Sanctuary

Chapter Two - Senna

"Wrench?" Senna asked lightly and her mentor dropped the plastic cord and shook her head.

"Look, Kiddo, you don't have a lot of time left to pack."

"I know. I just... I'm nervous I guess."

"You're right to be. It's a big change."

"I thought mom didn't want to go back to Central, either. I thought she liked it here, but then she started talking to that old friend of hers or whatever..." Senna shuffled back and forth on her feet. "She keeps saying it'll be better, but if it's going to be so much better then why didn't she want to go back sooner?"

"I'm sure she's only doing what she thinks is best for you."

Senna met her mentor's eyes and her resolve crumbled with a quiver of her lower lip.

"Oh come on. Don't cry. If you cry, I'll cry and it'll be this whole big thing..." There was an attempt at lightheartedness in Wrench's voice, but it fell flat. She sighed, grasped the plastic cording around her neck, and pulled it up and over her head. The necklace she had worn for as long as Senna could remember hung from her hands, the blue light of bioluminescence glowing softly in the shadows between them. "Come here."

Senna shuffled closer, sniffling in an attempt to fight back her tears.

"I want you to have this."

Wrench's voice was quiet as she took one last step and draped the necklace around Senna's neck. The weight of the pendant settled onto Senna's chest like a hug, but the comfort of its presence twisted at her stomach instead of soothing her nerves. Realization started to spread through her. This wasn't a 'see you later' goodbye. It was less like heading home after work and more like crying in front of the picture of her father, knowing that he'd never come back. The stinging in her eyes finally turned into the burning of tears.

"I don't want to go." Senna threw her arms around her boss and pulled her into a tight hug. She held onto Wrench as if she never intended on letting go, her fingers clenching the back of her shirt.

"I know." Wrench returned the hug and Senna clung to her with all of her might. When Wrench pulled away she left her hands on Senna's shoulder so they hadn't truly parted. The calloused pad of her thumb smeared away one of the tears that rolled down Senna's cheeks. Senna focused on that lingering connection, committing it to memory. "Now you take care of that pendant, okay? It's older than you are."

"I'm gonna miss you." Senna wiped at her own damp cheeks with the heel of her palm, but all she accomplished was spreading the salty water into a thin sheen over her face.

"I'll miss you, too, Kiddo." Wrench gave her a sad smile. "Now go pack the HMDs before you forget."

Senna nodded and gave her cheeks one last futile wipe before moving over to the work table. She tucked the most battered looking of the two devices into her bag and turned the other one over in her hands.

"I'm going to leave this one here," she decided.

"Why?"

"Because it's the most repaired of the two. I think that one of the wires is loose. You'll be able to fix it, no problem!"

"No, I mean. . ." Wrench shook her head. "Why bother leaving one at all?"

"So I can try to send a message when I get mine working, of course!" Optimism spread through Senna, no matter how small the chances really were. "I'll try every night. We should set up a time, so you know when to be by the device. Uhm. . . how about eight? So it's after dinner."

"Senna. . ."

"So you keep it close at eight o'clock every night, in case it works. Okay?"

"Look, Kiddo, I know you've been working hard on them and all, but I really don't think it's going to ever work. I'm sorry. It's got nothing to do with your skill. But, with the interference from the N-Gel—"

"I'll get them to work," Senna insisted, cutting her off, "and when I do you'll be the first to know, because you'll get my message."

There was a moment of silence between them as Senna issued a challenging glare.

Wrench sighed, her shoulders sagging in surrender.

"Alright. Eight o'clock."

"Every night."

"Every night," Wrench agreed, tugging her lips up into a soft smile. Senna watched for a moment before deciding that she was satisfied with her answer.

"I'll miss you."

"You already said that," Wrench pointed out. "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Well. . ." She closed the space between them and gave the girl one last hug.

"Goodbye, Kiddo."

"Goodbye, Wrench."