Ever jolted awake, their head throbbing with a dull ache as they pried their eyes open to see a wooden ceiling adorned with model airplanes and posters. They blinked a few times, allowing their eyes to adjust to the low light of the room before turning their head to the side to see a bedside table with a lit gas lantern and a stack of books, before noticing the blanket that had been placed over their body.

Ever slowly pushed themselves up only to realize that they were missing something, something that they were sure they’d previously had. As they turned to look at where their arm should have been, Ever's heartbeat quickened as panic quickly made itself known. Reaching up, they grabbed at the sleeve of their jacket, only to find nothing. Their arm was gone, no blood or pain, it had just up and vanished from their shoulder, leaving behind a well-healed stump. ‘Fuck.’ Their breath caught in their throat as the panic continued to build in their chest. ‘Where’d my arm go? It was here yesterday, wasn’t it?’ They reached up, shakily running their fingers over where their arm had once connected with their shoulder. 

Ever ripped the blanket off their body, lurching forward, toppling off the bed and onto the ground as panic sent adrenaline pumping through their veins. They tried to push themselves to their feet only to fall backward and that’s when they noticed their foot, or rather the lack of. Where their right foot should have been, there was nothing but empty space. 

Ever reached forward and ran their trembling fingers over the stump, painless, as if they’d had it for years. “M-my f-foot? Wh-what happened to my foot?” They reached up, grazing their still shaking fingers over their shoulder, as they felt horror grip their mind. “M-my arm? Wh-where’s my arm?” Tears formed in their eyes as the gravity of the situation dawned on them. They gripped their shoulder and sobbed. “No!” A sob forced itself out of their chest and from their lips as they dug their nails into their skin and took a stuttering breath.

Just as panic had nearly overtaken Ever’s mind, the sound of a door squeaking filled the nearly silent space, followed by a female voice saying. “I swear, Jax! I’m tellin’ the truth!”

Ever looked up to see a girl standing in the doorway holding a mason jar and rag in one hand. She had her head turned away when another voice with a skeptical tone spoke. “So, she just fell from the sky? Out of nowhere?” It was male.

The girl let out a sigh in obvious exasperation. “Yeah, that’s what I just said.” Whatever panic Ever had been feeling quickly began to fade as they listened to the conversation going on in front of them.

The male voice, Jax, let out a sigh of its own, “Julia won’t be happy you brought an unregistered guest into the house, Tesla.” 

Ever watched as the girl, Tesla, turned around, placing a hand on her hip. “Well, what was I supposed to do with ‘er? Leave ‘er at work?”

There was a silence, which was followed by the obviously frustrated Jax groaning. “Fine. Just know that I won’t help with whatever punishment you get saddled with.”

Tesla scoffed. “I wasn’t expectin’ you to.” Ever watched as she turned around, shaking their head as she closed the door behind her. Tesla let out a shocked gasp as her eyes fell on Ever. “Oh! You’re awake…” Tesla nodded before adding a contemplative. “Good.”

Ever watched as she placed the jar and rag on a dresser and quickly made her way to their side. “I’m glad you're awake.” Ever watched in silence as Tesla kneeled down and took their wrist in her hand, pulling their arm over her shoulder and Ever to their feet in one swift movement. “You took one hell of a high dive. What were you thinkin-”

Ever cut Tesla off mid-sentence. “My arm.”

Tesla looked at them, “I’m sorry, do you have a thing about touchin’?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and smirked. “Jax’s got one a those, he-”

Ever cut her off again, shaking their head, mumbling. “No, my arm, it’s gone.”

Tesla raised a brow and hesitantly drawled. “Well, yeah, a’course it’s gone. I mean, from the looks of it, s’been gone for a long while. Same with your foot.” The confused person shook their head and pulled their hand from Tesla’s stumbling backward somehow managing to catch themselves on a desk.

“No,” Ever yelled, screwing their eyes shut as they forced words from their throat. “You don’t understand! I had them before! They weren’t gone before! They were here before I…” Ever felt the panic that had begun to fade start to rise up again as they reached and dug their nails into the skin on their stump, managing to draw blood. The pain caused them to wince, “They shouldn’t be gone. Why are they gone?”

They pulled at the stump and let out a stuttering breath which was about to turn into a sob when they noticed something out of the corner of their eye. Ever pulled their fingers from what was left of their arm and turned toward the mirror that had been propped up on the desk. They leaned heavily against it as they gazed at the reflection in the mirror.

There, staring back at Ever, wasn’t the person they remembered. Instead, their reflection had copper hair that fell loosely around their shoulders, framing a round honey-colored face. Ever gazed into the amber-flecked green eyes that were filled with confusion and fear. They reached out, touching the mirror, smearing blood where their fingers touched. 

This wasn’t the Ever they remembered being before they had awoken. This was the Ever they had long forgotten, the stressed twenty-nine-year-old person staring out at them was now a scared twenty-four-year-old one. 

Ever ran their fingers over their cheeks. “What the hell is going on…” They stared at their reflection for what seemed like an eternity as they pulled at their cheek and mumbled to themselves. “This can’t be happening.” Ever turned around, sliding down to the ground, they ran their hand through their hair. “There’s no way this can actually be happening. This is impossible. Completely and utterly…”

Panic began to wrap itself tighter around Ever’s lungs, their heart rate skyrocketing as their breath began to come in irregular gasps. Their heart felt as if someone had grabbed it and was slowly tightening its grip with each beat. Ever struggled to breathe and panted. “I-I can’t b-breathe. I n-need…” They took a deep breath and clutched their chest as they sputtered. “T-to breathe.”

A hand on Ever’s shoulder caused them to look up to see Tesla, who they had almost forgotten was in the room, squatting down and looking at them with concern. She spoke softly. “Hey, take deep breaths.”

Ever glared at the person in front of them and let out a stuttering breath. “I-I’m t-trying.”

Tesla squeezed Ever’s shoulder in comfort as she assured them. “And you’re doing a great job.”

Ever glared up at Tesla quipping. “L-liar.”

Tesla smirked, giving Ever what they guessed was supposed to be a reassuring squeeze. “Not true. You really are doing great at calming down. Can you breathe yet?” Ever opened their mouth to protest when they realized that, yes, they could breathe, just barely so.

Ever nodded, letting out a hesitant. “Yes.” Tesla smiled and exclaimed. “Good. Then let’s get you back in bed, okay?” Ever watched as she took their hand, pulling them to their foot in a single fluid motion. Ever stumbled a few times on the short walk to the bed, eventually tumbling into the piece of furniture, bringing Tesla with them.

Laughter filled the room as Tesla pulled herself onto the bed. “Well, that’s one way of doing it!” Ever climbed up onto the bed and pulled their legs into a crisscross.

Tesla’s laughter had yet to die down as the person glared up at the girl, letting out an irritated grumble. “It wasn’t that funny.”

Tesla’s laughter died into a chuckle, and a stupid smile pulled at her lips. “You’re right, it wasn’t.”

Ever furrowed their brow as they stared at the still snickering Tesla. “Then why are you laughing?”

A bright smile broke out across Tesla’s face as she stated as if it should have been obvious. “Why not?” Ever could think of several reasons why not, but as they looked at the still grinning Tesla, they found their train of thought completely derailed. It was the first good look Ever had gotten of Tesla since they had calmed down, and truth be told, she was breathtakingly beautiful. 

She had golden brown skin that was smooth and clear, although it was smeared with what seemed like oil. Her hair reminded Ever of hydrangeas, a light purple that was shaved down to the skin on the sides. The hair on the top cascaded down the left side of her head in wavy locks to her ear. Her eyes were like twin pools of striking crystal blue water that seemed to get darker near her pupils. They shone with happiness and crinkled at the edges as she continued to smile. Her attire consisted of a dingy white tank-top that was covered in new and old stains in various places, which were tucked into a pair of coveralls, the arms having been tied around her waist.

Ever was snapped out of their trance when they noticed that Tesla’s mouth was moving. They tuned back into whatever conversation they had unknowingly been a part of. “…know what you were thinkin’. Going swimmin’ when you can’t even do a doggy-paddle.”

Ever swallowed, giving a half-hearted shrug. “Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking either.”

Tesla shook her head. “Well, anyway, I think introductions are in order.” She adjusted her position so that she was facing Ever. “The name’s Tesla Kol. I’m a pilot for Angel Falls Aeronautics and Engineering.”

Tesla stuck out her hand and Ever could only stare at it and think to themselves in silent wonder. ‘A pilot? Really? That’s the best you could come up with?’ They raised a skeptical brow up at Tesla as they gingerly took her hand, giving it a weak shake. “Everleigh Moore. I work in accounting.”

Tesla frowned, tilting her head to the side as she stared down at the skeptical person saying. “Accounting? What’s that?”

Ever pulled their hand away and stared incredulously up at Tesla, furrowing their brows, they said. “You don’t know what an accountant is?”

Tesla shook her head before leaning back, hands on her knee. “No, but it sounds super boring.”

The former accountant studied the girl in front of them as they tried to determine if she was pulling their leg, or what was left of it anyway, but judging by the naive look on her face, she actually had no idea what Ever was talking about.

Ever let out a sigh and shook their head thinking. ‘Figures she’d be a few crayons short of a full box.’