Year E3029

Ocea

The warm pink city water dripped down my face as I swallowed the bottle's worth. Exhaling with deep breaths, I handed the rock jar back to Becca. The city liquid felt like heaven down my throat.

"Thank you," I said while she looked inside the bottle, upset that I drank it all.

"No, um, no problem." She scratched the back of her head, then side-eyed Wyatt.

Wyatt handed her another one, forming an ear-to-ear smile. She placed it in her backpack while Stopper opened the rocklock address log. The names floated around until Stop picked out Dr. Coachman's card.

"Okay, if we think he is the key to removing the chips, I say Becca and Thomas join us when we invade the guy," Stop said, reading the address card.

"What?" I asked him, yanking the little device from him. "We are not invading him." I looked at Stop, confused, while he shrugged his shoulders. "We should approach him with understanding so he—"

"Helps us," Becca said, finishing my sentence.

I pointed at Becca. "Exactly."

Wyatt took the address card from me. "He lives in the golden homes."

I tilted my head, scrunching my face. "You would think the man could live in one of those skyscrapers on the rich side."

"Nope, he is slumming it with the commoners." Stopper laughed before tightening the straps on his backpack.

"Well, the golden homes used to be the rich addresses for retirement," Becca said.

Wyatt gazed at her with a slight smile as she played with her blonde hair. Her eyes met his, prompting her to drop the strands of hair.

"I saw something about it on the history buzz news." She nodded her head.

Thomas nudged my arm, causing me to glance over. He had a contact pack in his hand, playing with it with his fingers. I looked up at his eyes with a smile.

"I found these in your bag," he said. "If we are leaving. You should put one in."

Wyatt grabbed the contact, bringing it closer to his face. "I've seen her with these a thousand times. And yet, I never looked at them closer to see what they were." He glared at me. "Where do you even get these?"

I snatched the contact from Wyatt, opening the wing. "My mom showed me who made them, and when the MOS took over, I had to do an investigation to find another maker." I placed the purple lens in my eye, covering the blue. "It's a human invention, so it was difficult to find, but I found a cult of earthlings wanting to be safforians, and they used these with hair dye."

A cough echoed from the table behind us. Dylan glared our way while pointing at the bench with spaceship parts. He stood up, grabbed a metal part, and looked at the underneath.

"You all can't go," he said, talking to the device. Dylan froze and then glanced at us. "I need help here, too." He set the metal piece down. "Plus, what if something goes wrong? We can't all trap ourselves at this guy's house."

I tugged at Stopper's backpack. "Okay, I'm going," I said, then quickly eyed Wyatt, hoping he would jump on board fast. I ripped the bag off Stop, placing it on my back.

He glared at me. "Give that back."

"No, you ain't going," I replied while he tugged on the backpack, trying to remove it from my back.

"Why am I the odd man out?" Stopper argued while I spun in circles as he raced around.

"Because I am the head of this mission, so I get to go, and Wyatt is—" I stopped, eyeing Becca. "You know."

Stopper paused with his hand on my shoulder, confused. He stared at me with a blank facial expression until the light bulb turned on. Stop's mouth gaped open as he leaned in closer to me.

"How had I missed this?" he whispered.

"Not sure," I replied as we gazed at Becca and Wyatt.

They stepped away from each other while Becca played with her fingers. Wyatt brushed his bald head, straight-smiling at us. Thomas chuckled, causing Becca's cheeks to turn red. She placed her palms on her face, trying to cover them.

Wyatt side-eyed her. "Okay, yes, Ocea and I will go to Dr. Coachman's place with Thomas and Becca." He grabbed a fanny pack from the table, handing it to Becca. "Stopper and Dylan will stay here."

Wyatt brushed his hand over Becca's hip, helping her snap the pack around her waist. Her hand touched his wrist while he adjusted the straps.

"Was it that obvious?" Stopper whispered.

"Yes," Thomas replied, patting Stop on the back. "Since the beginning, too."

Stopper's mouth dropped open before he shook his head. He brushed his hand through his green hair, walking over to the table. Stop sat down with a huff as I skipped up behind him, placing my palms on the back of the chair.

"Have fun sorting these parts like a bitch," I laughed.

Stop glared at me while I spun on the balls of my feet away from him. A yank at my legs sent me to the hard ground as my hair fell into my face.

"Oops," Stopper said.

I flipped my hair around, glancing at him with a laugh. Stumbling to a stance from the heavy backpack, I pointed toward the underground exit.

"And we are off," I said, walking away.

"Don't get bitten by a black relict!" Stop yelled. "Or do."

Thomas laughed while shaking his head as I tried to turn back around, but he placed his hands on my shoulders, pushing me toward the exit. Becca skipped beside me while smiling at the fanny pack on her hip.

"If we are not back by tomorrow, report to my dad," Wyatt informed the guys, then raced after us.

The dark shadows mocked me as we stepped between the shelves. A movement jumping from the darkness had me sprinting. I placed my hands on my head, ducking while I ran. As the crowded space opened to the entrance, I stopped slowly, seeing Becca behind me.

She brushed her palm over her shirt. "I hate spiders."

"I'm about to join you on that one now," I replied, glancing at the vine ladder leading to the surface.

Becca and I strolled over to the vines, peeking up the hole. The mud wall moved while the family of daddy long legs swarmed in the millions. Becca shivered next to me while slapping her hands.

"I can do this," she whispered while Wyatt and Thomas walked up with the light following them.

She smiled at Wyatt, nodding her head. "I can do this."

Wyatt showed her two thumbs up before he pulled out his insect compass. I raced over to him, snatching the compass from him.

"Where did you get this?" I asked him.

I watched the little stick-shaped bug frantically run to the north side of the device. I spun in a circle, watching the little critter blink red until he settled on the northern part and transformed into a solid green. Thomas pointed at the little guy trapped in the glass.

"Remember when your dad thought this was bug cruelty? He smashed the glass compass, freeing the insect, but the dumb thing cried all night." Thomas laughed before grabbing the compass from me.

"Yeah, I didn't get any sleep for about a week."

"Took him buying an empty glass compass for the poor thing to be happy again." Thomas handed the compass to Becca. "These insects live and breathe to be facing the north, so when you take their home away, they panic into depression."

Wyatt placed his hand on Becca's, taking the compass back from her, but left his fingers on her skin longer than needed. I glanced from their hands at Thomas while he smirked at me. He wiggled his eyebrows, prompting me to place my hand over my heart.

"I found the compass while you were sleeping on the job," Wyatt said, with an attitude from catching us mocking him.

"Do you mean the time when that damn spider poisoned me?" I asked, glancing at him with confusion.

"Yep, that's the one," Wyatt said, placing his hand on Becca's back and helping her up the ladder.

As we climbed through the hole in the floor, Clair rushed into the rock room with her hands in her hair. Her eyes widened as panic masked her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You guys can't be here."

I waved my arms around. "How else are we supposed to get out?" I asked, pointing at the door. "This is the exit."

Clair glared at me as she grabbed Becca's hand, pulling her through the house. We followed behind as Clair opened the front door.

"You could have used the other hole," she said. "Stopper uses that one."

Wyatt and I glanced at each other at the same time. I straight-smiled at him while he glared in my direction. I knew Stopper left out the additional doorway because I was teasing him.

"Stop did not inform us of the other door," I said, jumping the front steps. "We will rush to the forbidden forest."

Wyatt grabbed Becca's hand, sprinting around a pile of junk. I followed behind them, observing Thomas to make sure he kept up. Becca slipped on a rock while Wyatt helped her to her feet. I ran by them, leaping on top of a metal piece. I glanced around the junkyard, spotting the wall we swam under.

"This way," I said, climbing off the junk.

They trailed behind me as we reached the water. Becca jumped into the water while Wyatt grabbed her wrists, bringing her back.

"Ocea goes first, then Thomas," he said.

I nodded at Thomas, lighting my palms. The blue flame hovered above my skin as I inhaled a breath and dove into the icy river. As I swam toward the hole, the liquid rushed into my nose. The vines from before were still hiding at the bottom with the rocks. Thomas swam by me, kicking his legs, then stopped before the trench. He held the brick wall, waving for me to swim through first.

I let out air, easing my lungs while I grabbed the brick, pulling myself fast to the other side. As I hovered around the hole, I watched Becca swim through before Thomas with Wyatt on his ass. We swam to the surface, breaking the water.

Becca dragged herself onto land and dropped into the dirt. I pulled myself next to her while Thomas stood, shaking his head.

"This way," Wyatt informed us, holding up the insect compass.

Wyatt wasted no time as he walked by with his squeaking shoes. The liquid from his clothes dripped onto my face. Becca rolled over to a stance, walking with Wyatt.

I watched the trees sway in the wind while a shadow walked up and shaded my eyes. Looking over, I saw Thomas with his hand out, ready for me to take it.

My fingers intertwined with his as he pulled me from the ground. Thomas wrapped his hand behind my back, bringing our hips together. He tightened his grip on my hand before letting go and stepping back slightly. Thomas kept his big brown eyes on me, tilting his head. He smirked while raising an eyebrow.

His hand reached for my cheek, brushing his thumb on my skin. "I could lie to you and say there was dirt." He swallowed, stepping closer while his hand kept my chin facing him. "But truthfully, I just wanted to touch your skin."

I tensed up, feeling my jaw drop. Thomas kept his feelings in the open, not playing games with me, but I was not the same girl from ten years ago, the young girl with a crush on her best friend.

Shaking my head, I stepped back from Thomas.

"Sorry," I whispered to him while glancing at the ground.

I treaded away from him, but paused as my heart skipped differently. Turning back to him, I placed my hand in his while he faced away from me. There wasn't room for love when the Men Of Suits controlled Safforia.

"The answer is no right now," I said, squeezing his palm. "Might not be no in the future."

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