Okay, that was a while. I mainly blame grad school applications and my own perfectionism.

Chapter 2: Another Story Must Begin

July 10, 07 AC

Despite the fact that she had stayed up late waiting outside, Anna woke early. She returned to the sturdy chair outside to continue her watch. Aunt Clara had banished Anna from the infirmary the previous night, claiming that Anna would wear a hole in the floor.

Anna blinked her eyes. Not for the first time since Calamity's rise, she wished she had coffee. Alas, useful things like working trade were long in the past. Out here at least, Anna thought. Again, she wondered what life would have been like had she settled down in one of the cities. The descriptions Ed gave her almost seemed like places out of another world. Places full of wonder. And danger, she thought. Not that there's any shortage of that here.

She glared down into her cup of tea. It was some herbal blend Aunt Clara had stashed away before Permafrost had come. There was far too much chamomile in it for her taste, and if Anna had to be honest, she could tell why it was still in her cupboard. At least it was warm.

Anna jumped, spilling some of her tea on her, as the door to the infirmary opened.

"You are still there, aren't you," Aunt Clara said as Anna wiped the tea off her skirt.

"Are you kidding? This is the most interesting thing that's happened here in weeks," Anna replied. Aunt Clara sighed and looked off into the distance, before looking back at her niece. "Any idea how she got here?"

"No," Aunt Clara replied, closing her eyes. "That's what worries me," she said. "No one just goes on a hike around here without a good reason."

"It could be just curiosity," Anna said. "You have to admit, anyone walking through here would think the weather is acting pretty weird, even for here."

"I hope it's that." Aunt Clara looked away again. Anna could tell she was keeping something from her, though she wasn't sure how far she wanted to press it.

"Something weird is going on, isn't it," Anna said. "Something weirder than a mystery woman in the woods, I mean."

Aunt Clara sighed and closed her eyes. "There wasn't any frostbite. None. Even though she had to have been out there for hours." She looked up at Anna. "There weren't any other layers you took off before I got there?"

"There were a couple of wet things, yeah," Anna said. "She definitely wasn't dressed for the weather, though." Anna stopped. "You don't think-"

"I hope I'm wrong."

"But you don't think so."

"There were other things too. Her recovery in general-"

"Way too quick, right?" Aunt Clara nodded. "There's one thing that doesn't make sense. If she could heal so fast, why was there that big gash on her side? It was bleeding so much it was the only way I even knew she was there."

"Anna, you are not to ask her about that."

"You think it's something to do with her weakness, don't you."

"Anna-"

"You're probably right. Epics do get tetchy about those." She scratched her chin. "How are you going to explain that? You obviously treated her for it." Anna blinked. "Didn't you?"

"The world may have ended, Anna, but I still have ethics," Aunt Clara said. "To answer your question, I'm hoping that she doesn't know I know about her healing."

Anna raised her eyebrows. "And you think that's going to work?"

"I can't see any better options."

Anna hugged her aunt. "With any luck, she'll be gone soon."

Aunt Clara sighed. "I suppose you're right." She looked out the window at the downpour of snow. "There's not really much to conquer out here, anyway."

Anna slapped her forehead. "Sparks," she said. Aunt Clara looked vaguely alarmed. "No, it's nothing about the woman. I just remembered I had to go make a delivery at Dan's today." She turned to leave. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid until I get back?"
"Isn't that my line?" Aunt Clara asked.

Anna sighed. "Maybe. It's just, your sense of tact-"

"I promise," Aunt Clara said.

Anna was nearly out the door when her aunt spoke again. "I nearly killed her," she said.

The words hung heavy in the air. "It was when I discovered there wasn't any frostbite."

"After Permafrost, no one would have blamed you."

"That's what scares me. When I became a doctor, I made a promise. That I would throw that away so easily-" She shook her head. "I couldn't do it. She was in my care—I guess it's true what they say. Being around Epics really does bring out the worst in people."

"You didn't do it. That's what matters," Anna said. Not to mention even if you had, it may have been a public service.

Aunt Clara shook her head. "I'll have to live with it, either way."

"There's another thing, too," Anna said. "The whole setup, how I found her-"She paused, trying to figure out how to word her next sentence. "You don't walk into the storm by accident. And if you do it on purpose, you don't do it in a T-shirt."

Aunt Clara put her hand on her face. "This is just getting messier and messier."

Anna shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe she thought her powers would protect her from the cold."

"You don't think so."

"I really don't know," Anna said. The alternative was impossible. Most Epics were arrogance personified. She had never heard of one doing something like killing themselves.

"I'll just be happier when she's gone," Aunt Clara said. "Something weird is going on, and we have other things to worry about right now." She put her hands on her hips. "Speaking of which-"

"I know, I'll get going. Let me know if anything happens."

The woman on the hospital bed was not supposed to wake up. She stared up at the blank, white ceiling, in shock. The woman had fallen asleep in the middle of a snowstorm, far from any civilization or hope of rescue. The chances of someone finding her were probably less than a million to one. Still—Whatever. All it meant was that she was luckier than she had any right to be.

Another woman, graying and probably in her sixties or seventies, came over to her side and folded her arms. "You're awake," she said. "You sure chose a funny place to go for a walk."

"Doc-"the injured woman said. The woman was probably some kind of doctor, right? "Thanks for the pickup and all, but you really should have left me where I was."

Nobody said anything for several seconds. The silence was broken by a young, short-haired blonde woman bursting through the door. "I heard voices," she said very quickly. "It's good to see you're awake." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Anna, and this is my aunt Clara." The woman on the bed stared at her outstretched hand. "What's your name?"

Going straight for the hard questions, I see, thought the nameless woman. She tried to speak the name she had used many times before this, but it didn't fit. No, she thought. No more lies. I need something different this time. She wracked her brain. The names she had used before seemed so corny, so stale. She smiled. What could be more novel than the truth? "Ash," she finally said. "Short for Ashley."

Calamity, that name still sounded odd. Whatever. It wasn't as if she'd be using it for very long. If everything went well, she would be out of town as soon as Clara would let her. Or as soon as she could sneak out. Whichever happened first. She looked up at Anna and Clara. They were unnaturally thin, and their faces seemed far more lined than they should have been, even for someone of Clara's age. They had clearly suffered more than enough. No need to add to it, she thought.

Clara folded her arms. "You didn't answer my question," she said.

"Wait," Ash said, more than a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "You were asking one?"

"Let me make it clearer," Clara said. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Anna glared at her, the bright tone of her voice slipping momentarily. "What happened to not disturbing the patient?" she said. Clara ignored her and continued glaring at Ash.

Ash chose her words carefully. "I was—traveling. I saw the snow, and got curious." Best not to tell them her real reason for being out there. "And I'm no one special," she said. That part was mostly true.

Clara turned away to look at her notes and grumbled something about "natural selection."

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Anna jumped in. "Sorry," she said. "She can be a bit gruff with people she doesn't know well."

Anna's aunt put up air quotes. " 'She' is right here." Anna groaned and shook her head.

"So you're the good cop?" Ash said.

Anna stared at her aunt again. "This isn't supposed to be an interrogation."

Clara turned to Anna. "We know nothing about this woman," she said. "We need to be cautious."

"I can't think of any way she could make things any worse than they are now," Anna said. "I know you're still scared from what happened last time, but I don't think that's what's going on here."

"You were too trusting last time, too."

"If it were like last time, I think we'd know by now."

As they continued to argue, Ash wondered how long it would take for them to realize she was still sitting there. She cautiously cleared her throat. Both women stopped talking and stared at Ash. "Um, stupid question, but what's this 'last time' everyone keeps referring to?"

Anna sighed and started to respond, but was cut off by Clara. "A few months back, we found a young man in a very similar situation to you." Clara gave Ash a look that seemed to bore into her very soul. "As we later found out, he was an Epic."

Oh. If they find out what I am, Ash thought, it is not going to be pretty. Luckily for everyone involved, she wasn't going to stick around long enough for anyone to do that. "I take it he reacted with the typical amount of gratitude?" Though, that said, the fact that they're both still alive and have all their limbs suggests more gratitude than most.

Anna winced. "You could say that."

"And I don't suppose the unseasonable snowstorm outside has anything to do with this?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Figured. It seemed permanent even for here."

"Like I said, you chose the wrong place to take a walk."

"Ah." There was a long silence.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" Anna said, in a transparent attempt to change the subject. The tone of her voice was as cheerful as ever. How can she be so sparking perky,Ash thought. Doesn't she realize it's the end of the world?

It was a few seconds before Ash realized she had forgotten to answer her question. What am I even going to say, she thought. Most of the hobbies I've had recently really aren't fit for polite company. Or any company, really. Ash scrunched up her face. "I used to act pre-Calamity."

"That's...recent," Anna said.

"I mostly just sit around and brood, now," Ash said. Ah, sarcasm. The greatest defense against ever having to give people straight answers.

Anna's face fell. Sparks, I could make a mint off her at poker, Ash thought. "Let me guess, that's your hobby, too?"

An almost wistful look crossed Anna's face. "Not exactly," she said.

"If you're done with that 'fascinating' conversation," Clara said, making Anna jump. "I'd like to talk to my niece." She glared at Ash. "In private."

"I trust you won't run off?"

Ash looked at the hospital bed she was lying in, and lack of any doors besides the one the two women were exiting through. "Wouldn't dream of it." Yet.

Once they were safely out of earshot, Anna glared at her aunt. "What was that about? I know you don't like strangers much, but that was ridiculous."

"You know what happened with Permafrost," Aunt Clara said.

"I'm pretty sure at this point, Permafrost did a helluva lot more than just make a few snarky comments." Anna sighed. "Anyway, if she is an Epic, do you really think the best move is deliberately antagonizing her?"

"I wasn't trying—"

"I know. You never do." Anna wiped at her face. "Sparks. I'm crying again."

Aunt Clara opened her arms up to give Anna a hug. She smiled, and hugged her aunt back. After a few seconds, she let go. "Try to be nice, at least until she's gone," Anna said. "You're the only family I've got."

"I suppose whatever I say won't matter if she ends up killing us in our sleep."

Anna glared at her aunt. "Don't even joke about that."

"At least she'll be better in a few days and then we'll be back to Permafrost killing us as usual."

Anna looked up at her aunt and smiled. "Something tells me not even that's gonna last forever."

"You are entirely too optimistic."

"You might be right." Anna shook her head. "I'm still not sure that's a bad thing, though."

Anna sighed. "There's something else, isn't there," Aunt Clara said.

"Yeah," Anna said. "I've been thinking about how we found her. What's to say she won't just get better, leave, then try the same thing again?"

"Anna, we have more important things to deal with."

"Like what? We claim we're trying to survive here, but we don't do the one thing we know can save ourselves."

"We've talked about this before." Aunt Clara crossed her arms. "And none of this changes the fact that we have a ticking time bomb living under our roof."

"I know. This still doesn't sit right with me," Anna said. She turned to leave. "Anyway, I have some prep work I need to do for my next run. Let me know if anything happens?"

"Stay warm," Aunt Clara said.

–

The rest of the day passed quietly. Anna was busy with preparing for a trip to one of the outlying ruins to look for supplies, and Aunt Clara, as usual, had her hands full not only with the new patient but with the myriad other smaller cases that were common in towns that small and remote.

The next morning, Anna stopped by Ash's room on the way to her chores. The woman was sitting up in her bed, pondering the ceiling above her. She looked up as soon as Anna walked in. "You wouldn't know where I'd find a deck of cards, would you? I'm bored."

"I could probably round one up." Anna looked at the patient. "How are you doing?"

"Running out of ways to count the ceiling tiles. You?"

Anna shrugged. "Still alive, at least." She closed her eyes. "I guess it's as much as I can hope for." Anna looked at Ash for signs that she might be hiding something. She didn't want Aunt Clara to be right, but if she was, it was better to find out now rather than later when a knife was sticking in her back.

Ash seemed friendly enough, even though she was definitely omitting things from her story. I mean seriously, 'saw the snow and was curious?', Anna thought.

"You're staring," Ash said.

"Right. Sorry. Got distracted for a moment."

"I can have that effect on people."

Anna blushed. "It's not that." Definitely not that. Strange women who may or may not want to murder me in my sleep are not my type, she thought. Anna closed her eyes. Sparks, I'm starting to sound like my Aunt Clara. "I've just been kind of tired lately."

Ash looked Anna over. "You definitely look it." She paused. "Maybe we should swap. You can get in the bed and take a nap, while I can go do whatever you're planning on doing."

Like that's ever going to happen. "I'm pretty sure Aunt Clara would kill me if she knew I did that. I'm just tired. You nearly died."

"You don't look so far away from it, yourself," Ash said.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Anna really hoped that Ash wasn't trying to imply a death threat or anything like that. Granted, implied death threats aren't really most Epics' style. Though she didn't have much personal experience, most of the stories that had filtered down to her had them being about as subtle as a truckload of bricks.

"Wait, that came out-"Ash paused. "I meant that you look like a walking skeleton. Wait-" Ash stopped. "Sorry. I'm not used to-" She paused, searching for a word. "Never mind."

Before Ash could dig herself any deeper, Anna interrupted her. "So, new topic?" As long as she doesn't kill me for witnessing her making a complete and utter slontze of herself, this should be great.

"Do any of you have any lunch around here?" Ash asked. Thank Calamity she got that hint.

"About that..." Anna said.

"There isn't any."

"Um, yeah. We're kind of rationing." Please don't kill me, please don't kill me.

Ash buried her face in her hands. "Right." She looked up at Anna. "I am such a slontze."

How was she supposed to react with that? Generally pretending to agree with whatever an Epic happened to be saying at the moment was one of the keys to a longer life, but Anna had skipped the portion of the rulebook that dealt with stuff like this. Who knows, maybe Aunt Clara is wrong about this one. Permafrost would have killed me like five times in this conversation, and he's not even one of the more hands-on ones. "I'm—sorry to hear that?" she stammered. Noncommittal. Noncommittal was good.

Ash waved her hand. "Eh, it's not exactly new."

Anna backed toward the door. "I—I'm going to get you that deck of cards now," she said. Also, leaving was good.

"Thanks," Ash said. "Tell you what, I'll show you some card tricks tonight. Not promising they'll be all that great, but still. I don't want to be completely useless around here."

Anna gave Ash a weak smile. "I look forward to that." She opened the door, walked out, then popped her head back in. "Try to get some rest, please?" With that, she shut the door behind her, and let out a huge breath.

What even was that about? Ash couldn't have been more terrifying if she had been actively trying to kill her. At least then Anna would know where the attacks were coming from. And, with all probability, wouldn't live long enough to worry about it for very long. Here? Even as someone who liked getting to know people, there were so many pitfalls that could have so easily gotten her killed with no warning. Yet, none of those traps had actually gone off. There was something weird going on here, even beyond Aunt Clara's theory about the mystery woman being an Epic.

Anna had a sinking feeling that, one way or another, she would have to find out.