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trip had almost killed him. The technology which had become a part of his being had its drawbacks, but it protected anyone who used it from most things which would end them. Today, it had almost failed him. He wasn’t dead, but as he shivered in pain, he remembered how awful a thing it was to be hurt.
    A few minutes passed before he could stand, the systems which held him just out of phase with the physical world coming back online. He was confused, then angry. The constellations above him weren’t foreign. The air was a too familiar combination of hydrogen and oxygen. He’d been told that Jonas had escaped to some other world years before through one of their portals. But this was still Earth. He had not traveled across the galaxy to where this Jonas was, he had risked his life only to be moved some random distance across the damned Earth.
    It was then that the Wraith realized how silent his sensors were. The Wraith were known as spies, masters of the Golems, and for being very good at getting information from the enemy. But in the years since losing the war they served the degrading role of simple alarm systems. The biological signature of those humans born with special abilities was usually easiest to detect. At any given time, dozens of signals appeared on his radar. Here, there were none.
    At first, he believed there must have been more damage to his system than he had imagined, but the diagnostic disagreed. Also, the air might have been familiar, but the pollutants from years of war were non-existent. Although unconvinced he was where he was supposed to be, he still did what he had been told to do. He went back to the spot where the portal had opened and dropped a small, circular object onto the ground. It would take some time, but it would work to stabilize the connection so the rest of them could travel there in safety. They could see the mistake for themselves. If  Jonas were here, he would find him and any others who came with him. Capture them. He set off from the spot, sure his messy arrival would attract unwanted attention. Even with his damage, it still did not take him long to put miles between himself and the portal.
    As he came into a clearing, he saw a single house sitting alone in a pasture. A light shone through a large picture window in the front of the home. An aging man and woman were unmoving figures on a couch. The Wraith decided they would make fine sentinels as he recuperated over the next few hours. As he approached the white house, one distant and weak signal appeared on his sensor for a moment, then vanished. He smiled, still unsure of what was going on, but quite sure that he would find a way to enjoy it.

FOUR
    W hen Cynthia saw her across the parking lot the next morning, Jan was pale and frowning. She worked her way over after taking a breath. Her own face was puffy and sagged with a frown. She wore no makeup and her usually styled hair hung in long, messy trails of black. Cynthia stood next to her friend for a few moments before speaking. “Sorry.”
    Jan said nothing.
    “Really, really sorry.”
    “Where?” Jan said.
    “I just lost track of time and—”
    “ Where were you?”
    She shrugged, lowering her head like a scolded dog, and spoke in what amounted to a whisper. “Joey’s.”
    The books Jan held hit the ground like the clap of a discharged gun and then she went off. “I knew it was some crap like that! You were going on a frikkin’ jag while you were supposed to be with me!”
    “I am sorry. I got attacked after sch—”
    “I worried about you for… wait , what?” Jan asked.
    “Look, it’s not an excuse. I screwed up. But, that homeless dude that’s always around ran at me. Freaked me out.”
    Jan was quiet again, looking away. “That’s not an excuse.”
    “It’s not.”
    More quiet. “You suck.”
    “I do.”
    “Fine.”
    “I promise it won’t happen again, Jan.”
    “…I choose to believe you this time.”
    “Sorry… really.”
    Quiet. Jan’s