What the hell am I meant to do?

The last streaks of daylight from the bathroom window fade, replaced by artificial street lights. I pace the floor, checking the bathroom, then the living area, as if I’ll find an answer somewhere in the apartment.

I don't know if the wardens have tracked us down. I can't communicate with Frank. After the drama in the cafe tonight, he’s most likely under guard.

Did the CCTV give anything else away? Did he wipe anything? Probably not. How could he, with Harding breathing down his neck?

So I’m a wanted woman. Giving handouts to the abandoned is one thing, but electrocuting a warden? Reform would be too good for me.

Dani rocks in the corner, though they’ve stopped whispering. I move in front of them and squat, trying to make eye contact, but they’re unresponsive, practically catatonic. I reach forward tentatively and stroke their shoulder.

“Hey, Dani. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

They stare at the floor.

There’s got to be some way out of here, someone I can speak to.

I fetch the laptop from the sofa, curling into the arm. Loading it up, the screens from Emotiv are blank, four black squares receiving nothing. Melly had been sending the data to this location.

I open up a new tab and check the network status. It’s still connected to Skycross’s networks, so I could get into my emails.

It’s a bad idea. I know it. But what else can I do? I’m stuck here, without my phone, and the last thing I want to do is head back to Emotiv. I’ll be shot on sight.

I bite my lip and type the login details, drumming my fingers on the keyboard while my inbox loads. Who should I contact? I don’t have friends in high places. Since I left college, most of the people I knew haven't contacted me.

There’s really only two choices. I gulp at the realisation—in this whole world, the only people I trust are my family and my coworkers. How did I end up like this? Was I so focused on rescuing my class status that I ignored my friends entirely?

Dani moans in the corner, breaking me out of my daydream.

“Yeah, I know. I’m getting there,” I reply. I don’t know if anything I say is getting through, but it feels better to talk normally.

Mum or Caleb. Mum or Caleb.

I don’t want to involve either of them, but Harding knows about them already. They’re already involved, whether I like it or not.

The wardens might already be at mum’s house. Waiting for me to come back. Better not risk that.

With a deep, shaky breath, I type Caleb’s address and start an email.

Hey, Cal. Can’t say where I am, but I need to meet with you, please? Something happened at Emotiv and I think you and mum might be in danger. Get her out if the wardens haven't arrived yet. Go somewhere, anywhere. Don’t have my phone. Message me back by email, please?

I’m so sorry.

Love, K.

I hit send and push the laptop aside, grabbing a hank of hair and pulling it through my fingers repeatedly. Dani continues to rock, back and forth. The lightbulb buzzes and dims momentarily.

“Hey, Dani?”

No reply, though they look up for a split second.

“I know I’m the reason we’re in this mess, and I’m really sorry for that. If I can fix it, I will, but… I kinda get the feeling there’s nothing I can do.”

My hair slides through my fingers once again. I pull another strand, hoping the sensation will soothe my frazzled nerves. I close my eyes, but the moment I do I see Frank and Harding in the electric net, twitching on the coffee shop floor.

I open my eyes again. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“Thank you for your patronage,” Dani whispers.

“Huh?”

They ignore me, continuing their hypnotic rhythm, forward, back.

“Thank you for your patronage. What does that mean?”

Chill, Kyla. It means nothing. Dani’s not thinking straight.

“Melly’s on the fritz again…” Dani says again, louder, like they’re coming to their senses, bit by bit.

But it’s nonsense. Just repeated phrases with no meaning, no link.

“I’ve got to get you out of here, haven’t I?” I slide closer to Dani, and rest a hand on their shoulder. “Come on, Dani, calm down. Stop this.”

The rocking subsides slowly, and they lean back against my hand.

“Melly’s on the fritz.”

It’s as if they’re talking to a ghost on the ceiling, reliving memories. It’s probably a trauma response or something, nothing I can do about it. I can’t wander around Skycross with Dani in tow. One outburst in the wrong company and we’ll both be discovered and dragged off.

The laptop pings. I jerk upright and load my emails. Caleb replied.

K, what the fuck? Mum is losing her shit. The wardens have already been round to the house. It’s too late. Don’t go home, they’re waiting for you.

You know the place. DM. Tomorrow, 7am? Can you make it?

Please be careful.

C

I know the place? Caleb couldn’t be more cryptic if he tried. Necessary, maybe, if the wardens are watching mum then maybe they’ve been watching him too. Will they follow him? Is it worth risking at all?

I know the place…

In all the years Caleb and I fought, annoying the shit out of each other, we never really developed a code. Seems like a crying shame now. It might have come in handy.

I know the place…

DM. Deathmatch. A fighting game we’ve played since we were kids. The game we bonded over.

But I haven’t got a system to log on to. I pace the room, trying to get some of my frustrated energy out.

“Can you believe this, Dani?” I mutter as I pace. “I ask for help and he tells me to log in to a game. Brothers, am I right?”

I’m trying to keep them calm. My tone is flippant, friendly, but my legs wobble like jelly.

The doses I took at Emotiv have worn off, and the mixture is doing strange things to me as it’s metabolised by my system. My fingers keep twitching on their own accord, like the nerves are misfiring.

“Log on to a game… Deathmatch…” I continue muttering out loud. It helps to break the silence.

He must realise I haven’t got access to a system. So what’s the other option? Somewhere we used to go, somewhere we both know…

“Ha!” I smack my hands together as the idea strikes me. “The arcade! That’s it.”

I grab the laptop and type a reply.

“We’ll be fine, Dani. Caleb can help us, you’ll see. If nothing else, I can ask him to find something for you—” I glance at Dani’s blank expression. “—an antidote or… reversal or something. Maybe he’ll know someone at college.”

Not for the first time today, I curse myself for hitting Frank with Harding’s pulse rifle. If I’d taken more time, aimed more carefully, we’d have someone who knows what they’re doing. But it’s too late to wallow. I tap the send button and check the doors and windows.

“It’s getting late,” I say, wrapping Dani in a blanket and propping a pillow behind their head. “You need to get some rest. Come on, we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.”

I curl up on the sofa behind Dani, keeping a hand on their shoulder so we can feel each other’s presence. Hopefully some rest will bring them back to themselves, like they were in the stairwell.

After a few moments of listening to our breathing synch together, I doze off.

Out back. 7am. See you tomorrow.

K x