[REND] B2. 18.2 - Trees and Revelations

Amber Deen Leska

Is the BID following us? Amber Deen could think of only one reason why Gabe gave so many instructions. If they were in the clear, Gabe would be quiet.

But how could the BID know where they were? They had left the compound before the helicopters landed, and Blanchette ran faster than a galloping horse. Deen estimated that they were now more than half a mile from the PCM compound.

Deen clenched her hands, feeling Blanchette’s thick fur. They BID would have equipment to track an Adumbrae’s otherworldly energies or the like. She remembered hearing on TV that the Adumbrae bend realities whenever they used their powers. Blanchette must be oozing unseen miasma, something that Deen couldn’t detect but certain scanners could.

Was it dangerous to be this close to Blanchette for an extended period? For a moment, Deen considered getting off of Blanchette. Was there an increased risk of seeding? And wouldn’t she be safer from the BID if she weren’t with Blanchette?

Don’t you dare abandon Blanchette, Deen scolded herself.

This was the opportunity to repay Blanchette’s help. She wasn’t going to waste it.

“Blanchette, Blanchette,” Deen said, squeezing the hairy back with her legs to get her attention. “You might need to return to your human form. The BID is following us somehow. My power can tell.”

Blanchette slightly slowed her pace, but didn’t do anything else. She did hear her, right? Was Blanchette concerned about revealing her identity? Why worry? Deen wouldn’t recognize her anyway.  

[Tell Blanchette: Destroy them.]

“You need to destroy whatever’s following us.” Deen hoped this meant that people weren’t following them, or Gabe would’ve said to kill them. It could be drones; she knew that the BID had many different kinds. “This is the way to escape according to my power.”

[Hold on tight.]

Blanchette stretched out her arms and grabbed a wide tree trunk, hanging onto it to abruptly stop. Thanks to Gabe’s warning, Deen wasn’t thrown off. She wildly swung around like a crazed pendulum while grabbing onto fur. Blanchette reached behind her and gently pulled off Deen.

“Are you leaving me here?” Deen asked as Blanchette set her on the forest floor. All she could see of Blanchette was her two glowing golden eyes surrounded by a large hairy shadow.

The only other bright light was Gabe, gently rearranging its small wings as it floated over her right shoulder. Gabe’s light didn’t illuminate their surroundings. It was as if Gabe wasn’t actually there.

“Rhgaoor… groaa…” Blanchette leaned down.

Deen frowned as the warm exhale of Blanchette hit her face. But this wasn’t the time to be disgusted. “Let me go with you! My power—”

Deen’s already dim view darkened more. A heavy weight lay on her head for a second. And two more times. Blanchette was patting her. Then, before Deen could continue speaking, a gust of wind brushed against her, followed by the sound of rustling leaves. Everything became slightly less dark.

Blanchette was gone.

“Wha-what do I do?” Deen asked the towering trees. Mere seconds passed, but she could no longer hear Blanchette.

Should she follow her? Deen should be present when fighting the BID; she shouldn’t have allowed herself to be left behind. Blanchette probably didn’t want any distractions, but she didn’t know how Deen’s power worked.

I’m relying on Blanchette again… Deen didn’t like this feeling of her hero diving into danger while she stayed safe. She took a couple of steps forward in the direction that Blanchette had gone. Perhaps, if she ran straight, she might hear the sounds of battle. She’d help—

[Stay.]

“Okay, I’ll follow you, Gabe,” Deen said, sighing. A side of her was relieved that Gabe spoke up. “Sorry for not listening to you earlier.”

If they had left the PCM compound minutes before the BID arrived, they wouldn’t be chased now. Deen incorrectly assumed that Gabe warned them about a PCM trap. They already expected a trap, so Deen ignored Gabe until the warnings became so loud that they gave her headaches. She realized then that the danger wasn’t within the compound. If only she had a Booster; Gabe’s evolved form could give her a literal view of the future. Several futures.

“But we saved Myra, so it’s all settled in the end, right?” Deen asked Gabe. “We have Myra… And have escaped. We’re going to escape.”

As always, there was no response. Deen clicked her tongue, annoyed at herself.

Why couldn’t she do anything right? She always needed to be saved. The only good thing that she did today was stop herself from calling Erind for help. Yes, she should keep her best friend safe. Erind must be wondering why Deen hadn’t messaged her at all for hours.

Or maybe… Erind was busy with her visitor.

Deen laughed at herself for being jealous. She was already twenty-three but still had immature thoughts. Very childish. Erind was allowed to have other friends and do things without her. The problem was that Erind was Deen’s only best friend, while Erind probably had other best friends—they were closer to Erind than Deen was.

“That’s not a real problem,” Deen whispered. “The problem is my reaction to it.”

She shouldn’t be bitter about this. She had known been friends with Erind for only several months. Not even for a year. Eventually, they’d be closer. After all, they shared a struggle and a secret—they had melded with artificial Cores. They needed to work together to overcome this challenge and free themselves from Dario and the Professor.

Understandably, Erind spent time with her other friends to have space for being normal. Deen shouldn’t be jealous about it.

“Why am I like this?”

Doing nothing was the primary ingredient for her thought spiral. Her back wasn’t hurting yet, but she caught herself already unconsciously tensing her shoulders. She should do something. She started to climb a tree to get a better vantage point. Though it was her first time climbing a tree, her super strength made it a breeze. Her fingers dug into the bark, making holds where there were none.

Light? She wasn’t even halfway up the trunk when she spotted something. Was it a small explosion or some weird trick of the light?

Another one! It wasn’t her imagination. Then a fireball blossomed in the air around a hundred feet away. Another drone flying high that got hit with something presumably thrown by Blanchette.

No more explosions followed.

Did Blanchette take care of all of them? They should leave now. With the drones destroyed, the BID agents would know they had targets in the forest.

Deen surveyed the forest, what she could barely see of it, looking for any hint of movement. There was nothing. And all she could hear were the noisy insects.

“Blanchette should come back to fetch me… right?” Deen said, still hugging the tree. Worry started to make Deen’s chest tighten. What if Blanchette abandoned her? Deen didn’t have any experience hiking or roaming the forests. She didn’t stray far from their summer cabin whenever her family would vacation there. Could she return to the city on her own? Which way did they come from again?

La Esperanza was beside the Pacific Ocean. The West Coast. Once the sun was up, she’d simply head west. She was bound to reach the city.

But sunrise was hours away. She should continue to flee in the dark. Where was Blanchette?

Red light flashed nearby. It didn’t appear to be an explosion. Gabe wasn’t warning her, so it wasn’t any danger. It must be Blanchette using her powers. Deen quickly climbed down, relieved that Blanchette safely returned.

“Blanchette!” Deen called. “I’m here!” Blanchette could obviously smell where she was, but Deen was antsy that she’d be left alone. “Blanchette?”

Leaves rustled. Footsteps. Very light footsteps. There was no mound of shadows stalking the trees or glowing eyes staring her way. But there was… someone was approaching Deen. Someone small—she could tell that much with the pitiful light coming through the crown of the trees above.

Deen gasped as realization hit. “You’ve turned back into your human form. Thank you for trusting me. Erm, I don’t know what to say. I’m… I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Okay, I’m finally ready.” Blanchette’s real voice was unexpectedly soft and youngish. Deen had expected Blanchette to sound tough and more mature. Blanchette walked towards Deen, pebbles and dried leaves crunching beneath her feet. “There’s really no easy way to do this.”

“What are you talking—? Wait. Your voice sounds familiar.” Deen stared at Blanchette as her mind struggled to make sense of what was happening. The voice. Deen was certain she had heard it somewhere before. She should know the person speaking, but her mind wasn’t accepting it.  

Blanchette was short, as Overdrive had mentioned. She might also have a petite frame hidden by her signature hoodie, which was supposed to be red, but Deen could hardly tell in this light. The reason Blanchette didn’t want to reveal her human self was that Deen knew who she really was. Deen’s heart started to pound at the thought that she had met Red Hood before, a boss of a criminal organization. She rankled her memories, but couldn’t quite place the voice.

Or she subconsciously refused to.

Deen whispered, “Who are you?”

“Oh, come on, Deen. It’s me.”

Deen jolted as if lightning coursed through her entire body. She couldn’t deny it any longer. “Erind! Erind? Wha-what?” She reached for Blanchette, or rather, Erind’s shoulders, but stopped herself from touching them. “This can’t be true… Is this an illusion? Some sort of Adumbrae trick to—”

“It’s really me, Deen. Erind Hartwell. I’m also Blanchette. And Red Hood. And… I’m an Adumbrae.”

Deen brought her hands down and clasped Erind’s shoulders. This was Erind’s delicate shoulders; Deen wouldn’t mistake this feeling. This was also her best friend’s voice. Even in the darkness, Deen could make out some of Erind’s features. Yet, Deen couldn’t understand what was going on.

Swirling in confusion, Deen stammered, “Ho-how? I-I…”

Erind removed Deen’s hands from her shoulders and started to run. “We need to go,” she said, pulling Deen with her.

“Where?” Deen blankly asked. Her brain wasn’t working properly.

“I don’t know! I can’t even see the way.” Erind grumbled gibberish as they narrowly avoided hitting a tree. “Somewhere not here, I guess? BID agents will soon be here. I don’t know if they were tracking you or me.”

“Tracking me?” Deen shook her head as she stumbled after Erind. “What? How’s that—?”

“Your artificial Core. It’s constantly turned on because your Guardian Angel is looking into the future. Overdrive told me that your Core gives off energy. It might be—”

“That guy’s your actual subordinate?” Deen grabbed Erind’s wrist and pulled them to a stop. “You’re the leader of the gangs of Marsh Row? How did that happen? How did you become an Adumbrae?”

“Deen, we don’t have time for this!” Erind pulled arm out of Deen’s grasp. “Don’t do that movie thing where the characters stop to discuss a plot point while they’re getting chased. We’ll get caught!”

Deen covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my god… You’re really Erind.”

“We’ll talk about this once we’re safe. I promise.”

All Deen could do was nod and follow Erind as they lost themselves in the forest. Gabe gave instructions to avoid tripping and sliding over roots and rocks, but Deen didn’t care to listen. She rolled over dirt while her mind remained blank. Erind picked up Deen, her right arm supporting Deen’s back while the left went under her knees.

“Snap out of it,” Erind hissed, shaking Deen in her arms while navigating the forest. The ground started to slope upward, and there were more boulders along their nonexistent path. “I know it’s hard to take in, but it’ll all make sense once I explain it to you. Maybe. It still doesn’t make much sense to me.”

Deen absentmindedly nodded, looking up at Erind.

This was all real, wasn’t it?

She reviewed her memories. There should be signs. She should’ve figured out that Erind was an Adumbrae much earlier. Weren’t they supposed to be close friends?

When they drove home after leaving the bunker at Marsh Row, their clothes were torn. Deen spotted a shiny patch on Erind’s abdomen. Erind’s skin had the sheen of marble with light purple tones. It wasn’t paint or an illusion of the light—Erind’s body was changing because she was an Adumbrae.

There was also something wrong with Erind’s right hand. Deen had noticed that Erind covered her palm with some pimple patches before. And makeup as well. Odd. But nothing worrying, right? Deen thought that Erind had rashes there, that sort of thing that she was trying to cover up. Deen didn’t mention it to avoid embarrassing her friend. She’d wager that Erind was hiding an inhuman growth.

Was Erind already an Adumbrae when she stayed at my house? Deen tried to recall Erind’s outfits. Did she cover her arms and legs with long sleeves or pants? Nothing particularly odd triggered in Deen’s mind. But Deen also didn’t suspect anything was wrong.  

“How long…? At the warehouse!” Deen suddenly held Erind’s head. “That was you!”

“Be careful! It’s super difficult to climb while carrying you. Can’t you—?”

“There was no mysterious woman,” Deen continued, pressing Erind’s cheeks as the implication dawned on her. “You turned into Blanchette and fought the 2Ms men. You saved me!”

“Thank me later. For now, stop shaking my—”

“At the docks! That was also you!”

Erind sighed. “Yeah, yeah.”

“You were Red Hood all along? There’s no other person? Maybe you switched places or…?”

“Always been me. Look, I can explain later. I’m going to put you down now.” Erind stopped at the top of the hill and righted Deen’s position, putting her upright on the ground. “Can you run? We have to—ow!”

Deen slapped Erind’s cheek. The smack echoed throughout the forest, waking dozens of animals. The shriek of birds and other odd calls replied.

“Why did you do that?” Erind asked, rubbing her cheek.

“We were so scared of you! Oh my god! Johann and I—we were desperate for help. We thought we had no choice but to visit this Adumbrae crime boss. I expected to fight our way out if you didn’t want to help because of my Core. It turned out it was you all along! While waiting for you, my shoulders hurt so much! And you were with Kelsey?”

“Uh, yeah. I found her. That’s another long story for later. We have to continue running.”

“I’ll lead the way,” Deen said. “We’re going to find a hiding spot, and you’re going to tell me everything.”

(Author’s Notes: With this revelation, we merge several plot threads, making room for new ones in the upcoming books. I didn’t want the plot to be too difficult to keep track of (who knows what, the misunderstandings, and the various lies of Erind). Also, it’s probably better not to drag out that Deen doesn’t know about Erind’s secret. For those who’ve read the Prior Cycle, there’s a difference now because Deen isn’t fully convinced that Erind is Erind. Thanks for your support!)