Worms In A Hamster Cage

Chapter Four: A Shard of Truth

On my way to the recreation facility, I spot the unmistakable black, slim, and smoky figure of an Entity standing three yards outside the tall wire fence. It's Polac. She's looking straight at me. I wonder how long she's been standing there. Did nobody notice her? My colleagues aren't as friendly with the Entities as they are with the Raincoats. Despite an Entity's good intentions (and the fact that these things only attack when provoked), we're always alert and suspicious of them.

I shake my head and give her a meaningful gaze. She does nothing. Not even send me a telepathic message. Instead, she emits dark energy to pass her thoughts to me. I show her my hands and shake them no. Still no reaction from her. She isn't capable of it, anyway.

A football whizzes past me and bounces off the fencepost and bumps into my ribcage. I clutch my chest with a grunt. The ball slows to a stop on the concrete but is sent rolling away by a dark figure that dashes before me. I really have to wear a bulletproof vest every time I'm outside. Accidents happen anywhere and my chest isn't as robust as it should be despite working out every week (under Zero's orders).

"What the—" I breathe, startled.

"Yo, cucaracha!" Rascal goes up in front of me, his golden eyes beaming. He pats my shoulder. "Sorry about that." Seeing Polac, he asks, "You going somewhere?"

"I don't want to."

"But the lady over there"—he points his thumb toward the Entity, grinning slyly—"wants you to."

I look at him with a straight face that says. "How did you know she's expecting me?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

I bring my gaze back to Polac. The more I see her, the more uneasy I feel. Her unnerving presence sends electroshocks through my skin. It makes me want to stay indoors forever. She's not going anywhere until I agree to join her in Ashmoor. But I really don't want to go with her. I don't even know why she's clinging to me like this.

What did I do to attract her attention that she no longer knows when to respect our boundaries? Today is an awful time for us to meet. I'm supposed to head to the gym to bulk up—Zero's orders—and play cat with Inky. Zero doesn't take excuses. Rules are rules for him. Breaking them means spending two hours in a classroom listening to his sermon of hisses and bathing in hot spittle.

"If were you," Rascal whispers close to my ear, "I'd get her out of here ASAP."

He chuckles.

Muttering to myself, "I don't have a choice," I teleport to the Entity's side.

Polac's disturbing aura instantly creeps into my flesh. Faint purple ripples pass through the gaps in her fingers. A silent, eerie whistling gushes from the crystalline concretion of her apparel. It's the Entity form of greeting. You'll mistake it as a sign of incoming threats if you don't understand their culture.

Why isn't she reacting to my presence? I want to ask, but then I remember Entities don't have the capacity for feelings and emotions. I was expecting her to, however, because ever since the first time we met, a hundred seasons ago, Polac has been trying to go out of her Entity ways and become more human.

"Well?" I shrug. "Here I am. Tell me what you want so we can get this over with."

Polac speaks. "Before we go"—

Sigh. Here comes the lengthy Entity speech. These things don't know when or how to cut the long chase short.

—"I ask you to see me as your equal. I am not your enemy."

I bite the urge for sarcasm or any rude remarks. You are not my friend either. Impatience burns my nape. She would've noticed how irritable I'm becoming if I wasn't wearing my mask.