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"I should go in there, right?" Star was laying across the carpet in the foyer of HALT. Her wrist was above her face, video-chatting with Gerald who was at Carolina's bedside.
He rolled his eyes, "It's been fifteen minutes."
"Okay — "
"He's not gonna beat your time," he assured her.
"That's not what I'm worried about," she retorted, eyeing as a player walked through the entrance, picking the right door. "This is his seven time going in — he's already ran out of HALT points twice — "
"He'll make it," he said. Taking a spoonful of oatmeal, looking over out of Star's reach.
"What is it?"
"Leo's twitching again," he told her, going back to his food. "He was super pissed after talking to her."
She scowled, "Who wouldn't be? I'm surprised he went back in."
"To each his own, I guess, " Gerald shrugged, reaching over to Carolina. "My god, she's freezing."
A notification popped up across Gerald's face, reading:
INCOMING CALL FROM SENATOR ORION.
"I gotta go," Star said. "It's Tessa."
He nodded, "Mmkay, don't go after him!"
"Yeah, yeah," she ended his call. Teresa appeared, in the real world, sitting in front of a window. Star had almost forgotten what daylight looked like. "Hey."
"Where are you?"
"HALT," she answered without question, taking a pause as two more players walked in, each taking separate doors. "Nice to see you too."
"Um, you might wanna go in," Teresa sounded cautious, standing up and walking into another room.
Star furrowed her brows, "If Gabriel comes out and I'm not here, he won't know — "
"Leave him a note, trust me, you'll wanna go in," she was getting her tablet ready. "I know where Valeria is."
Star swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, sitting up on the floor. "I ... "
"She went through that portal with Gabriel but because he's a Jumper, he wasn't affected by the time difference Gerald set up for Roma. She's been gone a whole day, RL. I have to bring her to HALT, she has to complete it as quickly as possible. You being in there with her — "
"Okay, yeah, alright," Star stammered. "How fast will you be here?"
"Go in as soon as I hang up," she instructed, looking at her intently. They both nodded, sharing the same thought as Teresa ended the call and her face disappeared into thin air. Star slowly exhaled as she stood up from the ground, facing the two doors.
