The Green Ones

Episode 1, Part 15

“I hope you left me some hot wa—” Neca turns to face me mid-sentence. The look on his face is both gratifying and terrifying.

My whole body goes flush. Instantly, I regret trying to prove myself. I’m not cut out for being the center of attention. I’m not like Neca. Casually, I attempt to unfurl my damp tzotzomatli in front of me. “It’s all yours. Think I might be able to get my hands on a robe or something?” Like an idiot, I catch myself speaking a tone or two lower than my normal voice.

“Oh, uh,” he runs his hand along his braid while looking at the floor, “sure. There should be something in the closet.”

He starts toward a set of sliding doors, but I beat him there. I can’t keep a straight face, and I’m glad for the opportunity to turn my other cheeks.

“Probably on the far right. You’re about the same height so…” it sounds as if he is talking with his back turned.

Perhaps it’s for the better. Now that I think of it, I never checked to ensure the skimpy towel didn’t leave my buttocks hanging out.

“So, I’ll just head in now, you know, to shower.”

“Sounds good.” I breathe deeply as the bathroom door slides shut—my heart pounding, my hands sweaty.

Neca calls from behind the closed door, “Maybe if you find an extra robe, you could toss it in?”

“Will do,” I reply. Fumbling with a light cotton robe, it’s all I can manage to slide my arms into the sleeves and collapse onto the bed. I lie there for a few minutes, until I’m sure I can stand without trembling. Not wanting to wait until Neca shuts off the water, I find a second robe and slip it through a crack in the bathroom door along with one of the towels.

Anxious to put the whole thing behind me, I decide to risk checking on the immortal woman’s progress. As I cross the living room toward the combination lab and kitchen, I realize I never even asked her name. Without any other means of addressing her, I default to the honorific title for mother. “Tenantzin, sorry to interrupt you—”

“Please, call me Izel.”

“Izel, thank you again for helping me. I hope I’m not putting you at risk.”

She doesn’t turn from her work, keeping her hands busy adjusting a burner and stirring a liquid of some sort.

I don’t want to be a bother, so I stare at the viewscreen. The scene seems vaguely familiar, like she constructed it based on an actual place nearby. There are at least half a dozen similar waterfalls within a day’s round trip of New Teo. It strikes me as odd that someone living in Immortal City would block off the outside world just to reproduce an artificial version of it.

After a long pause, Izel responds. “Don’t you worry, dear. I’m glad to be of help, for both you and your brother. And there’s little risk of me getting in trouble. It’s you two who better be careful.” She turns her head long enough to give me a smile.

“We will.” I take a seat on the couch and attempt to scrape off a bit of encrusted mud I left there earlier. Exhausted, I close my eyes. The next thing I remember is waking up to Neca’s hand on my shoulder.

“Here, you need to eat something before we go.”

I sit up, self-consciously securing the robe and rubbing my eyes. “How long was I out?”

“About five hours. It’s nearly midnight.”

“Midnight?” I’m instantly awake. “We should hurry. Is the medicine ready yet?”

Izel answers from the lab, “Almost, dear. First have a bite to eat. I’m sure Centavo’s taking care of Olin.”

I try not to think about the possibility that Centavo has already taken care of Olin, for good. I breathe deeply and tear a loaf of bread with my teeth. No, I remind myself, Olin made it last time. He’ll make it this time. I just need to return with the medicine before the sun—before the ID burn.