Lying in his bed, he worried.

Did something go wrong?

And who was that man who had come to him?

Jack coughed and sat up, wiping his forehead.

The pain was bearable at the moment, but he knew it wouldn’t last.

Where was Paul?

Why was it taking so long?

He hated that he’d had to come back to his room. He’d wanted to fight his aches on his own terms, but he had clearly lost that battle. He kept telling himself it was just a passing phase, he just needed to recover from his captivity...

But what if it had just accelerated his condition?

He tapped on his wristpad and reread the message he’d received from his doctor.

The knock at his door startled him.

He swiped the document off the screen and asked the room’s AI to let his visitor in.

Jack was relieved to see Paul walk in.

With the mask!

He held it in one hand.

“You did it!”

“I did,” answered his friend.

There was a hint of wistfulness in his voice.

“Did something go wrong?”

“No,” said Paul. “It was, in fact, easier than I had expected.”

Jack held out his hand.

“Great! I knew you could do it! You’re amazing, buddy.”

Paul kept the mask in his fist and stared down at it.

“It called to me,” he whispered.

“What?” asked Jack impatiently as he waved his hand as if to say ‘hey! I’m here! look at me!’

“I don’t know how to describe it... it was like... there was a connection between us.”

The historian frowned. “Are you suggesting it is sentient?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

With a sigh, and a bit reluctantly, Paul finally placed the mask in Jack’s still outstretched hand.

“You’ll take good care of it, won’t you?” he asked longingly.

It was an odd thing to ask for, thought Jack, but he was too excited to give it much thought.

“Of course,” he answered distractedly as he turned the item in his hands, examining it from every angle.

Now that it no longer was on its wall, it had yet a different texture—neither rock nor flesh, it appeared more like some sort of plastic. The inside was riddled with what looked like thousands of electric circuits. It felt soft in his hands, though, and warm.

“What will you do with it?”

Jack blinked as he looked up at his friend, surprised to find him still in his room. Hadn’t he left? He thought he had.

“I... I will study it. What else?” He hoped his smile felt genuine enough.

Paul opened his mouth and closed it. Frowned. Nodded.

“I’ll be seeing you around,” he said as he turned and left the room.

Jack was ecstatic.

He looked down at the mask again.

Finally!

He was already feeling better for it... He knew it was an illusion, of course, as having the mask would not affect him in any way. That wasn’t the point, after all. Not the point at all.

Then he worried again as he remembered the man in the street. Who was he? Would he come back and try to take the mask from him?

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He could not allow it!

Seized with an irrational fear, he jumped out of the bed, tossed all his belongings into two bags, and gently laid the mask at the top—making sure it wouldn’t get damaged.

Grabbing his bags, he hurried to the front desk and checked out.

Only once in the streets did he begin to feel relief.

The man wouldn’t know where to find him now.

But where was he going to go?

He walked aimlessly through the streets of Joqqal and disappeared into the crowd.

***

All the recent revelations were now making her doubt everything she had believed in. Her parents had been convicted criminals! Granted, it was not quite as bad as it sounded, but it still gave a very different spin to the story, and to her entire life.

Her parents must have known they had broken the law. They had been on the run!

Had the law caught up with them?

Had Lucaan sent killers?

Had the government?

The thought was preposterous. That couldn’t be it. There must have been something else. It must be a coincidence.

By the time the glider landed at her house, the winds had quieted down. But she knew it would only be a short respite.

She hurried out of the vehicle and into the building.

“Welcome home, Susan,” said the AI.

“Thanks,” she answered with a smile. “Have there been any calls?”

“None.”

She took off her coat and went into her father’s office. As she was about to sit down, a sharp sound rang in the room, as of breaking glass, and she felt a pain in her shoulder that made her instinctively fall to the floor.

A couple more thuds resounded as an alarm blared.

“Security breach! Security breach! Shots fired! The police have been called.”

The AI’s voice was high-pitched and loud. The rationale was that it would scare off any potential thief or, in this case, sniper. The shots did stop at that point, though, so perhaps it wasn’t so far off.

She glanced at the window. Three holes were clearly visible where the bullets had come through. The wind outside had risen again and it generated a whistling sound as it blew through the openings.

“Stop the alarm,” she called out.

The house became quiet again, safe for the howling wind.

Had someone just tried to kill her?

She looked around the room and found markings where the bullets had perforated the walls.

Why?

Her heart was beating fast, she realized. Was it because of her conversation with Jones?

It had to be!

This was just one coincidence too many.

Had the manager told her something he shouldn’t have? Then, realizing his mistake, sent someone to silence her?

And yet, everything he’d told her must be public knowledge if there had been a trial.

She went into the living room to wait for the police. There were no windows there, as it was at the center of the house. It made her feel safer. Maybe the killer was still out there, waiting for another opportunity. He must have known he’d missed her.

Or was it intentional? Was it just meant as a warning?

If so, she didn’t understand the message.

It was infuriating more than anything.

When the police finally arrived, she described the events without mentioning her visit to Lucaan Labs.

“Do you have any idea who could have shot at you?”

“No,” she answered truthfully. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

But a little voice inside her head insisted Lucaan was behind it all... she just needed to prove it.

***

There were three of them sitting in the bare room.

The walls were white. The ceiling was white. The floor was white.

There was no furniture here, safe for the three cryogenic tubes.

No windows, either. And no doors.

The three sat in the lotus position, forming a circle, with their eyes closed.

The oldest among them, who also was their leader, was named Xhoras. He had long silvery hair, thin lips, and a crooked nose. He wore a ring with a crescent moon.

The second man was Udrak. He was taller than the other two, and more muscular. His hair was short and dark blue. He, too, wore a ring with a crescent moon.

The third was a woman named Verlhynn. Her scarlet hair fell to her waist. She, as well, wore a ring with a crescent moon.

All three wore the same gray suit, something that looked like a uniform. The crescent moon motif had been sewn into the breast area.

The one named Xhoras snapped his eyes open and stood.

“Did you find it?” asked the woman, hopefully.

The leader did not respond as he scanned the room again.

“There has to be a way out...” whispered Udrak.

Xhoras walked toward one of the walls and tapped against its surface.

They had been looking for a way out for hours, ever since they had woken up and broken free from the tubes.

The tubes themselves had cables running out of them, though those did not seem to connect to anything as they ended in empty air.

That had made Xhoras snicker. “Smart.”

But even if the connection wasn’t visible, there had to be one. It just was a matter of finding it. Once they had that, they could dig their way out.

There was also, of course, the small matter of the netherchalk walls. The special fabric was well known to weaken their capacities. But even that would not suffice if they found the weak spot.

And Xhoras believed he had.

He tapped the wall again and listened for the echo.

It was a simple matter of tearing the threads out of the wall now, which would expose the conduits.

He motioned for the others to join him and, together, they grasped at the air until they felt a slight resistance. Then, with gestures perfected through millennia of experience, they tightened their grip, twisted in a counterclockwise motion once, then twice in the opposite direction. There was a clicking sound followed by a shift in the air.

The cables connecting the tubes to the walls became visible.

“Yes!” cheered Verlhynn.

Xhoras clicked his tongue in disapproval. The woman lowered her eyes, though she knew better than to apologize.

They grabbed the cables and, with their cumulated strength—which was formidable—pulled.

It took a long time, but what were a few more hours to them at this stage? It mattered little. It would be well worth it, in the end.

With a popping sound, the cables were torn, and the connection severed.

They looked at the five holes and grinned.

Xhoras slid a hand into one of them and pressed his palm against the cold stone surface. Closing his eyes, he focused. He willed the hole to grow, and it did. Larger and larger, until it merged with the four others. And still, it grew. And soon, it was large enough for them to walk through.

They did so and, as they advanced in the darkness, the three ran their fingers against the rocky structure which surrounded them.

“I am so hungry,” muttered the tall one.

Xhoras hushed him with a glare.

The surface around them shuttered and vibrated, the way ahead enlarging to give them passage as they pressed on.

There was a slight slant to the ground, but that was to be expected... They were, after all, heading up.

Up toward the surface of Qojja.