The Artificer

Chapter Nine, Vaughn Worth: A Program's Noise

The voice on the other end of the phone has gone quiet. All I can hear are the sounds of nature through my phone. The birds are out singing. There's a breeze. Crickets are chirping because they feel comfortable wherever they are.

Today should have been a nice day with clement weather. The days when Iris visits are always nice. I always look forward to seeing her in the morning. Seeing her is better than seeing the sun.

There's the sound of my own nervous heartbeat. My breathing. I hate it when things are so quiet that I can hear myself. I want to talk, but I can't focus on what I want to say. Would now even be an okay time to talk? Iris didn't sound so good over the phone— that isn't to say that she has an ugly voice, it's actually very beautiful to me— I'm sorry, she just sounded worn down. In the two years I've known her, she's never sounded anything except energetic and upbeat. Just thinking about this makes my heart beat faster in worry.

I want to say a lot of things. I know she's okay-- for now-- but I don't know her condition. Is she injured? What happened? What is she doing now? Is she asleep? I want to ask her. It might be best for her to stay awake.

The call continues to run. She says nothing. Her condition is unknown. Because I've watched her for the past two years, I'm confident that she's survived no matter what sort of injury she sustained. I still worry and hurry toward her.

The road I'm on is clear of any other drivers. The place where the crash occurred is close to a graveyard. I pass it on the days I pick up Bonnie from school. There's also a surgery center nearby. I remember this area so well because that surgery center has reflective, one-sided windows. Bonnie always makes faces at the windows, unaware of the people inside.

This morning, Bonnie also did that. She was happier today because she got to see our friend. When Bonnie finds out about this, she's going to be very upset. I'm already very upset. She'll probably break out in tears and flood the whole mansion. And there's no telling how Camilla will react. She might explode. Again.

I try to drive as close as possible to the site of the accident. I can 'see' where it happened-- it's like a sun rose out of the earth. White blooms, forming a dome over the area. It was much larger, earlier, but I took my eyes off it for a few seconds and it suddenly shrank. Big or small, I'm not activating my Gift of Sight too close to it.

'It's a good thing Bonnie was inside when it happened. But Camilla...'

Camilla will be troubled for a while. We got a call from her highschool already; even though she's far away, with the condition of her Origin Point, she's sensitive enough that the overload knocked her unconscious during gym. Her class was having their swimming unit, and unfortunately she was in the pool when it happened. The staff mentioned that a significant amount of blood had been lost, but she showed no sign of injury, like it never happened. I would pick her up, but she didn't want to return home and it's probably safer for her to keep distance anyways. There's no telling how she'll physically react to this field. I already asked Mr. Fox to take her to the family doctor after school. By the time she comes home, hopefully it won't hurt as much to look at the dome. I'll have to help her; father and I are the only ones able to fix her eye. We're not Recovery types, and we can't manipulate living objects, but there's a way to balance the Divinity flow in her head. The method involves playing VR games together– I got the idea from our mother's Divinity-transferring ability.

The road is blocked off by a barricade of police cars. A lockdown is in effect because of a reported shooting. Because of the 'bloom,' the IOSO will probably catch on soon, but I don't see any unmarked vehicles yet. Hopefully they're not just hiding where I can't see them.

I absolutely can't let them find Iris. I have no faith in the IOSO. In the past, I've pulled a few family connections and bribed some people to keep quiet about Iris's existence. But this time might be difficult. She called emergency services with her phone. That means she can be tracked. Once I heard that, I made a call to our contact in law enforcement. I'm still waiting for confirmation for the record to either be removed or altered.