The milkweed plants, scrub grass and elderly cars of the empty lot are quiet and still. Somewhere, in the distance, a cicada chirps. Behind them, on the roof, three time travelers are freaking out about a missing friend. Down here, the three time travelers, their friend, and a temporal duplicate are feeling a little janky and on edge.

"Aren't there naughts back here?" asks Four. "This is almost where you met me. Meet me. I've been doing this for months and I still can't figure out the danged tenses."

"Not yet," says Kendra. "We have a few minutes before they show up."



"Did you see their portal?" asks Amie. "When they arrive?"

"Nah, they just lurched out of the darkness in a grotesque approximation of human movement," says Emmie. "You know, like they do." Bina can tell he's trying for a joke, but it falls flat on it's face. He keeps clenching and unclenching his free hand, the other one clutching the duffel.

"What do we do now?" asks Amie.