I’m floating, completely weightless as I hover just above the ground. I look to the sky as it calls my name. “Erin,” the voice whispers, “come explore.” As soon as the thought enters my mind, I’m off. Flying among the clouds, rising and falling as if controlled by the tides. 

I’m floating, completely weightless as I hover just about the ground. I look to the sky as it calls my name. “Erin,” the voice whispers, “come explore.” As soon as the thought enters my mind, I’m off. Flying among the clouds, rising and falling as if controlled by the tides. 

I always imagined the clouds as fluffy white marshmallows. Instead, they dissipate as soon as I reach for them–dewy mist rolling over my hand and through my long brown hair as it flutters on the wind. They disappear to reveal the landscape below. My little town of Mason in all it’s humble glory. How long have I yearned to leave this place, to find freedom outside the confines of this one-light town? 

“Faster,” the voice calls out again. 

I push myself, higher, farther, faster. In an instant, my hometown is gone, only a blur of green and blue lie below me now. I breathe, really breathe for what feels like the first time in ages. I have no idea how fast I’m going until the green disappears, leaving only a blurry ocean of blue. The ocean! How have I gotten all the way to the coast? I loop back around to view the coastline, over 400 miles away from home. 

A shadowy figure appears before me. I skid to a stop. Can you skid in the sky? He floats as dark smoke encircles him. I can’t make out his face. Does he even have a face? The air cools, the sky darkens around us. Something is wrong. The figure extends a dark wisp towards me. Suddenly, I feel the relentless pull of gravity tug at my legs. 

I’m falling. I reach out to the figure, begging for help, then turn to see the ocean getting closer and closer. I squeeze my eyes tight, I can’t watch. 

My alarm goes off as I feel myself crash, not into the ocean, but into my own bed. I turn over and smack the alarm off, content to continue lying here reliving my dream. If I focus, I can almost taste the clean, crisp air of the sky. I live in a world where heroes are more than just imagined stories. People can harness the powers of ice and fire, move mountains with a single push, or float on the clouds. Or at least they could. The last Super disappeared over a century ago. No one left but us norms, relegated to the world of the mundane. And none more so than my small corner of the world, the little speck on the map that is mundane Mason. 

“Mom! Erin is still asleep!” My annoying little brother Ethan is standing at my door wearing his typical superhero mask and cape. At only eight, a full decade younger than me, I firmly believe his sole purpose in life is to annoy me. 

“Shut up, Ethan,” I say as I throw my pillow at him. He runs and hides, as he always does.

“Erin,” my mother yells from the kitchen. Somehow she manages to still make us breakfast every morning despite working double shifts at the hospital as much as possible. She insists it’s her motherly duty, but we know it’s the only time she has with all three of us–me and the twins, Ethan and Katie. My Dad died three years ago, and now with my going off to college at the end of summer, I think she’s trying extra hard to hold onto any sort of tradition she has. “Get up!” 

“I am up!” I call down to my mother. The feeling of the sky lingers on my skin. It may be just a dream, but it’s the same one I always have. Every time it leaves me feeling emptier and even more trapped than before. 

Two more months, I tell myself. It’s cliché, I know, the small-town girl wanting to get out and go make something of herself in the big city. It’s not that I dislike Mason, it’s a great town to grow up in. Everyone knows everyone else. Knows their problems too, their past. I can’t walk down a street in this town and not be assaulted with the lingering looks of pity from people who knew my Dad. 

It doesn’t help that it seems like every corner holds a memory of him either—the ice cream shop where he took us to celebrate after my first softball game. We lost, miserably, but you’d never know it based on the amount of ice cream he bought. The light post I nicked when he let me sit on his lap and drive the car when I was only 12. The tree outside my window that holds an unfinished treehouse he was building for Ethan. Down the street, the cemetery that holds his gravestone. 

“Ethan, tell your sister breakfast is ready.” I can hear my mom perfectly fine, but for some reason, she loves to give Ethan jobs. Maybe it keeps him busy, but all I know is how he executes those jobs typically leaves me annoyed. 

I hear him bounding up the steps making his flying noises for the Superman toy that never leaves his side. “Mom said–” he screams at the top of his lungs from my doorway. 

“I heard! I’m coming, Ethan. Thank you,” I add—two more months. 

Finally having made my way downstairs, I grab the TV remote and flick it on; I can’t stand silence in this house anymore. “Breaking news this morning, an explosion has rocked the city of Mason overnight,” says anchorman Rob Tobin. He has one of those faces that was just made for local news: square jaw, bright blue eyes, artificially white teeth, and very-apparently-artificially-tanned skin. 

“No TV at breakfast,” demands my mother. 

“Since when?” I say. 

“Since now. I only have two more months with you, and I’m not going to spend it with Rob Tobin yammering in the background. Now turn it off, please.” The dark circles under her eyes are even more apparent today. She didn’t sleep at all. Again. I know she tries to hide it for our sake, but I can tell, even the nights she doesn’t work a double, sleep evades her. At first, she turned to the bottle, but after she missed picking up Katie and Ethan once at school, she quit cold turkey. 

I turn off the TV and take a seat at the bar, a plate of bacon and eggs waiting for me. “Mom, it’s not like you’re never going to see me again. I’m only going three hours away, it’s UNC.” Not NYU, the school I wished I was going to. I got accepted, but even with financial aid, we could never afford the tuition, room, and board. And I think deep down, my mom needed me closer to help out with the twins. So I accepted the full ride to UNC instead. “And you know you don’t have to get up and make a full breakfast every morning.” 

“I know, but I love you kids, and that’s what mothers do. They put their kids first.” She smiles as she rubs the top of Ethan’s head, despite the exhaustion evident on her face. “And on that note, I need you to help me out today. Can you pick up Katie today?” 

Katie, the other half of the dynamic duo determined to overrule any plans I had of a typical day. If Ethan was the loud and obnoxious yin, Katie was the sweet and silent yang. But with that innocence came my desire to do anything and everything she needed. We all did. There was just something about her that made people love her. Last night was the first time she’d spent the night at her best friend’s house in three years. 

“Yea, I’ll get her. Any particular time?” I ask. 

“I haven’t heard from Mrs. Keller yet, but I imagine it’ll be sooner rather than later so just be–” 

A monstrous boom echoes outside, and our entire house shakes. 

“What the hell?” I say.

“Language,” my mother claps back. 

“Mom, really?” Another boom shakes the house. I run outside to see what’s happening. 

“Erin, be careful!” My mother screams as she holds Ethan back from following me. 

I can’t believe it. There’s a massive plume of smoke just down the street, people all running away from it. Another boom sounds behind me, but this time I see the source. A transformer blows on the other side of our house. Sirens erupt from every direction. 

I run back inside and flip on the news. Rob Tobin is still there, but smoke fills the studio. His tie is loosened, and he’s standing to leave. “I repeat, attacks are occurring across the city. Reports of explosions, fires, and,” he pauses, “ice storms? Are they back?” He questions an off-screen entity. With no answers forthcoming, he turns back to the camera, “The authorities urge everyone to get somewhere safe and stay there. God help us all.” 

The screen cuts to the rainbow emergency signal. I look to my mother. 

“I have to get to the hospital,” she says. The implications of the report are starting to set in as her eyes dart back’ n’ forth. She grabs her go-bag that she keeps in case of an emergency. Being an ER nurse means you may be called into work and not be able to leave for a few days. “I need you to get Katie, bring her home, and watch the twins. Can you handle that?” 

My mind is swimming with questions about the news report, explosions, fires, and ice storms? Could Supers really be back? How? Who are they, and where have they been? A familiar voice echoes in the back of my mind, clawing at it, itching to be set free. 

“Erin,” my mom pulls my focus. She’s grabbing my face, “can you handle this?” 

“Yea, of course,” I say. The voice disappears. “Go, I’ve got the kids.” 

“Okay,” she turns to my brother, “Ethan, I’ve got to go, okay, sweetie? But listen to Erin. Do everything she tells you to, okay? I need you to be strong for mommy, okay?” He is crying, clutching his Superman toy with both hands in front of him. 

“Yes, mommy,” he manages to get out between sobs.

“I love you both, be careful,” she says to me before turning to leave. I can’t help but feel a finality to her words like we will never be the same again after today.

“Okay, you two,” I say to Ethan and his Superman as I squat down to Ethan’s level, “this is our mission. We’re going to get ready and then go get Katie. Do you accept?” 

“I accept,” Ethan whimpers. He’s trying to breathe through the tears, I know he wants to be brave, and he will be. 

“Okay. Race you back here?” 

His eyes light up, he can never turn down a race. “It’s on!” He runs off towards his room. I swear he’s getting faster every day. I quickly throw on a shirt and sneakers and get to packing my own bag. If things get terrible, I know we can head to my grandfather’s house. We may live in a pitifully populated town, but he lives in the middle of nowhere. The only living things within miles of his place are either furry, have six legs, or are covered in leaves. 

Within minutes we’re in my car and headed to the Keller’s just a few blocks away to get Katie. The scene is something out of a movie—houses on fire, garage doors just opening and closing at random, sprinkler systems gushing out of the ground like Old Faithful. But no people to be seen. The usual hustle and bustle of the neighborhood are stalled. 

Something slams on my car window. Ethan screams. I turn to see a man, or what’s left of him. His entire face is burned, his clothes still on fire. I quickly try and cover Ethan’s face with his hood as I pull away. From my rearview mirror, another man is standing over the burnt one, with what looks like a fireball in his hand. Is he laughing? Fire shoots up into the sky as I turn the corner. 

“What’s going on!” Screams Ethan. He’s trying to get out from under my hand, holding his hoodie down. “Why was that man all red?” 

“It’s okay, just hold onto Superman for me. Keep your head down, okay? We’re going to have to make this a stealth mission.” 

“Like when Superman had to sneak into LexCorp to save Lois after she was kidnapped?” 

“Exactly,” I try to smile. The world is falling apart, I can’t fall apart with it if I’m supposed to be staying strong for the twins. Of all the nights for a sleepover! 

“Okay, you won’t even know I’m here, then.” Ethan scoots down into his seat, pulling his hoodie tight over his face. I can’t tell if he knows what is happening and ignores it or if he’s still in a state of blissful ignorance. I’m hoping for the latter and hoping it stays that way. 

The next street seems relatively unharmed. For the most part, the houses are still intact, but quiet, no one is around. My thoughts drift back to the laughing man standing over the burnt body. Did he have a fireball in his hand? What is going on in our town? I try to call my mom to make sure she got to the hospital, okay, but my phone won’t connect. It won’t even go to voicemail, it just says, “Call Failed.” 

Breathe, Erin, just get Katie and get somewhere safe. Grandpa’s place is looking better and better with every passing minute. Only two more blocks. 

“Tree!” A voice screams. My voice. I slam on the brakes as a tree slams onto the pavement in front of us. One branch catches the corner of the car–spinning us 90 degrees. I’m met with the face of a young woman. Brianna Cartwright, we had 3rd-period science together last year. She’s leaning on her knees, panting. She stands up and proceeds to what I can only describe as conjure fire in her fist as she hurls herself forward, flinging the burning ball of flame in our direction. I reach for Ethan, to cover him, to hold him, to do something as I close my eyes and wait for the heat to explode in front of us. 

It never comes. 

It flies over our car and explodes behind me. I turn to see another man, Logan Rios–Brianna’s ex-boyfriend, jump out of the way just before it hits him. In return, he picks up the truck he’s standing next to. Literally, picks it up, then throws it back at Brianna. 

She slides towards us, avoiding the airborne truck. Before I can even contemplate what is happening, she’s opening my door and pulling me out. 

“Get out of here, Erin, now. I’ll deal with Logan.” 

“Wait, what is going on?” I stammer. The questions fly from my mouth faster than I can even process them. “How is he lifting a truck, how are you flinging fire? What the hell is happening?” 

“Short answer, I have no idea. I woke up, and my hands were on fire. Then Logan comes shouting outside my house. Then he proceeds to throw a mailbox through my bedroom window. I put my hands out instantly to cover my face, but instead, fire shot out and destroyed the mailbox before it could even reach me. But you need to get out of here, Erin, take your brother and go. I don’t know what’s gotten into Logan, but he won’t talk to me, he won’t calm down.” 

“He’s a Hulk…” whispers Ethan from the passenger seat. I’d almost forgotten he was even there. The small caped crusader stands on his knees, looking out the back of the car to Logan, attempting to pull another tree from the ground. 

He finally pulls it free when Brianna yells at me. “Go!” She runs away from the car, drawing Logan’s attention away from Ethan and me. 

I slam on the gas, but we don’t move. The tires are just squealing, the smell of burnt rubber fills the air. I look out my window, and the tree that had caught the car earlier is now stuck underneath us. The tires can’t find any sort of purchase on the pavement. 

Ethan screams. I look up to see Brianna pinned underneath a light post. Logan lumbering towards her. He stops when Ethan screams, his attention now squarely on us. I unbuckle my seatbelt and fight to free Ethan. I can hear a roar erupt behind me, Logan is running towards us. I’ve never heard such a guttural sound from a human being before. Ethan’s buckle is stuck.

“Dammit! Come on, you stupid piece of–” It finally unlatches. I grab Ethan and make a beeline for the small yard between two houses. Ethan screams. I can feel the ground shuddering beneath me with every fall of Logan’s feet. 

“Faster…” the voice from my dream echoes again in the back of my mind. “I’m trying,” I scream. My foot catches a hose. I fall, cradling Ethan in my arms as I do. 

Logan lets out a loud roar. I open my eyes expecting him to be right on top of us. Instead, I see him on the ground 10 yards away, his shirt on fire. He rips it off and begins to run back towards Brianna, swatting away balls of fire as he does. She’s still pinned, but she’s firing back at him with everything she can. “Go!” She screams over the sound of her own fire. 

I pick up Ethan, and I run. I keep running. Running from Logan, from the burn victim, from the laughing pyromaniac. From the final thud that shakes the ground and the sound of fire falls to silence. 

The Kellers’ house is just around the corner. When my breath is long past gone, I slow and put Ethan down. “Are you okay?” 

He nods his little head, fighting back the tears as he does. He doesn’t need to say anything. I know he’s not okay, I’m not okay. The world has turned into a different place overnight, and I don’t even know which way is up anymore. 

“Are you hurt?” I ask as I squat down to his eye level. 

“No…,” he shakes his head. “I lost Superman.” I look back in the direction of the car. I didn’t grab it when I grabbed Ethan. Or maybe he dropped him somewhere along the way? I don’t know, but what I do know is I am not going back to find him. I’m getting Katie and getting out of this town. 

“I’m so sorry, Ethan. We’re going to find you another Superman, okay?” I tried to pull him into a hug, but he resists. 

“I don’t want another one! Dad bought me that one; that’s my Superman!” He screams as he begins to beat me with his tiny hands–tears streaming down his face, “We have to go back for him!” 

“Stop it, Ethan, stop!” I demand. “I’m sorry, but we have to get Katie first, okay? Don’t you want to go get Katie? Remember the mission.” He grabs my neck and pulls himself close. I feel the softness of his hair as he nuzzles his head against my face. I remember when Dad bought him that Superman, it was only a month before… before the accident. Don’t think about that now, Erin. I inhale, trying to force the tears back where they belong. Now is not the time. 

“Are you ready?” I ask Ethan as he slowly releases his grip on me. 

He responds with the most pitiful nod, “let’s get Katie.” 

“Let’s get Katie,” I echo. I look down the Keller’s street, they’re only a few houses down, and everything seems quiet. No hurdling balls of fire, no airborne trees, just silence. 

As we get closer, the air begins to cool. North Carolina in June has never been, nor will ever be, cold. But the chill is unmistakable. And it’s growing. As we approach the Keller’s home, I feel an ice-cold drop on my arm. Then another. And another. I look up to see the sky filled with snowflakes gently wafting down around their house, just their house. 

I leave Ethan on the front lawn as I step toward the front door. I knock, but the door slowly drifts open. I can hear the sound of cracking ice as it does. 

“Katie?” I call out, “Mrs. Keller?” I can see my breath. The entirety of the house is covered in ice, tiny snowflakes flitter across the room as if riding the air conditioning current. My hands begin to hurt, burning against the icy air. As I turn the corner into the kitchen, I see her. Katie. She’s sitting in the middle of the kitchen, the snow almost frozen still around her. She’s petting the dog sleeping on the floor. 

“Katie!” I yell as I run toward her, I almost slip three times on the slick floor. I finally slide in next to her and grab hold of her. My hands are now completely numb, my teeth chatter as I try to talk. “Katie, are you – are you okay?” I manage to get out at last. 

She sits in silence, still petting the dog. The dog that now upon further examination is rock hard. It’s not sleeping, it’s not moving a muscle, it’s not breathing. The poor thing is frozen solid. I look to Katie, she doesn’t even seem bothered by the cold. “Katie, sweetheart, we need to get you out of here, okay?” 

I struggle to my feet, the icy floor combined with my now frozen toes makes for an incredibly difficult time. My feet finally find purchase, and I carefully lift Katie up, she’s still not said a word, but she lets me pick her up. As I pass the living room again, I notice something I didn’t the first time. Amber Keller, Katie’s best friend, asleep on the couch. No, not asleep. She’s not moving either. Everyone in this house is frozen solid, everyone except Katie. 

“Katie!” Ethan screams as we walk outside. I can feel the warmth of the sun begin to thaw my hands, and I put Katie down.  

“Ethan!” She yells as she runs toward her twin brother, the pair lock each other in a solid embrace. “You came and got me.”

“Of course we did,” Ethan says with a beaming smile, “we’re a team, and no one gets left behind on a mission.”  

Katie giggles in return, then the pair look up at me. As if wordlessly asking ‘where to next?’ Where do we go next? I think. My phone still isn’t working, the car is unusable, but I’m sure we could… The Kellers. I turn back to their icy abode and the vehicle in the driveway as a grim thought crosses my mind. They won’t be needing their car…. 

“Alright, you two stay here. I’ll be right back.” 

“No, don’t go!” Screams Katie. “Please, it’s… It’s too cold in there.” Her head drops as if she knows what happened to the Kellers. She knows who’s responsible. 

“It’s okay, Katie,” Ethan says. “Erin likes the cold, right, Erin?” The little kid winks at me, actually winks at me. These two are smarter than I give them credit for. 

“That’s right,” I say, “I’ll be fine. And I’ll be right back. I just need to borrow Mrs. Keller’s car because we’re going to go see Grandpa.” The idea elicits a smile from both of the twins. Visiting Grandpa always involves cozy bedtime stories, plenty of games, and lots and lots of hot cocoa. Even in the dead of summer, those two would drink their weight in hot cocoa, and Grandpa knew that better than anyone. “Alright, you two lookout for each other, okay? If you see anyone, anyone at all you hide and wait for me to get back. Okay?” 

“Okay,” they echo in unison. 

I cross the creaking doorway into the Keller’s home for a second time, though thankful to find a hoodie conveniently draped on a coat rack next to the door. I try to avoid looking at young Amber on the couch, but I can’t. She almost seems peaceful. Frozen in an eternal dream. 

Thankfully the Keller’s are–were–the epitome of organization and I find their car keys dangling on the hook next to their refrigerator. A photo catches my eye. It’s the Kellers–Amber, her parents, her older brother, and their dog–all smiling at some picnic. Despite the cold, I feel that familiar heat forming behind my eyes. They were always there for us after the accident, bringing meals and toys for the twins. Her brother Tony was one of the few that didn’t look at me like I was only there to be pitied. Now they were gone too. Casualties of… I don’t even know what. What is going on? How did Katie not… Did she…? The answer was too painful to consider. I quickly grab the keys and head back for the door. 

I hear a scream. Katie. 

I run for the door to find Katie hiding behind Ethan. He’s staring defiantly down the street. I follow his gaze to see… No! Logan must have followed us. He’s barreling down the road directly towards Ethan and Katie. 

“No!” I scream. I run for them, desperate to push them out of the way of the juggernaut charging full force towards them. Time slows to a halt. Everything is still. I can see Logan down the street. I can see Ethan standing before him, his cape frozen mid-flap, Katie cowering behind him, her eyes closed so tight. They look so little, so helpless.

“Faster…” the same familiar voice echoes in my mind. It’s soft, barely a whisper. But this time, I let it grow. 

“Faster,” now the voice finds purchase in my soul. Time begins to move. With every step, the voice gets louder and louder.

“Faster!” it demands.

Logan is still bearing down on them, now only a few feet away. 

“Faster!” Now the voice is my own, screaming out for strength. I reach out to them. I push off into one final leap to protect them. To protect the last little bit of my father that exists in this world. I grab hold of them and brace for impact. 

Instead, a comforting sense of weightlessness comes over me. If there is pain, it’s not registering. I only feel like the soft embrace of air surrounding me. The warmth of the twins fills me. The only sound I hear is the tiny heartbeats drumming in their chests. I could fall asleep to the steady beating knowing that in this moment, this one moment, we’re together and we’re okay. 

“Erin!” yells out Ethan. I open my eyes to see Logan getting smaller and smaller. Ethan’s eyes are darting from me to Katie to the ground. The ground! It’s ten yards below us. We’re hovering just above the house. Logan never caught us, he never had the chance. I squeezed the twins tighter to me, afraid they would fall. 

“Higher,” whispers the voice in my head. I look skyward, the whole of the world opening itself to me. I pull the twins in closer and took off toward the sun. The sounds of girlish squeals and childish roars fill the air as we soar this way and that. From the clouds, we can see all of Mason below us. The twins call out each landmark as I fly through the sky. Flying, am I really doing this? I expect fear, concern, trepidation at being so high, but I feel none of it. It’s as if I was born for this, to walk amongst the clouds, to breathe real freedom. 

“Grandpa’s house!” calls out Ethan. We made it. I can’t believe how fast we made it here, but we did. I swoop in low, careful to land gingerly and set the twins down without alarm. We knock on the door and wait for what feels like an eternity for him to answer. I can only imagine what we look like based on his face when he finally does come to the door. Windswept is probably an understatement. The twins, especially Ethan, begins his regalement of the day. From the booms that shook the house to the fire lady, then the ice house, and finally to his big sister that can fly. My grandfather looks at me, not with fear or apprehension, with something else. Understanding? 

“Come in,” he says. “Your Mom called, I had a feeling you’d show up here.” 

Before I walk in, I turn back toward town. Only one thought pervades my mind, things will never be the same. 

Today’s lecture was on mathematics, one of Hypatia’s favorite subjects, but she’d actually helped her father write this one and found her mind wandering to thoughts of the crowd. How many of these people are actually listening or even comprehending, she thought to herself. The city, which was once the height of human knowledge and scholastic achievement had diminished through the years, brought to its knees by religious intolerance on all sides. She knew she’d have to keep an eye out for her aging father, enemies to knowledge lurked behind every corner.

As Theon reached the crescendo of his lecture, a glint of light caught the corner of Hypatia’s eye. She turned to catch its source, but there was nothing that should’ve caused such a flash. She rose and slipped between colonnades to investigate further. A swaying piece of fabric caught her attention. She quickened her pace.

“Who’s there?” Hypatia called out. No answer.

She wound around the southeast colonnade where she’d seen the movement just in time to catch a lone figure slip into the rear entrance of the Serapeum. Now I’ve got you, she thought. Having grown up spending every waking moment following her father’s footsteps in the daughter library, Hypatia knew better than most the secrets held within the stone temple to knowledge.

She watched as the seedy-looking man slipped conspicuously between rooms. He held a strange torch in his hand, illuminating the shelves of books as if searching for something. She knew eventually he’d land himself in the far-most room with a hidden staircase and conveniently, that same room with a secret gate that few knew existed. Hypatia positioned herself around the corner at the release mechanism, poised to act.

The man entered the small room and with a quick thud found himself behind a retractable series of beams.

“What the-,” he cried out.

Hypatia stayed hidden as she regarded the captured man. He didn’t look much older than Hypatia herself, maybe his late 20s. He had light brown hair the was cut short on the sides, but grew longer on top as if held in position by some solidifying agent. He smelled of salt air and cypress, and not a small amount of sweat. His left eyebrow had a patch of hair missing in the middle, giving him a rugged look that stood in opposition to the kind, amber eyes they guarded.

“What is your purpose here,” Hypatia called out from the darkness.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” he responded as he quickly extinguished his strange torch.

“You should not be here,” she said, stepping into the light.

The stranger stopped and regarded her for a moment before responding. “I shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t you be outside listening to the old man?”

“That old man is my father and the Director of the Library.” Hypatia immediately felt herself becoming defensive. “I say again, what is your purpose here?”

“Not until you tell me who you are and what you’re doing here.”

“You first.”

“I’m not the one trespassing. Like I said, my father is Theon, the Director of -”

“Yes, yes, Director of the Library. And your name?”

“Hypatia of Alexandria, daughter of Theon,” she replied cautiously. What harm could knowing my name be, after all, she thought. Most Grecians and Egyptians that traveled this area knew of her and her father.

“Hypatia? Really? Well, nice to meet you, Hypatia. I’m Jim.”

“Jim? You mean Jacomus?”

“What? No, just Jim.”

“Just Jim?”

“Yes. Well, no, it’s technically short for Jameson, but that’s immaterial. Hey so now that we’re introduced, why don’t we see about getting me out of here.” Jim, as he called himself, began to shake the bars and move about the room looking for a release button. He came dangerously close to the mechanism hidden within the room that opened the passageway down the stairs.

“You still haven’t told me your purpose here, Jim of, where did you say you were from?”

“I didn’t, but I’m from a place I’m sure you haven’t heard of. It’s a bit away from here.”

“Try me.”

“Okay then. New York. I can assume by the look on your face, you’ve not heard of it.”

Hypatia could feel her own eyebrows furrow at not having heard of the place. She prided herself on knowing much of the physical world as every true Alexandrian did. It was a port city and ships graced her shores from more and more distant places every day. Ptolemy III had even required every vessel to turn over their manuscripts for copying to better fill the knowledge of Alexandria and her libraries. But never, in all of Hypatia’s learning, had she heard of a place called York, let alone New York. Her sense of curiosity piqued, she wanted to know more.

“Tell me of this New York.”

“Nope, sorry. Now it’s your turn. How about getting me out of here?”

“The answer to that question lies behind your answer as to your purpose here.”

“Touché. I’m here for a book-er scroll I mean,” he said glancing around the small room of shelves filled to the brim with ancient scrolls.”

“We have a lot of them, as you can see. Along with books and codices, you’re in Alexandria after all. Which are you after? Perhaps I can help you find it.” She now wanted to know more about this stranger and his home of New York.

Jim looked as if he was pondering his options.

“Look,” Hypatia said, “I know you don’t know how to get out of here. I do. You need to find a scroll. I probably know where it is. You are one girlish scream from me away from being taken away in irons. I want to know more about this New York. I let you out, we work together. Deal?” Hypatia knew how to be succinctly persuasive when she needed to be.

He squinted at the young woman before answering. “Deal.”

Hypatia released the lever that freed Jim. He strode out of the small room with a certain air about him not typical of Alexandria. He came closer to her, uncomfortably close for Hypatia’s liking. Only inches from her face he reached out for her arm and whispered, “thank you.”

Hypatia felt herself being pulled towards the small room that she had just freed Jim from. Nearly stumbling, she caught herself just in time to turn and see the beams fall from the ceiling, sealing her in.

“Hey!” She screamed. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, but I work alone and can’t really have you following me, but thank you for letting me out. Oh and that was the room I needed after all.” Jim waved a scroll in front of her before placing it in a strange-looking shiny box and into his bag. “So I guess thank you twice.”

With that Jim turned and ran out the same direction from whence they’d entered the building. Hypatia was left alone in the small, confined room with nothing but questions and anger, plenty of anger.

As soon as Jim was out of view, Hypatia pulled the series of levers behind the scrolls to reveal a stone staircase. There were secrets in this building that few, and surely no thieves, knew about.

She reemerged into the light of day outside the agora of the Temple of Serapis. Only minutes had passed and she was sure she could catch the thief before he got too far. The lecture had just ended and a mass exodus of listeners exited the agora at the same time. There’s no way he planned that, Hypatia thought. She jumped up on one of the nearby carts, eliciting a series of screams and shoe-ing from the owner, but it didn’t matter. Hypatia eyed her prey. She caught Jim running through the plateia, almost getting crushed by crossing chariots.

Hypatia jumped into a passing chariot herself, determined to catch the man. As she neared him, a horse and its rider let out a scream from Hypatia’s left.

She turned to find the horse rearing its hoofs only inches from Hypatia’s face. With a scream, she fell off the chariot into the dirt. Another horse appeared to her left. The world seemed to stop. Hypatia could see her situation, the one horse bearing down on her while the chariot she was just on teetered on its axle, threatening to fall in her direction. She could see it all but was unable to make herself move. No amount of learning, no amount of knowledge could muster the strength her muscles needed to move out of the way. She raised her hands in a feeble attempt to protect herself when she felt someone grab her shoulders. As she was pulled out of the way, time caught back up to itself.

“Are you okay?” A breathless voice exclaimed.

“Yes, I…” she turned to find Jim standing behind her, panting from exertion.

“And why didn’t you just stay in your little room nice and safe?”

“You!” Hypatia regained her focus. “I want my scroll back.”

A crowd of guards appeared in the distance, drawn by the commotion. “Okay,” Jim said, “I get that you’re probably going to follow me anyway, so why not come with me? I’ll tell you about New York and you can not give me up to the guards. Deal?”

“Why should I deal with you, you broke our last one.”

“That’s true. But that was then, this time I promise, I won’t leave you behind. Provided you keep up.” He held his hand out to lift Hypatia out of the dirt. Against her better judgment, she wanted to agree. Her curiosity was too powerful to cage in the name of supposed safety. “Any time, lady, they’re getting closer.”

“Fine. I’ll get you out of here. But I’m holding onto the scroll.”

“Whatever, let’s go.”

The pair immediately started winding between the various merchants along the plateia. Most trying to draw the attention of the crowd back to their wares, paying no mind to two individuals that clearly showed no interest in buying.

“In here,” Hypatia said as she grabbed Jim’s arm and led him through a small opening between two colonnades into a bathhouse. Hypatia stayed near the door, watching to spy if the guards had truly been following them. Jim, on the other hand, had already released himself from Hypatia’s grip and wandered the apodyterium.

“Okay, you’re in charge of leading from now on,” he said. Hypatia turned to see him walking up to the few women still remaining from the morning women’s hours. More than a few shot her disgusted looks at having brought a man into the bathhouse at this hour. Hypatia didn’t care. Being the daughter of a philosopher and mathematician that taught her as if she was a son had already branded Hypatia as different. She was no stranger to stares.

“Jameson!” She hissed, “stop bothering them. Once they leave, we should have an hour before the men begin to arrive.” The pair waved at the last few women as they left the bathhouse. Jim tried to follow one of them, but Hypatia pulled him back.

“What? I was just being friendly. Alexandria is a very nice place.”

“Is that what you call it back in New York?”

“Hah, no, in New York it involves spending $28 dollars on an overpriced cocktail just to have it thrown in your face.”

“You come from a very strange place, Jameson of New York.”

“Really, you can call me, Jim,” he said as he grabbed the box from under Hypatia’s arm. He turned to the stone bench along the wall, taking the scroll out of his shiny box.

Hypatia glared at him with incredulity, why would someone want to be called by something other than their name. Unless Jim is a title, she thought. “So what is so important about this scroll that you had to steal it from the Serepeum?”

“It’s a very special one, to me at least.” He rolled it out along the bench and immediately Hypatia knew the scroll. It was one special to her father as well. He’d only showed it to her once when she was very young. It told the story of a girl from the time of the earliest Pharaohs. Her father wouldn’t go into more detail, but she hadn’t seen it since the day her mother died and left it for him.

“That’s my fathers! It belonged to my mother before that. What do you want with it?” She tried to grab the fragile parchment from him.

“Woah, careful. This is an antique,” Jim replied, gently pushing Hypatia away from her family’s scroll. “And you can have it back. I just need to snap a pic of it.”

“Snap a pic?” Hypatia questioned. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, right. I mean copy it down.” Jim pulled a small box out of his bag and held it above the parchment. His hand continued frozen in that position, hanging his small box just above the scroll as he turned through the various sections of text.

“What… What is that thing?” Hypatia finally questioned.

“It’s a camera. It copies the images on this parchment and saves them for later.”

“I’ve heard rumors of studies coming from the East about optics, but the idea that your small box contains enough parchment for all of this? Impossible.”

“You’re a scientist, you should know better, most impossible things are merely impossible at the moment.”

This took Hypatia back for a moment. This stranger from ‘New York’ was right. The world previously thought the earth was flat, but Eratosthenes proved that it was a circle and measured it. She’d read the codices of Hero and his research into a device that turns steam into work. Even the great lighthouse Pharos was laughed at and heralded as impossible until it was built. Science took time to catch the impossible.

“See, all done,” Jim said as he placed the device back into his bag. He rolled up the scroll, placed it back in the box, and handed it over to Hypatia.

“Thank you!” She grabbed the box from him, perhaps too quickly. “Mind if I take a look at that camera device of yours?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. Not sure you’re ready for it just yet.”

“Alexandria is one of the most advanced centers for learning in the modern world, I think I can handle the science of it.” She crossed her arms in protest at the denunciation of her mental abilities. Humility was one thing her father had failed to impress upon her.

“How ‘bout this, maybe one day.” Jim got up and headed for the door. “I’m sure you’re anxious to get that scroll back to your library.”

Hypatia crossed just in front of him, attempting to stare him into submission. “You’re never going to let me have that device. But it’s okay, you keep your secrets and I’ll keep mine.”

“Oh, you have secrets now too?”

“Yes. Plenty. A woman always does.” She smirked as she continued out the door of the bathhouse.

“It’s her!” A voice yelled above the dissonance of the crowd. Hypatia looked up to discover a group of monks pointing at her.

“Oh no. I have to get out of here.” She turned to run, but Jim caught her shoulders.

“Wait, who are those guys?” He held her close as he surveyed the group of men.

“Let’s just say they’re not the biggest fans of me or my father. And especially not of his academy or the library.”

“Come on, this way.”

The pair burst into a run, hoping to lose the men in the crowd. As they ran, the streets got even more crowded. Hypatia felt as if she were running through mud. It was already the peak hour for the market and few cared to move out of the way of a woman. Jameson continued to pull her forward.

She felt a tug at her tunic behind her. She fell to the ground, her head slamming against a nearby rock. The box she held went flying away from her.

“What are you doing so far from your precious academy, witch?” One of the men had caught up to Hypatia and pulled her to the ground. She hated these men. They hated her father for teaching science and hated her even more for being a woman that had learned it. “And what is this?”

The man grabbed the box from the ground, surveying it with curiosity. “Another invention of evil, I assume?”

“Actually it’s mine.” Jameson appeared from the crowd and hit the man in the face hard with a fist. “And it’s none of your business. Let’s go.”

He pulled Hypatia back to her feet and grabbed her hand as they continued their escape. Hypatia’s senses were all heightened, the smell of exotic spices filled the air. The cacophony of merchants selling everything from silk to sheep made her already pounding head hurt even more. She tried to focus on what she could, her feet moving one in front of the other. Her eyes focused on Jim’s feet just inches ahead of her own. The feeling of his strong hand in hers, guiding her to safety. She felt the smooth ring on his finger as they ran. It was smoother than any other ring she’d felt. She’d have to ask to inspect it later. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot, she tried to compel her feet to continue moving out of sheer force of will, but her eyelids were getting heavy. Black teased at the corners of her vision. As she collapsed again on the ground, she was left with the image of Jim’s face close to hers. I think you’re attractive too, Jim. Hypatia blacked out.

Hypatia awoke with her father standing over her.

“Thank the gods, you’re alive,” he said. Cradling her head in his arms.

She was back in her room. The smell of incense filled the air. While Hypatia and her father considered themselves learned individuals, they still ascribed to the way of their ancestors, just in case. She glanced around the room, searching for Jim. When she didn’t immediately see him, she began to question whether the afternoon had actually happened as she recalled it.

“How, how did I get here?”

“Because this young man found you and brought you back to me after that horrible mob attack. Don’t think I’m not mad that you went off on your own, young lady. You know better than that.” Her father Theon moved enough to spot Jim leaning against the door.

“Father, please. I’m a grown woman. Can I have a moment to thank my savior privately, please?” She tried to sit up and look as authoritative as she could but having her swollen head pounding didn’t lend itself to any sort of power. Her father Theon begrudgingly left the room, leaving Hypatia alone with Jim of New York.

“Ya know,” he said, “if you wanted to be closer to me you could’ve just asked, you didn’t need to hit your head just for a hug.” He winked at her and she felt a certain attraction to the man that she couldn’t quite place. She knew better than most the thoughts of men and for once, she felt safe around this one.

“Right, because I threw myself down on the ground just to be closer to you.”

“Hey, who am I to judge a woman.” He sat next to her on the frame, causing the reeds to rustle at the added weight. “Seriously though, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Hypatia responded. “Did you save the scroll?” Jim smiled at her. Hypatia knew there was something more to this man. She just couldn’t quite pinpoint it with the pounding causing her focus to dull.

“I did. Safe and sound back with your father as promised.” His arm brushed up against hers and a rush of electricity seemed to travel between the pair. She instinctively grabbed his hand, tracing the lines along his skin until her fingers found the ring on his middle finger.

“That’s right! How did you get a metal so smooth? What metal lends itself to being so smooth, is it still structurally sound?” Her mind erupted in an abundance of questions about such a small thing.

“Oh, this?” He looked at it for a moment, then as if making a decision took it off and gave it to Hypatia. She regarded it closely, there were markings on the inside, but they were worn down and difficult to read.

“Something about balance?” She questioned.

“Yea, old family motto. It means-” Jim was interrupted by a sound coming from his bag. “No! Now? Really, now you decide to work?” A look of concern flashed across his face as he pulled a strange-looking bracelet out of his bag.

“What is that? What’s going on? How many things do you have in the bag?”

“I’m so sorry, Hypatia,” he said, taking his ring back from her. “I have to go. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Wait, you’re leaving now? But you haven’t held up your end of our deal. What about New York?” She suddenly felt worried that he was being ripped from her life before she was ready to say goodbye.

“I know. I’m sorry. Maybe in another time. I -”

Jim was gone.

Hypatia played the event over in her head. He was talking. There was a flash of light. A strange sound, then gone. He was just gone. She ran out of her room to search for him. Then to the street. Then she climbed up on the boxes outside their house. No sight of him. As quickly as he’d entered her life, he’d left it. Jim of New York was gone.

Years passed, but the memory of Jim of New York never faded. Instead they caused Hypatia to throw herself into her studies even further. She made landmark strides into the fields of science and mathematics until the day her father passed and she once again set her eyes upon the scroll he left for her. The scroll that had brought Jim into her life. As she unrolled the delicate parchment out before her, a familiar glint caught the corner of her eye. The voice that accompanied it filled her soul with excitement.

“So, Hypatia of Alexandria, ready to see New York?”

A shortened version was submitted to Reedsy short story contest: https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/

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