Deafening insults, profanities, and screams of terror resonated around the two. She had him by the throat, and Mr. Furyk was powerless with the bit of experience he's had in the Lucid Passage. An older man in an outdated suit screamed at him. It terrified him. Or was the soldier that crawled up to him begging for his life that scared him? Or the lives of those that saw things they shouldn't have?

*~[]

His shoulder pounded against the wall, and he collapsed, and Stephanie stood over him. A gun greeted him in her home as it materialized in her hand. The casual way he straightened himself told Stephanie about his experience. No fear, no worries, no concern.

"Call off the order," Stephanie said.

"No."

Her grip tightened around the handle, and the steadiness shook a little. He rubbed his hurt shoulder and spun his arm around to walk off the pain. Debris flew off the wall by his head.

"That was a warning shot."

He gave a subtle, No shit, look." You're not going to do anything."

"Why do you think that?"

Mr. Furyk walked over to the plate. "Because the people you killed you didn't interact with. Stephanie Saunders is human, after all." And he looked up at the missing smoke detector, the one he tossed at her, but it hit him.

She hustled to her workstation and began typing coordinates for the reservoir near the trailhead's beginning.

"You're a real piece of work," Mr. Furyk said.

"You're in no position to talk."

"You can't live with the biggest failure of your life. You found someone that resembles your brother, and you're having him participate in the same experiments that killed him. You're never getting him back, no matter how much you drown yourself in work or supporting a doppelganger. Unlike your brother, you can save Connor."

Cold-hearted couldn't describe the stare she gave him before she flashed out of the room. Hikers gasped as she blipped in and fell several feet onto the ground at the trailhead. She ignored them as she turned to the reservoir. The few paddle boarders that didn't mind the cold spring water were already out, and fishing boats crowded the shore in a panic, but no paddlers that she could tell had a dog on them. Optimal airships continued to move in, about a dozen she could see.

Shit. She texted him as fast as she could. "Where are you?"

"We decided to do the hike instead. The water is freezing."

"Do you hear that? Sounds like helicopters."

"Yeah."

"Run away from them and get to the trailhead. I can't get to you if you're on the trail."

She jumped back to the spa. It spooked a few people, even Teresa, who was pacing in front of Optimal suits and tapping her head.

"You're coming with me," Stephanie told Teresa. And they blipped out of the spa.

[]~*

"Eres pendeja, un sabelotodo," a young girl said to another. It struck Teresa pretty hard as she watched the two interact. Her young self is getting scolded by a childhood friend. All the young Teresa wanted to do was show her a science video on her phone.

"Old memory of yours?" Stephanie said.

"Yeah, when I was twelve. Where are we going?"

"Back home, convince Mr. Furyk to stop. Otherwise, get into the Estelar and find Connor. Get him to the start of the trail, same one from New Year's."

*~[]

As they landed on the plate, Stephanie said, "I'm going to obliterate some airships."

Teresa spoke out as soon as she saw Stephanie about to leave. "Why should I help you?"

Stephanie looked peeved at her question. "Help me, and I'll tell you how the Aeon Switch works and where it is."

"I'll figure it out."

"You won't."

"God, you're such a bitch sometimes," Teresa said. "I'm not helping since you're so great at this."

"Then do it for Connor. Do it for our friendship. We seem to get along outside of science and Optimal." And she blipped out.

Teresa stood still for a moment and realized her superior wasn't wrong. So she scrambled for her room, found her antigrav suit, and detached the mask and oxygen. Changing as fast as she could, she pressed the button on the back of her neck, and the purple glow swarmed around her. Her hair began to float, and a few purple sparks illuminated the waves of her hair. She had a feeling she would need to wear this. After strapping her phone to her arm, she floated straight to the garage. Mr. Furyk was standing next to the Estelar, drinking from a glass of water he helped himself to.

The mustache, the perfect executive haircut, and the suit, Mr. Furyk hand't changed since she last saw him when the neutrino meteor came heading to Earth.

She froze as he looked at her, and her heart picked up the pace. Not again. It was similar—no, the same as before—the day Stephanie escaped Optimal, she felt her body freeze. First, she took control of her breathing. Second, she floated forward and took control of her actions. "I'm getting Connor."

"Nice work with this. But you are to remain here." Mr. Furyk said.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She opened the garage door and floated into the Estelar. The Estelar drifted past him, and she didn't bother giving him a glance. "Stephanie said she'll tell me everything if I get Connor to safety."

"She's a murdering psychopath, even someone as smart as you shouldn't believe her. Getting Connor and forcing her hand is the only way to do this. And I will give the kill order if you get to him. It's not worth it," he said as she closed the glass dome. "Don't disobey me when it's Stephanie that can end all of this."

"You can end this too," Teresa lifted the Estelar a few inches and hauled ass out of the garage. The motion didn't move Mr. Furyk's suit or make much noise.

He watched her go off into the sky. "When did she get so sassy?"

***

"What the Hell?" Connor said out loud after reading the messages from Stephanie. Strange. Neville and Christian gasped and pointed off over the reservoir. An orange fireball dived into the water, followed by the resulting sound from the explosion that rushed in.

"Like, holy shit," Neville said.

"Was that an explosion?" Olivya said as she tried to get a good look through the trees by the trail.

"Looks like it," Christian said. He then pointed to what looked to be helicopters becoming more visible and louder.

"Is it some air show?" Neville said.

"No, it isn't. We need to go." Connor said.

"How do you know what's going on?" Olivya said.

"Just a hunch."

Other nearby trail hikers started hightailing it back to the trailhead, all wondering what had happened. A birdwatcher used his binoculars to get a better look from the foothill.

"That was a cool explosion," Neville said. "Like, I wish I had my phone out."

"Neville," Olivya said, "someone may have gotten hurt."

"I'm sure someone did," Christian strengthened his voice as the sounds got louder. "A helicopter exploded," it occurred to him. "Someone was the pilot."

The helicopters began maneuvering around the reservoir, and some started heading toward the trail. They all stood there and watched.

"What is going on?" Olivya said. "Those don't look like helicopters."

"I'm on my way back to the trailhead." Connor texted Stephanie. "We need to head back. Now."

And then there was another explosion. Even from several miles away, the noise still rumbled across the foothills.

"Joules," Connor tugged her leash, "let's go."

Other hikers joined them as they headed back. The usual ‘nice day out' as someone passed became, ‘did you see that?'.

Noise swarmed in, and it was not something you'd hear from a helicopter, more like a diesel engine mixed with an electric motor with a deep womp. They all stopped in their tracks as it flew over. The air beneath it distorted from the exhaust from the two-cylinder shaped engines attached to the hull, and the engines moved to be more vertical, stopping the ship mid-air.

"Holy shit," Neville said, "what? Like, what is this?"

Everyone stared at the airship and began taking videos. A compartment opened, and a purple glow shone as two outfitted soldiers dropped through without ropes. Moments before hitting the ground, their fall slowed to what would feel like landing a light jump. As cool as it looked to the teenagers, they froze once their guns came up.

"Connor Voll, hands in the air and on your knees, now," said a muffled voice. It was hard to tell who spoke through their fully covered masks. Everything on them was black and revealed nothing about who might be behind the gun.

Connor put his hands up slowly and said to Joules, "With me." And in that instant, he ran down the path, and the wolf followed. And then his friends.

"What the fuck, Connor?" Neville pulled his phone out and began recording.

Between breaths, as Olivya caught up, she said, "Seriously?"

"We just need to get to the start of the path," Connor blurted. A quick check revealed that the soldiers weren't following. "It shouldn't take too long."

"I'm just glad we're going downhill," Christian said.

They were all experienced in hiking, landing on rocks and logs as they hustled down with ease and no change in momentum. Even as the engine revved up behind them, they kept pace. Until it quickly passed over, and just like before, two soldiers descended onto the path. They didn't bother to shoo the hikers close to them away, and the recording phones didn't deter them either, nor did the commotion. All their focus was on Connor.

"Man, that's cool," Neville said as the soldiers landed fifty feet in front of them.

"We're not going to hurt you, Connor. Come with us."

"I don't work for you," Connor said.

"It doesn't matter," the soldier said.

"Yes, it does."

The two weren't expecting a teenager to have an attitude towards them being armed soldiers. They gave each other an understanding look. One began his approach, and the other held his gun up. "Hands up."

The teens did so this time. Olivya was visibly shaken this time, barely managing to keep her hands still due to her nerves acting up.

"It'll be fine, Olivya." Connor comforted her. And it did. Her hands settled.

Then a new, yet less terrifying, sound hummed in. The two soldiers looked up as a shadow moved across the crowd. Unlike the ship above with its two vertical engines, this saucer with tiny wings descended right next to Connor was peaceful. She had already opened the glass dome of the Eselar and was waving for Connor to get in.

"Teresa?" Olivya motioned with her hands, palms up, toward her ship. "What the Hell? What is this?"

"Connor, get your ass in here," Teresa ignored her. "Connor, it's okay to move. These two won't hurt you."

The two officers looked at each other, and one pressed his hand to his ear.

"Wait," Olivya said. "Can we get in?"

"Not enough room, and it's Connor and Stephanie they want."

"Teresa Festivus, please stay out of this," the soldier said.

Teresa ignored the soldier, "Connor, step in." He did so this time, and Joules didn't hesitate to lay across their laps.

Neville held his phone closer to the Estelar. "Literally, this video is gonna go viral."

"Just get to safety, trust me," Teresa lifted off, leaving their peers behind, and passed the hovering Optimal vessel.

"What's happening?" Connor said.

They began to move fast through the air. "It's a capture order. You in exchange for Stephanie and her tech. It looks like Stephanie has a weakness. You."

Joules was all over the place inside the Estelar, looking in all directions as Teresa followed the path. Connor worried at the news. Capture order? Me?

"Why can't she just dark matter me somewhere?"

"She has to know where she's going or be able to see you," Teresa said. "It's not like she knows exactly where you are on the path. How high each hill is, or if a tree branch is in the way, etcetera." She texted Stephanie a message letting her know they were on their way.

***

Stephanie went straight to the trailhead and looked for the Estelar. The trees were high at the base of the foothill so she couldn't spot the Estelar at first. Then it rose.

"Last chance," Mr. Furyk texted Stephanie.

She didn't respond and considered sending the Estelar to the back alley in France, where they celebrated months earlier. She has the coordinates saved for that. But they're moving. It's hard for her to Aeon Switch something that's moving, risking cutting off a limb or causing other damage. She spotted one of the airships lift following the Estelar. She sent herself into the air—about four hundred feet— and dark mattered the airship into an area off the path, away from the hikers. She's preserving as much energy in the device as she can. The further something goes, the more energy, the larger it is, even more energy. She watched the explosion before making a quick dark matter trip back to the ground.

"Have it your way," Mr. Furyk texted.