EDGE OF DAY

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Like the story of the frog boiled so slowly it didn't know when the heat would kill it, they groomed her to become The Bait. Her age and profile matched an ex-girlfriend of Will Van de Berg's.

She had done it to protect those living in the southern sphere. She'd done it to prevent other children from the horror and pain of being left alone in the world. The five years following her parents' death had been lonely and agonizing until Amber showed up, shrouded in mystery and offering adventure and heroism. They gave her a family again and place she belonged.

A wet cloth moved across Day's burning brow. Her head felt crushed and pummeled. Her eyes watered so much she couldn't see properly.

"It's over," a voice said. Her heart squeezed up her throat as though it was trying to choke her.

"Mom?"

"No sweetie, it's me. It's Amber."

An avalanche of disappointment swept Day downhill. Illogical, she knew. They could give her back her memories, not her mother. But she was muddled, and Amber had sounded so like their Mom it hurt. She stopped trying to open her eyes, lay her pounding head back against the seat and let the tears spill out.

Amber rubbed Day's arm. "You'll feel disorientated for a couple of hours, but it'll wear off."

"Did I succeed? Did you get the code?"

"It's still in progress," Amber said. Then she added. "Good to have you back, Sis." Amber nodded at the doctor who moved forwards to unstrap Day from the machine.

"They're going to move you to the recovery room. Lie down for a bit. Take it easy. And I'll come and see you later."

"Wait, Amber."

"Yes?"

"How soon can I get the leach taken off?"

Amber smiled. "Give it a few hours."

"Is Ferdinando angry?"

"You've got to be kidding. You did what he's been trying to accomplish for twenty years. You're a hero around here."

Day smiled, playing it for all she was worth. One last act of lying and subterfuge. It was what she was good at, right?

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," Amber said, coming closer.

The droid doctor retreated and fiddled with some machinery in the corner of the room.

"Ferdinando said Will sees and hears things inside the energy flux, that we can't. What does he see?"

Amber's eyes narrowed a little. "We don't know yet."

"Well, if you were to guess?"

"My guess would be he's seeing the fifth dimension."

Day's arms tingled, and the hairs on her neck stood up.

"The fifth dimension..."

Amber nodded. "Multiple universes across past, present and future."

Day swallowed, attempting to camouflage the storm of emotion breaking over her.

This wasn't as simple as all her indoctrination into the Veda had trained her to believe. Suffering on planet earth wasn't a recent phenomenon that had come about with the catastrophic climate changes. Humankind had been suffering at the hands of other humans and the elements since the beginning of humanity.

But what if there was a way of ending it? A way of expanding consciousness so that humans could grow beyond survival of the fittest and egocentric greed?

"Ferdinando said Will's mind, and all his experiences grew inside a program, a code that relates to the fifth dimension." Day tried to maintain a light tone to her voice. "What if he understands things that we can't?"

"Like what?"

"That consciousness and reality aren't what we think. What if the external and internal are deeply connected? What if our minds are projecting reality based on our emotions, our expectations, our unconsciousness?"

Amber leaned over Day and pressed her forefinger into the bruise on her cheek which she herself had made.

"Is the pain real?" she asked. Their eyes locked together. "Was the pain of losing our parents real? Don't fall for that 'this is all an illusion crap.' Tell that to a kid who's starving to death. What we're doing here, saving lives—that's real!"

Hello, hope all is well with you... thanks for reading, voting, commenting and being here. Do things make sense, or is it moving too fast? All feedback will really help me when I start revising, so please don't be shy if you have any thoughts about what might need clarifying. And as always, I hope you enjoyed it. C.