Saturday, 29th March, 2104


"Corrie?"

"Yeah?"

"Please remind me to never agree to playing Question Roulette in the dead of the night."

I can't hold back a shameless, immature giggle. From the corner of my eye, I spot Laurie struggling to keep her laughter inside.

"Come on Em, you've been lucky enough to dodge the Hug Marry Avoid question for this long - it's your time to shine!"

"Please nooooo…"

"Eh-Emily," Laurie manages to breathe from her restrained snickering, "It's just between us three - nobody else in this house needs to know."

Em wraps herself more into a blanket burrito. Or is it a dumpling since her legs are crossed?

"Alright then," she sighs in defeat, "who's on the list?

I grin devilishly.

"Please, Corrie!"

"Your choices are Jaxx, Chris Hemsworth and Michael Jackson."

"That's not fair! One's your brother and the other two are old crushes of mine, you rigged this! You rigged this right from the start! And you know I gave up crushes and a search for romance in Year Eleven!"

"No switching or changes, you've gotta answer."

I share a grin with Laurie, who clutches her pillow tightly and peers eagerly over the edge.

"Avoid Jaxx," Emily sighs, "I wouldn't be able to live with such a foulmouth as him."

"Oooooooh!"

"Oooooooh!"

"Don't do that," she pouts, "You know his swearing isn't good for you either! Even if he has changed significantly for the better since last Christmas!"

"Two more," I remind her.

"Hug Chris Hemsworth, and…"

"Say it."

"..."

"Say it, Emmy."

"...And marry Michael Jackson. Goodness Cora, can you wipe that smirk off your face?! I'd like to retain some dignity here in front of witnesses!"

I cover my mouth, but the smirk and giggles spread underneath my hands.

"Gracious me, are you happy now?"

"Ecstatic, actually. And it's like Laurie said: it's just between us three. Nobody else needs to know."

She's still peeved, but her blanket dumpling loosens a little.

"I'm done answering, though. I'll only read out questions and the like. You two go on ahead."

"Well, if that's your last question," I resolve, "This will be ours too, right Laur?"

"Mmhmm," she nods, "I'm next, right?"

"Yeah. Do you wanna spin the wheel or do you want me to?"

She shakes her head, sliding a finger down on a holo with a spinner in the browser while facing away.

"Ooh, a 'would you press the button' type," Emily reads from her dumpling, "Can I pick out the question, actually?"

"Sure. Here's a holo."

"Thank you, Laurie. Ooh, this seems promising."

"Oh? Tell meeeeeeee!"

"Alright, would you press the button if you'd be granted the ability to physically enter the world of a book for thirty minutes-"

"Oooooh!"

"But that book would only be the Hunger Games."

"Hmm… The question never stated which part of the story I had to enter into, did it?"

Ohhh. I see where she's going with this.

"Sooo, I could choose where in the story I could go, right?"

"Well, if you wanted it that way, I suppose so."

"I'd press the button then - so I could either dodge the games entirely, slip throughout all of the Capitol to hack into its mainframe and speed the trilogy's story a bit, take time in District Twelve's nature, anything! I could even jump to the games and hack into the gamemakers' area, taking it to my liking so everyone lives!"

Clever girl.

"But how would you hack into the Game or the Capitol then?"

My exact same thoughts, Emmy.

"Somehow, I guess," Laur shrugs, "And the technology, whatever time period the story is in, still has flaws. It still can be hacked, connections can still be reversed on them. And since we haven't destroyed a majority of the planet and they have, there must also be some lack in technological advancement compared to us. A lot of weak spots to hack and code-bash your way into, if Legion's taught me anything."

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if my little sister hacked the planet's most top-secret computers to send everyone encouraging puppy pictures, honestly. Or provide a free solid VPN and bring back Net Neutrality in some areas.

Then again. Since I'd last heard from her about serious tech stuff, it was with Tom from last week and it all sounded very time-consuming, even in passing.

"Cora?"

"Hmm? What? I wasn't listening."

"It's your turn now," Laur reminds me, "You've got a Would You Rather question since Em and I took the other two."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's alright," she brushes it off, "Now, would you rather be one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, or one of Robin Hood's Merry Men?"

I glance at Laurie with disgust and Emily laughs, her blanket dumpling falling away and revealing her soft-looking grandma pyjamas.

"Laurie," I manage, bewildered, "How could you ask such a question?! Even Emily knows I'd take the Merry Men over Arthur's Knights any day!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" I protest, "Artie's canon is chaos anyway! Too much! The Knights barely do anything, and their historical plausibility of existing without the magic and stuff is a mess! Emmy, you get me here, right?

She nods, her giggling still very clear. God, I missed hearing it.

"Robin and his Merry Men however?" I go on, "They were actually useful and did decent stuff! They looked out for the underdogs, stole from the rich to give to the poor and their skill in archery actually got me doing it for a few years!"

"Psh, anybody could do archery as a habit at the VR centres."

"Actual archery, Laurie," I deadpan, "Real bows, real arrows, real target practice, remember? I only stopped after I accidentally shot down a security drone during long-range air practice one time."

"Oh yeaaahh! That was an awesome shot. Did you ever get caught though?"

"Thank goodness no," Em recalls, "But it was enough of a scare to put her off. Say, you could pick it back up again if you wanted to. Nobody's around except for us. Your arms and back must be still in enough shape from all the heavy lifting with Nectar-shipping."

"I dunno Emmy, it's been ages," I fiddle with the blanket, "I don't know how rusty I am."

"It'd be worth a shot," she rubs her eyes and re-wraps herself in her blanket dumpling, "It's been fantastic getting back into gymnastics and quarterstaff-fighting, archery would be good for you! Pun fully unintended by the way."

Pfft, nice one Emmy.

"If you waaaant," Laur sing-songs, "I could try finding a few moving targets to come to you so you can shoot 'em out the sky!"

"Laurie, where the bloody hell are you going to get those?"

"Language!"

"Sorry Emmy."

"Well," Laur stretches her arms out and up, "There's my holos. They're good for aim. But if you wanna know how good your arrows really are… Let's just say I'm on the verge of grabbing a few goodies from the Red Party."

"Laurie!" I hiss.

"… And Phoenix, if all my prep pays off."

"Now, hold on," Em holds up her hand, "Phoenix? As in, Sidney McCoy's Phoenix Industries?"

"Mmhmm," Laur nods, "The one and the same!"

"But they had shut down late last year, Laurie! It doesn't make sense."

"They shut down publicly late last year," Laur points out, "There's only been rumours and theories since, but I found out the truth and told Legion and Tord a few days ago. I figured it out by myself."

"Oh my god…" I shake my head and rub my eyes under my glasses, "Laur, you can't be serious."

"Yes, yes I am!" Her grin becomes distinctly Hartgrace-flavoured, "Phoenix has no idea I'll be lurking around in their servers."

I share a glance with Em.

"When did you get into the Phoenix servers?!"

"When did you get into the Phoenix servers?!"


"Hey hey hey hey! Not yet!" Laur holds her hands up and away from the holo, "I'm about to. That's why I'm preparing for it. I'm getting advice from Legion and Tord, I'm taking notes as best as I can for myself, and double-checking every VPN and connection so it isn't taken down or reversed on me!"

I share a glance at Em and we're sharing the same look. We've heard the tone in Laur's voice before.

"Laurie," I ask, "Two things. One, why Phoenix?"

"I recently decoded part of one of the signals you recorded in the journal from back in January."

"Wait, which one?"

"The first common element signal, remember? The c-o-t-o-i one where both words were kinda censored?"

"Oh riiiiight! That one. What about it?"

"I haven't figured out what the first word of it is, but the second word is Phoenix. Whatever's sending the signals and making the guys holograms up here is from Phoenix Industries."

Talk about a curveballing crowbar to the head.

Somehow, I pull out the journal and scribble down the note. Em's hands cover her mouth.

"You're kidding!" I breathe.

"I'm not, Cora. I'm not. The wifi that's letting this happen is isolated to only our house, the front and back yards. Just in case, I've completely encrypted the signals back to the Phoenix servers so they won't pick up on us, but it's an open back door to them either way. I could probably look into their stuff and figure out why the Firebird vs Pepper case became such a big deal. If Sidney has like, a digital journal or something, I could even break in and figure out why he became such a jerk and made the Red Party with Thor!"

"Laurie," I sigh, "Don't act like you're going to break into Aperture Science and do a core switch. Phoenix is in our present day and they've got stuff you wouldn't be able to handle."

"Well, now you mention it, I still do have the voice changer… Maybe I should use it."

"Still, whatever happens, don't get cocky. God, Mum and dad would never let you get this volatile with your coding and hacking if you stayed with them." I shake my head, "Or even Jaxx or the twins."

"Well, Tord's a better teacher than all of them anyway! But… They all had to get it from somewhere." she smiles shyly, holding her wrist, "But would you let me do this?"

"…As long as you're not doing it alone. You're still sixteen and need help, which brings me to the second thing. Are you getting help or advice from Legion on breaking into Phoenix?"

"Well, Tord insists on helping, which is annoying and means I have to sometimes work on the code from school so I can take a crack at it myself, but it's okay Cora! I can do this by myself, I'm doing great! Sure, the advice from them is good, but I don't want them involved in our mystery! The news would break out and we'd be front pages!"

"It's fair and makes sense," Em huffs and nods, but folds her arms, "But why are you trying to keep Tord out of the loop? He's supposed to help you with all of this! Goodness, he's the one who recently added the cold fritz patch!"

"Well… I don't want him to know he and the others are somehow linked to Phoenix!"

"Still, they must be worried for you," Em continues, "Seriously, I know they are, at least Tord. I can't escape him telling me he's trying to keep his mental health sane as he worries about your online safety. It's to the point that talking about recent politics and his infodumping on technology can help him cope."

"Wait, what?! Oh god, I should've… I should've told him…"

"You still can, Laurie, we're terrified for you. And there have to be people in Legion who at least warn you about doing this sort of thing alone!"

"Of course some of them are worried for me," Laur pouts, "But it's gonna be fine! Em, you and Cora are scared even though I haven't even broken in!"

"Laurie," I try to step in, "That's-"

"It'll be okay! There's been hackers who've broken into high corps alone and been fine! So should I!"

"But there's been plenty of hackers who've done it alone and gotten caught!" Em's waving her arms as she whisper-yells, "Even back then. Even now! Nobody ever goes out alone or… stays so self-reliant… Oh…"

The look in my best friend's eyes drowns from worried anger to saddened shame. My heart's already cracking as she looks away. Even Laurie notices, her eyes wide.

"Emily?" She tries, "You okay?"

"It's not fair for me to tell you off to sort a problem that's also my own, Laurel." Emmy sighs, "It's just me being a hypocrite."

Ouch.

Grabbing my thermos of nectar from the bedside table, I slide out from the blankets and sit down next to her on the floor.

"Emmy, why do you say that?" I hesitate, then go through with putting my hand on her shoulder, "Surely it isn't a big deal. You know you can talk with us about it - we're not gonna judge."

"It's… It's a lot to explain, Corrie… At least, it feels like so. It hurts just thinking about it, but perhaps it's just my pride."

"Well, start from the beginning, or wherever you like. We'll catch on. Your ego will have to put up with it, like you said from high school."

"I… I think I'm ready to talk about the markets. I know Laurie was there too, but… I need to get this off my chest."


"It'd been fine for most of the day - Laurie was window-browsing some of the accessories for holos and some old consoles, I'd been getting fresh fruit and veggies for the fridge - I'd just met up with Laur again outside the main square of the markets when dad was the first to spot me.

"Don't get me wrong, he's been more uptight than mum and I get that he's scared for me, but… So much of our conversation, as civil as it could be, was about the potential of me coming back to their place. I think even mum started to look uncomfortable the more it went on. When I tried asking why, he said he just had a feeling about it. He didn't think our new housemates were entirely safe. Goodness knows Laur, you and I tried to explain otherwise without giving away the game, but… He just kept doubting us.

"Then a protest started to rise up against the Red Party and… Dad grabbed my arm and started to drag me with him. He didn't care that I had to drive Laurie home, drop the groceries… Goodness, I don't know what got into him to do it, but even mum looked shocked. I pulled my way from his grip, but if it hadn't been for a group of protestors barrelling in between us, I'm sure he would've given chase… Oh… Goodness, I'm so glad Laurie recognised the protestors as Legion members - I don't think we would've escaped without them. But we didn't say anything on the way back home. Which, I understand…"


"I didn't feel like a hero when I contacted those Legion members to break us out." Laur admits softly, holding her arm after flicking off the holo, "I was just… Angry. I wish it didn't happen. I wish everything didn't happen."

I can only sit and dwell on everything I've heard. Well, whatever's in the Nectar's letting my thoughts go a thousand miles an hour, but it's still a good few minutes till a few thoughts repeat over and over like something stuck in a floor-ceiling portal loop.

"Emmy…"

"Hmm?"

"How long has it been since you last talked to your parents before today?"

"Oh, erm…"

"Texting and phone calls count. Ah ah ah, but you have to have answered or replied to them!"

"Well… There was last week Monday…"

"… Emmy, you haven't been really talking to them, have you?"

"I'm scared, Corrie!"

Laur and I share a glance at her outburst.

"Scared?" I ask, "Emmy, why?"

"I… I don't want them to know about…"

"The guys? Emmy, it's a bit too late for that now, we all know they're okay with it!"

"They don't know everything going on about them, Cora. They don't know they're the ghosts of your ancestors."

"Emmy, they're holograms from a mystery signal, that doesn't count!"

"I'm sure- no, certain, to them it does. If they were to see anything remotely haunting or supernaturally unholy, like ghosts… I don't want to leave, Corrie. I'm not ready to. I'm scared out of my wits and most of the time I don't know what to do."

Rumblerumblerumble…

Prrrrring!

Honestly, thunder would've been the least ominous way to announce a text message.

"It's mum." Em's knuckles pale as she grips her phone, "she's wondering how I'm going with the storm."

"Well?" Laur chirps, "Aren't you going to reply to her?"

"I don't know what to say…"

"What if," I wonder, "you told her the three of us are having a slumber party? I mean, it's basically what's been happening tonight."

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Laur nods, "You can tell her we're having a slumber party, Emily!"

"I'm not so sure, Laurie. It might not work…"

"Oh don't be silly, Emmy. Of course it will!"

"Corrie, I- Wait, why is my phone texting by itself?!"

"Emily, if you can't text your mum, then I will. Hey, that's a nice selfie from earlier in the night!"

"Laurie! Don't you- no, no- stop-!"

"Aaaaand sent!"

"… When I get the chance and knowledge on how, I'm going to lobotomise my phone so you can't break in."

"You're welcome, Emily!"

"Don't worry about it Emmy." I wave it off, "It'll work and buy you some time to figure out how to explain everything to them."

Prrrring!

We all fall silent as Em checks her phone.

"Good to see you're alright after such a rough day," she reads, "just make sure you get some sleep. Love you, baby. Stay safe."

"See? Laur waves her arms in a grand gesture, "Everything's fine!"

"Thank god it worked, huh Emmy?"

She doesn't smile, biting her lip as she glances away.

"Emmy…" I say, "You okay?"

Even Laur catches on quicker than usual.

"Is… Is it still about your parents, Emily?" she asks.

"No…"

"Is it… Is it about your faith?" I press on.

"I… I haven't really been praying recently… I've just been so scared, hoping for answers for everything going on."

Laur and I share a look.

"That's not normal, is it Cora?"

"I don't think so Laur, no. Wait…"

"Hm?"

"Emmy," I realise as I say it, "isn't your thing with Jesus a relationship or something like it?"

"Well, yes-"

"Then don't leave Him on Read! It's a conversation, Emily! Not a crystal ball where you look in one way! Two ways, not one. You've gotta talk to God more! Trust me, Laurie and I can tell you haven't been talking to Him."

"Corrie-"

"We know it helps you so much, you need to get back into it."

"Goodness," Em sighs, "even Matt's noticed."

"Really?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's not… Eloquent about it, doesn't always have the right words but… Agh, goodness!" She wipes away something from her eyes, "I'm usually keeping him accountable for full barre, bullbar pull-ups, staff-fighting training and pilates, but here he is keeping me accountable for my own beliefs!"

"Oh my god!" I can't hold back a laugh, "Legit? On both ends?"

"Yeah… He hates the fitness, but it's been doing him good. Me too. Tom as well. Heavens, I can't believe Matt's somewhat able to tell when I haven't prayed or read my Bible!"

For a man with a somewhat-intelligence of a kitchen shelf, that's saying something.

"Wait up Emmy, Tom?"

"You didn't know he used to be a Jehovah's Witness?"

"Well, yeah, I get that, but when does he…"

"Sometimes he comes in to do the Pilates when Laur's busy or not around," Em admits, chuckling a little, "He's better at taking it on than Matt, but hurts more afterwards. Whenever we pass by each other, he's always mentioning how baffled he is on either how much I'm like Matt, and how much I'm not. That and checking in if I've been praying recently."

"I wonder where Laur and I get the last one from."

"Oh shush."

"You know what Emmy?" I resolve, "We're joining them. We're gonna keep you accountable on your faith too, right Laurie?"

"Y'know what? Sure! I'll set an alarm to check in with you to see if you've read your Bible and did some daily prayer."

"Goodness Laurie-"

"Heck, I can find you some apps that do daily Bible readings if you want!"

"Goodness gracious-!"

"And different Bible translations, whatever books you want to read and pray on, I can download 'em! I can access a buncha different libraries with PDF versions of everything, so it's no big deal for me! Church stuff, specific stuff, history stuff, you name it, I can get it!"

"Oh, heavens above Laur, you don't have to! Why would you do this?!"

"Because, Emmy," I sigh and side-hug her, "We don't fully get your faith, but it's clearly the thing keeping you sane and stable in such a wild time. You deserve support, and I'm so sorry I didn't help you with it earlier."

"Yeah!" Laurie nods enthusiastically, "I wanna help out in any way I can! Doesn't matter if we don't like admitting the fact we… Need help, but seriously, seeing how you go through your day after you pray, I can tell the difference from when you don't. And really, it's… It's kinda inspiring."

Em looks to the ground, but her shoulders loosen and a small smile peeks out.

"… Does this mean I have to keep you two accountable for family matters and hacking respectively?"

"Even if you didn't Emmy," I can't hide my smile, "We'd still help you out with your faith anyway."

"… What did I ever do to deserve you two?"

"Exist?"

We all can't help a chuckle.

"Well, it's a fair response," she shrugs. "So, if we're going in for accountability, what else are we going to talk about?"

I spot my thermos of Nectar on the bedside and take a swig - maybe it might keep me up a bit longer.

"Actually," Laur pipes up, scooting closer to the both of us, "I did want to talk about the guys… Emily, I'm glad Tom's helping you out too. I don't think he and Tord are the easiest people to get to know, but… If you do, they're really cool people. Hopefully, once this code is sorted out to have full physical contact, I'll be able to hug all of the guys. Mostly Tom and Tord, but all of them count."

"Hold on," I hold up my hand, taking another sip of Nectar, "How do you know Tom and Tord like you, Laurie? Even if they don't know the whole truth?"

"I… I'm not entirely sure…" she admits, tucking away a strand of hair behind her ear, "But I've seen the look on their faces, occasionally. There's a look from Tom which, I dunno… Says it all? He's grounded me in reality when I stressed too much about school and Legion. He doesn't always get it, but he… He helps me clear up my emotions and dodge meltdowns."

"Wow… I didn't know he was capable of doing it."

"Neither did I, Emily. I bet if I hugged him, he'd be quite solid yet soft."

"I never knew he'd be the hugging type, Laur." I say.

"He isn't, Cora. Neither is Tord. Both of them kinda shrug it off when I try and obviously fail, but I rest my case."

"Well, what about Tord?" I wonder, "If you put him and Tom in the same room, wouldn't it be too much for you?"

"No, actually! I mean, he's like Tom, but more for getting Legion, coding and even tech rather than school. If I'm with both of them in the same room, they get along really well and we're a good team together. It was harder when we first started back in February, but they've gotten better. Tord's also got the… 'says it all' look, I think. I mean, he and Tom deny it, but they've slipped out word of a bet…"

"Hah!" I grin before taking another sip, "I remember him mentioning it to me once! I think they know more than they let on, those two."

"Yeah, maybe. Sometimes I let them argue without me, just to get it out their system. Usually Matt's roaming around if not with Emily, so we head to the old telly, link up a few holos and play some video games. Most of the time it's stuff from PS2, 3 or Switch emulators." She giggles to herself, "He's got mum's sense on knowing how to make me laugh! It feels good - I think I'm more confident after a session with him."

"Confident how?" I wonder aloud.

"In myself, I guess?"

I can't help but squint and share a look with Em. She gently shakes her head.

"I may as well keep an eye on him, Laurie." Emmy admits, "It's good to know he's encouraging you, but as you can see here, I've had a check on my own pride and I'd rather you keep an eye on your own ego."

"Emily! I'm not a Hartgrace!"

"You're a quarter-Hartgrace, Laurie." She reaffirms, "It counts."

"My surname is Gold for a reason, Em…" Laur huffs. Hiding back a chuckle, I can't help but ask.

"What about Edd, then? Anything you got on him, Laur?"

"Sometimes he joins me and Matt in video games, sometimes he talks to Tord or Tom about stuff with me too. He looks alright but I think there's some nights he can't sleep at all." She admits, "Sometimes if I'm up late after homework or coding alone, I go outside for some fresh air and see Edd on the roof. So I join him, and it's just the two of us looking at the stars."

"Actually, I was wondering what those noises on the roof were from time to time. Must've been you two coming up and down."

"Right, the attic room! Sorry for waking you up, Emily."

"No no, it's quite alright, Laur. I know if I let Edd talk, our conversations can go quite far into his stories from the past, character writing from old shows and especially animation - seriously Cora! You should see how he lights up talking about it!"

"Laur did retrofit that 'flash' animation program for him kinda recently, but I'll keep it in mind."

"Excellent! Right, Laurie - when you two are on the roof… Do you talk about anything?"

"Not really, no. Sometimes we do, but I think we both just like the silence. He feels… Um… Well, the best way I can say it is like… Like he's Dad, but without all of dad's problems. Like, he's mostly the best of dad. The stuff I… Look, Cora. Maybe you should join him on the roof at some point."

"Me? Don't be silly, by the way you say it, he's already pretty chill with just you up there on those nights!"

"Yeah but he's been the most active with you! Especially nowadays, with whatever you're doing with my holos. You were the first to meet him, even before the visuals code worked. I dunno, maybe you're his favourite?"

"Goodness gracious."

"Laurie!"

"I said what I said!" She proudly folds her arms and sits up straight, "Sure all four of them are our ancestors, Cora, but they're ancestors. I have a feeling they'd pick favourites anyway. Even once they know the whole truth and learn to love us all individually."

"She has a point, Corrie. And we don't know how long we can hold the truth back from them."

Oh god. Thinking about it makes me churn inside.

"Maybe I'll tell them later down the line," I say mid-sip of my thermos, "Say Laurie? How's school been for you?"

"Ugh, school," she huffs, rolling her eyes, "Apart from regular homework, the drama I stay out of and the strikes on these next two Mondays which came from my suggestion to Legion, there's nothing to talk about, really."

I almost spit out the Nectar.

"Excuse me?"


"Now we don't have time to unpack all of that!"

"Shh shhh, Laurie!" I whisper, "Not so loud!"

"Sorry. But the point is, things have been ramping up in politics and I ah… Suggested two strikes against the Red Party. Others in and out of Legion are organising them, but I think I'll take the day off on those Mondays. I'm sure mum and dad would get it."

"As long as you don't tell them this was your idea."

"For obvious reasons, Cor."

"I'm guessing the Red Party stuff is mostly with Sidney?" I tap my chin, "The news haven't been kind to him."

"Yeah. Not to mention the possibility of Phoenix being brought back publicly to rig the polling booths in favour of the Red Party-"

"Heavens and earth above!"

"What the hell?!"

"Language Cora!"

"Sorry Emmy."

"But that's just a rumour," Laur waves it off, "and like I said, no time to unpack."

"Goodness gracious," Em shakes her head, "We'll have to save this for another time. How long have we been up for?

All of us glance to my bedside clock and cringe a little.

Too late, by the looks of things.

"Next Monday after this one coming," Em decides, "During the first strike. We could head out somewhere for a bite, a drink and talk more there."

"Sounds good to me," Laurie sighs.

"It's settled then," I rub my eyes and set aside my thermos, before standing and setting my glasses and the journal next to the clock, "You guys good to go to bed?"

"… I don't want to stay alone with all these thoughts, Corrie. Even when I pray, they linger."

"I don't think I could sleep back in my room either."

RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE…

"Well, there's only one other option."


Five seconds later, I'm squished in between Emily on my right and Laurie on my left. At least it's a large bed. All the lights are out, and I'm not alone.

"G'night Cor."

"Rest easy, Corrie."

"You too. We're going to be okay."