Sanctuary

Chapter Two - Senna

The familiar smell of sweat and rust sent nervous pangs through Senna's chest as tears threatened to burn the edges of her eyes. There were only a few more things left for her to pack, but she was stalling as she focused on memorizing every little detail of the shop. She ran her calloused fingers over a scorch mark that marred one of the rough wooden worktables. It was a small detail, but the memory it evoked was dear, even dearer now that she was leaving it behind.

It was the smell of smoke and a yelp of surprise. It was Wrench calling 'I told you so' from the other side of the room, shaking her head and trying to hide her amused smile as she took her time grabbing the extinguisher.

Senna couldn't imagine her life without Wrench, but she was about to venture into the unimaginable.

"Make sure you grab everything. Once you leave, you're not going to be able to come back and visit." Wrench's words came out as a warning that made Senna's stomach twist as her fingertips fell from the worktable.

"Oh, I'm sure they're not all that strict about it. I should be able to visit during school breaks." Senna did her best to smile through her ever-growing queasiness. She was supposed to be happy about the move. That was what her mother wanted. It would be easier for everyone if she was happy.

Wrench didn't respond and the quiet did nothing for Senna's nerves. She couldn't help but fidget with some of the tools on the table, shifting her weight from one foot to another in an attempt to shake away the stillness that settled over them like dust. A compulsive need to fill the silence consumed her until it flooded out into nervous words.

"I could really use your advice or something. If you've lived in Central you could tell me more about it, right? What's it like?"

"You can ask your mother about all that."

"I did."

"And what did she say?"

Senna rocked from side to side, her glossy black hair moving in a sheet behind her as she tumbled the many talks with her mother through her head.

"She said that the panels on the inner dome are tinted, so it's darker in Central than on the Rim... but I already knew that because it's in dad's repair manuals."

"There's a difference between knowing because you've read it and knowing because you've seen it."

"But you've seen it," Senna pressed. She had abandoned her task of packing long ago, her hands clutching the strap of the bag where it slung across her chest. She pleaded with her mentor, her eyes wide and worried.

"You should take the HMDs with you." Wrench nodded her head in the direction of the devices. They were sitting, half assembled, in the clutter of the worktable. It had been a month since Senna had found them, but she still couldn't get them to turn on.

"Something bad happened, right? That's what mom said. Or, what she said dad said. You didn't like it there, did you?"

"Senna..." The name came out as a sigh.

"That's why you moved out here, isn't it?"

Wrench fiddled with her necklace. Normally she wore it underneath her shirt, where it wouldn't get in the way of her work, but sometimes Senna would catch her messing with the plastic cording and staring off into the distance. It was out of place against the rest of her. The pendant was a teardrop shaped container of hardened glass filled with a blue bioluminescent moss. Senna knew it was from Central because jewelry simply wasn't common on the Rim. Also, there was no shop in the entirety of the Rim that sold that kind of moss. It had been bioengineered by the great Kagerou Sato over a decade ago and Central had never approved it's sale outside of the city.