It felt so real. I was standing in one of the hallways on floor fifty. I heard voices coming towards me from around a corner. I crept towards the corner until I could hear who was talking. Two voices I would recognise in my sleep. Eliet and Jade. Aka Marlene, aka Teiel. I didn’t know what to call her; she had so many names. “I trust your preparations are going well. I know how long you’ve been working for this,” Eliet said, patting Jade on the back. “I’m ready. You’re never going to guess what I’m going to do for my demonstration,” Jade replied confidently. “Well, whatever you do, I’m sure it is going to far surpass any of our expectations. With Letie gone, I’ll be taking you on as my second in command. You’ll have a large spot to fill.” Jade nodded as they rounded the corner and saw me.
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Her mouth dropped, and Eliet’s unbreakable mask faltered. Figuratively. His metal mask stayed perfectly intact. I wonder how hot it got in that thing. “Elias. How… how did you get here?” Eliet asked, taking a small, almost unnoticeable step behind Jade. “I have my ways. But I’m back,” I said, smiling slightly. “Did you miss me?” Jade ran up to me and almost gave me a hug, but stopped short. It was a good thing she did, though, because she would have gone right through the projection. “Of course I missed you! After our fight, and then everything that happened in the woods, and the rebels… Well, I thought you were dead. We had no way of contacting you, and all the tracking chips got dismantled, so we couldn’t find you. It’s been weeks, nearly two months, actually, since you got taken by the rebels.” There were two things in her statement that hit hard. First, I hadn’t been taken by the rebels. They saved me. And second, two months? Had it really been two months since I’d been with T.R.I.B.A.U.M.? I hadn’t seen any of my family for two months. Well, except for mom, which still didn’t register completely. “I’m not dead, Jade. I’m here to help the Elite do whatever they need to do in order to stop the rebels.” I smiled and clearly said, “Long live the Elite.” Jade smiled, and I noticed that her rainbow hair had been traded for jet black.
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Eliet turned to Jade. “I’m going to have you go back to the main lab. Telie will be waiting for you to finish up that research. I need to speak with Elias.” Jade nodded and walked away. Eliet slowly walked towards me, each step echoing off the walls. “Welcome back,” he said, gesturing outwards. “It’s good to be back. I missed this place,” I responded. “Did you, now?” Eliet asked, still moving closer. “You didn’t seem to care about it before you went into the field.”177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdGtStDZ1E
“Well, that was different. I’m different now. Reaper has opened my eyes to all the possibilities if I work with you, not against you.”
“I’m glad you’ve come to that conclusion. Follow me, everyone will be so glad to see that you’re home safe.” Eliet started walking back the way he had come, and I had no choice but to follow. Under my breath, I whispered, “Mom, if you’re hearing this, everything is going to plan. Don’t worry. I’m almost there.”
“What did you just say, Elias?” I looked up. Eliet had stopped walking and was watching me quizzically. I looked up, my eyes wide. Had I just blown my cover? “Nothing. I was just saying how, um, nothing has changed?” I said with a shrug. Eliet shook his head and continued walking. “A lot has changed, actually. We’ve needed to completely change how everything is structured, now that Letie is gone. We all miss her terribly, but everyone is moving on and learning to accept it.” This got me curious. “What do you think happened to Letie? Last I saw her, she was fine.”
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Eliet looked down. “That was the last time any of us saw her. She disappeared soon after you got captured. We don’t know where she went, though I suspect she was taken by the same people you were. We’re developing a plan to stop the rebels and regain control of our home,” he said, stopping outside of the Elite’s room. “Welcome home, Elias,” he said calmly, throwing the door open. The rest of the Elite were milling around. I saw one person I recognised. Eelti. He walked over to me. “It’s great to have you back,” he said. More and more people realised I was there and came over to greet me. Finally, Eliet said, “Please, everyone, give Elias some space. Settle down, please.” Everyone backed away, scattering to various tables. I stayed standing at the back of the room and Eliet stepped behind a podium. “Let’s get a round of applause for Elias. He is safe, and he has returned to us. To the Reaper!” 177Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuhgPH7wXN
