Chapter 47: 47. Take Me Home

The door to Valerie's office clicks closed, then Avery is alone. Exhaustion weighs on her shoulders and mind, and static sparkles throughout her thoughts. Why am I so restless? She's just another person like me, why did I fall all over myself like that?

Her thoughts seem to reverberate around the empty hallway.

Only ten seconds since and already her heart twists, her body cringes, and her face flushes red. Acted just like a little kid meeting a hero for the first time. Embarrassing.

She forces herself to start walking.

Past the breakroom, past a maintenance hallway, until only a set of double doors stand between her and the rest of the aquarium. She leans in, ready to push through, but the door swings inwards. Her head plonks off the steel and swarming fireflies explode into a frenzy behind clenching eyelids. She slumps against a wall, clutching her head. "Gah! Ooh, ow, ow, ow, ow."

A voice calls out through the expanse of stars. "I'm sorry about that. Are you alright there, lass?"

Avery massages the top of her head; a raw spot, a slowly forming lump now only the size of a marble. "Fine. Fine. I'm, fine." She says.

The person in front of her is eccentric; vibrant. Waves of red hair flow from their head down to dangle just above their shoulders. They wear a bulky, teal suit jacket cinched at the waist and spread open. Underneath: the majority of a black mesh undershirt lays overtop their bare chest. Teal slacks hang from their hips and gather like crumpled paper where they're tucked into polished, high-heel boots.

Every trace of intelligent thought catapults out of Avery's mind at the spectacle. Their clothes are nearest to Newest York Fashion Week's idea of what a suit would look like rather than an actual suit. She stares, unblinking.

Whoever it is strides off down the hallway and waves over their shoulder. "Glad to hear it. Now if you don't mind, I'm off to an appointment. Sorry again!"

Her mind sputters, then starts. A rush of panic shoots through her in tingling, rollercoaster-falling fanfare. She chases after them. "Excuse me! Sorry. This is an employee only area. If you go back the way you came, you can following the main walkway to visit the rest of the aquarium."

They don't stop. If anything, they pump their arms harder, take their steps a bit farther. "No worries about that now, I'm only here to see Valerie."

Avery picks up her pace to match. "Then why are you running?"

"I'm not running, I just have long legs."

Avery leans into each step like a frantic speedwalker. "Come on, stop!"

In a matter of moments, the person stops in front the oak door to Valerie's office and knocks twice. A second later, Valerie's voice comes from inside. "Just a second."

Another shot of panic hits Avery, upheaving her stomach and beading sweat at her hairline. What is she suppose to say? She tried? Her pace slows to a halt a few feet away from the intruder.

The door creaks open and Valerie peaks through, but only her face. Her eyes widen at the sight of her visitor; that tiredness from earlier flashes away in a spark of... anger? A blip of something else. Tiredness returns just as quick.

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"I'm so sorry, Valerie. They just slipped past me and—" Avery says.

Valerie cuts her off with a bat of a wrinkled hand. "You don't have to worry, dear. You're free to go home. Hurry on, now." Swinging the door open, she steps to the side and turns her eyes to the supposedly-invited, red-haired guest. "In, Albert. Then tell me what's so important that you've got to go and ruin such a peaceful night."

Albert shimmies past Valerie, but a fold of their ridiculous suit jacket catches on the door handle and they jerk to a stop. They fuss with the fabric, flapping it about. "Judging from the earlier scene, I don't think I'm the one to blame for that." A final flourish and the fabric jumps free of the handle. "And this is how you treat a dear friend? With words full of scorn?"

Avery whirls on her heel and rushes back the way she came for the second time. Nope. That's not my problem.

The Hall of Discovery is empty. Well, not empty, but there aren't throngs of emergency personnel and investigators like Avery was expecting. Instead, the last dregs of late aquarium goers trickle through before closing time.

Avery hovers around the spot where it happened. Where she passed out. Inside the tank: purple-black mollies; green, black-tiger-striped angelfish; and orange-silver congo tetras flit about the water like normal. Anxiety plucks a taut, steel wire at the back of Avery's mind. The feeling reverberates inside her head along with a flurry of thoughts. Are they really okay? Should I run some water quality tests? Individual examinations or something?

A tetra floats at the edge of the tank; one with an especially segmented and spindly back fin. Name's Twigs, I think? Floating parallel to the glass, Twigs stares at Avery through a single silver-circled, black pupil. Avery leans in to get a closer look at their gills, but the slight movement sends Twigs into frenzied dashes. They zip in any direction that'll take them further away from the overly curious giant on the other side of the glass.

Knots worn in by stress and worry melt away from places Avery didn't even realize were tight: her shoulders relax, her stomach unclenches. She strides off toward the lobby. They're fine. All those tests can wait until tomorrow.

What about that creaking you heard earlier? Sounds like the tank's walls are going to give in after all that stress. Go check.

Undone knots reform in an instant. Her shoulders, her stomach, her legs: tendrils of compulsion wrap around them and freeze them in a state of cold pain. As if her entire body was dipped in liquid nitrogen and flash frozen. She pushes, forces herself to take a step despite her already exhausted pysche. Come on! This is ridiculous, just let me go home.

Her limbs only manage to tremor trying to break free of the icy hold.

Check.

Overwhelming panic bubbles through her body and up into her eyes, warping her vision. Air stops. She tries to breath, but her throat only clenches tighter.

Check. What happens if your power hurt them somehow? It'll happen again, it'll be your—

A hand slaps onto Avery's back. "What're you just standing around for? Didn't Valerie tell you to go home?" Tamika says.

All that pressure disappears. She sucks in a breath and widens her eyes, trying to play off the desperation as a gasp of surprise. "O-oh. Hey. I was— I was just thinking about what to do when I get home." The taut wire in the back of her mind twangs again and she massages the base of her neck. "Sleep I think."

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