Rift

Chapter 23: Directed

An entire week of silence passes. No word from Latanya yet, but if she's having to move quickly to avoid getting caught by Kylen and The Envoy, then it makes sense why she wouldn't have the time to stop and reach out to keep everyone up to speed on how she's doing. They just have to trust that she's managing on her own.

Regan's been rather quiet, mostly spending his time with Reela when he's not working on something. Whenever Edith has gotten the chance to see him away from Reela, she's noticed that he always has his nose in his notebook. He hasn't told anyone about whether or not he's working on a new project, so she can only assume he's found something to keep his mind busy to distract himself from the situation with Cree.

J has been coming and going and no one knows why, but that's probably because no one is brave enough to approach her and ask. J's her own creature that is probably best left unprovoked.

Then the rest of them have been left to just sit around and wait for help to arrive.

The waiting process is almost maddening, but excitement fills Edith's heart once she feels the implant in her neck slightly buzz, and as she meets Colin's eyes, she knows he felt the sudden shift too.

They sprint for the deck with Regan following close behind, and once they reach the bow of the wrecked ship that they've made their base, they see in the distance approaching from the south is another ship, one bearing the familiar symbol of County Sage.

The sight fills their hearts, especially Regan, with indescribable joy. After so long, just seeing a piece of their home is more than they've been given since stepping through the rifts.

After a few agonizing hours of waiting, watching the ship draw in closer, it finally pulls up to the island and lowers its ramp to bridge the deck of the ruined ship. At the top of the ramp, slowly making her way down towards the three is Latanya Eaves.

Her wavy black hair is now braided off to the side and she's wearing a simple dark grey turtle neck with light grey jeans and black boots. She has a black bag slung over her shoulder that she readjusts her hold on as she approaches the familiar faces with a smile.

"I'm so sorry it took so long to get here," she says a bit downcast. "I tried to move as quickly as I could, but I—"

Colin rolls his eyes and pulls her into a hug. "Don't apologize. You're doing more than we could ever ask for," he says kindly and lets her go to smile at her. "After all the hell we've been through, any kindness is greatly appreciated."

Latanya nods slowly. "I certainly hope my aid provides the results you're hoping for. I'll continue to do everything I can to help you all get home safe," she says. "And until then, hopefully give you some relief from the suffering you've endured."

"How so?" Edith asks, when she hears a joyously familiar bark come from the ship.

Turning her gaze up, her smile beams as her eyes land on the synthetic German Shepherd husky mix bounding towards her, barking and wagging his tail like a madman.

She gasps and opens her arms wide for her dog. "THOR!"

As he gets closer, she realizes that he doesn't look like he's going to stop. But her joy overrules any fear of getting steamrolled by a dog that's literally made of metal. She closes her eyes and smiles wide as Thor reaches her, jumping onto her and knocking her onto her back.

Then he instantly runs to Colin.

"Master CLive! You look different! You smell different! Is that plastic? I don't know! I'm just happy to see you! I've missed you so much and I miss going on walks! The boat ride was fun but I threw up! A lot! It was so exciting!" the dog looks just about ready to pass out from all the laps he's running around Colin, when he stops and jumps at him. The SRL catches him and holds the dog like a big baby.