Rachel gazed up at the ENGINE, cigarette in hand, while she leaned on a dented guardrail. Her mulberry eyes glanced at the debris scattered across the cracked road. Corwood was little more than rubble, brick, and metal. Sarah's limousine was bent in half with a tree stuck through the rear window. Power lines, glass, and furniture lay on the cracked asphalt like a tornado ripped through the town.
Her eyelids and shoulders were heavy with melancholy as she gazed at the group. Elijah smoked as he stared at the ash and boulders ripped from the earth. Alice and Amos sat on the road, staring at the place Emily ripped a hole in reality. Sarah trembled beside her wrecked limousine while Shiyu looked at the vehicle. Arthur stared up at the sky, observing the ENGINE before observing the rest of the group's behavior.
The ENGINE slumbered in the sky; its infinite gears churned unbothered by what transpired below. Stars twinkled while gray, mulberry, and azure clouds drifted as witnesses of the destruction the Engine didn't discipline. Its rules and authority over the pilgrimage were now shattered into incomprehensible favoritism by an orphan. The gears still turned; the pilgrimage was still happening, leaving the chosen to reinterpret its grand design.
"We need to discuss what happened," Arthur said as he approached Rachel. "I hope you have some insights on what just transpired."
Rachel sighed and chuckled. "What makes you think I fucking know?"
"Quit the bullshit, Rachel; you had to see this coming," Amos said.
Arthur leaned on the guardrail, twirling his designer walking cane. "You were the closest to Emily or whatever the hell she is."
Rachel flicked her cigarette and then bit her lip. "I don't know how to explain it."
"Try," Amos asked as he approached. "I have my theories, but I know for a fact you know something."
Shiyu walked over. "We got bigger problems... we are stranded in the middle of nowhere."
"How can you be worried about that after what we saw?" Alice asked. "I dealt with all manner of mages, conduits in my line of work, and I never saw someone rip a damn hole in reality."
"The pilgrimage has rules, laws, structure, and Emily just broke every last one, and the ENGINE did nothing, and you're worried about transportation?" Amos mocked as he crossed his arms. "You are a Sage; this should be blasphemy according to your religion."
Shiyu rubbed her eyes and looked up at the ENGINE. "I am not at liberty to discuss our texts or my faith. The ENGINE chose Emily for a reason, and the ENGINE did not punish for a reason. It's not up to me to decide why or why not."
"Cut the crap, Shiyu. You and I both know you're covering for Emily," Amos accused. "She has the white mask, so what is it you're not telling us?"
"Don't bother asking," Elijah interjected as he walked over. "I have already tried several times to get this bird to chirp."
"So we just keep going and pretend that the ENGINE isn't picking favorites?" Amos asked. "Every pilgrimage works the same. It was teachable... I did lectures about it, and now everything I taught just got thrown out the window."
"Not everything... just an exception," Arthur said. "That exception was Emily, and I would like to know why."
"Rachel of Augustine consumed raw ether and lived," Alice stated while she stared at Rachel's mulberry eyes.
"Emily got attacked back in Leonore, and the man turned into a hollow," Elijah explained as he smoked. "Then there is the déjà vu, unnatural strength, and musical talent. She even had a heart-to-heart with Shiyu and specifically told her not to tell anyone what they talked about."
"Is that true?" Arthur asked as he looked at Shiyu.
Shiyu did not reply, her eyes drifting towards the sky.
"You alright, Sarah?" Alice asked as her head drifted towards the bent limousine.
Sarah did not reply, her eyes wide as if she was in a trance-like, introspective state.
"You want a smoke?" Elijah asked as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes.
Sarah did not reply as if she did not hear a word he said.
"Damn, Emily broke the flamingo," Alice flatly said as she crossed her arms.
"She had it coming," Elijah said as he lit another cigarette.
Arthur shook his head as he stood up. "The ENGINE was supposed to protect her. What if Emily comes back...would we have chosen protection?"
"She wouldn't hurt you," Rachel insisted as she took a cigarette from Elijah.
"That doesn't answer the question, Rachel of Augustine," Amos grumbled.
Rachel shrugged. "I don't know the answer to that. I just know Sarah kept poking the bear and fucked around and found out."
Arthur's eyes narrowed as he observed Shiyu. "What do you gain from keeping your lips sealed?"
"My head," Shiyu replied.
"She threatened you?" Alice asked.
Shiyu shook her head. "No, but one doesn't always have to convey a threat verbally."
"Let's just drop it for now. We will get this bird to chirp eventually," Elijah said as he smoked.
"I agree, we can try again in Clearwater," Amos said.
"We ain't getting anywhere, and if we don't figure out our transportation," Arthur declared as he looked at everyone.
Rachel scratched her neck and sighed. "I think I can solve that, but you will not like how."
Amos shrugged. "How bad could it be?"
"I can do what Emily did... sort of," Rachel muttered as she rubbed her hands through her hair.
"I beg your pardon?" Arthur said with a raised eyebrow.
"Ether accident changed me... I can manipulate time and other stuff," Rachel mumbled with a thin-lipped smile.
Elijah coughed. "Fuck out of here. You telling me if we consume raw ether, we will get powers?"
Rachel shook her head. "No... some other stuff happened as well, plus I think Emily changed me somehow. Hard to explain."
"So you were lying back in the cave?" Amos asked.
"What?"
"I asked you if you gained powers and you said you didn't. Now you say you can break the laws of physics."
Rachel shrugged. "Of course I lied. You wouldn't have believed me, anyway."
"You would be surprised by what I am willing to believe."
Shiyu's eyes narrowed as she glanced up at the ENGINE, then back at where Emily ripped a portal in the fabric of reality.
Amos eyes widened. "That explains our déjà vu," he said as he rubbed his chin. "You've been fucking with time."
Rachel shook her head. "No... that was all Emily until now."
"Enough... not another word, Rachel," Shiyu grumbled. "Sacred texts strictly prohibit time manipulation. Mages, Sages, and Conduits who attempted such magic faced exile or death."
"I wasn't born with time manipulation, Shiyu. I tripped over a rock."
"Doesn't matter...it's forbidden."
"If Rachel speaks the truth, then Emily has been doing it this whole time, and you're defending her, you hypocrite," Elijah retorted.
"She will kill us... she will kill us all," Sarah mumbled as she rocked back and forth on the ground. "She has already won."
"She lost her marbles," Alice said as she looked at Sarah.
"If she had already won, we all would be dead, and we wouldn't be having this conversation, Sarah... snap out of it," Arthur said as he walked over towards her.
"Has any chosen ever got time-manipulating powers on Reunion Day, Shiyu?" Amos asked as he crossed his arms.
"A few, yes," Shiyu replied.
"So Emily is a time-manipulating conduit then. That solves one piece of the puzzle, but doesn't explain why the ENGINE didn't protect Sarah," Amos said as he rubbed his chin.
"She already PRIME... kill us all... kill us all," Sarah whined as she recoiled from Arthur, as she kneeled next to her.
Arthur sighed. "Sarah is M.I.A.... wonderful," he grumbled. "Rachel of Augustine, can you get us to where we need to be?"
Rachel shrugged. "I believe so, but not through time manipulation. I will have to do like what Emily did, but not exactly the same way."
"Wait, you can rip open a portal?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not exactly," Rachel replied as she stood up. "It's better if I just show you, and we need to head back into Corwood."
"Why is that?"
"I need a door."
Alice glanced at the bent limousine door.
Rachel rolled her mulberry eyes. "A functioning door and a door where reality is thinnest."
"I am going to pretend like I know what the hell you're talking about," Alice said.
"Just follow me," Rachel ordered as she walked back towards Corwood. "Somebody get Sarah on her feet... or carry her, or leave her. Doesn't matter to me."
"Hahaha, we are doomed," Sarah cackled while Arthur lifted her to her feet and the fireman carried her.
Shadows danced across the abandoned town as Rachel led the group. Glass cracked underneath her boots as they walked the pothole roads of Corwood. She stared at the collapsed buildings that once stood a few hours ago. Cables hung over brick and cobblestone from the downed power lines. Rachel could feel the vibrations in the air like a bat using echolocation as her Mulberry eyes lit the way.
"In here," she instructed as she located a preserved door in a thrift store.
"How do you know this will work?" Amos asked as he followed Rachel into the cobweb-infested building.
"I just know... I can see and feel stuff you can't," Rachel explained.
"Because of your mulberry eyes?"
Rachel nodded as she rubbed her hands on the wooden backroom door. She took a deep breath as her mulberry eyes glowed with intensity. She visualized her destination, fixating on the Clearwater Creek flowing through a rural town. Her nostrils picked up the scent of honeydew, flora, and fresh-baked bread. Townsfolk walked cobblestone paths under dimly lit streetlamps. She opened the door and stepped through.
"Welcome to Clearwater Antiques," an employee greeted as he saw Rachel. His eyes widened when he saw her black mask. "Chosen? Wait, how did you get into the backroom office?"
"Sorry, thought it was the bathroom," Rachel muttered as her mulberry eyes glanced around the store.
"Well, fuck...it actually worked," Elijah chuckled as he lit a cigarette, looking at all the customers staring at him and the others.
"Excuse me, sir, I know this is a weird question... had one too many drinks, you see. Could you tell me where I am?" Arthur asked as he glanced around the bobbles and trinkets.
The employee blinked as he looked at Sarah on his shoulder. "Ummm, this is Clearwater Antiques?"
"So this is Clearwater, right?" Amos asked as he stepped through the door.
"Yes...perhaps you all should not drink anymore tonight."
Rachel smiled and then scratched her head. "One more question... can you point us to your hotel?"