EX//MACHINA: EXORDIUM

Chapter XV - 2 minutes to midnight

Running side by side with someone towards the shelter once more, Peter wasn't feeling any more safe doing that once more. Maybe that's when his luck would run out, or Emma's, both were very, very bad options. Still, he focused entirely on the task at hand, barely giving any attention to Vega's voice. Funny how he implored Vega to say something for days on end, and now he was praying for him to shut up for a few seconds. Remembering how Vega had shut up after he told him to stay quiet back at the main building when they first got there, the boy decided to stay silent this time, not wanting to risk another extended period of silence.

— Emma is right, Peter; both of you should escape together. Trust her in this, but don't lose sight of who is really with you.

Yes, Vega, I know. He wanted to say, but another earthquake made him even more convinced to not say anything. It sounded ungrateful on his part to dismiss advice like this, but they were just talking about trusting Emma and escaping. That reminder was kinda useless at this point, even if he knew it came from a place of good intentions in the voice's metaphorical heart.

— Peter, we're almost there, don't stop running!

And this kind of motivation didn't bother him. Sure, it was also something he knew he had to do, but this one seemed much more important in the context he was in. It was kind of weird how both of them were talking in the same tone of voice, though. Like Emma said, they were close to their objective, so it took only a few more seconds to reach the gymnasium. Going through the double doors, the duo finally stopped running, stopping only to catch their breaths. The next stop for them was the corner they stood in the last time, and both of them noticed how few people were there.

Were they in the other shelters? Were they dead? Impossible to know.

— So... what about James?

— What about him? — Emma asks back, seemingly searching for wounds in Peter's body, only saying something else when she realized there were none. — He seems willing to come with us. He didn't like the way people were treated after the battle, and liked even less what happened to you.

Up until now, James didn't disappoint Peter in any way, shape or form. He really seemed like a good friend, and knowing he was bothered by what happened was good. They probably didn't have the opportunity to see him before this, which was to be expected. Besides, the last time he had seen both of them, Emma and James were getting closer.

— And do you trust him?

— Yes, I do. Don't worry about his brother, he said he knew how to deal with him.

Peter definitely wasn't worried about James' brother. He didn't even remember that detail, but now that Emma mentioned it, that was very important. Still, he trusted James, and if Emma did too, that was another positive point to consider. Even then, something bothered Peter; he kept thinking about Amy. Where was that girl? He had dreamt of her, walking around a crowd with a mangled arm and holding a flaming bottle. That was a very specific dream to have, so it stuck around his mind for hours on end.

— Sure, thanks for clearing this up. And... I kinda wanted to ask you about Amy.

— She's still missing, Laura won't say anything too. It's been nine days, Pete, we have to consider the option of her not coming back.

Nine days. It's been only nine days since he woke up, so why did it seem like months? Every single day was long and hard to get by, and his encounter with Ceto seemed to be a lifetime ago. And even more important, why was Emma saying this? She came back after weeks. Sure, she wouldn't be back hadn't it been for Peter intervening. Still, nine days didn't seem enough to be that worried.