Home on the Range, Part 1

It was a long way through nothing to get to nowhere.

Kyoko, Oktavia, Mami, and Charlotte were moving on, as they had been doing longer than any of them would like to think about. As a precaution, they were sticking with human territories. Of course not all nonhuman lands were nearly as hostile as the dockengauts had been, and there were many that they would be welcome. But they didn't want to stick out, and four humans would find it easier to hide when most of the other people were humans as well.

At the moment, they were moving through a wasteland. It was, to the best of their knowledge, still a human wasteland, but it was a wasteland nevertheless: a rocky, arid region with pinkish earth riddled with stone canyons, stone hills, stone columns, and stone bridges and archways, all apparently natural. It was very pretty and kind of weird, but Charlotte still insisted that it was human, just a little odd. The very Earth-like sky with a single bright yellow sun above confirmed it.

Well, it made for a nice postcard, but actually traversing through it on foot wasn't any fun. For one, a desert was still a desert, and it was dry and hot. Kyoko had even taken her jacket off, tying it around her waist, and she was sweating through her increasingly threadbare tanktop.

Fortunately, they had found one canyon threaded through by a river, and next to the river was what looked like a manmade road, one that had seen fairly recent use, so they had someplace out of the sun to walk with plenty of water nearby, and a place to go.

Presumably.

Hopefully.

Look, they didn't have many other options.

But after having walked all day, they had found nobody: no other travelers, no locals, no one. It were all hot, hungry, exhausted, and growing increasingly frustrated.

Also, Charlotte was getting really worried about Mami.

Ever since this whole catastrophe had begun and they had been exiled from their home, Mami had been in a downward spiral. Granted, they all were, and Charlotte was fairly certain that if they ever found someplace safe, they were all going to have to spend considerable amount of time lying across a psychiatrist's couch.

But Mami was the one to turn into a suicidal wreck soon after she and Charlotte had first arrived. Mami was the one most susceptible to sinking into a dark place if she lost her support structure. Mami was the one who needed the most help keeping her head above the water.

Kyoko had undeniably suffered the most since their adventure had begun, but at the very least she was the sort to take that pain and turn it into fuel for her determination. She was already a ragged survivor used to fighting for every day of life. Mami had spent seven years working to get away from that mindset, to become accustomed to a safe and peaceful life. And that included diligently keeping up with her prescribed antidepressants.

All of that had been ripped away. Mami's home, Mami's support structure, Mami's peace of mind, and now her medication. She had run out of samizayn a long time ago, and she wasn't taking the withdrawals well, especially since the main reason she had been taking them in the first place was to help cope with her persistent feelings of guilt for all the girls she had brought into the same system that had destroyed her, and just when she had lost that means of support, they had encountered Mephisto, who had used that guilt as a weapon against her.

And now Mami was in a very bad pace.

She hadn't said much the last few days. If anything, she was withdrawing further and further into herself. Now she was walking along, wearing a sweater despite the heat, hugging herself and shivering. Charlotte was helping her the best she could, but she could do little more than stay with her and comfort her. What Mami truly needed right now was something none of them had.

At the very least Charlotte could keep an eye on her and try to keep her from slipping too far. In fact, as they wearily plodded on through the seemingly endless channels of pink stone, she glanced over at her wife and saw, to her dismay, that Mami's eyes had gone unfocused and glassy. She wasn't looking up at the road ahead of them, at the dirt path below them, or the sky above. Her gaze was wavering, pointed to a point a few meters ahead of them. It was a look that was becoming discouragingly familiar.

Charlotte laid a hand on her wife's shoulder. "Mami," she said, her voice low but insistent.

Mami shook, and her eyes came to life. Blinking in confusion, she looked to Charlotte. Then she sighed.

"Sorry," she said. "Thank you."

Charlotte rubbed the back of Mami's neck and gave it a tight squeeze. She couldn't keep Mami fully away from the dark place, but she at least could keep her from sinking too deeply.

"Just a little further," Charlotte said. "There has to be a place to stop nearby."

"Okay," Mami said, leaning into her.

They walked a little further in silence, then Mami said, "How about the kids? Are they doing okay?"

"Them?" Charlotte looked over her shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, and that's what worries me."

…

Kyoko's eyes roved over their surroundings. "Okay," she said. "I spy with my little eye something starting with…R."

"Rock," Sayaka said.

"Damn. Okay, I spy with my little eye-"

"River."

"Nope. Starts with a C."

"Cloud."

Kyoko nodded. "Okay, I spy with my little eye something that starts with an…S."

No answer.

"Er, hello? Starts with an S? You know, like sandwich, or salami, or-"

"Kyoko," Sayaka said in a somewhat put out voice. "If it's my old name again…"

"Huh?" Then Kyoko scowled. "No, you overgrown fish stick! 'Scale'! Like the kind you have all over that floppy tail of yours!"

"Oh," Sayaka said, sounding a little abashed. "Sorry."

Kyoko just rolled her eyes.

They continued on for a bit, Kyoko just pushing Sayaka along and Sayaka getting pushed. Then the mermaid said, "So…are you saying you were checking out my tail?"

Kyoko couldn't help but smirk a little. "You're sitting on the best part. Gotta make do with what I can see."

"Are you saying I have a nice butt? Because it sounds like you're saying I have a nice butt."

"Well," Kyoko said. "It's not as good as mine, but it's okay."

"Uh-huh," Sayaka said flatly. "You know, I'm pretty sure we've had this conversation before."

"Then you should've learned the first time." Kyoko gave her rear end a swift smack. "I am the Queen of Ass, and all will bow down and worship my holy buns!"

"Kyoko, given how much you like to sit in my lap, I can say with some authority that your butt ranks as just all right. It's fine. But it's not worth starting a religion over."

"Blasphemy!" Stopping the wheelchair in its tracks, Kyoko rushed around to the front and hopped into Sayaka's lap. "Convert the nonbeliever! Convert the nonbeliever!" she cried as she ground her butt against the front of Sayaka's tail.

"Get off!" Sayaka laughed as she tried to push the redheaded butt zealot off of her. "Heretic! This is religious persecution! Call the church! Get me some holy water! We've got sacrilege taking place-"

Ahead of them, Mami suddenly whirled around. "Oh, will you two just stop!" she cried. "Just stop it already! Enough. Just stop."

Kyoko and Sayaka both froze and stared. Mami looked…well, she looked awful. Harried. She was shaking, her face was gaunt, and she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, all right," Kyoko said as she climbed off of Sayaka. "Our bad."

Shaking her head, Mami turned away from them and just kept marching on. Charlotte shot the pair an apologetic look and shrugged before putting her arm around Mami's trembling shoulders and giving her a tight squeeze.

Kyoko resumed pushing Sayaka, and the two traveled along in silence. Then Sayaka said in a low murmur, "What in the world?"

"Shhhh."

…

The four of them continued on in silence after that. Twice they stopped to rest their feet and refill their water bottles. The second time, Kyoko filled her bottle, poured it over her heart to wash the dust and sweat out, and then did it again. Sighing, she wiped the water from her eyes and combed her hair out with her fingers.

It was thankfully still growing, not as long as it had been, but still about halfway down her back. The sooner it was back to normal, the better she would feel.

Then she glanced over to Sayaka, who had slipped out of her wheelchair and was reclining in the shallows of the river. Unlike her, she had made a point to keep her blue hair the same length it had been in life.

"Hey, you ever think of growing your hair out?" Kyoko asked.

"Nope," Sayaka said. "It's so thick that growing it out any longer would just make it too heavy anytime it gets wet."

"Ah. Gotcha. Why not go bald then?"

Sayaka shot her a look.

"What? It's good look if you can pull it off."

"No thanks," Oktavia muttered as she lifted her water bottle to her lips. "Besides, you'd have a better chance of making it look halfway decent."

Kyoko wasn't sure how to take that.

As she drank deeply from her water bottle, she glanced up over her shoulder at the cliffs above them, searching for any sign of movement, of that telltale flash of maroon.

There, on the jagged boulders that made up the cliff wall, crouched a familiar-looking shadow, one with a long, low body; an armored tail, and two horns curving out of its crested head.

Good. Jerky was still following. Kyoko had been worried that since his family had lived in a swamp he wouldn't do well in a dry climate, but he was soldiering on just fine so far, or at least as far as she could tell. She just wished that she could get away to play with him a little.

Finally Charlotte stood up. "Okay, let's go," she said.

Sighing, Sayaka extended her arms, and Kyoko walked over to crouch down and lifted Sayaka up, one arm behind her back and the other cradling her tail. She laid Sayaka back into her wheelchair, they checked to make sure everything they needed was packed up, and they were off again.

And then, as they rounded another bend, something appeared. It was a sign, one extending out from the cliff wall.

PENDLE QUARRY, THE BEATING HEART OF THE HEARTLAND, it read. TWO KILOMETERS.

"Finally," Charlotte muttered. "A town."

"Can we get a hotel this time?" Kyoko said. "Not saying I don't love trying to find the softest rock as a pillow every night, but I really don't love it."

Charlotte frowned. "I don't know. I mean, our finances are okay right now, but…" She sighed. "Well, let's budget everything over lunch."

Kyoko's stomach growled noisily at the word lunch. Sayaka glanced over her shoulder at her with a smirk, and looked like she was about to say something pithy, only for her own stomach to whine as well, and much louder at that. She blinked, smiled sheepishly, and turned away.

"Exactly," Kyoko said.

They continued on, and as they did, Kyoko looked back up at the sign. She hoped that the town had a decent place to eat, at least.

Then she frowned. In one corner of the sign was an odd symbol, that of the end of an old-fashioned straw broom, stuck in a red circle with a dash through it. The heck? Did they just dislike sweeping or something?

At first, two kilometers seemed a cakewalk in comparison to the distance they had already walked. But now that they had a destination, it seemed to stretch on forever. Kyoko found herself suddenly aware of every ache, of every tired joint, of just how dry her throat was, of just how empty her stomach. The bottoms of her feet hurt, and though she was probably strong enough to juggle Sayaka, wheelchair and all, pushing her fishy friend along seemed as difficult as rolling a massive stone uphill.

Just keep at it, she told herself. One step at a time. One step at a time. It's almost over, it's almost…

And Sayaka was there, the real Sayaka, legs and all, floating across from her in that maelstrom of color and darkness, as Mephisto's dream collapsed all around them. She was screaming for help, reaching out to Kyoko as her legs began to dissolve, while the hunkering silhouette of Oktavia von Seckendorff was illuminated in the darkness behind her, ready to gobble her up-

Kyoko violently shook herself out of the memory. Ever since their little encounter with that dream bitch Mephisto, bits and pieces of that nightmare had started to intrude upon even her waking moments, if she let her attention wander too much. That's why she dislike these long marches so long, as it was all too easy to zone out. That was when they came.

She slowly breathed out. If only she didn't have to hide Jerky from the others. Playing with him helped keep her steady, helped keep the nightmares at bay. Knowing that he was near helped, but it wasn't the same.

And then Charlotte said, "There it is."

The canyon had opened up into what looked like a stone quarry, a wide, open space filled with several stone pillars connected by natural stone bridges.

The town lay nestled through the quarry, being mostly structures of clay and wood, some built around the stone pillars while others lay in the shadows of the bridges. More structures were build into the stone walls themselves, while towers, windmills, and metal antennae were on top of the pillars and bridges.

At first Kyoko was worried they had stumbled upon a mining colony, but then she noticed the personal touches, the green of plants and brightly colored cloths hanging over the walls as decoration, the various building that were obviously houses and the neon advertisements on the sides of the pillars, as well as the people just generally milling about. Okay, it was a town. A sort of unorthodox town, but hey, folks worked with what they had.

Furthermore, she was noticing a sort of aesthetic theme, in both how the houses were constructed and what the locals were wearing, one that was very familiar.

"Well, yee my haw," she said. "Cowboys."

"Girls," Charlotte corrected. "And they're just doing what's best for the heat. I doubt there's many actual cows around."

"Whatever. They're riding horses and wearing those hats. Hey, can I get a hat?"

"Let's just focus on finding something to eat and a place to stay first."

"Hey, check it out," Oktavia said, pointing.

There was a small wooden building nearby with a pointy roof, and a long and shady porch with empty chairs and benches, and judging by the sign over the door and the advertisements in the windows it was a convenience store.

"Perfect," Charlotte breathed. "Okay, let's go shopping."

They headed up to the store and onto the porch. Charlotte helped Mami sit down in one of the rocking chairs while Sayaka wheeled up next to her. Mami sighed and sank down, eyes closed and one hand resting on her forehead.

"You sure you don't want me to stay with you?" Charlotte said in concern.

Mami mumbled something and flicked her hand at her. Sayaka laid a hand on her arm.

"I'll stay with her," Sayaka said. "Don't worry."

"All right," Charlotte said dubiously. Kyoko understood her worry. It had been a long time since any of them had seen Mami in such a rotten state. "Hang tight, we'll be right back."

…

A little bell over the door rang as Kyoko and Charlotte entered the shop, which was just adorable.

Kyoko looked around. Despite her cracks about cowboys, it seemed pretty modern. Rural, but modern, with aisles of various products, foodstuffs, and household items. At the back were several glass doors to coolers full of alcohol, sodas, milk, ice cream, eggs, and anything else that might need to be chilled. In the front were several racks of souvenirs, such as sunglasses, postcards, keychains, and a whole shelf of animals carved from wood.

And yes, there was also a rack of cowboy hats. Kyoko wanted one.

Behind the counter, a white girl with long, curly orange hair was busy stocking packets of cigarettes. "I'll be with you folks in a moment," she called over her shoulder.

"No rush," Charlotte told her. She had pulled out a notepad and was scribbling something on it. "Here," she said, tearing off the paper and handing it to Kyoko. "I need you to find these."

Kyoko frowned at her list. It was stuff like toilet paper, matches, sunblock, and other traveling essentials.

"Yes, I'm taking the food," Charlotte told her.

"Why can't I?" Kyoko whined.

"Because you'll just stock up on snacks instead of real food," Charlotte retorted.

"Snacks are real food."

Charlotte tapped the paper Kyoko held. "You can choose some snacks afterward. For now, this."

"Fine, fine," Kyoko groused as she headed into the aisles.

Then Charlotte grabbed her by the sleeve and pulled her in close.

"What?" Kyoko said, irritably pulling away.

Charlotte glanced to the cashier, who still hadn't faced them. She leaned in close and whispered, "No sticky fingers."

Kyoko slowly inhaled and breathed out. "Haven't been about that life since I was alive," she muttered as she headed off. "You get all delinquent once and people never let you forget it. Hey, who's the real criminal here? I never signed no paper, so at least I'm not a war criminal or whatever the hell your guys are calling you now."

…

Oktavia said with Mami, keeping an eye on her.

Mami looked like she had a migraine. She was slumped slightly forward, resting her face in one hand with the other crossed over her stomach.

Grimacing, Oktavia looked around. There weren't many of the locals around. Across the street four girls were standing around talking, wearing an eclectic mix of bits that looked like they came out of the Old West, bits of more modern fashion, and some bits that were clearly afterlife exclusive. But their dress did seem more practical than decorative, which she supposed made sense.

Then she looked back to Mami. Sighing, Oktavia leaned in and said in a low voice, "Uh, Mami? Are you going to be okay?"

Mami slowly breathed out. "I…I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean to be all snappy. I just-"

"I know. You ran out of your medicine."

"Yeah." Mami leaned forward and gingerly rubbed her fingertips into her forehead. "And now…I just can't…can't get them out of my head."

Oktavia frowned. "Them?"

"Them. Their faces. E-Everyone Mephisto showed me. Everyone I used to know back then, that I got caught up in all of this."

Oh. Oh, no. "Mami, it wasn't your fault," Oktavia said. She touched her senior on the shoulder. "I-"

"It is!" Mami suddenly snapped, slamming her hands onto the chairs armrests. "It's totally my fault! Mephisto ate Brooke Alexander, and it's all my fault! She wouldn't even have taken a contract if it wasn't for me! And the others…" Wet tears shone around her eyes, and she hunched over, her face in her hands.

Oktavia swallowed. She had known that Mami was in a bad way, but this was way more than she had been expecting, and she wasn't sure what to say.

So she said nothing. She just entwined Mami's hand with her own and held it tight, letting Mami cry. What else could she do?

Then she heard the sound of footsteps in the gravel. It was one of the girls that had been talking across the street, walking toward them. She had olive skin, curly pink hair, and pink eyes. She was wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt beneath a pair of worker's overalls and heavy brown boots. On her head was a wide-brimmed straw hat.

"Um, pardon me," she said to the pair.

"Uh, yeah?" Oktavia said, looking toward her.

The girl ignored her, instead looking to Mami. "Ma'am? Excuse me, Ma'am."

Sighing, Mami leaned back and let her hand drop. "Yes?" she said testily.

"I'm assuming you're…new in town?" the girl said.

"Yes. We're just passing through."

"I see." The girl bit her lower lip, glanced briefly at the perplexed Oktavia, and then back at Mami. "Well, I don't wanna tell you your business, but you probably shouldn't be bringing her out in public all brazenly like that. It ain't exactly good manners."

"Excuse me?" Mami blinked. "Bring what out? I don't understand."

Sighing, the girl leaned in close. "Your witch," she said. "Parading her about like that. "It's making folk…uncomfortable."

…

Ignoring Kyoko's whining, Charlotte moved through the aisles, perusing through the canned goods. The store didn't have a lot of variety, but at least they had a lot of stuff suited for long journeys, and she had no trouble finding many of the necessities.

Then, as she rounded one aisle, she paused.

There was a rack of magazines. They were the usual kind one might expect: hobby-focused, fashion, sports, a few she assumed were pornographic hidden behind a black placard, tabloid, news, that sort of thing. Some were of plain paper, others were enchanted to be animated.

But what was strange was that they also carried issues of The Crucible. Now, that was odd. The Crucible was a somewhat notorious publication that claimed to be centered on human issues, but the truth was that it was mostly filled with xenophobic bile and some truly appalling conspiracy theories about other species. Back during her second year in Freehaven, Charlotte had gone through a weird phase in which she had been morbidly fascinated with afterlife conspiracy theorists. Given how weird the afterlife was, there were some real doozies to be found. This had stopped when she met some people who had watched the same videos as her, and to her dismay, did not find them entertaining in their lunacy, but instead actually took them seriously.

But what was more concerning were the many issues of The Inquisitor. Now that one Charlotte was very familiar with, as it was owned by one particularly loudmouthed pundit that she used to spend a lot of time doom-binging. The person in question was known for her volatile…anti-witch views, claiming that witches were still monsters, and the idea that they were former magical girls who had succumbed to despair and only regained some measure of humanity in death was nothing more than anti-wish propaganda.

Charlotte had yet to really meet anyone that took her seriously, but she knew that many people did. Not really in a place like Freehaven, but Freehaven was something of an anomaly.

Shaken, she took the basket up to the front counter, where Kyoko was chatting with the girl behind the counter.

"Yeah, honestly, all the wandering around really loses its appeal really quickly," Kyoko was saying. "After the third or fourth thing trying to eat you, you start praying to find a cave that doesn't have any monsters. Like, that's all you want at that point."

"You poor thing," the girl said sympathetically. "I know just what you mean. I did a bit of wandering myself before coming here."

"Crazy, isn't it?"

"Oh, absolutely insane. That's why I was so glad to settle down here. Finally a place where folks are decent, ain't nothing trying to chew you up, and hags know better than to…" Her voice trailed off when she saw Charlotte.

As for Charlotte, she went stiff immediately. Hags.

The cashier stared long and hard at Charlotte. And when she spoke, her voice had lost all of the warmth and kindness she had used when talking to Kyoko. "Lady, you better be from some weirdo place where bleaching your skin is some sort of fashion statement."

Charlotte stared back. "Beg your pardon?"

"Now, I know there are places that don't get a whole lot of sun, but there's pale and there's…" The girl gestured vaguely at Charlotte. "Whatever you've got going on."

"Ah," Charlotte said as she slowly set her basket down on the counter and began to move toward the door. "No. This is my natural skin color."

"Ah." The girl's eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to focus on a point just behind Charlotte. "And I'm guessing that ain't some kinky ornament neither."

"No, this is an actual tail," Charlotte said.

Though she had no way of way of knowing the situation they had stumbled into, Kyoko did know trouble when she saw it. "Hey, what's going on?" she said, straightening up.

The girl then turned to glare at her. "You have some nerve," she said. "Bringing that into my store."

"Bringing what? Charlotte, what's-"

Charlotte carefully laid a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "Kyoko. We're leaving."

"Huh? But we didn't even buy anything! That was the whole point of-"

"We're. Leaving."

Kyoko might be a hothead and reckless to boot, but she wasn't stupid. She recognized the warning in Charlotte's voice and thankfully decided to let herself be led outside without protesting further. Moving as quickly as she could without breaking into an outright run, Charlotte hustled Kyoko to the door, the girl behind the counter glowering at them the whole way.

…

"Excuse me?" Mami said, her tone suddenly crisp and sharp. "My witch?"

The pink-haired girl's mouth set in a straight line. "Now look," she said. "I know other places…think differently, but this is supposed to be a haven for those hurt by ha…by witches. People here all lost their lives, lost their homes, lost their families because of those monsters. So you-"

"Whoa, hey!" Oktavia protested. "I'm not a monster! You don't even know me!"

The girl continued to ignore her. "-so you just parading one around strikes me as really insensitive. I mean, how did you die? Were you killed by a witch?"

Mami's hands were starting to tightening on the chair's armrests. "Why yes," she said. "I actually was."

"So how would you feel if someone showed up with the witch that killed you. Would kind of feel like they were taunting you, wouldn't it?"

"The heck you talking about?" Oktavia demanded. "I never killed any of you! I never killed any-"

At that moment, the door to the store opened, and Charlotte and Kyoko exited, both of them looking very shaken up about something.

Upon seeing Charlotte, the girl immediately straightened up, her eyes going wide.

"I'd like to introduce you to the witch that killed me," Mami told her. "Who is also my wife, the love of my life."

"You married your own murderer?" the girl said. She looked to Kyoko. "And let me guess: the fish killed you so you decided to marry it too."

"It?" Oktavia said, bristling.

"The hell is going on here?" Kyoko exclaimed. "No, I'm the one that killed her! And I'm fourteen, way too young to get married!"

The girl's eyes flashed. "You hunted it. You killed it. So what are you doing here?"

"Uh, because she's a friend of mine that I didn't want to die alone, and I didn't feel like sticking around to become a witch myself, so I decided to go for a double-kill?"

"Become a witch?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh. I see. Y'all are some of them."

Kyoko looked the girl up and down. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about," she said coldly. "But so far you've done nothing but insult my friends and talk a lot of stupid. So I'd back off if I were you."

The girl shot her a look that was both pitying and condescending. "Look, you folks should just leave," she said in exasperation. "Whatever you wanna do with your lives is your business, but don't be bringing it into our town." She pointed down the road that cut through the town, leading to a break in the canyon walls, beyond which was open ground. "Look, if you need a place to stay, there's a ranch about five kilometers north of here. They're…more open to that sort of thing. So go there."

Kyoko's face had turned bright red. She opened her mouth to start shouting again, but then Charlotte laid a hand on her shoulders.

"Guys, let's just go," she said.

"Wait a minute, we don't have to take this!" Oktavia protested. "What kind of lame-"

"Oktavia! Let's. Go."

Oktavia looked as indignant as Kyoko, but she glanced at Charlotte and gave a brief nod.

Mami wearily stood up, and the four of them moved off the porch and back onto the road.

Compared to the road they had spent several days traveling, Pendle Hill was a mere fraction of its length. And yet, as they moved through the town, it felt so much longer.

They were aware of every eye following them, every glare, every sneer, every look of shock. Kyoko's hands clenched, ready to summon her spear at a moment's notice, while Mami looked awake and alert for the first time in day, just as prepared for violence.

Still, no one made a move to stop them. No one even said anything. There were no taunts, no slurs.

But the malice radiating toward them was palpable.

Finally they reached the gap in the stone wall. Beyond, the road cut through a field of wild grass. It was still hot and dry, but it was much better than moving through the desert, and way better than going through that town.

Still, no one said anything until they were well out of sight of Pendle Quarry.

And that was when Charlotte broke.

She had been calm and reserved the whole way from the store, walking methodically forward while staring straight ahead. But now that they were far away she came to a full stop.

"Oh, what is it now?" Kyoko complained. "Don't tell me we've got some new shit already."

Charlotte didn't respond. Instead, she turned and headed into the grass.

"Uh, where are you going?" Oktavia said. "Char? Charlotte?"

"Hey, Charly!" Kyoko called. "The hell are you headed for? There's nothing-"

Charlotte stopped next to a lonesome tree. She turned toward it.

And then she kicked it.

Kyoko and Oktavia both fell silent as Charlotte went to town on the tree: kicking, punching, and striking at the trunk with her forearms and elbows, all the while screaming every obscenity that she knew.

"God-fucking-damn it! Stupid fucking backward-ass idiot bigots, what the fuck is wrong with them? We're fucking dead and they still believe those stupid fucking lies, probably stuff their mouths full of Incubator cock-"

The tree's trunk splintered.

Charlotte froze, one hand still cocked. There was a creak, and the tree started to tilted.

Then Charlotte scowled. She slammed her fist into the trunk one last time, knocking it loose and causing it to tumble over.

That done, she headed back to the other three, who were all staring silently at her.

"Right," she growled. "Let's keep fucking moving."

…

Again they were moving, this time through windswept fields instead of dry deserts. It was no less fun going though. If anything, things were so much more tense now.

In time it seemed like they were moving toward more lush lands, as the grass became greener and more healthy looking, and more trees began to appear. There were even a few flowers dotting the fields, and up ahead, they saw what was unmistakably a forest nestled in the field to their right.

Kyoko pointed. "Hey. Look at that."

A path branched off from the main road, cutting through the field and into the forest. A sign curved over the path's entrance, one that read, "Wonderland Ranch."

"A ranch," Charlotte said, staring. "What about it?"

"Well, that bitch did say that ranches might actually be more welcoming to us, didn't she?"

"Yeah, I'm not exactly inclined to trust anything she says," Charlotte said tersely.

"So, what? We just keep going and hope we end up someplace better?"

"Yes, Kyoko! We keep going, because clearly this place doesn't want us!"

"And how much further is that?" Kyoko snapped back. "We're out of food, we've barely slept, we're falling to pieces here!"

"Oh, now you care about that? I thought you were all about keeping going and going and going-"

"Guys," Oktavia said testily. "Can you not? Please?"

The two arguing girls turned their glares toward her, both annoyed at being interrupted. In answer, Oktavia pointed a finger to a spot over by the side of the road. When they saw what she was pointing at, the anger on their faces softened, with Charlotte looking a little ashamed.

Mami had sunk down to sit on the edge of the road her legs brought up to her chest. She was pressing her face to her knees and crying.

Sighing, Charlotte sat down in the road next to her. "Hey," she said, wrapping her arms around Mami's shoulders and hugging her against herself. "I'm sorry. Stress just…got to me, I guess."

Mami shook her head. "It's not that. I just…I can't go on much farther. I feel like I'm breaking apart here, and the one place I thought we could rest in turned out to be full of a bunch of witchaphobes! I can't…I just can't…"

Charlotte made a face. She glanced up to Kyoko, who was standing with one hand in her shorts pocket, the other fingering her necklace, saying nothing.

"Do you want to try the ranch?" she said to Mami.

Mami hesitated, and then nodded. "Yes," she said. "I want to try the ranch."

"Okay," Charlotte murmured. She leaned in to kiss Mami gently on the forehead. "Let's try the ranch then."

…

One immediate benefit of heading for Wonderland Ranch was that it meant heading into the shade of the forest. The drop of temperature was both immediate and a huge relief. Also, the ground was softer, which made walking just a little bit easier.

Still, when the promised ranch didn't immediately appear, even Kyoko was starting to wonder if they had been suckered again.

Then Charlotte frowned. "Hey," she said. "You guys hear that?"

From up ahead they could hear what sounded like a young girl grunting as she struggled with something heavy, coupled with the sound of a heavy chain clinking through a wheel.

"Um…huh," Kyoko said.

Oktavia sighed. "Please don't be some sort of monster that wants to eat us again."

"It…doesn't sound like a monster," Charlotte said.

"That means diddly-squat!"

"Let's go and see," Kyoko said.

They moved further into the forest, leaves crunching beneath their feet and the wheels of Sayaka's chair.

And then they finally saw who was making the noise.

There, in the clearing, was a round well of stone, right out of the storybooks, complete with a cylindrical wooden cone painted dark green sitting on four wood posts over the well's mouth. Hanging from the cone was an iron wheel pulley, and threaded through the it was a large metal chain, half of which extended down into the well.

The other half was being held by a girl. She was slender, with long, curly dark hair and bright red eyes. She wore baggy overalls, heavy boots, and a loose white tank-top. And she was struggling to pull what was probably a bucket of water out of the well. She seemed to be having a difficult time of it though, judging by how she was pulling and straining to make any progress.

Also, she was a witch. Her arms were much longer than they ought to be and shimmered green, grey and black, and her hands seemed to be made from blobs of midnight, large mitts with stubby fingers that gripped the chain. And the visible skin of her back beneath her tanktop seemed to be patterned like a brick wall. It could be a tattoo, but that was unlikely.

"Come…on…" she seethed as she took one belabored step after another, hauling the chain along with both hands. "Come on, come on…"

Everyone all exchanged looks. This wasn't exactly what they had expected to find.

"Uh…" Kyoko said. She raised a hand and opened her mouth to call out, but Charlotte reached over and lowered Kyoko's hand and shook her head. Understanding, Kyoko nodded. At this point, distracting the girl would probably do more harm than good.

"Almost…there…" The girl turned around and dug her heels into the ground as she tried to pull the chain while moving backwards. Judging by the deep gouges in the grass, this wasn't the first time she had done so.

And then Oktavia sneezed.

"Huh?" The girl glanced over, but even that quick distraction was enough to make her lose focus. Her foot slipped, and she lost her balance, which almost meant losing her grip on the chain. Panicking, she lunged forward to grab it again, and in her desperation, she opened her mouth wide, and her tongue came out.

That gave those staring a small jolt. Her tongue was huge, long, and thick, and it wrapped itself around and around the chain, as if that would give her a better grip.

Unfortunately, she had already lost her footing.

Whatever it was she was pulling out of the well plummeted back down, and it took the girl with it. She was yanking wailing along, hit her head on the wooden cone, and tumbled into the depths of the well.

Moments later there was a splash.

"My God," Charlotte said, staring. "She's like a living cartoon character."

Shaking her head, Kyoko, Charlotte, and Mami all rushed over to the well. "Um, are you all right?" Mami called, her voice echoing through the stone tunnel.

There was a pause, and then came the sound of limbs thumping across stone very rapidly ascending, and moments later the girl burst up out of the well with a loud gasp and slumped over the side.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she insisted. "Who are you?"

"Just some travelers passing through," Charlotte said. She held out her hand, and the girl gladly took it with her big mitts. "We heard you struggling, and thought we'd see if anyone needed help."

"Well, should've shown up a few seconds earlier," the girl complained as she sloshed out of the well. She began wringing out her clothes and her long, dark hair. One particularly curly strand sprung up on the top of her head. "I hate that thing. Carola, by the way!"

"Well, I'm Charlotte," came the reply. "This is my wife, Mami, and our friends Kyoko and Oktavia. We tried to find a place to say over in Pendle Quarry, but, um…"

Carola stared at her in disbelief. "In Pendle Quarry? But you're a witch, ain't'cha?"

Oktavia's eye twitched. Kyoko's jaw tightened. Mami said and did nothing.

"Yeah, well, we're new around here," Charlotte said. "Wasn't aware that folks here were so…"

"Fucking stupid bigots?"

"Well, I was going to say backwards," Charlotte said. "We're from Freehaven, so it was kind of…a culture shock."

Carola stared blankly. "What's Freehaven?"

"It's…uh…never mind. Hey, we heard something about some kind of ranch that could help?"

"Wonderland Ranch? Oh yeah, good choice! It's not too far from here. Hey, tell yah what? How about you help me with this danged bucket, and I'll treat you folks to dinner, and then we can all head there together!"

Charlotte and Kyoko both exchanged a look, silently conveying the same thought. After everything they had been through, any offer of help was to be met with suspicion, especially after that nasty shock back at the town.

But to their surprise, it was Mami that made the call. "That…sounds great," she said. "Thank you, Carola."

"No prob!" Carola grabbed onto the chain again. "You folks ain't the first to come through here after running into those pricks."

Kyoko and Charlotte both grabbed onto the chain, and after a moment Mami did as well. With the four of them working together, they were able to haul the bathtub-sized bucket out of the well with little difficulty.

"Why do you use such a big bucket?" Kyoko asked as they gingerly poured it into the waiting tank. "Like, how much water do you even need?"

"Oh, lots. With all the mouths I have back at home, we go through it pretty quickly."

"Mouths?" Charlotte said.

"Yeah, my sisters! You'll meet them later. C'mon!"

Carola fitted the harness over her shoulders and started marching, dragging the tank behind her. Charlotte and Kyoko exchanged another look, both of them shrugged, and they got behind the tank and started pushing, helping Carola along. Oktavia wheeled herself just behind them, sparing some magic to superimpose a couple of glowing wheels over those of her wheelchair to propel herself along, while Mami brought up the rear, following the rest with a very strange look on her face.

…

"Here we are!" Carola declared. "Home sweet home!"

In contrast to the rugged structures of Pendle Quarry, Carola's house was more earthy, a cottage with walls of grey stone brick, round windows, and an honest-to-God thatched roof. It looked like something straight out of the storybooks, the sort that the forest witch might take up residence in.

Which, Kyoko reflected, was sort of literally the truth.

They moved the tank over to the side of the house. "Yeah, just leave it here," Carola said as she slipped out of the harness. "I'll take care of it in a minute."

She then darted over to the front of the house while fishing around in her jacket pocket before taking out a ring of keys. "Open, sesame oil!" she declared as she stuck an old-fashioned iron key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. Once open, she ran inside.

"Well, she's just a big ball of energy, isn't she?" Charlotte noted as she walked with the others toward the open front door.

"Kind of like Kyoko when she's had too much sugar," Sayaka remarked.

Kyoko frowned at her. "I'm not like that. Am I like that?"

"You're…kinda like that."

They followed Carola into the house. It was dark, but it smelled good. Someone had been baking.

"Look alive, girls!" Carola called. "We have guests!"

And then someone turned on the lights.

Several iron lanterns were lit up all at once, and Kyoko and her friends found themselves in what looked like a large sitting room, one with a considerable amount of chairs.

And in each and every one of those chairs sat a Carola.

It was as if someone had copied and pasted her over and over again, each one of them with the same face, the same hair, the same eyes, and the same body. However, unlike Carola, these weren't witches, as their arms were completely normal.

And yet they were far more unsettling, as they all wore strange, vacant smiles that looked like someone had told them that they ought to smile while greeting guests but no one had ever taught them how. Everywhere she looked, Kyoko was being stared at by a duplicate face wearing an artificial expression.

"Oh," Charlotte said as the other three stared back in stunned silence. "Well, this is…unexpected."

…

Happy nine year anniversary! Jesus, this thing is still going.

So hey, just saying this right up front: yes, this arc will deal with prejudice, but while there will be some deliberate parallels and unmistakable similarities, don't take it as a one-to-one analogy for real life racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. This is a fictional world with its own history and its own messy culture, so trying to do an analogy for real life bigotry in this story just isn't something I feel equipped to do and would probably screw up.

That having been said, despite the really heavy first chapter, this arc is actually going to be a whole lot lighter than ones previous. Time to give the girls a bit of a break.

And since this is the anniversary, I have a big announcement!

You know how often I've talked about wanting to become a published author, how I took a few years off to write my first book? Well, that is done like I said, and I'm still working on how to get it published.

However, I also talked of another project I wanted to work on, an adventure story that would combine pirates, vampires, and dinosaurs. This was originally put on hold when my computer was stolen, which included all the work I had done so far. However, I've decided to go ahead and return to it, and release it for free online, chapter by chapter like I do with my fanfics.

And it's been live for the last few months.

So yeah, I now have accounts on fictionpress, wattpad, royalroad, and archive of our own. Tomorrow I'll update my profile to have all the necessary links, but until then, be sure to check out Blood Island by TakerFoxx, on whichever platform you wish!

Until next time, everyone!