Lab 7, observation deck 3. Ollie sat, staring at his reflection on the glass that separated the surgery room below. Harsh fluorescent lights on the ceiling revealed the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. His hands trembled on the chair's armrest.

  It didn't matter how much antiseptic, bleach, or whatever new industrial cleaning agents his people used. The walls never stopped reeking of blood.

  "Sir?" Nathan interrupted the silence. "The latest test results."

  Ollie didn't turn. His tablet rang with a notification popping up. He ignored it. The numbers would tell the same story they always did. Failure after failure. More blood on the floor and walls of his lab.

  "The new formula," Nathan continued, clearing his throat. "It shows promise. Subject 10-247's crystallization rate decreased by thirty-eight percent. Male subjects respond better overall. We're seeing up to forty percent reduction in progression."

  "And the women?" Ollie's reflection asked.

  "Thirty percent, on average. But sir, this is significant progress. If we can slow the process enough. Eventually, we can eliminate the binding agent."

  "Eventually?" Ollie snapped. His composed mask cracked. "Thousands already died, Nathan. Are we just chasing ghosts?"

  Ollie's fingers drummed against the armrest. One-two-three. One-two-three. It didn't matter if it slowed down. What mattered were results, and results didn't dent the 100% death rate.

  "The mechanism is fascinating," Nathan said, pulling up charts on his tablet. "The modified strain creates a buffer zone around the initial crystallization sites. It's like the dust itself is fighting against its own effects."

  "Skip the science lesson." Ollie rubbed his temples. The headache that had been building all morning throbbed behind his eyes. "Bottom line it."

  "Sir, once the process is stopped, eliminating it comes next. Use the strain as a sort of vaccine. Maybe even reverse it from those already exposed."

  "That's what you said about the last three formulas. And the five before that." Ollie's fist shook, though he wasn't sure anymore if that was from the five cups of coffee.

  Gale shouldn't have come back. Shouldn't have let him rest for even a minute. Now his body's gotten a taste of not having so much weight on his shoulders.

  Look at you. Pathetic for wanting to take a break.

  The tablet notification rang again. This time he looked.

  Subject 10-247 - Terminated

  Subject 10-248 - Critical

  Subject 10-249 - Terminal

  Subject 10-250 - Stabilizing

  The list went on. Numbers instead of names. Easier that way. Don't think about the families. The lives. Just data points on a graph trending steadily downward.

  "Two hundred and seventy-two hours," he muttered. "That's what they get. Just over eleven days from first exposure to..."

  "With the new formula, it'll give them 30% more time."

  "They get an extra three or four days. Wonderful." The headache spiked, making him wince. "Tell that to their families. 'Sorry about your loved one, but hey, they got to suffer longer than usual.'"

  Nathan shifted in his seat.

  "The data suggests we're failing." Ollie turned from the glass. "Every day more bodies show up. More exposure cases. The Path is useless to keep their shit contained, and it just grows faster than we can track it."

  "Sir, you should rest. You haven't slept in days."

  "I'm fine." Ollie straightened his tie. He cleared his throat, then straightened his back. Machines aren't allowed to take rest. "Show me the mechanism."

  Nathan hesitated, then pulled up a molecular diagram. "The modified strain creates what we're calling crystal inhibitor zones. They protect the current cells from binding to the crystal and spreading its growth. Biological differences between sexes can affect the stability of these zones."

  Ollie tried to focus on the spinning molecules. His vision blurred at the edges. "And you think you can stabilize these zones? Make them permanent?"

  "Theoretically. If we can isolate the compound responsible for the inhibition effect, then we could indefinitely halt the crystallization process."

  "Theory isn't good enough anymore." Ollie's voice cracked. "We need results. Real ones. Not 'theoretically' or 'possibly' or 'might.'"

  His hands dropped to his sides. Strands of hair jutted out from his brushed back hair. There was no point to all he built if everything was just an if scenario of things that end in else.

  If only one condition bore true. Everything at the cost of pushing to that one statement. He'd come too far to call quits.

  The ghost was real. No one could tell him otherwise. No one.

  "Double the research team," he said. "Triple it if you have to. I want that inhibitor effect isolated and stabilized before the quarter ends."

  "Sir, that's not possible. The testing alone-"

  "Make it possible. Whatever it costs." Ollie stood up from the chair. But another ring came from the tablet.

  Another failure.

  "What about the side effects?" Nathan asked. "The neural degradation we're seeing in the test subjects? The increased pain response?"

  "Irrelevant." Ollie's hands wouldn't stop shaking. Pain should be tolerated. What matters is they survive. Besides, they're just numbers. Keep it fucking together.

  The observation room's lights flickered. Most likely a power surge from somewhere deeper in the facility. For a moment, Ollie saw his reflection more clearly. A man in a suit and spreadsheets open on his tablet.

  "Sir?" Nathan's voice seemed far away. "The latest numbers from distribution..."

  But Ollie wasn't listening anymore. The tablet rang. And again. And again.

  The tablet slipped from his grip, falling onto the floor. His knees buckled, vision blurred. Eyes squinted at the lights that seemed to grow brighter. The ringing wouldn't stop. It kept ringing and ringing.

  Nathan caught him before he hit the ground. "Sir, you need to stop this."

  "I said I'm fine." Ollie tried to push away, but his arms felt heavy. "Just... need a minute."

  "You haven't slept in days." Nathan's grip remained firm as he guided Ollie back to the chair. "The tests can wait."

  Ollie slumped into the seat. On the floor, another notification popped up.

  [Subject 10-247 - Terminated]

  He closed his eyes, but the image stayed burned beneath his eyelids.

  "How many today?" His voice cracked.

  "Don't do this to yourself." Nathan picked up the fallen tablet, turning it off. "You're pushing too hard. Your body can't take it."

  "Nathan." Ollie held on to Nathan's arms. "Am I... do you think I'm a bad person?"

  The smell of blood on the walls grew stronger. White walls slowly turning red in Ollie's vision. A few moments of silence fell between them. The heart rate monitor in the surgery room blared deafeningly loud behind the observation glass. Blue light enveloped the machine, suddenly turning off.

  "Honestly?" Nathan set the tablet on a nearby counter. "You're probably the shittiest man I've ever met."

  A weak laugh escaped Ollie. "Tell me how you really feel."

  "You buy people. Silence them when they get in your way. You do things that people wouldn't dare to do," Nathan said, monotone.

  Ollie clenched his hands on the support of Nathan. "And yet you're still here."

  "Because you're right." Nathan sat back down. "Someone has to do this. Someone has to try to fix it."

  "There's someone I can't buy," Ollie said. "Won't even try."

  "The new guy?"

  "He should stay clean. Away from all this." Ollie sighed. "Some things money shouldn't touch."

  "Sir-"

  "Did you know what happened back then?" Ollie's eyes fixed on the ceiling tiles, counting them to stay conscious. "Back then. He didn't… never asked for anything. Never wanted recognition. Just helped."

  Nathan pulled up Ollie's sleeves and put his fingers on his wrist, checking for his pulse. "You need rest. The labs will still be here tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow."

  Each and every life deserved a tomorrow. Not just Aurians. The Path and the two other major factions aren't gods that can decide who's fate doesn't deserve a tomorrow.

  "What if we run out of tomorrows?" Ollie asked.

  "I really don't know." Nathan let go of his wrist. "We just need to keep fighting…."

  Two hundred and seventy-two hours. That's all anyone got once the dust took hold. Unless they found a way to stop it. Unless they crossed enough lines, broke enough rules, sacrificed enough to make a difference. When will that ghost reveal itself?

  "Some things money can't fix," Ollie mumbled, consciousness fading. "Some people it shouldn't try to."

  October's chilly gusts blew through the artificial wind tunnel that is Toronto's financial district. Early in the morning just around 9AM, Gale had already bumped into several businessmen in vests, looking at their phones and not looking at where they were going.

  "Never been downtown before?" Lily asked, noticing his head darting at every corner they came across.

  "No. Only seen pictures." Gale dodged another man wearing the same black vest with a green logo on the chest.

  "Right." Lily led them down Bay Street, easily weaving through the sea of people on their phones. "The Path likes keeping their prospects in the suburbs. Easier to monitor."

  Gale's head snapped to a bell ringing. He sighed, finding it was only a streetcar driving by. "They've been watching me?"

  "Of course they have," Lily said. "Though they're not the only ones. The Knights have been sniffing around too. Trying to find stuff about you."

  "Great." Gale stuffed his hands in his pockets. "More attention I don't want."

  "Can't blame them. You've got everyone curious." Lily paused at a crosswalk, waiting for the light. "The Path's losing control up here in Canada. Dust flowing out through their territory, artifacts going missing. Makes the other factions nervous."

  "And they think I'm involved?"

  "They think everyone's involved." The walk signal flashed, and they crossed Front Street. "The Knights want to play traffic cop, putting up checkpoints, increasing patrols. Very by-the-book stuck-up nerds. The Jiuling just want to cut off the source. They don't care about the contraband, just stop the dust flow."

  Gale glanced at her. "Should you be telling me all this?"

  "What are they gonna do, fire me?" Lily laughed. "I'm not even officially part of any faction. Go ahead and fire me! Most of us Blue-I mean, most of us survivors aren't."

  After one more block, they reached a building that looked out of place among the glass and concrete buildings. This one looked more like a castle. Limestone and intricately chiselled stone. It stood out like a sore thumb, a beautiful kind of sore compared to the blocky buildings all around.

  "Speaking of factions," Lily said, "you thinking of joining one? The Path's obviously making their play, but you've got options."

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  Gale saw a single child family struggling with their luggage after they hopped off a blacked-out SUV. The child tried to lift the luggage from the trunk, then helped by probably his dad, who was wearing shorts in the middle of autumn. "Honestly? I just want to finish school first."

  "School?" Lily asked. "Regular mundane school?"

  "It feels... right." Gale shrugged. "Normal."

  "Normal." Lily said. "Must be nice, having that choice."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Some of us didn't get choices before all this." Lily's high heels clicked against the shiny rock floor. "Before the forest, before you found us... let's just say I had a different career. Involved dancing on stage with a pole."

  "Dancing sounds fun," Gale said.

  Lily burst out laughing. "Sure. It's only fun after the first couple of months. Let's leave it at that."

  They crossed the lobby over to the elevators. Six brass doors lined the wall, three on each side. Lily led them to the leftmost one.

  "Fancy schmancy elevator," she said, pressing the call button. "Usually reserved for the fancy suites up top."

  The doors opened with a soft chime. Going inside, the elevator's wood paneling and brass fixtures made the place feel even more surreal than it already was. Probably the prettiest building he's ever been in.

  Lily waited for the doors to close before opening a service panel beneath the buttons.

  "Watch and learn." She pressed her palm to the keyhole. Blue light spilled between her fingers. The elevator shuddered, then began descending instead of rising.

  "The Path's headquarters is down here?" Gale asked.

  "Not exactly." The numbers on the display kept dropping. "More like... neutral ground. Switzerland for Aurians or I don't know. I'm not too heavy into politics. Ollie does all of that."

  The elevator stopped and then opened, Lily ushering him out. The lobby revealed itself before him. Pillars made of black shiny rocks. Walls had brown shiny rocks. Looking up, the ceiling had a black rock in the middle. On the right side were shiny rocks, placed artistically to look like angels with guns. On the left side, shiny rocks that showed demons with goat heads holding swords.

  They walked until they met a cluster of leather chairs near a fireplace. Three of those chairs were occupied by people Gale recognized.

  The first one was a Chinese woman who was part of the survivors from Elliot's dungeon, though he never got her name. The boy beside her scrambled from his seat, hiding behind her chair.

  The last one was a woman, most definitely older than them. She wore military like outfit that looked tight, on her hips were what looked like daggers holstered on each side.

  "Where's Jeanne?" Lily asked.

  The chinese woman adjusted her glasses. "Medical wing."

  "Huh?" Lily frowned. "That's the third one this month."

  "She says it's nothing."

  The older woman set her magazine aside. "So, our saviour has returned. I guess things will pick up now?"

  Before Gale could answer, Lily cut in. "He's catching up on what he missed. Ten years is a lot of changes to process."

  "Right." The older woman chuckled. "Guess that is a lot of time. Even politics in the Path changed a lot in just five years."

  Lily sighed.

  "Well, Jeanne will be excited to see you. Assuming the doctors ever finish with her." The older woman stood up from her chair.

  "They're just being careful," the chinese woman said softly. "After what happened in the west district..."

  "I don't think our saviour remembers any of our names," the older woman said.

  "Right, sorry. Everyone, introduce yourselves. Name first, affiliation, then job," Lily commanded.

  "Marine Laurent. Blue Witch, reconnaissance specialist. At your service," the older woman said.

  "Yawen Liu. Blue Witch. Artificer," the Chinese woman's voice could barely be heard over the ambient chatter.

  "Viktor. I'm just a student at Sterling Institute," the boy said.

  "Sterling Institute?" Gale asked.

  "Just think of it as magic school," Lily said.

  "Better grab Jeanne before she stabs Dr. Koh with his own pen for trying to take another blood sample," Marine put her hands on her hips.

  "Right, that sounds like her," Lily said. "Gale, this way to the medical wing."

  The corridor opened into a grand, arched hallway. Carpet lined the shiny stone floors, muffling everyone's steps, especially Lily's heels. Doors lined each side of the hallway. Square brass nameplates showed each unit's number, starting from B001 at the beginning of the hall. Every door had a security keypad, similar to the one in the elevator to the underground facility.

  Viktor trailed behind Yawen, constantly glancing at him. Every time he glanced back at him, the boy, who looked like he was his age, flinched.

  "Are you scared?" Gale tried to smile as much as he could.

  Viktor squealed and hid his whole face behind the smaller Yawen.

  "Gale, can you not?" Yawen rubbed the back of Viktor.

  I didn't do anything though? Gale tilted his head.

  "Viktor was one of the kids in the encampment. He saw you in that demon bone armour you had with a huge mean look on your face," Lily said. "Way to go, Mr. Saviour."

  Gale sighed. "So this is where you all hang out?"

  "Pretty much our unofficial HQ," Lily's heel clicked where the carpet ended and another began. "Neutral ground means all factions have to play nice here. No fighting, no arrests. Completely neutral."

  "Like Switzerland, except everyone's addicted to coffee," Marine said.

  "Don't tell me you'd rather hang out at Path HQ," Lily rolled her eyes. "Bunch of old men hitting on women 20 years younger than them while trying to pretend they're not playing with magic."

  "At least they have windows," Viktor muttered.

  "If only windows weren't so tempting," Lily laughed.

  A young woman walked by and waved at Yawen. Viktor braced himself immediately as the same woman patted him on the head.

  Five years for them. Ten years for him. They all came to where they belonged, yet he still clung to his G.E.D. Gale still wanted it. It would be the only thing he'd get without these new abilities inside of him.

  "Is this facility accessible to anyone?" Gale asked.

  "Nope, but you gotta thank Ollie for that," Marine said. "After we got back from the forest, he pulled strings. Lots of strings."

  "What she means is he threw money at people until they gave in," Lily said. "That's his superpower, really. Being rich and stubborn. He has his telekinesis too, but that's more like an afterthought. But none of this would've ever been possible if you hadn't given us that spear."

  That's right. All he did was just give them the spear. Let them fight against life themselves. That was their effort, not his. He was just a coward who delegated the responsibility of people's lives to helpless starved women.

  A saviour? He wasn't one. That title might be too much for a teenager just wanting to get through high school… the grown up kind.

  "Here we are," Lily stopped at a set of double doors, a brass plate labeled "Medical Services." She pressed her palm to the keyboard, blue light spilling. The doors slid open.

  The medical room looked nothing like the sanitized white hospital room that Gale was used to seeing on TV. Here, the walls were painted a soft dark blue. The floors covered in carpet rather than the clacky tiles of Lab 7. Chairs and tables carved from distinct Brazilian rosewood were padded with the same colour as the wall. It looked more like a rich man's home office than something that resembled a medical service.

  A nurse looked up from a desk. "Ms. Grace, Ms. Laurent. Are you here for Jeanne?"

  "Is she done?" Lily asked.

  "Just finishing up. You can wait in Room 3."

  They followed the nurse down another corridor to a waiting room. Armchairs with the same plush dark blue padding lined the walls. A giant aquarium covered one side of the waiting room's wall and a tunnel for fish that led to who knows where. Koi fish swam through the tunnel and aquarium, coexisting with shubunkin.

  Gale felt his mouth water. He hadn't had fish in a while. Maybe he could take one into his storage box and cook it later.

  "I'll tell Dr. Koh you're here," the nurse said, interrupting his thoughts.

  Marine immediately claimed the largest chair, stretching her legs out with a sigh. Viktor perched on the edge of the armrest where Yawen, who sat with perfect posture, hands folded in her lap.

  Looking at the both of them, it felt like looking at a brother and sister, but clearly not. The timid younger brother and stern older sister combo. Gale remained standing, eyes drifting back to the aquarium. If only he could get a chance…

  "So," Lily turned her head towards Gale, "how you doing now? Is it too much all at once?"

  "I- uhh. I really don't know.," Gale said, immediately snapping his head at Lily. "Just came back a month or two ago. It's been a crash course of everything. Kind of. Haha."

  "I never got to tell you, really. Back then, one by one, those people would take one of us upstairs," Lily said. "The screaming starts until she gets tired. After a while, one last scream, and then silence."

  "I was the one that counted the days in that basement," Yawen said. "But I couldn't really tell how long a day was. I'd just scratch another mark after I wake up. They'd come after us every 3rd scratch on the wall. Always just one."

  Yawen's breathing quickened. She reached out her hand to Viktor, squeezing hard.

  "It's okay, Yawen," Lily said. "We're back home. We're safe now."

  "Sorry," Yawen said, adjusting her glasses with shaking hands. "It's still... difficult."

  There were no words Gale could say to them. At least, he wasn't qualified to say anything. All he really did was just give them a long stick and tell them to fend for themselves. That way, he could say to himself that he tried to do something for them without feeling guilty.

  Marine leaned forward in her chair. "You want to know how we ended up there?"

  Gale nodded.

  "I was with friends when it happened. Five of us, celebrating our graduation," Marine's eyes fixed on some distant point. "There was this flash, like the world turned red and inside out at the same time. Next thing we knew, we were in that fucked-up forest with the blue moon."

  "Danny was a survival nut. Always watched those wilderness shows, carried a knife, knew which plants you could eat just by the smell." Marine smiled softly. "He kept us fed, built shelters. Even said we should wait for rescue, though we all knew nobody was coming."

  "Then Blue Haven found you?" Gale asked.

  "Yeah. Thought we'd hit the jackpot. Real beds, walls, other people. Everyone seemed... happy. Until they weren't."

  For a minute, the room fell silent. Water trickled while nurses shuffled through the waiting room.

  "Something similar happened to me," Lily said after a moment. "Except I was with my boss and coworkers when the shift happened. Bunch of assholes from the club where I worked."

  Lily crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders. "Can't say I was too broken up when Elliot's men took them. They'd been making my life hell even before we got stuck in that place."

  Viktor cleared his throat. "My mom and me were driving home from the store. There was this weird light, and then..."

  "Viktor was just 11 years old at that time," Yawen said, patting his arm. "Not sure if you remember him, Gale."

  "What about you?" Marine asked, cutting into his thoughts. "How'd you end up in the Eclipsed?"

  "I was-"

  Before Gale could answer, the door opened. A doctor in a white coat backed in, saying, "Take it easy for a few days. No heavy lifting, no sparring."

  "Yeah, yeah," came a familiar voice. "I've heard it all before."

  The doctor moved away from the door, revealing a slim woman with a ponytail. Her arm was bandaged from wrist to elbow, but her scowl told him she had other ideas in play. Gale remembered her. She was the girl who got hurt and fell ill along the way to the exit rift.

  "Jeanne," Lily said, standing. "About time."

  Jeanne's eyes moved past Lily, landing on Gale. For a moment, her mouth gaped. Then she blinked, and it was gone.

  "So, our hero finally returns," Jeanne smirked, the largest one Gale had ever seen from this group. "Any of those monsters follow you from the exit?"

  Gale shook his head.

  "That'll have to do," Jeanne said, her gaze slightly lingering on him. "So, what did I miss?"

  "Story time," Marine said. "The 'how we got to the Eclipsed' edition."

  "My favourite," Jeanne said sarcastically. "Did you get to the part where I threatened to beat up Micah if he didn't stop complaining?"

  Marine laughed. "Not yet."

  Lily leaned forward, eyeing the bandage on Jeanne's arm. "So what happened this time? That doesn't look like a paper cut."

  "This?" Jeanne tapped her bandage with her good hand. "Just a scratch."

  "A scratch that requires medical attention," Yawen pointed out.

  Jeanne rolled her eyes. "Some UK assholes jumped me in Oshawa. No big deal."

  "United Knights?" Gale asked.

  "Yeah. Number 1 Asshole told me to check on those warehouses near the lake. Those ones where Ollie actually has permits for," Jeanne said. "Next thing I know, some chick with a fancy bow and a different asshole with knuckles were trying to arrest me. Arrest me for what? Seriously."

  "Number 1 asshole?" Gale asked.

  "Jonathan. Carl. Or whatever name he gave you." Marine facepalmed. "So, how'd it go?"

  Jeanne smirked. "Left the archer with a twisted ankle and that brawler with burnt up lungs."

  Lily crossed her arms. "You were supposed to be doing reconnaissance only."

  "I was! They spotted me first." Jeanne clenched her fist, wincing slightly. "Not my fault they decided to play rough. And I'm definitely not one to turn down a fight."

  "You saying the UK just attacked without provocation?" Marine asked.

  "They've been jumpy since that dust shipment showed up in London last month. Anything with the Glory Industries stamp on it, they're all over it like flies on shit."

  Lily checked her phone. "Anyway, we should probably head back. Ollie's going to meet us in the main lobby in twenty."

  "Already?" Viktor looked disappointed.

  "Duty calls. Bills to pay." Lily slipped her heels back on. "Plus, I think our saviour's had enough of us rambling for one day."

  "Why did you all tell me this?" The question came out too fast before Gale could stop himself.

  All of them looked at him with a curious gaze that could kill. Gale stepped back one step. That's what usually wolves do, but these weren't wolves.

  "Believe it or not, you are our saviour. That's non neogotiable. The encampment wanted to throw us out. But you took us in. And that's that," Lily said.

  "You're also quite the topic for the past couple of years, especially from a special someone named Rac-"

  A blue laser light, a much smaller version of the blue moon's blue lance, hit Jeanne on the forehead.

  "What was that for?!"

  "Shut up. Let's move. Save it for another time."

  "Fine," Jeanne sighed. "But I expect a proper welcome back party for our saviour. With alcohol and lots of meat. Like a whole pig's worth of meat just for myself. You guys get your own pigs."

  "Deal." Lily stood. "Come on."

  As they filed out of the waiting room, Yawen paused beside Gale.

  "Thank you," she whispered. "Not just for the rescue. But also for coming back."

  Gale let himself smile slightly. He hadn't really come back for them. However, knowing everyone was safe and sound made his heart feel warm, or that could just be him blushing. Either way.

  This was nice.

  A notification chimed on Lily's phone. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and her expression shifted into something that looked more like confusion.

  "Shit." She tapped quickly on her phone. "Nathan just messaged me. Ollie's in St. Michael's."

  Marine went over to Lily's side to look over her shoulder. "What happened?"

  "Doesn't say." Lily quickly tapped another message into the phone. "Just that he collapsed in Lab 7 and they rushed him there."

  Jeanne pushed off from the wall she'd been leaning against. "That idiot's been running himself into the ground for months."

  "Yawen, take Viktor back to Sterling." Lily slipped her phone away. "He's got classes tomorrow."

  Viktor opened his mouth, but Yawen's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "We'll go to the artificing workshop first. He has some homework for tracking spell mechanics."

  The boy's face brightened slightly. "The one with the silver wire?"

  "Yes." Yawen nudged him toward the door. "Be careful, everyone."

  "I'm coming with you two." Marine moved to the exit of the waiting room.

  "Same here." Jeanne flexed her bandaged arm. "Doctor's orders be damned."

  "You sure?" Lily asked.

  "Totally sure." Jeanne cut her off. "Besides, Ollie owes me quite a bit. Especially after last night's tussle. I'm getting my hazard pay, baby!"

  "Fair point." She turned to Gale. "Coming?"

  Ollie was one of the only connections left he had in this world. Of course he had to.

  "I'm coming," he said.

  Bonus chapters are dropped the following day whenever a goal is hit!