The Collaboration Files

Jenevieve, Lizzy, and I

Remember who you are. Stay alive.

Remember.

My eyes fluttered open.

I could tell in an instant that all was not well. Was I dead? I tried as hard as I could to remember if I was-

Oh, Shiz, not dead. Too much pain to be dead. So then why was the world turning in a blurry kaleidoscope fashion? Blue sparks trailed in front of my eyes, like miniature comets. Too much light filled my retinas. I was reminded of the white room where I first met Artemis.

Artemis. Was he alive? Why did they cut my hair to look like him? Where was the storyline going there? I tried to sigh, but just felt my lungs deflate. Crushed, I wager. Probably a bazillion broken bones as well.

Son of a business man! How the heck can a person have this much pain? I thought you were supposed to be blind with white hot searing pain by now! This numbness is worse!

Suddenly, the pain abated.

And so did the sparks.

"What?" I murmured.

"Syd! You're alive!" A voice broke through my hazy thoughts of blue sparks and broken bones.

"Kali?" I managed to moan. "Is that you?"

"Yes!"

"You dropped a fricken ton of bricks on me."

“Are you alive?”

Lizzie’s voice.

“Yeah. Don’t feel so good though. What’s the damage?”

“I couldn’t tell you anymore. There’s no wounds.”

“Externally, but internally I’m burning.”

“Can you sit up?” She asks me.

I can. And I can see without a kaleidoscope clouding my vision.

I yawn and look around. Holly is kneeling on the floor beside me, looking drained of all energy.

“What happened?” I looked at Kali.

Liz answered. “Kali killed Den, you almost died, and Abigale Rush is still on the loose.”

Abigale Rush? I almost died!? Kali killed Den? Kudos to her! Then it hit me.

“Artemis! Is he still alive?”

“Yup,” Kali answered this one. “Before I followed that one guy (Den, I think his name was) , realized he was danger, and dropped bricks on him, I heard him mention something about a person named Lucas Mortes.

“Do you remember his exact words?” Liz asked, seeming strangely excited about this ‘Lucas Mortes’ guy.

“No, but I do remember him saying something about a sea monster and a mind control device were directly linked to Lucas,” Kali answered.

“What?” I asked. Liz gave me an ‘I’ll explain later when she isn’t here’ look. I nodded and looked back at our confused friend.

“Something happened while you two were gone, didn’t it.” Kali said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Liz laughed and nodded.

“Something like that.”

“Well, can you tell me?”

There was an intense silence. Neither Liz nor I would want to tell her all our adventures with Artemis and Butler and Holly. We didn’t want to tell her she’d missed out on all the cool stuff we had got to do. She would be disappointed and unhappy, and we didn’t want to cause her any more pain than we had.