Some Thing Called Myself (Complete)

LXIV: Something's not working

Follow me. I know the way.

The words were still ringing in her ears, echoing in a voice that, at the same time, was and wasn't hers. It had the type of certainty Mara could feel but not explain; a tug to her chest, present but weak and small and waning. Worse, something told her she wouldn't have much time to follow it out of this brume.

Mara stopped and turned around, making sure her big retinue was still following. From time to time, Mimi or she stopped to count them. The number of people was the same every time, thank Goddess...but that was just a small victory. The pain irradiating from the group was almost visible in the fog, intense like their silence, and that was pretty bad. The few Sentinels that had joined Mara had positioned themselves around the group of beyond-fleshers, brandishing their weapons when the shadows in the fog grew too close.

The ones in the back of the line were a couple of Sents who all but carried Dora out of the water. Her arms were folded around their shoulders, weakness clear on her ashen face. Frejat looked up at Mara and stopped at her side.

"Everything okay?" they asked.

The group walked like one, and after what felt like hours crossing a foggy maze with infinite bifurcations, they had finally reached this wide and long road that should take them out of the fog.

"Mara?"

She looked at Frejat and mustered enough energy to offer them a smile. "Yep."

"So...are you in the habit of lying or are you just not ready to talk about it?"

Mara scoffed. "When did you get so cheeky, huh?"

"Always been—but I like you, so I you've only seen my sweetest side so far."

"Honestly, Frejat? If what I saw so far was your sweetest side, honey—"

"Ugh. Please, don't you dare finish that sentence."

Mara laughed and massaged her shoulder. The muscles in her arms and legs still hurt from the strain of helping all those people out of the lake, and her heart still felt halved from the tight worry of not having Kiki around. On top of that, this Path continued on forever.

"Hey. Mara?" Frejat said.

She turned to look at them. Like never before, Frejat looked scared and small.

"We'll get them back, right?"

Mara blinked to soften the sting in her eyes. Petro, one of the members of Frejat's squad and their boyfriend was missing. Frejat didn't know if he had been taken with the other dissenting Sents, if he had joined Jano...or if he just hadn't managed to flee the HQ. With a long sigh, Mara rested a hand on Frejat's opposite shoulder and brought them close.

"Of course we will," Mara whispered. "I promise."

They accepted the side hug, and one lonely tear managed to escape their closed eyelids before they balled their hands and swallowed their tears. Then, with a smile, they nodded. Mara and Frejat found their rhythm in a quiet, but constant conversation about nothing in specific, sharing favorite bands and tattoo ideas. The soft conversation, Mara noticed, had attracted the ears and attention of some Sents and beyond-fleshers around, and soon they were having a pleasant conversation that seemed to lift the spirits of the entire group.

In a tense, death-threatening situation like the one they were going through, sometimes it's useful to have a little bit of distraction to release the tension and soften the sensation of impending doom. That feeling only became stronger when Tai left the rear of the group and jogged to Mara and Frejat, in the front.