“Haunted Dauntless: unwelcome visitors from beyond the grave!”
Fuuka smiled as she traced her finger over Athena’s bare back. “Don’t look so depressed, sweetheart. It was only a hunk of metal. I’m not mad at you for breaking it— I’m just glad you were able to use it. Morisato was happy to be in your care. I promise we’ll find you a new sword once we finish our business on Shana’s world.”
“Mmnh,” she sighed. Fuuka’s touch was gentle and erotic; it loosened Athena’s steely muscles and agitated nerves, until she was soft and supple. Fuuka slowly leaned in to give her shoulders a breathy kiss.
“Is that apathy I sense from you, or contentment?”
“Both, I think,” she murmured. “I’m not nearly as stricken now that you’ve recovered. As long as you’re in good health and we can share our lives together, nothing else really matters.”
“I wonder what that man is doing here,” Fuuka thought aloud. She leaned over, gradually covering Athena’s body with her own, feeling warmth and prickly sensuality enter through her skin, easing her cares. “He scares me, Athena. It’s like he can see through us.”
“We have nothing to hide,” she assured her, falling deeper into comfortable slumber. Athena revolved halfway so she could see her lover, and gave her a husky smile. “He frightens me, too. But I think we have more important things to fear. Despite his unsettling personality, I get the feeling the Pendragon is really on our side.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Fuuka sighed. “I overheard him saying he would’ve killed at least a third of our crew if he had the authority. Amy’s had to play the mediator ever since he arrived. I never imagined she’d know such a barbaric person.”
“Barbaric according to our time, not his,” she reminded her.
“I know. I should know better. Still, just being around him makes my fur stand on end.” Athena smiled softly and caressed Fuuka’s face. She was about to bring her in for a kiss, when the ship noticeably came to a halt, and most of the power with it. With the artificial gravity gone, objects once pinned down by this terrestrial force began to loosen their bonds and float, including both women and the sheets covering them. It would’ve been very enamoring with the lights out and the gravity off, but for the suddenness of it all. Eerie red auxiliary bulbs flickered to life, and the two broke free from their stupor and felt around for their clothes.
“Always an interruption,” Athena sighed.
“Ssh. Let’s check it out. There could be trouble.”
“Hmm. You check the bridge while I go to the kitchen. I can use a knife at least.”
“You’re so paranoid,” Fuuka said lightly. Their hands brushed against each other before the lovers parted.
The Dauntless was downright morbid with only emergency lights on— and with the artificial gravity temporarily out of commission, floating through her corridors felt like swimming through hellish waters. The muffled chorus of complaints, curses, and wails made everything seem even more like an inferno of damnation. The situation was hopeless. They were out in the middle of empty space, with the closest planet several light years away, and the closest port further still. The Pendragon was calm but very alert, like a cougar studying something possibly more dangerous than itself. The Acherons were busy trying to revive the ship, while Eve and her crew blindly wandered around the engine room, brandishing flashlights like they were swords.
“Welp, I’m stumped,” Kyrie admitted as she closed a hatch. “This ship’s in shape, and then some. I don’t know what to tell you, but it just stopped all of a sudden, and there isn’t anything here to tell us why.”
“When you think about it, we really don’t know very much about this thing at all,” Herut said as she caressed a curving support beam. “Amy said it came from another galaxy, but who built it, and how long ago? For what purpose, and how did it come here— and how did she come to get it? Very strange.”
“And yet we can work on it as if it were one of our own,” Eve murmured. She took a deep breath and tethered herself to the floor. “Herut, you and Mink continue to monitor the power supply. Becky, you and Kyrie go around and see if you can’t find anything we might have overlooked. Call us if anything happens, you two.”
“Mushrooms,” called a sharp voice from outside. It was Valti. She looked pleased with herself and, appropriately enough, was playing with a large mushroom she had swiped from the kitchen.
“What’s that?” Kyrie said. Valti took a bite.
“According to ancient manuscripts, the ancients believed that mushrooms, and fungi in general, were just normal plants. And you might think they are, at first glance. But they’re an entirely different kingdom of living organisms, as far separated from the plants as we are. It took scientists decades to really classify and discern the differences, but even now, some people don’t know about it.”
“You’re making me sick,” Herut grimaced. “I hate mushrooms. What’s your point?”
“Don’t be so picky! You’d eat them if you were hungry enough.” To prove it, Valti devoured the whole thing, licking three of her fingers. She grinned and pointed to the darkness outside, which had gone completely silent since her arrival. “You hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Nothing,” she said, eyes flickering. Eve rolled her eyes.
“Go back to your lab, professor, and lock the door while you’re at it.”
“No, I mean Nothing. I don’t mean you can’t hear ‘anything’: you hear the Nothing.” She emphasized the word so formally that it made everyone in the engine room pay closer attention. Valti was a lot like the Daunltess: unpredictable, mysterious, occasionally charismatic, even inviting, but ultimately a force which no one understood and no one had any control over. And they were both quite brimming with their own lives. Brignor turned to face the darkness, her arms all at her side, motionless.
“Mushrooms,” she whispered again, as the stillness in the ship became so thick, you could reach out and eat it. “They’re not like anything else. You think they’re something when they’re really not. Once I landed on a world that was covered with them: molds, rusts, yeasts, and lichen, everywhere. It was beautiful, and deadly. I’ll never forget that world. It was so different. It made me rethink about the order of things.”
“No wonder you’re half-insane,” Eve surmised, throwing her arms up in surrender. “You got mushroom poisoning and now we’re all suffering the side effects.”
“I’ve seen something like this before, just before we reached the fungus world.” Valti definitely knew how to freeze the conversation: they would certainly be hanging on her every word now. Suddenly, a low, long groaning sound came up from the depths of the darkness— from inside the ship, or outside, or perhaps from the ship itself— a groaning not like an animal’s, but more primal and painful, sinister and bleak, something from beyond the line between what is real and what we can imagine.
One thing was for certain: it was very near and it was getting closer.
“Right before the mushroom world,” Valti said in a husky whisper. “Mushrooms aren’t like anything else. And neither are they.”
“‘They’?” Rebecca echoed. “Valti…you’re making less sense than usual.” Rebecca Hill knew what it was like to be afraid, but she thought that all fears had left her when her father lost his soul, and they had died completely when she came to Venus. But now that familiar thrill of terror was welling up in her chest again, like a cloud of smoke that drifts in slowly when the mind’s senses are the weakest, to conquer through doubt, uncertainty, and the wild questions we ask ourselves in the dark. She could only try to be brave.
“I’ve seen this before,” Valti said, as the groaning grew lower, and nearer. Mink’s hair stood on end as whispers floated in the weightless breeze, voices which had no origin, words with no meaning— most of the time.
Last one to…don’t say…up there…me and the others…you already…where’s the…
“They’re just like mushrooms. You think you know what they are, but you’re wrong. They’re different.”
Have the one with…down below we…breaking after…tomorrow’s…it’s going to…will have you…
“I’ve seen them before. They’re different.”
“Valti,” Kyrie said shakily, “what are…they?” Brignor turned around to face her, a calm expression on her face.
“They’re different. And they’re here.”
……
After living on Alfheim and exploring most of the civilized galaxy, Aseria thought she had grown past childish fears and surprises. Sindar were still sensitive to the unnatural phenomenon that sometimes reveals itself in isolated pockets of space, but as impartial observers and not participants stricken with masochistic curiosity. Her ebony skin turned a frightening shade of pale gray, and her ears twitched as she, too, heard the voices, and the groaning, and sensed that whatever had caused the Dauntless to stop like that was soon going to visit them. She tried regaining her senses by rubbing her face and searching for Lillianne. Lillianne would help. She had lived through several bizarre experiences before— surely even something of this nature. But she dared not call out for her, not even for security, lest she draw the visitors’ attention.
Wide-eyed she wandered through the black hallways, sometimes guided by the red lights, sometimes by shifting bodies she believed were her comrades. She spotted a dark shape moving, its crimson shadow dancing, and ran to catch up with it, only to find an empty hallway. A faint breeze touched her neck, and she turned to face total emptiness, a void opening its mouth to devour her. Somewhere in the stillness she heard a quick, sharp laugher, and her blood froze to ice as something spoke to her, a voice so near she could feel the chill on her skin.
Will kill you.
Aseria bolted away, wandering blindly in the murk, lights flickering off all around her as some malicious entity silenced her only hope. Now there was only light enough to make out those dark shapes that played tricks on her, moving shadows at the corner of her eye, a something standing before her, gone when she blinked breathless, a cold chill crawling up her spine to touch her—
“WAAH!!”
“Jeez, don’t scream so loud! It’s only me!” Aseria squinted in the painful light and hit Valti on the head. Her heart was racing wildly and there was sweat glistening in the sullen glow of the lantern.
“Shit, you almost scared me to death! What the hell’s wrong with you, creeping around the dark like that?”
“Oh, so it’s my fault we can’t see anything? Look, I’m sorry, but something really weird’s going on here.”
“Really now! Did you finally get out from underneath your rock, or are you just slow?”
“Don’t be like that. Look, some of us are trying to herd everyone together in the meeting room. At least if we’re all in the same place, we won’t have to worry about…” Valti trailed off long enough for Aseria’s anger to rise, and she grabbed the six-armed woman firmly.
“Worry about what? If this is your idea of a sick prank, then I know someone who can get rid of all those extra arms for you real quick!”
“Calm down, Aseria Tolan,” Valti stated, almost sounding like her father. “It’s best if you come with me, and hold my hand. This darkness is unnatural. It’ll steal you away if you’re not careful.”
“What in the Eldar’s name are you— ” Valti quickly covered Aseria’s mouth and held onto her tight. Aseria was more powerful, but not even she could break free with five arms circled around her body. As she was about to bite down on the hand covering her mouth, her eyes flashed open and her skin became glacial as she saw, very distinctly, a shape moving before her, lanky and without discernable form. It reminded her of the humming form that Rachel had assumed early in the voyage, when nobody knew of Dr. Miracle’s true identity. As the shape dissipated into the darkened wall, Aseria gradually calmed down and felt herself loosen like a cooked noodle in Valti’s arms.
“I know,” she said empathetically. “I’ve seen them before. They’re not what you think, either— and it’s not Rachel. Come on, hurry up. And hold on tight. I already lost two people and I don’t mean to lose another.” Aseria had loads of questions, but was too fearful to say anything, or to even make a sound. She held onto Valti like a security blanket and didn’t let go until she was thrust into the meeting room where a dozen jilted women took her into their care.
“Put that thing away!” she heard Fuuka hiss. “You’re liable to hurt someone with it! Anyway, you can’t use knives against ghosts.”
“Ghosts!?” Allegra shrieked.
“No!” Valti exclaimed, as softly as she could. “These aren’t ghosts. They’re…well, it’s hard to explain right now. But stay in here and stay together! I’m going to find more people.”
“You owe us one hell of an explanation!” Kate shouted. Valti closed the door behind her and peered into the void. She shook the flashlight until it sputtered out more light, but a sudden breeze snuffed out the glare, and a fierce shock knocked the tool out of her hand. She could not see her attacker, but she could feel it pass as she stood motionless. Once the coast was clear, she picked up her flashlight again, flicked it on, and went in search of the others.
“Well, they’re not djinn, Master, of that I’m certain.”
“Of course they’re not,” Amy said with a smile. “You’re the last of their kind.”
“Not…exactly,” Rachel said gingerly. “But it’s not a djinn out there. I’m embarrassed to say this, Master, but I don’t know what else it is. They’re not animal, vegetable, mineral, or incorporeal. It feels like this is a creature that fits somewhere on that fine line between physical and spiritual. In other words, they’re not eldil like you thought, either.”
“That’s a relief,” she whispered. “The good ones are always accompanied by extraordinary sensory impulses and the wicked ones are much less subtle. I was afraid we were in trouble for a minute— well, real trouble in any case. I don’t know if we’re any better off. The Pendragon might know, though. Do you know where he is?”
“Another presence I can’t understand,” Rachel replied. “If I knew, I would’ve led you to him by now. I haven’t felt the slightest tremor.” Amy took a moment to look into the dark and clutch her walking stick. She caressed the tip and chewed her lip as blood trickled out her bandages.
“Whatever’s out there, I am not afraid of it. I can only hope it does nothing worse than kill me. However, we can’t just hide here. We have to find the— ”
Watch as the…there’s another…down there…see the…lift you where…on the…don’t understand where…
“We have to find the others,” she said thickly, swallowing. “I’m guessing they’re trying to gather together somewhere. Let’s start looking.”
“It’s not safe for you to be walking blindly, Master. Even if you didn’t have a bad foot.”
“But ‘even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for my rod and my staff protect me’— and my genie friend.” Only Rachel could see Amy smile in this pitch blackness, so they held hands and plunged into the deep. There came a groaning sound a few steps further in, and much louder whispers originating from what Amy believed to be the exercise room. Some maniacal compulsion made her peer through the doors to see what was there, and she gave a shriek and fell back as a face emerged to stare back. Rachel looked down at her fallen master, confused.
“You said you weren’t afraid of anything.”
“Uh…I’m not. I’m just startled, that’s all.” And in spite of their surroundings and the situation, both of them laughed out loud. A much more foreboding feeling came from the baths, almost as if a cloudy, inky creature was waiting for them inside, seducing anything that came close. Amy stood paralyzed and whispered something as she walked past the doors, shutting her eyes and her ears, marching fiercely and putting great pressure on her wound. The blood flowed well and her physical pain outmatched her emotional dread.
“Well, that was reckless,” she gasped once she had crossed. Rachel smiled sadly and scooped her up in her arms. As she stood, she let out a scream as she saw something glaring at her, and almost dropped her master. Amy stumbled but caught herself just in time to smile.
“Lord Pendragon,” she addressed, “you startled us.” The duo suddenly laughed again, puzzling the ancient wizard. They recovered soon enough. “Would you know what is going on, Oris? It is something neither of us have seen. They are neither djinn, eldil, nor any physical being.”
“Deep Heaven holds many secrets in her uncharted pockets,” he replied, rubbing his beard carefully. “Perhaps we have come to something that may challenge my own knowledge. Let us investigate further.” He approached the baths, steadfast and proud, and flung open the doors with a single mighty wave. Tendrils of black smog, darker than the depths of the shadowy ship, reached out to ensnare and surround the Pendragon, but his eyes were dull and careful, meticulously staring into the void even as his body was cloaked.
“Begone,” he finally said, waving the smoke away. The fog lifted and real glorious electric lights came back on, but only in the baths. An entity scrambled out of the room and made its way into a corridor, where it was lost. Oris followed it at a kingly pace.
“Lord Pendragon, what was that?” Amy said.
“I am headed to the observation deck. You may accompany me or cloister yourselves in the meeting hall with the others. …Wait. …A forked tongue will lead to a forked road. All paths to her will be as a prison. Even the raven has the right to song.” He marched on, heedless of their reaction or condition, leaving confusion in his wake.
“Sounds like another prophecy,” Rachel assumed. Amy nodded, and decided to head into the meeting room, if only to see who else was there. Along the way, she spotted an aura of strange light, and approached it hastily, spilling the essence of her life everywhere. If you wander through the desert, you will fling yourself hopelessly to water; a prisoner welcomes the free world with a song; the cold seek fire and the poor seek security, and so too was it Miracle with her light. But she had to take off her glasses to make sure she wasn’t seeing anything.
Out there in the sea of glittering stars was a dark form, eclipsing the light.
The form of a derelict ghost ship and her crew of the damned.
……
As she tried to rescue her crewmembers and seclude them together in the meeting room, Valti Brignor kept coming back to those two she had lost. One of them was Riene; she had discovered her shortly after evacuating Eve’s crew, bent over clutching her head, muttering about strange visions. She was in the lower decks, where some of the provisions were kept, imprisoned by a circle of red emergency lights. Valti was forced to carry her, but the power was lost and she had to climb the stairs in total darkness. At the fifth step, as she neared the top, she felt something cold and heavy reach out to touch her foot. Panicking, she kicked at it, lost her balance, and fell backwards. She caught herself with one of her spare arms, and fell atop a sack of flour that she swore hadn’t been there before— perhaps another part of this strange joke— but when she stood up, Riene was completely gone. Valti believed she had fallen underneath the stairs, into a black region where no light reaches, but was not able to prove this. Rebecca would never forgive her until Riene was found.
The other was Yenae. She lost her in the baths: whatever creature had inhabited them during the invasion had snatched her away into the murky depths, and had repulsed Valti with a strong wave of inky wind. Brignor was forced to search for the others but now she wanted to return to these places. First, she made sure not to worry Alala, which was practically impossible now that the Felinis had finally accepted Yenae’s feelings.
“That damned demon’s always getting herself into trouble,” she muttered, wiping tears from her eyes. “Makes sense that she got caught by some…by some whatever the hell this is.”
“Amy said she saw a ghost ship hovering outside,” Lyara said. “A few of the others are saying the same thing.” Allegra chimed in.
“Yeah, it looked like one o’ them ol’ sailing boats that people used a thousand years ago on Earth.”
“It could be the Lord Barbarossa we encountered,” Sharyn suggested.
“No, The Flying Dutchman was in pristine condition. That one looked like it had been sitting in the ocean for ages. That still doesn’t explain what these…things are.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass!” Alala shouted. “I’m gonna find Yenae and give her a whack on the head for causing all this trouble!”
“Are you sure about that?” Valti said warily. “This isn’t an ordinary occurrence. I know what to expect, but that doesn’t mean anyone else has to risk their life.”
“If you know what to expect,” Alala said, digging her finger in Valti’s forehead, “then anyone accompanying you should be all right— right?!” Valti couldn’t deny that she had a point, and since she figured Alala would wander around anyway, at least if she invited her along, there would be less trouble— plus, they could watch each other’s back. She got a gnawing sensation in her stomach as she left the meeting room and heard someone call out:
“Has anyone seen Riene?”
“Let’s hurry,” Valti murmured, taking Alala’s hand.
Fortunately, the monstrous presence she felt in the baths was gone, and with it the darkness. Valti and Alala were stunned to see all the lights back on— everything working fine until they got to the hallway— and even more surprised when they spotted Yenae lying on the floor, stretched out and lifeless, her eyes glassy and drool trickling from her mouth. Her saliva was warm and she had a pulse, but no amount of shouting and shaking could wake her.
“Yenae! Yenae!! Come on, wake up, honey! I promise I won’t get mad at you if you just wake up! Are you listening?! Snap out of it! Yenae? Yenae!! God-damn it, Yenae, wake up! Please…”
“Think she’s in a coma?” Valti wondered. Alala glared at her with watery eyes.
“Don’t even think about it! She’s a lot stronger than that! Yenae said she’d always be with me…so she can’t be lying. She can’t be!!” Alala wept helplessly for a few moments, then slowly took a breath and composed herself. It was clear she had an idea up her sleeve; she took Yenae’s hands and brought them up to her chest, placing them upon her small, soft bosom. A low groaning sound came from below.
“Mmm, boobies…”
“Yup, good as new,” Alala deadpanned. “Come on, lazybones, get up. You worried me sick, you know.”
“I what?” she said groggily. “Can’t remember much. Are we going to take a bath together?” Alala banged her head against Yenae’s, glaring impatiently.
“Yeah, an ice-cold one to wake you up!”
“Heheheh…but you know what cold water does to you.” Alala turned red all over, slapped her gently, and lifted her up. Brignor saw them safely to the meeting room before searching for Riene; however, her search was abbreviated as she heard something shuffling behind her, something following very close, a curious invisible force that sent chills through her veins. She didn’t dare turn around but knew she had to. Something had penetrated the darkness, and it was staring directly at her, two cold crystal eyes hovering in the air. Valti thrust herself away as fast as the artificial gravity would take her, but she felt the inky cold rush up behind her, whispering fiercely, reaching out to engulf her and absorb her into its black domain…
“Begone,” she heard a powerful voice say. At once the patch of darkness fled, and light— blessed, beautiful electric light— flickered on. Valti squinted and raised her arms to shield herself.
“Oris Pendragon, I presume?” she groaned.
“A good presumption. I come bearing a gift.” He thrust something warm, soft, and distinctly feminine in her arms: it was Riene, and she was shaken and frightened, but more or less in good shape. “She will regain her senses shortly. I had to wrest her from a force which confounded me. Though I proved the stronger, its mystery hounds me. So too shall no living being know all that is placed under the Creator’s eye.”
“I know what it is,” Valti said as she helped guide Riene to the meeting room. “I’ll explain it once everyone’s together. I have something I need to ask Eve and Kyrie, as well.”
“Do you have knowledge of a remedy?”
“Yeah, but if I tell them what it is, they’ll hate me for it. The solution is so simple, it’s insulting. I guess I can get used to being a pariah.”
Valti decided to make her explanation brief and direct; she figured her crewmates deserved that at least. “It’s a species of creatures called the Prism,” she announced, “or at least that’s what we called them when I first ran into them. They’re just like mushrooms, not at all like plants or animals, and they’re not ghosts, either. The best comparison I can make is that they’re sort of like living embodiments of light. They can manipulate the light and show us all sorts of images.”
“Do you know how stupid that sounds?” the Acherons balked. “If they were creatures made out of light, then why has the ship gone dark?”
“Because they feed off the light. Ever notice how sometimes your flashlight ran out of power all of a sudden, and then came back on? There was nothing wrong with it: the Prism was just eating it.”
“That’s a little disturbing,” Chandra shuddered. “Are you sure they aren’t ghosts? They’re awfully frightening.”
“It’s just an illusion. The ship outside, those shapes we’ve been seeing…all a trick of the light, or rather, light manipulation. The Prism have no real form, just like regular light. All they really do is eat and cast false projections. That’s why nobody’s gotten hurt: they’ve just been scared stiff by the images.”
“All right, so how do we get rid of them? Starvation?”
“That’s exactly right!” she exclaimed with a loud clap. “That is exactly how the Prism are exterminated! When I first ran into them, we noticed something very strange about the ship’s power. Even though it appeared as if all the lights were off, when we checked the breakers, everything was fine. Kyrie, Eve, you found the same results, didn’t you?”
“Now that you mention it…” Kyrie grunted. “So…are you saying…those lights aren’t really off, they’re just being…eaten?”
“That is exactly what I’m saying. Those lights are still on. That’s why some of the emergency lights aren’t working, either. Turn off everything except for life support and the Prism won’t have anything to eat. They’ll go away and we’ll be back on our voyage.”
“I guess that sounds reasonable,” Herut admitted. “But what about the artificial gravity going off? Explain that!”
“Um, that was me,” Chandra muttered bashfully, as she raised her hand. “I sort of…messed around with it. Naja wanted to try zero-gravity sex.” The poor Elshyrin felt everyone’s glares and held up her arms in defense.
“Hey, don’t look at me! I couldn’t fix the damned thing in the dark!”
“Look, let’s not go pointing fingers,” Kyrie grumbled. “First let’s turn off all the power and see what happens. I’ll fix the gravity once these Prism thingies are gone.”
“There are five different power generators on the ship,” Shana said. “I know where they all are, so I can direct everyone. There should also be a master override in the bridge somewhere.”
“We’re on it,” the Acherons said as they floated away. Shana went with them and everyone passed radios around so they could keep in contact. After spending many months aboard the ship, nearly to the point where they could call it their home, the crew had little difficulty in navigating through her halls, even in total darkness. The Prism were still frightening, but knowing what they were made the fear less concerning. One by one, they reached the generators and shut off all power, except for life-support. Just as Valti said, it didn’t take long for the entities to leave the ship— Oris spotted them filing out like wisps of cloud through the ventilation shafts and airlocks. The image of a ghost ship faded, briefly turning into a living rainbow before it was lost in the depths of space, forced to find a new location to lie in wait. Once everyone was certain their unwanted guests had left, power was restored, and with it, the life of normality everyone had grown accustomed to.
“I still can’t understand the noises, though,” Athena said to her lover as they sat together, in blinding light, naked and ready for sex. They spared no expense in lighting the room and even had several candles decorating the place. “Logically, a being that is made of light couldn’t possibly make any sound.”
“They’re gone now,” Fuuka smiled. “That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
“I suppose,” she smirked. “Still, it’s unsettling how much we really don’t know about this galaxy of ours, even after eons of explorations. …Enough with that; I’m just glad we’re safe. But really, darling— do we need all of these lights?”
Fuuka purred lustfully as everything was extinguished save for the passion of candles.
……
With that debacle over, more mundane concerns fell into Valti’s thoughts— concerns that maybe the Acherons could become two instead of one, that the Pendragon would end up killing them all, that people like the Jackal and Changera were still after them, that she would grow distant from Rebecca, that she would face loneliness at the end of this journey. But all in good time, one trouble at a time. After showering and drying off, Valti hunted through her ice box for a snack, and pulled out a pint of ice cream she had been saving. Now was as good a victory as any to savor this. Before digging in, her eyes happened to glance at the daily calendar she kept up, and she felt a chill run through her body.
April first.
Gotcha!!
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Preview of next chapter
Rachel: Truth is elusive. Truth is many things. One person’s truth is another’s lie. The purpose of a journey is to find truth— to find answers to life’s questions— but when those answers are revealed, does that mean that life has come to an end? Fortunately, in the next chapter, the crew of the Dauntless does not have all of their burning questions answered, because if they did, I’m sure it’d be the end of their voyage. Still, we’ve come this far, so I’m sure a few answers are in order. Of course, there is such a thing as an answer that leads to more questions, but let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s just say that in the next chapter, we find out some things that have been on our minds for a long time, so please watch out for it. You may find that the end of one journey leads to many others. Oh, and I can’t let you know the title of the next chapter. Sorry about that.
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