Teli's silver motorcycle glided smoothly across the blacktop highway, carrying her closer to her destination, closer to safety, closer to all the answers she desired. Her encounter with the Manticore in Redding was still fresh in her mind. It had been a close call, much too close. Teli tightened her grip on the handlebars and shifted into a higher gear. The whine of the tires jumped up in pitch as they spun faster, whipping through central Oregon. By Teli's calculations, she should be in southern Washington before sundown.
"Hey, you've reached my cell phone, obviously I haven't answered, but I will call you back eventually, so leave a message." Shane's friendly recorded voice rang in Kat's ear. She'd been trying to get a hold of him for two days now and all she could reach was his voicemail. It was beyond frustrating. Kat debated again whether or not to leave a message. She had repeatedly hung up, expecting him to call anyway since cell phones did show what calls were missed. But he hadn't. Stupid male. Kat sighed and spoke quickly into the speaker.
"Shane, this is Kat. We need to talk, it's about...Teli. Call me." Kat hung up her phone quickly; a sudden prickle of paranoia accelerated her actions. She glared suspiciously at the phone line for a moment and then glanced out the window. It was a beautiful day, a light breeze lifted the open curtains and bright sunshine streamed through the window. No shadows, no black cars with tinted windows, no strangers, no nothing. 'Maybe I'm over reacting.' Kat thought, she was more and more starting to wonder what it was Teli had been so worried about. Everything was normal. Well, mostly normal; life was tough when your best friend literally disappears.
"You know, if you were going to steal a car anyway, you could've at least stolen one that actually worked." Tye commented dryly to the half-visible woman under the car.
"Yes, Tye. Let's steal a really nice car so we can have the police and whoever else on our tail." Jondy's voice replied from her position under the broken-down vehicle. Tye shrugged and resumed his long pacing steps, back and forth along the length of the car as he repeatedly scanned their surroundings. The view never changed, dark desert sands lying lifeless and unforgiving on either side of the little highway.
"Would you quit your pacing and give me a hand?" Jondy called a minute later, sliding out from under the car. Tye stopped walking and glanced at Jondy's grease-smeared face.
"I spent my childhood on the back of a horse, not under the hood of a car." Tye replied hesitantly. He leaned back against the car's frame and waited, knowing full well Jondy would not take that as an excuse.
"Your point being...?" Jondy asked, raising an eyebrow as she wiped a smudge off her forehead.
"That I might do more harm then good under there." Tye answered simply. A half laugh escaped Jondy's lips.
"Guess it's time you learned then." She said with a smile as Tye caught the 5/8th wrench she tossed his way.
Shane listened to the message again. He didn't want to call Kat back, didn't want to hear Teli's excuse for disappearing without so much as a warning, but Kat's voice echoed in his ear with a sad, frustrated tone. The worried thought that something had forced Teli to disappear filtered through his mind. Shane pushed the though aside. After all, what could possibly have happened to Teli? Besides, it was easier to be upset at the situation than panicked over it. Shane took the phone away from his ear and glared at the number on the screen as he pushed the 'return call' button.
The phone rang in his ear three times. Just as Shane was about to hang up, the line was picked up.
"Hello?" A feminine voice asked, sounding out of breath.
"Kat?" Shane asked quickly. He heard a soft relieved sigh on the other end of the line.
"Finally. Thanks for calling back." Kat answered quickly. She sounded nervous. A brief moment of silence passed over the line.
"So, what was it you wanted to tell me about..." Shane started.
"Not on the phone." Kat cut him off, stress fully entering her voice.
"Where then?" Shane asked quickly, picking up on Kat's tone.
"Do you remember where her favorite spot to think was?" Kat asked, feeling a sudden pang of sadness.
"Of course." Shane answered, remembering when Teli had brought him up to show him her favorite spot among the rocks in the mountains.
"Be there ASAP." Kat said quickly. The phone clicked in Shane's ear and he glanced quizzically at the screen. He was no closer to learning anything about Teli, but Kat was freaked about something, that much he could tell.
Aliana felt the days go by in a blur. For the first time in her memory she didn't feel like riding or helping out in the barns. She was more content to wander aimlessly around her house than step out into the world where everything would remind her of Tye. Only once had a brief flash of anger caused her to throw a little framed picture of her and Tye full force into a wall. The shattering glass flew back at her, ripping into her hands. Aliana looked from her bleeding hands to the now-torn picture amidst the broken glass. Tears blurred her vision and she leaned back against the wall. A storm cloud unleashed its first ripple of thunder to drown out her sobs as Aliana crumpled to the floor, covering her face with bloody hands. She stayed there, letting the tears flow freely, and she eventually drifted off into a restless sleep.
Strange dreams followed her in sleep. A sweet smell danced under her nose as shadowy blurs moved silently about her. The picture of her and Tye floated hazily in front of her eyes but it seemed as if the picture had been torn in half, only Tye remaining. In the dream Aliana was lifted, elevated gently above the ground. The night swirled around her as if by magic she was suddenly outside and floating away from her home. A deeper sleep came upon her then and the shadowy figures and small flashes of headlights drifted back into the dream realm of her mind as full darkness finally settled behind her eyes.
Jondy was gone. Tye awoke to an empty front seat, with a set of instructions taped to the steering wheel. They had gotten the beat-up old car to the nearest town before it had sputtered and died once again. The last thing Tye remembered, before falling asleep in the back seat, was Jondy's mumbled expletive as she slammed the hood closed. And now she was gone and he was to make his way to Seattle.
Tye pocketed his instructions and stepped warily out of the old car. Dawn was just breaking on the misty horizon, casting a light purple haze over the sleepy little town. Tye shouldered his bag and quietly shut the car door. His keen eyes pierced through the mist that hung in the air as he scanned the area. Once assured that no one had seen him or been aware of his presence, Tye walked with purposeful steps toward the nearest parking lot.
Kat thought back briefly on her conversation with Shane.
'You going to tell me what I'd like to know now?' Shane's voice echoed in Kat's memory. He had sounded hurt, and quietly angry.
'She had to leave Shane, she had no choice.' Kat explained.
'Why Kat? Why would she just up and disappear?' He asked, glancing coldly from Kat to the woods beyond. 'I can't tell you that.' The scene continued to play through her mind. Kat was caught up in the memory, forgetting the world around her, wishing somehow she could have told him.
'What can't you tell me?' Shane asked, searching for some clue, some explanation.
'Her tattoo...' Kat whispered, cutting herself off before any more slipped past. She wanted to tell him, didn't he have the right to know? Did she have the right to share this burden with someone?
Something made Kat return her thoughts to her surroundings. Night had fallen; the bay window she was sitting in was now dark. Kat shrugged off the now-familiar paranoid prickle and returned to her previous thoughts.
'What tattoo?' Shane asked, stepping towards her with sudden interest, as if he had just stumbled upon a clue. Kat unconsciously rubbed the back of her own neck, as if she could feel the brand of the barcode herself. 'Nothing, never mind.' Kat said quickly. 'Look, Shane. She asked me to say goodbye for her. I've done that. Now, don't look for her. Don't do anything. Just forget you ever knew her!'
Kat's voice cracked as she half sobbed the last line. She pushed roughly past Shane and ran away from him towards home. She glanced back only once. Shane was still standing, as if frozen in place, where Kat had left him.
'Why, Teli? Why you? Why did this have to happen? Why did I have to lose my best friend?' Kat thought miserably. 'I hope you're okay, wherever you are out there.' The worried thought passed through Kat's mind as tears threatened and she inhaled sharply to hold them back. In the small silence between breaths, Kat heard the familiar creaking of footsteps on the stairs.
Kat jumped into awareness, forgetting her earlier thoughts. Kat stood slowly, backing into a corner, listening. Ever so faint was the footstep that landed just outside her door. A scream rose in her throat as her door swung open and she became aware of a pair of cold eyes that stared unblinking at her. But Kat caught the scream in her throat, knowing it would be no use, she was alone. The cold eyes stepped closer, and a dark outline formed. Kat set her jaw. Teli had taught her a few things about self-defense; she wasn't giving in without a fight, no matter how desperate.
Kat watched, barely suppressing her panic as the form moved closer. Then, trying to take her attacker by surprise, Kat aimed a blind kick in the direction of the attacker's knee. Her foot connected with bone, and the cold eyes jumped back, wincing slightly. Kat knew she should strike again, before they had a chance to regroup. Panic finally gripped her as she lunged, aiming towards the now glaring eyes. But her fists and madly scratching nails met only air. Too fast, the figure had moved too fast. A heavy blow struck Kat in the back of her head. She tumbled forward, feeling herself be caught from falling by a strong, harsh grip. A hand was clamped over her nose a mouth, a sweet smelling cloth held securely below her nose. Kat arched her back, trying to evade the drugs effect, but she couldn't hold her breath forever. After only a shallow gasp for air, the sickly sweet smell of the cloth took its effect and everything went black.
It was raining in Seattle when Teli crossed through the last checkpoint and entered sector 9. Three whole days of traveling, stopping only for gas and nature's call. No sightseeing, no detours, no sleep, no food. She had been surviving on caffeine, adrenaline, and a single candy bar bought at three in the morning at a shady truck stop, running from every shadow and every set of headlights. Through this she had managed to ignore the harassment of catcalls and pat-downs at nearly all the checkpoints she had stumbled through. Still she pressed on. Her muscles ached and quivered from over-exertion and burned from lactic acid build-up. Her mind was hazy from lack of sleep and it was a fight to keep her vision clear. But now she was almost there.
Dark and rainy streets were all that welcomed Teli to Sector 9. A brief glance at a checkpoint map was all she had in her memory to guide her to Foggle Towers. It wasn't much, and in her mentally exhausted state, Teli found herself taking several wrong turns, ending up in dark alleys littered with trash, serving as shelter for the homeless bums who tapped broken metal pipes and rusted hunks of old car parts, threatening defense of their territory from Teli's invasion.
Teli was just about to give in to the exhaustion and collapse in a heap of wet clothes against the next wet dumpster when a flash of lightning illuminated the side of a building. It read 'Foggle Towers.' Teli closed her eyes briefly, overwhelmingly thankful that her search was over. She parked her bike under the eaves of a smaller building and made her way towards her destination.
'Penthouse level.' Teli told herself mentally. Some part of her brain knew better than to use the front doors and main elevator, but exhaustion clouded her mind and she could think of no other entrance. The PH button glowed softly yellow as Teli sank down, the beginning of a seizure shaking her lightly against the elevator walls. The easy upward motion of the elevator rocked Teli gently, lulling her towards sleep.
The elevator stopped and a buzzer rang, requesting admittance. Teli snapped briefly out of the haziness of her mind. Voices rang beyond the metal doors that had yet to slide open. Teli recognized Zane's low tones and registered the alarm that sounded in his words. The click of a loaded gun reached Teli's ears, causing her to rise clumsily to her feet in alarm. Yet she felt like a single step would throw her off balance and into a full-blown seizure. Her muscles were too tight and tired to hold her up for much longer.
Another buzzer sounded and the metal doors slowly slid open. Teli clumsily stepped into the hallway that opened before her. As predicted, exhaustion only allowed her the one step that brought her at last to her destination. Teli couldn't stop her body from crumpling to the floor; her wet hair fell across her face like a dark curtain as the first real ripples of a seizure shook her.
"Teli?" Zane's voice asked, sounding muffled as if from far away.
"Get some Tryptophan, now." Another voice said urgently as light footsteps rushed quickly to Teli's side. She was suddenly aware of a soft hand pushing the hair out of her face. Teli forced her eyes to open one last time before sleep devoured her brain. A face from her distant memory peered down at her, concerned.
"It's okay. You're safe, now." The voice said, sounding gentler then it had years ago. Teli used the last of her fading energy to reach up towards the memory in front of her to make sure she was real.
"Max?" Teli asked in a whisper so soft she barely heard it herself. Max took the shaking hand that reached for her and squeezed the fingers tightly.
"That's right." Max answered with a soft smile. Teli weakly smiled back as weariness finally took over her mind and she plummeted into a deep, dreamless sleep.