Chapter 17- Ebony

I wandered back into the mall after midday, as usual I had spent the morning on the beach hiding from my problems and trying to sustain the feeling of euphoria inside me. Unfortunately as I walked into the mall I found Jay watching me from the table at the top of the stairs.

Without really looking at me he called down "Salene's called a tribe meeting, she says Mega has something important to tell us"

"Oooooo, fun" I muttered to myself, I had the pleasure of being invited to the series of arguments loosely described as a tribe meeting. "Fine" I yelled up at him preparing to leave and then realizing with a sinking heart my room was on the second floor, I would have to go past him. And he knew it, bas!ard. As I began to climb the stairs without looking at me he told me

"You can't ignore it"

"What?" I asked innocently

"What happened?" he said getting up so he was in my way, d@mn him, did he know how much he was affecting me? Did he want to make me suffer?

"Ebony." he said as I reached the top of the stairs and tried to walk around him, he reached out and tried to grab my arm. I snatched it back to myself, I didn't want to be touched, anyone might see, might find out about my bruised body. However his action had the desired effect when I stopped to hear him out.

When he looked at me I could see something in his eyes, a spark of knowledge and understanding which I didn't understand, but after he had spoken I did.

"Tell me you don't want me," he said, his eyes and voice telling me he knew the exact effect those words, somehow sacred to us, would have on me. D@mn him, d@mn him. He knew, and he was right, my stomach flipped and my heart seemed to stop and twist painfully at those few words.

My mind told me to say spiteful things, to deflect this question but somehow I could not. In some strange way it was sacred and just as he had not lied to me I could not lie to that question. Instead I stayed silent, the fear in my mind of being discovered keeping me silent and the feelings in my heart stopping me denying it out right.

I didn't say anything else, just walked off knowing that he had won, he knew I still cared for him, he knew I still wanted him. Oh yes I wanted him, I ached for him, the last night had made me needed his touch and presence more than ever.

I got back to my room, then remembered Jay had said something about a tribe meeting. Dammit. Unwillingly I turned around and made my way back to the café.

Most of the tribe was already loosely scattered in a semi circle around Mega when I arrived. I slid into a seat on the edge of the room, not greatly interested in what was going on. It was only when I had sat down that I realized I was sat almost directly opposite Jay, and he was staring at me, dammit.

"Ebony, your just in time" Salene said brightly, unfortunately pregnancy didn't seem to be affecting her, yet.

Mega started talking in his cool calm manner, explaining to us how he was doing in the program we had devised to shut down the Techno's, I switched off immediately.

As he talked I looked around the Mallrats, Dee and Patch were sat at opposite ends of the room, they had obviously had an argument, Allyn was sat with May, she was even spooky in the light of day. I was glad to see Amber looked like she had been hit by a train, she deserved it and Lex and Siva were sat wrapped around each other, at least someone was happy, and I was glad it was Siva.

As I looked around my eyes suddenly collided with Jay's, electricity seemed to pass between our eyes that were locked to each other across the room and I couldn't break away.

It took Mega saying "And we have found some of the Mallrats" to snap me out of that seemingly eternal trance. My attention snapped back to Mega, he had found the missing Mallrats? The older Mallrats were staring at him mixed hope and pain in their faces.

"You found the missing Mallrats?" asked Amber, her voice sounding shell shocked and her question echoing everyone else's.

"Some" Mega said his voice not changing even in the sudden electric atmosphere in the room. "As agreed, we are returning the missing kids to where they came from in dribs and drabs and we've just found some of the Mallrats"

"Some?" asked Lex

"Four" Mega said

"Who?" asked Salene her face lit up with excitement

"I don't know," replied Mega

"When are they arriving?" asked Taisan looking slightly calmer than everyone else, then I didn't understand why, a few days later I did.

"Tomorrow" replied Mega turning to look at Taisan a flash of something exchanging between them and I wondered, like everyone else had, what had really happened to her with the Technos.

I, Lex, Taisan, Salene, Pride, May and Amber were all on edge. They were coming home, four of our friends, our old lovers, our tribe. It was written across everyone's faces, hope that the people they most missed would return but the dampening realization that only four of them would, who each person wanted the four to be was different.

For the others gathered in the room, Jay, Siva, Mouse, Sammy, Dee, Patch and Allyn, it meant very little. New faces, new friends, new enemies and possibly new lovers, but that was the future, hopes and dreams that might never come to realization in the crazy world we inhabit, no one looks to the future too much after the virus.

Just as the meeting seemed to be about to break down completely Jay called out nervously, his voice hesitant,

"What about Ved? Have you found him?"

Mega turned around to look at him and still supremely calmly said "Yes and no"

"Yes and no?" said Jay puzzled

"We found his body, but his mind's been integrated into the computer system" Mega told him seemingly not affected by the fact he was giving Jay devastating news, and Jay did look devastated. He looked like he had been hit by a lorry, he seemed to want to ask more questions but he couldn't find the words so he just sank back down into his seat in stunned silence.

Then gradually the meeting broke down, the newer members of the tribe leaving quite soon but the older members hanging around, talking of old times and old friends. It felt strange, like a secret elite club, all scared to say how we really felt incase we hurt anyone else in our choice of whom we wanted to return, and for once I was in that inner circle. The atmosphere lasted the rest of the day as we wandered around the mall an edge of excitement and suspense in the air.