Rising Shards

I didn't sleep at all, but I still felt like I had woken up when daylight broke. Outside, the storm had ended, and city life went on as normal. I rose to my feet, my legs stiff from sitting all night. Zeta was still asleep right in front of me. So even if things were staying the same and I was about to head out to find things proceeding as normal, at least they didn't take her.

It took what felt like ages to work up the nerve to just open a single door and see. I don't know what I was hoping I'd find at this point.

The hallway from the bedrooms had a clear view of the kitchen, and my stomach dropped seeing that the machine my mother had built had vanished. Shaky legs brought me to the table, which didn't have any signs the device had exploded or fried anything, it was just gone. I went to their bedroom next, and it was empty.

I don't know how much time I spent wandering around, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of me and also that I'd been crushed by something else. I kept expecting them to show up like normal. I think a small part of me didn't think they'd actually do this.

Where were they now? Did they really fling themselves out into the void?

I didn't even notice when Zeta woke up, or that I made her lunch. What would I tell her? It wouldn't take her long to notice something was wrong. But our parents did spend plenty of time out, never explaining where they went.

By evening it was clear I should contact someone. There was an official phone line for Cani emergencies that I had never been in a situation to call. I went to my own room for this, not wanting to upset Zeta. I was put on hold for a long while; apparently lots of other families took advantage of the storm or were inadvertently swept up by it.

My voice was shaky when I finally got to talk to someone, the rep from the organization said they had an agent checking a similar case over nearby, and they would be over shortly.

My instinct was to clean up the place, but the agency rep specifically told me to leave everything in place as it was as much as I could.

A serious looking woman introduced herself as Emeryn, and after some very brief questioning she began scanning our home with a device as big as a toothbrush. Zeta hid in her room at a stranger's arrival.

I sat in the living room, expecting Emeryn to come back and say there was no sign my parents went anywhere, and they'd be back home shortly, and then I'd get chastised for wasting her time. Emeryn walked to me, her shoes sounding heavy on the wood floor.

"Miss Kathron, I'm sorry to say there are energy signals only found in a void storm departure," Emeryn said.

"Oh," I said. The confirmation from her was the final break in the dam holding back my emotions, and I started bawling. Emeryn brought me some tissues and talked me through it. I barely remember what she said, but I remember the warmth of her tone, different from the stoic type I pegged her to be.

Once I'd gone over a bunch of brochures going over what had happened and things we could do next, I tried to coax Zeta out of her room. The best I got was Zeta rushing out to hug me for a second, then darting back into her room. Emeryn said it was fine if we didn't speak to her right away, and had some more questions before she wrapped up the session.

"Before I begin with these, note that I am on the record while I am working," Emeryn said. "But you're understandably shaken, so there's no pressure on answering all of these immediately if you're uncomfortable."

"A-alright," I said.

"Did your parents have any particular affinity for void trips?" Emeryn asked.

"They were void born," I said.

"Did they give any indication they'd do anything like this?" Emeryn asked.

I knew they would, but what would that mean if I said yes? Was it a crime to tamper with a void device like that? What if I got arrested?

My next worry crashed into me like an out of control train. I had barely begun to process the idea that I could protect Zeta from our family, then lose her immediately after.

"They...they had a machine," I said. "It was gone this morning. They didn't say anything to me about any of this, though."

Emeryn nodded.

"Do you think they'd come back for us?" I asked. I knew my parents better than this woman, I knew the answer. Maybe they would for Zeta, but I was easily ignorable to them.

"It's possible," Emeryn said.

Emeryn was vague about answering things like that, but kept stressing that she was on the record. It took me a bit to figure out what she meant. There were things she probably wanted to say but couldn't while at work.

She asked about our home life, about everyone in the household. I did my best to answer. By the fifth question about Zeta, I had to ask.

"What's going to happen to...?" I said, my voice quivering. "They wouldn't take...they wouldn't...would they?"

Emeryn clicked her pen as she pretty easily figured out what I was asking. I didn't explicitly say I messed with the machine, but I feared she had me figured out from the moment she stepped inside. I was ready for her to take Zeta away immediately, then call someone to arrest me next.

"It isn't a decision we make overnight," Emeryn said. "And you're included in that we."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Your parents have effectively given up custody of their children," Emeryn said. "You're an adult, technically, but you're still young. It may be best for your sibling to go elsewhere, but it also may be the case that it's best for the family unit that's left sticks together. By your estimate, would it be preferrable if your sibling remained in your care?"

"Yes," I said.

Emeryn nodded. "In that case, I would recommend looking this over." She gave me another set of brochures, and a paperback book. "If you go down that path, there will be a mountain of paperwork to start, and that's the easy part," Emeryn said.

Even if I was barely processing any of this, I knew in my heart that I couldn't lose Zeta, and would do everything in my power to be her official guardian.

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