"Ebenezer," she said to him, nodding her head.
"Seraphine," he greeted her with a small bow to show his respect.
"And you must be Amelia." Seraphine looked at the woman who sat behind him on the couch.
Amelia looked up, dreary and exhausted, her face blotched with tears, beaten with emotion. He longed to keep her near him, but he pushed the feeling away.
A Migrator needs no friends or family.
The feeling was useless, and therefore should be put away. Amelia nodded at her, and Seraphine gave a soft smile. Ben sensed the dubious nature of it immediately.
"Are we in the right spot?" Seraphine asked knowingly, her eyes shifting back to Ben for an answer.
"Yes," he responded immediately. "I calculated from the moment she MWAPed."
"Without your Omnis?" She raised an eyebrow, her voice steady. She was testing him.
"Yes."
She turned to Esau. "Check yours."
Ben's cheeks flushed immediately. Even though he knew he deserved the distrust, it was still a slap in the face. Seraphine didn't trust his judgement.
"MWAPed?" Amelia's voice was fragile behind him.
"Migrated without a purpose," Ben explained, his eyes still on Seraphine. "We're in the right spot," he reassured her. She kept her gaze on Esau.
"All good," he confirmed with a nod. His Omnis glowed green to agree with him.
"Good." Seraphine was still calm. "As I'm sure Ben explained to you," she looked back at Amelia, "your sister is in extreme danger. It's not something my Migrators are likely to anticipate, so our knowledge on MWAPing is extremely limited. Johan will do the best he can do." She looked over his shoulder at the doctor.
"Will she come back?" Amelia asked the doctor desperately.
"Most likely," Johan said in a silky voice. "The first MWAP is dangerous, but if she took the dosage I gave to Esau a few hours ago, chances are she's strong enough to return. The trick will be to get her to the Compound quickly enough that it doesn't happen again."
"It can happen again?" Amelia asked.
"Oh, yes." Johan nodded. "Quicker and more deadly each time. Migrators usually take a few weeks to recover from travel. For a Predecessor human, there's no telling how quickly MWAPs can become dangerous." He paused for a moment, then said, "But let's not wait to find out."
Ben's feet felt unsteady, his shoulders heavy, and the small space was starting to close in on him. There were too many bodies in one place. He felt stares on him, eyes looking at him, dissecting him, disapproval, and surprise. His stomach churned. "I'm sorry," he said to no one in particular, making a beeline for the door.
He stumbled down the RV stairs. Somehow, with Seraphine and Johan here, his guilt crushed him, pummeling his chest so it was unbearable to breathe. He found his way around the rear of the vehicle, feeling in the darkness for a place to sit. He settled on the back bumper, trying to steady his breathing.
What was happening to him?
He sat, his eyes adjusting to the surroundings. The light from the RV shone from the side of the vehicle, casting a sliver of yellow on the dark desert floor. The sky beyond them was a blanket of black, stars twinkling in the distance, a sliver of moon hanging in the distance. He wasn't sure what he was doing out here. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. This wasn't him. Something was wrong with him, and had been since the migration.
A Migrator stays hidden, patient, and sharp.
Revelation means chaos.
Chaos means death.
He is most happy when following—
"Ben?"
He picked his head up to take see Esau's shadow lingering at the side of the vehicle. "What?" Ben answered coldly, looking back at the desert floor.
"Are you—"
"I'm fine, Esau." He was careful to be stern, especially with Seraphine in the vicinity.
"She doesn't blame you."
"Of course she blames me," Ben scoffed. How naive could Esau be?
"Not her," Esau retaliated. "Amelia."
"Oh." Ben's chest tightened. He looked away. "I know." He was being honest, though he wasn't sure why she didn't blame him anymore. When push came to shove, this really was completely his fault.
"Seraphine will get past this," Esau assured him. "She did with Lucy."
Ben squeezed his eyes closed at the mention of her name. Ben wasn't looking forward to seeing the last two members of their team, Lucy and Cheyenne. Lucy was a force to be reckoned with, and not in a good way. She was one of the last true Seers, which was the only reason she was still in Seraphine's good graces. Cheyenne was the newest of the Migrators. A rescue. The woman had suffered severe trauma and never spoke, which made her both frustrating and useful. But Cheyenne never gave Ben any trouble. It was Lucy who he had tension with.
Growing up together had pushed them into a competitive relationship. As children they were at each other's throats, always eager to fight one another, always greedy to win. Being a Seer gave Lucy an obvious advantage, but Ben had pulled his weight. With focus and determination, he became a great Migrator, with devotion and drive that Lucy couldn't touch. Recently, it felt like Lucy had it out for him. Ever since she'd Affected her own Predecessor. She hadn't handled it well. The man had died two days later, and they'd never spoken of it again. Ben had thought the worst of her then, making judgments about how careless she had been. If he had only known. Watching Ben make a mistake like this would be both entertaining and satisfying for her to taunt him with.
"Seraphine always forgives Lucy," Ben answered. "She expects the worst from her. Not from me."
Esau sighed. "You're our strongest asset, Ben. She's not going to punish you. She doesn't know how."
Ben laughed. "You'd be surprised what Seraphine is capable of."
Esau shook his head. "To us, and the others, maybe. To you?" He raised his eyebrows. "You're special. Always have been."
"No!" He practically shouted it at him, the anger sudden and unwarranted. But Esau didn't flinch.
"Well." Esau kicked the dirt with the toe of his boot after a few moments of silence, "I'll wait with you. For the girl."
"Amelia doesn't want to?" Ben asked.
"Seraphine wants her to go back to rest. Get the look over by Johan."
"She won't. She'll want to wait."
"You think?"
Ben nodded. "She loves her sister."
The two men sat in silence until Amelia came around the side of the RV. "Ben," she said slowly. Seraphine was on her heels. "I need to wait with you. They want me to go back," she rambled frantically. "I can't. I have to stay. I can't go back." Her voice rose, the hysteria returning. "Faye needs me here. She'll want me here when she gets back." Ben got to his feet.
"Okay." Seraphine placed a hand on Amelia's shoulder and shot Ben a warning glance. "You stay. For your sister." She turned to Ben next. "You and I'll stay, too. Johan," she turned behind her, "and Esau." She nodded at him. "Go back to the Compound. Get it ready for when Faye returns."
She didn't say if. She was reassuring. Convincing. Ben wanted to believe her, but the pull in his stomach was constant and he felt dread instead. He hoped Amelia believed her. Maybe there was still some hope left.
Esau and Johan took back off in the night. Seraphine guided Ben and Amelia back into the RV to find a place to wait. Amelia sat on the floor again, beside the place where Faye had disappeared, running her hand over the floor. Ben sat on the couch, watching. Seraphine made herself comfortable against the kitchen counter, hovering over both of them, avoiding his eyes, though he knew she was watching his ever move.
Ben fell asleep against the gap of the driver's seat and passenger's seat. His shoulder dug into his cheek, leaving an indentation that stayed as he fell into a slumber.
She was gone. The floor, empty. The floor was slick with red, and it spread, across the vehicle, creeping veins up the sides of the couches, the backs of the seats. It snaked over his legs, coiling around his skin, tightening. Tigh
ter still, it found his waist, his stomach, his chest, until it was at his neck and he was choking. Suffocating.
"BEN!" He woke to the shrill call of his name. Amelia's voice was frantic and demanding. Seraphine kneeled next to her, observing the new body on the floor. He could only see a pair of bare feet, but by their reaction, he knew it was Faye. Amelia's head turned towards him, waiting. From what he could see, Faye looked thin and white, her body shaking slightly. She was completely unresponsive.
Ben struggled for words, his gut wrenching, time slowing. He froze, confusion plaguing him.
"Ben," Seraphine broke through his thoughts. Sharp, like a knife. "Let's go."
Her voice ignited his instinct, like she flicked on a switch to remind him what he was supposed to do. His body reacted immediately, turning, sliding into the driver's seat to bring the engine to life.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The massive vehicle flew through the remainder of the desert, tires slamming against rocks, bushes swiping at the sides. Amelia felt all of the sensations—the pull of their speed, fighting gravity to stay rooted to her spot. Faye had reappeared in an instant, her body naked, pale white, shivering. Her eyes were wide, like she'd just seen a ghost. But her lips, pupils, limbs, were still. For the third time in the past week, Faye looked dead.
As they drove, Seraphine graciously snagged a blanket from the bed to cover her sister. Her body looked impossibly small as Amelia tucked in the sides, as though it would keep her underneath. Her heart was in her throat. Time moved so quickly now that she struggled to process the fact that she had nearly lost her sister. Not only that, but there was something very wrong with her.
Beneath the wheels, Amelia felt the ground change. She lifted her head to look through the window. The desert and darkness were gone, replaced with a slate gray color and the presence of fluorescent lights.
They were somewhere inside.
"Quickly!" Seraphine's voice was stern, but still calm.
Amelia heard Ben step on the brake and pull them into park. He ran back towards them, and Amelia got to her feet. She expected Ben to carry Faye, sweep her up in his arms as he had done before. Instead, with what seemed like superhuman strength, Seraphine lifted her sister into her arms effortlessly. Faye was tall, so to see her in the arms of a petite woman was odd. But Seraphine had steady legs and a strong back, carrying her out the side door of the RV.
Amelia looked at Ben, who stood at the head of the stairs and watched Seraphine as she walked off. He followed, glancing at her over his shoulder. A flash of blue underneath his brow locked her eyes with hers. He looked worried, almost frustrated, but his gaze softened as he took her in. "Come on, Amelia."
She obeyed, her heart picking up its pace. The trailer was a comfort. It was familiar. She was about to enter a new world.
Amelia found her way to the steps, taking them slowly, before her feet met a solid, smooth piece of concrete. The place they entered looked like a massive warehouse, with solid gray slabs of floor and wall. Bright fluorescents at least three stories high illuminated the room. Lining the walls were massive mechanical car lifts, from wall to wall, holding vehicles of all kinds. The ones closest to her looked the most familiar—four doors on four wheels.
She recognized a mini-van, a Jeep Wrangler, and a black Mercedes. Above the cluster was a black ticker display sign reading APPROVED FOR USE 2000-2066.
Next to them sat another cluster of what were clearly still vehicles, but different from what Amelia knew. They were rounder in nature, small, sleek - white, silver, and pale yellow. These too had four wheels, but it wasn't clear which end was the front or back. Above these read APPROVED FOR USE 2066-2109.
The lifts extended beyond until the wall ended, each increasing in year, each with a stranger contraption underneath. APPROVED FOR USE 2780 caught Amelia's eye at the top, and the year made her palms sweaty. She tore herself from the new oddities away to keep pace with Ben, Seraphine, and Faye, who moved towards the far wall.
They entered a smaller, drastically darker room than the one they had just left. At first glance, after her eyes had adjusted, she seemed to be standing in some sort of control room. The ceiling was covered in squares of frosted glass, with four small bulbs shining behind them. It gave the illusion that the lights were much dimmer than they actually were.
In the center of the room was a single long, white table, completely bare. Above the table hovered two gray balls, with nothing attached to them. They vibrated slightly, and when Amelia looked at them, her head began to spin. The remainder of the room was bare.
There was nowhere to go.
"Esau! Johan!" Seraphine called out into the middle of the room.
For a moment, nothing happened. Amelia almost laughed.
This is crazy.
Then, one of the gray balls made a clicking noise and then spun in place so quickly it began to just look like a blur. Suddenly, it stopped, and the entire wall to the left of them disappeared, revealing a blindingly white room.
Seraphine entered, shifting Faye gracefully, then turned towards Amelia. "In here."
Ben guided her, placing his hand on her back. She moved forward, towards Seraphine, and was terrified of what might come from the new room. She wanted to ask questions, ask where they were going, what was going to happen to Faye, but she could barely get her legs to move.
The wall shut behind them, enclosing them in a blindingly white, tight space. It felt cramped, but Amelia could barely see with the light radiating from the walls, the ceilings, the floor. She felt hot and sweaty, blinded, increasingly uncomfortable. She was barely aware of Ben's arm next to her own. Seraphine was close enough to touch, too. Faye hung, still limp in her arms, and Amelia strained her eyes to try to see her clearly.
The light got stronger, forcing her to close her eyes
Amelia panicked. She couldn't breathe. She felt like she could collapse at any moment. There was a ringing in her ears. A sound she recognized from when she and Faye had crashed.
The light. Her mind swam.
Was she traveling through time?
She couldn't be traveling through time—migrating, as they called it. Ben would have had to warn her.
Wouldn't he?
And then, all at once, it was over.
The light faded. Her vision slowly came back, and the door they'd entered through slid open again, revealing a new room on the other side.
Seraphine went first, Faye still secure in her arms. Amelia no longer had any concerns about whether or not she could carry her sister. Instead, her concern turned to herself. She felt faint, foreign. Her brain was slow in connecting with her limbs.
"Ben." Amelia stumbled forward. He caught her, barely, by the forearm, guiding her from the room.
"Sorry," Ben said as they entered the new room. "I should have warned you."
"What the hell was that?" Amelia used her other hand to swipe her hand across her face. Her skin felt familiar, but she was sweating profusely. "Did we...migrate?"
She looked at him and his stupidly handsome face, a hint of a smile on it. "No." He chuckled. "We've reached The Compound."
The new room was circular in shape. Everything in it was a bright shade of white. She wasn't sure if they were aboveground or underground, but she supposed that was the point. The left and right walls were covered in clear glass that looked out onto a dark surrounding, broken up in the middle by a white hall. Amelia couldn't make out what was beyond the windows as she followed Seraphine, who was quickly walking through the room.
The long hallway they entered had rounded arches. It seemed endless, disappearing around a corner. Tall, white doors scattered both sides of it.
Johan and Esau stood outside of a pair of doors, both dressed in white outfits, looking like they were waiting for the bus to come. Amelia boiled at their passiveness. Seraphine made their way up to them, and as they came closer, she saw what looked like a stretcher laid out. It was different than the stretchers she'd seen in the hospital, made from a s
ingle flat piece of what looked like white plastic. The object hovered on its own, a slight vibration to it, much like the balls she'd seen in the front room.
Carefully, Seraphine lifted Faye to place her body atop the white platform. It sunk, then rose again, adjusting to her weight.
"Let's bring her inside," Johan said with urgency, coming around the side to move Faye.
"Wait!" Amelia scrambled around the side of the strange stretcher. It felt weightless. She was almost afraid to touch it, yet it held Faye with ease. Her eyes were closed, her skin a pale white. With no hair and no teeth behind her lips, her mouth sagged. The migration had done a number on her.
Gently she leaned forward, caressing her cheek with her finger. "I love you, Faye," she whispered, then planted a kiss on her cheek. She was bone cold. Amelia's heart plummeted.
"Amelia." Ben placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let Johan take her. He can help her."
Amelia realized she was crying. Fat tears flowed freely as she let Johan come between her and the only person she'd ever really considered family. Esau and Seraphine followed Johan in through the doors where he pulled Faye. Amelia made a move to step forward through the doors, but Ben's grip on her shoulder stopped her.
She turned and collapsed into his chest, letting her emotion take her yet again. Hesitantly, she felt him put his arms at her back. Even through her anguish, she sensed the awkwardness he felt. Instantly she became aware of herself, the emotion, and her body. She pulled away from him, breaking the weak hold his arms had around her and turned her back on him, furiously wiping tears from her face.
The doors opened once more and Seraphine appeared, her face expressionless. Something about her was strange, almost otherworldly. For a moment, Amelia felt like an unwanted visitor in an unknown place.
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