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It looks a lot less busy inside now. There are maybe a dozen diners scattered around the room.
Rachel squeezes my hand, which I take as a warning that the teleport is coming up.
I close my eyes and get ready to feel my stomach lurch.
I feel fine but I count to ten inside my head anyway.
I open my eyes and we’re in the diner, close to the door.
Rachel starts to let go of my hand, and I panic quietly, my heart starting to race.
Concentrate, Noah. You have a job to do. That’s all.
Go walk around, listen to people talking. Try to find out something useful.
Remember why you’re here. We could lose Oscar if you can’t find a reason to stop him from being sent here.
Talk about pressure. I look around and start to move slowly toward the first table where a couple of guys who look like construction workers are eating burgers. The smell makes my stomach gurgle. Really should have had a double portion. I felt too nervous to eat, but I clearly wasn’t.
The guys don’t notice the noise. They grumble about going back to work.
I move on, listening to an older couple talk about a crossword puzzle they’re working on, and passing a completely silent table of guys who might be farmers.
So far, we’ve got nothing. I walk by the other few tables and the conversations are just as bland.
The old couple start to wonder where the waitress has gotten to after a few minutes.
They look around for her, unimpressed. But they go back to the crossword when they can’t find her.
Rachel must have managed to catch her alone.
I hope she hurries up so we can get the hell out of here.
I pace around, listening to the dull conversations and trying not to zone out in case something interesting suddenly comes out of someone’s mouth. It doesn’t happen.
My patience peters away. I itch to leave so hard that I think about yanking the door open and walking out. These people would never suspect an invisible person was in the room. They’d just assume the wind blew the door open.
The more I’m left waiting, the more I want to go rushing out.
We didn’t talk about a backup plan for this.
What if the waitress was springing a trap? What if Rachel’s in danger while I stand around doing nothing? How long am I supposed to wait?
I start walking toward the door when the world blurs around me.
I squeeze my eyes shut and stop walking, trying to stay still.
My guts feel unsettled. When I open my eyes, I find out why.
I’ve been teleported to the back of the building. Rachel’s standing out here, perfectly visible, with the waitress. She looks at me, and frowns. “Noah, are you okay?”
I lurch forward and throw up on the ground next to the bins. It’s a brutal explosion and I’m shaky as hell when I stand back, lifting my invisible hands from my invisible knees to straighten up. The world still feels like it’s spinning.
“Not so much okay,” I mutter, as my body starts to reappear.
I try to catch my breath. It feels like I might pass out.
“Just give it a minute,” Rachel says. “You’ll be fine.”
