The Generators

2. Taya

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Update 4/26, 6/15, 12/25, 1/4, 1/18

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"Luce, open up!" I shouted, banging on the lab door. What had she done? I'd bet money that she was the reason Baylor found Campion so quickly when just a month ago he didn't have any leads. Oh Luce, what is your angle. "Luce!"

I could hear the sound of her fifteen deadbolts unlocking themselves. The door swung open, and I walked in, the air smelled of churros and cup-o-noodles, two foods that would forever remind me of her. Luce's lab was covered in computer screens filled with code that I couldn't begin to understand. She had her collection of fuzzy dice hanging from the doorframe, and her potted plants scattered all over the place.

I wandered through her maze of a lab, tripping over half sprouted perennials and heat lamps. Her favorite show, Wizzie and the West End, were playing on television somewhere. Pictures of her and Jack were scattered all over the place, like a romantic explosion. Luce grew crystals in glass beakers, and her pet ferret, Cow, scampered across the floor. A stranger would never guess that she had three PhDs, or that she was the smartest person I know.

"Luce!" I shouted. A crash rocked the lab, and Cow let out something of a scream as he scampered away. It was Luce, of course, it was.

I zig-zagged my way through the lab until I came to a manhole cover, decorated with puffy paint and sparkles. DO NOT ENTER was scrawled in bright red paint across the top. I knocked loudly and pried it open. "Luce, get up here. Now."

"Alright, geez." I heard her say from somewhere deep within her network of tunnels. A few moments later, she appeared, covered in soil, dressed in her oversized yellow rubber overalls. She had a miner's helmet on her head, and the light was turned on so bright it nearly blinded me. Her heavy black rubber boots were covered in mud.

"My word, Luce!" I exclaimed as she clipped her helmet, and her dark hair sprung back up into her ever-present afro puffs. She wiped her sweaty brow, exposing her dark skin to the light of day.

She smiled, "Taya, great to see ya." She walked past me and put her helmet down and moseyed into the depths of the lab once again.

"What on earth, Luce?" I said, ducking and dodging through her equipment as I followed as close behind as I dared. I was worried about her, not because she looked insane, but because she didn't. Luce seemed to be fine, fully functional, excelling even.

"I'm hungry, I was just about to make some noodles. Want some?" Luce asked, turning and blasting me with that hundred-watt smile. Something wasn't right here; something wasn't right at all.

"Luce, stop." I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked straight into her big brown eyes, which looked buggish under her glasses that practically swallowed up her face. "Are you on your meds?"

She looked suspiciously at me. "Yeah, why?" She wriggled out of my grasp and kept moving.

"Because nobody has seen or heard from you in ages. Jack's really worried." I called, stepping carefully around her projects as quickly as I could.

Luce waved her hand dismissively at me, "Jack's just being Jack."

"So, what have you been doing down here for the last week, then?"

"Have you seen Cow?" she asked absentmindedly, she put her fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle. When nothing seemed to happen, she shrugged and continued to weave her way through the chaos.