or I’ll rip your throat out.” 

Tess reached across the dinner table and grabbed a knife.  The mother wolf approached her with waggling haunches and flattened ears.  “Don’t come any closer to me,” she threatened with a wavering tone while backing away. 

The wolf laughed, high-pitched and feminine.  “Remember that cats have nine lives?  Wrong.  Actually…it’s dogs.”  Saliva dripped from her fangs. 

Tess tried to step sideways, closer toward Gage.  His Adam’s apple bobbed as the male wolf slid nearer to him.  She passed the knife to him and buried her face into his shoulder, trying to wake herself up from this nightmare.  Gage wielded the knife before him.  “Don’t come any closer!” he snarled.  I won’t die like this.  I survived a dragon.  I won’t die by some domesticated pets.  “We’ve battled dragons!  Some dogs won’t hurt us!” 

The father cackled like a hyena.  He lunged at Gage and bit down on his arm.  The sound of crackling bones was heard before it registered in Gage’s nerves.  He stumbled back with his teeth grinding together, trying to prevent a shriek from spilling out.  The knife sailed through the air.  He raised his opposite hand and shot a stream of boiling water at the hound.  It sizzled hotly on his flesh, burning some fur away. 

Thick vines slung down from the ceiling and strung the female wolf up.  Tess dragged Gage backward and forced a thorn bush up in the doorway.  “Run, hurry.”  She pushed him to the door, cradling his broken arm to his chest.  Outside, packs of wolves awaited them.  “Good God…”  Tess brought her hands before her, wondering how on earth they intended on battling down a whole city of these creatures. 

Gage forced back the first row of monsters with a wave of water.  He shook his head.  “We can’t do this.  There’s too many of them.”  Tess tangled ivy around paws and tails and faces, but nothing seemed to dissuade the city from their goal—eating the humans alive. 

A thundering of hoofs stormed down the stone street.  Trumpeting whinnies rose up.  The pack began to split.  They snarled amongst themselves, claws lashing the ground, teeth gleaming, before the group turned away and dispersed.  The unicorn halted before them.  Her hoofs were crafted of gold, her horn pure silver.  Her eyes were soft and intelligent, a chocolate hue.  She lowered her glowing horn over Gage’s injured arm.  The bones clicked back into place.  She backed away shyly. 

Tess took a few hesitant steps toward her.  “Wow…”  She extended a hand, but the unicorn drew back with a guarded snort.  “I’m not going to hurt you,” she whispered.  The unicorn was unconvinced, apparently.

Gage’s voice rose up.  “She’s not concerned about you being dangerous.  Only a virgin maiden can touch a unicorn.”

She swung around on him, hands on her hips.  “And what makes you think I’m not a virgin?” she snapped in an accusatory tone.

His eyes widened and he turned five shades of red.  “I wasn’t suggesting—I didn’t mean—nothing!”  Flustered, he sat down on the steps and studied his fingernails while Tess went on making friends with their rescuer. 

“Gage!  Come on!”  He jolted awake without realizing that he’d fallen asleep.  “Nessie is going to take us to the tower!” 

He rubbed his head.  “Who the…Huh?”  He wiped the sleep from his eyes.  “Who’s Nessie?”  He stood and struggled to focus on her form in the darkness of night. 

“Nenesra, the unicorn!”  A sudden light blinded him: the unicorn’s horn was glowing.  “She’s going to take us to the tower!  See, she even got you a horse to ride!”  He blinked rapidly, trying to enable himself to see.  As Tess said, a small brown gelding was awaiting him, decked out in a saddle and bridle.  Tess was atop the unicorn’s back. 

He yawned and climbed aboard the horse’s back.  “Does my horse have a name?”

“Jack,” Tess answered immediately.

“Isn’t that a donkey name?”

“Apparently not.  It’s his name.” 

In the dark of night, the forest landscape passed them by quickly.  When questioned about the silence of the all the forest creatures, Tess answered that all the evil animals fled Nessie’s holy presence.  By the time the sun was rising up over the eastern hills, the tower was visible.  “Nessie says we have to stop here.  She can’t go any closer to the tower.”  Gage didn’t question, instead climbing off of his mount and undoing the girth.  He let the saddle fall to the ground and slid the bridle off of the gelding’s head.  Once released, the gelding and unicorn fled back into the undergrowth.  They’re smarter than we are, Gage observed quietly. 

He turned back to Tess.  “Let’s go.  Climbing the tower will be easier by sunlight.”  They headed toward it in silence.  What was there to say?  Neither of them was completely sure anything would be at the tower.  What if it offered no clues?  They would be back to square one, only thousands of miles away from home.  Gage sighed.  He could only pray that something in there would tell them where the Soul Orb was and how to find it. 

The climbed up the marble staircase and entered the building.  It was quite unlike anything they had imagined.  The floor was marble.  A glass spiral staircase led straight up for seemingly miles, and at the top was a great mahogany door.  Tess’s lips were pressed into a thin line. “Alright.  Let’s climb.”  They began their ascension.  Minutes passed.  Then hours.  Tess could never remember her calves aching so badly.  Gage was finding breath harder and harder to come by.  Finally, they sat down on the glass stairs.  “You know,” Tess panted, “I figured there would be like, a lot of monsters in here.  Not just a lot of stairs.”

He stuck his head between his knees.  “I would rather face monsters.”  He put some water in her cupped hands.  She sipped it eagerly and stood.

“We’ll never get there if we don’t keep moving.”  He nodded in agreement and stood as well.  They continued climbing up the spiral stairs until, a little past noon, they reached the mahogany door.  “You know, we never considered if it might be locked.”  Gage glared at her and opened the door.  They entered a completely circular room; the walls were wire.  In the center was a pedestal, where the Soul Orb would sit.  Just behind the pedestal stood Sylvester.

Gage’s mouth dropped open.  “Sean?” 

The villain sneered at him.  “That’s not my name anymore, brother.”  His lips tweaked a little bit.  “But I will thank you for bringing me the mayor’s daughter.  And so long it took you!  I was worried she’d figured out our plan!”

“Gage?”  Tess turned on him with frightened eyes.  “Gage, what is he saying?”  She backed away from him.

“No, Tess, it’s not true!  I didn’t know anything about this!” 

“Keep telling her that, brother.  She knows now.”  Sylvester pulled the Soul Orb from his pocket.  “I knew you would bring her here.  So I waited on you.”  His slimy tongue snaked out of his lips, crossing them.  “So we could share her.” 

Tess turned to flee, but Sylvester leapt at her, entrapping her.  He slapped handcuffs onto her wrists and hooked them through the wire wall.  The man backed away from her, letting her thrash uselessly.  “Gage!  Gage, help!”  He stood, frozen in fear and shock.  “Gage!” she whimpered. 

“What do you say?” Sylvester’s eyes were dark with lust.  “You want to share her?”

He swallowed hard.  “You’ll kill me before I let you lay a finger on her.”  He pushed his way in front of her, standing with his hands held before him. 

The older man sniggered as though he’d said the funniest thing in the world.  “Then I’ll kill you.”  A blade flashed from his pocket.  “I don’t have any qualms against killing family and friends.  The mayor’s family found that out.”

Tess’s face flushed a dark red.  “You killed my brother!” she spat, thrashing against her confinements. 

He pointed the knife at her. “And I’m about to kill my own.”  Gage shuffled backward slightly.  Terror crowded in his chest.  He shot a stream of water at the knife, but Sylvester’s hold on it was strong.  “You’re cute, Gagey.”  Ivy tendrils snaked up his calves.  He slit them off with the knife.  “Prissy, you should know better than to disobey.  Didn’t your daddy teach you to be a good girl?”  He pressed a hand to Gage’s chest and pushed him away forcefully.  Then he brought the blade of the knife to just below Tess’s jaw.  She let a whimper and turned away, squeezing her eyes shut.  “Be a good girl, prissy.  Stay quiet.  While I take care of my brother.”

“Leave him alone!” she squealed.  The knife slid down a bit and cut into her collarbone.  She gave an animal whine.  Blood ran down between her breasts.  She thrashed against her bindings and screamed. 

He shoved the knife in front of her eyes.  “Make another sound and I’ll cut out your tongue.”  Her eyes widened and she fell quiet.  He turned his attention back to Gage.  “I’ll give you a choice.  Either you kill her.  Or I’ll kill you.” 

Gage’s lips trembled.  He knew what Tess would do if he was strung up on that wall.  He knew, but he couldn’t make himself do it.  To sacrifice his life so wholeheartedly and so without regret was an act of valor that he could never perform.  He took a hesitant step toward him. 

Tess’s voice came from the wall.  “Gage, it’s okay.”  She was crying.  “I won’t blame you.” 

“Shut up, prissy,” Sylvester hissed.  Gage walked toward him with pain in his chest.  His brother handed him the knife.  The man was his elder by ten years.  The oldest of them all.  A strong hand came onto his shoulder.  “That’s good.  Just go up to her and slit her throat.  No different than the swine at home.”  The butchered swine, the ones Gage could never bring himself to eat because he knew what it was like when they died.  But Sylvester whose given name was Sean led him up to Tess’s form on the wall.  When he was still Sean, he’d been the smartest and the most cynical of them all.  It seemed that nothing had changed.  He pressed the knife to Tess’s throat.  “Good job.”  His brother’s breath warmed the back of his neck.

Gage swallowed hard.  Shameful tears thickened his voice.  “Tess, I’m sorry,” he choked out.  He tenderly brushed a ginger curl behind her ear. 

Her voice was broken.  Her eyes were closed.  “It’s okay.  Juh-Just do it.”  She felt his lips press against her forehead.  Then the blade left her throat.  A sharp gargling noise pulled her eyes open.  Sylvester was flopping uselessly on his back.  He tried to suck in a breath.  It wouldn’t come.  Blood spewed out of his severed artery until finally his form went still.  “Guh-Gage…”  He didn’t seem to hear her.  He reached into the dead man’s pocket and withdrew a key.  He unlocked Tess’s handcuffs.  She fell into his arms and wept into his neck.  He sank down with his back to the wall.  Her hair was wet with his tears.  The horror of what he’d done was weighing down his chest. 

“I killed him.  I killed him.”  Repulsion filled his gut.

Tess pulled her face up from the crook of his neck.  Her eyes were red-rimmed.  She pushed her lips against his.  “You saved me…” 

“What choice did I have?”

She laughed and kissed him again.  “Thank you.”  She stood with weak knees and helped pull him up.  He refused to look at the still-warm corpse.  She knelt down next to it and pulled the Soul Orb from his breast pocket.  Then, with care, she put it on the pedestal.  A great pulse went through the world.  She fell back, landing hard on her back.  Her head ached.  She sat up.  The corpse had vanished.  “Gage…”  She turned back to him.  He was staring at his hands.

“My powers are gone.” 

She thought about ivy, but nothing happened.  “Yeah.  Mine are, too.”  She gave a smile.  “We did it.  We saved the world.”

They left the circular room.  “You know, now we have to climb down all those stairs,” Gage pointed out. 

Tess just laughed. 

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They halted at the city’s entrance.  Inside, civilians waited, eager to interview their new mayor.  Tess looked at Gage.  “Are you coming?”

His eyes widened.  “With you?” 

“Well, yeah.”  She smiled.  “I’d like you to come.”

He looked inside at the people.  He’d never considered staying with her.  All of his plans included trying to restore his farm and preserve the memories of his family.  But some things were meant to be forgotten.  “Yeah.  I guess I will.” 

Tess laughed a musical laugh.  She grabbed his hand and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.  “Come on, then.  Our people our waiting for us.” 

“Our people?” Gage questioned.  His cheeks were a bit pink.  He didn’t know what to think of a large city, a place with actual humans. 

She smiled at him and guided him into the large, open gates.  “I won’t mind sharing them with you.”  She could feel the tension in his arm.  She loosened her grip.  “We don’t have to stay here, you know.  I’ll go wherever you want to go.”  She lowered her voice.  “I wouldn’t mind learning how to be a farm girl.” 

He returned her smile a bit nervously.  “I think I should give city life a try.”  He brushed a ginger curl behind her ear.  She waited until the crowds came closer around them before kissing him on the mouth. 

Loud gasps and cheers came from the crowd.  One man bellowed, “Mayor Philips has returned!  Celebrations are in order!” 

Thus the party began, with loud music and bright lights, food passed from plate to plate, people dancing in the streets.  When they finally escaped the public eye, they headed to Tess’s apartment.  The building was silent; its residents were busy partying.  As she entered, Tess remembered the last time she’d been here.  There were blood stains on the carpet, but the bodies were gone.  Most likely materialized into the air when the Soul Orb was returned to its rightful place, just as Sylvester had done.  She bent down next to the dark stain and touched her finger to it.  Matter cannot be created or destroyed.  It only changes form.  Twin tears slipped down her cheeks.  She wiped them away and stood again.  The shattered window had been replaced.  She sat down on her couch and took off her boots.  Gage sat down next to her.  

He cleared his throat.  “Are you sure this is your home?”  She turned to him in confusion.  “I mean…it seems a little uptight.  More like a workplace.”  He shrugged.  He felt like being here was breaking some kind of unwritten rule.  Civilians weren’t supposed to be in the mayor’s house. 

She smiled and pulled the coffee table closer to the couch.  Then she settled her feet on it.  “If my dad saw me doing this, he’d have my hide,” she admitted with a soft sadness.  He rumpled her ginger curls and kissed her temple.  She snuggled into his chest.  “Thank you for coming with me.”  He awkwardly slipped his arms around her.  She tilted her head back and looked into his mottled green-brown eyes.  On the first night she’d met him, she’d thought them to be dull.  Now she just thought them handsome.  “I think I love you.”

His face darkened with blush.  He lowered his eyes.  “I love you, too.”  His voice was soft.  She squeezed his hand.  They remained like that in peaceful silence, letting the current now linger about them in all its worth.