The Edge

Gideon: Part Four

"Okay, what the actual fuck? Sorry, Tola."

Gideon had expected that response. The recording was a lot to take in. He stopped it as soon as the broadcast was over. He didn't need the others to hear him crying. "It's okay," Tola said. She sounded as mystified as Arian looked. "How did he know?"

"He could've been sending out the same message every night since she left," Matteo pointed out. Ever the logical thinker, that one. Gideon was grateful for the skepticism; it made him feel less like he was losing his mind. "And...maybe he felt like saying something nice? Thought we might need it."

Thought I might need it, Gideon mentally corrected. If she was airing out my dark and tragic past with a random stranger, we are not going to be on speaking terms.

"That makes the most sense," Helen said. She sounded as skeptical as Matteo, but as unnerved as Arian and Tola. "Either way...this means she must have spoken to him. And if she talked to him enough to leave a message for us..."

"Maybe he knows where she went," Gideon finished. He didn't feel optimistic; if he was being honest, he was having a hard time feeling anything but a strange, queasy kind of dread. But even he had to admit those were the first good signs they'd had in a while. "When did they say we could land?"

"Thirty more minutes, assuming however was in the spot actually vacates it on time." Helen got up abruptly. "I'll call ahead and see if another spot's opened up. I don't want to waste time if we don't have to."

That was the one downside to finally getting a lead: now that Helen had the scent, she was going to be dogged. Gideon didn't blame her for that, and he definitely didn't have space to criticize her, but his past experiences had given him some experience with patience. He was pretty good at waiting by now. Helen...not so much. It was something she and Cassandra shared.

"Anyone else feel like this might be like...the weirdest thing we've run across so far?" Arian said. He sounded almost as freaked as Gideon felt. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the alleged multi-eyed fuel-eating demon was pretty insane, but these are radio broadcasts talking to you. That's weirder, in my opinion."

"It feels weirder," Adoette said in agreement. "Like those horror movies where nothing's really happening, but somehow that's scarier? You know what I mean?"

"That's exactly it! Like shit, man, I can handle kaiju, cyber-gangs, but...I dunno, I keep thinking this dude knows all my dark secrets."

Adoette snorted. "Yeah, you should be worried about that, you criminal."

The comment may not have been directed at Gideon, but it still stung. Arian wasn't the only one with dark secrets, after all. He tried to ignore the feeling, instead focusing his attention on Tola and Matteo. Tola's disbelief, confusion, and slight awe were radiating off her like the rings of a sun dog. Matteo's face was more neutral, but he was staring off in the middle distance as if contemplating one of his projects. The longer he looked, the more Gideon could see the gears turning. He might have been the one to suggest an explanation for the broadcast, but something about that look said he didn't entirely believe it.

And damn if that didn't scare the shit out of Gideon.

Helen checked her phone and abruptly stood up. "They found us another spot. It'll be a longer walk into the city but we can handle it. Everyone get strapped in."

Everyone scrambled to get to their places. Gideon felt his anxiety increase as they went. He wasn't sure why–it wasn't like there was anything down there that was objectively worse than some of the shit he'd seen from the time when he was five. But the worry still gnawed at him.