Amber & Ice

Chapter 15: There was really only one person Dyo wanted to see

Dyo was pleased that his trainers didn’t slip on the frost beneath his feet; he didn’t know what he would do if he had to stop his Saturday morning run. Sometimes he thought that it was the only thing keeping him sane; the only way he could process the world around him. He loved the rhythm, the regularity, of keeping a steady pace; the tunnel vision of the path in front of him, which blocked the rest of the park from view. He even liked the feel of the frozen air hitting his cheeks and the burn in his muscles. Every time he exhaled, a mist of water vapour escaped from his mouth, making him feel like an old fashioned factory or furnace. A relic of a world before this one, before un-renewable energy sources were banned in an unanimous World Vote and cars came to a permanent stop.

Running was one of the only pursuits which made him appreciate his feed-glasses. As much as he used his run as a chance to think, he liked the speedometer blinking at him in the bottom left corner and the tiny heart rate monitor in the top right. The world around him took on a green, orange or red gaze, depending on whether he was working effectively or not, and music vibrated directly into his head via the frames. All of that information without having to take his eyes off of the path.

As he turned a corner, he switched songs and increased his pace; he was nearly finished. But he had only gone a few more metres when his glasses bleeped at him, letting him know that he had a new message. Dyo sighed, instantly lamenting his former praise of the glasses, which didn’t allow him to become un-contactable while he was wearing them. The message was from Briseis and was marked urgent, so he turned the run program off and sat down on a nearby bench to read it.

Target schedule located. Your best chance is this evening. I have already booked you a table. All you need to do is show up. Do not mess this up, Dyo. Love Bree.

Dyo shook his head. He knew that he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes this time. It wouldn’t look good after last week’s failure and the last thing he wanted was to find himself cut out of important group decisions. No, this task would have to be flawless. It was too important to get wrong.

He was going to need a cover though; he would attract too much attention if he was sat there alone. Ariadne was ill and refusing to leave her bed (she claimed that she was dying of pneumonia, but Orion had told him that she only had the lightest of colds). Unfortunately, this meant his go to girl was out of action. He didn’t want to ask Briseis for a hand and have her scrutinise his every move. Besides, there was really only one person Dyo wanted to see and this might be the perfect excuse to do so.Sighing, Dyo got back to his feet and restarted the run program. He only had a couple of hours to get everything ready, so the remainder of his run was going to have to be spent getting home.

***

Athena was sat cross-legged on her sofa, a World Vote text book open on her lap. She was using her glasses to capture important notes for an essay she had due in a few weeks later. It was dull work though; Athena wasn’t like Cress and saw little to get excited about in the complex procedures which made up the World Vote system. They sounded like a logistical nightmare and weren’t something Athena wanted to find herself a part of. Not that she had given all too much thought to quite what she was planning to specialise in, but World Votes definitely weren’t it. It was an extremely competitive industry anyway.

She was relieved when there was a knock at the door and called out to Cress to let her know that she would get it and threw the textbook down happily on the sofa. The smile faded from Athena’s face, however, when she opened the door to find Dyo on the other side, leaning in her doorway.

There, was a pause, during which neither of them said anything, before Athena asked: “How do you know where I live?”

Dyo blinked. “Is that how you normally answer the door? I tend to go with ‘hello’ or, ‘how are you’ rather than an interrogation, but each to their own, I suppose.” He smiled, but Athena wasn’t letting herself get distracted.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“No. I didn’t.” He was grinning now, clearly enjoying himself.

Athena could only sigh. “What do you want, Dyo?”

“You, actually.” There was a beat. His face slipped as he realised that his words had come out wrong. “Well, to take you out to dinner, more specifically. I want to apologise. I have been unfair and, as Ariadne keeps pointing out to me in copious messages, I have given you a bad impression of the group. I want to make it up to you, over dinner. It will give me a chance to explain.”

Athena was too shocked to reply. Dyo straightened up, looking uncomfortable for the first time. “Come on,” he coaxed. “My treat. It will be worth it, I promise.” He smiled at her again and, despite the little voice at the back of her head telling her that it was a really bad idea, Athena found herself nodding.

“Okay. Dinner.” It would give her a chance to try and find out a bit more about what was going on; she was still curious as to what he had been getting up to in the voting building. “When?”

“Well, now, of course. You’re not busy, are you?”

Athena thought back to the textbook on the sofa. “No, not busy at all. Let me just grab a coat.” She shut the door abruptly and lent against it, her heart hammering. What was she doing? But there was a broad smile on her face and she rushed through to her room to grab her coat - not her white and pink ski jacket, but a light grey duffel coat - and some shoes. When she re-emerged into the living area a few seconds later, Cress was stood in her doorway.

“Who was at the door?”

“No one,” Athena replied, too quickly. Cress raised an eyebrow. “I mean, obviously it was someone, just not anyone important. I’m going out, to grab a bite to eat. I won’t be back late.” She was babbling inanely, causing Cress to frown.

“Are you going to miss the meeting tonight then?” her friend asked, sounding like one of their lecturers.

Athena’s face fell. She had forgotten all about the camp meeting that evening; it hasn’t crossed her mind once. “I’m not sure,” she hedged. She couldn’t imagine she would be out with Dyo for very long, not unless things went really well. “I’ll keep you up to date - I’ll probably just be a little bit late.” She smiled and headed to the door, which she then attempted to open and shuffle out of while offering Cress as small a glimpse of Dyo as possible. Although the look Cress gave her as she waved goodbye let her know that she had been entirely unsuccessful.