Page 45 of Invasion of Sorority Z

I scoff. “You’re lucky you said that so quickly, I almost smacked you with the brush.”

The real questions start to flow, and for a while, it feels as if I’ve always had a brother.

18

Indigo: Deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers. A source of indigo dye.

Stevie

Bright and Early the Next Morning

“You really aren’t scared at all?”

We parked the small traveler ship just a few minutes ago, finding a clearing amongst the abandoned buildings of the nearby town we decided to land in. There’s a grocery storeanda bookstore here, so I’m really hopeful that we’ll find what we’re looking for.

It’s pretty surreal seeing more than just the sorority property. The city is… I guess what I would have pictured. A lot like post-apocalyptic movies depict dying cities, but possibly cleaner. There aren’t a million piles of corpses lying around—though there are some. Also, the buildings aren’t crumbling or overgrown with weeds or invasive plants. It’s mostly dusty and broken in appearance.

My fear would be much more potent if I didn’t have Marrec at my side. For sure, I’m a bit on edge. I mean, I’m walking around town where freakingzombiesexist.But, I have a big alien warrior holding my hand, ready to take out any possible threats.

“Of the undead?” Marrec looks confused. “They are very weak opponents. Of course they do not frighten me.”

“But they can pop up out of nowhere,” I argue. “Like a jump-scare.”

“What is this?”

“It’s when something is only scary because it catches you by surprise.”

“Why would a surprise provoke fear?”

“Ugh,” I grumble, but still feel a smile on my face. “I guess it’s hard to explain. But sometimes when you don’t see something coming, and it pops up, it makes you flinch. Maybe you aren’t terrified, but for that split second, your body is ready to bolt. I don’t know the science behind it. I’m not really a horror movie girl. Anna might know.”

Marrec nods. “Perhaps one of your books will know.”

I snort. “I’m not really a non-fiction reader.”

He gives me another confused look.

“I like to read about things that aren’t real or never really happened. It’s called fiction.”

His eyebrows draw down. “What kind of stories are not true?”

I shrug. “People are creative. We craft stories inside of our minds and write them down. Love stories about people we make up, fantasy stories about creatures we think up… it’s just for fun. You don’t have fiction on Aprix, right?” I’d assumed as much before, but I’d like to be sure.

“Any stories in our books are tales of our people’s past. We have books of journeys, war, and kingdoms. We have books of knowledge for our young to learn from. I do not know of any story books filled with dreams.”

I don’t correct Marrec on his use of the word dreams. I’m not sure I could explain the difference between dreams and imagination if I tried. Especially since the two can and do overlap for many people.

“Well, we’ll have to bring some. Maybe your people will like them?”

“Terum believes we should bring learning books,” he tells me.

“Oh,” I say, kind of bummed. “That makes sense. Some of the knowledge will be more useful than other bits of it.”

“We will tell Terum of the options,” Marrec says. “He may choose what to bring to our public. You and I will bring your dream books separately. This way you do not have to share them.”

“Really?” I croak, trying not to sound ridiculously emotional over some damn books. “We can bring books for me?”

“As many as you like, my little blossom.”

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