Isabelle Fernandez

*dedications will go here*

Mae

I dream of Annegarra strangling Nix with a rope of water. I'm running toward her, faster, faster, until my legs are screaming with the effort. I reach her and I'm about to pull the rope from her neck when she goes still–

I wake to the sound of sobs. I sit up in my bunk and hit my head on the ceiling. I grunt and rub my head as I look around.

Everyone is fast asleep on their bunks. There's no sound but the sound of breathing. There's a tenseness in the air, as if the sleeping people could spring up at any moment, to do anything.

It occurs to me that I must have been the one crying. I feel my cheek, and sure enough, my hand comes away wet with tears.

I wipe away the rest of my tears, smooth down my hair, and slowly climb down the ladder on the front of the bunk bed. It creaks once, softly, but no one stirs. I open the door to the room and walk across the small landing to the steps. I walk down the stairs, careful to step on only the sides of the stairs so they don't creak.

I cross the lobby in four strides. Alan, the man we first saw when we came here last night, is not at his desk. At the opposite side of the small lobby is another spiral staircase, which I climb. The stairs are not as creaky, so I don't have to be so careful about where I step. At the first landing, three spirals up just like our room, are two doors. I carefully open the one marked 'WOMEN'.

It's a bathroom, like I expected. There are only three bathroom stalls, and one shower. I walk over to the mirror above the concrete sinks. My hair is tangled, my eyes are puffy and red-rimmed, and my skin looks dull. I could use a wash.

I peek into the shower. It looks decent and has all the necessary things: body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. I look around for towels and find a bin with some underneath the sink. I grab one and step into the shower, and I close and lock the door. I wash quickly, furiously pumping soap, then shampoo, then conditioner into my hands as I stand in the lukewarm water that blasts down from the shower head. I detangle my hair with my fingers and turn the water off. I dry off quickly and put on my clothes, then quickly wash those, too.

I put the bin of towels back and stuff the one I used into another bin I hadn't noticed before, with no towels in it. I assume it's for used ones.

I wring out my hair then pull it into a ponytail before I step out of the bathroom. I silently walk back to our sleeping room.

I find it full of sleepy but awake Pyres.

Linnea is sitting on the floor, leaning against her bunk bed.

"Mae! Where were you?"

"Taking a shower. I don't rather like being grimy, you know."

"Yeah. Jay and I were wondering where you were. I told him you were probably just exploring. He pretended to stop worrying, and then he went back to sleep."

"Oh."

"So, where's the shower?"

"Downstairs, across the lobby, and up some stairs."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a little bit."

She hops up and steps over other kids to get out the door. I watch it close.

Veronica and Alan walk in carrying trays packed with bowls of the same red soup we had last night. Everyone groans.

They hand out bowls and spoons. The process repeats: Swallow mouthful, gag, smile around at the staring people, repeat.

I finish my soup just as Linnea walks in, looking refreshed. She gives me a small smile, sits down, and accepts a bowl of soup. She chokes down her spicy soup, returns the bowl to Alan, and clears her throat.

"So. You were the first one awake. Did you get any sleep?"

"No. I got no sleep, but I somehow was the first to wake up."

Linnea laughs. "Okay. But seriously. Did you get some sleep? I know I didn't. I slept lightly and woke up several times throughout the night. With nightma–" She shakes her head. "Never mind."

I nod. I know she meant she woke up with nightmares. I didn't get many nightmares, but I dreamt of my family. They were looking up at me from the ground, begging me to return. I shudder.

Once Veronica can get everyone under control after eating her own soup unflinchingly, she forces everyone to get off of their bunk beds and stops all the pillow fights breaking out. We gather, cramped, on the floor in the middle of the room. I sit next to Linnea and Jay. We are part of the lucky few that gets to lean on the sides of the bunk beds, so we get the least crowded part of the room.

Veronica stands in the middle of us.

"Did you get any sleep?" She asks simply. By the look of her, she didn't. She has bags under her eyes, and her eyes are puffy and red. She also might have been crying. It's not in my place to ask, but I have some idea of what must have happened. No doubt more attacks.

Some kids nod, others shake their heads. Some don't respond at all. I do a small nod. I slept, but not deeply enough to relieve me of dreaming.

Veronica sighs, then continues speaking. "Good. Um... there were more attacks last night."

I'm not surprised to hear that. But what I am surprised to hear is that 'um'. Veronica? Not sure what to say? There must be something she isn't telling us that makes her cry at night and hesitate when she speaks.

"I... I don't want to show you the pictures from the security cameras nearby. They're too gruesome. But I have to tell you something."

I gulp. Here it comes.

"I had a sister."

Oh.

"She was killed in one attack on a jet station. People say she was trying to warn me that there would be attacks. But she never made it to Forenay, where she thought we were."

I never knew she had a sister.

"And let me tell you, she was the most amazing sister you could ask for. If you're thinking right now that your sister is better, you're lying, because does your sister sneak her way into alternate worlds that she has no chance of surviving in just to make sure you come to no harm? No. I'm sure she hasn't. You must understand that my sister is not immortal, so her risk is even higher. No Syynage, nothing. And I love her more than everyone but Alex. So you know what? I'm really sad. But we have nothing to do with our sadness but use it to fuel our chase of Annegarra. Alright?"

Everyone solemnly nods, including me. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to know Cassidy died trying to prevent me from dying. Tears come to my eyes at the thought, so I know it can't compare to Veronica's pain.

She nods quickly. "Okay. That's all. Annegarra was last seen in a wealthy area of town. Very useful for blending in and hiding, unfortunately. Even for Annegarra, surprisingly. We will head over to town and see if we can find out any more information. Unfortunately we can't just attack her if we catch up to her. We are a group of teenagers led by two adults."

Some people look insulted.

"Granted, you're very practiced, prepared teenagers, and Matilda and I are both very prepared too, but we need to make a plan based on the information we get about Annegarra, if any." Matilda Hackett, who sits next to Veronica, nods. She has been silent this entire time.

"Now I'm really done." She laughs shakily. "Just let Matilda and I talk for a bit and we'll be off."

She sits down and has a hushed conversation with Matilda for a few minutes, in which Linnea, Jay, and I casually strain to hear every word and fail.

Veronica catches me looking at her and raises an eyebrow. I shrug and grin awkwardly. My face must be tomato red.

Veronica raises her other eyebrow and beckons to me with one finger. I gulp, stand up, and sit down next to her.

Veronica's eyebrows go back to normal.

"Were you listening to my conversation?"

"I was trying."

"Hmm. Do you have anything you'd like to ask me?"

If she was giving me an opportunity, I might as well take it.

"Yes, actually. What were Nix's last words?"

That pushed a button.

She narrows her eyes. Matilda quietly gets up and walks away. Veronica pays no attention.

"Why do you want to know?" she asks sharply.

"Because she was my friend, and you killed her. I think I deserve to know."

Veronica tilts her head and narrows her eyes further.

"Fine. She said, 'She isn't strong enough. I was trying to help her. It still would have worked. It would have worked!'"

I don't know what to think of that, but I can imagine Nix using her precious last breaths to choke out these words.

But who is 'she'? And what would have worked?

I look away from Veronica. "Okay. Okay, thanks."

She nods. "Let's go."

I get up, beckon to Linnea and Jay, and we silently roll up our sleeping bags. They don't ask any questions, and I don't try to explain.

Bedding in our arms, we set out again. I don't know how we'll walk all the way to the epicenter of the city carrying large bedrolls, but apparently Matilda and Veronica have other plans.

Sometimes I just don't understand Veronica. Despite the fact that her sister was just killed at a jet station, whatever that is, apparently that's where we are going.

It's only a ten-minute walk out of the dark streets and into decent areas again, in which, at one intersection of more empty streets, there's a wide staircase that's made of concrete, contrasting with the glass, that leads down into the earth. Luckily, it's brightly lit. We stumble down those steps into what looks exactly like a train station. There are ticket machines, people, yellow lines just before the–

No, I can't quite say tracks. There are a few grooves in the metal flooring of what would be the tracks.

A host of people is gathered right at the edge of the yellow line, but Matilda pushes through them to get us to the very front. I look down at the tracks and try to think about only where we're going, what we're doing next, who we will see next.

But my mind is screaming Nix's last words over and over, trying to make sense of them. My head is pounding so loud I want to plug my ears, even though it won't help.

A swift ping catches my attention. A jet has arrived.

And I see why they call them jets. Well, they're more like silver and black missile-shaped forms of transportation with small wings. They could hold about twenty people.

Doors slide open, and we are pushed in by the crowd. There are cushioned seats packed close together. Each side of the aisle seats three. I sit next to Jay and Linnea, as usual. We are pressed so close to each other I'm afraid we'll suffocate.

Veronica whispers something into the driver's ear and then disappears in the rows behind me.

Once everyone's inside, the jet pings again and we're off. The jet moves so fast my head has flown to the back of the seat, and the turns are so sharp I jerk around, and if it weren't for Jay and Linnea, I would have been thrown around the whole jet many times.

There are no windows in the passenger's section, but at the front I see a small, almost cockpit-like room with one window that shows the blackness ahead, in which the driver flips switches and jerks handles and jabs buttons as quickly as the jet moves.

Then suddenly, we're jerked straight up. My stomach somersaults. Linnea stifles a scream, and a small squeak comes out of Jay's mouth.

Bright light bursts through the jet's front window. We have come aboveground. Now we're righted, going straight again, fast through the streets of Cheiltdrome. Peeking through the windshield, I see the neighbourhoods around us slowly transforming from decent to respectable to upper middle class to big city lights and large buildings, some of which might be hotels that Annegarra could have stayed at.

After traveling through this area for a few long minutes, we stop abruptly. I peek out the window and see a hotel. I start to stand, grateful to get out of this crowded, dizzying jet, but a hand on my head pushes me back down. I turn around and see Veronica. "This isn't our stop."

I slump down down into my seat again. A large group of people gets out, enough for us to breathe a bit.

We shoot forward again, as soon as the doors close. We turn three times and stop again. My head flies forward. They really should have seat belts on these things, especially for when there is less people, so we won't get concussions. My head almost hits the seat in front of me.

Veronica taps my shoulder. "Now. Here's our stop." I gratefully get to my feet and dizzily stumble out the door with the others. I look up once we're on the sidewalk and see a shiny silver hotel. I look over at Linnea's reaction, and her eyebrows have jumped up, but soon return to their regular place.

We all gather then enter the hotel. The surface of the front desk is shimmery silver (steel?) as well. The lady behind the desk, dressed in pale gray with her brown hair pulled back, asks, "Hello, how may I help you? Would you like to book a room?"

Veronica wastes no time responding. "Yes, please. One large room or several, please. I am Veronica Forenay, leader of Forenay Place, and this is Matilda Hackett, leader of Hackett Place." She gestures to Matilda.

"Ah. Yes, of course. I will book one large sleeping room for you. Would you like to head up right now?"

"Yes, I would."

"Great. Here's your key." She pulls a silver key card from a small machine, and plants it in the palm of Veronica's hand. She closes her hand, nods thanks, and we walk across the wide lobby to the elevators.

The interior of the elevators, of course, is made of mirrors. Matilda takes her group in one and Veronica takes Forenay's Pyres into the other one. Once the doors close on us, A thin red bar of light traces over us, then slides smoothly upwards. I assume it scans for the card then takes us to the right floor.

A small 'ping' sounds after a solid minute of silence and the doors open to long carpeted hallways on either side. We step out seconds before Hackett's group does, and we rejoin them.

Veronica motions for us to turn down the left hallway. The group pulls me in that direction and we walk about halfway down the hall before Veronica and Matilda, who has found her way back to the front, stop us with their arms and Veronica unlocks the door. We walk into a surprisingly large room, and there's another surprise. No bunks. Just beds. Granted, they're small beds, but to get a bed to myself is a luxury I thought I wouldn't have again for a long, long time. But here I am, and I can pick a bed.

We automatically move to beds we like and unroll our sleeping bags. It's only noontime, so it's not time to drop asleep just yet, but I lay on my bed and close my eyes anyway.

I must have fallen asleep because what feels like seconds later Linnea is vigorously shaking my shoulder, saying, "Mae, Mae, Mae, get up, get up!"

I murmur, "Ugh, how long have I slept?"

"Fifteen minutes, relax. I slept too."

"Oh." I sit up and look around. Everyone is settled on their own bed. I rub my eyes, pat down my hair, and I suddenly hear three loud claps. I'm startled before I realize it's Veronica.

She calls out, "Alright. Enough rest, you're being lazy. Matilda went to get some info from the locals while you all were sleeping like the teenagers you are. She's back now–" she gestures at a quietly smiling Matilda–"but she knows that Annegarra is in this very city, but we don't know exactly where. So what can we do without giving ourselves away? I'm not sure, but if anyone has any ideas, let me hear it."

No one speaks up, so she says, "Well, okay. I suppose we should restock on weapons and food. Let's go out to the shopping area. No one will ask us questions, I'll see to that."

That was sudden. I heave myself off my bed and am the first one out the door.

Once we're out the door again, Veronica leads us down some streets until we reach a mall. We stock up on nonperishables and eat a proper meal.

At a weaponry store (a weaponry store! In a mall!) I trade my tiny knife for a dagger, about the length of my forearm. I also pick out a waist strap and sheath for it. Linnea does the same, and we got all of our supplies for free, since we're from Forenay Place.

Veronica whispers to the clerk and then she turns around to motion to us. We follow her into an employee room which holds a small TV and couches. She motions for us to sit down, and we do. The pudgy clerk looks sad as she picks up a remote and turns on the TV. The first channel we see is about another attack.

"...In a small village just outside of the respected Forenay Place. Fortunately, no one inside the Place was harmed."

My head starts pounding, my pulse drums, and my mind immediately starts thinking of things that didn't happen. Forenay is still standing, I see from the footage shown on screen, but the pretty pastel houses just outside are blown to bits, some still burning as they're being filmed. How Annegarra could have had access to fire, I don't know. I know no one could be dead, but some may be permanently hurt.

But seeing Forenay still standing both worries and relieves me. It worries me because the attack was so close, and was Annegarra trying to give us a message? But I'm relieved since she didn't flat out ignite Forenay.

Veronica seems to feel the same way as I do, but she is showing it on her face. Her mouth is open and her brow is creased. But she shakes herself out of it and stands up. She quickly thanks the clerk and we walk out in silence.

On the way back to the hotel we talk quietly about whether we should leave the hotel now and go follow her, but we come to the conclusion that since we don't have a plan, we better not just jump into the danger. And by the time we think of a decent attack plan, along with a plan B and maybe C, Annegarra for sure will be on to another village or perhaps Forenay itself.

At the door to the hotel, Veronica stops us and says, "Wait. Do you think that you could be ready to fight at any moment? Even without your armor?"

Personally, I think that may or may not be a stupid decision, because if we go unconscious from blood loss because we were not wearing our armor, then it's on us, but if Veronica seems to think it's alright, it couldn't be fatal.

And yes, I could be ready to fight at any moment, as long as I am conscious and have my knife with me. So I answer a solid 'yes', along with everyone else. Veronica turns around to face us, and then says, "Well, I'm getting sweaty in this outfit, so shall we pick up some regular clothes?" Everyone shrugs and some nod. We turn around and swiftly walk back to the mall.

I choose several pairs of jeans, one pair of capris, and various shirts and sweaters, and a pair of running shoes. I have to remember to pick based on versatility and comfort, not fashion. It's a great relief to get things for free, too.

Linnea doesn't think so much about the fact that we might have to fight and run in these clothes, so she stocks up on leggings, tank tops, and shorts. She also buys a pair of sneakers. No one can talk her into getting tougher clothes. She may have gotten a little overzealous with the whole free clothes thing.

We walk out, happy we can change into normal, more comfortable clothes, but still nervous and shocked about the attacks.

Once we make it to the hotel, we heat up burritos for lunch, shower, and change into clothes. I skip the shower, since I had one this morning. I slip on my black capri leggings and a long-sleeved dark blue shirt, with my new green running shoes. Finally somewhat comfortable, I lay down on my tiny bed, with my feet over the footboard, hanging over the space between mine and Linnea's.

After just minutes of dozing, I wake up to everyone admiring each other's clothes. Some dressed more for versatility, like me, and some abandoned all thoughts of comfort and dressed for fashion. I roll my eyes at Linnea's outfit as she approaches me from the small but full kitchen, eating a burrito. She's wearing a tank top and tight shorts with her sneakers. I sigh, and Linnea laughs.

"What, you jealous of my fashion sense?"

"No, but you'll be jealous of me when I can actually move if we have to fight."

She laughs lightheartedly and throws away the wrapping of her burrito before sitting next to me. Jay appears on my other side seconds later.

"Those shoes match your eyes. It looks good," he comments.

"Thanks." I respond, and look down at my feet. My shoes do indeed look like the color of my eyes.

Suddenly Matilda speaks up. "Chil'ren! Chil'ren. I am going to visit the lobby and speak with the people there, because you ne'er know how much new info'mation there could be by now, about the latest attack. There could even be a new 'un!" A collective shudder travels through us, and she quickly tries to amend her mistake. "Bu' let's hope there isn't, righ'?" We all nod. "Awrigh', 'ere I go."

She leaves and conversation commences as soon as the door shuts.

"What if there is a new attack?" I ask Linnea and Jay, both.

Jay says, "We run to the rescue?"

While Linnea says, "There won't be."

I laugh. Linnea continues, "No, that's not possible. An hour ago a new attack occurred. There can't be another one an hour later."

I think then say, "well, look what happened. The attack on the jet station just happened, probably not too long ago. Then this one, just outside of Forenay. I think an hour is plenty of time for her to relocate."

"Sure, then. But why does she attack? It's not going to help her rule the world or anything. In fact, it's only destroying the world she wants to rule."

I sigh. "Linnea, you're two years older than me. You haven't heard of one person or society threatening another until the threatened one gives rule over to the threatener?"

She purses her lips. "Believe me, I've heard of that. I just don't think we're weak enough to give up so easily. Doesn't Annegarra believe that we are too proud to let her have Cheiltdrome under her thumb just because of a few attacks that do nothing. I am two years older than you, Mae. And that's part of the reason I know that we won't give up so easily."

"I hope we won't."

Matilda walks in then, looking mildly alarmed. She carries photos in her hands. We don't need to ask her. It must be photos from the attack, or photos of Natalie. It occurs to me that they must be keeping her because she can create fire. Maybe she isn't a traitor. Maybe she was just kidnapped and forced to create fire for their attacks. It's worth thinking about.

Sure enough, Matilda's holding pictures of Natalie looking stressed, very stressed. She didn't look stressed in the last pictures, but now she looks troubled as she throws fire at the buildings outside of Forenay. One eye is covered in blue jewels, and the other in red ones. She must have taken some aquakinesis when she was either taken or when she left. Maybe she can create both now.

In most of the five pictures, Natalie's face is concealed by her hair or the security cameras only caught the top of her head. But in the ones in which I can see her whole head, one picture stands out to me. Her head is about at a three-quarter angle to the camera, and she is getting ready to throw another ball of flame at a house. Her hair is off the back of her neck, and there, at the base of her neck, is a bright red half-image of a ball of flame, the sparks flying upwards. Half of the Forenay Place symbol. And where the other half of the fireball should be, there is a small image of a tsunami raging up and leftwards, tiny ocean spray splashing. I'm assuming that's the symbol of... Annegarra, maybe.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. We can't lie dormant forever, using a lack of plans as an excuse to lazily follow Annegarra around until she bombs us all to bits.

"I suggest we make plans now." I say after clearing my throat.

Veronica turns to me and says, "We–we should. Yeah, we should. So what should we do?"

"Well, we should think of something that we can do anywhere. Not just at the area next to Forenay, because what if by the time we come up with a plan, Veronica has attacked another area?"

"Well then, yeah, we should come up with a flexible plan. What do you want to do, storm up to Forenay and take hostage all the Annegarres that we see? No. We can't do that, it'd be too revealing. We need to be subtle and stealthy. If we can. At first." Veronica thinks aloud.

Linnea pipes up, "how about we disguise ourselves and disperse? We can arrive at different times, then attack Annegarra in groups."

"Well. I suppose that could be alright. But I get Annegarra."

I speak up, "No. I want to kill her. If she hadn't selfishly tried to take over everything and everywhere, none of this would have happened, and Nix would be alive."

"Think about this," Veronica mutters, "she hasn't killed your sister, has she?"

"No, but before long, she might. You never know, she could be thinking of attacking Belfast itself! You know, the city! On the ground!"

"But if I kill her now, she'll be stopped from doing that!" Veronica is almost yelling now.

I am also nearly yelling. I'm not sure why. I don't have as much of a reason for revenge as she does. But I think it's anger. Pure anger with a dash of paranoia and worry.

I grit my teeth, and force my voice to return to its normal level. I turn to the others, who have been silently watching, and announce, "We will use Linnea's plan, right?" I put emphasis on the 'right'.

Everyone nods in shock. Someone would dare argue with Veronica? But, surely, no.

I have, and Veronica has done nothing, and I don't know why.

Everyone silently decides that now is the time, and for some reason we don't need a Plan B. But Veronica doesn't say anything, so I figure we'll be alright.

We walk out the door, wishing on our lucky stars that we will all return unharmed, and alive. I also hope that our decision to go right away is a good one.

We're silent in the elevator down, and everything seems to be in slow motion, and I'm enjoying every color, every sound, every movement, in case these are my last hours.

Walking out of the door, Matilda motions for us to pass by a small weaponry shop in a short strip mall.

It's surprisingly brightly lit for such a small, empty place, and an overhead bell dings repeatedly as we walk in.

A sprightly young woman walks out of a back room to the tiny counter, tossing a small knife back and forth between her hands. She grins at us, straight white teeth gleaming, and asks, "Hey, Matilda! How can I help you? Knives? Guns? Swords? Daggers?"

Matilda lifts off her somber expression and replaces it with a charming, warm smile.

"Hello, Fiorenza. Actually, we'd like something a little more advanced..." She leans forward, over the counter, and whispers into Fiorenza's ear, quietly but loud enough that I can hear, "we'd like clear Taeve gel. For our weapons. How much for you to stay quiet?"

Fiorenza whispers back, "Hmm... Three hundred seventy five will do just fine."

My eyebrows fly up. Is the money the same here as in Ireland?

Matilda pulls out several bills that look nothing like Irish trade. She hands them to Fiorenza, who smiles without her eyes and folds the bills up before stuffing them in her back pocket.

Matilda leans back from the counter and says, "Alright. Lead the way."

Fiorenza leads us to the back of the weapon store, still tossing her little knife. We pass all kinds of weapons, some that I couldn't name to save my life.

At the back of the shop, Fiorenza opens a door and beckons us through it. The hallway we enter gets progressively bigger until it opens up into a large gray cavern.

Lights switch on. Metal racks line this cavern up its high ceilings, with little blue jars of Taeve pills. Blue Taeve pills. I suppose it's for mortalizing Annegarra and her Annegarres, just as the red ones we had back at Forenay mortalized Nix.

But why would Fiorenza own so many of them? Higher up, clear blue gel is packed tightly into stout jars. Racks of gel and Taeve pills even hang precariously from the ceiling.

I am not the only one marveling. When I look back down, there are teens around me gaping up at the racks. Meanwhile, Fiorenza is climbing up a sliding ladder. She slides along the racks from a row of Taeve pills to jars of blue gel. She pulls a huge burlap bag from a sack hanging from one side of the ladder and shakes it out before carefully filling it with small jars of Taeve gel.

For a long time she repeats the process of filling a bag, coming down to give it to us, and going up the ladder again. She first empties one row, then another, and another, until I fear for her balance since she's reaching to the very back of the racks.

Once she fills all her bags, I hope that maybe we're done, but Fiorenza holds up a finger, mutters "wait" in a clipped, focused tone, and runs through another door in a small gap between racks, and returns after a few minutes with five smaller burlap bags.

She carefully fills those, too, one by one, and passes them down to us.

Matilda and Veronica can't hold them all, of course, so the bags are dispersed between everyone. I am in charge of two large bags. They're heavy, and I'm not sure how far I can carry them before I drag them on the ground or drop them, but for now, I just lean them against my feet and continue watching.

My neck begins to cramp just in time for Fiorenza to finish filling her last bag, which she hands to Jay.

She sighs, wiping her hands on her dark skinny jeans. Light blue gel smears cover her thighs. The rims of the jars must be covered in the Taeve gel.

Finally, after a few awkward seconds, she speaks. "Alright. I'm gonna go wash my hands. That enough gel?"

Matilda nods profusely, adjusting her grip on her four bags. "Yes, yes quite enough. Thank you."

Fiorenza sighs again. "You're very welcome."

She disappears into the other room again and we're left alone. We turn abruptly and leave the huge cavernous room to return to the weapons shop.

Matilda and Veronica take a quick look around the shop, leaving us standing awkwardly by the door before they nod to each other, making eye contact.

We leave in relative silence, but as soon as we walk out the door, everyone erupts in questions.

"What is this gel for?"

"I can't carry this all the way to Forenay!"

"Won't people be suspicious of us carrying blue things if anyone sees us?"

"Shh, shh." Veronica says somewhat loudly, shutting everyone up. "We will coat our knives in this gel, which works the same way as Taeve pills. It mortalizes anyone with aquakinesis. The only differences is the gel form, and the fact that it will be perfectly harmless to us. If we are forced to use our knives in defense of ourselves, the gel will enter your opponent's body and begin to work its magic." Her voice sounds overly formal. Typical Veronica.

We continue following our leaders through the streets of Cheiltdrome, and occasionally, shivers run down my shoulder blades every time my mind returns to the thought of our quickly made decision, and I try to suppress it by smiling at whoever looks at me worriedly and trying to think of anything else, anything else but our destination.

Mae

After about an hour, trudging along the streets, complaining about our heavy loads, we are about a half hour away from Forenay's surrounding neighborhoods.

Veronica, at last, tells us we can stop and rest. I huff with relief and tentatively heave myself onto a random person's front lawn, along with every other soul traveling with our group.

We take a few silent minutes to catch our breath, massage our aching muscles, and exchange small talk that feels oh-so out of place in this tense environment, not far from Annegarra, maybe.

A worry creeps quickly into my brain, and I imagine that Annegarra has moved on, maybe to Forenay itself. I try to block the thought out of my brain, but it's so persistent I blurt it out.

"D'you reckon it's all quiet around here because Annegarra has moved along? I mean, wouldn't we be hearing something?"

Matilda responds right away. "Mae, you ne'er know what she could be doin' silently. Just because you don't hear screams or evil cackles or 'splosions doesn't mean nothin's happenin'."

I don't even know what she means, but I can't really argue much for fear that Veronica will send me off to 'find out for myself'.

Matilda and Veronica both clear their throat at the same time, but Veronica speaks first.

"Alright. Shall we start smearing blue gel all over our knives?"

A few people nod, and we take out some jars of Taeve gel. We plunge our fingers directly into it and simply smear it thickly all over our knives, which feels weird to do, but if it works, it works.

After twenty minutes and seven jars of Taeve gel, everyone's finished and we've been able to consolidate the bags so we have to carry less, which is a huge relief.

Then we continue on our journey to the village a stone's throw from Forenay.

Cassidy

My parents have finally accepted Mae's loss, after a few months. Not in a good way, though. They've become so depressed that they do terrible at work and they burst into tears so easily.

When we get less money coming in because of their failure at work, they are surprised and get even more depressed. We can buy significantly less things now, and our fridge has been progressively less full, so we go to bed hungry most nights now.

Me? I'm numb. Silent. I have become shy and picky with my words, lest I reveal something. I have to stay quiet and pretend to be as depressed as my parents. I am very sad, but at least I know where Mae is. I also feel bad about hiding my sister's new life from my parents, but I know it's necessary. They wouldn't believe a thing if they knew, but they'd be desperate enough to find a way into the clouds, and once they found Mae and her city, they'd immediately punish us all and expose Veronica and everyone else up there for 'kidnapping' children. Which is technically what they're doing, but if they're going to save their own world and possibly ours, then it might be worth something.

But I still can't tell anyone anything. Colm and I even try to keep quiet about it to each other, if we're alone. In case anyone overhears us.

But I do often wonder how Mae's doing, if she's safe, and if she's still immortal. I assume Colm does the same.

I head downstairs for a meager breakfast after another sleepless night, wiping tears from my puffy eyes.

Mae

We are finally there, and some houses are still smoking, people are coughing and crying, but we are confident with our relative safety in numbers. No Annegarres seem to be anywhere, but who knows, they could be in the ruins of houses, in smoldering trees looking down on us, really anywhere.

We're silent as we walk along, weapons out. I suppose we might be a familiar sight after an attack. War-crazy teenagers trying to prove themselves by saving everyone after an attack.

The silence is becoming suspicious. A flash of dark blue hair catches my eye. I turn and blue hair disappears into the black, burnt leaves of a tree we just passed. Apparently, I'm not the only one who noticed this. Linnea taps my shoulder and breathes, "Did you–?" I nod. I look over to Veronica, who hasn't noticed and continues to walk forward. Suddenly our careful group becomes a silent clump of people trying to warn Veronica. Someone gets to her and whispers in her ear, and right away, she whips around, runs to the tree, and climbs up it in one fluid motion. I worry for her, so I follow her, along with everyone else who can fit into the tree.

A cacophony of loud, sharp hisses breaks out and smaller versions of Annegarra with shorter hair that look somewhat like fairies bare their red-gelled teeth in the tree. We aren't the only ones who can access Taeve gel. Everyone who can fit in this tree begins attacking them in any way we can. I skewer two, and right away I see their blue eye jewels disappearing, then seconds later, they fall out of the tree, dead.

I shudder, but it has to be done. The more Annegarres we can kill, the weaker Annegarra herself is.

Tristan Artois gets bitten in the neck by an Annegarre, and I know he won't live. He and the Annegarre fall out of the tree and they wrestle on the ground. I'm torn between trying to help him and staying up here. My head pounds with adrenaline.

I took too long to decide. The Annegarre peacefully separates itself from Tristan's neck and begins to float away. It hits me that he's the first to be killed of ours, and as he lays there, his jewels fading, I make a decision. I have to kill that Annegarre. This shouldn't happen anymore, although I know it will.

Maybe it will even happen to me.

But for now, only Tristan has been killed, so as soon as the Annegarre is a few feet away, I jump out of the tree, knife blade down, and skewer the Annegarre. My blade breaks and one half buries itself in my leg. I think I scream, but I'm not sure. The only thing I can think of anymore is the knife in my leg. I roll of the crushed, stabbed Annegarre, who is quickly dying, and I feel temporary satisfied before I black out.

I wake to throbbing just below my knee, where the knife cut my leg.

I look around me, and I'm laying on the grass of someone's lawn, underneath the tree we fought in earlier. How much earlier, I don't know.

Limp Annegarre bodies surround me. I sit up and lean on my elbows. The throbbing in my leg intensifies. Under my leggings, my leg is wrapped in ivory gauze.

I hear grass being pushed down by feet, and I turn to the left. Linnea, followed by Jay, Veronica, and Matilda, all rush to my side. They must have questions for me, but I have more for them.

So I ask, "How long has it been? Did you take the knife out? Did anyone else get killed?"

Their expressions of concern show that they couldn't care less if anyone else died, and it warms my heart.

Linnea responds, "It's been about an hour. We fought the oncoming Annegarres for half an hour, while a few people guarded you, of course, until the ones we couldn't get ran away. To tell Annegarra, I suppose. We didn't have enough uninjured people left to follow them. We've been resting for another half hour. On our guard, of course. They haven't come back. Yes, we took the knife out and gave you some painkiller as well. No one else got killed, but a few of us got mildly injured. I got a little cut from someone's slashing knife. No Taeve gel, though, so I'm still immortal. As you can tell," she says, gesturing lightly to her sparkling eye jewels. She removes her left arm from a jacket I recognize to belong to one of the boys from Hackett. I knew she wouldn't be comfortable in her tank top and shorts for that long. A breeze blows through the disfigured, burnt leaves, so I see why she needed a jacket. I suppose some kid was nearby.

A long, thin cut stretches from her shoulder to her elbow. It's not bleeding, but it is a stripe of blood, for sure.

I raise my eyebrows and nod. She pulls the sleeve over her cut again and smiles faintly.

"Doesn't that jacket belong to one of the Hackett boys?" I ask her, to clarify.

She nods, and pulls the jacket closer around her shoulders. "He was the only one who would let me use his jacket."

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Lucas. He offered me his jacket 'to cover up that ugly cut'. I bittersweetly accepted."

"I can tell."

She nods. Jay steps forward. "Okay, enough jacket talk. Shall we go back to the hotel so we can breathe easy?"

My head suddenly begins pounding so hard and I get dizzy. My mind turns to thoughts of Tristan and how I didn't try hard enough to save him. Another death I could've prevented or postponed. Him and Nix I could've helped. I now know better than to think that list won't grow.

I heave myself to my feet and find that the medication has completely worn off. Pain spikes through my leg and I fall again, screaming. The pain fills my entire head. Stop, stop, make it stop. Make it stop hurting.

A small crowd of people gathers around me. I've fallen on my back, so I see all of them. Jay kneels and grabs my hand. "It'll be okay, It'll be okay. God, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said to leave so quickly. Oh my God. My gosh." He hangs his head and I watch a tear fall off his cheek.

I clutch his warm hand harder. He lifts his head, murmurs, "Sorry," again, then gets up and walks over to Veronica. He asks for more painkiller, and she nods, reaching deep into a pocket on her thigh, then coming up with a black bottle. She pours four pills into her hand, then gives them to Jay, who walks back over and hands them to me. I sit up then swallow them dry.

They start to work almost right away. They are very strong, and within a few minutes, I don't feel a thing. I tentatively stand up and I am fine, so we walk back to the hotel. I'm not asked to carry any bags, but even then, it's slow going. I feel something light bumping my hip and I find half of my knife, resoaked with Taeve gel, in the sheath at my waist. It's been cleaned, I can tell. I suppose it was done by whoever guarded me.

Once we're halfway there, the painkillers begin to wear off and it becomes more and more painful just to walk, so I take two more pills, courtesy of Veronica.

On an off street, we find an unused garden in the backyard of an abandoned beige house. Some big beefy boy from Hackett carried Tristan all the way here, over his shoulder. We bury him by hand under the dry soil and everyone says a few words. Most people didn't know him that well, so they just somberly say goodbye to 'as equal a fighter as the rest of us', which I completely agree with. He was, indeed, a fighter, even if he didn't last long, he tried and he tried hard. When it's my turn, I point out that I tried to save him and that's why my knife broke into my leg. I also point out I didn't try hard enough, and then my mind wanders to thoughts of Nix, and how I wish she could have had a somewhat respectable funeral like this one. Then I can't contain anything anymore, and tears start slipping down my cheeks and I admit that this is the second person I didn't save. That's when Jay comes to one shoulder and Linnea pats the other. Jay whispers in my ear, "It's okay. It's more my fault than yours. I told you to ignore her and go away. I'm guilty too."

I pull myself together and nod. "I–I'm sorry. Okay, I'm done."

Everyone else says things along the lines of, "I didn't know him, but if anyone dies, it should be me." Being heroic and all that.

Then we leave quietly and continue on our way back home.

Colm

I silently enter the school bus after a long, lazy day at school. I keep my face blank, because although my parents have accepted that Mae is gone, I haven't, and I think it's worse that way. Not seeing her and knowing where she is and not being able to reach her is the most exasperating thing. Sitting in the bus by myself without Mae next to me makes me feel lonely, lost, and trapped.

I wonder if she thinks about us. I wonder if I care. Is she busy? If so, doing what? Or is she not doing much? Is she safe? Is she alive? Is she still immortal?

My mind is plagued with these questions at almost all times.

Mae

After two more painkiller pills, lots of stares, and thirty more minutes, we arrive at last at the hotel.

Everyone is chatty on the elevator, although we share somber glances at the mention of Tristan.

In our room, I limp over to my bed and flop down on it. After our first little skirmish, we have made it home with only one down. We still have safety in numbers and we will recover before we go out again, I'm sure.

I'm not the only one who's laid out on their bed. Jay is face down in his own bed, shaking slightly. He might be crying. I don't blame him, since I could hardly tear my thoughts away from Nix too.

Almost everyone takes painkiller pills and eats burritos. Linnea brings me one and sits next to me. We eat silently, no longer playful and teasing like we were before we left.

After we eat, we each lay down on our beds and take a well-earned rest. I doze, occasionally waking up to see people milling around and talking quietly, but without that carefree air we had before. Everyone, for sure, has changed at least a little bit since Tristan's death.

I drift in and out of sleep, and I'm slightly relieved to see that everyone is less awkward and the Pyres from Forenay and Hackett are mingling more. Certainly it was Tristan that brought us a little more together.

After fifteen minutes or so of light sleeping, Jay shakes my shoulder gently and I open my eyes.

"Sorry. I just had to ask you whether or not you want to come with us to get more medical supplies. And weapons. You know, you're not the only one who needs a new knife." He pulls out his knife from his waist and shows me the very blunt, rusty blade.

"Isn't rust dangerous? Won't that be better for us?"

Jay shakes his head and says, "No. It would be, but if someone does a Mae and impales themself, it wouldn't be good for us."

I nod slowly. I want to go, but I should rest my leg as much as I can. So I shake my head. "Sorry. I should stay. My leg doesn't hurt as long as it doesn't move, and I've had enough painkilling pills for a lifetime. Well, maybe not for mine." I try a small smile and he smiles back.

"Well. I'll go. See you later. Linnea's coming. You sure you don't want to come?"

"Nah. Have fun, I guess. See you later."

"Okay. Rest up."

He stands up to leave with most of the rest of the group. Only me, a girl from our group named Clarissa Soot, and a few Hacketts including Matilda are left here, awkwardly looking away. I sit up in my bed and stretch, trying my best not to move my leg.

We just sit around for a few minutes before Matilda engages conversation.

"Oh, heavens above, I mean, heavens in the sky, I mean, heavens at the level we're at, chil'ren. Talk to each other. You can't stay strangers forever." She gestures to a sullen-looking boy from her group, who is dressed all in black, from his black boots that he might have traded someone from Forenay with to his black baseball cap.

"Jett, come on. This is Mae and Clarissa." I wave as awkwardly as Clarissa does. Jett just nods to both of us.

Matilda only makes things more awkward by introducing me to Clarissa. She makes us all sit right next to each other leaning against someone's bed. I limp over and sit down.

I finally decide to speak up. "Um, hi guys. I'm Mae, as you know."

No one responds. I think I made it worse.

But then Clarissa pushes her long, thick blonde hair behind her ear and turns to me. She reaches out her hand.

"Hello. I'm Clarissa. I'm very shy when you first meet me, but I'll start talking really quick, believe me. Better get out the duct tape." She laughs nervously, and I shake her hand. I think we'll get along just fine.

Jett is slower to talk, but after a few more silent minutes, he murmurs in his scratchy voice, "This is getting boring. We should actually talk. I'm Jett. I'm also very talkative once you get to know me. And Mae, you're not the only one who couldn't save someone you know and like." From the pocket of his black jeans, he pulls out a picture of a young girl with bloodred hair.

"She told me some secrets about the Places I could've found out myself, but I liked her anyway. She got in trouble and was Smothered. I had to watch her jump down the Light Tunnel and–"

Matilda interrupts, and I can tell she'd rather Jett not talk about this, which only intrigues me more.

"Awright, well, I'm glad you're all a-talkin', so I'm gonna go take a nap. You watch your boundaries, though, Jett." She wags a finger at him and walks across the room to take a nap. I nod for Jett to continue, but he shakes his head and leads Clarissa and I over to the area farthest into the corners of the room, farther than where Linnea, Jay, and I picked our bedding.

He sits down on the one lonely bed there, and we wait for Matilda to get settled down before he starts talking again.

"–And she hit her head on the way down because I tried to hold her hand." He pauses, digs his nails into his palms, and murmurs, "Stupid, stupid me."

I lightly lay my hand on his back. "I'm so sorry." I whisper.

Jett lifts his head. "See? You're not the only one."

He continues, "her name was Siren. I had only known her for a little while. She had a firecracker personality, and the day before she hit her head on the side of the Light Tunnel, she told me she had a sister named Nix who disappeared one day."

Cass

Lately there have been lots of police reports I've tried to ignore about missing children and teenagers. I know where they go, but I pretend to be confused and scared when it comes up on the news every day. Since today is a Saturday, it's been another lazy day like every weekend day has been. This is what I see on the morning news today:

"Today there has been so far three more missing children. But new discoveries show that a few have been found, dead or fatally injured, on side streets and on roofs. There has yet to be any official information, but some onlookers think the children were kidnapped and then killed. No one has any idea why, though. The age range seems to be about twelve to eighteen, so far as we can tell. We have not been able to successfully revive anyone who has been returned. Please keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and watch your children closely."

I turn off the TV. Great, now my parents will be even more worried and they'll be overprotective on top of that. They might even have nightmares about Mae appearing somewhere, dead. My mind even goes there. All the other kids that have disappeared have been going up into the sky, I'm sure. And the fact that some of them have been killed and dropped in random places makes shivers run down my shoulder blades faster than I can say 'dead'.

Mae

I can't stop my mouth from dropping open. Siren must be Nix's sister, who got hit by a truck. With brain damage. No wonder she told people things that they could find out themselves. And that's also why she has that bloodred hair.

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. Jett looks closer at my face, his eyebrows creasing. Clarissa Soot sits silent on my other side.

I finally work up the will to say something. Sort of.

"I– Siren–Nix–"

Jett looks even more confused. "...Yes?"

"Siren is Nix's sister, right? Nix was my friend. I didn't save her. Veronica killed her."

Now his mouth opens wide. "They were sisters..."

I nod. "...And they both died. Did you know that Siren got hit by a truck at age six and had brain damage from that?"

Jett shakes his head, blinking back tears. "I knew there was something about her... Oh, God. Oh no. I didn't save Siren, you didn't save Nix... Clarissa, would you like to jump in and say something?" He suddenly directs the conversation over to Clarissa.

She does speak though, to my immense surprise. "Um, yes. I must say, I do feel for you. I have not experienced a similar thing, so all I can do is be here for you."

I smile. I think I like this Clarissa Soot. "Thank you, Clarissa." Jett nods appreciatively.

I might have found some new friends here, sad and broken as they are.

"What were the kinds of things that Siren told you?" I ask Jett.

"Well, she once told me that some teenagers in Forenay broke into their own Tive factory. It wasn't the first thing she told me that I could have found out about myself, but I thought it was quite interesting. Veronica tried to completely cover up that story and, afterwards, pretended nothing happened so that she could try to get it out of the children's minds. Interesting tactic, huh?"

I find out right away that Siren was a curious girl. If she could find out news from another Place, along with details, she must have been doing some sneaking around or something.

"Yeah, I was one of those teenagers who broke in. Led by a girl from my group you might have seen me with. Linnea. Short blonde hair. And another girl came with us who might have been kidnapped by Annegarra or betrayed us and went on her side. We can't really figure out which one. Either way, yeah, it was us. I don't really remember being too curious afterwards anyway. I suppose Veronica's little plan worked. I never thought about it much since, although I knew we were in some trouble."

"Yeah, quite a lot of trouble. It's basically illegal to break into a Tive factory. You were lucky you weren't Smothered."

That never occurred to me. If it's such a big deal to break in, then why didn't Veronica snap? Why didn't she immediately Smother me and send me down the Light Tunnel?

This isn't the first time I've been confused about Veronica's slight mercy. I suppose I will have to keep it in the back of my mind.

Cass

I am becoming more worried, and it's getting harder to ignore the daily news reports. Another body has been found, this time caught in the top branches of a tree in a park a few cities away. The news reporter stands with a live video of the body face up, but pixelated to protect her identity, in a hospital bed, where doctors are repeatedly trying to revive her, failing each time.

"This young lady has been found, bloody, burnt, and dead, atop a tree in Coole Park here in Ayr, Ireland. Her parents chose not to reveal her identity or her face, but they do allow us to say that this girl's sister was too found dead, in a separate area of Ireland. We send support to yet another victimized family."

But for just a second, when they wheel her into another hospital room, to try something different, I suppose, the pixeling doesn't follow her face the whole way and I get a glimpse of her charred features.

But I can still see who it is.

It's Nix.