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Sam

Sam sat beside Lachlan on the mossy, muddy ground, watching the other boy’s face in the dim alien light. Lachlan’s eyes were closed, and the rise and fall of his chest seemed deliberately slow, as though he was taking deep breaths to keep himself calm.

Sam’s own breathing felt more labored the longer he sat there. The warm, stuffy air seemed thicker by the second, and the smell of rotting otherworldly vegetation, bitter and cloyingly sweet at the same time, bore down on him until it threatened to overwhelm him.

He couldn’t see any solution other than somehow activating his abilities. But now he had a new problem, and he was back to step one.

Definition of the problem: He had no idea how to activate his abilities.

At least this new problem was easier to define than his old problem.

Step two. Conduct research.

Like he’d explained to Lachlan before–had it been two days ago? More? It felt like much longer–sometimes it wasn’t possible to conduct research in the traditional sense. He had to consider all the information about his predicament.

“Earth to Samurai.” Lachlan’s voice jarred him from his thoughts. “Come in Samurai. Samurai, do you read me? No rush, just slowly succumbing to alien venom here. Take your time.”

“I know. I know. Sorry. I was just thinking.”

Lachlan opened his eyes, and Sam averted his gaze.

“And to what brilliant conclusion have you come?” said Lachlan.

“We have a new problem.”

Worry flashed across Lachlan’s face, and Sam instantly regretted his phrasing. Lachlan’s life could depend on whether or not he was able to keep calm.

“No, no,” said Sam before Lachlan could panic. “Don’t worry–it’s nothing bad.”

“So, we have a new problem, but it’s nothing bad? Does the word problem mean something different in America or has the venom finally melted my brain?”

“A problem doesn’t have to be something bad. A problem is just an inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate a fact, result, or law,” said Sam. “And stop joking about the venom.”

“It’s my brain the venom is melting. I can make all the jokes I want, thank you very much.” Lachlan winced as he spoke.

“What’s wrong?” said Sam. “Are you okay?”

Ugh. What a stupid question. Obviously, Lachlan wasn’t okay.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just starting to feel like the venom is actually melting my brain. My head is fuckin’ killing me. We better figure this out fast before my beautiful, brilliant mind liquifies into Lachlan soup.” Lachlan winced again. “Are you going to elaborate on the new, non-bad problem you mentioned?”

“We need to get help somehow,” said Sam. “That axe lady will probably know what to do, but I’m the only one who can walk, and I can’t leave the two of you alone out here.”

“I’d prefer that you didn’t, yeah.”

“The only way I can get help without leaving you both is to move through time again. There’s no other option. Those are the conditions. That’s the definition of the problem. I have to activate my abilities again.”

“Step two,” said Lachlan. “Conduct research.”

Sam nodded. “I’ve unlocked my abilities twice so far. Both times, someone was in mortal danger.”

No, not just anyone, he allowed himself to admit privately. Both times, Lachlan had been the one in mortal danger.

That didn’t necessarily mean anything, he told himself. Two instances were not enough to base a scientific judgement on. A researcher conducting an experiment that used a sample size of two would be laughed out of any respectable institution. Probably most of the non-respectable ones too. It could have just been a coincidence.

Still, those two instances were all he had to go on, and Lachlan was the obvious common thread between them.

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Hi to everyone who’s still reading!

So, you may have noticed this update was over a month late…

I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping up with my chapter schedule; work has been very busy, and I haven’t had much time to work on the story.

I was recently promoted at work (yay!), which means I’ll most likely stay this busy for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, this means I won’t have time to keep up a regular posting schedule. I’ll continue updating the story intermittently whenever I have time, but for now I won’t be able to commit to a regular schedule.

If circumstances change in the future, I may resume weekly or fortnightly updates, but for the time being, updates will be sporadic.

Thank you for reading!

Anna