I had a hard time sleeping that night. Luckily, I had plenty to keep my attention. For one, Khanna slept with her leg thrown over mine and her head resting on my chest. She made little noises in her sleep, which were so cute. She looked serene, completely gone from the world.

  We were using a mixture of the San Submerged bedding and the soft seaweed blankets we got from the Marusian cliff dwellings. The pillows were probably the best part of our find. They felt like heaven under my head.

  We were near enough to the fire that I could watch the flames eat away at the wood. Every so often, there would be a snap, then a crack, and I’d watched the sparks fly up the chimney. I couldn’t look at the stones of that fireplace without a fair amount of pride. When I got tired of looking at the fire, I could turn my head to catch a glimpse of the Marusian ice ring above, a pathway of glittering light across the middle of the sky. The stars on either side struggled to compete with that line of radiance.

  There were still so many mysteries to solve, and we’d been given another one. Where had Jack the White Colony and Reggie the Black Colony come from? Where was Green Colony?

  I was still awake when Holly came in from taking watch.

  That had been a source of contention. Did we need to take watch when Opal was continuously scanning the area around us? She was the ultimate burglar alarm. Khanna didn’t have an opinion, Billie thought I should decide, but the professor maintained we couldn’t trust our fate to a machine that was only 92% operational. We all agreed that if we could get Jack and Reggie to guard our front door, we could all sleep through the night without taking watches.

  However, there was one thing I liked about our night-time ritual.

  Holly woke up Billie, who left out the front door to take her turn in the watchtower above the bus. She was well-armed now, a true Billie the Kidd, right down to the pistol at her side. We kept the long guns up in the watchtower for anyone to use.

  Once Holly had stopped moving around, I slipped out of bed. I quietly added more wood to the fire. It wasn’t raining, but it was still chilly outside. A fog had blown in, blocking our view of the alien night sky.

  I crept out of the front door and made my way up to the tower, where Billie was wrapped up in fur-lined winter coat we’d found. On her feet were fuzzy boots as well. She looked like a commercial for 1970s ski resort.

  Billie smiled at me. “There he is, my hero, and a guy who can make friends with alien mold.”

  “They’re not friends yet.” I went to her and sat down on the bench I’d built for the tower. We even scavenged a cushion for it.

  I pulled Billie in to hold her. She put her little head on my chest, and I felt her warmth. She smelled so different than Khanna. I loved the little differences between them, and yet, there were similarities as well.

  Billie sighed. “Don’t make me too comfortable. Going back to sleep would be just too easy.”

  “You’re lucky,” I said.

  She raised her head to look into my eyes. “What’s wrong? Why can’t you sleep?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know myself.

  Billie knew me too well. “You’re thinking about Jack and Reggie.”

  “I’m thinking about Jack and Reggie. You do realize what it means, don’t you?”

  She squinted. “Uh, you feel bad about all the bacteria you killed when you cleaned bathrooms? Maybe your nights wouldn’t have been so lonely if you’d had mold friends before?” She wrinkled her nose. “See? I’m so weird! I never would’ve said stuff like that in Grand Junction. Here, though, I can be as weird as I want because this place is so fucking weird.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. I guess it is. No…it’s just that…”

  Something moved down by the pathway. My heart skipped a beat until I realized it was only Khanna, wrapped up in a polyester blanket. She climbed up the ladder and sat down next to us.

  Her eyes went from my face, down to Billie’s, and back to mine.

  Why did I feel like I’d just been caught cheating?

  Khanna, though, smiled shyly. “Maybe Khanna snuggle with you?”

  I didn’t know what to say. Would Billie be upset? Juggling the emotions of these women wasn’t going to be easy. It was kind of like living in a powder keg when your hair was on fire.

  Billie saved me from the awkward moment.

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  “Sure, Khanna. There's room for you.” Billie scooted over so I could be in the middle.

  Khanna sat down and immediately put her arms around me and pushed her face into my arm.

  Billie lay on my chest, and I could tell that she was staring into Khanna’s eyes. “You know, Khanna, as you learn English, we’ll have work on pronouns. Instead of saying Khanna, you can just say ‘I’ or “me.’”

  Khanna jerked her head up.

  I expected an explosion.

  Instead, Khanna asked, “Could Sid Marshall tell Khanna what Bil-lie has said? Not all the words are clear to Khanna.”

  I translated.

  Khanna thought for a long time. Then she spoke in broken English. “I…Khanna…I taught words that way. Khanna not think of myself as myself. Think of myself as other person. And nobody is themselves. They are the name the Eternal Sultana gives them. Even now. Even now.”

  Khanna blinked at the tears.

  There was a reason why she didn’t use pronouns. It was just another symptom of being raised in a cult.

  Billie’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry for that, Khanna. I know what it’s like to be told you’re not yourself. My father…he sounds like the Eternal Sultana.”

  That made the Huntress laugh unexpectedly even as tears leaked down her cheeks. “But Bil-lie’s father a man, not an Eternal Sultana. Bil-lie is funny.”

  Billie laughed as well. Then she got serious. “I’m more than my name. I had to be. I know it doesn’t mean anything to you, but growing as Billie the Kidd in elementary school was rough. I hated every single one of the cowboy jokes.”

  “Cowboy?” Khanna looked at me questioningly.

  I tried to give her the ancient Arkadian equivalent. “It’s a warrior on horseback with guns that herds large herbivores from one city to another.”

  Khanna cocked her head and answered. “Khanna…I…heard of mystical knights, armed with magic sticks, riding forth from a legendary place. Khanna dream of meeting a knight, a man, brave and strong.”

  “How did you know about men?” Billie asked. “I mean, you grow up only with women. Is that right?”

  The huntress nodded. “Khanna say to Sid Marshall. Then Sid Marshall tell Bil-lie. Is that okay?”

  “Sure,” Billie said.

  The Huntress sighed. “Khanna see pictures, in ancient books, and there was the Iron Descendent. We were to love him as the only man. It was the will of the Eternal Sultana. But Khanna never love the Iron Descendent, not his metal body and not his soul, Zuulman, the First Padishan, lost to time.”

  I relayed that back to Billie.

  Billie leaned forward and kissed Khanna’s cheek. “Compared to all that, pronouns are not a big deal. You keep talking like Tarzan.”

  “Who is Tarzan?” Khanna asked.

  Billie was at a loss for words. She furrowed her brow. “How do you explain Tarzan to someone? I mean, it’s like a lost orphan being raised by monkeys and basically becomes a superhero.”

  “Raised by apes, not monkeys,” I said. “My uncle had all the original Edgar Rice Burroughs books. Tarzan was okay, but I liked the Pellucidar books better.”

  Khanna looked lost, but she merely shrugged and snuggled back into my arms. I saw that she was holding Billie’s hands, and Billie’s eyes were sparkling. She was wide awake now.

  I remember how she had tenderly kissed the Huntress so tenderly. It was a kiss of friendship and comfort, but I could only imagine what it might turn into.

  Billie laughed and kissed my cheek. “I don’t understand what he said either, Khanna, so don’t feel bad.”

  “Khanna not feel bad. Sid Marshall and two crazy bitches say many things Khanna not understand.”

  Again, I waited for the explosion, but it never came.

  Bilie only smiled. “Yeah. I can’t blame you for calling us crazy bitches. It’s been rough, living in this weird place, which has somehow managed to get even weirder than it was before. Fucking sentient mold on dinosaurs. What in the fuck does that make them? Fungasaurs?”

  I laughed and kissed Billie’s forehead. “Don’t look at me. I only work here.”

  Billie pulled back, her smile turning into a mischievous grin. “Look at you, Mr. Sid Marshall, all cozy and warm with your girls up in the watchtower. Two out of three ain’t bad.”

  More movement caught my eye, and down below, I saw Holly with her blanket wrapped around her body leaving our house.

  Billie saw it to. “Maybe you’ll go three for three tonight?”

  “Not likely.”

  Holly climbed up the ladder and stood there. The lines around her eyes deepened as she smiled. “Well, don’t you three look cozy. Why wasn’t I invited to the slumber party.”

  Khanna straightened. She had stiffened next to me. It seemed the Huntress was comfortable around Billie now, but the professor was a different story. “Not party, Hol-ly. Khanna…I…woke to empty bed. Came looking for Sid Marshall. Found him here with Bil-lie.”

  Billie raised her hands. “Don’t blame me. I’m just taking my watch. I didn’t expect this much company. What are you doing up, Professor?”

  Holly sighed. “My story is the same was Khanna’s. I woke up in our little house alone. I got afraid…terrified, actually.”

  Khanna looked perplexed. “Hol-ly not need to fear. Hol-ly strong, smart, and call out to Sid Marshall, and Sid Marshall save her.”

  The professor’s smile turned weary. “Yes. I rely on our Sid Marshall for a great many things, including my safety. But I am not certain how strong I am, Khanna. I fear that you three have outpaced me on that account.”

  “Nope,” Billie said. “We’re all strong in our own special ways. Together, we’re unstoppable. Nothing can break apart the Sid Marshall Enclave.”

  Khanna choked back a sob and hid her face in my arm.

  We were shocked for a second, until Billie got it. “Yeah, Khanna, we’re an Enclave.”

  “We are an Enclave,” Holly agreed. “Scooch over, so I can sit with you guys.”

  We moved and Holly sat on the other side of Billie. We were all huddled there like crows on a powerline, and I felt so rich. More than that, I felt safe with these women. I swore to keep it that way.

  We were silent for a bit until Khanna broke the silence with a sigh. “Khanna glad to find new Enclave. Khanna never leave Sid Marshall and Bil-lie.” She didn’t add Holly. Not yet.

  Holly must’ve sensed that because she cooled a bit. “You know, Khanna, we might want to work on pronouns, since that might save us some time in communication.”

  Billie grabbed Holly’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re a little late to the party, Holly. We already talked about English lessons.”

  Khanna sighed again, but this time, it was dramatic, clearly meant to be a joke sigh. “I see no party. There no canananas.”

  Billie and Holly looked at me to translate.

  “It’s, uh, basically hors d'oeuvres you have during different rituals and festivals throughout the year. It literally translates as holy party food.”

  Billie held up an imaginary glass. “Here’s to holy party food!”

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