The meeting room was already full when Jared and Tai got there. Or at least, as full as could be expected.
The fight that had broken out at the rebels base had cost many lives. Leah, Marco, and Riley had been killed alongside fifty others, and of the scattering that had returned, several had accidentally run into ghosts this last week and dissolved into nothing.
Jared was almost envious.
Several people glanced up as Jared and Tai entered, watching as Jared stalked to the back of the room, taking an empty spot along the wall and letting Tai slide in beside him.
Jared lent against the plasterboards, scanning the people around him. Shoulders had grown tense, conversation hushed, and he knew every single one of the S.I.S members in front of him was aware he was there, that their backs were unguarded. It made his heart thud, made him feel as unsafe as they clearly did.
"Okay everyone, quiet down."
Andrew's voice cut through the chatter, silencing it, and Jared looked up, watching as Andrew walked onto the platform, Sophie Azemar beside him.
"We'll keep this brief," Andrew said. "As many of you know, we've been unable to clog the portals. No matter what's thrown at them, they keep opening up and ghosts keep coming through. Half the world has gone into lockdown and the other has descended into chaos. Unless we figure out how to re-stabilise the dimensions, we need to fear the worst."
Andrew swallowed, a sign of nervousness Jared knew he hadn't meant to display, and Jared glanced around. Everyone was staring at Andrew, their expressions defeated, but then one pair of eyes broke away and met his.
Seth Azemar didn't just look empty, but emptied; like some psychopath had ripped his insides out and stuffed the skin. Jared tore his gaze away again, his vision spotting with the sudden movement.
"Leah's death has sparked a chain of events no one could have predicted," Andrew continued. "None of us believed that if the world started collapsing, we'd have time to fix it. But we do. So, now we need to fight harder than ever. If you don't think you can do that and want to spend your final days with loved ones, leave now. We won't stop you."
The room fell eerily silent, and Jared's muscles twitched, begging him to speak up, to walk away and never return.
He didn't want to hope anymore. He didn't want to fight, or try, or bleed.
He wanted to go to the world of dead and say his goodbyes and pray that when this all came to an end, the void he'd be thrown into, half dead and half alive, wasn't as horrible as he expected.
But the silence dragged, and no one spoke. Not even him.
"Good," Andrew said, and Jared blinked, surprised to still be standing there as Sophie stepped forward.
"Andrew and I have organised those of us that remain into strike groups," Sophie said. "Each group will use a different method to tackle the portals and the ghosts. If one is successful, it'll be communicated to the others, but if not, the groups will continue to operate separately. We've plastered the assignments onto the notice boards around the building. You all have two hours before we depart. If your name isn't listed under a team, please return to your room. Andrew and I will come around and give you instructions."
Her gaze travelling around the room, snagging on Jared before she moved on and nodded.
"You're all dismissed," Sophie said. "Thank you for coming today. And thank you, deeply, for your sacrifice."
...
Jared followed the crowd to the notice boards, squinting at the list of names. Unsurprisingly, his name wasn't there, and he wandered back to his room and sat down, unsure what to do with himself until Andrew or Sophie appeared.
There was a new hole in the floor, creeping dangerously close to the bed frame, and he stared at it, wondering if he needed to fix it. He still hadn't decided when shoes scuffed in the corridor and Seth Azemar appeared in the doorway.
Jared thought Seth would realise he'd got the wrong room and continue on, but instead, he came to a stop, hands in pockets.
"Hey," Seth said.
Jared blinked at him. "You looking for someone?"
"Yeah, you."
Seth glanced around Jared's room, taking in the destruction, and then moved inside.
"Have Mum and Andrew come to see you yet?" he asked.
"No."
"Good. They're going to send you away. Mums convinced you'll try to kill me to get your mortality back."
Jared eyed Seth, considering. When he'd realised that the only way to reverse his immortality was by killing someone touched by dark matter, he hadn't thought of Seth Azemar. At least, not after he'd decided to side with the S.I.S and protect him.
But unlike everyone else here, Seth wasn't built for combat. Chords of muscles didn't stand out in his arms, and he lacked the ruthlessness of most of the S.I.S too. If Jared wanted to kill Seth, it'd be easy.
"She's right," Jared said. "I might."
"Why haven't you done it, then?"
Jared leant back against the headboard, closing his eyes. "Don't read into it. I haven't exactly been in the killing frame of mind."
"No. More in the wallowing in self-pity one, I hear."
Annoyance shot through Jared, but he left his eyes closed. Being around Seth was disorienting, too steeped in thoughts of Leah and Brenton.
"Is there a reason you're here?" Jared asked.
Seth was silent for a long time, but Jared could feel something building.
"Why haven't you disappeared to the world of the dead yet?" Seth asked eventually. "I know you want to. Everyone does."
Jared's eyes slid open slowly, his gaze cold.
"Andrew didn't want me opening up any other portals. I'm just following his rules."
"You don't give a damn about Andrew's rules and we all know it."
Jared shrugged and stood up. He'd had enough of this conversation. Tai was already seeking him out every couple of hours. He didn't need to Seth following him around as well.
"It's time for you to leave now, Seth," Jared said.
Seth didn't move, and after a moment Jared sighed and pulled the gun from his holster, pointing it at Seth's head.
"Get out."
Seth laughed and lent against the wall, dislodging some loose plaster and sending it drifting to the floor.
"We both know you can't kill me with that. And even if you could, you wouldn't. Leah wouldn't like it."
Jared flinched, his muscles spasming.
"Is there a point to this conversation?" he snapped.
Seth walked over, coming close enough that the barrel of the gun rested against his chest. There was something unhinged in his eyes that made Jared wonder if Leah's brother had finally cracked; that maybe she'd been the last thread holding him to sanity.
"Yes," Seth said. "I want you to take me to the world of the dead."
Jared blinked, surprise flooding his expression. "What?"
He stared, waiting for the punch line. But it didn't come.
"Mum and Andrew's techniques aren't going to work," Seth said. "I can feel it. They're only delaying the inevitable. To stop this, we have to cut the portals off from the other end."
Jared eyed him, and then he dropped the gun.
"How do you know that?"
"I just do."
The look Seth was giving him was far too familiar, far too Leah, and Jared's thought snapped back to the last time he'd seen her — to the way she'd screamed his name and the fury she'd let out on Brenton, sparked by protectiveness, by fear, all for him.
Jared spun the ring on his finger again, loss flooding through him so strongly he almost doubled over.
"Just give up, Seth," he said quietly. "The world's fucked, you know that. Go enjoy life while you can."
Jared turned, moving towards the door, but Seth followed.
"Have you even tried talking to any of the ghosts?" Seth asked. "Because I have, and they say different."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Jared said.
"They can't hurt me. I touched one the other day to check."
Jared shot him an irritated glare. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, too."
"Look. I need your help, okay?" Seth snapped, grabbing Jared's arm and hauling him to a stop. "I don't like it, but I do. So, you're not leaving until you agree."
Jared squeezed his eyes shut, muttering a curse to all the Azemars he'd ever met, and then pulled his arm free, levelling Seth with a stare he hoped withered.
"I'm not going to agree because I can't, okay, Seth?" Jared said. "My portal doesn't work anymore, and I'm stuck here forever. So, go bother someone else. I'm done with all of this."
As he spoke, Jared's voice grew softer, angrier.
He'd lost. They'd all lost.
And now his insides were filled with splinters and fragments of a world he could no longer reach and people he'd never see again.
Seth eyed him for a moment, assessing.
"I don't need your help because you can create portals," Seth said. "There are portals opening up everywhere right now. We just have to be brave enough to jump through one."
Jared paused, surprised. "Is that what you're planning?"
Seth's gaze was defiant, confirming Jared's suspicions.
"That's insane," Jared said. "Those portals aren't safe."
Seth glanced back at the door, checking that no one was standing in the corridor.
"They are," Seth said quietly. "At least, they are for me, and they would be for you, too. We've already been touched by dark matter. What's a little more going to do?"
Seth stepped back, grabbing Jared's gun from the bed where he'd left it, and pressed it into Jared's hand.
"There's one forming outside the building right now. It'll be stable at midnight. If you ever want to see Leah or your father again, meet me on the roof then."
And then he turned and left.
...
Hey everyone!
Do you think Seth's plan is going to work? 😛
Next chapter out in two weeks!
- Skylar xx