Ann lay on the first clean bed she had slept on in... ever. Sure, it was a budget motel, fifteen credits a night, but the sheets were clean, there was hot and cold running water, and there was a small diner across the street where she could have breakfast the next morning.

She had gotten to Bakersfield the day before and realized that she needed to keep moving. Sure, no one in this city knew who she was, but she had to get away from OLA. The further she was from the specters of her past, the better.

She sat up and activated the poly-tool she had gotten from a pawn shop. It had no extranet access, it took a whole forty five seconds to activate, and the display aspect was warped, but it served its purpose. She took stock of the money she had taken from the Reds, her possessions, excluding the clothes on her back, and possible locations she could flee to.

If she was frugal, the money she had pilfered would last her at least half a year. But what then? It was obvious she had to settle somewhere. She didn't want to return to the scavenging, larceny, and violence she had just escaped from.

She leaned over the edge of the bed and opened up the drawer of the bed stand. Moving the Gideon's Bible aside, she found the local atlas, its paper losing its color and worn from the years of lack of use. She opened up the pages to the continent and considered several different over places she could go to.

She sat cross legged on the bed as her eyes traversed the map of the North American continent and for each city she sought, she frowned. Most of the choices she would take were no better than OLA or dubious at best. There would definitely be places where people would ask questions. The last thing she needed was to be asked questions. There would be no trail. No sign. Ann from OLA was dead and she'd prefer to keep it that way.

She blinked and looked to the northwestern portion of the map. Alaska. Sure, there was the Alliance military presence in Vancouver, but not the state itself. It was large enough for her to hide in, there were enough towns where she could relocate to, and there were plenty of escape avenues, just in case.

She then closed up the map, put it back in the drawer, and lay on the bed with her arms and legs spread. It was all going to come together for her. She'd start over. The smile on her face soon faded as she reached over to her bag, and pulled out that single dose of Red Sand.

"I promise, Nora. I'll make good on it," she whispered. It also made her realize that she needed to take another route north. No doubt the police would have something to check for smugglers and drug runners at major stops. She needed an alternative.


For two days, Ann trudged up the lonely and quiet I-5 freeway. Every time she heard the roar of an engine come up behind her, she would turn around and hold out her thumb in hopes someone would give her a ride. Using the bus would cut into what little money she had and she had a feeling there would be people that would be on the lookout for people like herself.

The plan was that she'd get as close to the state line as she could, then sneak around the patrols and police to get in. Then continue on her way to freedom and her new life.

However, she forgot that not everyone wanted to pick up some grungy, six-foot-tall, sixteen year old girl in second-hand clothes. And the ones that did left her with the same nausea that reminded her of some of the Reds. She'd hate for any of them to get fresh and she'd have to hurt them... unless they were one of those types she'd not be able to fight off and end up getting cut to pieces. As much as she hated it, she had to be picky in her choice of rides.

A drop of water struck the top of her head and she looked up to the cloudy sky to confirm her annoyance. She sighed; it was going to rain again. The worn leather jacket she had wasn't going to be enough.

The rumble of another vehicle caused her to turn around to see an antiquated 18-wheeler semi rumble down the road. Ann had to blink. Most of the vehicles she saw didn't have wheels at all. Most simply hovered close to the ground, but they didn't have wheels. Either way, it looked like a ride and right now, Ann didn't want to bet against the weather. She held out her thumb once more and walked backwards as the semi closed in. To her dismay, it, like all the others, passed her by. She grit her teeth and growled. She was starting to believe that people like Nora and John were an extreme minority and that the rest of humanity was comprised of nothing but jerks. When she turned around to start walking again, she balked when she saw the semi that had just passed her pull over.

While her sense of preservation urged her to be cautious, she was more interested in dodging the rain than anything else. She ran up to the passenger side of the rig and saw the window slowly creep down, as though it hadn't been used in a long, long time.

"Where you go, girl?" a thick and feminine Russian accent asked from inside the cab.

"I'm heading to Alaska," Ann said as she stepped up to the window. "You heading that way?"

"Da!" the short Russian woman in the driver seat said as she opened the door for Ann. "Get in! Is going to Anchorage, drop you off on way there. Sounds good?"

Nodding eagerly, Ann hopped in and onto the seat. As she buckled herself in, she got a good look at the driver.

She was shorter and stouter than Ann, then again, most people were, however, she seemed shorter than usual. Her hair, while not as long as Ann's, was tied in several braids and dyed with a plethora of colors that most people didn't have. The common shirt and denim pants she wore were off-set to the pair of the most amazing boots Ann had ever seen; steel-toed, made of sturdy leather, and with a plethora of buckles. It made her wonder just what kind of person had picked her up.

"What is name, girl?" the driver asked as she started the rig back on the road.

Ann blinked when she realized that she never considered an alias yet. She wanted to lie and give this woman a false name. However, the playful smile on the Russian woman's face told her that, perhaps, it wouldn't be so bad to be honest with this one. "Ann."

"Ann. Is good name," she said, nodding vibrantly.

"What's your name?" Ann asked, curious as to whom her driver was.

The woman smirked at her playfully and said, "Is Metal Queen. Means Queen of all Metal! Is ruler of all things Metal! For Metal is good!" She then used her left hand to give her a sign where her hand turned into an 'H'.

Ann cocked an eyebrow at the enthusiastic response and wondered if she made a mistake.

"So, Ann. Why you go north?"

She considered her words carefully and felt that this person didn't need to know everything. "I'm starting over."

"Hmm," the driver nodded in understanding. "Where is you coming from?"

"OLA."

The smiled faded from Metal Queen's face and then she shook her head. "Is no good, that place. Broken lives, ruined dreams. Have been seen too many from there." The smile returned to her face and said, "Is good you go. Start over and live. What is you want to do?"

It was another question Ann hadn't counted on. "I... I don't know yet. I've been trying too hard to survive to even think about what I'd want to do."

The Metal Queen nodded in understanding. "Is no rush, but must be smart on things. Can I be giving advice?"

Ann chuckled quietly, "Sure, why not." While she had little idea to listen to someone she just met, she decided to humor the Metal Queen.

She emphasized her first point with her index finger, "First; you find Soul. Is no good without it. Is no you without it." Her middle finger joined the first, "Second; find Heart. Is no strength without it. No finds love without it." Her ring finger joined the other two, adorned with a stainless steel ring on it, Ann noted, "Find Home. So you is can always go back to somewheres. Is good?"

The simplicity of the Metal Queen's words gave Ann pause as it almost seemed like an obtainable goal, as abstract as they were. She nodded to the Metal Queen's satisfaction.

"Good! Now, has girl been listening to good music?"

Ann tried to translate that song into terms she could understand and if she was right, she shook her head. "Didn't have much chance to listen to a lot of music."

The Metal Queen shook her head and growled, "Is no good. We fix that now! First, we listen to classics! Without classics, we have no metal! With no metal, we have no good!"

With that, she reached to the center of the dashboard and after a few button presses. Then, a recording of music that Ann had never heard of began to play.

A guitar chord played. Then, a momentary silence.

~It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog.~

For the rest of that day, Ann was inundated with music that had been written around two centuries ago. Despite never having listened to little more than the redundant beats of underground drug clubs she had the misfortune of going to during her time with the Reds, she liked the Beatles.


The next day on their way north, the Metal Queen decided that now it was time for Ann to graduate into learning about 'Real' Metal.

It was initially loud, fast, and hard. However, it didn't take long for Ann to acclimate to the hard and fast beats of Flesh Coffin. Followed after that, came the monstrous rhythm of Gore Tranquility. After lunch, she surprised Ann with the epic melodies of Northern Gates and Nordic Hound.

Bewitched Angel, on the other hand, not so much.

"Eh," the Metal Queen said with a casual shrug, aware that it wasn't for everybody, "is for those who like hear Finns howl. Me is liking them too, so, eh."

Bloody Lobotomy, on the other hand, was something different. "Is Death Metal. Simple. Mental illness. Crazy doctors in asylums. Is just that."

"You don't sound too impressed," Ann said with a smirk, noting how casual she spoke about them.

"Eh. Is good, but they is trying too hard. Is Metal! Not Pop Music!" she said dismissively.

Next, they went into something that made her smile. Deeds of Eternity.

The Metal Queen began to extrapolate that the band took heavy Nordic legends and ancient poetry from around Europe to turn it into an epic metal symphony that no one had ever hoped to surpass. Ann could tell by the way she tried to explain it in words, as the famous female guitarist Madragora tore through another solo, that she was really into it.

She gave Ann another humored smile, "They is liking silly names too much. Madragora is name of root they use and get high."

"Like Red Sand?" Ann asked tentatively.

She threw her head back and laughed heartily. "No, silly girl. More poison than drug. Red Sand easier to use. Even then, they use name because it has mythical connections. Is powerful antidote in stories."

Ann couldn't help but notice that once they got past Deeds of Eternity, Metal Queen started to sigh when she started an album of Beastial Burial. While the tunes were loud, incomprehensible, and utterly pointless, she looked positively despondent.

"What's wrong?" Ann couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, is good group. However, has sad day for metal. Guitar man is perfect. He has heart attack, finds Jesus, then leaves group to start Christian Rock band with kids who can't sing. Is good for his soul, I guess, but still, sad day for metal. And Beastial Burial gets new guitar man and changes to Sordid Laceration. Still, is good band, but not the same."

Ann knew she was going to be in trouble, but it was hard for her not to laugh as Metal Queen ended the tale with a wistful sigh.

"Kids these days. They no know good metal when they hear it. Metal is serious business!" she said with a mock serious face and the same hand gesture that was shaped as an 'H'.

Ann held onto her sides as tears started to drip from her eyes. She had never laughed so hard before in her life and it started to hurt, but in a good way. With a satisfied smile, the Metal Queen returned to the road ahead as they continued their journey north.


As the truck reached Fairbanks, both women were in the middle of another chorus, singing hideously off-tune at the end of another extended session of Queen.

~Ohh, you're my best friend!~ they both sang as they entered the truck stop. When the song ended, they both kept laughing.

When the rig finally came to a stop, the Metal Queen said to Ann as she unbuckled and unlocked the door, "I get foods, you clean up."

"Sure," Ann said as she hopped off the side and onto the ground.

She reached the bathroom and was about to enter when she noticed a few people that were not dressed like anyone else. By the looks of them, they were dressed in skins and leathers, sitting at a blanket with various trinkets, odds and ends, and crafts for sell and trade. However, the woman's face told her that she had to speak with this person.

Tentatively, she walked right up to the woman at the spread and said, "hello?"

The dark skinned and black haired woman turned to her and said, "Hello, child. What can I do for you?"

"Um, can you tell me...," Ann had no idea why she was saying this, however, the words came regardless, "can you tell me who I am?"

The woman blinked for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're a child on the desert, little one. Every now and then someone with connections to the tribes finds their way back. The Great Spirit knows his own."

"The Great Spirit," Ann whispered. It was then it came to her and she asked again, more eager than before, "is there somewhere I can find out where I came from?"

Pleased at her eagerness, she nodded. "I'll be passing by the Town Hall on my way back to the reservation. They will have records and means to find out to which tribe you belong to, dear."

All of a sudden, countless possibilities flooded her mind. Did she have a family she wasn't aware of? Was she part of a tribe? Did they still exist? Did she still have family that didn't come from OLA?

Her breath came faster and more hurried when she realized that this was where she needed to go. That meant, sadly, that she'd have to part ways with the Metal Queen. She said quickly, "I'll be right back!"

Her heart beating a mile a second, she ran back to see the Metal Queen stepping out of the stop. "Ah! You is ready?" she asked casually.

Ann shook her head vigorously. "I'm sorry, but... I have to go. This is my stop. I think I found something. Something I need to do."

The Metal Queen seemed shocked, but then her features softened at the sight of a wayward soul finding her way. She nodded and said with a smile, "Good. Is not hard to be finding me. If get chance, find me on circuit. Is easy."

Ann nodded and then with no warning, reached around and pulled the smaller woman against her and whispered, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Beneath, the Metal Queen's smile grew and she reciprocated the embrace. "Is welcome, girl. Before me forgets." She pulled out and turned on her new, fancy fangled omni-tool, which had only been on the market for a year, held Ann's face close to her, they both smiled and she took a picture. She transferred a copy to Ann's poly-tool and placed some of the food into the rig.

With her hands on her hips, the Metal Queen said with confidence, "remember girl."

Ann nodded, "Find Home, find heart, find Soul."

She blinked, then shook her head, "No, silly girl!" She tossed a wrapped hot dog with some condiments inside it. Immediately after, she tossed Ann's belongings back to her as well. "All things can be eating with mustard! No matter how yucky!"

Surprised, and then amused, Ann chuckled and waved good bye to her friend as she slowly pulled away. She looked down to the picture of her and the Metal Queen, smiling at the camera and grinned. She'd find a way. She would find her and thank her again.


The tradeswoman, true to her word, had directed Ann to the town hall and gave her some general advice to register. However, her ability to read and write, being as limited as it was, had to get assistance from one of the desk workers.

"What's your name?" the man at the desk said as he adjusted his glasses to fill out the registration forms properly.

Ann paused. She wanted to start over, but she couldn't keep her name. It was the only one she had... but Ann was dead. She mentally scolded herself for not thinking this out as much as she thought she did.

Immediately, she blurted out the first name that came to mind, "Nora Shepard." As the man continued to write, Ann realized the implications of what she had just done. She had stolen her best friend's name and now her identity.

At the same time, though, she figured it was a way that Nora was able to get out of OLA and into the new life she had promised her. She clenched her bag with the weakened Red Sand dose inside and reaffirmed her word to Nora again, that she'd make good on her promise.


Ann was grown again. She was tall. She could feel her strength growing by the minute.

However, she was not alone. In front of her, the two versions of herself stared back. However, they started to develop more animal-like features.

The bloodied, living, scarred in red version of herself snarled at her and at the pristine, pure, and dead version of herself as if she were a feral animal. The latter regarded the former with disdain and turned back to Ann with the same cold patience of a beast lying in wait.

She could tell they both wanted something from her. And whatever it is they wanted, it was absolute. They wanted all of her. The desire to consume her like before was not there like it was before.

Instead, it was like a demand for partnership. Either one of them becoming a guide for her. They both appealed to her, instead of forcing themselves.

It was her choice to make, surprisingly. However, she was unsure which one to choose. One was living, but defiled. The other pristine, but dead.

So conflicted Ann was at her choice, she slowly fell asleep as they both stood there waiting for her.

They would always wait for her.

Ann, now Nora, blinked several times as the light from the window from the cabin where she currently resided in. The local Athabascan indian tribes had taken her in while the local government would run tests on her blood and compare it with the rest of the directories and discover where she came from. Until then, she had a home.