“I’ll… bring the clothes here,” I eventually muttered, wanting to minimise the puppeteering. After finding and using the bathroom first, sauntered to gather the garments into my embrace. I roughly estimated that tomorrow when amnesiacs start to come in, everyone will be sure this is no simple rescue mission anyway. They’re already suspicious. It was impossible not to be.


    Hefting the second armful of rags onto the table, I sat down. My weak heart still struggled to pump the remainder of cold liquid flowing through it.


    Resting, I examined the people again. Still had doubts about two of them, but monster was sure. Perhaps I should invite someone to get the ages correct? And what then, erase their memory? Alternative would be nuking entire room’s recollection of seeing their friend far too old.


    Whatever. Sudden maturity and cure for blindness already raised eyebrows. I expected some hard questions eventually anyway.


    “Could you make all of them younger? Especially these three,” I pointed and bodies shrank, faces lost sharp edges. Was it the short-crop hair? Shook my head. They’ll sort it out later.


    “Wake them up.”


    One after the other they opened their eyes or just breathed like living people at last.


    “Hello! Wild night, huh? Please get dressed and meet your other friends downstairs,” I announced politely and fled the room. Did not have the stomach to look into the dazed expressions and then rebuke their much warranted questions. I’ll let the others do the lying for me today. That ought to reveal what the first batch thought of the bizarre situation.


    In the living room, I found everyone still haphazardly passed out. Dentist was sat suspiciously close to the exit. Fire in the hearth still rustled, but there were no more logs in the ashes. It wasn’t yellow either. The house was getting nippy, but clung on an acceptable temperature. I quietly muttered a thanks and threw the remainder of firewood inside.


    The room slowly rose as though in reaction to my banging around.


    Before all the frowning and glowering could turn into an avalanche and bury me under all those questions they brainstormed throughout the night, new people were noticed. Queries and sounds of joy got directed towards them and I sighed in relief. For a couple minutes more there shall be peace.


    Nobody mentioned the group appearing on entirely other side of the front door. Perhaps there was another one back there? I hadn’t poked around enough nor did I care to.


    I stared elsewhere blankly. If I ignored them hard enough perhaps they’ll return the courtesy. This usually won me precious extra seconds. People were so easily confusable.


    On that note, that’s exactly what my ears picked up.


    “I’m telling you that’s not my body!” a girl shouted shrilly.


    “What’s up?” I whispered still not looking up from the riveting dance of fire. Did I make someone too young? Shit.


    Monster growled barely audibly as though irritated. “They do not recognise her,” he said so just I could hear. I hadn’t asked for clarification. I was relieved to know it wasn’t me who’s losing it.


    Having gone through the gauntlet already, yesterday’s revivees tried to calm the panicking girl. It wasn’t going well.


    “You don’t even know who I am, either!” she shouted. All in all I was surprised our cabin got as little attention as it got. Ruckus must be audible from outside. Surely, neither of the grown men villagers invited had such pitched voices. Perhaps everyone else was still blissfully asleep. It was early.


    “M… Marina?” Citrine asked, terribly unsure. It was a solid guess, that haughty chick loved causing scenes as well. After all, tears of a beautiful woman opened many doors.


    I could see the source of distress because if that was indeed her - current outlook was a significant downgrade. For one, the curves were no more. She’d been young, but even so, all of the body fat had miraculously gone to the right places, leaving limbs all dainty and gave overall delicate impression. Current form was toned and showed no ambition to ever sport a cleavage. The horror! Personally, I preferred it, but then again – I wasn’t particularly into women.


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    Girl sniffled, and fell onto sharp-featured woman’s bosom, “What’s happening?”


    I felt several gazes tickle my scalp. Oh boy. I had no answers here either. Discarded all the responsibility and looked up at the monster. He looked back at me with dark brown eyes and I sighed.


    “There appears to be technical difficulties. Give us a minute,” I grabbed monster’s sleeve and pulled him outside. There was snow. Backpedalled and jumped into big boots dumped just indoors.


    “Well?!” I shout-whispered at him after closing door. Darn it was cold! I would have gone into a room but that’s where the cluster stood and deliberated. Climbing up to another storey was out of question too. Tucked away freezing fingers under arms and tried to look serious.


    “She must have been a chimera,” monster spoke as though that explained anything. I kept my eyes popped wide open at him. Nothing.


    “This,” I gestured and went on explaining, “is my mystified, expectant face.”


    Demon was not impressed. I wouldn’t be either, because my eyes started watering from the cold. He caught my animated hand and just held it as though in an oven. He was warm, is what I’m saying. Suave jokester said, “I thought that’s your normal face.”


    “I can see how you’re confused because you keep making me have it! Now, what the fuck does that mean? Can it be fixed?”


    “It already was but appears the result is undesirable. She wore the body of the twin she’d absorbed in the process of formation.”


    “Wha… How… is that possible?”


    “That is fairly common in your world. Question is, what do you want to do about it? I cannot retrieve the other genes. Non-neural tissue is stored separately. I can’t find it.”


    I huffed out white mist. What a multifaceted issue. If I was made out of two people, would I mind losing one half of myself? Yes. But… “I don’t think that matters to her. Can you make her beautiful?”


    “What is beautiful?”


    I hopped from leg to leg. It was far too dark and frosty to be having this deep a conversation. I put my other hand onto his scalding one. “You look far too pretty to pretend this much obliviousness. Wait. Are you playing a dumb blonde?”


    “No. A recollection of you picked out this look. I’m glad you find it acceptable.”


    Awkward. “Well, that essentially was me, so. Fuck. This is why I hate that you snoop.”


    “I find this preferable. You are far more receptive now that I know you.”


    “That’s because you’re pretending so I’d like you. This isn’t you. God knows how you really are, you’re an actual alien! Do you even have personality, when you’re not assuming human form?” Low blow, I knew as I said it.


    “Personality… if you mean it in context of nearly unpredictable secretion of chemicals humans have no control over, then no. I do not have it as such...”


    I covered his mouth. A human mouth. No. Mouth that was on his human-looking extremity - and spoke, “Sorry, that was out of line. You do have one. And you don’t need to force yourself to do it human way. In fact, I hate that. Like this I have no way to know who you really are.”


    Damn, his face was warm too. Monster’s other hand pushed mine aside onto the cheek, and held it there as red-eyed monstrosity spoke, “I’m not pretending. I’m adjusting. That’s what I do. Consuming and analysing the other is how my kind gets to know someone. To know me, you need to go on and do the human thing. Ask. I’m not holding anything back.”


    I lightly flexed my fingers on his scalding cheek, suddenly wanting to touch more of this unnaturally soft skin. Smooth devil, knows exactly how to pull my strings. I pulled back my hands and concentrated on the noise coming from the cabin instead. Concluding the lyrical interlude, I pointed thumb towards the door, “What can you do about that?”


    “I can do anything you want me to. Some things will not be instantaneous.”


    I bit nail of my thumb. This sauntering omnipotence wouldn’t caution about delay if all was simple. So I knew for a fact it wasn’t, at least not in his current state. I’d rather he kept looking for Ruby and concentrated efforts on recovering him, and not cater to a snivelling princess.


    No, I didn’t particularly like her much. Bitch was good at manipulating people, but there was no skill or effort involved - her looks did the heavy lifting. Perhaps that was why. Or maybe because she thought such simple tricks could work on me too. The gall.


    Decision made, I ducked indoors post haste. One sneaky bastard was promptly retreating, girls were huddled around the bawling actress. Tom was talking to whoever was listening in the middle of the room. General discontent hung thick in the room. They all stopped whatever they were doing to gawk.


    “Right. So I believe you’ve heard the gist of it. City’s gone, you’ve all sustained grave injuries, some worse than others. Mari, you’ll have to bear with what you’ve got… at least for now.”


    “But how is this possible!” Before I could even try to reply – and I honestly should have known better – drama queen went on, “Everyone looks so much better now and I’m ugly?!”


    There was a mirror next to her, so she knew exactly what she looked like, which by the way, was in no way ugly. Maybe plain, but I liked it. Far more than before. I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Well, if you insist, we can…” I made an eye contact, waiting for hope – no, triumph – to blossom and then I’ve finished, “chuck you into a wood chipper to restore the state you were in right before this.”


    Waterworks resumed. The gang, most of whom were just teenagers, bristled up and moved to stand between us in reaction to my bad joke. I chuckled, knowing for a fact most disliked her loud displays too. I loved these guys.


    “No? Well okay then.”


    “You wouldn’t talk to me like that if you knew how I really looked!”


    “Wouldn’t I? You look better now,” I winked.


    “What, you’re a client or something?” She sniffled but became much calmer, as though compliment from a stranger meant something, because sure as hell roomful of girlfriends did not aid.


    “Yes,” I agreed because everyone stared hungry for answers.


    “I don’t understand. If her body was completely mangled… how? How are people still dying from infection?”


    I looked at Tom. Looks like he hasn’t gone deep enough. I raised an eyebrow at him in question and the man just shrugged, glancing at monster. Ah, how thoughtful.


    “Would you believe… it’s a miracle?” I asked of the stupefied roomful.


    “What does that mean?”


    “What do you mean city’s gone? How?”


    Oh boy. Should I just rip off the band-aid and tell them the full truth?


    “Monsters attacked the city,” Tom interjected, perhaps hoping to add to the credulity instead of provoking another showing. Nobody liked that. When new faces looked to one another dubiously, Citrine also nodded vigorously.


    “Right. Well this seems all sorted out, then. Please don’t leave the house, it’s dangerous.”


    I turned to go but was stopped by an outcry, “How do we know military isn’t coming for us? If there’s been a monster attack and we lived through that…”


    I started to get irritated but okay, there might be some logic to it. “If we were with them, you’d already be sitting on various shelves in little jars. This place is very far away. I don’t even know if there’s an equivalent of armed forces in this region. However, I do know there are jumpy armed villagers out there. Please, stay indoors,” I squinted pointedly at Dentist. He glared back with unveiled animosity. I sent him an air kiss and kid’s eyes lost all threat.


    “Just for a couple of days, then we’ll do whatever you decide,” I promised.