Ever stumbled backward, pulling their arm from Tesla’s grip and falling to the ground. They continued to stare at the scene before them, which looked like something out of Steampunk Monthly. The buildings within eye shot had an industrial feel to them red brick walls with copper pipes snaking up them into the large smokestacks from which smoke slowly billowed up into the sky, obscuring airships that drifted lazily across the canvas of reds and oranges. They couldn’t tell if they were supposed to be houses or factories. Ever stared up at the scene completely dumbfounded, unable to truly comprehend it.

A hand waved in front of their face. “Hello, earth to Ever!?” 

Ever shook their head, squeezing their eyes shut as they tried to rationalize what they were seeing. “I’m dead. Yeah, that’s it.” They let out a hollow laugh. “I’m dead, that's the only explanation. This is hell. I’m in hell.” Ever opened their eyes, expecting to see the world on fire, but instead, it was the same scene as before. “This can’t be real.” Ever squeezed their eyes closed once more, shaking their head. “This isn’t real.” They said, trying to convince themselves of that face. Tesla reached down, grabbing them by the arm and pulling them to their foot before tossing them over her shoulder. Ever’s face collided with Tesla’s backside as she began to move back inside the house. Their head bounced against Tesla’s backside with each step. 

Tesla came to a stop, adjusting her grip on Ever’s legs as she spoke, “I, uh, I think I broke ‘er.”

“Set her down in the sitting room and then come finish making dinner.” A woman’s voice came from another room, sounding far more muffled as Ever continued to spiral.

“Ffffine.” Tesla didn’t sound too thrilled as she started moving once more. She turned walking slightly further before coming to a stop. Ever felt Tesla grip their midsection as she picked them up, tossing them from her shoulder. They watched as Tesla’s face came into view followed by the ceiling, and it all came to a sudden stop when they collided with the seat. 

“Ow...” Ever groaned as their head collided with a side table, and they looked up at the ceiling, the throbbing in their head having returned with a vengeance. They barely registered the sound of retreating footsteps. They stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of distant voices and the clatter of dishware. They laid in silence, blinking sluggishly as a face belonging to an older woman came into view. She stared down at them with a frown forming on her face. 

Ever blinked slowly. “Are you the devil?” 

The woman laughed. “I’ve been called that before,” She took a seat on the arm of the sofa. “But I’m not the actual devil, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

Ever turned their attention back to the ceiling, mumbling. “So, I’m not dead?” 

“No. You’re not.” The woman, who Ever was beginning to realize was actually Julia, stated matter-of-factly. They turned back to Julia as they began to wrap their mind around what was happening. 

“So, I’m alive?” Ever’s brows were furrowed in frustration as their mind struggled to overcome the disorientation that had taken root. 

Julia grabbed her wooden cane a little tighter as she said.  “Logically speaking, if you aren’t dead, then you ought to be alive.” She spoke somewhat on edge, as if she were uneasy with the current situation. 

Ever processed this information and spoke, choosing their words carefully. “So, this is really happening?” All they got in response was a nod, and they turned back to the ceiling as they muttered. “So I’m really in another world.” 

“Yes.” The response sounded frustrated and Ever could imagine she was getting tired of answering the same questions over and over. “If you understand the situation, then I’ll be heading back to the kitchen.” They listened to her retreating footsteps, and they were left alone with only their thoughts and the throbbing in their skull. 

Closing their eyes, Ever’s thoughts raced a mile a minute. ‘Understand the situation? I don’t understand jack shit. I mean, I’m in another world. A completely different world from the one I lived in before. Is it like a parallel world or an alternate dimension? Or is this another planet within the same universe?’ Ever reached up, running their hand over their face, letting out a frustrated sigh as they continued to think. ‘And why am I twenty-four again? Then there’s what happened to my arm and foot.’ 

They groaned as they pulled their hand from their face and stared up at the ceiling, looking for answers in the wooden paneling that they knew weren’t there. As they glared upwards, the sound of arguing and clanking could be heard in the distance.

Narrowing their eyes, Ever pushed themselves up and into a sitting position, turning so that they were sitting properly in the seat. The room was quaint with a couch to the right, a love seat to the left, and the armchair in which Ever sat. 

There was a brick fireplace, paintings of unfamiliar landscapes hung on the walls, and what looked to be windows were covered with curtains. 

The sounds Ever heard  coming from the kitchen, had come to a stop and were replaced with that of footsteps. They turned toward the doorway to see Julia standing there, she entered the room, followed by Jaxson and Tesla. They watched as the three took their seats, Jaxson and Tesla getting into a shoving match over the space on the love seat. 

Julia banged her cane against the arm of the couch, barking. “That’s enough out of you two.” She pulled the cane back. “It’s time we properly introduce ourselves.” She turned to Ever and spoke.“I’m the proprietor of this Boarding House. While you board here, you will refer to me as Matron Julia or ma'am, understand?” 

Ever swallowed. “What do you mean by ‘while you board here’?” 

Matron Julia locked eyes with them as she spoke. “It means exactly what it sounds like it means. Of course, you can choose to find someplace else to live, but without money or a job, I feel like you’re going to have a hard time finding a place willing to put you up.” They nodded in understanding causing Julia to smile.

“Alright, now Jaxson, why don’t you introduce yourself.” She said to Jaxson, who looked agitated as he turned to look at them. 

“Jaxson Colt. You can call me Jax if you want.” He said as he glared at them as if they had just insulted him. 

Ever nodded and turned to Tesla, who waved and said, somewhat less agitated. “I already introduced myself, but I guess I can do it again. The name’s Tesla Kol, I’m a pilot for Angel Falls A&E.” She smiled, but it seemed forced and Ever nodded, unsure of what to say now. 

“Why don’t you introduce yourself now?” Matron Julia said and Ever looked at the three people, taking a deep breath.

“My name is Everleigh Moore. I’d prefer it if you called me Ever and if you could use gender-neutral pronouns when talking about me, that would be great.” Ever ended up getting confused looks from the two people in front of them.

Jaxson looked at them like they had grown a second head. “Gender neutral, what now?” 

Ever swallowed and rubbed their hand over their leg. “Um...pronouns. Like they and them instead of him and her or she and he. I’d just really prefer it if you could do that.” They were quickly losing confidence and looked down at their legs, unsure of what to say now.

“We’ll respect your choice of pronouns. As long as you stay in this house, we will respect you. That is one of the rules.” Ever looked up at Matron Julia and watched as Jaxson and Tesla nodded in understanding. A silence fell over the group, which was broken when Matron Julia stood up and spoke. “I’m going to head in for the night. Tesla, you remember what your punishment is.” It was a statement and Ever watched as she walked out of the room, followed moments later by Jaxson, who gave Tesla a dirty look as he left. They watched as Tesla stood up and walked over to stand in front of them.

“Is there anything ya need?” Tesla asked, her voice tense, as if she would rather be saying and doing anything else. Ever thought for a while running their hand through their hair, their fingers getting caught in it as they pulled it down. 

They yanked their hand down, undoing the knot, and mumbled. “I guess I could use a bath.” 

Ever watched as Tesla let out a sigh and mumbled. “Fine.” Tesla leaned down, grabbing Ever roughly by the arm and pulling them to their foot. The walk to the bathroom wasn’t so much a walk as it was a struggle to stay upright and not trip. Eventually, they reached the bathroom and Tesla pulled them inside. Placing her hands on their side, Tesla set them on the toilet seat. Ever watched as she walked over to the bathtub, leaning into it before turning on the water. 

Tesla turned around, saying. “I’mma go get some fresh clothes.” And then she left, and Ever was left alone in the room with the running tub. They let out a sigh, gripping the edge of their shirt, they pulled it over their head and tossed it on the floor. The drifter sat on the toilet now in only a bra that no longer fit right and a pair of much too big shorts. The strap on their left shoulder was beginning to slide off, but Ever did nothing to stop it and instead looked around the room. The room, like many others, had an industrial feel to it with copper piping and brass hardware. The tub which looked to be made of brass was beginning to overflow. 

Ever watched as the water poured over the side, and a thought nagged at the back of their head. ‘I should probably stop the water.’ 

Before Ever could do anything to stop it, the door flew open and Tesla walked, returning with fresh linens. “I got the–” She stopped mid-sentence only to yell. “What the hell?!” 

Ever turned to look at Tesla and deadpanned. “The water is overflowing.”

“I can see that!” Tesla screeched as she tossed the clothes at Ever before lunging across the room to turn the faucet off. Ever watched as Tesla reached into the water and pulled out the plug. She turned to look at them and growled. “Why didn’t you do anything about it?!” Tesla followed Ever’s gaze to the stump where their right foot had been. “Oh, right.” Ever watched as Tesla plugged the tub and turned back to them, “Okay, so what do you need help with?” 

Ever felt their face heat up in embarrassment as they spoke. “Undressing for starters.” They felt like they should probably be a little embarrassed but with everything else going on Ever just couldn’t muster the energy. Tesla nodded, moving over to where Ever sat and reaching around their back to unclip their bra. She pulled the bra off, letting it fall to the ground silently before wrapping her arms around Ever’s body. She pulled them up off the seat and up against her chest. 

“Hold onto my neck.” Ever wrapped their arm around her neck, placing their chin on her shoulder. As Tesla began to push their pants down, Ever buried their face in the crook of her neck and threaded their fingers through her hair. The self-proclaimed pilot’s hair was softer than they had expected and, as they breathed, the smell of sweat and motor oil hit their nose. 

Ever got lost in the feeling of their chest pressed up against Tesla’s and their fingers threaded through their hair. ‘I haven’t been this close to a woman, or anyone really, in years. It feels...nice. Her hair is soft and–’ 

Ever was dragged from their thoughts by a soft laugh. “You havin’ fun there?” Ever stiffened at the words, suddenly realizing that they were now completely naked. 

They opened their mouth to reply that ‘no, they weren’t’ but their mind went blank and what ended up coming out was. “Your hair is soft.” 

Tesla laughed. “Thanks.” Ever felt their face heat up even more as they buried their face further into Tesla’s neck as she said. “I’mma move you into the tub, ‘kay?” Ever nodded into her shoulder as Tesla pulled them up so that their toes scraped against the floor as they were dragged toward the tub. She turned them around and placed them on the side of the tub before pulling away and leaning over to turn the faucet back on. 

Ever turned around, slipping their foot into the water and then slid into the tub. The bath water was warm as they sunk in up to their neck, allowing themselves to finally relax. They turned to look at Tesla, as she took off her coveralls, revealing a pair of grimy shorts, kicking them to the side of the room. She slipped her feet into the tub and reached over and grabbed a glass bottle that was simply labeled ‘soap’. Using her teeth, she pulled the cork from the bottle, spitting it into her hand before placing it on the edge of the tub.