His thoughts turned back to his last real intimate encounter with her. At the time, she’d thought that he was Second Wind, who at the time, had been posing as “Wind Runner”. It had felt confusing, illicit, and more than a little dirty to take his copy’s place in the bedroom, and at the end of it, Tapestry had said that she loved “him”.
She loved Second Wind. Not me. We are different people, even if we shared the same base memories.
Malcolm repeated the thought to himself several times, but it felt more like a hollow excuse, rather than the truth. It was an out, a way for him to easily discard any pesky, leftover feelings he might have for her. And his chest was burning with those sorts of feelings, his heart pounding with eagerness and desire at the prospect of sitting down with her and eating. He could at least give her a hug when she finally left to go back to her old life. Couldn’t he?
He winced and forced it all out of his mind. It wasn’t like that between him and Tapestry anymore. Hell, it wasn’t like that between him and Rose, either. He was alone, and it was better to accept that fact rather than get his hopes up for relationships that belonged to another world.
Malcolm started his fire as soon as he got back to his hideout. He let the fish cook on a hot rock, while slowly roasting both squirrels he’d snared over the fire. The smell of cooking meat jumpstarted his appetite, though it was a little less appealing after the fare in Underworld, and even the travel rations.
His mind continued to wander, and he continued to force his thoughts back into safe territory. He was just beginning to contemplate his own future when Tapestry arrived back, nearly sprinting across the warehouse’s concrete parking lot to reach him.
“We have to move!” she shouted. “Now!”
“Uh… It’s nice to see you, too,” said Malcolm, quirking an eyebrow.
“Look, I don’t have time to explain,” said Tapestry. “Do you trust me?”
Malcolm considered the question for longer than he’d realized he needed to.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Then come with me,” said Tapestry. “And bring any weapons you have.”
Malcolm smiled.
That should be easy enough, given that I don’t have any.
He did take the food, or at least the food that had already finished cooking, with him. He offered some to Tapestry as they jogged down the street. She politely declined, her nose scrunching up in a way that told Malcolm that she had not reached the point where squirrel had entered her normal diet.
Tapestry led him down an alleyway, and then over a fence into a small, abandoned parking lot. There were several wrecked cars on the far side of it, and nestled in between two of them was a dirty, heavily dinged BMW with military grade tires, metal lattice reinforced windows, and a club lock on the steering wheel.
“Wow,” said Malcolm. “I see you’ve gotten some upgrades.”
Tapestry smiled at him, her pride showing through her cold exterior.
“A few,” she said. “Get in. Quickly.”
Malcolm was tempted to make a quip about her bossiness, but bit it back. He climbed into the passenger seat next to her. Tapestry pulled out of the lot and onto the street, driving more slowly than Malcolm had expected.
It’s smart, given how many streets have been blocked by abandoned cars.
“Alright,” he said. “I think I deserve an explanation, now?”
Tapestry gave a slow nod.
“I’ve been keeping in touch with a few traders who regularly travel through Vanderbrook and other nearby towns,” she said. “One of them told me that they’ve made several deliveries to a hospital in Halter City.”
Malcolm frowned and shook his head.
“Halter City is Multi’s territory,” said Malcolm. “Though what use he’d have for a hospital is an open question.”
“That’s not all,” said Tapestry. “The guy told me about the hospital also said that on one of his trips inside, he had what he thought at the time was a hallucination. A vision of a strange, green portal in one of the rooms he was walking by.”
Malcolm blinked.
“Jade Portal?” he said, putting the pieces together. “She’s still alive. Rain Dancer didn’t kill her after all, and… Multi took her in?”
“Apparently,” said Tapestry. “Though she must be badly injured. Maybe paralyzed. Hence the hospital, and her not immediately taking off. Not exactly the easiest spryte to hold hostage.”
“Definitely not,” said Malcolm. “But I don’t understand. Why does this matter to us?”
Tapestry sighed.
“I keep forgetting how hard it is for young people to see the big picture,” she said.
“You are a young person. At least in body if not in mind. Now make with the explanation.”
Tapestry smiled again, though she caught herself more quickly this time.
“Jade Portal was the one who trapped Savior on Europa,” said Tapestry. “With her power, we can bring him back, if he’s still alive.”
Malcolm sat up a little straighter, running the idea over in his head. It could work.
“Of course,” he said. “She can make a portal to bring us onto the spaceship on the way to save him.”
“Exactly,” said Tapestry. “We find where the spacesuits are kept onboard, grab them, come back to Earth through the portal, and then have her transport us straight to Europa so we can bring Savior back immediately.”
She’s thought this through. This is a good plan.
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “I’m onboard. But we still have to find a way to Jade Portal. If she’s in a hospital that Multi is in control of, it’s not going to be easy for us to get in.”
“I never said it was going to be easy,” said Tapestry. “But I doubt Multi will be expecting us. It’s been months since he’s had a serious confrontation with any champion. We might be able to catch him off guard.”
“This is Multi we’re talking about,” said Malcolm. “When has he ever not planned for a contingency?”
“People change,” said Tapestry. “Especially demons. I think he’s more arrogant now, than ever. And his main concern is… well, it’s not you or me.”
Malcolm went silent, sensing from the tone of Tapestry’s voice that she didn’t want to have that conversation now. Bringing up Second Wind would be tearing open old wounds for them both. How must it have felt for her to discover that the man she fell in love with was not only a copy of the original, but had also become a demon and decided to betray her?
“I’m going to park on the edge of Halter City,” she said, breaking the silence. “We’ll have to be on guard until we get to the hospital. If anyone sees us, our plan falls apart.”
“Got it,” said Malcolm. “Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER 14
They waited in an alleyway until nightfall, crouched in the shadows. Halter City was patrolled by Multis and the only way they would remain undetected was by moving under the cover of darkness. They settled in behind a dumpster, ignoring the smell as best they could.
In many ways, Halter City had faired the chaos of the collapse better than Vanderbrook. The destruction overall was considerably less and more concentrated. A couple of blocks still had electricity, though the only people who lived in the apartments there were those who had somehow earned Multi’s favor.
There was even a modern, mostly functional economy in this section of town. Malcolm noticed a well-stocked bodega across the street from the alley and grasped at his growling stomach, afraid it would give their position away.
When dusk settled, they moved. It was easy to spot their enemy. Each Multi shared identical physical characteristics, and most of them carried rifles, or pistols. Malcolm and Tapestry would wait at the edge of one alleyway, watching until a Multi turned around a corner, and then they’d sprint across the street to their next hiding spot.