“What was that?” Jake asked, pulling himself free from the remains of the destroyed bed as he walked over toward where Alice sat, eyes glued upon the roaring fire. It sat motionless now, unmoving, but just seconds ago he’d watched it sway and dance in time to Alice, responding in kind to her playing. Sitting down beside her, eyes wide, he looked at her with shock and awe.

  “I’m not sure…” She replied, feeling embarrassed for some reason as the rhythmic pulsing of the curse's power continued to flow within her. It felt clearer than ever before to her now as she sat in reflection, feeling the energy resonate within her. Knots she’d felt certain were set in stone were again beginning to unravel, untangled slowly as bit by power pulsed and vibrated within her.

  Bathed in the power coursing within her, she realized that she’d been wrong before. The power dancing within her wasn’t taking shortcuts between the strings. Every string, every web, every knot pulsed with energy. No, it was clear to her now the strings weren’t making shortcuts, rather they were slowly weaving new strings, new webs of unseen energy more complex than what currently existed. Intertangled in a shifting array of pulsing power she could only just now begin to understand, just now begin to feel, she sat back and enjoyed the sensation.

  “Huh…” Jake said as he leaned forward, watching the fire sway gently in the chilling breeze of dusk, nowhere near as violently or beautiful as when it danced in time to Alice’s tune. It was an odd sight to see, but still, it was a welcome one for the two. Any progress they made in understanding her curse would mean the difference between life and death. A quick glance around showed him all he needed to see, there was nothing useful here, but next time they landed they’d have to venture out and experiment, look around more, and…

  His thoughts died out as he leaned backward slowly, a weird feeling building up in his chest. He realized at that moment just how normal this all had become to him. How long had he been lost falling between worlds? Months already now, surely. Was that how long it took for him to get used to all this? How long it took to fall into a routine?

  He looked down at his hands, callused and scratched. His nails were long and overgrown trapping dirt and blood beneath their filthy exterior. They looked the same as ever to him, the hands he hunted with and fought with. Yet they looked so alien, so unfamiliar. He looked around, taking in the scenery around him by the light of the dancing fire. It was barren and empty, devoid of life. Devoid of purpose. Not too long ago, he’d have been shocked, terrified to land somewhere like this. Now though… now it just felt like any other day. It may be a day he went hungry or grew thirsty, but still just another day. It no longer surprised him.

  Silence grew between the two as the darkness of night grew more and more encompassing until before long only the light of the fire remained. No stars shone above, no moon hung low in to sky. No sign of home was left. As the enlightening, almost dizzying sensation began to fade, leaving Alice almost breathless as she marveled at how clearly she could feel the strings now, Jake cut through the dark voice somber and quiet.

  “Do I still look normal to you?” He asked, turning to face her his body hidden in the shadow of night.

  “The hell are you talking about?” Alice responded, confused, setting the broken harp to the side as she turned her body to face the morose shadow across from her. Jake simply sighed at her question, looking up at the empty sky above.

  “Before all this, before this… before this journey, I was just normal. At least, I felt normal. I never had to fight or struggle to survive. Worry about what might be hunting me. Worry about where I’d end up tomorrow. Never had to shoot anyone before, hell I’d never even held a gun before.”

  “Do you think… if by some miracle I don’t die… If I somehow ended up back home tomorrow, they would even recognize me? I mean, I barely recognize myself anymore. When this all started, when I first fell through, I was so scared. So shocked. Now though, it’s just routine. It’s expected, the norm is to fall through not the other way around. I honestly think I’d be more surprised if tomorrow we woke up and didn’t fall, didn’t slip into a new world. I just…” He trailed off, gaze dropping from the sky above to his own weathered hands.

  “I knew I’d change. ‘Adapt or Die’ and all that, I knew I’d need to change if I wanted to survive. I just… I don’t know I guess I just never expected this to become the norm for me. I just… never expected to adapt so much…” He finished talking, sitting slumped over curled into a slight ball. Alice sat, surprised by his words, unsure how to respond, yet seeing him so broken, so defeated, she found herself talking on instinct.

  “I don’t know…” She said honestly, the truth pulled from her before she could even think to hide it from his depressed visage, “I don’t know. I never knew you before, Jake. Never knew your ‘Normal.’ For me, normal meant stealing to survive as I prayed every night not to end up dead, broken, and alone. In all honesty Jake you’ve never been normal to me, I never thought I’d meet an Unbroken… a person who wasn’t repulsed by me.”

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  “Jake… I don’t know who you were before, but for what it’s worth I do know you now. I’ve watched you fight to save both of us, get annoyed by me, panic with me, laugh with me. It may not have been for long, but we’ve been together a while now and as long as I've known you, you’ve been the same. The same man who saved me in the alleyway."

  "I don’t know who you were before all this before we met, and to be honest Jake I don’t really care. Hell, these days I feel like I barely knew myself. I know you, here and now, and that’s good enough for me. When you get home, if no one recognizes you, we’ll just force them to till they remember you!”

  Jake sat still a while, unmoving even after Alice had finished her impassioned reply. She began to feel nervous, worried she’d somehow offended him or somehow made his worries even worse, till she began to hear small laughter leaking from his curled form, muffled by his knees. He looked over at her, hints of sadness still clear in his eyes yet a clear smile on his face now as the light of the fire danced off their forms.

  “Force them to recognize me, huh?” He said, head slightly crooked as he watched her, a smile forming on his face. “Thank you… Alice…” It still scared him to think about it. Think about how normal this all felt now, think about how different he must look. How utterly unrecognizable he must appear to anyone back home. Yet when he talked to her that fear seemed to melt away. He could live with the change, and adapt however much he needed to survive. Here in this moment, it all seemed worth it somehow.

  The sun was rising on the dusty landscape of the dried, dead world around the duo. The night had been rather uneventful after their talk. Not long after, Alice had felt a sudden pull of exhaustion as the strings within her drooped and sagged, becoming less taught as she was dragged to the ground drifting off to sleep. She’d fallen into a series of fitful, unremarkable dreams, that always seemed to draw her from slumber sending her bolting upright. Every time this happened, she could spot Jake, unmoving as he sat staring at the spot where the fire once danced.

  By now it was little more than ash and cinder with a few sparks of heat that glowed red against the dark night sky. Jake never once reacted to her sudden and fitful awakenings. Never once did he move away from the edge of the fire pit. He simply sat throughout the night, staring wistfully into the burnt cinders of the long-departed flame. Whether he fell asleep like that or eventually left to curl up elsewhere, Alice couldn’t say but now backdropped by the rising sun she could see he seemed fine, not like the shambling mess she’d had to force to sleep earlier.

  Grasping hands, the two took one last look at the desolate and dead land around them. Neither felt attached to the place nor would they miss it once they were gone. They could only help where they landed next would be more forgiving, more vibrant. Both their stomachs were growling loudly, desperately demanding food.

  The ground disappeared beneath their feet as they fell, landing flat on their feet on something hard and unyielding. Looking around they were immediately floored by the sight surrounding them. Metal and glass skyscrapers stretched high into the sky kissing the heavens as they bent and twisted at impossible angles to form architectural marvels. The sky itself was blotted out, covered by a swarm of flying metallic machines. Squinting a bit to try and recognize what they were, Jake felt a sudden whooshing of air to his right as one rushed dangerously close at alarming speeds.

  Turning he saw the metallic masses decorated not only the sky high above but also the immediate airspace around them, honking sounds and blinking lights emitting from their chassis. Blinking in shock, Jake marveled as a flying car soared overhead again, the horn blaring as it swerved in the air. Having done a full three-sixty now, his head firmly planted at the sky, Jake’s gaze dropped and locked upon a metallic and glass railing that sat only a few feet away. Rushing to it Jake peered over the edge, taking in the splendor of the sprawling city below.

  It stretched downward for miles upon miles, an interwoven maze of skyscrapers and tunnels all abuzz with flying cars whizzing around like swarms of bees. Jake could make out jutting walkways and storefronts carved into the walls of the chasm-like city from which swarms of people traveled amongst neon lights and holographic displays. It was amazing to see technology and sights he’d only seen in movies and games brought to life.

  “…is this what your home is like…” He heard Alice ask behind him, her voice a small whisper. She could take her eyes off the building stretching higher into the air than she could ever imagine. They shimmered and shined like nothing she’d ever seen before. Her ears perked as melodious sounds she’d never before heard caught her attention towards the railing Jake was. Moving closer to the rail and peering over the edge at the sight below she was bombarded by numerous store jingles and radio stations all bombarding her at once, threatening to overload her with stimulation.

  “No… nothing like this, not really anyway. This is just… wow…” Jake said, gaze traveling across the city voice filled with amazement.

  “Can’t be surprised anymore, huh?” Alice asked behind him. Turning around, he saw her standing there a coy smile on her face as she looked at him. “Come one, Greenie, let's take it all in while we still can!”

  She grabbed him suddenly and pulled him forward, dragging him across the metallic surface of the city, a smile growing on his face as he let her take the lead.

  Far away, in a forgotten corner of a lab, dozens of computers whirled to life as their sensors blared alert after alert, alarm after alarm. They remained like this, blaring into the void of the silent lab for a while, till suddenly the door of the lab exploded open, and a disheveled man rushed in nearly, tripping over himself as he grabbed hold of a monitor. Pulling it close, far closer than needed, he read the flashing alert with great excitement, his heart beating so fast it was in danger of exploding free from his chest. He’d been waiting his whole career, his whole life, for this moment.