I kept the phone to my ear for some time, staring at the wall as I tried to understand what had just happened. As was typical of her, Mae's tone was so sarcastic that I couldn't figure out how much of it, if any, she actually meant. 

She must be fucking with me, right? There's no way it was all genuine...

My best friend had just declared me hers, insisting I say farewell to everyone else out of sheer jealousy. The hot goth girl who I used to daydream about stole my first kiss from me and wants to take it much farther than that, despite only coming out to me yesterday. And the way her voice went from murderous to sickly sweet just now...

I realized that I was shaking again. Only this time, a dull throb had also found its way between my legs. Not allowing myself to dwell on this fact, I got to my unsteady feet and headed down the stairs. Before I reached the bottom, I overheard hushed voices.

"I've never seen her like this... Whatever she experienced, it traumatized her. To be her father and know I wasn't there for my little girl when she was so scared..." Dad's voice broke, and at the same time, my heart nearly fell to pieces. It's not your fault, dad..!

"It's not your fault, Norman. We may never be able to accept it, but at some point our little ones grow up. Even if we could be there for them every waking hour of the day, they'd never allow it, would they? I understand that you'll feel like you failed her for the rest of your life, and you'll never quite forgive yourself, but remember it was that monster who tried to abduct her, not you. You can't exactly be responsible for someone else's actions, can you, my sweet?" Dad sighed, even as he nodded along with Faye's words.

"You're right, of course."

"I always am," she teased, and the two of them laughed.

"I'm sorry Faye, but I'll need to focus on Norma for a while, just in case she needs me."

"I wish there were more I could do for the poor girl, but yes, I was just going to suggest calling it a night-"

"You can stay!"

I ended up running the rest of the way down the stairs and blurting something out subconsciously.

"Um, if you want to, that is. I don't mind, really. In fact, the more people in the house, the better..."

Faye blinked in surprise, but with her hair covering one eye, it looked like a wink.

"Are you sure, my dear? I don't want to get between you and your father..."

"I'm sure! If you were thinking about staying anyway, then stay. And, umm... can we make sure the doors and windows are locked from now on, dad...?"

He must have noticed me shaking, because he came over and scooped me up into his arms.

"Of course, honey. We'll make sure."

"Thank you... Would you guys like to watch a movie or something?"

"That sounds like fun! Go ahead and pick something," Faye suggested alongside an adorable fist pump.

After a lot of scrolling through Webflix Prime, we settled down on the couch and watched some harmless romcom together. With dad on one side of me and Faye on the other, I couldn't help but be reminded of simpler times. The nostalgia only strengthened when they had to carry me half-asleep to bed and tuck me in. Dad smiled at me.

"Get some rest, kiddo. I love you."

"Sleep well, sweetheart," Faye added, kissing me on the cheek.

I was too tired to answer them, but I'm sure the dopey grin on my face told them all they needed to know.

---

There was no warmth, no light, no air. It was already absolute zero, but it only got colder. Though every star had long been snuffed out, darkness continued to spread, stifling not just sight, but memory and hope. I had no need to breathe, yet I was choking.

Why can't I die?

I existed across dimensions, from the lowest to the highest. I understood everything there was to understand. But despite this wealth of knowledge, that was the thought that stayed with me, the one question I couldn't answer.

Why can't I die?

In this infinite void I called my home, nothing mattered. All physicality had succumbed to entropy. My kin had long since lost their sentience to madness, reducing our once noble legacy to an absurd tragedy.

Why can't I die?

My failing memories whispered of some primitive existence, more of a virus, really, that had once sprung up on the terrestrial planets, burning through their pathetic lifespans before dying out again in a flash.

There was something disgusting about their brevity that repulsed me, and yet I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Yes... How ironic it is that to avoid this fate, these wretched things might just be the key...

---

My nightmares had shown me the violent end of every possible life form in orders of magnitude I doubted we even had numbers for.

But this last one? I hardly comprehended what I had experienced, but it had shaken me much deeper than my core. And I woke screaming.

"Ahhhhhh! Why are we yelling!?"

The familiar voice snatched me out of the nightmare's clutches and placed me safe in bed... which I was apparently sharing with...

"Quin!?"

"Norma!"

We threw our arms around each other. Though she was much smaller, Quin crushed me against her like our embrace was a wrestling match. I couldn't help but notice her face lined up perfectly with my chest, and embarrassment caused me to break it off.

"God, Quin, it's good to see you! When did you get here?"

"A couple of hours ago, your dad let me in. He recognized me after all this time, can you believe that?"

...she looked almost exactly like she did in middle school, except with sharper facial features, about an inch of additional height, and a couple of curves to call her own, so yes, I did believe it. Her dark blue twin tails were super cute, though, and her irises, almost resembling black holes, were extremely easy to get lost in. I realized she was wearing a touch of makeup, which was a bit unexpected.

Quin's outfit provided an interesting contrast to her youthful looks, itself a thing of contradictions. She wore a modern, urban style teal blazer, all the buttons undone to reveal her crop top Raid Fantasy shirt, with black suit pants to complete the look. After allowing me to walk my gaze up and down her while grinning to herself, she continued.

"Anyway, I tried waking you up but you were out of it. And seeing you conked out made me realize how tired I was from the sixteen hour drive, so I thought I'd join you for a nap. I didn't expect you to be the one to wake me up, though!"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that... I told you about my nightmares before, remember? That was a real bad one. I was relieved to wake up to your cute face though, that was certainly a nice surprise!"

Quin looked up at me, an intense expression on her face. She was always hyper-active though, so it wasn't surprising. I was noticing she didn't seem to blink much, actually... maybe from all the gaming she did?

"Do you mean it!? I look forward to surprising you every morning, then!" I laughed at her energy. She really hadn't changed.

"Oh, well dad set up the guest room for you. We don't have to share my tiny bed, so don't worry about that."

"Did he? Great..." Seeming to realize her disappointment was palpable, she recovered quickly.

"Er, so aside from nearly being kidnapped, how've you been? You, uh...meet any interesting people, lately?"

I laughed.

"Have I ever! Man, where to even start... well, I guess it all began with Luna."

I had been looking to the side as I recalled the memory, so Quin's eyes were only in my peripherals, but I thought I saw something pass through them at the mention of her name. When I turned my head to look at her straight on, though, whatever it might have been had passed.

"Luna, was it? Tell me all about her..."

---

Luna was flat on her back again, trying every mental trick she knew to ignore the pain. Nothing helped in the least.

Until now... she's been going easy on me...

The realization destroyed any measure of control she'd managed over her body, and she rolled to the side, vomiting her meager lunch onto the ground beside her.

It hurts! It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts, god it hurts, I can't-!

Her mind screamed in agony, amplifying what the body felt even further. In the haze between madness and sanity, an indistinct figure took her hand and led her to a crossroads.

I can fall in line for the rest of my life in exchange for a tolerable amount of pain to be meted out in measured doses until death, just as I've always known...

Or I can try to break free.

Until now, she'd never even realized she had an option.

If I succeed, I might live a normal life. As close to normal as possible for me, anyway. If I fail... this new torture becomes my reality until I break entirely.

It seemed an easy choice, but it was actually an incredibly selfish one. Anyone who stooped down to help her would just become stuck in the mire alongside her.

It was you in the haze, wasn't it...? If you can care for someone like me... then that's enough. Misguided as it may be, I won't let your compassion be wasted. I'll stand back up. And I'll fight.

A few feet away, a bloody scalpel lay on the floor of her room, gleaming in the dark...