"Carrie had an ability, but she was a person, not a monster. She had hopes and fears, and we pushed her. You can only push a person so far before they break."
A dark veil fell over Chamberlain, Maine, after tragedy struck the quiet town at the hands...
Carrie awoke as strands of her hair clung to her brow, sensing a strange tension. She glanced at Orchid, Maya, and Pemba, who were asleep before she slithered from her sleeping bag and crept out of the quarters. Carrie checked the other room; Jago was in a deep sleep, but TJ was missing. She stepped outside, where she spotted the ex-boxer sitting on the collapsed arch, gazing at the stars. Carrie climbed to the top in silence.
TJ noted her presence and jerked back before he placed his hand on his chest. "Oh, you scared me."
"I'm sorry, sir. Couldn't sleep."
"Same here. I have never seen the sky so brilliant at night. My mom tells me that God is showing His kingdom to the world. Yeah, I had gone to church before but stopped when I began my boxing career. I need to go back someday."
"Do you believe in God?"
"After everything that happened in my life, nothing surprises me." TJ stared at his scarred arms. "After Ultratech ended my career, I was unsure what path to take until I joined Orchid. Before then, I had a decent job...as a janitor."
Carrie fell silent until she laughed, which was the first time in her life. "I'm...I'm sorry, sir, I can't help but picture you as a custodian."
"Glad I made you laugh. Also, when a person calls me, sir, I half-expect my father to creep behind me. TJ will do. Care, I will be 100% real. When I heard of Black Prom, I'm used to many things, from robots controlling a company to crazy skeletal people, but that Prom incident scared me. When Jago brought you to O's hideout and introduced you to us, my mind told me to run and hide. I'm still fearful of you, but I won't judge you. Orchid's reasoning on wanting to help you rubbed off on me."
"Orchid wanted to help me?"
"Yeah. O had newspaper clippings of the incident on the windows at her old hideout before removing them for the move. If Orchid planned to hand you to the authorities, she could've done it when we stayed in Ukraine. She'd never do it anyway with the government onto her for a crime she 'committed.' Thunder and Aganos better come back from their mission. I don't like the low numbers."
Carrie centered her attention to the starry sky until a vision flashed before her eyes, showing the City of Dawn overrun by cyborgs and Stalker units until it stopped. She shook her head, trying to repel the image.
"You all right?" TJ asked.
"I'm fine. It must be a headache. I should go to sleep," Carrie said.
"I'll stay out here for another hour. You have a good night."
"You too." Carrie headed to her quarters, disturbed by the vision she had.
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The Milky Way's dazzling display remained in the sky until the sun peeked behind the trees. Carrie returned to the arch, viewing the sun blessing the citadel. She rubbed her tired eyes to ease the heaviness, tuning to the sounds of the rainforest.
