Now

“This recollection still fails to satisfy the requirements you are compelled to fulfill.”

“Oh, sorry Tides, but like I said, the proper context needs to be set. It’s a long story, spanning years and many adventures and struggles that eventually led me to your wonderful world,” Cal said.

“And what of your world? How did it fare when the… spires emerged?” The word was uncertain, hesitant, in Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623’s mouth. As if the alien was taking a grave risk in speaking it.

“Well, again, long story, but to make it short for you guys, not well. Not well at all. Mind you, we didn’t really know the true scale of the calamity until a few years later.”

“Continue, Designation: Honor,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“Um, let me think.” Cal made a show of giving the matter grave thought. He smiled suddenly. “So, during the first few weeks we still had internet and phone service, even if it was spotty and it only worked during the daylight hours. Though to call it daylight is a bit of a misnomer. Thanks to what we eventually called the shroud, it basically looked like dusk. When night came around, well, it was truly dark, pitch black almost. You see without electricity there aren’t any lights anywhere. Being in the city, most of us humans didn’t really know what true darkness meant. Let me tell you it was a scary time for everyone.”

“Your world?”

Cal smiled at the brief flicker of what could only be annoyance on both aliens’ faces. “Right, sorry. Keep in mind this is all only based on estimates through scattered video uploads, blog posts, and such from a variety of sources, governments, news organizations, and random people.” When the aliens didn’t react, he continued. “The attacks happened everywhere. Sometime in the hour after midnight, local time, all over the world, monsters attacked. Now it wasn’t all the same kinds and there were different effects in different regions. Where I was on the west coast, we got gremlins and the weird darkness shroud thing. Millions died.” Cal frowned. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Unacceptable. Detail is required.”

“C’mon, Tides. What more do you need? From the looks on your faces, I’d guess your people underwent the same thing.” Cal didn’t give the aliens the chance to object. “You asked about the spires? I’m assuming they started popping up the very same night. I just didn’t know that what the voice, text, was referring to as access locations were the same thing. We found that out later that day when Nila and I saw one a few miles down the freeway. Damn thing must’ve been up a thousand feet into the sky, like a skyscraper, except thinner than you’d expect. Maybe as thick around as a decent sized sequoia at the base.” Cal cleared his throat. “All this talking is making my mouth dry, do you think I could get a drink of some water?” A small, metallic tube, like some kind of high tech straw suddenly extended from the surface of his sarcophagus-like restraining device. He hesitated a moment before trying a small sip. Not finding anything amiss, he took a deeper pull. “Thanks. So, do I need to go over the spires, cause I’m thinking you know all about how they work?”

“Proceed,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“Seriously? Fine. Spires double as the access location. As far as I know it’s the only place you can spend your Universal Points. They also attract monsters and the closer you get to them the less likely non-spire technology is to work. Oh and by the end of the first year we realized that each spire was about a day and half to a day’s walk from each other.” Cal shook his head. “Once people figured out the spires’ importance, they were all too eager to gain control. Government types, corporations, gangs, those stupid militias, everyone and their grandmas.”

“As expected from your primitive civilization,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 spoke with well-disguised smugness. “The Threnosh did not fall to such selfish infighting. All worked for the greater good.”

“You don’t say.” Cal suppressed a smile. “Your people’s commitment to working collectively is laudable. I wish I could say the same about my own.”

“Designation: Honor this session ends.”

Without so much as a by your leave, an opaque bubble emerged from behind Cal’s head and enclosed it. The sarcophagus-like restraining device shifted and Cal found himself in the dark and on his back. The wry thought that he now knew what being a mummy was like crossed his mind. He couldn’t feel movement, but he was fairly certain that he was on his way back to his cell.

All in all the first interrogation session went well. The Threnosh were reasonable, business-like. Had they been human he would’ve probably been waterboarded and worse. He was able to prod their minds with his power and push them slightly out of their normal thinking patterns. He’d continue to do so, but very delicately. He didn’t yet know if they had the technology to discern what he was doing.

He had suspicions that whatever the Threnosh gained from the spires wasn’t at all like the powers, abilities, and magic that humanity did. Perhaps it was related to the power armor that every Threnosh he had seen since he had arrived through a spire was wearing. Not once had he seen one outside of their armor.

Cal was looking forward to the next interrogation session. There was a lot more that he was looking to learn from his temporary captors. He needed to find out if they could detect his power in use. Then he could start figuring out how to subvert or disable it for when it was time to escape. For now he would gain as much information as he could. People he cared about, what was left of his world were counting on him.

Then

“Your mom okay?”

“Yeah, luckily my brother was visiting, so mom is fine, just scared. My brother and sister are fine too, alive at least, just cut up a little.”

“Did they get the same welcome message I got?”

“Yeah…”

Cal was worried about the flatness to Nila’s voice.

“And the rest of your family?”

“I couldn’t get a hold of my uncle, neither could my mom. They’re thinking of checking on them later.”

“Don’t worry yet, phone service has been spotty, I’m only getting one bar and my call with my dad cut out and I couldn’t reach him again,” Cal sighed.

“Yeah, I know, it’s hard… how about your family?”

“Mom, Dad, and Rayna are okay. Just some cuts and bites, like us. I was right, it’s a good thing my sister is home for winter break. She was up, so the gremlins didn’t catch her in bed. Apparently she was pretty badass according to my dad, went to town with that ax I got her for her birthday a few years back. And you thought it was a weird gift,” Cal grinned.

“It still is,” Nila gave him a wan smile, “but I’m glad it was useful. So, they all got the welcome message.”

“Funnily enough only my sister and mom did. My dad didn’t actually kill or do enough damage to any gremlins. From what he says he was distracting them all by being so much more tasty than my mom, which gave her the opening she needed. You know, for such a tiny woman, she’s pretty fierce.”

“Your brothers?”

“Pretty much the same. Eron lives by himself, so he had three gremlins. Dealt with them like I did, a lot of flailing and accidental smashing and crushing. Remy’s family is okay, kids are scared, but unhurt. Luckily the gremlins only went after Remy and his wife… huh?” Cal had a thought. “There were six gremlins at Remy’s, nine at my parents’, and three at Eron’s. How many were at your mom’s?”

“I didn’t ask,” Nila frowned. “We had six here. You think, what? Three gremlins to each adult?”

“Seems that way, right?”

“If this is another ‘we’re in a game’ theory—”

“It’s not that I think we’re in an actual game, but more like whatever magic this is has game-ish elements. For example, it’d be unfair if there were, say a hundred gremlins, we’d have no chance against that, but three each is not an insurmountable challenge. Remy’s kids weren’t attacked, what if there’s an age limit? Say, eighteen and above only?”

Nila let out a breath of air. “Fine, whatever. We need to plan what to do now.”

“I’d like to group up with my brothers.”

“Okay, then let’s fill the car with supplies, lots of candles, and head over to Remy’s.”

“Uh… I’m not sure that’s going to be an option,” Cal said.

“What do you mean?”

“Eron said his car battery was dead.”

“Damn it!” Nila groaned. “Of course. Our phones, flashlights, their batteries were drained last night.”

Regardless of that fact, they checked the car anyways. Sure enough it was dead. They deliberated about their options. Cal thought they could just walk. Nila wisely reminded him that unless they wanted to risk swimming across the river then they’d have to walk ten miles up the freeway and through downtown just to reach the closet bridge. After that was another fifteen miles to Remy’s house. She also reminded Cal that since they were now dealing with magic, according to him, then they had no idea what sorts of monsters they might encounter along the way.

Cal’s next suggestion was that they could procure a pair of bicycles from the Big 5, which was just a mile or so away. Again Nila was forced to point out the possibility of monsters. Frustration settling in, Cal argued that with no way to jump start the car they had no choice. Even getting a new battery required braving the chance of of monster encounters since the nearest auto parts store was even further away. Not to mention the fact that there was a good chance that any batteries they found, even new ones, where likely already drained.

The lively discussion would have likely continued on along the same vein had Nila’s eyes suddenly not widened as she slowly raised a shaking finger to point at something high up in the distance behind Cal.

With great trepidation Cal swallowed the lump in his throat and carefully gripped the handle of the knife at his belt. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, willed himself to act decisively. He released the breath and spun around ready to give his life to defen—.

Now

“Designation: Honor, again you obfuscate.”

“I thought you wanted to know about my first experience with a spire.” Cal saw that Tides was about to open their mouth, so he hurried on. “This is how it started, like I said, it’s all important for the context. Otherwise I’m afraid I won’t be able to give you the best, clearest recollection.”

“Begin from the point you reach the spire,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

Cal pushed a bit into Tides’ and Loaming’s thoughts, just a light touch. When no alarms sounded, nor was he disintegrated by lasers he let out a mental sigh. It was just a quick look, like a passing glance into someone’s living room window.

The two aliens were annoyed with him. Tides especially. Loaming’s surface thoughts were more of a mixture. Annoyance, disdain, and curiosity mingled. Good.

“Right, where was I? Ah, yes. So, Nila saw the spire. Apparently it had sprouted out of the ground at some point during the night. It was weird to say the least. Somehow its surface managed to vacillate between a dull, dark, matte gray and a glistening, silvery color that you could swear held all the colors of a rainbow, like a tropical fish.” Cal paused. “Ah, a rainbow is this trick of the light reflecting of wat—”

“We are aware of what a rainbow is,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 said rather quickly.

“Okay, back to the story then. So, I ended up convincing Nila that we needed to check it out, since the message said I needed to reach an access point for more information. A giant spire that suddenly appeared seemed as likely a possibility as not.” Cal tried to lean forward in a conspiratorial manner, but his restraining device made it impossible. “Also, I didn’t tell her this, but I wanted to get Nila her first monster kill.”

Then

“Oh my god!” Nila squealed as she blindly swung her small baseball bat wildly around her body.

Cal had to dodge out of the way or be brained. The momentary distraction cost him as a cat-sized frog made an epic leap to his face, its sharp nails scoring thin scratches.

“Arrggh!” Cal gave a muffled cry as he desperately grabbed the unnaturally gigantic animal, tore it from his face and spiked it to the ground like a football.

The momentary respite allowed him to draw his knife with his left hand. Along with the ax in his other hand, he hacked, stabbed, and slashed at the numerous giant frogs all around them. Frankly, he was lucky that he didn’t stab himself with his flailing.

For her part, Nila was a dervish of bludgeoning force. Though she proved to be nearly as dangerous to Cal with her eyes closed technique, there were enough frogs that she couldn’t avoid smashing one.

The encounter didn’t last long and though the frogs where much larger than they should’ve been, their bodies weren’t especially resistant to being killed. In maybe a little over a minute and a half Cal and Nila were safe, if winded and scratched up.

“What the hell!” Nila screamed. “Frogs can’t get that big!”

“Actually, I think there’s a couple that do, but they live in Africa or maybe the Amazon.” Cal took a deep breath, before taking an antiseptic wipe from his go bag and wiping at the scratches on his face. “I hope this doesn’t get infected.” As he worked he realized something odd. He wasn’t breathing hard anymore, even though he was straining himself just a minute earlier. He looked over at Nila and his suspicions grew as he noticed that she, too, was breathing normally, if a bit agitated.

“This is why I didn’t want to go out!” Nila punched at Cal’s shoulder.

Cal barely felt it, his attention consumed by checking over the rest of his body for scratches. “Good, looks like I’m clear. Let me check you over.”

“No. I can handle it myself. It’s your fault anyw—”

“Nila?”

“Oh no,” Nila groaned, her face dropping, “Now I’m hearing a voice in my head and seeing words floating in the middle of the air,” her hands swiped in front of her in a futile effort to wipe the text only she could see out of her vision.

“Ha! I knew it!”

“This isn’t funny,” Nila grumbled. “I don’t want to deal with this crazy crap.”

“You have to pay attention to what it’s telling you.”

Nila’s shoulders slumped as she fell silent. Cal let out a sigh of relief as it looked as if she was indeed paying attention. The sooner she accepted what was going on with their reality the better. At least that’s what he had been telling himself repeatedly since this whole ridiculous ordeal started. He missed his glass of scotch, to think that was only half a day ago. To think that there was a chance that the half-full bottle he had back home might be the last he’d ever have made him sad.

So, to distract himself he focused on the giant spire-like structure coming up out of the river close to the bank. It was enormous. He craned his neck back and found that he still couldn’t make out the top. From a distance it looked to be the same height as the tallest buildings downtown. From this close it’s base reminded him of some of the medium-sized sequoias he had seen in the past.

“It’s so freaky.”

“What is?” Nila tapped Cal on the shoulder. “Oh, I’m done with the welcome message.”

“The thingy,” Cal pointed at the spire. “Tell me, what color does it look like to you?”

“It’s dark gray, flat, but then it’s shiny silver, and it also shimmers like a rainbow. It somehow does all three things at the same time.” Nila shuddered. “Do we have to get closer?”

“Well, nothing’s happening, so I think we need to try touching it.”

“That sounds like a bad idea.”

“Yes, yes it does.”

“Fine, but help me check myself for cuts first. I want everything bandaged up as tight as possible if I have to get into that gross river.”

Cal spent a quick moment helping Nila check for new cuts only to find none. In fact, they were unable to find any cuts at all.

“Um… where are the cuts that you got last night?”

“I don’t know,” Nila said with wide eyes.

Cal dropped his go bag, took his jacket, then shirt off and turned his back to Nila. “What about mine?”

“Oh wow!” Nila prodded at Cal’s back and trapezius. “These were pretty deep last night. Now they’re just like tiny scratches.”

Cal got dressed before he spoke. “So, we’re healing at unnatural rates that can only be explained by one thing.”

“If you say ‘magic’, I’m going to hit you.”

“Fine, I won’t say it, but do you have any other explanation?” When Nila didn’t reply, Cal went on. “I noticed something after the frog fight. I wasn’t breathing properly during the fight, held my breath, too tense. When we were done I was huffing and puffing like I had just sprinted all out. Not a minute later I’m breathing normally.”

A look of recognition crossed Nila’s face. “You know what you’re right. I think it was the same for me.”

“So many questions we need answered,” Cal said gravely, “which is why we need to get to that giant spire thingy.”

“What if it isn’t the access point that message was talking about?”

“Have to find out,” Cal shrugged.