I was awake. I think I had been for some time. It was hard to tell. The world remained pitch black but it wasn’t nighttime. A pleasantly comforting feeling of sunlight could be felt baking my skin. This darkness existed because my eyes weren't working. I wanted to panic but couldn't bring myself to be that upset.

Female voices tittered in low hushed tones nearby. They were excited about something. I didn't understand any of their words. Everything was numb.

It wasn't a bad thing. My arms were comfortably leaden and hearing unfocused. Even my extra senses were absent. I couldn't feel any connections around me. Not to Evan, or Kahina, or my home.

Slowly things came together. Not my eyesight. That was still gone no matter how much I blinked. But my arm moved. Toes tingled. Hairs registered a breeze combing through. I was outside on what felt like grass. Fingers curled and I relished the sensation of clumps of dirt giving way.

That small feeling was everything in the world. For a moment, I wondered if this was a dream. Similar to Kahina and her strange otherworld of shade creatures. Maybe this was heaven, but it was doubtful anyone would let a man like me in.

Two voices became distinct as my awareness grew. They were talking about a garden. Discussing plants, trees, moss, birds, insects. One of the girls sounded annoyed with bugs, she expressed her desire that they all be eaten by the birds chirping nearby. The other kept trying to say that they had a place. That everything did. They went on for some time while I replayed what had happened.

Roy had drugged me and lured me into a series of fights. I couldn't say I went unwillingly. Hell. Between the pressures of the last few months, the drinking to bury it, and mounting guilt, I had been rather stressed.

Now I felt drained. This kind of pleasant detachment normally came after a good workout session. Or after the most restful night of sleep a body's ever had. I didn't want to let go of this absent lethargy.

Ten minutes passed with two girls talking about the uninteresting version of birds and bees. I finally felt brave enough to sit up. I tried and failed by flopping to the side. Their voices hushed almost instantly.

"Hello?" The stiffness in my voice was tainted with a rough aftertone. I must have laid here for quite awhile.

"Are you there?" My arm fumbled uselessly. I found something rough and tried to pull myself up.

A woman gasped then said, "Stop that!"

I kept pulling.

"Stop, that tickles!" The female voice was closer. It was a wispy thing. I finally managed to get onto my knees. Not stand, that was beyond me. Sitting up was a good enough start.

"Where am I?" I asked while trying not to sound froggy. My throat hurt a lot.

"In our garden" said the one complaining about being tickled.

"The garden!" said a second female. She was insanely chipper sounding.

"Where's Roy?" I asked.

"Roy?"

"The man I was fighting. Bottom Pit's head of security." It took forever to get the words out.

"Oh, that Roy!" She drug out his name. "Hold on, I'll get him!" Chipper voice ran off. Her feet made no sound at all. If my senses were working correctly they'd probably say she weighed next to nothing. The only sign that someone had come and gone was a heavy door slamming.

Roy was alive. That was something. I had no idea what had happened down in The Pit but I thought for sure he'd died in that inferno. An idle thought tickled the back of my head. Something saying that he should be proud to have survived. It wasn't quite my subdued personality speaking, but it was close.

"What happened?" My throat still hurt. Swallowing increased the throbbing.

"It's hard to say." The female said. "I wasn't there. And all the males have been tight-lipped." I was carefully grasping around. Trying to get a feel for my surroundings.

"Watch it!" She said.

I tried to get more information. "How did I get here?"

"Some of the males from downstairs brought you up. Said it'd be best if you rested here." Her voice was softer than the others. Not tiny, not faint, just soft. Steady. Soothing.

I gave back into the tired feeling and quit trying to get upright. It was too much for me right now.

"I'm above The Pit?"

"Sort of. The Pit is near here, and below, yes. Why are you asking? You should know all this." She wanted to sound angry. I could tell. Those words were wrapped in a layer of cotton.

"I should?" The woman's words confused me. This place was familiar, but without eyesight, there was no way to tell where I had ended up.

"Yes, of course you should. And you don't need to use my tree to rest when you have a perfectly good..." The door banged shut again. I hadn't heard or felt it open. There was a definite sound of footsteps this time, though.

"Hush, girl." Roy must have arrived. His tone was easy to make out compared to the other women.

"Don't hush me," said the less bubbly female.

I tried to sit up again, pushing on the tree trunk for leverage.

"Stop that!" Her soft voice broke from its stern pattern into a fit of laughter.

"John. I'm glad to see you've recovered." The large bouncer came over and grabbed my fumbling hand. With a sturdy yank, he had me off the floor and standing. I couldn't see him, but he felt solid enough. More so than I was.

"What happened?" Both words hurt to ask.

"You fought us for honor and glory. It was worth the wait."

I felt puzzled.

"You told us you'd have to leave for some time. That when you came back we would be allowed to undergo our trials." Roy spoke with a slight lisp.

"The Great Beast," I responded.

"Yes. A hunt. A challenge. You had done it for us before. There are few worthy challenges left in the world." His words confused me. Drinking had been a much simpler way to pass the time.

My head shook slowly. Having no senses beyond touch and hearing made me feel disoriented. I couldn’t judge facial expressions or even use my extended range to replace the missing sight.

"That's nice. He's awake. Now get him away from my tree." The ticklish female said.

"Are you so eager to get rid of him?" Asked the larger man.

"Yes. Dear Gods yes." She responded. Air rippled through and there were leaves rustling above. I looked up in confusion while they talked. Was there a tree up here, on top of Bottom Pit?

"Not how I remember it." Roy's words sounded more garbled than normal. Almost half-words. Like something was wrong with his ability to move his lips.

"He's fumbling, blind, and useless. Plus he tickles." The female said.

"Not so," Roy responded.

"Not so? He certainly tickles. And four years have gone by. With no word. No one knew, none of us. He gave us hope, brought us here, and then-" Her words exuded calm. Even the angry attitude felt soothing.

"Hush. He's not fully returned to us." Roy seemed intent on getting the woman to stop talking. There was a hidden meaning to their words that I felt passing right over my head.

"Then he's useless. Go somewhere else." She sounded firm.

"Come, John."

"You know my name's not John, right?" I asked, confused. John, Jeff, Jake, a myriad of false names that were used to keep me forgettable. Roy acted like he knew me. Expected more from me than a simple John would warrant. Probably among the same reasons I knew this place.

"Of course, but your real name is difficult to say for everyone except Rachel," Roy spoke slowly, making the words easier to understand.

"Who’s that?" I didn’t remember anyone named Rachel.

He answered by saying, "Family."

We started hobbling off somewhere. The air felt colder as we went indoors. There was very little to go off of for landmarks. Not being able to see, or use my sense to feel, made me useless. I had to trust Roy to get us to another location.

"Should you tell me?" I asked.

"Maybe. I have to consult with others. First thing's first. You've been lounging around for days. Come. We'll find some food. My father wants to see you as well."

My face scrunched while I tried to remember the older man's name. Roy's arm was steady under mine. I felt strange being supported by someone else. There was a core of strength to him. Reliable. Like a rock that withstood wave after wave.

"Tal?" I finally figured it out. Roy had said it once just before we got into that weirdly ritualistic combat.

"Yes. Tal. Watch your feet." He warned me as if guiding around blind people was second nature.

"My eyes-" I started to ask what was wrong.

"Will be fine, given time." He cut me off. "As well your other senses. They will come back first, a day, maybe two."

"How do you know?"

"Some secrets I know because I watch. Some because we have fought, many times. One warrior to another. Others because you trusted me like a brother." He spoke and my mind drifted off slightly.

Bottom Pit was dead during the day. Correction, it wasn't completely devoid of life. There were people around. I heard the shuffling of feet passing by us in the hallways. Sounds from a kitchen prepping endless meals. Compared to the roaring of the crowds this was downright peaceful.

"I'm not sure I want to know." I finally spoke, feeling conflicted about being this close to an answer.

"You can't hide forever. Surviving this long is a feat worthy of any Teller’s arsenal. You should share this with my father. He'll be happy with your success."

We kept walking. The floor clinked like metal of some sort. A musky smell of dirt slowly faded away.

"You're the Hidden aren't you?" I asked. Thinking was clearer now than it had been for weeks. Even though I was blind, stumbling, my mind felt sharp. Things were easier to pick up.

"Yes," Roy said. Voice firm, barely slurred. The longer sentences were giving him trouble, but one word at a time was easy.

"Your family?" I asked.

"Our family,” He said the words with force. “All Hidden. There are many of us here."

"How?"

"How what? How are we here? How do you not remember it?" I felt Roy ripple with a shrug. "Both were your choice. Come. Sit. Before you fall. Let me find food. One of the women is sure to have something."

I was guided to an unseen plastic chair. The kind people stacked up and shoved in a closet by the dozens. It was impossible to know exactly where in the building we had ended up. This wasn’t one of Bottom Pit's main rooms. Their chairs were fancier. Here the air felt different, more open. Sunlight came in through a window. It was warm, pleasant. Not as good as that rooftop garden had been.

Roy's mention of food gave me other concerns. Thoughts of eating sent my belly into overdrive producing rumbles of noise. Roy chuckled, almost fatherly. The kind of laugh that could only come from a man who raised teenagers.

While he was gone I contemplated this current situation. Being here seemed safe enough despite my defenses being completely down. Where I woke up felt comforting. The female had been somewhat hostile. Roy had called me family and hinted at answers. If I dared.

Keeper, the vampire who had transformed Kahina, had told me I would be found by other Hidden eventually. Was this what he meant? Who else here was a different race? Barnie? Ted? Boss Wylde? I hadn't exactly been found, but instead stumbled across them.

Then there was the other question. What were the other races? What could they be? Stories were few and far between. The one Tal had spoken of last night was the first true monster tale I'd ever heard. Entire cultures had their past removed, books burned, cave paintings painted over, myths squashed, there was nothing left to cast hints.

Vampires, Wolves, Elves, Humans, all the standard races had been kept largely in the dark. News publications, history shows, all alluded that anyone outside the big four had been wiped out nearly two millennia ago.

That event had been called The Purge. Other races were deemed too dangerous and incompatible then systematically removed. Beyond genocide.

Keeper had been right. Wiping out that many had to be near impossible. They, we even, had survived.

Someone cleared their throat making the room feel even larger than I thought. Suddenly finding myself with company after thinking I was alone set me on edge and all thoughts of being comfortable here vanished. They were close, maybe at the same table under my arm. I panicked and shifted myself towards the noise in order to face it head on.

"Relax." A voice said. Not quite female. Not quite male. Somewhere between in timber.

"Who're you?" I tried to sniff the humid air. To get a feel for anything. My fingers clumsily reached out for a plastic table.

"Just another member of the flock," It said.

"Some flock."

"They're more likely to eat all the sheep, farmer too, truth be told. In the old days anyway." It didn’t sound like both a man and woman at the same time. I just couldn't tell from the voice alone and that bothered me. This reminded me that the world was currently a blanket of darkness.

"Yeah?" I tried to sound interested. Their words were almost offhanded despite the severity of their subject. Monsters had eaten people, that’s why The Purge happened.

"Sure. Food was scarce back then. Meat was meat." They said.

"Not now?" I asked while listening for any sign of movement. The other person seemed content to sit there talking. No hands waved or fabric brushed. Chairs didn’t scrape. My own breathing was louder than anything this person did.

"No point. Steaks everywhere for a little bit of money. We live in an era of plenty. People whine about taxes and don't realize what blessings they've been given." They said.

I paused and tried to figure out how to respond. This other voice was opinionated. Not chipper, but rather bored sounding. At long last they shuffled in their chair. The noises delivered an impression of someone fidgeting due to bulky clothes.

"So now you ask,” They said.

"Ask what?" I asked, then rapidly felt dumb for walking into an obvious verbal trap.

"If you know me, and the answer's no. I'd remember you, and we've never met." The unknown person said. They didn’t sound like Boss Wylde, or Roy, or any of the bouncers from earlier. Their tone didn’t match anything in the recent past.

"I don't remember a lot of people," I said dryly.

"Yeah, featherhead did a number on you I can tell. Not sure why. But no one here tells me anything."

"Sounds familiar."

"I'm sure it does," They responded. There was an impression that someone should be nodding but without my two main senses, it was, weird.

"Are you Hidden too?" I asked.

"Oh, I go by many names, one for each season. Hidden? As in a people? No. Silly.” Even without eyesight, I could tell there was an amused head tilt to the other person's body. “Though I am hiding. Yes."

I shrugged. It was hard to tell what parts I'd care about and what parts were worthless. Each time someone new presented themselves into my world there was a backstory, details, personality traits, and half the time none of it really mattered to my choices.

"Food good here?"

"It's passable. There were some old country recipes I wish were still around. Nowadays companies buy out the good ones, mass produces them, not as good as homemade. Just passable. I miss having real meals. Microwaves made cooks lazy."

My belly rumbled again in response to the food prompt.

"See, you get me. Not all mortals do." The other person said.

"Mortal?" I heard that word before. Never in reference to actual people, though. Everyone died, no one lived forever. Even vampires who could live eternally, in theory, tended to self-destruct eventually.

"Sure. Hey, listen, I've got to get going. Work starts soon and Boss Wylde will try to kill me if I'm late. Silly. Silly woman." The chairs rustled as this other person's feet stepped closer.

"Alright," I said while hoping my eyes weren’t growing panicked. For all I knew this man could have a loaded gun pointed at my head. Would enhanced strength and healing recover from a spray of bullets? Probably not. My skin itched thinking about the possible dangers. I tilted back slowly.

"My hand's out, you grab it, we shake, those are the rules for this era. Greet each other, talk for miles, say nothing immediately useful, shake hands, say goodbye." The other figure sighed and kept on. "I miss the old days. We used to try and kill a stranger first, then say only the useful things. People listened after you beat the crud out of them. None of this polite handshaking needed."

The not quite male or female voice seemed displeased by a lot of things. I felt something wave in front of my face. My hand reached out and grabbed at the hand I couldn't see. Whoever it was pumped my hand a few times.

"Now say goodbye," They said.

"Goodbye. I guess." It was a weird meeting. If I had been up to my normal self perhaps this would be annoying. At this point, I was still leaden.

"Silly. Don't guess. Make a choice, stick with it. You seem like the sort who tries to do both and fails. Most of your lot are. Except those that can't be." He, she, it, whatever, was confusing as hell to listen to. "Choose, follow through. Tomorrow the sun will rise. Trust me, I've seen more than enough to know it's true." The voice sighed again. "Mortals, they forget that the entire system is designed to keep itself alive at any cost." Words faded off into the distance as it spoke. "Anyway, goodbye, silly mortal."

Then I was left alone. No one shuffled. No one coughed. Roy hadn't returned with a meal and I was getting pretty desperate. I just had a strange conversation and all that my brain could think of was food.

I sat in near silence long enough to get worried. What if Roy had forgotten about me? What if someone had distracted him? How would I make it to food? How long would this blindness last? Echolocation was not a trait of mine. Though my tactile feedback might be close.

A loss of eyesight didn't automatically give me a white and red cane. Chance was against there being one in the lost and found box. Tapping around for obstacles would confuse me and this chair wasn't suitable anyway.

There had to be some sort of kitchen nearby, or a fridge, anything with snacks. Sniffing to get a scent was nearly useless. My nose was nowhere near a wolf's. They'd be able to navigate straight to meat from miles away. Having a barbecue in a neighborhood where wolves lived was like asking for constant visits. Especially for the grill masters. Half the time wolves were polite enough to bring their own meat.

I tried not to laugh at the mental image of a wolf in canine form showing up with a package of chewed up hot dogs in his mouth.

One tentative step at a time I shuffled down the hallway. If I was in Bottom Pit somewhere, if I had been here before, it should just be a matter of following my gut. Or backtracking to the prep noises I heard before. My gut and vague memory said to head left. Each step brought worries of stubbed toes, stepping on knives, or Roy trying to find me from some other direction.

Five turns was all it took to get completely lost. No smells lingered in the hallways. No other footsteps traveled close enough to talk to. I didn't want to admit that I needed the help. Being weak was one thing, showing it blatantly was asking for trouble.

Perhaps it was pure luck that I recognized some voices in the distance. They were around a corner. Or down a hallway. Maybe some side room. Without eyesight, everything was a guess.

"You can't tell him, Roy. Just don't, man. It'll screw up this whole thing. Lives are at stake here." The surfer accent was strong. The only person I knew who spoke like that was Daniel Crumfield.

What was the tanned redhead doing here? He was a Western Sector Agent and should be out refereeing some elves and wolves that were fighting over which trees could be pissed on. Not in the middle of Bottom Pit where the Hidden were.

"He deserves to know. We owe him a great deal of respect." Roy responded. Their pause for conversation answered my own musing on long absent food.

"Exactly, we would dishonor him by going against his wishes." The Agent seized on the wording.

"That makes no sense. He wants to know."

"Did he tell you that? Did he use any specific words? There's a code he'll say when ready. We agreed on it." Daniel asked.

I was happy about staying conscious during this entire conversation. Many times these tidbits turned my mind blank. Part of my mind seemed intent upon self-censoring, the same part that thought in a different cadence. That voice had been subdued since fire raged across The Pit. Tired, content, at peace for the first time in awhile.

In short, I wasn't aware enough to stop myself from learning a little.

"No. But he looks lost. You should have seen him when he returned to us. The need was overwhelming." Roy's deep voice sounded sad.

"Lost, yes, he's lost, man, so buried in sand that no one can tell his ass from the next meathead’s. Muni's trinket has muddled everything he comes across. Do you think this place would be so mellow if they knew he'd returned?"

"It seemed like they knew during our trials, but then no one commented on what happened. I had wondered why." Roy's voice was broken. Had something happened to him that screwed up his speech? Was it just the effort of speaking so fast, or without as much effort?

"You, me, Muni, only a few actually see him for who is. Others suspect. I've tried to have Muni yank their memories but she's too damned busy cleaning up after last month's mess. Jesus what a clusterfuck. Grade A clusterfuck." I could almost feel Daniel ripping his short hair out. He kept it buzzed for a reason. When stressed the Agent tended to pull on it.

"My family remembers him."

"Family, or your brothers?" Daniel snapped quickly.

"Brothers, and father."

"Exactly, you've been there since near day one, like I have, and we’ve all sparred countless times. Between you two the Tribe has recovered some of the dances.” The agent shuffled around, at least, it seemed to be him. He was lighter than Roy by far, and the shoes sounded sharper. “That's important enough to cancel out any general memory wipes. Muni couldn't yank him without shredding your noggin, and we need you whole. Your brothers too, man. You're what holds this place in line."

I held myself motionless and tried not to breathe loud. I didn't want to give anything away. Daniel had said that Roy and I recovered the dances? Those battle styles? No wonder they felt familiar.

"Then what do we do? The Council should know." Roy asked.

"Absolutely not, man. They're worthless anyway, self-appointed idiots. Like there's enough gathered here to put anyone in charge."

"We've had to, since he's been gone."

"Don't even tell me. I know. This whole thing has been a series of disasters. I can't even begin to explain how busy my teams have been just trying to root enough of the Order to breathe." Daniel sounded angry, annoyed, and defeated all in one go.

"This is their fault?" Roy spoke the question slowly.

"Of course it is, man."

"Does he know about them?" Roy asked. Clearly the bouncer was missing puzzle pieces too. Just like I was, and yes, I knew about the Order’s bullshit.

"Look, I tried to keep him out of it, but he waltzed right into the middle of three operations!” Daniel was pacing again. Sharp footsteps could be heard clanking around the hallway. “Even when he left and traveled the coast he practically waded into their meetings. How does anyone do that? Go into hiding, forget everything, and still manage to go out of his way to step on a landmine?"

"It's who he is. His nature. He's desperate, like my father and I were before he started bringing us together." Roy’s voice didn’t change locations. He seemed like the sort who stood there, imposing, unmoving until a situation required it.

"I know. He's searching. Like he was when I first met him. I've got some ideas about that." Daniel trailed off as if thinking about something serious. Without seeing his face, it was impossible to know for sure.

"You finally found something, that will help him search?" Roy asked.

I tried to picture the two talking but couldn’t. They sounded fairly close to each other. Daniel would have been shorter than Roy by a good six inches. Being blind and without my normal senses made me feel small and burned out. Maybe that was a good phrase for it, burned out.

"More like a backup plan. A far out and extra dangerous one. None of my sources seem to believe it’s possible." The Sector Agent spoke in a hurry.

"Then we stick with the first plan, Hunter?" Roy almost sounded amused.

"Yeah, man. We keep him busy. Come on. Let's get that food then we'll sit down and talk with Jay.” There was a pause that could only be Daniel shrugging. “I've got some leads that he could use anyway."

"Who?" Roy asked as they both walked in an opposite direction.

I held my breath. Daniel knew exactly what I was. When I raged about it, stressed, and boxed into a mental corner, Daniel had known everything. The entire time Roy was here, he knew, his family knew, the woman upstairs with the soothing voice knew. My burned out relaxed feeling started tried to turn to aggravation. Being blind made it hard to really punch people solidly. Plus Roy had sort of kicked my ass once already.