Cassian stood rooted in place, barely breathing so as not to make a sound. He strained to catch the cry for help he had heard just a moment before.
"HELP!"
He ran to the door, shoved the blocking furniture aside, and sprinted toward the voice. He didn't notice the smile that had spread across his face, his heart leaping at the prospect that he wasn't alone.
Once outside, he could hear the voice more clearly as he ran toward it. He was closing the distance when he began to slow, his steps faltering until he came to a complete stop.
In his excitement, he hadn't considered the dangers—he'd only wanted to find another person so he wouldn't be alone anymore.
"HELLO?"
The voice called again, closer to Cassian's position now.
Paranoia swarmed his thoughts.
Is it really a human?
Why start screaming for help now that it's dark, with no light except from that giant moon?
It was then that he registered the moon's true size. It was at least twice as large as the one he knew.
"ANYONE?"
The call came once more—this time from behind the corner of a nearby building. Cassian thought about running, but he was too late. A silhouette stepped into view, swallowed by the building's shadow.
"Ah! You!"
The silhouette pointed at Cassian and started moving toward him.
Cassian's hand flew to the handle of his knife, ready to fight for his life, his eyes sharp with lethal resolve.
Then moonlight washed over the figure.
He released his grip on the knife, a wave of shame washing over him. What approached him wasn't a monster—it was a young girl who couldn't have been more than sixteen.
A teenager.
And he had been ready to abandon her in the middle of the night in a town that even he was terrified of. Her presence here was perhaps the strangest thing Cassian had witnessed since he'd arrived that morning.
"Hello?" the girl said, stopping a few paces away. "Who are you? Are you the creep who kidnapped me?"
"What? No."
She tilted her head, studying his face. Cassian didn't notice that the girl's eyes had flickered to his hand, still resting on the handle of what was unmistakably a knife.
After a moment, she took a step back, scanned the area, then turned to him again.
"So what is this place? And what are we doing here?"
"No idea," Cassian said. "Last thing I remember, I was waiting at a bus stop. Then I woke up at the church just outside town. I've spent all day looking around, trying to figure it out." He paused. "How old are you?"
"Old enough. Do you have any water? I'm dying for a glass."
"Sure. I found a pump, but it'll taste weird from rust in the pipes."
"That's fine. Lead the way."
Cassian didn't move. He just watched her.
"You waiting for something?" she asked, impatience creeping into her tone.
"I'm not walking in front of you."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Don't tell me you're scared of a girl in her pajamas."
"Yeah. I'm not walking in front of you," Cassian repeated.
"Well, I'm not walking in front of you either! Are you crazy?"
"I didn't ask you to."
"Fine. We'll each take one side of the road. That way we both have enough space to feel safe."
"That works." Cassian moved to the opposite side of the street. "Let's go."
He felt a pang of guilt, but his instincts screamed danger. Everything about the girl felt suspicious. He would trust his gut, even if it meant starting off badly with someone who might be innocent.
They walked in silence, the oversized moon lighting their path.
"Wow. Why is the moon so big?" the girl asked.
Cassian glanced over, studying her expression this time. "There are also two suns. One of them is silver."
A beat of quiet passed before she replied sarcastically, "Yeah, and I'm a famous idol."
They passed the general store and reached the saloon, which seemed to catch the girl's interest.
"Hey, did you check in there? Find anything useful?"
"I didn't. Or rather, I couldn't."
"What do you mean, you couldn't?"
"There's this black substance in most of the buildings. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure it's dangerous. And it stinks. Really bad."
"Dude, if you're just gonna treat me like a stupid kid and keep lying, I'd rather you just ignore me."
Cassian felt a stab of sympathy. If he was scared and panicking, how must a teenager feel?
"I'm not lying to you. I'm Cassian, by the way."
He saw a faint smile touch her lips.
"I'm Maria. Fifteen…"
"Huh?"
"Earlier, you asked how old I am. I'm fifteen."
"Oh. I thought you were 'old enough.'"
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was rude. It's just… one minute I'm in bed reading, the next I'm in some Western town straight out of a movie set."
"It's okay. I'm probably the only person here who gets what you're going through."
Maria gave a soft laugh and started walking again, Cassian keeping pace from across the street.
He gave the saloon a final glance, remembering what had happened and the unnerving hunger it had stirred in him.
"So this black substance you mentioned. What exactly makes it so dangerous?"
"I don't know. One second I was looking at it from outside, the next I was inside the saloon. Hours had passed—I could tell by where the suns were. It was drawing me in, like it hypnotized me. I only snapped out when a gust of wind slammed the doors. That's what happened. Believe it or not."
"Wait, wait. Suns? You were actually serious?"
Cassian nodded.
And stopped walking abruptly. Maria paused, too.
"We're here."
"What do you mean?"
"Maria. The pump is right in front of you."
She stared at it, clearly unsure how to work it, when another voice called out from the direction of the post office.