The trio crouched low and set off in a new direction, hoping to avoid any further violence.  It didn’t work.  Within minutes, they encountered a mob of pod-Cades hurling rocks at a pair of guards.  The guards cowered behind plexiglass shields as stones pelted them from all directions.  A few minutes after that, the girls stepped into a clearing and saw twelve guards, clad in pristine cerulean and steel, executing a group of pod-Cade prisoners.  The guards’ swords sliced easily through rows of Cades, releasing clean bursts of milk-white steam with each cut.  The girls retreated before the guards caught sight of them.  Pox Head led them past Cades dismantling guards’ armor, guards bashing Cades to the ground with their shields, and guards and Cades sinking down to drown in the swamp together.

            Melisma knew that none of it was real.  She knew that these pod-Cades hadn’t even existed an hour ago.  But she felt queasy all the same.  It hurt to see her brother getting sliced apart like this, like every blow was actually directed at her.  She wished that her quiver held endless arrows, so she could put all the guards in their places.

            “It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”  Pox Head sighed as he crept along in front of her.

            “Why are you fighting?” Melisma asked.  “Why are those guards trying to arrest you?”

            “Because I’m an ugly freak.”

            “Don't say that!” Melisma cried.

            “Because I know I’m an ugly freak, and I’m not ashamed of it.  They want me to be ashamed.”

            “You’re not a freak!” Melisma repeated.

            Pox Head wheeled around.  “Listen.  I know you’re trying to be nice, Melisma.  But stop talking.  You sound just like them.  I am a freak.  I’m hideous.”

            Melisma’s eyes flashed.  An indignant rebuttal formed on her tongue, but she choked it back.  It was awful to hear hear Pox Head attacking himself even as the guards and pod-Cades were attacking each other.  And the dismissive way he shut her up made her furious.

            When Pox Head saw that Melisma had given up on arguing, he grunted and kept moving.

            Lyddie whispered as she clung to his back, “Admit it, Melisma: he’s at least a little hideous.”

            Melisma seethed at his back as they tromped along in silence.  After a few minutes, he started talking amiably.  “You know, I realized something, when I woke up in this… wherever we are.  I think Cade’s problem, the Cade from before, was that he avoided reality.  He was scrawny.  He was ugly.  He was awkward.  But he listened to all the people who lied and told him he might not be, that it would all just go away one day, by itself.  Or maybe he wanted to pretend he could go back to how life was before everything started.”

            “Before what started?” Lyddie asked.

            Pox Head shrugged.  He swept his hand from his pimply face to the world around him.  “This,” he said.  “Everything.  Life, I guess.”

            He took another step.  “But then I woke up here.  And I decided, I can’t do that anymore.  I’ve gotta live in the now.  And this is me right now, love it or leave it.”  He popped a zit on his nose for emphasis, releasing a glob custard-yellow pus onto his fingertips.  He took a moment to inspect his handiwork, then smeared his hand across his shirt.  “Nobody else has the guts to face the facts.  So, they want to destroy me for trying.”

            “That’s awful,” Melisma said.  Accepting reality seemed like a healthy thing to do in principle, but his reality seemed so grotesque.  Was there really nothing better?

            “It is awful,” Pox Head said.  “And that’s why I need to destroy them first.”

***

The shouting and clanging faded in the distance as the marsh gave way to scrub grass.  Melisma still had no clue where they were, but at least it was easier to walk.

            “We’re almost to my camp,” Pox Head said.  “Nobody knows about this place except me, and there’s nothing important out here.  No trees, no vines, nothing the guards would want to claim.  We should be safe.”

            They walked over a shallow hill, and the camp came into view.  It was nothing fancy – just a few tents, a folding chair, and a small, portable refrigerator.  After their endless trek through the mud, it looked like paradise.  Lyddie slid from Pox Head’s back and jogged eagerly towards the camp. 

            “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Pox Head said as they stepped into the camp’s center, “do you remember how to get back to the trees you came from?  The three of you all showed up together, so the Doria Tree must be planted next to yours.  That’s probably our best bet to get her back.”

            Melisma’s blood ran a little colder.  “Doria’s not from a tree,” she said.  “We should look for her where we left her.”

            Pox Head nodded impatiently.  “I know, I know.  That Doria is there.  But that black cloud around her looked really ugly, and she didn’t have a gas mask.  Wouldn’t it be easier to just get a new sister from the tree she came from?  I haven’t been able to find it, but now that you’re here…”

            “She’s not from a tree!  None of us are!”  Melisma shouted.  “We came from outside, to save you!”  She punched Pox Head in the chest.  “We were worried sick last night when you disappeared, so we drove to the insurance company and talked to Mr. Elmer –”

            Pox Head’s eyes widened in horrified understanding.  “You mean that was the real Doria back there?”

            Melisma nodded.

            “And you’re the real Melisma and Lyddie?”

            “Yup.”

            He groaned as the weight of the situation hit him.  “Okay, we definitely need to go back for her.  If she’s still alive, we’ll bring her here to recover.  Just let me gear up quickly.  Why didn’t you say something?”

            Pox Head peeled back the flap to his tent.  Then he yelped and jumped back with a panicked expression.  A guard emerged from within, wearing the same blue leather uniform as the other guards.  Except his was fancier, with  gold plating instead of silver.  He advanced on Pox Head with his saber drawn.  Five other guards in silver and blue stepped from their hiding places around the campsite.

            The first guard removed the blue and gold disc of his helmet and cradled it in his arm.  He pressed his saber against Pox Head’s chest.  Pox Head glared and gnashed his teeth, but he made no attempt to fight or flee.

            “Don’t worry, criminal,” the first guard said.  “If the real Doria is out there somewhere, my team will find her.  I’ll alert my lieutenants immediately.  But first, you’ll have to come with me.  You’ve made Father very upset.”

            “Melisma, what’s going on?” Lyddie whispered, cowering behind her sister.

            “I wish I knew, Lyddie,” Melisma whispered back.

            The guard turned and flashed the girls a reassuring smile.  They stared into the brown eyes of a handsome, acne-free, peach fuzz-fresh Cadence Sullivan.

            As soon as the guard Cadence turned his head, Pox Head seized his opportunity.  He dropped to the ground and rolled.  The guard whipped around and thrust his saber into the dirt where Pox Head had just been lying.  Before he could stab a second time, Pox Head sprang to his feet and sprinted off across the grass.

            “Hang on, Melisma and Lyddie!” he shouted.  “I’ll be back with reinforcements!  You fight those guys off, then we can go find Doria!”

            Gold-armored Cade growled in frustration and raced off in pursuit.

            The remaining five guards closed in around the girls.  One of them raised a sword.

            "Melisma, Mixolydia," he said, "for your own safety, you should come with us. Until we've resolved the situation outside the gates, please consider yourselves the honored guests of His Majesty."