I looked forward to the weekend. Mostly because it meant a trip back to Seris. It meant some real time with Ma again. A physical visit might not be much different from my video calls, I was prepared for that. I was prepared for her dementia to have worsened too. I was prepared for her to stare blankly at the ceiling the entire duration of my visit.

What I wasn't prepared for, was saying goodbye.

Not today.

I shut my eyes as the plane began its taxi. Nothing could compare the excitement of seeing her again. Not Siobhan's peculiar smile. Not even the fact that Riquebourc had made both Horatio and Oskar travel with me this time.

And then the engines died.

My eyes snapped open. My first thoughts were that it must have been a mechanical failure, but Horatio had conveniently disappeared. Then there was Siobhan, who stood facing the cockpit, nodding at someone behind the curtain.

No. The plane had stopped intentionally.

I let out a low growl, "What now?" I demanded, sitting upright and unbuckling myself to head to Siobhan. Oskar beat me to it though, with an added, silent shake of his index finger.

I didn't lash out at him for once, only watched as he made his way to her. Yet for all the words that the man possessed, he said absolutely nothing as Siobhan whispered something in his ear. He didn't respond, didn't nod. He didn't even wince. Oskar stood absolutely still. As if he were an emotionless brick.

That couldn't possibly be good.

My bodyguard finally broke from his stiff stance, and I could make a single "OK," before he walked towards me, still quite rigid. No smiles. "You went out for a stroll last night Theo." It wasn't a question.

Shit!

I had two choices here. I could either admit I had pretended to go to bed while in fact, I had taken a stroll to find the stupid church. Or I could lie through my teeth.

Obviously, I chose the latter.

I made no immediate movement, not wanting to appear suspicious. Instead, I waited for a reasonably appropriate amount of time, casually propping one leg over the other before I spoke, "Are you going to pull Eli for this, too?" I demanded, my jaw tightening a little as I feigned ignorance.

"You told me you were going to bed and went for a walk instead," Oskar continued as if he hadn't heard me. He took a seat across, looking directly into my eyes with raised eyebrows. I looked back just as boldly. Lying was mostly about the confidence portrayed after all.

I shrugged, "Couldn't sleep," I said, not breaking eye contact.

Oskar sighed, shutting his eyes now as he let out a long, loud breath of air. He still looked just as unimpressed when he reopened them, "The streets have cameras, you moron."

Of course, they did.

He was cornering me and it might have begun to work, but I didn't let it show. I couldn't. So I cocked my head higher, "And?"

I wasn't sure how long we were going to continue this dance either. Regardless, if I had talked my way around the university board ... around Dea, I could handle someone like Oskar.

He took in another very slow breath, however, shutting his eyes again, "Theo," he said, voice tethering the edge of calm as he opened them, "you came in with a phone, with contact lenses," he began, "you stabbed a man in the chest with a fucking pen before he could react." Oskar sighed again, "And now you ditched me to go for a walk in the middle of the night because you couldn't sleep?"

I wasn't going to pretend this was good. Not when he listed everything like that. So I swallowed, "You think I'm a spy?"

"No, I think you're an idiot." Oskar's jaw was tight, his eyebrows were up again but his voice still maintained a calm, albeit a forceful one. "Horatio thinks you're a spy, and I can't defend you because I have no clue what you were up to."

I studied my bodyguard silently. He was annoyed, that bit was as evident as the tension between us. I let out an soft exhale of my own and leaned forward, "If you have cameras," I said, as pointedly as I could, "you already know exactly what I did. I went for a walk and then to the lab."

"Why did you go to the church, Theo?"

And there it was.

I glanced at Siobhan, who still stood by the cockpit, talking at the curtain as her eyes constantly darted back at me. Horatio was still nowhere to be seen.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I decided.

I leaned back in my seat. Even if I was going to give Oskar the benefit of the doubt, I wasn't going to say a word in front of those two.

The man gave another, frustrated sigh and stood up, "Fine," he growled and made his way to the door. I half-expected Oskar to leave me alone with the other two in some form of weird punishment. But he stood beside the door, absolutely still.

With the push of a button, the white door unfolded out of the aircraft and into a set of white stairs. Oskar's eyes trailed around the cabin, past me and settled on Siobhan. "Out!" he called, "All three of you!"

Siobhan spun to face him with a set of furrowed brows that mirrored mine.

But Oskar didn't seem to care, "Quickly! Quickly!" he repeated, the edge to his voice returning as he ushered them out.

Siobhan was the first to head to the exit, yet the entire descent downstairs she never took her eyes off Oskar, not until she was out of sight. Horatio was next, he gave the rugged bodyguard a brief glare before disembarking. Finally, the pilot left. He rushed out the fastest, not making eye contact with either of us as he skipped half the stairs.

I nearly stood up twice but a look from Oskar had me flop down, right back in place. I wasn't stupid enough to confront him physically. Not unless I wanted to be snapped like a twig.

Oskar folded the door of the aircraft shut once the last of the three had gotten off and made his way back to me. "Okay buttercup!" He dropped on the seat with a loud 'thump' before facing me, his expression hardening again, "Now talk!"

The plane was empty. If I was hurt here, if I died here ... no one would know. I wondered if that was the purpose of kicking the others out. Was he eliminating witnesses?

"Are you intimidating me?" I finally asked, portraying far more bravery than I possessed.

Oscar pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes again, "No you simpleton, I'm protecting you." He tilted forward, propping his elbows on his lap and resting his forehead on his intertwined fingers. Though his eyes stayed shut, mimicking the impression of deep thought. It was a funny look. Didn't suit the chatty, carefree Oskar I had known over the past week.

"From what?!" I demanded, all pretence forgotten, "What the hell is going on here?! The weather makes no sense! You have low-lying, black clouds in the sky but the ocean—the freaking ocean is as clear as glass ... like some kind of lake! And there's no wind! Why is there no wind when the clouds are clearly moving?!"

Oskar looked at me silently, his face still pressed against his clasped hands. Listening patiently it seemed, yet his composure was beginning to annoy me.

"I went for a walk!" I don't know why I was yelling, "I never went to the church, at least not inside!"

No one said anything. Not for a while. In the absolute stillness, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears.

Then Oskar finally lifted his head, "Let it go, Theo." He still wasn't smiling, between his sighs and his posture, he looked exhausted, "Don't go near the church if you know what's good for you."

And perhaps that should have been enough for me to accept. He was the second person that had told me to forget about the church after all. But to let it go? If I had let things go I would have been at my mother's side instead of trying to wrangle a cure for her in the middle of nowhere. Better yet, I would have lived the 'life' she kept telling me to.

But none of that was going to happen.

I faced Oskar with a solemn expression of my own, "Am I being kicked out?"

He shook his head, "Riquebourc wants to see you," he said, "Horatio was adamant it was about your visit to the church last night—"

"I didn't go to the church." I was getting tired of repeating myself.

"—But," Oskar continued over me, his eyes blazing with a silent warning, "I know The Director, he will listen to your side too. Just don't lie to him."

Neither of us said anything again, but a myriad of thoughts were knotted in my head. Most of them, hypotheses, about why the church was out of bounds. Or why people were so terrified of it.

"Theo," Oskar finally said, his tone unexpectedly gentle, "I'm on your side. I really am, but you're not doing yourself any favours right now." He tried to smile at me, but I wasn't sure what good that was, "The best solution for all of us," he continued, "is if you find the cure for your momma and leave."

"All of us?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow. He meant them more than me, I was almost certain. No one wanted me digging around. No one seemed to want me around, period.

"All you need to worry about is convincing the Director you really want to see your Momma."

A different dread seeped its way into my chest, tightening it until I couldn't breathe, "What happens if I can't?" Would I never get to see her again? Could they really keep me here forever?

Oskar stood up once again, giving me his reassurance with a smile that felt as useless as this conversation. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

False comforts.

I hated being underprepared for meetings, but I didn't voice my concerns out loud. Instead, as I followed my bodyguard out of the plane and across the tarmac, I began compiling a mental file on Riquebourc. The type of person he was, how I could steer him to my side and whether or not threats would make a difference.

This time, my journey through airport was silent and uneventful. I swapped my phone for the tablet as we passed the belt manned by Adam, the black militia officer. Oskar grew unnaturally stiff as we passed the burly man with the faded buzz, and I couldn't help but notice a small glare from Adam, aimed at no one in particular. The man stood up nonetheless and led us outside the airport.

Once outside, I walked down the same stretch of granite road I had originally walked down to leave this damn place. A colourful array of tall vegetation acted as a wall between the road and whatever lay beyond. It was too dense to contain a trail and too wild to be man-made. I could make out spruce trees in the distance, far past the rampant undergrowth.

Instead of going straight down the path towards the circular courtyard, however, I was led to a narrower path that broke to the right. The only clearing in the dense thicket.

The tall shrubs made a canopy overhead that let traces of soft green light through. The deeper I went, though, the darker it got, until soon it was as if I had been trudging through a tunnel, deep underground.

I wasn't really sure which way I was going now, only that I was following the echo of Adam's footsteps in front of me. Until I wasn't.

With a soft 'thump,' I bumped straight into the soldier, nearly taking him down with me. He was about as tall as Oskar or me, even if he was much broader.

I felt an arm under my shoulder as I was helped up.

"Watch where you're going!" Adam growled and I could hear leaves rustle in the background. I took that to mean I had taken him down too. A shame it was too dark to get a good look at the buffoon on his back.

I brushed the twigs and leaves off my dark green shirt as I stood stiff. I nearly arched my eyebrows at him too until I remembered that he wouldn't be able to see them.

"Maybe," Oskar drawled from beside me, his grip on my arm painfully tightening, "if you warned people before you stopped. You know, instead of assuming everyone can see with their eyes closed, there'd be less bumping." If he hadn't just helped me up I would have thought Oskar's malice was directed at me. I could feel the man's hot breath on my neck even if he wasn't breathing at me in particular. My discomfort knew no bounds.

"Stop! Both of you!" Horatio's voice rang louder than either of the two. Loud enough to silence everyone in the vicinity. "The first storm shall only be the one Mater Procellas permits," he continued, "mater procellas scit omnia."

Gibberish. And another Latin phrase followed by a murmur of repetition and agreement. I was beginning to regret my lack of interest in the literary arts. Everyone seemed to know Latin by heart on this island. Everyone but me.

"Outsider," Horatio then said wrapping his cold, bony hands around my arms.

Lovely. I had a new title now.

"Doctor," I corrected, snatching my arm back. A squeeze on my shoulder told me Oskar was still there, and still silently warning me as best as he could.

"Follow me, outsider."

I opened my mouth to correct him once again but was gently shoved forward, prompting me to snap it shut in silence.

I felt my way through the darkness with my arms outstretched, brushing against pines, leaves and branches. Until I began to see light.

I almost thought it was the sky again. The light was a blend of gold and green after all, but the closer I got, the more I realised the green and gold weren't rays of light peering through from the heavens. They were circular. And they were illuminating an outline of a woman sitting on the clouds, and holding the earth in her hand. Like the statue fountain.

Mater Procellas.

I stood quietly, taking in the complete proportions of the building before me. Something I hadn't been able to do last night.

It was enormous. The white marble exterior gleamed in the sun. I could make out a spire too, but the size of it threw me off. Last night I had caught a glimpse of the church behind the hospital. It had looked tall and black in the darkness. Yet here, it shone, like some ethereal gift from the gods. Large stained glass windows lined most of the church too. And a single set of large, wooden doors were wide open, showcasing the a strip of red carpet in the centre of the wooden interior.

"Shoes off outside the church, outsider." Horatio ran a hand along a smudgier, duller part of the wall just to the right of the door. He then ran that hand over his head, his eyes squeezed shut as he mumbled something inaudible. I realised, then, that the marble must have dulled from all the superstitious rubbing.

I removed my shoes obediently, constantly glancing at Oskar behind me. I caught a weak smile at one point and a shake of his head at another. I could think of so many instances where he could have chosen to keep his mouth shut, and this was not one of them. I needed Oskar to tell me what to do. Was I supposed to go in? Was I supposed to refuse?

"Come inside." Horatio was already halfway down the strip of carpet by now. He hadn't bothered to look back at me.

I turned to catch a final glimpse of my bodyguard, in or out? Oskar turned to look at Adam, who was tapping one foot impatiently. His expression just as uninterested as it had been a few days ago when we first met at the airport. When he had tackled and handcuffed the lunatic that nearly stabbed me. Oskar then turned back to me with another weak smile and a slow shrug.

I turned back to the church. In. I decided. I was going inside. Otherwise I would most likely sneak in here in the middle of the night just to satiate my curiosity.

And this time, as I stepped inside the enormous hall, I didn't look back at my bodyguard.

This step, going inside the church. This was my decision.