CHAPTER TEN: WHAT DO YOU THINK?

On the southernmost tip of Coastal Astoria, a giant campus sits about a mile away from the ocean. A series of buildings interconnected through pathways and implanted greenery, each themed and sculpted to fit a cool toned color palette for conformity, designed to look friendlier than it is. On the edge of this campus, alongside the edge of a small cliff, is the center of attention: the main Headquarters of the Coastal Division of the Peacekeepers. Golden pillars, each with carvings of past big name Peacekeepers serving as a reminder of the longevity of these protectors of Astoria. Within, a bustle of movement and energy - while the entire campus had a wide variety of services held within the buildings, this one was a microcosm of research and activity. Called Upon visited the Research division to create weapons and aids to work with their Callings, those injured from Void energy were held in a Recovery room below, media experts and local politicians meeting in closed rooms to discuss branding and perception. 

The top floor of this four story building only held one purpose, however. It held the office and chambers of Ian Crowley, President of the Peacekeepers, and sat empty while he was not present. Today, however, the room is full, by comparison - Ian Crowley, Michael River, and Maya Olvide were sitting surrounding his desk, which had been placed by a massive window that overlooked the land and ocean in the distance. 

“Thank you both for coming out this morning,” Ian says, closing a few folders and rotating a notebook closed. “Maya, are you feeling better after last week?” He asks, looking toward a still bruised - but recovering - Maya. 

“Still hurts to do…pretty much anything, but not as bad. Thank you, sir.” She says, giving a small nod of acknowledgement. 

Ian nods back. “When did Django say you could be back on the field?”

“Just another week of rest, and I’ll be in tip-top shape.” 

“Perfect. Well,” Ian says, sitting up straighter in his seat, “I apologize for my radio silence this past week. Everything that happened at the Jade Festival forced me to rethink a few things, and I needed quiet and solitude as I figured that out. We failed to eliminate Arihiro, and have found ourselves a new problem in the form of Abigail O’Hare.” 

Michael stirs in his seat. “Sorry, I, uh, couldn’t help with that…”

Ian waves in forgiveness. “Not a worry, Michael. With all due respect, I’m not sure what you could have done to help us over there,” he says, giving a genuine smile. “And your headset was smashed once you crash-landed, so it would have been difficult for you to find us.”

Michael nods. “Yeah, I know. Still feel bad.” 

Ian nods back. “So, now, we have to discuss what to do about this situation. I pondered over this for a while, and have come to a conclusion - attempting to eliminate Arihiro is, at this point, a bigger thorn to us than leaving him alive.”

Maya raises an eyebrow. “So we’re just giving him a free pass, after -”

“Oh, no, Maya, nothing like that. But, fact of the matter is, he is now being protected by O’Hare - and if I’m being frank, I find that concept terrifying. If we let them roam free, we have two nuclear bombs ready to go off at any time. On the other hand, trying to kill both of them would lead to far more devastation and harm than I can swallow.” 

“So do we arrest them? Solitary, keep them away from humanity?”

Michael just laughs. “If killing them is dangerous, you really think trying to almost kill them and throw ‘em in jail will be any better?” 

Maya shoots Michael a glare. 

“He’s right, Maya. And trying to keep drones or hidden agents on them is also an arduous task. So, I’ve come up with a solution,” Ian says, closing his eyes for a moment, “But you’re not going to like it.” 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A quiet, eerie calm fills the forest, a light fog spilling its way between the trees and wetting the grass as it moves without purpose or intention across the forest floor. The animals in the area had gone quiet, with the exception of the insects, still buzzing and crackling out sounds made in blissful ignorance of the danger held in a world much larger than them. Something evil was in this place, something despicable. The sounds of its approach, leaves and twigs snapping under elongated feet, heavy and bloody breaths playing a discordant melody of life, echoed louder through this silent landscape as it made its way towards its prey. 

While this creature could have once been mistaken for a human, it was now a beast through and through - long antlers stuck out of its misshapen head, melted somewhere between man and monster. Gnarled shoulders matched extended spines on each vertebrae, extra ribs haphazardly filled out a stretched torso, leading to legs bent crookedly on its hips. It had been hungry for a while, meals few and far between, but now, for the first time in weeks, it could smell it. 

Human flesh.

Up ahead, the target had been set. A woman is walking slowly, alone, passing each tree with hesitation and shaky limbs. The creature pulls itself low, slinking across the ground and twisting its limbs past trees with an intimate knowledge of the foliage around it. Twenty feet ahead of the woman was a small clearing - just enough space to launch an ambush. Drool mixed with blood drips from the beast’s maw. Just a few more feet. Past a few more trees. It swiftly glides its way to its designated spot, and as the woman gets within range, it leaps - and falls, flipping over its wrist as its body flings forward. It looks up and sees that its front right hand was stuck completely in the ground. It yelps as the ground seems to rise up on its own like a leaking faucet, the dirt surrounding its other limbs and yanking it further down like quicksand. Once its limbs have been entirely consumed by the Earth below it, the woman steps back into view - a view that suddenly turns purple, and then goes black. 

Above the charred corpse of this monster stands Abigail O’Hare, wiping sweat off her brow. “Wow! Wow, I - wow. Wow.” She says, just staring at the creature below her. “Wow.” 

“Stuck in a loop?” Carlos asks, cautiously peeking up from within the ground. “What’s so wow?”

“Wow. Uh. Wow, I just…” Abigail starts laughing. “Some damn fine monster huntin’!” She says, emphasizing what’s usually the lightest twinge of a southern accent in her voice. “I should’ve hired you a long time ago, dude.” 

Carlos’ turn to laugh. “You really think so?”

Abigail nods. “Something like that wouldn’t have been hard to take down on my own, but definitely annoying.”

“And what was that, exactly?” 

“A Wendigo. Well, to be specific, a False Wendigo,” Abigail says, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the husk in front of her. “If that was the real deal, we would’ve had a much, much more difficult time.” 

“False Wendigo?” Carlos asks, pulling himself fully out of the ground and rubbing his temple. 

“Head doing okay?” Abigail asks in response.

Carlos nods. “Little bit of a migraine coming on, but not as bad as before.” 

Abigail smiles. “It only gets easier from here. Anyway, I say False because…well, okay.” She begins, shooting the screenshot off to their client with the message ‘PREY SLAUGHTERED’, “Think about an orange.” 

Carlos feels his whole body slump, and a long, drawn out sigh escapes his lips. “Jesussssss. Okay, I’m thinking about an orange. A nice, delicious orange.” 

“Now think about orange.”

Carlos shakes his head. “Come on, man, I just…Okay, orange, color, I’m thinking of orange.” 

Abigail nods. “Both are just called orange, right? But, one is a color, and the other is a full different concept named after the color. Wendigos are sorta similar - there’s a Wendigo, which is like, a conceptual spirit that takes over human minds during endless cold and starvation. It doesn’t really have a form, and doesn’t really change the look of the human that much. They’re just starving and emaciated - was sorta like a cautionary tale from the folks who called this land home first. But,” she says, motioning her head for Carlos to follow her, “Stories change and evolve as they hit the public consciousness, and lose their native context. Shorthand for a Wendigo was a long, stretched out creature with antlers that eats human flesh with reckless abandon, and even though that isn’t technically correct, it became its own thing. Both are called the same name, but they mean something different. A Wendigo is orange, and a False Wendigo is an orange.”

“Does Arihiro like it when you go off on these insane tangents, or has he had to suffer through one of these yet?” 

Abigail guffaws. “Rude! That’s gonna be a write-up, pal.” She says, laughter in her voice. “Too many more wisecracks like that and you’re outta ‘eeeere.”
“C’maaaan boss, you’ze gotta take a wisecrack ‘ere and ‘dere, eh?” 

“I gots patience, but not for no goofin’ and gaffin’ like that, akapeesh?” 

The two laugh as they cut through the forest, and the wildlife begins to carefully peek its way back to normality. The fog begins to clear, and the clouds that hung low before start to blow away with the breeze. 

“Where is Arihiro right now, anyway?” Carlos asks, looking up at the light suddenly cutting through the canopy of leaves above him. 

“He’s with Lea,” Abigail replies, nodding in satisfaction as her screenshot gets a thumbs up, and her banking app rings with a notification of funds hitting her account. “She wanted to see if she could do anything for him.”

“Think she can?” 

Abigail shrugs. “I dunno. He’s not even really sure what’s making him sick in the first place - it’s like he’s having a crazy auto-immune reaction, but he said that’s what his Calling was supposed to be for. To ‘reject’ the Void, and allow him to give it shape, or something like that.”

“Damn. Like an organ transplant on steroids?”

“That's how it sounded to me,” Abigail says, putting her phone back in her pocket. “But it’s not like there’s a litany of medical knowledge on this or anything. He’s one-of-a-kind.” 

“No kidding,” Carlos agrees, “Too bad y’all are probably on the Peacekeeper’s shitlist for the rest of eternity - they’d probably have some smart people on board who know way more about this than us.” 

“I wonder why they haven’t sent any goons out to get us yet?” Abigail ponders, “Crowley said I was officially an ‘enemy of the Peace’, but I haven’t seen hide or tail of any Peacekeepers at all.” 

“They probably know you can wipe the floor with them now,” Carlos laughs. 

Abigail shakes her head. “I can’t speak for Michael, but both Maya and Ian are tough. I got lucky that they underestimated me - next time, they’ll know how to prepare.” 

“Next time, you’ll have me and Arihiro.” 

Abigail’s gait falters as this information hits her. “Oh, right. Wow, I’m not used to this whole ‘team’ thing, it’s kinda cool.” 

Carlos grins. “Not that I’m that useful in a fight yet. I can distract them, at least.” 

Abigail pauses her walk when she feels her phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulls it out, and turns her head quizzically at the screen. “Well, speak of the devil,” she says, accepting the call and putting it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hi! Is this Abigail O’Hare?” A friendly, chipper voice rings through the phone. 

“Yeah?”

“Oh, wonderful! Good morning, I hope you’re well! My name is Rebecca Eccelson, calling from the offices of Ian Crowley. I’ve been asked to deliver a message to you, if you have the time?”

Abigail holds back a chuckle. “I’ve got a few minutes, sure.” 

“Wonderfulll. Mr. Crowley has requested for you to come by his office at the Coastal HQ, at your convenience. He asked me to read this verbatim, let me…get my notes…’I assure you that we mean you no harm with this invitation, and would in fact like to discuss ways we can work together in harmony in the future’.” 

Abigail shares a glance with Carlos, who can’t quite hear what’s being said on the other end of the line, but is picking up her rising tension. “Okay? That’s….weird, but okay,” She says, “I actually just wrapped up my morning plans, I can make my way over now if he’s available?”

Carlos shoots back a ‘what are you saying’ expression. Abigail waves him off. 

“Oh, let me check and see if he’s still in the office…” Rebecca says, the line going quiet for a moment. 

“Abigail, what are you doing?!” Carlos asks, trying to keep quiet. 

“Shhh, I’ve got it under control - “

“Miss O’Hare?” Rebecca returns, “Mr. Crowley is still here, and would be delighted if you wanted to drop on by! When might we be expecting you?”

Abigail looks at the time and shrugs. “Give me a couple hours and I’ll be there.” 

“Wonderful! I will let Mr. Crowley know. Thank you, and have a wonderful day!” 

The line goes silent and Abigail keeps a tight grip on her phone. 

“You’re going to the Peacekeepers?!”

“Well, they invited me, might as well see what's up, right? Feels like an olive branch.”

Carlos sighs and pouts. “Well, I’m going with you. And I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer, so don’t even try.” 

Abigail smiles. “Of course you’re coming with me. This is ‘next time’.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After an hour and a half of riding trains and buses, Abigail and Carlos arrived at the entrance to Coastal Astoria’s Peacekeeper HQ. They stare up at the building in front of them, each taken aback by just how large this campus as a whole was. 

“Any idea who these dudes are on the pillars?” Carlos asks, waiting for Abigail to move before ascending the stairs. 

“No idea,” Abigail says, sighing and taking her first steps toward what she could only hope wasn’t a trap, “Buncha’ rich dudes who want to be remembered as more than they were, probably.” 

“Fair enough.” 

The rest of their climb is silent, both of them trying to keep their nerves at bay. Once they reach the top of the steps, a familiar face is waiting for them. 

“O’Hare. Other one.” Michael River says, sitting on a bench off to the side of the door, “I’m shocked you came by so willingly. Figured it’d be like pulling teeth.” 

“Dumaresq.” Carlos corrects, each syllable punctuated with an annoyed authority.

Michael squints his eyes shut in recognition of his mistake. “Ah, sorry, Dumaresq, you’re right, not the time to…sorry.” He replies, his incredibly pale face turning a shade of pink. 

Abigail and Carlos are both taken aback by this response, the air turning awkward and stilted. “Uh…so what’s Crowley want?” Abigail asks. 

Michael grunts. “You’ll just want to talk to him yourself. He’s up on the fourth floor, just take the elevator and type ‘413’ on the buttons to get there.” 

“Cool.” 

“He wasn’t expecting a plus one, so if I were you, I’d have Dumaresq wait here.” 

Carlos glares. “Good thing you’re not us then, right? C’mon, Abigail,” he says, suddenly filled with vigor as he pushes his way through the front door.

Abigail can’t help but snort a chuckle as she follows Carlos inside, giving Michael one last glance before leaving him on the bench. 

“He’s real good at getting under your skin, huh?” Carlos quietly asks, “No wonder you talk so much shit about him.” 

“Just a few days ago you were saying he’s not such a bad dude,” Abigail says with another snort, “But now you get it. Annoying kid.”

“Annoying ass kid.” 

They reach the elevator, walking inside and pressing the ‘413’ combination Michael had given them, and the door suddenly slams shut. The elevator shoots upwards, and upon reaching the correct floor, a door on the opposite side of the box opens up, revealing the lobby and waiting area for Crowley’s office. Abigail takes the lead again as she walks toward a woman behind a desk, who she presumed to be Rebecca from before. “Hey, uh, we’re here to see -”

“Oh! How wonderful, you must be Abigail? And this is…?” She asks, her smile twitching as she sees Carlos following behind. 

“Carlos Dumaresq, I’m with her.” Carlos says. His tone reads as one that should not be questioned. 

Rebecca takes a beat, and nods. “Welcome to Coastal HQ, Abigail and Carlos! Mr. Crowley is right through this door here, I’ll buzz you in.” 

Abigail nods at her. “Thanks.” 

The door behind Rebecca jolts, and then slowly opens, and the duo take the path towards the big desk at the end of the room, where Ian Crowley sits and writes in a notepad, and Maya sits uncomfortably on a couch on the left side of the room, reading a book. 

“Miss O’Hare,” he says, looking up from his notes, “and Mr. Dumaresq? I didn’t expect you to bring a guest.”

Abigail shrugs. “Didn’t expect you to just call me out of the blue.” 

Ian stares at her for a moment, and nods. “Sure, that makes sense. I guess the last time our paths crossed wasn’t exactly pleasant for either of us.” 

“Can’t say it was, no.”

“Well, first off, Miss O’Hare - “

“Please, just call me Abigail. I don’t like this ‘Miss’ thing.”

“Of course. Abigail, first, I’d like to apologize for my actions, and by extension, the actions of Maya and Michael last week. In our - in my - narrow-minded pursuit of Arihiro, I neglected to take proper action once that Roku’ku arrived. The damage could have been much worse if it wasn’t for you, and it’s frankly embarrassing that we could behave in such a manner.”

Abigail nods. “Sure. Apology accepted.” 

Ian takes a moment to put his words together correctly. “However, it has become clear to me that Arihiro isn’t the only one who presents a danger to Astoria. Like it or not, Abigail, he is a danger to those around him. And, unfortunately? So are you.” 

Abigail’s hands begin to heat up. “Uh-huh?”

Ian notices the change in temperature and sits back, raising his arms. “Abigail, I promise you this - I did not invite you here to kill you. Nor to cause you any harm. I just need you to understand what I know you must already understand. You have…truly immense power. An unbelievable strength, and the will to back it up. And while you may have Astoria’s best interests at heart, if there ever came a time where that wasn’t true…” He says, biting the inside of his mouth in thought, “Are you getting where I’m going with this?”

Carlos sneers. “Abigail isn’t dangerous, you dick. You just know that you’d lose.” 

Ian pulls in a breath to control himself. “Ah, you sure found a fiery companion. I guess that’s a good thing. Let’s look at facts, alright? It is a fact that Arihiro brought down an entire island, and it is a fact that he has killed a number of Peacekeepers. It is also a fact that you, Abigail O’Hare, directly went against the law, and attempted to kill both Maya and myself as you aided and abetted a known criminal. These are actions that cannot be treated lightly, do you understand? At the same time,” Ian says, rubbing his face with his hands, “I can’t sit here and pretend that the things you do aren’t good, Abigail. That would be closing my eyes in favor of my personal feelings, and that isn’t something I plan to start doing. Do you understand the impasse we find ourselves at?”

Abigail’s hands haven’t cooled off yet. “Sure.” 

“Abigail, please, hear him out.” Maya finally says, folding the page of her book over to mark her spot and closing the book. 

“So, I’d like to make a proposition. I will, effective immediately, drop any and all charges that may have been pressed upon you, and drop the hunting order for Arihiro. You can continue acting as a Freelancer in Coastal Astoria, and we won’t make any moves to get in your way. But, this comes with a string attached.” 

“I’m listening,” Abigail says, already feeling her stomach drop as she puts the pieces together. 

“You can continue doing what you’re doing, but only if Michael River and Maya Olvide are among the members of your team.”

Abigail recoils. “What, you want me to have your Peacekeeper lapdogs watching my every move?”

Ian looks up in thought, and nods. “Precisely.” 

“We’re both already prepared to move to your part of town,” Maya says, unable to look Abigail in the eye, “I think this is a very, very, very fair offer, Abigail.”

Abigail looks back at Maya, and takes this offer in for a moment. This is a nightmare. Peacekeepers? Joining my squad? No. I refuse. But…there’s no way I can refuse. It’s this, or Arihiro has to go back into hiding, and we lose all chances of saving him. 

Carlos watches Abigail’s every facial twitch, each microscopic movement of emotion. He glances towards Maya, and cocks his head slightly to the side. 

“Okay,” Abigail finally says, taking a deep breath, “Okay. You’re right, Maya. It’s a very fair deal.” She adds, looking directly into Ian’s eyes and putting out her right hand. “I accept.” 

Ian shakes Abigail’s hand, a wide smile growing across his face. “Excellent. Smart girl. Maya, go ahead and let Michael know that we’ll be moving forward with this plan. I expect both of you to be moved in within the next week, understood?”

Maya nods. “You got it.” 

“And Abigail?” Ian says, noticing that her and Carlos had already turned to leave, “Be safe out there, alright?”

Abigail doesn’t look back. “You too.” 

The ride down the elevator is silent, as is their walk back outside. This strained truce wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was certainly better than the alternative, so Abigail knew they were lucky to even be in this position. Still, this massive shift in status quo brought with it a litany of possible problems and collisions, especially as it concerned Arihiro. Is this just a ploy…? She thinks, barely paying attention to where she’s walking, Just a trick to get close to kill us when we don’t expect it? Can we really trust the words of Ian Crowley and his lackeys? 

Her thoughts are cut short when Maya calls out from behind her. 

“Abigail!” Maya shouts, running to catch up. “Hey, uh, can I talk to you a minute?” She asks, walking alongside Abigail and Carlos. 

“Mmhmm,” Abigail barely obliges. 

“Alone?” 

The three stop walking, and Abigail whips her head around to face Maya’s. She takes a moment, and then looks towards Carlos. “Go on ahead. Grab me a drink from the gift shop?” 

Carlos’ focus switches back and forth from Abigail to Maya a few times, and he reluctantly nods. “Sure. I’ll be right over there, okay?” He says. 

Maya wasn’t sure if he was reassuring Abigail, or threatening her. 

“See ya in a few.” Abigail replies, watching Carlos slowly and nervously walk away. As soon as he’s out of earshot, she turns back to Maya. “Talk.” 

Maya bites her lip. “Um. So last week.”

“Mmhmm.” 

“I’m not going to apologize for what I did.” 

“Cool.”

“I was doing what I believed to be right, and if I’m being honest? I still think it was right. I still think you and Arihiro are both hilariously dangerous, and it’s a little shocking that Mr. Crowley had the grace to let you both off the hook.”

“Right.” 

Maya looks into Abigail’s eyes, and can feel how thick the wall between them is becoming. “But…I did want to apologize for what I said. About you being…being a brat. And crazy. And anything else I might have said.” 

This wasn’t what Abigail was expecting, and she pulls her head back in surprise. “....Oh.”

Maya grits her teeth and looks away. “I didn’t realize…no, I didn’t care to think about…why you’d do something like that. I can’t pretend I’m the arbiter of justice, right? You had your reasons, and so did I. And it was…it was small of me to think your views and experiences didn’t carry any weight. And for that, I really, truly, am sorry.”

Abigail sighs. “You know what Maya? I get it. That makes sense to me. We were both doing what we thought was right.” She offers a laugh. “I get the feeling you’re secretly the most stubborn person in the room.” 

Maya offers a laugh of her own. “Sadly, yeah, that sounds about right.”

“It’s cool. We’ll be fighting for that title in the near future, so buckle up.” 

Maya chuckles and looks away. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, since we’re going to be working together?”

Abigail shrugs. “I’ve got stuff to do this evening, so make it quick.”

“It’s just…you said...you said that I couldn’t tell you ‘how to atone’. Abigail,” she says, shaking her head, eyes filled with concern, “What could you have possibly done for your atonement to look like that?” 

Abigail’s face gets hit with a wave of disgust at the question. “Not really any of your business. I gotta go.” She turns and starts to walk away.

“You regularly get beaten beyond a bloody pulp, you split your own arm open fighting that dragon, the same arm that literally burned to the bone fighting a different dragon, you fought against the President of the Peacekeepers to protect a complete stranger, it doesn’t make any sense! This doesn’t add up, Abigail! What happened to you to make you…like this?!”

Abigail stops a few feet away from Maya, and takes the question in for a moment. 

She can still hear the screams. 

“Well, Maya, you’ve seen my Calling, right?” She asks, turning back with a suddenly exhausted smile, “What do you think?”

Maya leaves this question of a response hanging as Abigail walks away. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“That’s what you’re wearing?!” Carlos exclaims in anguish. It’s later that evening, and the trio of Abigail, Carlos, and Arihiro were meeting at Magnolia Street, awaiting a couple of special guests set to arrive in any minute. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Huh? These are my nice clothes - “ Arihiro says, a deadpan confusion in his voice. 

“Those are your nice clothes?!” Carlos asks, both of his hands grabbing the back of his head. In front of him, Arihiro stood wearing a beaten up orange scarf, a stained white button down with four buttons and half a sleeve missing, oversized corduroy pants cut off at the bottom, and sneakers that were fraying and falling apart. “How long until they get here? Abigail, c’mon, this is a disgrace, he can’t - “

“Be nice to him, it’s not like he could just go shopping - “ Abigail tries to say.

“No, I don’t care, these are dumpster clothes. There’s a bloodstain on your hip!”

“Oh, that happened when the sleeve got cut off.” 

Carlos throws his hands up. “It happened when the sleeve got cut off! When are they getting here? Do we really not have time to get you clothes that fit?!” 

“They’ll be here soon,” Abigail says, looking Arihiro over for a minute, “But he’s right, blood stain’s a bad vibe.” She looks around and spots Magnolia Street sweaters and hoodies near the register for the nursery half of the store. “Lea, think you could damage out a sweatshirt for us?”

Lea peeks her head out from her office doorway. “Uh, you could just buy a sweatshirt, margins on those things are terrible.” 

“No family discount?”

“You drink here for free, bitch.” Lea sticks her tongue out. 

Abigail smiles back and shakes a receipt, having rung up the clothing herself. “And I always appreciate it,” she says, bringing a dark gray sweatshirt adorned with the Magnolia Street logo on it, a monochromatic circle reading EST. 139 on the top, a wine bar with an aloe, a glass of wine, and a succulent sitting in a row, and “Magnolia Street” written in cursive along the bottom. “For you.” She says, handing it to Arihiro. 

He stares at this present for a moment, and unfolds it slowly, taking in the way it falls as the sleeves unfurl from the chest and it expands to full size. He runs his finger over the material, feeling the inside and outside. 

“First time seeing a sweater?” Carlos asks, resting his head in his hand.

“First time getting a gift,” Arihiro replies, smiling at the sweatshirt. “I almost don’t want to wear it.” 

Abigail smiles back. “An article of clothing going ragged shows how treasured it is,” She says, “I’d be insulted if you didn’t.” 

Arihiro slides his first gift onto his body and stares down at the logo on the front. This whole thing is so weird, he thinks, suddenly feeling like the galaxy was coursing through him. All this time I’ve been on my own, I thought it was preposterous that I could spend time with people. That I could belong somewhere. So, why then? 

He looks up, watching Abigail and Carlos walk towards the bar, being greeted by a man with a dramatic side fade asking for their orders. 

It’s only really been a few days, and these people…I matter to them. This orbit I’m being pulled into, this gravitational anomaly, it should feel…overwhelming. This should be terrifying. I suddenly have this weight, this responsibility, this promise I’ve made. 

The duo at the bar turn around at the sound of another duo entering, and Abigail’s face lights up. 

Ever since I got here, I’ve had this feeling. Something ringing in the back of my head. 

Abigail says something to the newcomers - two women, one with dark hair and green eyes in an oversized parka, another platinum blonde and wearing a peacoat and a dark pair of leggings. The four look over towards Arihiro, and the two women immediately get teary eyed. 

Arihiro stands up, an awkward smile crossing his lips. 

It’s like I’m in a dream. Everything that’s happening is following some sort of logic, but it’s one I’m not privy to. It just all…seems to make sense, like I’m supposed to just go with the flow. 

The two women slowly approach Arihiro. 

“Um, hi, Arihiro. I’m Danny Calloway. And this is my cousin, Reagan.” Danny says, giving a light bow. “We, um…”

Reagan steps forward and hugs Arihiro. “That was almost the worst night of our lives. But you saved us. You didn’t have to, but you did.” She chokes back a sob. “Thank you.”

Danny’s tears bubble over and she joins in on the hug. 

I don’t deserve all this, I can’t. I must be body snatching someone who actually belongs here. But, at the same time…

Arihiro looks up over their shoulders, his arms stretched out, unsure of what to do in response. He glances at Abigail in hopes of support, and she just makes a hugging motion with her arms. His arms wrap around the Calloway cousins, and he feels his eye tearing up as well. 

Abigail’s smile stretches wide across her face.

Why does it feel like this is always how it was supposed to be?