Manifest: A Shattered Future

Episode Six - Echo of the Fractured Past

Episode Six – Echo of the Fractured Past

"Adder! What are you doing?" Elena asked with an entertained smile.

Without tilting his head, Adder lifted his index finger to his lips as he kept his ear against the laboratory wall. Curiosity got the best of Elena and compelled her to set her ear against the same wall, but she could not hear anything other than an electrical hum from another room. She showed her partner a quizzical look, but Adder shook his head and continued listening to sounds elsewhere in the building. After a few seconds, he stood upright and excitedly asked, "Did you hear that?"

Elena shook her head quickly, but Adder smiled mischievously and motioned toward the door. He explained, "It's Ockham and Annabel! They're definitely making out; I'm certain of it. And here they thought they could get one over on ol' Adder Neonia, but that's not happening! Sure they're the star scientists of our lab, but I'm the star detective. And I think our coworkers are conducting an exploration that isn't covered by our grant... if you catch my drift!"

"Oh my god can we go check? Please? They're so cute together, but I really really want to catch them. They'll never live it down," Elena said with a giggle.

Adder nodded excitedly and opened the door to their laboratory, letting her leave first. As they quickly made their way toward the astrophysics lab, Adder accelerated and peeked his head into the electrical engineering lab. He yelled into the room, "Hey, Silvia! Altair! We're about to go spoil Ockham's fun, if you know what I mean! Want to come with us?"

But there was no response. Elena peeked her head into the doorway right beside Adder, but a quick scan of the empty lab did not show anything of interest. Disassembled circuits and solenoids scattered the largest workbench, but Altair sat alone in the shadows with a series of notes spread out on the counter. He had a calculator by his right hand and an open textbook by his left, but he continued scribbling equations onto the page without paying any attention to the interlopers. Elena narrowed her eyes and peered through the fluorescent lighting; she recognized his differential equation as one that involved both capacitors and inductors.

"Yeah, I think I'd rather be here. Silvia's already headed that way," Altair answered without glancing up from his equation.

Elena tilted her head, wondering why Silvia would have already been on the way, but Adder recommenced his journey before she could ask. She curiously followed Adder toward the astrophysics lab, but she struggled to keep up; her prosthetic leg kept dragging on the linoleum floor. But when Adder saw her trying to catch up, he accelerated and quickly rushed through the doors to Ockham's lab. Elena scratched her head, wondering why Adder had not held the door open for her as he had in the past, but she continued after him.

But when Elena finally reached the door and pulled herself inside, her four friends loudly shouted together, "Happy birthday!"

Elena widened her eyes in shock as Ockham and Silvia cheered and sounded noisemakers. Adder threw handfuls of confetti into the air, and Elena watched with a bright smile as it rained down around her. Annabel shouted gleefully in the background as she carried a chocolate cake with flaming candles. Adder and Elena hungrily watched Annabel approach her friends with the cake, and after she set it down on the counter, she warmly embraced Elena.

"I hope your birthday is every bit as beautiful as you! I baked you this cake, and I really hope you like it," Annabel said sweetly to her friend.

Elena smiled and returned her embrace as Ockham reached into a cabinet for napkins and paper plates. Silvia placed a cone-shaped hat on her head before doing the same for Adder and Annabel. Elena opened her mouth and tried to express her heartfelt thanks, but tears and a breathy sob surfaced instead. She quickly fought to stifle her cry, but the damage had been done; her friends quickly noticed her emotional reaction.