Episode 225: Body Disposal (Emily)

This was it. Everything Emily had worked for, and she was no longer a cog but a piece of something. She had power. She didn’t agree with murder or the mistreatment of the boys, but she agreed with playing along enough, until the boys could be saved.

They’d revived the thirty-four boys, and now Asa, Daphne, and one of the teachers, Guy.

Cecil came in carrying Asa’s body. “All set?”

“All set.”

She gave him her hand and together they made the last trip out of realm. How he had managed to pull off such a large movement of bodies was incredible. She hoped he wouldn’t see backlash for it.

“Guy first,” Cecil stated.

They transported, and once again Spence was there. Rhyss was gone, not just for now but forever. He would never know his son or daughter, never be in their lives.

She held herself together. Three bodies to revive, then back to Calseasa.

“What happened with the Lavesque boy?” Cecil asked.

Emily opened her mouth, but Spence began first. “He had to help with an emergency.”

“This is my husband,” Cecil began.

Emily tried to hear the rest but husband?

“We will maim him daily,” she heard Spence joke.

She laughed, because she had nothing else to say. She played with the cuff of her shirt, curious what else she was missing and unsure where she was going from here. She’d committed to seeing things through with her job, but otherwise…

Cecil had a husband and she was single.

Words poured from Emily’s mouth. “We broke up.”

No one said anything, except the words to revive Guy. This time Cecil stood at the head.

Guy smiled, at peace unlike the boys. “Over achieving tonight?” he asked.

Cecil laughed. “How are you?” He held his hand out. Guy stood and they embraced. It was surreal to Emily, though she wasn’t sure why.

“I expected to die, at some point. I’m glad it’s in the past.”

“Unfortunately you have another waiting in the future,” Cecil teased.

Guy moved closer to Cecil and kissed him.

It was strange for Emily to see, but she had nothing.

“Will you be okay without me?” Guy asked.

“I’ll keep him in line,” Emily teased, at least she hoped it came off as teasing. She still felt tense and awkward around them.

“I’m taking over your group,” Cecil informed Guy. “With luck, we’ll be able to get them out.”

Emily watched as their bodies hovered a foot apart, but she could see some sort of gravity between them. She looked away, toward the pentagon and Spence.

After a moment of talking, most of which Emily tuned out, to give at least a little privacy, Cecil touched her back and they were in Calseasa once more, settled in for the night.

Emily looked behind them, where the door Rhyss had left through had once been. It was a wall here, in the belly of the United Realms’s headquarters. She looked forward and shoveled the last scraps of clothes into the burning embers of the incinerator, then they left the sweat-inducing room.

“You got a promotion and a partner,” Cecil informed her.

Emily thought of the guy that had come with them, with his deep brown hair that looked like one of her cousin’s dark mochas.

“Curly top?” Emily asked.

Wherever he was, based on how he had come to be there, partner meant prisoner she suspected.

“He’ll be tortured and killed, and he expects his kids to be here. You’ll need to make sure he doesn’t cause trouble.”

It would be an interesting role: Supporting him in a way that didn’t allude she wanted to kill every kid in the classroom, including his son, while still providing a convincing performance for the staff. It would require some finesse, since all rooms had video and sound surveillance.

Maybe partnership was the next step in the process of becoming part of the UR. Emily had been behaving, and Cecil hadn’t necessarily told others she was imprisoned there. She was more in a situation of being under Cecil’s control.

If this was a promotion…

Emily stopped in the hall. “What does partnership mean? You were with Guy.”

Cecil stopped and turned to face her.

In the too-bright light of the UR’s white hallways, she could see some of herself in his features. They had similar lips and faces.

“Guy and I were not partners in the business sense,” he replied.

“Then what are the expectations? Just working together? Acclimating him?”

“Working.”

Satisfied, Emily continued walking down the hall. Cecil took the extra step to catch up to her, and they walked side by side.

“I might have suggested pairing your genetics in the future,” Cecil told her. “His skills with yours, none of the softness that Asa struggles with. The idea appealed to Adele, which means we need to get out sooner than later.”

Emily smiled. He didn’t want her to extend past working partners.

Adele did, and Adele mattered. It made it seem almost worth it, to convince Adele she was on board with everything.

“I’ll make sure it’s an easy transition,” Emily replied. “Just don’t tell him what partnership means. He doesn’t need to know.”

Cecil laughed. “I’ll keep him in the dark.”

They stopped at her door, and she tried to think of a future where she trusted Cecil. Tonight she had lent him trust, but it would take time – if he deserved it.

He was her dad.

“Have a good evening,” she offered. It was formal, but more than she would have said hours ago.

He nodded and took a half step toward her, then stopped himself. “You as well.”

She opened her bedroom door and slipped inside. She would need to find Greg soon, but she needed to take a shower first. She wasn’t sure how long torture lasted, but if they were watching her room right now, they would expect her to take a shower to get the contamination of dead body off of her, if not for emotional reasons then for practical ones.

She stripped her clothes and let them fall into the trash. They could be replaced. Life, burned bodies, couldn’t be.

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