invisible string | f. zhang

viii. trust

"Oh, that's nothing," Frank answers, "I mean. We're friends. That's all."

Maribelle smiles, "Okay."

"Why?" Frank asks.

She shrugs.

"Is this some weird Venus intuition thing?" Frank questions.

"No, just a Maribelle intuition thing," She answers.

"Did Hazel say something?" Frank asks, she noticed the hint of hopefulness in his voice, and Maribelle wants to stomp her foot in anger.

Gods, he's so oblivious.

"No, she didn't," Maribelle says. She watches as he looks at her, then looks over to Hazel and Percy. "Gods!" She huffs and stomps away from Frank.

"There," Hazel speaks. She points at an office building that had a single word etched on the glass doors: Amazon.

Maribelle laughs, "Hazel, that's a modern thing."

"They're a company, right?" Frank speaks up, "They sell stuff on the Internet. They're not actually Amazons."

"Unless . . ." Percy walks right through the doors. Maribelle doesn't hesitate to follow.

The lobby had glass walls, a glossy black floor, a few token plants, and pretty much nothing else. Maribelle rolls her eyes at the lack of taste in decor. Against the back wall, a black stone staircase led up and down. In the middle of the room stood a young woman in a black pantsuit, with long auburn hair and a security guard's earpiece. Her name tag said Kinzie.

Kinzie nods at both Maribelle and Hazel, ignoring the boys. "May I help you?"

"Yes!" Maribelle says, "Where'd you get that pantsuit? You look amazing! I always feel like pantsuits swallow me, I'm more of a —"

"We're looking for Amazons," Hazel interrupts.

"This is the main campus for Amazon," She begins cautiously, "Did you have an appointment with someone, or— "

"Hylla," Percy interrupts, "We're looking for a girl named— "

Kinzie moves so fast, Maribelle could barely follow. She kicks Frank in the chest and sends him flying backward across the lobby. She pulls a sword out of thin air, sweeps Percy off his feet with the flat of the blade, and presses the point under his chin.

By the time Maribelle holds her own sword, a dozen more girls had appeared at the top of the staircase.

Kinzie glares down at Percy, "First rule: Males don't speak without permission. Second rule: trespassing on our territory is punishable by death. You'll meet Queen Hylla, all right. She'll be the one deciding your fate."

The Amazons don't hesitate to confiscate the quartet's weapons and march them down so many flights of stairs, Maribelle was growing dizzy.

Finally, they emerge in a cavern where fluorescent lights glow along the rock ceiling. Conveyor belts wound through the room like water slides, carrying boxes in every direction. Aisles of metal shelves stretched out, stacked high with crates of merchandise. Almost all the work was being done by computers and robots. The only humans Maribelle could see were some black-suited security women patrolling the catwalks, and some men in orange jumpsuits driving forklifts through the aisles, delivering more pallets of boxes. The men wore iron collars around their necks.

"You keep slaves?" Hasel asks.

"The men?" Kinzie snorts, "They're not slaves. They just know their place. Now, move."

Maribelle frowns, she wasn't sure that made it okay . . .

They kept walking. The sound of Maribelle's platforms almost annoyed her to the point where she debated going barefoot. But as she inspected the floor, she decided against it.