Antumbra - A Lost Cause

Unlucky - Chapter Eight

Arva scampered away with a scream, leaping back onto her bed behind the covers. It had moved, it wasn't a trick of the light, it had definitely moved. It used to be in a half-bend, now the segments of the unknown object had bent into a curl so the whole thing was almost U-shaped. It had curled so much it became uneven and fell to one side, Arva jumping as it hit the floor. She was so startled she'd forgotten about the pain in her hand, though it returned quickly. She looked at her palm. It wasn't red or bleeding, but the feeling was real. She wondered if she'd been electrocuted.

"Arva?" Hannah peeked through the door, "you screamed... Gramma wants to know if you're okay."

"I'm fine, Hannah," Arva said, relaxing from her huddled position on her bed. "I just... stubbed my toe and it hurt."

"Oh..." the little girl seemed convinced, having no reason to doubt the excuse, and left. Arva was left alone with the bizarre object and hesitantly approached it. She nudged it with her foot, then tried to sit it up. It didn't move again, and had the same amount of flex as before. Once she was satisfied it wasn't going to bite her or explode, she picked it up and took it downstairs, hauling it out to the backyard quickly before Gramma could see. She left it next to the tool shed, where a lot of other junk was gathered, and went back inside. She'd properly scrap it later, but it was dark and she planned to do more job hunting tomorrow. As she entered back into the house, she watched Hannah play with her dolls while Gramma watched television, and felt a nagging in the back of her mind. She made her way into the living room and sat down on the sofa next to her grandmother's chair.

"Would you like to watch something, dear?" Gramma asked.

"No thank you," Arva said, mulling over her thoughts. She finally built up the nerve to strike a conversation. "Gramma, did those men ask any questions before I came home?"

"Those nice young gentlemen from Eclipse?" Gramma spoke of them as if Eclipse was common knowledge, but Arva had never heard of it, "they asked if we were alright, but otherwise we simply had a nice chat."

"I see," Arva said. "So they didn't ask for anything?"

"Why would they?" asked Gramma, and Arva couldn't suppress her guilt any longer.

"I... did something I don't think I should have," she confided. "The other day, when I cleaned Mr. Baker's yard, he let me take home a piece of debris. I didn't tell you because I thought it was just scrap but... I think it belongs to them."

"Oh, sweetheart," she placed her hand on Arva's knee. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"Because they didn't ask," Arva said, knowing the dubious truth to the statement, "but I should have, and now I'm worried I've done something that may get us in trouble."

"You won't get in trouble, honey," Gramma laughed, "that's not how Eclipse do things."

"Who are the Eclipse Guard?" Arva finally asked her, "they're the military, right? What do they guard?"

"I suppose you are too young to remember," Gramma said, "Eclipse is the local military branch of the GDU." Arva learned in school that the GDU, or Global Democratic Union, was where they lived. Its existence didn't factor much into her daily life, so she often forgot the specifics of how it operated. She knew what military was, but had never heard the name Eclipse.

"So they're the good guys?" Arva asked.

"I think that comes down to perspective," Gramma said.

"Oh," Arva muttered. She chewed on the meaning behind that last statement.

"I hope you don't mind, dear," Gramma said, suddenly seeming less cheerful. "All the excitement today, I think I'll turn in early."

"Uh, sure," Arva helped her up. She turned to Hannah, completely oblivious to their conversation as she continued to play. "Bedtime, Hannah." Her sister let out a protracted groan as her and Gramma shuffled off to their rooms. Arva lingered a moment to turn off the television and lights, and as she stepped through the kitchen she took one last look through the back door, at the shed. She couldn't see the thing in the dark, but knew it was still there. She yawned, ignoring it for now, and was about to head upstairs herself when the phone rang. She answered it.

"Hello?" Arva said.

"Good evening," a woman's voice came over the line. "Sorry to call so late, is this, um... Arvo?"

"Arva," she clarified.

"My mistake," the voice said with a chuckle. "I'm Deb from the Cut Cloth. I have your résumé here and was wondering if you'd be available for an interview tomorrow?"