“Sadie? What’s going on?” 

Sadie turned to face Charles, the confusion on her face clear even through her helmet. The red LED on the top of the small device she held in her hand was flashing in time with its erratic beeping as she waved it around in all directions. 

“I’m… I’m not sure, Charles.” Her voice came through loud and clear through the comms system in his suit, and she tapped the device lightly with a gloved finger. “Signal locator must be busted.” 

“It was working five minutes ago when we landed.” He tapped a leg of the ship’s landing gear, as if in appreciation, before approaching Sadie. 

“Well, either it’s busted, or the signal is teleporting all over this rock.” She held out the device and Charles took it, holding it up to the viewport of his helmet. It continued its pulsing, the screen showing exactly what Sadie had said – the signal they were tracking was wildly moving all over. 

“Huh.” 

“‘Huh’ is right.” 

Charles raised his head, looking around the area. The entire body of the moon they had landed on was boring, in layman’s terms. Grey, uneven rock extended out across the surface for as far as he could see, and the surface itself was unnaturally flat, with the dust collecting around their feet being the only meaningful variation in height he’d seen so far. There was a minimal breeze, meaning an atmosphere, albeit a very weak one. 

“We can’t find the beacon like this,” he said finally, lowering the device. “There’s far too much ground to cover and not enough air in our tanks to do it.” 

Sadie shook her head. “We’ve already wasted enough time finding this place. Every second we spend doing something that isn’t searching is another second closer to Reece’s death.” 

“All the more reason to get back into the ship and fix this thing, so we’re not wandering aimlessly and wasting even more time.” 

Sadie crossed her arms, shaking her head and turning away, facing the grey expanse beyond. “Who knows how long it’ll take to fix it? I’d prefer to take our chances.” 

Charles turned away as well, looking up at the ship. “I’d bet I can get it done pretty fast. Feel free to stay out here if you want, though.” 

No response. 

“Sadie?” 

Charles turned around again, and Sadie was gone. He frowned, looking down and noticing that he could see her bootprints where she stood just a few moments ago, but no other prints leading away. 

It was as if she had just vanished. 

He looked up on the off chance that she had just jumped a little too high, but there was nothing in the black, star-lit sky, except for the bright sun that illuminated the moon. 

“Sadie, come in.” 

No response. 

Charles looked down at the signal locator, examining the rapidly shifting location of Reece’s SOS. If Sadie was still on this rock, she’d activate her own signal, too. Not that it would mean anything with a broken locator. 

Grunting with frustration, anxiety rising in his heart, he turned back to the ship. The sooner the device was fixed, the sooner he’d find Reece, and hopefully Sadie too. 

He looked up. 

The ship was gone. 

“What the fuck?” he stared at the space where the ship once was. He almost jumped out of his skin when the locator device chimed suddenly. He looked down to find a second signal had just appeared on the device. 

Sadie’s beacon. 

He would have felt a touch more hopeful if it wasn’t teleporting just like Reece’s. 

He frowned, taking some time to think. An idea struck him, and he turned on his own SOS beacon. The chime rung once more, but this time, the signal that appeared was completely stationary. 

Charles’ eyes widened. The device wasn’t broken. 

Sadie and Reece were teleporting. 

Somehow. 

“Charles!” 

He spun around, almost tripping over in the low gravity, and saw Sadie once more, standing a few feet away. 

“Holy shit, don’t scare me like that.” 

“What the fuck happened? You and the ship both disappeared, where did you go?” 

“I disappeared? You’re the one who vanished!” 

“What?” She exclaimed, flabbergasted. “I haven’t moved!” 

“You… wait, what?” 

“I haven’t moved a step.” 

Charles blinked, looking down at the locator. Both his and Sadie’s beacons were stationary. “The locator said you were moving. A lot. Like Reece is.” 

“The thing’s broken, what—” 

“No, it’s not. Look.” He walked towards her, showing her the stationary signals compared to Reece’s moving one. She just stared at it. 

“I don’t understand.” 

“Me neither.” 

Sadie rubbed the front of her helmet, as if she was rubbing her forehead. “Where’s the ship, then?” 

“Vanished, like you did.” 

“Again, you’re the one who vanished.” 

Charles turned away, thinking hard. “Okay, let’s think about what could be happening. Could it be some kind… of…” He looked down at the locator, and Sadie’s signal was teleporting. He turned back to where she was standing. 

Sadie was gone. 

Again. 

“Shit.” 

“By the stars, Charles,” Sadie said, and Charles spun around to see her standing there. “Whatever you’re doing, stop.” 

Charles’ eyes widened. “Sadie.” 

“Yes?” 

“I think we’re standing on quantum matter.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s impossible.” 

“Theoretically, maybe. But we just witnessed two distinct quantum events.” Charles made sure to stare directly at Sadie the entire time, never looking anywhere else. “Do not take your eyes off me. Try not to even blink.” 

“That’s gonna be hard,” she replied, matching Charles’ stare. 

“Well, the alternative is getting stuck in quantum space. Unobserved, everywhere at once, split into a million possibilities until someone else observes us.” 

“Billions, actually.” 

Charles rolled his eyes. “If we’re getting technical with it, infinite possibilities.” 

“Touche. So what do we do?” 

“We wait until Reece observes us. Or we observe him. Then we find the ship.” 

Sadie sighed. “This could take forever.” 

Charles shrugged. “We got lucky twice. Third time’s the charm, isn’t it? Besides, I’d prefer to run at least one more mission with you. Make it an even fifty-one.” 

She laughed, and Charles felt hope surge in his chest. “There are multiple things wrong with that statement.” 

“Can’t be more wrong than standing on a quantum moon.”