Since speed had become a factor because time wasn’t truly on their side, Sylvie decided to cross the heavy distance to the remains of Cudston using her motorcycle and carrying her necessary supplies on both her back and Casey’s back. Tucked away in both of the packs and her saddlebags were over a dozen medical bags full of fresh blood, twin solid bck radiation suits complete with air bottles and masks, a twin set of hand-held Geiger counters and finally a camera that attached to the head so Sylvie could transmit to Kody while she did her best to find whatever was stored in the tall hill.

  “Why do we have air bottles?” Sylvie had asked when she’d spotted the containers built into the suits, “We don’t breathe, this seems overly cautious Kody.”

  With a gentle ugh at the time, Kody offered their simple answer without any hint of sarcasm. “No, we don’t breathe. However we do need air to speak, and I figured that the cleaner the air, the less chance for contamination.”

  A stupid look had crossed Sylvie’s face at the time, and she’d nodded. “I get it. Less to cleanse too. More time..the works.”

  Shortly afterward Sylvie and Casey headed off on the motorcycle. Unlike their flirtatious ride back to their new home, this time there was very little conversation and lots of dead silence as they made their westward way down the well-lit highway. Still rather early in the evening, the traffic was moderately heavy and gave Sylvie the chance to use the opportunity to rely on her senses rather than the computer-generated dispy she’d used to find and ultimately save Casey.

  While it was easy enough to weave through the slow-moving traffic, Sylvie couldn’t help but feel the rush of using her abilities in their raw form, devoid of any technological help that she’d grown used to. With the wind blowing past her body and the tight hold of Casey’s hands around her waist, this was the first time since she decided to not use the advanced blood-designs that Sylvie knew it was the right decision. Although watching and learning from Kody over the years of watching them in school and subsequent years within Phantasmagoria as Kody designed things they invented to take advantage of vampire blood, Sylvie knew she’d lost something in the process. Recalling that she’d said something to Franco about losing the ability to hunt the night they first met Vivienne, it wasn’t until now that she knew what they truly meant. Being a supernatural creature of the night came with inherent abilities that did not need human technological improvement. Super speed, super strength, unbelievable constitution and vastly improved sexual prowess were the gifts bestowed by the change.

  -Why have all of this and not use it? Driving like this is..is…euphoric. A single step away from hunting.-

  Hunting was one of the things that Sylvie did with ruthless efficiency should she need to, and quite often took to her more beastly side and left no trace except for ash in the wind. Impnts and circuits didn’t actually improve the hunt, it took away instinct and the feeling that came with it.

  -Technology has its pce. Just not as a repcement. Misunderstood technology is what got us into this in the first pce. The irony is that I have to use the same technology to reverse the damage, and clean up our mess.-

  A second before the wave of relief and assurance of her internal struggle ended, Sylvie felt Casey’s head y ft against her back. “Cheat. How long did you know?”

  “A few minutes. I knew you were working something out so I didn’t move until the relief I sensed came to pass.” Casey offered lovingly.

  Emboldened by her lover’s emotional comfort, Sylvie resumed dashing her bike through traffic in order to enjoy her abilities once again. It took a light from the fuel gauge for Sylvie to snap out of the mindset and pull over into a gas station. Digging around in the purse that she had hanging from her side, Sylvie produced her credit card and began the process of refilling the tank when she felt Casey tap her shoulder. “Humm?” Sylvie gingerly replied, “What’s on your mind, Casey?”

  “Just wondering if there is some alternative to this whole thing. I know we promised to break this portal and I am fine with that.” Casey sighed. “I am not super comfortable with the possible end result.” She looked into Sylvie’s half-moon irises, “What happens if by chance the thing doesn’t fall into the portal but nds outside? It means that goofy contraption destroys all of us, along with any hope that the town is rebuilt.” Casey quickly added, “There’s no way to repair the veil with a mass explosion, which will likely destroy Petersburg as well. Nothing will survive there for what…fifty to a hundred years?” She shook her head, “I haven’t been comfortable with this power source since you mentioned it, but I kept quiet because I have seen that look in your eyes before, Sylvie. It’s almost like you don’t want a vision to be wrong and you go out of your way to ensure that it comes to pass.”

  Twisting the cap from the gas tank, Sylvie listened as she refilled the motorcycle. Certainly concerned about the outcome of this endeavor, Sylvie had seen every event unfold every step of the way. Nothing unusual happened because her insurance of an eclipse kept her darkness, Kigatilik, completely out of the mix. “Though Kody hates to admit it, there are times when they are not so neutral. The idea of building and blowing things up isn’t something on my mind.” Once the little handle clicked, Sylvie returned the gas pump back to its cradle. “What other choice do we have? I saw the town, I saw the element and how it’s stored. Why show me all this if we weren’t following the correct path.”

  “Are you sure the book said brace or bracer?” Casey asked for reassurance. “I have a stupid question.”

  Repying the words in Greek that she read on the page, Sylvie nodded as she twisted the cap back on the tank. “I know my Greek isn’t the best, so I am fairly certain that it said bracer.” Sylvie pulled out her phone and opened a little transtion application. “Here I was just thinking that technology is overrated, then I go and use it to transte Greek.” Sylvie punched in the words as she saw them in the book when she read it. “See, Bracer. My visions have been spot on, Casey. Which is completely normal, they are never wrong when I see an eclipse. Which you know quite well at this point.”

  “Is there a chance that this Cudston pce is a warning? I mean, wasn’t the town deserted and dead? Can you repy how the town looked after you saw the newspaper? Perhaps it wasn’t the stuff in the barrel you were meant to see, but the town.”

  Casting a gnce up at the moon, Sylvie instantly recalled the town and how it was literally nothing. “I told you before what the town looked like. I mean even the nails holding the wood were rusty dust...” Sylvie drew a quick breath, “…but that was also like a hundred years ter.”