Cat leaned against the trunk of the tree that they were sitting under and peered up at the branches, “You’re sure that she’s a fledgling? And that she’s alive?”

“I know what I saw,” Julia said, “Her and that thing, they got bound together, but she… She’s fine. People aren’t even supposed to come out of a Consumption in one piece; they definitely aren’t supposed to start breathing again. If she’s not a fledgling then I dunno what else she could possibly be.”

Image: Another shot of Julia and Cat. From this angle, the wreckage of the train can be seen behind them. Smoke billows into the air. Julia’s jacket is tied around her waist and Yuli, once again in the shape of a wolfhound, is resting next to her. End description.

“So we have another chance.”

“Yup. We’ll do better this time, okay Cat?”

Cat nodded, “You really think that was our guy, too?”

“The method checks out. It’s easier to dispose of bodies after a Consumption; it’d account for the lack of them in the other cases,” Julia sighed.

“You're not wrong about that.”

“Thanks for meeting us here, by the way. Me and Yuli wouldn’t have been able to survive the past eight hours without you.”




(07.22.20)