SpyderZT

The last thing that went through her mind was the early train. Quite literally. Her brains and skull coming apart to allow the poorly timed locomotive access to her innermost thoughts in a very visceral fashion. As these things went, she could imagine a worse way to die, quite a few really. Tripping over her untied shoelaces, her mother would feel so vindicated if she knew. She wondered if there were cameras that would give her that closure. Not that it mattered she guessed. There wasn't even time to consider how unfortunate the whole thing was before she was hurtling upwards through the air towards a shimmery collection of stars and solar gases. It was truly quite beautiful and for a moment she thought that perhaps this was a sign that the oneness of the universe, all things collecting back to the core was truly the way of things. For a moment. Then she found herself slammed face first into the floor of a small suburban flat, feeling every ounce of the pain she imagined one would

Jaima slid back under the car. “I don’t know why people insist on waiting until these things are ready to fall apart before bringing them in,” she muttered mostly to herself. “And I don’t understand why you don’t use one of the perfectly good lifts we installed instead of your tail when you crawl up under these junk heaps,” Myri responded as she slithered over to the tool rack. She shifted the weight of the car so that she could get a better grip on the oil filter, “And let myself get out of shape, like…” she cleared her throat, “I used to be,” she finished. “Or like I am,” Myri chuckled as she went back to her car, “It’s okay, you can say it, I know what you think about keeping a ‘Warrior Physique’ thanks to grandpa and his Fairy Tales about ancient wars and all that.” “They’re not Fairy Tales, they’re history,” she responded, and she could feel Myri rolling her eyes, “And anyway, I’m just saying that I like the workout,” she added, scooting aside so that the oil could dump into

"Am I keeping someone from going in to the door?" I asked, slightly concerned about that possibility. I wasn't exactly sure what I would do if someone came charging at the door. "No, you're just watching the door," he replied. "So I'm keeping someone in the room then?" I asked, if anything, slightly more alarmed by that notion. Had they kidnapped someone? "No. You're just watching the door," he snapped back, annoyance clear in his voice, "they assured me that you were a professional house sitter," he added, “and I’m only asking you to watch a single door. That is significantly less work.” "I mean," I wasn't sure how to respond. I was a professional house sitter... or normally children, maybe pets, and once a car. But so far no one had asked me to watch a door. "Listen," he huffed, “I don’t have time to sit here and repeat your instructions. And there is only one. Watch the Door, do nothing else. I will only be gone a few hours,” before adding, “I will increase your pay by half if

As you buy the plane tickets, you turn on Pandora to see what he's up to. "won't come to the dinner with us." "Yes, I know it was supposed to be His party, but it's too late to cancel on every-" "Okay! Okay! I'll ask him again." You turn the app off. Their kid was a jerk. It's not like they asked that much of him, and he was Always pulling crap like this. You'd have words with him when you got there. He really needed to grow up. - - - - - - - - - - You could hear him on the rideshare's radio. If there hadn't already been a sweet old couple rocking along to whatever was Actually playing on the radio, you'd have asked the driver to turn it off. Unfortunately you got to listen to him masticating and breathing heavily or chuckling under his breath for the entire ride. Probably watching a movie or something. Didn't sound like it was a good one. - - - - - - - - - - The in flight movie was impossible to watch. You hadn't realized how often music played in movies before this started

Finally finally Finally done. Last breath not breathing All Gone. He stood up from her body. so long people are always moving Finally Done. Looking around the room, he wasn't sure what he was going to do next. Always Searching never staying anywhere too long moving It had been his driving force since the war of... laughing Before That he had been at the theatre laughing, all laughing He just stood there. It wasn't that funny nobody helped Why Are They Laughing?! It had taken so long at first. Questions, So Many Questions, nobody kept complete records back then dead ends But as time went on, it got easier to find them. waited he should have started right away So Much Time Wasted They just kept having kids. He could only one place Moving All Over The doorbell rang, and he looked towards the stairs. - - - - - - - - - - She was giddy. This was it! She was going to meet her great grandmother's sister! She had almost given up, there were no records of the birth. Triplets

I woke up and lounged happily in the makeshift bed I'd cobbled together from the remnants of buildings long ago swallowed up by the world. You would think that after enough time had passed I'd get over so simple a pleasure, but if such a day was coming I could not see the first hint of it. This must be how Tam and Perinque felt every day I thought. Fighting the earth to make things without the power of a builder was a challenge I had hardly grasped in the short window between losing my power and losing my soul. But there was a certain pleasure in bringing shape to the world with my hands instead of by my will alone. Stretching, I reluctantly rose from the bed and surveyed the room. The broken chests I'd salvaged from that structure were symbolic in a way. I was broken, in ways I still didn't understand. But I was free. The voice was gone. Whatever it was that Tam, Tim now I suppose, had done had seen to that. He had seemed regretful at the act, but could I see him again, I would

He was back above ground, and the Blood Moon was still out. Tim it appeared, had learned to teleport others without touching them... But there was no time for considering such things. Nor for worrying over what had been done to his hand, which was already healing over. Looking around, he quickly got his bearings and began moving towards the Nurse's housing once more, again pulling dirt and various resources from the earth into a cloud above him as he moved. Change Already he thought to the world. The rules were failing, and the Wall of Flesh was taking every advantage of that. It had never taken another host, even during a Blood Moon... Couldn't he would have said before, and yet this night... If it could break the rules so, perhaps he could do more... Coming upon the crowd of undead, he brought together wooden swords out of the various trees he'd managed to mine on the way, and at a thought, the swords struck out at his targets, all without his even needing to slow down. This power

"Yes!" Perinque shouted, "That would have been preferable to finding out this way!" She was right, and he realized it... but that did nothing to help matters between them. She had begun pulling away before then, and now... he'd be surprised if she came back to the house any time soon at all. After they made their way back, she split off from the group, and several days had gone by without any word from her. Tam was no better... In a different way. Ever since he'd linked up with the kid at the Dungeon, it was as if he was in a hurry to figure something out... What this something was, he wouldn't share. He'd spend all day alternating between their garden, the basement, which he'd repurposed as his experimental spell lab, and various trips out alone. All this ended up leaving him too much time to himself... time that the voice seemed to enjoy harassing him in. Come to the Demon Altar, it encouraged him. That was its new fixation. For the last few days, it would invite him out to the