Epilogue

Epilogue 0.02

     Comma leans forward, clutching her chest, and vomits a steady stream of black sludge. The sludge spills out of her mouth like blood from a gaping wound. It forms a bubbling puddle on the ground. Comma swoons, and I catch her before she hits the ground. She coughs. Chokes. Gags. Spits. This goes on for some time.

     "You're alive," I say when it's over, a wave of relief washing over me. "How?"

     "Hell if I know." Comma groans and wipes her mouth on my sleeve.

     Once I'm certain she's regained enough strength to stand on her own, I crouch down next to the puddle. I prod the stuff with my finger. The consistency resembles gelatine. The stuff no longer glows. "I think you killed it."

     Comma smirks. "That'll teach 'em to mess with me." Her good mood, however, is short-lived. Her eyes widen, and she crams her fist into her pocket. Pulls out a device that's halfway between a pocket watch and a compass. Fiddles around with it for a while. "Em, you've screwed me over big time."

     "From where I was standing, it looked like I saved your life." A little gratitude would be nice, I think. It'snot like she would've done the same—she as good as left me for dead back there.

     "You ripped through," she says, inching towards me with her teeth bared. I back away instinctively. "As in to another world. You've thrown us completely off-path, is what you've done."

     "Off-path? What the hell are you...?" Something's wrong. I feel a tugging in my gut, a tenseness in my throat. "I think I need to sit down." I reach into my pocket. Pull out my phone. Please... The screen flickers on.

     "The high's wearing off," says Comma.

     "What?" My voice cracks.

     "It's like instinct. When it happens. The End, I mean. Everything goes numb. Lets you focus. Useful for staying alive. But now that it's gone, you're starting to feel things again. Right about now, you're realizing that everyone you ever knew or cared about is either stranded in the nothing or dead."

     I choke on my own breath. Feel a burning behind my eyes. My hands tremble, distorting the image on the screen. Comma leans over my shoulder and glances at the phone. "Who are they?"

     "Colby," I force out. "And... Olivia."

     "Family?"

     I nod. "Not blood. But family."

     "Yeah? Well tough luck." Comma snatches the phone out of my hands and throws it on the ground.

     "What the hell!" I grab the phone. Damn it! The screen's cracked. Heart pounding, I power it on. I fall back in the snow with a sigh. It still works.

     "You got us into this mess," she says, poking me in the chest. "You're going to get us out."

     Me? Good luck. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

     "By ripping through." Comma pockets the clockwork device and unclips a far more advanced-looking gadget from her belt. It's a bit much if you ask me. A physical manifestation of techno-babble. A techno-bauble. It beeps and whirs as she waves it around. Red and blue lights flash on the screen. I can't make any sense of it.

     "What is that?"

     "Never you mind." Comma powers off the device and clips it back onto her belt. She points behind me. "That way. There's another rip, one that'll converge with the right path."

     "Another...?" I narrow my eyes. "Who are you, really?"

     "I'm Comma," she replies, adjusting her toque. "Let's get a move on."