farmhouse, my friends were packing the trunks of Cole’s car and Josh’s Jeep. I stormed past the group and into the house. I shoved my belongings into my backpack, did a quick survey of the guest room, and headed back out front.
“Josh, I’m riding with you.” I tossed my bag uninvited into his trunk.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Ilya planned to take the front. Are you cool with the back seat? It’s noisy.”
“That’ll be fine. Let’s go. Now!” I got into the back seat.
Josh, Ilya, Cole and Faith all said goodbye to Max and Camille. I seethed with too much rage to be polite, so I waited in the car.
Jonah appeared at the edge of the driveway, looking only slightly winded. It was obvious something was wrong between us. I didn’t care to explain. I sat in the back seat while my friends talked amongst themselves to their satisfaction. I had worked my anger at the situation into a swirling mass of misguided rage. How dare they all act like everything was normal? Couldn’t they tell something awful had just happened? Of course not, but I fumed anyway until we finally drove away.
As he drove, Josh filled us in on his plan. We were on our way to Spokane to pick up his friend and fellow variant, Adelaide. She was an alumna of Innoviro’s European sister company, Evonatura.
“When we get to Adelaide’s house, we’ll need to spend the night. She’s got a big place, a lot like Foothills Glen, so there’s room for all of us. If we don’t piss her off too much. You’ll piss her off if you stare,” said Josh. I sensed him eyeing me in the rearview mirror as he drove, but I refused to meet his gaze.
“Irina, you should calm down, regardless of who we’re meeting later,” said Ilya. The mild irritation in his voice served to ratchet up my rage.
Shut up and stay out of my head! This is none of your goddamn business!
“I’m perfectly calm! But why would we stare? Is her variation gross or something?”
“Don’t say gross. She’s one of us. She does have a very noticeable variation. Like the angel sisters, she can’t go out in public without a disguise,” said Josh.
“You mean Rose and Sage? She’s got wings?” said Ilya.
“No, she’s got tentacles,” said Josh.
“Did you give the others this little briefing?” said Ilya, his irritation replaced with concern.
“I told Cole and asked him to discuss it, but it wouldn’t hurt to remind them. Irina, text your boyfriend to make sure they’ve got a heads up,” said Josh.
“He’s NOT my boyfriend,” I said, fully aware how childish I sounded.
“Okay. Text Jonah and remind them not to stare at Adelaide,” said Josh.
I looked straight back at him this time. The combination of Josh’s scowl, dark beard stubble, army-green flak jacket, and sheer physical size would have intimidated me in any other circumstance. Angry as I felt, I held my tongue and glared back at him for a long moment.
I picked up my phone and started tapping. “Done.”
“Good. Now, pick that cup up off the floor and practice your telekinesis until we get to Spokane.”
The road from Seattle to Spokane took us from mountains and lush coastal forests to rolling grassy hills and wide flat plains. We passed through the unremarkable towers of Spokane’s core, over a river and back into grasslands. Josh turned onto a long driveway that disappeared into a tunnel of trees. We emerged to find, not a farm, but an acreage stretching out around a large log cabin. While we parked, I saw the front door open and a woman in a wheelchair navigated the porch to greet us.
“Hello, Josh! It’s good to see you!” said the woman in the wheelchair. I detected a faint accent in her speech, but I couldn’t place it. She smoothed the blanket covering her lap and legs.
“Hi Adelaide. How’s it goin?” Josh said, through his open door window. We got out of the Jeep as Cole’s car parked next to us.
“Working from home again, so I can’t complain.” Adelaide wheeled forward a little with
“Josh, I’m riding with you.” I tossed my bag uninvited into his trunk.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Ilya planned to take the front. Are you cool with the back seat? It’s noisy.”
“That’ll be fine. Let’s go. Now!” I got into the back seat.
Josh, Ilya, Cole and Faith all said goodbye to Max and Camille. I seethed with too much rage to be polite, so I waited in the car.
Jonah appeared at the edge of the driveway, looking only slightly winded. It was obvious something was wrong between us. I didn’t care to explain. I sat in the back seat while my friends talked amongst themselves to their satisfaction. I had worked my anger at the situation into a swirling mass of misguided rage. How dare they all act like everything was normal? Couldn’t they tell something awful had just happened? Of course not, but I fumed anyway until we finally drove away.
As he drove, Josh filled us in on his plan. We were on our way to Spokane to pick up his friend and fellow variant, Adelaide. She was an alumna of Innoviro’s European sister company, Evonatura.
“When we get to Adelaide’s house, we’ll need to spend the night. She’s got a big place, a lot like Foothills Glen, so there’s room for all of us. If we don’t piss her off too much. You’ll piss her off if you stare,” said Josh. I sensed him eyeing me in the rearview mirror as he drove, but I refused to meet his gaze.
“Irina, you should calm down, regardless of who we’re meeting later,” said Ilya. The mild irritation in his voice served to ratchet up my rage.
Shut up and stay out of my head! This is none of your goddamn business!
“I’m perfectly calm! But why would we stare? Is her variation gross or something?”
“Don’t say gross. She’s one of us. She does have a very noticeable variation. Like the angel sisters, she can’t go out in public without a disguise,” said Josh.
“You mean Rose and Sage? She’s got wings?” said Ilya.
“No, she’s got tentacles,” said Josh.
“Did you give the others this little briefing?” said Ilya, his irritation replaced with concern.
“I told Cole and asked him to discuss it, but it wouldn’t hurt to remind them. Irina, text your boyfriend to make sure they’ve got a heads up,” said Josh.
“He’s NOT my boyfriend,” I said, fully aware how childish I sounded.
“Okay. Text Jonah and remind them not to stare at Adelaide,” said Josh.
I looked straight back at him this time. The combination of Josh’s scowl, dark beard stubble, army-green flak jacket, and sheer physical size would have intimidated me in any other circumstance. Angry as I felt, I held my tongue and glared back at him for a long moment.
I picked up my phone and started tapping. “Done.”
“Good. Now, pick that cup up off the floor and practice your telekinesis until we get to Spokane.”
The road from Seattle to Spokane took us from mountains and lush coastal forests to rolling grassy hills and wide flat plains. We passed through the unremarkable towers of Spokane’s core, over a river and back into grasslands. Josh turned onto a long driveway that disappeared into a tunnel of trees. We emerged to find, not a farm, but an acreage stretching out around a large log cabin. While we parked, I saw the front door open and a woman in a wheelchair navigated the porch to greet us.
“Hello, Josh! It’s good to see you!” said the woman in the wheelchair. I detected a faint accent in her speech, but I couldn’t place it. She smoothed the blanket covering her lap and legs.
“Hi Adelaide. How’s it goin?” Josh said, through his open door window. We got out of the Jeep as Cole’s car parked next to us.
“Working from home again, so I can’t complain.” Adelaide wheeled forward a little with
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