Ugh. Too bright.

Mae sat up, still dazed from sleep. After taking a moment to gather herself, she reached over and grabbed her computer, reading a message from Gregg.

"things are kinda boring here. I think I might come visit soon"

Mae excitedly began typing.

"THAT SOUNDS GREAT"

Mae had managed to survive for almost a month of Gregg and Angus being gone, despite what she had originally thought. But, she still missed Gregg, no matter how much surviving she had done, so the thought of Gregg coming back for a visit had her smiling.

After staring at the screen for a moment, contemplating whether she should close the computer and start her day, her computer dinged; Gregg had responded already, surprisingly.

"well don't get too excited. it was just a thought"

"i know but DO IT"

"okay, clingy"

Mae had had enough cute banter for the time being, and closed her laptop. She put on her shoes and headed downstairs, managing to not stop in front of the mirror. But before leaving, she made sure to quickly say hello to her mom, who had surprisingly not launched into an elaborate conversation, allowing Mae to leave quickly.

Mae begun her short walk to the 'Ol Pickaxe, making sure to jump on mailboxes, cars, and fences along the way. However, something seemed… off. No cars drove by on the hilly street. No aunt gave her a dirty look when she hopped on top of the parked cars. The town was just about empty. But Mae, unlike her typical self, didn't care too much; she had a girlfriend to attend to.

Ding. Mae waved as Bea looked up, wide-eyed, from her plugged in phone.

"Hey, Bea!" Mae spoke, being only slightly more annoying than the incessant bell above the door.

"Oh, hey." Bea mumbled, letting her eyes return back to their natural bored, glazed appearance, "You're here earlier than usual."

"Oh, really? I didn't know," Mae nonchalantly mentioned.

"Really? You didn't, like, look at a clock?" Bea asked.

"I usually don't," Mae responded.

"Hmm, must be nice to be unemployed," Bea responded.

"It's cool. But, like, I don't have any money," Mae joked.

Bea chuckled, before plunging the store into an awkward silence.

"So, uh…" Bea started, attempting to end the silence and change the topic, "Have you come out to your parents?"

"Uh… I've already done that," Mae told Bea.

Bea seemed content with the answer for a split second, before realizing she accidentally asked the wrong question.

"Oh, uh, I meant, like, about us. Our relationship," Bea corrected herself.

"Oh… I haven't done that," Mae answered.

"Hmmm, maybe you should," Bea advised, trying to be helpful.

"Maybe I could. I'll try to invite you over for dinner or something," Mae thought.

"Heh, sounds nice," Bea smugly, yet compassionately, smiled.

"Cool," Mae blushed. Bea was clearly too cute for her own good.

After conversing for a bit more, Mae left. And, the sun was shockingly still in the sky, barely past midday. Mae really must have gotten up early. But, Mae had things she had to do. She began walking towards the Snack Falcon before whipping her phone out and beginning to text her mom.

"hey mom is it ok if bea comes over for dinner tonight?"

Mae let her arm, and subsequently the phone, droop down to her side as she continued walking. But, as she walked through the door of the Snack Falcon, her mom responded, causing Mae to pull her phone back up to her eyes.

"If you actually eat dinner tonight, then sure, honey."

"k cool"

Mae walked up to the counter of the store.

"Sorry about that. Hey," Mae said, putting down her phone. She looked up, seeing Germ face down on the counter, asleep. That in itself was impressive to her, as he was still standing.

She was about to turn around and leave when Germ woke up and fell to the floor. She wasn't able to tell which order it happened, but chuckled anyway.

After she had finished quietly laughing, she spoke up, "Germ, are you alright?"

Germ rested his hand on the counter and pulled himself up. Mae took a look at him. He seemed okay; nothing was broken or bleeding.

"Oh, uh, yeah…" Germ responded, seeming embarrassed.

"Sorry if I woke you up," Mae apologized as Germ adjusted his hat.

"Naw, it's just… I think the state sent construction workers to fix up the mine, and they've been loud. And, they've been working only at night," Germ explained, his eyelids drooping.

"Oh, really?" Mae questioned, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, there's, like, construction stuff and everything," Germ elaborated, resting his head in his hand.

"Huh. Well, I guess it is kinda historical or whatever," Mae pondered.

"Yeah, that strike or whatever happened there," Germ said.

"Alright, well, try to sleep if you can," Mae empathetically advised as she walked towards the door.

"See ya," Germ yawned.

Mae pulled her phone out and began texting Bea as the door closed behind her.

"hey are you free tonight"

Mae began walking towards her house, paying attention only to her phone as she waited for a response.

Generally, it's a bad idea to plan something with someone before that someone knows they're doing it, but Mae clearly didn't feel like following any sort of rules, even unwritten ones. And so, Mae had done just that, asking her Mom about Bea coming over before asking Bea.

She had dropped out of college.

Suddenly, her phone dinged, and Mae read the message.

"heh so you were actually serious about it? Well sure i'm open you big flirt"

"cool come over to my place at like 7"

"ok 3"

Mae looked up from her phone smiling. She had also walked past her house, and so turned around and walked back.

Seven finally came around, and dinner was minutes away from being served. Mae was upstairs, engulfed in her phone. A knock came at the door, which was answered by Mae's mom. Standing at the door was none other than Bea, whose mouth did not contain a cigarette, surprisingly.

After Candy and Bea conversed for a minute, dinner finished being cooked, and Bea was asked to get Mae from her room.

"Mae?" Bea asked as she stepped up into the attic, before noticing her on her bed, "Oh, hey."

"Oh, hey Bea," Mae responded, putting down her phone.

"Uh, your mom wanted me to come up here and tell you that dinner was ready," Bea said, looking around at the room.

"Oh, how long have you been here?" Mae asked as she stood up from her bed.

"Not long, Mayday," Bea responded, following Mae down the stairs.

"Cool. By the way, we're having tacos!" Mae explained.

"Wow, what a surprise," Bea said, practically verbally rolling her eyes.

"I know!" Mae continued, seemingly not noticing the sarcasm.

Mae and Bea sat down at the table in the kitchen as Candy served said tacos.

"So, Bea, how are things going at the 'Ol Pickaxe?" Candy asked while pulling out her chair and sitting down.

"It's been going good. Mae's been keeping me company," Bea mentioned, looking over at Mae, who was quickly devouring the food.

"Oh really? Mae's being helpful?" Mae's dad dramatized.

"Shockingly, yes," Bea teased. Mae was unable to respond as she was still chewing roughly 3 bites of food.

"Leave me alone," Mae pleaded, mouth still full of food.

Candy laughed, "You two seem to get along great."

Bea looked over to Mae, who returned the gesture, swallowing her food. Clearly now was the perfect time to mention that they were dating. Mae was irrationally nervous. She had come out as pansexual to her parents long ago, and that was hardly an issue. Yet, she felt nervous about mentioning that she and Bea were in a relationship. It made no sense. Why was she so weird about stuff all the time?

"Well actually, mom, we're kinda dating," Mae explained.

"Oh really? That's great!" Candy excitedly celebrated.

"Yeah, good on you two," Stan mentioned, smiling.

"...So, how long has it been?" Candy questioned, wanting to know more about the couple.

"Uh, a few months, I guess," Mae answered, looking over to Bea, almost as if for support.

"Well that's great, sweetheart," Candy supportingly smiled.

"So, Bea, you've been good to my daughter?" Stan interrogated.

"...Dad, I can—" Mae started.

"I've kept her alive," Bea answered.

Stan chuckled, "I like you, Bea. But, what I like more are these tacos! Candy, where'd you find this recipe?"

Yawn. It'd been a long day for Mae. She fell into her bed like a tree being cut down, not bothering to check her messages. Gregg and Bea had probably messaged, but she was simply too tired to check. Dinner had been nice, and telling her parents she was dating Bea went well, so she couldn't complain. The only thing she could do was take off her shoes and go to sleep. And so, she obliged. She closed her eyes as sleep slowly took her away.

She could feel the surging power around her, despite the inky, black darkness engulfing her. This was no fantasy, clearly. She could feel the rage of a god course through her very veins. She looked around, hoping to catch sight of the god. And, after a moment, she saw it. The same god she had seen in countless dream prior stood before her. It beckoned her.

She hesitated. She tried to convince herself, like many times before, that she was simply dreaming, and that this was just her being paranoid. But she couldn't. She knew that this couldn't be just a dream. Her "dreams" months ago had predicted the cult, and these clearly predicted… something. She couldn't just write them off as the byproduct of an anxious mind, they clearly predicted something big. Perhaps… perhaps the cult was coming back. Perhaps they hadn't died in the cave in. Perhaps they hadn't died in the explosion. Perhaps they had reclaimed the mines. Perhaps… perhaps all the paranoia was justified. Perhaps she was right to be nervous. Perhaps—

"You needn't worry, child. All will be revealed, explained, and solved soon," the god proclaimed, cloaked in darkness.

And, just like that, it all disappeared; she woke up.