I feel as though you’re not prepared for the consequences of your actions.

Timeline/World: Until Tomorrow – Unspoken Promises
Current Date: September 25, 2022

Character: Madison Richard
Race: Human
Age: 32
Current residence: Spirit Falls, Wisconsin
 

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The man in the library left after a few weeks. I stopped checking every day, though I did check now and again to see if there were tracks around the library. So, few people went anymore that tracks were rare and less so in the winter and, well, this was in the near-dead of winter. The heat was kept to its lowest settings so that the place was mostly just sort of bearable, but it wasn’t warm. I couldn’t wrap my mind around why he didn’t move into one of the empty houses. They were marked and we’d seen a few new people coming in.

Or, well, Cam told me that he’d met a few new people that had decided to try out one of the empty houses. There were notes on all of them that the electricity and water were shut off and that they only needed to let the proper people—with phone number offered—to get that turned back on. It helped with the whole power situation. The solar grid system works well but it works even better now that there are so few houses left.

Not that so few people left is a good thing, I think it’s sad in its own way, but it does have its upsides.

Of the newcomers, there’s a couple with two young children. I don’t think they’re much more than eight or ten. They don’t look that much older. I could be wrong, and I know it’s highly likely but still. To my eye, they look about that age. That’s what matters, right? It’s not like I’m going to go out of my way to talk to them or meet them or anything else. I’ve seen them a few times and that’s enough for me. I’m not much for socializing and the people who are near me understand this perfectly well.

The thing is, though, during one of my walks from home to the store—on my own, this time, because I was hoping to be able to get something for Leo—I crossed them as they were coming out of said store. The couple were actually quietly arguing between themselves, the kids not very far off, walking just a little ahead and playing whatever gave it is that kids of their age play while out and about in a quiet community.

I didn’t catch much from the adults and I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but despite my best efforts, she rammed her shoulder into mine as we walked. I tried to move out of the way, but I was already next to this pine, and I wasn’t about to shove myself into it to avoid her. She didn’t even stop to apologize. She barely even looked my way. She was clearly too busy complaining to the man about how he was clearly not prepared for the consequences of his actions. Whatever that meant. I know I looked back up to them after they’d passed me, he spared me a glance that I guess might have been sort of apologetic as though he’s used to her acting this way, but she didn’t even slow down or anything.

So long story short, I’ve only seen them briefly and I don’t like her. I’m not going to go out of my way to be a bother to her—it’s not who I am at all, anyway—but I’m not going to go above and beyond to be anything more than curt to her if she comes in the library.

Because, yeah, you know. After the other guy finally left the place, I was able to go back in and man was it a mess. It took me almost two days to put everything back together and I had to try and actually clean several books. The pages were muddied or filthy, some were torn and there wasn’t much I could do about them. Still. I took some time to wipe down what I could and leave them open to dry in the warming spring air back then.

He’d turned one of the corners into something I’d rather not think about ever again and even with a heavy scarf over my mouth and nose, it was hard to clean that out. Still, it’s my library, as I see it, I’m its caretaker and that’s what I did. I put it all back the way it was supposed to be, and I just deal with what it took to do that.

It feels good to be able to go back into the library, though. I still only go once a week or so, there’s so much more to do at home with everyone else and the yard, the girls, Leo, everything. I think I really like this new sort of life we have, it feels good. I still miss Kasch, I know I’ll miss him until the end of everything, but that pain isn’t as sharp as it used to be. It’s not even really painful anymore. There’s a heart pinch when I think about it, but I admit that most of my thoughts are on Leo now.

Final Word Count: 854

Has anyone told you that you have a tendency to be a bit, uh, creepy?

 
Timeline/World: Until Tomorrow – Unspoken Promises
Characters: Madison Richard
Race: Human
Age: 31
Current residence: Spirit Falls, Wisconsin
Final Word Count: 786 words
 

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Before Leo came into my life, I spent most of my time at the library. Cam would drop me off there in the mornings, I’d just dust the place up a bit, I’d put books back where they belonged, I made sure everything was the way it should have been, then I plopped myself behind the desk or, at times, not far from one of the windows, and I’d read.

That’s what I kept doing when the fog happened.

After the fog, well there was Leo and the chickens and everything else and so few people bothered with the library that I suppose it’s not all that surprising that I only check in every few days at this point and it’s more than enough.

From all the time I spent in that library, I met a lot of people. Though, sure, using the word ‘meet’, in this case, is a bit far fetched because I wouldn’t even really look anyone in the eye, though I still was polite enough and I still made sure that the books they were taking out were marked in the system as such. I did my job well and that’s that, but I still had seen a good few of the residents of this place.

A few days ago, I was straightening the place up a bit, the ground was filthy from whoever had recently come in from the outside. They hadn’t wiped their feet on the rug that’s by the front door and they’d tracked dirt everywhere. There were books open on several of the tables but when I’d gone through the building, I hadn’t found anyone. So, I picked everything up, I put everything away and I even took out the mop, cleaned up the floor, even put up the warning sign about the slippery floor until it was dry, and I went back on my way.

The morning following that, I went again. Mostly to put the sign away. When I stepped inside, the sign had been overturned, there were books everywhere again and just, I repeated the process. I couldn’t imagine who might have been doing all that, but I guess I didn’t mind, so long as no one was breaking anything and it didn’t seem to be the case, so why fuss, right?

I’ve gone back every day this week. Yesterday morning, things actually sort of came to a head. As I moved to step inside, the door swung open before I’d actually managed to turn the knob. I stumbled, my fingers had been half-wrapped around it. There, in front of me, towering, I’d say because I know I’m small, there’s this stranger. I don’t know this man. I don’t remember ever seeing him before and the look he gives me is one of suspicion. He huffs at me, tells me not to be creepy and to leave. That this was his place now and that he didn’t appreciate whoever it had been always putting the books back when he’d been leaving them out for his friend.

I could’ve just run off, but I managed not to, I’m a bit proud of that, to be honest. Actually, I’m really proud of that. The guy had called me creepy, but he was the one that gave off creepy vibes. I stood my ground for a few moments before I finally just sighed and turned away because it was clear that he wasn’t going to let me in.

The walk back home was without incident. Until the fog lifted, I would have stepped into the station and talked to either Cam or Milan, but since the fog lifted and things have been so quiet, they’ve been taking turns being in, so to speak. There’s a number attached to the phone on the front desk of the station, and it leads to the beeper they wear.

So yeah, I just headed back home, I told Cam about what had happened, let him know how long it had been going on since I figured this was the same person who had left the mess the other days, and I let him deal with it.

It was weird, being called creepy. I know I’ve always been quiet and keep-to-myself, but I don’t know that using the term ‘creepy’ is something I’d ever been called before. It’s one of those things, and it might honestly come from the guy not really being mentally sound. I’m pretty sure he’s not from this community. Otherwise, he’d have known that more than half of the houses are empty, and he could have settled there. His comments about the books being out for his friends was weird, though, it might be why he picked the library.

What did you mean when you said that I was your light? Did you mean it?

 
Timeline/World: Until Tomorrow – Unspoken Promises
Characters: Madison Richard
Race: Human
Age: 30
Final Word Count: 709 words
 

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I still don’t fully know what to make of Leo. He’s good for me; I know he’s good for me. I haven’t spent as much time thinking about Kasch as I used to, since Leo came into my life. I was pleased with that at first; then I learned he and Gemini were twins and, really, I should have noticed it, but that particular knowledge was a huge boulder for me to struggle with. I know I need to get over things, I do. I’m trying and I’ve made big progress but when I learned that little fact, I just stopped short and nothing made sense anymore.

If not for Cam, and Gem too, I still would be figuratively drowning, I think. I am as I am; I don’t think that’s ever going to change. While growing up, all I had with me was Kasch. He was my brother and my best friend; he was all I’d ever had. My twin. I’m not going to lie, after his death, everything twin-related made me uncomfortable and, living in Spirit Falls, I had avoided that for the most part, so I figured I’d been doing good. Then the whole Gem-and-Leo thing happened but that got fixed too.

When the fog lifted and Gem and Leo came, it was nice. Though Gem was clearly blind to things and I sort of grounded him to Cam’s room until my brother came back and I’m glad they talked things out. I want to believe that’s what happened with Leo too, in a way. I mean, we’re close and I really like him but I don’t know that there’s really anything else, is there?

I had a dream some months back, though I don’t know whether it was really a dream or reality. There was the fire back in June and while I tried not to think about it too much, the idea of Cam being out there and helping them terrified me. I knew he was safe, but at the same time, the idea of him anywhere near a flaming building was just something I had a hard time handling. So stupid little me stressed myself out into a fever.

It only lasted a day or so and most of my memories of that time are of Leo at my side and I’m not even really sure if that’s what happened or not. I mean, I’m pretty sure it is but, at the same time, I don’t know. The dream came not long after the fever and I remember Leo telling me I was his light. It just confused me so much. Dream me, or maybe it was feverish me who said it first and dream me just repeated, but I recall asking him what he meant when he said that. I recall asking him if meant it, too.

In a way, I sort of want him to have meant it? I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how I feel, I don’t know how to put it into words and I’m not sure that I can turn to Camine for someone to explain it to me. What he has with Gem, it started differently but maybe there still are similarities and he could help me put it into proper thoughts, I don’t know.

I just, I really want to spend all my time with Leo. I feel good, and right, and safe with him and I just want to be closer to him and, well I’m not going to lie, but my body seems to like the idea of being close to him too. It hasn’t really happened while we’ve been together before but I’ve had a few dreams lately; Camine told me they were wet dreams when I finally gathered my courage enough to ask him about it. My face felt so burning hot when we were discussing that one.

I know what lust is; at least, as I understand it, I know what lust is but Cam told me that he doubted that what I felt was just lust, there was likely quite a bit more to it and I’m glad but, at the same time, I’m a little worried still. I’ll figure it out, I know.

I always get the short end of the stick. Why do I keep going along with your plans?

 
Timeline/World: Until Tomorrow – Unspoken Promises
Characters: Madison Richard
Race: Human
Age: 29
Final Word Count: 664 words
 

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Thirteen years ago it was just the four of us. It was six when Kasch and I were born but a few months shy of actually fourteen years ago, our parents died. Our older brothers took us in, not wanting us to end up as wards of the state. They were old enough but it wasn’t easy to manage, not every day. Duncan and Camine did all they could so that we’d never want for anything and that required moving into a new city altogether.

It still was a big city, bigger than home, and it was just as easy to get lost in there. Duncan had no sense of direction and the new GPS in the car probably saved his hide more often than not.

Life wasn’t ideal, we struggled on some days, but we handled things our way. Once we were out of school and old enough to no longer need legal guardians, you’d have thought that we’d have moved out but we didn’t. Our older brothers were all we really had left in the world.

The day I turned twenty-one is forever branded in my mind and I know it’s branded in Camine’s mind too. Some drunk-ass driver took both Duncan and Kasch away from us. I’ve never seen Camine all to pieces the way he did but it didn’t last long. I let him grieve as much as he needed and then he took over if you would. He was there to help me grieve. We stayed together, we had to.

We moved two weeks later.

We moved so far away and left so much behind that I think I might have hated Camine for a little while but I know I didn’t. It was a decision we came to, together. We took only the bare necessities. We packed up our clothes—I packed up a good few of Kasch’s things since we were of the same built and it’s something of his I still have, Camine did the same with Duncan’s things—but we left everything else behind. Furniture, kitchen items, everything. Camine took care of the whole deal; he just sold it all away along with our condominium. So that was a nice little sum in our pockets.

Spirit Falls was just a speck of dust on the map so far away from the only thing we’d ever known that it made sense to move there. At least, eight years ago, it made sense to move there.

I even managed to make a friend. That was an accomplishment I was seriously proud of, especially considering that Kasch had more or less always been my only friend. I was so introverted that I wasn’t comfortable around others, not even at school.

This friend, as it turns out, wasn’t so great for me, though. He was constantly getting in trouble and in a small town like Spirit Falls, that’s saying something. I always would get the short end of the stick, too. Somehow, this small town mentally saw me as being the bad guy. It saw me as the one who got him into trouble as though somehow he hadn’t always been trouble. I don’t know why I kept on going with his plans, besides the fact that I just wanted a friend.

That friendship lasted about a year before I finally managed to find my courage and put my foot down.

Of course, in the long run, that meant that I was on my own most of the time Camine was working but we worked similar shifts and that was fine by mine.

The fog, though, that’s now something else entirely and I’m not sure what to think about it. It doesn’t bother me, not much. I think everything could be just so much worse than it really is but I suppose that to some, the fog might be end-of-the-world. I’ve already lost everyone I loved but Camine, I’m ready for the end of the world.

Stop using science as an excuse. I’m not your test subject.

Timeline/World: Foreign Living
Characters: Madison Richard
Race: Human
Age: 27
Final Word Count: 540 words

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I was never actually good at making friends. I was actually quite the opposite of being good at making friends. I was so painfully shy I preferred to stay to what I knew and what I knew was my twin Kasch and my older brothers Camine and Duncan. They were the only friends I needed, at least throughout primary and secondary school but college turned out to be something else entirely.

It was with Camine’s gentle urging that I did try to reach out to others, tried to make friends. I didn’t. Kasch managed a little better than me but one of his friends took a strange interest in me. Like Camine and Duncan who were identical—a rare case, rarer still this other fact—Kasch and I were the same. Identical physically but that is where that ended because we were very different emotionally and mentally. All four of us were our own person so someone who would take at least a moment to get to know us would be aware that there was more than one of us.

So this friend of Kasch’s though, he was something else entirely. I think his name was Bernard? I don’t know why he seemed so fascinated with me, it made no sense. Was it because I was so different from Kasch that it was interesting to discover more? I often felt like some sort of insect under a microscope and I didn’t even like the thought of insects being studied that way, it made me cringe. I liked my insects alive but away from me for the most part. A bit like I like my cows alive and well and, well, not on my plate. I got that from Camine, this inability to eat meat and I’m fine with it, we manage well enough without any, in our lives.

Bernard was constantly trying to think of ways he could turn me into some sort of science experiment. I let it happen at first, I didn’t know how to handle all the time he wanted to spend with me and it made me seriously uncomfortable but I was trying to depend less on my brothers and be more open with others.

I got sick of it after a few weeks though, just a few weeks. I’m surprised I lasted that long at all. Almost every morning he would come up with some excuse to drag me away from my brother just before we’d need to be in class and it never felt right. Kasch let it happen because he thought it was cute that I was finally making a friend but I wish he wouldn’t have. I wish he would have set his foot down and told Bern to just stop being a hog but this was my problem, not my brother’s so I let it happen.

When I finally told him to stop treating me like a test subject, he backed away. I don’t think he liked that I had a bit of a backbone after all. He avoided me like the pest after I told him to get lost and I just started spending my time with Kasch again. I didn’t really need anyone else and I still don’t.