#(yes I formatted zines and forced myself to do it properly for zines yes I know)

[lumeha]

being ESL is just applying some typography rules the way you'd do it in your first language and mixing all different kinds of ways to write words and then shrug because it's just good enough

[occupationalhazards-series]

Zero Hour: Track One (B Side)

[image: a drawing of a vinyl record with the text of “Zero Hour B Side”  and “HEDY” and “I Looked Into The Abyss So I Could Hold It In My Hand” in the center.]

Content Warnings: depiction of an anxiety attack, referenced stalking, referenced long term harassment

The next day, not so far away, a woman is casually running through portals that bisect small amounts of space-time. Her dark skin glows a myriad of colors in the streetlights, and a fountain of micro-braids sways every time she lands particularly hard out of a portal run. The pure red ribbon holding her braids up always flutters a moment behind her.

She is quite tall, something a passerby would only have a split second to notice before she disappeared in another portal.

The person following her is more surprised about the tinted glasses she has on. It's nearly midnight.

The tail is even more shocked to realize that the woman is using such extravagant magic to go to... the twenty-four-hour apothecary?

It's near midnight, and Hedy Holiday knows damn well she's being followed.

She goes to the apothecary anyway. She didn't want them to see her here- that's just one more thing to show up in the "encouraging letters"- but her inhaler only had a few more days worth of doses in it.

No use inviting trouble.

There’s a chime on the door that sings as she meanders her way in. She lets herself drift for a hot minute, the extra mild incense and hum of the small decorative fountain a soothing constant of every visit. There’s no relaxing for long, but the stop is nice nonetheless. The chemist on shift tilts their head in her direction, but says nothing and makes no move to get up. It’s fine with Hedy; she kills time reading the updated practitioner schedules and the newest pamphlets on bruise balms and their interactions. It doesn’t take long before they finish reading the article in the medical journal at hand with their fingers and grab their cane to wander to the back to retrieve her prescription. They’re still feeling out the on-hold prescription bags for her name when they speak. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you Miss Holiday?” She shifts her weight, a tad sheepish. “Ahhh, yes. I guess you could say work has been running me ragged lately. I’ve definitely had to go farther than usual.”

“Work. Hmmm. I suppose the person outside is your companion from... “work”?” Hedy isn’t really surprised at Dee’s bluntness or their superb sensory abilities, but still takes a moment to respond carefully. “No, that person is here for... something else.” Hedy hears the sharp slam of a cabinet door and the patter of Dee’s cane and their steps. When they return with her prescription, their own braids jump with the force they use to close the back room door. “Something else like threatening a preferred courier of the Apothecary and Chemist’s Association?” Uh oh. “Haha, no need to jump to conclusions, Dee. It... only invites trouble.” The chemist looks unimpressed but takes the hint. “Miss Holiday, don’t insult me so. Just... take your medication and go through the back door. Do you need any information or medical support before you go?” Dee’s voice is still even as always, but their cane is held in a crushing grip that reddens the beige of their hands. Hedy just looks at them for a second. As the silence drags on, the incense snuffs out and the overhead selenium(?) lights sing in their brightness.

She gives up quickly, exhaling shakily as she grabs the inhaler and refill. She secures the items in the inner breast pocket of her coat; she leaves the packaging and nearly empty disk on the counter. She hesitates, turning back to Dee’s solemn off center stare. Reaching out gently, slowly enough to be stopped, she drags her right index finger down the center of their forehead. “Close that eye of yours, Dee. Its a bit late to be divining the truths of the world, don’t you think?” Hedy’s soft murmur and a quick clasp at their shoulder signal her exit.

For a moment, the only response is the lights overhead fading back to normal and the sounds of Dee lighting the incense again.

“Safe travels, Miss Holiday. May the shadows guide your journey well.”

A blessing much appreciated by its recipient.

From here, she can make a clever exit if she can move and cast efficiently enough. She takes a deep breath, one, then two. Closing her eyes, she thinks back and counts the number of steps she normally uses to walk in from the side entrance.

One more breath, one more thought, and a portal opens inside the dimly lit room, its opposite number opening just outside the side entrance. Instead of going through this set, she does the sensible thing and opens another.

Lord Dauphin may hire the very best to harass her so, but even the best mages haven’t been trained in stagecraft and sleight of hand.

This time she doesn't need to think so hard. She just reaches out and focuses on the charged piece of amethyst she'd left near the edge of her casual magic use range, about two blocks away on the roof of a grocery store she delivers for. This portal is the one that will lead her to the proper path home.

Hedy pats the hidden breast pocket of her slim-fitting jacket- good, good, meds and refills were are where they need to be for this trick- and then saunters straight through the first portal that leads to right outside.

From the side entrance of the apothecary she walks to an alley a block over, making sure to not acknowledge her tail. She ducks just out of sight when she turns into the alley, and in a split second, she stretches her magic and opens up one more portal; this one leads straight back to the first set inside the back room. Now?

Now she runs.

Her journey home is a blur, the familiar trip a rush of adrenaline and magic. First the apothecary, then a tuck and roll into the storeroom. She stops just long enough to close the portals in the alleyway and by the side entrance safely, and then takes a running leap through the next set, landing with another somersault on the roof of the grocery store. It's a rush, but the trip from here should be much less taxing. The area is primarily residential- even the shops- so the buildings are of a similar height and width. The next click has a clear line of sight, between the buildings and the full moon, so the portals she throws up and takes down in quick succession come as naturally as her next breath.

The portals, the running, the hiding- they're all draining. The thing that makes her slow down, though, is the thump-THUNK thump-THUNK of her heart. She can feel it hitting a fever pitch. Her chest begins to sting, the wind feels still no matter how fast she moves. The air feels like a cold empty vacuum in her lungs.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calmStay calmStaycalmStaycalmStaycalmStaycalmStaycalmStaycalm

FOCUS!! There, the clock tower. Make it to the clock tower. It's 12:09, and she can make it to the clock tower.  When she reaches the next building gap she chooses to fall off that building and into the next portal. There's no such thing as too careful- what if they catch me? What if they catch me? What if I fall and they make sure I don't catch myself? What if what ifwhatifwhatifwhatif-

She falls out of the next portal in a twist, but she still manages to to tuck into a safe roll as she lands on the building closest to the clock tower.

J u s t o n e m or e

Her breath is tight, and her vision is less focused, but she should have a straight shot now.

It's 12:13 and she can make it to the clock-tower.

Hedy barely has her feet on the roof of the clock tower when she takes out her inhaler. With shaky hands she clicks the device to the correct dosage. One puff, then two.

One breath, then two.

The inhaler gets put back into her pocket with still shaky hands.

Her breath rattles even as she reaches behind her head to pull out the vivid red ribbon holding her micro-braids behind her head. Without it, dark braids dangle around her face and brush the edges of her shoulder blades. Hedy collapses lowers herself and settles on the concrete to wait for the sedative to kick in properly. It helps faster than anything else for an anxiety attack, but it still takes a solid few minutes for it to kick in in full. In the meantime, she has only the moon and the pure red ribbon that crinkles in her steady, cautious grip.

For now-

For now, it will have to be enough.

Thank you for reading! Zero Hour has been brought to you by:

Ash Pana: Writing, Design, Pencils

Jessica Song: Design, Inks, Pencils

Sasha Reneau: Zine/Print Formatting