Kole stared at the outstretched hand for a long time before finally taking it in his and shaking.  Errika smiled, pulling its hand away and placing it back onto the Gate.  Kole glanced at Faye, noting its shocked expression.  Apparently, this girl had just done something unexpected, even to Faye.

“I’m Kole,” he said finally, shifting his feet in the dirt awkwardly. 

The girl nodded, seeming satisfied.  “So you’re this mysterious boy Faye has been talking about?  She didn’t want to come back, but I forced her—”

Kole was lost.  What did the girl mean by “she” and “her”?  Those words were so foreign to him.  “What do you mean?” he said suddenly.  “She and her?  What are those words?”

Errika and Faye cast a glance.  “They’re pronouns,” Errika drawled.  She seemed to be struggling with explaining what the two words meant.  “Like, when you’re talking about someone else, like Faye for example.  She is going to the store.  She ate a frog for breakfast.”

Kole was lost as Errika struggled to explain the concept.  He still didn’t understand what it meant.  He blinked.  Wait—what if it wasn’t an it?  Was that what Errika was trying to say?  It was a she?  He thought hard.  That sounded right.  And that made sense, seeing how it sounded like he.  Did that mean her replaced him then?

“Oh,” he murmured, looking up.  “I get it.”

Errika blinked, surprised.  “You do?  Because I suck at teaching—I really do.”

Kole smiled.  “Yeah, I get it.  She replaces he and her replaces him.”

Errika and Faye stared at him blankly.  “What?” Errika said after a moment.  She glanced at Faye as though sending a telepathic message before turning back to him.  “What do you mean?”

“It’s the same concept,” Kole explained awkwardly, feeling Errika’s pain.  “Instead of saying she, for a boy it’s he.  And for a boy it’s not her, but him.”

Faye seemed to be understanding now.  “Oh,” she murmured.  “So it’s like he went to the store?”

Kole nodded, grateful that at least one of them understood.  “Yeah.”

Faye smiled.  Kole smiled back, all fear of her diminishing.  She was nice, not frightening.  Shy, not ravenous.  Why would the Government want to hide creatures exactly like them?  “So what kind of creature are you?” Kole murmured, his fingers curling around the metal of the Gate.  “Human like me?”

Faye nodded.  “Yes,” she said softly.  “Human, person, people.”

Kole felt his lips prick up into a smile.  Faye reminded him of himself in some ways.  She was shy, but didn’t let that stop her from asking questions when she needed to understand something.  She thought before she did things, made sure that they were good ideas before doing something completely idiotic.  But, like Kole, she bended under the pressure of her friends.

“Um,” Kole murmured, feeling the weight of Terence’s camera within his hands.  “I was just wondering if I could take a picture of you guys?”

Faye glanced at the camera in Kole’s hands, and back to him.  Kole braced himself for a refusal.  “A picture?” Her eyebrows crinkled together.  “What for?”

“My friend wants proof so he knows I’m not crazy,” Kole replied, awkwardly bringing a hand through his hair.

Faye looked down at the camera again, thinking over the request.  Kole watched her nervously, praying that she would allow him one picture.  If he came out with nothing yet claimed that he talked to Faye and now Errika, Terence would have him committed. 

Errika rolled her eyes at what Kole guessed to be Faye’s hesitance and sighed deeply.  “Of course you can take a picture.  If your friend is too cowardly to come in here himself, then we should at least give him a little what he’s missing out on.”

It was amazing how fluent Errika became with the “he, him, his” business.  She was a quick learner, he couldn’t help but notice.  After she got the hang of something, there was no stopping her.  Though, Kole himself had gotten the hang of the “she, her, hers” business pretty fast, too.  It came naturally to him.  He didn’t know why, but it did.

“You sure?” Kole asked softly, glancing at Faye for reassurance.  Instead of meeting his gaze, she turned to Errika for a moment before turning back to him, her eyes trained on the camera.  She looked up, finally meeting his eyes.  There was still hesitation swimming within them.  “Please?” he murmured.

Faye sighed after a moment, nodding.  “Sure.”

Kole smiled, stepping forward and fitting the lens between one of the spaces between the metal bars.  He didn’t want the Gate to obscure the view of the girls.  He leaned down, his eye looking through the eyepiece on the camera.  “Can you take a step back?” he asked softly.

The girls obliged.  Errika grinned, wrapping an around Faye and pulling her close.  Kole couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to hold a girl like that.  The thought seemed so weird—holding a girl, hugging a girl, even high-fiving a girl.  Contact with them was just so . . . foreign.

Kole shrugged the feelings off, positioning himself correctly for a good photo.  He wasn’t very familiar with photography, but Terence had taught him a thing or two.  He took a deep breath, concentrating on getting a good focus point.  He zoomed in so that their faces would be shown better but you could still see their whole bodies.  And then, after a few moments of sitting there making sure he’d made the correct choice, he took the photo.

Faye and Errika moved apart almost immediately after the photo was taken.  Kole straightened up, moving the camera away from the Gate.  “Thanks,” he said with a smile.

Errika suddenly squealed in excitement, pulling Faye back to her again.  “Oh, oh, oh!” she called out.  “You should take another one except with us making funny faces.”

Kole cocked an eyebrow while Faye shot her a disbelieving look.  “All right,” he said, not able to hide the smile that was beginning to etch on his face.  Errika was so energetic; it amused him.

Errika smiled smugly in Faye’s direction before pulling her back to her.  Errika created little bunny ears with her fingers, placing them about Faye’s head before making a crazy stance that almost made Kole break out into laughter.  He’d never seen anyone do something like that.  Not a boy, anyway.  

“Faye,” Errika drawled, managing to keep her face and position exactly the same as she reprimanded her friend, “make a funny position and face right now.”

Faye sighed and did as she was told.  Kole gave her a thumbs-up before leaning forward and quickly snapped the picture.  This photo required a sense of spontaneous-ness.  He didn’t want to put too much concentration in it.

Errika abruptly pulled away from Faye as something began to ring.  Kole’s eyebrows knitted together as she pulled out what looked like a cell phone.  So girl’s had the same technology as them as well?

She threw Kole and Faye an apologetic look.  “It’s my mom,” she murmured.  “Sorry, I have to take this.”

Kole watched as Errika moved a couple feet away flipping open her phone and speaking softly.  He couldn’t help but wonder what she’d meant by “mom”.  He’d never heard the word before, but then again, why would he? Girls had different words for different things.

Faye glanced at her friend for a moment before moving closer to Kole.  Kole smiled at her.  “What’s a mom?” he murmured, leaning against the Gate.

Faye brought a hand through her hair, glancing at Errika again before answering.  “A mom is a parent.  Someone who looks after you.”

Kole nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.  “Oh, right.  We call them dads over here.”

Faye sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.  “This is just all so weird to me,” she muttered.  “So many new words, and it’s just so hard to comprehend.”  She let her hands fall.  “All my life I was taught that the Gate hid a humongous beast that would rip you to shreds if you went near it.  That’s why the Government keeps us away.  But now . . . .”

“I was taught the same thing,” Kole replied, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them. 

“I just don’t understand,” Faye murmured, looking past Kole, seeming as though she was in a completely different world.  She blinked, and for a moment Kole saw raw fear in her eyes.  But it was gone as quickly as it came.

Kole was about to answer, but Errika cut in before he could get a word out.  “Hey, I’m so sorry, but we have to go.”  She appeared beside Faye, leaning against the Gate as Kole was.  “My mom is wondering what’s taking so long to find some supplies from the Campout.”

Kole didn’t understand what she meant by that, but decided not to question it.  “All right.”

Errika nodded, saying a quick goodbye before turning and starting back from where they came.  Faye glanced back at Errika before turning back to Kole.  “Bye,” she whispered.  “You might want to delete the pictures after you show them to your friend.  It would be dangerous if the Government saw them.”

Kole nodded.  Faye was right of course.  But he didn’t have the ability to burn the photographs.  Terence’s dad used a film camera, the pictures saved on a roll of film inside.  He’d have to burn the photographs and the negatives to make the evidence disappear completely.  “Bye,” he said finally.

Faye turned to leave.  Before Kole could even register what he was doing, he was calling out to her, asking for her to wait.  Faye turned, waiting patiently for him to say what he wanted to say.  Kole didn’t understand what was going on—it was like he didn’t have any control of what he said.  Words were sputtering out before he could understand that he was even speaking.  “Will I see you again—I mean will you—won’t you—are you—going to come back?”

Kole couldn’t fathom how Faye understood what he said, but she smiled, obviously understanding his words.  She took a step back to the Gate, the hesitance clear in her eyes.  “I don’t know . . . it’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Kole agreed.  “It’s very dangerous.”

Faye looked Kole over for a long moment before exhaling softly and nodding.  “Sure, I’ll come back.  But I have to know that you’ll be here on the other side.”

Kole smiled.  “This spot on Friday at seven?”

Faye nodded.  “Sure.”

And then she was gone, jogging to catch up with her friend, disappearing behind a group of trees.

The | Gate

Faye looked all around her, memorizing the patterns of the trees, the ways the branches folded over each other like vines.  She studied the ground, noting the organization of the rocks on the dirt, the way everything was positioned.  She took everything in, willing her mind to trap the images.  She needed to remember everything in order to make her way back to the spot again.

“So Kole was nice and not dangerous at all,” Errika commented, an amused smile on her face.  “I can’t believe you asked him if he was going to eat you.”

Faye shook her head, smiling a small smile.  “Shut up.”

She couldn’t believe how easily it came to refer to Kole as “him” now.  It was as though she’d know the words her whole life, when she in fact didn’t.  This new vocabulary was so strange, yet they seemed familiar.  She’d meant what she said to Kole—she couldn’t comprehend recent events, and everything was just so weird to her.

But it seemed so . . . right.

Maybe that was why she agreed to meet with Kole again.  There was something about him that she couldn’t place.  She couldn’t help but want to see him again. 

“So, are you going to go back?” Errika asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

Faye nodded.  “On Friday.”

Errika squealed, clapping her hands in delight.  “And I didn’t even have to talk you into it this time!” she shrieked.  “Oh, this is going to be great.  Don’t worry I’ll be your alibi, all right?  Just say that you’re coming over to my house.”

Faye eyed her friend curiously before nodding.  “Okay.”

Errika started speaking animatedly about how awesome this discovery was and how they were the only ones who knew about it.  They were lucky, they were special.  Faye blocked her friend out as she began scoping the place out, noting important factors about the forest as they walked by.  She just hoped that in two days, the images of the forest would stay clear to her.

“We should mark some trees or something,” Errika muttered, her arms flailing around.  “We don’t need you getting lost, do we?”

Faye sighed deeply, wishing Errika had spoken up about that sooner.  “It’s a little late now, don’t you think?”

Errika waved her hand dismissively.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  I’ll come in tomorrow and mark some of the trees, maybe clear out a path.  Don’t be surprised if I don’t show up to school.”

Faye’s mouth almost dropped.  Errika would do that for her?  “Errika, you don’t—”

“Don’t give me a speech about what I don’t have to do.  I want to do it, all right?  Now, I’m not going to make it obvious because the Government could scout the place out at night or something.  But, I’ll try and make it so you can notice.”

Faye nodded.  “All right.  Thanks.”

Errika grinned.  “No problem!”

The | Gate

Miranda Blatt scurried through the deserted hallway, clutching the stolen key within her hand so tightly that the key cut into her skin.  She felt as though the walls had eyes, watching her every move as her shoes pounded against the floor.  She twisted around, her eyes searching for a guard—or worse, Courtnie.  If she was caught, she’d be shot, it was a simple as that.

Miranda sighed shakily when she realized that no one was following her.  She was safe.  For now.

A trembling hand made its way through her frizzy brown locks of hair.  Miranda sighed again, trying to contain herself.  This wasn’t the first time she’d been sent out on a job like this.  The Miss trusted her to do her bidding.  She’d done countless jobs before for the Miss, putting her trust in her that this was for the greater good. 

But that didn’t stop her from being frightened, however.

Courtnie scared her more than anything in the world.  She couldn’t believe she even had the strength to do the Miss’s bidding.  She was terrified that Courtnie would catch her, torture her, and murder her before she could even blink.  Miranda was smaller than most of the workers in the Government building, younger too.  She was only nineteen years of age.  Since her mother died, she’d been sentenced to work in the Government building.  Miranda didn’t understand why she had to work here; there were other, more capable people to do the job. 

Miranda shivered, her eyes roaming around the hallway again.  What if she hadn’t done the job correctly?  No—she couldn’t have done it wrong.  Courtnie had come into the security room, furious that the cameras had stopped monitoring.  And she’d done exactly what the Miss told her to do: tell Courtnie exactly what happened.  The cameras stopped monitoring.  It was true that they did, she just didn’t give the full story.  She was the one that caused the cameras to stop monitoring.  She was the one at fault.  She didn’t how she did it.  The Miss simply handed her a flash drive and told her to stick it into Courtnie’s computer.  She said to download the file, and then the cameras would stop monitoring.  And, the Miss had continued, only she knew how to get them to work again.

The Miss was so cunning, so smart.  Miranda looked up to her, though the Miss wasn’t much older than she was.  She never quite saw her face in the darkness, but she could tell by her height and the sound of her voice, that their ages weren’t that far apart.  She wished to know the Miss’s name, but the Miss refused to tell. She said that it would only put both of them in danger is she knew.  So Miranda never asked.

Miranda sighed in relief as she reached the door of the prison wards.  She opened her palm, staring at the key for a short moment before blinking and reaching to unlock the door.  She let out another sigh as the door unlocked, swinging open at ease.

Miranda moved quickly down the rows of prisoners.  They all cried out for her to help them, to let them out.  Miranda felt sick to her stomach every time she came in here.  She wanted to let the prisoners free, let them run back to their lives.  But she couldn’t.  She had to stick with the plan.  The Miss assured her that after the plan was complete, the Government would be no more and everyone would be free to go.

Miranda reached the last cell, moving forward timidly.  “Miss?”

The Miss was lying on her bed.  She sat up at the sound of Miranda’s voice, rushing forward to the entrance of her cell.  “Miranda,” she breathed, her fingers wrapping around the metal bars.  They were slender, elegant.  “Did you do it?”

Miranda nodded vigorously, dishing into her pocket and pulling out the flash drive.  She outstretched her hand, glancing around fearfully.  Guards weren’t supposed to be patrolling this section for another ten minutes.  That was what the Miss said.  But what if someone decided to come early?

The Miss took the flash drive from her hand, curling it within hers and sighing.  “Thank you for doing this,” she said after a moment, sticking the flash drive into her pocket.  “I know the risk your taking.  I appreciate it.”

Miranda nodded.  “Thank you for trusting me.”

The Miss smiled, her white teeth flashing in the darkness.  “Of course I trust you, Miranda.”  She paused.  “So the cameras have in fact stopped monitoring?”

Miranda nodded, struggling to smile.  She was taking too much time here.  She had to leave before someone saw.  “Yes,” she said swiftly.

The Miss bit her lip.  “And she doesn’t suspect you?”

Miranda heard a note of worry in the Miss’s voice.  Had something happened that she wasn’t aware of?  “Not that I’m aware of,” she said cautiously.  “Did something happen, Miss?”

The Miss was quiet for a moment before shaking her head.  “No, Miranda, everything’s fine.”  She looked down the hall, as though searching for a danger.  “Come back when you can and give me an update, all right?”  The Miss watched as Miranda nodded.  “Now go before someone spots you.”

Miranda didn’t have to be asked twice.  She pulled away from the cell, only pausing a moment to watch as the Miss moved back in her cell, collapsing on her bed.  The Miss seemed to be hiding some sort of regret, some sort of sorrow.  Miranda wondered what she could have been hiding.  Did someone important to her slip away?  Or was it just because she was trapped there, stuck in the cell defenseless?  Not that she was truly defenseless, anyway.  She still managed to have her plans of sabotage leak into the Government.  How she managed to get her supplies—like her flash drive—Miranda would never know.

Miranda blinked, turning away from the Miss, away from the prisoners within the prison wards, and hurried down the long hall, back the way she had come.