Sarah didn't rush him. That was the first thing he noticed. She had always been more grown than most her age, a consequence of losing both parents early, but it was rare he saw it so clearly.
She sat across from him at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around a mug she hadn't touched. Her eyes were red, but steady. She was calmly waiting for Harold to explain.
"Start from the beginning," she said. "But don't lie to me." she said while giving him a pointed look. "None of that, I'm just trying to protect you nonsense."
He nodded. "Well I am trying to protect you," He said with a smirk.
Sarah went to pick up her mug to throw with an evil smirk.
"Ok, ok!" he said smiling, but it quickly stopped.
"There's something coming," he said. "In about 22 days."
She raised an eyebrow. "You're being vague."
He waggled his hand, "I have to be."
"That's not reassuring." she said smartly. The only way a 17 year old girl, who thought she knew everything could be.
"I know," Harold said quietly.
He leaned back, stared at the ceiling for a second, then looked at her again. "Tomorrow afternoon, every news outlet is going to run the same story. And I do mean every news outlet. The mainstream ones, the podcasters. The independents. All of them."
"Astronomers confirm an asteroid on a near-Earth trajectory. They won't agree on the size or the risk. None of them will say it's nothing though. They will all argue about where it will impact and the fallout. About the only thing they will agree on is that a lot of people are going to die."
He paused.
"The asteroid isn't what I'm worried about. I'm telling you this because it's proof that I know what I'm talking about. How could I possibly know about an asteroid headed to earth?"
Sarah's mouth tightened. "You're serious."
"Yep." he said grimly.
"Why tell me now?" she asked.
"Because it's the first thing you can verify without me being involved." he explained. He went to the fridge and grabbed a beer from it.
She studied his face, searching for cracks. Whatever she expected to find, she didn't.
"And if it doesn't happen?" she asked.
"Then you should stop listening to me," Harold said softly. "You've probably noticed I'm not exactly… healthy."
They sat in silence after that. Harold tried to relax into his seat but it was hard. Telling Sarah was the first part of an admittedly very shaky plan. If she wouldn't work with him it would be impossible to do everything else.
The clock on the microwave ticked over minute by minute. Sarah checked her phone once, then set it face down on the table. It buzzed a few times but she ignored it.
The afternoon light shifted across the kitchen floor. A car passed outside. Someone laughed down the block. The world stubbornly moved on without caring about what happened inside his house. "It was very rude of it" Harold thought to himself.
Sarah exhaled through her nose and finally looked at him again. "Okay," she said. "So talk. Because right now this sounds like a very elaborate way to avoid telling me what's actually wrong."
Harold nodded slowly. "Mm…That's fair."
His voice lowered without him meaning to. Not to a whisper. This part just scared him, he had just gotten his sister back. What if he lost her right away?
"After the asteroid warning tomorrow," he said, "things don't get better. People argue about what it means. Some call it a warning. Others say it's nothing. Everyone keeps living like tomorrow still belongs to them. The closer we get to the impact date the more panic there will be."
Sarah folded her arms. "You're assuming there isan asteroid."
"I am," he said. "But that's not the point yet."
She watched him closely. Serious, but seventeen all the same. There was only so much weight she could carry before it tipped into disbelief.
"Something else happens," he continued. "Right before the asteroid is supposed to hit. Humanity is taken. All of us, every single one of us. Not kidnapped exactly but moved."
"Moved where?" she asked.
"To another world," he said flatly. "We called it Gravesend. No one agreed on the name at first and a lot of people died. It got said somewhere on the forums and the name stuck."
Her brow furrowed. "You're saying aliens?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I never saw faces. But there were roles."
"What?", she questioned. "Rules?"
"Roles," he corrected. "Everyone had to choose one. Adventurer. Crafter. Or Lord. It was framed like a game. But it wasn't. The consequences and stakes are real."
Sarah leaned back in her chair. "Harold, I—"
"I know," he said gently. "I know how this sounds. Just let me finish."
She hesitated, then nodded once. "Alright." She got up from the seat and got her own beer from the garage and Harold didn't stop her.
"I survived for twenty years," he said. "Not because I was strong. But because I was useful. I was a crafter."
Her jaw tightened. But she contained her questions.
"I was taken ... .enslaved," he went on. "Forced to make things. Weapons. Potions. They had a kind of magic there. Eventually I was making permanent enhancements. When I refused, they hurt me. When I broke, they made me work."
"You're saying someone tortured you for twenty years and no one stopped it?" she asked.
"Not for twenty…only the last six…I think. It could be more or less, and people did try," he said quietly. "None of them worked."
Silence stretched.
"I escaped eventually," he said. "Someone made a stupid mistake, and I ran."
"And then?" she asked.
"And then I died," he said. "Not in battle and definitely not heroically. I got hit by a cart because I wasn't paying attention."
Sarah let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "You're serious."
"Yes." he said with a small smile.
"And after that you just… woke up here." she said while motioning incredulously around her.
"Yes, a month before it all starts." he said
She stood abruptly, dragging a hand through her hair. "Okay. Okay. I want to believe you, but this is—this is a lot."
"I know," he said, taking a sip.
She stopped at the table and picked up one of the notebooks without asking.
There were columns of numbers, maps of places she didn't recognize. Arrows pointing out different landmarks. Notes written in a hand that shook more the further she flipped.
"This is insane," she said. "You could've planned all this."
"I couldn't have known where to look in space for an asteroid," he said calmly.
She grabbed another notebook. Then another.
"These events," she said more quietly. "These are from Gravesend?"
"Yes. Please don't keep reading."
"And some of these—" She stopped mid-page.
Harold was already standing. "Not that one."
She looked up at him. "Why?"
"That one is a major events that happened, I'm not sure how much changes if you know about them. I can't risk the butterfly effect," he said. "Not until we have leverage."
"That's convenient," she snapped.
"Yes," he said softly. "It is."
She closed the notebook harder than necessary and paced once before setting it back down.
"So what," she said. "You want me to just… believe you?"
"No," he said. "I want you to wait."
"For what?" she almost screamed.
"For tomorrow afternoon," he said softly, trying to calm her down.
She stared at him. "You're really hanging all of this on that."
"Not all of it," he said. "I'm hoping you'll help me with something that proves it too. But yes."
"And until then?" she asked.
"Until then," he said, "I need you to take your class tomorrow seriously. Be there more than you think you need to be. Train even when it feels stupid. Tomorrow and the day after and the day after that."
"Why?" she asked firmly.
"I can't tell you yet," he said. "Butterfly effects are real. But you will have to fight…"
She snorted. "You're really using that? What am I fighting?"
"I am," he said. Then whispered to her "Monsters…of every shape and kind. You picked adventurer last time. You were…good at it. Just impulsive."
"And if I don't?" she asked.
He hesitated. "Then I'll have to adjust," he said. "And I'd rather not."
That made her pause.
She walked back and sat beside him again, closer this time. Not leaning into him. Not pulling away either.
"I don't believe you," she said. "Not completely."
"That's okay," Harold said, really looking at her. Her face was scrunched in thought. Blond hair fell around her face out of her messy bun.Tall for her age. She would grow into it. In Gravesend, people compared her to a Valkyrie for a reason.
"But I believe something is wrong," she continued. "And I believe you believe this. You've been frantic. You pushed me into self-defense classes. Made me train with a sword. I've never seen you like this."
"That's enough for now," he said.
She nodded slowly. "Josh and Beth are coming tomorrow."
"Yes. They'll be here in the morning." he replied.
"You're going to tell them too." she stated.
"Yes. And they won't take it as well as you have, that's why I need your help getting a few items." Harold said.
"And then," she said, "if this asteroid thing doesn't happen—"
Harold cut her off. "I'll keep preparing," he said. "And I won't involve you any more."
She searched his face. "You promise?"
"Yes," he said. "On one condition."
She waited.
"I need you to hold my hand when we're taken."
She leaned back, exhaling. "Okay."
For now she stayed, and that was all he could ask.