THE WAITING GAME
"Ain't that something," said Remy as he examined the inky black etherite shard in Will's leg. It was still stuck fast and refused to move.
Will sighed and leaned back. He was sitting on a flight of stairs with his pants leg rolled up, while Remy stood on the landing with one hand on his chin, staring at the etherite shard.
Will absentmindedly picked at the edges of the shard as he stared out of the big window next to the landing. The east wing of their school looped off to the side, and straight ahead in the distance, the giant Floor 50th station could be seen peeking above the buildings. The Orbital rotated slowly about the station, and Will followed its blinking lights as it revolved.
"Well, you wanted a shard, and now you have it," said Remy.
"Yeah. Pity it comes with my leg attached to it," Will said dryly. "Even if we get it out, there is no way to fence it. The tower police will be on our ass the minute we do."
"I don't know, Will," Remy grinned. "My gut is telling me that we are going to strike it big once you gain control of it. I've got a good feeling about this."
"Why do your good feelings involve me being in pain?"
Remy chuckled. "Remember the goose?"
"Duck, duck, goose," Will muttered as he picked at the shard. "I somehow feel like we missed something."
Remy clicked his tongue. "You are still thinking about those two cops."
"We might have been too lax," said Will.
"Alright, hypothetically, say they do suspect us," said Remy. "What have they got to tie us down with? There is no proof."
"There is one place that has proof."
"Yes, the temple tunnel," Remy nodded. "But that is beyond tower jurisdiction. There is no way in hell the temple is going to allow any investigator to step foot on temple property."
"But if they do?"
"What if bots could dream?" Remy threw up his hands. "We had the largest terrorist attack in history, and people are vying for blood. The last thing the tower would do is start shit internally."
Will let out a breath. "We still have to get our stuff out of that tunnel."
"Worry about that after we take care of this problem." Remy tapped the etherite shard in his knee.
Will begrudgingly nodded and turned back to the window. The Orbital rotated slowly, and Old Henry came into view. The giant clock tower was visible even from this distance. Will checked his slate. It was twelve on the dot. Henry was right on time.
"She is running late," said Remy.
"Don't worry; she will be here," said Will.
"She should have been here before us since she set the time and place," said Remy. "Besides, this is right next to where she lives."
Will looked around the stairwell. It was attached to their school and reserved for students from the upper floors. The stairway went past the fiftieth Tower floor to the housing districts in the fifty-first. Will had never been there, though he heard it was a nice place.
The psion levels rose the further up the tower you went. He had to train his internal psion reserves a lot more if he wanted to move past where he was.
About ten minutes later, they heard the ding of an elevator. The upper floor door slammed shut, and footsteps descended down the stairs. Will glanced up and saw Rebecca walking down.
She had on a pair of jeans and a jumper. Her short blonde hair was combed neatly and reached just above her shoulders. She still had her leg brace hidden underneath her shoe, judging by the slight limp.
"Rebecca," Remy gave her a curt nod.
Rebecca looked surprised at Remy's acknowledgment and nodded back. "Just call me Becca. Have both of you been waiting long?"
"No," said Will, and Remy hid his snort under a cough.
Becca wiped the staircase with her hand and took a seat beside Will. "We didn't have much time to discuss last time," she said as she examined the etherite shard. "Was this really primed for embedding?"
"Yes."
"Have you managed to get it to manifest its powers?" Becca asked in a hushed whisper.
"Not on purpose, no," Will grunted. "The one in Fort Thornfield was the only time it activated."
"I still think we should have gone to the police," muttered Becca.
"Might I remind you that the Military guard fired on us without hesitation," said Remy. "And then sent their killer bots on us. We should be dead right now."
"And I don't want to end up as a lab rat, with researchers cutting me up for parts," said Will.
Becca bit her lip. "This is really dangerous, Will. The shard looks fine now, but that will change. Sooner or later, it will take over your body."
"Let's not be melodramatic," said Remy. "He could pull this off and assimilate the shard."
Becca was about to argue, but Will interrupted. "There is something I don't understand. I thought that etherite shards had to be embedded immediately after harvesting. Otherwise, it becomes inert."
"It is not inert," said Becca.
"Exactly," said Will. "What is going on here?"
"It doesn't matter," Remy interrupted. "It doesn't change the fact that we have to tame the shard."
Becca hesitated before speaking. "I may have something."
Both boys looked at Becca, who looked conflicted.
"What do you mean?" asked Will.
Becca weighed Will for a moment before speaking. "We are an old family. Some of the old knowledge has survived with us. Old books, texts, and manuscripts from before the war, we have preserved and maintained them."
"So..." Remy prompted.
"We have a method for embedding," finished Becca, not looking away from Will.
"Well, there you go, problem solved then." Remy clapped his hands.
"You sure?" asked Will. He met her gaze without flinching.
"Give me two days, and I'll have something," said Becca.
Will clutched his embedded leg, still gazing into her eyes. "I'll be waiting."
▼.▼.▼
The next two days crawled by. Will spent an uncomfortable amount of time curled up in bed, shivering. Drenched in cold sweats, he mumbled feverishly. Acclimating to the shard was tough, but he held on.
His family was in the dark about the whole situation. He said he needed some time to work on his project and asked not to be disturbed. They believed him and gave him space.
Will tossed and turned in his tiny bed. Half-formed dreams flitted before his eyes, and nightmarish forms stalked him at every turn. He had trouble discerning what was real and what was a dream.
By the time he woke up, the dreams would fade away like it never was, and he would forget everything. Will lay gasping in his bed as an alarm buzzed next to his ear. Half-awake, he fumbled for his slate and turned it off.
Will sighed. Today was the day. Becca had called the other day and asked to meet at the school. Will grunted as he climbed out of bed. After a quick change of clothes, he headed out of the empty house.
He made his way through Undercity in less than fifteen minutes, and it was another fifteen to the fiftieth floor. Will glanced at his slate. He was early. Satisfied, he made his way into school.
The holidays were still ongoing, and the classrooms were empty. Only senior students who were working on their projects were present, that too few and far between.
Will took the elevator to the sixteenth floor and headed towards his usual hangout spot.
The storage room was cluttered as ever. He navigated through the stacked shelves and made it to the back end of the room. There were a few stools and an old couch. Already tired from his trek from the Undercity, Will lay on the couch and shut his eyes. He was asleep before he knew it.
He didn't know how long he had slept for. Footsteps echoed through the cluttered storeroom, and he blinked his eyes open. Remy walked around the corner, and Becca soon followed after.
"Will," Remy waved as he dragged a stool beside the couch. "You look... still human?"
Will mumbled something unintelligible, and Becca put her hand on his forehead. "I figured this would happen."
"What?" asked Remy.
"He is sick," said Becca. "Don't worry; it is a normal part of being embedded. The body keeps rejecting the etherite crystal until their signatures align."
"Is there anything we can do to speed it up?" asked Remy.
"No problem," Will said hoarsely and raised his hand for a fist bump. "I'll just have to get sick faster."
Remy grinned and bumped his fist. Becca just shook her head. "If both of you are done playing, we could start what we came here to do."
"Yes, princess," said Remy, and Becca shot him a glare before taking a seat on a nearby stool.
"I have looked through the archives and found what we had been looking for," said Becca. She brought a thin silver slate out of her pocket and held it out in front of her. "Are you ready to begin?"
