The next morning, I wake up early and can't go back to sleep. I start making breakfast before I remember my meet-up with Jίna. I groan and scrap the eggs I had just cracked.

Biking to Sam's Eggs and Bacon is akin to a nightmare. I run two stoplights, almost crash into a car, and pass two police-criminal show-offs and a new crater. I arrive at Sam's five minutes later than we scheduled with sweat beading on my brow. I barely hung on to the bike handle with my injured hand on the way over.

Jina has her phone out when I arrive. "Ay Ruby! I was about to call you. Are you ok? You are early to everything."

"'m fine. Just tired." Tired of the same stupid encounters in this same stupid city.

"I got us a table. Want to go in?"

Since we went through two-thirds of the items yesterday, Jina's backpack is less bulky. We decide to start with the creepy, happy spider robot first. We already know some of the things it can do, but we find out it can also self-destruct. Remembering the hordes of happy robots, I shiver at the thought of them all exploding simultaneously.

The pen requires a retinal scan, but we bypass that by opening it up and rewiring it. We discover it scans objects and tells the user what the object is. Jina gets super excited and starts scanning everything she can get her hands on. Whenever the pen doesn't know something, you can tell it what the object is. The memory unit on the pen is more advanced than any I have seen. I wouldn't be surprised if it could store information on every object in the world.

When Jina scans me, I get a nasty surprise. "Ruby Davis. May be using a false name."

I sit up straight, eyes hard. Vocal's hideout has been abandoned for ten months. That means he's had information on me for at least that long. Or he went back into his hideout recently. I don't like either option.

Jina seems confused. She looks at me, then at the pen, then at me again. Despite the questions burning in her eyes, she stays silent. I'm eternally grateful to her.

I recognize the watch's hardware. My internal nerd sparks to life as my eyes scan the inner workings.

"What is this wiring? It does not make sense." Jina hasn't yet recognized the device.

"Have you heard of the technology that monitors your brainwaves through your wrist?"

Jina's eyes light up. "That is what this is?" She has good reason to be excited. Scientists had realized they could track brainwaves by noting electrical signals released from the brain to the hand. Unlike sorting through the mess of electrical signals coming out of the brain, keeping track of the ones going to the hand is much easier. Until now, people could only create motions to control simple games like the internet dino game. The hardware here suggests a more advanced version.

When we tune the watch to our brainwaves, we find that certain thoughts cause the watch to work. Imagining twisting one's hand turns the watch on, a knocking motion scrolls through the watch's settings, and a pointer finger press selects an item. We also discover that the watch can project moveable holograms in the air.

The suit has cloaking technology on it. It scrambles nearby cameras, blends into any environment, and collapses into different styles of hats.

The book has nanotechnology engraved into its pages, so we have to observe it by testing it. When opened to the first page, it starts recording. Any other page displays previous recordings. The first video is of Vocal in the get-up I had seen him wear when he had visited me.

"What do you fear?"

"What makes you squirm?"

"When. Will. You. Lose. Hope?"

Images appear in his hands. Spiders. Falling. Himself. Isolation. Darkness. Weapons. Planes. Snakes. Fire. Water. Ice. Emptiness. Closets. Death. Life. Choking. Trapped. Speed.

Then? Nothing.

I decide I would be sick if I saw another video, so I encourage Jina to move to the next object.

The belt seems normal at first. It is intended to look normal. Inside the belt are compactible weapons, screened not only by the belt's surface but also by the technology inside the belt. Perfect for passing through metal detectors.

Finally, there are the knife and the cube. Jina and I have an unspoken agreement to save the knife for last.

We begin by studying the exterior of the cube with our eyes. When that yields nothing, we use digital scanners to further examine it. The scanners show a small, finger-shaped indent on the cube. When I experimentally press my finger on it, the cube clicks and starts to open.

Layers peel off the cube in thin patterns of metal. Like a flower opening for the morning sun, the sheets curve away from the center and extend outward. I couldn't create something so flawless digitally, much less with real materials.

Inside (like the seed of a fruit) rests a semi-opaque sphere glowing with deep purple light. It is surrounded by spiderwebs of gold. I feel I shouldn't be looking at something so strange. This alien object is not meant for my eyes.

I avert my gaze from it, and my eyes shift to Jina's face. She is still staring at the sphere. The vibrant colors reflect off her brown-grey eyes like the moon off a lake. I've never seen a face filled with more wonder.

When Jina turns, I flick my gaze away from her. A thin blush lines my cheeks. "This is... so very cool!" Jina exclaims, eyes shining. "It looks like a power source." She holds up the pen to it and clicks.

"High energy device," the pen says.

"The box and gold plating prevents the energy from leaking out," she theorizes. "The radiation would be too dangerous if not."

Normally, I would be fangirling right along with her. But that feeling of not belonging here persists.

The knife is the last item. I take the time to inspect it for the first time. The handle is a worn, leather brown, almost spongey to the touch. The blade looks brand new, finely polished to a silver gleam. Grey lines run along the blade and handle in imperfect swirls. Every glance makes the pattern seem different from before.

We almost wonder if the knife is simply a fine piece of craftsmanship. There seems to be no way to "open" it, and our scanners can't see any extra thin lines. But recalling the feeling of advancement beyond our time in Vocal's other inventions, we persist.

After almost an hour of study, we finally discover the blade's weight shifts slightly depending on how you hold it. Jina has the ingenious and dangerous idea of flicking the blade downward to test the finding. I barely pull away as the knife lengthens to a full sword.

"Wow! Haha!" Jina grins in amazement. I am in awe. There is no evidence that the blade was ever a knife: The metal seems to have grown with the movement.

Jina flicks the sword up, and it transforms back into a knife. Another flick, and it retracts into the hilt. "That's amazing," I breathe. "I wonder how the blade retains its sturdiness."

After another half hour of study, we are no closer to figuring out the answer. By that point, it is time for me to head to Scriptor's. Jina promises to keep the items safe at her house. "I will study the knife more. It has more secrets!"

The day at Scriptor's is dull by comparison. No new sinkholes have appeared since this morning, and everyone is no closer to figuring out their origin. Only one customer shows up, and the editing process is tedious (It's so much easier to come up with new ideas than look over the old ones.). By the end of the day, I'm fidgeting from the lack of things to do. I would listen to music if I weren't worried it would impair my hearing.

I go home with nothing but worry to look forward to the next day. Well, worry and Jina.