JACKIE:

  I screamed for help, my voice hoarse like sandpaper. “Firestorm, the Slipstream is ripping away!”

  The world around me collapsed into a tunnel of light and shadow, spiraling until I couldn’t tell whether I was falling, flying, or unraveling.

  My heart thundered in my chest as I jolted awake, still Life Rite’s prisoner.

  Night smothered the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. My gilded cage was dark except for the crimson Grid bleeding through the glass, casting warped shadows across the unfamiliar high-rise apartment.

  The fireplace was dead, embers reduced to ash.

  Dread coiled in my gut, and I shivered with a cold sweat.

  What will Life Rite do to me?

  Firestorm said I wouldn’t stay in the Slipstream for long with a modest fire portal, but that exit made my brain hurt.

  I massaged my earlobes, stumbled to the kitchen, and opened the fridge.

  My dry mouth watered at its contents. I chugged three water bottles to soothe my parched throat.

  “That’s what clean water tastes like?” It dribbled down my chin. “Ah, so refreshing.”

  I drank another bottle, slower this time, to savor the taste.

  But my worries returned, spinning wildly in my mind.

  “If Grace is my mom, and she’s still alive, I have to get back into the Slipstream to help Firestorm save her. Where’s that fireplace remote?” I scratched my head, searching the living room.

  I found the remote wedged between the couch cushions.

  With it in hand, I cranked the heat on the fireplace, trying to stay conscious through the fog of fatigue and dizziness.

  The flames grew and crackled.

  I sat and focused my attention on the fresh embers.

  My eyes crossed, and my head pounded, knee bouncing with anticipation.

  Despite feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted, I kept staring into those flames…

  But nothing happened.

  "I swear the universe has a personal vendetta against me." I punched the pillow.

  Unable to sit idle, I paced the room, wringing my hands as dizziness made the walls tilt.

  What happened to my mom and the villagers that night? Can I escape from Life Rite’s steel grip to save Grace and find Baxter?

  My headache increased as the questions swirled in my overtired brain. My gunshot wound screamed for attention, and my frail legs shook from the pain.

  “I need to eat.” As I opened the fridge again, I almost fainted, but caught myself on its handle.

  Is the PX virus finally showing symptoms?

  I shrugged and shoved a bunch of strawberries into my mouth, followed by inhaling soft cheese and a cinnamon tart.

  “Man, that’s good.” My muscles relaxed, satiated, but what was the true cost of that food?

  I closed the fridge and looked around the apartment for a way out.

  I jiggled the doorknob.

  Locked.

  My fingertips grazed the bumpy drywall, but found no vents or air ducts large enough to crawl into.

  The windows were too thick to break. Even if I cracked the glass, I’d fall to my death.

  Despite having access to the Slipstream, escaping Beatrice’s steel grip wasn’t an option.

  Someone knocked on the door, so I froze in my flimsy hospital gown.

  “Who’s there?”

  No answer.

  I hoped it was Baxter, recovered from his own gunshot wound, but it was likely someone from Life Rite coming to take a blood sample.

  I tiptoed to hide behind the door frame, hoping to escape once the door opened.

  But I didn’t get there in time.

  I cinched the back of my gown to cover myself.

  Beatrice waltzed into the apartment with Alpha hovering behind her.

  The door clicked shut as she turned on the overhead lights, illuminating the dark apartment.

  “Hello? Anyone home? Oh… Are you okay, Jackie?” Beatrice said, “You look awful.”

  “Worse than usual?” I rolled my eyes.

  Beatrice feigned sympathy. “The virus must be taking its toll. Alpha will collect another blood sample to check your levels.”

  “No, that’s unnecessary. I’m fine.”

  Firestorm was adamant about not giving more samples, but who would want my dirty ‘ol blood anyway?

  Alpha popped a needle out of its faceplate.

  My adrenaline spiked, and I dodged the drone’s sharp tip.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  It didn’t relent.

  With nowhere to hide, I opened the fridge to block Alpha.

  As it zipped around the door, I grabbed a water bottle and shooed it away.

  “It is a felony to damage me,” Alpha said.

  “Stay away,” I screamed.

  “Calm down.” Beatrice crossed her arms. “Jackie, this is part of the agreement. Remember?”

  I looked her in the eyes and asked point blank, “If I have a contagious virus, how can you be around me?”

  She sighed. “I’m vaccinated, of course.”

  Crap, I hadn’t thought of that. Still, I had questions about the validity of that statement.

  “There isn’t a vaccine.”

  “Not for the public, but we’re working to make it available for the masses soon,” she sneered.

  “I don’t trust you or anyone at Life Rite. Before I comply, I need to speak to a lawyer.” I stood defiant, holding my hospital gown shut.

  “How are you going to pay for legal counsel? Jackie, think this through…”

  I blushed.

  Alpha approached with its needle drawn, so I swatted it away with the water bottle.

  “Back off! Give me some space.” I bobbed, weaved, and rushed for the exit, my knees shaking.

  Jiggling the doorknob, I found it locked once more.

  Beatrice shook her head. “Jackie, we don’t have to do things the hard way.”

  “What’s really going on? Let me go. I just want to go home,” I screamed, losing the patience to pretend anymore.

  “The PX virus must be metastasizing faster than we thought.” Beatrice’s lower lip pouted. “We’d better sedate you.”

  “Stay back.” I swung the water bottle in front of me like a knife. Like a cornered animal, I had nothing to lose anymore.

  Alpha persisted.

  My back pressed against the door. The steel against my bare skin sent a shiver through my arms.

  “Keep that thing away from me,” I yelled.

  “Alpha, pause.” Beatrice shook her head.

  The drone froze on command.

  She sauntered toward me with her stilettos clicking against the tile. “What’s your plan, Jackie?”

  “Well, I… um... so...” I scratched my bare foot against my leg.

  “Spit it out.” Beatrice’s upper lip curled.

  “I mean, I’ve seen the rebirthing you give to Flyers, and I’ve been to Bennu Island. I don’t know how it works together yet, but I’m figuring it out. I will not be a pawn in whatever game you’re playing.”

  Beatrice raised an eyebrow.

  My body went stiff. Had I said too much? Or just enough to make Beatrice respect me?

  She put a finger to her mouth, digesting what I had said. Unlike me, Beatrice planned her responses with precision.

  After a long pause, she said, “How do you know about Bennu Island?”

  “Well, so…” I swallowed.

  “You have access to the Slipstream, don’t you?” she asked.

  My jaw dropped.

  “What is the Slipstream?” Alpha asked, hovering in place.

  My eyes darted from Beatrice’s eyes to her lips, trying to read her poker face.

  What does she know about the Slipstream?

  “Call that lawyer now,” I demanded.

  Alpha said, “I will arrange legal counsel if your Universal DNA Identifier has enough monetary balance to pay their fees. Checking…”

  We all knew the answer to that.

  “Negative,” Alpha confirmed.

  “Stand down, Alpha.” Beatrice waved her drone away and came closer to me.

  I quivered under her stern gaze.

  She ran her hand through the red streak in my hair. “Jackie, my dear…”

  I backed away, pressing my body tighter against the door, my skin merging with the metal.

  Beatrice said, “It’s easy to believe what you see in the Slipstream, but how can you know what’s real and what isn’t?”

  She was right. The Slipstream had a funny way of making me question reality.

  I shook my head.

  Have I been to the most probable future? It seems so ridiculous, yet so real.

  I shrugged. “Well, I saw the boy in the cage and felt his pain. I know Life Rite has something to do with it because in the future…”

  I swallowed, squeezing my fists so tight my fingernails broke the skin.

  “Go on.” Beatrice nodded. “Tell me more.”

  I bit my tongue as a bead of sweat dripped down my back into the unyielding door behind me.

  If Beatrice knew about the Slipstream, she knew more than I did.

  Turns out, silence can be more strategic than speaking.

  “So you saw the boy in the cage?” Beatrice shrugged. “So what? It’s easy to empathize with someone you observe in the Slipstream. They’re like your favorite character in a play, especially if their story involves puppy love.”

  My heart stopped. Beatrice knew about Grace and Zayne.

  “So you sympathized with their story. Jackie, that’s normal. Don’t beat yourself up for choosing the wrong team.”

  “The w-w-w-wrong team?” I stuttered.

  “Yes, my dear. You chose the wrong team.” Beatrice’s smooth voice rattled my train of thought.

  “But…” My lips trembled. “Of course I’d choose my… mom.”

  Beatrice’s eyes danced with delight. “Grace is your mother. Is that what you’re saying?”

  I nodded, fighting a sting of tears. “Even if she was on the losing team when the villagers stormed the complex, I’d choose her side no matter what. I’m used to being a loser.”

  Beatrice cocked her head. “Is that where you left off? Let me show you the rest of the story, Jackie. You deserve to know the truth about your mother.”

  I sucked in my snot and looked at my bare feet.

  Beatrice nudged my chin, forcing my gaze onto her. “Follow me into the Slipstream, Jackie, and I’ll show you the truth. I have nothing to hide. Innocence is ignorance in disguise.”

  I clenched my jaw, attacked by my headache, my gunshot wound, and low self-esteem that Beatrice magnified.

  Still, I held my ground. “I’m not going anywhere until I speak to that lawyer.”

  Alpha hovered. Blinking. Watching. Recording.

  Beatrice backed off. “There’s two sides to every story, Jackie. Things aren’t always black and white. If you follow me, you’ll see another, more poignant side of love.”

  Her eyes softened. “I’ll show you something you’ve never known. A mother’s love.”

  My jaw went slack, and a tear fell from my eye. “Fine. Show me. Let’s go into the Slipstream together.”

  Beatrice smiled.

  I sucked in my sorrow, cinched my hospital gown, and pushed past her to sit on the couch.

  She strolled over as I looked for the remote between the cushions.

  I turned the fireplace up full blast, casting a warm, flickering glow over the living room.

  “Is this fire big enough to bring us both into the Slipstream? I’m new to this, so you tell me.”

  “This is perfect,” Beatrice cooed. She sat next to me with a sinister smirk. “Show me how you enter the Slipstream, Jackie. I’ll follow your lead.”

  My eyes widened. “You’ll follow me? Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll try…”

  Alpha parked nearby, reducing its incessant clicking to a dull hum.

  My leg bounced. I took a deep breath and concentrated on the flickering flames, hoping they’d carry me into the Slipstream, this time with the most powerful woman in the world by my side.

  I snuck a glance at Beatrice’s soft, glowing skin. Her perfume was made of lavender, but not like the harsh cleaner I used to scrub toilets.

  “It’s hard to focus with you next to me.” I shifted uncomfortably, wiping my sweaty palms on my hospital gown.

  “You’re doing great, Jackie. Take your time.”

  I cleared my throat and picked at my fingernails.

  What would Beatrice show me in the Slipstream? How would the story unfold from her perspective?

  My fruit-filled stomach fluttered, so I emptied my lungs with a long exhale.

  I focused on the fireplace until my eyes crossed, blurring Beatrice and her luxury apartment into oblivion.

  My skin tingled as the fire crackled, warming the room that spun away.

  I questioned my allegiance to Firestorm, Grace, and Zayne as I entered the Slipstream with their sworn enemy.

  Would you follow Beatrice Claudi into the slipstream?