Ash was, yet again, way too early. She checked the slate gray, utilitarianly designed watch on her wrist, a holdover from Julie's time with the Reckoners. They never did quite realize how lucky they were. In some ways, anyways, she thought. When the battery ran out, it would be impossible to replace. I guess both of us are running out of time. Though I think this watch will outlive me.
Shaking her head, she knocked on the door, three loud, sharp knocks that were sure to get Dan's attention. I hope I'm not the first one here, she thought. Things were still awkward with Dan after she had told him about her past, and Anna was a master at defusing tension.
Ash let out a sigh of relief as Anna bounded to the door. Thank Calamity for her being even more of a morning person than I am, Ash thought. Or at least how I am now. Little things always changed for her from body to body, and given Julie's military training, early mornings weren't even one of the more surprising differences.
"Ready?" Anna said. "I've got a lot of ideas for how we can make our plan work, so it'll be great if we could start."
"And good morning," Dan called from the other room. And no mention of why we needed to hurry, Ash thought. Probably better that way.
"So. Your idea," Ash said, as Dan hurried into the room.
Dan coughed. "Sorry. Was finishing up with my plants." His eyes never met Ash's.
"Yes. So we were mentioning before that we needed more info on Permafrost's palace. So, I thought it'd be a good idea to check it out. See if there's anything we can exploit to get in, that kind of thing."
"A stakeout," Ash said. "Probably a good start. Why haven't you done it before?"
"The danger, mostly," Dan said. "We're new at this, and if we were discovered—" He winced.
"Yeah, you two would have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting out alive on your own," Ash said.
Dan glared at Ash.
"We'll be looking mainly for evidence of people going in and out. With the weather, people need to be bundled up, including their faces."
"Which would make impersonating them easy," Ash said, grinning.
"Not necessarily easy," Anna said. "But more doable than it would be otherwise."
"I like it," Ash said. "I bet we could also find out more about what Permafrost's been up to, and if he's got any surprises. Might not be much we can find out from the outside, but it's better than nothing."
"That's the idea," Anna said. "I was thinking of doing it tomorrow. I think it's about as much time as we can afford to prepare."
"You're probably right," Ash said. Honestly, she thought. Waiting until tomorrow might be too long. She shook her head. No. Even with an Epic like me, the Reckoners are cautious. My time is limited, but it's not gone yet.
"It can't be today. I told Aunt Clara I'd help her out at the clinic."
And helping out aunts is a problem that no Reckoner has ever had to deal with. Ash looked at Anna and Dan. They weren't assassins, that was for certain. Though she had a lot more guts than Ash thought when she first met her, Anna was too connected to others. There was no way she could slip back into the shadows, even if she wanted to. And Dan—She looked down at his dark brown hands, still dusty from caring for his plants. He didn't seem like the type who could kill anyone, even someone as awful as Permafrost. By all accounts, they should be screwed. But there was something in Ash that couldn't quite convince herself of that.
"Mind if I come along?" Ash said, surprising even herself. At Anna's confused expression, she continued. "I haven't gotten a chance to talk with your aunt since the abandoned house, and I think helping her out might smooth things out a bit." And it would be a chance to learn more about what Dr. Carpenter did. Healing others, not just myself, Ash thought. She liked the sound of that.
"I don't see why not," Anna said. "Things'll be busy, and she'll probably want the extra set of hands." She smiled. "Though if I know my aunt, she'll probably give you lots of homework before she lets you do anything."
"Come on," Ash said. "I thought I left that behind when Calamity hit."
"You've met my aunt. She's old-fashioned," Anna said. "Don't worry, it'll be fine once you get to know her."
Ash rolled her eyes, and followed Anna out the door.
Clara Carpenter's stare could've bored holes in Ash. Ash pursed her lips. "So yeah, I'm here," she said in an attempt to fill the awkward silence. "Anna said you were busy, and I was wondering if you needed some help."
"Seriously?" Dr. Carpenter said, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, seriously. I know I don't know much about this stuff, but I want to help where I can." She doesn't believe me, Ash said. It was probably for good reason. Epics typically weren't keen on helping others unless it benefited them, but it still stung.
"This seems awfully sudden," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"A lot of stuff has happened," Ash said. "I'm still not even sure what kind of person I am now. But the one thing I do know is that I want to help, rather than hurt."
Dr. Carpenter looked at Ash thoughtfully, then humphed. "I don't have much spare time to teach you, but I suppose you can help with the more simple parts. But I expect you to actually help, understood? We're too busy for you to just do this for your own ego."
"Understood," Ash said, watching Dr. Carpenter open up a cupboard filled with books. She tried not to audibly groan, instead letting out a long breath. I guess Anna was right, she thought. I am getting homework. She shook her head. It was probably good that she'd learn something. Even though concentrating through a dry medical textbook seemed like hitting her head repeatedly with a hammer.
Dr. Carpenter pulled out one of the larger books and a box of neatly folded cloths. Gesturing to the book, she spoke. "I think this will provide a suitable background to most of the cases we get here." Ash's eyes widened. It had probably been years since she read a book, much less one that thick. The Epic lifestyle didn't really leave much time for things as quiet as reading.
"And these need to be sterilized before they can be used. I trust you know how to boil a pot of water?" Ash glared at Dr. Carpenter. "Good. Let me know if you have any questions." She nodded, and left the room.
Ash glanced over at Anna on the opposite side of the room, who winced. "You know," Ash said. "I'm considering this actual progress."
"Me too," Anna said, sighing. "She did used to have an actual bedside manner. Before..." Anna trailed off, turning back to her work.
"I know. Losing people is hard. Particularly when you always think you could be doing more."
Looking for something that could defuse the tension, Ash's gaze fell down to Anna's wrist. "I didn't think you were a jewelry person. Is that new?"
Anna took a step back, her face turning pink. "Oh, that," she said. "It's nothing, really. I've been doing a bit of whittling in the evenings. Good way of relieving stress, you know? I'm not all that good at it."
"Anna," Ash said. "Have you seen my sewing?"
Anna sputtered with laughter. "Touche," she said, pulling up her long sleeve. Attached to a rough cotton string was a crudely carved wooden bead in the shape of a stylized "S". Ash narrowed her eyes.
"Funny choice for a pattern," she said. "Though you were too down to earth for things like that crap."
Anna's blush deepened. "It's not exactly like that," she said, her voice shaky.
"You know damn well why there can't be any good Epics. It would be naive of you to assume it could ever be otherwise." And, to me, it would be hubris, Ash thought.
"That, I'm not so sure about," Anna said. "You may have fallen once, but you're living proof that someone can come back from that. I don't think heroes are as far-fetched as you claim." She looked up at Ash. "And maybe, in some respects, they're already here."
"You give me way too much credit," Ash said. "Look, sorry I brought it up. I'll leave you alone about it."
Ash sighed, opened her book, and started to read. However much she wanted to do this, it was going to be a long couple of hours.
Though it was densely written and contained way too many equations and not nearly enough pictures, the book was more interesting than Ash thought it would be. Before she knew it, the light outside the window had faded to a hazy glow of reflected snow, tinged with the red of Calamity, which had just barely risen over the mountains. Ash yawned, and looked down at the chicken scratch that was her notes.
I hope I'm going to be able to read these tomorrow, she thought. Even pre-Calamity, when she was more used to handwriting, she'd never been the best note-taker. Now, after five years of rarely even writing so much as a grocery list, both her handwriting and organization had taken deep dives.
Ash looked up at Anna, who was sorting through Dr. Carpenter's files with a grim look on her face. Small wonder, Ash thought. The lack of supplies, combined with how harsh the weather is here... No matter how Epic-infested they were, the cities did not have a monopoly on death.
Anna looked up, and met Ash's eyes. "I wasn't staring, I promise," Ash said. "Just giving my eyes a break." Which wasn't wrong. The text was tiny. Anna narrowed her eyes. What did I say, Ash thought. Wait...
"And I just realized that may have come somewhat differently than I intended." Ash looked back and forth for any sign of Dr. Carpenter. No. Phew. That would've been embarrassing, she thought.
Anna giggled. "I mean, it is good to know you think I'm easy on the eyes," she said. Ash's face turned hot.
The lights flickered. Ash and Anna stared nervously at them. "Don't worry," Anna said quickly. "It's probably just the wind." She didn't take her eyes off the lamp. Ash caught the faint whiff of something sharp, like the air just before a thunderstorm.
"Wait, shouldn't the wind be making the power go even more, with the windmill and all?" Ash said.
"No, I designed around that, it's way more stable than that." She looked at the light as if it were an animal poised and ready to bite. "It's probably the lead going down to the battery." She closed her eyes and touched the base of the lamp, frowning.
The lamp, along with the rest of the lights in the room, went out. "Tell me this is normal," Ash said.
"No, it's not," Anna said. Even in the dim light, she could see a deep frown on her face. "I've never let it—" she stopped mid sentence, her eyes lighting with sudden determination, turning to go towards the door. "It's okay, I know how to fix this."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ash said.
"No," Anna said quickly. There was an edge to her tone that wasn't there before. "I need to be alone for this. Sorry." And, saying no more, she left the room, leaving Ash alone with nothing but the dim light of Calamity for company.