Another Me

The school had given us enough time to go home, pack a bag, and come back to board the bus. There were only fifteen students, but we were still forced to sit in pairs in the front. The rest of the bus was jammed packed with blankets, water, tents, and other donations. I wasn't sure how they managed to gather so much, so fast, but it left us little room. Thankfully, the trip was only a little over two hours and the young man I sat next to was as busy reading as I was. But even though the school rushed to get everything here in a hurry, it was close to nine by the time we arrived.

I could see dozens of school buses were already parked on the grass of an abandoned parking lot. The remains of a building had been removed leaving only the foundation and a broken, crooked blue sign that read "Spoiled R  ten". It was slightly outside of the town and close to the overpass of the highway we just got off. over a hundred students were milling about as teachers from different schools trying to direct them to where they would be best used. I heard the back door of our bus open as soon as we stopped moving and saw several teachers, that hadn't been in school, begin to unload the supplies.

Mr. Schmell and Miss Vellum greeted us as we got off the bus. I wasn't sure what they'd been through, but they were covered in dirt and grime. Miss Vellum's normally bubblegum-pink hair looked almost black, and a bruise covered half her face. Even though they both looked like they'd been through the ringer, Mr. Schmells still said happily, "Thanks for coming, let’s set up the tents so people have a place to sleep. Those that can create dwellings come with me." Only one boy moved to join him and with a sigh, he turned around to take him to a different location.

"Ahhh, wait!" I exclaimed, grabbed my backpack, and hurried to join them. "Sorry, I just learned a spell and forgot about it." I hadn't even had a chance to cast it, so the Adobe Hut spell had slipped my mind.

He didn't stop but asked, "It's okay. What type of dwellings can you build?" He first replied to me, but the question was for both of us.

The senior spoke before me, "I can do a basic bunker spell, that can fit about two dozen people and it'll last for eight hours." He said it in a reserved manner but there was pride in his eyes. Something most of the kids on the bus seemed to have.

Once he was done, I quickly spoke up, "I can cast 'Adobe Hut', but I'm unsure how long it'll last." If I read it right, the duration was dependent on the amount of magic I put into it. But I hadn't sat down to work out the mathematical equations. However, I couldn't tell them that because both learning and creating a spell requires practice. Casting allowed them to detect any flaws, so by the time a person could freely cast a spell meant that they had cast it dozens if not hundreds of times. The way I learned a spell was a cheat. I just couldn't explain it and because of that, my voice held the uncertainty I felt, as I added, "It's a two-room dwelling."

Mr. Schmell nodded and kept walking as we talked. He led us to a clearing where we could start casting. There were already a few families wrapped in blankets huddled around the edge of the area. Most had a lost, dissolute look about them as if they lost their souls. But there were a few that were actively trying to help those hit harder. A mom held a little boy that was still sniffling, a man tried to comfort his wife, while people looked around desperately trying to find those they lost. Everything all together just reinforced the tragedy that just happened. Intermingled into the group were a couple of teenagers moving to heal those that had been injured but weren't serious enough to be pulled to the medical tent that was off in the distance.

The despair was almost palpable. I finally had to turn away and focus on my task. I couldn't keep watching people trying to comfort others, while tears ran down their faces. It was too heart wrenching. The senior that had come with us had already moved to the side and was in mid cast. A glowing green line began to form and started moving, making lines on the ground. It sped up and soon a square formed, then complicated patterns, until finally there was a flash and a complex drawling floated slightly above the ground. He stepped into it, vanished for a minute, then reappeared looking happy.

I heard him say, "Finished" as I placed my backpack down, grabbed out the river stones I kept in the side pocket, and began to cast. Mine wasn't as flashy as his. There weren’t any glowing lights. As I cast, the ground just slowly deformed into a mud mound, that looked more like an upside-down ice-cream cone. The dark brown mud slowly turned to an earthy, warm desert beige. As the spell was coming to an end I "felt" I could keep casting. I didn't know where the thought came from. It wasn't like the memories I received from the old me, but more instinctual. My voice took on a soft, lyrical tone as I repeated parts of the spell, like the chorus of a song. I could feel my magic reinforcing the weirdly shaped structure.

My voice faded as I finally thought I had put enough magic into it, and I knew that it would last for the next twenty-five hours. If I had been paying attention, I would have known that it corresponded to the amount of times I had repeated myself. Sadly, I had been too caught up trying not to mess up the spell that it would several more hours until I realized the connection. I took out a notebook, wrote when the building would disappear, and after ripping off that part of the paper, placed it inside. Then I moved over a few feet and started making the next one. I didn't focus on what others were doing but made one after another until there were several rows of these ugly dwellings.

It was close to three in the morning when Miss Phillips came to collect me. Her singsong like voice sounded next to me as I tried to stop yawning. I had gotten up at five to start my morning workout, so I had been up for over twenty-one hours. I was exhausted but didn't want to stop. One more hut meant one more family had a place to stay tonight. I had gotten used to people just mumbling "thanks" before going in. So, when I heard, "Come on Stephanie, you need to sleep" I was startled.

I gave a meaningful response of "Huh?" Before I realized that the lady that was only two inches taller than I was, had been quietly standing beside me for some unknown time. Her glasses reflected the small fires people had made to keep warm. What she said finally clicked and I said in an almost questioning tone, "Just one more?"

"There are other people to take your place. You won't do anybody any good if you collapse. Go back to the bus, there are tents set up around it. Pick one and go to bed." Her tone brooked no argument, and I was too tired to argue.

She escorted me back, probably to make sure I actually went. In my absence, they had rearranged the busses to form a circle with family sized tents placed in the middle of them. I had seen personal tents place in different areas, so I figured this area was specifically for the schools. There were little triangle placards placed by the entrances, with numbers that could be flipped to indicate how full the tents were. There wasn't any way to tell if they were for men or women, so I shot Miss Phillips a questioning look.

Seeing it, she said in a low voice, “Just pick a tent that doesn’t have a circle with a line through it. People have different schedules and are always coming and going, so they’re all unisex.”

I was too tired to argue and picked a tent with the lowest number; three. They went all the way up to seven before the last card showed the crossed-out circle indicating it was “full”. I flipped the card and went in as quietly as I could.

The light from the moon managed to seep through the fabric enough to allow me to see basic shapes. There were eight sleeping bags, but only three were being used. A couple was spooning in one of them and already fast asleep. So, there were already four people inside my tent, not three. I didn’t care too much about who was sleeping where. If anything, I was glad there was at least one woman here.

I picked a sleeping bag furthest away from the others. Looking around, I couldn’t bring myself to change before getting in. After being a guy, I had been naked around enough men in the locker room, and after coming to this world I had gotten use to being naked around women. But, just because I might be used to it didn’t mean I wanted to be.

***

I woke up to people moving both inside and outside the tent. Three different sleeping bags were currently being used. Of the four people that had been here last night, only a woman that was using a wet rag to wipe away the grime and sweat from a hard day’s night was still here. She wasn’t naked, but she wasn’t exactly dressed either. Clad in only her underwear, she smiled, as she noticed I was still fully dressed, and beckoned me over.

She was around thirty, but still looked toned. Her skin was a warm caramel color. But I couldn’t tell if it was from being in the sun or natural. She was probably a physical mage. They tended to stay in shape because unlike every other magical type, theirs didn’t rely that heavily on knowledge. Their distinct advantage was that the fitter they were, the stronger their spells became. Their magical energy also increased both their heartiness as well as their magical energy. But they had to keep fit to enjoy those benefits, so most had a daily workout routine and a strict diet. Looking at her lean figure, I was pretty sure of my guess.

Her hushed voice held amusement as she asked, “First time?” When I nodded, she continued, “Supplies and accommodations aren’t the best, which is why most people would rather send goods. There aren’t a lot of women here because of the lack of privacy. Those that are here are mostly the hero groupies.” Were there hero groupies? The thought never crossed my mind, but it made sense. Even in my world there were people that wanted their kids to be from television stars in hopes that they would inherit their looks, known geniuses for their brains, and sports heroes for amazing physical abilities. After thinking about it, I didn’t find it that far-fetched and I began to think if I shouldn’t also try to gain some more powerful spells by sleeping with a hero.

Her voice was as bland as the underwear she was wearing, so I couldn't tell how she felt about it. I did notice she was looking at the spot where the couple had been. She then pointed to her underwear and said “Just think of these as a swimsuit. The adults wouldn’t bother you and most of the younger boys are usually busy in the morning, so you won’t be stared at if you clean up now. You’ll get used to it.” She looked at her watch, “I have to get moving, it’s after nine.”

I went to get my backpack as she got dressed and watched as she slunk away, trying to move without making any noise. Once she was gone, I followed her advice, stripped down to my undies, used a new rag and some of the water from a container placed there and as quickly as I could tried to clean every inch of my body. After I was done with all the uncovered parts, I looked around like a thief. The three inside the tent with me were all men but they were sleeping. Without taking my eyes off them, I used my one hand to pull my bra away, just enough that I could wipe them with the other. The bottom of my breasts were sweaty and without Roy’s spell, I had quickly found out that a rash would form if left alone. They didn’t move and once I finished wiping down, I put on a new outfit.

After changing, I poked my head out to see people coming and going. They all seemed to know where to go and what to do and I felt like I missed the briefing. I saw Mr. Richards as I crawled out of the tent. His thin, old body was behind a table, helping to hand out food to people that had formed a line. He was the oldest person in the school and looked like he’s keel over at any moment. Because of that, I wasn’t expecting to see him here. But he wasn’t alone. Several other gray haired elderly people were chatting about the ‘old times’ as they scoped scrambled eggs onto plates or poured coffee.

Being part of the “rescue” team, I didn’t have to wait in line. Instead, I was fed and sent away with “water brigade is over there, debris removal is over there, reconstruction over there, diggers there, and protection and defense squads are around the perimeter. Go to the one you think you’re best at and let the team captain know you’re from our school so we know where you're at.”

I didn’t think much about it and chose protection. Choosing that one might allow me to vent some of my emotions on some unfortunate mutated beasts. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one that thought that way. As I walked outward, I saw more and more students from different schools forming small roaming groups. Clearing my thought, I asked the closest group, “Can you tell me where the team captain is?”

The three boys glanced over, saw me, and when I thought they weren’t going to answer, the boy in the middle said, “he’s over there.” He pointed and I saw Mr. Rodgers walking in the distance with a group of teenagers and Mr. Stagnik. The two teachers were pointing to the ground and giving the kids around them instructions.

I didn’t even think about it but turned to go another way. I walked away after saying, “Never mind.” My enthusiasm for fighting monsters dwindled, like a candle flame in the wind. Instead, I went to the water brigade. Somebody had braced a water tower upside down using giant crystals. They sparkled in the morning light but didn’t hide the fact that the jagged metal along the bottom, from being ripped from the ground, now faced the sky. Ironically, there was also a huge dent right where somebody had painted a red paw print with gray scratches. It was as if something big had swatted it in dissatisfaction.

As I got closer, I noticed people standing on top of the crystal, summoning water. They kept recasting until their energy ran out and would then walk down the staircase somebody had etched into the giant gems. Another person would then replace them. I watched as people created rain clouds, balls of water, and even a huge water funnel, one after another. It should have filled up with the amount of water they were pumping in, but there were others at the base in charge of “moving” the water to where it was needed. The water flowed out, floated in the air until it got as big as a person, then it condensed to the point it looked like a baseball, and finally it vanished through a portal.

Everywhere I looked people were utilizing their magic. I had never seen people casting on such a scale before. People tended to conserve their energy, so during normal times, people looked ordinary. There weren’t hordes of flying people or groups zipping around. Nope, normally I could almost forget my world had changed. But here and now, there wasn’t any conservation. People were giving their all. I gaped as groups flew up to houses made of clouds, a golem the size of a small mountain ambled toward us with supplies strapped to its back and buildings began to reassemble themselves as if somebody was playing a movie backwards. It was amazing to watch, and my steps faltered a bit as I took it all in.

I only started moving again when I saw Miss Phillips climbing up the stairs. I hurried over. There were too many people and knowing somebody in the crowd was a little reassuring. My faster pace allowed me to catch up and when I got close enough, I called out, "Miss Phillips, can I join you?"

She glanced back and smiled, "Sure, we could use more helpers. The water supply was contaminated when the processing plant was destroyed. Until they reconstruct it, we need to supply water for six thousand people. Thankfully, they didn't destroy the pipelines. We just need to persevere until they finish reconstructing the plant and we get the parts we need." I walked up the crystal-clear crystal as she told me what was going on. For once I was glad, I didn't have any fear of heights. It was as if I was walking on hard air. The only places you could see the edges was where the sun refracted. Everywhere else was completely see-though.

As we got to the top, Miss Phillips went up to a few other teachers. There were over a dozen people standing on the top but only four were casting at one time. They were taking turns so their energy wouldn’t bottom out. I entered the queue and looked around.

We were only about two to three stories high but because most of the taller buildings had been flattened, almost nothing was blocking my sight. The first obvious thing was our rescue camp wasn't inside the town but set up against it and looked like a circle. The buses were in the center and then the make shift housing we had been building. There were more obvious sections like the white healing tents, but it was hard to distinguish what made up the outer "ring" of the circle. The farthest away were people that were slowly circling around the town and looked like ants from up here. Because they were so far away, it was hard to make out the details. All I could tell was they moved in clusters and would sometimes rush in one direction.

Another group was using magic to excavate five large holes. They were closer than the security patrol and placed evenly around the town. The pits were perfect circles, about the size of a car but the one they were currently working on was becoming bigger as large chunks of earth was pulled out, hovered in place and then thrown into the ever-growing pile next to it.

I was trying to figure out what they could be used for, when I heard, “The protection array wasn’t maintained, which was how the beasts managed to get inside. Small towns and poorer cities usually cut corners in their budgets. Because there isn’t an immediate effect, the arrays are usually the first to go. If it goes on for too long, this happens and until they are replaced this entire town is likely to be continuously attacked.” She pointed at the little “ants” in the distance as they swarmed to a slightly bigger dot. “If we’re lucky it’ll just be the small fries left in this area. If were unlucky… follow the rules and get on the bus.” She looked worried as she continued, “There's just too many people in one place. Without the array, it's like ringing the dinner bell.” Miss Phillips had come back without me noticing. She had snuck up on me again and I wasn't sure if I had been lost in thought or if she was secretly a ninja. But I knew she wasn't playing a joke because her voice was solemn as she explained.

When I looked at her, she seemed to realize she had said too much and quickly changed the subject, “Want to sing with me? We can fit one more person and I know you can do it.” She was trying to regain a more neutral tone, but in the end failed to.

Her description of how dangerous it was here seemed wrong somehow, but her abrupt change in subject pushed away something that at the back of my mind. A little confused, I still answered, “Sure, my water spell isn’t all that strong.” When she gave me a questioning look, so I quickly added, “I thought I could just keep casting it.” Feeling a bit foolish, I asked about something else. “Miss Phillips, do you know any good vocal coaches I could hire? I was thinking of singing professionally but don’t know if I have the talent. And while you’re a great teacher, you have so many students in class already.” I blew a rainbow fart, hoping that she wouldn’t get mad that I wanted another teacher. I still had the three thousand from “babysitting”. I figured I might as well use it to forge a better future for myself.

“I’ll ask around and see if any of my friends have an opening and let you know.” As we waited, she gave me tips like “try not to yell, it’ll strain your vocal cords” and “practice at least an extra half hour every night.” She was delighted that I wanted to become a singer and kept reassuring me that I wouldn’t need much more training, as long as I didn’t slack off. She was practically gushing with enthusiasm. Even so, she briefly described the imagery needed for the spell and then sang me the song called 'Waterfall' by Chris Tomlin. I had never heard it before, but it wasn't complicated. We stopped talking so we could warm up and as we did, I kept singing the song in my head taking note of where I would need to reinforce her vocals to make the spell more powerful.

When it was our turn, two guys came over to join us. Before they could say anything, Miss Phillips said, “Guys, this is my student. She will be helping us today."

The shorter one was only around five' seven, skinny, with a big nose and thinning long hair. His companion was slightly taller, covered in tattoos, a shiny bald head and trimmed beard. They both gave me a once over before introducing themselves. Unlike what I thought, Miss Phillips wasn't the lead singer. The man covered in tattoos to the focal point, before he started to sing acapella. We joined in soon after.

As I sang, I kept visualizing a waterfall originating from a lonely cloud above us. The cold wind stole my voice away as I sang, "Your love is like a waterfall, waterfall. Running wild and free..." But others heard it didn't affect what we were doing. As the song ended, and the lyrics "It's coming like a flood..." came out, a river of water flowed out of the cloud and into the upside-down water tank, quickly filling it up. The singer looked back at me and gave a “Not bad" before going to rest with his friend.

"I'm going to hang out with my friends. It'll be a while before they empty this, why don't you go help somewhere else."

What could I say other than "Okay"?

I walked slowly down the gem, because it was hard to make out where the edges were, and I wanted to make sure my foot was planted on something solid. So, I caught my teacher saying, "She's not bad, right?" before I managed to climb down far enough that I couldn't hear those on the top anymore.

For the rest of the day, I wandered around to different areas. I used 'Herculean Strength' to carry away downed trees, grabbed lunch made from downed beasts, helped pass messages using 'Send Thoughts' because the cell tower was still down, and helped with the most minor cuts and abrasions people received during the day. My 'Mend’ spell wasn’t made to handle the major wounds but there were plenty of small cuts made from falls and claws. As a result, I was always moving. The battle on the outskirts was fiercer than I had imagined, and people kept flowing into the treatment area.

A senior looked at me as I worked on others. His face was twisted in pain and I glanced at the place his arm had been. A green band had been fastened to stem the flow of blood. But like many of the volunteers, I was helpless against serious wounds. A lady clad in leather was coolly looking around as her skin around a bite mark turned paler and paler. She was suffering from some type of poison. They were both waiting to see a doctor with more powerful healing spells. There just wasn’t that many so the wait was long.

After finishing helping those I could, I moved from area to area doing odd jobs. I realized that the students and teachers only made up a small fraction of people that had come here. A CEO from a company in Allentown had shown up with half a dozen employees and was working alongside a women dressed in rags, who said she was from Harrisburg. They came from all walks of life. Housewives, truck drivers, fast-food workers, and businessmen all came together and the only common denominator was they thought they could help in some way.

I made small talk with them as I went to recast the adobe huts I had made the day before. While they could last for a few more hours, it was better to get them taken care of before they vanished. Then I got there, the area was transformed and was now a hodge-podge of random buildings. There were teepees made of blue fire, globes of inky water, and a tree house mixed in with a variety of strange glowing objects. All I could think was, 'magic was weird' as I made my way to the huts I made.

The first thing I had to do was to get the people to briefly leave so I could re-cast. And for the most part, that wasn't an issue. Sometimes they were even empty, making it even easier. But other times, people were sleeping and I had to wake them beforehand. I made my progress slower, but they were understanding.

So when I got to the last hut, I wasn't expecting to find a man sitting inside. He wasn't sleeping. He just stared out of the doorway as if I didn't exist. My "excuse me, could you step out" and "Mister, I need to recast the spell. Could you step out?" were ignored as if he didn't even hear me.

I kept trying until a stranger finally said, "Little lass, he hasn't moved since he was put inside. Unless you get some people to pull him out, I don't think he'll be moving." The man looked middle-aged. His clothes were still torn and bloody but his skin underneath while not wounded had that white new skin look from magical healing.

I nodded to show I heard and said, "Thanks Mister, I'll inform my teacher and let them handle it. I don't want to make his situation any worse."

Because it was the last one, I decided to call it a day and went back to the tent area. Along the way I made sure to pass along what happened. Because it wasn’t as late, it became more obvious that not all the smaller tents were for sleeping. Some had a light source still lit and the entwined shadows danced across the thin fabric of the tents like erotic movies. I could hear grunts and moans coming from others. Miss Phillips wasn’t lying, and even though there was only about one woman for every ten guys here, that was only counting those that came to “help”. I had notice some of the women from the town had taken it upon themselves to personally “thank” those that came to defend or fix their homes. As I walked through the area I could see them going in or out of certain tents. It didn't effect me and I kept going until I got back to the schools area.

I picked a quiet tent and climbed in as silently as I could manage. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I realized that I didn't need to. There were two people in one sleeping bag. The man was laying on his back, and his arms were folded behind his head. He glanced over at me, a grin on his relaxed but strangely familiar face. I looked down at the round bump that kept rising and falling above his crotch then back up only to see him shoot me a wink. There was somebody hidden inside, giving him a blowjob.

He didn't seem to mind me watching, but I didn't want to just stare at a stranger getting head. I walked past him and picked a spot with a rolled up sleeping bag. There was a group in charge of sanitation, so I already knew that a rolled bag meant clean. I set it up and went to wipe down a little. By the time I finished, so did the man. A young man’s head popped out. I guessed he was around eighteen, but I didn’t get a good look before he kissed the man he just pleasured. Neither seemed to care about me and I watched as they kissed hungrily. It wasn’t my fault; I just wasn’t expecting it to be a man with another man and I couldn’t help taking another look.

I berated myself for gawking and took off my shoes before getting in. I was just getting comfortable when they came up for air and I finally realized why he looked so familiar. He was one of the guys that popped out of the ground in the first video I watched and briefly regretted his orientation because he had used a lot of powerful spells.

It wasn’t even that I wanted to sleep with him. But the yearning to be stronger, to become more powerful was always in the back of my mind. This world rewarded people with strength, but that wasn’t why I wanted it. Without true strength I felt insecure, like a fish on a chopping block and there was a cleaver hanging over my head, just waiting to fall. Being at ground zero and seeing the destroyed families with their meager belongings they managed to grab, the torn flesh of those defending the outskirts, and the dead gaze of those that lost their loved ones just reinforced that belief.

But the thought of gaining spells was a moot point because I was sure I was the wrong sex to get anything from him. The younger man finally noticed they weren’t alone, he glanced at me looking at them and quickly tuned his head to bury it into the older man’s chest. I looked away, yawned, stretched and was about to close my eyes to get some sleep.

It’s just that before I could there was a flash of light the lit up the tent followed by the ground beginning to shake. Screams of “Lurkers! There are lurkers,” began to fill the air.