Life is a rollercoaster. And a busy leader should learn to delegate. I promise that to myself as I lay on my bed watching the spiders crawl in the roof of the guest room that I, the master of the house, am still using. Too many things, too little time. I can't even stop to think about what to do, because there's someone at the door. I recognize the voice. It's Aristunn. Without standing up, I ask.

"What is wrong, Aristunn?"

His reply sent a shiver through my spine. "Some of the sla... people want to leave. They asked if you'll honor your promise of one silver shekel and the release brand."

Yeah, I will. I took one of the linen dresses and threw it over the pajamas, tied my hair in a bun with a scrunchie, and slid into the sneakers. Then I was out of the room without doing my morning beauty routine, just a quick stop by the latrine.

On my way out I remember I have to set the charger or my devices will die. I go to the inner courtyard and set the folding table with the solar charger and the battery pack. I think I'll have to switch places in the afternoon but it will get sun the whole morning. When I come back from training I'll shift it.

"Aristunn, make sure nobody touches these objects. They are of the utmost importance. In fact, I want you to use this knife to remove a small shard of each."

I give him the survival knife and he removes a piece each from the plastic from the table, the battery casing, the cable shielding, and the charger's strap. If he keeps these pieces on him, even if the main object is stolen I might be able to recover them.

"Keep these pieces with you," I tell him as I retrieved the knife. "If I ask them you give them to me. Once I return and retrieve these objects, you can discard the pieces."

"Understood. I will protect these pieces with my life." Please don't.

Aristunn leads me to the front lawn. They had a brazier already lit and I see a group of twenty-nine people willing to go. Half of the current inhabitants of the estate. Let my people go, he said. I take the branding iron that was in a bag from storage and set it over the embers. While it heats up, I fish for my coin bag and take out twenty-five silver shekels. If they want to go, let them.

"Aristunn, call everyone here. It is time to finish one of the things I was postponing."

He signals to other guards to approach and look menacing next to me and bolts back into the house. Or a mansion. Villa. Nobody speaks and I can't help but think it was for the best. I was irritated, they wanted to go. Let them be free and just go. I gave the group a good look and some guards were there too. With their armor and weapons. Should I let them take the equipment with them? Aren't those things expensive? I don't know and I'll just let it be. Honestly, I don't need to worry about money. I'd rather pay to skip the drama of 'whose sword is that'. A parting gift for services rendered, let's put it that way.

My mental state fluctuated back and forth between sadness, relief, disgust, and denial. The real truth was, I didn't want them to go. I wanted everyone to stay, to work and build something together. Plant bamboo. Weave baskets. Make soap. Harvest bamboo. Extract the fibers. Make textiles. Make paper. Chemicals. There was so much we could have done. But now they wanted to go. It was their right. Denying them that now would mark me as a real slave master. The fact I had to brand them makes everything worse.

I wanted to run away. The desire was so big that my bladder was feeling full even though I relieved myself minutes ago. My stomach churned.

I summon a folding chair from my camping set and put the coins on top of it. It's awkward to keep them in my hand as they are quite large. The branding iron is getting dark red. I think it is good enough to leave a mark. Fuck it, I am going to brand people. I should add five more coins to that pile. Then go hang myself. I might not die. Why did this day have to start on such a gloomy tone? Everything went so fine yesterday.

Time goes on. I remove the branding iron and let it cool. No use causing more hurt than what is needed. I have no idea how hot this thing should be. But people get burnt on metal that is not red-hot and still gains scars. I see Belle and Arwia with the kids. Some guards too. No sign of Nanna. I point at the guards.

"You two, go inside and bring a water barrel." I was going to ask for a bucket and chair but I have these. "Belle, go inside and get the jar with the burn ointment. Arwia, go get some bandages. You kids, don't approach."

Burn ointment is what we are calling the mixture of honey, olive oil, and beeswax. They go back to do what I asked and the wait continues. Then Aristunn comes with the rest of the guards and the household staff. I take a look and it seems to me that everyone except for Nanna is accounted for.

"Everyone is here, Sandra," Aristunn reports.

"Good. Any news of Nanna the witch?"

"The gate guards reported she left a little before sunrise. Said she'll be out the whole day."

"Let's start, shall we?" I have to face them. I turn toward the group of departees and speak. "I thank you for trusting me this far. I told you you could go, and you can. But once you receive this brand, there's no going back. You are on your own out there and I won't take you back in unless I really need more people. And I don't. Also, as a courtesy for the ones that worked as guards, I'll let you take your armor and weapon with you. I know you would've risked your lives to protect me."

Time for your morning torture-inflicting session and it started with a white lie. Way to go, Sandra! At least I don't need to write individual contracts. The barrel arrives, I summon another chair and the steel bucket. Fill the bucket with water. Get the bandages and the ointment.

I call in the first one in the line. I test the branding iron with my left finger. The skin sizzles. it hurts a lot. Apparently, that's what my brain arranged as a coping mechanism. Let's go the self-flagellation route to alleviate the guilt. I need a therapist. Come back in a millennium.

I go through the line of people. Get forearm, wash with water and soap, dry, brand lather with ointment, wrap with bandages. Hand over a coin, have the person escorted out. Rinse repeat. I make sure to take in the scent of burnt flesh and hear the screams of pain. My penance is just sensorial abuse. My finger is already healing. They are marked for life. I'm a fool for not fighting the system.

The last person goes away. One of the showgirls. She crosses the gate with a silver coin to her name. Probably more money than what she had at any point in her entire life. Since last night I have a bag with enough gold to pay off Hama-Tula's debt.

I feel someone holding my hand. The finger is fine, by the way. I glance sideways, it's Belle. The freckled girl, that also never had a silver coin to her name, smiles at me. Slave-born. I squeeze Belle's hand back. On the other side, watching over the brazier as if someone is going to knock it at any time, is Shamash.

Right then the two envoys from Abil-Kisu arrive. Now everything clicks. The brazier was set for them and the others took advantage of that as the catalyst to take a decision. I hope they don't regret it. Too late to turn around.

"Welcome, gentlemen. You are here on Abil-Kisu's behalf, right?"

The man, probably the merchant's advisor or accountant, because of he too thin to look like a fighter, answers. "Indeed. We are here to witness the release of Shamash and Ananu."

"Then let's get the show started. Gentlemen, your forearms."

Shamash and Ananu move forward and show their arms. I wash them. Brand them. Spread the ointment and tie the bandage. Not too tight.

"You two are to take the day to rest. No training, no straining those arms. Stay in your quarters. That is your assignment for today. You are to report for duty tomorrow at dawn."

They both nod. "Yes, mistress."

The two guards are about to leave when I raise a hand. "And you are forbidden to call me mistress. When in private, you will call me Sandra. When in front of others, 'lady' or 'miss Rinaldi'. Understood?"

"Yes, miss Rinaldi," Ananu answers.

They leave. The two envoys from Abil-Kisu also depart right after. I'm still clutching the branding iron. The desire to drive it into my thigh is almost unbearable. So I make a stand. That would be the last moment I'd wield it. Everyone else present would get the release brand now. Today would be a day off for everyone.

"Everyone with a slave brand, line up. I don't want to hate myself more than I already am, and I'm branding the release for everyone. Guards will now earn two copper mina as wages. The other employees above the age of fourteen will receive one copper mina. Aristunn, Arwia, and Belle-Sunu will receive one extra copper mina per day as a bonus for their responsibilities."

Then I repeated the ritual. I washed their forearms carefully. I pressed the iron against their skin. I spread the ointment. Wrapped the bandage. No coin for them. When it was over, I quenched the iron in the bucket, well aware it would destroy the metal.

At least the itch to inflict harm upon me turned into an itch to destroy the tool.

"Take this brazier to the kitchen and dump the coals in the stove," I say to nobody.

The brazier moves, someone carried it. I didn't see whom. I tested the iron, it was still warm but wouldn't melt plastic or hurt the skin. Some scale flaked off. I put it back in its bag and stored it. I dumped the rest of the water in the bucket on the cobblestones to wash the soap away. Stupid. Should've Decomposed it.

I store all of my objects and notice the bucket is no longer there. I really don't want to go training but Brandon is waiting. I might feel better with my morning dose of blonde hunkiness. Maybe. No. I can't go train today. I find Rimush.

"Rimush, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, Sandra. What do you need?"

"Run to the garrison. Tell captain Brandon I won't train today. I'm... not feeling very well. I'll be there tomorrow, I promise."

"Are you sick? I can call a healer too!" The boy offered.

Oh! The news about their mom. I need to tell them. But the sun is already up if he doesn't run I'll be truant.

"No. Just go there and back safely. I have good news about your mothers. I'll tell you when you are back."

"Mom!" He shouts full of mirth. The other kids run to get the news. Chaos ensues. I was forced to tell the news beforehand.

"Rubati and Banunu are somewhere safe. A friend took them where the debt cannot reach them. Once it expires, they will return to you. So you have to work hard and study so they will be super proud of how much you've grown."

The nine kids cheer. Some cry. They miss their mothers. I miss mine too. Rimush goes through the gate and I lead the children back inside. The only people that hadn't been branded were the two guards at the gate, Arwia, and the kids. I couldn't muster the courage to brand the girls I took from the caravanserai. They are too young.

I check who departed and who stayed. All the adult women left along with the slaves recycled from the caravans. All of the guards from the three merchants left. Some of the guards from Hama-Tula departed. I could only count with eight guards, including Aristunn, Shamash and Ananu, twelve children, Arwia and Belle. The two old gardeners and two old ladies also stayed. My total expenses with wages are twenty-one copper mina per day. Or a bit short of three silver per day.

That's the hand I've been dealt. I didn't want them to depart but I really wanted them to make their own choice. It means the former slave pens' renovation is no longer necessary. The guard barracks have room for twelve. I can move the elder workers to the guard barracks with better accommodations. Arwia, Belle, Nanna, and the children can live in the main building. I'll convert the slave pens into office, laboratory, and storage.

There's so much to do and things are happening faster than I can process. The mental strain was tough, I feel like it was exam week every day. I was not meant to lead. I had twelve children to care for! Just the thought was insane. I had no idea how Arwia was handling it. Maybe that's a good start. I went into the house and heard Arwia lecturing. She had a soft, motherly voice, most probably from her experience with her siblings. As I recalled what Nanna told me, her mother died ten years ago in childbirth, and she had to raise her siblings because her father was a deadbeat through and through.

I allow myself time to lean against the wall and watch her lecture them. She is teaching them the basic glyphs of their 'cuneiform kanji' writing. It is probably a bad way to put it because it is totally unrelated to kanji but the parallel development process was very similar. They had ideographs and they composed them. But they used only straight strokes instead of the elegant brushstrokes of the Chinese characters.

After a few minutes, she notices me, freezes and blushes when I smile at her.

"Sandra! Do you want something?"

A lot of things actually. None that is more important than the lecture though.

"No. Just watching. Are any of the kids causing you trouble?" I immediately regret saying that. Some of them freeze like I am going to punish them. "Hey! Guys, please. I'm just trying to help and I won't punish any of you. I was just asking if I could help."

Arwia shakes her head. It is hard to tell what she meant with that if I couldn't help, if help wasn't needed, or if the kids aren't causing trouble."

"No, Sandra. Everything here is fine."

I nod. "Okay. I'll let you keep on with the lecture. Sorry for disturbing."

I flee to the kitchen. Belle is rubbing spices on a piece of meat. I won't interrupt her. I notice the kebab spit and well, I guess it is a common food. The meat is smaller now. I think her workload lessened drastically now. So I put on my 'just passing by' face and slip into the backyard. I go find the gardeners. One of the elderly men saw me and stopped working on a flower bed to talk.

"Milady, what can I do for you?"

"I want to start cultivating bamboo. Could you prepare a patch for the grove?" I look around, "I trust you to find a good spot. And don't worry, We'll use as much bamboo as it grows. I know it can become a nightmare if not maintained."

He nods, "I'm glad the lady understands. Yes, I'll start planting the bamboo, I think that by that corner of the wall it will be fine. Maybe leave some room between so it won't spread to the other side."

"That is perfect. What are these flowers?" I ask pointing at the bed he was working. I could see a pile of removed weeds where he was crouching before.

"They are called sunspots. Tiny yellow flowers. Their nectar is very sweet, the children like to chew them. They bloom only twice a year though."

"That's nice. Well, I won't keep you from your job again."

I prepare to leave but stop when I see him fidgeting as if trying to find the words to say something. "Mistress, I... I heard the people that left today speak some baseless rumors about you these last few days, and I want to say I don't believe any of them. You did well in releasing them. I think you will be an excellent mistress. You look at us differently."

I hold his hand. It is dirty and callused. "In my land, we learn to respect the elders. They lived longer and accumulated much wisdom. Thank you for trusting me. I'll try to be worthy of your trust. And if there's anything bothering you, please speak up. I'm no mistress. At most I am your employee, your boss. And you will move into the guard barracks. Check with Aristunn for your placement. I'm dismantling the slave pens. Please let the others know."

He nods. "I will, mi... Sandra. Thank you."

And I notice I once again forgot to ask for his name. "Please, forgive me but I don't remember. What is your name?"

"I am Hesha-Doka, mistress."

"Hesha-Doka. Please continue. And don't push yourself too hard. There's always tomorrow."

He smiles. "The same to you, mistress. You seem to be as busy as a bee. Never stopping. Take a rest sometimes."

"Good. I will, I promise. I won't leave home today."

I go find the other gardener. He was at the back, taking care of a fenced vegetable garden. At his side a burlap bag filled with horse manure. I could see cabbages, lettuce, and other greens like what seemed like a mix of beans and broccoli. It seemed like the pods sprouted from the broccoli flowers. I've seen them in the kebabs Belle served and it was good to know some of them were home-grown. I approach trying my best to act normal and draw attention at the same time.

He turns around. His facial features are more eastern-European than middle-eastern or Turkish but he'd not be out of place in Prague or Kyiv.

"Greetings, mistress! What is the matter?"

"No, just checking. How are you? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is going on as Tarhun wished. I only pray that he wishes some rain upon us. The river won't dry anytime soon but the well level is low. If this drought keeps on for longer, we might run out of water in the well and we'll be forced to fetch it outside."

"Did it happen in previous years?"

"Once, five years ago. But this drought is worse than back then."

"I'm glad you told me that. Please watch over the water from the well. Warn me if the level drops too low. I'll think of something. Mister, could you give me your name again? I... I'm sorry, I don't remember."

"I am Tullius, milady." He answered with a smile.

"Tullius, are you a refugee?" He nods. "What is your birthplace? Why did you come here and what were you fleeing from?"

He pauses as if recalling the memories was painful. Damn, Sandra, you did it again. Curiosity killed the cat's social life. But after pondering for a while, he speaks.

"Do you know the tale of the Harbinger, miss?" It seems to be a sore wound for these people. The Harbinger and what he did. I nod. "After he destroyed the armies that opposed him with the great fires, he unleashed another calamity, one that haunts us to this day. The Death Snow."

I'm taken aback. "Death Snow? Are you talking about when it rains ice or tiny flakes of ice from the sky? In cold weather? White, wet, cold?"

He shakes his head. "No. I've never heard of what you are talking about. The Death Snow is dry, hot, and gray. The few that saw the Death Snow and survived to tell the tale to speak they look like ashes. None of them survived for long. They died horrible deaths," He tells me, clearly shaken as if he was breaking a taboo.

It isn't as if we were talking about Ralph Fiennes' unnameable villain. But the emotion was the same. It was as if Brad Pitt would come and punch you in the face for breaking rule one.

"You fled that awful fate. I'm sorry for asking, it must be painful."

"No, milady. You must know. This place is quite far from the affected regions, but what the Snow claims, it never gives back. Nobody travels to the Realms under Snow and survive. I pray it doesn't find us here."

It is awful. Worse yet, I have a hunch and I don't like it a bit. It is like Jeopardy. 'What great fires cause a rain of ashes that kills everyone?' And then I am too afraid of hitting that buzzer because I don't want to believe that kind of thing exists in here. Or more importantly, that someone crafted it.

"Well, I'm glad we are safe here. But please watch over the well level, Tullius. I'm going to think of a solution."

The drought must be worse than I thought. We are lower than the plateau and while I don't know the dynamics of the water table, we shouldn't be with low water levels. Unless the water basins split exactly at the plateau-valley divide.

I went to check on the two ladies that remained. They seem old but they might be less than forty years old. Time to get to know them. They were at the former slave pens. I check the silicon. The metallic sheen seems the same black metallic sheen from yesterday. They were in the back near a window that lets the most sunlight in.

"Hello? I'm coming in!" I announce myself to avoid any surprises.

The conversation ends and silence reigns for a moment but one of the answers. "Come in!"

"Ladies," I entered the room. They were sitting on a pile of hides, probably gathered from the abandoned bedding from the departees. "I see you claimed the whole area. Could I talk to you for a while?"

I move to sit at the pile of hides next to them. They don't seem to mind and we sit shoulder-to-shoulder.

"What brings the young mistress here? I love the new floor, by the way. It cools the environment."

I touch the silicon and feel the heat seeping into the floor. It seems to be as conducive as iron.

"Glad you liked. Look, I'm moving you to the guard barracks. This place... It has too many painful memories. Of the terror, the people forced to live here endured. There's room available there. Would you mind?"

One of them scoffed. "And lose the opportunity to sleep in a real bunk? No way."

They were about to go. "Wait. Talk to Aristunn to see your assignments. I have a task for you. I want you to boil tallow. I have a lot of tallow I want to make soap off, but I need to purify the fat. Boil the tallow, remove the foam and the impurities. Do you know how?"

The other one nods, "That is easy, girl. Is there anything else you need to be done?"

"I have some bamboo. Ask the guards to split the thickest pieces in half and remove the inner nodes except the first and the last. We are setting the soap there to cool. If you have time, you can also have the guards cut and thin strips of bamboo to weave baskets."

"That is easy. We were growing bored without tasks. Is there anything else you want to have us do?"

I remember something. "Actually, yes. I have some delicate clothes that I need to wash. Can I leave them with you?"

"Yes, of course. Boil tallow, weave baskets, do the laundry. That is fine. We will do these tasks from now on. Maybe help the young girls clean the house."

Another failure. Who was doing the housekeeping? Belle and Arwia alone? Maybe I can have the kids help.

"Okay. Then we are settled. Do you mind if I ask your names?"

"I'm Sere-Naha and she is Kali-Maru. We know your name, Sandra Rinaldi."

I smile at them and hold their hands. "Sere-Naha, and Kali-Maru, thank you for staying. I hope you can have happy days here. Now if you don't mind, I have to go. Oh. Here are the clothes. And before you ask, none of them were ever worn by me. Keep the blue bags. They are important."

Important and irreplaceable. I summon the bag of female underwear and the bag of left-foot shoes. Why the heck would they leave only the left foot.

"Oh, so colorful. These corsets are so thin. We will wash them, no problem. Should be all dry tomorrow."

"Thank you."

I leave the former slave building behind and return to the main house. As I go around I see the pile of discarded iron cell doors and window bars. It would be a waste to leave it there so I dedicate half an hour to turn them into disks with my frying pan as a mold.

After that, I went to the main house to claim it. I'd start with the bedrooms of the former masters of the place. Hama-Tula, Rubati, and Banunu. I knew I would renovate everything. Probably put up the items for sale and then either purchase or craft new ones. Yes, that would be better. I didn't want anything to remind me of them.

I went through the dining room and Rimush had already returned. He was helping Arwia oversee the writing training. The kids had wooden trays filled with a lump of soft clay. They had small sharpened wooden sticks they used to punch the straight cuneiform strokes on the clay. If they committed a mistake, one smudge of the finger would erase it. Quite clever as a teaching aid. The clay could even be fired in a kiln to preserve the writing but scrolls were preferred as they were easier to store and were less brittle.

I didn't speak or interfere with the lessons. All the kids were focused and their drive would put those hyperactive sugar-addled Earth kids to shame. At least the ones I'd contact with. I can't vouch for an entire planet, can I?

I heard the creaking of wheels, announcing loaded wagons arrived. More slag. A problem for later, I shouldn't even be here.

I went upstairs and made my way to the master bedroom. No guards up here. I was down to a third of my guards and half of them were resting to avoid aggravating the brand. I pushed the wooden door and entered Hama-Tula's room. It was dusty from all these days without anyone entering. I went to the windows and opened them. There was a balcony that looked over the inner courtyard. It was well built into the arches of the lower walkway and was hard to see from below. I wondered if that creep used this to keep an eye on the people below. Quite his thing.

Now properly illuminated, I could see that the room was very well-decorated. A pile of fancy cushions covered by a huge black bear pelt served as a bed. The fur was soft as... too soft. I immediately changed my mind about discarding everything. I wanted that pelt. But Hama-Tula and his wives... on top of it. There's no problem if I give it a thorough wash. Tapestries hung over the walls, hung as if to hide the dull sandstone bricks. A desk with scrolls, chamber pot, clean, and an archway that led to a bath. Porcelain tiles made an intricate geometric mosaic and half of this room had no roof. There was some mold growing on the corners of the rectangular tub that could fit six people easily.

I returned and started to take the tapestries off the walls. I had lime and crystal-white sand, I could make mortar and paint the walls. One of them revealed a second passage, into a closet. A bolt held the door closed. I lifted the bolt from its rest and pulled it back. Once I was about to open the door, a dart shot and pierced my hand. Three other darts also shot at different heights but only the first hit my hand. My hand burned. Poison. I focused on Decompose to remove the bone dart and neutralize as much of the poison as I could. It was a necrotic one and my hand started to lose coloration and to look really sick purple. I kicked the rest of the door open and an ax swung down, aimed square at my head. I dodged sideways. The ax went back and forth several times before it lost momentum and halted.

I didn't mind the ax. I kept fighting the poison. I remembered that keeping oneself agitated would increase heart rate and spread more of the poison through the blood. So I laid on the bear fur waiting for the poison to be flushed from me.

I came close to fainting but I kept my breathing still and my heart rate low. Eventually, the poison was purged and I healed. I took my selfie stick and tapped the ground, the door, the frame. Nothing. I pulled the door, now blocked by the ax and nothing happened. So I went around the massive weapon and looked behind. A series of levers attached to the back of the door drove power to the mechanism of the traps exposed in the chamber's wall next to the door.

A set of pulleys and weights multiplied the pull from the weights to push the darts out, while another pulled a pin in the roof to release the ax from its grove. Clever traps.

I spent a lot of time checking the walls and the floor for more traps but found none. I also discovered the way to bypass the traps. You'd have to insert a thin bar of metal at a certain angle underneath the door and hold a latch in place. This latch, if held down would stop the other traps from launching.

Finding no other dangers in the room, I entered. There was no sense in keeping traps where people meant to use the room would pass through. Unless you were a paranoid deranged wicked evil merchant. Might be the case.

The room was moist and shaped like a pantry, with shelves on both sides. I could see ornate chests, boxes, piles of scrolls and spools of silk. It seemed I hit the jackpot. I pulled the lid of one of the fanciest chests with the selfie stick. No traps came off and the lid wouldn't hold open because it would bang against the wall. I looked inside. Gold and silver. A lot of coins, probably two and a half times as much as what I saw in Abil-Kisu's bag. Dang dawg. Open sesame to you too!

I sift through the coins, and they all seem to be made of the same shiny yellow metal. Why would he be in debt if he had this much treasure? Why didn't Banunu or Rubati enter here to steal the gold? They probably didn't know how to disable the traps. I doubt an asshole like Hama-Tula would...

It makes sense. Banunu wanted to kill Hama-Tula but only after she learned the secret of the treasure. That's why she kept the wine. Or why she tried to kill me. I guess she could get someone to open this and disarm the traps for her, but it would mean getting more people into the conspiracy. That's just a theory.

I summon my purse and put the larger mina coins inside. Then I try to store it but it won't go.

What?

What is going on here? I remove the new coins and do it again. The purse stores. I try with a ziplock. Nope. Are these coins cursed or something?

I look at the other boxes. Gemstones. Silver coins. Gold ingots. None of them store with the ziplock bag. Then I find a separate box, small. It could be a woman's jewelry box as it is beautifully carved. I open it and see...

Kryptonite.

Yeah, no. I'm glad Christopher Reeve isn't here. Best Superman ever, may he find peace. But if I showed it at any geek convention and told the geeks it was kryptonite, they'd believe. It is a mineral, still embedded in bedrock. It has a tetragonal crystalline structure and is translucid. A few portions at the edge are a dull gray but most of it has this lattice of rectangular crystals in all directions. Some sections even look like a borg cube.

It could be emerald but the crystalline structure is odd. There's one way to know if it is emerald. Testing its hardness. Emeralds are hard. If my stainless still knife can't scratch it, that might be emerald. I summon the utensil and do the test. It scratches. Not emerald. It is actually very soft. I can scratch it with my fingernail. I break a small piece and hold it in my closed fist. It has a strong resonance as if it was burning. It also feels weird. I check for hydrogen, positive. Water, positive. Some hydrated mineral.

I also test silicon, nothing. Zilch. It is a salt ore then. One very hydrophilic. What elements does it have? What mineral is this? And does why it feel odd in my hand? Let's test the other elements. I remove all the water, making the sample crumble into a fine powder. That was expected. Now to walk the periodic table. Hydrogen, no. Neon, skip. Lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, yes. A lot. Some oxide salt. Sulfur, nitrogen, chlorine, fluorine, nope. None of these.

Phosphorus, yes. That settles the anion of the salt. Phosphate. The cation should be metallic.

"LiNa's oKay with Ruby's Close Friendship." Yeah, no. I didn't know the resonances for Rubidium, Caesium or Francium. And the chances that it had one of these were minimal.

"Betty Montgomery Called Sr. Barry Radcliffe." I got something there at the end of the sentence. Strontium, Barium, no. Radium. Radium. Atomic number 88. Please no.

Fuck.

The sample contained radium. Too little but it was like that itch that you could ignore until you knew it was there. You bumped at something and it only started to hurt when someone told you you had a wound.

I had a radioactive mineral. And this green now makes sense. That's why the rod in the Simpsons was green. Because it's uranium.

And this might mean that this entire room was contaminated.