Riley opened the door to her house. It was still dark outside, and she had no idea what time it was. It must've been around two in the morning, at least.
Autumn No was standing outside on the wooden platform. She looked like she'd been crying, her eyes red and her eye liner smudged. Without constantly hovering, she looked a good bit shorter.
"Autumn?"
"Riley." She said, her voice wavering. "Can I come in?"
Riley nodded. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Please." She moved out of the way. Slowly, Autumn stepped inside, putting one foot on the ground in front of the other.
"You're not floating." Riley said. "Is everything okay?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Do you want to... talk about it?"
She shook her head again. "No. I just want to stay with you for a while."
"Right now? I think Abby's-"
"Abby's not here. I saw her go to Jacob's."
"I... I guess you can sleep in her bed." Riley said, blushing hard, not that Autumn could see it in the darkness. She nodded over to the two beds, placed against the wall, separated by the trunk of the tree their house was nestled in.
Autumn sniffled and wiped her nose. "I want to sleep in your bed." She got closer, until they were just inches away from each other.
"Okay" Riley said, quietly. "I guess we can-" Riley's voice caught in her throat. Autumn stepped even closer, the cold air between them shrinking to nothing.
The dimness of the treehouse made everything feel softer, blurrier, like the world had narrowed to just the two of them. Autumn's breathing was still shaky, her face so close that Riley could see the faint shimmer of tears still clinging to her lashes.
"Riley," Autumn whispered, her voice raw. Before Riley could answer, Autumn leaned in, her lips brushing Riley's in a hesitant, trembling kiss.
It was soft, almost tentative, but it hit Riley like a shockwave, her heart stuttering as her mind scrambled to catch up. For a second, she froze, her hands hovering awkwardly at her sides. Autumn's lips were warm, tasting faintly of salt, and Riley's brain short circuited - torn between the urge to pull away and the sudden realisation that she didn't want to. Autumn broke the kiss, abruptly, her eyes wide with a sudden panic, like she'd misread everything.
"I'm sorry," Autumn stammered, stepping back, her hands twisting together. "I didn't mean, I, I- I mean, I shouldn't-" Her voice cracked. She looked away, her cheeks flushing even in the dark.
"No, wait!" Riley blurted out, her own face burning. She reached out, catching Autumn's wrist before she could retreat further. "It's okay. It's okay, I-" She swallowed hard. "I liked it."
"You... did?" She asked, her voice small and uncertain.
Riley nodded, her grip on Autumn's wrist loosening but not letting go. "Yeah. I mean, it was sudden, but..." She fumbled for words. "It was nice."
Autumn let out a shaky laugh, more relief than amusement, and wiped her eyes with her free hand. "I'm such a mess," she mumbled, but there was a tiny smile tugging at her lips now. "I just... I dunno." She looked away. "I needed to feel something that wasn't awful."
The last days flashed in front of Riley's eyes. JP. The mountain lab. The rangers. How even Sadie lost control. "Yeah." Riley finally said, her thumb brushing absently against Autumn's wrist. "I get it."
They stood there, the silence less awkward now, more like a shared breath. Her heart was still racing, but it wasn't just her nerves anymore. She hesitated, then tugged gently on Autumn's wrist, pulling her a little closer. "Can I... try again?"
Autumn's eyes widened, but she nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
This time, Riley leaned in, her movements clumsy but deliberate. Their lips met again, less hesitant now, though still tinged with that first-kiss awkwardness - noses bumping slightly, not knowing when to end it- but it didn’t matter. It was warm, real, and when Riley felt Autumn’s hand settle lightly on her cheek, her fingers cool against Riley’s flushed skin, the world made sense for the first time all night.
They pulled back after a moment, both breathing a little faster, their foreheads resting together. "That was… better," Autumn said, her voice steadier now. "You’re not bad at this, Riley Truman."
"Gee, thanks." Riley snorted. "You're not so bad yourself."
Autumn's smile faltered for a second, her eyes flicking down. "I'm sorry I just... showed up like this. I didn't know where else to go. Everything's so..." She shook her head, her hand dropping from Riley's cheek to fidget with her crescent moon necklace.
"Hey," Riley said, squeezing her hand. "You don't have to explain. I'm glad you're here." She meant it, more than she expected to. The camp was falling apart, but this - Autumn, here, with her - it was something solid to hold onto.
Autumn nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Can I still... stay?" she asked, glancing at the bed against the wall. "I don't want to be alone tonight."
"Yeah," Riley said, her voice soft. "You can stay." She led Autumn over to the bed, the mattress creaking as they sat down side by side. The treehouse was quiet, the wind outside muffled by the sturdy walls, and for the first time in hours, Riley felt like she could breathe.
Riley woke to the faint grey light seeping through the treehouse window, the world outside still cloaked in pre-dawn quiet. There were no rays of sunshine illuminating the treehouse through its plastic windows, no hopeful new day like there had been for the past weeks. It was still dreary, and rain was gently pattering against the roof.
Autumn was curled against her, her breathing soft but uneven, hand still loosely intertwined with Riley's. Something was wrong with her, that much she had figured out the night before, but whatever it was hadn't gone away the next morning. Autumn's eyeliner was still smudged, and her necklace glinted faintly against her collarbone.
She stirred, her eyes fluttering open, and for a second, she looked disoriented, like she'd forgotten where she was. Then, her gaze settled on Riley, and a faint, tired smile curved her lips. "Morning" she mumbled, her voice hoarse.
"Hey," Riley said softly and brushed a strand of hair out of Autumn's face. "Sleep okay?"
Autumn shrugged, sitting up softly, hands fidgeting in her lap. "Kinda." She looked around in the barely lit cabin. "Thanks for letting me stay."
"Course," Riley said and yawned. "And look. World's still in one piece."
Autumn smiled faintly and looked away. "For now."
The door to SF house swung open and Abby stepped inside. "Riley?" She called out, and Autumn flinched.
"Hm? What?" Riley called down, not getting out of her soft and warm bed.
"Jacob's still gone."
"What do you-"
"Jacob, all right? He, he... he went into the lab again last night, told me he'd be back soon, but-"
"He's still gone." Riley completed her thought. "You mentioned."
Abby went up the wooden stairs as she talked. "We're going to get him, right? We- oh." She was now at the top of the stairs, seeing Riley and Autumn in their now shared bed. "Autumn."
"Abigail." She said, not betraying the slightest hint of emotion towards her.
"Look, Abby, maybe we-"
"Our friend is in danger! We stick together, that's what you said!" Tears welled up under her glasses. "Ri, please?"
Riley thought for a second. "Okay. But we're all going. Get Mari and Sadie."
"Couldn't find Sadie. Don't know where she is." Abby wiped her tears away. "I'll meet you at the cabin in five." Without waiting for an answer, she left the house again. Autumn sat on the edge of the bed, fidgeting with her necklace again.
"You're going to go after him?" She asked, her voice low, almost accusing if Riley didn't know better.
"He's our friend. We can't just leave him in there." She got up, hesitated, then her tone softened. "You don't have to come if you're not-"
"I'm coming." She stood up, pulled her hoodie straight and had her powers perfectly do her hair. "I'm not staying in your place alone."
They stepped out onto the platform, the rain pattering against their hoods, the air crisp and cold. Pine and wet earth were usually pleasant smells, but not today. Something in the camp was rotten, and the rot spread.
Down at the clearing, Abby was already waiting. "Mari's coming. Louise is staying with JP, she insisted."
"And Sadie?" Autumn asked.
"Still can't find her. Wasn't in her treehouse, wasn't with JP."
"That's not like her." Autumn crossed her arms. "She usually has a plan."
"Maybe she's got one now and just didn't tell us," Riley said, though the words felt hollow, like a flimsy excuse. Sadie vanishing in the middle of this crisis wasn't a good sign, obviously.
Marigold Salerno joined them, a small pack of seeds and herbs slung over her shoulder. She gave them a tired nod. "JP's stable for now, but we shouldn't take too long."
Without another word, they fell into step and headed for the mountain. The rain had made the path slick, and it felt strange to walk it without Jacob's constant stream of facts as background noise. In fact, no one spoke. The only sounds were the wet squelching of their boots on the muddy forest floor.
Through the old cabin, into the hall of records, they followed. Abby had brought a flashlight, but it wasn't charged - she'd been too worried to think about that, Riley figured.
"Too dark. Can't see a damn thing." Abby said. "We gotta have another flashlight. I'll just go back and-"
Marigold knelt down and reached into her pack, pulling out a handful of small seeds, faintly glowing in the darkness. "Hold on, Abs." She pressed the seeds into the cracks in the stone floor, her hands glowing with a faint green as she did. The seeds stirred, then sprouted, thin vines curling upward. The tips bloomed into delicate flowers, bell-shaped, and most impressively, glowing blue. They cast an eerie light as they climbed up and further along the hall of records. As if they could read Riley's mind, they avoided the presidents' faces.
"That's... new." Autumn said.
Marigold stood up again, wiping her hands on her jeans. "Bioluminescence. Been working on it for a while, figured it'd come in-" A sneeze shook her. "-in handy one day." She sounded tired, but also proud. "Let's get going. This place gives me the creeps."
Riley followed Marigold inside, followed by Abby, and then Autumn. The flowers' glow made the tunnels feel alive, their light shifting slowly as Marigold moved. Suddenly, she jerked, made a pained sound, sucked in the stale air through her teeth.
"Careful!" She said and turned to Abby, who had just stumbled over a vine. "Careful. The plants are... sensitive."
"Sorry" Abby said and made sure to step around the vines.
"And Autumn, stop floating. You're making them twitchy."
Autumn dropped to the ground and muttered an apology. Riley reached out, squeezed her hand briefly, and Autumn gave her a small, grateful look.
The tunnel opened into the lab's main corridor, the flowers spreading further, their light revealing rusty pipes, concrete, emergency exit diagrams.
Nobody spoke on the spiral path down. Riley's heart pounded as they moved deeper. The memory of last time still pressed against her chest, getting stronger as they got closer and closer.
After seemingly hours, they reached Dr. David Vassos' underground lab. What had been just an abandoned laboratory before had turned into a nightmare of obsession. Every surface - the walls, windows, even the floor - was smeared with white paint, scrawled with Jacob's patterns. Spirals, fractals, arcs that twisted in ways that hurt to look at. Wherever Riley looked, the lines on the walls would fall into place to make new shapes, desperately trying to impart some information that Riley's brain wasn't capable of comprehending.
Jacob Austin Ganz stood in the centre of the gallery, his back to them, his hands moving frantically as he painted another trajectory on the ground in front of him. His vest was gone, his shirt streaked with white paint, his hair wild. He mumbled, didn't notice them approaching, his voice barely audible over the silence of the room.
"It doesn't fit. Why doesn't it fit? Why won't you fit? Why won't you let me?"
"Jake?" Abby said and approached him. "Jake, it's me, I-"
He snapped around, and Abby flinched as she saw his face. He'd drawn on his skin with the paint, concentric rings and fractal lines coalescing around his right eye. "Abigail." He said and dropped the brush. Paint splattered across the floor. "Abigail. You're here."
"Are you... okay? What is going on?" Abby asked, her voice quaking.
"You need to teleport me." He said, determined. "You need to show me the space in between the world."
"Jacob, I-"
"There is a solution to this. It's just out of reach." He breathed heavily, reached out to her hands and caressed them gently. "You need to show me the space between. You need to-"
"No!" Abby said and pulled back her hands. "Jake, what is going on? You're not well, you're not thinking straight! We're getting you out of here, and-"
Marigold gasped, and looked up at the ceiling.
"What?" Riley answered, also looking up, but aside from the domed ceiling of a secret research lab deep inside America's most famous monument, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Someone's coming. They're stepping on the vines." Her eyes twitched. "Four, five people. I can't tell. We need to move. Riley, can you get us out?"
"Maybe you and Autumn, but Abby-"
"Abby's gonna teleport Jake home" Marigold said. "It's the only way out of here."
"Wh- Me?" Abby yelped. "No, no, that's a bad idea, I-"
"You have to." She answered. "They'll be here any second." Riley grabbed Autumn's hand, then Marigold's, closed her eyes, and vanished.
It was just Abby and Jacob now. The hum of the black sphere in the Roosevelt chamber vibrated through the floor, the painted patterns on the walls seemingly writhing in the flickering flower light. Footsteps echoed in the distance, up the spiral hallway. Abby's pulse hammered in her ears.
"Abby." Jacob said, his voice softer, almost pleading. "Please. I trust you."