Rift

Chapter 12: All the World's a Stage

"Mama, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay, baby. Everything will be okay, I promise."

"I'm sorry, Edith. Truly, I am."
"For what? What are you doing?"

"Daddy! Wake up!"
"Oscar! Run! Get out of here!"
"Mama! I'm scared! Help me!"

"Let him go!" Edith screams as she jumps awake, almost punching Kylen in the face as she comes to.

As soon as she realizes it was just a nightmare, she groans and holds her head against her migraine. The bright lights and white walls only worsen the headache and makes her stomach churn in protest.

Without needing to ask, Kylen hands her a bucket and she can't get a word out before heaving and throwing up into the plastic bin. She briefly sees out of the corner of her eye as they start reaching towards her to pat her on the back, but they pause in contemplation and ultimately decide against it and instead just cross their hands behind their back.

Once she believes she's done, she lowers the bucket and looks around through squinted eyes to take in her surroundings. A small white room with gold accented walls and bright fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. She can tell they're still in the Bastion by the faint sound of ballroom music echoing through the halls, but they are nowhere near the party.

"You're in the infirmary," Kylen says as they notice her quizzically looking around.

"Where are the others? What happened?" she meets their eyes.

Kylen motions their head towards the sound of music. "Regan, Cree and Colin are still in the ballroom with The Envoy, and there hasn't been any word or sign of the girls and Malachi yet."

At the mention of The Envoy, Edith's eyes widen despite her headache protesting and she jumps out of the white medical bed. "The Envoy... He..." she starts breathing heavily.

"Just breathe, Edith. Take a moment to process," they say calmly.

"'Process' my ass! He can't be my son!" Edith bellows and drops back onto the bed, holding her head in her hands.

Kylen sighs and hesitantly sits beside her. "Before you ask, no. I don't know if he is or isn't really your son. If he is, then The Director never mentioned him to me. But that doesn't mean much at all. She doesn't tell her subjects anything if she doesn't see it necessary for us to know. I honestly don't even think The Envoy knew Corbin would announce him like that in front of everyone. He never told people his name, as per The Director's orders. So that was news to all of us," they explain.

Edith doesn't move her head, she just tightens her grip and shuts her eyes tight. "He's not... He can't be... He's dead... Oscar is dead! My son is dead! That can't be him!" she cries out while violently shaking her head, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her EPC burns with her emotions, but everything hurts right now. Her head, her stomach, why not add her heart to top it all off?

She quickly lifts her head and stands up again. "I need Colin... Or Regan... I need them to explain to me how this isn't possible!" she demands.

Kylen slowly nods and stands up with their hands behind their back once again. She's starting to notice that they do that more often than most people. Their stance isn't exactly formal like everyone else here is, but it's more like they're trying to hide their hands in an almost cautious manner.

"We'll get you back to them soon. But right now, we have a clear shot to the rift. You just need to destroy it to bring down the barrier around Utopia. This will probably be your best and only chance at getting home. I'll lead the way, and if anyone sees us, just let me do the talking and go along with whatever I say. Once we're done, we'll head back to regroup with the others," they explain the plan, seeing how panicked she still looks but unfortunately they don't have the luxury to make this easier on her. The best they can do is make this quick so she can get back to the others.