*One week later*

                “I think we’re all set.” She whispered, with a smile on her lips.

                I looked up from my lap, eyes wide with surprised, “Are you serious?”

                Sofia nodded, taking a seat across from me. “I want to double check a few things, but I think we can leave in the next hour.”

                I blinked, “That was really quick. Are you sure we’re not going to end up in the middle of the ocean or something?”

                She rolled her eyes, “You know how it works. You transport from pod to pod. If there was one in the house of where you lived, we can backtrack there.”

                “Are you sure you want to go over there? It’s a lot rougher than here, I can assure you.”

                “If she managed to live there until John killed her, I think I can. I know a little bit more about your culture than she did.” Sofia smirked.

                I reached across the table, grabbing her hand. I couldn’t help the small smile that formed on my lips, “Thank you, Sofia.”

                She returned the smile, “No problem. We’re in this together. There really isn’t anywhere else we can go.”

                “So tell me. If anything was to go wrong, what would happen?”

                “A plethora of things could result in anything failing.”

                I rolled my eyes, “What’s the most likely?”

                “We get moved to a different pod, get caught and both of us get killed. If that happens, it’ll be on the Girls’ Side only.”

                “How come?”

                “Because your version of the Speed isn’t compatible with ours. I had to really mess with the bolts on my pod to get it to work.”

                I nodded, not quite understanding. Sofia seemed to sense that, shaking her head in silent laughter.

                “Relax, Clay. I think I’ve got it perfect.”

                “We’ll find out, won’t we?”

                “Do you trust me?” She asked, all laughter clear from her face. I looked up, her eyes staring into my own.

                I nodded wordlessly.

                “Then trust me when I say we’ll be fine.”

                “I do trust you, Sofia. You’ve spared my life this long. I have to trust you by default.” I tried to make light of the situation.

                She rolled her eyes, “You know what I mean.”

                “Yeah, I do.” I nodded, “But I’m just trying to figure out what might happen if something went wrong.”

                “We’ll be fine.”

                “Really?”

                “Maybe.”

                “That’s encouraging.”

                She laughed slightly, standing up. Sofia held out a hand for me to grab. I slipped my fingers into her own, standing up smoothly. Lacing my fingers through hers, I let her led the way down to the basement where the Speed sat.

                The darkness was being forced away by a bright blue light.  I brought my free hand up to shield my eyes from its sharpness. The neon blue radiated from the top of a cylinder in the corner of the room. Blue light spanned out, splashing the wall. The blue-tinted cylinder was just barely big enough to fit one of us.

                “How are we both getting there?”

                “One at a time.”

                I raised an eyebrow, “Why? I’m sure we can cram if you don’t mind…”

                Sofia laughed, “I wouldn’t mind if I thought it was safe enough to. But the Speed disassembles your molecules and then re-assembles them. With two people at the same time, I could have half of you inside of me.”

                I felt my face heat up at the thought that went through my mind from that sentence.

                “What?” She asked, noticing my blush.

                “Uh…nothing… let’s just get this over with.”

                “Are you nervous?”

                “Something like that.” I mumbled under my breath. She stared at me for a moment before shrugging it off. Sofia turned her attention to a control panel off to the side of the Speed. She stepped forward to it, messing with a few buttons.

                “Is there anything you wanted from here?” She asked, though both of us already knew the answer to that question.

                “Nah.”           

                A moment of silence passed between us as she messed around on the control panel. I stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do while she busied herself. The silence was instilled for at least ten minutes.

                “Alright.” Sofia moved to the cylinder, prying open the hidden door. Blue lights flickered on inside, blinding me again. “Enter the chamber.”

                I sucked in a deep breath, “Really? Right now? Didn’t you say you had to work out a few kinks and bugs still?”

                “No, I said I wanted to double check.” She corrected, “And I just did.”

                I raised an eyebrow skeptically, “Are you sure everything’s good to go? I’m the first one in. I don’t want to end up dead…”

                Sofia laughed, walking close to me. She braced her hands on my shoulders, holding my eyes once more. “Clayton?”

                “Yes?”

                “Do you trust me?”

                I rolled my eyes, “Of course I do.”

                “Then trust me when I say you’ll be fine.”

                “Déjà vu.” I teased.

                She rolled her eyes, “Seriously, Clay. You’ll be fine.”

                “I trust you, Sofia; it’s the machine I don’t trust. What if it decides to act up or something while I’m transporting?”

                “I am the machine right now. I know how it works. It won’t act up. Get in the damned cylinder, Clayton, before I make you.” She said the last part teasingly.

                I rolled my eyes, taking a step into the tight machine. I turned to that I face the open side, staring at Sofia. She took a step closer to me, one hand holding the edge of the door, the other braced on the opposite side of the opening.

                “Clayton?” She asked, looking up softly.

                “Yeah?”

                Sofia pressed her lips against mine briefly. Her soft lips were slightly wet from chewing on them, leaving her lingering taste on mine when she pulled apart. My lips pulled up into a curve that matched Sofia’s smile.

                “For luck.” She whispered softly.

                “One more.” I wrapped my fingers around her chin, pulling her face back to mine. I bent down to meet her lips quicker, catching her bottom lip between my teeth. Sofia giggled, pulling back quickly, smiling.

                “That was for your trip over.” I told her, my voice unintentionally husky. It fit the mood perfectly.

                She giggled again, “I’ll see you on the other side.”

                “Famous last words.”

                She rolled her eyes before closing the door of the Speed.

                “Wait!” I said, pressing my hand out and stopping her from closing the door on it fully. I pushed it open, staring at her.

                “What?”

                “I need to tell you something in case something happens.”
                “Yeah?”

                I swallowed, “Listen, don’t get mad ok? It was before I knew you and before I knew anything about Girls and…”

                “What is it?” She asked skeptically.

                “When it was me, John and Ellie… we… we did something wrong.”

                She waited silently for the rest of it. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to become as brave as I could manage.
                “We killed Zee.”

                “I know.”

                I barely had time to register shock before the door was slammed shut and I felt myself being ripped off into the Speed. 

********

Uno Chapter left [: 

So here's the news. This is finishing up, but I'm not continuing it. It will end nicely this time. As nicely as my personality will let it. But no major shocking deaths. [: I promise. This entire story will come to a slow stop where it will forever stay.

Here's the thing. If you want, I'm going to be doing another science fiction novel in the near future. I'm overloaded with work right now, so it won't be for a few weeks. But if you'd like, this one's going to involve aliens, rebelion, and (of course) chemistry. If you want to read it, leave a comment below on this chapter or the next and I'll let you know when I post it.

And I reaaaaallly hope you guys like how I'm going to end this story!(: I'm excited. In a good way, I promise! Thanks for sticking with me guys!