Lost Children of Atlantis - 5. Chapter 5

I decided that there was no way I could tell Tyler about this weirdness. After all, it was already weird enough, knowing what I knew... and moreover, knowing that the Guardians weren't too likely to pack up and shove off, or to let me hold onto Tyler. I doubted they'd kill me... after they went through all the trouble of putting the Esseren things inside my body... but Tyler, they might not bat an eye over.

Suddenly, a plan began to formulate. :You have all my knowledge, right? Even if I'm not really paying attention, you can pull things from my memory?:

::Yes, quite. Any fact you pick up, even if only barely, can be recalled.::

:OK. Based on Alliesa's driving me home, do you know what city it was that the house was in?:

::One moment.:: Ty fell silent for a few seconds. ::Based on your limited geographical knowledge, I would have to assume it was San Francisco, or somewhere in the Bay Area. That would match up with seeing the Golden Gate bridge, and also with the amount of travel time before and after that.::

:OK, so they're down in the city... that's about 150 miles. And that also means it'll be harder to hide, because most big cities would mean going to, or through, there. At least most big cities I know.: I thought about this fact a moment, still cuddling Tyler close to me, hoping he didn't realize anything was wrong. :And it's safe to assume, besides, that they could find me... I mean, they found me here, and they knew I was in bad shape. So, running and hiding isn't gonna cut it.:

Tyler pulled back, confusion evident on his face. "Damien? What's wrong?"

I shook my head and smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just... thinking. About a lot of things." I pulled away from him, settling into a plastic lawn chair, its plain-white body marred with dust and ashes. :Do you think there might be some way, anything at all, I can do to convince them... to let him stay with me, even through all this?: I asked Ty.

"Like what?" both versions of Tyler asked, near-simultaneously.

"Oh, nothing much. Just stuff." :Anything. Any way they could accept me keeping Tyler... accept how I feel about him, accept that he's part of my life.

::That doesn't seem too likely,:: Ty answered... a bit reluctantly, from the tone of his "voice". ::They did state, quite clearly, that this was the period of time in which you would have to cut all ties to humanity. And while they don't seem too willing to let go of you, I can't honestly ascertain if they might do anything to Tyler, to get him out of the picture. Which, I sense, it not a pleasant concept for you.::

:You're damned right it's not!: I shot back, pissed he'd even mention the possibility. Well, maybe not... I mean, I needed to know if they would hurt him, possibly, to separate us... but still. :Look, there's gotta be a loophole. There's, what, 3 of them? Surely they can't watch me all the time... is there any way to tell if they're nearby at all?:

::Hm... provided they're quite close, I can try to use the communication interface to scan for them. I can't tell how far away it would notice, though, so if I don't find them, they could be 100 miles... or 100 feet.::

I snickered softly, and Tyler peered closer at my face. "Look... it's been a long day," I said aloud. Meanwhile, I was furiously trying to think what I could do, to keep Tyler *and* keep him safe, without them interfering. :Don't suppose you have any bright ideas, do you?:

::Not really, no,:: he admitted. ::If you were to explain things to Tyler, he might be able to help... but at the same time, you'd put him in danger. However, given the general shape of your health, I believe it would be possible, rather than forcing him into danger, to simply 'sneak out', as you would put it, and come here to see him.::

:Would that be allowed?: I asked, not willing to believe. :I'd settle for that, I suppose, but I can't promise less, and I doubt they'll offer more.:

Before he could answer, though, I heard a strange humming noise from the front door. Moving quickly and quietly, I warned Tyler not to move, and snuck up to the door, quickly opening it and looking around. Only to see Alliesa's car, her sitting in the front seat, waving at me and... yes, she was actually chewing gum and blowing bubbles, by God. I snickered a bit, even as my mind cranked into overdrive, trying to figure out what to do about this mess.

:You ready?: A strange voice asked in my head, leaving an almost cloying bubbliness behind it. A wink from her, and I'd effectively figured out the source of the question...

:How did she do that?: I asked Ty, after making sure I was intending him to hear it.

::It seems to be part of the primary design for the communication device. One moment.:: A brief bit of silence passed. ::All right, not only have I figured out how to use that function, but in regards to scanning, it looks like... given a quick scan... I can sense up to about 100 miles. Alliesa was the only Guardian within that range.::

:Well, if I want a chance to sneak out and see Tyler... I guess I'd better go now. Otherwise, bubble gum or not, she might hurt him to get me.: I like to think I was being calm about it... not easy to do, to be sure, but what choice did I have? If I tried to escape, with her here now, she'd only catch me... and worse, she'd catch Tyler too. If I went peacefully, at least, she wouldn't likely mess with him. :Wait!: I said, realizing something else. :What about Tyler? I mean, I'm just gonna disappear on him? He'd report I was kidnapped!:

A quick wave to her, and a quick thought (courtesy of Ty's help) that I need to get something quickly, I ran inside and to the back porch, only to find Tyler standing up, apparently concerned. "Is something wrong?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"No, nothing wrong," I said softly, waving him off. "And while I promise I'll explain everything later, I need to go right now..." I didn't want to lie to him, but I knew, if I didn't think of SOMETHING, he'd try to bug it out of me... and I didn't have that kinda time, with Alliesa sitting out there. "I'm going to a private school, down in the City, right now... started yesterday... and my ride is here, to pick me up." There. It wasn't the smoothest, but it would work.

"Oh. OK." He was quiet a moment, while I hugged him, knowing I'd find a way to be with him, if only from time to time, until I could actually work out how to slip their noose and run away with him forever. "Promise you'll come back to see me?"

"I promise, if I have to sneak away, I will," I said, meaning it with all my spirit. Then, before I could say anything else, I kissed him one last time, and quickly ducked inside and into my room, to grab my backpack and a couple changes of clothing... something to make it look like I really *had* went back inside for something. I almost stopped to grab my video games, but Ty snickered and said cryptically, ::I don't think you'll need those...:

Not about to risk Alliesa getting annoyed and coming in after me, I switched direction, heading towards the front door, just as I heard her in the back of my mind, humming. :OK, OK, I'm coming,: I shot at her, and was rewarded by her stopping humming, as I came around the front door, locking and shutting it behind me.

"What took you so long?" she asked, in a I'm-annoyed-but-it's-funny tone.

"Eh, wanted to grab a few final mementos of my life... or, well, mostly my kind of clothing. Blue isn't my color."

"Coulda fooled me, you were three shades of blue when we picked you up LAST time!" she smirked.

"Heh, and here I thought I was naked. Sure was when I woke up, you standing over me," I said, slapping her shoulder lightly as she started to pull out of the drive. We continued on like that, chatting back and forth as if we'd been friends forever... and I wondered idly, how much of that was because, for the first time in my life, I was really OK... I was lonely, but it was temporary. Sad, temporary. These would be fixed when I was able to sneak out and spend time with Tyler. And I had every intention of doing so as often as I could... I didn't yet know how often it would be, but I was sure there'd be chances.