“Drago.” Petya’s voice cracked slightly as she picked her way down from the tilted deck of the shipwreck. She gave a slight smile, far more than I had ever seen from her. Like me, she was relieved, and I was surprised at how much it did to brighten her features, which I had previously logged as rather plain. “Of all the people to wash up on this beach…”

  I stood frozen, still not quite believing my eyes. Finding another human being—let alone someone from my own workplace—felt impossible.

  Yet there she was.

  “How?” I finally managed. “How are you here?”

  Petya reached the sand and walked toward me, her movements stiff and cautious, as if she too feared I might be an illusion. When we were just a few paces apart, she stopped.

  “The same way as you, I imagine,” she said. “A blue…doorway of some sort? In the rubble?”

  I nodded. “During the earthquake.”

  A brief silence fell between us while the gentle sounds of waves filled the void.

  “We should get out of the open,” Petya finally said, glancing at the darkening sky. “I’ve been using this ship for shelter.” She turned and headed back toward the wreck, clearly expecting me to follow.

  I trailed after her, questions tumbling through my mind. The wooden hull creaked as we climbed aboard, the planks worn smooth by salt and wind.

  “Careful,” she said. “This thing has been here for a while.”

  Petya led me into a twisted central corridor to the first open doorway, which must have once been the captain’s cabin, now tilted at an odd angle but still offering protection from the elements.

  Inside, I found evidence of Petya’s brief occupancy. There appeared to be a makeshift bed constructed from sailcloth in the corner, with a sturdy, stylish leather purse set next to it.

  Louis Vuitton. Her sales must have been better than mine.

  “When did you arrive?” I asked, sinking down onto a wooden crate.

  She pointed to her watch, a rather nice piece I had noticed before in the office. “I arrived about six hours ago.”

  “A couple of hours for me,” I said.

  Petya ran a hand through her tangled hair as she settled opposite me, perching on the sailcloth bed. “The portal appeared right in my cubicle. One moment I was on the phone, the next the ceiling was coming down. I didn’t think—I just jumped through.”

  “Smart,” I said. “I must have gone through the same one. I passed out for a while, but I saw the light when I woke up. I had to crawl to it.”

  “So we’re from the same…event,” Petya said. “I wonder if anyone else made it through.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “So far, I’ve only seen you.”

  My thoughts were already racing ahead. If others had come through, where were they? More importantly, were they potential allies or competition for resources?

  There was a short silence. I felt her dark eyes watching me, attempting to assess my threat level. I remained calm and collected. I needed to present myself as a steady ballast in an uncertain world. It would make things go easier with her.

  “Did you explore the cliff?” I asked, the memory of the dragon vivid in my mind.

  “A little. There’s a cave up there that might provide better shelter. But from the look of the bones in there, it doesn’t seem safe.”

  “There’s a dragon in that cave.”

  Petya stared at me, her dark eyes widening. “A what?”

  “A dragon. Red scales, about the size of a bus. It was sleeping when I saw it.”

  She continued to stare, then finally let out a short laugh that held no humor. “A dragon. Of course. Why not?” She shook her head. “I saw no dragon, but I didn’t go all the way to the cave entrance. Maybe it was gone around that time.”

  “You’re lucky. I nearly died of fright.”

  Though, if I’m being honest, that fear had been mixed with an odd thrill. After all, how many people from my world had ever seen a living, breathing dragon?

  “Did you…” Petya hesitated, seeming to choose her words carefully. “Did you hear a Voice? When you first arrived?”

  I wondered. If I said “no,” it might cause Petya to doubt her own sanity, causing her to rely even more on me. This was tempting, but at the time, an exchange of information was more prudent for the time being.

  “Yes. Inside my head. Something about ‘entering Eyrth’ and finding a ‘class core,’ whatever that means. Did you hear the same?”

  Relief washed over her features. “So I’m not going insane. I heard it too. It said something about adding ‘Calidonian’ to my language stack. What the hell does that mean?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “But that Voice…it spoke in a different language, right? One you’ve never heard before, but could understand all the same?”

  “Yes!” Petya said. “What does it mean? I’ve never heard of this ‘Calidonian.”

  “Me neither,” I said, switching to this language flawlessly.

  Petya’s eyes widened. “I…understood that. God above!”

  I suppressed the chuckle that wanted to escape my lips. It would not do for Petya to think I found our situation amusing, even if a sardonic part of me did.

  “I have a feeling we’re not on Earth anymore,” I said instead. “If anything, this sort of sounds like a video game.” At her look of confusion, I explained further. “Back in university, I used to play this game called EverQuest. It had classes, stats, levels. All that nonsense. Warriors, wizards, that sort of thing.”

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  Petya frowned. “I’m not familiar with games like that. Are you suggesting we’re in this game, somehow? Like Jumanji? My oldest likes to play Dragons & Dungeons. It’s some game my relatives brought back from Germany.”

  I resisted the urge to correct her on Dungeons & Dragons. “Well, not exactly that, but the same idea. If I’m right, this is something far more advanced. I don’t know how it’s possible, but that’s my theory.”

  She gave a bitter laugh. “Well, I barely have time for television. I’m afraid I might be wholly reliant on you.”

  It was hard to suppress the smile that wanted to come to my lips. I needed something to say to prevent the inevitable.

  “Three kids will do that,” I said automatically, then froze, realizing I had revealed something I shouldn’t have known about her.

  Petya’s expression sharpened. “How did you know I have three children?”

  I shifted uncomfortably. Damn my loose tongue. “Office gossip. Someone mentioned it in the break room once.”

  Her face fell, the mask of composure cracking. “Yes. Three. Two boys and a girl.” Her voice thickened. “Nikolai is ten, Viktor is eight, and little Sophia…is only four.”

  The mention of her children seemed to break something in her. Petya’s shoulders began to shake, her breathing growing ragged. I watched calmly, knowing I needed to be a firm foundation for her.

  “They were with my mother today,” she went on. “She watches them after school.” Her hands clenched into fists. “Do they think I’m dead? Buried under the building? Will they stop looking for me?”

  I felt my own throat tighten. “My daughter, Irina,” I said softly. “She’s five. Her mother…” I trailed off, not wanting to speak ill of Elena. That could sow distrust between us too early in the game. “I don’t know what they will tell her.”

  I watched Petya carefully. Her pain was real, and yet I found myself calculating. A mother of three would be motivated, desperate to get home. That could make her useful and driven.

  But it could also make her unpredictable, perhaps even dangerous if she thought I was standing between her and her children. It would be stupid to go back to that cave, but already, I could sense Petya would want to do this, dragon be damned.

  “I’m sorry,” Petya finally said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Breaking down won’t help us get back to them, will it?”

  “It’s only human,” I said. “I miss my little girl, too. If there’s a way in, there must be a way out, right?”

  Petya looked at me, her eyes determined. “I’m going back to that cave tomorrow, dragon or not. This portal…it must be connected to the cave.”

  Before I could respond, a scraping sound came from outside the ship.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  Petya shook her head, already rising to her feet. “I’ve heard that noise before, but I’ve never found the source.”

  The light was fading rapidly now, with the interior of the cabin growing dim. I peered through the doorway into the main corridor of the ship. Shadows danced in the corners.

  “I should check it out,” I said.

  I didn’t want to, but volunteering would do well in winning Petya’s trust.

  “Be careful,” Petya warned. “We don’t know what kind of creatures exist here.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing serious. Please stay here.”

  I stepped cautiously into the hallway, eyes straining in the low light.

  What had I volunteered myself for? No longer facing Petya, I scowled openly.

  Another scraping sound—this time from a dark corner where part of the decking had buckled upward. I approached slowly, wishing I had something to use as a weapon.

  A movement in the shadows, then something scuttled out—a crab, but unlike any I’d seen on Earth. It was the size of a dinner plate, with a shell that seemed to shimmer with bioluminescent blue patterns.

  It froze upon seeing me, then retreated into the darkness.

  If we had a fire and a pot of water, it would probably make for good eating.

  “Just a crab,” I called back to Petya. “A strange one, but nothing dangerous.”

  “A crab? That’s not so bad.”

  Returning to the cabin, I found Petya kneeling on her makeshift bed, her eyes wide.

  “We need a plan,” she said. “Before we were interrupted…what do you think about returning to the cave?”

  I shook my head. “Petya, I can confirm that the portal is gone.”

  “But it could come back,” Petya said. “Maybe it appears at certain times. It disappeared for me, too, but it must have reappeared for you.”

  It was a very good point. She had deduced something that had escaped me, even for the moment. She was already proving her usefulness. “You’re right. However, are you prepared to stake out a position by the cave for hours or even days? That would almost certainly be suicide. And we would certainly need supplies for such an extended stay.”

  Her face fell. “You may be right in that.”

  I pressed my advantage. “Furthermore, what if it leads right back to the rubble? How would that be any help?”

  “Then we simply come back here. Try to find another portal.”

  I sighed. “I think the best move is to learn more about where we are first. Messing with a dragon is just asking to die. If there are others around—a police force, for example—they would be better equipped to deal with such threats.”

  She laughed. “A police force? It’s just us two here, Drago.”

  I kept my expression neutral. I was certain we weren’t alone here, judging by this shipwreck. But also, I didn’t like being contradicted by Petya. I was the level-headed one here, and she was the desperate mother looking to get back home.

  If anyone needed to make the decisions for the two of us, it was clearly me. She would understand that soon enough.

  “Are you sure you saw it?” Petya pressed.

  “I know I did. I won’t have you doubting me on this, Petya.”

  Her eyes widened slightly as she held up her hands placatingly. “Fair enough. I…I just want to get home.”

  I nodded. I needed to cool off a bit. It annoyed me when people questioned my knowledge. But I had to make sure she didn’t see that.

  “I want to get home, too. Even if that portal is gone for good, we know it’s possible in the first place. The key is finding another one like it. Or, like you said, getting help and staking out a position.”

  She frowned. “I never said that.”

  I blinked, feigning confusion. “Didn’t you earlier? You mentioned we should find help and come back prepared.” I shook my head slightly. “Maybe I misunderstood. It’s been a stressful day.”

  The slight doubt in her eyes was satisfying. Useful for later, if necessary.

  Time to show a bit of vulnerability. “To be frank, I’m just as lost as you. And yes…afraid. Personally, I think we’re better off following the coastline tomorrow. Look for settlements or other people. But first, we need fresh water.”

  Petya watched me for a moment. “You’re in luck.”

  She reached into her purse, pulling out a glass bottle of mineral water, about half full. “I had this with me when…when it happened.”

  My first reaction, strangely, was anger. She had this the entire time, could hear the rasp in my voice, and hadn’t offered me a single sip? The greedy wretch!

  Of course, this was not the appropriate response, so I smiled and took it gratefully. Observing the water for a moment, it was quite tempting to guzzle more than my share.

  In the end, I allowed myself just two mouthfuls before handing it back. The water tasted sweeter than anything I could remember.

  But there was another problem. There clearly wasn’t enough for two people for more than a day, especially in this heat. We would need to find more soon.

  “Thank you,” I said. “You’re quite generous.”

  Petya shrugged. “We need to work together if we’re going to survive here, right?”

  We spent the next hour preparing for the night, salvaging what we could from the ship to make a second sleeping area for me.

  I cleared my throat. “Maybe tomorrow we can explore the wreck a bit more when it’s brighter. There might be something useful here.”

  “Good idea,” Petya said. “I explored a bit already, but it always helps to have another set of eyes.”

  As darkness fell completely, the unfamiliar stars of Eyrth emerged overhead, visible through the damaged ceiling. They were brilliant and strange, constellations I had never seen before.

  My mind was already drifting, exhaustion finally claiming me after the most impossible day of my life.

  My last conscious thought was of Irina, wondering if somehow, across whatever vast distance separated us, she could feel that I was still alive and still fighting to return to her.

  And yet, as I drifted toward sleep, another thought intruded—that in this new world, with its dragons and magic, perhaps I could become something more than what I had been. Something powerful. Something important.

  For Irina’s sake, I told myself. All for Irina.

  It was a nice thought to cling to as I fell asleep.