Beth was up and about the next morning, although for some reason, Ariel had advised her strongly to be careful.

Beth was puzzled by this. Since when had Ariel been so...conscientious?

No offense to the synth, but her main interests were typically in completing household chores, as opposed to being a suddenly over-dedicated personal nurse.

Ariel had looked over Beth as a child, even when she had gotten sick, but this was...different somehow. It was as though she didn't want Beth to step even a foot out of her sight.

Over the next two days, Ariel followed her around (silently and freakishly reminiscent of horror movies) wherever she went. It almost felt like she was on probation or under jail watch.

She was acting so strangely, like there was something very, very wrong. She wouldn't allow Beth to stay in the bathroom for more than five minutes, and always asked her whether or not she had used the mirror.

Beth was not only incredibly weirded out by these private questions, she was disturbed by the fact that she couldn't even seem to go to the washroom in peace.

She was not allowed to leave the house either. She had been blocked by Ariel whenever she had attempted to exit, first through the front door, then through the back, and desperately, out the bedroom window.

Although to be fair, it was probably a good thing Ariel had been there for that one. She had nearly broken her neck after slipping when she was climbing out.

No, wherever she went, the synth was always there. Watching her. As if something terrible was going to happen if she made a single move without letting her know.

Finally, by the end of the afternoon, Beth had had enough.


"Alright, Ariel." she said seriously, facing down the synth. This action was rather difficult considering the synth was about half a foot taller than she was.

"Tell me what's going on."

"I do not understand the request, Beth." Ariel replied blankly.

Beth ground her teeth in frustration. This was starting to get a little old.

"I think you do. I think you know exactly what I mean."

"...I do not, Beth." she repeated, with the same calmness as before.

It was beginning to drive her a bit mad.

"You're lying." Beth shook her head and chuckled bitterly. "You've been lying."

"I cannot lie, Beth." The synth continued placidly. "You know this."

"Alright, stop it now." Beth tried again. "You can tell me the truth."

"I do not understand this request."

Beth wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was her serene tone or the passive way she was acting, but she just had had enough.

"Just tell me what's going ON!" She shouted, clenching her fists. "Two days it's been like this. Two days I haven't had a moment to myself! You've been following me around constantly! I understand if you're worried about me for some reason, but please, stop pretending like nothing's wrong when something clearly IS!"

Ariel remained silent at this outburst, standing completely still.

Beth felt her anger slowly fade to be replaced by hollow, frustrating disappointment.

"Fine," she muttered defeatedly, dropping her fists. "If you can't tell me, or won't for some reason, I'll just have to figure out what's happening on my own."

She stalked off, leaving the synth where she was.

She was going to find out what was going on. Did she have some sort of disease maybe? Maybe that was why she had not been permitted to leave the house in the last couple of days...maybe she had contracted some rare, incurable sickness and no one had seen fit to tell her because they were afraid to.

Well, no matter. She would ask her father when he came home that evening.

She had been too confused the day before and must not have heard him come home. Well, that was to be expected. He did work awfully late, after all.

But she would get her answers one way or another. Yes, when her father came home, she would question him until she understood what was really going on, regardless if he wanted to answer or not. She was done with being in the dark for the time being.

She marched straight into her room and sat down violently on the bed, silently seething.

She waited an hour, two hours. Then three.

It passed into late evening, five hours later.

She waited for her father to ring the doorbell, for Ariel to go tend to him.

30 minutes.

She had given up staring at the clock and was lying on her back, gazing at the ceiling.

Another hour. Then 20 minutes.

It was quite late now. She was getting anxious. Why wasn't he back yet?

Another hour.

She waited for her father to come home.

But he never did.

No matter what she did, she couldn't fall asleep.

She had thought it incredibly bizarre the past couple nights when the same thing had happened, but she had assumed that that was because she had already slept a long time while she had been sick.

But no. Not this time. This time, it was like her body wouldn't let her sleep. Like no matter how tired she tried to convince herself she was, she just couldn't drift off.

It was driving her mad.

She pulled her knees up to her chest, and tried not to break down. She didn't know what was happening anymore. She didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to leave the house or why her father never came home.

She didn't know why Ariel was acting so strange, as if there was something different about her now.

Worse still, the vision of the mysterious black van and the school still lingered in her mind. She would close her eyes, and she would see it all over again. She had tried to convince herself that it was just some morbid dream she had come up with, but now...now she wasn't quite so sure.

Something had happened while she had been sick. Something more. Something Ariel wasn't telling her.

But why? Why not? Why was this...happening to her?

She stayed like that for the rest of the night.

Soon, days passed, and Beth remained shut up in her room. She lost the desire to go out. She had even lost the desire for food, or so it seemed.

She merely stayed in her same huddled position on her bed, staring at the wall in utter incertitude.

By approximately the sixth day, Ariel finally came to Beth's room. She entered slowly, and Beth, still on the bed, showed no signs of hearing her come in.

The girl stayed staring at the wall opposite, with a blank, empty look on her face.

Ariel walked over and stood behind her.

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence between them.

Finally, Beth broke it.

"I'm not alright...am I?" she asked, her voice hollow, but knowing.

Ariel shook her head. "No."

Beth turned towards her, her wide eyes despairing.

"What happened to me?" Her voice grew a little stronger. "Really?"

Ariel hesitated for a moment, then walked over to sit on the bed beside her.

After a moment, she slid an arm around the girl.

At the soft touch, Beth immediately burrowed into the embrace, holding on tight, as if for security.

Neither of them moved for a long time.

Then, Ariel finally spoke.

"You died."

If Ariel was expecting more of a reaction, she was mistaken. Beth surprisingly showed no signs of shock, only breathing in deeply.

"How?" She whispered at last.

"I think you already recall it." Ariel said quietly. "It was at school."

"The van," Beth murmured, squeezing Ariel's arm tighter.

Ariel nodded. "Yes. On April the 18, a terrorist squad threatened to bomb a public facility. The government did not take them seriously, but that was an error on their part. On April the 23, they followed through with their threat and bombed West Vale Secondary School. Your school."

Beth took a shaky breath. "How...how many-?"

"141 deaths." Ariel calculated. "98 in critical condition. 112 injured in all."

"And-?" Beth let the unspoken question hang in the air.

"Elizabeth Li was not listed under any of the known survivors." Ariel repeated, as if from a direct report.

"So-" Beth struggled to breathe. The shock was beginning to have its effect. Ariel stroked her back, soothing her. "S-so...I'm...dead?"

Another pause. Beth tensed, suddenly terrified for the horrible thing she could only be certain Ariel was going to say next.

"Not...exactly."

"What do you mean?" Beth twisted in her arms to look up at her. "What am I doing here then?"

Again, Ariel's green eyes looked almost...regretful, as if there were things she wished she would not have to say. But Beth wanted answers. She needed answers.

"Ariel, tell me." She begged, nudging her. "Please."

Ariel looked down at her, and she thought her pale face softened, just a little.

"Beth. This will not be easy for you to hear."

"Just...just tell me." Beth clung to her. "Please. I need to know."

"Are you sure?" Ariel looked regretful. "Absolutely certain?"

Beth nodded.

"Alright." Ariel relented. "The day West Vale was attacked…"

"I died," Beth filled in, but Ariel was not finished speaking.

"...was...two years ago."

Beth recoiled. "What?"

"Your death…" Ariel repeated slowly. "...was approximately 2 years, 1 month and 6 days ago."

Beth looked away, gaping. She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe it.

"All that...and I've been-what, asleep for two whole years?"

"Plus 1 month and 6 days." The synth corrected unhelpfully.

"I...I...don't-" Beth leaned forwards, suddenly feeling sick. "Oh, my God."

"I am sorry to have to tell you this." Ariel said, sounding rather sorrowful.

"OK, Ariel." Beth muttered after a few minutes. "It's been...two years. How am I...?"

"-Alive?" Ariel guessed aloud.

Beth nodded. "Yeah." She was already frightened of the answer. It was already horrendous enough that she had apparently died in a bombing on her school, as well as the knowledge that two years had seemingly passed without her knowledge.

The fact that she was somehow here now...seemed like it should be some sort of miracle, but she had the feeling that something much, much worse was about to be revealed.

The thought made her feel nauseous.

Ariel seemed to be able to detect her uneasiness. "Do you truly wish to know the answer to that question?"

Her voice was so different; low, uncharacteristically grim, and somehow scared Beth more than anything she had experienced that day.

"Beth."

As if her name was like a trigger, Beth felt herself nod dazedly in response.

Ariel's eyes were piercing. The luminous green enhanced the overall effect that much more. Her gaze swept over Beth's face, as if struggling to come to a decision.

"Go look in the mirror."

Beth was startled by this order. "Uh, what?"

"Go look in the mirror." The synth repeated firmly. "Carefully."

"What, right now?"

"Yes."

The strange request made her even more uneasy, and she got up slowly, rubbing her hands on her legs.


She made her way out of the room and towards the bathroom, feeling Ariel's eyes following her all the way.

She stepped inside, and closed the door. She took a deep breath, and turned towards the mirror, a medium-sized piece which covered a half of the wall.

She wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to look for, exactly.

"Carefully", the synth had said. But what did she mean by that?

She peered warily into the silvery surface. Messy dark hair. Dark eyes. Tan skin. Definitively normal.

She checked her hands. Then her arms. Then legs. All were fully-functional and normal-looking as could be. She even pulled up her shirt slightly to check her lower abdomen.

Was this supposed to be some kind of joke?

She was about to turn away in disappointment and go tell Ariel what stellar advice she had seen fit to give her, when she noticed something.

She frowned, turning back to face the mirror.

What was that, right near her ribcage? Was that some sort of...peeling skin? A scrape of some sort?

No. It was...something different.

She was starting to get really scared now. She took a deep breath, then reached down to prod at...whatever it was. She touched the spot again, more firmly.

She gasped. It wasn't a scrape at all.

With shaking fingers, she reached down...and gingerly, slowly, pulled the tiny panel in her side open.

She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a scream.

There was...she was…

There was the sound of a gentle footstep behind her. She whirled around to see Ariel gazing at her from the doorway, with more sadness in her eyes than she had ever seen from her.

"I-I-I…" she closed her mouth, then opened it again. When she finally regained enough control, she tried again, and succeeded.

"I'm...a synth." she said, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears.

"I'm a synth."