by Simon Holt
“Use my office.”
Reggie hurried to the end of the corridor and clicked the answer button as she was shutting the door behind her.
“Hello?” she asked breathlessly.
“Hey, you.” The voice was scratchy, and the connection not entirely clear, but it was unmistakably Aaron.
“Oh, it’s so good to hear you,” Reggie said, sinking into a chair by the window. “How’ve you been?”
“Getting my ass kicked, but that’s not a bad thing.”
“If you say so. I don’t suppose you can tell me where you are, or what they’ve been doing to you?”
“No, I’m sorry, Reg. You know the secrecy drill with Tracer training. It’s hard enough to make the occasional phone call.”
“I know.” Reggie tapped distractedly on the glass.
“But I want to know about you. How are you feeling? Everything still good? What are the doctors saying?”
“So far my blood work is consistent with what it was in the fall. It hasn’t plateaued, like Macie’s, but the rate of change has slowed. So, you know, I’m still at least part human.”
“I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous for you to be going into all these fearscapes when we know they’re affecting you in this way.”
“We’ve been through this, Aaron. There’s no other way for the moment.”
“I swear to you, Reggie, we are going to find another way. I’ve seen some of the experiments they’ve been doing here—we’re going to figure out a way to reverse this thing in you.”
“I believe you, Aaron.”
They were both quiet for a moment.
“So it’s been a real bummer not having you here to help me study for finals,” Reggie said, trying to keep her tone light-hearted. “You know, I’m going to have to take summer school to catch up for missing the fall. That’s probably the biggest travesty to come out of this whole mess.”
“Yeah, I’d take a fearscape over summer school any day. But other than that, how are things? How’s your family?”
“Great, actually, if you can believe that,” Reggie said. “Dad even went on a date the other night. The woman was hagsville, but I was proud of him for giving it a shot.”
“So your mom…”
“Haven’t heard from her, no. But, you know, I’m okay with it. Things feel solid at home, for the first time in, like, ever. Dad trusts me again, and Henry hasn’t had any more episodes, although he’s been talking about wanting to join the Tracers, which I’ve had to put the kibosh on.”
“You might not be able to do that. Look at what you do—it’s only natural that he’d want to help.”
“He’s ten, Aaron. We’re at least going to wait until he starts shaving before we send him halfway around the world for super-secret Tracer training.” Without meaning to, Reggie had let a note of irritation creep into her voice. Aaron caught it.
“They asked both of us to come, remember? And I know why you said no. I know that you have to be with your family right now and that this is the way you need to fight. But that’s exactly why I had to say yes. I need to finish this—to see it through. It’s the best way I know to help you. I don’t want to be that scrawny nerd who does other kids’ homework anymore. I can’t be that guy.”
“I liked that scrawny nerd.”
“Not enough,” Aaron said, so quietly that Reggie almost didn’t catch the words. But before she could respond, he went on. “Look, this is not why I called, and I don’t want to fight. There’s going to be plenty of time for us, Regina Halloway. Right now, this is where I need to be.”
“I just… I just miss you.”
“I miss you, too. So much.” Aaron was silent again. “Okay. I should go. Give my best to everyone—except Quinn. Quinn you can give my mediocre.”
Reggie laughed.
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”
“I meant what I said. Working with the Tracers now, we’re going to find a way to bring down the whole Vour world, and we’re going to do it without making you less human. There are already some really promising leads.”
“I believe you,” Reggie said again.
“Bye, Reggie.”
“Bye, Aaron.”
She clicked off the call, leaving a little part of her heart on the other side of the line, wherever in the world that might be. But Aaron would be back soon enough, and he was right: There would be plenty of time for them.
She took a moment to compose herself, then left the office. Machen was waiting for her by the entrance to the Icebox.
“How’s Aaron?” he asked. “His parents still believe the story about him attending a prestigious engineering school?”
“I think so. It’s not a hard story to buy. He said to say hello.”
Machen eyed Reggie for a minute.
“Are you okay to do this now?”
Reggie slipped the phone back into her pocket and squared her shoulders.
“Yes. I am.”
Machen smiled at her and held open the door to the Icebox. The chill floated out into the hall, and she disappeared into the dark room. A technician was waiting for her inside. Next to her was the Vour, a twelve-year-old girl, strapped into the specially modified couch. She hissed at Reggie, but the sound was weak and powerless. Reggie felt a surge of confidence; this one didn’t stand a chance.
She sat down in her chair, and the technician turned on the radiator, then set about linking Reggie’s and the Vour’s arms together.
She still did believe that Aaron would find a way to reverse whatever was happening to her physically. And she even believed that it might be possible for the Tracers to use her blood, or DNA, or whatever they could, to discover an alternate method for fighting the Vours, one that could be utilized on a grander scale. What she wasn’t so sure about was Aaron’s claim that they could wipe out the Vours altogether. Because, really, how could anyone eradicate fear? It was as endemic to the human species as the need for water. And Reggie thought that where there was fear, there were Vours. They were inextricably linked, and so, in some ways, humans and Vours were just as inextricably linked.
But for all the horrors that Reggie had seen, she had also witnessed the wonder of the human spirit fighting back. It wasn’t about eradicating fear; it was about overcoming it. And that was something that was of so personal a nature that if she had to keep entering fearscapes one by one, seeking out the souls trapped in hell one by one, then that was what she would do. It was her gift.
The technician finished with the binding. Reggie cast one last glance at the whimpering girl.
“It’s okay, Sara. I’m coming to find you.”
The blackness closed in.