Experiment X

35 | Reuniting

35 | Reuniting

All of the sounds: voices, embarking trains, moving people, and the shining lights are overwhelming for Sera, as they make their way further into the underground station. In absolute wonder, her eyes climb the silver chromed walls to the vaulted pillared ceiling stretching into the curved shadows. Manu holds her hand as they walk along, and beside of him is Teresa who keeps Teran near, and ahead of them walks Hope. Sera had only just hugged Teran too, telling him she was glad to see him again, up, and walking. Gil though only smiled, and remained near the back with Reina and the others: Brielle with Slade and Streak whose tail wagged, as he took in all of these strange smells here. Human sweat. Robust, perspiration scents. The smell of cleaned, shiny metallic floors, and things: benches here and there. All of this makes Teresa think.

“Hope,” Teresa calls, and Hope turns about, and asks, “Yes?”

“I was wondering how…Well how you all managed to get the trains here…This station…?”

“Good question,” she says. “The station itself already existed, we however connected with the outside portal, and refurbished it…and a made a path to our underground city, with special help, if you will.” She offers a simple grin, and Teresa nods, not quite understanding, but quiets anyhow.

Teran begins to pull on Teresa’s arm, as he tells her something about another boy that had been with him, also injured that they knew him from a long time ago, but there’s so much commotion its hard to hear him, especially when they enter the grouping crowd. Then there’s a woman’s voice shouting out, “Teresa! Teresa? Is that you?” Teresa blinks, confused, and turns to see a small black-haired woman heading her away, beaming, carrying a sleeping infant in her arms, her face crinkling in delight; and, Teresa’s face lights up automatically. “Cerena!” she cries, and the two women embrace each other tightly, as much as they can without disturbing the child, rocking back in forth, and when they separate, Cerena holds Teresa’s face with her free hand tears in her eyes.

“I—I thought I’d never see you again, when you and your family left,” she says, biting her lip.

“I can’t believe—I—I—You managed to escape too?” Teresa says, baffled. “It’s so good to see you, here! Alive!”

“Yes,” she says, “but not without loss…We lost Aron… But we still have Jan.” She smiles down upon the beautiful sleeping child. “Through her, I keep Aron alive. A part of him lives in her.”

“Yes,” Teresa mutters, tears flowing down her face, as she gently touches the babe’s face. “That is the best way to keep him alive, but...Aron…I know your pain, Cerena; Ean was killed.”

Cerena covers her mouth, her lips trembling. “I’m so sorry; he was so kind, and selfless…And you both…We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors than you…In that wretched Unit. But Aron had managed to have us transported to another Unit with a promotion in his job; you know he worked in the Ammunition Industry; and anyhow, that’s when we made our escape…We managed to go a long ways…Until…Aron died…And it breaks my heart.” Cerena’s head bows in agony, and Teresa comforts her with patting her on the shoulder, and she says, “I know, Cerena, I know.”

“But,” she continues her voice cracking, “we’d come across a friendly dog which lead us to…Well…Through the wild, and it was just before we met this man who can actually…teleport…Strangely, but he said he could help us, but before that…We triggered a stray mine, and it exploded, taking Aron’s life, and hurting Damien—”

“Speaking of Damien,” Teresa says, “where is he?”

“Damien?” Cerena calls out into the crowd, and a light voice answers here. They look see the tall, angular-faced teenage boy whose long dark auburn hair brushes against his fair skin. He’s wearing a similar fitting white jumpsuit as Teran dons, Teresa guesses were given to them to replace their tattered, bloodied clothes. His deep brown eyes rest upon Teresa, then Teran tired, but he smiles as he leans upon a silver walking stick, and as Teresa’s eyes travel down his body, she sees an artificial leg has replaced what he lost below the kneecap of his left leg in the mine explosion; the jumpsuit has been altered to accommodate his new chromed extension.

“My,” Teresa says, “you’ve gotten so much taller than last I saw you.”

Damien grins, but a look of worry flickers across his features. He blinks, and as he looks around them, the concern grows in his eyes. “Where…Where is Emberly?” he asks.

A blanched, drained expression reveals itself from Teresa’s features, and she swallows, considering on whether or not tell the truth. But it must be told, by this time. “She…Emberly was taken from us by the Shadows, but Hope—you know of her?”

Cerena nods. “Yes,” she says, “Phanen told us of her…The blonde-haired lady who will help us?”

“Yes, her exactly…She’s been communicating with Emberly,” Teresa says. “I’ll tell you more about it later, but we know she’s alive, and for now that’s all that matters.”

“Good,” she says, and clenches Teresa’s hand gingerly. But Teresa can see the pain already in Damien’s eyes. They had been the best of friends in their Unit, both him and Emberly, inseparable they were. Until the day they had to leave, which had broke Emberly’s heart. She remembers Emberly had given him a kiss, their holding hands dropping, and them rushing to the borders of their Unit, leaving poor Damien, and his family behind. Because there wasn’t any way possible, and they all had known this very well for them to come along too. There had been tears in his eyes that day too, and it is exactly of this day Damien thinks of now, but he doesn’t mention anything of it. In fact, he remains absolutely quiet, casting his eyes downward.

Cerena smiles at Teran and compliments him as well, and he tells her hello, before Teresa hears someone else calling her name, and she sees that Manu is standing with another man who she hasn’t seen before, slightly shorter than him, tan-skinned with brown hair, and soft blue eyes; there’s an ecstatic look about Manu, that could only mean one thing: he’s reunited with someone miraculously too. “Teresa,” he says again, “I would like you to meet a friend of mine, who has travelled a great deal…I knew him back in Arizona: his name is JJ,” he says, extending a hand to this man, who smiles peaceably, and outstretches a hand to Teresa, and they shake.

“Hi,” Teresa says, grinning. “Pleasure.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” he says, flashing the same pleasant smile. And when they mingle toward the center of the crowd, Manu standing near Teresa, she leans over to him, saying, “Isn’t it funny…Well, strange we both find people we’ve known here?”

Manu nods, laughing. “I agree.” But then all find themselves huddled together, Teresa talking to Cerena, and Manu to his friend, of the past, the old days they knew together, smiling, and recollecting: they try to remember as much of the good as they can, even though its existence is difficult to find, but for their sake they do their best. There’s a grating, screeching stop, and all heads turn to see that another silver, seamless bullet train has stopped, its illuminating headlights intensely bright. Hope rallies them to the opened doors, and encourages them to get on, and their next destination is at last the Haven for them all.

Teresa grabs a hold of Teran’s hand, looks down, smiling, and says, “Let’s go.”