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the thick soup. “Either desert him to this endless darkness or take him home and he will either live or die, but at least he’ll be home again. Think of his family. This would mean tremendous closure for them.”
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    Storey opened her mouth to speak, but a weird noise sounded.
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    What the hell was that?
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    ***
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    A heavy droning noise, one Eric had initially taken to be a part of this strange space, increased like an amplifier steadily turning higher and higher.
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    â€œStorey, what is that?” He had to yell over the noise.
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    Then the noise cut off.
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    The look on Storey’s face was…stunned. Yet…preoccupied?
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    â€œStorey?” What’s wrong?” No answer. Eric leaned in. Her gaze was intent, but focused inward. She had to be talking to the stylus. He’d seen that same look before. A part of him was jealous. To have that kind of connection – special.
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    Although, from looking at the contortions in Storey’s face right now, he wasn’t sure the process was particularly comfortable. He reached out and stroked her shoulders and upper arms. “Storey, are you okay?”
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    He didn’t expect an answer. In fact the air was so thick and dense, he had to wonder if there wasn’t something else going on. He kept glancing at Dillon to see if he’d been affected by either the noise or the weird atmosphere, but Dillon just swayed in place.
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    Paxton’s brother. After all this time. How could they help him? It would mean so much to Paxton.
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    With another helpless glance at Storey, Eric lifted his arm and sent a message to Paxton, letting him know what he’d found. The old tech communication system was one of the boosts Paxton had added to his codex – Toranese code. Awkward, but functional.
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    The answer was immediate.
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    Eric gave a short laugh as he read it off. “ Not possible .” He stared at Dillon for a long moment, realizing what a miracle it was that he should even be alive after all this time. It was as if time had stopped. So not possible. Yet the proof stood before him.
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    He painstakingly sent another message explaining that Dillon hadn’t aged much in appearance, but appeared to exist in a semi-asleep state. Although capable of talking, he was confused. Writing on the codex was a slow and tedious process, but Eric did his best.
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    He added at the end that he didn’t think Dillon could survive a return to any normal dimension.
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    Paxton replied, saying he’d confer with his stylus. Maybe they could come up with answers.
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    And that’s when Eric remembered the big broken stylus he’d brought with him. He reached for it. As his fingers touched it, he realized the stylus was vibrating. He pulled it out to rest on his hand. The vibration pulsed so strongly the stylus physically rocked.
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    Damaged maybe. Dead…nope. It was foreign in a way. He hadn’t had much to do with the styluses and this was the only one he’d touched that didn’t burn him. Although there was a warning heat, it wasn’t enough to force him to put it away. “Still trying to send out a warning aren’t you? But you’re not strong enough. What was I thinking in bringing you? How much help can you be in this state?”
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    â€œB…igg…er, tha…n you—”
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    Eric stared as Storey tried to speak again, but the words wouldn’t come. “Storey?”
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    But she’d gone quiet again.
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    Too quiet. He stared into her eyes. All he saw was a reflection of the same look…from Dillon’s eyes.
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S torey reeled under an onslaught of emotion and sound. It pounded at her from all sides. At first she’d been too slammed to understand. Then a pattern had formed in her mind. It wasn’t just one external voice, it was two, with several conversations going on at once. She’d heard her