The morning split the sisters into two different worlds. Jessica walked toward the Hub, her boots caked in the grey, alkaline mud of the lowlands. Every step away from the farmhouse felt like pulling a physical tether thin, her telepathy straining to keep a peripheral "touch" on Sofia's bright, pulsing warmth.
The Grime of the HubIn the "Fuel & Feed," Jessica was a ghost. She spent the morning bent double in the crawlspaces beneath the kitchen, scrubbing decades of congealed grease and soot from the ventilation shafts. The work was brutal, designed to break the spirit, but Jessica welcomed the physical pain. It was a distraction from the constant, buzzing anxiety in her mind.
Around midday, while she was taking a silent break behind the water crates, she heard the crackle of a long-range radio in the shopkeeper's office.
"...Sector 4 census remains incomplete. Discrepancy in the Miller household. High Command has authorized a Grade 2 trace. Any sightings of a nineteen-year-old female and a twelve-year-old female are to be reported to the nearest Purity Hub immediately..."
Jessica froze, a wet rag dripping black sludge onto her boots. Wane hadn't waited for the morning bells. She had already moved. The hunt wasn't just a shadow anymore; it was a broadcast.
The Schoolhouse StarThree miles away, in the small, timber-framed schoolhouse, Sofia was experiencing a different kind of hunt.
She sat at a scarred wooden desk, still drowning in the emerald green sweater. When she had first walked in, the room had gone silent. It wasn't just her appearance; it was the "Influence." It leaked out of her in waves of soft, irresistible gravity.
By recess, the "shadow" Sofia had promised to be was gone. She was surrounded.
"Where did you get that sweater? It's so soft!" a girl named Lena asked, reaching out to touch the wool.
"Do you want to play 'Catch the Crow'?" a boy asked, his face flushed with a sudden, desperate need to make Sofia laugh. "You can be the Queen. We'll protect you."
Sofia, who had spent her life being told to be invisible, was overwhelmed. She was naive to the power she held; she thought these children were just being "nice." She smiled, and the effect was like a physical blow to the room. The children leaned in closer, their thoughts a chaotic, adoring chorus of Stay near her—Look at her—Make her happy.
The Jealous GuardianMira stood at the edge of the yard, her books clutched to her chest so hard the corners dug into her skin. A bitter, stinging envy rose in her throat.
Last night, she had been the one to hold Sofia. She had been the one to give her the green wool and the lavender quilt. She had imagined a day where she would lead Sofia around, the older, wiser protector. But here, under the pale sun, Sofia didn't belong to her. She belonged to everyone.
"Sofia!" Mira called out, her voice sharp with a possessiveness she couldn't control. "It's time for reading. Come inside."
Sofia looked up, her eyes bright with a joy that Jessica had never allowed. "Just one more minute, Mira! Leo is showing me the birds!"
Mira watched as her own brother, Leo, performed clumsy card tricks for Sofia, his face glowing with a devotion that usually only belonged to their family. Mira felt like she was disappearing. The "Influence" that had made her so loyal to Sofia was now working against her, making her crave every second of the girl's attention.
She's mine, Mira thought, a dark, irrational spike of jealousy flaring in her mind. I found her. I saved her. They shouldn't be allowed to look at her.
The WarningBack in the Hub, Jessica emerged from the crawlspace, her face smeared with soot. She looked at the shopkeeper, who was staring at the radio with a thoughtful, predatory glint in her eyes.
"You hear that, girl?" the woman asked, her voice low. "The Wave is looking for two sisters. Quite a reward on their heads."
Jessica didn't blink. She reached out with her mind and felt the woman's greed—a sharp, yellow thought. Jessica didn't hesitate. She projected a sudden, blinding image of a white-clad Purity Officer executing a traitor. The shopkeeper gasped, stumbling back against the counter, her mind flooded with a manufactured terror.
"I didn't hear anything," Jessica said, her voice a lethal whisper.
She turned and ran. She didn't care about the credits or the supplies. The tether was screaming. Sofia was too bright, too happy, and too visible.
I'm coming, sofia, she thought, her heart hammering. Please, just stay small for five more minutes.