Interference (ON HOLD)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Davey stood on the front stoop of Carly’s house, staring at the empty street. Her bags hung limply from slightly curled fingers. The purchases seemed to weigh down her soul as much as they did her hands. What had started as a day of exploration and laughter had turned to pain and weight. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She just wanted to go sit in the bakery and stuff her face with delicious pastries until she was so full she was no longer able to think. But with Carly sitting just behind those thin walls, Davey wouldn’t dare leave.

The longer she stood there, on that flat slab of cement that passed for an entryway, the more she realized how quiet the neighborhood was. No one walked the streets. The few people on their lawns weren’t laughing and jovial with their neighbours. Instead, they stood, watering their dull, grayish lawns or sweeping their vacant cement patches. No one so much as glanced into the yards around them. No one tried to engage anyone. The girl standing stone-still in front of a house that wasn’t hers attracted no attention at all.

Davey wandered around the side of the house. She couldn’t walk away from the building. She would wait here for Carly. Wait until she could come up with some kind of plan of action.

A water tank ran along the back of the building, ending where it met the stairs leading down from the back door. The yard was surrounded by a tall fence that blocked it from the large empty field behind the row of houses. Davey sank down into the small space between the tank and the steps and set her purse on the ground. It took her a few minutes to find the white case. She held it in her hands for a moment, staring at it, wondering if she could figure out how to get it to do what she wanted. She’d never called for help before. She’d never needed to. Never felt so close to failure. Davey knew there was a way to contact other Veils using the totem. They taught it in training sessions, but that had been over forty years ago and she barely remembered the instructions.

She cupped her hands together and rested the flower totem in the bowl they formed. She stared into the centre of the petals, her eyes exploring the folds from the centre to the outer rim and back again. The shadows that fell in the lines etched between each petal. The dull light of the sun reflected down onto the totem and highlighted the depth. Drawing her further and further into its heart. As she felt herself beginning to pull towards the power of the Commune, she began to think of M. To concentrate on the traits that made her different from other Veils. To picture the glass tree that was M’s totem. She hoped that she was between assignments. That she might hit that little window between jobs. At the very least, that she was working a job where she could pop out for a few minutes. The pull became stronger and Davey felt the mist building and overflowing from her hands. Spilling out in soft fingersfingers, chilling her skin as it formed the familiar coating. She closed her eyes and waited for the Commune to finish the transport.

When D felt her muscles shift back into her familiar body, she rolled her shoulders to allow the tension to release. Opening her eyes, she saw the white room similar to the normal arrival rooms, but instead of the ring of chairs and the orb, this room contained two chairs facing each other. D released a sigh of relief when she found herself looking into M’s deep, inquisitive eyes.

“What’s going on?” M stared at her friend, he head tilted in curiosity. Being called in by a fellow Veil, especially an experienced one, was extremely rare.

D glanced around the room, her eyes adjusting to the sterility of the Commune. Something seemed off. She stared at M, who almost seemed to be floating. It took her a minute to realize that there were no shadows mingling with the white light from the ceiling. Everything here was simply white. Shadow and light worked differently here. She’d always know that. It had never affected her before. A few days as Davey and she no longer felt like she was part of the community of Travelers.