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Elise thinks that she only passes out for a few seconds. Arms carefully wrap
around her body, but she keeps falling. She looks up and sees Azad. He’s
looking as cool as ever. It doesn’t last long. The wind somehow causes Elise
to accidentally reopen her wings. Before he can save her, Azad loses his
grip, and they tumble apart from each other. He teleports again, but doesn’t
aim right. Now he’s below her. She’s scared. She doesn’t want to lose these
memories. She doesn’t want to go back to not having wings. Her surviving
self will not know what she’s missing. She won’t seek to improve herself.
She fights to get back to Azad, but she doesn’t know how to do that. In
moves, they tighten themselves up like missiles, but her wings aren’t
cooperating. She’s afraid they’re gonna snap off. The ground is coming up
fast now. If this doesn’t happen soon, it will be too late. Suddenly, the
ground disappears. It transforms into sky. She’s still falling, but now
towards the clouds, and slowing down. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. No,
she’s “falling” upwards, and not from flying. Her wings are still out of
control. She comes to a complete stop, but only for a second before she
reverses. She hasn’t stopped herself from crashing; she has only delayed it.
She has to try to recreate whatever just happened. Before she can fall much
farther, she concentrates on one word: teleportation. The next
moment, she’s standing on the ground, safe and sound.
Azad appears next to her. “How did you just do that?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know that I could,” Elise says truthfully.
“It’s the chrysalis bioprinter,” Miracle determines. “You saw me and Azad
teleport, and at least a part of you wanted to try it. It’s the same reason
you’re now part moth. Your subconscious mind knows what it wants. This is
dangerous stuff, Rocky.”
“Don’t call me that,” Hrockas requests. “And you’re right. It’s why we
restrict it.”
“Are you going to take it away now?” Elise asks, trying to display puppy dog
eyes.
“We may be struggling to figure out what our laws should be,” Hrockas
begins, “all the way out here in the Charter Cloud, but one thing we and the
stellar neighborhood can agree upon is that bodily autonomy is
non-negotiable. That substrate is yours now. But there is no fundamental
difference between teleportation and time travel. And if you’ve seen any
movie about time travel, you’ll know the risks. If you find yourself with
the ability to go back in time, I urge you to exercise caution. It’s not
illegal here, as it is in other cultures, but I’m considering it. It’s only
not written into the laws because the general population doesn’t know about
it in the first place.”
“And because you would have to draw a line somewhere to allow your boy, Azy
here to teleport as needed,” Miracle points out. “Among others,” she adds
“Yes, that’s true,” Hrockas admits. “Now Miss Perkins is in the same boat.
Speaking of which...” He looks over at Azad expectingly.
Azad begins to tap on his wrist interface. He then raises his arm and bathes
everyone in a rainbowish light. It’s not the kind of rainbow that you would
spot from a rainstorm. It’s more like what you would see in an oil puddle.
It actually looks a lot like oil, and even feels like it too. After a flash
of light, they’re transported to a desert.
Without another word, Hrockas and Telman converge upon Azad. All three of
them teleport away, leaving the hunters to figure out the next challenge on
their own.
Jolanda stretches her neck up as high as possible and rotates like a
periscope. “I don’t see anything. Elise, do you think you could fly up and
scout the area?”
“She should not do that,” Miracle argues quickly. “Elise, we don’t know
enough about how your wings work. Mine were always specifically designed to
be strong and resilient. They only appeared to be delicate, because
that was the aesthetic I was going for. For a real moth, this environment
would be a death sentence. You have to assume you’re on the brink right now.
In fact, how are you feeling? Dehydrated?”
“I’m hot, but okay,” Elise explains. “Maybe I could teleport around instead,
unless that’s also sensitive to temperature or other environmental factors.”
“It’s not usually,” Miracle says, “but I could conceive of a salmon with
arbitrary limitations. I knew a guy who could only travel in the rain, and
once he did, if he wanted to go again, he would have to dry off
entirely, and potentially wait for another storm.”
“All right. Whether we’re moths or not, our bodies are gonna die here if we
don’t find water and shelter.” Rage inhales and exhales. “Let’s hold off on
teleporting for now. There are seven of us. One needs to stay exactly right
here. If you want to dig for clues, that wouldn’t be the worst idea, but you
could also conserve energy. The other six will pair off, and begin a
concentric circle search. One pair should be at 50 meters, one at 100 and
one at 150. Once you complete your circle, move out 150 meters, and complete
another circle. Does that make sense?”
“Who is going to stay here?” Colley asks. “Elise if her body is more
fragile?”
“She shouldn’t be alone,” Miracle warns, “even if it means walking.”
“I agree,” Rage says. “El, you’re with me. Mir and Zelda, Jolanda and
Colley. Minotaur, you okay staying alone to be our Touchstone? We don’t have
compasses.”
“Fine with me.” Minotaur gets on their knees and starts digging like a dog,
shoveling sand between their legs. They’re gonna get tired going that hard
for too long.
“Okay,” Rage goes on. “There are dunes, so visibility will be
difficult. That’s why Mino is staying. If you think you’re lost, get up
high, and look for their racing jacket.
“Here, take mine,” Jolanda offers. “It’s pink and black, so it will be
easier to spot.”
“We’ll only do this for three hours,” Rage continues. “At that point, finish
your circle, then come back to our Touchstone. When you’re searching,
look down, and both ways. Look up every once in a while, in case there’s a
drone, or something. Questions? Comments? Concerns?” She claps her hands in
the silence. “All right, then let’s get at it.”
Elise and Rage walk for the agreed upon three hours. It’s grueling work.
None of them is dressed for this, especially not Elise, who is still mostly
naked from having recently been born. The sand is coarse and uncomfortable
between her toes, and even hotter than the sun, so there’s no point in her
trying to sit down and rest. She doesn’t want to be more of a burden than
she already feels. They had to put the hunt on pause just because she died
and came back to life. She has already taken so much, she just wants to be
helpful, and not ask for anything, like a layer of Rage’s clothing.
They finish their circle and head back. Rage has an excellent sense of
direction despite everything looking the same around here. She grows
frustrated when she can’t find Mino. Elise tried to keep an eye on them, but
they ended up so far down a dune that it became unreasonable to keep
backtracking. This has to be where they began, though. They can see the claw
marks from where Mino was digging. The other two groups show up after only
about twenty minutes, and agree that this has to be it. They’re not lost;
Mino is. They’re missing. They spread out once more, but don’t go too far
this time, only about ten meters in every direction. Elise finds a pink and
black racing jacket.
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