Free The Phoenix Variant: The Fifth Column 3 by Nathan M Farrugia

seemed very different from what she expected. The buildings were Incan stone walls with new roofs and doors. Some new huts were sprinkled around the outskirts made only of timber and metal sheeting. Their walls were painted more colorfully than the stone.
    A trio of kids played near the center of town in colorful ponchos and snowshoes. The bare ground beneath their feet seemed almost visible in the snow, but the more Nasira looked the less obvious it became.
    She paused mid-stride and tried to focus. The light from behind the clouds seemed different now. And the darker patches in the snow seemed deeper, richer. She didn’t know what she was seeing and it didn’t make any sense.
    ‘Are you OK?’ Lucia said. ‘Would you like more potato soup?’
    Nasira shook her head. She removed her hood and knelt on the snow. She pinched the fingertip of her glove and pulled it off, touched the snow with her bare hand.
    ‘Is something wrong?’ Lucia said.
    ‘The snow’s changed,’ Nasira said.
    She looked up and noticed the snow extend through the village to the mountains. Then a pair of legs obscured her view.
    It was an old man. She looked up. He was short, thin and only seemed to have a few teeth.
    He said something to her, but it wasn’t in English or Spanish. Then he nodded to himself and continued a nimble walk through the snow. As he moved from her field of vision, she could see the shape of the earth. But it wasn’t quite the shape.
    The kids were chasing each other, laughing. One girl crashed into another and they toppled into the snow. She could see the collision. Not the girls, the collision itself.
    The girls started to laugh hysterically. They climbed to their feet, gasping for air.
    Lucia stood beside Nasira, watching her curiously.
    ‘I can see the magnetic field,’ Nasira said, turning to her.
    ‘I thought you couldn’t see it,’ Lucia said. ‘You told me—’
    Nasira massaged her temples. ‘That buzzing last night. Don’t know what the hell it was, but it’s like that. Except it’s focused.’
    Lucia had her hands on her hips. ‘I guess that makes you some kind of superhero.’
    Nasira’s stomach crawled at the thought. ‘What did he say to me?’ she said. ‘That man?’
    ‘Oh,’ Lucia said. ‘The world is as you dream it.’
    ‘Yeah, right,’ Nasira said.
    Lucia smiled. ‘I’ll take you to the trail.’
    She led Nasira to the edge of town, occasionally passing other residents who stared at Nasira. She gave them an awkward nod, which they returned with enthusiastic waves and gleaming smiles.
    They soon reached the outskirts of the village. Nasira could see the snow continue for a distance before breaking. It made way for the sharp tips of the mountains that surrounded them. Lucia indicated southwest, where the trail would take her back to the path she knew, under the mountains.
    ‘Thank you,’ Nasira said.
    ‘You came a long way,’ Lucia said. ‘For that one story.’
    Nasira pulled the hood over her head to keep her ears warm. ‘It was an important story.’
    ‘And I’m glad you could tell it.’
    Nasira nodded and started towards the trail. She stopped. She couldn’t just leave it like that. Lucia was already walking back to the village.
    ‘Wait,’ Nasira said.
    She walked back to Lucia. Her mind fumbled for the words. She didn’t know how to start this part of the story. Maybe there wasn’t a way to start it.
    ‘Your brother. And your sister-in-law,’ Nasira said. ‘Lucia’s parents.’
    ‘Yes,’ the older Lucia said.
    ‘You told me you knew how they passed away,’ Nasira said.
    Lucia nodded. ‘Their store was robbed. They died from gunshot wounds.’
    ‘The … As children we were programmed,’ Nasira said.
    She was doing it now. There was no turning back.
    ‘The first operation is to … We … They’re taught … fooled into thinking someone is a terrorist. Or some sort of bad guy, you know.’
    Lucia watched her, silent. Nasira could tell her mind was