Bubble

Chapter 5: "News"

Emma

I sat on the window seat in our apartment practically the whole day. I read and listened to the sound of the rain outside. It was pouring, so it was almost loud enough to drown out the sound of Austin playing video games (it wasn’t the actual television that was making the noise, it was his “enthusiasm for the game”). I had spent my whole life learning to ignore him though, so it was pretty peaceful. More peaceful than school, anyways; one of the reasons I loved the rain.

It was a bummer I would never get to touch it though; feel the drops on my skin or splash around in a puddle. I set my tablet down and looked at the window beside me. Streaks of water ran down the pane, washing away the grime and dust left by the air. I traced my fingers along the falling drops, watching them race to the bottom. It seemed so clean and refreshing, but if I squinted my eyes I could make out a slight yellow tint to the liquid. That colour variation was the difference between dancing in the rain and having holes burned in your skin.

I sighed and returned to my book, but I just couldn't focus on the words. I was bored out of my mind cooped up inside, and the racket Austin was making was starting to get on my nerves. Just to add to things, the doorbell started buzzing. Just what we needed: another body occupying our already suffocatingly small apartment.

I groaned and hopped up to answer the door, rolling my eyes at Austin on the way. He probably hadn't even heard the ringing he was so deep in game mode. It was most likely one of his annoying buddies coming to join him, anyways. "Oh, it's okay, Your Majesty. No reason to get up, I've got it."

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, his eyes not once leaving the screen.

I pressed the button to release the airlock and opened the door, which weighed about as much as an elephant.

"Isn't it supposed to be quarantine today?" I said as I finished prying the door open, but then I looked up, and my mouth dropped into an O. A man and a woman stood in the doorway, both dressed in dark grey suits. They had name badges identifying them that were identical to the one Dr. Ross had worn the previous day; they also wore the same serious, stark expression she had.

"Uh... Erm, hello," I stuttered, my heart beginning to beat faster.

"Is this the Scott residence?" the woman asked. Her white-blonde hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and her steely eyes roamed the room behind me.

"Yes," I answered cautiously, dragging out the word. Had something gone wrong with our interview? Was our family in trouble?

The woman extended her hand to me, and I tentatively placed mine in it before shaking it. "I'm Agent Crusoe," she told me, then gestured to the man next to her, "this is my partner, Agent Riddick. We need to have a word with your parents, are they around?"

"Yes, my mother is." The quarantine didn't apply to her work, but today was one of the rare days that she had off. "Come in." I stepped aside and held the door open while they entered the room. When I turned back around from reengaging the airlock, Austin was rushing to power down his game. He gave me a look over his shoulder.

"What's going on?" he mouthed.

I shrugged, walking over to our visitors.

"Here, have a seat," I said, waving towards the stools against the kitchen counter. "Would you like some water?"

"No, thank you."

"Alright. I'll go fetch my mum then."

They simply nodded, and I scurried off towards my parents room. I found mum in the bathroom, putting on her makeup. Every shiny surface was fogged up, indicating she had just finished with a shower.

"Mum!" I whisper-yelled.

She turned away from the mirror to look at me. "Hmm?"

"The people from Evaluation are here! They said they needed to speak to you."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Like here? In the apartment?"

I nodded, and an expression of worry spread across her face.

"What could they possibly want?" she mumbled as she hurried out of the bathroom. I trailed behind her.

As mum went over to speak with Crusoe and Riddick, I headed towards my room, waving Austin over. He didn't object, and followed me in to let them speak privately. As soon as the door was closed, I let him have it.

"Alright. What the hell did you say to them yesterday!?"

"Once again, why do you always assume I did something?" He put his hands up as if to say he was innocent.

"Because you always do!"

"They barely asked any questions, just stupid stuff about school and mum and dad! How do I know you didn't say something?"

I stopped for a moment to think about yesterday. Dr. Ross had questioned me about the same subject matter, but it had been quite intense. "I raised my voice a little bit," I admitted. "But she was making me pissed!" I crossed my arms in defense.

Austin's eyes widened, and his hands flew to his mouth before he gasped dramatically. "Is little miss perfect finally getting in trouble?! With the government, no less?!"

I slapped his arm. "Shut up, you idiot. You really think they would come and arrest me for that? If that was the case, they would have come for you when you were six and dyed your class hamster with hot pink glow paint!"

Austin pointed a finger at me. "Hey! You promised never to bring that up again!"

"Really? You want to argue about that right now?"

He huffed a sigh. "Whatever. But if we didn't piss them off or anything, then why are they here?"

I furrowed my brows and looked up at him. "What is up with you today? You're asking questions that are actually making me think!"

He grinned. "I can't help it that I'm the only one with brains in the family."

I glared at him. "Seriously?"

He opened his mouth to debate me, but the door opened and we both looked over to find mum standing there. She was clutching something in her hands; it looked like a spiral-bound stack of paper. Her eyes were glassy, and for a moment my stomach dropped. She gave us a watery smile, and my confusion skyrocketed.

"Mum? Are you alright? What happened--what did they say?" I inched towards her.

"They weren't from Evaluation," she said, shaking her head. "They were from the Eos Corporation."

I drew in a sharp breath. Mum lifted her blank gaze from the floor to meet my eyes.

"We're going, Emma. We're going to Eos." She reached out and handed me the booklet in her hands. There were two lines printed in simple font on the front cover.

Welcome to Eos.

Welcome Home.