Those remaining in the Departure Hall gasped as Tarun blinked and coughed. The straps that secured him came undone, and he collapsed on the floor. Wared knelt next to him and grabbed his arm.

"Tarun? Are you ok? What's going on?"

Tarun struggled to sit up on his knees and threw up over the edge of the stage.

"He's alive," someone said with a sense of awe. "He's alive." Soon, whispers spread throughout the hall as the guests pointed and whispered among themselves.

"Tarun?" Wared tried again, but Tarun waved his hand in the air.

"Wa—" Tarun said as he got up on one knee. "Wared," he said in a scratchy voice as he reached for his nephew. "I need—"

The main doors into the hall slammed open. Henrin marched through the door with half a dozen Departure Enforcers behind him.

"If I may have your attention," he said loud enough that everyone in the hall could hear him. "Please exit the Departure Hall immediately and gather in gallery six. Two of my associates will lead you there." As if on command, two of the enforcers behind him stepped out from behind him and started barking commands. Ruban continued up to the stage. He put a hand on Wared's shoulder.

"How is he doing?"

"What's going on here?" Wared said and stood up. "What's happening? Why is he here?" Wared pointed at Tarun.

"That, I'm afraid, is the question. A departure failure is exceedingly rare."

"It's a miracle," a young man said as he stared at Tarun with large eyes. "He's still here."

"Take him out of here," Henrin said to one of his companions with gritted teeth. "Get him out."

"A departure failure?" Wared said, his eyes widening. "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Exactly, because they are so rare. We will, of course, have to investigate. For now, we will take him to the hospital for examination. Our first priority is ensuring the health and well-being of Candidate Tarun."

"Of course. I'll come—"

Henrin held up his hand. "Don't worry about Tarun, he'll be in the best possible hands. There is, however, someone who might need your assistance to make it home," he said and pointed towards Kyra, his daughter.

"Oh!" Wared said. "Yes, right,'m not sure what happened ."

"Just get her home so she can rest up. You can join Tarun at the hospital later, if you so wish."

Two medics emerged with a stretcher at that very moment. Tarun, who still seemed dazed, was loaded onto the stretcher, secured and then carried out of the hall.

Wared waited until Tarun disappeared and then walked over to Kyra. She sat on the floor rubbing her head.

"Hey, you ok?"

"'m fine ," she said and managed to lift herself up on a nearby chair with Wared's help. She looked around and noticed her father on the stage. "What is he doing here? Where's Tarun?"

"He's on the way to the hospital. Apparently he survived. Some sort of departure failure according to your father."

"A departure failure?"

"Yes, he said they're highly unusual and—"

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"They are. There hasn't been one in years."

"Anyway, your father wanted me to take you home before I go visit Tarun."

"No, no, I'll come with you to the hospital," Kyra protested.

"Tarun will need to rest anyway so it's probably for the best.'m certainly not going against what your father says. "

"Coward," she whispered with a smile. "It's ok. I think I need to rest after all of this anyway."

As Wared led her out of the hall, he noticed Henrin and his men standing around the departure chamber in deep and quiet conversation. Henrin was gesturing and pointing while the others listened and, on occasion, nodded.

Once in the car, they rode in silence. Wared kept repeating the events of the failed departure over and over in his mind. Nothing seemed to have been out of the ordinary. Tarun's departure was exactly the same as all of the other ones he had seen. Yet, something had gone wrong. Tarun had not departed. He was still here.

Wared dropped off Kyra with a promise to check in on her later. He had a feeling rest was not something he would be able to do, not with the knowledge that his uncle was alive and well. As soon as Kyra disappeared inside her house, Wared engaged the autopilot and set course for his house. He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and tried to relax.

But, his mind was having none of it. He gazed out the window at the passing buildings and the pedestrians on the sidewalks. How long would it take for the news to spread that a candidate had failed to depart? What did it mean for Tarun himself and, by extension, for him and his family? When his mother called, he knew the news had to be spreading fast. He activated the video feed as he answered it.

"Tarun's departure failed?" his mother blurted out before he even had a chance to greet her.

"Of course I do. What happened? Were you there? Did you see it?" she said and leaned closer to the camera. "Is he ok?

"Mom, slow down, ok? Yes, I was there, I saw it all."

"Tell me, Wared," she insisted.

Wared sighed and proceeded to tell her about the ceremony, how it seemed like it was proceeding as normal. Until it wasn't.

"Poor Tarun," his mother said with a sigh as she shook her head. "It's all over the news, you know."

Wared closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair

"What are they saying?"

"Well, it's a miracle, obviously. Departure failures are extremely uncommon. They're saying there's something special about him. Can you imagine? Tarun something special? He surely deserves it, don't you think?"

"Ok, mom," Wared said with a sigh. "I'll be home soon."

"Home? No, no, that won't do. Go over to his apartment, get him a set of fresh clothes and bring them over to the hospital. I'm sure he's not going to want to wear what he had on during the Departure for long."

"Don't you think they'll give him fresh clothes at the hospital?"

"Sure, but there's nothing like wearing your own garments, Wared. Please just do as I ask, for the sake of your uncle."

"Ok, mom," Wared said and sighed.

"Call me when you're on your way home, ok?"

"Yes, mom." Wared disconnected the call and gave the vehicle AI a new destination. He then turned on the news on the video screen.

"...an unprecedented development, without a doubt. What do you make of this, Ari?" a female news anchor said and turned to her male counterpart.

"They say it's a miracle. Nothing like it has happened in recent memory. We have heard from sources inside the Protectorate that events like these signify something of importance. In the few instances in our history that departure failures have occurred, the candidate was immediately elevated to Elder and member of the Supreme Council ."

"Supreme Council and an Elder. What does that mean for Tarun Ra'Han?"

"From what I heard, Tarun Ra'Han is no longer expected to depart. His new, elevated status prohibits it. Instead, he becomes the advocate for the rest of us, those who have yet to Depart. He becomes our most significant supporter."

Wared shook his head and turned off the broadcast. Elder? Supreme Council? Tarun? It seemed unreal. He couldn't help but wonder what Tarun thought of that.

As he approached Tarun's building, traffic ground to a halt within a block.

"Identify detour," he said to the car AI.

"Detour unavailable. All routes to your destination are blocked."

Wared sighed. He stepped out of the car and looked up ahead. Cars were blocking the street all the way to Tarun's building. He heard shouting and cheering in the distance.

"Please continue to destination when the road is clear," he said, exited the car and made his way through the thickening crowds. As he approached the apartment building, he heard the Tarun's name being chanted.

"What's going on?" he asked a random person closer to the front door.

The man turned around, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Didn't you hear? Candidate Tarun has ascended," the man said, his eyes wide. "He has ascended!"

"Ascended? What does that mean?" Wared said but the man had already turned around and continued shouting Tarun's name. Wared slipped down a side street and entered the building using a back door. As he walked through the lobby, he saw the crowd outside chanting Tarun's name. He took the elevator up to Tarun's floor and stepped out, relieved to find that there was no-one by his apartment. Just as he reached for the door handle, he froze and felt a chill run down his spine. The door was open.

~~~