Precaución entre monstruos (Versión Inglesa)

Kai almost bit his hand out of frustration. The day had finally arrived and it was impossible to complete the last step to escape: to close the bags. Kai breathed strongly and started the process again. This time Kai conquered the small bag, but the bigger one was different. Once they found resistance in the zipper, a familiar and hateful pain appeared in their hand and they dropped the bag. The cut, that traveled from the palm to the forearm, seemed to shudder like a centipede. Kai growled and then they heard steps behind them.

Simon had arrived from the living room and was leaning against the door frame of their room.

—Do you need help? —asked their roommate.

Kai didn’t confront them, their attention in the content inside the bag: the pins, the photos, the visit permits, the pills and syringes… even the type of clothes wouldn’t make sense with the story that they told him. They couldn’t let him see, they had hidden that part of themselves ever since they meet and they couldn’t reveal now.

—No, thank you —they responded—. This is good, the doctor told me that I have to to do exercises with the hand from time to time. It helps to recover the wound.

They tried again, holding back the pain until their secrets were safe. Sweating, Kai took their belongings and turned around. Simon was staring at them with a neutral expression after they showed a small smile:

—Whatever you want, man, be careful to not strain yourself, I don’t want to have to take you to the hospital —said Simon, who then looked at the window, at the night that hadn’t turned yet into a sunrise—. Listen, it is still a bit dark, do you want me to accompany you to the bus stop? I really don’t have anything to do today.

Kai stopped themselves from letting a sigh. They had hopes to avoid this situation by leaving it early, but Simon was one of those people that got up at impossible hours, regardless if he had to work or not. They couldn’t hid their wound, so they told him a whitewashed version of the attack. They knew that Simon probably had good intentions, but they couldn’t take any risk, not in this journey. It was possible that their roommate wasn’t a bigot, that they could accept them, their relationships, accept someone ready to go to Teress. However, the knowledge could put them or Simon himself in danger, they could talk to the wrong person or be attacked for being their roommate. And what could happen if Simon became radicalized in their future? No, they couldn’t trust him, not in this.

—Simon, I appreciate this, truly— Kai started walking and Simon let them through—, but I don’t want to bother you. The bus stop is not far, I will be fine.

Their companion nodded with their head and while they were preparing to leave, he sit down in the couch and turned on the television.

—Albert Morton, leader of Cleared Sky, has accused the government of “protecting the wrong side”, due to the actions taken by the security forces of the Capgras’s Wall in the recent incident. Besides, Morton has continued pushing for a policy of zero tolerance in Teress, demanding more restrictions and less aid. While these measures have been criticized by many as extremists and bigoted, the support to his political party has grown a...

Simon changed the channel without saying a word. Kai watched him in silence. It wasn’t enough to conclude anything about their roommate.

—Well, I am going —Kai opened the door—. Write if anything happens, Simon.

—Perfect, man, see you next week— Simon waved goodbye in the couch.

Kai stopped themselves from letting a sigh, waved goodbye to them and left the apartment. Outside, they took the night wind, but that wasn’t the type of air that they wanted in that moment. With the bags hanging on their shoulders, Kai searched their pockets to get an almost empty pack of cigarettes. The pain in their hand wasn’t enough to stop them from lighting one and started going to the bus station. The streets around them were empty not only due to the early hour, because while they walked, they found more abandoned houses and shops, with faded signs of “For sale” everywhere. It was a decline that the city of Brubak had suffered as a result of the event that had changed the world forever:

The fall of the UFO in the city of Hali, in the county of Teress. The UFO, that was constantly changing their shape and that would eventually be classified as an Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle or EVT, released an incomprehensible Signal to the net and the Blue Fog in Teress, transforming it forever. Brubak was barely spared, because the Fog stopped just a couple of kilometers from the city. Even with the upcoming construction of the Capgras’s Wall, the walls that would separate Teress from the rest of the country, many decided to not return from the evacuation and abandon the place. It didn’t help that, months later, a short but devastating war would be unleashed in Teress that would bring even more ruin to Brubak. The city only endured with the arrival of groups attracted by the county: the workers that would built the Wall, the scientists and medics that would study the place and finally the bureaucrats and guards that would keep the status quo over Teress. And after years of that state, Brubak was starting to recover, although as Kai could see around them, there was still a lot to do before it could regain its former glory.

Nowadays, the most recent influx of people were those that move there to better work in the Signal, as it was the case with Simon and Kai. Of course, Kai had their own motives for staying in Brubak, despite the danger. Dangers that they couldn’t avoid remembering: the attack that broke their and Ned’s life. A part of them wished to have followed them to a safer place, kept the relationship going. But it was a small part, easy to ignore, because they wouldn’t regret staying, the visits to Teress, never.

They were already finishing their last remaining cigarette when they arrived to the station where a lot of the awake population of Brubak briefly reunited. It was already dawn, and thus, workers buzzed around the place, filling the vehicles in seconds. Their bus wasn’t an exception, with the added detail that most of their occupants worked in the Wall. That is why they didn’t let Simon accompany them, as Kai had told him that they were going to say with their “friend” Ned, in the north.

Kai arrived just in time to take the bus, and luckily, there was a free seat. They started writing messages to the chat in their phone when they remembered the instructions that they got the day before and notified their ally that they were already in the bus. It didn’t take long before they got an answer, a short “ok, I will inform you if something happens.”

Everything seems to be going well, but they couldn’t calm down, not until they were there. Kai decided to distract themselves with the Internet and of course, the first news that they read was an attack to a couple with connections with Teress, by three radicalized youth. They hadn’t had the luck of Ned and Kai, as they were stabbed and kicked to death. As it happened with them, despite the links that the aggressors had with hate groups, like the fact that two of them belonged to Humanity First or that one of the victims was a person of color, the authorities didn’t consider the attack as a hate crime, just a robbery gone wrong.

Kai looked at the cut in their hand, a silent mockery of that declaration. No, there was only hate in those attacks and if they didn’t act, their incident would have ended in the same way as that couple. With more need to distract themselves, they decided to do some extra work, turning on an application in their phone that had a copy of the Signal of the ETV: an agglomeration of symbols and codes without any meaning, a strange message that could contain the answer to the actions of the EVT. After thirteen years trying to translate it, they have only discovered that it may consist of two words. The role of Kai wasn’t to translate it, but to supervise one of the algorithms that study the Signal, as it was believed that the key to translate it was hiding somewhere inside of the message. The app made combined the symbols in thousands of ways to try to find its meaning. The problem was that, eventually, the algorithm would stop studying the Signal and become the Signal itself. It wasn’t a virus, as there seems to be some kind of countermeasures to prevent the message from spreading and infecting all of the Internet. Besides some exceptions like the now failed generative artificial intelligence, only the programs that studied the Signal succumbed to its presence. So, Kai had to supervise the infection and before the algorithm failed, reboot the app, study the changes and make modifications to make it more resilient. They were so absorbed with their task that they didn’t realize that the people around them were leaving the bus. So, the sudden arrival of someone surprised them, and they couldn’t help to take a curious look that turned in one of horror after seeing them:

It looked like just a young man, perhaps a student going to college, if not for the tatoo in their neck: 2221. It was an abbreviation of the slogan “2 Arms, 2 Legs, 2 eyes, 1 Head”, used by hate groups to lift their “humanity”. But they knew that when those people accepted hating one group, it was easy to justify hating other groups just because they were different: “Teress was caused by western decadency”, “Is a sign of the end of the world and those types are their servants”, “people like you were just the beginning…”. They heard similar phrases from the man that attacked them and Ned that day, a man with the same numbers in his neck.

Their mind returned to that day, finding themselves in the park, embracing Ned, enjoying the stars, speaking of the future, of visiting Teress together. Ned was the first to notice how the man was following them, a threat that quickly became verbal, insults and slurs that became more vile by the second. They tried to ignore him, but that only made him angry, and suddenly the man wielded a knife and jumped at the couple. The blade stabbed Kai’s hand and while they fell, their other hand found a rock by pure chance, right when Ned threw himself against the assailant, a distraction good enough for Kai to hit him with the rock. Despite the blood on his forehead and losing his weapon, he seemed ready to attack again, until Ned took the fallen knife, which made him run away. It was a miracle that Kai didn’t suffer permanent harm in their hand, that witness (who did nothing), stated that the couple acted in self-defense and that the men was detained shortly there-after. It wasn’t enough for Ned, that couldn’t live in a place increasingly more filled with this type of people. Kai also couldn’t do it, but they had to stay. Even if in the present, they were suffering the consequences from their choice.

Kai turned the app off, and luckily the young man didn’t seem to have notice it. It wasn’t difficult to identify the Signal and while not every extremist dislike “understanding the enemy”, there were many that wouldn’t hesitate on using it as an excuse for violence, specially the most religious. Barely able to breathe, Kai examined themselves: they didn’t have facial hair, they choose black clothes that hid their figure and their ponytail didn’t stand out that much, so they were safe in that aspect. They still thought about changing seats, but there weren’t free seats and they couldn’t risk drawing attention. There was one thing they couldn’t understand and it was what someone like that man was doing in a bus pretty close to the Wall. They doubt that even that place let someone with that slogan go to Teress. Their answer came in a message of their ally:

“I am hearing something about a protest in the Main Entry, the usual suspects. They are taking pictures of anyone that arrives. A bit aggressive and noisy, but not violent for the moment. Leave a stop early and go right, go down four streets and continue to the Wall until you see the security cordon. Is a secondary entrance for employers. I am keeping watch, the password is enb-val.”

Kai looked at the other passengers, searching for details that they could have missed it. There had to be more people in the bus going to the protest, how many there could be in that bus? There was one step to arrive to where his ally told him to go, but they were not going to stay there surrounded by so many danger. When the vehicle opened their doors, Kai almost jumped from their seat and run away to the street. Only when they were sure that they weren’t being followed, is when they realized that they hadn’t breathed since they read the message. But they made it, they were safe and while they would arrive a bit late, it was better to be careful.

They thought in the luck of having meet their ally, Stonewall. They made contact with him in the web-page “Rights for Teress”, an NGO that was tasked on monitoring all of those affected by the event, so when the incidents in the Capgras’s Wall started, they provided safe way to legally enter in the county. Stonewall didn’t seem to be a strong believer in the cause, more interested in the money, but had proven himself to be trusted, as Kai had already used his services in previous occasions.

It didn’t take long for the Wall to be visible as they approached it: with twelve meters in height and between six meters thick, it was a modern version of a wall’s castle, with even armed sentinels in towers. It was one of the largest constructions in Europe, as it surrounded the entire community of Teress, but the only entry and exit existed in Brubak.

The surroundings also changed while they came closer, with ruins of buildings being replaced by open fields where soldiers, tanks and other vehicles had gathered. Kai remembered the first time they saw the Wall, when it was only am improvised fence, a pathetic defense against the Blue Fog that raised in the distance. They were only sixteen years old back then, so desperate that they spent what little they had to arrive there, just to be welcomed by the soldier’s weapons. They tried to stay in Brubak, but they were expelled and forced to live in the streets and shelters of other cities. It wasn’t a period that they like to remember: alone, with many questions about Teress, about themselves and suffering each night. It was a miracle that, of all of the habits that they develop to survive, only the small paranoia and the use of cigarettes had remained. That phase of their life ended two years later, after getting out of the clinic and becoming a delivery person, which allowed them a place to sleep. They learned computer science thanks to many tutorials and thus, could enter a training course that taught about the Signal. And with those studies, they finally gained a permanent job. It was while they were celebrating the occasion in a club, when they meet Ned, who helped them discover themselves. Around that time, they would return to Brubak alongside Ned, after hearing that Teress was starting to open to the world.

Kai took around half an hour to arrive to the secondary entrance: it was one of the buildings connected to the Wall, a door watched by one guard. Kai recognized them right away.

—Sorry, but this entry is only for employers —warned the guard.

—You know how I am, Stonewall.

—Password?

—Enb-val.

—You are late, I was close to finishing my turn —he yawned without worry—. I am going to pay you more next time.

—While you are available and you help me come in, I don’t care if I have to pay for more.

Stonewall let him a visitant’s pass and unlock the door.

—You know how it is, follow the directions until you arrive to the Main Entry. Once there, no matter what happens, don’t go outside.

—Is the situation that bad?

—Not right now, but I am afraid that this will eventually become another incident that you are going to heard in the news, so be careful.

—I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t careful. Thanks, Stonewall.

Inside, Kai found themselves in an old military headquarters, now turned into offices busy with the bureaucracy of the Wall. They were familiar with the area, as it was where they sent him to realize the applications, so they remain unnoticed among the applicants and employers that move in the yellow hallways. And after having to slid through a narrow corridor that connected the different buildings of the Wall, Kai arrived to his target: the Main Entry was a huge complex, almost a district, separated in three parts: enormous warehouses where, every so often, transporters prepared and drive trucks with supplies and other materials to Teress, offices and labs that study the community and a terminal where you could legally enter Teress. And that is what Kai was going to do, entering their visiting permit in the welcoming machine to notify their arrival.

Right after sitting down, they noticed how, in one of the counters, the worker was watching them with a weird look. The woman looked at her computer screen, got up and disappear in the nearest office. One minute later she returned to her post as if nothing had happened. Kai cursed their luck, right now that they were so close, of course something was going to go wrong. If they prevented them from going, could they get pass security? No, it would be foolish, and tempting. They started to examine the counters, the employers, the guards, the few other travelers… they even turned behind them, to the door outside, where even with the immensity of the building, they could heard the noise of the people that protested their purpose in the Wall. Did they have something to do with this?

The sound of their number appearing on screen took them out of the paranoia and they went to the counter, where the words of the worker didn’t surprise them one bit:

—Kai Sverik? Before we can process your request, you have to speak to security. Don’t worry, it would only be a moment.

The women sent them to the door that she went earlier: it was an office with several desks, but only one was occupied. He was a burly and rigorous man, that despite the office clothes, Kai suspected that he was or had been a soldier. He could have fought in some of the battles in Teress.

—Sit down and leave the bags at my side, please. My name is Leyn.

Kai obeyed while Leyn read some papers.

—I am looking over your application… a permit for a visit of seven days, motive: leisure, stay in the town of Carnad, in The Fair street, number twelve, zone of low risk —Leyn looked at them for a moment—. You are connected with the depersonalized entities 47321.B, 47348.E and 47321,5.A, isn’t that right?

—Kai contained themselves from attacking the men and closing that mouth. They hated those words, but they knew they couldn’t do anything to make them disappear.

—Yes, I have… connections, as you say.

—Hm, I just wanted to make sure. Now, there is a problem with one of the objects you presented to review —Leyn opened the big bag and took out the syringes and the pills.

—What is the issue? —Kai complained—. It is part of my prescription, I have presented them before and I didn’t have any issue, so...

—The problem, mister Sverik—interrupted Leyn—, is that we spoke with your medic and he told us that the prescription was canceled by your psychologist. She told you and I quote “you no longer need hormonal treatment”.

Kai tried to contain themselves from letting a sight without success.

—Those are what I have left from the last time I asked for the prescription.

—Right, sure they are —Leyn took the medicine and threw it in a trash can—. Everything else seems to be correct.

—Was any of this necessary? You could have seize them in the security control...

The man got up and rose over Kai, almost grabbing their jacket.

—This is necessary for the good of our country, mister Sverik. We have a protest outside because things like this. We know about the attack you suffered a couple of months ago, about the webpages that you frequents. With your history and treatment, you are going to a dangerous radicalization.

Leyn started walking around the office.

—The media are always with the anti-Teress, with Clear Sky, Humanity First and Sacred Water, but they forget about the opposite mentality. There are foolish groups, too obsessed with protecting the “rights” of the county to realize the damage that the depersonalized entities could cause. You are coming too close to that side, mister Sverik. Be careful or you are not going to step foot in Teress ever again.

Kai managed to contain themselves from letting a sight and the desire to argue against that ridiculous monologue.

—I will…

—Good, that is all, go directly to the security control.

Kai obeyed in silence, moved by a mixture of rage and despair. After arriving to the security control, they suffered a harsh routine: they palpated their entire body, check the objects in the bags one by one and they passed by several detectors until they arrived to the last obstacle, a table with a guard in front of lockers.

—Due to security protocols, in your return, all of your belongings will be destroyed. Do you have the clothes and objects that you will pick up on the way back?

Kai left the small bag in the table and the guard gave them a key with a code.

—Remember your number to access to your belongings —the guard also gave him some pills—. Take them if you feel too disoriented and dizzy, notify the authorities of the Wall if you find any trace of the Blue Fog, don’t have too much physical contact with the entities…

It was a speech that they heard way too much, a mixture of obvious falsehood and precautions that they were already tired in their first journey. When it ended, they went to the huge metal gates, that opened and let them into Teress.

Teress wasn’t an unknown for the outside world, as there was a huge quantity of testimony, videos that were both made by professional and amateurs, pictures and satellite imagines that document the look of the county. That hadn’t stopped numerous conspiracies, fantasies and awful theories about the place: from it having meat trees, fused with animals, volcanoes that threw acid to more believable falsehood, like that the air of the zone had a bluish look, traces of the Blue Fog. The reality was far more simple: the outskirts from Teress looked almost the same as the outskirts from Brubak or any other county from the southeast of the country: wild yellow grass, pastures interrupted by farms, gardens and vineyards and small forests. This mundane reality was reflected in the station that Kai stood. It was one not that different from the one in Brubak, just smaller and with barely any visitors or personnel. They could see a teressian local guard in the distance, something new from the last time they were here.

However, Kai felt like they were in a different world, one where they could be themselves. They took out their pony-tail to show off their long hair, they opened their jacket to flaunt their top, where they put one of the pins with the LGBTIQA+ flag. The next thing was send more messages to the chat, but contrary to the ones they sent before writing to Stonewall, these ones weren’t as concise:

Kai: I finally got through the security control and I am in Teress :) :) Now I am here waiting for the bus :/ I will be there in around half an hour.

P: Welcome!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️ We miss you!

M:🥰🥰 Everything all right in the Wall?

K: Yes, I had to deal with some bureaucracy, but everything ended well at the end. :)

H: Listen, if something is wrong, tell us and we will raise hell! But for now, I am very happy that you are here damn it!!!!

They felt bad hiding details, but it was better this way. Telling them what happened in the Wall, about the attack… they would just worry and complicate their situation. That is why they put some gloves to hid the wound in their hand. They would realize it eventually, but for now they didn’t want to deal with that problem.

A bus arrived to the station and they heard a mechanic voice over the intercom:

—Line C, destination: the city of Alar, stops in Carnad, Shayas and Phulx.

Kai got on the bus alongside another person, an older man in uniform, who immediately opened a laptop and started working. Now Kai didn’t need to be concerned about others, so they could focus on the views through the windows as the vehicle moved on an empty road. It was true that the scenery of Teress wasn’t that unique, but they still love to lose themselves on it and remember their childhood. There were also some differences from the outside, even if not happy ones: the Blue Fog may have not affected the fauna or the flora, but the lack of maintenance was quite obvious, with a lot of out of control vegetation, although it was slowly getting fixed. There were also signals of the war, the battles that happened months later after the Blue Fog: craters, big and small, fissures on the ground, remains of tanks, trucks and specially drones, military trash everywhere. At least they had taken out the concentration camps, although Kai knew that they had left one in Alar, as a museum, a reminder of what happened. For them, it was a useless gesture if the worst of the outside world still believed that the teressians deserved to be there.

They spent quite a while engrossed in the view until the familiar sound of a lighter made it so Kai turned to the other passenger, that had stopped working to light a cigarette. Kai noticed the absence since their last cigarette and they didn’t contain themselves:

—Sorry, but can you let me a cigarette?

The man looked at them, confused for a moment before realizing what they wanted.

—Fifteen for one.

—Fifteen? That is madness! Do you know how many packs I could by with fifteen?

—Fifteen is quite cheap compared with what I had to pay so this could pass by security. So… fifteen.

Kai gave up and exchanged a couple of bills for a cigarette. But now that they had it in their hands, they lost a bit of the desire. They didn’t want to arrive to Carnad stinking up, so they decided to leave it for later.

—I remember from the Wall, from the Entry —the man commented—. They brought you to security, right?

—Yes, I had a problem with my prescription and they took advantage to intimidate me a little.

—How typical of those brutes! Don’t you worry, is the only thing they have. The government is not going to dare to cause trouble to Teress, not right now. Meaningless rules, unnecessary controls, a wall that works only as intimidation… those are their weapons. Ah, by the way, I am Green.

They knew that anyone allowed in Teress was much more trusting than others, but that little speech calmed them down.

—Kai, nice to meet you, are you visiting?

—I am working, actually. I am teaching in Alar University, electrical and electronic engineering.

—I have heard that they had built one recently. I didn’t know they had teachers from the outside.

—Not right now, I am in a special program of two weeks. The security controls are hell, believe me.

—Do you have to destroy all of your stuff each time do you come back?

—No, they stay on the Wall and they “sanitize” it. If everything goes well, I may work full-time in the next trimester. I have to admit that while it was a bit difficult get used to them at first, you realize that the teressians are the same as us.

—We are —assured Kai, a bit tense—. If only the rest of the world understand it…

—Ah, then you are… sorry, but you mustn’t let yourself be taken with those types of feelings, people can understand, it is just that there is a lot of misinformation and manipulation about Teress. But as the teressians let themselves be seen, they will be eventually accepted. It is not like the government can do anything to stop them. Not without consequences that nobody wants.

A buzzing drew the attention of the duo, a notification that the bus had arrived to Carnad. Kai got up:

—This is my stop, Green. Thanks for the cigarette… and I hope you are right.

—Thanks for the fifteen, Kai. And I am right. Have fun.

Before the Blue Fog, Carnad was a small, unimportant town, a place surpassed by the farms and gardens of the south, the vineyard of the north and the old capital city of Hali, where, back then, most of the population resided. The situation hadn’t changed much in the present, as even with the farms, gardens and vineyards out of commission, Carnad was still not really known compared with the new capital city of Alar. For Kai, Carnad was Teress, where they were born, where they grew up before the Blue Fog. It was purely coincidental that in the day of the impact they were in a high school field trip outside, what separated them from their family for years.

And right after they got out of the bus, that mistake was fixed when, from a penumbra, several extremities, similar to carbonized ribs, surrounded and squeezed their body.

—Hi, mum! Ah, be careful that you are breaking my bag! —Kai returned the hug.

The edges retreated inside the penumbra, that formed the cloudy silhouette of a woman with short hair. The effect was pronounced by a green coat and white beret that wore thanks to minuscules bone hooks deployed around the surface of the penumbra.

The appearance of her mother was the result of what happened thirteen years ago: when the EVT fell in the middle of Hali, first it released an EMP that affected all Teress, cutting it out from the outside world. Three minutes later, the EVT released the Blue Fog and send the Signal to the net before disappearing. The Fog remained in Teress for two weeks, and anyone that touched it, fell unconscious for a couple of hours, without any other negative effects. When the Blue Fog vanished, around three or four million people had completely changed, with terrifying and demented shapes that challenged reality itself. Nevertheless, they still had identical physical needs as before and their mind were exactly the same when they had human looks. The only mental irregularity was that they accepted their new bodies with easy, barely not seeing any difference to non-transformed humans. However, if the person had some kind of dysphoria or any other negative feeling towards their body, these sentiments would adapt and translate in some way in their new form.

There were many unknowns things about these transformations and the purpose of the Blue Fog, but one of the biggest questions was why the Blue Fog altered the teressians in such a drastic way while leaving people from the outside unconscious. One of the more popular explanations was that the EMP put the population in a state of clinical death, leaving them vulnerable to the effects of the Blue Fog.

When the Fog vanished and the authorities found what happened, at first they tried to hide their existence from the world, with an official declaration that “there weren’t any survivors in Teress” and when, in a couple of weeks, rumors and leaks revealed their existence, they stated that “the teressians may be vectors of an unknown infection, so they must remain in quarantine”, a seemingly reasonable motive that lost their logic as time went one and they failed to find any evidence of that infection. In fact, it didn’t take long to discover that the ADN of the teressians that had biological material, was despite all evidence to the contrary, 100% human and compatible with non-transformed, to the point that blood transfers were possible and safe.

At the start, the teressians trusted the government, that transferred to camps to be studied and determine if they were a threat. But those studies eventually became horrible tortures, their captors eager to find the secrets of those new bodies at any price. And they found one: in extreme circumstances, the teressians became capable of developing new abilities, which allowed many of them to escape the concentration camps and thanks to some of them stealing the recordings of their “investigations”, they revealed the crimes to the world. The army arrived to try to control the situation, but the situation soon escalated to a desperate attempt to end the teressians, who fought back. The power of Teress was such, that despite that most of the population didn’t fight, the army was still defeated in just a few months. A new government then accepted a peace offering, reunifying the community with the rest of the country. And as the years passed, helped by awareness campaigns, documentaries, interviews, the teressians regained more of their lost rights. But what influenced the most was their abilities, as while its existence made it easy to classify them as dangerous, they were the only reason why the teressians survived and were heard. And thus, Kai could visit their family every few months.

—Oh, sorry, kiddo, I just so happy to finally see you! —said Erin in a strong southern accent—. Hmmm…

—What?

—Sorry, I don’t want to be overbearing, but you look a bit unwell: you have dark circles in your eyes and you are thin, are you eating well? You are so pale, you need to sunbath a bit more!

Kai sighed, entertained.

—Yes, yes, it just… I have been a bit busy these days, but don’t worry, I am fine. How is everyone around here?

—We are alright, I am still painting, your father is helping with the reconstruction, but he should have finished by now. Ashley doesn’t have any classes today, so she is at home now.

Mother and offspring started walking around the town, that Kai noticed that, despite being almost noon, it was desolated. A lot of the population didn’t return to their homes after the camps, as their homes had been damaged by the war and their transformations. They had remain in refugee camps, the biggest of them eventually turning into the city of Alar, where many still lived. To mitigate the overpopulation of the capital city, the government of Teress started a reconstruction project of the county, where old towns and cities would be repaired over the years. It wasn’t perfect, as many materials were reused and recycled due to scarcity, in many cases using the ruins of buildings too damaged to rebuild others. Despite this, Kai’s family was one of the first that left Alar, so in other visits they had been witness to how the town had been recovering, so they didn’t understand this void.

—This week is the festival of the delights, remember? Most folk are still celebrating in Alar —Erin sensed the question of her child—. But more and more people are coming back to the town, we even have some new neighbors, you will meet them later! Ah, let me carry that.

From the penumbra, dozens of ribs grabbed with finesse the bag from Kai’s shoulders. They had to make an effort to not show the pain that the small tug had accidentally caused and they were happy that their mother hadn’t realized it. Despite the lack of features, Kai had learned over the visits to read their family. It hadn’t been hard, as despite the changes, the years apart and the suffering, they were still the same as before.

And yet, Kai couldn’t help but wonder if their mother suspected something. Their aspect was a bit more neglected than other visits and they had forgotten about the festival. Yes, it was obvius that she knew something was wrong. And sooner or later, they will reveal everything, but for now, it was better to distract her with a smaller issue:

—Mum, about the Wall, there was a hiccup and they seized my hormones. Could we get more in the black market?

The silhouette turned to their child and for a moment, even the cloudy penumbra didn’t move.

—Yes, they should have it, we can go tomorrow to search for it. We will help you in anything you need, Kai, don’t forget that.

Kai nodded and they continue walking to their home. Upon arrival, it didn’t take long to spot Kai’s father, Jamelle, who was fixing the roof. Not his roof, but one of the other houses in the street. Jamelle wore a gray jacket modified to let the spider’s legs in his back that he used to move around, as they didn’t have human legs or bottom half at all. Part of his chest and face were hollow, but the holes didn’t show organs or flesh, just more skin. He didn’t have a nose, but thanks to small strings, Jamelle could wore glasses over their eyes.

At the sight of his child in the distance, the “face” of Jamelle made their version of a smile and with surprising agility, he crawled from the roof to Kai, giving them a big hug with their legs and arms:

—Kai! How are you? I love the top! —Jamelle turned to his wife—. Sweetie, look…

—Jamelle! Are you working overtime? —From the penumbra, smaller extremities came out in protest—. You told me that you have finished for today!

—I didn’t planned it! The roof of the Vierros’s house broke a little and they are going to return from Alar in a couple of days. I can’t let them stay in a house in such a state...

Erin spread her extremities and silhouette to “close her arms”, but seemed to consider his words

—Well, it isn’t much… ok, I will help you and that way we will eat sooner —She turned to Kai and let him the bag—. Keep going, Ashley should be in her room.

As many other houses, Kai’s home had to be remodeled, but they had the luck to not be as damaged during the Blue Fog or the war. The only changes, besides a couple of coats of paint and a lot of cleaning, were modified chairs that Jamelle and Erin wouldn’t damage with their extremities. Kai’s room was the one that had changed the most, as they left a lot of things in their visits to the point that they were building up.

After letting more things, they approached their sister’s room: as always, there were dozens of big and small brushes, old posters of romance novels in the ceiling and a shelf full of books. She had also changed the table for a bigger one, probably due to her studies and they like seeing that she finally got a computer. The bed was full of bugs, each one as big as a rat. They weren’t any known species, with small dorsal fin, eyes similar to a jumping spider, a colored skin shell that was a mixture of a beetle’s shell and serpent scales and the jaws of a dragonfly. They were still, breathing from time to time, letting a sound similar to a human snore.

Kai leaned against the door frame and with a smile, they gave a small tap to the door:

—Is this how you are welcoming me? —they said.

The insects turned to them and with something similar to a groan, they got under the sheet until a silhouette was formed. A short while later, Ashley showed herself, her eyes fixed on their sibling. The insects had fused with each other, changing their form, color and texture to replicate her human body. It was almost perfect, although her movements were less fluid and she couldn’t blink. The body was capable of changing, as she had grown to adulthood over time, but there were details that had been frozen in time since her initial transformation: dry blood covered the lower half of her mouth and eyes, and she had some wounds around her body, but these ones were hidden by her clothes, a t-shirt and jeans that fit with her dyed blue hair.

—Argh, this is your fault! You took so long that I fell asleep! —her sister answered, although she still smiled.

They hugged between laughter.

—How are things? You started studying law already? —Kai asked.

—Yes, a couple of months ago —she answered—. The university is all right, is well adapted to our bodies, but we are still lacking for material in classes.

—I can help bringing things if you want.

—That is not the problem, you know we can get almost anything here. The problem is getting enough of it and then maintaining and repairing what we already had. What about you, big sibling? How are things with Ned? Is a shame that he couldn’t make it…

Kai froze and was barely able to regain their composure.

—Ah.. there have been some complications, but don’t worry, I will explain it at lunch.

Then, they heard their parents arrived downstairs. Their sister swallowed her worry and smiled.

—You will tell us later then, lets eat? —Ashley went down the stairs.

For the moment, Kai was able to take refuge in the familiarity of lunch, helping put the table while their father discussed with their sister about the last debate between the county’s executive Conglor of Esis and Judith Afti, the opposition leader. There was also a surprise when the food arrived to the table:

—Is that beef? —Kai couldn’t believe their eyes—. We have real meat? Seems too good to be from the black market, it is imported?

—Better, this comes from our new farms —their father explained—. It took a while before the animals stopped ruining from the farmers, but it was worth it. This is something that we only achieved thanks to Conglor’s leadership.

After hearing that, Ashley rolled her eyes. Conglor was one of the more popular teressians, a crucial figure, but also controversial. They were a unique case, as they weren’t one person, but forty two people that lived in the Esis Apartments in Hali, how died in the direct impact of the EVT. Without bodies, their essence fused in a single body, a true collective, as it seems that all of their minds had to talk with each other and agree on each decision until they could act, which eventually gave them great dialogue and negotiation skills. When the truth of Teress was revealed, Conglor were the ones to contact with the press and with the help of other teressians, provide evidence of the concentration camps and the torture, showing that they weren’t monsters or vectors of some horrible disease. They became the leaders of Teress, helping form a united front, that despite their looks, managed to get a lot of support from the outside world. This, alongside the brutal defeat suffered by the government in the war, allowed Conglor to negotiate a peace agreement. They became so popular that they immediately won the elections for county’s executive, the reelections and now they were going for their third and last term. However, the feelings over them were changing, as despite Teress recovering a lot of their rights, they still couldn’t officially leave the community and with the rising radicalization in the outside world, many saw Conglor’s politics as one that were too slow and passive to protect them. Ashley was quite critical, while her father, in accordance to his pacific nature, still had faith on the presidents. Kai, however, believed that it didn’t matter much who lead the community while the rest of the country fell more and more to the hatred to those that were different.

Luckily, as the lunch continued, there wasn’t much political discussion, with Jamelle talking about how, after helping finish the reconstruction of the town, he would open his clinic again, while Erin was looking to be able to sell her paintings to the outside world. Kai remembered how, at first, the most difficult thing that they had to get used with the new bodies, was the way they ate: the ribs of her mother chopping up the food, how the insects of Ashley couldn’t keep the imitation and had to return to their original form to devour the meals. Now, it was just a curious detail, although still couldn’t understand their father, as his food simply disappeared after it arrived to his “mouth”.

After finishing eating, the conversation changed to Kai’s work and they knew that they couldn’t hide their situation:

— Right now I am living in a new apartment, with a roommate Simon —Kai explained.

They felt the stare of their sister:

—Kai, what happened with Ned?

—I broke up with Ned. We had some issues and with the recent rise in discrimination, Ned wanted to move, leave the country… but I didn’t.

—Oh, I am sorry, Kai —Spider legs and bone extremities patted their shoulder.

—When did this happen? —Ashley asked.

—Two months ago…

—Two months?! —Their mother almost jumped from her seat— And you didn’t told us anything during that time?

—I didn’t want to worry you.

—Wait… —Ashley kept digging—. That Simon, your roommate… does he know about us?

Kai let the silence be the answer.

—Kai… does he know about you? Your identity, that you are non-binary?

Kai let the silence be the answer. Their family exchanged looks, worried just what they wanted to avoid.

—It’s okay, I am fine, I am fine —Kai got up—. I… going out for a smoke. Don’t, don’t followed me please.

They didn’t understand why their family focused so much on them, why did it matter if they had to be a bit careful in Brubak? Their family were in a much worse situation, so they were the ones that had to support them, not the other way around. Outside, the sun had been hidden by gray clouds and it seemed that it could rain at any moment. They didn’t care about that, but they did care about the pain in their hand, as it seemed to have multiplied and prevented them from lighting the cigarette.

—Do you need help?

A few meters from them, the figure of an enlogated woman appeared: she lacked a face, having an empty white void, a lack of color shared by the rest of her body. On the contrary, her clothes, a plastic small rose that adorned her front, a leather red jacket and blue jeans, and her haircut, a dark ponytail, seemed to be drenched, like they were part of a watercolor painting, the hair floating in the sky. She seemed to be one of the new neighbors.

—Yes, I would appreciate some fire.

One of the particles of the hair of the woman fled to the cigarette and lit it.

—Thanks, my name is Kai, happy to meet you.

—Catherine, happy to meet you as well. You must be the… child of the Sverik, right? Your family is very lucky that you visit them, not everyone here has that blessing.

—Is the least I could do.

—Is the best thing you can do, be with them, despite everything —Catherine tipped their head, like she was studying them—. Although I have to say, you don’t look good, are you all right?

Kai sighted.

—Yes… no, no, it has been a complicated day.

Catherine kept watching them.

—Can I come closer?

Kai nodded with their head while they let out a puff of smoke. Catherine didn’t move, but simply appeared at their side as she had always been there. Seeing the woman up close, they realized that their empty void wasn’t empty, as she had features, flattened and frozen under a white barrier.

—Where are you living? —Catherine asked.

—Right outside, in Brubak —they responded.

—Brubak… is still a beautiful place, even with the decay.

—Oh, did you live there before the Fog?

—No, I was there, around ten minutes ago. Don’t worry, it was just a quick visit, nobody saw me!

Kai almost laughed. It had always been obvious that the Wall wasn’t doing much to stop the teressians. The teressian local guard was the authority that had to stop these acts, but the community couldn’t survive without them, so there wasn’t much incentive to enforce the law unless the teressian caused too much trouble.

—However, that city —Catherine continued—, is becoming dangerous. Sorry that I give you advice that you may not want, but you shouldn’t return there.

—Maybe, but I will not leave my family.

—You don’t have to. You have more options than you think, Kai.

Kai considered those words in silence.

—Maybe, but listen, let me be the one to question you now, did you live here before?

—No, I didn’t even live in Teress before the Fog. A tourist, now no different than everyone else. I am moving to the house across the street as I needed a change of scenery after the war.

Due to her tone, Kai understood the true meaning of those last words.

—Oh, you were one of the fighters in the war.

—Yes, a “liberator”… but it is something that I want to leave behind. Neccesary or not, the violence wasn’t pleasant.

—I understand.

They didn’t say anything, watching the town. Behind them, they could listen the Sverik speaking and moving in the house.

—Listen —Catherine broke the silence—, it is true that in the Wall they burn your clothes when you return? What, you have to get naked every time.

—Oh, yes, it is ridiculous. They had bathrooms where you dress with the clothes you left in the Wall. Those bathrooms, however, they are horrifying, believe me.

They continued speaking for a long while, talking about their lives, about how Catherine had to adapt her house to deal with her drenched clothes, Kai sharing similar stories about her family and then they talked about their jobs and what they hoped for the future. Then, Catherine said goodbye after leaving Kai her phone number. They then had to confront the reality of home, where their parents were washing the dishes together and Kai noticed right away that they were watching them.

—I am going to sleep a little. Don’t worry, we, we will speak later —quickly said Kai.

They went to the bathroom, but Ashley was there, putting blue makeup in the top of her eyes. She couldn’t hide the dry blood with makeup, but she could still modify a lot of her body, even dying without issue.

—I am going to the festival with Lara and Jen —she said after seeing them—. I am guessing you don’t want to accompany me.

—No, sorry, I am going to rest a little. We will speak later.

Ashley turned to look at them, before continuing her make up.

—I know what those outside said of us, how those aliens brainwashed us so we accepted our new bodies. That may be true, but I never liked the blood in my lips, it makes them look too big. At least I have that, right?

Kai knew that her feelings were a lot more complicated. They remembered when Ashley told them about the process of her transformation, how, in a state between dream and reality, for two weeks, she could only throw up and spill blood everywhere, her body changing as it broke in a strange and impossible way. How she heard her father slowly melt and her mother be cut by shadows. As much as they accepted the end result, every teressian had still suffered trauma from the process of the transformation.

And again, they thought how ridiculous it was to compare their situations. By her expression, Ashley realized what they were thinking, but Kai didn’t have the energy to discuss and turned around to leave when their sister’s voice stopped them:

—Let me tell you something, Kai. When they send us to the camps, they separated me from dad and mum. They took me to another camp and while they test us, I just wanted to see them. But then, they started torturing us: they electrocuted me, poked at me, cut my parts in pieces, just to see how I healed… one time they submerged me in frozen water and I was just there, freezing for hours. I felt like I was going to die and then, something changed inside me: I controlled the size of my parts until I made them so small that I could get away through the cables of the installation. And when I was outside, I keep running. I wanted to leave Teress, Kai and I wasn’t thinking about you or our parents. I just wanted to escape… it was a coincidence that our parents found me shortly after. They had escaped from their camps, at the other side of the county and they still went looking for me. I told them eventually, but what they didn’t know is that this feeling hasn’t vanished, Kai. A side of me still wants to leave Teress, leave them behind and I hate myself for being so selfish.

It was a bit difficult to see due to the blood, but her sister was crying while she spoke.

—I am telling you this because I trust you, Kai. And I want you to understand that you can trust me. In all of us, you don’t have to hide here.

Kai looked at their gloved hand.

—It is better if you call mum and dad. I have to tell you something.

They meet in the living room.

—First, I am sorry about before, for not revealing that I broke with Ned… and for not telling you this before. You deserve the truth.

Kai took the gloves and show the cut in their hand.

—Two months ago, a man attacked Ned and me while we were together in a park. That was the incident that convinced Ned to leave.

—My god, Kai… —Ashley barely could look at the wound.

—Let me see —Their father approached and started looking at the cut—. You were lucky, the cut didn’t reach the nerves by a couple of millimeters. You could have lost the use of your hand or worse.

—I know, now it is fine, it just hurt a little sometimes.

—All of that time, even while in the hospital —her mother said—. Why didn’t you told us anything?

—For the same reason why I barely told you about what happened to me in the streets. How can you compare that to Teress? You don’t need that burden.

—You are not a burden, Kai, you never were —Their mother came closer to them, but Kai avoided a hug.

—I am fine, I don’t need...

—Kai, why did you stay in Brubak? Why didn’t you leave with Ned? —their sister asked.

—That city is the closest that I can get to you. For years I was alone, without knowing if you were alive, only capable of hearing about the camps, the war, surrounded by hate… I don’t want to leave you again. I am sorry, I don’t care what happened to me, I will not leave you.

Kai contained themselves from crying.

—Don’t do it, then. Don’t come back to Brubak.

Everyone looked at Ashley after she said those words.

—What? I can’t do that, Ashley, they will come for me, it would be a huge incident. —they objected.

—So what? Like those outside had any authority inside. We could defend you.

—Ashley, I understand how you feel —Jamelle intervened—. But we wouldn’t be able to protect them, they could be hurt or worse.

Ashley got up and for a moment, her insects revealed themselves in anger.

—Dad, please, for a moment, stop…!

—Ashley, your father is right —Erin said, putting herself between the two—. Kai can’t stay in Teress like that.

They understand it, but still hurt to heard those words.

—But we can do a petition —their mother continued—. Due to your situation, Kai, is possible that you can classify as a refugee. We can talk with Conglor, explain the situation, that they send the local guard to support us. They could protect you, Conglor then could sell this to the public. And if they refuse…

—We will go to Judith! —Jamelle almost screamed.

—Dad? But Conglor are your…

—They will not be my candidate if they reject my child. I am sorry about before, Ashley, but I can accept this if we are careful and planned it well.

Kai couldn’t believe what was happening, looking at their family in disbelief.

—No, you can’t do this, you already have too many problems! Why you should deal with mine? You don’t need to suffer!

—Your problems are our problems! —Their sister held them tightly—. You can’t compare suffering, Kai, because we suffer together. We are your family and if this is what you want, we will be together.

—But… what happens if…?

—Kai, don’t worry about that—Their father interrupted.

—Don’t worry about anything —assured her mother—. Just tell us what you want.

Kai started crying.

I want to be with my family.

The Sverik hug each other, together at last.

END