Unexpected Return

Isaac boarded his flight first. Then Lily. Church followed shortly after. 

All around them, the thirty-four returnees dwindled down to a mere handful of them. The lot stood in the airport's boarding terminal. 

Their necks strained skyward towards the multiple screens worth of flight information. 

In silence, Olive and Cain watched Doc pick a flight. He was already on the phone with his wife — screaming could be heard from the other side — alongside tears of joy and laughter of course, but she was mad nonetheless. 

Leon left too. Boarding a flight to his hometown rather than his college town. Like Olive, returning to school simply felt odd for most of the returnees. 

The only people that really had to return to school were the minors, Lily and Sherry — the two high school girls. So after a few careful hours of meticulous selection, all of the returnees except for Cain and Olive boarded their flights and left the capital of Greenland, the city of Nuuk. 

Olive looked up at Cain. 

"Are we leaving today or. . . ?" Olive spoke slowly. 

Cain scratched the back of his head. 

"Well, believe it or not, but I'm having quite the serious debate with myself right now." 

"Oh okay." Olive looked away. 

…

"Are you gonna tell me or. . . ?" Olive prodded further. 

Cain scrunched his eyebrows. 

To be quite honest, he possessed a wide array of decisions that needed to be made and he couldn't pin-point where he wanted to start. 

For one, Cain needed to collect Lost Souls. Or at least see if he could even find Lost Souls here. 

He also needed to test whether or not he could return to his Domain willy-nilly. He should also tinker with the |Jug of Mist| and the |Reaper's Cloak| now that he can actually put their effects to good use. 

There's also the reincarnator's paradox of finding himself, but the other himself. 

Although, thanks to the strict investigation conducted by the United Nations, Cain sort of already had a jump start for this task. And it was a surprising lead at that. 

Nobody on this planet named Cain looked like him. Not that Cain was privy to the investigation results of the UN, but if they hadn't said anything to him already then it's probably safe to assume they didn't discover anything to begin with. 

The way Cain viewed it, either he didn't exist on this Earth all together or his identity was for some reason different. The more Cain considered the latter, in fact, the more he leaned towards that argument. 

For one, considering that the fallout didn't happen on this Earth, that meant that his mother didn't contract cancer and his father wasn't forced into working the streets. Assuming those two points to be true, Cain's last name would have never been relinquished and his entire life's trajectory would be different. 

And considering how pale he is now, how much taller he's grown and the great improvements in his physique… at this point the other Cain might as well be an entirely different person. 

And he is. Truth be told, Cain is really only interested in seeing if his parents are alive. He could care less about his mirror-self. 

Last but not least, the final argument that's been weighing on Cain's mind is whether or not to inform Olive of his System — some or all parts of it. 

Normally, this thought would never occur to him. Cain isn't a loner, but he spends most of his time alone. That's just how he is, it's how everyone had to be back on his planet — there weren't exactly many people left to socialize with. 

The reason he's considering it is due to something Baku told him what now seems like ages ago: Cain and Olive have established a Symbiotic Contract. 

A contract that, for all intents and purposes, is constructed under the guise of equality. Olive can not control Cain and Cain can not control Olive. In fact, according to Baku, the contract even prevents them from killing each other and binds their words when an agreement is made. 

What does that mean? 

It means the contract can be edited to include more and more clauses as long as both Olive and Cain agree to them; and the clauses can be anything and the contract will uphold it. 

Knowing all of that, Cain then can't find a good reason NOT to inform Olive of at least a few things Baku taught him. Like Baku said, they're bound for life now. 

"You probably don't know this but —" Cain made up his mind, "we've entered what is called a Symbiotic Contract which is just a fancy term that means we're equals. You can't control me and vice versa. One of the other neat tricks of a Symbiotic Contract is that its clauses can be edited if we both agree to something. With that said, there's information I'd like to share with you, but only if you agree to add it to our contract that you won't tell anyone else." 

An unexpected twinge of bewilderment rushed over Olive's face as she processed Cain's words, but a moment later, her eyes sparkled in anticipation. 

"That's fine with me. How do we edit the contract?" Olive asked. 

…

Baku never taught Cain that part. 

"Come with me." Cain left the airport boarding area and strode to a secluded corner in the airport's center — a park built underneath a massive glass dome that shielded the airport from the snow. 

Sitting on a wooden bench underneath a luscious tree, Cain momentarily admired the lush greenery that surrounded them. 

Looking towards Olive who sat next to him, Cain waved goodbye. 

"I'll be back in a bit." 

'Take me to my Domain!' Cain shouted in his mind. 

…

Nothing happened. 

"Are you… gonna go somewhere?" Olived inquired. 

'I'm gonna kill that god damn bear!' Cain preached in his mind. 

Then, before Cain could process his embarrassment, a black tear in space exploded from Cain's chest and devoured him whole. 

***

Cain warped to his Domain and found himself sat upon his bed, the only thing he currently owned. Standing up, Cain looked around his mundane cabin in the hopes of finding Baku. 

"I can hear you, you know." Baku's baritone voice erupted behind him. 

Spinning around, Cain found Baku laid leisurely underneath his sheets. 

"What?" Cain was stun-locked. 

"My Lord's inner-monologue. I'm able to hear it when you're outside of the Domain." Baku replied indifferently. 

Cain's eyelid twitched. 

"And you're just telling me this now?!" 

"Unfortunately my Lord, we currently lack any reason for you to communicate with me from beyond the Domain. You lack servants of any kind, there's no production or work to be done around here, and replying to my Lord costs Lost Souls — of which we have none." 

Suddenly, Cain felt like he was being lectured by his older brother.  

"And to answer my Lord's inquiry, editing the contract merely requires a verbal and explicit agreement. Simply state the new clause, state you'd like to add it to the contract, and state your acceptance. Likewise, returning to the Domain involves the same process — it just takes me some time to pin-point your exact location." 

"Hmm. . ." Cain digested this information, "and what do you think about telling Olive?" 

"My Lord is free to do whatever he likes. It is as you've said, a contract of equals and she will surely perish before my Lord." 

"Right. . ." Cain rolled his eyes at his partner's apathetic attitude, "okay well send me back." 

***

A black portal cut through space above the bench where Cain last sat. Appearing from darkness, Cain stepped into the light and threw himself onto the park bench. 

Olive, watching all of this unfold from the sidelines, did her best to maintain a poker face, but the absurdity of space tearing completely warped her mind. 

'If Cain can cut space. . .' 

'If he can warp across the universe. . .' 

'Just how strong is he?' 

Then, Cain's golden irises landed upon Olive's skin. Shivers ran down her spine. 

'A demon.' Olive said to herself. 

'No. A Lesser Evil.' 

"Sorry. My kid was acting up again — you know how they are." Cain comfortably lied through his teeth. 

He didn't want to admit it, but it was fun 'being from Hell.' He had the freedom to say anything he wanted and the people had no other choice but to believe him. There simply was no alternative for information regarding Hell. 

"Let's edit the contract." Cain said. 

***

In another part of Greenland, a familiar destination, just outside the city of Nuuk next to the nearest rural town — two women appeared from thin air. Covered in blood and thin as bones, the two women found themselves in a large white tent filled to the brim with tubes and wire, computer screens and flickering lights. 

Seconds after appearing, a group of men in hazmat suits rushed towards the women. 

"More survivors!" The men shouted above the distinct hum of all the technology.

The two women, meanwhile, dropped to their knees and passed out on the spot. Placing them onto stretchers, the women were immediately transported to the underground facility beneath Nuuk where they were given emergency medical treatment while their many biological aspects were recorded. 

Less than a day after collecting their samples, the UN found a DNA match for both of the women in question. 

Carla Jenkins. A stay-at-home mother from rural Virginia. 

And Sister Holly Hudson. A respected nun from a quaint town in Poland. 

Before the two women woke up, Secretary-General Barber alongside Admiral Adams, the First Sea Lord, and the General of the United States Marines all stood shoulder to shoulder outside of the two women's recuperating rooms. 

Watching them sleep from the observatory room, like lab-rats, the four globally influential people discussed their plans moving forward. 

"Well?" Barber prodded. 

"I don't recognize them —" Admiral Adams replied, "but I know where they're from." 

"Elaborate." Barber commanded. 

"When I first arrived in the Land of Trees, I made sure to collect as much information of the past as possible. During that time, I learned of two women who went missing from group four's initial twelve — assumed to be dead, but they're bodies were never confirmed." 

"I imagine that sort of thing happened often, no?" The General of the Marines commented, "Over two-hundred and thirty people are estimated to have been transported and only thirty-four — now thirty-six — remain. That's an eighty-five percent mortality rate." 

"I can assure you I am well informed, General. I kept a journal, after all." Admiral Adams quipped.

He also pulled a green leather-bound journal from his inner-breast pocket, flashing it to the General as if that was evidence enough. 

As they were discussing things amongst themselves in the observatory room, the eyelids of both Carla and Sister Holly flickered to life. 

//////

Thank you Romance_guy, Hooverfh, and DevilGod_of_Chaos for the power stones!!!!