“It appears that way, yes,” she said. In actuality, they hadn’t needed to use the anil at all. The Professor’s new technology meant they were able to appear a comfortable distance from the Fairmont itself, on a bit of old docks that Dorothy happened to know were rarely used. From here, they could see what was happening at both the anil and at the hotel, without getting close enough to be spotted.

That, of course, wouldn’t last. It wasn’t part of the plan.

Ash touched the spot below his ribs, gingerly, grimacing, and Dorothy felt a moment of doubt. He shouldn’t be here. He was still injured; they should’ve given him more time to recover. They’d had plenty of it back in 1913, after all. Time.

But Ash had insisted on moving sooner rather than later. He didn’t like the idea of hiding out in the past.

“Anything can happen while we’re here,” he’d told Dorothy. And then, nodding at the Professor, he’d added, “Look at him.”

She supposed he’d had a point. The Professor had spent a single day in 1980 but, by the time he found his way back, an entire city had fallen apart. And so, she’d agreed to return sooner rather than later.

Doesn’t mean I have to like it, she thought, taking in Ash’s pale skin, the sweat on his brow. Surely, things would have been fine if he’d given himself even a week longer to recover?

“Let’s get this over with,” she said, and her eyes flicked back to the waiting Freaks. She felt her heart begin to hammer inside her chest. “Come on.”

Ash nodded and lifted his arms above his head, and, together, the two of them stepped out of the shadows.

The night was heavy with fog, making it difficult to see how many Freaks had converged on the docks in front of the old hotel. Dorothy could make out the ghostly lights of the hotel windows, and the hazy shapes of people moving, but nothing else.

She held her breath as they drew closer. This was the most dangerous part of their plan. They were going to simply give themselves up, and if the Freaks decided to shoot one or both of them, well then that was that. This would all be over before it had even started.

They made their way across the docks, first one Freak turning and spotting them through the fog, and then three, six, many. A cackle went through the crowd, and Dorothy stiffened, waiting for the crack of a gunshot to split the silence. None came. It bothered her that this was such a relief.

“So far so good,” she muttered, under her breath, as the circle of Freaks parted. Ash nodded, but his gaze was trained straight ahead.