After the session ended and the sun was peering over the landscape, everyone poured out of the building. I broke off from the rest of the group and headed over to the meeting hall. I still needed to check if the uninvited guest was alright. Wouldn’t want any of the girls to happen upon a dead body… I mean, that being the worst-case scenario. It’s still very possible. After all, he hasn’t eaten since yesterday. Do… do Shimmers even eat?

Alternatively, I could walk over there and find not even dust. It might be worse if he escaped.

My eyes glazed over. Should I bring him some food or would he call it ‘too inferior for him to consume’? Ack, it doesn’t matter. They have strong bodies; they could last a night. He attacked us so he can handle a little starvation. I paused. The soil below me was a little too soft. The intruder in question, twitching under my foot. Bruises coated him like a second skin.

“Oh, a dead body.”

“Ugh...”

I stand corrected. Was hunger that unbearable? As for the source of the bruises… I don't care. I picked him up and slung him over my shoulder. Let’s put him somewhere... not outside. At this moment, Aunt Wendy came jogging over.

“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

“He’s alive.”

She sighed, but stopped midway.

“Why am I relieved? We still have to deal with him!”

I combed my white hair back.

“I’ll take him to Sophie.”

She gave me a small nod, so I headed off. Medical supplies are so expensive… The alternative would be leaving him to die. I'm not that cruel. The supplies get replenished at the end of each season, so taking into account the average amount of times we get injured this’ll cost us… Not smart enough to figure that out. Aunty gave me the go ahead so I’ll leave the number crunching to her.

I kicked the door of the medicine hall open and scanned the room. Someone had drawn the curtains. That means she’s here. Where specifically is the hard part. First, I strolled past the rows of dark but clean beds. Once I got to the other side, I knocked on the walls. With no response, I headed back to the door.

Before I could reach it, it slammed shut. Strange. I didn’t see anyone there… A slippery thing crawled over to me. My body stiffened as something tugged on the back of my shirt.

“You’ve come to me with a corpse?”

Found her.

“He’s still breathing… I think?”

Sophie inspected him with her big, round eyes, then beckoned me over to a bed. I set him down and stretched. She turned her back to me and did some basic check-ups. Her blonde hair was messy, as always. She should brush that. Or at least get her assistant to...

“Where’s your assistant?”

“Here.”

Liv popped out of the darkness holding a box of supplies on top of her long, white hair. She scurried over to Sophie’s side and passed it to her. I glanced at her box-free head and stroked it. She stared up at me with no expression.

“Are you two perhaps communicating with your minds?”

Sophie tilted her head. Right, it would look pretty weird to anyone else.

“I’ll be going now. Let me know when he wakes up. Oh, and don't forget to tie him up.”

I headed for the door, waving. I might have spent too long here. Here’s to hoping that I’m not too late for the task selection.

+++

“Dammit.”

“These are the only tasks left.”

Aunt Wendy handed me a sheet. Task 5: fill up log reserves, task 18: help up the tipped over cows, task 29: fix tire on tractor.

“You guys are doing this on purpose.”

I leaned on the table, my will drained.

“How did you know?”

Aunt Wendy smirked, spun her pen, and tapped it on the desk.

“You don’t have to do any of these, though.”

Her smile faded.

“The girls have been reporting on strange noises coming from the forest. Some have been spotting even stranger things. If you deal with this, you won’t have to do anything else.”

That is tempting, but…

“Who would do the leftover tasks? You? Your workload is heaviest at the start of a season.”

“This task is dangerous. You didn’t get any rest last night.”

“Working yourself to death is more dangerous.”

I put the sheet on her desk.

“Give me all of these. I’ll investigate the forest between tasks.”

I walked away, not waiting for an answer.

“Besides…”

I turned back to her.

“I’m the strongest.”

I pounded my chest with a fist, then left.

“...Idiot…”

The closing door didn’t stop a final statement from leaking out, though it was barely a whisper. I shook my head. Might as well start with the tire, since that’s the closest.

As I strolled down the streets towards the farm, I took in the surroundings. The sun was hiding behind a small cloud in a way that gave the place a nice glaze. Everyone was heading to their own tasks with some girls stopping to yawn from time to time. It’s a good thing we don’t have sessions too often. Everyone would be too tired to do anything else.

The wind carried a powerful scent of pollen about the village. When it reached me, I took in a deep breath and let out a yawn of my own. I could see trickles of the fire season drying bits of grass and bringing out more animals to play. It’s good to see this place so full of life

A bread rat scampered out from underneath a crate. Its long ears perked up as it stopped in front of me.

“Hey there?”

Odd. Aren’t these things supposed to be shy? I crouched down and held out a hand towards it. It sniffed my fingers, then crawled up my wrist. Settling on my shoulder, the bread rat curled up. I glanced at it and resumed my stroll.

At the old tractor, Mia was fiddling with something amongst the brambles. I headed into the shed and set the bread rat down in its nest. Bread rats are called that because of their resemblance to bread buns. They only eat insects, so we came to an agreement within the village. If they don’t attack first, we don't harm them.

I exited the shed after grabbing a toolbox. This tractor barely breaks down. I wonder what caused it to need a new wheel? I rolled a log up to the tractor. Taking a seat, I tested each wheel. The problem ended up being one of the back wheels. Something was lodged in it, causing it to deflate.

“Heyo, Zeke.”

Mia hopped over. She looked like the victim of a bombing accident. Her hair was jutting out at any angle possible, and her oversized clothes were barely hanging onto her body. Her tool belt held her entire outfit together.

“Whatcha doing?”

She leaned on my shoulders and peered over me.

“Changing wheels.”

She flipped up her eyepatch to inspect the tire.

“Made a new device earlier.”

She hummed.

“Better than using wood to hold it up.”

“Sure, go get it.”

I let out a long sigh as Mia skipped off. Josie would be shocked if she saw how brief our conversation was. Ah well, talking more than that would be unnecessary, especially with Mia. I wedged bits of wood into the other wheels while waiting for Mia to come back.

She came pacing over with a strange device.

“Put it under and pull this lever.”

She thrust it into my hand.

“Right.”

I did as instructed. When the device reached the bottom of the tractor, I unbolted the wheel and yanked it off. The tractor leaned onto the device as steady as it could be. When I turned around to put the wheel down, Mia was grinning like a ghoul.

“You’re right, this is much better than using a chunk of wood.”

“Right?”

She gave herself a round of applause.

“Let me see it!”

She jumped over my hands, causing me to drop the tire. A thin piece of metal flew out. I snorted and got up. Where does that energy come from? Everyone else is slumping around. I picked up the piece of metal and inspected it.

From the barren souls of hearts bequeathed to the greatest dark lord of the unparalleled dimension came the undecided despair of the lord's wife that fuelled his power. So strong now that it took on the form of a timeless whisper that resided within the souls of those who held bitter hearts. Take this power for yourself, mere mortal, and take all you desire from the world.

“Oh...”

“Hrm?”

Mia glanced up from her work.

“This is cursed.”

“Oh...”