Waking up was usually the hardest part of any day for me. My stint in the hospital was definitely outside the norm, but most days, I would be perfectly content to draw a blanket tighter around myself, relishing the feeling of silks or of velvet hugging me, keeping me just warm and snug enough to balance on that blissful edge of hazy consciousness until I needed to start my day in earnest. After missing nearly a month of this personal ritual I had intended to stay in bed for as long as I feasibly could before dragging myself into a shower, as archaic a cleaning method as that is.

“Doubtful two bed way pleasure confined followed. Friendly entrance to on by arose guest visit going off she new.”

I had intended to do so, but I never even got to the ‘waking up’ part of that plan before I was assaulted by words. The sheer shock was enough to jolt me awake, and I scrambled out of bed, still coiled in a blanket and hurling a pillow at the door before I could calm down. Hearing the dense foam smack against the doorway was enough to get me thinking, if only some.

“Why would you do that?” I mumbled, still groggy.

“Thank”

Unfortunately, the Thing wasn’t forthcoming with any information, and I couldn’t coax another word out of it, much less an actual reason. I looked back at the bed, the disaster it had become and turned away to walk to the shower, still lamenting my lost sleep. At least the steaming water was enough to help wash away most of the sleepiness left behind along with the gunk from the day before. Without the veil of sleep hanging over me, my thoughts drifted back to the nonsense I had just been force-fed, trying to puzzle together any sort of meaning beyond the Thing being smug that it woke me up. And then I heard something crash downstairs.

I froze up for a second, mind racing in reaction, before I acted. Running to the bathroom door, I slammed it shut, then cringed as the bang echoed through the house. I was committed though, so I locked the door and grabbed the nearest item that could feasibly be called a weapon. With a container of bleach in hand, I also belatedly remembered the energy flooding my body, and readied myself to pull on that if I absolutely needed to.

I spent the next five minutes bravely staring at the locked door, listening intensely for even the slightest noise, all while standing in a puddle of water that I had neglected to dry off earlier. When it became clear that nothing more was happening, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before slowly reopening the bathroom door and creeping out.

Walking carefully and purposefully, I started gliding down the stairs as quietly as I could. I crouched down, looking around the open floor as much as I could before I’d descended, but saw nobody. I didn’t stop looking, though, and even when I actually made it to the first floor without encountering anyone, I refused to just stop looking. Still, there wasn’t a soul in the house apart from myself, and the Thing if that counted, but it was obvious that its message about visitors was correct.

I glared at the door that had been left open, at my poor den being even more destroyed, even at the kitchen that seemed untouched apart from having been looted. I tossed down the bleach to one side, content to just ignore it as I inspected what might have happened. The worst of it all really was the den, a chair closest to the door had been entirely upturned, and the coffee table was shattered in half. In the center of the den, though, yesterday’s almost-dinner stubbornly remained, still rock-solid and covered in rolling waves of fog, and now it also had a bit of something clinging onto one side of the mound, thoroughly encased in ice.

I… didn’t know what to make of that, nor did I know how to examine it without potential gross bodily injury myself. What I did know was that I was rather upset. In fact, I was downright fuming, not only at the blatant invasion of privacy, the provocation of my Family as well as myself, but also at not being able to do much about it. But that anger was laced with an unhealthy dose of fear, too.

‘Why me, though?’ I thought, but it wasn’t very hard at all to think of reasons. In fact, it was too easy. The hard part wasn’t why, I’m sure that being the first former-empty that I knew of made me interesting to whatever few people who actually knew. But then, who actually knew to begin with? How many people were warring in the background over me? Why was I free at all? How long is that freedom even going to last?

I took a deep breath in, I was going to start overthinking it again, get pulled into my own head and freak out, and I didn’t even know if I was actually that important to somebody to begin with. I had no doubt that at least somebody out there knew about me, but I didn’t know anything more aside from the fact that they’d covered for me at least once. This could have been no better than some random break-in, and I was just being the most paranoid narcissist on Luna.

I let that breath out, the air leaving my lungs and taking the panic I’d yet to build up with it. It took a few more breaths to fully come down, though, and then I had I realized I was still standing, practically naked, in the middle of my den hardly a few meters from an open door and directly in front of an uncovered window. I shut the door shortly after, thankful nobody was around to see me like that, or at least rude enough to stay and watch if they had.

After that, I slumped onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. I had not a single idea of what to do now. Initially, I’d planned on just going to the Bank and seeing what sort of nightmare my account had become but now, I just didn’t know. I couldn’t even call anyone, too concerned that I’d be calling whoever was responsible for this in the first place. Going to the Family seemed like a better bet, but I still wasn’t ready to ‘officially’ return yet, and until I did, I doubt they’d be willing to offer too much.

It’d been five years since I’d last seen a Johansson, apart from Marcus a few weeks ago, and I’d been very clear with my parents, and anyone else I’d spoken to, that I wouldn’t see them until I was no longer an empty. Of course, it’d been said much harsher than that, and with every intention of severing my connection to them entirely. I may have made that vow in a moment of anger and shame and guilt, but I’d never gone back on it. But I was still part of the Family, I still used my name without reservation, and it was painfully obvious that the Family knew it too.

They just did nothing about it, and I never knew if I should feel thankful or resentful, forgotten and forsaken or if I was simply being given space and time. Usually, I just felt some frustrating blend of it all. But now, I could finally return from my self-imposed exile, and I still didn’t feel ready yet. I knew I’d need to, but Mars was I dreading it.

I looked at my phone, then towards the central manor of the Johansson Lunar Estate, wondering what my next step should be. Gripped by indecisiveness, I set my phone aside and began straightening out the den that had taken less than half a day to be reduced to a desolate tundra, trying to avoid anything that might be useful to a detective or a diviner if I chose to contact one.

For example, the patch of something that had been stuck to my frozen carpet carbs was, as I’d realized, skin. Actually, more than that, I could see tissue and blood clinging to the ice, too, rigid and frigid. I wasn’t sure from where, but it was flash-frozen and then apparently either cut or torn off, probably quickly. I wasn’t going to try and detach that skin, though, it was part of the pizza now and by now I’d just accepted that the meal was as good as part of the house for now, or maybe for good. I was just going to do my best not to become a victim of it.

On the subject of inanimate objects in this house trying to victimize me, I realized that the only thing missing, and also just about the only thing that had really been present to begin with, was my glass caltrop. Carefully, I stood up to look for it, but couldn’t find it anywhere, and for a brief moment my classically conditioned lizard brain was terrified of this, ignoring the fact that someone had broken in mere minutes earlier.

Only a moment, though, before my much more rational fears were back at the forefront of my mind. By now, though, I’d at least come to a decision, one that didn’t involve me making any decisions yet, too, which was the best sort. I pulled out my phone and called up one of the only two people in my contacts. One of the only two I actually knew, anyways.

“Hey, Mark.” I said almost as soon as I saw his face pop up in front of me.

“Yeah, Vane?” He seemed a bit surprised to get the call, but quickly got over it.

“So, listen, I need some help. With a few things actually, since I won’t be getting any time to relax after all, and now’s as good a time as any to do stuff. You’re not busy now, are you? Wait, what time even is it?” I didn’t wait for him to answer, checking a clock and finding that it was roughly ten standard, which meant I’d been asleep a little over four hours before the Thing went all oracular on me.

“Are you alright, Vane? You’re normally a little more… composed. At least, I remember you were.”

“Yeah, just, a lot happened. Could you meet me at the Bank? There’s still a branch near the gate, yeah?”

“It’s still there, any reason why you need me to come with you? I’m not going to cosign a loan for you or anything, you know.” I gave him a small scowl, and his smirk widened into a grin.

“No, but I have no clue at all what sort of nonsense I’m going to have to deal with, I’ve got a feeling that I’m still living out at Sedna where the Bank’s concerned. The Coalition covered it all, but that also means that I spent less than a month getting back from the Oort to Luna without a single mark spent in between, not on resources, not on a ride or a jump, nothing, and without any warning.” He definitely understood, but still looked unconvinced, so I continued.

“Having family there would make it a lot easier to prove I’m actually the real me and not a well-made Doppel or a thrall or something, and I also need to ask you for advice on a few other things. Plus, I know you still want answers.” I held up a hand, signaling for my phone to capture my hands too, rather than just my face. With hardly a thought, I pushed a bit of Everything out of my body, intent on sparking his curiosity.

Of course, I only pushed out the tiniest wisp of energy, but it was still enough, and with a pop, something came into existence and dropped into my hand. As soon as I made sure it was inert, I set the strange, grey stick aside and looked at Marcus, who at least seemed sufficiently surprised. I saw him start thinking after that, and after a moment of contemplation, he seemed to give up his complaints.

“Fine, I’ll call for someone and meet you at your place in a couple. You owe me a damn good explanation, though, today is my last day on Luna and this was not what I had in mind for it.” And with that, the call was ended.

I set the phone aside, briefly examining the stick that I apparently conjured out of thin air. It was a bit shorter than my forearm and strikingly thin. It almost looked like some weird food, but a single sniff told me it was basically solid metal, with a good portion of its length being covered in an additional layer of it. It seemed harmless enough, so I put that down next to my phone. Maybe Mark would have an idea.

It took me hardly any time to dress, sticking with the almost lazily casual clothing that someone stocked my wardrobe with, and then went back down to wait for Marcus. I grabbed my stuff, the small amounts of it that I had, and stepped out of the door just as I saw the same black sedan I’d ridden here in the day prior come to a stop. I made one final check to make sure my house was locked before I remembered that it had been earlier and it didn’t make a difference in the slightest, and then I slid into the backseat and set off.