The Gem (pt. 2)

Chapter two: The Ringmaster

The Silent Forests, Marina

Their swords met with a clash of metal.

The smell of burning fabric met his nose, tinged with the odour of sweat and smoke.

He kept his eyes trained on those of his opponent, though.

His heart pounded every time that white pair of hands swung its pristine silver sword.

Samson ducked. If he could just find an opening.

The sword stabbed the tree behind him. Wielding his own weapon Samson drew it across his opponent’s neck and stepped back – disgusted with himself. He stepped over the cadaver that was already dissolving into ash, his red coat flapping in the breeze. I feel like a killer of people, though that was no person.

The damage could have been worse. He surveyed what he could see through the thinning smoke. A couple of trailers had been overturned, one of the tents had clearly been set alight but three of the kids were pouring pails of water on it. His eyes were drawn to the ground. What was once Elijah, the clown lay on the floor, eyes staring at the sky. He sighed, violence is so needless. Samson took of his red ringmaster’s jacket and covered Elijah’s face with it.

He looked up to see the crone, Cordelia, watching him. Her grey matted hair floated in the breeze that was lifting the smoke.

“I’ll see he gets buried as he deserves,” she hissed, “You go and get that seen-,” she poked his side which, until then he hadn’t noticed was bleeding. He winced, bile coming up his throat. They passed each other and Samson entered the trailer on his left.

“What happened to you?” the old man, hermit as he was known, was busy, as always, looking at some new scroll of his. Samson collapsed in an armchair and dimly heard the noise of the old man rustling forward with bandages and water before he fell unconscious.

When he came to the sun shone through the canvas. Mr Samson was quiet, and the old man could hear his breathing grow shallower as his hands moved to untie the bandage around his arm. He had reached the last coil when his breathing constricted and he turned around.

“It hurts,” was all he said. Tears blurred his vision. The hermit nodded sympathetically and stepped back,” I know,” he undid the bandage to reveal three charcoal black welts each about as big as an apple, “but you can’t let anyone else touch them – you know that don’t you?”

Mr Samson nodded as the old man; uncovering one welt of his own began wiping his arm with his good hand. After a moment Samson began doing the same.

“Water helps.” Mr Samson said after a moment, his face was beginning to return to its usual colour.

“I know,” the old man said, “It helps stops them spreading...it helps to stop us from becoming Agents too. Anyone that touches this can become an agent. What we have is a mental disease too. To fight it we need to know that we aren’t alone Sam...and we aren’t, we have each other.”

Outside, three kids stood back as the last of the flames vanished leaving only fabric covered with holes and soot blackened grass.

“Alright Mari? Jackson watched his friend anxiously.

“Yeah.”

“Cordelia’ll make you another one...” Stroud smiled sympathetically. Marianna nodded, clutching the pewter necklace that had been her mother’s.

“We’re here if you need us,” Jackson added, “come and sleep in my trailer until this is fixed?”

“Thanks...” Marianna agreed. Stroud smiled at her again and they left their friend to survey her smouldering home.

Half an hour later Marianna stood in front of the door to Jackson’s trailer, the smoke had dissolved over the carnival and people had started to clear the wreckage whilst the sun was still beating down on them. She put her bags down, the door was ajar and voices floated out.

“John,” Jackson was saying, “I made a promise, I said I’d look after her. That’s all that’s keeping me here now. I’ve had everything I wanted to have the day the Agents caught me, I could pass over whenever I wanted. I know you need me.” Marianna’s breath caught in her throat.

“I know,” the man’s voice said slowly – he sounded old, “its. So much could go wrong with this and it would be on our heads. Some of them broke into the museum I think.”

“Yes. Same here. Elijah’s gone.”

“He’d be proud of the world Lillith is going to create. This means they know where she’s going. But the gateway is still safe. I’ve hidden the painting in the archive.”

Jackson twisted around.

“Marianna is outside. Come on in. It’s ok, John was just going.”

The voice stopped then and Jackson peered around the door cheerfully. He helped her up the steps and setting down the bags in the centre of the spacious caravan he started reaching for a mattress from one of the three shelves.

“I can sleep on the mattress if you want,” Jackson said cheerfully.

“Thanks,” Marianna said gratefully, “It’s ok though...” Her eyes were still on the mirror. It wasn’t just any kind of mirror. It was an Alatriz mirror. The kind of mirror that Gatekeepers like Jackson used to communicate and travellers used sometimes.

Her eyes met those of the man in the mirror.

“Bye then,” the man smiled.

He left, leaving only the smokey black glass he had been reflected onto.

“Did you talk to Cordelia?” Jackson asked her. He started busily packing up the mirror. Marianna watched him curiously. What was he up to? His brown eyes sparkled and she sighed. He was a gatekeeper after all and everybody knew that Gatekeepers and Travellers had to communicate to do their jobs. She bent down and started to unpack.

“Yeah –,” She said, “She should have another one by the end of this week; I’m going to help her.”

Jackson nodded slowly, “Elijah’s burial is later today.”

Marianna straightened.

“I’m going to go.”

“Right.”

The Office of Pilusis

Through her own Alatriz mirror Alice Trenington watched them.

Watching her own reflection in mirrors she couldn’t deny it anymore. She was dying.

She held her hand up and white lights flickered feebly around her fingers like dying light bulbs trying to light a room that is far too big for them in the state they’re in.

Her power was going. Soon it would be up to Lillith. She would be able to see the futures.

The future is fluid, like a meandering stream.

With every day that passed since her teacher had spoken those words upon teaching her how to control her powers over time Alice realised how true those words were. Now, as ever, she could see more than one future. But everywhere she looked the truth was there.

She will have to make her own future. I will not be here to teach her. Because my time is coming.

She picked up a photo frame and a tear dropped onto the old photo of herself and her teacher.

“I miss the real you.” She whispered, “Still.”

Then she composed herself and called for Samuel.

Samuel was strong, the strongest of the twelve travellers that called themselves her parliament. He had mastered time travel which was something only the twelve could do, he could project himself through the mysterious white energy that made up the divide and of course he could cross it. That would make him more than a match for most threats. She was dying though, and she needed a Regent – somebody to do the job that had been destined for her until Lillith was ready for it. He wouldn’t be the same as her, but he’d have to do.

Which is how Samuel, whose only name was Samuel, found himself sat in a darkened room. He wore the usual, black suit, black bowler hat and sat staring into space filled with the shock of it. He wasn’t ready.

There were people better suited to this than him.

A clerk brought the papers over.

His heart pounded.

These papers, once signed, would give him the ability to see through the divide as Alice did, but his ability would cease to be on the day that the next head traveller chose to take up their position guarding time and space.

He scribbled his name on the papers and, aware of a pair of eyes looking down on his looked up with a jolt and saw, through the pulsating white wall of the Divide, a girl staring at him. Without a doubt this is her. Lillith.

“She can see us.” He said into the darkness and she was gone.

“She cannot yet control her abilities,” Alice said from where she was sat in the shadows, “But it is certain, I will be dead before she finds the truth of things. Remember Samuel, this is a choice she must make alone. You cannot influence her to do this in any way.”

“I won’t.”

“And you promise to be her mentor, as best you can?”

“I promise.”

“Good. I declare you to be my regent. Speak of this to nobody until I have passed on. Then you may inform the twelve. They should take it well, considering that you are the strongest of their number.”

Samuel nodded, feeling as though he had just signed away his soul.

Chapter three: The Adventure

Portshaven

The ground shook underneath her sending her onto her knees. Lillith looks up and sees flames dancing around on the rooftop. As she watches the lion that used to stand guard over the theatre shakes and shatters. It is chaos. People running away from the blaze, and then somebody picks her up.

Aren’t they supposed to be waiting for somebody?

Her mitten hangs over the policeman’s shoulder as she twists, trying to see him in the blaze.

BLEEP

The noise comes from a stone angel. She is looking out of the car window. The blue sirens light the water making it look like stars. There’s a stone angel just outside the car. As Lillith watches in amazement it-

BLEEP

She straightens her wings and blows a kiss in Lillith’s direction.

BLEEP

Unperturbed by the noise of her alarm clock Lillith sat peacefully up in bed. Then, she stretched and got up turning on the laptop and logging onto facebook.

“UGH!”

The first thing she saw as facebook loaded was a picture a boy from report whose head had been photo shopped onto a picture of a famous model.

She scrolled down past it.

Fry had posted some pictures of himself with another girl and boy. Their faces were painted in pink fluorescent paint and they were quite obviously at a party together. She sighed and shut her laptop. She had that stupid school trip to get to. Shoving two of her favourite magazines into her bag along with some sweets and a five pound note she dragged herself out of the house. It was a cold grey morning and as Lillith trailed down Broadwalk she had her pink headphones in again and her favourite blue scarf shielding her from the winds. As she got closer the outlines of a few familiar faces started to become clearer.

Mr Bennett, a huge woman in a suit and a few gormless students. As Mr Bennett and the woman went inside Lillith looked at the crest of the museum.

It was the world.

Earth, emblazoned on a red shield shaped stone which had pride of place in the centre of the great double glass. Fry would have said it looked swish if he’d have come here. But then, Fry wouldn’t have gone round with pink on his face. He’s changed, stupid Florida for making Fry change. Her mind drifted back to the girl in the facebook picture; she was pretty.

The museum had the highest ceiling Lillith had ever seen, light flooded into the entrance hall shining off mirrors and white marble statues. The buzz of voices filled the room as the group walked to the mahogany entrance desk. People, admiring the paintings on either side of them, or climbing the great marble staircase in the centre of the hallway looking for more artwork.

“Good morning,” the huge woman in a suit eyed them through her monocle, “St Aubyn’s College?” she asked Mr Bennett.

“Yes, “he replied, “we’re here for our guided tour.”

The woman got up amidst sniggers from Ty and his cronies. She opened a door and walked out from the welcome stand, “I will be your tour guide for today, my name is Mrs Portley and I expect total respect and silence when I am talking.”

The class fell silent. Apart from Ty, who whispered something to his closest mate and pointed at the woman’s back. Ignoring him, or oblivious to him, she walked out and the group followed. The fantasy exhibit was in a room off the main museum, filled with bizarre landscapes and creatures which had the two or three people that had bothered to come and see it scratching their heads. The woman stopped in front of a painting of a calm night sky in the middle of a swamp, fantastical dragonflies flitted amongst the skeleton trees. Lillith stared. The picture seemed to be moving. She blinked. The picture stopped moving.

“If you want to split off into your groups,” Mr Bennett was saying, “Mrs Portley and I will be available to answer any questions you might have.”

Ty and his crew where stood at the back of the group sniggering at something on Ty’s phone. The two emo kids that where always together were already on the otherside of the room which left...she shrugged and walked out of the exhibit. Like I care about some stupid frame.

“Can I sit here?” Two hours had passed and Lillith had been sat in the entrance hall for an hour and a half. She put her book down and looked at him. It was the kid whose head had been in the email...she blinked to clear her head of the image of it...his corduroy trousers were torn, his nose bore signs of a recent nosebleed, his glass askew on the top of his forehead. She nodded, picking her book up again.

“Stupid art.” He said after another couple of minutes. Lillith put the book down again.

“I know the feeling.” Lillith smiled at the boy who looked more depressed than all the paintings she’d seen put together “Wanna get a sandwich? What did you say your name was?”

“Ok and its Todd.”

The museum cafe was crowded with people bustling to get to the front of the queue which led to a small stone counter. Lillith selected a salmon sandwich and watched her new companion puzzle over the choice. There were three different kinds of sandwich.

“Just, pick something...it’s easy.”

“But what if I don’t like it?”

“Pick something you’ve already tried, if you have tried any of these?”

“Haven’t.”

Lillith was already beginning to regret her choice of companion and they sat in awkward silence in the museum gardens eating their sandwiches. Then they wandered into the gift shop. Again, crowded. Lillith had to check herself as Todd picked up the latest copy of Not Rocket – in her opinion the best animé to grace Portshaven.

“You like Not Rocket?”

“Yeah course I do, my favourite character is Paloma.”

That killed the awkward silence. Soon they were back in the fantasy exhibit room having a heated debate about the characters in the books that they had both read.

“But,” Lillith said without looking up, “Seriously, you judge the guy without even knowing what his reasons are. He might think what he’s doing is right – Don Rodriguez might have a secret agenda. You never know!”

They went on like this for a little bit and then Lillith got up;

“I’m going to look for the ladies,” Lillith said.

“Right so, I’ll just wait here then,” Todd said slowly opening his animé.

Following arrows Lillith walked down a ramp and the din of the museum entrance grew a lot quieter.

“Great,” she said to herself looking at her watch. 12:40. Arriving at the door Lillith stood the back of the queue.

“I think you’ve taken my place.” Lillith heard the sound of her long claw like heels tapping before she saw the woman’s face. She eyed Lillith disapprovingly; Lillith looked at her watch deliberately slowly. 12:52. She looked at the woman and shook her head.

“I’ve been here for the past 15 minutes.” She looked her in the eyes.

“No,” the woman said and Lillith was still looking at her eyes. They were alone in the corridor now; the queue had shrunk into the loos. Not that Lillith noticed, she was too busy looking at the woman’s eyes. They were changing colour. They were definitely blue; Lillith reassured herself that she hadn’t been seeing things. So how had they gone through three shades of purple already?

“You’re watching me,” the woman smiled, “Do you like my contacts? Father Mine will be so happy when he hears you’re watching me.”

“What?” Lillith stumbled and had to steady herself against a statue. The woman reached for her shoulder.

“Get your claws off her!” This voice came from behind her. The man, who was wearing a violet bowler hat with a flower poking out of it, was holding her frying pan. Lillith shut her eyes. She’d hit her head. But when she opened her eyes the man was still there.

“Gatekeeper,” the woman snarled, “You and yours think you’ll be able to keep her safe from us forever? Have you seen us? We’ve found our father, Shadows and we’ve got an army and we’re coming for earth next!”

“Agent,” the man’s voice contrasted with hers ; it was completely calm, “you renounced humanity when you and your gang gave up the search for your real father and allied yourselves with him,”  he swung the frying pan purposefully, “don’t look now, Lillith.”

He strode purposefully towards the woman and Lillith turned around, stunned. When she turned back around the man had hung the frying pan up and was busy brushing his coat. All that was left in place of the woman was ash.

“My favourite jacket, this,” he grumbled when he saw Lillith was looking, “Can’t be helped I guess.”Lillith stared, shocked.

“What?” He said, noticing her expression, “You’ve never seen one of these before? It’s for brushing stuff with...” He held up the brush doubtfully.

“Right,” Lillith said looking at the doorway. The stranger cracked up at this. He sat on a bench and laughed his head off until his eyes were pouring with tears. Lillith stood looking at him.

“Who are you?” she asked him.

“I am the man,” he said and got up, putting his jacket on, “the Curator, who has the plan. I run this joint. And that,” he said pointing at where the pile of ash was, “was an idi- hey wait you don’t know,” he clapped his hand to his mouth. He smelt of booze.

“Know what?” Lillith asked

“Nothing nothing,” he said wiping his eyes. He wore eyeliner. Except, it had smudged with his tears of laughter. He smiled, and Lillith wondered where the woman had gone. If she was going to hallucinate, the woman was better.

“Lillith,” the Curator looked at her, “I have something very important to tell you, if you go into the peach corridor you will travel when you travel first time round you need to remember to ask them how to get home. Otherwise-,”

“What?” Lillith stepped back and found herself pushing into the woman in front of her in the queue. Apologising, she opened the door again and wondered where the strange man was.

The link with earth was broken.

“Otherwise you won’t know how to get home. Otherwise you’ll be stuck in another universe. Nothing major.” He stood face to face with her, seeing into her disbelieving eyes.

“You’ll be fine, kid.”

Shaking herself, she walked back to the souvenir shop and she could see Todd still stood outside the door in the distance.

“Sorry...sorry...” she said, “There was a queue,” explaining Todd’s questions. She sat down and put her head between her knees.

“What happened?” Todd asked, “Shall I get Bennett?”

“No...I’ll be ok...I think I hit my head...”

“Either you did or you didn’t, I’ll go...” Todd stood up worried.

“No, its ok, I think,” Lillith sat up again, picking up the timetable for the day and fingering it, “Does it say if there’s a peach corridor here?” All the corridors were named after fruit.

“Nah why?”

Lillith told him everything that had happened. When she’d finished, Todd sat for a full minute in silence.

“I think you were hallucinating. But the only way we can be sure, is by looking for this peach corridor. Cause, if it doesn’t exist, you should get help...I think...”

“Thanks for that.” Lillith winced and, slowly they got up and started across the museum.

They walked the full length of the museum avoiding the rooms their group were meant to be in; Bennett wouldn’t have reacted too well to seeing them walk in halfway through the trip after missing most of it. But there wasn’t a peach corridor. Eventually they stopped in front of some tusks in a glass cabinet.

“Alright? “ Todd asked her as Lillith sat down in one of the chairs. They were back outside the fantasy exhibit. The Key. Lillith could see four keys as she looked at the poster. When she woke up, Todd and Bennett where stood above her.

“Give her some space.”

Somebody had put her on a bench in the middle of the fantasy exhibit, Todd stepped forward holding some water. The rest of the kids were watching, intrigued that something had actually happened on this trip. Lillith groaned inwardly. Stupid hat man.

“Are you ok Lillith?” Bennett asked her, “Do you want to have a walk around the museum on your own? Do you want me to phone somebody? ”Lillith shook her head, she was busy looking behind him.

“Hello,” Mr Bennett smiled at her, “What can I do for you Lillith?”

“Sir, what’s down there?” She asked him, pointing at the corridor.

“What? Where?”

“Down there, sir – what’s there?”

“Lillith,” Mr Bennett gave her a strange look, “I can’t see what you are pointing at. I can see a white wall.”

 Todd was quiet, the others had left again.

“I’m ok,” Lillith insisted and got up, Mr Bennett left her with Todd muttering something in his ear, and Todd nodded.

“I can see it.” Todd whispered, “And it says peach corridor on the doorway.” It did.

“Shall we explore it?” Her eyes glittered. Her head was feeling so much better now.

“No.” Todd sighed, “we don’t know what’s down there Lillith, we don’t know what will happen and we don’t even know the way back.”

“Fine, “Lillith turned around, “I’ll go it alone then.”

Todd waited for about five seconds, as soon as he realised that Lillith wasn’t bluffing he ran after her causing a few people to complain as he bumped into them.

“Waiit!” He yelped at he nearly tripped over his shoe laces.

Lillith turned around, “so, you aren’t a chicken then?”

“Who even says chicken anymore?”

It took an hour for them to realise how lost they were.

At first they walked around talking animatedly about school, home and comics and their lives. Gradually they ran out of things to talk about and they walked around similar whitewashed well lit corridors for a while until Todd stopped.

“Where are we going?” He asked dreamily.

“I dunno.”Lillith looked at her watch- 13:09. “Time to go back, I think.”

“Right.” Todd nodded and they set off down the corridor they’d just come from. At a point they reached a fork. Neither turning was at all well lit.

“Which one do we go down?” Lillith asked Todd.

“I don’t know!” Todd stressed, “It was your idea to come down here!”

“Well- Ok, let’s go down that one!” Lillith pointed at the tunnel on the right.

“Are you sure?” Todd asked. She looked at him.        

“Of course I’m sure.”

“No, No you’re not sure – because we’re lost!” Todd snapped at her.

“Ok, fine,” Lillith said simply, “I’m not sure- Ok?”

Todd looked at her balefully and walked forward into the tunnel on the right. Lillith looked at her watch, at least 15 minutes had passed, she was sure of it.13:09? How could it still be 13:09?

She followed Todd.

It was dark.

Darker than any of the other corridors.

But flaming torches hung on the walls emitting circles of light lighting up the strangest pictures. Todd stopped by one of these pictures and motioned for Lillith to join him.

“Did you see that?” he whispered.

“What?” Lillith whispered back.

“It moved.The picture moved.”

They both stared. They could both see it.

It was a picture of the sea on a stormy night .A single ray on light shone onto the indigo waters and highlighted the froth that was clearly moving as though it were real sea. Lillith and Todd looked at one another and then, over Todd’s shoulder, Lillith saw a light. It was peachy, yellow and welcoming; the sort of light you would imagine would come from a candle or a campfire.

“Look!” Lillith pointed, “A light.”

Todd turned around and together, they both started walking towards it. Lillith broke into a run, overtaking Todd. When Lillith reached the end she stopped to catch her breath, and then they walked into the light. But what they found was not the Fantasy exhibit they had both come to see. It was another corridor, peachy pink coloured and well lit. At the end of this corridor was a painting. Lillith and Todd walked towards it.

 The people in it were clearly at a funeral. Gathered around the figure in the centre, their faces made Lillith shudder – moving from expressions of grief to those of shock. At the head of the coffin was a figure wearing a plush red coat with golden gilt buttons and a fur hood and others were gathered around the coffin wearing overalls and some wore dresses. She shivered. And then she saw the mysterious white light in the horizon of the painting. Coming closer to her.

“Marina?” Todd read, “What’s that meant to mean?”

 As Lillith watched the clouds started to move and a ray of light shone on the dead man’s face. The figure opened his eyes.

“Lillith! At last! I’ve been waiting so long for you...”

And the light was nearly there.

Lillith looked at her watch 13:09.Again. Todd was waving a hand in front of her face, but it was like somebody had pressed mute on what little was going on around Lillith, so transfixed was she on what was happening in the horizon of the painting.

She looked at the painting.

At the person.

Then the light swallowed her up.

She was flying through the stars. Each star shone as she flew past it. Each constellation smiled at her as she soared by. Then, she saw the Earth and she plummeted towards it at an insane speed. The atmosphere! She thought, remembering a long ago physics lesson about pressure and gases. But she needn’t have worried. She just continued plummeting, no fire or explosions or anything. Then she stopped. The ground caught her like a pillow and she was somewhere else.

Completely.

It was huge. Once Lillith had been to St Pancras in London, ages ago when she was younger and it reminded her of that – like St Pancras it had a huge glass roof, but this one had intricate coloured pictures painted onto it and where the shops should have been there were kiosks with queues larger than anything Lillith had ever seen leading away from them. This was like nowhere in Portshaven, like nowhere Lillith had ever been before. Ropes separated the queues and the people in them wearing their mixture of costumes, some of which Lillith recognised from different periods of history others of which she didn’t. When the PA system shouted her name and a long list of others and the number 52 she jumped out of her skin.

Slowly, she made her way to the kiosk with 52 painted on the front of it and queued until she reached the man sat in the booth.

“Lillith Bridgestone, initiation agreement. You have been diverted to the Office of Pilusis as an uninitiated apprentice, do you understand what this means?”

The voice belonged to a gentleman sat at a desk with one of the piles of paper and a feather quill. Strange dream. Lillith walked over and sat down at his desk .The man sighed.

“As per the Pilusis agreement the Apprentice on entering their first scene must honour certain rules. You only turned up here because you haven’t signed your initial agreement yet.Geddit?”

“What-?” Lillith began but the gentleman twiddled his moustache not allowing her to speak.

“1. All undertaken actions to be intended for the benefit of world, sub clause if benefit not obtained remedial action to be taken by the underwritten,” he was reading, Lillith observed. I actually hit my head. This is the drugs kicking in as I go to hospital. Soon, I’m going to wake up and find mum and fat face Paul by my side. I hope this carries on...

“2. When travelling an apprentice of Pilusis (heretofore known as a traveller) transcends rules applying to citizens therefore a traveller can only ever be present at any one scene under any one alias once.”

Lillith observed that other people were falling into the room much more gracefully than she had and were lining up to talk to various clerks. The mahogany room was lit by candles which illuminated the queues of people that the clerks had to get through. I’ve finally cracked up...

“Office of the Apprentices of Pilusis asks that you pay attention when the clauses are being imparted. Shut up, Listen up and then sign the paper so I can go home – stupid.”

“Oh...sorry...” Lillith said slowly noticing the bags under the man’s eyes. She assumed an expression of fake interest and sat there staring into his face. Hurry up so I can get on with this new dream.

“3. When approached by a citizen claiming to have met them in future scenes the alias used by the citizen automatically becomes the alias used to avoid confusion.

4. Gatekeepers can be trusted with any information as subordinates of the Office of Pilusis.

 Subclause; the Gatekeeper can offer only advice. It is advised that no physical object be taken from them. Subclause, when appointing a Gatekeeper their life as a citizen must be jeopardised. Subclause; all powers granted to a Gatekeeper are subject to the situation and judgement of the Guide present.

5. Only a traveller may manipulate the Divide.

6. The Office of the Apprentices of Pilusis is in a secret location. The wellbeing of its clerks will not be compromised.”

“That’s lovely,” Lillith said as soon as he had finished, “Where are we?”

“Office of the Apprentices of Pilusis, protectors of the Divide and of justice. Are the clauses understood?”

“But what...?”

“We are the travellers...or rather you are, I’m just a clerk. We’re like the...whatdo youcallit? The police of the Divide.”

“So who do we catch?”

“Anyone...People are always using the Divide when they’re not meant to be...if they don’t mean to and we can send them back then we do...if they’re using the Divide...if they’re travelling to a world that they aren’t meant to be in illegally  then the Divide rips and makes a space. We try to stop that before it happens. These spaces can sometimes overwhelm the divide and kill whole worlds.”

“Sort of like a black hole?” Weird dream. Wonder what I ate for lunch again?

“Yes. Dangerous like a black hole. Now...are the clauses understood?”

 “Y...Yes.” Lillith stammered surprised by the ice in the man’s voice.

“Intended destination Marina, beware of ‘Political Situation and Scientific meltdown.’ Rather you than me. Right, you can sign this as you’re 16 so,” he turned the piece of paper he had been reading toward her and handed her a pen.

Lillith scrawled her name on the line and he stood up and motioned her to do the same and then tapped her shoulder.

“Gatekeeper should have told you how to get back,” he said and pushed.

And Lillith landed in a bed somewhere completely different.