Owen

"Thanks for meeting with me so early," I said.

Spencer's mom didn't look any different than she normally did. Her brown, wavy hair was tied back ready to work at her restaurant. She already wore the black apron with the Starrise name on it.

I wasn't sure Vai was correct in his assessment that the Corruption was inside her. How could it be when she was always pleasant. She was unlike Spencer in every way.

"I'm almost out of chocolate," she said. Her smile was bright, warm, welcoming. She leaned in closer and whispered, "I thought security confiscated all your chocolate."

We were in the corridor behind the Starrise. This area was void of the large windows that showed the stars unlike the rest of this level. The walls were white, the hard floor was gray. The lights were low as this corridor was hardly used. Especially at this time of day. It was quiet. No one but us. Except I knew Esther was in the maintenance shaft behind Spencer's mom.

I had told Adi to meet me here on purpose. Esther was less likely to be discovered as was our business with Adi. And when I did sell Adi chocolate on the Remembrance, we always met in a secluded place so no one would know of our transaction. A lot of those times I met with Spencer instead of Adi, but there had been a few times she and I met directly. She knew I had a falling out with Spencer. If she held any resentment that I was selling chocolate on the side to customers, she didn't show it.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" She said as she straightened.

"I have a few minutes left before it starts," I said. My eyes drifted to the red maintenance hatch. There was no sign of Esther. She said she would be there. I had to trust that she was.

"You are going to be late," Spencer's mom said.

"That's okay. The teacher doesn't like me anyway."

Her face grew serious. "You don't have much time left before you graduate. Maybe we shouldn't do this now. You just got off probation. You shouldn't get into any more trouble."

It was motherly. It stirred something inside me. I thought I had prepared myself for killing everyone with the Corruption, but this was different. Adi had always been nice, friendly. I couldn't tell that anything had changed. Maybe Vai had been wrong. I couldn't do this.

I took a step back. "Maybe you're right," I said. I tried to smile, but my lips didn't obey.

"Are you all right?" she asked. "You haven't once called me friend. Is it because of what happened with Spencer?"

I wasn't sure what Spencer had told her, but my reservations at the moment had nothing to do with him.

"I'm fine - friend."

I was sure she had to notice my hesitation, but she ignored it.

"Well, you are here now and are going to be late anyway. How do you still have chocolate?"

"I had some hidden outside my quarters in case I was caught," I lied.

"You have always been clever," she said warmly. "You'll have no problems with whatever you choose in life. How much do you want for the chocolates? The sooner I can have them the better. I think my stock will be out after tonight's dinner rush. I'm really desperate."

I needed to leave. I had to find some excuse. I had to get a hold of Esther and tell her to abort the plan. This was wrong. Adi was well loved by everyone. She was a wife and a mother. Even if I didn't like Spencer, he didn't deserve to be motherless.

"Same price as before," I said. I took a second step back.

She took a step forward. "Are you sure? That is extremely generous of you. I was prepared to pay more. I know that some of your supply had been taken and I'm in a dire situation."

"Same deal - friend. Let's arrange to meet later and I'll bring the chocolate and you can transfer the money."

She closed her eyes. I took two steps back before she opened them. I saw the pink. Her face twisted in pain and she closed her eyes again.

I shook my head. Vai wasn't wrong. But still - she was a mother.

Her eyes flashed open. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She rushed me.

I stumbled over my own feet and fell to my back onto the hard floor. Red pain spread through my back, but it wasn't too intense. The gray ceiling looked down at me. I didn't have time to react before she was on me. Her hands squeezed my neck. I couldn't take in air. The only thing I could think of as I looked into her twisted face and pink eyes was that she was someone's mother.

My hands wrapped around her wrists and I tried to pull her off, but she was surprisingly strong. Maybe the Corruption made her stronger. My lungs burned. I gasped, but nothing would get passed her hands through my throat. Pain was in my neck, throat, lungs, back and it was beginning to spread everywhere. I was beginning to get dizzy.

I let go of her wrists and gathered the light in my palms. I didn't want to hurt her, but I couldn't breath. I put my hands in front of her eyes and released the light.

She gasped and fell backwards as the corridor was filled with a bright, white light that blinded her. It should have blinded me, but I saw everything through the light. Maybe because it was mine. Maybe because the light had been opened in me.

I sat up and rubbed my neck gently. Adi held her hands over her eyes. Esther came out of the maintenance hatch. She sat behind Adi and wrapped her legs around her so she couldn't escape. One hand grabbed both of Adi's wrists and pulled them down and held them tight. Her other arm wrapped around Adi's neck. The bright light didn't seem to bother her like it had Adi.

I couldn't move as Adi tried to break free. Esther held her tight. The light I had released dimmed and Adi blinked at me with her blue eyes. Her mouth opened in a gasp, but nothing came in or out. I could almost hear her say, 'Save me. I'm a mother.' To her imagined words I shook my head. She had the Corruption. She tried to kill me. But she was someone I knew personally. So many people loved her. And she was Spencer's mom.

Adi struggled harder against Esther's grip. I could see Esther's tense muscles as they bulged underneath the sleeves of her black shirt. A teardrop spilled from Adi's eyes followed quickly by more. The coloring of her skin and lips began to change as she struggled for oxygen.

Pink smoke began to come out of Adi's ears and drift slowly towards Esther. Esther saw the Corruption, but she didn't stop choking Adi. I remembered the video of those who had died on the Lion of Judah Research Station. I didn't want the same thing to happen to Esther.

I formed the flame in my hands and finally moved. I reached Adi and Esther before the Corruption reached Esther. They had been taking their time, but realizing I was there, they rushed at her. I caught two handfuls of the pink smoke and burned them in my flames.

Esther formed a pink barrier around the parts of her that were not touching Adi. Her head and back mostly. The Corruption I hadn't been able to catch began to congregate on her arms. I didn't hesitate as I moved my flaming hands just above her skin. She didn't indicate she was in pain when the Corruption on her began to burn but so did her skin. I pulled away as soon as I saw the last of the Corruption burn away.

Esther finally let go of Adi and Adi fell unmoving and stiff to the ground. She was dead.

"We had a plan," Esther said as she stood up. "Why didn't you stick to it?"

I couldn't look away from the dead face. She had been smiling only minutes before. She had just wanted chocolate for her restaurant. Who would open her restaurant now? People would notice right away that she was missing.

"Owen." Esther's hand on my shoulder finally got me to look up at her. I had helped her kill a person. It wasn't like the first time where she had done it so quickly Vai and I didn't have time to react or the second time where she had done it herself. I had helped plan this. I had lured Adi out.

My stomach churned violently. The muscles in my stomach contracted in great heaves. I turned away from Esther and Adi - the body - and vomited. My breakfast was a strange black-green against the gray floor.

Esther sighed and put her hand on my back. She patted me gently. "It's okay, Owen," she said softly. "It's okay."

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. I looked at the orange material to see if any of the vomit got on it, but it didn't appear that way.

"It's okay." Esther continued to pat my back. It occured to me she wasn't only consoling me. She was consoling herself to.

I turned and hugged her around the waist.

"It's okay," I said to her because I thought she needed to hear the words too. There was a moment of stillness before Esther's arms wrapped around me and returned the hug.

"You should get to your quarters and login to school," Esther said. "I'll go to your quarters with the body and hide out in your bathroom until you and Vai get out of school. Then Vai can come with his mechatronic and take care of the evidence."

She pulled away from the hug and I let my arms fall to my side. She released her handheld sweeper and it cleaned up the vomit. Esther picked up the body and threw it over her shoulder. She took a step towards the open maintenance shaft, but turned back to me.

"You turned your camera distorter on like we talked about, right?"

"Yes," I said. I looked at my okulus to make sure it was still turned on. "Yes," I said again.

"Good. They will have no reason to suspect your involvement then." She placed the body inside the maintenance shaft and crawled in after it. The handheld sweeper flew back to her. "Your father won't be in your quarters will he?"

"If he is, I'll find away to get rid of him for a little bit."

Esther nodded. "I'll see you soon in your quarters then."

I made it back to my quarters. My mom would have gone to work by now so the only possibility would be my dad being home. He had started meeting with a few other musicians recently and formed a string quartet so there was a possibility he was with them.

The living area was empty. "Dad?" There was no answer. I went and knocked on his bedroom door. It was met with silence.

The door to the corridor slid open when I went to it and I signaled to the nearest maintenance hatch. I wasn't really sure if Esther was there yet, but I signaled anyway. The maintenance hatch opened and Esther crawled out. She pulled Adi - the body - out with her. I went to help, but by the time I got there, she had already had the body over her shoulder and was walking towards my quarters. I replaced the hatch and followed her. The door slid shut behind us. She didn't hesitate as she walked to my bedroom door which slid open to allow her. When I got to my room, she was already in the bathroom.

"Hurry and login to the ansible for school," she called out. "I've got it handled here."

I hesitated. It seemed like I should help her, although there wasn't really anything to help her with and my absence from school would be noted.

I crawled onto my bed and reshaped my okulus to fit around my head. I logged into the ansible and then the school program.

"You're late," Teacher Miller said as I popped into the classroom.

"My greatest apologies," I said with my warmest voice. "I overslept."

"Again? This is a bad habit," she said.

I sat in my seat. "One I am trying desperately to rectify," I said. "Please, continue with class. I am eager to learn." I thought I sounded like myself - like I just hadn't killed someone.

She turned her eyes away from me and began the class. Shel, Minmin and Vai all looked at me. I hadn't told Shel and Minmin our plan, but maybe Vai had before class. That didn't seem likely though in case someone would overhear. Minmin and Shel were very clever and observant. They had probably figured out on their own that something was happening. I wondered if Shel had told his mom everything.

I smiled and waved at them as if there wasn't a dead mother in my bathroom. I usually avoided looking towards the back where Spencer sat, but this time I looked. I wished I could tell him that I was sorry, but that his mom had the Corruption in her and she tried to kill me.

My fingers touched my neck where she had choked me. Of course no marks would show in the ansible. Maybe my self in the real world already had bruises.

Halfway through class Spencer suddenly announced, "I've got to go," and logged off the ansible before Teacher Miller could say anything. He must have found out his mother was missing.

I didn't like him, but he didn't deserve to have a murdered mother.