“Good to see you again, Quincy.” TUHF’s child mercenary said to me. I had a feeling they’d send Squizm at me eventually, and admittedly, it took them a while.

But it wouldn’t be just yet.

“Yes! It’s me!” I exclaimed, looking Squizm in the face. The… eh, face she had, I suppose. It was more like a mimicry of a face constructed of transparent green Play-Doh. “Wait… you aren’t here to kill me too, right?”

“I was just here for Canadia. Soooo… yeah, take your freedom. I don’t mind.” she said with a perplexed smile. Or as much of one she could give. I could tell expressions were a bit of an issue for her. Not like she needed them while she kills loads of people though.

“Uh… well okay, would you mind helping with a small favor?”

“As much as I’d love to help you, Quincy, I have much more important matters to deal with.” she replied robotically. Would she really have loved to help me? Was she secretly from Amazon customer service?

“Do those matters involve the Thieves' Court? Because I’m actually headed there, and I can’t believe I’m asking you for help, but…”

“Don’t go there. You’ll die.” she told me firmly.

“I have friends there.” I had to say. “I can’t abandon them.”

“I was told everyone there will be gone within the hour. They are probably dead by now.”

“No… no, Gammal told me he was going to… capture them… right?” I stuttered. I knew Gammal, he was not bloodthirsty. He couldn’t be.

Would he have killed them? He… he knew Selene. He really liked her too...

Did he know she was there?

“He only told me that much-”

Shut up… I muttered to myself. I didn’t mean her wrong, but I pushed right past her and ran out the open door. I trudged through the snow as fast as I could.

Wind whipped through my hair as I charged forward towards the steep mountain path back to the Court, or whatever remained of it.

I just prayed my friends were still alive.

Squizm caught up though. For someone on the opposite team, she was sure trying to protect me.

“Don’t. Quincy, I’m serious.” she said, mustering a bit of emotion.

“Why are you trying to stop me?”

“I don’t want you to die.” she sniffed somehow. “If you didn’t wind up at this place, I couldn’t have found my sister again. You tried to help her, I was told.”

“Yeah. Tried. Then she pulled a gun on me.” I said, realizing the obvious truth now. Axel was her sister. It made more sense now. She’d gone missing and got turned into this. Or maybe she was always this way, I hadn’t the time to care at the moment.

“Why?” Squizm asked, perplexed.

I looked up at the sky, and then back to her. I didn’t know how to really put it into words without offending her.

“Well, uh. Yeah, your family is weird.”

“Like a good kind of weird?” she asked with a child’s sense of hopefulness. I had to crush it, it made me feel horrible.

“They were mean to me.”

“You don’t have to dumb it down for me. I get it, they were jerks to you.” she said, embarrassment in her posture. “Look uh… you know the story now, I’m sure.”

“Well, your Mom let you get kidnapped.” I had to tell her.

“I was hired.”

“You were transformed into a hero against your will, Squizm, if that’s your real name.”

“It… it isn’t?” she stuttered. If she were a human, she’d be tearing up, I knew it.

“I don’t know. Nobody names their child Squizm though.”

Neither of us spoke. It felt… painful.

I couldn’t let her down easily. I honestly didn’t care. She was a murderer. I needed my-

“Get out of my way!” I yelled, running head on, I would have punched her aside if she were most other people.

She hit me.

If I were her, I would have too. I was acting reckless.

But I guess she underestimated her strength. I was out cold.

*crunch*

I awoke. The light blinded me.

*crunch*

I saw snow beneath me. I was moving. My legs weren’t touching the ground

*crunch*

The breath in my lungs was thin.

*crunch*

I took a big breathful of cold snow, straight into my throat.

“Quincy.”

Squizm’s voice was faint, but I heard it. My coughs took the lead of my painful orchestra.

I was let down onto the ground.

“I hit you...” she admitted.

I rolled over. I saw her dripping, amorphous face form back into a visage crudely mimicking human life.

I saw the Sun. The sky was so grey. The color was interchangeable though. It could have been red, I wouldn’t care.

That warm sun though. It was so warm.

The warmth made me forget. Forget for just a moment what was at stake.

“Let’s go. You have some matters to attend to.” I said, sure of myself.

I stood up, brushed off, I felt normal. I felt clean.

I felt ready to see the aftermath.

The mountain disappeared behind me. The mansion was ahead.

One foot after the other. A couple more steps to go.

I didn’t know what to expect. I felt like I didn’t know anything.

I felt afraid.

I swallowed that. I needed to see how many were dead.

How many of my friends had Gammal murdered?

If he killed all.

If he killed all.

I would kill m-

*crunch*

The snow’s sound comforted my beating heart.

*crunch*

Yes… I remember. I am not… I am not going to do that. I swore.

Sweat poured from my body. My teeth chattered intensely.

Fuck it, I was afraid, I felt like I’d break down and cry.

I kept walking. I didn’t stop. I didn’t skip a beat.

I began to run! I ran and I ran and I ran! It felt like something invigorated me further.

The mansion was within a mere three yards.

I stopped, fell over and vomited.

I began to cry. I collapsed in my own puke and sunk into it. I rolled back and forth, slicking my face.

“I… don’t wanna do it...”

I tried to speak, but only gibberish left my mouth. I drooled all over the bile, and puked again.

I cried noises I was unsure I could make. I only heard myself. Nothing else.

I felt a hand attempt to comfort me. And another.

“Quincy. Oh my god…”

“Quincy, are you okay?”

“Quincy… Selene... she’s gone.”

Everything stopped.

Everything became clear.