Salvage

Ten - Part 1

November 17th, 2015

Just about to land back in Washington. News from Corporate is deeply upsetting. We believed as the Project was privately funded, it would be confined to one facility. Now they are seeing similar patterns, traces of disappearances in the Mississippi foster system. Of course, location means nothing. The children taken from Washington were held in Alaska. If this is connected, they could still end up anywhere.

If this is true, if there are still operatives at large, Group W is in danger. If whoever is funding the Project find out some of the subjects are still alive, they won't stop until they find them. They represent millions of dollars of research.

My plan is to hold a meeting with group W. I will have to withdraw them back to the house in the county for the time being, and increase security. Corporate has granted me extra funding for outfitting the grounds with plenty of surveillance and additional security measures. I will not imprison them, but I will insist on escorts, and recommend all contact with general populace shut down.

Aurora was excited to go home. It was Monday afternoon, getting towards evening, and she had finished what felt like an adequate amount of studying. She hadn't spotted Adam, or any of her new roommates since she'd left on Saturday. Instead she'd been busy, dipping into some precious savings to rent a small storage unit. She'd loaded her car up with the microwave, overstuffed arm chair, a few small tables and boxes of dishes, and gotten her apartment almost all the way emptied out. That morning, she'd gotten up early, finished cleaning up the bare apartment, and tied her mattress to the top of her car. With a last glance, she'd left behind the old ratty apartment with no regrets, glad she'd never have to see Michael the creeper again.

Now, with the warm light glowing from the welcoming windows of her new home in the gathering dusk, she couldn't wait to go inside. She still had a lot to do, address forwarding to arrange, savings to build up, new apartments to hunt for. But for tonight she'd be safe, and that was priceless.

With a deep breath, she picked up the last box full of sundry things she thought she might need from her apartment. Leaving her car parked on the opposite side of the street, she made her way up the front walkway. It was surprisingly warm for November, the sidewalk still giving off warmth absorbed from the sunshine that day. It made her reluctant to go inside, so she paused on the front porch, inhaling a deep breath of the fresh air. Then she approached the front door. She'd have to remember to ask Adam for a key. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked, so she rapped on the door briskly.

There was a short pause, then the door swung open to reveal Adam's unsmiling face. "Aurora."

Aurora paused, thrown off. "Uh. Hello..."

"How are you?" His voice was stiff, oddly formal.

"I'm fine, just tired," she replied, shifting uneasily. "Can I come in?"

His chest expanded in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but... No."

Aurora laughed. "Right. Nice try..." Her voice trailed off as Adam remained solemn, eyes ice cold. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." His jaw was tight, ever feature locked motionless. He leaned down, reaching for something inside the doorway, and produced her suitcase, gently placing it outside the door. "I'm sorry. Some... things have come up, and you can't stay with us."

Aurora just stared at him, drawing in deep breaths. Quick inhales that fluttered through her nostrils too quickly. "I don't understand."

"I know I offered to help you. But it looks like that will be impossible now." He hesitated, face still drawn, controlled, pale. "I know it's my fault you haven't been looking for a place to live. So here is some money to cover a hotel for a while."

Aurora stared at the small white envelope he held out to her. Her every atom was screaming at her to rip it in half and stomp off the porch. 

But she had to take it. She had to. Besides, he owed her, right? If he was going to back out at the last second and screw her over like this, it was the least he could do.

Before she could give herself more time to think, she snatched the envelope from his hand, resisting the urge to spit. Remember, you liked him. You thought he was great. He might still be. People go through shit. You don't know what's going on here.

No. She could be angry. She deserved to be angry. Whatever shit he'd gone through in his past, right now he was being a spoiled rich boy, toying with other people's lives as it suited his whims. Betrayal, anger, frustration, grief, but over it all, confusion, flooded her body, and she felt her brain on the verge of a shutdown.

"All m-my things?" she finally forced out stiffly. Her stammer was back. No surprise there.

"In your bag. I promise. If you're missing anything, just tell me in class. And I hope... I hope..." His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. "I hope you'll still want to be friends."

Aurora pressed her lips together tightly, drawing in a few deep, noisy breaths through her nose. She stooped, juggling the box under one arm, and picking up the handle of the suitcase. Adam reached forward to help, but she violently yanked her belongings from his fingers before he could touch them. 

"G-goodbye."

"Aurora, wait -"

She had already turned, was storming blindly down the sidewalk towards her car. He was talking, but she couldn't hear anymore, wasn't listening, the blood rushing and churning through her ears. How had this happened? What the heck was she supposed to do now?

Tears rushed to blur her eyes, but she pushed through, determined, loading her box and suitcase into the car. She needed to take a moment, take stock, but she didn't want to sit here in front of the house. Where he could look out and see her losing it. Fumbling for the shifter, she pushed into first and pulled away, driving a few blocks until she was out of the immediate neighborhood.

Then she pulled over to the side of the road and pulled out the envelope. Might as well see what she had to work with. The empty, aching abyss of homelessness that loomed uncomfortably close at hand. She quickly thumbed through the bills, counting... Two thousand.

He was just casually giving her two grand? He'd just met her not so very long ago. It had taken her years of starving and scrounging to save half that. For a very brief moment, it flitted through her mind to refuse it. Survival and justification quickly kicked in. They were rich. He'd led her on. Kicked her out into the cold. Betrayed her. He could afford it. She deserved it.

"Two thousand," she breathed. Her mind rapidly stroked over the figure, dividing it in a hundred different ways. She could afford first and last month's rent on a new apartment, now. That was one big worry gone. She could even afford to stay in a hotel for a few nights. The money bought her time.

She still didn't know what the hell was going on. She was pissed as hell. But this gesture... Adam had made sure she was totally taken care of, even as he pushed her away. She was all jumbled up inside. Her fingers found her phone before she'd even formed the conscious thought.

"Ros. It's me."

The warm, laughing voice on the other end answered. "Oh hey, boo. What's up?"

"Something... weird," Aurora said softly. "I need a place to stay tonight."

"What? Did something go wrong with Adam? Or one of the other roommates? What's up? Come over."

Aurora blinked back a little rush of tears at the concern in her tone. "I'll explain what happened. I was thinking of just going to a Sunset Hotel or something for tonight, could you meet me at the one downtown?"

"Yeah, are you going there now?"

"Yep, going to check in and try to regroup. Things are crazy. I'm not staying with Adam after all." Aurora was trying to hold it all together, but the more she spoke, the harder it was getting. "Want to meet me there in like an hour?"

"Should I bring vodka?"

Aurora paused, considering it. Tomorrow was a school day. It was a bad idea. But this was a special situation... And she needed a freaking drink. "Yes."