Chapter 18
Bubbles and more bubbles. Sky dipped her hands into the sudded mixture. She
loved the feel of the soapy water and oddly enough having a wet, warm rag in
her hand. She pulled the last dish out from underneath the water and rinsed it off.
"Whew." Sky sighed and wiped her arm across her forehead causing a few bubbles to
catch in her hair and then pop at the gentle contact. Feeling rather satisfied at the
having accomplished a simple act of housework, she decided to slip outside and relish
the night air for a moment.
Treading softly past several rooms she found the back door and stepped out into the
night. The 'backyard' of the shelter was nothing more than an ally often filled with
steam from neighboring businesses' productions.
Sky's lips curved into a smile as she thought of the past dinner. Nothing had changed.
Christian and Kyle still fought over sitting next to Cynthia, the current catch of the
shelter for the younger boys. Aria had sat quietly, a smile on her face as she took tiny
bites of her food. Karen was loud and boisterous, full of life and chatter about events
that had probably never occurred. And the only actual adult living in the shelter, Ben,
refused to eat his vegetables and kept asking everyone if they had seen a movie entitled
Star Wars, an old pop culture phenomenon that had died long ago, with the consistency of
electricity. The old man truly believed he had been a Jedi knight a long time ago in a
galaxy far far away. Sky laughed. She loved the eccentricity of the occupants of the
shelter...they were more than her friends. They were her life, a part of her identity
that she treasured.
Sky focused on the opposite wall as she cleared her mind. Then, something caught her
eye. For a moment she thought it was only the natural movement of liquid haze, but her
hopes were denied as a figure slowly emerged from the thick steam. Sky's heart thumped
in her chest, pulsing loud enough to echo throughout her eardrums. The hooded visitor
could simply be a homeless man or a passerby or a worker, but she didn't want to take a
chance on the odds. Frantically she tried to open the door, but such a simple task was
complicated by a surge of fear, for her life, but also for the children inside. Her hands
slipped clumsily over the doorknob.
"Stop." The voice was cold and mechanical as the slender figure approached. "I have not
come to harm you."
The voice belonged to a woman...Sky scanned the ally once more as she froze in place.
Her visitor was alone.
"Who are you?" The woman closed in, taking each step forcefully, yet there was a
caution in her demeanor, as though she had something to lose from this encounter.
She removed the hood causing her long chestnut hair to spill forth from folds of gray
fabric. Her eyes were a bold green, intense and piercing as they looked into Sky's
own green orbs. However, there was something odd about the stranger's eyes...and for
a moment Sky thought they were wholly glazed over in a hue of pale green, but at a
second glance they were normal. But yet, had she imagined the change?
"You are in far more danger than you believe."
Sky's eyes narrowed. "How much worse can it get when they can take your life from you?"
"You don't understand who you are dealing with. The Reds are nothing compared to who
really wants you dead."
Fingernails began to dig into Sky's palms as she clasped her hands together, a reflex
acquired to calm herself and, take her mind away from the intensity of situations.
"And why should I believe you?"
"Do you remember how you got to the hospital the night the Reds attacked you?"
Sky was silent, lost in thought. "You didn't walk there. The Reds certainly didn't
take you." The woman stepped closer, a look of desperation in her face. "I took you.
I saved your life." Sky didn't know what to think. This woman could be telling the truth,
or could be trying to deceive her somehow. There are times when she just didn't know and
was forced to play the odds, a situation Sky detested.
"They know who you are. And they will found out what you love and take it away as they
once did." The woman looked down and reached into her long coat. She glanced frantically
around...unsure and obviously rather nervous. "Here." She pulled out a small envelope.
"Take it." She snapped as she noticed Sky's hesitance.
Sky clenched her teeth and took the envelope. She studied the woman's face ahead of her
and after a moment opened the flap, pulling out a single photograph. Her eyes widened in
shock.
"Where did you get this?" She demanded, her patience now at an end.
"Look, there is no time. You have to understand that I want to help you. My name is Arden.
I was once a member of an organization formed because of...differences with the majority."
The woman sighed as she tried to spit out the thousands of thoughts swimming in her head.
"The Reds are intermediaries working for this organization."
"Sector Five?"
The woman shook her head. "No, Sector Five was wiped out by my former colleagues. You are a
witness to a demonstration of their power...the massacres."
Sky tried to form her thoughts. She had witnessed plenty of bloody scenes during her
assignments from Sector Five.
"May 15...The day you were separated from your husband." A look of rage appeared upon
Sky's face.
"How do you know so much about me?" She moved closer to Arden, her face only inches
away now.
"I've been watching you for a long time. You were once my assignment. But, when I left
the organization watching you became a hobby, until the day I realized that you were more
important to them than I thought. They want you dead."
Sky was about to lose it. Emotions of anger, fear, and grief began to swirl inside her mind
"Who is they?" She snapped loudly.
"They refer to themselves as The Society." Arden glanced around the ally once more. "I can
talk no longer. They may find me here. Then we're both dead." Arden turned to leave.
"Wait." Sky called. "This man..."she pointed to the picture. "when was this taken?"
"I don't know." The woman walked deeper into the fog. "I'll find you again. Don't look for
me...don't mention my name." Then she was gone, swallowed into the fog, and Sky was left in
the ally alone once more.
Sky pressed her fingers onto the gloss of the picture, running them along the man's face.
Slowly she slid down to the ground...soaking her jeans in the muggy puddles. The ground was
frosty and penetrating, but she hardly noticed the discomfort. All Sky could see was the man
in the picture. Her eyes began to water with pure emotion. "Nathaniel." She whispered as she
stared at the worn photograph. She became lost in his face, trying to feel warmth from the
cold sheet of paper, hoping that some sort of life could be found in the visage before her.
The picture she had never seen before, but what sent Sky's mind whirling was Nathaniel's
appearance. His demeanor was worn and tired...older than when she had last seen him. Could
he be "alive?" she murmured. No. Sky quickly dismissed the thought. She had seen him die.
He was gone. She had to accept that foolish wishful thinking would only hurt her in the
end. And yet...what if there was hope? She had lost all faith in hope...but what if?
Sky's mind wandered as her skin became numb.
Suddenly the door opened. "Sky?" A familiar face popped her head outside. "Sky!"
Max quickly stepped outside and knelt beside her, concern written on her face. "Are
you alright?" Sky only stared through Max, the picture clutched between her trembling
fingers.
Bubbles and more bubbles. Sky dipped her hands into the sudded mixture. She
loved the feel of the soapy water and oddly enough having a wet, warm rag in
her hand. She pulled the last dish out from underneath the water and rinsed it off.
"Whew." Sky sighed and wiped her arm across her forehead causing a few bubbles to
catch in her hair and then pop at the gentle contact. Feeling rather satisfied at the
having accomplished a simple act of housework, she decided to slip outside and relish
the night air for a moment.
Treading softly past several rooms she found the back door and stepped out into the
night. The 'backyard' of the shelter was nothing more than an ally often filled with
steam from neighboring businesses' productions.
Sky's lips curved into a smile as she thought of the past dinner. Nothing had changed.
Christian and Kyle still fought over sitting next to Cynthia, the current catch of the
shelter for the younger boys. Aria had sat quietly, a smile on her face as she took tiny
bites of her food. Karen was loud and boisterous, full of life and chatter about events
that had probably never occurred. And the only actual adult living in the shelter, Ben,
refused to eat his vegetables and kept asking everyone if they had seen a movie entitled
Star Wars, an old pop culture phenomenon that had died long ago, with the consistency of
electricity. The old man truly believed he had been a Jedi knight a long time ago in a
galaxy far far away. Sky laughed. She loved the eccentricity of the occupants of the
shelter...they were more than her friends. They were her life, a part of her identity
that she treasured.
Sky focused on the opposite wall as she cleared her mind. Then, something caught her
eye. For a moment she thought it was only the natural movement of liquid haze, but her
hopes were denied as a figure slowly emerged from the thick steam. Sky's heart thumped
in her chest, pulsing loud enough to echo throughout her eardrums. The hooded visitor
could simply be a homeless man or a passerby or a worker, but she didn't want to take a
chance on the odds. Frantically she tried to open the door, but such a simple task was
complicated by a surge of fear, for her life, but also for the children inside. Her hands
slipped clumsily over the doorknob.
"Stop." The voice was cold and mechanical as the slender figure approached. "I have not
come to harm you."
The voice belonged to a woman...Sky scanned the ally once more as she froze in place.
Her visitor was alone.
"Who are you?" The woman closed in, taking each step forcefully, yet there was a
caution in her demeanor, as though she had something to lose from this encounter.
She removed the hood causing her long chestnut hair to spill forth from folds of gray
fabric. Her eyes were a bold green, intense and piercing as they looked into Sky's
own green orbs. However, there was something odd about the stranger's eyes...and for
a moment Sky thought they were wholly glazed over in a hue of pale green, but at a
second glance they were normal. But yet, had she imagined the change?
"You are in far more danger than you believe."
Sky's eyes narrowed. "How much worse can it get when they can take your life from you?"
"You don't understand who you are dealing with. The Reds are nothing compared to who
really wants you dead."
Fingernails began to dig into Sky's palms as she clasped her hands together, a reflex
acquired to calm herself and, take her mind away from the intensity of situations.
"And why should I believe you?"
"Do you remember how you got to the hospital the night the Reds attacked you?"
Sky was silent, lost in thought. "You didn't walk there. The Reds certainly didn't
take you." The woman stepped closer, a look of desperation in her face. "I took you.
I saved your life." Sky didn't know what to think. This woman could be telling the truth,
or could be trying to deceive her somehow. There are times when she just didn't know and
was forced to play the odds, a situation Sky detested.
"They know who you are. And they will found out what you love and take it away as they
once did." The woman looked down and reached into her long coat. She glanced frantically
around...unsure and obviously rather nervous. "Here." She pulled out a small envelope.
"Take it." She snapped as she noticed Sky's hesitance.
Sky clenched her teeth and took the envelope. She studied the woman's face ahead of her
and after a moment opened the flap, pulling out a single photograph. Her eyes widened in
shock.
"Where did you get this?" She demanded, her patience now at an end.
"Look, there is no time. You have to understand that I want to help you. My name is Arden.
I was once a member of an organization formed because of...differences with the majority."
The woman sighed as she tried to spit out the thousands of thoughts swimming in her head.
"The Reds are intermediaries working for this organization."
"Sector Five?"
The woman shook her head. "No, Sector Five was wiped out by my former colleagues. You are a
witness to a demonstration of their power...the massacres."
Sky tried to form her thoughts. She had witnessed plenty of bloody scenes during her
assignments from Sector Five.
"May 15...The day you were separated from your husband." A look of rage appeared upon
Sky's face.
"How do you know so much about me?" She moved closer to Arden, her face only inches
away now.
"I've been watching you for a long time. You were once my assignment. But, when I left
the organization watching you became a hobby, until the day I realized that you were more
important to them than I thought. They want you dead."
Sky was about to lose it. Emotions of anger, fear, and grief began to swirl inside her mind
"Who is they?" She snapped loudly.
"They refer to themselves as The Society." Arden glanced around the ally once more. "I can
talk no longer. They may find me here. Then we're both dead." Arden turned to leave.
"Wait." Sky called. "This man..."she pointed to the picture. "when was this taken?"
"I don't know." The woman walked deeper into the fog. "I'll find you again. Don't look for
me...don't mention my name." Then she was gone, swallowed into the fog, and Sky was left in
the ally alone once more.
Sky pressed her fingers onto the gloss of the picture, running them along the man's face.
Slowly she slid down to the ground...soaking her jeans in the muggy puddles. The ground was
frosty and penetrating, but she hardly noticed the discomfort. All Sky could see was the man
in the picture. Her eyes began to water with pure emotion. "Nathaniel." She whispered as she
stared at the worn photograph. She became lost in his face, trying to feel warmth from the
cold sheet of paper, hoping that some sort of life could be found in the visage before her.
The picture she had never seen before, but what sent Sky's mind whirling was Nathaniel's
appearance. His demeanor was worn and tired...older than when she had last seen him. Could
he be "alive?" she murmured. No. Sky quickly dismissed the thought. She had seen him die.
He was gone. She had to accept that foolish wishful thinking would only hurt her in the
end. And yet...what if there was hope? She had lost all faith in hope...but what if?
Sky's mind wandered as her skin became numb.
Suddenly the door opened. "Sky?" A familiar face popped her head outside. "Sky!"
Max quickly stepped outside and knelt beside her, concern written on her face. "Are
you alright?" Sky only stared through Max, the picture clutched between her trembling
fingers.
