《The Keeper Chronicles: Heartbreak》 Heartbreak: Scene 1 Issue 4: Heartbreak Venessa wakes up at 8:36 in the morning. She¡¯s surprised that Avonari hasn¡¯t woken her up yet. She panics for a second before realizing that it¡¯s Saturday and there isn¡¯t school on the weekends. Avonari has woken up, as evident from the empty top bunk. Venessa heads downstairs to find that many of the foster children are awake and moving about the house. Cory: Good morning, Venessa. Venessa: Morning. Cory: Annelise has breakfast on the table, if you¡¯re hungry. Venessa nods and heads into the kitchen. Avonari sits down beside her. Avonari: So, can we watch the movies today? Venessa: Movies? Avonari: Every single Marvel and D.C. movie ever made. Venessa sighs: That would take all day. Avonari: It¡¯ll be the best day of your life. Venessa: Fine. I¡¯ll watch the movies with you. Avonari: Yay! I can¡¯t wait! Which one should we start with?! Venessa: Can I finish my breakfast first? Avonari: Right. Sorry! Venessa: Oh! And I¡¯ll have to get dressed and ready for the day first. I don¡¯t want to wear pajamas all day. Avonari sighs: You¡¯re killing me! Alright! Venessa smiles, but her smile fades when Annelise enters the room. Annelise:(to Venessa) Good morning. Did you sleep well? Venessa nods and continues eating her food. Annelise: You seem a bit tense. Is there anything you need to talk about? Venessa shakes her head and doesn¡¯t make eye contact. Annelise smiles: I¡¯ll be here if you need me. She walks away. Avonari: Annelise is right. Something¡¯s bothering you. Venessa: Nothing¡¯s bothering me. Avonari is unconvinced: C¡¯mon. You¡¯ve gotta tell me now. Venessa looks around. Venessa: I¡¯m pretty sure I had one of my clairvoyance dreams last night. Avonari: Really? What did you see? Venessa: I think¡­I think Annelise might die. Avonari: What?! Venessa: Sssh! Keep it down! Avonari: How accurate are your dreams? Venessa shrugs: It depends. Some of them have been only about 20% accurate. Some of them have been completely correct. Avonari: So, how did Annelise die in your dream? Venessa: I didn¡¯t actually see her die, but it seemed like she was in the process of dying. It was only flashes. I guess that she was being murdered, but I didn¡¯t see any blood. Avonari: We¡¯ve gotta tell her! Venessa: No, we can¡¯t! She should live her life normally and not be stressed! Avonari: How soon is this supposed to happen? This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Venessa: I don¡¯t know. It could be years from now¡­ Avonari sighs with relief: Okay, good. We¡¯ll have at least a few more years with her. Venessa:...But it could also happen today. Avonari: I¡¯m gonna go tell Annelise! Venessa grabs Avonari by the arm: We should let her enjoy the time she has left. That means she can¡¯t know that she¡¯s gonna die. At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard in movies. Avonari: Well, in Marvel movies, the characters try to change that! Do you want Annelise to die, Venessa?! Venessa is silent. Avonari: Do you? Venessa: I¡­I don¡¯t want anyone to die. But I don¡¯t think that we can change the future. The two of them sit in silence. Avonari sighs: I won¡¯t tell her. Venessa: I think I want to get ready for the day and watch the movies now. Avonari nods: Yeah, that¡¯d be good. Venessa changes into some comfortable dayclothes and sits down with Avonari on the couch. Avonari: Do you want to start with Marvel or D.C.? Venessa: I don¡¯t know either of them. Uuum¡­how about D.C.? Avonari: Okay. Which D.C. movie? Venessa: I don¡¯t know. Which one is your favorite? Avonari: My favorite is Man of Steel, but I think that Wonder Woman would be a good one to start with. Venessa: Alright. Let¡¯s watch it. Avonari: Daia, turn on the 2017 Wonder Woman movie. T.V.: Okay. Turning on ¡°Wonder Woman¡±. Avonari and Venessa watch the movie. Venessa pretends not to like it, but does a terrible job. Annelise steps into the nearby kitchen to make lunch. Venessa: Why does this take place in World War 1? I thought D.C. was contemporary. Avonari: It¡¯s an origin story. Now, shh! The action¡¯s about to ramp up! A huge fight scene comes on the screen of the projected television. Venessa: Whoa! That was¡­okay, I guess. Avonari: Okay?! Venessa: So, why don¡¯t they make superhero movies anymore? Avonari: The government hates powered people, duh! About an hour later, the movie is over. Avonari: Now, I need to hear your theories. You could beat whom? Venessa: What? I watched one movie! Avonari: Could Batman beat Superman? Venessa: Who are those two? Avonari gasps: Okay, we¡¯re watching their movies next. Venessa sighs. Annelise watches the two girls lovingly from the kitchen. Suddenly, she cries and crumples to the ground. Avonari: Annelise! The girls run over to help her. Just like in Venessa¡¯s dream, there¡¯s no blood. Tears roll down Annelise¡¯s face. Annelise:(rasping) Get Cory. Venessa runs to Cory, who appears to be researching something. Venessa: Something¡¯s wrong with Annelise. Cory immediately stands from his chair: What is it? Venessa: I don¡¯t know. She¡­she just collapsed. Cory runs into the kitchen before Venessa can finish telling the story. He picks up Annelise with remarkable ease and carries her into their bedroom. The girls hesitate for a second before following after them. They find Annelise lying on her bed with Cory at her side. Eight-year-old Josie, another foster child, rushes into the room. Cory: Can you make your hands cold without freezing Mommy? Josie nods. Cory scans Annelise¡¯s temperature: 100.2 Degrees Fahrenheit. Venessa and Avonari watch intensely. Cory: We can¡¯t let it get above 102.5. Annelise¡¯s breathing speeds up. Cory:(to Annelise) What do you see? Avonari and Venessa look at each other, confused. Annelise: A¡­A town in Thailand. Wait¡­It¡¯s 05437. Webmaster! She¡¯s infected the wifi in the buildings! All of them! Annelise clutches Cory¡¯s hand harder. She grimaces in pain. Annelise: The town¡¯s about to be wiped out! There are people in there!!! Oh¡­Thank heavens! The Cyclone Sector showed up! Annelise grimaces and clenches her teeth. Cory scans Annelise again: 101.1. Cory: C¡¯mon, Annie! I¡¯m right here. Stay with me! Annelise: HE¡¯S GONNA DESTROY IT! Venessa:(to Avonari) He? I thought Webmaster was a ¡®she¡¯. Annelise: HOW¡­HOW?! HOW ARE THEY GONNA GET EVERYONE OUT IN TIME?! The group waits intensely. Annelise: EVERYONE¡¯S OUT! THE TOWN¡¯S BEEN EVACUATED! Annelise seems to brace herself. Cory measures her temperature again: 101.9 Cory: You can do it! Stay calm! Annelise screams in agony, and what sounds like a bit of anger and despair. Cory checks Annelise¡¯s temperature: 102.1, 102.3, 102.5, 102.2, 101.6,...(it keeps decreasing until it reaches 98.4) Annelise pants: It¡¯s over now. He¡¯s content again. Webmaster¡¯s been seriously injured. Annelise sits up and wipes the sweat off of her forehead. Josie: Mommy, are you okay? Annelise nods: I¡¯m okay now, JoJo. Josie climbs onto the bed and hugs Annelise. Annelise hugs her back. Annelise: Thank you. I love you so much. Josie: I love you, too. Cory kisses Annelise¡¯s forehead. Annelise hugs him, gets up from the bed, and heads downstairs to make lunch. Venessa and Avonari are perplexed. Heartbreak: Scene 2 Venessa:(whispering) What just happened? Avonari:(whispering) I have no idea. After Annelise finishes making lunch, all of the foster children rush downstairs to eat. Annelise seems a bit drowsy or lethargic, but otherwise fine. Venessa:(quoting The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien to Avonari) ¡°One does not simply¡­¡± have an episode like that and recover quickly. Avonari: I know! It¡¯s so weird! I wonder if Annelise destroyed that city. Venessa: How? Avonari: I think that she has other powers than just empathy. She seems to know more than we can see. Maybe she has destructive telekinesis like you. Venessa: Okay, but why destroy a random city in Thailand? Webmaster attacked our school and it wasn¡¯t destroyed. Avonari: I don¡¯t know. Venessa: Plus, I just don¡¯t think Annelise is that type of person. Look at her. Avonari glances at Annelise, who is laughing as she puts plates of food on the table for the younger kids. Avonari: You¡¯re right. Venessa begins eating her meal. After she finishes her food, Avonari invites her to sit on the sofa. Avonari: I guess your dream was wrong, huh? Venessa nods: I guess. She looks over at Josie, who is running around and doing cartwheels. Venessa: Josie. Josie:(with a big smile on her face) Yeah? Venessa: You shouldn¡¯t call Annelise ¡®Mommy¡¯. Josie¡¯s face falls: Why not? Venessa: This is a foster home. You¡¯ll get moved somewhere else. You shouldn¡¯t get too attached to her. Josie begins to cry. Avonari scowls at Venessa. Venessa: What? It¡¯s true. Annelise steps into the living room and crouches down to meet Josie¡¯s eyes:(to Josie) What¡¯s wrong? Josie: Venessa says I¡¯m gonna leave! Annelise hugs Josie: Well, you¡¯re not. Don¡¯t worry about that. Josie: Mommy? Annelise: Yes? Josie: What happened? Annelise: What do you mean? Josie: Why were you sick? Annelise thinks for a moment: I was sick because someone I love very much was very angry. Josie: Why? Annelise: Because people were being hurt. People he loves. Josie cocks her head, confused. Annelise smiles: It¡¯s hard to understand, I know. Josie gets distracted and begins dancing around again. Venessa: Avonari, who¡¯s this guy that she keeps talking about? Avonari shrugs. Jesse walks over to them, nibbling on a cheese stick. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Jesse: Maybe it¡¯s the Commander. Venessa: You mean the head of the Keepers? Jesse: Nah. I¡¯ve been studying the Keepers¡¯ political structure¡­ Avonari: Political structure? Jesse: You know what I mean. It seems like everyone¡¯s position is based on where they fall on the power scale. The Commander isn¡¯t a Keeper. He¡¯s something else entirely. Avonari: See, Jesse? This is what you can learn when you don¡¯t play A.R. games all day! Jesse: Nah, I just asked Cory about it. Avonari sighs: Of course you did. Venessa: Why does it matter that the Commander isn¡¯t a Keeper? He¡¯s still their leader. Jesse: Well, I don¡¯t think the Commander¡¯s even human. Avonari: Neither am I nor any of the members of the Cyclone unit. Jesse: Okay¡­Look, I¡¯m still trying to figure this out. Whatever power structure we have, it¡¯s confusing. Venessa: Wow, Jesse! I didn¡¯t get the impression that you were¡­ Jesse: Smart? Yeah, I am. Avonari rolls her eyes. Venessa sighs. Venessa:(to Jesse) How long have you been here? Jesse: About eight months. Venessa: Has this ever happened in the time you¡¯ve stayed here? Jesse shakes his head: No. It¡¯s really weird. Must not happen very much. Avonari: Well, that¡¯s good. Venessa: Maybe if we just asked Annelise what was going on¡­ Avonari: No. We should let her be. She probably doesn¡¯t want to relive it. Jesse nods: I know I wouldn¡¯t. Venessa: Could we ask Cory then? Cory steps into the living room: Did somebody say my name? Venessa: Yeah, I was¡­ Avonari and Jesse scowl at her. Venessa:...I was wondering if I had any missions scheduled for today. Cory shakes his head: No, you don¡¯t. There¡¯s usually a four-day rest period for Keepers-in-Training after their first mission. Venessa:(sarcastically) Great¡­ Cory: You¡¯re gonna have to work on your smart mouth, Venessa. There are some things that need to stay inside our heads. Jesse snickers. Cory:(to Jesse) Don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t do the same thing. Jesse is silent. Cory: Now, none of you are going on missions today, but I¡¯ll need to take Venessa to headquarters with me while I check on some things. Venessa grumbles. Cory: The sooner you get used to headquarters, the better. You¡¯ll be spending a lot of time there as a Keeper. Now, c¡¯mon. Let¡¯s get in the car. The two of them head to the Keeper headquarters. Venessa: So, Cory, what are your powers? Cory: Metal manipulation and extraordinary strength. Venessa: Are you taking me here as a punishment for my sarcasm? Cory: I¡¯ll leave that up for interpretation. Cory and Venessa stop in front of a door labeled ¡°Sea Sector Coordinator¡±. Cory pulls a key out of his pocket and unlocks the door. There¡¯s a desk in the office with a screen on top and a leather desk chair with wheels. Many bookshelves filled with actual copies of books lean against one of the walls. On the other are three framed photos of different people. One photo, labeled ¡®2024¡¯ seems to be a picture of Cory and Annelise on their wedding day. They only look slightly older now than they do in the picture. The other two look like group pictures of the Keepers. One, labeled ¡®2035¡¯, is a picture of Annelise, Cory, Levi, Susanna, Tyler, Ethan, and Dortor. The other, evidently the one taken this year (in 2066), is a collage of all of the different sectors. There must have been too many people to fit into one picture. Venessa realizes, however, that there is a man in these two pictures that she doesn¡¯t recognize. Venessa:(pointing to the unfamiliar man in the pictures) Who¡¯s that? Cory looks up from the screen on his desk: That would be the Commander. Venessa: Wait, really?! Cory smiles: Yup. Venessa: But he looks so¡­normal. I mean, none of you here are normal, but I guess I didn¡¯t expect your leader to look so human. Cory nods: That¡¯s a conversation for later on. It¡¯s good story, though. I¡¯ll tell you sometime. Venessa: Is he human? Cory shakes his head and smiles as if looking back on a past memory: No, he¡¯s not human, or an alien, or an interdimensional. I think he¡¯s something entirely different. Definitely more powerful than either of those three options, though. And he didn¡¯t use to look so normal. I remember when I first met him years ago, he had silver eyes and was quite a bit taller than Annelise and I. Venessa: How tall? Cory laughs: Tall enough to need to duck to get through the doorway. Venessa sits down: So, what do you want me to do while I¡¯m here? Cory: You can help Agent Ethan sort files. Venessa: Ugh! That sounds so¡­ Cory gives her a look. Venessa:...Fine. I¡¯ll go help Ethan. Cory: Thank you. Venessa nods and leaves the office to find Ethan. She knocks on the door to an office labeled ¡°Flame Sector and Civilian Coordinator¡±. Ethan answers. Ethan: Ah, Venessa. Good to see you again. Let me guess: Your smart-alec remarks got you in trouble? Venessa: How did you know? Ethan: Lucky guess. Also, I put Smart-Alec in the description of your Keeper-in-Training file. Venessa: Really? Ethan laughs: No! Everyone here already knows about your sarcasm. C¡¯mon in. Venessa sighs and walks into Ethan¡¯s office. There¡¯s a safe for practically every item except for the desk. Heartbreak: Scene 3 Venessa: How do you get into all of your stuff? I mean, don¡¯t you forget the password sometimes? Ethan: Oh, yeah. All the time. But¡­ Ethan touches the safe door and a portal forms to the inside. He grabs a stack of clear tablet files. Venessa: ¡®Kay. I guess that helps. Ethan: Can you sort these files into ¡®Ceased¡¯, ¡®Hiatus¡¯, and ¡®Continued¡¯? Venessa: How do I do that? Ethan: ¡®Ceased¡¯ is orange, ¡®Hiatus¡¯ is yellow, and ¡®Continued¡¯ is red. Just put them in separate piles. Venessa: Alright. Venessa sees many pictures of people that she doesn¡¯t know on the screens of the files. However, she recognizes a few of them. She sees a girl from her grade in the ¡®Hiatus¡¯ section. Her file is labeled ¡®Hazel Grace Wilson¡¯. Venessa: What are these files for? Ethan: People who kept their gifts, people who didn¡¯t, and people who will get them back. Venessa nods: Why do you have files for them? Ethan: So that we know who they are when they find us. Venessa: When they find us? Ethan nods: Everyone who chooses to keep their powers becomes a Keeper. That¡¯s their fate. Venessa: But¡­what if they don¡¯t want to become a Keeper? Ethan: Then they give up their powers. It¡¯s the way the world works. You see, with the gift comes a delicate balance¡­ Venessa: Why do you guys get to decide their destiny anyway? Ethan: We don¡¯t. It¡¯s actually closer to them deciding their destiny. Venessa nods and continues sorting the files. Ethan: You don¡¯t believe me, do you? Venessa shakes her head. Ethan: Well, one day you¡¯ll understand. That day just hasn¡¯t come yet. Venessa sighs: This is a lot of files. How many are there? Ethan: Oh, this is just for the Saint Louis area. I have many more in other safes and in the storage room. Someone knocks at the door. Ethan opens it. Dortor: Agent Ethan, you and Levi are needed in Torronto immediately. There is a large-scale power outage. Ethan: Hostilities? Dortor shakes his head: Human error. I would be shocked to see Hostilities showing their faces within three days after what has occurred in Thailand. Ethan grins: I¡¯ll be on my way. Ethan begins walking away. Ethan: Oh! I think Venessa¡¯s getting bored sorting files. Would you mind showing her around the building? Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Dortor: I would be happy to. Ethan leaves. Dortor: Come along, Venessa. Venessa sighs. The two of them begin strolling down the halls. Venessa: You can teleport, right? Dortor: Yes. Venessa: Can you teleport me out of here? Dortor: No. Venessa: Ugh! Why not?! Dortor: Because this is where you are supposed to be right now. Venessa: Why? Dortor smiles: Cory is your father and his way of discipling you was to bring you here. Venessa scowls: He¡¯s not my father. I don¡¯t have any parents. Dortor: Neither do I. Yet, I found a family in the Commander and the Keepers. Venessa:(sarcastically) Good for you. Not everyone is like that. The two of them pass by a door labeled ¡°Cyclone Sector Coordinator¡±. Dortor: That would be my office. Venessa: Will I get an office? Dortor: Not unless you become the head of a Sector, which is unlikely. There hasn¡¯t been a change in positions and I doubt there ever will be. Venessa: That¡¯s fine. It seems like a lot of work to be head of anything. Dortor laughs: Well, you¡¯ll still have to labor much as a Keeper, even if you don¡¯t lead a Sector. The two of them pass by the Resting Bay, another labeled office, and what looks like a monitor room with multiple projections of different continents. Dortor and Venessa then walk up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Members of the Cyclone Sector move about busily, speaking with the other Keepers or talking to each other in their language. There¡¯s a room that Venessa recognizes as the secret passage to the Presley house, and another for monitoring what looks like outer space. She notices a peculiar projection of what looks like a pink-ish sphere with a core filled with galaxies. Outside the large sphere is a strange, moving blue cloud. Or a heat structure. She can¡¯t tell. Venessa: What¡¯s that projection? Dortor: Which one? Venessa: The one that looks like a cell model. Dortor: That is the structure of the multiverse, the Bridge, and the Vast. Venessa pauses and blinks. Dortor smiles: The center of the sphere, or the ¡°nucleus¡±, contains every universe that exists. The pink space around it simulates the Bridge. The Bridge is the border between the multiverse and the Vast. It¡¯s my homeland. Venessa: So,...you¡¯re not even from this universe? Dortor shakes his head: No, I¡¯m not even from a parallel universe. Venessa: Is the Bridge really pink? Dortor: No, it¡¯s not pink. It used to be a beautiful place. Crystalline and with colors you could never imagine. It¡¯s a wasteland now. Venessa points to the swirling cloud or electrical current around the Bridge: Is that a storm in the Bridge? Dortor: That is the Vast. It¡¯s a fickle thing, outside of every known part of the world. It¡¯s always moving, never still. Almost¡­alive. My colleagues and I have been trying to understand it for years, but we¡¯ve recently concluded that we simply cannot know how it works. Venessa: But you¡¯re so smart and powerful enough to blow up planets! Dortor: Our intelligence has limits, as does our power. Only that which comes from the Vast is limitless. Venessa and Dortor pass by an unlabeled door next to the projection room. Unlike the other rooms, the inside of the room seems silent. Venessa steps over to the door and listens inside. There is someone inside, but she can¡¯t hear them. The silence is overwhelming. Dortor: You must never enter that room unless explicitly told to. You¡¯re not ready yet. Venessa: ¡®Kay. I¡¯ll stay out. Dortor: Funny, I expected you to ask me a question about what¡¯s inside. Venessa: Nah, I¡¯ve seen enough horror movies to know to stay out of forbidden rooms. Dortor nods: I see. That¡¯s a wise observation, but I promise that there is nothing horrific inside that room unless you¡¯re on the side of the Hostilities. Venessa: If you say so. Dortor: I see that you don¡¯t believe me. Venessa: Is it a room where you torture Hostilities? Dortor: No! If we tortured Hostilities out of spite or vengeance, corruption would emerge! Venessa: What? Dortor: Oh. We would be as bad as them if we tortured them to an unjust extent. Venessa: What extent of torture is just?! Dortor: Injuring them in battles and sending them limping back to Wyverna. It¡¯s not torture in the traditional sense. Venessa: Well, I¡¯d say they deserve more torture than you guys are giving them. Dortor: What they deserve is out of the question! Our ideas of what is just cannot be relied on as the final say! We can¡¯t know the full extent of what will happen as a result of our actions! Heartbreak: Scene 4 Venessa shrinks a bit. Dortor sighs: I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯ve frightened you. I..I¡¯ve seen what happens when someone decides that their own plan is best without proper evidence. I don¡¯t even think they looked for evidence to support their views. They simply¡­assumed that because they thought of it that it was correct. Our kinds¨Chumans, aliens, Bridge-dwellers¨Cwe don¡¯t have that power. She destroyed my home and many universes with it. You¡¯re lucky, Venessa. You still have a Milky Way galaxy, a Solar System, a planet that you call home. It¡¯s natural to question things, but you must be careful to question your impulses most of all. Sometimes even they can lead us astray. Venessa: I¡¯m sorry you¡­lost your home. Dortor nods: I am, too, but what has happened may have set up what is to come. Perhaps good can even arise from horrid situations. Cory enters. Cory: Thank you for watching her, Dortor. Dortor: It¡¯s my pleasure. Cory:(to Venessa) We¡¯d better head home. Come on. Venessa follows Cory to the car and they drive back to the Presley house. Cory: You okay? Venessa: I¡­don¡¯t know. Cory: That sounds like a solid ¡®no¡¯. What¡¯s wrong? Venessa: Dortor said that¡­he called you my father. Cory: And? Venessa sighs: I don¡¯t have a mom and dad. I never have and I don¡¯t think I ever will. And that¡¯s fine with me. Why doesn¡¯t anyone understand that? Cory pauses: As grown-up as you think you are, you¡¯re still a child. It means you still have a chance to have someone fill the place in your heart that I know longs for a mother and father who love you. The car pulls into the driveway. Cory and Venessa get out of the car and head inside. Annelise has dinner on the table. Venessa eats her food quickly and escapes to her room. She turns on her projector watch and begins to scroll through her feed. She immediately comes upon a startling headline: Thailand Suburb Mysteriously Destroyed. Venessa clicks on the article and reads that right before a major cyberattack, the town was evacuated. Afterwards, the town¡¯s buildings crumbled onto the ground leaving only rubble. No traces of bombs or any explosives were found. Annelise: May I come in? Venessa: Do you have to? Annelise nods and steps into the room. She sits on the bed beside Venessa. Annelise: There¡¯s clearly something hurting you. Venessa: You know, it would be nice to know at least a little bit of what¡¯s actually happening¡­ Annelise: It was the Commander who destroyed the town. Venessa: In Thailand? This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Annelise nods: I saw him channel his anger and cast it onto the town. Venessa: Did you feel it? Was that what made you sick? Annelise: Yes. I could see through his eyes. I can feel everything that he feels, to a certain extent. Venessa: Why did he do it? Annelise: Because he loves humans, Venessa. That¡¯s why everyone was evacuated. Beyond wasn¡¯t trying to hurt them. He was trying to defend them from Webmaster. Venessa: Then why destroy the whole town? Annelise: Webmaster had infected the town¡¯s entire cable system. She¡¯s like a living computer virus: she can be in many places at once. Everyone in that town would have been imprisoned and tortured by Webmaster. That is, if she didn¡¯t kill them all first. That is why Beyond was so angry and that is why he did what he did. Venessa: But¡­it hurt you. Annelise nods: That is a cost of my gift. Venessa: Why would the Commander have given you powers if he knew they would hurt you? Annelise smiles: When he gave me my gift, he also gave me the choice to reject it. He warned me about the pain that it would bring in certain times. I still accepted it, and I have no regrets. Beyond would never hurt me intentionally. The only reason that he¡¯s ever hurt anyone is defending someone else. Venessa nods in understanding. The two pause for a moment. Venessa: You¡¯re the only Keeper I¡¯ve met who calls the Commander ¡°Beyond¡±. Annelise: He may be the Commander to others, but he¡¯ll always be Beyond to me. I know it¡¯s hard not knowing everything about him or the Keepers yet, but you have my word that no one here will ever hurt you. Annelise rests her hand on top of Venessa¡¯s. Annelise: Do you remember when you ran off? Venessa: Yeah, it was only two days ago. Annelise: Do you remember the drive home? Venessa nods: You seemed really¡­I don¡¯t know what was happening. I could feel your feelings, and I don¡¯t have empathy powers. Annelise: Warm feelings? Venessa: Yeah, warm feelings. Annelise: Well, those weren¡¯t ordinary emotions. They were the Commander¡¯s. His feelings are more complex than human feelings. I guess what he was feeling was his version of relief. Since I can feel his emotions, I felt it, too. It was much more powerful than my own relief. It must¡¯ve been so powerful that a bit of his emotions radiated off of me and onto the people around me. Maybe I couldn¡¯t contain the feeling. Venessa sighs: So, he¡¯s not gonna hurt me? Annelise shakes her head: No, he¡¯s not. Venessa: Annelise? Annelise: Hmm? Venessa: Dortor said something about the Bridge and how it was destroyed by corrupt¡­people? Annelise nods: It was destroyed by Bridge-dwellers. Venessa: Wait¡­Isn¡¯t Dortor a Bridge-dweller? Annelise: He is, but the members of the Cyclone Sector were not part of the group that went on a destructive rampage. Venessa: Oh, okay. Phew! Annelise laughs: Don¡¯t worry. The only people who need to fear Dortor are the Hostilities. Now, it¡¯s getting late. You should get ready for bed. Venessa nods and starts her evening routine. Annelise leaves the room. Later that night, Avonari and Venessa crawl into bed. Venessa: Avonari? Avonari: Yes? Venessa: Are we really gonna stay here until we become Keepers? Avonari: I think we are. Venessa yawns: Goodnight. Avonari: Goodnight, Venessa. Avonari turns off the light. Meanwhile, after Cory and Annelise finish wishing each of their twenty-five foster children goodnight, they head into the living room. Cory: Are you sure you¡¯re feeling alright? Annelise smiles: What do you think the answer is? Cory: No¡­? Annelise: I feel content. Cory: I meant pain-wise. Annelise: I¡¯m still feeling a bit heavy, but I¡¯ll be okay. Cory nods: How was your conversation with Beyond? I mean, I was getting mixed messages from your facial expressions. Annelise: It went well, but I found out some information that startled me. Cory: What was it? Annelise sighs: Sometime soon, I¡¯ll be able to feel Wyverna¡¯s emotions.