Synth by P. J. Marie

Author:P. J. Marie [P. J. Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anxious Bean Publishing
Published: 2023-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

fourteen

Orion

Saturday, September 19

6:21 pm

Without another word or explanation, Warren stepped away, shouldering his rifle before gesturing to my helmet. “Are you coming or not?”

“Now?” I asked, watching as he pulled out his phone and rapidly sent a message. He waited a moment, eyes locked on the device’s screen until it buzzed with a reply.

“Yes.” He looked up to meet my gaze. “Unless you have somewhere else to be?”

I stared at him, then glanced outside the cave at the slowly setting sun. It was almost Sunday, but I had the distinct impression that Hakim and Vogle would not be contacting me tonight after what had happened. They would wait to see if I would come into work for Monday’s shift, which meant that I had just under twenty-four hours of uninterrupted time until anyone would be looking for me. If there was ever a moment to go gallivanting through the woods with a human, this was it.

“No,” I said, turning back to look at him. “This is where I need to be.”

“Alright.” He nodded, lifting the supply bag. “Then let’s go.”

I grabbed my helmet from the ground, stuffed it on my newly healed head and followed him out into the sunset. We headed north toward the river, then shifted east along the shore for twenty minutes at a brisk pace. When the sun finally fell beneath the top of the trees, I took my helmet off and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. I hesitated when Warren slowed, and I realized that he was leading us to a collection of large stones that crossed the rushing waters.

“Are – are we crossing that?” I asked, breaking the silence as Warren moved toward the first rock.

“Yes.” He glanced back at me as he stepped onto the second stone. “Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s okay.”

I tried to say it confidently, but even I could hear the waver in my voice as I squinted through the dim evening light and cautiously approached the first stone. Warren waited on the second rock, watching me in silence, and as I carefully stepped onto the stone, my legs began to tremble.

“Do Reborn not like water?” he asked, and a halfhearted laugh left my lungs.

“No.” I forced myself to inch across the slick surface. “Reborn are fine with water.”

He moved to the third rock and stopped again, watching as I stood there paralyzed. I wanted to move to the second rock. I told my legs to do it, but my CPD-issued black laced boots remained firmly planted beneath me as the sound of rushing water filled my ears.

“But you’re afraid of it,” Warren said, and I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Gee, what gave it away?” I asked.

It was just another thing for him to turn into a string of stinging insults. I forced myself to meet his gaze, to face whatever brutal commentary he planned to dish out next, but to my surprise, he was smiling. It was small, more like a tiny tilt to his lips as opposed to a full-blown grin, and he looked like he was trying to hide it.

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