I do my best to let everyone sleep in, they all deserve that. Of course, I can never give them everything they deserve. Between all their tossing and turning throughout the night, and consistent nightmares, I’m sure all of them are still exhausted.
Corax lands on the ground next to a few hours after what would be sunrise and gives a small peck on my cheek.
“E-1.” He whispers.
I guess that ans it’s unfortunately ti to wake everyone up. I try to gently shake Cassie awake, but like always when she drinks, she wakes in a blind panic. Her hand flies to her knife, drawing it and quickly looking around. At least she doesn’t slash at this ti. The commotion is enough to wake up Vince and Ivy, neither of which wake up peacefully.
“It’s ok!” I do my best to reassure all of them. “Nobody is in danger, it’s just ti to wake up!”
It takes a few seconds for everyone to fully calm down.
“Right.” Vince lets his eyes close and focuses on taking a few deep breaths. “Sorry Little Blue.” He sets his knife back on the table, and clenches to hide his shaking hands.
“It’s ok. Corax said E-1 is heading up, it’s probably ti to go.”
Corax gives a nod of confirmation.
Cassie finally returns her knife to its sheath, and reaches up to rub her eyes.
“How much water do we have left over?” Her voice is almost gravely, undoubtedly a result of all the alcohol she drank.
“We have a lot.” None of them drank as much water as they should have last night. I grab one of the gallons of water and hand it to her.
I help her sit up, and she quickly opens the cap and begins to chug it. She drinks as much as she can before passing it to Ivy.
“Why do you always get more?” Ivy asks before taking a large drink as well.
“It sounded like a good idea.” Cassie mumbles.
“It always does.” Vince takes the water from Ivy before finishing it off. “You’re lucky Little Blue, don’t find a way to start drinking.”
“The chef actually offered a way to get intoxicated, although I’m not sure if it was putting alcohol in my chip, or if it was malware.”
“Stay far away from it, trust .” Ivy says. “It’s never worth it.”
“Then why do you drink?” I ask.
“Because we’re all dumb.”
“Probably because of the alcohol.” Cassie jokes.
“It’s probably not helping anything, but I was dumb way before I started drinking.” Vince says.
“Must just be us then. A couple of dumbasses sticking together.”
“I’d drink to that.” Ivy says.
A knock on the door that surprises nobody interrupts us. Cassie moves slightly so I can wiggle out from beneath her and peek through the peephole. It’s just E-1, alone and carrying three plates of food and water.
I open the door and she steps inside.
“Oh! Good! Everyone’s already together. Corax’s friends let know all of you had a rough night, and might need so breakfast before you leave. In the water is a mix of nutrients we developed that should help with a hangover.”
I can’t help but smile at the fact that Corax’s flock is still on his side. I already knew they were, but it’s so nice to have confirmation from soone else.
“We appreciate it.” Vince moves to the side to give E-1 space to put down the tray, and grabs a small handful of crackers. “How long do we have until the storm ends?”
“It’s ending now, actually. I thought you could use the rest. We’ve already prepared your car for your journey. You’ll find your batteries full, and life support systems fully operational. Even if you get trapped by a storm, you’ll be fine for a week.”
“All of you have done too much for us, thank you. We’ll make sure you don’t regret it.”
“I know. I just hope everyone else can see that too.” E-1 waits for a silent mont before continuing. “I’ll wait in the courtyard while you pack up. Just co downstairs when you’re ready to leave.”
“Got it. We’ll be down before too long.”
“There’s no rush.” She reassures us. “I spend my days in the Digital, I’ll just dive in while I wait.”
“Still. I think these two are anxious to get ho.” Ivy says. I’m not sure who she’s excluding from that group though.
“I suppose I’ll see you soon then.” E-1 backs out of the room, leaving us alone.
“Well, we can always recover on the road. Let’s grab a bite and get moving.” Vince pushes himself to his feet with a loud groan. “We’ll get our room packed up.” He grabs two of the plates, and follows Ivy out into the hallway.
“Are you ok?” I ask Cassie the mont the three of us are alone.
“Just drank too much. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine eventually.”
“Ok. I’ll do the packing, you can just rest.”
“Thanks.”
I place her plate next to her and let her slowly nibble on the food provided.
“Cut off at so point next ti.” She says.
“I tried, rember? You insisted you’d be fine in the morning. The most I could do was to get you to drink so water.”
“No, actually. Just get Corax to bite next ti.”
Corax bristles on my shoulder a tiny bit.
“I’m sure he’d love to.”
It only takes a few minutes to collect our ager belongings, Cassie to finish her plate, and to force herself to finish her water. I sling both backpacks over my shoulders, and move over to help up Cassie.
“Do you want to carry you again?” I ask.
“Honestly? If Ivy could stay quiet, then yeah, I wouldn’t complain.” She takes my hand, and I slowly pull her to her feet.
“Steal necklace.” Corax offers.
Cassie lets out a loud snort, and I laugh along with her.
“Fuck it, go for it!” She can barely get the words out through her laughter. “I want to see who’d win that fight.”
“.” Corax says confidently.
“Yeah, you’re right.” I reach up to gently stroke his head.
We step outside, and Cassie instantly goes on alert. No matter how bad she’s feeling, she’s still prepared to fight. Thankfully, the hallway is abandoned, but she doesn’t relax until we duck into Vince and Ivy’s room.
The two of them are sitting on the side of their bed, leaning against each other and focusing on their breakfast. All their belongings are already shoved haphazardly in their backpacks.
“Ready to go?” Cassie asks.
“Guess so.”
The both of them finish off the last of their food and force themselves to their feet.
“Before you leave.” Ivy reaches under her shirt and pulls out a sizable, simple knife. She flips it around in her hand and holds it out for . “You should hold onto this.”
“Right.” I’m better able to fight than they are right now. It only makes sense for to hold onto it. I squeeze the handle far harder than I need to. Even if I have to use this, it’s not a gun. I won’t kill anyone, just disable them. They can be repaired. I crack open one of the skin plates on my thigh and use it to hold it in place, hidden beneath my clothes.
Cassie gives a reassuring look. If I have to fight, I know she’ll be right beside .
I lead the way downstairs and into the courtyard. E-1 is laying in one of the lounge chairs, her entire body limp. The second we step out of the stairwell she reactivates, standing up and heading over.
A flash of color streaks by above.
“Back soon.” Corax says before following them.
“Is there anywhere you want to go or anyone you want to see before you leave?” E-1 asks.
“No.” Even if we were on good terms, there’s nothing I still need to do. I glance back at everyone else, and they give a small shake of their head.
“Alright. I’m sorry you have to leave on less-than-stellar terms, but I promise we’ll see each other again.”
I don’t want to hear that. I don’t need to be lied to in order to feel less bad.
“Sure, let’s just go.” I don’t want to argue.
A crowd has ford just outside the compound, which parts as we approach. A few familiar faces are in it, contorted in unfamiliar ways. I wish I could just make them understand that I didn’t an for any of this to happen.
It’s a tunnel of bodies through the city. Even with all these people here, Kist’s physical form is nowhere to be seen. I have no doubt they’re still watching through the caras though.
We follow the path people have opened for us all the way to the airlock into the city. The door is already open with two people waiting inside. Video stands in the center, and next to him is soone else, cradling a black box in their arms.
“Is that Clover?” Vince asks. He’s trying to sound calm, but when I turn my head his eyes are constantly flickering between everyone around us.
“It is.” Ivy confirms.
“She coming with us?” Cassie asks.
“Dunno, I thought she was avoiding us.” Vince says quietly.
“You two are sitting in the back then, I’m not going to be cramped the whole way back.”
“Pretty sure It’s she’s trying to avoid.” Vince says. “It’d be easiest on her if I drove or took shotgun.”
“Fuck.” She mumbles.
“I can drive from the back seat.” I offer. “I’ll just plug myself in.”
“Don’t you get fucked up if you stay connected too long?” Cassie asks.
“I think I can minimize that by not fully connecting? If I just send commands and don’t receive any data back, it might be easier.”
“I’ll just sit in the back.” She groans. “Give her shotgun, and one of you two are taking middle.”
“We can always make space in the trunk again.” Ivy offers.
“It’s not very comfortable.” I warn her.
“I’m good.”
Our conversation dies as we approach the door, and Corax lands on my shoulder. Nobody hesitates to get inside, although it does little to reduce everyone’s stress. The mont we’re through the door, it unceremoniously closes behind us.
“Sorry you had to say goodbye.” I whisper to him.
Corax’s only response is a gentle nip to my ear.
“Clover demanded she co with you, is that ok?” Video asks.
“She, and maybe I, need to see Silver.” She mumbles, barely able to get the words out.
“Of course it is. Kid’s coming too?” Vince nods to the small box in her arms.
“She doesn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Alright. Just a fair warning, I’m not sure how safe it’ll be there, and not sure when we’ll be coming back. Not saying you can’t co, just keep that in mind.”
“We know.” She insists.
“Well alright. It’ll be good to have the whole gang back together, or kind of.”
“I’m not Her.” The words can barely sneak out of her mouth.
“Right, sorry. I should have known that.” Vince imdiately apologizes. I’m surprised he even heard her words. “It’ll be nice to get to know you.”
“I take it you’re ready to go then?” Video asks, and the door behind him slides open. Our car sits in the garage, freshly cleaned with supplies peeking through the windows. The wheels look fresh, hopefully they’ll get us ho, even if we need to go a little faster than is safe.
“I think so.”
“I wish you a safe arrival then, and for our story to remain secret.”
“I won’t let anyone learn about you, no matter what.” I promise once again.
“We all sincerely hope so.” Video steps to the side, and we head through the door.
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