Here's more. Sorry it's short and rough.
A giddy sensation seeped into Claire's body as she filed through the front door, following the others to assemble next to the truck and van in the driveway. The smolder of vodka lingered; charming the back of her throat while it dissolved the pills in her stomach. She stood for a moment on the front step, watching the others climb into the HXX and fuss over their seating choices. She headed onto the driveway and circled to the opposite side of the truck, almost loosing her footing on a few steps as she scanned for Aki.
Barry stood next to the still-open passenger door, arms folded, smiling, looking toward the bickering inside the vehicle. He gave a quick glance to Claire's presence and asked, "Ready to go, Ms. Galloway?"
"Aren't you coming with us?" She nodded toward the truck, where the others had finally taken their places.
Barry glanced over his shoulder to the other vehicle in the driveway. "Gotta ditch the van first. I'll leave it somewhere downtown with the keys inside-- That should make it disappear in a hurry. You should get in before the queens start crowning each other, commander."
Claire peered through the droplets and glare of morning overcast that shone on the truck's windows. She could account for everyone-- except her lover. She asked Barry, "Have you seen Aki?"
"No. Why?"
Claire thought for a moment before replying, "I thought she'd be out here. I guess she's still in the house."
Barry smirked and said, "I'm not one to judge and, hell, I've sunk pretty low from time to time, but you shouldn't hit the sauce this early in the morning, Genius. You're still a kid, but it can't be good for you."
Claire looked to the pavement at once, sudden shame corroding the edges of her mounting inebriation. Her defensive self spoke by reflex, "You don't understand... I have my reasons."
"All addicts do-- Every single one of them." Barry reached into his coat and pulled out his M-lync. He gazed at the gadget's screen and said, "Well, Ms. Nashumara'd better get out here now. We've only got an hour 'til our plane leaves-- With or without us. The Air Force doesn't reschedule nonexistent flights."
"I'll go find her. We'll be right out. Then we can get going." She managed a weak smile, knowing that at least with that task, she would not earn further disapproval.
Claire tottered back into the house. She glanced around the living room, found no one, and swayed into the hallway. No one. As she passed each doorway, she called into the stillness of the vacant place, "Aki-chan? Cutie?" No answer.
At last, she found her love on the edge of the bed they had shared hours ago. Aki gave no outward acknowledgement of Claire's presence; she remained still, staring toward the room's sole window, her expression unreadable.
Claire approached the bed. "We have to go cutie-chan. We're going to miss our plane if we don't leave now."
Aki maintained her stoic gaze. Eventually, she whispered, "This is easy for you, isn't it?" She paused and then added, "It isn't easy for me."
"We can talk about this on the plane. We'll have lots of time to talk on the plane."
Aki drew a breath. Her jaw shifted. "You can just go wherever you want..." she turned to Claire and shook her head, "But you don't care if you never see your family again. You hate your parents." She gave another slight shake and added, "But I don't hate my family. I love them. They love me--"
Claire sighed. "I'm not going anywhere unless you go with me. If we don't leave, hide, we're in danger. We have to go now."
"I won't even get to tell them 'goodbye.'" Aki's eyes turned shiny. She sniffled. "I won't get to see them again-- Ever."
Claire sank onto on the edge of the mattress. She wrapped an arm around Aki's back and squeezed, saying, "I guess that's a possibility... But we don't know for sure. Maybe we can find way to see them... like meet them in Switzerland or something. Maybe we could have them come to us, wherever we end up. We'll still be on the same planet, right?"
Aki gave no response except for another muted sniffle.
Knowing that Barry's whole plan hinged on them getting out of there immediately, Claire tried a different approach. "Remember when we ran away together? Living on the road? Eating in greasy little places? Sleeping outdoors, bundled together; stinking like exhaust, gasoline, and sweat?" Claire leaned closer and whispered, "It was just you and me. It was simple. What we had was simple."
"You like that better? What we had then instead of what we have now?"
"Maybe." Claire curled her bottom lip inward as she thought about it. "Don’t you?"
"I guess... We had a way out. We had a chance at being whoever we wanted to be."
"To each other maybe, but what I am would have caught up to us eventually. Inevitably." The words set an idea into motion. Reversal; back to the way it was, thought Claire. Bargaining, ultimatum; there had to be a way. Her racing thoughts halted at Aki's touch.
The tips of Aki's fingers nudged the edge of Claire’s jaw, turning her head into eye-contact. "We can do it again-- Not bother with the ‘goodbye’ part... Just hit the road before anyone knows where we went." Aki’s eyes brightened. "I have some paper money. We can buy another motorcycle and sneak away together. We can--"
"We can't." Claire shook her head. "We don' have time to put any of that together. They're waiting for us outside-- right now."
Aki frowned, closed her eyes, and finally nodded. "You're right. We can figure-out something later-- Once we're settled somewhere... I'm being stupid."
Claire smiled. "Loving your family isn't stupid. Come on Cutie... They're waiting." She started to rise, attempting to usher Aki up within her half embrace, but met with passive resistance. Her intoxication and the unexpected challenge to her balance caused her to collapse backward onto the bed. She started chuckling at the physical comedy from her weakened coordination.
In a weary monotone that barely rose above the sounds of Claire's amusement, Aki asked, "Why did you take those pills with booze?"
Claire's smile faded, her laughter stopped. She stayed silent, thinking about her possible answers.
Aki chided, "You know it scares me, the way you mix things like that. It can't be good for you... But you do it anyway."
"I don't want to do it, but this time I need to. Please trust me? I really need to do this."
"No, You don't. You shouldn't." Aki rose from the bed and turned to Claire. "It scares me. You're, like, out of control. You're going to end up like a celebrity if you keep this up. They all die young-- from doing what you're doing."
Claire struggled to an upright position. She reached and yanked Aki onto her lap and trapped her within a sudden embrace. She whispered, her lips brushing Aki's ear, "I want to tell you. I can't tell you now. There's a reason. I know you care about me-- that's why you're saying what you said. I need you to trust me for now."
Aki sighed, allowing Claire's arms to tighten further.
"I love you, Aki Nashumara."
Aki mumbled, "Let's go. They're waiting." She pulled free of Claire's arms and started to walk from the room.
The wisps of earlier thoughts rushed back into Claire's mind and began to coalesce into the beginnings of a plan. She rose and followed, calling ahead, "Aki-chan. Wait."
Aki stopped.
"We're going home. We'll see your mom and dad... I need to see mine too."
Aki folded her arms. "You said we can't--"
"I changed my mind. Now I think we can... Now I think we need to."
"You aren't doing this on my account, are you?" Aki turned to face Claire. "Putting everyone in jeopardy for me? Trying to please me because I'm mad?"
"On some level, yes. On many others, no. Please trust me?"
Aki's eyes fixed to Claire's. Her face was stern. "I don't like all these secrets."
"Neither do I." Claire offered a weak smile. "Please trust me?"
Aki sighed. "That's just it-- I can't trust you with pills... Why should I trust you with anything else?"
"I love you."
"I heard you the first time."
The words and their delivery caused Claire's chest to ache. She did not know how to react. She stepped closer and said again, "I love you."
Aki turned away and began to walk toward the front door, leaving Claire and her words to linger in the hall. The front door closed. Claire remained in-place. The gnaw of rejection soured into bitterness. Claire spoke into the empty confine of Sarah's home, "I know what I'm doing. You'll see."
She made for the door, muttering, "You'll see who's right."
# # #
Claire rode next to Aki for the trip to the airfield. They were situated on one of the rear benches, both looking sideways toward the front of the vehicle; neither making eye contact or saying a word to each other during the ride.
Vivian brought the truck around to Fairchild’s main gate. A few perfunctory flashes of ID with the guards and the gate rose. She then drove the HXX across a spread of squat, ugly buildings and stopped at the end of the close-by airstrip.
The group began to climb out. As the truck's doors opened, cold gusts swirled through the cabin. Claire left the vehicle last, joining the others in a loose huddle, partially shielded from the surging wind by the truck's profile.
Claire turned her attention to the groan of an approaching jeep. As it rolled closer to them, she inspected the arriving party. A man in what appeared to be dress-uniform sat high in the back of the little truck. He was accompanied by a soldier and the driver. The jeep stopped a few meters from the group, the trio elided.
Barry stepped away from the group and greeted the entourage. He extended his hand toward the senior officer. Claire noticed stars on the man's cap and the epaulets of his overcoat-- a general.
The general reached to shake Barry’s hand. "So, you made it here in one piece."
"More or less, Rip, more or less. You’ve got my plane ready?"
The General nodded. "You got that certain something we discussed?"
Barry flashed a perfect smile and reached into his coat. He maintained his grin, and fussed inside his coat some more, digging deeper. He withdrew his hand and patted his other pockets, saying, "Oh shit..." in a nervous chuckle.
The General folded his arms. His eyes narrowed.
"I don’t know what happened... I had it in my coat--"
"Sure." the General nodded, scowling.
"Mr. Schon, you must have forgotten..." Simone called out, rushing to Barry’s side. "... You bargained my release with it." She presented a roll of bills to the General. "My apologies, Sir. It was a beautiful piece. Please, this should be more than enough for another just like it. We’re both very sorry."
The General’s eyes widened at the sight of Simone and the fat coil of bills. He looked to Barry. "And who’s this delightful young lady with the all that filthy paper money?"
Realizing that Simone's charms seemed to change the tone of things, Claire took a few steps and eased up behind where Simone stood. She waited for the right moment to place her plan into action.
Simone gave a slight bow and introduced herself, "Major D’vone, Royal Canadian SpecOps-- Foreign Threat division." She concluded the introduction by snapping a salute.
The General returned the salute and smiled. "A pleasure, Major. I'd be a grand-prize ass if I didn't mention that whatever fool traded you for a piece of glitz got the short end of the deal." He nodded his head toward Barry then turned back to Simone. He lowered his voice to say, "Don't get too attached to this horse-thief; he might trade you for something shinier or prettier... If there were such a thing." The general gave an unsubtle wink to Simone, and then added, "I've seen him pull some pretty bone-headed stunts."
Simone presented a demure smile. She batted her eyelashes and then reached to touch Barry's sleeve. "Mr. Schon, you didn't tell me that the General would be this charming-- Or handsome."
Barry rolled his eyes. "Okay. We all love each other. That's great. Where's the plane?"
"Sergeant Goloff will lead the way; follow him." The General motioned his chin toward the HXX. "You aren’t leaving that on my base. Your sleaze ball friends’ll come around here looking for it."
"What should we do with it then?" Barry asked.
"Put it on the goddamn plane. Take it with you. The damned one-thirty one’ll hold ten of them. Just get it off my runway."
"Lieutenant!?!" Simone shouted.
Boot steps scurried to where they stood. "Yes, ma’am?"
"Get everyone into the truck and follow the Sergeant. Drive onto the plane and stop the engine. Everybody leaves the truck but you. Don’t move from that driver's seat until I tell you to do so."
"Yes, ma’am." Vivian dashed back toward the HXX.
Claire cleared her throat. The others turned to her sudden sound. "I don’t mean to complicate things any further, but could we change the flight-plan? Maybe a different destination?"
Barry sighed.
Simone rolled her eyes.
The General folded his arms and scowled. He turned to Barry and asked, "Who the hell is she?"
Simone interjected, "A very important person, sir."
Despite the obvious dissatisfaction of everyone, Claire managed to say, "I have business in New Jersey... Maybe we could go to McGuire instead?"
The General stared at Claire as if evaluating her, perhaps deciding whether a polite or rude dismissal of her request would better suit the situation. Finally, he spoke, "Miss, I--"
Simone reached to touch the General's sleeve. "Please, General?"
The General looked to the ground and absently shook his head. After a moment, he looked up and smiled to Simone and then to Claire. "Alright, fine. Go to McGuire... As long as all of you ghosts vanish from my post without a trace, I don't care where you end up." He glanced to his remaining soldier and gave a nod. The Corporal began keying his Tac-com.
Claire's eyes shifted to Barry, meeting an angry gaze. The sight made her look away at once, ashamed to have upset him again. She suspected that he knew the real reason for her return to home and deemed it beyond reckless, but he offered no protest, said nothing to stop her.
"Oh-- I think I heard the horn," Simone blurted. "Viv must have loaded onto the plane. Let’s go."
Claire followed close behind Simone, part of her thankful for the timely interruption. She followed her sister across the tarmac, away from where Barry stood, heading toward the open tail section of the waiting plane.
The interior was a barren metal tube except for a row of twenty seats bolted onto the starboard wall, all facing the centerline of the craft. There was no carpet, no windows, no snack tables; only as steel deck, aluminum ribs, pipes, and cables. Their footsteps and shuffles echoed through the length of the ship as they situated inside. One by one, the others took their seats; Natalia next to Heather, Josh secured Cecilia next to Heather and then dropped in between Sarah and the Seer. Aki and Claire took the next two. Simone climbed into the truck with Vivian.
The tail ramp groaned to a close, and Claire felt pang of guilt as she watched Barry shuffle into to the farthest seat, leaving many empty between himself and the others. He buckled his harness, and closed his eyes. Claire swallowed and looked forward again.
The flight commenced in minutes. The plane’s body pitched and juddered through some taxiing, and then thrust forward. The whine of the engines was replaced by a roar and everyone’s bodies pitched to one side in a unified wave. That sudden challenge to equilibrium and lack of windows for spatial reference aggravated Claire's inebriation. Her head swam in the flux of vertigo, further accentuating her mind's detachment form physical reality. She concentrated, nurturing the sick, floating sensation, knowing it was her best hope in the first step toward setting things straight. Once the rumble of the craft's landing gear ceased, Claire gulped. She knew that there would be no turning back.
# # #
Simone shifted, settling more comfortably onto the truck’s front bench once the forces of the climb subsided. Inside the cabin of the HXX, the jet-roar of the cargo-hold was little more than a subtle rumble, just above a peaceful quiet. She looked left, eying Vivian. The soldier sat, stoic, still behind the wheel as ordered. Simone spoke, carefully controlling the volume of her voice to outpace the low thrum of the plane’s engines, "You feeling better today?"
Vivian maintained her erect posture and forward gaze, staring through the windshield. She replied, "Yes, ma’am."
"You’re lying," Simone said, chuckling.
"No, ma’am. I really do feel better."
"So you don’t want to lie down? Maybe stretch-out on this bench?"
"No, ma’am." Vivian shook her head. Her eyes flitted right to meet Simone’s for an instant before returning to their forward vigil.
"Suit yourself, soldier. I’m going to catch a nap." She turned toward the door and laid back. She nestled the back of her head onto Vivian's lap, between the steering wheel and the soldier's stomach. She looked up, smiling, seeing Vivian still staring forward, her effort to keep from looking down obvious. "Wake me up when we get there." She closed her eyes, pretending to nap as she waited, certain that Vivian would have to react in some way. After a while, Simone's waiting paid off.
"Commander?" Vivian whispered.
Simone pretended to rouse from her feigned nap. She kept her voice low and whispery, asking, "What is it, Viv?"
"Director Schon told me something about you this morning ma'am. I wasn't sure whether or not you'd like to know..."
Simone kept her eyelids shut and smiled. "You'd better let me decide then." She shifted her neck and sighed, "Tell me."
"Malajuega in Panama... That was you?"
Simone huffed, "Little girls who break their training don't get answers to questions like that."
"Ma'am--" Vivian blurted. "Ma'am, yes ma'am. I'm sorry, ma'am."
"The news story I saw said that old Malajuega suffered a heart attack... Or was it a car-accident? I don't recall really. Who pays attention to the news out of Central America these days anyway?"
"Someone with your skill would never make it look obvious, ma'am."
Simone gave a small grin. "I can't take credit for the hard arteries of a swarthy old drug lord. He should have eaten better food. Maybe gotten more exercise." Simone opened her eyes.
Vivian gazed down at her, her mouth drawn into half a smile. "You're too modest, ma'am."
"What else did Barry say about me?"
Vivian looked up for a moment before replying. "He said that you liberated Venezuela ma'am. That you toppled the communist government-- all by yourself."
"What would it mean to you if I said that I did? That I framed Naidez, made his own people believe he was a really a psychopathic cannibal? Would that thrill you in some way? Can you imagine what I would have needed to do?" Simone felt part of Vivian's answer; the soldier's thighs tensed.
Vivian whipped her head up to stare through the windshield again. "I think I may need to lie down, ma'am. Maybe I'm not feeling so good afterall--"
Simone raised her head from Vivian's lap and leaned against the backrest of the front bench. She smiled and said, "From what I've been told, that's more or less the way the Secretary of State reacted after he read the brief."
Vivian's mouth puckered a little, betraying suppressed amusement.
Simone climbed over the seatback and crouched in front of the middle bench. She lifted the seat and opened one of the cargo compartments beneath. She retrieved two survival blankets, closed the bench, and then turned to address her personal army. She smiled and declared, "You've been a very, very good girl all morning Lieutenant. Good little soldiers deserve some rest."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Here..." Simone said, offering a still-folded blanket to her soldier. "...this is your pillow." Once Vivian complied, Simone unfolded the other cover and draped it over the Lieutenant's body. She took a moment to tuck the blanket securely around Vivian and then cantilevered herself over the seatback, bending forward. She brought her lips within inches of Vivian's upturned ear, but stopped at once, realizing that what she was inclined to do may feel natural, but it was not hers to have. She receded then leaned an arm across the seatback and rested her cheek on it, choosing instead to gaze down upon her soldier as she drifted toward what looked to be a peaceful nap.
# # #
A few hours into the flight, Claire lolled in persistent inebriation, feeling herself floating above her seat. She looked around; all of the passengers sat still and quiet. She felt the comfort of Aki's head against her shoulder. The influence of the pills and vodka made her want to sleep, but she fought the overpowering onset of somnolence as long as she could. Eventually, the weight of her eyelids proved too great.
She had put it off long enough-- this was the best time to try to reach the Seer. She let her eyes close, drew a few deep breaths and struggled to concentrate, connect, and contact. She called out with her thoughts, "Cecilia... Cecilia..." Her brow started to ache, distracting her further from the task at hand. She released the tension around her eyes, pulled in a deep breath, and tried again. "Cecilia..."
"I hear you, Genius." Cecilia's reply clamored throughout the folds of Claire's brain. The voice seemed to emanate from all directions with equal intensity-- Sharp, loud, nauseating from its disorienting omni-origination. Claire fought the sickness of the unnatural stimulus, squeezing her closed eyes tighter, struggling to ignore the distraction from sounds of the physical world that still flooded into her ears, threatening to detract from her hard-kept focus. The fomenting cocktail of Hyprocet and vodka helped, but not enough to make it easy.
"I can make it better for you, Genius." Cecilia's continued words made Claire feel as though she were turning inside out. She began to fear, thinking that she may vomit or worse from the overload of drugs and telepathy.
"Okay," Claire thought. She swallowed. "Make it better... Please." Her feet were the first to fade from feeling. The wave of nonexistence crawled up her stomach, through her torso and shoulders, until her self-awareness shrank to a singular spark, just behind where her eyes used to be. The white ember floated; drifting freely through boundless black, pitching and weaving by the random whim of the new universe. The sickness vanished as Claire surrendered to the wonder of her experience. Her consciousness hung in the center of nothing. Death, she concluded, would be the only further place to go.
The blackness started to flake away. Shafts of gentle gold light streamed in through the cracks of decaying infinity, licking her skin with halcyon comfort. Serenity. Beneath the gold, white marble surrendered its warmth, soothing her bare soles. She found herself seated on the edge of a circular fountain several meters across; its trickling and bubbles the only sounds in the ornate garden. Stone pots holding leafy plants ringed the fountain, the central feature of the exquisite place. Every artifact was white marble, carved with the extravagant geometry of ancient glory.
Claire remained still, moving only her eyes to survey the place; a garden of palatial proportion, shaped in perfect circular symmetry. Fluted columns ringed the periphery, their sure stature embraced by vines, adorned with flowers. Rome? Greece? ...Heaven? She had no idea. The flowers lent sweetness to the air. The fountain continued babbling a calming, tuneless melody. High above, the sun cast everything in golden warmth. It was completely beautiful-- That she knew.
A nude figure emerged from behind one of the pillars; stepping out of the umber shadow and into the sun's full light. Claire recognized the face; she shared it with so many others. The bare woman approached, the high sun's rays washing her skin with hues of blush and gold. She called to Claire, "Genius."
Claire's eyes lowered to survey her own form. By reflex, she crossed her legs and raised a forearm to conceal her nipples. She looked back to the sister, now stopped a few steps away. "Cecilia?"
The woman answered with a smile that looked to young and innocent for the grown-up face on which it appeared.
"Where are we? What is this?"
Cecilia turned her face up to the sun. She rose to her toes and spread her arms into an arc that seemed to embrace the sky. She held her tiptoe stance saying softly, "You know where, Genius. You've stared into it many times."
Claire began to recognize the inspiration for their surroundings. "You took this place from my mind."
Cecilia lowered from her sun-embrace and smiled to Claire.
Still guarding her chest, Claire used her free arm to explore the surroundings through touch. She ran her fingertips across the satiny finish of the marble fountain. This idyllic place, peered into through so many nineteenth-century paintings, had become reality. Claire looked again to her sister.
Cecilia shook her head. "She can't be here."
Claire's jaw slackened. "W-wha.. Who? Why not?"
Cecilia closed the distance between them and lowered to sit next to Claire, on the fountain's edge. "Our place, Genius. You wished it, I make it... so also my body, my voice."
"Why?"
"For you. So that you don't feel lost and afraid." Cecilia dipped her fingers beneath the surface of the gentle ripples behind them. She stirred the fountain's pool and cooed, her tone soft with uncomplicated amusement. She looked up to Claire, her face bearing a gentle but eager grin. "Touch the water, Genius. It feels nice."
Claire gave her head a little shake and self-consciously shifted the arm that covered her breasts. "I need to talk to you. That's what we're here for."
Cecilia pulled her hand from the pool and shook it, sending tiny drops of cold against Claire's face and shoulders. The spatter froze in place and stayed on Claire's skin as tiny diamonds of ice. They melted almost at once, their sting vanishing to the pervasive warmth of golden light.
Cecilia rose. "I don't want to talk-- Making words for you is work. I want to play." She adjusted the shoulder-brooch that secured the amber linen now covering her body.
Claire became aware of her own covering. She looked down at the gleaming, petal-soft cloth; white as ivory, trimmed in gold thread. She lowered her arm, feeling more comfortable with her body now covered.
"You feel better?"
Claire looked up from her new clothes and nodded.
Cecilia smiled and said, "Now you look like a Goddess." She dropped to her knees and leaned forward, touching her forehead and palms to the warm stone at Claire's feet. Her voice strained lower, emulating a tone of dramatic proclamation, "All hail the Genius, the goddess whose love is to a mortal bound."
Claire smiled out of embarrassment and amusement. This moment of lucid contact between them felt so special. The display was entertaining, full of much-needed fun, but she had business to take care of. She hated what she was about to do. She started, "Cecilia... Have you been--"
Cecilia snapped upright from her prostrate position. She grimaced. Her hands knotted into fists. "They do it, Genius. They do it. Not me."
Claire fixed her eyes to Cecilia's. "You've been very bad, haven't you?"
Cecilia swallowed. She backed away by a step. She shook her head, staring at the marble floor between them.
"Don't lie to me. I figured out what you've been up to."
Cecilia looked to the side and shook her head again.
"You've been pulling strings, making everyone act-out little dramas." Claire rose from the warmth of the fountain's edge and stepped toward Cecilia, matching the pace of the sister's retreat. "You're causing all this trouble."
"Trouble?" Cecilia raised her arms, holding her hands close to her collarbone.
"You know... I figured it out this morning. You're manipulating all of us." Claire took a big step, closing the distance between them in an instant. She held a scowl at her cowering sister. The pity of the sight and shame of her indignation made her soften her expression. "Cecilia... Honey..."
Cecilia's body relaxed. She looked up to Claire, her eyes pleading forgiveness.
"Just don't do it anymore, okay?"
"I can't make anyone do anything. They do what they want to do." Cecilia looked to the ground again and murmured, "I guess I sometimes make little suggestions."
"Would you un-suggest all of it then? For me?"
Cecilia looked up again. "All?"
Claire nodded. "Everything."
"Will you start liking me again, will you stop being angry with me?"
"As long as you don't do it again... Unless I ask you to."
Cecilia's brows arched. "B-but it's wrong... You think so yourself."
Claire shook her head. "It isn't always wrong."
Cecilia's mouth bent into a frown. She folded her arms across her chest. She huffed, "You can't lie to me either."
"Alright-- It's wrong through and through. But sometimes we may need to do wrong things for the sake of what's right."
Cecilia stepped away, toward the side of the fountain. She looked back to Claire. "Will you teach me how to swim?"
Claire cocked her head in response to the question.
"I never swam before," Cecilia said, "It looks so inviting."
Claire stepped behind where Cecilia stood and gazed at the water's shimmering surface. The ease that had spread into her was retreating. She vague pangs, but was unable to locate where they were coming from. "I'd like to, but I really have to get back."
"Please?" Cecilia whined. "I made all this for us. So we could be together... So we could play."
The disconnected sense of unease grew stronger. Claire frowned. "I don't know if we can play, Cecilia, not like this at least--"
"You don't need to explain." Cecilia raised a foot and dangled it over the rippling water. She dipped her leg into the pool, stirring the surface. "I want to play with you; like you play with Simone." She shifted and plunged her other foot into the fountain and strolled along the edge.
Claire followed along the outside of the pool, part of her afraid that her Seer might slip and fall. She placed her protective instincts aside for a moment and followed-up on the quizzical statement she had just heard. "I play with Simone?"
"Of course. You two are always wrestling and appeasing each other. You play little games with your words and your eyes. You push each other, you feed off each other... She loves you so much. It makes me sad sometimes."
"Sad? I don't follow."
"She wants to be you."
Claire snickered, "Why would she want to be me? She looks like a model. She's so powerful, smart, good-looking, in-control-- Everything I'm not."
"You have one thing that she never will-- Purity."
"I'm pure?" Claire huffed.
"Compared to most people, yes. Compared to her, definitely."
Claire thought about what Cecilia said. She motioned for the other to come closer. The casual gesture took a lot of effort, threatened Claire's balance. "C'mere."
Cecilia strolled to the edge where Claire stood.
"Are you... You must be very lonely."
Cecilia rolled her lips in. She closed her eyes and gave a slight shake.
"Why do the others keep you so far away from them?"
"They don't like how I play. They're afraid of me. The same way they're afraid of Simone. They're right to be afraid of us both." Cecilia folded her legs and sat in the water. The ripples darkened her garment, soaking up to her ribs. "We've hurt them. We don't mean to, but we've hurt them."
Claire's flagging equilibrium demanded she sit. She lowered to the edge of the fountain, bringing her eyes closer to Cecilia's level. "Everyone hurts people without meaning to. It's all part of not being alone." She leaned closer to Cecilia and reached to touch her shoulder. She withdrew her hand at once. Cecilia's skin was cold, like Claire imagined a cadaver must feel. With each second, she felt closer to fainting.
"It's ending, Genius," Cecilia sighed.
Claire noticed that beneath the fountain's surface, Cecilia's legs were turning shimmering and transparent, becoming like the water around them. "What's going on? You're--"
"Don't be sad. We'll meet like this again, Genius. We'll all be in this place together. We can spend the rest of our days here." Cecilia offered a smile. Glints from the surface of the water behind the Seer began to sparkle through her fading torso.
Claire's ears detected a steady rumble distant in all directions. The low sound grew more intense. The gold light died. Blackness returned.
Claire opened her eyes. The sensation of her body resumed. She was staring at the ceiling of the plane's cargo bay. Sarah, Aki, Simone, Josh, and Heather were above her staring down, their faces wearing expressions ranging from relief to disgust. The tangy fragrance of fresh vomit wafted into Claire's nostrils. She tasted it. Her jacket and shirt were cold and wet with it.
"She's coming out of it," Josh said.
"Keep her on her side or she might choke," Heather ordered.
Claire gurgled, "I'm okay."
"Thank God," Sarah sighed.
Simone grinned. "You don't fly well on a full stomach, sweetie, do you?"
Aki's expression was hard to read. Her eye's didn't meet Claire's. She just wiped at Claire's mouth and neck with a wad of tissues.
"Aki," Claire said, straining to lift her head. "Aki, honey, I'm sorry. I never had this happen--"
"You got a little airsick, nushi. It's okay." Aki looked to Claire for a moment and then continued her ministrations.
Claire labored to stand, still very queasy and disoriented. Josh and Sarah supported her, each holding one of her elbows. They helped her into one of the seats. Once seated, Claire surveyed her clothes. Not too bad, she thought, just a few spots on my shirt, nothing stuck to the rain-proofed jacket. She looked sidelong and saw the pool on the floor. Most of it must have landed there. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths of chilly air.
Simone used a blanket to wipe up the mess as the others resumed their places. Aki dropped into next seat and reached across Claire to fasten her seatbelt. Aki leaned close to Claire and said, "You scared me, nushi. We thought you were in real trouble."
"I was so stupid," Claire started her apology, "I'll never do that again, I swear--" A finger pressed into Claire's lips, interrupting.
After withdrawing her finger Aki said, "You just got airsick. It's okay, nushi. When my parents took me and Mike to Barbados I threw up too."
Claire uneasily began to accept whatever Aki was trying to give her. "You aren't mad at me? You should be."
Aki leaned her head close and kissed the edge of Claire's ear.
Claire forced herself to accept whatever pass she was being given and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you things before. I can tell you now if you like."
Aki's arms snaked around Claire's bicep, hugging tight for a moment before relaxing. "You don't have to, commander."
Claire smirked. "I'm not your commander, cutie-chan."
Aki hugged Claire's arm again. "I want you to be." She rubbed her cheek against Claire's sleeve. "I need a commander right now."
Was this Cecelia's doing? Claire wondered. Or was this the undoing? Did any of that even happen? Claire leaned close to where Aki's head laid upon her shoulder. "We're equal."
Aki's tone turned playful. "What if I don't want to be equal... not that way, at least?"
"I'm not sure I follow."
"You're the driver. I'm your adoring passenger."
"Um. Okay."
"Please, nushi. I thought a lot about this. I like it when you drive."
Claire flexed her arm and Aki responded with another squeeze. "I think I had a talk with Cecilia."
Aki released Claire's arm and sat upright. Her eyes were wide as they met Claire's. "You mean you... when you were..."
"I'm not sure. I think I may have." Claire clamped her eyes for a moment, trying to recall the experience that now seemed like the mere flashes of remembrance she often had when waking from a dream. Every detail had now slipped to a place just out of frustrated reach. Only flashes of image and bits of emotion. "Maybe I just hallucinated or something. I can't even remember most of it now."
"She talks to all of you though, right? Isn't it like a dream when she does that?"
"This was different. She talked with words just me and her-- At least that's what I imagined?" Claire shook her head. "I don't know."
"So, she kinda reached out to you?"
"I was reaching for her. That's why I took the pills and drank. I'm sorry. I was really stupid. I figured that if I was in a different state of mind I could..."
Aki's face reflected earnest curiosity. "Why did you need to reach her?"
Claire explained.
--TBC
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