[REND] B2. 14.1 - Friends and Secrets

Amber Deen Leska

Amber Deen Leska wasn’t listening to the lecture; her mind was distracted by so many other things. Law school seemed a cumbersome obligation at this point, in the face of fighting monsters and the very real possibility of dying. And that wasn’t all her worries.

She twirled her fountain pen across her long fingers before doodling on the empty corner of her notes. Then, she drew two vertical lines that slightly curved inward as she pictured Erind’s midsection in her mind.

Thinner? Maybe.

She tried again, bringing the two lines closer. Erind probably didn’t have that pronounced an hourglass shape, but Deen didn’t draw another body for the third time. She made a slight dot where Erind’s navel was and did some shading above it, making her pen go back and forth on the paper.

Closing her eyes, Deen recalled what she had seen during their ride away from Marsh Row. She was driving. Erind was riding beside her. They both had shredded clothes after fighting an Adumbrae, with much of their skin exposed. Though Deen kept her eyes on the road, she looked at Erind a few times while they chatted. Deen distinctly remembered seeing a purplish patch of skin on Erind’s upper abdomen.

They were talking about cut abs that time, an unusual topic between them, so the memory stuck with Deen. The odd area of Erind’s skin wasn’t purplish like a bruise; she would’ve quickly regenerated minor injuries like that. Instead, it had a certain polish that made Deen think of marble.

It might’ve been some mixture of dirt and trick of the lighting—that was what Deen dismissively thought of then. It could also be some paint or slime that got on Erind. There were plenty of unknown substances in that laboratory.

It shouldn’t be any cause for concern, but Deen couldn’t get it out of her mind, especially after Erind decided to skip law school today.

Was it something other than dirt or paint? Was the Core affecting Erind’s body? It shouldn’t cause any visible physical changes other than the wrinkly skin around the artificial Core itself. But what if Dario was wrong? Another possibility—the Adumbrae did something to Erind, changing her body in unknown ways.

I pray there are no negative effects, Deen thought, grasping her pen. For all of us. She gripped it tighter as her self-blame started to spiral.

Erind fixed stupid Deen’s stubbornness, saving them from certain death. What did they gain from entering that laboratory? Nothing! Nothing was worth the danger they went through. They didn’t even save the people hooked up to the machine holding the Adumbrae.

Deen was completely fine putting herself in danger. It was a completely different matter dragging her best friend into said danger.

You’re such an idiot, Deen… Feeling her fountain pen slightly creak, she loosened her grip. The pen was a present from her sister. Deen ascribed some sentimental value to it even though she wasn’t close with her sister.

“Amber, are you okay?” Adrian asked in a whisper. Since Erind wasn’t sitting beside Deen, Adrian took the empty spot. Deen had been ignoring him since the start of the class.

“No-nothing,” Deen replied, opening her eyes. Her worry for Erind started to affect her. The familiar dull gnawing in her shoulder blades blossomed as she unconsciously tensed her back. “It’s nothing,” she firmly repeated. “A slight headache from lack of sleep.”

“Stayed up all night studying? You should put a limit. Past some point, our brain doesn’t retain information well.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Deen couldn’t explain why she was annoyed at Adrian now. She never was before. She had even thought that he was attractive last semester. Was it because she was expected to like him and no longer didn’t? There were more important things to think about than appearances, such as being together with a supposedly suitable partner.

“Uh, what’s this?” Adrian tapped on Deen’s doodle, probably desperate to keep their conversation going. “A tree trunk?”

Deen cracked a small smile. Erind often called herself a twig, but she probably wouldn’t appreciate Adrian calling her a tree. “Random scribble,” Deen said. “Let’s listen to the lecture.”

Adrian dropped his attempts at a conversation, giving Deen relative peace to overthink and worry about her best friend.

I’ll visit Erind later, Deen decided. That would settle once and for all if there really was something wrong with Erind’s body. Deen hoped that everything was fine. If Erind’s artificial Core malfunctioned, causing her body to go haywire, then they—the Professor’s mysterious organization—might take Erind to some lab. Sinister scientists would experiment on Erind in the same way that the PCM scientists did with the Adumbrae. Deen would never allow that to happen! She’d hide Erind in her basement or… or… she’d think of something.

Hopefully, the reality wasn’t as serious. It was probably more the case that Erind mentally agonized about what happened at Marsh Row. Not fighting the Adumbrae. The killing… Erind killed someone. Her first kill. Erind was probably depressed or wracked by guilt.

Deen sighed. She couldn’t turn back time. All she could do was comfort Erind. She had to visit her later.

After their class ended, Deen rebuffed Adrian’s invitation for lunch, deciding instead to head to Erind’s place. There was plenty of time before her afternoon subjects. They could have lunch together. She might even convince Erind to come to law school with her later. It was imperative that they stuck with their normal lives as much as possible, not only for their futures, but also for their sanity. They shouldn’t forget their goals to become normal again.

“Hi, Deen! Got a minute?” Ramello emerged from the stream of students and jogged up to Deen as she headed to the parking lot. “Why the sour face?”

“Oh! I apologize.” Deen realized she was frowning at him. “I-I’m just worried about Erind,” she added, though the truth was that she didn’t like Ramello very much. She knew that Ramello liked Erind; someone trying to get close to Erind was another avenue for their secrets to be exposed. Not to mention that Ramello is related to Sgt. Hall, who was actively investigating their group.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you about,” Ramello said. “Is Erind alright? I messaged her earlier, but she’s not answering.”

Good, Deen thought. She then replied, “She’s probably asleep. She’s under the weather, so I’m going to visit her.”

“I’ll go with—”

“Visitation for best friends only,” Deen said, wagging her finger. “On a serious note, I don’t think Erind will meet you if she’s too sickly.”

Ramello’s shoulders slumped. “Ah, right, right. Yeah, I get it. And I shouldn’t be too pushy.”

“You shouldn’t,” Deen said, turning around and jogging to her car before Ramello could say anything else.

The traffic wasn’t as heavy as Deen was accustomed to at this hour. Since the Adumbrae attack last month, there has been a steady trickle of people leaving the city for fear that there’d be more incidents. The case hadn’t been solved despite many televised promises from the mayor and the police chief. The fight at the docks added to the fear, though the details of it had been suppressed from the public. The arrival of BID agents—the augmented ones, not merely the normal human ones—only exacerbated the desire of the people to flee the city.

Deen heard on the news that many tourists cancelled their bookings, and hotels were suffering. A natural and sad consequence of the Adumbrae attack. La Esperanza was supposed to be Adumbrae-free; it was one of the major selling points of the city. The recent incidents overturned that.

“On the bright side, I can get to Erind faster,” Deen muttered as she reached for her phone.

No messages or calls from Erind. Deen thought of letting Erind know that she was coming. But if she did that, Erind would definitely refuse to meet her. It might be better to surprise Erind.

On second thought, Erind seemed to be the type of person to hate surprises. But Erind, being Erind, certainly wouldn’t show that she was angry.

“I’ll just buy peace with sugary treats,” said Deen, nodding. Erind’s simplicity was quite amusing. Sometimes, Deen thought of Erind like a pet, in an endearing sort of way.

Deen parked her car along the road, not too far from Erind’s place. While walking toward the building, Deen checked Erind’s location shared with her on Snippet—Erind wasn’t moving. Deen crossed the lobby and headed to the elevators, joining a few residents who were going up.

A key card was needed to reach a desired floor. Luckily, someone got off on the twentieth floor. Deen headed to the fire escape stairwell, went up two flights of stairs, and arrived at the twenty-second floor, where Erind’s room was. Deen walked down the corridor, looking for Erind’s room number.

“Here it is,” Deen said, raising her hand to knock.

[Don’t knock. Leave.]

“What?” Deen turned to Gabe. The ball of ivory and fur, only visible to her, rotated above her right shoulder. Gabe had his abyssal eyes wide open, staring into her soul as its beak clicked.

[Don’t knock. Leave. Now.] Gabe’s voice inside her head sounded firmer this time.

“Is Erind in danger?” Deen asked, despite knowing that Gabe wouldn’t answer her. She missed the evolved form of Gabe when she had used the booster. Gabe could send her images of what was to come, giving her an explanation of the instructions.

Or was Gabe telling her this was the wrong room? Deen couldn’t be mistaken. If Erind was in trouble, like her Core was malfunctioning, then she had to help—

[Leave. Now!]

Deen stepped back, pulling her hand that was reaching for the doorknob. Previously disobeying Gabe led to the huge mistake of fighting an Adumbrae that could’ve killed them. Deen had the urge to disregard Gabe yet again, worrying about Erind, but kept her stubbornness down. Maybe she should listen to Gabe this time.

[Left. Fire exit. Hurry.]

As Deen walked away from the door, she heard one of the elevators ding open. Someone was coming. Deen briskly walked to the fire exit and entered the stairwell. She kept the metal door slightly ajar so she could peek.

Is that Erind? Deen watched a short, petite woman coming from the other side of the hallway, carrying a couple of paper bags.

Deen breathed a sigh of relief. Erind was safe; she must’ve left her phone in her room while she did some shopping.

But what was Gabe warning me about? What was wrong with knocking on the door of an empty room?

Erind opened the door to her unit—the same door that Deen was about to force open. Voices echoed down the empty hallway. Erind had someone over? The door closed, and everything fell silent. Deen tiptoed back to Erind’s room, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of what she was doing. This was really none of her business.

Erind had mentioned that her mom would come next week, but she could’ve arrived early. Or maybe this was a friend that Erind called over to keep her company. Deen’s chest tightened at the thought of her best friend finding solace with someone else, but it was understandable. And she should understand it. Erind would want to talk to someone normal to take her mind off the abnormal.

However, it didn’t explain Gabe’s warning.

Deen pressed her ears against the door. Very faint voices. Was it the television, or was Erind talking with another person?

[Leave. Right. Elevator. Hurry.]

With a deep sigh, Deen followed Gabe’s instructions even though she didn’t know the rationale behind them. She jogged to the elevators. Luckily, the one that Erind used was still there. She entered it, peeking for one last time down the hallway before the doors closed.

Erind had opened her door! She was checking for anyone outside. Deen retreated into the elevator and mashed the ‘close’ button.

Did Erind hear Deen outside her room? There weren’t any cameras outside, and Deen was certain that she didn’t make any sound. How could Erind have known that she was there?

Back inside her car, Deen puzzled over the many questions she had.

She also couldn’t figure out the puzzle of Gabe’s warning. What was wrong with knocking on the door? If Erind had visitors, why would that merit danger? They’d simply tell Deen that Erind wasn’t there.

Calling Erind was the key. “Pick up, pick up, pick—Oh! Hello, Erind.”

“Hey, Deen. Um, sorry for not replying to all your messages. I was sleeping…”

Deen narrowed her eyes. Erind was lying to her. “Take all the rest you can. I understand that you’ve been through a lot. Say, when was your mom coming again?”

“Tuesday next week. Why?”

“You’ll feel better if you have a little family reunion. Living alone must take a toll on you, especially if heavy things are weighing on your mind.”

“I can manage,” Erind replied. “I’m used to being on my own.”

Deen gritted her teeth. Erind was lying to her. Why? They were best friends. But clearly, they weren’t close enough in Erind’s eyes. Deen slowly exhaled, reminding herself to be more understanding of Erind’s introverted self. She should also remember that it hadn’t even been one year since Erind and her became friends. Naturally, Erind would have other best friends.  

“Uh, hello? Deen, are you there?”

“Ye-yes,” Deen said, her head much calmer. She shouldn’t let her temper, which she had learned to keep in check over the years, get the better of her. She didn’t want to become like her mother and sister. “Do you want me to visit you? I can bring over food.”

“I’m fine. Maybe we can meet tomorrow. I just want to be alone for now and recharge my batteries.”

They chatted some more about the class that Erind had missed, and that was the end of their call. Deen didn’t have any idea who was with Erind, or why Erind kept it a secret from her. But there were plenty of explanations for that. What Deen couldn’t understand was Gabe warning her against knocking on the door.

“It’s not your business,” Deen told her reflection on her phone’s screen.

Self-sabotage. That was what was happening. Erind was safe—that was the important point. Who knew about Gabe’s definition of danger? This wasn’t Deen’s business at all.

Deen jolted when her phone rang.

She raised a brow as she answered it. “Hello, Johann.”

“Deen! Deen… we have a problem. It’s Myra. I think she’s on a stupid mission. I-I can’t contact her!”