Two days later, Max stepped off a train in the town of Devil's Tower. It was one of those towns that wasn't so very affected by the Pulse - it had been rather uninterested in technology to begin with, so a lack of technology left it mostly the same as it had been before. Eva stepped down next to her.
"You nervous?" she asked.
"Terrified," replied Max.
+++
After Max and Eva checked into their hotel, Max flopped down on one of the beds and let out a sigh.
"Really, Max, you don't have to be so nervous."
"Of course I do. This is my whole life, and it's going to take a change, right here at noon. And I know it's coming. You don't usually know that."
"What makes you nervous? Is it Ruth?"
"No. Yes. Partly. I mean, it's partly her and partly me and partly that this is all still tied to Manticore."
"You're really afraid of Manticore, aren't you? Why?"
"I just am. You would be too, if you were me. Or if you were you. Why aren't you afraid? Why don't you believe Logan and me?"
"I haven't seen anything that would make me believe you two. I mean, if it's taking what I've known and lived all my life against Logan, who I met two years ago, and you, who I've known all of four days, is there really any reason to ask?
"Well, maybe it's because my whole life, I've seen what I've seen."
"Max, you haven't seen anything. It's just what you remember. And are you going to take old, probably distorted memories against my word, when I'm there and I see Don and Manticore every day?"
"So you really don't believe us."
"I'll believe it when I see something to back it up." Eva glanced down at her watch. "Do you need to get ready or anything? We need to go soon."
"Oh, God. What should I wear? I don't have anything to wear. I'm about to meet my mother, and I don't have anything to wear. Do you think I should wear a skirt? Or a dress? I'm not really a skirt person. Or a dress person. What should I do?"
"Okay, first, you should breathe. And second, you should not worry about it. And third, wear this," Eva said as she threw a pair of jeans at Max's head. "As cliché as this sounds, just be yourself."
Max quickly snakehipped into the jeans, pulled a red T-shirt over her head, and shrugged into her jacket. They left the hotel and walked through the muddied streets. The air was damp and earthy and Max felt her apprehension begin to ebb. She felt calm and electrified at the same time. The café wasn't far from the hotel, and they quickly arrived.
"Wait here," said Eva. "I'll see if she's here yet."
Max remained on the sidewalk as Eva quickly glanced inside.
"Come on. Are you ready?"
Eva held the door open. A tiny windchime hung from the handle - it caught and twisted in the breeze, its thin, clear notes hanging in the air. Max gathered her nerves and slid inside.
And there was Ruth.
