“Good. But before you get those, we need to get out of here,” Orin said. He walked over to his bookshelf. “What I’m about to show you would get me in the same amount of trouble that you’re about to be in now. Got that?”

Kael nodded. He knew that he was in a lot of trouble already. Even if he did take the opportunity to turn himself in. 

Kael watched as Orin tilted a book on the shelf. The bookcase swung open, revealing a hidden door with stairs leading down into a secret basement. He felt his jaw drop.

“They know where you’re at. Not just by satellite, but by tracing your digital footprint and the implant they put in you,” Orin said as he motioned for Kael to follow him down the stairs.

Kael didn’t move. “What implant?”

Kael stopped walking. He pressed his hand to his chest, then his arm, then the back of his neck. Nothing. He felt nothing.

That didn't mean it wasn't there.

Orin didn’t stop, and he didn’t answer. Kael followed him. “Orin, what implant?”

“If you didn’t know that you have an implant in you, then I can’t imagine what else you don’t know,” Orin said as he hurriedly grabbed three books, and some sort of device, threw them in a bag that was sitting on the desk, and pushed past Kael back up the stairs. “But, again, we don’t have time for that right now. We have to go.” 

Orin closed the hidden door after Kael, grabbed his guitar, and headed for the door. Kael was moving too slowly for him, so he grabbed him by the arm, dragged him outside, and locked the door behind them.

A piercing pain seared across Kael’s forehead, dropping him to the ground at the bottom of the porch steps.

Orin picked him up over one shoulder and ran, guitar in the other hand, Kael gripping whatever he could find.

They didn’t go far before Orin put Kael down, and began to thumb through one of the books. “Ah, here it is.”

Kael had picked up at this point that Orin wasn’t going to answer questions, so he just kept quiet and watched. Orin started doing something to the strings of his guitar, and began to play.

It was the most beautiful sound Kael had ever heard, and the pain in his head began to fade.

“The Coil implants all of its members with a chip. I don’t know all of the functions it has, but I do know that it has tracking capabilities,” Orin said, still playing the beautiful tune. “The tracking frequency can be jammed, or rerouted, or something, though. As long as there is music near you being played at this frequency, they won’t be able to track you through the implant. We need to stay under the tree cover so they can’t use the satellite to find us from above.” 

All Kael could do was nod. He was trying to remember when they would have put the implant in him. He’d been with the Coil since he was a young child; he didn’t remember any life without them. 

Which meant, he realized slowly, that they had put it in him when he was a child. A child who wouldn't have known to ask what was being done. He felt something cold settle in his stomach that had nothing to do with Vesper.

“Get into my bag and get the recorder out and click the button with the red circle on it. When I stop playing, click the button again to stop the recording,” Orin directed him. Kael did as he was told, and Orin played for a few moments. As soon as Orin stopped, Kael clicked the red button again.

Panic set in. There was no music playing now.

Orin took the recorder, pressed some buttons, and the music he had just been playing began again through the device.

“I set it to play on a loop so I don’t have to constantly play on the guitar,” Orin said, reassuringly. “As much as I love Ol’ Samson here, my fingers would get tired after a while.”
Kael felt himself relax a little bit.

“We do have to keep moving though. If they get within ear shot and hear the music, they won’t need any technology to find us.” Orin put his book back in the bag, stood up, and slung his guitar around his body. “I have a friend not far from here that might be able to get the implant out. Let’s get going.”

Kael stood up, and followed as Orin started off. His mind was whirring as they trekked. He had so many questions, and figured now would be a good time to ask them. He just didn’t know where to begin.

“Who is it that we’re going to see?” Kael started with the most immediate question.

“Dr. Lidia Vance,” Orin said. “I made sure to settle close to a doctor since there aren’t many out here in the Fray. I’m not exactly clumsy, but this isn’t the most friendly of places.”

“How did she end up as an AOD?” Kael was a little nervous about the idea of having another Relegated person help him. They wouldn’t all be as open to helping a Harmony Strategist as Orin was. And he still didn’t know why Orin was willing to help him after everything he’d done to him during the Unburdening.

“She had been a neurologist. The Coil couldn’t fully re-attune her without stripping her of her talent, and they needed her to conduct re-attunement therapy on others,” Orin explained. “But after some time, she started to realize what she was doing to people in the process, and requested to be Relegated.”

“Kind of like me,” Kael said weakly.

“Kind of like you,” Orin agreed.

“Why are you so willing to help me?” Kael blurted.

Orin didn’t answer right away. “I’m still not sure you’re ready for that answer, Renwick.” 

“Why not?” Kael felt a little frustrated.

Orin sighed. “Not until we have Lidia take a look at your implant and see what all it can, and does, do.”

“Are you worried that they’ll hear what you say?” Kael asked.

“No, that’s not what I’m worried about. If it can pick up what we say, the music would jam that anyway,” Orin said, shaking his head. “No, I’m worried that too many answers too fast would break your brain.”

“My brain can’t break,” Kael said, indignantly. “It’s made of tissue. If anything, it would tear. Not break.”

Orin smiled. “I don’t mean physically break. I mean mentally.”

Kael nodded. He understood that. His mind was already a jumbled mess. Adding more confusion to it could indeed “break” it.

“How long until we get to Dr. Vance?” asked Kael.

“It will be a few hours,” said Orin. “Maybe, instead of asking all the questions you have up there, you enjoy being in nature for once. I can’t imagine that you’ve spent much time in it, let alone enjoyed the time you did.”

“Nature is dangerous.”

“Right,” Orin said, nodding and smirking. “Let me guess. It’s unpredictable, uncontrollable, and dirty.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Orin didn’t respond, but began to hum along with his own music. Kael decided to give him a break on questions, and to take his advice.

The forest wasn’t as frightening as it was when he first entered it. He could see squirrels racing up trees and across their branches. They were cute, and fluffy. And they made a weird, yet nonintimidating sound. Almost like a chirp, but not in the same way that birds chirp.

They had walked for a long while in silence, with nothing but the music and animals to fill in the background. Orin suddenly stopped walking.

“Come here. Get in that bush,” Orin urged him as he ran toward a large bush and jumped in it. Kael didn’t immediately follow. “Kael! Get over here.”

Kael ran to him and jumped in after. Orin pulled out the music device and turned it off.

“Ori-”

“Shhh.” Orin pointed. Kael’s eyes followed it.

In the distance, there were some men. They weren’t members of the Coil. They were too grungy, and weren’t wearing the right clothes. 

The pain in Kael’s head came back, and he stifled a scream. Panic began to flood him again. These men might not be Coil, but the Coil wouldn’t be far behind if they didn’t turn the music back on soon.

The men looked like they were searching for something, but they were searching in the opposite direction of the duo’s hiding spot. After what felt like a lifetime to Kael, they were out of sight, and Orin turned the music back on.

Kael let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding onto. 

“Bandits,” Orin explained, anticipating the question coming from Kael. “I’m sure you know, but AODs aren’t just doctors and artists. All the criminally incurable people are Relegated to the Fray.”

“How did you know they were coming? We could see or hear them before they got close enough and the music was off.”

“Let’s just get to Lidia’s.”

Of course, thought Kael. No answers until we get to Lidia’s.

“Then let’s get moving,” Kael said aloud as he took off.

Orin didn’t follow him. Kael stopped and looked at him. 

“It’s that way,” Orin said, pointing in the opposite direction.

Kael felt his cheeks redden. He straightened his back, and marched in the direction Orin was pointing. Orin smirked.

The sun was starting to go down when Orin announced they were getting close. Kael was ready to get there. His feet hurt, his back ached, and he was hungry again.

As the house came into sight, a woman’s voice called out. “Don’t come any closer, Strategist!”

Kael halted. Orin kept moving. “Lidia! It’s me, Orin!”

“Orin? What are you doing with one of them?” A woman emerged from the bushes planted in front of the house. Her long black hair was messy with sections of gray peaking through. Even at this distance, Kael could see her bright green eyes. And he could feel them boring into him. 

“Oh, you know me. I can’t resist trouble when it literally knocks on my door,” Orin said joyfully. 

The woman’s scowl softened at this. “Is that so? He came knocking? Well get over here then.”

Orin, towering over her by about a foot, leaned down, and wrapped her in a hug. Kael still didn’t move. “This is Kael Renwick,” Orin said. “He needs your help, Lidia. I’ll explain as much as I can, but we need to get inside.”

Lidia looked at Kael. Something changed in her face, something that told him she was safe. He walked over to them, and put out his hand to shake hers.

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Kael.”

“So I’ve been told,” Lidia said, smiling warmly at him now. “Come inside. It’s starting to get chilly out here.”

Kael looked at Orin, and he met his gaze. It was getting chilly, and not the kind of chilly that only comes when the sun goes down. 

It was getting icy.

“Orin, she’s getting close again,” Kael said, unable to hide the panic that began to leak into him again.

“It’s okay, Renwick,” Orin said, reassuringly. “Let’s get inside and tell Lidia your fascinating story. And finally answer some of those burning questions you have, eh?”

The steps leading up to Lidia’s door didn’t creak. That’s a good sign, Kael thought. Inside Lidia’s house was similar to Orin’s; there was clutter everywhere. It was a little bit bigger than Orin’s shack, so it didn’t feel like as much of a mess. 

“Would you like some coffee, Kael?” Lidia asked. She was already pouring a cup for herself and Orin.

“He’s never had coffee,” Orin answered for him. 

“Is that so?” Lidia said curiously. “Never had coffee? They keep you on a tight diet, now don’t they?”

Kael didn’t say anything. He was shivering now. 

“Here, why don’t you try some now. It’ll warm your belly while you tell me how you ended up so far from home,” Lidia said, handing him a cup of steaming liquid.

Kael looked at it. “I thought coffee was darker than this.”

“Oh, normally it is. But I figured you’d want it with some sugar and cream for your first taste. It can be quite bitter without it.” 

He held it to his nose and breathed it in. Just holding it in his hands melted some of the ice he was feeling. He took a small sip. It was interesting. It didn’t taste bad, but it also didn’t taste as good as the stew did. He took another sip.

“Thank you, Lidia,” he said. He was beginning to calm down now.

“Of course, dear,” she said. “Now, would you like to tell me how you found yourself at Orin’s?”

Not really, he thought. He’d already recounted the entire story to Orin earlier that day. He wasn’t sure if he could handle telling it again right now.

“I’ll give you a quick run down, Lid,” said Orin. After he finished a brief recap of what Kael had told him, Orin said, “So, we need to figure out how to get the implant removed.”

“Ah,” she said thoughtfully. “I see. Well, we can head down to the cellar and do a scan on your body to see where it’s located. How’s that sound, Kael?” She looked at him.

He’d lost himself in the coffee cup while Orin was talking. He met her eyes and nodded. They all got up as Lidia led them down a staircase. This one wasn’t hidden like Orin’s was.

The walls were lined with metal, rough, salvaged-looking panels bolted together without any Coil precision, but effective. He could tell by how the sound changed when they descended.

“My husband and I fortified this bunker when we were relegated,” she said, noticing him looking at the walls. “Just being down here will jam any frequency coming from your implant, so we can turn off the music now, if you’d like.”
“Keep it on,” Kael said. It would be too quiet without it now. And the melody brought him a sense of peace amongst the chaos he was feeling inside.

As they reached the cellar, Kael saw a large machine with a bed. He’d seen body scanning machines before. Of all kinds. The Coil would scan anyone who came and went from the headquarters. This was actually something familiar to him in such a foreign place.

Lidia motioned for him to lay down on the bed. “This isn’t going to take too long, but get comfortable.” 

“Lidia, can I borrow one of your horses?” Orin asked. “I’d like to run back to my place and grab some more books that might be able to help us figure out what’s going on once you find the implant.” 

“You can’t,” Kael said, panicked. “Vesper is out there!”

“It’s okay, Renwick,” Orin said. “I have my own way of tracking people like her. And you, for that matter.”

Kael was about to ask him what he meant, but Orin held up his hand to stop him. “Later, Renwick. Just do what Lidia tells you, and try to relax. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He didn’t want to admit it out loud, but Kael didn’t want Orin to leave him. Orin was keeping him safe. He had known him for less than a day, and already the idea of navigating any of this without him felt like stepping back off the flow corridor, except this time with no destination on the other side. But Lidia did have a sense about her that was comforting to him. Something familiar that he couldn't put his finger on. The way she said "of course, dear"; like it was something she'd said ten thousand times before to someone she loved.

Kael nodded, and Orin ascended the stairs.

“Alright, hun. Lay down and we’ll see what we can do,” Lidia’s calm voice came from behind the machine.

Kael did as she said. The machine roared as it started up. The lights were almost blinding as they moved up and down his body. He closed his eyes to block the light.

He must have drifted off to sleep during the scan because he was startled awake by Lidia gently shaking his arm.

“We’re all done,” she said. “You can get up now.”

“What does it show? Can you remove the implant?” Kael asked eagerly as he sat up and went to the chair she had indicated for him. 

He didn’t like the look that was on her face now. Though it was still gentle, he could see there was something that worried her.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to. Would you like for me to wait until Orin gets back to tell you?”

Kael didn’t respond at first. He already had so many questions before he came here, but now they seemed to multiply. She can’t remove it? What does that mean? What am I going to do now?

“No,” he finally said. “I’ve waited long enough for answers. We can fill him in when he gets back.”

“As you wish, hun,” she said. “The implant is located deep in your spinal cord. How they got it there in the first place, I have no idea. But it would be too risky of an operation for any doctor in the Fray to remove. We don’t have access to the kind of equipment that would be needed to ensure success.”

“What could happen if you tried?”

Lidia hesitated for a moment before saying, “You could die, Kael.”