Pale: 9.3 - Avery

Shaking Hands – 9.3 | Pale
The laptop loaded slowly, connection struggling.  That wasn’t just the issue of small town internet.  That was someone else in the house using the internet.  Avery winced.

Snowdrop, standing beside her, gave her shoulder a shake and pointed, silent.

The door of Avery’s room had three post-its with connection blockers drawn on them.  She’d tried three times and had done an iffy job so she’d put all three up.  Now they vibrated, two flapping rapidly as if caught in between two airstreams from a fan or vent.

It looked like the connections that extended from her to the door had bundled themselves up, each threading through a different connection blocker.  Which was interesting.  Made sense, in a way, with the way elemental stuff flowed through diagrams.

One shuddered, the marker-drawn lines thinning out to be pencil-thin, then it popped like the smallest firework, breaking free of the door.

“Hide,” Avery whispered.

Before Snowdrop could, the door banged, opening, and stopped because Avery had barred it closed with a spare shelf that Kerry had pulled down from her bookshelf.  It opened a crack, and the remaining connection blockers vibrated more.

“What the hell?” Sheridan asked, through the crack.

“Give me a few minutes, geez.”

“Are you looking at rude stuff, Avery?”

“I look at your rude face way too often.”

“Hur hur.  It’s my room too, you can’t keep me out.”

“Just give me ten freaking minutes.  If you want I’ll give you permission to kick me out sometime.  Daylight hours, when I’m not doing something important.”

“I wanted to tell you Declan just bought this gory new game and he’s super excited for it.  So if we’re going to have that conversation with him, now would be a really great time to make sure he’s as pissed off as possible.  Interrupt his game.”

“I don’t want him P.O.’ed.  I want him to be cool to Amber. She and Cal were his only decent friends.”

“Have to communicate with him in his language, which is basement troll.  Bash bash, grr, angry scream.”

“Can you give me ten minutes?  I scheduled this video call with friends from the summer thing…”

Her phone dinged.  She checked it.

She typed her response: in so many ways. yes please.  Sent.

“Whatever, you owe me the room to myself sometime later.  I just thought you should know the window of opportunity is closing.  If you want him to listen, make listening the only way he can get back to his games.”

“Yeah, sure,” Avery said.  The ‘connecting’ bar was acting up, all of a sudden.

“Oh hey, here he comes.  Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.  He looks mad.”

Avery motioned, and Snowdrop crawled onto Kerry’s bed and became an opossum, hiding in among the stuffed animals.

“Who’s on the computer!?” Declan shouted.

The second post-it broke away with a pop and a crack, paper singing.

“Avery!  Is it you!?”

“Yeah!” Avery shouted.

“I’m downloading content for my game, Avery!  I need it!”

The door banged against the shelf, wedged between wall and bookshelf, so it jutted out and got in the way of the door opening.

Avery shouted through the gap in the door, “It’s a girl-only room, you’re not allowed in without permission, especially after you creeped through my bag, you little penis!”

“It’s better to be a penis than to be a c-”

“Thank you, Sheridan!” Avery called out.

“Stop looking at porn and let me download my update, Avery!” Declan shouted, fighting with Sheridan now.  Avery only had glimpses.

“It’s not porn.  Why is that everyone’s go-to?  Is it that common a thing?”

“The door is locked, what else could it be?”

“Our parents locked the internet anyway.”

Declan laughed, as did Sheridan.  A jeering sound, the two of them wrestling a second ago and now united against her, on the other side of the door with one lonely connection breaker struggling.

Struggling more, barely holding on…

The door banged, the connection breaker coming free in the same moment.

It closed, then banged again, closed, banged.  Rapid-fire.

“I want into my room!”

Avery leaned forward, used her foot to keep the door closed so her fingers wouldn’t pinch, and grabbed the shelf, moving it back into the nook between bookshelf and wall.

Six year old Kerry came in like a storm, while Declan stood there, hands out, looking like he expected something.  Sheridan hung back, looking bemused.

“I just want ten minutes for a call with friends.”

“And I want a unicorn,” Kerry said, dead serious.  “I’ll trade you.”

“That’s not an even trade and I’m pretty sure unicorns are actually pretty scary if you ever met one,” Avery said.

“Really uneven trade,” Sheridan said, deadpan.  “I think the going rate for trading unicorns for privacy in this house is two unicorns a minute.”

“Kinley says horses aren’t that bad,” Kerry said.

Avery rubbed her temples.  “Unicorns are more than horses with horns.”

“They are, and she’s right,” Zed said, over the laptop, startling Avery.  “Very scary in reality.”

“Is Avery talking to a boy?” Declan chimed in.

Avery floundered in the chaos, glancing at Snowdrop, who was remaining very still.

“I like how this unicorn thing is being treated so seriously,” Sheridan said.

“Who’s the boy, Avery?  Hey, boy on the internet, did you know Avery wets her bed still?”

“I don’t, but I could be convinced to drench a mattress in your blood if you kept that up,” Avery told him.

“Oooh, scary.  I think the only one who’s bleeding anytime soon is you, Avery, from the way you’re acting.  So violent!”

Avery started forward, but Sheridan beat her to it, getting Declan in a headlock.

“We really need to read little bro the riot act,” Sheridan said.

“I know,” Avery said, “But I’m calling friends.”

Sheridan looked down at Declan, who elbowed her in the gut.  “I’m thinking… speaking of blood and violence, I don’t think our parents understand video game rating codes.  That game sure looked violent and bloody.”

“Don’t you- don’t you dare!  I’ll-”

Sheridan let him go, pushing him away from the stairs, and then darted, insofar as Sheridan could dart, downstairs.  Declan followed, full panic mode.

“How long were you listening in, Zed?” Avery asked.  She was midway through the sentence when Kerry noisily upended a bucket of toys onto the floor.

“Good while.  Nicolette’s here, as requested.”

“Brie is busy getting her tattoos redone.”

“Tattoos?” Kerry asked.

“Oh god, let me just clear Kerry out of my space…”

“Yes, do you have any lasers you can fire out of my computer?  Vaporize little sisters?”

Kerry turned to give Avery her most unimpressed look, before emptying out another bucket.  Crash and tumble.

“What are you even looking for, Ker?” Avery asked.

“Can you go figure that out somewhere else?”

Zed spoke, voice coming through the speakers.  “No lasers, but go to your phone, run the program.”

Avery got her phone.  “This is my life now, you know.  Opening strange files from strange men on the internet is pretty minor compared to some other stuff I’m doing.”

“It’s so weird you see me as a man.  I’m still a teenager in my head.”

“Well I kinda do and I kinda just wanted to make the quip.”

The file uploaded. The phone light came on, bright.  Avery winced as it flashed in her face.

Kerry veered in the direction of her bunk bed, where the stuffed animals were piled up and Snowdrop was reclining.  Avery almost wanted Kerry to discover the opossum and flee the room, but it would be more trouble than it was worth.  She was tense.

“This’ll do,” Kerry declared, holding up a female action figure that was probably a hand-me-down from Declan’s stuff.  “Gonna wrap it in toilet paper, wet it, and stick it in the freezer.”

She gave Avery a funny look as she turned around and came face-to-face with the moving, flashing light from the phone.

The phone dinged.  Zed had sent a message instead of saying it out loud.  Instructions on putting the phone so the light could shine on the door.

Avery closed the door after Kerry had left, then balanced the phone on the edge of the desk.  It was shining an intermittent light that created a luminous, fractal, ever-unfolding set of connection breakers on the door.

“That’s a version five.  Cameras on both sides.  Is there a high place you can put it?  Shine light on opposite walls,” Zed told her.

“You know my phone specs?”

“Yep.  I could know a lot more but I’m not a creep and I’m not going to betray your trust by doing stuff that I didn’t get permission for.”

She used Kerry’s toy bin in the center of the room and angled the phone.  The images shone on both walls.  The space under the door and the window took on a faint television static, the blue sky desaturated and the clouds eerily still.

“There we go,” Zed said.  “A space of your own, at least until the battery runs out.”

Avery went looking for a cord.  She held it up.

“Don’t plug it in.  That’s, uh, a fast way to get caught off guard by a huge power bill.  These things eat what they’re offered.  Let’s talk while there’s time.”

Avery sat.  Flustered, she sighed, and took a second to get organized.  “Sorry.  Sorry about that.  Hey, you can come over here again, Snow.”

Snowdrop turned human, twisted around, then flopped over, head on Kerry’s pillow.  Avery frowned, and Snowdrop made a big show of picking herself up off the bed.  She stood behind Avery’s chair, hugging her while looking over her shoulders.

“Hey, Snow,” Nicolette said.

“It’s cool.  Seeing you with siblings.  Makes me miss my little sister,” Zed said.

“Do you talk to her much?”

“No, no.  That’s something that’s going to have to wait until she’s a little older and can do stuff more independent of the parents.  Hopefully she hasn’t been poisoned against me in the meantime.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.  But you didn’t call to get my life story-”

“I-” Avery had to stop herself from disagreeing outright.  Saying she had would gainsay Zed and that was rude.  “I wanted to chat to keep in touch and I didn’t specifically call to get your life story but if that came up I definitely wouldn’t mind.  If Nicolette doesn’t mind, either.”

“I don’t but we don’t have a lot of time.  I should check on Seth soon.”

Zed adjusted his seat, then told Avery, “I already told you some when we walked back from the Ruins.  Until the tone of the conversation started attracting echoes.  But sure, what’s this about?  We’re staying in touch?”

“Is that okay?  It’s not an emergency or anything, but I feel like if we didn’t touch base every once in a while we’d drift apart.  I don’t want that.  I’m trying to hold onto connections.”

She gave Snowdrop’s hand a pat.

“I’m plotting my escape,” the opossum girl said.

“Really, this is great, it’s fine.  Can be hard with schedules, though,” Zed commented.

“Makes it more important to use the opportunities we do have,” Avery said.  Her forehead wrinkled.  “If this isn’t a bother.”

Nicolette shook her head, and the connection lagged a bit.  “Not for me.  I’m going to be going here and there for errands, picking up a bit of Alexander’s old contracts, now that he’s gone.  Doing the jobs I know I can do.  Wye is doing a lot of the rest.  I was really looking forward to this summer but I don’t think I’ll be catching many classes.”

“Any chance you can meet up with Elizabeth Driscoll?” Avery asked.  “I know she was a friend.”

“She kind of was, and maybe.  I’ll be heading in that direction.  I should.”

“You should,” Zed said.

“Any word on Jessica?” Avery asked.

“Still down there.  I think she’s okay, just… I think she needed this to be the last dive.”

Avery blew out a breath.  Almost an ‘oof’ but not quite.

“She said she’d call,” Zed said.

“I know, I know.  Okay, cool,” Avery replied.

“I don’t think she’d show it or say anything about it but it’d matter to her, that you cared,” Zed said.

“Isn’t that what we all want?  Isn’t it that we want to make the world better, we care, but we can’t agree on how?”

“Nah, like, I’m pro garbage truck,” Snowdrop said.  “Gotta have regular pickups, no trash piling up, I know everyone would agree with me on that.”

Nicolette answered, “I think there are too many people who aren’t even trying.  I’m risking treading on some sensitive ground here, but Bristow might’ve actually wanted to make the world better, as distorted as his view of it all was.  He was egocentric enough he couldn’t see or trust in an end result that didn’t have him in a position of power there.”

“And Alexander saw bettering things as a tool that could be used or not used, as the situation demanded.  Not really an end result for him.”

“It wasn’t an end for him at all,” Snowdrop commented.

Avery reached back to poke Snowdrop in the side.  Wayyy too heavy a subject to be quipping about.

“If he’d made the Blue Heron into something great, networked out, tied in Raymond’s work and Durocher’s reputation, and it turned into something noxious, predatory, or evil, I don’t think he’d be heartbroken, so long as he got to do complex practices on a grand scale while he held power and prominence.”

“And now we have Musser?” Avery asked.

“Now we have Musser,” Zed answered.  “I don’t think he aspires in the same way.  He’s so used to power coming to him he doesn’t make the same kind of moves.  If you’re in his way and you’re against him he’ll take you out.  If not, then I don’t think you have to worry.  But I don’t get the impression he puts bettering the world very high up the priority scale.”

“He has a way of taking roads that put a lot of people in his way,” Nicolette said.  “While making a point of removing anyone that’s in his way.”

“I know a really cool housecat that’s nothing like that.  Tiny thing, very polite, not bossy at all,” Snowdrop said.  “We really need to keep stray cats and dogs around while we’re preserving the good ol’ garbage truck.”

“Really getting opinionated there, Snowdrop,” Nicolette said.

“I’m not.  It’s that nobody I’m hanging out with around here has a political brain or anything, they’re boring.”

“I guess,” Zed said.  “Depends on the circles you travel.  High society, politics, business… I think you three are safe.”

“Speaking of our circles, I don’t know how well this is going to work out, but I thought it’d be cool if you guys could swing by, so I ran it by the local council.  I feel like video calls might not be enough, uh-”

“I’m a technomancer, Avery.  I can eat, sleep, and breathe in the internet.  If you want some tips on getting set up, I can help.  With a few tweaks it wouldn’t be much different from face to face.  Video calls aren’t an issue for me.”

“But there’s no true substitute for real life, so I just thought it’d be neat if Nicolette could say hi if she’s driving through, or you could.  If Brie figures out what she’s doing with her binding, John would appreciate getting to communicate on some level with Yalda.”

Zed replied, “Sure, that could be nice.  I think she feels a pretty pointed lack of resolution about the whole Devouring Song thing.  Er, the Hungry Choir.”

“Yeah.  I could see that.  I’m sorta feeling a lack of resolution about a lot of things.”

“Yeah.  Yep, I uh, I get that.  So, in the interest of adding to your plate…”

“This might be an oh yes, I don’t know.  But it’s not easy.  Remember Ed?  Associated with the Finders family?”

“His family’s trying to find their feet after Alexander disappeared.  They were pretty seriously into Alexander’s network, and they’re not in a great way with this whole situation.  Anyway, they’re onto a new path, they found a way in, they want help.”

“As in they’re figuring it out.  Trying to work out the rules and troubleshoot some of the problems.  If I’m translating the Ed-ese right, Ed was saying they would appreciate a fresh set of eyes.”

“Ed-ese?” Nicolette asked.

“He’s the kind of guy who could get his arms and legs hacked off and he’d say ‘that wasn’t great’, and he had a kid, hale and healthy, wife did terrific, and according to Ray Ed’s enthusiasm was expressed as ‘not so bad a day’.”

“Reminds me of my grandfather from when he could speak more,” Avery said.

“If that helps you speak Ed’s language then that’s great.  From what I understand, this Path stuff is pretty hazardous, you’re engaging with a system you don’t understand.  Looking at the wrong thing or touching the wrong object could make something happen or mean something and then the entire dynamic changes.”

“Jumping on a roof in Zoomtown making all the buildings move, or getting caught in the searchlights on the Constellation Tightropes, yeah.”

“They really need a team player, he said.”

“I’m a team player, except uh, for a tendency to try and flank, go off on my own.  As you saw with the Incarnations.”

“Ah, yeah.  He sent me a message about you a couple days ago, but my instinct was that you’d need a rest after everything at the Institute.”

“Yeah.  Good instinct.”

“But since you’re not at school anymore, I figured if I didn’t bring it up with you now I might forget.”

“You shouldn’t forget these things as a practitioner, Zed,” Nicolette said.

“I shouldn’t, you’re right.  Anyway, he talked to Jude, that guy you did the one path with.”

“Yeah, sure, guy about my age.  Brought up marriage in the ten minute span he knew me.”

Zed and Nicolette laughed.

“Yeah,” Avery said, sighing.

“He had a great hat,” Snowdrop said.

“Sounds like you made a good impression,” Nicolette said.

“Ed asked me about you too,” Zed said, still chuckling.  “For a reference, and asking how you were after the school thing.  With the calls about references before he brings you in for a trial run, I get the impression this thing is a pretty big deal for them.  Undiscovered territory, important placement and ties into certain key Lost, apparently?  But he said if I happened to talk to you about it, I should warn you it’s not as exciting or easy as Zoomtown.  This could be an hour of standing in one specific spot, not touching anything, not looking at anything, while they work out a next move.”

“There might be a lot of stuff there,” Nicolette said.  “He asked me to come in and see him so I can look over some items he picked up recently.  If he’s finding a lot of stuff there might be a lot of stuff at the location to divvy up.  I’ll be augur-identifying any functions I can.”

“Oh, that’s cool that you can do that.  Clementine could use that, I think.”

“Yeah, maybe.  I’m not actually that good with items from these far-flung places, they don’t often give a lot of clues or have functions that fit with their form, but… I’ll try.  It’s pretty risky when you can peer in and something bad can end up looking back at you.  I’m asking for a pretty steep fee because of the personal safety issues.”

“You’re pretty good at spotting curses and stuff,” Zed pointed out.

“I am, but things can be dangerous without being a curse.”

“What do we know about the space?  This new Path?” Avery asked.

“That it’s crowded,” Zed said.  “A lot of Others they’ve seen elsewhere on the Paths are there.  He seemed to think that by getting to the right position, they could block the movements of some Others who tend to come out of nowhere and ruin your day.”

“So like… block the Wolf pre-emptively and then carry on down the Forest Ribbon Trail?” Avery asked.

“I have almost no idea what that means,” Zed told her.

“I could see the value in that,” Nicolette said.  “I only have limited experience in the path, but the part with the quote-unquote ‘Wolf’ seemed like a pretty serious dead end.  If there was a way to carry on past it, I wonder what lies ahead?”

“Yeah,” Avery said.  “But does that mean the Wolf would have to be in that crowded area?”

Avery nodded, digesting that.

But the Forest Ribbon Trail was an introductory thing for Finders and every single one, she was pretty sure, had to deal with a Wolf, or the Wolf.  So she wouldn’t be alone in that.

Avery nodded, looking at the separate windows on her screen, showing Zed and Nicolette’s faces.  Zed had shaved the mustache.  “Let him know I’m interested.  But I can’t spend too long away.”

“I got the impression it was for a few hours, not anything longer.”

“Cool, cool.  So you guys are okay?  Brie’s okay?  Seth’s okay?”

“Brie’s mostly the same,” Zed said.

“Seth’s better than he was, but that’s a low bar,” Nicolette answered.  “You said you knew someone forsworn?”

“Any suggestions?  Any ideas?”

“Only what I talked to you about.  Finding a place where he’s protected and safe.  Especially if you can’t deal with it on your own.  It seems like a full-time job.”

“I know the stages of grief don’t happen in order.  He decided yesterday and today were days to get angry at everything.  I had to get angry back, telling him I tried to help, I had his back.  He didn’t have a response for that.  I sicced an omen on him before the semester, but he dealt with that pretty quick, or Alexander or one of his apprentices did.  Gave him a few lonely days, he wanted to use that to blame me.”

“Hopefully the guy settles into acceptance,” Zed said.

“I’m hoping for a lot of things,” Nicolette said.  “Hey, listen, I know this is rude, but I have a bad feeling, so I’m going to go check on him.”

“No, it’s cool, you do what you need to do,” Avery said.  “I hope this wasn’t a bother, me wanting to do this.”

“Not really, no more than anything is,” Nicolette said, a bit distracted.  “I appreciate it.”

“I’ll ask some about options for the Forsworn and get back to you.”

“Thank you,” Nicolette said, refocusing on the screen for a second.  “I’ll go, bye.”

“That’s Nicolette,” Zed commented.  It sounded like Nicolette had been in the same room as Zed, because Avery could hear a door closing.  “Always scrambling.”

“I hope this isn’t a bother for you either.”

“No, no, just the opposite.  Why would it be a bother?”

“The time, the expenditure of power, my siblings being annoying.  I’m thirteen and you’re… seventeen?”

“And if you dealing with someone four years younger is anywhere near as annoying as me dealing with my little brother, that’s, uh…”

“It’s fine.  Don’t sweat it, Avery.  You’re a friend, and even if you’re younger, it feels like… I dunno.  A little bit like I can fill that hole in my heart where my sister belongs…”

Avery pressed both hands over her heart.

“…and a bit like I can mentor you and maybe help in a way that I would’ve wanted to help when I was your age.  Not that our experiences are much alike at all.”

“That goes for your friends too.  Loop them in, I want to help with whatever.”

“Okay.  I’ll pass that on.”

“Speaking of all that… How did your family thing go?  Coming out?”

“I… about how I expected.  It went well, all considered, and I feel weirdly depressed about it.  But in a way where, I dunno, if they’d had fanfare and accepted me one hundred percent and gave me a cake I’d still feel… I dunno.”

“I don’t think there’s any way for it to match up to what you were amping yourself up for in your head.”

“I’m glad you’re still at home and you’re safe, Avery,” Zed told her.

“Free of opossum bites,” Snowdrop said, biting Avery’s neck.

Avery shrugged her off, but held onto her hand.  “That’s a good reminder that it doesn’t always turn out so great, huh?”

“Yeah, not that you shouldn’t feel the way you do.”

“From the way you talk about home and not being in contact, I don’t want to pry, but…”

“Yeah.  No, yeah, I got kicked out.  I guess since I’m not eating up Nicolette’s limited time or luring in echoes with angst and crap-”

“I can’t imagine it’s angst, Zed.”

“The awful thing is, I didn’t even get the epiphany before, during, or immediately after.  I was just this cringey kid who hated himself so much he’d pretend to be people online.”

“A boy?  Not pretending, but-”

“Not even.  No, because I was dumb.  Somehow that felt like it was crossing a line, like it was important or something.  So I thought I was a girl and I’d pretend to be an adult woman while skipping capitalization and misspelling common words.”

“Sometimes that way of typing is faster,” Avery said.

“I’d say I was popular at school and I had a boyfriend and I was good at sports, or I’d put on another persona and say I had a tragic past.  I don’t know how the people in those spaces put up with me, because I’m pretty sure I didn’t convince anyone after five minutes of talking.”

“Being anyone but yourself?”

“Basically.  As it happened, one of those personalities I was trying on was as a hacker, and I’d make up these stupid movie-style escapades, and that was actually a personality I could back up, kind of, if I put in the work and learned some of that stuff.   That got me started.”

“That’s honestly cool.  That something good came of it.  And it doesn’t sound like a lot of bad came of it.”

“Some did.  I hurt some friendships along the way.  I got desperate to hold onto those identities, I got mean, I got into the moderator politics and manipulated the systems, tried to sabotage people who questioned the lie.  I was thirteen, fourteen, didn’t understand myself, and it seemed like the fastest, easiest way to get away from being a young teenage girl with nothing going for her in life, which was a ‘pretending’ in itself, even if I didn’t register that.”

“You found yourself, though?”

“Raymond found me.  Or one of his apprentices did.  In my search for edgy crap online that I could bring up and show people I found some pretty messed up spaces that had some Others in them.  Group of internet predators was the first.  Literal lions, tigers, bear type predator, mind.  Some randoms online bailed me out.  Then a self-propagating image that started to creep into my everyday life.  Those internet randoms bailed me out again.  I asked a friend to help fix my computer, he saw some of the stuff I was doing online, broke contact.”

“His parents worked with my parents and so it got back to my parents, they looked, they found posts where I talked about having a girlfriend, and that was the start of the train wreck.”

“It doesn’t sound like anyone had your back.”

“Nah, nobody except those internet randoms and my little sister, who didn’t really understand any of it.  Too young.  I tried to defend myself, and somewhere in there I said I hated my life, I hated being me, and that was why I was making up stuff online.  I told my dad I was contemplating some pretty dark stuff, and his response was that, uh, well, he ignored that part, focused on the part where I said hated my life.  The life he’d given me, provided for me, he took it personally.  And I was out the door.  Some sarcastic comments to go.”

“Um, geez.  That’s… that’s a nightmare.  What did you even do?”

“Freaked out.  My thoughts got pretty dark for a good while, there.  I’m pretty darn lucky that people at the youth shelter had, uh, very gentle voices.  They said I could legally go home my parents had an obligation to care for me, but who would want to go back to that?  I found a way online, went looking for trouble this time.  Regretted it pretty quickly, found some cyberbullies, Others, who were a little too good at finding weak points and I had a lot, y’know?”

“Because I was curious, and because flirting with danger was a middle ground between what I’d talked to the youth shelter workers about and being okay.  Those internet strangers who had saved me the last two times decided that they had to do something or I’d be a perpetual headache for them, constantly needing to be bailed out, and they reached out.  I’d picked up a handful of tricks, how would I like to learn some more?”

“Yep.  I think he needed to save someone, with the Hector stuff going on.  And a few years later, here I am.  Found myself, not lying anymore.  I’m pretty good at this technomancy stuff.  All it took was- was support.”

“I’m so glad.  How’s Raymond doing?”

“Infuriating.  Unyielding.  Worst of all, I don’t know how to save him from his own issues, like he rescued me.”

“I wish I had an answer.”

Zed made a face.  “Nah.  I’m not sure there is one.  He’s closed off enough that it takes work to get a message through.  I think it has to come from himself.”

“I’m dealing with my own closed off, stubborn, unyielding family member,” Avery said.  “My little brother’s being a jerk to girls.  Screwed up a great friendship because of it.”

“Ugh, jerk how?  I think I caught the comment earlier, when he was in your room or wherever.”

“I dunno, it’s… I think it’s putting guy friends first, and any girl is a threat to the group.  A macho thing.  Gamer guy crap, ditching a girl who grew up a few houses down, just because she’s a girl and they were jealous of one another, I think.  I just thought, boy logic, maybe you had ideas?”

“Ten.  Soon to be eleven.”

“Gosh, with how much he talks about this stuff, even in the day and a half I’ve been home, you’d think I’d know.  Gory, new, religious…”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“Does the ex-friend down the block game?”

“Yeah.  She makes games for these make-a-game-in-12-hours competitions.”

“Very cool, okay, let me see… I’m more into retro games.”

“That’s shocking,” Snowdrop said.  It looked like she was dozing, leaning into Avery’s shoulder.

“I don’t have any advice for making stupid ten or almost-eleven year olds not be stupid.  I think you’d need Durocher level clout for that.  Here.  Sending you a thing to your phone.  It’s a code.  Diamond level season pass.”

“Think of it like, uh, you’re into sports.”

“Ticket to every game, free team jersey, merch, and a chance to fly in and meet the team and staff.”

“Oh, I don’t want to reward him, though.”

“Then torment him.  Your phone just died, by the way.  You’ll-”

Avery’s dad called from downstairs.

“Yeah.  I’ll leave that power in your hands,” Zed said.

“Can you make it two of these codes?  Sorry, if that’s a pain-”

“It’s a line of code.  Writing it, checking… done.”

“Thank you.  You’re awesome.”

She stood up, leaning over the keyboard.  “Check in, okay?  Good luck to Brie with the tattoos.”

“Will do and thanks.”

“Avery!” her dad called out for the third time.  Patience running out.

“Sorry!  Ending a call!” she called down, plugging in her phone to charge.  She looked at Snowdrop.  “Nap or outside?”

Snowdrop pointed at the top bunk.

“I’ll grab you before I go out.  Go small so I don’t have to wake you up to lift you, and so you don’t get seen.”

Snowdrop gave her a thumbs-down.

Avery stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her.  She stopped on the stairs as she saw her dad leaning over the railing, looking up.

“I’ve got my hands full with Grumble, can you make sure your siblings don’t murder each other?”

“Sure!”  Avery headed down the stairs.

“Thank you,” he said, touching her head as she hurried by.  Declan and Sheridan were in the living room.  He called out after her, “Please reduce the amount of issues, don’t add to them!”

“I got started without you,” Sheridan said.  “Telling him what a butthole he’s being lately.”

“It’s your pizza-sized butthole that’s blocking the TV right now!” Declan protested.

“Sorry, that took a while.  Same mentor from camp who gave us a ride.  Turns out he’s really into computers.”

“Move, Sheridan!” Declan insisted, holding the controller with one hand and pushing at his sister with the other.

“Are you going to apologize to Avery for the comment upstairs?”

“I’m sorry you’re PMSing so hard, Avery.”

As Avery approached, she could see Dad out on the porch with Grumble, who sat in a chair, a towel around his shoulders.  Dad grabbed the electric clippers he was apparently using to trim Grumble’s hair and give him a shave.  The door was open, letting the breeze in, and the noise of the clippers audible.

“Zed is really into computers, and knows stuff.  Like how to get two… diamond season passes with the company that made this game?”

Declan went stiff, turning all the way around.  “You’re lying.”

“If I click this little link, it says… let’s see… all the games the company makes, free, all DLC, I know what that is because of the soccer game I had, all MTX, I have no idea what that is, and a flight in to Salt Lake City to meet the company that made the game and see what they’re making next.”

“I’m sorry I said anything mean and you’re not PMSing you’re very cool,” Declan said.  He took a breath.  “You’re the best sister ever and I love you and I will do anything, anything, for you, until one of us moves out of the house.  I will do all the chores.”

“Hand wash all her hockey and soccer stuff?” Sheridan asked.

“I don’t want your grubby hands all over my stuff,” Avery said, making a face.

“Delete it,” Sheridan said.  Declan jumped at the words like he’d been jabbed.

“Is this a bluff?  Are you faking that you have this for real?” Declan asked, tense.

“I will- don’t move!” Avery said.

Declan had started to walk over, went stiff, freezing on the spot.

“…I will type out a message, and I will… send it.  Gave both passes to Amber.”

Declan lunged, grabbed Avery’s arm, and his face was the picture of agony for a moment, as he saw the email.  She watched him go over all his options in record time, expression changing every half-second, and then he rushed to the door, stepping into his shoes and stepping onto the heels instead of actually pulling them on.  He nearly tripped on his way to the front door.

Avery looked out the big front window of the house to see him legging it down the sidewalk.  To Amber’s house.

“I wanted to yell at him more,” Sheridan said.

“Me too.  There’s room for that later.  I told Amber I would and I will, barring any weird circumstance.”

“Where did- was that Declan running down the sidewalk?” Dad asked, from the front porch.  He walked to the edge of the porch and looking around the house.  “What did you say to him?”

“Magic words that made that kid go outside of his own free will,” Sheridan said.

“I’m saying to Amber,” Avery muttered.  “Follow-up email, don’t give him anything.  Say you’ll take Cal.  Make him… grovel for forgiveness.”

Sheridan leaned over.  “Ooh.  Draw it out, we need to see behavioral changes before she gives him anything.”

“Typing, typing, and… sent.”

“With the way Declan was running, is he ever coming home, or should I get in the car and start trying to catch him now?” Dad asked.

“He’s gone to Amber’s.  He’s going to want to go on a plane trip,” Avery said.

“You said something that scared him so badly he’ll want to go on a plane?”

“No, no.  It’s for a video game thing.”

Dad looked at the television, where a giant mutated baby filled the sky, a hangman’s noose around its neck, and a bunch of crusaders were beating Declan’s player character, with blood fountaining out form every blow.  Dad made a face.

“Rated M,” Sheridan said.  “For Mature audiences.  Eighteen plus.”

Dad picked up the case, turned it around, then bent down and turned off the console, pulling out the game.

“That’s low,” Avery told her sister.

“I’m despicable, I know.”

“Could have dragged that out too.”

“I don’t have the patience.  It’s why I’m fat.  No self control.”

“If Amber gives him the code for the plane flight then you can hold that over his head until he’s good as gold,” Avery told her dad.

“If it works it works,” Dad said.  “Will they even allow a ten year old to go on a flight if they make games like this?”

“That’s a really good question,” Sheridan cackled.

“I think they make other games, for other audiences,” Avery said, scrolling on her phone.

“You know, he’s struggled a lot with friendships and school and stuff.  His games are a refuge.  Not a great one, especially this…” Dad put the game on top of a bookcase, where it was out of sight, then went outside.  Avery followed.  “But don’t go too hard on him.”

“If he keeps being a jerk to friends like Amber he’ll struggle a lot more,” Avery said.

“I think this is an overall positive,” Avery said.  “He’s a way better guy when he’s hanging with Cal and Amber than when he’s with the other Declans.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Dad said.

“Hey Arrey,” Grumble mumbled.

“Hi Grumble.  Enjoying the summer weather?”

“S’arright.  You?”

“Talked to a friend.  Tormented Declan.”

“Be nice t’boys, Arrey.” Grumble wagged a finger at her.

“I’m nice to boys who’re friendly, but I’m not that interested in boys for the sake of boys.”

Her dad, standing at the back of Grumble’s head, went stiff.

“Tha’ll change,” Grumble told her, finger wagging.

“Probably won’t.”  She wagged back.  He clumsily reached up and held her finger.

She didn’t get the sense that he’d gotten it, but she wasn’t going to push.

“Do you girls want to get us started on lunch?” Dad asked, starting up the clippers.  “Grilled cheese, maybe?  And send a message to Declan?  See where he’s at?  I don’t want him… I don’t even know what he’ll do.  What is this thing, again?”

“He might camp outside her house, given a chance.”

“Let’s not go that far.  Tell him he’s expected home by dinner or he’s not going anywhere.”

“Or if Amber gets annoyed.”

Avery gave Grumble a kiss on the side of the head, then made a face, brushing tiny hairs off her lips.  Dad had already done some, apparently.

The shock of saying what she’d said to Grumble had a delayed effect as she got inside.  She jolted a little as Sheridan nudged her, giving her a knowing look.

“I’m- I’m not hiding, Sher,” Avery said, quiet.  She got the bread and tossed it onto the counter, then went to the fridge.  Her hands had a bit of a shake to them that surprised her.  “If it comes up it comes up.  If it bothers him… it bothers him.”

“Bothers you too, clearly.  And if it bothers Grumble that bothers dad, mom…”

Sheridan shrugged.  “I don’t care.  I’m just tickled I got to see the look on Declan’s face.  Outside of that, I don’t give two shits who’s miserable or not.  Except, you know, you whine.  That’s a bit annoying.”

“I’ll deal somehow.  If it bothers anyone, that’s on Grumble, it’s not on me.”

“Sure.  Fair enough.  How do you want to divide up the lunch duties?”

“It’s weird that you’re asking,” Avery said, unpacking the cheese slices.

“Maybe I’ve turned over a new leaf,” Sheridan said.

“More likely you want something.”

“Do you think your friend who knows stuff about computers could score me tickets to anywhere that isn’t this shithole town?”

The ‘shithole town’ was sitting on a bus stop bench, looking much as he had at the meeting.  Same hair that was a little flat and a little greasy, same short sleeved, plaid work shirt, same jeans.  Still closer to Mr. Bader’s age than her parents.  Forty-something maybe.

Goblins peered out of the bushes as Avery and Verona walked up, then poked their heads back down.

Ken looked back and up at the bushes, then to the trio of them- Avery counted Snowdrop on her shoulder.  “My bodyguards.”

“Are the bodyguards that necessary?” Verona asked.

“I’m Kennet,” Ken said.  “If anything happens to me, it happens to the town.  With some limits, some interpretations.  Hello little spirit.”

“You’re missing your third.  What was her name?”

“Lucy.  She’s spending the afternoon with family.”

“Good, good, that’s important.  I didn’t get the impression she liked me much.”

“The town’s been less than kind to her,” Verona said.  “Lots of little things, a handful of bigger ones.”

“Ah.  Not that bad, is it?”

“I think that you’re asking is part of the problem,” Verona said.

“Don’t you know this stuff?”

Ken shook his head.  “What I’m aware of is what the town’s aware of.  By definition.”

“So if we clue you into something, does that clue everyone in Kennet in?” Verona asked.

“Not quite that simple,” Ken said.  “Old accords protect innocence.  Some things get filtered out to prevent undue influence.  I may even forget things, if it helps that process.”

“Is your friend avoiding me, then?”

Verona shook her head.  “Legitimately, we had things we wanted to talk about, a list of new Others we want to meet and things we want to do, and since Lucy was busy and didn’t have anything specific to address to you, you’re available…”

“That’s fine.  Do you want to walk?”

Avery nodded at the same time Verona shook her head.  Verona gave Avery a look, then conceded.

“If you lot want to go do whatever it is goblins do, you can,” Ken addressed his bodyguards.  “I think these two have this covered.”

“We were doing what goblins do while in the bushes,” one goblin said.

Another laughed like that was the funniest thing in the world.

Ken was not the fastest walker in the world, his entire demeanor somewhat like someone who had nowhere to rush to.  Avery was left with flashbacks of walking with Grumble before he’d slowed down so much, or being stuck places waiting for students to get out of the hallway or stairwells or people to move out of the way at the Arena.

“I’m willing to cooperate,” Ken said.  “How are we doing this?”

“Figuring out where you’re at, your needs… ways we could handle some stuff like Melissa, the invaders, the perimeter.”

It kind of made Avery think of Grumble before he had his strokes, again, or Louise without the health problems.

“This thing about how you came into being?  Run it by us?  Do we know who came up with the idea?” Verona asked.

“Matthew, as far as I’m aware.  But place spirits like me have been a reality for a long time.”

“And how does that work?” Avery asked.

“Every place already has a spirit, just as people do, or ideas do.  It’s a question of asking permission for the spirit to step out of the Spirit World and into reality.”

“Could that be done with any spirit?”

“If you could make a good argument.  The concern that holds them back is the worry about how vulnerable I am, and how vulnerable the place is.  Some corruptive forces would be happy to get their hands on me.”

“Could something like Montague affect you?”

“Montague is sworn not to touch me, but something like him, yes.”

“Pretty big downside,” Verona said.  “What’s the upside?”

“Awareness,” he said.  “And because I am the city and the city is me… will you give me permission?  A trip?  It’s safe enough.”

Verona frowned, then nodded.

He touched their shoulders.

Nearby houses moved, sliding into new positions, fences rising, falling.  A road turned, a hillside moved.  Trees crowded in.  Wood stripped away from one short fence, revealing the diamond pattern of a taller wire fence instead.  Things blurred, and faces appeared in the blur.  Faces like Ken’s.

The trees continued to crowd around, branches overhead sprouting trunks that stabbed down, spread, and tore up pavement, revealing dirt beneath.  The chunks of cracked pavement sank beneath the dirt, and plants sprouted.

Everything came to a halt like a car that had been going 70 and stopped at the last possible moment before reaching a stop sign.  Branches shook in wind, grass swayed.

They were at the edge of town, on a hillside.  Not far from where they’d skirmished with the goblins while rescuing Brie, Avery judged.  Just a little down the hill were some houses owned by the sort of people who bought houses that were more secluded from their neighbors by nature and then let the nature grow in dense.  Old houses in slight disrepair, tiny in comparison to the great trees that surrounded them.

“That’s really useful,” Avery said.  “Is it costly?  As a power?”

“In one way, no more than moving you from one hand to the other.  Moving you from one end of Kennet to another.”

“And in the other way?” Verona asked.

“The more it matters, the more it costs.  If people aren’t expecting you, if it’s a surprise attack, or a priority situation.  That changes the cost.  This is nothing, only a demonstration.”

“So do you even need the bodyguards?” Avery asked.  “If you can just run?”

“I’m everywhere.  Even enemies can call for me, if they know how, and it’s hard to resist that call.  Same as before, that gets harder the more tied down I am.  If I’m with you, for example.”

“So we’re not just bodyguards,” Avery noted, “we’re anchors?”

“If you want to call it that.  I can help others move through the town, I can slow threats down.  If they realize they’re being ensnared they may start to expect a response.  If they do, it gets easier for me to send someone like John or Edith to them, to deal with them.”

“If you know where they are,” Verona said.

Ken grunted in the affirmative.

“So with these invaders, you’ll only truly know if people know?”

“I’ll only sense the Otherness of them if people see it, and people are dumb.”

“You’re those people, you know,” Verona said.

“Many don’t think highly of themselves, trust me.”

“Sad,” Avery said.  “What else can you do?”

“Shore up areas, spread around power, limit the scope of anything reaching across the town, like the Dark Spring glamour early this summer.”

“It’s starting to feel like you were recruited with a siege in mind, as much as anything,” Verona said.

“I would not be surprised,” Ken said, as he lit up a cigarette.  He gestured with it.  “You don’t mind this?”

“I do actua-” Avery started at the same time Verona said, “Nah.”

Avery decided to let Verona have this one.

“I’m sorry if this is a weird question, but are we actually under attack a lot?  Because I haven’t seen much evidence of those attacks-”

“You slept through the night?” Verona asked.

“Yeah.  It’s hard to creep around at night with two sisters sharing a room with you.  Why?”

“I set my alarm and woke up for the Montague hour.  I think you should try, Ave.  It’s pretty neat.”

“Is this pretty neat in the same way your very first impression of Tashlit was good?”

“Yeah.  Pretty much.”

“Pretty much,” Avery muttered.  “So it’s horrifying?”

“It’s pretty neat,” Verona said, again.

Snowdrop hopped down to the ground.  She became human.  “I didn’t see it.”

“Hey, there you go,” Verona said.

“It wasn’t horrifying at all,” Snowdrop said.  “Goblins hate it.”

“Got it,” Avery said. “I’ll try to be up at the right hour to see it happen.”

“I do think you’re patrolling tonight, with John Stiles,” Ken said.  He led them down the path.  “It’s not much of a change of plans to stay up a bit later.”

“Kinda is, if I’m sticking by some curfew,” Avery said.

“Cheat.  Leave a body double or something.”

“Knowing my family, I could see Kerry throwing water on it and people would freak out when it dissolved.”

Avery saw something red down the path, and put her hands out, stopping Ken and Verona.

“I think it’s fine,” Ken said, voice low.  “But be quiet as we approach, just in case.”

They fell quiet.  Avery pulled on her deer mask, antler broken, and Verona did much the same.  They crept through the greenery, wove their way between trees that did not have much of a path between them, except what animals had forged, and approached that something down the path.  Red.

A lot of tents.  Five or six.  There were crates, and there were tire tracks in mud.

“The result of last night’s patrol,” Ken said.  “Picked clean by John and goblins, I imagine.  They must have ran out of time, they normally clean up things like this tent.”

Avery walked between things, toeing at taller grass and nudging at the flap of a partially collapsed tent.

It had indeed been picked clean for the most part.

“Who were they?” Verona asked.

“Transients, I’m told,” Ken said.  “I don’t know many of the terms of these things.”

“Transients as in homeless?”

“Transients as in Others who are only present part of the time,” Ken said.  He craned his head, looking, then pointed.  “There.”

Avery made her way over, careful of her every step.

The ‘there’ Ken had pointed out was a mining pick, embedded in the dirt.  The grass had flattened into a vaguely human silhouette.

“These were men by mist.  Miners, by the looks of them.  There are others, John said, that only exist by dust storm, or by rainfall.  They appear for short times, then go, carrying their collected coin with them.  Some work for coin.  Some romance.  Some raid, pirate, or bedevil, like these did.  All move on when the weather does, heading to their next location of choice, if they’re capable of moving.”

Avery bent down and hauled up the mining pick.

As it came up, mist flowed out of the divot it had made in the ground.  A dead man’s corpse lay in the grass for as long as the mist lasted.  Bearded, thin, wearing a t-shirt and rugged pants.  He was there for only seconds, barely solid, and then he was gone again.  She reached into the space where the body had been and found nothing.

“Tents were real.  So were the other things they brought,” Ken said.  “According to what I was told, anyhow.”

“That pick might have some residual energies to it,” Verona pointed out.  “Whatever realm those transient people are from.”

“Do you want to carry it?” Avery asked.

“Not really, but you’re athletic.”

Avery rolled her eyes, but she held onto the thing.  She toed at any grass, because the way the tents and things were set up in this deeper wilderness made her think there could be a bear trap or something.

She did see a glint of metal.

Avery nudged it, careful, then investigated.  She pulled out a knife.

“You’ll be loaded to bear by the time we’re done here,” Verona said.

“I’ve gone through four hockey sticks, I should have something,” Avery commented.

“Whatever you do, you can’t go flinging a frenzied opossum at anyone’s face,” Snowdrop said, seriously.

“Ha ha.  I don’t want you getting hurt, Snow.”

Ken began to take down tents, shaking out contents onto rocky dirt for later, when there even were contents.  A harmonica, a bottle of some booze or another.

They meandered, searching.  Snowdrop became an opossum and began snacking on things in the tall grass, jaw opening and closing as she chewed, which led Avery to avoid that grass more.

“You talked to Zed and Nicolette, right?”

“Yep,” Avery confirmed.

“Great, they want to loop you guys into future calls, I think.  I think it’s important.”

“You know, bringing that up last night, it really, uh, I know I’m not the most emotionally sensitive and I can put my foot well and truly into my mouth, metaphorically, but it wasn’t great there, Ave.”

“I know,” Avery said.

“Why’d you do it?” Verona asked.

“Because we’re outnumbered and we’re alone.  Because we need friends, and friends have gotten us out of most of the last few big scrapes, you know?  I keep asking myself, what can I do and what can I contribute?”

“You run fast, you can navigate places like the Paths and the Ruins.”

“But more practically?”

Verona shrugged.  “You’re good at lots of stuff.”

“Fernanda asked and I’ve been thinking about it, and I think I’m better at… touching base.  Departures, arrivals, and making contact.  I circle around and I get in touch with people.”

“You’re nicer, too, so you don’t scare them off when you get in touch.”

“Yeah.  I wasn’t going to say it, but…”

“I kick myself for not stepping in sooner, when Lucy was interrogating Nicolette, or when we got on the wrong side of Yadira.  I played along because I wasn’t sure.  And that ended up hurting us a bit.  I want to do that stuff.”

“It’s good,” Verona said.  “Except when your reaching out to others is getting on the wrong side of Others.”

“That, I think, is their own issue for them to deal with, more than anything.”

“Except we’re counting on them to say yes, Zed and Nicolette can come.”

“It’d be nice,” Avery said.  “But mostly I’m wondering how they’ll say no.”

Snowdrop popped up, human, chewing, and Avery groaned, wincing, blocking her view of Snowdrop’s face with her hand.  “Don’t- ugh.  Don’t go human while you’re still chewing on whatever that was.”

Snowdrop smirked, swallowed, and said, “Some stuff over here.”

They continued searching, and Snowdrop’s eyes ended up being really useful for picking out some of the things.  A shirt, pants, and the pants had a wallet.  She found keys to the vehicle, and she held them up.

“John was looking for those,” Ken called out.

“Check this out,” Verona said.

It was a rifle, a little battered, and in the wooden portion were hatch marks; lines carved into wood, with a pattern of four lines, then a fifth to cross them through.

Avery made sure it was unloaded and put it down.

“Hey, Ken, I don’t suppose you could carry some stuff for us?” Verona asked.  She held up some rope, coiled up and knotted in the middle.

“Be nice, Ronnie,” Avery said.  “He’s not a packmule.”

“Do you want that to be my gift to you?” Ken asked.  “Carrying?”

“Gift?” Verona asked, perking up.

“It’s not glamorous, carrying your things, but if it serves…”

He had that tone that Avery could remember her parents and teachers taking.  Warning and joking and not either of those things, all at the same time.

“We didn’t expect gifts,” Avery said.  “We’re supposed to do something for you in exchange, Guilherme said.”

They ventured closer to Ken, Avery still watching her step for any traps or sharp things left in the grass.  One broken bottle.

“You are.  You forget, I’m Kennet.  I’m grateful for what you do.  I want to be square with you.  If there’s something you wanted to ask for while you were here, you hinted at that, you can ask.”

“You want to go first?” Verona asked.

“I don’t super love the idea of the demesne Edith and Matthew offered to buy for me.”

“It’s a little out of the way,” Ken replied.

“More that it’s not really me.  I could make it mine but I’d rather start somewhere else.  I was hoping for more, like… creepy old abandoned bookstore or an abandoned cabin with some dark aesthetic going on.”

“They keep tabs on all the cabins.  It would take work to make it yours.  There are no abandoned bookstores, unless you count the one downtown.”

“That has barely any customers and lots of addicts hanging out around in the lot behind it?” Verona asked.  “Right.”

“If you find a space you like, let me know, and we can see about shuffling things around.  Avery?”

“I could do with that city navigation magic.”

“Okay,” Ken said.  “I’m new to this, I need to find a way to give that to you, but there should be ways.  Edith may be able to teach me.  Do you want it as an item, a practice…?”

Verona held up a watch Snowdrop had pointed out in the dirt.  The glass face appeared to be fogged up.

“An anything,” Avery said.

“It’ll be a special navigation for Kennet and places resembling Kennet.  Even neighborhoods of a city, if they could be mistaken for a neighborhood here.”

“Okay,” Avery replied.  “That works, thank you.”

“You’re the ones to thank,” Ken said, brusque.  “You’re already helping me, helping us all, as I see it.  And if your patrol tonight is like this was, you’ll be earning it.”

Avery looked around at the scene.  She looked up, and the sky was starting to get dark again.

“We should meet up with Lucy soon, get ready,” Verona said.

Ken smoked, while they quickly sorted themselves out, figuring out what to leave behind and what to carry, using Sight to make sure there wasn’t anything hiding on or around the items.  Latent power or anything else that could soak in.  Some seemed a little faded around the edges themselves.  Avery wasn’t sure what that meant.  She kept the knife and the watch.  Snowdrop carried the rope.

More to himself than to them, Ken held his cigarette by his side and stared off into space, musing, “I doubt the rest of the battlefields will end up looking this clean.”

We need allies, Avery thought.  And Ken’s offer for help didn’t quite qualify him.  They needed Zeds and Nicolettes.  They needed Clementines and Snowdrops.

Walking into that meeting last night had felt like walking into high school, the anxieties stirring, and unlike her first days at high school… the fears those anxieties spoke to had a lot more truth to them.