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manufacturing plant of some kind. There’s heavy machinery spread over the loft-like space with no interior walls. Hide in the machinery, as far as you can work yourself into it.
    But Branden , she thinks.
    Hurry! They’re coming. I’ll keep Branden calm .
    Thankfully, she listens. She runs to the nearest machine. An oven maybe? A printing press of some kind? Either way it has an entrance that she wiggles into, trying to work herself as far into it as possible. The fear of discovery overwhelms any fear of claustrophobia. She tenderly held Branden close and tries not to jostle him too much.
    I try to recall the happiest feelings of my life. Those periods in which I was most content. Oddly, I remember my own mother. I can’t recall what she looks like, but I remember her smell, the sharp floral scent. It’s the first time I ascribe the scent to her, but know it to be true. I remember wearing pajamas, the one-piece kind with the footies. I remember stuffed animals; I remember her reading, but not her voice. And now I remember not having to be worried. That’s what I send to Branden: warmth, comfort, security.
    Sumiko’s breath is hot in the confined space, humid. She chews her lips in worry.
    A door creaks open, skittling sounds shuffle over the floor. A crawler is here. Sumiko’s heart pounds; her left breast hurts—she needs to feed. I float above the machine Sumiko’s in and observe the crawler.
    It’s fast, frighteningly fast. And it’s dipping into the machines.
    Oh, God. It’s going to find her. There’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.
    Karon, what’s happening ? Karon ?
    I can’t respond. I can’t save her. Machines are immune to Watchers, they have no thought patterns.
    The skittling sound grows closer.
    Karon !
    I flee the building and dive myself into the first policeman I find. I hit him so hard all sense of his self is lost. I rip the communicator from his wrist and say in a voice completely foreign to me, “I found her! She’s over here—” Where is over here? “—She’s on the run, I’m in pursuit!” I start running and damn near fall. This guy is tall, his legs are much longer than I’m used to.
    “Stay in pursuit, Officer Cearley,” his/my communicator squawked. “We’re vectoring to your position.”
    I keep Officer Cearley running and pull back a little. The poor guy is lost, in shock. I’ve done something abhorrent, something so looked down upon, so reviled, I can feel myself wanting to throw up. But I keep him running.
    I come back to Sumiko. The skittling sound is gone. Officer Delera, his partner and four crawlers are exiting the building, heading in the direction of Officer Cearley.
    Sumiko, we have to move. I’ve called them away, but —
    Slip .
    ***
    My eyes open to a female with a hawkish nose that turns up at the tip standing over me. I feel like I should know her.
    She says, “Watcher Emre, welcome back. Tell me, how did it go?”
    Watcher Emre? I fight panic down. Where is Branden? My chest rises and falls, my breasts are flat, that’s not right, is it? No, it’s not. I am a Watcher. I’m a man. I am Emre.
    Oh, shit. I went too deep.
    “Watcher Emre?” Another woman with short raven hair comes to stand next to her.
    They’re familiar, but I can’t place them. Damn, my head hurts. I give a great sigh that’s not acting at all. “My head …”
    Hawk Nose says, “Watcher Emre, report.”
    I wave my hand in genuine confusion. I’m not sure what’s going on. I catch Hawk Nose sharing a look with Raven Hair. She says, “What is your name?”
    I can’t answer.
    “What is the last thing you remember?”
    “I— I—”
    “The last thing you remember!”
    “The crawlers, they were leaving. Following after Cearley. Sumiko—”
    “Sumiko?” Hawk Nose exchanges a surprised look with Raven Hair.
    “You went to Evaga?”
    “Yes.”
    “You were supposed to go to Strata.”
    “I did.”
    “Did Strata know about the events on Evaga?”
    “No.”
    “How