The air warped around them, contorting their bodies into impossible shapes. Their eyes squeezed shut, fighting back the nausea rising in their throats. They continued twisting as the pungent odor of horse manure drifted into their nostrils, churning their insides further. Bright light invaded their eyelids as the turning slowed down. A soft popping sound was made right before they landed with a heavy thump onto a soft patch of grass.

The small, brunette woman looked up, mouth in a grimace, as she growled to her companion, “We better be home this time or your arse will get to know my foot very well.” Stretching upwards, she arched her back, shook out her legs and glared grey eyes at the man next to her.

The man looked down, panting heavily, and smiled, “Why don’t you take a look around and see?” She shot him a scowl but did as he said. A mass of farmland surrounded them, fields full of growing wheat that glinted gold in the noonday sun. A blue sky capped the ground with only a few brave clouds sailing its surface. A bright red barn topped a faraway hill, a few horses milling around it. But the petite woman only had eyes for the three creatures in front of her.

“What the-,” she sputtered, too astonished to finish her sentence. “Are they…they’re…”

“Cooking, yes; or rather, grilling I should say,” the man was surprised, but after seeing thousands of dimensions in his life, things like barbequing cows didn’t quite affect him much anymore.
“I thought you said we’d be home this time, Jon.” the woman hissed, shooting grey daggers at him. They’d been at this for three years now and had yet to return to earth - or a normal earth at that – and she was beginning to think that they’d never return.

“I didn’t say we’d get back, I said I hope we get back,” Jon calmly rebutted. Having no real need to return to earth, he wasn’t all that bothered by their lack of success. But the woman was obsessed with returning to her home, so he’d continue trying if only to make her happy.

“Yeah, well, let’s just get the hell outta here. Those bacon machines are starting to freak me out,” Grumbling, she held out her hand for him to hold.
Jon looked at her outstretched hand, thinking back to when he’d first met Adina. She’d seemed so lonely, so lost, that he’d actually considered staying. Staying to talk to her, to ask her why she looked so broken. Staying to try and see what her smile would look like. But he knew it was impossible, and that staying would be a death sentence for a being like him. So, he’d walked away, already forgetting the petite woman.
He didn’t know that she’d seen him too and had wondered why he looked so peaceful, so at one with the world. She wanted that peace, that tranquility, that had eluded her for so long. That was why he’d never thought that she’d follow him; that she’d walk up behind him, intending to ask his name, and be sucked along with him on his way to the next world. “What are you waiting for?”
He focused back on the present, to see Adina standing impatiently before him, so different from the sad woman he’d seen on the street. No trace of that weak woman was left in her stony gaze. “Sorry,” He mumbled, having no intention of telling her his thoughts, lest she start mocking him. “Let’s go.”
He grabbed her hand, focused what remained of his energy and sought the nearest pathway. A blinding flash of light followed their departure, leaving the three cows to stare after it in confusion, blinking against the brightness.
Once again the world crumbled around them, their hands grasped in a tight hold. The smell of rotting corpses and dead skunk infiltrated their nostrils, as their stomachs tightened painfully. When they landed, the stench almost overwhelmed them.
Gagging, Adina gasped, “Where did you drag us this time?” She staggered to her knees, trying to breathe without smelling. Jon didn’t answer; too busy staring at the world around them. A garbage pile was the first thing that came to his mind as he gazed at the mountains of white around him. No… not mountains of white. Bones.
“What?”
He looked down at her questioning gaze, unaware that he’d spoken out loud. “The piles all around us are bones,” He clarified. She raised her head and took a quick glance around. Seeing that he was right, she nodded, unperturbed.
“You neglected to mention the fact that the sky is red.” She stated, almost absently. He wondered at her tone. Grilling cows flabbergasted her and yet a graveyard world with a bleeding sky was normal? Although, he supposed that was to be expected considering the fact that most of the world’s they’d been to were horrific; whereas something as normal as cooking would be seen as strange.

“Ready to leave?” Adina questioned, looking at him expectantly.

“No, my energy levels are too low right now; we’ll have to wait a bit”

She sighed; of course they couldn’t have run out on the cow world, where they wouldn’t have to worry about whatever left all of those bones here. Speaking of which, “Change back into your normal form, I don’t want to get caught by whatever lives here with only your wimpy human butt to protect me.”

He smiled at her not-so-subtle way of caring about him – it was difficult to stay in human form for long- and started to morph. His face rippled, melting away to reveal the scaled skin beneath. His spine stretched, spikes ripping out of his back. Long, calloused fingers turned into deadly, black claws while his eyes turned a bright orange. Sharp fangs replaced small incisors. His leg scales reflected the redness of the sky, casting Adina in a musky glow. The once-man became a red monster of nightmares.

Adina smiled at her friend, glad that he was able to relax, “Finally! It always takes forever for you to change!”

Jon grinned back at the woman, reveling in his freedom, “It only takes two minutes, you’re just impatient.”

“I wouldn’t have to be impatient if you learned how to move your scaly ass” Still smiling at each other, they looked around for a somewhat decent place to rest for the night.

They eventually found a cave of sorts formed by collapsing bones and decided to make camp. As they sat down, Adina thought wistfully of earth and all of the wonderful food that frequented that dimension. Not having to take care of bodily functions might have been a blessing brought on by the dimension traveling, but Adina would have killed for a grilled cheese. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d tasted anything besides blood or dirt. Realizing that she was depressing herself, Adina looked around for something to do and her gaze fell upon Jon. Deciding that annoying her companion would be a fun distraction she grinned, “Jon, doya wanna play a game?”

He looked at her with more than a touch of apprehension, “You’re using that tone again.”

“What tone?” she sang.

“Don’t play dumb,” he warned, wishing she would just get this over with. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not playing- She broke off with a rush of air, a long spike driven through her chest. She looked down at it, a surprised “oh” on her face. Jon thought it would have been funny under different circumstances.

“No” He gasped.

Jon jumped to his feet, claws elongating. His eyes deepened in color, almost turning as red as his body. He sprang, arm ready to smash the creature behind Adina. The monster, sensing his impending attack, dragged her in front of it as a shield to ward off the blow. Jon, seeing what the creature was doing, quickly twisted his torso, barely missing Adina’s cheek, landed in an undignified heap. “Jon….” The whispered words were forced out of her mouth; she was scared for him despite the hole in her chest. His eyes sought hers and, seeing the life fighting in them, he drove towards his feet into a crouch, ready to rip the entrails out of the creature before him.

Said creature was currently staring down at the meal in his hands, having forgotten about the little red man who’d swiped at him. His grotesque body was a mass of pus, tentacles and what appeared to be large tumors. His hands ended in large spikes, one of which Adina was currently attached to. His blank eyes were looking down at her in hunger.

Jon ran towards the monster, using its diverted attention to his benefit as he extended his claws once more. The creature turned around, surprised that the tiny red thing was still trying to fight, and swung its prey back into “shield” position. Jon, knowing it would do this, ducked down underneath his dying partner and brought his claws up to impale the tentacle monstrosity.

The creature made a gurgling sound, attempted hit Jon with his remaining hand and missed. It stumbled back, tentacles waving as if in final defiance and fell to the bone littered ground.

“Adina!” Jon screamed, seeing her fall from the monster’s grip as it collapsed. He rushed to her side, terrified that he’d find her already gone. “Adina!”

He pulled her close to him, sobbing, “Adina! Please. Please. Don’t, you can’t. Please!”

A shaky hand hit his chest, “Idiot. No need to yell, I’m right here.” She laughed weakly.

He stared down at her, simply glad that she was still alive. “You… I’m sorry…” He managed to gasp. She continued to smile up at him. “I…I…” He shook his head, clearing it somewhat. “I won’t let you die.”

“Hn.” Was all she managed to get out, although he assumed that she was swearing at him for trying to play the hero.

“I won’t. I swear, I…” He knew. He knew how to save her. But he also knew that she wouldn’t like it. He looked down at the dying woman in his arms and hesitantly said, “I can save you.”

She looked up at him, disbelief clouding her features.

“I can save you, but I need to know if you’re okay with the consequences.”

Disbelief turned into confusion.

“I can change you. To become like me. The change will draw the energies surrounding us into your body, it’ll revitalize you. You’ll live. But….” He trailed off, staring at her eyes, awaiting her reaction.

Adina gazed up at him, mind working. She’d live but…she’d become like him. No longer human. She could go back to Earth but she’d never be like them. She’d never be able to have a life, never know what it would be like to get old, never know what her kids would feel like in her arms. But she’d live. She’d be with Jon. Jon…she’d miss him if she died. Terribly. Looking up into orange eyes she made her decision.

She nodded.

He stared down at her in slight shock. He knew what she was giving up. A life, a home, a family; and while he’d always stay by her side, he would never be able to love her like she deserved, like her husband could. But… he did care for her, and while it would never be love, it was something. And he was selfish. His life had been so empty before her, always wandering, never creating a lasting connection. And it was that selfishness that drove him to his decision.

He smiled.

“Alright.”

***


They landed once again, this time on a hard surface. Shaking the dizziness off, they released each other’s hands. While they didn’t necessarily need to hold on anymore, it was an old comfort.
Looking around, they realized that they were in an abandoned parking lot. They could see a school down the street, students leaving for the day, possibilities in their eyes. Farther away they saw a town, people moving about their day, living their ordinary lives. The woman looked up at the man, a question in her eyes, “Do you think?”

He glanced down at her and then back up at their surroundings, at the people milling about. “We could walk around and find out.”

“Yeah,” she gazed at the students, a look of forgotten longing gracing her features. She’d waited to come here for four years, traveled hundreds of places to get to this small little planet. She could try to make a living here. Try to find people to love her, to be with. “But, I think I’d rather move on.”

He grinned down at her and held out his hand. She grasped it, her eyes flashing to a bright purple before settling back into their usual grey. Smiling back up at him she focused her energy, found a pathway and took them away.