The Five Dimensions Part 1: Shadow World

Chapter 23

"You? You were the dark figure?" she said sharply.

"Took you long enough to find out," Phoenix said, getting up and walking to a door, not the one Hailey and Leo had emerged from though. Hailey could see Phoenix opening a fridge and identified the room as the kitchen of this place.

"He only was it that one time ― the time I was with you ― it was me all the other times," Ash said, and Hailey quickly turned to him.

"Lying bastard."

"You'll have to cut the swearing before we take you to the Third Dimension," Ash said. Even though the others weren't exactly shocked by Hailey's swearing she did notice them tense slightly. Ash didn't. "Most people aren't used to those kinds of words." That explains all the exasperated faces. Hailey looked around, excusing.

"What about my dad, and Nolan? There's no way I'm just going to leave them," Hailey said after some seconds of silence. "Besides, I don't have any clothes, so one way or another I have to go home and pack." It was a very weak excuse, but Hailey was desperate enough to use it. She didn't want to come with them but possibly if she pretended she didn't mind, they would let their guard down enough for her to escape.

"A letter has been sent to your father. We have our methods for these kinds of situations. And your possessions―" Leo said, but he wasn't the one to finish the sentence.

"Are already packed," Ash said. "Nix got your clothes when it became clear you wouldn't be coming home. I'm sorry but I left your weapons behind." He said the last part very quietly, but the others in the room obviously still heard him saying it.

Are they Vampires or something? They hear everything! Hailey thought, but she was smart enough to keep that to herself.

"What does she need weapons for anyway?" the curly brown-haired girl said, sitting up straight in anger. She didn't look so cute anymore. It took Hailey a moment to remember her name. Brooke, she thought finally, feeling relieved that she still knew.

"Do you remember that guy, with the Swiss knife? Whole lot of trouble it took to get another human in time," Ruben said, his eyes darting from Ash to Leo and back to Ash again. The way he said human disgusted Hailey, as if it were an object rather than a living being.

"That's exactly what you can go do if you keep on talking about me as if I'm not in the room," Hailey said. It stayed silent for a while, Hailey eyeing everyone severely. There was tension in the air. Some of the people gave each other grave looks. Hailey wasn't sure there would be any way for her to get away from the Team, but her threat was clearly something they took very seriously. Then Leo coughed and the attention was turned back to him.

"Do you want to sit, Hailey?" he asked her. The way he looked at her, she thought he might understand more of her intentions than he gave away. Maybe he wanted to distract her from the direction her mind was going, which was currently considering her escape routes.

She nodded, working hard to keep her eyes from revealing any of her thoughts, and went to sit on an empty two persons' couch. Ash let himself fall into the seat next to her, hanging relaxed over the back of the couch. She wished he would leave, there wasn't quite enough room for them not to touch and him being so close was making her angrier every second. She was especially mad because of the sensations going through her leg where it was brushing his, and how distracting it still was. Even after the way he'd betrayed her. Now it was her body who was betraying her.

"I am still wondering how Hailey can know that Ash lied," Phoenix said, coming back into the living room with a soda can in her hand. She took a sip and muttered something about how she missed the stuff in the Third Dimension.

"You can?" Zech asked, turning to Hailey and looking fascinated. Ruben was still slowly looking Hailey up and down, but the others looked at her face intentionally, waiting for her answer.

"I've always been able to tell when someone lies. It's really not that hard and not that big of a deal. As long as you tell me the truth, that is," she added after a little while, hoping that a joke would lighten the tension. She was a bit intimidated by all the eyes looking at her. She even had to focus to keep her voice steady; it was starting to become unnerving.

"I do not believe you, not until you prove yourself." Phoenix let herself fall opposite of Hailey and gave her a look. She focused on the little things that could give away Phoenix was lying.

Despite her closed-off eyes, Hailey could easily tell whether she was lying or not. It was much easier than with Ash, who she hadn't been able to read at all at the beginning. Phoenix wasn't exactly lying now, at least, she didn't think so herself. But she was lying to herself. She didn't want to believe Hailey could notice when someone lied, and she was scared of the truth.

Hailey didn't feel eager to continue the staring contest, though. She also didn't feel the need to prove just how well she could spot lies. Besides, she wanted to prepare herself for whatever would happen from now on and to do that she needed information.

"So how is the Third Dimension compared to the Fifth?" Hailey asked no one in particular. Any clues she could get from the Team would be valuable for when she tried to make her escape. It was Ash who answered her.

"The way of living can be considered old-fashioned, but not everything is like that," he explained in a professional way. Hailey was however able to detect the slightest hint of some emotions hidden behind the surface. "It all comes back to our main Principles, which roughly means keep order, fight the baddies and reproduce. Everything is based on those three things, and we don't need anything more than that. You'll understand when we get there."

"Reproduce?" Hailey asked, taken aback and slightly disgusted. She looked at Ash, but he seemed hesitant to answer.

"We need an ongoing supply of new little Soul Hunters running around so that we can continue to do our duty," Ruben answered instead.

"Oh, right..." Hailey answered sarcastically. She wasn't sure what she had expected. The meaning had been clear to her but having reproduce as one of your life goals was very primeval, almost animal-like.