Skye City: The Darkness of Emmilyn

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'We still haven't heard from Arturo. I swear I could kill him sometimes,' I say after a couple of hours back home. I mean our mother's apartment. I mean home.

'Like I said, Arturo will come around when he's ready. We don't know what he's been through recently. He's still adjusting,' Mother says as we sit around the dining table with our shopping bags still at our feet.

'But anything could be happening out there. He's in a strange city with nowhere to go,' I say.

'He's in the safest city in Anatolia. There's no military presence, no San Terian Guard. There's no need for that because crime is at zero and problems never arise... Look Arturo and his friend are probably exploring the domes, taking things easy,' Mother says.

'I'm gonna check Sonet again, send him another message,' I say.

'At least give him until morning. Too much pressure too quickly could scare him off,' Mother says.

'But he can't even be bothered to spend time with his little brother. I'm gonna have words when I see him,' I say and our mother gives me a disapproving frown then forces a smile.

'Let's just keep the emphasis on positivity.' Our mother sits straight, placing her palms on the silver tabletop and I grudgingly back down, but then I realise she is right and I refuse to waste energy feeling agitated. 'Who's had a good time today?'

'I've had great adventure,' Otess says with forced enthusiasm as though trying to keep me distracted. 'I'll be able to tell my people of city under the waves, of great battle with flying monsters, of strange pink food and I'll be able to show them my amazing clothes!'

'It's not fair, I wanted to go on the rollercoaster and fight the monsters too!' Kyan pouts and Otess nods sympathetically. 'Why do I never get to do cool things?'

'When you get a little bigger...' our mother whispers, but Kyan folds his arms. Those words clearly offer no consolation, but I certainly have my own consolations on a day of incredibly mixed emotions.

'I can't believe I got to go shopping today. Look at how amazing me and Dynah look!' I spread my arms to emphasise my new outfit, grinning, and Otess and Mother pause, frowning. 'I mean look at how amazing we all look!'

'You all look nice,' Dynah murmurs, looking stunning but sounding dejected. I should probably adopt a more considerate tone, but I am unsure where my head is at, right now. 'It's noisy down here but quiet too. I hear fewer voices.'

The group exchange glances, uncertain how to respond to the crazy talk. 'That's er great, Dynah. I'm glad there are fewer voices here to disturb you.' I rub her shoulder, saying, 'Come on,' and we leave the dining table with our shopping bags.

We hang our new clothes inside a wardrobe in the windowless bedroom we are sharing which is huge and contains five bunk beds, seeming more like the sleeping quarters in a rebel hideout, but for now we are the only occupants. Otess has been given his own bedroom.

Although Dynah has put on a brave face today and made an effort to participate, the struggle is visible in her facial expressions and body language. Losing a member of a huge, artificially-created family of superhumans she was still getting to know must be hard to process.

'How are you doing?' I say as Dynah turns to leave the bedroom, hesitating.

'Not too good. Rupert was one of my favourites. Out of all the members of the Enclave, he made me feel the most welcome. He was younger than me, less experienced... I... I should have kept him safe,' Dynah says.

'Hey, this wasn't your fault. You fought courageously, so did Rupert,' I say and Dynah faces the silver carpet. 'I wish there was something I could do...'