"Edward, she's safe," Hameel cried out, dropping to one knee in surrender as he watched Lilly hide behind a second globed figure.

  "You, shut your mouth," Alex said, waving the shank wildly.

  "Are you ok?" Alex asked, grabbing Lilly's helmet.

  "Alex?"

  "Yeah, it's me. Are you ok?"

  "I'm ok," she said, stunned. "Where's Max?"

  "He didn't come. Where's Edward?"

  "I dunno," Lilly stammered. When the Orb spit me out, I was alone.

  Hameel remained very still, waiting for more figures to arrive. He needed to move them somewhere private. If a customer walked in, they might not agree to a civil discussion with outsiders claiming to be from the future. Hameel considered whether he was being foolish, but the strangers didn't feel like enemies, and he had many questions. The Orb had sent them to him for a reason.

  Suddenly, another female arrived and wrapped her arms tightly around Lilly, who didn't seem to like this and pulled away. Alex watched Hameel suspiciously.

  "So no one knows where Edward is?" Hameel asked cordially.

  "How do you know Edward?"

  "I do not, but Lilly is quite concerned with finding him, so it is also important to me."

  Alex eyed Hameel again and scanned the drugstore to ensure they were alone.

  "Did you tell him about Edward?" Alex asked.

  "Yes," she said softly as if she shouldn't have.

  "Lilly explained that you are from another planet, quite possibly from the future. Our people are peaceful, but not all Merrick will welcome you. You must understand this. My name is Hameel. Lucky for you, I am an elected reader, which means I am well respected and can communicate with the Orb. Would you like to come to my home? I feel you would be much safer there. If the Orb brought you, there is a great purpose behind your visit."

  "And why should we trust you?" Alex asked.

  "I can think of no reason for you to trust me. But I ask that you listen to your body. What does it tell you? Our bodies are full of insight if we yield to it. Do you feel as though I might harm you in any way? If the answer is yes, then you should not go with me, but if the answer is no, trust your body. It is connected to the Orb, and the Orb can be trusted."

  "Hameel, have you ever met anyone like us before?" Peyton asked.

  "I have not," he said.

  Peyton nodded quickly. "Can you help us find Edward?"

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "I will try my best. I hope you find him before someone else does. If you understand my meaning, we are not all of the same heart."

  "What would they do to him?" Lilly asked.

  "What would your people do to me?" Hameel replied.

  "Chop you up and feed you to the fishes," Alex said, dryly.

  Hameel blushed but said nothing. Again, he thought of the knife between his wings.

  "How do we get to your house without being seen?"

  Hameel raised his hands above his head as in surrender and moved to the front of the store. He closed the door and locked it before turning to face them again.

  "That part is easy. My home is beneath us. All Merrick live underground. We will travel by tunnel. Are you ready now?"

  "Who else has access to this tunnel?" Alex asked.

  "No one. It leads straight to my home. I am very fortunate."

  "Let's do it," Lilly said, nodding at Alex and Peyton.

  "It was alone with him for at least half an hour. He could have done anything to me. He's safe. My body feels safe," said Lilly.

  "Don't be weird," Alex said to Lilly, pointing his shank back at Hameel. "Watch yourself. If you think I'm a problem, wait till you meet Edward. I'm sure he's looking for us, too, and he's scary smart."

  "I'm happy to meet Edward. And excited for you to meet my wife and son, Enyst. Enyst is quite a handful."

  "Are you a doctor or something?" Lilly asked.

  Hameel was taken aback. He was not a doctor. He had never liked school or been particularly good at it.

  "I am not a doctor, Lilly. Why might you ask?"

  "I just thought you might be a doctor or a pharmacist. Your store is full of medicines."

  "Oh, I see. My wife, Lizzak, is good with medicines. She creates elixers and balms of all types."

  "Is she a doctor?" Lilly asked.

  "Not so many questions, Lilly," Peyton said, frowning.

  "I am happy to tell you about my wife. She is not a doctor, but she has many gifts. Lizzak scours the forests for natural remedies. She claims that the animals help her decide which plants to pick for healing."

  "So she's a reader, like you," Lilly said.

  "Your wife and Ms. Lawrence will get along if she's talking to animals," Alex said.

  "Talking to animals?" Lilly asked.

  "Ask her," Alex said, pointing to Peyton.

  Lilly looked alarmed.

  "Well, right before we heard you scream, there was a fox. Or something that looked like a fox," Peyton said, looking at Alex for confirmation. "Somehow, it knew my name. I know that doesn't make sense, but it was thinking about us by name. It wanted me to know there is good here. That there has always been good here."

  Hameel exhaled loudly. He had not meant to, and realized too late that the strangers would read meaning into his reaction. He smiled and straightened his cloak, but how could this be true? The visitors were from another planet, from another lifetime. How could anyone or anything know their names? Hameel had not known their names, and the Orb had obviously sent them to him. Was the Orb speaking through a fox? It had never done such a thing before. The Orb did not trust him. This was clear.

  Hameel smiled. He had no idea what to do next. The instinct to protect these new friends had completely left him. The Orb was talking through animals to creatures who claimed to have replaced his entire species. Was this how it all started? Was this day one of their annihilation?

  "Where's the tunnel?" Alex asked?

  Hameel wondered again how difficult it would be to crack open the dome surrounding their heads. The figures would choke to death on air they could not breathe.

  But Hameel had never acted on anything without consulting the Orb. So he bent down and flipped a hidden lever, and the floor opened, like a magic hatch in a fantasy book. The visitors stepped forward to peer inside. They saw a swinging bridge anchored to the store's foundation, the length of which was hard to see from where they stood. Glowing stones hung from the bridge, adorned in colorful feathers.

  "Is that safe?" Alex said.

  "It is most safe. My son, Enyst, travels back and forth many times a day. And Enyst is not the most careful boy if you understand my meaning.

  "Sounds like my kind of guy," Alex said, stepping out onto the bridge first.

  "After you," Hameel said to both Lilly and Peyton, hoping that his family wouldn't need to witness him murder the visitors if that became necessary.