The Unknown

EIGHT | duo.

As Tess walked, there was a blinding flash like a strike of lightning, dousing everything in white. The ground shook beneath her feet, the vibrations rattling her bones. She didn't have to look to know the kids were being abducted once again.

Minutes later, she stopped suddenly, recognizing her surroundings. Her parents' house was on her left. Something subconscious had driven her home.

Electricity zapped up her spine, jolting her alert. She clenched her fists as she realized she'd been allowing her body far too much control.

Why should she care about the death of an insignificant human woman? The empathy was only chemical. Instinctual. Impulses she should have snuffed out long ago. But she had been letting them seep through the cracks in her control, letting herself act human. She had even felt guilty.

Tess took a deep, cleansing breath, regaining focus.

She checked her communicator and spotted a message from Kyle at the top of her screen. He had sent her a set of coordinates and nothing else.

Maybe there was some hypocrisy in denying basic human empathy but welcoming the bond with Kyle. But he was one thing both parts of her couldn't stand to lose.

So she took a detour, following the coordinates with her device's GPS. They led her to an industrial park, past a power plant, and into the shadowy space between two factory buildings. At the other end of the alley, there was a tall figure leaning against the brick wall. His head turned at the sound of her approach.

"We don't have long," Kyle called out.

When she reached him, she threw her arms over his shoulders while his encircled her waist. He lifted her well off the ground in a tight embrace, spinning around before setting her back down. She backed up, craning her neck to gaze into his eyes, sharp and green in the dawning sunlight.

"You met up with Shaun and Jessie, right?" she asked. "What has your group been up to?"

"Yeah. Not much interesting. We keep track of the city's progress as they search downtown. We've hacked into a lot of the building's security systems, and even the cameras on the streets. So we just watch and send updates to Jade."

"What happened after we were caught in the skyscraper? I don't remember—"

"I don't either. Somebody toyed with our memories. I don't like it."

"I don't either." She folded her arms and leaned against the building beside him. For now, she decided not to dwell on it. She wanted to treasure her limited time with him, imagining a ticking clock counting the draining seconds.

"We freed a bunch of teenagers," she told him. "The ones the City rounded up four years ago, who weren't able to run away like we did. The Species is going to fix them up, and I think they're going to join us."

Kyle was quiet. She peeked at his face and noticed his eyebrows were knitted together. She decided not to prod him to share what he was feeling.

She stared down at her hands, debating whether or not to share more herself. Her mind lingered on the woman, dead after a single poke with a nail, and what she had called Tess: a monster.

"Jessie showed me those," he said, glancing at her razor-sharp fingernails. She noticed he didn't have any, nails clipped short as usual.

She bit her lip. "Yeah...I don't think I like them."

"Why not?"

"Jade and Rosalie didn't tell me..." she hesitated, "that they would kill people."

His eyes widened.

She looked at him earnestly and asked slowly, "Does it ever feel wrong, what we're doing here?" The woman's scathing last words echoed in her head. She tried to shake them away, to expel them from her memory, but they wouldn't leave. "We know the humans don't want this. To them, we're monst—"

That's when a man—maybe a security guard—appeared at the opposite end of the alleyway, flooding it with brilliant light. All thoughts of their conversation shattered into dust.

Tess felt her lips curl into a smile. Somehow, fleeing life-threatening danger with Kyle felt invigorating. Maybe even romantic.

"Run," Kyle said in a low, playful voice, evidently feeling the same way.

They tore through the industrial park, weaving between buildings and scaling fences. They kept running together long after they'd lost the man, only stopping when Tess buckled with laughter in the cover of a treeline.

"Just like the good old days," he remarked.

She thought of how she used to resent her time at the school after being forced to run away from home. Now, those days seemed idyllic and nostalgic. She couldn't imagine never meeting Kyle or any of the others who'd become her second family.

Except for Jason. She could do without him.

The couple held hands with bittersweet, longing laughter, both acutely aware of how soon they'd have to part ways.

A vibration came from Kyle's pocket, instantly breaking the spell between them. His hand dropped hers, reaching for his communicator.

"Shaun's wondering where I am."

She gave a pained smile and grabbed his hand once more. There was no need for words. With great reluctance, they turned away from each other and broke contact. Kyle strode deeper into the city, toward the distant sparkling lights. Meanwhile, Tess followed Jade's coordinates toward the endless darkness of the forest beyond the border fence.