That we were in a bad part of town was borne out by the fact that out of all the cars we’d tried, only one had a complete engine to even start. Cody slipped inside, broke the steering column with his knife, and joined two wires together. I’d seen enough movies to know there should’ve been a spark and low grumble as the vehicle fired.

“Shit,” Cody spat, climbing back out. “Dead.”

The whole place seemed dead to me. I’d heard some coughs in the shadows when we had moved through the underpass. One unseen squatter started babbling about gods and demons, before breaking out into fits of manic laughter that died away as he fled unseen from our presence. The streets we reached on the other side of the bizarrely vacant highway were littered with rubbish. Gentle winds tossed around old paper and plastic wrappers, and I was tempted to find a loudhailer to begin calling out for survivors. It hadn’t ended too well in one of my favourite zombie movies, as the only thing to answer were the dead in their thousands.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Indoors. They think that by keeping away from the outside air, they won’t get as sick.”

“They do know that air will still get in, don’t they?”

Cody shrugged.

“When people are scared, they’ll do the strangest things,” said Cris as we passed one of the boxy homes with layers of plastic wrapped all around the outside. A rectangular hole had been cut where the front door stood. It swung open a few inches and a hand darted out to toss out a bag of rubbish before it slammed shut again.

“Is it like this all over the world?”

Cody shrugged again. “Some places are worse than others. When we get into the city itself, you’ll see a bit more activity. These folks have always been the poor and downtrodden, even after the world got more wealthy. They figured as incomes went up, their standard of living would too. As it was, everything else just got that much more expensive, and they were back to square one. Suspicion and fear are as much a part of them as their own skin now. They think this whole thing with the air is an attempt to get rid of them by the rich.”

“Even though it’s literally the air all around everything? Including the rich? They’re in as much trouble as those poor souls,” said Cris.

“Like you said,” Cody replied. “fear can do weird things to people.”

We came across another vehicle, and this one was missing all four wheels. A bus rounded the corner and trundled past, the only person aboard was the driver herself. She gave us a wary look as she neared, no doubt hoping the strange group wouldn’t try to flag her down. When our arms stayed at our sides, her face relaxed and she gunned it onward.

“This place is sucking the life out of me,” I said.

“Try living here,” said Cody.

“I’m hungry,” Sun said out of the blue.

I’d left her alone as she worked through the world we were now trapped in. I hoped she didn’t regret jumping in with both feet to help me on my quest. Even if she did, the natural bodily requirement for nourishment crowded out all other concerns as my own stomach rumbled in agreement. I realised that I hadn’t eaten since I sat with Kur for a final meal before we left Whitespear Mountain more than twenty four hours ago.

“We have all the consumables?” I offered.

“I want something real,” she replied.

“There’s a diner nearby,” explained Cody. “I’ve driven past it a couple of times. It won’t be fine dining, but it’ll fill a hole.”

“There’s just one problem,” I said, summoning some silver coins from my purse. I almost dropped the notes that appeared in my palm instead, headed by a figure I didn’t recognise, with motifs that meant nothing to me. At least in England we had the queen’s head and recognisable monuments from our history.

Cody looked at my fistful of money. “Problem?”

“Er, it doesn’t look like there is, after all. I wasn’t sure I had enough to pay for the food.”

“Mark, that could buy us three square meals a day for a month in there.”

I popped it in my pack again. “In that case, lead on, mate. I’m starving.”

Our merry little band passed a dozen more cars, none of which were operable. In the lot of the diner, there was a flatbed truck and two small hatchbacks, all weirdly boxy, when on my world, smooth curves were the order of the day of vehicular beauty. The glass frontage gave the lone customer and staff within a full view of the rides, ending any chance of us making off unseen. The last thing we needed was the law on our arse as well as evil intelligence agencies. The restaurant looked like any one of the hundreds I’d seen in the movies, which once again frazzled my brain because we were in a different universe, but the similarities to the United States was uncanny. A bell jingled merrily as we moved inside, the smells of frying food washing over us. I normally avoided fast food like the plague, but I was ready to devour as much as I could bear without vomiting.

“Take a seat anywhere!” said the waitress from the counter. “I’ll be right with you.”

We all headed for a booth that overlooked the entrance and sat next to an emergency exit. It was as if we were all settling into the same paranoia that crippled the denizens of this poor neighbourhood. Our seats gave us a full view of any comings and goings, as well as a simple escape route if the need arose.

“Coffee?” asked the waitress whose name badge read Ava.

Cody and Cris responded instinctively, sliding their mugs across the table. I did the same for mine. Sun damn near snatched the carafe in her need for a fresh caffeine boost. The waitress managed to keep hold of her glass jug, but prioritised filling the massive, tattooed woman’s mug first.

“You folks been to that convention in the city?”

“The what?” I asked.

“Movie-Con. Super popular. That’s why you’re all dressed up, right?”

I looked at our garb from an outside perspective and suddenly thought we desperately needed to get some normal clothes.

Ava rubbed at her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Let me guess… wizard!” she exclaimed, pointing at Cris.

“Good guess,” she replied.

Ava turned to Sun. “I love the fake tats. You’re either a rogue, which is probably wrong because you’re so strong. No, I’d say a type of warrior. Like a Viking goddess.”

“Right on the money,” I replied.

“And you two are some kind of super soldiers from those war movies. I’ve never really cared for them, if I’m honest. I prefer a good romance.”

“Four for four,” I said, smiling awkwardly. “You’ve got a good eye.”

“Yeah. I was going to attend, but I got roped in to covering the weekend.” She waved the coffee carafe at the almost empty diner. “Like it’s even worth opening these days. But we all have bills to pay, I suppose. So, what did you think of it?”

“It was great fun,” Cris lied.

“Did you go to the Tyler Foster question panel? I have such a crush on him.”

“We missed it,” moaned Cody, trying to seem upset.

“Aww, dang. I guess there’s always next year,” Ava replied.

Cris almost choked on her coffee, but the priceless liquid was far too valuable. It was a small taste of home for her, even though this wasn’t her actual home.

“What can I get you folks to eat? Some of the stuff’s off the menu on account of the weird air, but anything without a line through it is all yours.”

I found what I was looking for and went for a huge plate of scrambled eggs with a small side of potatoes. Carbs were a rare treat for me, but with all the bread and stuff I’d consumed in Kherrash, I could feel the body already forming an addiction that I would need to break at some point. Sun simply ordered anything made of meat on the menu, which ended up being a mix of sausages, bacon, burgers, and fritters. Cris and Cody followed my example of something a little lighter.

“Coming right up,” Ava said cheerfully, spinning away from us.

“We stick out like a sore thumb,” said Cody, echoing my own fears.

“Is there a clothes shop near here?”

Cody made a face as he retraced the route in his mind. “I’m not sure. We can always ask Ava when she brings the food over. The question is, what the hell do we do now? We don’t have a car, and we damned sure don’t have a map to find these addresses. I don’t know the city well enough to just work off street names.”

“About that,” I said in such a way that Cody scowled at me.

“What?”

The icon was flashing next to his head. “How would you like to share our powers?”

“You mean the healing and…” he struggled to say it. “and the magic?”

I checked over his tab. “You won’t have much in the way of spells to start with. What you’ll have is an even greater skill in marksmanship, that kind of thing. Your real life job is also your potential class. A ranger.”

He scoffed and sat back, staring at anywhere but us. “This world is on the brink, and here I am sitting with people who shouldn’t be able to do what they do.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t a mindfuck, mate.”

He sighed deeply. “Will it hurt?”

“Not in the least,” replied Sun. “Mark gave me his gift and I became more powerful. It was the only reason I survived my world and the greenskin invasion.”

“Will it help us get Liza back?”

I nodded firmly. “One hundred percent. You won’t need maps, because you’ll have one in your view at all times. If you get hurt, you’ll be able to heal yourself like I did with Scott. Your strength and abilities will go up as we fight our way to Sheldon Lake.”

He looked out through the window for a long time, before turning back to us. “Ok, I’m in. Give it to me.”

I glanced around. Even though we weren’t being stared at by the customer and the fry cook, I could feel their scrutiny. The last thing we needed to do was to draw attention with a display of glowing runes.

“Come to the toilet with me,” I said, standing up.

He looked at me warily. “Why?”

“You’ll see. Come on.”

We walked around the counter, and Ava informed us our food was nearly ready. The flames of the grill were burning more fiercely than they normally would, and I noticed the plasters and bandages on the chefs hands and arms. Cooking in this world of massively increased oxygen was a risky business by the looks of it. We thanked her and moved past the construction worker who was giving us the side-eye. Despite our convincing admission of con attendance, I could see he wasn’t buying it.

“Step into my office,” I said, holding the door open.

“Your office?”

“Sorry, just something I say on my world,” I replied, locking the door behind me. The small bathroom was actually gleaming, which took me by surprise. I’d been expecting the stink of urine and a few questionable brown stains on the walls. I pushed aside my shock and turned to Cody. “A couple of things before I ask you again. The first is that your view will change to something like a computer game HUD. Do you play games at all?”

“Not really, but I’ve got friends who do.”

“Ok, you’ll see what I mean if we go through with this. Just be aware you can shrink and adapt it all with just a thought. You’ll have access to certain abilities, and you’ll be able to do this.” I switched my armour set a few times, much the same as I had in front of Liza.

“Neat trick,” Cody mused as my weapons switched in quick succession. “Do I get that?”

“Yeah. The only thing you don’t get is the ability to take anything from my inventory, but I can take everything from you.”

“Inventory, as in the place you keep all that gear? I don’t suppose it’s stashed in your pockets?”

“More a pocket plane that exists outside of reality,” I replied.

“Too much information. What else?”

“I don’t know if the effect wears off once we part ways. It might be you’re stuck with the abilities. Sun is the only one I’ve tried it on, and she came with me from her world, so I can’t say for sure.”

“She must think a lot of you to leave her home behind,” Cody said, speculatively.

“I guess so. We went through a lot together.”

“Orcs and goblins? It’s almost too crazy to believe, but I know you’re not lying.” He stared at me for a few awkward moments, then said, “Do it. I’m ready. Anything to help save Liza.”

“And as many others as possible,” I added.

“First Liza, then the world,” he stated.

I clicked the accept icon and the same swirling runes that had meshed with Sun’s body joined Cody to my party. After my words, he didn’t recoil as badly as Sun at the new view, but I saw his eyes dart all over the place as he took in the bars and icons.

“If you need to, just think it away for now. I’ve turned it mostly opaque so it’s not as intrusive.”

Cody settled down and did as instructed. I noticed his eyes flicker up and to the right as he took in the map. “Is that where she is? Those two golden patches?”

“It’s where she might be. My sponsors are purposefully unhelpful and vague most of the time. The only thing we can do is check out both of them and see what we find.”

“And if your friends have steered us wrong and she isn’t there?”

“Then we keep looking. They’ll leave at least a nugget of a clue for us to follow.”

“Ok. Let’s go and eat and we can talk about what comes next. You’re not going to like it, though,” Cody warned me.

Judging by his fearful look, I wasn’t going to like it at all.