16

Marith had felt something brewing and growing inside of her since her Rebirth and she didn’t know what to do with it. It was fluttering and restlessly beating, wanting to be released and put into action. It swirled in her chest, on the right side of her heart, down towards her vital organs.

The pulsating energy manifested in her hands, the flow travelling down from her shoulders towards her wrists, where her energy points were, into her palms. Sometimes it felt as if the insides of her hands were on fire and her skin was bubbling. To release the tension she would get out her cello and practice.

This is when she learned that her skills had improved significantly and she got acquainted to new sheet music quicker than ever. Even faster than when she was just a little kid, getting to know her instrument and the world of music for the first time.

She wasn’t properly introduced to her new body or any of her supposed talents yet and she wouldn’t know how to look for them or how to practice any new skills. As so often, she did not have a handle on things. Some days were basically torture, until her clockwork alerted her by buzzing, fuzzing and clicking.

Like most spare moments, and she had oceans of them, she was playing her instrument. Olive wasn’t around to drool at the sight of the bow, since Nick had taken her to work with him. She just sat playing her hollow cello, in an empty hallway, holding it against her doleful chest when she noticed better and faster results.

She had decided to start preparing for the Christmas recital she was invited to do. New nuances and meanings jumped of the sheet music she had been used to play for years. The classics, such as ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’, ‘O come all ye Faithful’ and ‘Hark! the Herald Angels sing’ were all there, but the more refined pieces, like ‘Ave Maria’ by Bach or ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ and a medley composed from ‘the Nutcracker’ by Tchaikovsky, with actual notes from her grandfather, were missing.

Having forsaken to ever bring them with her to the Netherlands during her summertime visits she figured they could still be lingering around in the lake house. She had to go by her parental home anyway, because she had promised Nick she would bring by the keys to the garage door to the new tenant.

For now she continued to absorb and digest the music that was available to her at unparalleled speed, until her clockwork started to elicit cryptic noises, colours and messages. At first she didn’t register the colours, sounds and movements with her eyes and ears, she sensed the activity of the mechanics deep down in her body, in her being. It was becoming a part of her, just like her fellow Pupils.

The colder the days, the snowier the mountaintops, the warmer the mansion became. However, Marith had to pull herself away from that comfortable warmth. She couldn’t not visit Jonathan after what had happened at his party, two days prior.

Since this was a Saturday morning she knew the store had to be open. There was no budget to hire anybody, so Jonathan would have to be there, behind the cash register, making sure his parent’s business wouldn’t go bankrupt.

Lieke laid on the couch under a checkered blanket staring at more reality TV in a zombie-like state. Since Marith couldn’t stand the monetized chaos that was American television she didn’t mind escaping the house for a while.

Outside the world was covered in a thin layer of snow that had no intention of going back to where it came from. The blindingly white blanket was only expected to thicken over the next few weeks.

Her footsteps made a light crunching sound. Marith noticed she had no trouble keeping her balance on the slippery underground and she found herself in Sweet Lake’s centre after a short and brisk walk through the descending forest.

There seemed to be less homeless people draped across the town’s square, which had very likely everything to do with the weather conditions. The ones that were there sat on the park benches and under the gazebo instead of on the sidewalk, as to not freeze their bottoms off. They were also all under the same blankets, with a soft, dark blue top and a silvery, isolating bottom side. Marith figured the local shelter had probably provided them with those and had opened its doors during the day as winter fell as well.

She went by the Sweet Tooth and ordered two hot chocolates and two croissants filled with thick, custard cream and sugared fruit to go, hoping it would buy back the good faith she had tarnished Thursday night.

Amber, who worked behind the counter, informed her that Jonathan had been picked up by Juliette Friday morning, who felt responsible for any trauma she had inflicted. According to her he seemed to have decided to be a good sport about it.

Marith was soon on her way to the convenience store.

“What the flying fuck, Duchess! Did they do the same to you?” Jonathan inquired, after she had entered the building, surrounded by soft, whirling snowflakes.

Marith nodded, cautiously handing him the make-up food. “I am afraid so. Except in my case the Mist had knocked me out enough to avoid a struggle.”

Jonathan made a face that was a well-established combination of wonder and despair. Why did bad things always happen to him and what did this mean for his existence as a Runner?

“Again, I just want to say that I am very, very sorry for drugging you.”

“Nah.” He made a waving gesture. “I sort of understand it now. I feel like I should probably be the one to apologize. Juliette told me I got James and Kyle pretty good. Which I hardly remember,” he said, taking his first bite. “Hmmm. That’s the stuff. Thanks.”

“At least the Mist did something then.” Marith grimaced at the memories, taking a sip of her warm drink.

They sat down on plastic garden chairs that were naturally for sale, but wouldn’t interest any potential buyers until at least March, but probably April, of the next calendar year. Jonathan ripped open a packet of Christmas napkins in which they put their sticky French treats.

“So, how do you feel?” Marith inquired in between bites.

“Kind of good… energetic, sharp, more observant of the little things. Yesterday I lifted an entire pallet of dogfood up… without the forklift,” he added meaningful, after Marith didn’t give the anticipated response.

“Oh, wow,” she gasped, looking at him with big eyes.

She surely hadn’t gained that much strength after her Rebirth, although she did feel noticeably fitter. Physical potency was probably one of the main features that separated the Runners from the Mages and the Prophets.

Jonathan continued his drink and his croissant, slightly shaking his head in a confused manner. Marith had observed over the past couple of weeks that he often had an internal dialogue that resulted in head movements that were only meant to process what he was thinking and not to inform his conversational partners about anything.

“What is it?” Marith inquired in a soft voice.

“I just have this vague… undefined feeling. You know?”

She indeed knew what he meant. She had picked it up as well, although she had definitely not been brave enough to admit it to herself or to any other Pupil. Amongst all the newness of their Rebirthed bodies and souls there was something that was off.

“It is something I sensed, sort of, amongst all the new impressions and vibrations,” he tried to clarify. “Like something big and bad is waiting for us. We’re not in a movie. You know? This whole Kid thing could end poorly for us, for us all.”

Marith nodded quietly. There was no arguing what he was saying.

“But what do I know? I am just a simple Runner and not a mighty Prophet.”

They both smiled faintly at each other. There was a greater understanding between them.

Jonathan shook his head again and finished the croissant that he had been dangling in a napkin over the arm of his chair. He flushed it away with some chocolate milk.

Marith inhaled deeply, raking up some inspiring words to make him feel better, and in the process herself. “I had never lived my life like I was born to do anything. I had never felt the urge to do one specific thing. It felt aimless, restless... until I had my Rebirth.” She let a brief, contemplating silence fall. “Have I since felt what you just described? Sure, but I try to keep faith in Oracle and Watchmaker, assuming there is a bigger plan behind it all. Worrying about it just seems pointless,” she finished, hoping she made sense.

Jonathan nodded, more confirming this time.

“I just have difficulty accepting it all, living at the mercy of two sky creatures. Doing what they tell us to, when they tell us to, hoping everything turns out alright.”

Marith laughed at his way with words. “I guess that dependency you describe, is the great interception of life. We depend on our parents to give us a decent childhood, we depend on teachers to educate us, we depend on the government to facilitate us with the primary necessities to stay alive and make something of ourselves. It can go wrong at any corner. The people we meet and how they affect us seems completely random to me. What happens to us, illness, poverty, death, is all random.”

“I don’t want it to be random. I want to feel like I am in control.”

“We lie to ourselves that we are in control, so we can feel assured or maybe even better than others, but the truth is we are no more in control than dr. Syblings patients or the people living on these streets. The only thing we can do, in my opinion, is trust that, as a Chain, we can bring the Kid to his knees… one way or another.”

“To the randomness of life then.” Jonathan raised a bottle of water that he yanked out of a tray that sat nearby, covered in thick plastic. He hadn’t used anything but his bare hand to do so. Marith twisted the cap off the one he had handed her and raised it as well.

“To randomness. May it serve us greatly,” she muttered, locking eyes with him.

They flushed all the sugar they had consumed down, before making their first hand-wrist connection. It turned out Jonathan had precisely zero experience in this area. He had been informed about the theory behind it – making sure their communications were absolutely private – during their first meeting, but there hadn’t been a need to bring it into practice for him yet.

He did as Marith instructed, baring his underarms and leaning forward. She dragged her chair closer to his and trailed the insides of his wrists until she found the four energy points, one for each finger. There was a brief crackling of electricity under her fingertips and she was in. Her thumbs rested on the backs of his hands.

The connection was official and effective. It lacked the immersion and depth she had experienced with Nate before, but that was fine by Marith. She liked Jonathan, but she didn’t aspire a deeper relationship with him, apart from being friends and fellow Chain-members.

After that they switched and he sought after her contact points, which took a little longer. Marith had the time and it was important to get it right.

When she felt like he was inside her, mentally, she decided to put their connection through the ultimate test, by conversing.

I’ve met your grandmother, twice now. Marith began.

Oh, hi there… Uhm, she’s not.

I know, but great-great-grandmother is quite cumbersome.

True.

Her husband was a Runner too, she told me.

Yeah, Jonathan nodded.

You live with your grandmother now, I was told?

No, but I do spend most of my spare time with her.

What happened?

Well, you know about my parents?

Yes, I do, Marith cut him short. No need to bring up the painful stuff. He’d had the decency to never bring up Gene’s situation either, after all.

I meant to Lucille’s husband, Marith added.

Oh, I never really met him. He died before I was born.

I’m sorry to hear it.

Well, don’t be sorry. He lived a long life with Lucille.

How?

How did he die? Jonathan asked.

Yeah.

Runners have a shorter lifespan to begin with, but he was a paratrooper in the Great War, so that took some years of his life expectancy.

Wow, he died in the war? Fighting the Germans? Marith knew about the struggles suffered during the occupation from her mother’s side of the family and had always been slightly obsessed with war stories.

No, he was injured in that war. He served in operation Mardi Garden.

Market Garden? The battle for Arnhem? Marith interrupted him, flurried.

Yes, that one! He had to jump out of an airplane, was shot at and got stuck in a tree with his parachute. His lower back and legs were damaged. Because of his age he didn’t recover like a young Runner would have. He was much older than his brothers in arms, although he didn’t look it.

But without being a Pupil…

He would have died in that tree… for sure.

Wow, was all Marith could think of. But if he didn’t die then…

He returned to the United States, after being hospitalized in Europe for a while, of course. He could still walk around and drive a car and that sort of stuff, but he could never run as a Runner anymore. Their Chain was not as organised as ours is now, from what I’ve heard, but they also didn’t face an actual enemy like we currently do. So, they didn’t really need his running, but as a result of that they didn’t have regular access to a Prophet. Most had left the area. I am guessing that was mostly due to the same sensitivities our Prophets are battling with.

Lucille is not a Prophet?

No, a Mage, just like you. Don’t you know about the birds?

Yes, I’ve been to the Bellevue. I just didn’t know that was her talent?

Oh, God, I apologize... for the smell.

No need, Marith smiled. It was quite the experience though.

Lucille can talk to birds. Not the most exciting talent, I guess, but they never really needed it for battle anyway. Oracle would occasionally put messages through.

Sure.

It happened three decades after the war, during a local rally. They had a convertible that he was apparently super proud of. My great-great-grandfather and his co-driver were winning. He came racing towards the finish. A mute swan from Sound Lake flew right into the car. The opposing forces and the angle from which it happened, broke his neck.

Whose neck?

Well, both necks were broken in the process, I guess.

That’s horrible! Marith gasped mentally.

Lucille was able to save the swan, but her talent didn’t allow her to save a human being.

I’ve never heard something so insane in my life! What was the swan even doing there?

Oh, he flew up after giving a message to Lucille. She was waiting at the finish, you see.

What was the message?

That her husband would die that day.

Are you...?

A little bell informed them about people entering the store. They were disturbed by customers. Jonathan pulled back instantly and hurried to the cash register. Marith made herself useful by stacking up the chairs again and throwing the packaging of their food and drinks in the trash. Apparently, Oracle doesn’t understand everything about this world or its future either, she thought.

“Do you know about tomorrow?” Marith asked, after the shoppers had left. They had bought a packet of batteries from behind the counter and some candy bars. Probably the best sold items.

“What about it?”

“Have you checked your clockwork?”

“Yeah, to tell you the truth, I have not figured the new one out yet.” He snickered, slightly ashamed of having to admit that.

Marith got his new instrument, pulled out the little rolled up parchment from the side and helped him decipher the most important signals and symbols. She quickly noticed the symbols in his clockwork slightly differed from hers, so she couldn’t simply apply her own cheat sheet to his machinery.

When customers would come in she would take over, so that Jonathan could focus on the horological marvel and do some deciphering of his own.

She explained to him the most recent message the Watchmaker had put through and how he could see whether a Prophet had a message for him and how to decipher when and where he should meet that person. She showed him on her own clockwork how she would know he was visiting her, although that involved some guessing, since that had never occurred before.

His listening involved a lot of frowning and nodding and thanking. At the end of the afternoon she got a grateful hug. They agreed Marith would pick him up on Sunday.

Marith made an excuse about going by Vanessa, that was barely listened to and also wasn’t even questioned once, so she could pick up Jonathan.

The group met in one of the large, gloomy buildings of Pine Industries, when the vast majority of the locals was either in church or still in bed. The buildings were situated on an industrialized terrain, in the heart of the tri-lake area. Outside stood several lorry trucks with snow-covered logs stacked up on their trailers, waiting for Monday morning, alongside two other trucks, belonging to Nate and Brad, and Kyle’s mother’s van, that was confiscated by Kyle so often lately it had become practically his. There was an unassuming hatchback, that was the car equivalent of a mangy, old grey mouse, that Marith intuitively allocated to Lisa, barely noticeably parked on the perimeter as well.

The group assembled inside the main building between multi-coloured harvesters, log loaders, skidders and all sorts of heavy machinery consisting of engines, hydraulics and pumps, either with giant wheels or on caterpillar tires. The equipment looked muddy and smelled earthy, like ploughed land.

Despite the fact that the giant hall was dimly lit Marith noticed Nate immediately and darted towards him. Her heart hammered in her chest with vitriol as she saw him again. As always he looked very distinguished and refined, wearing a dark, double breasted trench coat, a turtle neck and low, brown leather boots.

Nate had arranged for this gathering to be held in his family business. This way everybody could attend and he wouldn’t have to enter Sweet Lake. Brad and he had made sure they had been the first ones to arrive that morning to open the building and switch off any alarm-system or security camera.

There was a special kind of electricity in the air with all the Pupils present. Nate yanked her in between a delimber and a debarker in order to effectuate some privacy. While they kissed the crackling of the oxygen became almost audible.

Now that Marith was in love she had taken an interest in her appearance again, for the first time in years. Her hatred for shopping, malls and salespeople however was still alive and kicking. This basically resulted in borrowing everything that was currently on her body from her younger sister, who was happy they finally seemed to have something in common.

Today Marith was wearing almost half of a death cow around her legs in the form of thigh high leather boots. Above those eye catchers she sported a very tight pair of dark blue jeans and a short, sporty, azure blue winters coat with a high collar and big golden buttons. She wore her hair loose and curled and she had even bothered to put some bright, green mascara on to match her eyes.

To her delight Nate was appropriately impressed with her efforts.

People sauntered amongst the Pine family’s logging equipment until Pavan, dr. Sybling, accompanied by Iris, and Keymaker came in. The former three had gotten a ride from the latter one. They assembled in the middle of the chilly building and it wasn’t long before the omnipotent twin sister of Dr. Sybling arrived.

In the blink of an eye Sybil, the Pythia from Ancient Greece, appeared before them in the storage building in Oregon. From one twinkling moment to the next she had seemingly materialized. The hallway was instantly illuminated by her divine radiance. She seemed to be a light source by herself, projected from her safe space in another dimension.

They stood fairly close together, in a clearance in the centre of the hall. In total there were only sixteen of them after all. Oracle, Keymaker, Pavan and dr. Sybling and her helping dog were standing, and sitting, next to one another, forming the head of the gathering, so to speak.

Oracle was wearing an immaculate white pantsuit with a flappy half dress over it, around her waist shimmering golden chains and silk strings. She looked like one of the many gorgeous, but possessed, sorceresses or priestesses painted by Pre-Raphaelites, like Godward or Waterhouse, Marith thought amused.

On her left the ever elegant dr. Sybling was situated, on a little foldable chair, looking at the soon-to-be Chain through Iris. She was dressed in a heavenly pastel blue, pressed skirt and blazer. The voluminous hairdo’s of both sisters were held back with golden and silver nettings and clasps, that appeared to be closer to expensive jewellery than anything else.

Now that Marith could see them both together the resemblance was remarkable, even though dr. Sybling seemed to have aged more than Oracle. That could probably be assigned to spending her entire life in the dimension of the living instead of in a protective, sterile environment.

On Oracle’s right Keymaker stood with his hands on his hips, wearing casual wear. It was the first time Vanessa didn’t see him in his work clothes. There was no way he wasn’t carrying his most worthy keys on him, hidden somewhere in this weekend attire, Vanessa thought spurning. After all, it was his task to craft and to keep them.

On their far left, next to dr. Sybling, Pavan stood, patiently awaiting the official opening of this gathering. No need to point out he was wearing his yellow windbreaker. He smiled foreboding and regarded the group of Pupils friendly, as if he was raking up old memories from his time teaching and leading the Sweet Lake primary school. It was a look many old people gave every once in a while. Marith hoped to one day look at her own grandchildren or even great-grandchildren like that.

My dear Pupils, thank you all for coming.

Oracle’s voice sounded in their heads, ethereal, like a divine echo. She seemed to have cast a net over them, creating a temporal hive mind, undoubtedly to rule out espionage.

They didn’t have to synchronise as with other Pupils. Oracle was just there, an esoteric symbol of their parallel existence.

Marith was briefly flustered by this experience, until it made sense to her. Oracle could mentally converse with the Prophets from the Clock in the Sky, so why wouldn’t she be able to do it with all of her Pupils after descending to their dimension?

It comes to no surprise to any of you that the Kid, our adversary, the sole prisoner of the Empty and the strongest Runner on this planet has returned. With his awakening the purpose of this Chain went from passive keeper and protector of the Web to defender and warrior.

We are all forbearing exponents of the needs of the Web, a result of the elements that the asteroids brought us. Our minds stretch out far and wide within in the Web, over time and through space.

Time is atomized into four sections. The segment of the past, the partition of the present and the segment of the future. The segment of the future is divided by what might be and what will be.

Time is an emergent property. It doesn’t exist for the individual, but it does for our system as a whole. Time exists for the Web and everything in it. It is how we order things. This world will collapse without the order that time brings.

Time’s arrow moves from order to disorder. As you all know, the Kid wants to use that disorder, the replacement of myself and Watchmaker, the end of our cycles, to gain power.

Somewhere out there is a Watchmaker, likely a young individual like yourself, that needs to be found and secured. Somewhere out there the Kid is waiting for you to make a move. Somewhere out there is the ultimate truth about the outcome of this race and the victor or this conflict. I suggest that we win, she said with a sliver of a smile on her tranquil face.

Marith marvelled about her choice of words. Who on Earth talked like that? She then reminded herself that Oracle was neither human, nor on Earth.

Sybil, dr. Sybling jumped into the opening, created by the brief silence Oracle dropped.

Yes, Cecile?

I believe the young man has a question. Dr. Sybling peered straight ahead, while Iris’s eyes bored into Nate’s.

Yes, Nate cleared his proverbial throat, preparing for the podium he was given. Now that the Kid is awake the window of time and opportunity we have for this scavenger hunt is shortened, I presume? He asked in his mental voice, that was surprisingly more formal and business-like than his way of doing around Marith.

Yes, it is, Oracle answered dryly, as to say ‘duh’. That is why I propose some additional, informative gatherings, lessons, so to speak, to accelerate your learning curve. We cannot afford to not be prepared, she decided.

Don’t we need the Ritual first? Before we do anything else, like taking on the Kid? James inquired.

What Ritual do you speak of?

To form the Chain?

Ah, Oracle’s mental voice serenely sounded. In order to solemnize the finalization of the Chain we need twelve Rebirthed Pupils. One of you hasn’t had the Push yet, she shared matter-of-factly.

Hit by a wave of shock the Pupils frowned and shot bewildered looks at each other.

Not all jars of Mist have been put to use yet, Oracle clarified, as she glanced at the faces before her.

Keymaker stood next to her and Marith couldn’t help, but notice his heartrate was going up significantly.

The shells Marith had received during her Rebirth were temporarily lowered, caused by her bewilderment. She could feel the disbelief and sense of betrayal in some and the sensations that accompany getting caught in others. Those others were mostly Keymaker.

Inadvertently his heartrate struck her, since it jumped up astronomically. She’d had this experience before, both in the clinic and on the shore of the lake, the morning after the Push.

“Really?” Marith hissed at Vanessa, outside their bubble of spiritual discussion, wide eyed. This whole operation seemed to consist of a gang of fiddling amateurs all of a sudden.

“There should be twelve members when the group is complete. You were number ten,” Vanessa answered, directed only to Marith.

“What number were you?”

The entire group was listening now. They had left their collective intelligence. They were too unfocused by this novelty.

“I was one of the very first,” Vanessa answered, with a peculiar look on her face.

Marith thought about her answer for a second. “Then who pushed you off the cliff?” One of the Elders? Dr. Sybling? Did she jump all by herself? Who would do that?

Oracle was unfazed by the unrest of the group. Let’s keep it central and cerebral, she encouraged her retinue.

“Who is the last one then?” Jonathan seemed agitated by the chaos and the general lack of resolution they were getting.

Oracle’s piercing eyes wandered off to William.

To an inattentive outsider it would seem that Lisa and Will were simply holding hands, but now that Marith took a closer look it appeared that Lisa was holding Will’s wrist, so he wouldn’t miss out on their airless conversation.

He should have been one of the first. Now, he will be the last.

What?! Marith’s brain blurted out. She and Jonathan were finally taking this new world, their impossible tasks and their noble duty seriously, only to be massively disappointed by the lack of thoroughness from their new in-group.

“I was not going to push my own son off a cliff, into an uncertain death!” Keymaker burst out, mingling into the conversation for the first time.

Oracle closed her eyes, but did not intervene.

“Well, you sure had no trouble doing it TO ME!” Vanessa exclaimed. She stared at Keymaker with passionate disdain. Clearly there were no happy memories there.

You could have given him the Push in the meantime, Oracle told Vanessa.

Vanessa’s eyes flashed with frustration and fury. Keymaker told me he wouldn’t give me access to the Corridors or any of the potions anymore if I would ever do it to his son. So, I gave everybody else the Push first. Now he is withholding the last jars of Mist from me. When I came for Jonathan’s Push there was only one left. He had taken the other ones. She had more or less recouped herself, mostly less.

In the meantime Will’s face had turned into a sheet.

Can I do it now? Vanessa asked piqued and impatient, her arms crossed and her heels dug into the unforgiving, concrete floor.

Oracle was silent, contemplating the implications. Travelling to another world with her mind. A little universe made up by the brainpower and visions of every living creature on this planet. Searching for an answer as to why this glitch had occurred, apart from just William’s father hindering Vanessa.

I could make new Mist, James offered cheerful, flashing a big smile at William who stood quietly and ashamed amongst his peers.

Assuming the Well is on our side, Oracle opened her eyes and peered into the group, my answer is NO. Let him be for now.

William let out an audible sigh. Marith knew he probably didn’t mean to. He simply wasn’t aware that their enhanced senses could pick such things up.

Vanessa had to refrain from stomping the ground and tossing something over.

Don’t we need to complete the Chain to fight the Kid? Anton inquired, quite defeated.

And won’t he need the Push before these lessons? Brad informed.

Vanessa, Brad and Marith realized that William was going to be one of them, a Mage. Would there be any use in practicing with him if he was short of a Rebirth? He was aware of their bizarre parallel world and their common goals, but he was lacking, to state the least.

Oracle closed her eyes again and so did Nate, Lisa, Amber and Kyle. Oracle determined the most probable course of the Web based on the visions, predictions and even hunches from people all over the world. Her Prophets were assisting her.

Keep him on this side of the veil. A need only a human can provide might manifest later.

She eyed him so intensely Marith could almost feel him crumble.

But we can’t take on the Kid as long as the Chain is not completed, James pushed for confirmation.

Correct, Oracle nodded composed. The time to battle the child of infelicity and tribulation has not come yet. First and foremost we need to find out who the successor of Watchmaker will be. Until then there is no specific need for a completed Chain.

To make your ancillary activities easier to carry out, Oracle continued, addressing Vanessa, I command Keymaker to hand over the keys to Mister Schnell.

“Why?” Keymaker squealed, unable to remain his calm.

He can’t lose them, was the curt, but truthful answer.

This was by far the most emasculating experience he ever had to live through as an adult and he was unable to hide that. His now orange face contrasted his green polo exquisitely.

Vanessa opened her mouth in astonishment, but nothing came out. Her mental voice couldn’t come up with an appropriate sound either. She just smirked a sweet smirk of victory and looked triumphantly at the humiliation her hindrance was going through.

Brad had no argument against that logic, walked forward and received the key in all seriousness, proud to be the chosen one for the task of Keykeeper.

Keymaker fished a bundle of keys out of the breast pocket of his shirt and unhooked what was apparently the key to the Corridors. It was nothing special. A little smoother and maybe slightly shinier than your average front door key, but quite inconspicuous on the whole, which was probably the point.

When Brad turned around to join the group again his smugness was showing, even though he attempted to veneer it with a layer of politeness.

Everybody understood that Keymaker either had copies or would craft a new key to the Corridors, but this way the Pupils could enter without his interposition. Vanessa was immensely relieved.

Do you know about that little voice in your head that starts to spread and develop as you grow older? Dr. Sybling asked the group. The Elders had clearly prepared a little speech for the Pupils.

That sounds like a serious mental illness.

I mean the voice that tells you what’s right and what’s wrong. It gives you morals and values to live by.

My mom? Kyle tried to be savvy and got ignored.

The Kid doesn’t have it? Lisa guessed.

Indeed he does not possess it, but he knows that we do. He knows exactly what is acceptable and what is not in this world and it is our presumption he will act so formidable that you won’t be able to recognize him by his behaviour.

Until the successor of the Watchmaker is discovered, that is, Pavan stated what had been previously explained to them by Kyle. We expect that there will be a cause for action for him at that point, which will reveal his true nature.

At that moment it is your task to be prepared to secure the Watchmaker, Oracle took position in the conversation again. Please be aware that our antagonist cannot be send back to the Empty right away, because it’s structure is too weak to keep his soul incarcerated. We need to find the new Watchmaker, not just to beat the Kid, but also to strengthen his prison. There is no point in sending him back without having identified and collected the next Watchmaker first.

The old and new Watchmaker together will be potent and competent enough to fix the Empty. Every Watchmaker brings his own crucial changes and improvements to the Web. The successor is an absolute necessity in improving the Empty to the point it will keep the Kid there for another cycle, at least.

Could the new Watchmaker be a member of this Chain? Anton was asking the important questions that Sunday morning.

It could be, dr. Sybling spoke cautious, but not necessarily.

How do we even know who the successor of the Watchmaker will be?

How was the current one found? Marith inquired strategically.

It was a matter of synchronicity, Oracle shared.

Marith knew what she meant and some others did as well. They had all experienced this phenomenon at least once.

Let's do that again then! Brad enthused.

Do you even know what synchronicity is? Lisa’s mental voice sounded tense.

When stuff just comes to you? He guessed shakily after hearing her tone.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and Marith felt like doing the same, but curbed her annoyance and embarked on an attempt to explain.

Synchronicity is a concept described by Carl Jung. His belief was that meaningful coincidences happen and that they don’t need to have an explanation in terms of causality. He also argued for the existence of the paranormal... I guess he wasn’t wrong, she added with a little bob of the head.

Can this happen again?

I came to Sweet Lake, because it will happen again. In astrophysical terms Sweet Lake is a large object with a gravitational pull, dr. Sybling punctuated, her hands folded in her lap.

A confused silence followed. The Weimaraner beside her recorded their responses.

“Ma’am,” Will cleared his throat, “are you not an original inhabitant of Sweet Lake, like the rest of your Chain?”

No, she smiled, seemingly relieved she finally had an occasion to tell her story. This is not my Chain. My sister and I are native Africans. I moved to the United States to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist over fourty-five years ago. I have frequently visited Sweet Lake, because the Kid found his temporal resting place here. For little over two decades I have been practicing medicine in this area, to keep an eye on things, on you. I knew a new Chain would have to be formed here. And, as you know, my sister usually resides in another dimension.

Oracle glanced respectfully at her twin. Marith wondered what part of Africa they originally came from. They could very well be Somalian, Kenyan or Ethiopian.

Of course, I work together closely with the local Elders, even to this day, despite the fact that a new Chain is close to completion. It is our firm believe you need and deserve any help you can get, she concluded.

Tell that to the other Chains, Kyle scampered.

We are as disappointed as you are, but it is within their rights to deny help, Oracle started.

Is it within our rights to hate their guts now? Brad interrupted.

It is within your rights to return the favour when they ever ask you for assistance, although, I would encourage you to treat others better than they treated you.

Yeah, well, I hope it’ll make them feel very small, when the time comes, Kyle cursed them pre-emptively.

That’s the spirit, Kyle, Juliette murmured with a sly smile.

Could we prevent depending on synchronicity? Can’t the current Watchmaker, like, feel the new one? Lisa asked hopeful.

No, absolutely not. He has a set of priceless gifts, but sensing his successor isn’t one of them. I expect him to recognize the new Watchmaker when he is presented with that individual, but nothing beyond that, Oracle explained.

The group was quiet, contemplating.

How about Vanessa? She seems to be able to recognize Pupils… Juliette began.

I can recognize one when I am confronted with one, I can’t just locate them like Brad, Vanessa answered.

Hey, I can’t locate the new Watchmaker, unless I’ve met him or her first, Brad clarified with his hands in the air.

Great!

It is your task to find the new Watchmaker, Oracle stepped in. One of you will be able to sense the next Watchmaker. Most of you haven’t reached full potential yet. It is plausible to assume that one of you will have or develop the ability to do so.

What if the Kid finds the new Watchmaker before we do?

The Kid is a Runner. He can’t see into the future and he has no access to our communications. He can locally disturb the Web, shroud himself, and make your battle with him harder, but he has no known abilities beyond that. As soon as you are close to discovering a brand new Watchmaker he won’t obstruct your journey. He would be impeding himself by doing so. He is keeping an eye on you and when you find his target he will strike.

He is already influencing the Web, Kyle shared. It is like a crackling radio is rustling in the back of my mind, continuously distracting me.

Amber nodded vigorously. My dreams are vivid, some nightmares from my past are returning, my visions are blurry and any real thoughts I seem to have, keep disappearing. The Kid is messing with us.

That is why Nate and Lisa must remain outside Sweet Lake, Oracle urged. They are the oldest Prophets of this Chain and don’t need the suggested lessons. Their Runners can run any significant developments that occur during those gatherings to them afterwards. I am sure you are very much aware of your powers and strengths already?

Lisa and Nate nodded.

The Web around here is vibrating in chaos, even on this location, outside Sweet Lake, Nate chimed in. It’s like I can see, he contemplated for a moment, fragments of his darkness.

It was one of the very few things he had said all morning. He had barely spoken a word, as if none of the information was new to him and attending this meeting was a mere formality. Marith longed to know what went on inside him, but she didn’t dare to touch him with the others around. That would give them away instantly.

Does it affect the Mages and the Runners just as much? Oracle inquired.

Marith sought eye-contact with Vanessa and Brad, who looked at each other.

No, ma’am, we don’t think so.

It is settled then, Oracle summarised the decisions made, ten of you will take a steam course, in the form of a teaching session by Pavan and a tour of the Corridors by Keymaker. The Runners will bridge the gap if any major maturations emerge.

When you discover the Watchmaker you are going to have to be able to hit the ground running. I will teach you how to uncover, apply and expand your talents and abilities, Pavan elucidated what his lesson would encompass.

Keymaker didn’t exemplify anything. He was still fuming about Oracle’s undermining decision regarding his key to the Corridors.

What will happen to us after…? Jonathan started.

After what? Oracle questioned.

When it’s all over, when the battle has been fought, so to say.

You will have served your purpose, Oracle shared sprightly.

Wow, Jonathan brought out. Wait a minute. That sounds like the end of things.

Things? Oracle informed naively.

Us!

Have you taken a look at the Elders of Sweet Lake, young Jonathan?

Yes, ma’am.

What do they look like to you?

Old?

The rest of the group, including Pavan and dr. Sybling, was snickering.

They are the leftovers of the former Chain of Sweet Lake. The other members of the Chain have all died of old age and the leftovers will too one day.

Well, your Holiness, I have to say, that is a big relieve. Jonathan hadn’t realized that he had stood up. Now he had reason to sit down again on the caterpillar tire he was previously seated on.

What happens to us when we do in fact die? Marith dared to ask.

Oracle looked her straight in the eye. Something she rarely did. She was so entangled with the Web she didn’t need to communicate in human ways.

We come from something before we are born and we return to something after we die. That something is the Well. We are still very much in touch with the Well, which is why we don't always feel rooted in society.

Is it what we imagine heaven to be like? Lisa wondered.

We call it the Otherside and we don't know what happens there, because no one has ever returned, dr. Sybling commented.

No one is meant to return, Pavan added.

Do you believe in the Otherside? Brad frowned.

Do you believe in clouds?

Ma’am?

Or earth, or water, or fire? The changing of the seasons?

I guess. He shrugged.

I believe you take with you what you have created in life and give that back to the Well, once you are at the Otherside. Every thought you’ve ever had, ever act you’ve committed, has shaped you and your surroundings. Your existence on the Otherside will be a reflection of your existence on Earth, Oracle enlightened her entourage.

As far as we are concerned there is no hell, no purgatory. Everybody that goes to the Otherside is reunited with the Well, she continued, not encouraged by further questions. The Well is infinite and will never be depleted, because we put ourselves back into it.

The Well is the ultimate truth. There is beauty in this truth and that is why the Web is worth protecting. The Well gave birth to your soul and the Web has given birth to your flesh. Pupils are created by the needs of this conjunction.

If the Kid returns to the Well the Universe will implode. The Well cannot stand such evil and such evil cannot stand the truth. That’s why the Empty was created. It scatters his soul over a vast expanse of nothingness. It will prevent him from influencing the Web or ever entering the Well.

Towards the end of her discourse her tone became more dashing and insistent.

She took something from the left pocket of her pantsuit. Sybil glanced at the horological craftsmanship in her hand, shifted her look to her Pupils and smiled.

It seems that our time together is about to come to an end. Unfortunately, it is not within my powers to extend my stay. Remember, you have been graced with the talents and the privilege to fight evil and make this world a better place.

Wield your gifts to secure the future. Use the Web to save the Web.

As sudden and inconspicuous as she had arrived she was withdrawn from them again. A brief, abrupt void remained. For a little while everybody was quiet.

Then they started to collect their stuff, picking up their bags, buttoning up their coats, preparing to shuffle to the entrance of the hall and defy the cold again.

“One last thing before everybody goes their own way,” Pavan started hastily. “Nate, Marith and Jonathan need to finish their triangle.”

Marith and Nate opened their clockworks and put them on top of a clean-ish looking caterpillar tire that belonged to an excavator. Jonathan dug up his own and did the same. Their clockworks started to chatter like a group of anxious teenagers at the start of a new school year, after not seeing each other all summer.

Familiar clicking and jangling sounds eluded the enthusiastic reunion. The spiralling movements of the glittering, colourful clouds, hovering over each instrument, grew together and merged. It was as if the arms of the Milky Way came together into the Galactic Centre, a bright white area consisting of a supermassive black hole.

Marith fixated besotted on the luminous intensity of the emergence their horological companions were creating. Nate tugged at her sleeve and beckoned her to join him and Jonathan to finish their trinity. She accompanied them absentmindedly.

They each linked the fingers of their left hand to the contact points in the right wrist of the person on their left and united in the smallest circle possible, a triangle. They found each other soon, via the bundles of energy in their underarms. Since everybody stood by to witness the solemnization they kept it brief and concise.

Pavan was the one to break the silence when they were done. “We shall meet again when our clockworks indicate as such. You know the drill.”

It was the last thing he told them, before he and dr. Sybling got a ride home from Keymaker. The group waited hesitantly until the Elders and Keymaker had left the building.

“So, I’ve got to run a convenience store and everybody’s messages?” The ever so sceptical Jonathan felt comfortable enough to utter when the people-door, next to the massive sliding doors, meant for the machinery to go through, fell shut.

Marith looked at Jonathan, who was a good person, that worked hard, about to snap under the pressure and turn into inspiration for a special on depression and suicide under young people.

“I go visit Nate as often as I can to take the load off your shoulders,” Marith assured Jonathan.

“You will need to share the visions with Jonathan each time you return from your Prophet. The insights and strategies the Runners provide are essential to the triangle and the Chain,” Juliette informed them.

“Jonathan is indeed your Runner, but we can do it for you guys until he has had some basic training,” James offered, on behalf of Juliette and Anton, on their way out.

“Oh,” Marith began swiftly, “I don’t want you to sacrifice too much of your time and energy to do that. I can go see him myself. You’ve got jobs and everything. It’s not like I am making myself particularly useful these days.”

Flattered and assured Nate noticed her eagerness to create alone-time with him. Together with Brad he waited until everybody had left the factory hall.

Marith, Jonathan and Vanessa lingered around, saying goodbye to the rest of their Chain and waving them out of the parking lot, while Brad and Nate put the security back up and closed the building off.

“Wanna go out. With me?” Nate asked, after joining her on the pavement outside. “For lunch?” He added.

“Yes, I would love to,” Marith’s face brightened, “but,” she looked over her shoulder, “I promised to drive Jonathan back home.”

Vanessa and Jonathan were discussing how much training he would need, before actually doing his first ‘run’.

“I can give him a ride,” Brad offered. “Vanessa and I are heading back to Sweet Lake anyway.

“Can you enter the streets without getting recognized?” Marith wondered hesitantly.

“Brad?” Nate inquired.

“Nick went straight home after church. Your sister is still in bed.”

“Creepy,” Marith joked, thankful for the favour.

“Go, have fun!” Brad added, before joining Vanessa and Jonathan.

After splitting ways Marith followed Nate with Gene’s car to Sound Lake. The ride was no longer than fifteen minutes, in between uninterrupted raw, snow-covered nature, before reaching the outskirts of the next village.

Nate parked his truck on an almost empty parking lot of a local supermarket and Marith hit the brakes in the spot next to him, got out and locked the car. The fast, red vehicle looked tiny next to Nate’s American made four wheel drive.

The trailer was conveniently detached from his car, which made parking less of a struggle. Marith briefly wondered where he had left the Air Stream and whether she would be invited to join him there later. They hadn’t officially established yet if they were in an official relationship. It felt like that, for sure, but it hadn’t been spoken out.

Nate was still collecting his wallet and putting his phone in an inside pocket, before closing his coat again. Marith could hear Heroes by David Bowie on the radio.

I, I will be king

And you, you will be queen

Though nothing will drive us away

Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day

Oh, we can be us, just for one day

“Now, that is synchronicity,” Nate joked, clumsily grabbing Marith’s hand, after stepping out.

“Where shall we go?” Marith asked, peering around their uninspiring, semi-industrial surroundings, hiding how much she loved the fact that they were holding hands.

“You’ll see. It’s on the other side of town,” he informed, steering her off the parking lot onto the sidewalk, heading towards the centre of the village.

Marith put her other hand in her pocket to protect it from the weather.

The pavements were neatly shovelled and practically snow-free, the roads were covered in a modest layer of brownish slush.

“Did you know all that? What they were explaining back there?” Marith asked, while they were crossing a small residential area.

“Yes, or at least the majority of it,” Nate answered, gazing ahead.

“Did you know about the Well?”

“Of course.” He glanced at her with glimmering eyes. “Didn’t you?”

“Well,” she started with a sigh. “Oracle mentioned it during my Rebirth, but I didn’t really understood it back then and I forgot most of it when I returned to this dimension. It is not that self-evident to me.”

“I am a part of the Well, just like you, and the Well knows anything… except where it came from.”

“Okay, sure.” Marith hesitated at this new twist. “Why not?” She decided to inform.

“We feed the Well. We gave it consciousness and we don’t know where we came from either. Do we?”

Marith guessed not.

“This is a circle once again.” She smiled faintly.

Their entangled hands were getting moist from the warmth their bodies were emanating in their winter coats. Marith briefly let go of his and quickly dried it on the side of her jeans, before casually grasping it back again.

Although she had never in her life felt so comfortable around any man before, her behaviour around Nate was more cautious than around other people. Her breathing, her glancing, her choice of words. She thought it all through.

“What do you envision the Well to be like?” She inquired, too occupied with the concept of an afterlife, or better maybe an after-existence, to drop it just yet.

Nate smiled a sensitive, but handsome smile.

“I think it’s a shallow puddle... a muddy pool of dread,” he answered gravely.

“God, that’s depressing.” Marith grimaced.

“Don’t we all come from this primordial soup?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Marith replied hesitant, a little disgusted.

“Well, I think it’s like that.”

Marith couldn’t determine whether he was serious or joking, but she didn’t prod.

“I think it’s something completely different.” She dove right in, eager to share her insight. “For me it feels like a blazing ball of energy that we merge with after we die. Like the Sun, but blue and in a different dimension and maybe less hot. The Well is where every sweet, beautiful and creative thought comes from and when we are finally reunited we can be at peace.”

“You sound excited about dying.”

To the average Pupil life was a pointless and needlessly elongated existential struggle to the painful end, only to die and return to the interminable void humanity probably came from. Hearing about this Well was a relief to say the least.

“No, I am not!” She gasped theatrically and laughed at the suggestion of that. “I am just excited to learn new stuff about this world… and to see you again.”

Nate halted, wrapped his arm around her waist and gently kissed her.

Marith had never liked the beginning of relationships, not knowing whether or not the other person liked her, everything being new and scary, her chest tightening with stress, her mind racing for non-boring things to talk about.

She longed for the known, the stage in which they could be comfortable with each other. With Nate she seemed to have skipped the initial cold sweat, frightening part of getting to know each other. To her relief it all felt very natural.

“How do you think Oracle disappeared like that?” Marith made more conversation, after they continued their walk.

“That wasn’t Oracle. That was a reflection of her. She was in the Clock the whole time, just like Watchmaker. Oracle works in mysterious ways, but I am pretty sure she can’t get back if she ever leaves that place. The Mailbox that leads there only works for mortals before their Rebirth.

“The deflections in and around Sweet Lake cause a higher density in the Web, which made it easier for Watchmaker to create Mailboxes and opportunities like this. It makes the impossible possible for those that know how to use it,” he added mysteriously.

“The Mages?” Marith asked, glancing up at him.

“For instance,” he looked at her from an angled look as they continued down the street.

The rest of the walk they listened to the rumble of fast flowing water in the distance, descending from the mountains. Water travelling at that that speed and flowing with that magnitude would never freeze and never cease. It sounded like a raging ocean.

“I don’t remember any of this,” Nate uttered, baffled.

They were standing on the edge of a town’s square not unlike Sweet Lake’s. It was plastered with homeless people, as if the streets were paved with them. The men and women were sitting on plastic bags on the sidewalk or hanging on public benches, slumped under blankets, sometimes smoking or drinking to keep warm, more often just existing, staring blankly into a world every Pupil was sorely aware of.

“They’re being used as collateral,” Marith informed weakly. “Sweet Lake honestly doesn’t look much better.”

A society that cannot protect its children is morally bankrupt. An aging society that uses its offspring, its future, its only hope, as an insurance company is doomed, Marith thought gloomily, but she kept those sentiments to herself.

“This is what we are in for.”

“In what?”

“The Chain.”

Marith nodded. The people and the creature responsible for this would never admit it or try to fix it. They were too busy playing the victim. “We have to stand up for our own.”

She tried to not look at their faces too much. Once more, the homeless crisis had predominantly hit younger people. It could have happened to any one of the Pupils as well and of course it had already hurt Juliette in the past.

Marith had doubtfully attempted to render herself immune to the apocalyptic sights in the tri-lake area. She had absolutely failed, but she wasn’t sure if she was mournful about that. What kind of a human being would she be if seeing other humans in pain wouldn’t hurt her as well?

“It’s over there,” Nate gestured at a two-story, brick building, constructed in nineteenth century architecture. In the distance, through the foliage and past the buildings of the town’s messy square, between hues of green and white, Marith could see sweet water flowing from higher-up terrains.

They scurried pas the homeless with heavy, non-homeless guilt, towards the waterfall and the structure next to it.

“I know it doesn’t look like a restaurant, but they’ve got good food.” He sounded hungry as they trotted towards the eatery.

Marith experienced slight difficulty keeping up with her tall Prophet on Lieke’s high boots, but she bravely stomped on as elegant as she could muster.

“It looks a little Victorian, like an old factory maybe.”

“Yeah, it was used as a paper mill, mostly for regional publishing and paper bags for local shops and stuff like that, but they lost business to bigger, faster competitors in Oregon a long time ago. Of course it has been refurbished many times after that and there have been several owners over the decades. Right now, the front of the building is a restaurant and the back is a little museum.”

As they neared the old mill Marith could see the source of the river and the reason that had allowed the paper mill to exist in the first place in all its glory. Restless, clear water was cascading between snow-covered rocks, like a flowing white curtain.

Right before they entered the building she peeked over a mossy, stone wall into the river and she could see the old water wheel amidst the spray that escaped the clattering. It was still attached to the side wall. The wooden, hydro-powered gear was out of use and probably a replica, but it gave the establishment a distinctive and quaint look.

The insides of the restaurant relieved them from the thundering sounds of nature. They hung up their coats and were provided with a table.

Soon they found themselves sitting in a red, leather booth, in a corner of the busy restaurant, eyeing each other intimately.

Nate fondled and caressed her hand and wrist and postponed an ethereal connection on purpose. They both knew he could have found her pressure points immediately, but Marith found no objections to this kind of reprieve.

He stroked the insides of her palm and underarm until he couldn’t any longer with good decency. He instantly found the four bundles of energy under her skin. They had been aching for his fingertips.

Why are none of us in a government test facility? If we are so special and the persistence of the Web depends on us and all that…? Marith had marvelled at this for a while.

Pupils have a habit of finding each other, before the government does, Nate started. The invisible strings that the Web consists of bind us and pull us together when necessary. If the government, in whatever way, does find people that are plagued by visions they are usually not strong enough to become Pupils anyway and are often willing to comply, because they want to learn more about themselves.

Marith nodded. Their eyes were open and they appeared like a regular couple to anyone else in the restaurant. Except for the fact that no words crossed their lips they communicated in human ways.

What even is the difference between you and them?

The Prophets that are Pupils are always open, always in a flow to receive the information and visions and if they are not they have the ability to start that flow and access that state of mind in which they see the future. ‘Normal’ humans can have visions and such, but it is a passive talent that comes and goes, without their investment, which means they also can’t stop it, even if they want to.

Marith knew that pain. Most Pupils lived with uncontrollable nightmares and horrific visions, either until they lost their soul and their general will to live or until their Rebirth.

A waiter came over to take their order. Nate ordered a hamburger and French fries from the top of his head. Marith had only briefly glanced at the menu and asked for the melted goat cheese with warm pear on a ‘rustic’ bun, with a salad on the side. This was her go-to order if she couldn’t decide and it had rarely disappointed her.

Speaking of visions… Marith started shaky, after the waiter had left. She wasn’t sure she should have discussed this with Oracle earlier that morning. Now seemed like a good opportunity to bring it up anyway. I’ve met this child in the clinic my father is currently admitted to. He said he could see the Birdman and he’s like… drawing all its prey. Marith looked at her conversational partner expectantly.

Nate frowned contemplative, before he relaxed again. Many children in this area suffer, unfortunately. We suffered! Especially at that age. Maybe all the kids in the clinic are having flashes of visions and nightmares and drawing birds. Have you met any other young patients his age?

Marith shook her head.

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If there was any reason for alarm Dr. Sybling would have informed her sister and us, by now. I wouldn’t be surprised if more kids are doing this. He shrugged.

Marith nodded. His interpretation sounded plausible and she felt secure in his presence.

Is it not our duty to help?

The children?

Well, yes, and all those other psychics? As you said, they suffer, but they will never know why.

What could we do for them?

Mankind then... Marith began to trip over the words in her head. Strive for world peace, end hunger and pollution... stop animal abuse, prevent rape. You know, important and heroic stuff like that.

We can do that if it crosses our path and we should, but it is our main duty to protect and maintain the Web. So that other people, regular human beings and the ‘little psychics’, as you call them, have the freedom and the possibilities to see clearly and to do all that. Without a free Web things would be worse, he informed redundantly.

Marith nodded again and mulled things over for a little bit, while mouth-watering smells of other people’s meals were penetrating her nostrils. Enhanced senses could have a downside, she had noticed. Uninterrupted sounds, smells and stimuli in general could be distracting and were a lot to digest and resist at times.

Won't they come for you, for us?

Who? Asked Nate sleepily.

The bleeding government! Marith burst out unintentionally comically.

Nate laughed again, before he answered.

No, Oracle would know and then Watchmaker would protect us. He will veil us, our talents, if necessary the entire village.

He laughed with his eyes, patient and kind, like people who were on their own a lot often did. Marith loved when people could do that. It made her feel safe and appreciated.

She knew the gut wrenching feeling of drifting through life all alone, waiting for something or someone to love, but not exactly sure who it would be and whether that person would ever cross her path.

They snuck in another quick kiss half-way through lunch. They were at the phase where they both craved physical contact, but weren’t sure what amounts of affection were appropriate or appreciated by the other person just yet, so they both held back somewhat.

They spend the rest of the afternoon together, enjoying all sorts of foods and drinks, but mostly each other. Occasionally talking or laughing out loud, more often privately by touching each other’s wrists under the table, with their over-sensitive fingertips.

After they had enough to drink and to eat they split the check, before they enthusiastically skipped the museum in the back of the building and hiked a trail that led them to the bridge over the waterfall. The walk was quiet, which had probably everything to do with the cold outside. It contrasted with the energy of the water, plunging on the rocks below, forming the stormy river.

Halfway over the steel bridge Marith wavered to give her legs some rest, after basically climbing a piece of a mountain on heels, and to enjoy the view. The vista was mostly taken away from them by the hazy clouds of water particles that travelled upwards. Nate could work with that and came up with something better to do.

They kissed in the mist emerging from the waterfall splashing into the river below.

“When will we see each other again?” Marith dared to ask, slightly out of breath.

“Next weekend?” Nate proposed.

Marith stomach felt heavy, which had nothing to do with their lunch. That was almost a whole week.

“I was hoping we could meet sooner?”

“I can, but I feel like you can’t,” he predicted and then hesitated. “I am staying at the beach house again, because most campgrounds are closing for winter, but I could rent a cabin somewhere, around here.”

“I would love that,” Marith encouraged him happily, while they sauntered into the forest on the other side of the rushing water to finish the trail.

Marith realised that for the first time in a long, vast period, filled with despair, she dared to look at the future. The rest of her life was something she had banned out of her mind, since she had been young. For the past decade or so she had lived her life one day at a time, in various stages of depression and hopelessness.

Her whole existence she had wondered why she had been so alone. Most days she would just struggle, to the end, not wanting to acknowledge how unhappy she really was, as to prevent a mental breakdown. She had been waiting for her share of happiness, not knowing how to obtain it or how to fight for it. It turned out someone just had to show her what she was really living for.

With Nate she didn’t have to trick herself into feeling happy and cheerful. It came to her naturally, like a fresh autumn breeze, and made her feel liberated.

Her consciousness was now vibrating at the same frequency as the other Chain members, the frequency that the Web required.

Being with Nate and thinking about Nate helped to prevent Marith from wasting her days and brainpower pondering the manner of things too deeply, too intently.