Theme Song: Zero - Imagine Dragons


"Uh… Hi there. Good morning."

The farmer rapidly blinked the sleep out of her eyes, completely embarrassed at the state of her hair as she stared at Clint, standing on her porch at 6 in the morning.

"I noticed that you've been breaking some rocks open and finding ore. That's good! If you want to get the most out of the ores you find, you'll need a furnace."

Why is he… Not that I don't appreciate it, but the sun just barely came up…

"Just so happens I had an extra set of blueprints lying around," he held out a piece of paper to her. "Here, I want you to have them. The furnace allows you to smelt metal bars. The bars can be used for crafting, construction, and tool upgrades."

I guess I did ask about that a few days ago…

"When you've smelted a few copper bars, consider having me upgrade one of your tools. It can make your work a lot easier."

She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize Clint had finished speaking for a couple of very awkward, long seconds.

"Well, okay… I'm headed home... Take it easy."

"Have a good day!" she finally thought to call out as he was walking away.

That… Could have gone better.

She examined the document, her stomach plummeting the more she read the instructions. She'd need some copper and stone… The stone could easily be found on the farm, but the copper…

Marlon did mention the mines were probably full of metals… I guess there's no avoiding it now. I'll have to brave it. But first…. Chores.

She let out a sigh before planting the spring seeds that she had received from the junimos and made sure everything was watered. She was feeling fairly run down, but consuming a few of the veggies that Harvey had purchased seemed to remedy that a little bit. Soon she was ready to head up the mountain.

"Have you come to ridicule me? I'm just minding my own business," Linus must have heard her approaching from behind, because he wasn't even facing her as she came upon his camp.

"Of course not! I'd never do that, Linus," she protested, reminding herself that he didn't know who exactly it was approaching him. "I'm just headed to the mines and thought I'd say hi before taking the plunge…"

"Oh! The farmer," he turned, giving her a smile. "Sorry. It was another rough night."

"More rocks being thrown at your tent?"

"Just some folks in town making fun of my lifestyle. It's nothing major."

"Everyone around here needs a serious attitude adjustment," she frowned, folding her arms.

"Everyone?" Linus looked a little hurt, and the farmer softened.

"Well… Not everyone. But a lot of people. They have no right to make fun of you or throw rocks at your tent because of the way that you choose to live…"

Linus smiled, "I feel better knowing that you feel that way…" he looked around, taking lower, more serious tone, "Do be careful in the mines. I understand if you need to get materials, but… They're dangerous!"

The farmer hefted the old sword that she'd received from Marlon, "Don't worry. I came prepared."

Linus winced, "Just… Don't go too deep. A blade like that will be helpful, but only to a certain level."

"Huh?"

"You'll see," was his cryptic answer.

Descending the ladder proved to be the hardest part of her journey into the mines for the first time. Once she was able to get beyond whatever mental block her apparent phobia of the dark was causing… She was able to visibly relax. Someone had left torches, making it easier to see. Unfortunately, the first level didn't contain any copper, and she didn't see any other tunnels. She'd have to settle for gathering stone and talk to Marlon about the small size of the mine later…

About half an hour later, a few strikes to another boulder caused her to jump back in surprise as the broken stones rolled down a hole containing some stairs.

"Oh," she blinked. "I guess the path was just blocked off. Good to know."

The second level contained exactly what she needed. The more she worked, the more she found. Not just copper, but she stuffed her bag with coal, as well as a geode that she was sure Clint would be able to break open for her. She was feeling pretty good when she heard some buzzing and noticed a giant bug coming her way.

"Whoa…" she paused, examining it. "You're huge!"

She was just about to move on when the bug launched itself into the air towards her. She let out a little shriek, then felt a stab of pain in her arm as the bug latched on.

"Ow!" she swung the sword wildly, knocking it off and stabbing it a few times, just for good measure. "What the heck!?"

She examined the wound on her arm, but it was luckily not very deep at all. In fact, the initial sting was already wearing off, but she didn't know what kind of diseases these things carried…

"Okay, note to self… Big bugs are evil little devils!"

Irritated, but not ready to quit yet, she continued further into the darkness. She hadn't gone very far when she started to hear a strange noise. It was as if a suction cup was being stuck to the floor and pulled off, over and over again. She froze and watched as the strangest creature came slowly into the light.

She was certain she'd never seen anything like it before. It was a giant mass of… Slime? She could make out some eyes, and it seemed to slosh up and down to move… But no matter how much she tried to justify her lack of knowledge on her memory loss, the creature before her seemed impossible and fantastical.

She was more wary this time. The slime moved closer and closer, and she gripped her sword, ready to defend herself if necessary…

And it was necessary.

The slime suddenly lunged over a large distance, and she once again found herself involuntarily screaming as she swung the sword wildly. Every miss resulted in the little monster puncturing her legs with its sharp teeth and burning her skin with whatever substance it was made out of. The pain was enough encourage her to dispatch of the thing as quickly as possible.

"I don't think anything down here is very friendly," she muttered, examining the scratches that were left on her legs.

After that, she started to avoid everything. She could usually hear the slimes and bugs before they came into view, and they didn't seem to bother her unless she came too close. She was relieved when she finally found the path that led her further down, onto a level where there didn't seem to be any other living thing. In fact, all she could find was a bunch of wooden crates that were full of a root that looked like a type of carrot. The crates themselves were made of good wood as well… But she was on a mission. She needed to build a furnace, and she couldn't carry everything. She was forced to leave it behind.

The most exciting thing that happened, however, was when she reached the fifth level down. She heard a faint bell, and looking over to her right, she realized the elevator from above seemed to be working.

"Strange… I definitely thought that was out of order. Maybe Marlon fixed it the other day?" She stepped into it, marveling at the number of buttons. It seemed the elevator descended 5 levels at a time… But it was the amount of levels that took her breath away. She hit a random one, near the bottom… But the platform refused to budge.

"Apparently you only work to an extent," she mused, hitting the 0 button. Luckily, the elevator came to life, and she was taken back up to the top of the mine. Words could not describe how glad she was that she didn't have to climb out. She was starting to feel exhausted.

She was better able to assess her wounds when she came into the sunlight. She wasn't terribly hurt. She had just suffered a few cuts and bruises… And while she thought it might be nice to have an excuse to go talk with Harvey, it wasn't enough to justify a trip to the infirmary. She'd have to make time to see the doctor later… He had seemed rather bothered by something she'd said yesterday, and she had concerns.

Though her wounds weren't terrible, they were enough to make her second guess the benefit of going into the mine. She felt like a war torn soldier returning from a battle as she started to head down the mountain… Only stopping when she heard someone call out to her.

"Oh… Good evening, Demetrius," she did her best to hide her exhaustion.

"Good evening! Are you alright? You're looking a little worn down…"

"Oh," she looked down at her arms and legs. "I just had a little run in with some… strange creatures down in the mines. Creatures that I don't think I've ever seen before… hard to know for sure with the memory issues, but-"

"This valley has a very vibrant and diverse ecosystem!" Demetrius cut her off, his eyes full of wonder. "That's one reason I was excited to move here!"

"Yeah…" The farmer did her best to not wince. "It's… real great."

As long as it's not trying to kill you!

She didn't spend much time chatting. Demetrius seemed to have a passion for his work that surpassed his concern for her well-being, and that made her slightly uncomfortable. She headed back to town as quick as possible.

She passed a few people on her way home, stopping briefly to check the birthday calendar, say hi to Alex over by the dog pen, and talk to Willy as he came from the beach for a drink at the saloon. It was him who convinced her to take a quick rest there before continuing on home. Unlike Demetrius, he did seem concerned for her apparent lack of energy.

It was just a short break. Mostly because Pam came in, already drunk and stumbling… Gus looked distraught and the farmer didn't feel like she had the emotional energy to really help, or even stay in the situation. She left quickly… Only to run into Shane.

"What? What do you want?" he demanded, though at this point, it sounded more like a plea. His words weren't as sharp as they had been… Until she took too long to answer and he shoved her out of the way, "Go away."

I'm too tired for this.

She started to walk home, Dr. Harvey coming into sight as she neared the medical center. She was so relieved to see him standing there, a huge smile broke out on her face and her pace quickened and she hurried towards him…

But then something strange happened. She was sure Dr. Harvey could see her coming his way… Except that he went very quickly into the building without pausing to greet her. She could even hear the lock on the door click shut as if…

He doesn't want to talk to me?

The doctor had been one of the few people that she felt comfortable around since arriving in this town… He had saved her life and helped her in more ways than she could even begin to repay… And now…

The pain from his rejection was worse than the pain from the creatures in the mine. She backed away, feeling awkward about walking by the infirmary now. She quickly turned, opting to take the road home via Marnie's ranch…

Sam was near his house and the farmer thought she might ask him what Vincent liked so she could find a gift… But the young adult told her he had to beat the level of whatever game he was playing and she was too numb to really care anymore. She left without an answer, struggling down the path home as the darkness deepened in more ways than one.

She saw Shane sitting on the pier of Marnie's lake before he saw her. He must have returned home while she was being shunned by Harvey… The sting of that returned full force, and she found herself making a surprising choice. After all… How much could Shane hurt her? She was pretty much at rock bottom now, and she doubted anything he said could make it worse. She just wanted to feel close to someone… Even if that someone hated her.

Even more surprising was the fact that Shane didn't bristle at her presence when she approached and sat down on the pier next to him, dangling her feet into the water.

"Up late, huh?"

"It's not that late," she whispered softly.

Shane nodded in agreement, staring out at the water. A few moments of silence passed before he reached over to his side and then held something out to her without actually turning to look at her, "Here, have a cold one."

She took the can of beer, feeling awkward about it. Dr. Harvey had said she should probably listen to her intuition when it came to what she ate and drank… And right now, it was screaming at her that this was a bad idea.

Shane, unaware of her internal struggle, finally spoke her thoughts, "Buh… Life."

Another long pause… She cradled the cold can in her hands, debating.

"You ever feel like… No matter what you do, you're gonna fail?" Shane seemed to be surprisingly talkative. Not only that, but she was finding the more he spoke, the more she related. "… Like you're stuck in some miserable abyss and you're so deep you can't even see the light of day?"

She nodded slightly, but Shane didn't seem to notice. He just kept talking…

"I just feel like no matter how hard I try… I'm not strong enough to climb out of that hole."

It was in that moment… That emotionally vulnerable moment… That the farmer finally broke down. Nothing was going right. She kept messing up somehow. People she thought were her friends were no longer talking with her. The only person she currently felt could understand her was one who hated her guts… She barely had any crops going and didn't know the first thing about farming… Her memories weren't coming back…

She cracked the can open and drank the entire thing in one breath. She just didn't care anymore.

"Heh… fast drinker, huh?" Shane leaned back, looking up at the stars. "Woman after my own heart."

The farmer looked up at him sharply, shock hitting her like a train. Had he just… Said something nice?

" Just don't make it a habit… You got a future ahead of you still," his piercing eyes seemed to pull back all her barriers. It was dark, and hard to tell… But she could have sworn he was looking at her with something other than absolute disgust. She struggled to find the words to respond to him… And he beat her to it.

"Welp… My liver's beggin' me to stop. Better call it a night. See you around, Farmer."

He left as quickly as he'd come. She didn't stay too long, either. She resumed her trek home, making it just beyond Marnie's silo before her choice caught up with her… And she emptied the contents of her stomach all over the ground.

Once she started, she couldn't stop. Even when there was nothing left to vomit, she continued dry heaving, tears streaming down her cheeks.

This had been a major mistake…

To say she passed out… Blacked out… Whatever happened… Wouldn't be the proper description. It was more like fading into a dream… A strange dream where the impossible happened… At least, it seemed impossible.

Was it possible?


Harvey felt bad as soon as he locked the door. He could see the dejected farmer from the window of the clinic, and his heart felt torn into two as she backed away and disappeared into the night.

He had followed her around all day. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. Mostly farm chores… The only chance he hadn't had to follow her was when she entered the mine and… Well… He had been terrified of entering there. Not only that, but she came out looking rather battered and she was hurt and…

But what if she is the enemy? What if she was doing something sketchy down there… What need does a farmer have to go down into the mines, anyway?

Almost as soon as he thought it though, Harvey also had another realization…

You took an oath, you moron. You're a doctor. You help people when they're hurt and sick, no matter what… And she is still sick. Not just because of the injuries she sustained in the mines, but her memories… You're not just a doctor, you're HER doctor… So get yourself together and stop being an absolute coward.

The realization struck him hard and the guilt almost crushed him.

He had really messed it up this time…. But he had to hope beyond all hope that… He'd somehow be able to fix it.

For her sake.


Shane heard the farmer vomiting before he even reached the front door.

Guess she can't actually hold her alcohol…

It wasn't the throwing up that really concerned him though… It was the dry heaving and the soft sobs that followed. The cries were so… broken. He felt a sense of pity that he didn't know was possible, and after a few moments… He finally went against his better judgment and started searching for her in the dark.

He found her, on her hands and knees… In the middle of the path that connected her farm with his aunt's ranch. She had fallen over onto her side, sniffling in the dark.

"Geez…" he put his hands on his hips. "Can't leave you alone for ten minutes before you fall apart."

She didn't respond and he felt alarm rising within his chest.

"Farmer?"

"Give me another one."

"What?"

"Beer. Give me another one. I threw the other one up. I don't want to feel this way…"

Shane paused. On one hand, he knew how destructive this cycle was. He knew it better than anyone… But on the other hand…

"Here," he handed her another can from his dwindling pack. She took it and drank it as fast as the first… "You know, drinking it all in one go might be your probl-"

"I don't care," she sniffled. "I just want it to go away."

"What?"

"The pain."

"Oh."

They say in silence for another moment. Finally, Shane broke down too. He also downed another can, ignoring his mind screaming at him. He couldn't deal with this emotional crap sober, though.

A few cans later, and the rest of the night slowly began to blur. She had another can before he started to insist that she go home before she ended up sleeping on the ground. She had started on her own, but it was clear that she had never had any alcohol in her life. One beer and she was already completely hammered. He'd downed another can before standing to help her down the path.

Cursed farmer hadn't even cleared a path between their properties. They tripped, stumbled, and fell over branches and rocks… Until finally they hit her front porch. She started yammering on about building a furnace and being attacked by monsters in some sort of mine… He drank another beer. She actually built the furnace using some sort of instructions Clint had left her with… He sat on the porch with another beer in hand, taking a swallow every time she mentioned farming. She threw some copper into the furnace, then stared at it like it were the most interesting thing in the planet…

"Are you done?" he asked, completely numb and beyond emotions at that point.

"Do you dance?"

"What?"

"Do you dance?" she turned and looked at him. "You know… With other people?"

He raised an eyebrow. He would dance at the flower festival on occasion with Emily. She was the only person in the town that he could even pretend to stand. She'd always been polite to him, even when he was sloppy drunk.

"Why are you asking?"

"Dance with me."

"With you? When? Why?"

"Right now. Because I want to."

"Uh…."

He didn't have time to answer before she was standing up and grabbing his wrist. She was surprisingly agile for how she'd been stumbling and tripping earlier. He didn't even have the mind to stop her when she took the can from his hand and finished it off before pulling him in and forcing him to sway with her.

She hummed the music. She was clearly out of her mind.

He found that he didn't care.

He allowed her to dance him around for what seemed like hours… Not because it was tedious or uncomfortable. In fact, he found that he enjoyed it. It had been a long time since he'd taken care of something… Or someone. Even his chickens had been neglected lately, but being with her…

And then she started throwing up again.

This time, he held her hair and rubbed her back until it was all out of her system… And when she turned to look at him, a smile spreading across her face…

"Thank you. I just… needed to be close to someone tonight. Being out here without memories of who you are… It gets lonely."

Damn. She's beautiful… She's… Incredible.

He pulled her in, whispering in her ear, "You shouldn't drink anymore. Ever. I don't think it's good for you."

"Yeah…" She sighed. "I think I already knew that…"

"Let's get you to bed… You'll probably forget this ever happened."

"What if I don't want to?"

Shane paused, the door to the cabin half open, "Trust me… You'll want to. If you remember this in the morning, you're going to be mortified."

"Why?" she asked as he led her to her bed.

This place is a pit. She doesn't even have a kitchen.

"Because you're drunk… And you'll remember it was me… And you won't like that," he started to walk away when he felt her hand wrap around his wrist.

"I-I… I don't want to be alone though."

He turned, his heart thudding in his chest. Was this really how she felt, or was it just… the alcohol talking? He pulled a bottle of water out of his bag, opened it, and handed it to her.

"Like I already said… You need to sleep this off. You need to forget this happened. I'm going to do my best to do the same…"

Because if you remember this in the morning, and you somehow do change your mind and decide that this was all a horrible mistake… It would destroy me.

She didn't seem terribly pleased by that, but she really probably would not remember it in the morning. He left her with instructions to drink the entire bottle of water before she fell asleep, but doubted she'd be able to. In fact, he was pretty sure she was out before he even shut the door and began the long walk home.

As he continued through the jungle she called a farm in the darkness, however, he noted that this was the first time he had really ever gone home feeling something…

A warm something. A pleasant something.

He finally, for the first time in a long time… Felt alive.