Exciti

Chapter 28 (Adam)

Adam followed Liam and Dr. Little through Mercury's pantry the next day. Liam looked grim, but Adam was relieved that the evaluation day came so soon. He couldn't bear the anxiety any longer. He wondered vaguely if it was going to hurt as they walked into the Key Maker's entrance.

His eyes were still getting used to the dim light in the cave after the bright light at Mercury's back room when a small mass flew at him, almost taking him down in a tackling hug.

"My friend!" shrieked a little voice.

"Hi, Berta, are you searching bags today?"

She looked up at him with her intense blue eyes and smiled. Her smile eased the knot in his stomach just a bit, "No, Berta is off today." She stepped away and put her hands at on her hips, looking proud, "Berta can say Assistant now!"

Dr. Little said something to the Key Maker, then gestured to the boys to follow him as he walked through the exit. Adam gave Berta a hug and a brownie from Mercury, promising to say goodbye to her before he left. He then ran after Liam and the doctor, tossing a hello to the Key Maker on his way out.

When they got on one of the TerraFerries, Dr. little talked to the cone, "The Egyptian Temple Bubble, please."

As the TerraFerry zipped around, Adam couldn't stand the silence, "Berta seems a bit taller than two days ago. Do Exciti grow up faster than humans?"

Dr. Little sat down on the floor and leaned against the rails, "It depends on the particular Excitus. Each will grow at their own rate. Lucy, for example, grows at the normal human rate. Berta seems to be on the fast side, though it may slow down eventually."

Liam signed, "Would Lucy grow old at a human rate, too?"

Dr. Little smiled, "She hopes to."

Liam frowned, "Why?"

"I think that's something for her to tell."

Adam waited for a few seconds before he started talking again, "How is the search for Tam going?"

Dr. little put his back against the rails again, "Too slow, but we are making progress. We are sure that the Excitus that wiped everyone's memory was a book Excitus, and from your description of the way she talked, we are narrowing our search to English books on memory that spent time in France, or vice versa. The Society has a long list of those."

"How long?"

He grimaced, "Dozens long."

Adam hesitated long enough for Dr. Little to start talking, "About the evaluation..."

"Mom seems to notice something." Adam finally announced.

Liam and Dr. little straightened up, "She remembers?" The doctor asked.

Adam shrugged, recalling her heart-wrenching sobs. "Not really, but she feels something is missing. It is making her sad."

The doctor nodded, "Wiping the memory of a child, and an eldest at that, from a mother's mind is bound to leave a gap."

Adam studied his shoes, "Is there a way to make her feel better?"

Dr. Little shook his head, "Not without restoring the memories, or at least finding out how they got wiped. I'm sorry, Adam."

Liam put his hand on Adam's shoulder, yet Adam felt like he might as well be suspended in space, all alone.

The TerraFerry slowed down its pace, and Dr. Little quickly stood up. "Here we go!"

Adam expected a great, big space inside the bubble, like the ones he had seen so far. He found himself, instead, in a small waiting room that reminded him of a clinic.

The crystal dock formed three of the four walls of the space. The fourth wall was dark blue, studded with small lights like a night sky. A woman's head, shoulder, and very long arms popped through the wall, her dark blue skin covered with the same sparkling lights.

"Children, meet Nut, a temple painting Excitus. She represents the Egyptian sky goddess." The doctor introduced the Excitus, then greeted her, "Hello, Nut. Those are Adam and Liam. I believe they have an appointment with Ion?"

She didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were looking down, fixated on her task of throwing papers into two piles on both of her sides. She murmured. "Ok, maybe he needs an evaluation." She chose amongst the many stamps ahead of her, stamped the paper then tossed it onto the smaller pile to her right. "Is she kidding, an incomplete application??! No evaluation for you!" She used a different stamp and tossed that one onto a careening pile on the left, then picked another form. "Oh, come on! He was evaluated to a negative result before! Sneezing when an Excitus is nearby? Really?" she sighed as she used a third stamp and tossed the paper to her left.

Dr. Little cleared his throat, then tapped on the table. Nut finally looked up, looking startled for a second before she smiled professionally, or so Adam thought. It was hard to look straight at her because her teeth sparkled like LED lights. "Hello, Daniel. Do you have an appointment?"

"Hello, Nut. You do remember our talk about the two evaluations of Liam Lopez and Adam Dunton this morning, right?"

"Ah! Yes. You will have to excuse me; we are swamped nowadays. The number of applications has at least doubled this year!" She opened a drawer and took a clipboard out, "We will start with Mr. Lopez. Only one adult may accompany him inside. Mr. Dunton, please be seated." She disappeared into the wall with a final, "Follow me."

A small gap formed in the wall. Dr. Little gave the boys an uneasy smile before he hunched and walked through. Liam exchanged an uncomfortable look with Adam.

Adam signed, "Good luck," and watched as the gap closed after Liam with a slight stir in the air, like a night breeze.