escaped the hospital in the early morning a few days after Luz found him that night in the woods. In his stead, he left behind a wake of destruction and three dead: his nurse, a doctor, and a security officer. Luz heard about it on the news. She mulled it over in her room, holding Stringbean in staff form, running her hand over her contours. Vee burst into the room.

"Luz, did you hear?" said Vee. "Jacob Hopkins—"

"I heard," said Luz.

Vee looked to Luz. "So, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" said Luz.

"To catch Jacob! And bring him to justice!"

"Oh. I don't… have one."

Vee scrunched her brow. "What are you gonna do?"

Luz considered for a moment. "I don't know. Work on my essay before class, I guess."

Vee's face fell. "You're not going after him?"

"I guess not."

Vee stammered. "But you're Luz! You throw yourself into every situation you can to help!"

"I don't really see why it's my problem. I gave him to the authorities. It was their job to hold onto him."

Vee huffed. "Well," she stammered again. "I'm gonna help!"

Luz glanced at her. "Okay, stay safe."

Vee huffed again and left the room.

Vee Noceda tracked down the one person she knew would help her. She caught Masha before school, after the bus dropped them off. The clouds overcast the school yard. In the dim morning light, Vee also eyed Luz as she entered the building. Luz didn't even acknowledge her. "Masha!" Vee called. Masha perked up, looking for the source of the voice. When Masha spotted her, a big smile spread across their face. "Vee!" Masha sprinted toward the disguised basilisk. "I didn't think you went here," they said. "I don't," Vee replied. "I was wondering if you could help me with something." "What."

Masha's hasty reply took Vee aback. "Oh um, I don't know if you heard but Jacob Hopkins—" Masha recoiled at the name. "—escaped the hospital this morning and killed three people."

"Yeah, I heard." The dark bags under Masha's eyes deepened. "What about it?"

Vee considered what she was about to say. It seemed insane now. "Nevermind," she said. "It's stupid." Vee turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Masha took her arm. "You came all this way to say nevermind?"

"It's just…" Vee held herself. "It's a bad idea. It's dangerous and I don't wanna involve you in it."

"This idea gets more and more intriguing." Vee glanced away. "Vee, come on. I just wanna hear it. I promise I won't think it's stupid."

Vee looked at Masha again. The yard in front of school had cleared out and a drizzle began to hit Vee's nose. The first bell rang. "I don't like that he's out there," said Vee. "He hurt you. He hurt me. He hurt those poor people at the hospital. I want to take him down."

Masha blushed hard. "Let's do it," they said.

"What!" said Vee. "Really? What about school?"

"Aw, I cut class all the time. Besides, this'll be fun," said Masha. "And when we find out where he is, we'll report him to the police. No danger involved."

"Okay." Vee thought. "Okay yeah. Let's do this."

"That's the spirit," said Masha. "You know where to look first, right?"

"Where?" said Vee.

"The scene of the crime!" Masha declared.

"But how do we sneak into the hospital?" Vee asked.

"Easy," Masha explained. "We walk into the lobby like we own the place and if anybody tries to stop us we make a big scene in front of everybody. It works every time."

"How about you try that and I'll sneak in while everyone's distracted," suggested Vee.

"Okay," said Masha. "Keeping our eggs out of the same basket."

"What eggs?" asked Vee.

Masha furrowed their brow, then shrugged. "It's just a turn of phrase."

Outside the hospital, Vee and Masha considered the complex before making their move. "Do you know which wing he was in?" asked Masha.

"Probably that one." Vee pointed to the end of one of the wings. Police cars surrounded it. A translucent tarp covered a hole blown in the third-story wall. A strange red substance covered the blast area, but they were too far away to make it out. In the murky air, it reminded Vee of some of the weird buildings she'd seen in the Demon Realm before she left.

"Woah," Masha breathed. "How did he do that?"

"I have no idea," breathed Vee.

The sheriff stepped out of her car. Vee and Masha ducked behind a bush. The passenger door opened but no one stepped out. "I don't understand why we came back here, Sheriff," a man's voice spoke. "What are we gonna see that we didn't this morning?"

"I don't know," said the sheriff. "This whole thing feels weird to me."

"This is Gravesfield, Ma'am," said the man. "Every crime here is weird."

"But something's different about this one, don't you think?" said the sheriff. "The perp somehow blew a hole in the wall with nothing on him. And he was always into that weird stuff."

"Don't tell me you're buying into Hopkins' conspiracy theories?" "Not at all but you've gotta admit, there's something strange about this town." Vee knew that all too well, being part of the strangeness herself. It didn't explain how Jacob — gross, conniving, mundane Jacob — could have done this. He couldn't do magic, could he? "I've known that since I was a little boy, Ma'am. I still don't see why we're back here." "Because the trail's cold." "We've hardly followed any leads." "We barely have any leads! No physical evidence. No footsteps, no belongings, no nothing. One witness too shell shocked to give us anything—"

Masha nudged Vee in the ribs, eyes wide. Vee looked at them and shrugged. They whispered, "Witness!" Vee rolled her eyes and smirked.

"—The only thing we do have is this red stuff."

The man in the car said, "I'm sure once the lab analyzes it, we'll have loads more to go off of."

"And if they can't analyze it?" The sheriff pulled out a notepad and leafed through it, then kept talking without waiting for a response. "You remember that deer hit a few weeks ago? All that green stuff over the car's fender and the buck? The lab guys couldn't even identify it."

"This stuff is red though, not green."

"I'm gonna steal her notepad," said Masha, a feverish smile on their face.

Vee jumped. "What? No!" Vee held their shoulders. "That's too risky."

"Don't worry." Masha waved her off. "I don't know if your sister ever told you, but I've got skills. I'm kind of a master rogue."

Vee narrowed her eyes. "Oh, I've 'heard stories.'" "Besides, if we're gonna question this witness, we're gonna need to know who they are and where to find them." "They just said the witness is a dead end." "To them, maybe — but they're not listening for the right things. This whole pasta salad reeks of the supernatural. They only hear 'crazy conspiracy theories,' but we know there's a grain of truth to the weird stuff that goes on in this town. I'm guessing that's how Jacob managed to do that." Masha pointed to the hole in the building.

Vee scrunched up her face. "You believe in that sort of thing?"

Masha glanced away, smile falling. "I don't know. I have experienced things I can't explain. And plenty of weird things have happened in Gravesfield. It's hard to believe there's not something affecting our lives beyond what we can see and touch. C'mon, you're telling me you didn't find anything strange where the rebus led you?"

"I guess that makes sense." Vee's lips wavered. "But—"

"I'll be right back," said Masha. They snuck off to the driver's side of the squad car. They opened the door slightly, then slammed it as hard as they could before rolling under the car. The deputy in the car looked around. The sheriff put her notepad on the roof of the car before searching around herself.

Vee decided to use the time they were distracted to investigate the hospital itself. She scanned the parking lot for a doctor-looking person and assumed their shape. She slipped through the lobby smoothly, needing only to return a nod from the receptionist. The elevator proved more complicated. "Doctor!" shouted several scrubbed individuals as they pushed into the elevator. "Due to the incident this morning, Doctor Collin," began one of them. "Mr. Gyou's fitting had to be moved up. It's in fifteen minutes."

"Uh, okay," said Vee. "I'll be there."

"Mrs. Cuban is complaining about her head again," said another. "Should I up her ketorolac?"

"Um, yes," said Vee.

"By how much?" he said.

"Umm. Do what you think is best," she said.

The nurse scrunched his face, but left the elevator without further questions once the doors opened. Vee got off on the third floor. One half of the floor still operated, nurses and doctors rushing between rooms. Translucent curtains and a single police officer blocked off the other half. Vee found an alcove out of sight and shifted into the sheriff. She showed her facsimilic badge to the officer to which he said, "I know who you are, sheriff."

"Right," said Vee. "I need the area to myself for a moment."

He nodded before leaving her. Vee pushed through the curtains and scanned the hall. The red stuff led to the breach in the wall, which let in the damp and drafty air. Halfway down the hall, a human form outlined in tape stuck to the floor and part way up the wall. She realized she was standing over another one sprawled out over the floor. Detective shows weren't her favorite, but Vee had seen enough of them to know what the markings indicated. Vee followed the trail to its origin: Jacob's hospital room. It looked like a horror scene. The lights were shattered; red and black residue layered the floor, walls, and ceiling; and one last tape figure lay curled on the floor. Vee returned to her human form and walked through the room. Medical instruments lay scattered over the floor. The bed was soaked in the strange red substance. Vee touched it and peeled off a stretch of it between her thumb and forefinger. It stuck to her skin, reminding her of the stuff Belos had been made of — that strange green stuff.

Vee gagged and wiped it off where it was. Her finger pulled up something clung to the bed. She peeled it off. It had been covered in the mess that obscured the rest of the room. When Vee saw the writing on it, she also realized what material made it up: skin. No, not just skin — skin and wet paper melded together in some aberrant synthesis. In surprise, Vee threw the skin onto the bed before she heard the sheriff's voice down the hall. She snatched up the skin and peaked out of the room. The sheriff and her deputy were telling off the other officer for leaving his post on the other side of the flap. They blocked her access to the elevator and the stairwell. Vee looked down the other end of the hall to the hole in the wall. It would have to do. While the police were still distracted, Vee dashed down the hall and jumped off the building. She landed whiplashed onto a bush below. Vee groaned as she opened her eyes.

Masha stood beaming over her. "Nice!" they said and held out a hand. "How did you sneak in without a distraction?"

Vee took the hand, still discombobulated. "Oh I uh… I just did what you said. Worked like a charm."

"Haha!" Masha pulled her up. "Never fails. Hey! Look what I got." They held up a slightly crumpled notepad.

Vee gave a weak smile. "Great."

"Did you find anything?"

"Uh no." Vee tucked the skin flap into her back pocket. "Let's go question your witness."

…

Masha and Vee traipsed through the campgrounds toward the mess hall. "Masha!" whispered Vee. "We're gonna get in trouble!"

"No we're not," said Masha. "Dave doesn't actually patrol the grounds at night; he just sleeps in his cabin."

They hit the wall of the building. Masha leaned their back into it, stealth-like. Vee grasped at the tempered logs with her stubby human fingers. "I don't feel good about this," she said.

"You never do," said Masha. "Come on, Luz. You gotta learn to take risks every once in a while."

"I can appreciate that sentiment," said Vee. "But sneaking out after lights-out and breaking into the mess hall seems like a big risk."

"You saw tomorrow's breakfast menu," said Masha. "Buttermilk biscuits, the only decent thing they serve in this trash heap. Imagine if we had a whole stash to ourselves! That sounds worth the risk, no?"

Vee shook her head. Masha rolled their eyes and grabbed her arm. "Come on." They steered Vee around the side of the building to the side entrance, the only one not illuminated by a porchlight. Masha tried the door. It didn't budge.

Vee spoke up. "Darn, I guess we can't get in. Let's go back to the cabin."

Masha held up a hand. "Hold your horses, Noceda. This is why I always carry a bobby pin." They produced one from their pocket and got to work on the lock. "Keep a lookout," they said.

Vee peered into the darkness, quaking at the thought of Dave catching them red handed. He seemed like a nice man, but he was big and Vee did not envy the campers she saw him chewing out. What if the camp decided to take a closer look at 'Luz Noceda' after the trouble she caused? What if they found out what Vee was? What if they carted her off to some government laboratory and dissected her? Then she saw a ray of light shining in the distance. "Masha," she squeaked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Hold on, I almost got it." The light crept closer.

"Masha," Vee squeaked again, reaching the highest register of Luz Noceda's vocal chords.

"Hang on, hang on," they assured. The light crept closer.

"Masha." Only the consonants were audible.

"Got it!" Masha opened the door and pulled Vee inside, shutting it just before the light swept across the wall. Masha flicked the lock. The kitchen inside was pitch black, but Vee's eyes adjusted quickly. She saw an industrial quantity of premade biscuits laid out over a large metal table, covered in cellophane to preserve freshness.

"You were right, Masha!" Vee whispered. "So many biscuits!"

"How can you see in here?" said Masha. They fumbled around for a light switch. Vee flipped it for them. Masha laid their eyes on the haul. "Oh, hell yeah. Grab as many lunch bags as you think you can carry and stuff them full." The pair did just that, until they heard the click of the back door. They looked at each other and froze, then dashed into a cabinet. Footsteps echoed through the kitchen. They stopped in front of the cabinet. Masha and Vee squeezed together in the metal space, clutching their biscuit bags.

"You can come out, kids," said Dave. "I know you're here and I know who you are."

Masha grabbed Vee's wrist. Despite her racing heart, she understood the gesture: 'Don't do it. He's lying.'

"I'm not gonna search the whole mess hall for you," said Dave. "Come out now, with dignity, or I'll bust you later."

Vee and Masha stayed put.

"Alright, fine."

They heard the door open and close. Then they spilled out of the cabinet and scrambled to their feet. "Oh my!" said Vee. "He knows who we are!"

"No he doesn't," said Masha. "He was just trying to scare us into busting ourselves." Masha held open one of their bags. "Look at our haul! Let's get out of here before he comes back!" Masha peered out the door, making sure the coast was clear. Then they sprinted into the night, back to Cabin 7. They busted open the door. "Check out the score, guys," Masha said to Justin and Mark, then they noticed their faces: poignant shame. "What's wrong?" They asked before Vee tapped their shoulder and pointed. Then Masha noticed the fifth figure in the room, Dave the security guard. "Whah buh," Masha stammered. "How did you know it was us? There are no cameras anywhere!"

Dave, arms crossed, raised his eyebrows at them. "You know what's smaller and cheaper than cameras?" He did not wait for them to reply. "Motion sensors. Every building in camp has them, including your cabins, and they all feed back to my office. As soon as you left your cabin, I knew about it. All I had to do was check Cabin 7 to see which campers weren't in their bunks." He turned to Mark and Justin. "Turns out, all of them. I caught these two hunched over a flashlight on the floor after lights out. I'll let you two off with a warning for this week." He turned back to Masha and Vee. "I'll see you two tomorrow morning in the main office with the head counselor." Dave left the cabin. Everyone looked at Vee, who looked just about to cry.

The next morning, Vee and Masha sat in the waiting room for the main building. Dave leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Nobody spoke. Then the head counselor shuffled in, head buried in a folder of paperwork. "Good morning, girls." Masha straightened. "Dave." Dave did not acknowledge him. "Masha Solovyov, I'll see you first." Masha stood, expression strained, and walked into the office. They sat down at his desk across from him. Neither one spoke for some time as the counselor reviewed the file in his hand. "So, I'm to understand that you left your cabin after lights-out, broke into camp property, and committed theft for what? Some biscuits? And you did it all while dragging that poor Noceda girl along."

He looked up from his folder and waited for her to respond, but Masha seethed. They stared into his eyes for a savory few moments, then spoke. "Counselor Pat, all due respect, but I wouldn't have done any of that if you would serve any other decent food in this dump." They smirked.

"Why don't I believe you?" Pat retorted. "Ms. Solovyov, do you know why you're here? At camp, I mean."

"Not in the slightest," said Masha.

"You have a rather brief, but prolific history of behavioral issues." Counselor Patrick looked over his file. "In just your last year of junior high, you put live rats in the locker of your school's cheer captain; you set fire to your father's hair; and you spray painted the entire football field in rainbow the morning before a game. Where did you even get enough spray paint for that?"

Masha shrugged. "Birthday money," they mumbled.

Counselor Patrick nodded. "And do you know why you have these behavioral problems?"

Masha really thought about that one. "Because none of the adults in my life have cared enough to try to understand me and what I want?"

Patrick laughed a deep, roaring laugh. "No," he said. "You act out because you crave attention. Daddy doesn't love you, so you set him on fire. You're jealous of the cheer captain so you pull a little prank on her. You think you're the center of the universe, so you desecrate school property. Does that sound about right?"

Masha cringed in response.

The counselor took it as acknowledgement and continued. "But things don't work like that in the adult world. We don't pay attention to people who disrupt society. Attention must be earned through hard work and contribution. But it doesn't seem like that lesson is sinking in for you. In only 3 weeks here at camp, you've refused to participate in any camp activities." "All your camp activities are dumb and boring." "You talk back to your counselors." "They keep trying to make me participate." "And now we have this most recent incident." Masha looked him straight in the eye. "Serve better food than that crap in the mess hall."

"If you keep up this attitude, you'll probably be here next summer too, but maybe you don't really care." Masha shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend that I can help every child that comes through my camp, but I will not tolerate any behavior that disrupts other campers from reforming themselves. Luz Noceda has made great progress since she arrived here and I don't want you to mess it up for her. Do her a favor, and stop spending time with her. You'll only hurt her." Masha stared silently, expressionless. "And one more thing Ms. Solovyov, if you step one more toe out of line, if I hear any more complaints from my counselors, I'll put you on latrine duty for the rest of the summer." Masha shot up, face flared, but they turned and walked out the door. "Send Ms. Noceda in for me please."

Masha stepped across the waiting room and took a seat next to Vee. "Your turn," they said.

Vee entered the office. Counselor Patrick smiled at her as she sat down. "Ms. Noceda, I must say I'm surprised to see you in here." Vee winced. "You've always performed wonderfully in our activities. You've been camper of the week…" He looked over his files. "... Every week so far. You hadn't incurred any infractions before this, even minor ones. What do you think pushed you to such a delinquent act?"

Vee considered for a moment, then shrugged.

"Well, allow me to offer a suggestion. Could it have been Masha Solovyov, perhaps?"

Vee thought about it. All last night, her friends joked and talked, coming up with crazy ideas. She couldn't remember who suggested the biscuit heist. All of them, she supposed. Masha was just the one that got up and did it. Vee didn't want them to do it alone. She shook her head.

"I understand how important friendships are at your age, especially in an unfamiliar place, but Masha Solovyov is not the kind of friend you want in your life. She's a troublemaker. She—"

"They," said Vee.

Counselor Patrick raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry?"

Vee glanced around. "Masha uses they/them pronouns. They 'are a troublemaker.'" Vee smiled. "I know. I like that about them. They're fun."

Pat furrowed his brow. "You should sever all ties with Masha Solovyov at once. 'They' will only hinder your path to success."

Now Vee's brow furrowed. "I won't be doing that, sir. Masha is kind and funny. They accepted me for who I am as soon as we met, without even knowing me. They are my friend. I wouldn't change that."

Counselor Pat sighed. "Very well," he said. "Just so you know, Luz Noceda, if that ends up being the case, the camp will be keeping a tighter leash on you than you enjoyed while you were committed to behaving."

Vee and Masha left the main office at breakfast time. Masha fumed and Vee contemplated. They headed to the mess hall. After some time, Vee realized the state of her companion. She thought about how best to comfort them. Commisery, maybe? "I can't believe we got latrine duty for a week!" she said.

Masha's face fell as they glanced away. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"What? Wait no!" said Vee. "I wasn't blaming you!"

"But it was my fault, wasn't it?" said Masha.

"It wasn't your fault that I decided to go with you," Vee countered.

"Why did you go with me?" they asked.

"Cause you're my friend." Vee smiled. "I wasn't gonna let you go alone."

Masha stared blankly. "Then we shouldn't be friends." They left Vee stunned on the path.

Vee ran to catch up to them. "Wait! What are you talking about? Was it something Counselor Pat said?"

Masha huffed. "Yeah, okay? He got to me. I'm a bad influence and you should stop spending time with me," they admitted.

Vee stopped Masha's momentum with a hand on their shoulder. "Pat doesn't know you! He doesn't know anything!"

"What do you know?" spat Masha.

"I know people like Pat! I grew up with dozens of them hovering over me! He'll say anything to keep his control over you. He wants you to feel worthless so you don't stand up to him. But Masha, the fact you stand up to him makes you so awesome."

Masha blushed. "Wait…" their face expressionless, "Really?"

Vee nodded. "Yeah, he's a bad guy—"

"No, I mean…" Masha smiled. "You think I'm awesome?"

Now Vee blushed. She smirked and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I… I do."

Masha pursed their lip and put their hands behind their head. "Okay, fangirl. Let's get some breakfast."

"Wha!" Vee stuttered. "I didn't say I was your 'fangirl!'"

"Whatever," said Masha. "You can hide it all you want. I know how you really feel." By the time they made it to the mess hall, breakfast had ended. "I hate this place."

"It's not so bad," said Vee.

"We just missed breakfast because the camp staff were chewing us out. You were just talking about how the head counselor is a control freak who wants everyone to feel miserable."

"The system sucks, sure," said Vee. "But the camp is more than just a system. It's also about the people we meet and the things we can do here. Come on. Let's go to the trading post. We can get a snack there."

"The trading post only takes 'Reality Bucks.'" Masha cringed as they named the made up currency given to campers for good behavior. "I don't… have any."

"That's okay, I have loads." Vee walked down the path and gestured for Masha to follow. "I'll get you anything you want."

Masha got a Snackers candy bar and Vee got a tiny bag of Cheez-whats. They ate them on the patio outside the trading post. A lot of kids hung out there after breakfast, before free time ended and they had to go to their scheduled activities. Masha looked down at their candy bar, then to Vee. They smiled. "You're awesome too, Luz," they offered.

Vee's eyes shot up from her snack bag as she dropped a cracker back into it. She smiled back. "Thanks, Masha."

Masha put down the Snackers bar and patted their thighs rhythmically. "I've never had a friend who stood up for me like that."

Vee glanced sideways and smiled halfheartedly. "My old friends tried to stand up for me but we were in a bad place, so it was hard." "How did you get out?" "I took the first opportunity I saw and ran." "What about your friends?" "They ran too but, not all of us made it." "I'm sorry." Masha's eyes glazed over in brimming tears. "It's okay. The last time I saw them, they were all alive. And now I'm living with Camila… uhm… my mom. She's really nice."

Masha winced. "What's wrong?" asked Vee.

Masha shifted uncomfortably. "I got this letter from my mom." Masha pulled out a thickly wadded paper from their front pocket and unfolded it. "I've never gotten a letter from mom."

"What does it say?" asked Vee.

"It says she's been trying to contact me my whole life," they said. "It says she wants to see me again, to get to know me."

"Do you wanna?" asked Vee.

"I don't know. What if my mom is worse than my dad?" posed Masha.

"What was that you said about taking risks?" Vee countered.

Masha punched her in the arm, smiling. "Don't use my own words against me."

Vee looked away. "Oh, sorry," she said.

Masha's eyes widened. "No, you're right. I was being sarcastic."

"Oh ha ha," Vee giggled.

Masha's eyes widened. They wanted to hug Luz Noceda right then.

The real Luz Noceda had successfully avoided her mother for days. The trick — she realized — was to hang out with Vee all the time. Every time her mother brought up what happened, Luz would raise her voice, Camila would glance at Vee, and the conversation would end. That strategy wouldn't work this evening however, as Vee still had not come home by the time Luz got back from school. When Luz got into the kitchen, Camila sat at the kitchen table, clearly waiting for her. Camila stared her down; the overhead light cast Etchings into her face. Luz gazed back, a deer in headlights. She made a move for the door and Camila spoke up. "Luz."

Luz stopped, as if the power of her mother's words had frozen her in place. "Yes, Mami?" she said.

"I want to talk to you," said Camila.

"Gee, I don't know, Mom," said Luz. "I have a lot of homework to get through."

"Stop it, Luz," pled Camila. "I know you've been avoiding me."

Luz rubbed the back of her neck, trying to think of some way to worm her way out of her mother's hold on her. The pressure set in on her. "Mami, I—"

"Basta," Camila's voice cracked and her eyes became wet. "It really hurts, you know? You won't even talk to me. It's like I don't exist to you."

Luz's shoulders fell. She looked down and glanced away. "Lo siento, Mami."

"Why won't you tell me?" Camila looked at Luz, just hoping. Luz did not look back. Instead, she mulled the question over. Why couldn't Luz tell her own mother the anxieties that had been eating at her for weeks? She put the words on her tongue: 'I died. I lost my magic. You couldn't protect me. You still can't. I can't protect myself. I failed you.' Luz shook her head. Her mind drifted to Hopkins. Luz had made so many mistakes in her short life. She reminded herself it was okay to make mistakes, that it was part of the human experience — but it didn't undo all the bad she had done. Luz couldn't think of a human whose mistakes carried more weight than hers. And Hopkins was proof she couldn't learn from them. Human Realm or Boiling Isles, Luz was a walking harbinger of catastrophe. She looked back at her mother. Camila looked back with wide eyes; a comforting smile played on her face. Luz stiffened her lip and walked past her to the stairs. "Luz!" Camila leapt up and put a forearm on the wall between Luz and the doorway. "We have to talk!"

"Get out of my way!" Luz shouted — not just raised her voice; she actually shouted as loud as her lungs allowed.

"Luz…" Camila stepped back.

"Leave me alone!" Luz balled her fists as she walked around Camila, not taking her eyes off her mother. "I don't want your help! You can't help me! ¡Nadie puede!" Luz huffed as she and her mother stared at one another. "Don't talk to me." She left the room. Camila stood stunned before finding her seat again. Then she laid her head in her arms and cried.

Vee rang the doorbell. "Mr. Rosemary?" she said. "Are you home?" Vee looked to Masha. Masha shrugged.

After a few moments, a voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Who is it?" The voice sounded shaky but determinant.

At this moment, Vee realized she didn't know how to describe who she was to this man or what she was doing at his doorstep. She turned to Masha. Masha shrugged. "Girl scouts," they said. "We're selling cookies."

"I don't want any cookies."

"Wait!" said Masha. "We were actually hoping you could answer a few questions?"

"I've already answered a lot of questions today."

"Please, Mr. Rosemary?" Vee butted in. "I understand you've been through a lot today. We're just confused and hoping you could clear some things up?"

A long silence pervaded the other side of the door. "Either of you Dr. Gillan's kids?"

"Yes," said Masha.

Vee and Masha heard an audible sigh from the other side of the door. The door opened a crack, stopped by a chain. A single amber eye set into half of a lined face looked them over. Then the door closed again before the sound of the chain sliding along its groove reverberated through it. On the other side, a short, thin man with pepper black hair — still wearing his scrubs — opened the door. He looked over the pair and gestured for them to come in. Despite the falling sun, all the lights in the house were off. In the half darkness, several ornamental tikis adorned the walls, tabletops, and floorspace. The tables also held a miniature sand garden; a transparent, green glass bowl filled with transparent, blue glass marbles; and an overturned picture frame. Vee lifted up the frame as Masha followed Mr. Rosemary deeper into the house. It featured Mr. Rosemary and a woman Vee recognized from the news as Jacob Hopkins' nurse, before he killed her. Vee put the frame back down. Mr. Rosemary indicated for them to sit down on minimalist gray and wood framed armchairs. "Tea?" he asked.

Masha nodded. Vee said, "I'm fine, thank you."

"I'm sorry about your parent," said Mr. Rosemary as he retrieved two mugs from his cabinet. "I didn't know Dr. Gillan very well, but I know they were a good doctor and a good person."

"Thank you," said Masha. Vee tensed.

"Where's your mother?" asked Mr. Rosemary. He poured water into the mugs from his kettle and dipped two teabags into them.

"Oh uh she—" began Masha. "She's home, taking it pretty hard."

Mr. Rosemary nodded. "And how are the two of you doing?" he asked as he handed Masha a cup of lukewarm tea and sat on the couch across from them.

Masha's breath hitched in their throat as they took a sorrowful look. "It's been rough. I don't know what we're going to do." At this point, Masha realized the teabag in their mug was actually just a pine cone tied to a string. They set the mug down. "We're mostly just confused," they lied coolly. "About what happened?"

At this, Mr. Rosemary visibly tensed. "It's…" he exhaled. "A confusing thing to have happen at your age."

"Right but, what did happen? I mean, how does somebody like Jacob Hopkins," Masha added a good amount of disdain for the name on their voice. "Do something like this?"

His eyes flitted to the floor and Mr. Rosemary cracked his knuckles. "That's a good question. I'm not sure there's a good answer…"

"But you saw what happened," Masha pressed. "Can you tell us what you saw?"

Mr. Rosemary planted his arms on the couch to either side of himself, like he was going to spring up and run away. Vee spoke up. "Mr. Rosemary?" she said.

The light filtered back into his eyes. He smiled. "Please, call me Joe."

Vee smiled and nodded. "Okay. Joe. I understand you've been through a lot today. You've probably seen things you don't understand. I promise I'm not here to judge you or rationalize what you experienced. I just want to understand — from your perspective — what happened at the hospital this morning?"

Joe took several deep breaths. He looked at Vee who looked back, pleading and reassuring. Then he spoke, "It was the end of my shift, the beginning of Sarah's, uh, Jacob's AM nurse. So, we were talking in his room. It wasn't a great place to talk because Jacob talked a lot in his sleep; said the weirdest things."

"Like what?" asked Vee.

"Oh, I don't know." Joe hesitated. "A lot of it was just mumbling. He talked a lot about killing witches and Mars and teeth. One time, he started talking about how his 'old conceptions had been scored and vindicated.' How 'Nihilee' had shown him the way."

"Nihilee?" asked Vee.

Joe shrugged. "I don't know; I always thought the guy was crazy. But this morning, something crazy did happen. See, when me and Sarah were talking, Jacob started convulsing on the bed. Sarah tried to stabilise him and I ran to get a resident — um — Doctor Gillan. By the time we got back — " Joe's breath hitched as tears formed in his eyes. "Sarah was dead. Jacob just stood over her, staring down at her. His eyes were like stone. There was blood everywhere and Sarah looked — it was like he sucked all the life out of her. Then he noticed us…" Joe turned away and wiped his eyes with his fingers.

"It's okay, Joe," said Vee. "Take your time."

Joe took several more deep breaths, then turned back to the pair. "It's just — This is where it gets really crazy."

Vee lowered her head, keeping her eyes on him. "I believe you," she said.

Joe gulped. "He reached for us. He wasn't close enough to get to us but he did. It was like his arm… distended into this fleshy, red substance and he got — he got your parent. He got Dr. Gillan. I didn't know what to do so I just ran, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Realizing Vee's discomfort in her scrunched up face at the position Masha's lie had put her in, they took a page from Vee's book and put a hand on Joe's. "It's okay, Joe," they said, then looked to Vee.

"Oh! Right." Vee's face relaxed. "You did everything you could," she said, voice thick with cringe.

Masha squeezed the hand. "What happened next?" they asked.

"I ran past one of the security guards and I didn't look back," said Joe. "But I heard this… squelching —" The room recoiled at the word. "— and screaming and… eventually, the walls crumbling. The last thing I heard him say was, 'I will find Appaloch for you and together we will rid our worlds of their filth.'" As Joe finished his story, the light in his eyes faded once again and he stared off into space. Masha and Vee looked at each other and nodded.

They stood. "Well, thank you, Joe," said Vee.

"Yeah," Masha added. "Knowing what happened really puts our minds at ease."

Vee cringed again at the depths of their lie, but Joe said nothing. He kept staring at where they had been sitting. "Anyways, we really have to get going now," said Vee. "Lots of… homework to do."

"Right." Masha did finger guns. "No rest for the wicked." They cringed at themself. Joe still said nothing. The pair glanced at each other again and left. Walking down the sidewalk, they mulled over what they had heard. Apparent worry painted Vee's face and twisted confusion adorned Masha's. "So, how much of that do you think was true?" Masha finally spoke.

Vee glanced at them briefly, eyes still hard. She didn't know what to tell them. She didn't know how much to tell them. Joe riddled his story with undeniable elements of the Demon Realm. His description of Jacob reaching out to grab Dr. Gillan was exactly how Vee would have described Belos reaching for her friends in the graveyard, aside from the color. Apparently, she was taking too long to answer.

"Vee?" said Masha, confusion replaced with concern. They leaned over to look in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Vee shook her head. "Yeah! I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in."

"Heh, I get it," said Masha. "Alien gods? Amorphous, shapeshifting monsters! Very spooky!" Masha waved their hands in the air. "But it didn't seem like Joe was all there. I wouldn't be surprised if the more fantastic parts of his story just came from stress."

Vee held the exact opposite notion. She wondered if Joe wasn't all there because his story was true and his mind couldn't cope with it. It fit with what she had seen in the hospital. "Yeah, you're probably right," Vee said.

Although she acquiesced to them, Masha could tell something was still bothering her. "Let's go to the pond."

Vee perked up. "Huh? Why?"

Masha looked at the ground and twiddled their thumbs. "Back at camp, whenever I was feeling down, Luz would take me to the lake after lights out. We'd sit on the beach and watch the water reflect the stars. It was funny, you'd think Luz had never seen stars before." Vee hadn't really, at least not in a setting she could stop to enjoy them. "But we would talk and I'd feel better. She was really kind, your sister. Like you. I just thought, maybe I could do the same thing for you?"

Vee's heart melted. She stopped on the sidewalk and Masha stopped with her. She stared at them breathlessly. Then her lips parted and she let out, "I remember."

"You… remember?" Masha breathed. All at once, it hit. The Noceda sisters. Camp. Vee. Masha understood. "You're not Luz's sister, are you?"

Vee realized her mistake. "I mean… I remember Luz telling me something like that!"

"But she didn't, did she?" said Masha. "She couldn't have…" Vee started sweating. "Because she never went to camp. Somehow, it was you." They stared at each other, frozen. Vee took a step back. Masha reached out. "Wait!" Vee sprinted away. Masha stood starstruck on the sidewalk.

Vee burst into the house in tears. "Luz!" she called. Luz bounded down the stairs, staff in hand. "Luz, they know! They know everything!"

"Who knows?" Luz scanned the area for assailants. "Vee, what's going on?"

"Masha!" said Vee. "They figured it all out! They know about camp! They know about us! Every lie we told them!"

Luz sighed in relief. "Okay Vee, calm down."

"No! How can I be calm? Masha's gonna tell everyone and I'm gonna get dissected!"

"Do you really think Masha would do that?"

Vee thought for a moment. "No. But Luz, they know what I am!"

"Okay, what's the big deal?"

Vee looked at Luz for a good few moments, then sprinted up to her room. Before dusk, Masha rang the doorbell to the Noceda residence. Luz answered it. "Hey Luz," said Masha at the ground. They put a hand to their head and swallowed. "I'm sorry… for the way I acted the other night."

"It's okay," said Luz. "I understand. I probably would have done the same thing."

Masha looked up, pleading with their eyes. "Can I… can I talk to Vee?"

Luz smiled. "I think that would be best."

Masha opened the door to Vee's room. Vee had been pacing, tears streaming down her face. When she saw Masha, she wiped her face with her sleeve and turned away. "Vee? Please," said Masha. "Can we talk?" Vee rubbed her nose. Masha took a deep breath. "You don't need to be afraid of me. I don't want you to be afraid of me. I promise I won't tell anyone, whatever it is that's going on. It stays between us."

Vee took a long moment to respond. "I don't want you to be afraid of me, either."

"Tsh. Why would I be afraid of you?"

"Because I'm a freak!" Vee screamed. She turned to Masha as she said it and the tears started flowing again.

"Don't say that about yourself," said Masha.

"Why not? It's true!"

"No it's not!" Masha closed the divide between them and took Vee's hands. Vee tried to turn away again but Masha tightened their grip. They stared into her eyes. "I may not know what you are, but I know who you are. You can't hide that from me. The Vee I know is thoughtful, considerate, kind, and dedicated. Don't ever call yourself a freak again. It hurts me to hear you talk bad about yourself."

"But—"

"No buts. I won't hear it, okay?"

Vee sighed and turned away to her window, tears subsiding. "You don't understand."

"I'd like to." Masha's smile reflected on the glass.

Vee turned back, breathing deeply. "I'm not… human."

"I gathered that," said Masha.

"I'm a shapeshifter."

"That I also kind of figured."

"I'm from the Demon Realm."

"Woah. Metal."

"That doesn't weird you out?"

Masha thought for a moment, then waved their hand in the air. "Mm, I've kinda suspected that magic is real for a while now. I mean, have you heard some of the stuff that's happened in Gravesfield, even in just the last year?"

Vee turned away once more. "I'm still a demon."

Masha took a step forward. "Why are you so determined to keep me away? Do you not… like me?"

Vee looked them in the eyes, her own pooling. "No! It's just… I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not afraid of getting hurt," said Masha. They took a step back and looked at the ground. "But… I can understand if you are. I just thought… maybe you'd take a chance on me. I guess that was dumb. I'm sorry." Masha went for the door.

"Wait!" said Vee. They stopped, hand on the doorhandle. "I am afraid," she said. "But I do wanna take that chance, if you do?"

Masha let go of the handle, stepped across the room to Vee, and wrapped their arms around her. "Anytime, Vee." Vee returned the hug but then pulled away. Masha thought for a moment. "So is this… what you really look like?" Vee took a step back, shut her eyes tight, and returned to her true form. She only bore the silence. She could not bring herself to open her eyes. "Aw, you're a cute lil snake girl!" Vee's eyes shot open in confusion, but by the time she could see anything, Masha had pressed their face against hers, lips locked in a gentle kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed. It was… nice — Vee could not find any other word for it at the time — just about the nicest thing she'd ever felt. Masha held her neck, no regrets. Vee held onto their shoulders, her vertebrae buckling but with their other hand, Masha held her up by her waist. It felt like they'd never let go.

long boi