The sixth voice reached us under the first stars.We stood as one and walked to the open gate. A woman waited there, barefoot, eyes steady in the dark. “I heard the talk from the road. The heat pulled me. Can I come in?”I stepped forward first. “Name. Then say what you want clear.”“Asha. I want the same fire you all have. Skin and words. Please.”Theo stayed close to my side. “Ask proper, Asha. We answer the same way.”Asha nodded. “Can I join the group? All of you. I need touch and talk right now.”Seri answered quick. “Yes if you keep every word honest. No quiet moves.”Kaelan looked her over. “We do the same. Clothes stay on until someone says otherwise.”Elyra touched Lira’s arm. “You good with a new one?”Lira said “Yes. Let her closer.”Vex, Nia, Joren, Mira and Kade all nodded. “Same rules.”I waved Asha in. “Gate stays open for honest voices. Tell us the first thing you need.”Asha stepped onto the grass. “I want someone’s hands and mouth on me at the same time. Then more. A

The eighth voice came while the stars were thick and the grass still warm from our bodies.We rose together and walked to the open gate. A man stood there, breathing steady, eyes clear in the dark. “I heard the voices from the road. The heat pulled me. Can I come in?”I stepped forward first. “Name. Then say what you want clear.”“Soren. I want the same fire. Skin and words. Please.”Theo stayed close. “Ask proper, Soren. We answer the same way.”Soren nodded. “Can I join the group? All of you. I need touch and talk right now.”Seri answered quick. “Yes if you keep every word honest. No quiet moves.”Kaelan looked him over. “We do the same. Clothes stay on until someone says otherwise.”Elyra touched Lira’s arm. “You good with another?”Lira said “Yes. Let him closer.”Vex, Nia, Joren, Mira, Kade and Asha all nodded. “Same rules.”I waved Soren in. “Gate stays open for honest voices. Tell us the first thing you need.”Soren stepped onto the grass. “I want to be inside someone while so

The tenth voice came just before dawn, when the sky was still thick with darkness but the first gray light had begun to bleed along the horizon. The grass was wet with dew. The fire had burned down to embers. Some of us had dozed. Some of us had stayed awake, watching the road, listening to the quiet.I was one of the ones still awake. Theo's head rested on my thigh. Lira had her back against the bench, Quinn's hand still loosely held in hers. Seri sat cross-legged near the gate, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.I heard the footsteps before I heard the voice. Slow. Deliberate. One foot after the other, like someone measuring each step carefully.Seri stood. She didn't call out. She just waited.The figure emerged from the darkness. A man, tall, broad-shouldered, with a shaved head and a thick beard streaked with gray. His clothes were worn but clean. His hands hung at his sides, open and still.He stopped at the gate. He looked at Seri first, then at me, then at the bodies scattered

The twelfth voice came at midday, when the sun stood directly overhead and the shadows had shrunk to nothing beneath our feet. The grass was warm and dry. We had eaten and drunk and rested. Piper had moved closer to Callum, their shoulders now touching, her head tilted back to catch the sun on her face.The voice was young. Young and uncertain, like someone who had been practicing what to say for a long time and still wasn't sure the words would come out right."Hello? Is anyone there? I heard... I heard voices. From the road. I followed them."We all turned toward the gate. A young man stood there, maybe eighteen or nineteen, with dark curly hair and eyes that darted everywhere at once. He was thin, almost gaunt, and his hands were shoved deep into his pockets.I walked to the gate. "We're here. What's your name?""Leo. My name is Leo. I don't know if I'm supposed to be here. I don't know if I'm allowed. I just heard people talking and laughing and I wanted to see what it was."Theo

The fourteenth voice came at twilight, when the sky was a deep purple and the first stars were pricking through the darkness. The fire had been stoked high. Mara was asleep, curled against Lira. Leo sat with Piper and Callum, his head on Piper's shoulder, his eyes half-closed. The rest of us were scattered across the grass in small clusters, talking low or sitting in comfortable silence.The voice was soft. So soft I almost didn't hear it. It was like someone was speaking to themselves, testing the words, not sure if they wanted to be heard."Hello? Is anyone there? I think I'm lost."We all turned. A figure stood at the gate, barely visible in the fading light. Small. Hunched. Arms wrapped around their own body like they were trying to hold themselves together.I stood and walked to the gate. "You're not lost. You found the right place. What's your name?"The figure stepped closer. It was a young person, maybe in their early twenties, with short dark hair and a face that was hard to