Faded Borders (The Convergence Saga Book 4)

by Rick Kueber

  “None taken. It was only a polite offer.” Tory smiled and nodded as she made her exit.

  “I’ll just put this down here.” Darcy sat the bag and game on the dining table.

  “Pretzels, huh?” Elle could already feel the sharp salty snacks, scraping her tongue and filling it with flavor.

  “Yeah. They’re out of date, but never opened.” Darcy pulled the noisy, cello bag from the brown paper bag and laid it on the table. “This on the other hand, gets better with age... Ta da!” She exclaimed, retrieving a full bottle of white zinfandel.

  “OH MY GOD!” Elle’s eyes widened. “GIMMIE!”

  The girls laughed loudly and their evening of fun began. Snacking on the dated pretzels, savoring every sip of wine and half-playing the game gave them all a sense of normalcy in this upside down world. Stories of their time apart, funny anecdotes and speculations of where they were heading filled their evening and the pink sweetness of the slightly dry white zin washed over their tongues and filled their bellies.

  “Whew!” Darcy’s face reddened as she stood up to cross the room. “It’s been toooo long.” Her words slightly slurred as she grabbed the back of Elle’s chair to keep herself upright.

  “Dayum girl!” Maya blurted out and the trio of inebriated women laughed uncontrollably.

  “Holy shit that was funny.” Elle said, still out of breath from laughing, and stood up to check on ‘Nix in his baby bed, but the situation only became more hilarious. Taking her weight off of her chair, it tipped over, sending Darcy tumbling to the floor, but not before she grabbed Elle and brought her down with her. Laughter that brought tears to their eyes and pains to their sides also brought Maya to the floor.

  “You ain’t leavin’ me outta all this damn fun down here.” She shoved her chair back and crawled across the floor, under the table to join her friends.

  “Good thing we didn’t have two bottles.” Elle snorted.

  “Oh, I don’t know... I could use another drink.” Darcy said, but obviously didn’t need any more alcohol.

  “Well, girl... I know where there’s...” Maya stared to say she could get more, but the entire room shook so hard, the furniture slid two feet to the left putting the table back over the top of Maya and sending the empty bottle and glasses shattering across the bare floor.

  “What the hell was that?” Elle felt suddenly sober. Scrambling to her feet, she went to her porthole to survey the situation. “Looks like we’ve stopped.”

  “But it’s dark out. We never stop anywhere at night.” Maya pointed out an odd fact from her seat under the table.

  “I’mma see what’s going on.” Maya crept across the floor to the wall where they entered, but was unable to slip her hand through to reveal the opening. “What the hell?”

  “Locked in.” Darcy said. “We’re here till somebody comes and gets us.”

  “Might as well make your selves at home. There’s plenty of pillows and blankets, but just this one bed.” Elle noted. “We can’t all fit, but you two can, and I can sleep on the couch.”

  “No way.” Darcy said. “That couch is mine. You two can fight over the bed.”

  “We can share if you want, or I can sleep in a chair, or on the floor.” Maya said bashfully.

  “It’s plenty big enough.” Elle remarked. “As long as you don’t snore too loud and don’t hog the blanket, I’ll share.” Elle gave Maya a wink.

  “Promise I won’t snore.” Maya smiled tenderly. “But I have been known to talk in my sleep.” Elle’s eyes bugged out and her mouth dropped open, exaggeratedly. “Just teasin.”

  The three women sat and chatted for another hour, cleaning up the shards and pieces of broken glass, before deciding that no one was coming to let them out. When they decided it was late enough and the wine had them drowsy, Elle gave Darcy her choice of blankets and a pillow from her freestanding closet. Elle took the side of the bed nearest Phoenix and when the three of them were settled in, the room dimmed like it did every night. Maybe someone in control was watching them, or perhaps its light was fed by the energy of those in the room. Elle preferred to think it was the latter. It helped her sleep at night, to believe that no one was spying and watching her every move.

  “I can’t sleep like this.” Maya scooted over and whispered in Elle’s ear. “I can’t sleep in these clothes. Is that gonna bother you?”

  “No. It’s okay.” Elle whispered back almost silently.

  Maya shimmied out of her pants and top and dropped them on the floor beside the bed. “So much better.” She said as she ran her hands across her bare skin.

  She laid on her side, facing Elle and curled one leg up. Elle laid flat on her back and stared at the ceiling until the light in the room had faded to pitch black. Neither of them could fall asleep, but Elle tossed restlessly while Maya laid still, watching her friend struggle under the thin blanket. After a while, Elle slipped out of her clothes, thinking it might help her sleep. Even though sleeping nude was much more comfortable, she still found it hard to sleep.

  “Well, at least someone’s asleep.” Elle whispered to the darkness. The dull sound of Darcy snoring drifted across the room. “My kingdom for a fan.”

  “Wouldn’t that be nice.” Maya agreed in a near silent whisper.

  “I thought you were asleep too.” Elle rolled towards Maya.

  “Not yet.” She scooted closer to Elle. “Who knows what’s going on out there, but at least it’s quiet. I’m kinda freaked out right now. Tory said we were just coming to visit for a couple of hours.”

  “It’s going to be okay.” Elle had a gut feeling that this was not the end, but her feelings did not ease Maya’s worries.

  Maya scooted again, and pressed her body against Elle, laying her head on Elle’s shoulder.

  There was a moment of awkwardness, but Elle soon sensed that Maya was more relaxed holding her. She ran her fingers through Maya’s hair and across her shoulder. Her head rolled to the side and her cheek rested against Maya’s forehead. The wine had dulled Elle’s nerves and she couldn’t deny that she had felt an emptiness since she had been separated from Tanner and it felt comforting to hold someone in her arms.

  ‘I’m not that drunk, or lonely... Am I’ She thought to herself and agreed that it was neither of these things that made her enjoy Mayas closeness. Elle wiggled herself lower, wrapped her arms around Maya’s bare back and gingerly kissed her cheek. “Good night.” She whispered in a barely audible voice, assuming she had already fallen asleep..

  “Night...” Maya whispered softly and kissed her back, squarely on the mouth.

  Elle wasn’t sure how she felt about the odd butterflies that fluttered in her stomach, but she didn’t believe it was a truly bad feeling. For no particular reason, she trusted Maya and thought she could confide in her with any secret, no matter how dark it may feel to her. Elle kissed her back and said four simple words that threw them into an all too brief night of intimacy that was more than just sexual exploration. It was the kind of bond that that is formed when two people are best friends from the day they meet in kindergarten until the day they are ripped apart by tragedy or old age. Four simple words... “I’m glad you’re here.”

  It was not a night of hot and heavy passion, but a time of intimate self-discovery and emotional exploration. Somewhere in the tangles of their night, they did fall into deep and dreamless sleeps.

  ‘”Uh-huh-huh...” Darcy cleared her throat intentionally and quite loudly, waking Maya and Elle.

  Elle pulled the blanket down, exposing the ridiculous, unkempt, black mess of hair that covered her face. With one swoop of her hand, she threw it out of her face and then rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Maya threw the blanket completely off, revealing every inch of her beautifully naked body.

  “I apologize for not being able to return last night as I had planned. I trust you ladies slept well.” Elle was shocked to hear Tory’s voice. She jumped to her feet and held the blanket in front of her awkwardly, failing miserably to cover hersel
f.

  “I’m not gay.” She blurted out subconsciously.

  “Is this something that should matter? I don’t understand its importance.” Tory responded somewhat clinically.

  “Bi the way, No one said you were gay.” Darcy teased, exaggerating the word ‘bi’. “Besides, what does it matter anyway?”

  “It doesn’t, I guess. I was just...” Elle stumbled over her awkward emotions and words.

  “As long as you can share emotions, especially love, it should not matter who you share them with.” Tory expressed her thoughts and Elle knew she was exactly right. “That is one of the things these beings of light and energy have lost and it is something they want to understand.”

  “I saw one of them showing emotions when ‘Nix was born.” Elle thought back. “They seemed to have some emotion when they ...buried their dead.” The memory hit her hard, remembering that she had killed them.

  “Yes, but those were Takers. They still have humanity buried deep within them. It is a matter of bringing it back to the forefront of who they are.” Tory explained. “It will take time, but it can be done. We need to get going soon. We will be walking today. Bring plenty to drink and I will be back to get you in... Thirty minutes.”

  Tory exited the room and Elle slumped back onto the bed, letting out an intentional sigh. “Well, this is an interesting turn of events.”

  “Speaking of ‘turning’, I mean seriously? ‘I’m not gay’.” Darcy tossed her hand over her mouth to hold in her laughter. “Maya, you could ‘turn’ me, if I wasn’t already with Mark.”

  “Lay off.” Maya scorned her. “It wasn’t like that. Not really.”

  “It was comforting and... It. Was. Beautiful.” Elle said softly. “I don’t really give a damn what anybody thinks.” She danced her way into her tight black jeans.

  “Mmmm.” Maya looked over Elle with hungry eyes. “Girl, if you were gay, I wouldn’t be the only woman who’d want to be your girl.”

  “Can we just get past last night?” Elle pleaded. “I’m not sure why we’re walking today, or where to, but something in my gut tells me we need to be on point.”

  “You’re right.” Darcy conceded. “I was just teasing you. Besides, not to make light of it, but seriously... Who cares?”

  “She’s right you know...” Maya chimed in. “Let’s see, you had an alien baby with a guy you barely knew, me and you, well... You know... But none of that matters. You’re the girl who put your neck on the line for us. You saved our lives when you didn’t have to. It’s what’s in your heart that matters.”

  “Yep.” Darcy crossed the room and smacked Elle hard on her butt. “And girl, you’re all heart!”

  “Okay. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, can we all get dressed and pack a bag of drinks and maybe something to munch on.” Elle was back to her ‘no-nonsense’ self. “We don’t know what today holds in store.”

  Chapter 8

  Swamped

  The three ladies were bustling around to dress in what they thought would be appropriate hiking clothes, borrowing what they wanted or needed from Elle’s small wardrobe and loaded up her backpack with the rest of the pretzels and all of the drinks they could fit. They hadn’t been finished long, when Tory made her reappearance.

  “Come.” She said, seeming more aristocratic than usual. “We have quite a long walk ahead of us.”

  Elle snatched up little ‘Nix and the three women followed Tory out of the confining comfort of Elle’s alien apartment. The four entered a rounded space. Not rounded like a typical room with radius walls, this space was shaped more like a wheel, flat on two sides and the other walls, floor and ceiling were and endless loop. In all, it was about fifteen feet wide and nearly forty feet in diameter from top to bottom.

  “Be still.” Tory said calmly as the area began to hum.

  Elle’s feet felt like they were magnetized to the floor and her stomach filled with butterflies. A mechanical buzz filled their ears to the point of physically tickling them and making their hair stand on end. What felt like a virtual roller coaster ride, crammed into mere milliseconds, sent them spinning through space and landed them in a massive trapezoid shaped space, but definitely still within the Titan. Placing her hand on the nearest wall, with extreme concentration, Tory spoke loudly.

  “Open!”

  As the word left her lips, the room hummed and a side wall began to open up. Muddy brown water and a sliver of sunlight gushed in through the opening doorway. The space quickly filled with boggy, swamp water and the fishy smell that accompanied it.

  “CLOSE!” Tory shouted, but the opening only continued to grow. “What do we do now?” She cried out in an unprecedented moment of panic.

  “We swim!” Elle shouted over the sound of the roaring waters. “Follow me!”

  Elle looked deep into the fiery eyes of ‘Nix. Cupping one hand, she blew into his face causing him to instinctively hold his breath, placed her cupped hand over his mouth and nose and darted under the murky, rising water and towards the opening. Elle’s shoes sank deeper and deeper into a thick and sloppy mud. Reaching the open doorway, she found it mostly blocked by a disgusting, slimy muck nearly chest high. Darcy, Maya and Tory followed close behind, and ran into Elle beneath the dank waters as she fought hopelessly to scale the wall of muck that was the consistency of thick pudding. Her mind scrambled with thoughts of the five of them drowning while they fought to escape the Titan. She had no choice but to remove her hand from Phoenix’s face and try to claw her way up and out. While her breath escaped her, she could feel her tiny child begin to struggle, flailing itself about, cradled in his papoose. Just as she was about to give up and take a deep breath of the watery death that surrounded her, her hand found a twisted root. Pulling herself up, she dug her feet into the muddy wall, one over the other until miraculously, her face and head popped above the surface of the water.

  Gasping for her life and without a thought, she screamed out, “NIX!”

  Tory surfaced next, followed by Maya. The water was alive with the splashing of fighting hands and arms of the women as they tried to keep above the water while their feet continually sunk into the nasty vacuum of the mucky bed. Darcy finally came to the surface, face down and showing no struggle.

  “NIX!” Elle screamed again as she noticed her tiny tot, covered in a scummy residue, was not moving ...or breathing. “Wake up ‘Nix! Breathe, damn it!” She cried out as she patted him firmly on his back.

  “This way!” Maya suddenly grabbed Elle’s arm with a jerk and dragged her to the boggy, moss covered bank.

  Frantic and flustered, Elle scoured her memories until a few vague recollections from her high school health class began to foggily appear. With shaking hands she attempted to resuscitate the bluing child. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Tory wading through the swampy waters towards her, with Darcy in tow.

  Maya was lost. She wanted to help Elle, but there was nothing she could do that Elle wasn’t already doing. When she noticed the blank, dazed look on Tory’s face, she knew where she needed to be. Splashing back into the murkiness, she grabbed Darcy’s other arm and the two quickly pulled her from the waters. Once on mostly solid ground, Maya began to perform CPR on her lifeless body. Darcy’s wet and matted hair was strung across her face along with bits of rotting leaves and other small debris. Her open eyes, bloodshot from straining for her life, stared glassily, unfocused into the sorrowful trees that loomed over them. Tory’s attention was split between the two women’s attempts like she was watching a game of tennis. In mere seconds, the sound of a gurgling cough came from the fragile child and Tory watched intently as Elle rolled him onto his side and patted his back firmly as he continued to forcefully cough out the dank water from his lungs, between his raspy cries.

  “Thank you Mother Earth, for not taking my child.” Elle wept.

  Minutes passed and Maya pounded her fist against Darcy’s chest. “Come on! Damn it!” In spite of her relentless efforts and undying desires for success
, Darcy remained still, lifeless and cold. Elle glared at the grayish face and as much as she wished to hear Darcy’s infuriating sarcasm, there was no sound besides the heavy breathing of an exasperated Maya. The weight of reality hit Elle as her eyes slipped from the sopping corpse on the mossy bank to the child in her arms, whose breath still rattled with swamp water. As much as she detested what her life and the world had become, she was humbly grateful for the warm life in her arms and the rest of her troubles melted away for a split second. The three saturated women sat together, silently in remorse trying to make sense of what had happened.

  “What the hell was the point in all of this?” Maya questioned Tory’s motive.

  “We have to gather at the shore. We will all gather at the shore tonight,” Tory answered.

  “No sense in asking why now.” Elle reasoned. “No matter what the answer, it won’t change what happened ...it won’t bring back Darcy.”

  “We can’t just leave her here like this.” Instead of acknowledging that Elle was right, she changed the subject just enough to avoid admitting it.

  “We can’t really bury her, but...” Elle scanned their surroundings. “I suppose we could cover her in these vines and moss, or something. That’s the best I can think of.”

  “Yes.” Tory interjected. “You two should find a suitable place and an acceptable way of putting her to rest and I will gather the rest of the Titan’s occupants. Then we will make the long march to the shore, before the sun sets.”