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It only takes a moment for the screen to reply. One word.
“Yes.”
“Well, fuck.” Emma stumbles to her feet, with Nako and Alexa right behind her. “Good thing it’s only one this time because they’re big guys.”
I think about the humongous green man the screen displayed, giggling inappropriately as I wonder if she means sexually. “They remind me of a cross between the Hulk and Shrek.” My nerves get the best of me as I laugh again.
Emma joins in, commenting. “At least no one is running at the door and banging on it. Look... does anyone volunteer for a scan next?”
“Sure.” I take a couple of steps closer to the screen. This is going to happen, anyway.
After two or three seconds, a body shows up on the screen with the text, “No anomalies.”
“How did you get sucked into this, Edith?” Emma takes a step closer. “What was going on that they pulled you through?”
Nako answers for me as she takes my place, holding her arms out from her sides. “I asked her out. Alexa was so sure you were in trouble. Rambling on about you getting sucked through a portal in the ruins. Edith can see things.”
Nako’s scan reads the “No anomalies” on the screen before walking closer. “I owe you an apology too, Edith.”
She’s so silly. “You couldn’t have known.” But I sign to Emma, “I had some visions. Our ancestors used the portal.”
Alexa throws out her hands as she reads the screen after her scan.
“Voice box defect detected.”
Assholes.
Alexa signs, “Tell me something I don’t already know. Fuckers.”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Emma practically shouts as she leads us back to the table. Looking at me she signs, “I don’t suppose you found out anything helpful?”
“I’m not sure yet what I saw will be helpful.”
But I lean forward toward Emma, telling her out loud. “It was only the second visit I made to the dig. We made the location late last night, and I could feel and see the energy. But today was the first time we spent any time there.”
“It took a day for me to convince Nako to come out,” Alexa admits. “And it took all my guts to stay out there waiting for them alone after you disappeared.”
Emma looks dismayed as she questions her, “Why didn’t you head back?”
“I couldn’t. I mean...”Alexa’s hands speed up. “What if you came out? Hurt? Disorientated? I needed to make sure.”
Emma’s forehead wrinkles, and she leans toward us. “So... how many days have I been missing?”
Alexa signs, “You went missing on Tuesday morning. By the next morning, Nako and Edith headed out and met me that night late on site. So I guess two days.”
Emma sucks in a sharp breath, clenching her white-knuckled hands in front of her on the table. “Time is different here... moving at a faster pace. I’ve been here at least five days.”
More words show up on the screen behind Emma’s head, and I read them aloud. “Someone needs to volunteer for a pairing first. We’ll see if another couple can duplicate Luc and Emma’s mating.”
That makes sense. We’re like a science experiment for them. Great.
“I’m sorry.” Emma’s voice catches as her eyes water. “But Luc’s been wonderful and—”
“It’s fine, Emma.” I don’t want her to feel guilty about any of this. “I volunteer.”
In my head, I already knew I was ready. I’ve been ready.
For a change. For an adventure. I have a sneaking suspicion this will fulfill my own destiny. Since seeing Emma’s mating marks, a sense of excitement and “rightness” has settled over me.
