ALiCE in WoNDeRLaND
-26-
"ALiCE?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin, but it was only Aurick. "What?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Talking to..." I glanced beside me - Caol was gone. "That was quick," I muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. What's going on?"
Aurick made a face. "The others are trying to decide what to do next. Fiore's disappearance... kind of complicates things."
"How?"
He shrugged. "Many reasons. He was an associate, and a damned good one. We were expecting some more machinery from him, among other things. Information. You know."
It was all very shady, but I let it slide. There were more important things on my mind. "Do I have a security device?"
Aurick seemed caught off guard. "A what now?"
"One of those things you guys have, so you can't hurt anyone. Is there one in... on... whatever. Do I have one?"
Aurick was hesitant, obviously calculating his response. "I don't think so. We should have noticed by now, right?"
"I haven't touched Caol."
"But you've spoken to him."
"But we don't know how sensitive these things are. Zione spoke to him as he touched him, remember?"
Aurick seemed interested in the argument, which was more than I could probably have said about a certain other Villikin, had I been having the conversation with him instead. "I wonder," he murmured.
Nam stuck his head out from behind the wall. "Hey. What's taking so long?"
Aurick shrugged. "Just chatting."
I nodded. Nam seemed convinced, or more correctly, preoccupied. I had a feeling that everyone but me was obsessed with their memories of the previous occurrence, and it all seemed a little unfair. They, once again, knew more about me than I did. It just wasn't kosher.
I followed them out to rejoin the others. Zale and Miyka'el had been debating, I gathered, with Zione refereeing and providing his own input, as well. Caol had returned, but seemed distracted, still. Zione turned toward us as we returned. "Ready to go?"
"We're leaving?" I asked. I had almost forgotten that we were in a hologram, or whatever they called it. This was some heavy-duty virtual reality, I had to admit. "We just got here."
"We have a mission, remember?" Miyka'el asked, not as menacing as I would have expected.
"Yeah," I conceded, sighing. "I'm sure I've made my distaste for the Queen and her castle clear by now, but just in case... bleh." I couldn't quite explain it, but I really didn't feel like going. I felt rather weighed down, as if something were trying to keep me away from it all.
Caol broke my thought by flinging a folded-up map our way. Nam caught it, stared at it, and frowned. "What are we supposed to do with a map?" he asked, directing the comment towards me. "Everything out there is plain concrete."
Caol was briefly confused, then recovered. "You're walking?" he asked me incredulously.
"Yeah," I replied. "Safer, I hear."
He shook his head. "It's like hand-delivering an email." He laughed, an odd, dry snicker. "Even the Pony Express had transportation." He turned to me. "It's not safer. It could be more dangerous in the long run. It takes too long."
"Tell him the transportation's even more dangerous. Loud, traceable, easy to spot on radar, that sort of thing," Nam replied without missing a beat. He was good at this.
"Tell them people are traceable, too," Caol snapped back. They had done this together a lot, it seemed. In fact... I began to notice that they were really talking to one another, not to me, and no adverse effects were taking place, whatsoever. Maybe it was safe to talk, so that meant I could still have some sort of device myself. Or maybe I was just trying to explain away the whole experience. Either way...
"Are you trying to get us caught or something?" Nam asked him.
Caol looked furious. "Like you should talk, Namdhari."
Zale raised an arm. "Whoa, guys. Let's chill, alright?"
Somehow I had a feeling this was becoming more and more about them and less about me.
* * *
-26-
"ALiCE?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin, but it was only Aurick. "What?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Talking to..." I glanced beside me - Caol was gone. "That was quick," I muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. What's going on?"
Aurick made a face. "The others are trying to decide what to do next. Fiore's disappearance... kind of complicates things."
"How?"
He shrugged. "Many reasons. He was an associate, and a damned good one. We were expecting some more machinery from him, among other things. Information. You know."
It was all very shady, but I let it slide. There were more important things on my mind. "Do I have a security device?"
Aurick seemed caught off guard. "A what now?"
"One of those things you guys have, so you can't hurt anyone. Is there one in... on... whatever. Do I have one?"
Aurick was hesitant, obviously calculating his response. "I don't think so. We should have noticed by now, right?"
"I haven't touched Caol."
"But you've spoken to him."
"But we don't know how sensitive these things are. Zione spoke to him as he touched him, remember?"
Aurick seemed interested in the argument, which was more than I could probably have said about a certain other Villikin, had I been having the conversation with him instead. "I wonder," he murmured.
Nam stuck his head out from behind the wall. "Hey. What's taking so long?"
Aurick shrugged. "Just chatting."
I nodded. Nam seemed convinced, or more correctly, preoccupied. I had a feeling that everyone but me was obsessed with their memories of the previous occurrence, and it all seemed a little unfair. They, once again, knew more about me than I did. It just wasn't kosher.
I followed them out to rejoin the others. Zale and Miyka'el had been debating, I gathered, with Zione refereeing and providing his own input, as well. Caol had returned, but seemed distracted, still. Zione turned toward us as we returned. "Ready to go?"
"We're leaving?" I asked. I had almost forgotten that we were in a hologram, or whatever they called it. This was some heavy-duty virtual reality, I had to admit. "We just got here."
"We have a mission, remember?" Miyka'el asked, not as menacing as I would have expected.
"Yeah," I conceded, sighing. "I'm sure I've made my distaste for the Queen and her castle clear by now, but just in case... bleh." I couldn't quite explain it, but I really didn't feel like going. I felt rather weighed down, as if something were trying to keep me away from it all.
Caol broke my thought by flinging a folded-up map our way. Nam caught it, stared at it, and frowned. "What are we supposed to do with a map?" he asked, directing the comment towards me. "Everything out there is plain concrete."
Caol was briefly confused, then recovered. "You're walking?" he asked me incredulously.
"Yeah," I replied. "Safer, I hear."
He shook his head. "It's like hand-delivering an email." He laughed, an odd, dry snicker. "Even the Pony Express had transportation." He turned to me. "It's not safer. It could be more dangerous in the long run. It takes too long."
"Tell him the transportation's even more dangerous. Loud, traceable, easy to spot on radar, that sort of thing," Nam replied without missing a beat. He was good at this.
"Tell them people are traceable, too," Caol snapped back. They had done this together a lot, it seemed. In fact... I began to notice that they were really talking to one another, not to me, and no adverse effects were taking place, whatsoever. Maybe it was safe to talk, so that meant I could still have some sort of device myself. Or maybe I was just trying to explain away the whole experience. Either way...
"Are you trying to get us caught or something?" Nam asked him.
Caol looked furious. "Like you should talk, Namdhari."
Zale raised an arm. "Whoa, guys. Let's chill, alright?"
Somehow I had a feeling this was becoming more and more about them and less about me.
* * *