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that told us where to go and how to get there.
And we Walked.
Well, some of us Walked. Some of us were carried, and some of us—like Jai and myself—remember nothing more than the chaotic garishness of the In-Between for a moment before we lost consciousness.
It wasn’t the first, second, or even third time I’d woken up in the infirmary. I knew where I was before I opened my eyes, before I really even knew I was awake. It smelled like medicine and cleaning agents, and I could sense others around me. I was fairly certain I knew who they were, and a glance around when I opened my eyes confirmed it—my teammates.
Jai was in the med-bed across from me, still either asleep or unconscious. J/O was on my left side, plugged in to both an IV and a computer, also still unconscious. To my right (and to my great relief) was Jo.
“Hey,” I said quietly, and my voice sounded relieved even to me. She glanced up and gave half a smile, which was all I usually got from her. I liked Jo; I had since that day on the cliff, when we’d come to something resembling an understanding about Jay’s death. I knew she was indifferent to me at best, but I was glad to have her on my team. “I’m sorry about your wing. How is it?”
She looked up at the damaged appendage, making a face. She was sitting on top of the bed rather than under the covers, leaning back against the pillows, and I could see bandages wrapped around her radius and ulna. Several of her secondary feathers were missing or singed. “Won’t be able to fly again for a few days…Probably won’t be able to fly straight for a few weeks, until they grow back.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again, not sure what else to say. She glanced back over at me.
“Thanks for trying to throw me the shield. It might’ve worked.”
“Yeah. No problem. You didn’t need it, though—smart of you to Walk like that. Good job.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t. It was the new kid.”
I just stared for a moment, letting my brain process this. The new kid had Walked? With Jo? When none of us had sensed a portal? “How?”
“Instinct, I guess…. How did we all Walk, the first time?”
I inclined my head slightly, agreeing. I couldn’t really say for sure how it had happened—it had just happened, which I guess was her point. Thinking about the first time I Walked made me remember something else, and I may have smirked a little. “How’d he take to the In-Between?”
“Dunno…I passed out.” She looked a little uncomfortable at the admission, and I decided not to press it, but it actually just made me even more curious. The new kid had found his way through the In-Between, by himself, with a wounded Walker?
Okay, I’ll admit it. I was impressed.
“How’re J/O and Jai?”
“Jai just used too much energy with the shield and trying to Walk. I guess since you two were still linked…”
“…I passed out, too,” I finished, and she nodded. I made a face; that had been stupid of us—keeping the link up when we were right there and about to attempt something difficult—but to be fair, we hadn’t really had time to take it down. Still, I was going to have to include it in my report anyway, and I was sure the Old Man’d give me one of those looks when he read it.
Jo noticed my expression and nodded again—you deserved that—but kept talking. “J/O is…They think he just ran into some kind of security virus, and it triggered a hard shutdown. They’re monitoring him now, but the doctors don’t seem too worried.”
I nodded. So, all in all, we’d come out okay. Some injuries, some bruises, but we’d gotten the new Walker. And—
“Did he get the data?”
Jo nodded again. “Yeah. Captain Harker is looking it over.” Jo was the only one on my team who occasionally called him that instead of the Old Man. It always bothered me to hear, though. My dad had called me that sometimes when I was little. I’d gone through a Star Trek phase, and used to pretend I was captain of my own spaceship—the spaceship being the downstairs couch, my bed, the car, or any
thing else I could think of. I always heard my dad’s voice whenever someone said “Captain Harker,” and it always weirded me out. Still, it wasn’t Jo’s fault. She had no way of knowing, though I wondered if her dad had been similar to mine. Parallel worlds were funny that way.
“You file your report yet?” I asked instead, leaning back against the pillow. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, as beds went, but it sure beat being stuffed into an air vent.
“Yeah. Wasn’t much to do otherwise.”
“How long was I out?”
“Only about half an hour, but they put you under again to monitor your vitals and ease off your link with Jai. It’s been about two hours since we got back.”
“Okay.” I turned my head toward Jai slowly, so as not to aggravate the headache I felt threatening. Now that she mentioned it, I vaguely remembered waking up the first time, being brought through the halls into the infirmary. It was disjointed and hazy, since I’d still been linked with Jai—a little like being two places at once. “How is he?”
“Medics say he overextended himself, but he should be fine once he gets some rest.”
