The heart of Asken is bright with lights even after dark. There are glass tubes of lighting in the sidewalks and on the top of house roofs. Street lamps paraded the same tubes, bright as a lightbulb. The nightlife was active and vibrant.

  This city is like a living lantern in the dark. I could stand here in the street for hours. For now, I resided leaning against a wall, patient.

  “Oh my goodness, what a pink wolf you have there!” A young Dulling squealed as she abandoned her family to run up to me. She was dressed in colorful fabrics, a sign of wealth in a world incredibly dull.

  Opal stayed by my legs, gemstones shiny under the nightlights. Their rosy-pink fur is a bouquet of galaxy star fire reflected in the tube lights.

  “Thank you,” I politely told the Dulling with her twinkling interest. “They eat well, and thankfully they’ve stayed healthy.” Hunting down various deer, ducks, and berries, of course. The berries were the easiest to find; Ivory’s initial teachings came in handy. Look at that sheen on pink fur! The result of a healthy diet.

  “I heard they’re extremely rare to have,” The Dulling sighed in exasperation. “Can I pet her? It’s my first time seeing a gem wolf! Pops is so poor, we could never afford it!” Her voice was too loud, my poor ears.

  And yet…

  I paused, glancing down at the wolf.

  Opal remained stationary, watching the other Dullings passing by. The family of the nosy Dulling had stopped, fretting but unsure how to step over and handle her.

  Ah, parenting must be extremely difficult in every world.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, him?” The young Dulling frowned, bending her knees to peer closer.

  “Never really bothered to know,” My ear tufts under the hood twitched against the fabric. “Nonetheless, no. Opal isn’t the petting type. They bite, as most would when touched without permission.” Truth is, I would never let anyone pet my wards. They aren’t to be praised for domestication; they weren’t tamed and never will be.

  “How do I get permission?” The Dulling lifted her head to challenge my sight under the hood. She was fearless and unmoving, the result of a strong personality and loving parenting.

  It was only acceptable to meet her thrown gauntlet with a steady, disapproving hum.

  “Prayers on your next birthday, perhaps.” Is what I replied with, the young Dulling nodding furiously.

  Opal gave a light snort disguised as a sneeze. Sometimes, I forget how the Gem Wolves are equally tuned to my emotions, as I can sometimes read into theirs.

  “I’m really sorry for my daughter!” Rushed the father of the wealthy family. He had approached in a flurry, pulling the girl behind himself. “She’s a little spoiled but means no harm, I swear it!” He sweated, his stench of sour nervousness.

  Stranger danger, I supposed. Adults happened to be far more wary of strangers with burned cloaks, also most likely to call ‘Beast!’

  “I am not angry,” Perhaps a tiny bit offended on Opal’s behalf. “Have a good day. Please teach your children the basics of empathy, kindness, and respect for wildlife.” Without further word, I turned heel and stalked down the road with purpose.

  My ears caught the relieved exhale of the father.

  Opal closely followed after me, easily jumping over a floor tube of light. Their claws clinged against the glass.

  “Bye, Stranger!” The young Dulling had called out, loud and proud.

  Indeed, I’m not angry at all. What will snapping at others do when they don’t mean any harm? Their values may be skewed compared to mine, but it is not my job to scream and teach them what to do. This planet is set in its ways, and I am not going to be the one to start the movement of change. That begins with the parents, the old and new Dullings of today.

  “Shepherd!” Ebony called out, his ears perked with good news. “I have found the location of it.” His smile was without teeth, but Ebony’s dark eyes glittered with mischief and glee. “Fakir was quite honest in his words of location! We are ready anytime to retrieve the pages you desire.” Within a wind’s breeze, Ebony lowered himself to a respectful bow.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  And for a brief second, I had stilled.

  The air tasted off. My ears throbbed.

  Dullings continued to walk without a care in the world.

  Opal lifted their head by an inch, sensing my shift.

  “Shepherd?” Ebony gently prodded with a low tone. “Are you…Upset?” The smile had dropped completely, and while his own hood hid the ears, I could tell his mood dived.

  “No,” I told him, squinting at the sky. “I just had an odd feeling, is all.”

  It wasn’t a good feeling. I do not know how to voice it.

  Like biting into an apple and realizing you bit into half a worm. Perhaps, crossing an empty street, just for a speeding car to zoom in your direction. The discomfort crawled up my fur and claws. A frown pulled at my face, but I managed to conceal it the second Opal turned to observe me more closely.

  Ebony opened his mouth, but the strong stench of honey dragged my attention to Ivory, who had appeared with three wooden skewers and a small box.

  Candied strawberries, candied apples, and candied mango skewers were offered in Ivory’s invitation.

  Within seconds, I swiped the strawberry before Ebony could blink.

  “Thank you for your hard work, Ivory,” I inhaled with grace, breathing in the sweet smell of honey over berries.

  “You must be joking,” Ebony complained with a twitch to the eye. “All he did was get food–Is that why you wandered off when the two of us were meant to stay together?” Ebony seethed. “I did not know my brother was such a glutton. Despicable!”

  Ivory rolled a shrug and I found myself swallowing laughter.

  “I can eat yours if you don’t want it.” Ivory plainly revealed, and a smile of his own stretched as Ebony swiped the mango skewer with a low growl. “Here, Opal, I bought you seaweed-wrapped meat.” Ivory knelt with a wrapped treat, and Opal was quick to bury their nose into his neck with approval.

  For the next three minutes, we merely stayed next to one another on a building’s wall, observing Asken Dullings moving about their lives.

  “Ebony, Ivory, what do you think a Dad is supposed to be like?” Hands clean, I sat on the ground, uncaring of the stares passing Dullings gave.

  Opal sat next to me, lying on their paws. Their gems shone like a seashell in the sunlight, even if the light on them was from the artificial lighting of the nearby lampposts.

  “I lack memory on it,” Ebony replied, blunt, and distant. “Is this a topic of matter to you?”

  Nodding didn’t seem honest and shaking my head would be a clear lie. I raised two claws and flexed a ‘so-so’ gesture while Opal’s tail tapped against my side. I knew this to be their method of silent comfort, I shifted my weight to lean against the rosy wolf.

  “I don’t really care for what I could’ve had,” Ivory paused in brief stillness. “No, I do. What I don’t care about, are people I could’ve had, but never needed. I can tell I needed the ones I currently hold to heart,” Ivory twirled his empty wooden fruit stick. “Are the people I often think about even when my mind is empty. Like you, Shepherd, Ebony, and even the memories of this ‘Okaasan’.” Ivory shut his eyes.

  Opal leaned closer to me as my claws dug into the ground, feeling burned from homesickness.

  Opal shifted abruptly, eyes on Ivory, before they rolled onto their side and kicked him with a hind leg.

  Ivory jolted from the low hit but otherwise did not react.

  “...Yes, you as well, Opal. I’ve come to truly value the Gem Wolves as…Cousins. Family. Sorry, Shepherd. I cannot answer this question properly for you. I do not care for fathers, so I cannot think of what one is supposed to be.” Ivory wasn’t at all regretful, I can tell from the distance in his voice.

  I valued the honesty regardless.

  I tilted my head to Ebony, who seemed quiet, eyebrows furrowed.

  “Shepherd,” Ebony began, careful, as one could be handling thorny roses. “I do not think there is a clear answer. After all, the one who raised us carried both roles. What is the difference between a mother and father, when ‘Ma’ provided all she could?” Ebony eyed the clouds far above, not a star to be found.

  Light pollution in a world with less technology, how horrendous.

  “I do not know why I’m asking the question myself,” I murmured, thoughts of the Dulling family muddled and murky. “But you’re right. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Mom did all she could; she was our protector and provider, even if I ended up dead the one time she was away.” Deep inhale taken, then long exhale given. “I hope she’s doing okay. I hope your other selves got therapy and learned to move on.” The honey had long faded from my throat, but it felt like there was something stuck there regardless. Thick and suffocating with an aftertaste of bittersweet. “I don’t enjoy the idea of sacrifice, with nothing to show for it.”

  Both twins listened. Opal, had watched a moth fly to a nearby post.

  I jumped to my feet, dusting myself off. “I still remember the day Mom packed me up on her back and fled to another state. We had little money, hardly any clothes,” I wistfully reminisced. “It must’ve been hard, stepping into the unknown, knowing there were all kinds of monsters in the dark, yet the cruelest one lived in your precious home.” I counted the seconds, the time it will take to leave this grace period. “Mom was everything Father couldn’t be. A parent, a resolved decision maker, and the one to take the first step.”

  Even if that meant being ‘cowardly’ in the eyes of fools who would never understand how it felt to cower every time Father strutted into the room. Eggshells, brittle and sharp, prepared to cut into the foot should you overstep. All children did was tap dance over these shells, unable to know how to properly ‘play’ the game. Often, the very same child would be hurt.

  I had been. Over and over. Left confused and wondering what went wrong and why I wasn’t avoiding punishment for minor infractions.

  Forgive me, Mom had sobbed during our long walk on an empty road. The full moon had been pretty that night, too. Forgive me, for taking so long to wake up. Here, I know your feet hurt, that’s why I’m carrying you. Do you want crackers and cheese dip? Don’t cry. I’m here, we’ll be…Alright.

  Oh, how my little brown hands had clenched onto her shoulders, occasionally playing with her curly hair. How I thought patting her head would make Mom cry less, to which she had wept more.

  She had been right, however. Life had gotten better. Stability. Money. Two new brothers.

  Happiness is not always meant for everyone at the same time.

  “I suppose I’ll be following in her footsteps. Care to join me, Ebony? Ivory? And you as well, Opal.” An honor of memory, but also a test of conviction. This city looked peaceful, but like the shock when Father first came home to an empty house, this environment will have to experience an earthquake-worthy ‘wake up’ call.

  Opal leapt to their paws, brushing my legs as they took a few steps in leadership.

  “Always, Shepherd,” Ebony promised, fixing up his cloak and holding a neutral smile.

  “Always and forever,” Ivory vowed, sharper, as he tucked away the wooden stick, two fingers on the hilt of his concealed weapon just under his own robe-like cloak.

  Asken will be missing a book and lacking in electricity by the end of tonight. Us wolves will be long gone, like the knowledge lost after burning the page. Forgotten and willfully absent.

  As it should be.

  Resurrection Raid

  by Morgan Grindall

  Graves are not forever, and freedom has a price.

  Teddy is a dead woman. She wakes in the Resurrection Raid with a companion and goal - she can defeat the Nascent AI and be reborn, or die here and have her soul fed into the data stream. Except her companion isn't what he seems, and there's a tag in her profile: LIMITER.

  Cato will get out. He has failed once, and he will not do so again. The System, the Resurrection Raid itself, an endless stream of dead souls seeking rebirth; none of it will stop him. Certainly not his LIMITER.

  Teddy and Cato can work together or die divided, but the Raid always takes its due.