A shadowy figure darts through the trees, retreating into the depths of the forest under the cover of heavy rainfall and booming thunder. How peculiar, they think, mulling over the results of their test. The subject’s behavior is even more anomalous than expected. Very interesting…

They take a sharp left turn, and skid to a stop, arriving in front of a massive oak tree. Taking a few steps to the right, they drop into a crouch and peer into the small crater before them. This hole in the earth is filled with murky rainwater, but they reach into the muck without hesitation. After a moment of groping around, they pull out a sizable brown clump. The rain quickly washes away the mud coating it, revealing a porous, pale gray rock beneath. More tests are needed, they decide, gently tucking the stone away in their pocket. But I will have to exercise greater caution going forward. The subject seemed to have noticed me…

***

Panting heavily, I allowed my tired arms to regain their human shape. “I’m not… sure. I’ve never… done anything… like that… before…” I replied in between gasps of breath. After regaining my composure, I held out a hand to help Wally up. His bewildered stare shifted to my hand, then my face, then back to my hand before he grabbed it and used it to hoist himself up.

We made our way to a spot where the canopy was denser, shielding us somewhat from the rain which had already begun to let up. Too tired to stand, we sat side by side with our backs against the nearest tree.

Once we had settled, Wally finally spoke. “Let me get this straight. You jumped in front of a huge falling tree and you didn’t even know whether you could stop it? You could’ve died, Allie. We both would have if you hadn’t…” He stopped mid-rebuke, letting out a deep sigh. “Sorry, I… I should be thanking you right now. You saved my life…”

Despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t help but grin. “Don’t worry about it. I couldn’t just let my only ally die on me. And if you were in my position, I’m sure you would’ve done the same.”

Wally shook his head and gave me an incredulous look. “How can you think that when I’ve been such a jerk to you?”

I shrugged, drawing my knees to my chest. “I don’t blame you for your reaction to all this. Honestly, I’m glad you were willing to work with me at all. Besides, no matter how much you dislike me, I know there’s no way you’d let anything happen to Anna—” I stopped, realizing my blunder a second too late. Wally always hated it whenever I tried to emulate Anna, so I could only imagine how upset he would be by the implications of what I’d just said.

But he didn’t yell at me. He didn’t even frown. He just turned to me with a small, sad smile. “Yeah,” he said, just above a whisper. “You’re right.” With that, he looked away, digging through his pockets and pulling out his phone.

“What’re you doing?” I asked anxiously. He didn’t reply, but tilted the screen toward me so I could get a better view. He opened his camera roll and tapped on the most recent video. As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I was filled with a sense of dread. It was my transformation video, the one he planned to use as leverage if I ever did something to invoke his wrath.

“W-Wally? Please wait, I—”

“Just watch,” he cut me off, though his tone was unexpectedly gentle.

My heart skipped a beat as his finger came down on the screen. However, instead of attempting to share the video and expose my secret to the world, Wally hit the delete button. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he navigated to his recently deleted folder and permanently wiped it from his phone. Then, he moved on to his notes, pulling up a short paragraph. My name is Wallace Steiner, it began. My eyes widened as I scanned its contents, and I felt a pain deep in my chest. Upon reaching the end, I looked up at Wally. He had been watching me the whole time, his sad eyes searching my face.

“Did you really think I would… Wally, I would never…” I couldn’t bring myself to say Wally’s worst fears aloud. How could I not have realized how terrified of me he must have been? I foolishly assumed that, because he agreed to work with me, he at least understood that I didn’t plan to harm him. But this whole time, he must have been struggling with the constant fear of a lethal betrayal. I had always been a monster in his eyes.

Wally sighed and slumped against the tree, looking even more weak and deflated than before. “I wrote this the night I found you… feeding,” he explained. “Between the note and the video, I thought that, if you ever decided to turn on me, I could at least try to take you down with me.”

“Oh,” was all I could muster in response.

“But now,” he continued, “I know I don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Then, like the video, he proceeded to completely remove the note from his phone. The painful tightness in my chest vanished along with it.

We rested there for a while in comfortable silence, until the storm finally passed and the clouds began to part. Sunlight streamed in through the leaves above, creating patterns of light and shadow that danced along the forest floor as a light breeze blew by. Wally was the first to get up, holding onto the tree trunk for support. After shaking out his legs, he held out a hand to me. I took it with a grateful smile, and he helped me to my feet.

We walked home drenched and covered in grime, too tired to worry about the odd stares we got from passersby. It was nearly evening by the time we reached the dorm. We immediately split up and showered off, changing into clean, dry clothes before meeting back up in my room. As eventful as our excursion to the park was, we couldn’t forget our original purpose for going there.

Wally stood behind me as I started up Anna’s laptop and logged into her vlog channel. We sent Whiz Kid a message with detailed instructions on how to reach the meeting place we had decided on, claiming that it was Anna’s “favorite secret spot” and that it would give them some privacy. The prospect of having Anna all to himself deep in the woods must have been enticing, because it didn’t take long to get a response.

WhizKid20: Sounds good, can’t wait to meet you!

“Hey, Allie…” Wally said after reading the reply.

“Yeah?” I turned my chair to face him.

“Are you sure you’re okay with acting as bait? I’m sure Whiz Kid knows this is a trap, but he agreed to it anyway. If something goes wrong, I don’t think I’ll be able to help you…”

“Hey,” I said in mock offense. “Did you already forget who saved you today? I’m more than capable of defending both of us. And let’s face it, you will probably be the one needing my help if things go downhill.” Wally’s frown broke for a moment, replaced with an amused smile.

“Besides,” I continued, switching to a more serious tone, “I wouldn’t have agreed to the plan if I wasn’t willing to accept the risks. And I… I owe it to Anna to see this through.”

“Yeah, so do I,” Wally said softly. His expression was somber, but there was a fiery determination in his eyes.

After deciding when to meet the next morning, Wally returned to his room. We went to bed early that night, wanting to be as well rested as possible for the daunting task ahead of us. Though it was impossible to quell my anxieties, I was so physically and mentally exhausted by the day’s events that I had little trouble falling asleep.

I woke up the next morning just before my 8 AM alarm, feeling refreshed and invigorated. My body felt stronger and more robust than it ever had before, though I didn’t stop to ponder why, chalking it up to the benefits of a good night’s sleep. I quickly washed up and got dressed, then rushed downstairs to meet Wally. I was ahead of schedule, but he reached the lobby shortly after I did, and we headed for the park together.

We reached the meeting place well in advance of the agreed-upon time. Our plan was to get there at least an hour early and scout out the area, just in case Whiz Kid planned to ambush us. When we arrived, we thoroughly searched the area, checking behind every tree and in every bush, but nothing seemed out of place. After confirming that we were the first ones to arrive, we went over the details of our plan one more time. Then, finally, we were ready.

Wally gave me a silent nod before getting into position. There was a sense of camaraderie between us that hadn’t been there before. We really were partners now, and whatever happened, we were in it together. Despite my fraying nerves as I took my place in the center of the clearing, I felt an odd sense of warmth and reassurance. For the first time since I arrived on Earth, I had someone I could truly depend on.