Emergence by Adrienne Gordon Page A

of the scientists.
    Richard led the group, and with them rode Daria, three guards and Vincent. Melissa gathered Vincent was a late addition, and only after a prolonged argument with Richard was he allowed to join them. As for Daria, Melissa learned Daria was the closest thing Richard had for a friend. She prattled on as they rode about how he was such a precocious youth, how the many technological advancements he discovered allowed them to live in relative comfort.
    Daria was tall – taller than Richard. She had pale skin with a lot of acne on her face, and long, stringy brown hair that looked as if it hadn’t been washed in several weeks. Her teeth were yellow, her cheeks puffy and her eyes wide apart and Melissa knew if she lived on the levitating cities she would be one of the uglier girls around. But out there, in the cold wilderness, Melissa could appreciate her sparking personality, and thought she was prettier and prettier with each moment spent.
    As she listened to Daria, she also felt a twinge of jealousy. When she lived on Imathrin, she had a crush on a neighbor’s boy who was also smart and intelligent, and suddenly she felt an extreme longing to see Asil.
    “So what do you think of Richard?” asked Daria, as they waited for the charaks that pulled their sleds to be fed and rested. Melissa smiled as she understood why they were called ‘ charaks,’ as after every bite of food they would utter ‘charak, charak.’ It was unseasonably warm, allowing them to sit unprotected around a small fire to talk.  
    “Well, seeing as I’m his captive, I have a rather low opinion of him.”
    “Ouch -- that’s kinda harsh!” cried Daria. “I mean, I heard they were a little rough with you at first, but you’re out here now, aren’t you?” She took a deep breath of air, and nodded with approval.  “Free to lean back and drink in the fresh cool air.”
    Melissa couldn’t help but smile. “You’re different than the others.”
    “Yeah, well, they all take themselves a little too seriously. I mean, life can’t always be about studying and crap like that.” She pointed to Richard, who was tinkering with a small metallic device. “Just look at him -- don’t you wanna just push him up against a wall, and plant a big one right on him?”
    “No!” squealed Melissa. “Besides, I don’t think he’d know what to do.”
    “Exactly -- that’s why you’d do it!” cried Daria, as she pushed back the thick tan hood to reveal more of her face. She was very light-skinned, and Melissa noticed for the first time the dozens of red freckles that clustered around her mouth, nose and eyes. “He’d go all red, and you’d finally wipe that insufferably smug smile off his face.”
    Melissa nodded, relaxing a little, happy to talk like she did when she still lived on Imathrin, with nothing to worry or upset her.
    “You ever kiss him?” asked Melissa.
    “No -- almost,” she said dreamily. “About a year ago, when we were out exploring the metal ships, we got trapped in a shaft for a few minutes. We said a few things, and just as we almost got close enough . . . bam! The door slid open, my dad hugged me and helped me out, and that was that.”
    “You never did anything since?”
    “No,” she said with a sigh. “And I’ve tried every trick! When my father got sick, and I was upset, I purposefully cried a little more in front of him to try to get him to hug me and spend time alone with me.”
    “You didn’t?” cried Melissa with glee.
    “Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s lame, but it almost worked. He hugged me, and it was one of those long hugs, when I could even feel his heartbeat.” Daria sighed. “I tried a couple of more things like that, but none of them worked. He’s too important now, too focused on all the discoveries he made. Sometimes . . .”
    “What?” asked Melissa.
    “Sometimes I hate science. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and where I live. But I can understand why so many people for so