[Fiction] Let It Be

[Singularity]

Text swirls about the room, Sanskrit words appear on their own in the blank pages of a book, and Samhra finishes transcribing another tablet. She sips tea from a winged cup, silently reviewing her work with approval before hefting the next stone tablet into place. Privacy was always nice whenever she did her work, but sometimes a super strong helper would be nice to have around. Her custom ergonomic chair silently adjusts as Samhra sits back to rest, embracing her slight form without interfering with her wings. The chair is a gift from Manny to celebrate the just past summer solstice, and it always seems to provide the perfect amount of support, freedom, and ventilation she needs to stay comfortable, alert, or relaxed, depending on the situation. It had come with a scratching post and a combination shell and mirror attachment, but somehow Manny always seems to get the basic idea right.

Just as she returns to work her link to Singularity reactivates. She immediately stops her work with a quiet curse; he wasn’t supposed to contact her yet. Hopefully it’s important, he knows how frustrated she gets when she’s interrupted. *Leave the island,* his words are colored with fear and pain, *Run and hide somewhere, anywhere, and I’ll find you if I survive… I love you, Regan, please stay safe.*

The link is closed before Samhra can respond, or get Singularity’s location, and she slams the workbook shut, “Damnit!” Claws dig into the hardened armrests of the chair and she bounds out of the chair and then the workshop. “I can’t believe he’s doing this,” she mutters under her breath as she stalks towards the bungalow, flowered skirt and matching halter top twisting to match her angry motions, “I’m not some kind of delicate doll that needs to be protected.” The door of the bungalow bursts open and she heads straight to their bedroom; she hates the idea being placed in a tower like a prize that’s only admired instead of experienced and trusted. She yanks open the upper drawer, reaching inward and pulling out a wrapped bundle. It’s open in seconds and she looks over the carefully inscribed Tibetan script. He always carries a matching bundle and this will bring her right to him. There weren’t any “his problems” or “her problems” anymore, just “their problems” and they faced them together.

She reaches into the cards, seeking out her destination, and retracts her hand in surprise: the only other set of this work is sitting within the bungalow. Sure enough, she can see it sitting on the nightstand next to a set of car keys that haven’t been used in months. The drawer slams shut, shaking the entire bureau, “Son of a bitch, he is not doing this to me!” She reaches for the W.A.Co., firing it up to find some way of tracking Singularity down. Suddenly the link returns and she grabs onto it with everything she has, pinpointing his location as quickly as she can, *Frank, what the hell is going on? Why the hell are you in Peru? Where to you get off doing that to me?* He doesn’t answer right away, all she feels from him is pain and understanding… and he’s fading away, letting one message getting across before the link closes again.

[size:1] *Forgive me, beloved, but there was no other way.*

She starts to shake, amber eyes widening before she steels herself and opalescent aura begins to crackle. Something is wrong, he’s hurt, badly hurt, and she’s torn between tear apart the room in rage and cry out in despair. Her mind starts to spin, connecting the dots between geography and stories Franklin has told her. She dashes outside, rounding the bungalow to reach the small garden against the wall. Next to a set of jungle orchids, just opening for the first time, is a medium sized rock with an intricate yet nonsense symbol etched into it, and Samhra leaps into it, knowing it will take her some where she’s never been but where she needs to be now.

Her body reforms, exploding from a large tree that has the same symbol carved into it, and she quickly assesses her location. Drops of water fall from the leaves in the thin canopy, remains of a storm that has apparently just ended and dispersed into the day. All of the wildlife seems to have left the area, either hiding from some hidden danger or the passing storm. She still can’t feel Singularity’s mind, but she finally catches the distant sight of crumbling ruins that have been described to her countless times. She leaps into the air, her wings ripping into the air, tense with fury and fear. She pulls up higher and higher to reach the collapsed stone buildings, locking onto a settling cloud of dust and debris.

Pebbles and dirt fly up into the air as Samhra lands in a newly shattered building and the color fades from her face, “Franklin? Goddess, Franklin?!” His body is lying in the middle of the new rumble, his skin a mixture of red and black from the blood oozing out of countless cuts and the crusted remains of even more electrical burns. She crouches next to him, blood filled soil squelching as she plants her feet. A sickly looking and 2002-dated eufiber bodysuit covers his broken body, his brown hair is thick and wet, and a small smile covers his face. Her mouth drops open as she looks over his body, trying to bring her rushing mind and emotions under control but it runs away from her.

She looks over the man beside her, caressing a muscled arm fondly…

“No!” she yells through newly forming tears, forcing herself to focus, “I won’t lose you too, I won’t fail again.” She reviews him again, coming to a dark conclusion. He’s barely alive but he won’t be for much longer. Even if she could safely move Singularity he wouldn’t live long enough to reach help. She starts to act on instinct and she grabs the flow of time around him as text explodes into motion around hers and his bodies. She’s never done this to someone else before but time halts around his body, feeling like a pool of ink that’s she’s struggling to hold together on a page before it escapes between her fingers or soak into the page. He’s safe for now, but it won’t last forever and she still can’t transport him… help is going to come here.

Samhra reaches out, easily finding a friendly mind in Japan, *Timeslip, please, I need your help right away.*

*Of course, Samhra,* Timeslip replies, curiosity and concern filling her mental voice, *What’s wrong?*

*It’s Franklin, I need Long to bring Neil Preston here to me. Now!*

She cuts the connection as soon as she even feels assent from Timeslip, conserving her energy while frantically trying to keep the ink from running away from her. She watches Singularity’s dorm’ed body, not even wasting the energy to stop her tears, “You’re not leaving without me, you are not leaving.”

Seconds then minutes roll by like hours and finally a blue light flashes and produces a startled Neil and a bristling and battle-ready Long. Neil takes one look at Singularity’s shattered body and rushes right to it, “Oh my God, I didn’t think it would be this bad.” He looks to Samhra over the frozen body, real concern clouding his eyes, “Regan, the only thing keeping him alive is… whatever you’ve done. I need you to release him before I can try to heal him, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work.”

“Please save him, Neil, just please try,” is all she says in return with a determined voice.

“Long, stand over here, I’m going to need you to catch me when I do this.” Neil slowly rubs his hands and gives Samhra a sharp nod. She lets the ink go on the paper, tiredly slumping from the exertion as the text collapses back into her, and Neil immediately reaches out to grab Singularity’s body. Charred flesh and hundreds of gouges suddenly appear on Neil’s body as it deflates under shattered muscles, and he falls unconscious and into Long’s furry arms. Conversely, Singularity’s skin knits up immediately, though remaining stained by blood and dirt, and his chest slowly starts to rise and fall with breath. His brown eyes slowly flutter open, catching Samhra’s teary and relieved eyes.

“Everything is going to be fine, Neil took care of you,” she quietly says to him, pushing his brown hair back with a soft and encouraging smile, “The orchids, they finally opened.”

Franklin slowly blinks, a broad and content smile spreading across his face, “Doesn’t matter… I don’t have to search anymore, you found me…”