Hector seemed to shift subtly, inflating, not in size, but in presence. Something about him sharpened, like he was coming into focus. Adam thought he saw more lines on the man's face, and a tattoo peeked from beneath the collar of his shirt, one he was certain hadn't been there before.

  "I wasn't sure how long it would take,” Hector said. Most of his accent had vanished, and the words that followed were precise and articulate. "I'm sorry for deceiving you."

  Natalie stepped away from the counter, putting distance between her and the stranger now standing in Hector's place.

  "I suppose you could say I bend perceptions as well as light." Hector stepped back, giving them space. "They're connected, in a way. You see what you want to see. A bumbling foreigner is easier to trust, no?"

  He gave a small shrug. "I wasn't sure I could trust you either, and being told I had to risk my life minutes after meeting you certainly didn't help."

  Samantha nodded, her gaze fixed on his new face. Adam had the sudden impression something in her had shifted. She seemed more intense, more focused, just... more.

  "So what else have you lied about?" Natalie demanded, squaring her shoulders, her tone sharp with accusation.

  Hector gave another shrug. "Nothing. I could have made up a story about what happened at the hospital. Instead, I let Adam tell you. I could have left him to die, but I didn't." He held up his wrapped hand. "I gained nothing by going and I left a piece of myself behind. All to help you and yours. If that doesn't earn your trust, then nothing will."

  "If you can change the way we perceive you, how can we trust anything you say?" Natalie leaned closer to Samantha, as if drawing strength from her.

  Hector rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. Touch me."

  "Excuse me?" Natalie's voice jumped an octave, and Samantha slipped her a comforting arm around her waist.

  "No, Nat. He has a point," Samantha said, sounding thoughtful. "His power works through light and perception. Most human perception is visual, light-based. But fooling the sense of touch? That would be much harder."

  Natalie hesitated, her hands clenched at her sides, then she stepped up to the counter. "I don't know what this is going to prove."

  "That I'm telling the truth about the only thing I misrepresented. I still went to the hospital after being ordered to by strangers. I still saved Adam, even though I was under no obligation. And I helped him bring back the supplies." Hector placed his hands on the counter, palms up. "Everything I own is in my backpack. I could have walked away from the hospital, left him to his fate. Nothing was stopping me. But I didn't."

  Without further hesitation, Natalie reached out and took his hands. Her touch was clinical, her face drawn in deep concentration. She ran her fingers over his skin, then checked his pulse against her watch before setting his hands back down.

  "Satisfied?" he asked.

  "No. Give me your face."

  Hector blinked. "What?"

  "Lean down and let me touch your face."

  "Are you going to ask me to turn my head and cough next?" Hector asked, the corners of his mouth twitching.

  Natalie simply stared, one manicured eyebrow arched high.

  With a quiet sigh, Hector leaned forward across the counter. Natalie placed her fingers lightly on his cheeks, tracing his brow and jawline. After a moment, she pulled her hands back, ending the uncomfortable examination.

  "Satisfied?" Hector asked again, straightening and resting his hands on the countertop.

  "Yes. You're human, and this is who you really are." She ran her hands through her hair, smoothing it back. "I'm sorry. I understand why you did what you did. It's just hard, given everything that's happening."

  "I understand, and again, I am sorry for deceiving you." Hector said, turning to Samantha and Adam. "All of you. While our first meeting was... difficult, you are the only people I have spoken with since the world went mad. You deserve the benefit of the doubt before lies. It won't happen again."

  He offered his hand to Natalie. She stared at it, a brief shadow crossing her face, then she shook it firmly.

  "Fresh start?" Adam thought he heard the slightest hint of hope in her voice.

  "Agreed." Hector nodded.

  "I swear to God, if someone says something about the power of friendship, I'm going to throw up," Adam quipped, cutting through the moment.

  Natalie groaned, and Samantha pointed her finger at him.

  "Hey, hey! I've seen what that finger can do. No magic indoors!" Adam raised his hands in mock surrender.

  "Alright, all joking aside, since we're all friends again..." The look Natalie gave him could have curdled milk.

  Adam cleared his throat. "Did anything happen while I was out? And do we have any food?"

  Hector dropped a few cans on the counter and slid one toward him. "Nothing of particular interest. We saw some shapes last night, but they kept their distance. Whether that's because they don't know we're here or for another reason, I can't say."

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Adam was struck by how smoothly Hector transitioned from his old persona to this new one. He couldn't help but wonder if either were really who he was.

  "Hector and I took the risk yesterday and hit a gas station about a block away," Natalie added. "Power was out, and the coolers reeked, so we just grabbed what canned goods we could carry. Bottled water too, just in case." She flipped the light switch off and on again. "I can't make sense of why some places still have power. If the grid is collapsing, I guess spotty power and brownouts are normal?"

  Adam examined the can of off-brand spaghetti. "Any chance I can get a fork?"

  Hector reached into a bin at the end of the counter and flipped one toward him, a little too hard. It sailed wide, heading for the floor.

  Adam reached without thinking, even though it was well outside his grasp. The fork stopped falling, then snapped upward into his hand.

  He froze, staring at the fork, then at his hand. Hector's eyes went wide as saucers, flicking between Adam and the fork, his expression caught somewhere between shock and awe.

  "What. The. Fuck." Adam set the fork on the counter and slid it away, as if it were radioactive.

  "Did either of you see that?" Adam asked, looking up at Natalie and Samantha. Natalie shared Hector's expression, but Samantha wore the widest grin he'd ever seen.

  "Now it makes sense," she said, mostly to herself, reaching out and picking up the fork.

  "Uh, what makes sense?" Adam continued staring at the utensil, half-expecting it to jump out of Samantha's hand and bite him.

  Samantha drew her brows together in concentration. The fork wobbled upward an inch and shivered in the air above her palm. Sweat began to bead on her forehead, and after a moment she let out a breath and the fork fell back into her hand.

  "That's the most I can do. But I think it has more to do with how our abilities operate." She took the fork and held it out to Adam. "I'm not sure yet, but I'm working a hypothesis. Before we get into it though, humor me."

  "Humor you how?" Adam asked, the weight of his three companion's gazes pressing down on him.

  "Reach for the fork, but don't grab it." She held her hand steady, the fork resting like an offering on an altar. "Then, I want you to want it in your hand. Think of it like you're reaching, but don't actually move your hand."

  Adam hesitated, then followed her instructions. He reached out slightly, opened his hand and focused. The fork wobbled in her palm, tipping forward, tines shivering. He doubled down, imagining it already resting in his fingers.

  It snapped across the gap and into his outstretched hand.

  "It's like the comics," Hector said with a laugh, shaking his head. "You're that one guy. Magn-"

  "Don't say it!" Adam cut him off. "Their lawyers will find us. You read comics?"

  "My son did." Hector shrugged, returning to his coffee.

  "You have a son?" Natalie turned to him, curiosity written across her face.

  "Had." Hector's response was flat and distant. The word settled over the room like a like a lead weight. It was clear he didn't want to elaborate.

  "It answers another question, too," Samantha said, smoothly steering past the heavy moment. "I'm not sure how I didn't see it before."

  "What other question?" Adam asked. The emotional whiplash of the last few minutes was starting to make his head throb.

  "Same, you're going to have to spell it out," Natalie said, taking a seat beside her wife and leaning forward.

  “The power's only on where Adam is. Well, sort of." Samantha pointed a finger up at the light above them. "Think about it. Our car didn't start when you first found him, then worked later, then the condo. Everything else on the street was dark. And now here."

  "She rested her hand over the spot on her stomach where she'd been wounded. "You stopped me from bleeding out. Hector made himself invisible. I made a car explode."

  "You made a car explode?" Hector interrupted.

  "The point is... Why would Adam giving off some kind of electrical field be any different? You saw what he did with the flashlight. This isn't that far off." Samantha sounded excited, too excited. Adam suddenly realized she was enjoying this. Every time they talked about their abilities, her eyes took on a bright, almost feverish sheen.

  A sharp crack rang through the shop as something struck the front window.

  Adam was on his feet in an instant, reaching for his bat before remembering he'd lost it in the hospital. He moved toward the shaded front windows, Hector close behind.

  He peeked through a small gap in the blinds, holding his breath. The street outside was filled with small humanoid figures, figures he recognized immediately by the sickly green-brown tint of their skin. Goblins. They marched down the street, waving clubs, knives, and small hatchets as they came.

  A rhythmic chanting rose from the horde as they marched, the scene reminding Adam of some twisted, demonic version of a Disney Movie.

  "Are they singing?!" Natalie tried to whisper, but it came out more like a hiss.

  Adam nodded, pressing his finger to his lips. He counted at least thirty of the pint-sized monstrosities. The one he'd faced in the parking lot had nearly killed him, and while he felt more confident now, he knew they'd be overwhelmed if it came to a fight.

  "We may need to move. Fast," Adam whispered, mind racing. What did they absolutely need? Then it hit him. The books. They were the entire reason they came.

  "Did you get the books?"

  Samantha nodded, pointing at her backpack. "Already packed and ready to go."

  Adam flicked his gaze back to the street. The goblins milled about, laughing and shouting. Several were drinking from brown bottles and hurling them when empty. One bottle flew toward the window, shattering with a crash almost exactly where Adam had been standing. He flinched as a web of cracks shot across the glass.

  "Alright. Everyone pack up. We may need to get the hell out of here in a hurry." Adam kept his voice low. Hector raised his eyebrows but didn't question the order.

  The sudden realization struck him as the others began to pack up. He'd become the de facto leader of their small group. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

  Adam glanced outside again and felt his insides knot. The goblins were setting up camp in the middle of the street. The miniature abominations carried pieces of furniture from somewhere around the corner.

  "They're... setting up camp?" Adam muttered. It didn't make any sense, why not just take over one of the nearby buildings?

  Hector bent the blinds, peering through.

  "Or a barbeque," he said, his voice tinged with something Adam couldn't quite place.

  Adam looked again, and immediately understood. Several goblins were carrying what looked like carcasses toward the pile of furniture. One of them resembled a human torso.

  He jerked away from the window, nausea rising in his throat. The idea of sitting inside while the monsters roasted human flesh just feet away was almost too much to bear.

  "They're coming from around the corner," he said, forcing the words out. "They could be behind the building too. If we try to sneak out and get spotted, we'll be swarmed."

  Hector stepped back from the window, grimacing and wiping his mouth. "We should sit tight and wait them out."

  "I think he's right," Natalie said, surprising Adam with how quickly she agreed.

  "I don't think I can move too quickly yet." Samantha placed her hand over her stomach protectively. "I can't ask anyone else to stay, but I think that's the right call."

  Adam looked back out the window. One of the goblins held what looked like a lit Molotov Cocktail in one hand, running toward the wood pile. It stumbled a few feet away, the bottle crashing against the pavement and splattering the creature with burning fluid. It leapt up and ran around shrieking while the other goblins doubled over in raucous laughter. The burning goblin finally fell over. Its skin had started melting and bubbling as two other goblins dragged the corpse to the woodpile, wiping tears of laughter from their eyes.

  He looked away, horrified. "I guess we'll stay and hope they move on."

  The sun was slowly sinking toward the horizon, and Adam knew it was going to be a long night.