“What do you mean you remember?” I asked the wild-eyed woman from my past.

  Tabby grabbed my wrists with her shaky hands and held tight as if to balance herself. “After you left, I had this strange, confusing feeling that I couldn’t shake. It got worse and worse, and I felt like I couldn’t control my own thoughts. It was like when you have a word stuck on the tip of your tongue, but worse. A thousand times worse. It got so bad that I had to lie down, and eventually I fell asleep. I think. I’m not exactly sure, to be honest. It was like my mind just shut down completely, but whenever I woke up, I remembered things. Lots of things. Crazy things. Impossible things.”

  She was talking so fast that I worried she might pass out from lack of oxygen. I raised my arms and rested my hands gently on her shoulder. Her hands remained latched to my forearms, and my heart slammed against my chest. This couldn’t mean what I thought it did, could it? I looked her straight in the eye. “What’s your name?”

  A dark, crooked, manic smile formed on her face. “I have two. Which would you prefer?”

  My heart skipped more than a few beats. She remembered. Somehow, my story had triggered something in her mind and unlocked her memories. That was the only explanation. I swallowed the anxiety building up in my throat. “What’s my name?”

  Tabby started laughing and shook her head. Her laugh transformed into a pitched cackle. It wasn’t a joyful sound. “This can’t be real.” She put her hands on her head. “What the fuck is happening to me?”

  She was spiraling fast, and I saw only one way forward.

  “Candace,” I said, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to meet my eye. “I can explain everything. I can make the things you are remembering make sense. Just stay calm. Let’s start slowly, and everything will be fine. You know me – the real me.”

  Some of the wild panic in her eyes stilled.

  I nodded reassuringly. “You’re safe. I know what you’re going through. Now, tell me, what’s my name?”

  She took a long breath and straightened her back. “In my memories, your name isn’t John. It’s Ethan.” She said it confidently, as if saying it with conviction would make it true. “Your name is Ethan Hill.”

  “John?” asked a male voice from behind me.

  I turned around to see Delen.

  And Kitz.

  And Ersabet.

  They were all watching the show.

  I looked around for Val, and saw her near the wagon, a contemplative look on her soft face.

  Why didn’t you tell me they were here? I thought angrily at her.

  She looked up at me, momentarily surprised before her face turned serene. “I apologize, Ethan, but as you can imagine, I’ve been focused on your conversation with Tabby. It’s remarkable. This hasn’t happened in centuries.”

  What?’ You know what’s going on? Tell me!

  “I will later. For now, deal with the moment. You look crazy when you pause to speak with me in front of others.”

  Val was right. This was not the time.

  “Let’s get back to camp,” I said. “We can bring the wagon, so it’s out of sight. Once we’re all settled, and Tabby is off the road, we’ll talk.”

  ***

  The fire crackled as Kitz added another small log. Ersabet had managed to lead Tabby’s donkeys, bringing the wagon closer to the camp and out of view from the road.

  I sat on a heavy woolen blanket that would serve as my bed for the night and looked at the others around the campfire. Tabby was next to me, sitting on a spare blanket I had in my inventory. She had calmed down for the most part, anticipating that answers were soon to come.

  Ersabet sat straight across from me, probably on purpose, so she could see if I was lying. Delen was to my right, and Kitz was on the other side of Tabby. Val sat carefuly next to Kitz in a side-sitting position, one arm propping her up with her legs together. The slit in her skirt showed skin up to her thigh. Her casual, manufactured beauty annoyed me.

  I didn’t really want to do this, but I didn’t see any other way around it. I had intended to protect Delen and Kitz from the full truth, but Tabby just shattered that wall. Everyone heard her call me by my real name, and Tabby was on the verge of complete psychosis. The only way I could prevent her from going insane was to reveal the whole truth to her, and it couldn’t wait. She needed to understand the context behind the two different lives she now remembered, and Kitz, Delen, and Ersabet were not inclined to allow us privacy.

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  I had to let them listen. I couldn’t cut them out. Not now. But they still needed to know the risk they were about to take if they wanted to listen to what I had to say.

  “Before I start,” I said. “I want to make something clear. There is no knowledge on all of Erda that is more dangerous than that which I am about to share with you.” I looked at Delen. “What I told the people of Danver about the Kurskins was true, but it was only a piece of the truth. If you want to hear it all, you must swear never to repeat it. If the Kurskins or the Dalari find out you know, they’ll kill you. I underestimated them in Danver, and hundreds, maybe even thousands, died because of it. This is a heavy burden to carry. If you can’t handle that, speak up now.”

  My words were mostly for Delen, but he met my eye and nodded. It didn’t surprise me. His curiosity was too powerful a force for him to resist. Kitz looked just as eager to hear more.

  I touched Tabby’s arm softly. “Are you ready?”

  She wrapped her blanket around herself and nodded.

  “John,” Ersabet said. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Do you have a problem with it?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Enough of a problem to stop me?”

  She glanced at Tabby and frowned. “No.”

  “I don’t see any other way around it, Ersabet,” I said. “It has to be done. No one outside this fire will ever know. Only them.” I looked around at the others. “Right?”

  They nodded thoughtfully, sensing the importance of what was about to come.

  “Very well,” Ersabet said. “Do not come crying to me if this does not work out as you hope.”

  “Good gracious!” Delen exclaimed. “Spit it out already!”

  I laughed, and some of the tension in the air evaporated. I focused all my attention on Tabby. “Right now, you remember two very different lives. Is this correct?”

  She nodded.

  “Do you know which life is real?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t tell. Both?”

  “In a way,” I said. “This is real. This moment. This world. But your memories of growing up on Erda are a lie. A carefully crafted fabrication. The only real memories you have of Erda are from the last few months. Everything before that is a lie.”

  “I…I don’t understand,” she said.

  I reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it firmly in my own. “Your memories of Earth, of Candace, of me, those are real. They actually happened to you. But, like every human on this planet, your memories were locked away and replaced with new ones. This was done purposely and maliciously.” I took a breath, knowing how crazy I was about to sound. “It was done so that a group of aliens known as the Triarchy could reshape our world and conquer it. There is a sphere of energy surrounding our planet, and this technology allows the Triarchy to alter the laws of nature and bend the rules of physics to their will. This is done so that the members of the Triarchy can live out their fantasies. This is all a game to them. They are gifted powers through the system they created, and we are fodder for their fun. The entirety of humanity exists to fill this fake game world with life, stories, and quests. The world has become a game, and humans don’t get to play.”

  Tabby looked at me wide-eyed and unmoving. Similar expressions were on Kitz and Delen’s faces. Ersabet’s expression was neutral, as was typical of the Dalari.

  “I don’t know what exactly unlocked your memories, Tabby,” I said. “I had no idea telling you that sort of story would lead to this. I’m sorry. I know this is hard to believe.”

  Mania crept back into her eyes, but I squeezed her hand, and she blinked it away. “Don’t apologize,” she said. “I believe you.”

  Kitz raised his hand. “Can you make me remember, too?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so, Kitz. I’m sorry. Tabby and I knew each other before the Triarchy invaded, and I have a feeling that’s the key to all this.”

  Delen was shaking his head.

  “Have something to say, Delen?” I asked.

  “You’re either right or crazy,” he said. “And I’m leaning toward crazy.”

  I gestured to Ersabet. “The Dalari are part of this Triarchy. Ersabet is a player. If anyone can corroborate this, it's her.”

  Delen looked at her, and she gave him a single nod.

  He groaned and rubbed at his face. “Okay, so let’s say this is all true, and there was a world before Erda called Earth. These beings invaded our planet, wiped our memories, and rebuilt the world. Now, the Kurskins and the Dalari are all playing some sort of game with us. How is it that you are the only human on Erda who knows this? Are you a player, too?”

  That question required answers that I couldn’t give. “What makes you think I’m a player?” I asked.

  “You have powers. Just like they do.”

  I hadn’t been intending to admit I was a player in front of everyone, but Delen was too smart for me to try to lie my way out of this. Plus, Ersabet already knew, and she might tell him if I didn’t just to spite me since I outed her.

  “Yes,” I said. “I’m a player.”

  “How?” Delen asked. “If humans are all mindless pawns in this game, then why are you, of all the humans, a player?”

  “That is an excellent question, Delen,” Ersabet said, drawing a glare from me. She met my gaze with a glare of her own.

  I sighed. “This is where the questions end. I cannot reveal how I became a player. It is forbidden and beyond dangerous, and I’m pretty sure if I tell you, I will collapse dead on the spot.”

  Delen laughed, but stopped when he saw the look on my face. “Oh,” he said. “I see. If you can’t tell me how, may I ask if others can do what you have done? Can I become one of these players?”

  “I’m sorry to say, the answer is no. As far as I know, there was only one opportunity on all of Erda for a human to become a player, and I just happened to be the poor fool who was at the right place at the right time.”

  Delen looked dejected. The idea of being a player probably sounded fun to him, but so far, my experience had been filled with nothing but misery, betrayal, constant anxiety, and many sleepless nights.

  “So, that’s the gist of it,” I said. “Aliens stole our world, made it their own, and have enslaved humanity without us ever knowing it.”

  “Can we stop them?” Tabby asked.

  “Maybe,” I said. “It won’t be easy, but the first step is to take the portal to Liport. None of you has to follow, but each of you is welcome to join me. Who knows? Together, we just might be able to save the world.”