Wendy barely noticed the freaked out crippled girl.
A man stood, not five steps away. Tall. Lean. Wiry, almost. His hair was dark, the same black as her lost Gary, cut short. A black mustache stood above lips set in a firm, strong expression. His eyes... He was obviously the leader of this group. One look showed that. He had the bearing of leadership, strength of mind and will, if not hands and limbs. Yet there was strength there, too. She could see it. Wanted to feel it. Feel those arms hold her... those hands touch her...
"WENDY!"
The furious face of Polly's little sister shoved itself in front of her, a face she had hoped to forget. Wendy's mind focused on what was important. The girl was livid. To Wendy's shock, her hands grabbed her shirt, a button popping off.
"What the fuck did you do?" Sam yelled into her face. It was a stupid question, from a stupid little girl. She obviously hadn't changed. Polly was there, arm going around Sam's waist, pulling her back before Wendy could do more than blink in surprise.
"Sam! She did nothing! Magic is weak here!"
As the girl released her, Wendy stepped back. Maybe she should call Jack to her. Use him to flee, the way she had fled the last time Sam had threatened her. Yes, that resulted in a year's exile, but wasn't that better than dealing with this psycho? Not to mention the yelling crippled girl. What sane person would not want to flee...
"QUIET!"
It was the tall stranger. He stood there, a brown haired woman at his side, looking first at the seated girl, then at Wendy and the others. Wendy inhaled sharply as his eyes found hers, almost whimpering as they left. All went quiet at his command, apart from Polly's brat who began to cry. Polly released her sister to fuss with her baby, which did quiet him some. The man nodded to Wendy.
"First, welcome. I'm Anthony."
"Wendy," she said, meekly, getting a sharp look from Polly. He smiled.
"And I assume that's Sam's sister with the child. Greetings." He turned to a brown skinned woman nearby. "Nona, see if there's anything you can do for Cathy. The rest of you... I think we should call it a night. Show everyone where they can get some sleep. We'll deal with everything in the morning."
How could Wendy sleep, having seen the god named Anthony?
****
Nona had no idea what they expected her to do.
She knelt down next to Cathy, hands trying to comfort the poor girl. She was not alone in this. The blind boy, whose name escaped her, knelt on the other side, hands on her bare arm, saying her name, trying to get some response. The amazon knight knelt before her, confused and angry. And, Cathy...
"Why why why why why..." Her hands were clenched fists, eyes shut so tight you'd think she was trying to deny all reality. Nona looked at the knight, feeling bemused.
"What the hell was supposed to happen?"
"The necklace," a voice said from above, "was to let her walk." Polly knelt down beside her, baby still in hand. Nona just shook her head.
"A magic spell? Really?"
"My husband cast it." Her face clouded. "It was a difficult spell. It took weeks to write, with signs and words from a dozen books. He was brilliant. It SHOULD work!"
"But magic is weak here?" Nona shook her head. "I suspect there's more than that involved."
"It is weak," Polly agreed, "but, even still..."
Cathy opened her eyes, her tear filled gaze still not seeing.
"I just want to walk... that's all. Just walk... is that... DAMN YOU, LEGS!" Cathy's right fist slammed into her leg. Nona blinked. This was a... strong willed girl. Cathy sent her fist down again, hitting just above the knee. The attached lower leg and foot jerked. Cathy began using both her fists, punishing legs that refused to work.
Or did they?
"Stop... Stop!" Nona shot her hands out, grabbing flailing fists. "Cathy, stop! I think it did work!"
The girl froze instantly. Her eyes opened, fear in them. Fear to once again hope.
"What do you mean?" she whispered. Nona gently lowered the girl's fists, placing them in her lap with no resistance. She smiled, using her best bed side manner.
"Just let me check, Cathy. I'm a Doctor."
Or, at least, she played one in this reality. Not sure, exactly, what she was doing, Nona placed her hands on the girl's right leg, just below the knee. She could feel the withered limb under her pants. Running her hands down, even not seeing she could tell there as almost no muscle there. Just bone, covered by skin. Coming to her feet, Nona gently slipped off her shoe, then sock. The foot was normal, but pale, a bit wrinkled. There was some red, though, in the toes. Gently, she touched them, running a finger nail over the bottom of the big toe. Cathy let out a gasp, the toe moving slightly.
"Oww! What are you doing?"
"You've never walked, have you?" Nona lifted the foot some more, touching the girl's sole. All five toes moved. "You were born like this?"
"Yes... oww. What's going on?"
"Have your toes ever moved?"
"No, nothing can move..." Cathy's eyes widened. Heather gasped as well, moving closer. Nona pinched a bit of skin, the whole foot jerking away, just a fraction. She nodded.
"Magic isn't enough," she said, looking up at the amazed girl. "You have no muscle. No strength. If you could stand now, your legs might snap under the weight. We have to build you up. Make you strong. The magic, maybe, is bringing your legs back to life, but we have to help them grow."
"How long?" she whispered.
Nona shook her head.
"Months? Years? I've never done anything like this. We'd both be learning. But you'll get stronger every day, gradually improve. It will be hard work..."
Cathy's hands shot out towards Heather, face suddenly a mass of emotion. The older woman grabbed her, half pulling the girl out of the chair. Nona sat back on her heels, the two friends crying, sobbing. She could barely make out the words.
"Thank you... thank you... thank you.... I'm gonna walk..."
****
Anthony stood outside the door to their home, looking up at the sky. There were clouds, up there, blocking the stars. Black clouds, from a forest still smoldering.
"The day," he said, "had started out so well. So... quiet. What will tomorrow bring?" He turned to Hannah, smiling an almost sad smile. His wife took his hand.
"We'll find out come morning. Come, let's go look at the baby... then try and make another."
"Oh, really." He cocked an eye at her. "What about today has you thinking about babies?"
Something flew overhead, yelling.
"Thirty eggs! She laid thirty eggs!"
Anthony closed his eyes.
"I just want to sleep..."
****
Mary grimaced slightly as she opened the sickbay door.
Her shoulder still hurt, naturally. One day wasn't going to heal her, especially given the rather primitive knowledge Nona had to work with. Still, she was awake, nobody was around, and she wanted to see what the hell had happened the day before. One day in bed was quite enough.
She stepped out into the pre-dawn air. There was enough light to see, if barely. Enough to see the remains of the previous day's activities were still about. Tables and chairs from a dinner she had missed, scattered plates and cups she knew had not come from the dining room, and thus must belong to one of the groups of strangers. There was a general look of... well, a party that went late, and everyone went to bed not wanting to deal with the cleanup.
Well, she wasn't doing it. She was hurt.
She didn't see the stranger until she had walked barefoot past Nona and Tammy's home. Her hair was light red, an amazing color, one she hadn't see before outside of a cartoon. It contrasted with her dark brown skin. The teen looked to not be much older than Mary, although MUCH more endowed. Those breasts could almost be used as a flotation device. She sat at one of the tables set up outside the dining hall, a glass held on the table between her hands. Her eyes looked up, saw Mary... only to drop back down to her drink.
Curious.
"Mind if I join you?" Not waiting for a reply, Mary sat across from her, only wincing a touch. The teen's dress was old, tattered, ill-fitting. She, though, looked in good shape, not hurt. Mary smiled. "I'm Mary."
The girl looked up at her.
"Wendy."
"You do not know," Mary said, still smiling, "how long it has been since I've seen someone new. Especially a girl! Did you come through the glowing thing with the girls on horseback?"
"No," Wendy frowned. "I... walked." She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Wait. I did ride the last bit, when they came to get us." She put a hand to her forehead. "Goddess, it's been a long night."
"You haven't slept?" Mary looked at her closer. She didn't look that bad. Wendy shook her head.
"Been thinking."
"About what?"
"Everything. It's..." She sighed, looking back down at her drink. "I've made mistakes. Sort of. I didn't mean to, I was just doing what was best, but..."
"Nobody's perfect." Mary reached her hand out, touching the top of Wendy's. The teen looked at the point of contact, expression bemused. Her mouth opened, then closed. Her gaze went off into the distance, as if having decided ignoring the contact was best.
"All I wanted," Wendy said, "was to not work as a slave any more. Not to do all the cooking, cleaning, ever again. Was that so wrong? So, I had to have power. The power to be above others, as to be under them was to be their slave. That's what my Mistress said, as well. Those who do not command, serve. So..."
"So you did things." Mary gave her hand a squeeze, then released it. Wendy looked at her, confused.
"Um, yeah... things. Things that... well, I might do them again, as the bad things weren't my fault, and maybe this time everything would turn out OK, and I could save him..." her eyes dropped for a moment, then she looked up. "What is this place?"
The change in topic caught Mary off guard. She considered.
"It's... a place to start over. None of us came here by choice. Well," she corrected, "I did, but I didn't understand what I was doing. I just saw Mom, and ran to her. If I was able to go back..." She shrugged. "I'd probably still do it, but I'd say goodbye to Dad first."
"Starting over..." Wendy took a swig of her drink. Mary nodded.
"Yeah. Most of us liked our old life, but have created a new, better one here. It's not perfect, but we're friends, enjoy each other's company." She smiled. "You'll like it here."
Wendy gave her a look that was hard to decipher.
"Some of those who came yesterday... well, they don't like me. Nobody likes me. Gary did, but..." She took another drink. "I have no friends."
"You could."
Wendy's eyes met hers. The redhead bit her lip, then shook her head.
"No. Not as I am. I can't stay here as I am. Sam will not allow it, I think. Not..." Her voice faded. Mary waited. The strange girl was looking off into space. After a few moments, Mary cleared her throat. Wendy looked at her, eyes lost in thought. She blinked, refocusing, hand pushing her cup to the side.
"Some of you are pregnant?"
Now Mary blinked.
"Um, yeah. Two, now. I'm sure more will be soon, the way things work here. Daium wants another one, so does my Mom. Everyone does, really."
"The place where you're from, you said you'd like to contact it? Is it far?"
"It's in another universe! There's no contacting it. We're stuck here."
"But you want to, right? To tell them you're OK? To pass a message, even if only once? That would mean something?"
****
Anthony could feel the headache coming already.
"So. Wendy. You're a witch. A real witch. A witch that practices magic, using... sperm and pregnant women."
He looked across the breakfast table at the young woman. She was pretty. He had to admit that. A little heavy, yes, but given how trim everyone else was here (when not pregnant), that was almost a welcome change. So were those breasts. He kept his eyes on her face, though. A face that was nervous, but determined. She nodded.
"Yes."
"And our friend Jack here is your..."
"Slave."
More headache. Anthony rubbed his forehead.
"You realize we can't have that." He saw Sam practically growling at the girl, arms holding Jack protectively. So much that was confusing last night was becoming clear. In a way, he had preferred being confused.
"Yes. Which is why I want to ask something."
"Oh, ask away," he said, waving his hand magnanimously. "And, thanks for waiting until we were done with breakfast. Dealing with this kind of thing needs a full stomach."
It looked like she blushed at that. Standing up from the table, Wendy looked around the room at the humans and Orang.
"Jack is my slave. I can not change that. I can not release him. He is bound to me, to my magic, until I die." She swallowed. "Or... maybe, until my magic dies."
The woman Polly leaned forward, eyes wide.
"Oh Goddess, it could work!"
"What?" Sam barked. "Tell me!" Wendy shot a glance at Anthony, who nodded. She took a deep breath.
"I have cast spells, while here. Using Polly, when she was with child, and with Jack. Using magic now... drains me. I can feel it. We witches and warlocks use others to power our spells, yet now some of the energy comes from me. Making me weaker. If... if I was, I think, to cast a large spell, an enormous spell, it would drain me. Maybe... drain all magic from my being."
Anthony saw Sam rise. Her eyes were wide.
"It would kill your magic..."
"And, with luck, free him," she nodded. Sam slowly shook her head.
"Why are you offering this?"
"Because," Wendy said, shooting a glance over at Mary, "I want to start over. Magic is useless here, and I can't fit in while I have it. I want..." her eyes went to Anthony, quickly moving away again. Anthony felt his wife dig her nails into his thigh. He let out a sigh. Great. Another thing to complicate matters. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, hands together.
"And what spell do you want to cast?"
"I... think I can open a one way portal to Earth, so your loved ones can see you."
****
Chuck walked through the charred forest, the remains of the Ludzie spaceship all around. Melinda and Rinda walked with him, hands holding his. They were quiet. Thinking.
He didn't like his wives quiet. They should be talking, joking, full of life. This was a grave, though. Some of the crew had still been on board when it finally crashed. That others from the ship had attacked him, that Chuck himself had killed at least two, did not matter.
That was then.
A nearby droid sent out a short burst of fire retardant. Once all the coals were cool, the danger would be over. This danger, at least. There would be more. There would always be more.
"Do you believe her?" Rinda asked. Chuck shrugged, eyes going to a local blue jay sitting on a twisted hunk of metal.
"Is there anything we shouldn't think is at least possible? The question is, do we do it."
"To tell Dad I'm OK..." Melinda squeezed his hand. "I want that, Chuck. Want that with all my heart. So long as our baby isn't hurt, it will be worth some pain and a scarred arm."
"I wouldn't," Rinda said. She turned her head to them, all four eyes full of sadness. "I don't want to know if Dad is dead or alive, so I can believe he's alive. Remember Nona. Do you really want to know?"
"If ignorance is bliss," Melinda agreed, "tis folly to be wise. But, when have we all been wise? I want to do it."
Chuck slowed, letting the two women get ahead of him. Smiling, he joined his wive's hands in front of them, their fingers intertwining as he moved around and took Rinda's free hand. The Orang kept her gaze on their dark haired lover.
"I'll let her cut me, for you, and Chuck. But I don't want to know."
There was crunching behind them. The three stopped, turning. A band of squirrels approached, all of which Chuck knew from the firefighting the day before. He let go of Rinda's hand, raising his own in greeting.
"Good morning, Hedva. What's new?" They stopped, bowing slightly. Hedva came towards him.
"Good morning, Chuck, Melinda, Rinda." The two girls moved up to greet her, giving the furry woman a welcoming hug. Chuck could not help but smile at her dazed expression.
"I usually have that same reaction, Hedva." He looked over at the others. "I think everything is under control, but, please, go over it again. There's no such thing as being too careful about this, at least until we get a good rain."
They nodded in agreement, moving off. He looked back at Hedva. She smiled at him, shyly.
"We took a vote last night, before the drink wore off."
"Always the best time," he agreed. She nodded, eyes sparkling.
"Only four are leaving. The rest of us... want to stay with you."
There was a tone to the 'you' he knew well. He knew Melinda and Rinda heard it as well. He took Hedva's clawed paw.
"Well, if you're staying, we really should get to know one another better. Tell us about yourself."
"Well," she said, as the four began walking, "my parents own an orchard..."
****
Heather looked down at the nest, amazed.
"All those eggs, came out of you?" It didn't seem possible. Lil was such a small little thing. Yes, they were small eggs in the rooftop nest, but still! The fairy grinned up at her.
"It wasn't easy, let me tell you! I think my mother kept that from me on purpose."
"Mothers sometimes do that," she agreed. Heather sat down on the shingled roof, the top ridge resting between her legs in a way that, actually, felt kind of good through her jeans. She looked to her left, at Cathy seated in her chair on the ground. "Want to come up and see?" she yelled. The girl shook her head, smiling.
"No thanks! I'm not breaking my legs now that they might work!"
"Smart girl," she said, looking back at Lil. The fairy smiled back.
"For a human."
****
Daium stood next to Ewa, as the Ludzie girl looked at the covered bodies of her fallen companions. They were laid out next to the road leading to the landing field, around two dozen corpses. Droids stood on four sides, tasked with keeping away scavengers. Another stood next to Ewa. Daium thought, perhaps, that one would no longer be needed.
"We will do with them whatever you wish," she told the girl. "We Orang bury our dead, planting a tree over them. Human bury them with markers, or burn them, the smoke traveling up to the heavens."
"We leave them out," Ewa said, her high voice soft. "Let the lesser birds ingest them, that their essence may help our brothers and sisters."
"Here it would be the mammals, predators, fighting over their bones."
"That is OK," she said, nodding. "Smaller birds would come, eventually."
Daium sighed, hand going to her feathered shoulder.
"Alright. We'll take them to a place away from here, leave them in a field."
"Thank you." Ewa turned to her, eyes wide. "You... you are not as we were told Orang were."
"Nobody is ever, really, as you are told they are. Come, we have to figure out what you're going to need to live here, before the ship leaves."
****
Anthony watched the large spaceship unload itself onto the landing field. The entire side opened up, lowering down into a ramp down which squirrels and droids were hauling boxes and barrels. It was very impressive... and, in a way, depressing. He had so hoped the squirrels would just leave.
"I sent a dozen girls to walk the path to the harbor," Sarah said, watching the activity beside him. "They'll mark out a road, then look over the site. By the time we get back, the town site should be cleared."
He nodded.
"Remember when you're looking at boat designs to try out, they have to be fishing boats, useable by both you and us humans. Get some others, too, but those are the important ones. At least one submersible, too."
"I know."
"I know you know."
"I don't know you know I know."
Anthony raised any eyebrow at the young furry woman. She looked back, expression all innocent.
Maybe they would fit in.
****
Every one of Polly's magic books were out on the tables, opened to one confusing page or another. Every page had been written by her husband, the result of new, brilliant research, or copied from other books. Every line reminded her of her love, of his brilliance, his skill. Timothy could have done this, she knew. Could have done it easily. Could Wendy?
"Two women isn't going to be enough," she told the witch. Wendy nodded.
"I know. Five, at least. More would be good. We can at least get the spell ready, wait for more of them to get knocked up. It's going to take awhile to do this, anyway."
"It could kill you."
Wendy didn't answer.
"Magic is life," Polly went on. "Drain your magic, and..."
"And the problem is solved. Either way, Jack is free, and I'm not hated."
Polly nodded.
"If that's what you want."