"Where are you?"

"Elio?" Frank lowered the bow and threw his head back in relief.

They entered the workshop together, Elio's hand around Tansy's waist. "Sit," he said. She obeyed him almost robotically.

"Where the fuck were—" Frank said, then he saw her face. He rushed over and kneeled beside her. She stared at him, unseeing. He reached up and touched her bloody cheek. "Where is it coming from?" he said, panicking. "Where... where are you hurt? Tansy?"

"It is not her blood."

He turned to Elio. "Oh fuck, Elio! You're—"

"It is not my blood. Come, Frank." Elio turned to Leila, who was still in the corner. He motioned to Tansy and nodded. Leila nodded back and went to her.

Out in the hall, Elio told Frank what he had stumbled upon down by the river. He left out one key detail, simply saying, "They will bother no one now."

Frank got the meaning. "Was she..." He cleared his throat. "Did they—"

"I do not believe so."

Frank nodded.

"They will be found," Elio said. "It is not safe for us here, so nearby."

"It's not safe for us here with us here, Rivera! At this rate we're gonna fucking self destruct!"

"We will not."

"Sure about that? Because from where I'm standing it doesn't look promising."

"We must leave here, Frank."

"Yeah, alright. Where?"

"First, we must discuss some things which I have learned."

"Do you—"

The sound of breaking glass carried from the workshop. They rushed through the door to see Leila backing away from Tansy, who stood when they entered and turned to face them with wild eyes.

"I'm not a fucking child!" she roared.

Frank put his hands up.

"Stop treating me like I'm a fucking child!"

"We will stop," Elio said.

Tansy stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning to Leila. "I'm sorry I broke your glass."

Leila said, "I'm not even worried about it. You want another one?"

Tansy stared at her. "Yeah."

Leila grabbed another glass. "You want water in it?"

"No."

Tansy hefted it, then hurled it against the concrete wall with more force than anyone expected.

"Another one?" Leila said, already handing it to her.

Tansy stared at the glass, rolling it around in her hands before screaming.

"Ahhh!" she roared, hurling it so hard she stumbled and fell. She rolled over onto her back and splayed out on the hardwood in a shaft of sunlight that appeared to lay down its warmth as a gift to her.

"Elio?"

"Yes, Tansy."

"Tell me again," she said.

So he told her again.

"And their blood?"

"They gave it to us."

"How much?"

"Every drop, my dear."

She laughed and burst into tears, holding up a hand to stop them from consoling her. After a minute, she stood and let her arms fall to her sides.

"I love you," she said matter-of-factly.

"I love you," Elio said, as if he had been saying it all his life.

"Will you wash me?"

"Of course."

Frank cleaned up the glass while Leila got started cooking up the trio of squirrels she had killed that morning. They worked side-by-side in silence until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Frank?"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Hey. I mean it."

He trashed the last of the glass and looked at her. "What? I'm fine."

"He's in there bathing your girl who just got jumped."

Frank rolled his head and stared at his feet. "Fucking hell."

"Yeah."

"Look, kid," Frank said. "She's not my girl. And I'm glad he was there."

"Yeah. Okay. Keep saying that."

"Fuck off."

"Language, Grandpa."

They sat around the table, eating in awkward silence. Tansy was back in the oversize tee while her clothes dried yet again.

"I'm okay," she said.

Frank chewed and swallowed his food while watching her face. "You're definitely not okay."

"I am, Frank. Okay enough. I'll process it later, so just stop looking at me like that."

Frank nodded. "Fine."

Elio turned to Leila. "Darling, we must leave."

"Oh," she said, staring at her empty plate. "Yeah, okay. I mean, I guess I knew that."

"It is no longer safe."

"I get it," she said. "When?"

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

"Immediately, I am afraid."

"Oh. Right."

Elio and Frank exchanged glances.

"Pack your shit," Frank said.

Leila dropped her fork. "Fuck off."

"Please," Elio said. "We cannot leave you here."

"You definitely can."

Leila looked at each of them in turn. "Do you just not get it?"

"Tell us," Tansy said.

Leila shook her head. "Where are you going? There's nowhere to go."

"Away from here."

"Yeah? And?" She took her plate to the sink and wheeled around. "What place is safe? Tell me."

"We can be safe at my apartment while we figure it out," Elio said.

"Uh huh. Your apartment. What floor?"

"It is... " he said, then looked down. "There are elevators."

"Oh really? Unmanned?" she said. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Leila, I will find a way."

"No! This is my home! This was my grandfather's home. These are his tools. This is his kitchen." She struggled not to cry.

"I understand. We will not force you," Elio said. "Who was your grandfather?"

"Why do you care?"

"I do. I do care."

"His name was Reggie. But everyone called him—"

"Dante, for his father."

She burst into tears. "What?" she cried. "What? How?"

"I knew him well, Leila. Very well. Indeed, he was like my own blood."

"What?"

"It is true. When he passed on, I kept his restaurant in business."

"You did?" she sobbed. "That's you?"

He nodded.

"Well," she said, "why did you make it so expensive, huh?"

"I—"

"I can't even eat there! Seriously," she said, wiping her eyes dry. "What gives?"

He shrugged. She gave him a sad little half-smile and shrugged right back.

"Come with me."

"I can't, okay?" She gestured to her rickety old chair. "Not in this."

Tansy stood up. "You're absolutely right."

"What? She doesn't mean that," Frank said to Leila.

Tansy turned on him in a flash. "Frank Chaplin, if you tell me what I mean one more fucking time—"

"Oh shit!" Leila interjected.

"—I will curse your wee little penis so hard and fast your head will spin right around and fall the fuck off. Just like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "I swear to god."

She held up a finger and let it slowly droop to make her point.

"Yeah? Alright," Frank said. "You made your point. But just so we're clear," he said, leaning toward her, "that'll be you and what army of witches, pray tell?"

Leila rolled her whole head. "Oh, good lord, give us a break!"

"You're right, Leila," Tansy repeated. "You can't go in that, but you won't have to. Because you are going in that." She pointed at the Factor.

"It... but it's not ready," Leila said. The look she gave Tansy held a glimmer of hope. "It'll take too long and you have to—"

"Then we better get to work," Tansy said.

Frank returned from his much-needed shower to see Tansy directing Leila on exactly how to run the circuitry so one thing could do something to another thing he did not understand.

He took a cup of coffee from Elio, who had brewed a final batch for the group, and stood leaning against a workbench, watching in fascination.

"Cards on the table, Tansy," he said, echoing her words from the night before. "How does a humble gardener know how to do all this?"

She chuckled without looking at him. "You're not the only one with many talents."

"Clearly."

"I already asked her," Leila said, picking up a razor. "She won't spill."

"What's that for?" Tansy asked.

"I guess I don't need all that," Leila said, gesturing toward the bioskin.

"Whoa, hold up," Tansy said. She leaned in. "Don't answer if you don't want to, okay? But..." she cupped a hand to Leila's ear and whispered something.

Leila looked away. After a moment, she shook her head.

"Then keep this," Tansy said quietly, patting the skin.

"Why?"

"Can the men please cover their ears for a moment?" When they did, Tansy said, "If you get ahold of a Factor BCI, you can physically feel whatever it feels."

Leila considered that for a split second before handing the razor to Buster. "You," she said to Tansy, "are a goddess."

"Done?" Frank said.

"Done," Tansy replied, looking up. "Oh! Um, nice skirt?"

"Thanks."

"Where'd you find it?"

"In a closet." When she kept staring, he said, "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, actually. I think I've just been out in the country for too long."

She sat cross-legged on the floor, stripping wires for Leila. Every few minutes, she snuck a peek at Frank's thick, tanned, muscular calves.

"See something you like?"

Caught in the act, Tansy focused on the Factor, willing away the blush that crept up into her face anyway just to spite her. She exhaled and stood.

"I'll be back," she said to Leila. Turning to Frank, she said, "Can we talk?"

She took him back to her room and closed the door. She gave him an exasperated look. "What, Frank?"

"I don't—"

"What? What do you want from me?"

"I don't understa—"

"Don't, Frank. Don't play dumb."

He searched her eyes. "You really wanna do this now?"

"I do."

"Okay, then," he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "I'll tell you exactly what I want."

He told her. When he finished speaking, she felt a little woozy.

"Oh."

"You asked."

"I did."

"Look," he said, taking a step toward her. He stood a solid 7-8 inches taller, putting her at eye level with his neck and that hypnotically pulsing skin. He spoke in a low voice. "I get it, okay? I heard you last night."

"You... what?"

"You don't have to explain."

"I wish you would explain."

He lifted her chin. "I heard you, okay? And if Elio is what you need, if he makes you feel less alone, I get it."

"What are you talking about?"

He opened the door to leave. "Now who's playing dumb?"

"How much longer, my friends?" Elio asked as a siren came uncomfortably close.

"Actually," Tansy said, "I think we're about ready." Back in the workshop, she struggled to focus on the task at hand, still confused—and buzzing, if she was being honest—from her brief interaction with Frank. But what had he meant by her and Elio? She racked her brain, coming up with absolutely nothing.

Oh well, she thought; let him believe what he wanted. She had known the man for all of two days. And besides, she had a few other things going on.

She picked up the faceplate to the compartment that formerly held a tracking device.

"Wait," Leila said. She went to a cabinet and pulled out a tiny antique pillbox. She handed it to Tansy, saying, "Don't judge, okay?"

Tansy peeked and closed it again.

"I have pain sometimes," Leila said in explanation.

"You'll get no judgment from me," Tansy said. She put the box into the compartment, screwed the faceplate on, and slid the cover in place. She handed the magnet to Leila. "Keep that safe."

"You ready?" Tansy said.

"Mmm hmm."

Tansy held the hacked Factor upright beside Leila's chair. Leila transferred and buckled in. She slid the BCI onto her head, gave Tansy a nod, and said, "Here goes nothing."

Then she stood and walked across the room and back again, grinning from ear to ear.

"It works!" Tansy cried.

"Hell yeah, it works!" Leila said, laughing maniacally.

"You're a genius, Leila Reed," Frank said.

Leila activated the Factor's hidden treads and zipped across the room so fast she skidded and slammed into the far wall. "Yeehaw!"

"Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Leila laughed. "Am I okay?"

She zoomed up to Leila and stood eye to eye with her. "You tell me," she said. She pulled Tansy into a bear hug. "Thank you."

"This was all you," Tansy said.

"So," Elio said. "Does this mean you will join us?"

Leila looked around the workshop and back to Elio, then nodded. "Yeah, okay."

* Quest Completed: [Nobody, But Nobody]

Objective: Form a bonded group of four or more allies.

Reward: [Kinship] Kinship increases the strength of all abilities in the presence of a bonded ally while slightly decreasing the ability's toll.

They stood in stunned silence. "Please tell me you heard that," Tansy whispered.

Leila and Elio nodded.

Frank said. "Hold up—quest completed? Did you know we were on a fucking quest? No? Hey, me neither." He glanced skyward and yelled, "Woulda been good to know we were on a quest!"

"Yeah!" Leila yelled. "What he said!"

Tansy laughed. "This just gets weirder by the day."

"Yes, yes," Elio said. "And now we must leave, while we are on good terms."

"I'm ready. Can I help you pack?" Tansy said to Leila.

"Yeah, but first I have to ask. Can I bring Buster?"

"Ah, we come to it at last!" Elio said, clapping his hands. "Falconer of Philadelphia, I have a gift for you."

----------------------------------------

> Now if you listen closely I'll tell you what I know

> Storm clouds are gathering

> The wind is gonna blow

> The race of man is suffering

> And I can hear the moan,

> Cause nobody,

> But nobody

> Can make it out here alone.

-Maya Angelou, "Alone"