They walked along in silence for the next hour. Spence noticed all four of them soon returned to good spirits despite the earlier conversation regarding their messed-up lives. He thought getting everything out in the open was cathartic. For the first time in Nibiru, the quest actually felt like an adventure—like being in Narnia or Middle-earth or Azeroth, the Warcraft world. He was a little nervous about how long it would stay that way, though. He didn’t know whether one of them would ruin the peace or if it would be the gods and their creations.

“It’s strange how far away Earth feels. We’ve only been here for a week, and now this feels normal.” Spence broke the silence.

“Yeah, the body and mind do adapt quickly. I guess it’s how soldiers deal with being in combat or prisoners of war for years,” Caleb said.

“I used to have nightmares about being away from the Internet during a power outage. Yet somehow, I’m not detoxing,” Morgan added.

“I wonder if we’ll ever see home again?” Spence asked, a little more somber.

“I would have bet a lot of money against it when we first saw wolfy and during each battle. But somehow, we keep surviving. The question is, even if we complete the quest, will the gods honor the bargain and let us go?” Trey replied.

“Hey, there’s the stream!” Caleb exclaimed.

Spence spotted the small clear stream cutting its way through the woods and crossing the trail in front of them. They all rushed off the path and headed up the incline to their left. The vegetation was thick and green on both sides of the water. When they crested the top of the hill, they saw the pond. The pond was small, around thirty feet in diameter, and nestled bowl-like in the surrounding ground. The front side was open, but bushes surrounded the back. The water was murky but had a bluish tint, not brown or green like most of the ponds he had seen on Earth.

“Oh my God! A bath!” Morgan squealed and sprinted past the others toward the water.

Spence hurried behind her, flanked by Caleb and Trey. They all instinctively headed for the bushes to disrobe.

“No peeking, boys,” Morgan said from a nearby clump of vegetation.

Spence tried avoiding looking in her direction, although he saw her flinging clothes out of the corner of his eyes. Then thoughts of seeing Morgan naked were replaced by the dread of getting naked in front of her. “I say we all run and jump in the pond at the same time,” he said as he shed his clothing.

“On three. One…two…three!” Caleb counted.

All four pushed through the scrub and charged toward the water. Spence leaped as far as he could and then pulled up his legs like doing a cannonball in the town pool. The others made similar splashing entries. The water was cold but so refreshing. His feet contacted the bottom, which was smooth and soft. He realized they hadn’t considered the depth or what might be in the pond, but at this point, he didn’t care.

“Oh, wow!” Morgan said. “This feels so good!”

“That’s what she said,” Spence said, again speaking before thinking.

Caleb and Trey roared with laughter. “Damn, Spence, you go, boy,” Trey said. He even reached out and gave Spence a high five. Caleb slapped him on the back of his right shoulder.

Spence laughed too and enjoyed the reaction of Caleb and Trey. He suddenly felt like one of the guys.

Then Morgan turned to stare at him, her mouth hanging open. “I cannot believe you just said that!”

Spence’s heart skipped a couple of beats at the possibility he had offended Morgan. He began to apologize when she shoved him playfully. “But actually, pretty darn funny.”

Spence breathed a huge sigh of relief and splashed water at Morgan. Then the four of them had an all-out splash fight for several minutes. Finally, they separated and did some actual bathing.

“This seriously does feel like the best bath ever, even without soap and shampoo,” Spence said after approaching Morgan again.

“I know, right?” Morgan replied. She submerged beneath the surface and appeared a few seconds later, rubbing her face and hair. “I never thought I would go this long without a bath.”

“I’d say our funk will destroy this pond for the elves,” Caleb said.

Spence remembered the elves they had caught glimpses of following them through the forest. Did they watch now? He scanned the trees but didn’t see any movement. Oh, well. He was enjoying the water too much to care. He ducked under the surface and rubbed his hair as if shampooing it in the shower.

“We could play Marco Polo,” Trey said, swimming over to the group.

“Umm, you boys knock yourselves out. I’ll be over here not touching or getting touched by any of you,” Morgan said.

“So, does that mean the lesbo rumors are true? Are you gay like your sister?”

Morgan glared at Trey. “You’re an idiot! First, leave my sister out of this. Second, what if I am? Third, seeing or touching your body would definitely drive me to it if I weren’t.”

“Oh, snap,” Spence said, laughing. Spence had tensed when Trey first asked the question. The morning had been good so far, but it could all change on a wrong word from any of them, especially Trey. He had heard the rumors about Morgan in school. Supposedly, she’d been spotted kissing a girl at some big party, which, of course, he hadn’t been invited to. And she wasn’t known to have dated any guys. Her older sister was a confirmed lesbian too. But only Trey would come out and ask. Her answer did little to clear up the mystery, though.

Trey only laughed and swam off in the other direction. The four swam, frolicked, and bathed for some time. Spence did his best to avoid catching glimpses of Morgan’s olive, bare skin and tried not to stare at the tops of her breasts. He did notice her black lipstick and eye makeup were gone. They had been fading and disappearing in places but now had vanished entirely. The transformation, although minor, was amazing. She appeared younger and much more innocent. Her lips were pink and full not covered in black, and her brown eyes were more noticeable. Her hair spread out and floated about her shoulders.

Spence swam over to Morgan when he caught her away from the other two. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I like your non-Goth look.”

Morgan stared at him for a moment as if preparing a stinging rebuke, but then her face softened. “The war paint is gone?”

“Yep.”

“I guess that’s good. Somehow, it didn’t feel right here. Besides, I think I stand out enough, don’t you?”

“Definitely! No other hot chicks in Nibiru.” The words left Spence’s mouth before he could stop them. He cringed as he waited on a response.

“Aww, thank you, Spencey. Hey, it looks like you’re changing too. This quest has buffed you up some.”

Spence peered down at his exposed upper torso. His body had already begun changing. The lack of food, hiking, climbing, and fighting monsters, had taken a good toll. His belly was flatter, and his arms and chest were more defined. He knew his legs were firmer and more muscular. He wasn’t big and buff like Trey or chiseled like Caleb, but he was better than the old Spence. “Gettin’ swole.” He laughed. “I wonder if that is in the brochure?”

Morgan laughed loudly. “I think your personality is blossoming too.”

“Hey, all my online friends think I’m hilarious. You guys have just been missing out on all this.”

“Looks like it.”

Morgan stared into his eyes for several seconds, instantly making him uncomfortable. The verbal exchange had been good, and he had made her laugh, so he needed to go out on a high note. “Race you to the other side!” He turned and began splashing hard, not seeing if she followed.

They played in the water for another half an hour before agreeing to run to their clothes simultaneously. They used their coats, which they hadn’t had to wear in the forest, to dry and then dressed. Soon they once again looked the part of fantasy questers.

“Now, if we only had deodorant, perfume, and cologne,” Morgan said.

Spence glanced at Morgan and noticed that all her piercings were gone except for a diamond stud in each ear. She must have removed them while drying and dressing. She turned toward him, and their eyes met. He smiled, nodded, and gave a thumbs-up. She returned the smile and then turned away to place her bow and quiver across her back.

“Hey, look, Morgan is de-Gothed,” Trey said.

“Wow, you look like a different person,” Caleb said, noticing for the first time. “In a good way.”

“Well, you boys just keep in mind that although I might look all sweet and innocent now, I can still kick your asses,” Morgan replied with the thinnest of smiles.

Spence didn’t doubt it. But it would be the best butt-kicking he’d ever received.