Newcomer 5 - A Respite (2024)

The display on the truck's dashboard read 8:23 PM, and the watch Estamel found in the vehicle earlier read 8:22 PM. The small discrepancy made sense- after all, both had been sitting unattended for a long time- and while she hadn't thought to compare them directly with the clock on the better-maintained solar rover, they seemed to be close to the 'true' time. However, when she saw the other truck on the road it was somewhat of an annoyance, because she really would've wanted to be able to know what time this was with certainty.

The second tune on the radio had been followed by a brief announcement in Seylinian. "We thank you for tuning in to 99.5 Seiban Swing this evening. Weather for tonight is expected to be clear for most of the area, although small amounts of rain may pass over Gooseboro. Next few days appear to be sunny or partly cloudy for the whole region, with average temps in the high- 60s. Local officials have reported that all five detected siddim arrivals from the recent Semilin storm have successfully been neutralized, and that the supposed sixth sighting was only a misidentification."

Estamel shuddered. Another reminder to be careful once she made it to a town. I need to figure out a solid cover story. I'm sure I was a scientist or an engineer before I died, and I might be able to recall some knowledge from my old life… most of which will be useless for fitting in here.

Well, not completely useless. A lot of technology on Bei didn't seem intensely different from it's counterparts on Earth, at least in broad strokes. Electricity worked the same way, as did radio signals. Petroleum-based gasoline was uncommon, but the alternatives she was aware of- biogas, hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuel mixtures, and old-fashioned batteries like the one inside her own van- were all familiar. Basic computers and electronics both used the same basic principles- even the basic dog-bots looked less like a fantasy monstrosity and more like something she'd see either on a sci-fi series set in the near future or a proudly advertised "upcoming product" of a military corporation.

Or perhaps they were the sort of thing that showed up in both, with the latter including a tasteless reference to the former.

However, this still wasn't enough. Magic- aside from the innate abilities she had as a siddim- wasn't something she understood much about, and it was clearly a major part of life for the people on Bei. Just as importantly, there were still plenty of machines on Bei that couldn't just be waved off as an extrapolation of tech on Earth- the canid monstrosity she had fought at the repair shop and the weapon that had left Kavala a wasteland were two prominent examples. Even if she would probably be able to understand these things eventually, she would stand no chance trying to pass herself off as an engineer or researcher.

"Which wouldn't be too much of an issue if there wasn't anything else about me to draw suspicion," she muttered to herself as the soft jazz resumed. But that isn't the case, isn't it? I'm showing up alone as a complete stranger, with injuries from the fight this morning, in a pilfered truck. I need a solid guise, and I can't just slip back into my old job.

While the broadcast was a little worrying, it was in fact good news- if the authorities were claiming that no siddim from the recent Semilin storm were still loose, then the local people probably wouldn't be on their toes about the possibility that any newcomer could be a siddim in hiding. With a sigh, she started rolling over ideas.

Imitating a mercenary was one possibility. She had Merab's journal to draw info and anecdotes from. She also had the van full of military gear- while she didn't want anyone poking around in there, she could get uniforms and weapons in case anyone wanted evidence of her past, and if someone did find what was in there it would be better than no excuse. But it came with issues as well. Even with the journal, she still had a very incomplete understanding of mercenary life and no actual battle training at all, which could easily get her exposed if she came into contact with actual military personnel. And even if she fooled them, a lone soldier of fortune showing up out of nowhere could be seen as a sign of trouble in itself.

Merab DID say there were people who followed by his company that weren't soldiers. What about one of those? There was that doctor who stayed back to help Beaker, for example. Well… I'm not a doctor but-

"What's that?"
Estamel's train of thought halted as something in the distance caught her eye. It was a faint light, out to her left. It seemed to be flickering slightly, and as she glanced she realized it was actually two lights, paired together and moving closer at an angle. That's another car. Another moving car. Something else glistening up ahead caught her eye, and she turned her head to see a junction in the distance, connecting the highway to a smaller road.

She stomped down on the gas pedal, the van's motors letting out a loud whir as she sped up. Her eyes frantically bounced back between the approaching lights and the junction- both were closing in fast, but she could tell the junction was closing in faster.

"Alright, alright… almost there…" she whispered nervously to herself as she watched for the sign to draw just close enough, "and… now." Her foot came off the gas and tapped down on the brake as she came just about sixty feet from the sign. Swiftly but not suddenly, the van slowed down and came to a stop just as it reached the intersection.

The rat she had adopted from the crashed truck awoke from its slumber, squeaking softly. It lifted its head and scampered up the bags she had left in the right seat, curious as to the cause of this disturbance.

As she had hoped, the other vehicle arrived at the intersection just a couple seconds after her. It was a flatbed truck, with cargo prominently heaped in its back compartment. There was an audible screech as it came to a sudden halt, its driver having seemingly not noticed her at all. Estamel spotted a large figure in the driver's seat, and waved to signal that they could go first.

The pick-up's turn signals flashed as it lurched out and turned left. Estamel nonchalantly followed behind. Well, that should've seemed pretty natural. Now I've just got to follow along.

The truck picked up speed very quickly, with the van following the fastest it could, and she realized they were going far faster than her van's optimal cruising speed. It shouldn't have been surprising- the electric vehicle's optimal speed was a lot slower than that of a "normal" truck, and she hadn't seen any speed limit signs posted- but it seemed as if she had already become used to the van's pace.

Still, she could keep up with the truck just fine- it just meant her battery wouldn't last nearly as long.

As she trailed the pickup, it became clear she wasn't really in the wild anymore. She started seeing more roads branching off and lights out in the distance, and while only some of them were close enough to the highway to make out homesteads, this wasn't her first time driving through a rural area and knew what they were. Sometimes she could make out what looked like small villas, large clusters of well-lit buildings. However, none of them had any signs indicating a rest stop, or anyplace visitors would be able to stop by without arousing suspicion, so she opted to keep following along. Fortunately, it was only about an hour of driving before she saw a large, lit-up billboard on the side of the road:

GEARING - 10 Mi

FOOD
FUEL
LODGING
SUPPLIES

Estamel let out a sigh of relief. After three days of nightmares, she was just a short distance from safety.

She saw a red light blinking over the horizon. Another light appeared, blinking at the exact same interval, then another, and then five more came into view. They were clearly dozens of feet above the ground, and as she drew closer she could see the structures they were perched upon- tall, thin, towers, each with a cigar-shaped hub at the top holding four huge, spinning blades. Wind turbines- all standing atop a large hill. And even more, there was a bright glow shining from over the hill.

As Esty and the car she was following climbed up the hill, following the highway right through the field, the noise of the wind turbines filled her ears. It was a chorus of low, swooping sounds as blades turned and gearboxes cranked, turning the flow of the air into electromagnetic power.

It was an odd feeling- but when she reached the top of the hill and the town came into view, she knew she had come to the right place.

Intuitively, Estamel knew that Gearing wasn't that big of a city. The tallest buildings she could see looked like they were at most ten stories tall, and the majority were half that height or less, falling off away from the center. Estimating the area of the city was tough, but it couldn't have been more than several miles wide- at least the built-up parts of it. She had seen cities far larger than this before. But Gearing was far larger than any of the settlements she had seen on Bei. And it was alive.

The highway went down the hill into a large three-way intersection, with one large road curving off into the city. Off in the distance she could see another highway out there, or at least what looked like one. As she went down the slope she saw fields of crops and pasture lining the sides of the highway. Estamel knew she didn't need to follow the truck in front of her anymore, but the other driver continued to silently lead the way, taking the interchange into the city. As her car climbed up the ramp and turned left, she considered what her plan should be.

It's getting quite late right now. At this point, I should probably just find somewhere to park this thing, and see if I can grab dinner somewhere- I can think up a backstory in the morning. Or… do I really need a backstory at all?

It was a valid possibility. After all, it was unlikely that the people of the town would pry too much into the backstory of any random tourist or passerby. If she wanted to stay for a while, sure… but she didn't see any reason why she wouldn't be able to move on in a couple days. All she really needed was time to charge the car.

The avenue into town was lined with houses, small apartments, and shops. They didn't look particularly fancy, but she could tell all of them were in good condition, and most had lights on. Slowing her van down, she looked into one of the buildings- a modest boxy-looking store with a sign reading AZHIR'S DAILY MARKET over the door- and saw a person walk out pushing a shopping cart full of goods forward. Overcome by curiosity, she pulled her car to the side of the road. She grabbed a few bills she had found on her way and stuffed them into her pocket before stepping out through the back door.

The air outside was warm, with a gentle breeze that rippled her hair into her face as she tried to lock the van. Pushing the obstruction aside, she looked over and saw the person with the cart turning a corner a couple blocks away. She walked up to the store entrance and paused for a second before putting her hand on the door.

Okay. Take a deep breath. You're meeting with normal people, just act like you're normal as well. It'll be that easy.

Upon stepping in he was greeted with the sound of a bell and pop-ish music with a singer she couldn't understand. A couple tables in the front of the store held discounted items and fresh produce, and to her left a cashier was lying back in a chair, their face covered by a magazine. Behind aisles of consumer goods she could see a counter marked PRESCRIPTION PICK-UP.

The doorbell rang again, and Estamel saw another person step into the store behind her. He was an old man, with a walking stick and silvery hair. He had a tube running into his nose and looping down into a handbag slung over his shoulder. "Excuse me" he murmured in a low, gravely voice. She realized she was blocking his way and slid to the side without question.
"Thank you" came the response as he kept on walking, towards the pickup booth. He spoke Seylinian, albeit with a different accent than she had heard before. Estamel picked up a couple paper shopping bags. Well, the people in this place seem pretty reasonable. Perhaps I'll just find some stuff I could use here?

She went down an aisle advertising pet supplies and picked out a bag of rodent feed and a small metal cage that could reasonably hold a rat. The mercenaries had left behind an extensive first aid kit, but it didn't have any light painkillers, which she needed on account of the injury from the hound's tail still aching. She also wanted some topical antibacterials- just in case- and the shop had both of them on the same shelf. She walked through the electronics aisle, and didn't think there would be anything of use there- until she remembered the inactive smartphone she had found back in the gas station.

It didn't appear broken- perhaps I could recharge it and turn it on?

Perhaps. Even if she could get the phone working it was probably still password-locked. But it was worth a try. She didn't have it with her at the second, but one of the chargers had an image of an identical-looking device, so she picked it out. Hopefully I can return this if I need to.

Now that she thought about it… she had an awful amount of items that could be valuable. And not only that… a lot of these things would be really hard to explain if someone got ahold of them, and even if that someone was a thief, that was zero guarantee that they'd keep their mouth shut. She needed somewhere to put this stuff securely. Looking around, she was able to find a decent-sized safe with a lock and a chain she could use to secure it somewhere in the car.

Finally, she went to a shelf near the cashier's desk, filled with magazines and newspapers. It was almost amusing- she had seen these displays in stores like this on Earth all her life, and had never even thought about buying any of them, but they were undoubtedly the most important item she could find here. Skimming lightly through each option, she picked out several- a global news publication with lots of photographs, an engineering and tech reviews journal, a pair of 'entertainment magazines' that were from different publishers but shared the same unmistakable writing style of a tabloid rag, a small and thick "DIY" guidebook aimed at those getting into magic, and two outdoor sports mags- one for hunting, and one for fishing.

The final two magazines had some interesting details. Seiban Sport Fishing bore a painting of a catfish chasing a lure over a bed of seagrass, its mouth wide open as it prepared to bite down. She couldn't tell if the catfish was identical to any species from Earth, but it didn't look abnormal to her at all. Then again, unless her job on Earth had been marine biology- which she didn't think it was- her intuition could be meaningless here. The cover had a helpful list of article titles and page numbers, mentioning a few fishing techniques and tournaments.

Nokorian Bushmaster was different. The cover had two hunters standing on top of a massive beast they had presumably felled. Unlike the catfish, this creature clearly wasn't an Earth species- it looked larger than an elephant, was covered in thick fur, and had two horns that looked as thick as tree trunks. The two hunters standing atop of it were another matter. One of them was a normal man- very tall and well-built, with an impressive beard reaching down to his stomach, but normal- while the other was something else. He had grayish mottled skin, yellow eyes, and two large tusk-like canines protruding from his lower jaw. Compared to most people he would be huge, although the hunting buddy he had with him looked to be about his equal.

So I guess that's what an Orc looks like. Merab had mentioned them a few times in the entries she had browsed, but he had never said much to describe them, and it was unclear how common they were in society as a whole. It was a little odd- while Esty had already seen all sorts of things she would have never thought possible before out in the wilderness, seeing more of those sights in what would typically be a mundane setting was another surprise.

The Orc was holding a very large rifle, while the man had a staff in one hand and a large revolver in the other. Despite their unusual weapons and appearances, though, both of them were wearing fairly normal-looking camouflage pants and jackets, and they bore the same sh*t-eating grins. Like the fishing magazine it had a list of articles. She added it to her collection.

Confident that she had gathered enough, Estamel walked up to the front desk. The cashier was still sleeping like a rock. Curious, she took a look at their magazine- it was another copy of the engineering and tech review journal, except this edition had a large rip on the cover and a couple spots of discoloration- water damage, maybe? For someone so engrossed in the mag they hadn't taken good care of it.

"Hello," she said. No response. "Hello, can you check out my goods?" Still nothing. She knocked her hand on the counter lightly, making just a little bit of noise.

The cashier stirred. They rolled in their seat slightly and yawned, causing the magazine to slide away, and Estamel couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. The cashier's clothes looked normal, but- just like the second hunter- the skin on their face was mottled gray. They yawned, presenting two large lower canines that weren't yet large enough to stick out when their mouth was closed, and reached a grayish hand up to rub their face.

Estamel quickly thought through the situation.

Okay, this is ridiculous. That's a f*cking fairy-tale orc, for crying out loud, and they're sitting at the checkout desk at a convenience store.
But… that doesn't really seem all that . There was the one on the hunting magazine right there, standing right next to a human that he had worked with, and when Merab mentioned meeting orcs he never seemed to make a big deal about it.

And… the figure standing in front of her wasn't actually all that unusual. They wore human clothes, and were rubbing their face the same way a human would. They were a cashier at this place, which meant that the sight of them probably wasn't something most people would find odd.

And if most people wouldn't be surprised, and I am acting surprised, then the person actually acting weird would be…

She shut her mouth and adopted a flat expression just in time for the cashier to get their marbles together and look her in the face. "Hi, uh… who are you?"

"I'm Estamel", she replied. "I'm here to check out my stuff."

The orcish cashier's expression was hard to read. They tilted her head and squinted at her, and then scanned their surroundings. Then their eyes landed on the goods Estamel had stocked in front of them and it dawned on them what the situation was. "Oh! Uhh… sorry, sorry. Yeah, I'll check your stuff."

Estamel noticed a tag on the cashier's shirt. Hello, I'm Jacob Levin- the last two words written in what was presumably their own handwriting. Unlike the orc in the magazine, he didn't look unusually big by human standards. She also suspected he was a young adult, based on his lack of prominent tusks and customer service job, but she had no way of knowing for sure. She placed down her stuff on the counter, and he diligently picked up a barcode reader and started scanning the tags on each. "Lets see… yep… and we got some more of those…" he murmured along as he worked, not paying much mind to any of it. When Jacob got to the big stack of magazines, though, he seemed surprised. "Well damn… never seen anyone check out so many of these before."

"I'm a collector of sorts." Not necessarily a lie- I'm collecting them right now, and it would make for a very convenient hobby later on. He shrugged nonchalantly and started scanning the magazines one by one.

"So you're new here?" came a voice from down inside the store. Estamel turned her head and saw the same old man who had passed her before, now carrying a few groceries and a paper bag with some paper attached.

"Yes."

"Why did you come here?"

"I'm just traveling through, on some business of my own. It's nothing interesting."

"Hmm, I see." The old man rubbed his chin. Jacob hummed softly, his reader letting out a beep as it checked another item. She turned back to the bags, but the senior spoke up again.

"Y'know, that isn't really true though. Yeah, you might not say that what you're up to is interesting. But I've lived here a long time, and if there's one thing I've learned, everyone who comes by here has an interesting story to them, no matter what it is." He paused. "But it's not a problem if you don't want to talk about it right now."

Not now? How about never?

"All done," said the cashier. "Here's your total. We accept cash or card." Estamel looked at the total. $67.12 - not sure if this is overpriced, but I can buy it. She dug through the cash, counted out exact change and handed it over. "You're good to go. Thanks for shopping here." As she picked up her bags and stepped away, the old man walked up behind her. "Have a good night, ma'am" the senior said. He turned to Jacob as he set his stuff down on the table. "So how are you doing today?"

"Been fine." The orc's tone seemed casual, as if he was well familiar with this person. "That new mobile respirator is working for you?"

Estamel leaned against a magazine shelf with her back facing to the counter. She pulled out the fishing mag and pretended to read it while the conversation carried on.

"It sure is. It barely weighs half as much as the last one, and the battery lasts longer too. Makes getting around a lot easier."
"Awesome."
"You bet. Say, did Danuphorn tell you what's the deal with the line to Horizon City? I thought it was supposed to be ready next Wednesday, but now the website says it's 'delayed for an unknown time.'"

What line?

"The three new trainsets were delayed due to the Semilin storm. They'll probably be here in a couple days. Good news is, once they're here they should be all ready to run."
"I see. I thought they might have been worried about safety."
"Oh, they definitely are- the transport authority is trying to arrange double the security detail for the first week, and the route is being monitored regularly. It's probably unnecessary, but with the uptick in troubles- especially what just happened at Horizon- nobody wants to take chances."
There was a couple seconds of silence before the old man let out a yawn.

"Well… things are how they are. Stay prepared, but don't let it eat away at you. Do you have any thoughts on the matter, Estamel?"

Esty flinched and turned to look back at the counter, where both of the conversants were staring at her. "Uh, I uh… wasn't listening."

"We can see your ears, y'know," Jacob mumbled. "As soon as you stopped there you were listening in on us, even if you were looking down at the magazine."

"You saw my ears?"

"Yes?" Jacob said, an undercurrent of exasperation in their voice. "You aren't wearing a hat, so we can see your ears swivel perfectly fine."

"Wait" the man interrupted. "Isn't there a condition you can have where your ears don't rotate properly? I thought I knew a person who had that happen after an overdose."

"Well, actually, you see-" she spurted out, but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. She glanced over and saw a portly woman waltz towards the cleaning aisle without even glancing at the discussion.

"Carry on", Jacob responded. "Were you saying that you did have that condition?"
"Yes. Well, sort of."
Wait, no, that's wrong. Why did I just say that?
"Huh. I thought I just saw your ears turn when that person walked in."

"I didn't say I have that condition," she snapped, "I said sort of."

"So there's nothing wrong with your ears, but you still have a condition like that? What do you mean?"
Why do you care? You just met me and I'm going to never see you again after I leave, why are you asking all this sh*t?

She could feel her heart racing. This is bad, very bad- I haven't even figured out what my cover story is yet, and I've already got people asking questions. "Y-you're getting things mixed up, I never said anything about my ears being broken. Look, I've got some stuff I need to tend to, so how about I head out and talk more about this later?"

"Sure. Have a good night."

She slipped the magazine into her backpack and started for the door, only for the old man to speak up again.

"Wait! Miss, before you leave- I just wanted to ask. What's your full name?"

"My full name?"

"Yes. I didn't hear you ever say what your last name was. Would you mind telling me?"
Okay, fine. I'll humor you just this time.
"It's… ah…"
She stopped as her mind went blank. She turned and rubbed her forehead as she tried to think.
I didn't forget this. I couldn't have. There's no way I could've lost the memory of the last half of my name! I just…
Estamel suddenly felt a dizzying sensation sweep over her, as if the earth beneath her had disappeared and she was falling into the same nothingness her mind was grasping at.
"...I don't remember."

"What?" said the old man, probably thinking he had misheard her.

"I'm sorry, I just don't."

Everything fell silent. She buried her face in her hands. I can't believe it. I can't even remember my whole goddamn name.

"Hey, I really don't mean to pry. If you just want to keep what your name is private, that's no biggie-"

She whirled around to face the two. "I said I can't f*cking remember! That's just it, okay?"

The senior looked shocked, and for a second she thought he was about to stumble backwards.

CRAP.
He just gave me a perfect opening! All I had to do was 'admit' I was trying to stay private, as if there was something- or someone- I was worried about tracking after me. But now… As if on cue, Jacob walked out of the cashier stand and steeped between her and the old man, extending an accusatory figure in her direction. They looked angry, and something told her that they were going to be a problem if things kept going.

"You've got a lot of nerve. First you snoop around, now you're yelling at people who try to help you? You think you can just come here and start sh*t?"

"No," she said, her voice unsteady. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to cause trouble." She started down at her hands and realized they were shaking. "Please…"

"Alright. So, you're having some problem with your memory? How about you try keeping this in your mind." He let out a bitter, false chuckle. "This place isn't just another tourist hotspot. If you can't be careful, you better head home, because the people you piss off here are going to be the least of your worries."

"I just told you I'm not a tourist-"
"Oh yeah? Then what the hell are you then? You've been acting shady this whole time, why?"
DON'T. f*ckING. CUT ME OFF.

"What the hell is going on?" yelled the female shopper as she poked her head around the corner.

"EVERYBODY STOP! STOP, DAMMIT, STOP!" Estamel howled at the top of her lungs.

The shop went quiet. She looked up to glare straight into Jacob's eyes. "You", she growled as she raised her own finger in return, "you want to tell me about 'being careful'? About 'safety'? Over the last three days I've had more people and things try to kill me than I've had hot meals, and I'm still here. You can't even handle working as a checkout chump without falling unconscious."

The old man inhaled sharply, and she thought she could hear the other shopper do the same. The idiot cashier was clearly taken aback, the same surprised look from when they had been awoken returning to their features. They sputtered out a reply. "Look, you don't know what you're talking about. This place might look safe, but-"

"Oh, is that what we're going to be doing?" she snapped back, careful to cut him off to cut him off at just the right time. "You're gonna tell me about how this place is something special? How sure, maybe I've had to survive a war-torn wasteland, but now that I'm out of the wilderness and inside a convenience store, now is the time that I've got to be worried?

"Look, I'm not trying to compare sh*t here. I didn't expect this place to be 'another tourist hotspot', and I'm fine with that. I'm having just about the worst week of my life, and anyplace where I can rest and get back on my feet before I keep going on is good. But that's not what's happened, is it? The first time I try to pick up some supplies, someone comes up and tries to interrogate me. And then you're mad at me because I listened to your conversation. Why- would you prefer I butted in and asked you to explain all of the stuff you're fretting about. Hell, nothing you mentioned wasn't something I could find in one of my newspapers ex-"

-Except for the bit about the new train vehicles and the security for them her mind finished as she stopped abruptly. Now that she thought about it… that actually was probably a private matter, and yelling that out loud in front of the new customer would cause trouble. Mostly trouble for Jacob, since it was obviously his fault for yapping about that stuff in a drugstore, but possibly trouble for her as well, and either way the less trouble the better. Jacob glanced back to the old man- does he realize what I was about to say there?

She inhaled deeply and started again.

"What I'm saying is… I'm not trying to be difficult here. But is it too much to ask for people not to start acting hostile out of nowhere?"

For a couple long seconds everyone was silent. Estamel sighed as she considered her options.

Well, that was a pretty stupid response. I just told everyone that I had just been through a warzone earlier and that people attempted to kill me. That's exactly what I didn't want to let them know.
But they still don't know much about who I am besides that. And they seem to be listening to me now?

She remembered that just a minute ago, when the person had asked her if her ears were behaving strangely as a result of a condition- complications from a drug overdose- she had initially answered 'yes'. Why exactly did I do that? She tried to pull at the thought, coax out a little more of what had slipped into her mind at that time. Meanwhile she looked at the old man.

"Hey, uh, to the older gentleman. I don't think I caught your name either."

"My name?" said the old man. "I'm Dennis. Dennis Jones."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Jones." She paused. "When you asked if I had a 'condition' from an incident involving drugs, I said 'sort of'. I didn't really get a chance to elaborate there."

"Oh, would you like to share with us now?" Dennis's voice was tinged with curiosity.
A strange, fragmented memory was taking shape in her head. At first she had thought that it was an event she had experienced. But it wasn't about her- it was about someone else, someone she had witnessed the thoughts of.

A story? That would make sense. And it had something to do with me…

She took in a deep breath, as if she was getting ready to say something painful, and the last bit that she needed fell into place in her mind. She spoke slowly as she unwound the narrative.

"Not too long ago- just a few weeks, really- I had an overdose. I'd tell you what drug caused it, but aside from alcohol I don't actually know what was involved there. The good news is that I survived- sure, for a few days it was hard to tell, but I survived. The bad news is… it damaged my memory very, very, badly."

Jacob spoke up. "Wait- you're saying your memories were hurt so badly, you can't remember your own last name?"

Estamel nodded. Judging by the look of shock on his face, she had successfully hooked him on to the story.

"But how could you not know your own name? Don't you have documents somewhere? Or friends?"

"Well… here's the thing. Before this I had lived in the Ambekan Republic- right by the border with Bergania. From what I gather, I hadn't lived for my whole life, and my life there wasn't completely perfect before- but that's a side issue. When war broke out, I had to leave, and most of my stuff got left behind. Including basically all my ID papers. It's not like my documents are completely gone of course. They're just… in a building somewhere, out in the DMZ where nobody is supposed to be. "

She paused, letting the artificial reality of the situation sit in.

"So after that, I was living in a refugee camp for a while. Don't know much, but I do know I was miserable. At some point I went on a bender, and… well, I just told you what happened there. After that, stuff just went downhill. Apparently I had also pissed some people off when I went on the bender, and some other people had an axe to grind with me or something, so… eventually I decided I had to just leave."

Dennis seemed intrigued. "So… do you know what job you had?"

She tapped her hand to her head. "It appears I was a detective of sorts."

It was a detail that came straight from the memory. Whatever that story was, it was an odd one. But it seemed like that was just the sort of story that she needed for this world.

"Really? A detective?"
"Yes. Best one in my old town in fact! Granted, there weren't really any other detectives living there… and honestly, there wasn't much crime to investigate with how small it was… but I was still the best." And that way, none of you will be surprised when I don't know sh*t about detective work.

The lady shopper gave out a short chuckle. "Well, best or not, you've probably come to the right place if you want work in that field."

"Eh, maybe. I'm thinking I might try to reinvent myself here, find a different job- preferably something a bit more stable."
"Well, if that's what you're looking for, I'd suggest heading to the unemployment office. They're closed now but they'll be open in the morning. It's by city hall, just go to the center of the city and you'll be able to find it easily."
"Thanks, but- I'm not actually a citizen here, will they still help me?"
"Of course they will! Citizen or not, there's a lot of jobs that need filling- especially now with all that nonsense you heard about- and the less idle hands drifting about the better."
"Alright."
Estamel hadn't actually been looking for a job. She had only really 'thought' she would be staying here for a few days to rest before moving on to Ap'oteozi. But now that she thought about it, the money she had scavenged wouldn't last forever. And Melissa had warned her that the journey to the city would be long and dangerous, so…

"Lost in thought again?" said the old man.

"Yeah… I'm just running over a bunch of ideas here. Probably going to find a hotel, get my stuff situated and lay out a schedule for tomorrow. Actually, do you know anywhere I could stay here?"

"Depends on what you're looking for." Jacob replied. "There's like three hotels in the center city catered towards tourists- real fancy places. On the other hand, if you're just looking for a place to rest for the night, just go a couple blocks down to the roundabout and take a right. The road there kinda goes in a loop around the city, if you follow it over to the other side- where the main highway comes through- there's a bunch of drive-ins by that place. Not six-star places but they're safe and cheap."
"Thank you."

"Do those places allow pets?" asked the old man.

"I think that they do, but they'll charge you out the ass if your pet causes damage. Why?"
"I noticed Estamel picked up a cage of some sort. Not sure what animal it's for- mind telling us what the deal is there?"

Estamel noticed the focus of the room quietly shift onto her. She hadn't mentioned a pet rat in her backstory at all. She considered a few possible lies but didn't like any of them. There was really only one decent option.

"I found a crashed car by a roadway- I was worried there were people hurt there, so I checked it out. I couldn't find anybody there- didn't see any signs of what happened to them at all- but I did find a tame rat left behind. I'm keeping them until I can return."

Dennis seemed concerned. "A crashed car, and there's no sign as to what happened to the driver at all? That sounds worrying."

"Could just mean that nobody was hurt there, and they called someone to pick them up without incident. Pretty stupid move to leave behind a live animal, though." Jacob seemed bored. "Usually I'd say to look for anyone who reported a crash and a missing pet, but if they didn't care about it then you may as well just hand it off. Lots of families around here who love a pet like that. You know how to take care of it in the meantime right?"

"Yes… I mean, kind of."

"Wait a second. I might have something for you."

The cashier walked back behind the desk and crouched down under it. She heard cabinets opening and paper shuffling, then there was a soft 'a-ha!' noise, and he stood back up holding a crumpled magazine with the title Small Pets Digest. "This edition of the mag has all sorts of stuff about getting started as a beginner. Sounds like what you're looking for."

"That's great! How much is it?"

"Consider this one on the house. I don't need it, and we can't sell it because it got damaged during transport." Estamel recalled the magazine the cashier had over his face when he was woken up. "Was this from the same shipment as the one you had earlier?"

"That one? Nah, different shipment. I don't know how it keeps happening, but I'm not going to complain." He handed her the paper. "Thank you so much", she replied. "That should be all I need. Have a good night!"

"Have a good night too," Jacob replied, his words echoed by the lady and the old man. She stepped out the front door, waving a goodbye and smiling back.

As she had expected, the rat was very much happy to see her again. He jumped onto her sleeve as soon as she opened the van door, climbing up to her collar. "Sheesh, I was gone for barely twenty minutes." She quickly stowed all of the bags before she got back in the driver seat. As she pulled out onto the road, her mind started spinning.

"That really was one hell of a close call, wasn't it?"

She should have been caught there. She didn't have any sort of backstory ready when she stepped in, she had fumbled herself into an argument, and then had a complete breakdown in front of everyone. But somehow she had made it through it all without blowing her cover- and even received a magazine and free advice.

Whatever that was, I better be able to pull it off again.

She pulled forward and went right at the roundabout like Jacob has said, turning onto a four lane boulevard with a wide median. She passed by a couple other drivers on the street, although it seemed that there were few out at this hour. There were some sort of cables running above the median that left her briefly confused as to what they were for, until a triple-segmented tram came rumbling by and she felt silly for being confused at all.

Eventually she came to a part of the town where the highway she had seen before curved through the edge of the city. She turned onto it to browse her options. Cars were driving by, and unlike the rest of the city it still seemed like most businesses were still active here. Just as she had been told there were several motels, with their prices per night advertised prominently on neon signs. She first decided on the cheapest place she saw, but then realized that part of the sign for that building was clearly broken and flickering, and went over to the second-cheapest place instead.

The building had two stories and a U-shaped layout opening to the highway, with the sign on the top reading Aluva Motel. The left side had a smaller office building attached, with a smaller sign there saying LEASE HERE in Seylinian as well as three other languages she didn't know. She parked the van right beside the front door and walked inside, not sure what to expect.

The front office was dimly lit, the white-and-gray interior having little decor save for cracks and dents presumably left by water damage. At the front desk there was a skeletal humanoid contraption lying on top of a chair where a receptionist would be. When she took a step towards it, the machine stirred and unfolded into a normal sitting stance. It wasn't too unusual in appearance, but what she did notice about it was its head- an iPad-sized screen, with a set of what looked like sensors on each side. It turned towards her and a cartoon smile appeared on the screen. It started speaking right away.

"Welcome to the Aluva Motel, good sir! We have plenty of vacancies right now. What sort of accommodations do you wish for?"

Estamel wasn't sure why the robot greeted her as sir- it could be malfunctioning, or it could only have one pre-recorded response. Or maybe the Seylinian word for Sir is more gender-neutral in this culture. Either way, she didn't give a sh*t. "I'm looking for a single bed for the night. Nothing more."

"Got that. Only one night?"
"Well… I'm not sure."
"Not sure? Well, you can reserve a few more nights in advance. You don't have to pay for them if you move out earlier than then."
"Okay, uh… how about I reserve for three days, then?" That's probably enough time to find somewhere permanent to sleep.
The robot's face turned to a red X-mark. "Sorry, we don't do three-day reservations. We only do reservations in intervals of two days, one week, two weeks, and one month." The smile reappeared
One month? Who the f*ck reserves one month at a hotel?
But back on topic… what do I pick here? Two days probably won't be enough. Should I do a week? I mean, I can always change to a different hotel, but…
"How does reservation work, in full detail?"

The robot let out a chuckling sound. It was probably supposed to sound warm and inviting, but it just sounded like the machine was having a mechanical breakdown and shaking because of it. "Well, it's simple. You just put down a down payment with one-third of the cost of the room in advance. If you cancel, you get two-thirds of the payment back."
Well, I can't count on being able to find a place in a single day. Perhaps I should go for the week…
"What sorta accommodations do you have at this fine establishment?"
"Take a look." The robot leaned forward, extending its screen face over for her to reach. It switched to a document describing what was offered. "You can touch my screen to browse through. Don't worry, I won't bite!"

Estamel tapped the screen, half expecting the machine to make some sort of cringeworthy giggling noise. Thankfully it stayed silent, and she browsed through the room description sheet. It wasn't anything fancy, but it had a bathroom, shower, fridge, safe, and coffeemaker, as well as a guarantee of "absolute top-quality cleanliness." The document also mentioned breakfast accommodations at the hotel kitchen.
"So, what do you think?"
"This looks sufficient. I think I'll reserve a room for a week."
"Top floor or bottom floor?"
"Is there a price difference?"
"Nope."
"Then I'll take the top floor. Don't really care about location or anything."

The machine's face went blank, then switched to a contract sheet, showing the cost of the hotel for the next week. Forty marks for the night, and eighty marks down payment for the next six days. "It's all yours to sign and pay." She counted out the payment and handed it over.

"Don't forget to sign." One of the machine's fingers popped loose, and it pulled it off, extending it out. "Use this to write on the tablet."

She cringed. "Do I really have to write with that?"
"Well, did you bring your own pen?"

Estamel was going to try and argue, but realized that the crappy 'pen' was actually a good thing for her. She took the finger and wrote out a signature- a comically messy transcription of her name, and then a messy scribble that bore no close resemblance to any existing word. Then she offered the finger back. "Done. It's almost impossible to write a signature with this, y'know."

"It'll be fine enough." The robot took back its finger. "With that out of the way, you're all signed up. It pulled its head and leaned up straight, then went through a cabinet in the desk to pull out a key. "Room 212. On the outer left side."

"Thanks." She shook hands with the machine and walked away. "Enjoy your stay!" went the reply calling after her.

She had been worried that her van would stand out, but as she moved it over to a spot near the room that clearly wouldn't be a problem- at least a third of the other vehicles parked were vans of a similar construction. The only real irregularity was its camo paint job, and even that didn't look like anything more than a stylistic choice. With it parked in place, she made sure the car was secure. The mercenaries had installed a quite clever anti-theft system, with metal slat barriers that could be rolled down to cover the windows. Not only did this make it far more difficult to break into the car and hot-wire it, it kept the cargo inside comfortably out of sight. She opened the cage, tore up a cardboard box of ration packets and tossed it in as bedding, and then placed the rat inside.

With all the stuff she needed gathered she went out and walked up the stairs to the second floor, finding the room a few doors away. I remember hearing that VIPs staying at hotels would sometimes take rooms as close to the exits as possible so they can run away quickly if they need to. That would be useful for me too. I mean, it would, if the people hunting me weren't dropping bombs that incinerate anything in a half-mile radius.

Actually though… that parachute bomb took a long while to fall. I don't suppose I would be able to run out and get in the car if I had warning it was coming?

She waved it off- even if she would escape, everyone else in the building wouldn't. And between the fact that they probably wouldn't actually drop one of those inside a city, and that she didn't want to have to run away (and had done an okay job of disguising herself so far) it was basically meaningless. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The room was, well… a little better than she expected. It was small but not cramped, and all of the amenities listed on contract- bathroom, shower, bed, safe, TV, microwave, mini-fridge, storage cabinet- were at least there. Compared to the front office, there were more signs of damage but also more proactive maintenance. The sea-green walls were dotted with slightly off-color patches where new paint had been dotted over stains and scratches, and in a few places she could see where cracks had been filled in with plaster. Satisfied that there was nothing troublesome so far, she set down her things in the center and went to the bathroom. It had a low ceiling and even more cramped interior- more reminiscent of a submarine lavatory than a room in a motel- but seemed to be completely clean, with all the soaps and toiletries that one would expect. When washing her hands she saw gray tape zig-zagging across the bottom half of the bathroom mirror, obviously placed to cover up a crack. "At Least We Tried" seemed like it would make a fitting resort slogan.

But honestly, it was pretty solid for the low price. The room was clean, the locks appeared sound, and it had hot water and electricity. And let's be real, all I need is somewhere safe to rest my head. She sat down on the bed and stared down at her hands.

There was something… dizzying about this moment, but she didn't really know why. Glancing over at her shoulder she saw the clock read 10:34 PM. Having nothing particularly urgent to address at this time., she figured she could take her time getting settled in. She took off her shoes and left them by the door, placing her bags by there as well. The rat cage went on a table. She took the recovered phone and plugged it into the charger. It didn't seem to do anything- even after a couple minutes of waiting there was no light from the phone, and pushing buttons or brushing the screen prompted no reaction. It was worth a try.

Her stomach growled- it had been a long time without a meal. Estamel retrieved a single-serving cup of ramen noodles and dried vegetables from the bag. Filling it with the needed water and placing it in the microwave, she sat down at the table. The rat looked as if they were trying to arrange the ripped-up cardboard into a 'den' of sorts. There was a kind of awkward silence to the room that she didn't like, and she turned on the TV to break it up.

The channel that popped up was listed as a news channel, but the first thing to come on was an ad for a pizza chain called Lauria's Kitchen. It wasn't particularly useful, but hey, now she could be sure that mentioning 'pizza' wouldn't give her away as a siddim. It then shifted to another commercial, this one for e-bikes. Halfway through it the ramen finished cooking. She took it to the table, pulled out some utensils she had taken from the mountain outpost, and- after checking that it wasn't too hot- took a sip of the broth. It tasted… good, actually. Maybe her hunger might've influenced her takeaway, but as she dug into the bowl she was far from being disappointed.

The program switched again, this time to the actual news. Estamel didn't really know what most of the places mentioned in the program were, or who any of the people or organizations mentioned were, or even what the channel's name of "HCBE 37 News" was supposed to mean, but she tried to follow along as she ate, and she felt like she was able to understand some of it. The first story was about an industrial disaster that occured two weeks ago in Horizon City, where a car factory experienced a sudden series of explosions from an unknown source, followed by a conflagration. At least two dozen people had died either right away or following the incident, and twice that much were missing or in critical condition. Now investigators had uncovered footage of an unknown individual slipping into the facility just twenty minutes before the incident happened. While this made sabotage the obvious answer, it was unknown as to what motive the bomber may have. Was this the "stuff that happened at Horizon" that they were talking about at the store?

The next couple stories were less heavy. The channel discussed a new medical clinic being built in a small town, replacing a smaller joint that was suffering from structural issues. A couple locals were interviewed and floor plans were shown of the new facility. Opinions seemed positive, not like she expected to hear otherwise. Next was a piece on the farm industry in the area. Based on the piece, the last few years had been very good- steadily growing demand, cheap resource costs, and a relatively stable economy had made for a very profitable time. Of course, the news agency was quick to ask if there were any concerns about the future- to which they were told that while there were concerns, it looked like things would be on the up-and-up for the foreseeable future. By the time it ended and another ad break started, she had finished up the last of the ramen bowl and thrown the package in the trash.

11:02 PM read the clock now. She felt a little better after having something to eat, but the feeling of dizziness still hung in the air like a fog, stronger than ever. Estamel collapsed onto the bed with a yawn. Her eyes narrowed, and she felt her thoughts and concerns fading. Her last glance before they closed was at the door to the washroom.

How long has it been since I took a hot shower?

The realization that the answer was not since I arrived on Bei jolted her back to consciousness. She shoved herself up and off the bed, and went over to her luggage to grab some soft clothes she could change into for the night. And the bag where she had stashed a comb, a toothbrush, and some other things- gotta do that too. Plus, I should make a task list of stuff for the next day. Yep, a hot shower, some sleep, and a plan for the next day… that'll always make you feel better, I think.

As she expected, the water in the shower was taking a while to warm up after she first started it- something not usual for a cheap hotel like this one. She didn't mind, though, it almost felt good to have a minute to get acclimated to her surroundings. She pulled off her shirt and pants, and took the opportunity to inspect her injuries.

The wounds from the hound seemed okay. They were tender and slightly red, but she was pretty sure that was normal for an injury of this severity, and they had no signs of a biofilm forming. It would seem as if they were going to be fine, but if there was something wrong with them there was no way to know. So I'll wash them here, then apply antibiotics again, and see if I can get a doctor's appointment soon. Besides that, she had a couple of light bruises from where she had tumbled down the hill, but it seemed like those were already healing fast. Condensation was forming on the shower door, and she opened the shower door to get a feel for the water- warm enough. She took off her undergarments and laid them with her other clothes before stepping in.

Estamel let out a long sigh as she felt the warm spray fall on her skin. It wasn't that warm, and it wasn't that rapid, but that wasn't even in the back of her mind now. She took the body wash bottle and vigorously rubbed the solution into her skin, starting with her feet and ankles and working upwards. When she got to the wound on her thigh she worked more gently, trying to clean the area without putting pressure on it or breaking the sutures, and she did the same when she reached the one on her abdomen. Once she had reached all the way up to her neck and shoulders she took a moment to stop, letting the spray rinse all the dust and stickiness from the last two days down the drain.

She washed her hair and tail next. The fur on her tail was more similar to that of an animal than her hair, but it was close enough that she trusted the hair shampoo would work on it. She also used some conditioner in her hair- just a little bit, enough that she could get out if it didn't work right. Cleaning her ears and tail was a new experience, but it proved relatively simple. Once she was done, she rinsed it all off, and turned off the water.

By the heavens, I'm glad I did this before going to bed. Feeling better, she put on the set of clothes she had piled on the shelf and went back out into the room.

She took out a piece of paper and a pencil, and sat down at the table to write out her ideas.
Things to-do:

-Visit a doctor, check on my injuries. Make sure there's no sort of damage I missed, and if there is then get whatever treatment I need for it
-Visit the unemployment office and get a temporary job, where I can gather funds for the journey to Ap'oteozi and build up a resume of sorts.
-Find an actual map, figure out where I am in the world and where Ap'oteozi is as well.
-Look for a cheap apartment in town. Preferably someplace with a degree of privacy, where I can study and work on my stuff without being noticed.
-Read through the magazines and get more papers about this world, so I can build up a better familiarity with this place and hopefully beat any questions I get asked.
-Find a safebreaker, open up the case from the truck.
-Look for resources on learning magic and the like, so I can fit in better, and defend myself.
-Go to the police, ask about incidents involving poachers/smugglers/whatever slipping into the DMZ. Try to find who may have left the rat behind.
-Visit an IT place, turn in the busted phone for some cash.

It was quite a lot- probably more than she would actually be able to get done over the next day. But she would definitely be able to get at least some of it done. She tucked the note away into the drawer by the bed.

She realized she had left the phone still in the charger, and went to pull it out. But when she looked at it there was a red light next to the plug glowing. That wasn't there before. Her finger tapped the on-off button, with no response. Not giving up, she held down on the button, and the screen flickered. An emblem of an almost empty battery with a message written below it appeared:

INSUFFICIENT BATTERY FOR REBOOT

She stared wordlessly until the screen went dark again, and left the phone charging, before taking the note back out to scribble an addendum:

-Check if the phone is ready to reboot in the morning. Consider options on what to do then.

"Good night, little guy" she whispered to the rat. "Tomorrow we'll see if we can find your friends." She flicked off the lights, and made her way back to the bed by the glow of the clock. As she slipped into the covers, she heard someone talking off in the distance. They were too faint to tell what they were saying, although it seemed as if they were getting a little closer, and as she laid down she could make out a little bit…'

"Where the hell is she?"

Suddenly Estamel snapped up, laser-focused on the sound. There was a pause, but when the person spoke again, she could tell that they were on the motel balcony, footsteps emanating from their location.

"I went to hangar five. She wasn't there, the staff said they had no record of her being there, and they told me you hadn't been there for a week. So what's going on?"

There was a pause. The footsteps cut off, presumably because the person had stopped.

"More repairs? What happened? …no Laporte, I don't care who's fault it was. Just tell me what happened and what the damage was."

"A wind turbine? Dammit, this is exactly why I told you not to take her out for any goddamn joyrides! Hell, you're lucky that worse didn't happen, since apparently you never took her to be inspected by an actual crew."

A 'crew'? To 'inspect' a person, at a hangar? What the hell is going on?
She got out of the bed, walked up next to the door so she could hear better

"So? I told you to send me the bill for the inspection. You're not having to pay for anything." The voice was more exasperated than angry. "So how bad is the damage, really?"

"...Are you sure you hit a turbine? Because that's not much. I'll need to see the Siroco before I can tell how bad things are, but a torn gasbag compartment and broken steering fin shouldn't be much trouble. Get your crew together and I'll be at your workshop tomorrow morning."

"Look Laporte, I don't care who it was that was flying the Siroco. It just doesn't matter, okay? Honestly, it's my fault for telling you guys it would be safe to fly the blimp without me in the first place…"

Estamel realized what was really going on after all. The mysterious man wasn't talking about her, or some woman being held at a secret hangar. He was talking about a balloon- the "Siroco"- that his associates had accidentally steered into a windmill of all things. The mental image of the accident was enough that she burst out laughing without a care, until she realized that the man on the phone had trailed off and stopped talking entirely.

A few moments passed before someone broke the silence.

"I'm at a motel right now, out on the balcony. I just got here maybe, I don't know, five minutes ago? After maybe two hours on the road, and another one at the airport making a fool of myself trying to find a dirigible that wasn't there? I haven't even ate dinner yet. Someone in the room closest to me is awake and I just heard them laughing at me."

"Save it. I've had enough of this. I'll just turn in right now. Goodbye, Laporte." There was a beep, and what almost sounded like a choked sob. Then footsteps. Wordlessly, Estamel rushed to the luggage, grabbed a meal pack identical to the one she had eaten, and rushed back to the door. She flung it open and looked out in the direction of the stranger.

"Hey! You-" stopping as she saw who turned in response.

The person who stood there was even stranger than Jacob from the shop. Although they had normal clothing- jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap- it looked like most of their skin was covered in tawny fur. They had not only the ears and tail of a hyena but the whole head of one, with a long snout and black nose, but they stared back at her with what was clearly a human expression of surprise.

Pull it together. You know this is normal here, just start talking.

"Hey, so uh… I'm sorry. For laughing at you there." She swallowed and stared down. "I just.. I heard you yelling and didn't know what you were talking about, so I ran up to listen, and when I realized it just took me by surprise, and yeah. I'm Estamel, by the way."

Did I just blurt that all out at once?

The hyena-man tilted their head, looking at her the way someone looked at a rabbit a magician had pulled out of a hat, or a wild animal loose inside a convenience store. "Thanks" came the stilted reply.

"Soo… you haven't had anything to eat for dinner. Are you hungry?"

His eyes narrowed- it seemed like he took her question as a taunt. "Of course I'm f*cking hungry. Why the hell do you care?" She turned up to look him in the face and held out the meal pack. "I figured you might want this. It's nothing fancy, but it should help a little."

The stranger's anger dissipated, and they took the ramen bowl. "Yeah, that'll help. Thank you again, Estamel. I didn't mean to be snappy, I was just a little caught up in things."

"Nothing to worry about. You've had a rough day, I've had a rough day… maybe we should ask the bot in the leasing office how things have been for them?"

The hyena-man chuckled, and she chuckled as well. "I'm Noak, by the way." He glanced behind his shoulder down the walkway. "What's your business here?"

"My business? I'm a detective, but right now I'm looking for whatever business I can get my hands on, and this town looked like a good place to search. Gonna be looking around town tomorrow."

"So a busy day for you, too?" She nodded. "Yeah, I was just about to go to sleep when I heard you."

"I see. Don't want to keep you up, so…" The man handed her a business card. "If you ever need an airship pilot, you can give me a call. It's been nice meeting you."

"You too." They exchanged good-nights and good-lucks and went to their respective rooms. It occurred to Estamel that she wouldn't actually be able to call Noak without a phone of her own. "Ah… I'll get one sometime" she mumbled as she sprawled out on the bed.

As she stared up at the ceiling, she heard something passing over up in the sky. It might've been an airship, or a propeller plane, or a jet, or something else entirely, she couldn't tell. The noise came and went, but she knew it wasn't gone. The aircraft and whoever was piloting it were just somewhere else, doing whatever they were doing, with no idea that there was a siddim in the motel below them, contemplating the existence of both them and herself as her eyes slowly slid shut.