MEMELAND

The walk back to the palace was quieter than usual.

Alice was humming something.

Raj wished she would stop.

The Queen was somehow capable of singing off-key while humming.

It was a talent.

A terrible talent.

The refugee center slowly disappeared behind them as they moved through the streets of Asphyxia.

Merchants shouted.

Children played.

Workers hauled supplies.

Life continued.

At least on the surface.

Raj adjusted the stack of documents under her arm.

Then sighed.

A long sigh.

The kind that came from deep within the soul.

Alice glanced over.

"What's wrong?"

Raj stared ahead.

"I miss my old schedule."

Alice blinked.

"Your old schedule?"

"Wake up."

"Work for you."

"Leave."

"Work at the restaurant."

"Go home."

"Sleep."

Alice nodded.

"That does sound nice."

"It was nice."

Then Alice casually added:

"Oh yeah."

Raj immediately became suspicious.

"Oh no."

"I already told your boss."

Raj froze.

"...What."

Alice smiled.

"The restaurant guy."

Raj's eye twitched.

"What did you tell him?"

"That you'll be working for me for a while."

Silence.

Several citizens walking nearby suddenly increased their pace.

Years of survival instinct told them danger was approaching.

Raj stopped walking.

Very slowly turned toward Alice.

And for the first time that day—

Actually cursed.

Loudly.

Very loudly.

A nearby bird immediately abandoned its nest.

A merchant dropped an apple.

Somebody's dog whimpered.

Alice blinked.

"Huh."

"I forgot you knew those words."

Raj continued.

The vocabulary became increasingly creative.

Alice even learned a few new ones.

Eventually Raj ran out of insults.

Mostly because she needed oxygen.

The Queen thoughtfully nodded.

"Feel better?"

"No."

"You sound better."

"No."

Alice smiled.

"Good talk."

Raj considered murder.

Briefly.

Then dismissed the idea.

The paperwork would become worse.

Eventually they resumed walking.

Raj's mood remained terrible.

But strangely lighter.

Sometimes yelling helped.

A little.

As they approached the palace gates, a soldier hurried toward them.

The same messenger from earlier.

"Your Majesty."

"Miss Raj."

The playful atmosphere vanished.

Alice immediately became serious.

The messenger handed over another report.

Raj opened it.

Read.

Then slowed her pace.

Alice noticed.

"What is it?"

Raj flipped to the second page.

The recovery team had included additional details.

The collapse site had not only shown signs of movement.

They had found footprints.

Broken equipment.

Empty food containers.

And several unconscious workers.

Alice frowned.

"Workers?"

Raj nodded.

The report continued.

Apparently the workers had been discovered tied upside down from a maintenance pipe.

Nobody knew how they got there.

Nobody knew why.

One worker reportedly woke up screaming about a shirtless man.

Another claimed he had been attacked by a sewer monster.

A third claimed both stories were true.

Alice rubbed her forehead.

"That sounds familiar."

Raj was already thinking the same thing.

The descriptions were ridiculous.

Which somehow made them more believable.

At least when Andre was involved.

The report wasn't finished.

Near the bottom was a final statement.

Raj read it twice.

Then handed the paper to Alice.

The Queen read silently.

Her eyebrow slowly rose.

The sentence was simple.

"One worker reports hearing a man repeatedly shouting that he was being hunted by 'sexy alligator women.'"

The two women stared at the report.

Then at each other.

Silence.

Alice slowly folded the paper.

"He's alive."

Raj nodded.

"He's definitely alive."

Neither had any doubt anymore.

Somewhere beneath Asphyxia—

Andre was still causing problems.