Jim and Claire stepped out of the shadow portal and onto the ledge above the bridge-spanned canal. They made the trip down, stopping in the bridge's shadow.

From a pocket, Claire pulled a horngazel that fit in the palm of her hand.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Blinky made it for me from the one he broke getting out of the dragon trolls' Trollmarket back in Hong Kong."

Jim's recently healed hand ached. It was the same piece he'd picked up barehanded while it was active.

"How else were you planning on getting in? Sending Blinky a telepathic signal?" Claire said.

"Can't you portal in?"

"I could, but with the way Trollmarket is now, I could just as easily portal us into midair as onto solid ground. Even locking onto Blinky or AAARRRGGHH! as an emotional anchor might not be completely safe. It's not an emergency. Better to walk in and be sure of where we're going."

"You got us into a New York subway train going 55."

"That was an emergency. Plus, it's only been a week since I portaled a Titan all the way from Mexico."

A car engine chugged over the bridge.

"Who's driving around here? Almost nobody's been on the roads since the Titans hit." Claire put the horngazel away and retreated further into the bridge's shadow.

"Only ones I've seen in vehicles in the last week are Blinky when he picked me up the other day and the guys from Area 49-B ferrying over supplies in trucks," Jim said.

The vehicle—a white '02 Camry—turned onto the street running parallel to the canals. It slowed to a crawl.

Out-of-state plates.

When the car stopped, Jim's stomach twisted. "Anybody you know here have relatives in New York?" he whispered.

"Oh no…" Claire groaned as a professionally dressed woman in her mid-thirties got out and rounded the car. "It's that reporter—the one from the train wreck—right before Tobes, AAARRRGGHH!, Nari, and me got taken to the 109th precinct."

The woman's attention shifted from the bridge to her phone until Jim thought she would get vertigo from the constant switching.

"At least the internet's still out." Jim edged into the shadows with Claire. If he didn't move too quickly, the woman might not see him. "Can you portal us out of here?"

"Not without her noticing."

He propped Excalibur against the bridge base. "Stay in front of the sword," he whispered to Claire.

"What if she sees me?"

"We'll make sure she doesn't."

"Hey!" The woman waved to them from the lip of the canal. "Hey there! Is this Arcadia Oaks?"

Jim stayed between the woman and Claire, keeping her face hidden. "Uh, yeah."

"What happened here?" She gestured to the ruined town.

Jim fished for a believable explanation. "Um, earthquake—really bad. Even had a lava incident toward the center of town."

"Oh really? I'd love to see that."

If Jim could have smacked himself in the face, he would have. "It's—it's not really that interesting. You should probably take the bypass around town—get on your way quicker without having to worry about popping a tire." Please, leave. Please, leave. No! Don't come down here!

The woman picked her way from the street down into the canal. Her black flats slipped twice, but she kept her footing. "Bianca Newberry." She extended a hand.

Not knowing what else to do, Jim took it. "Jim."

"Who's your friend?" Bianca looked over Jim's shoulder, but he stepped into her line of sight before she could get a clear view of Claire. "And why's she wearing her jacket over her head?"

"Uh… This is my girlfriend. She's… having a bad hair day."

"Oh, tell me about it." Bianca ran her fingers through dense, shoulder-length, brown hair. "Vacationed in Florida a couple years ago. Worst mistake I ever made. Took two weeks to get my hair to behave again."

"Thanks." Claire's jacket muffled her voice.

"Whatcha got there?" Bianca pointed to Excalibur's golden hilt.

Should've left it in the bag. "It's a prop—from school. We borrowed it for some… LARPing."

"Oh yeah, I read about some closet LARPers who lived here." Bianca took out her phone but frowned as she waved it in the air, trying to get a signal. "Cell service must be out."

"Yeah. Wait—read where?"

"Oh, I follow lots of people online. Helps me find stories no one else can." She opened her photo app. "Here. I saved a screenshot. It has a picture of this bridge." She turned the phone so Jim could see it.

The screenshot was from a photo and video sharing site, and though the profile icon was small, he knew whose it was. The 2.3M follower count made him want to find the nearest trash can and leave his breakfast in it. marywangworld22.

"This girl says she lives here." Bianca pointed to Mary's profile picture. "Have you met her? Based on what she says, she must be popular. At first, I thought she'd altered some of her photos, but something happened in New York City last week that made me reconsider. Has anything odd ever happened here?"

If circumstances were different, Jim would have laughed. "Not any more than… usual." He avoided the question about Mary altogether. "It was good to meet you. I should get my girlfriend home—and this prop back to school." He picked up Excalibur. "It's three miles to the bypass. That way." He pointed back the way Bianca had come. "Have a nice day." He waved to her as he guided Claire up the embankment on the other side of the canal.

They walked until Jim was sure they were out of sight of the bridge. "We've got to warn everyone. The Chronosphere will have to wait a few hours."