Venessa turns around in her bed and screams when she sees Avonari’s face hanging upside-down and smiling at her.

  Venessa: Avonari, you scared the heck out of me! Don’t do that!

  Avonari flips and lands standing on the ground: Oops, sorry! You know, I used to do the same thing whenever a human’s face caught me by surprise.

  Venessa: Wait, shouldn’t you be at school?

  Avonari: Cory says I’m grounded. I guess that means I get a break from school. Yay!

  Venessa: No, being grounded is a punishment. Why are you grounded with me?

  Avonari: I ran after you when those buildings exploded, remember? So, why’s it called being “grounded” anyway?

  Venessa: I don’t know. Maybe…they’re trying to keep you from flying away? As in escaping? You’re basically on house arrest.

  Avonari: So, I can watch…

  Venessa: Nope, Cory probably took away you’re Marvel movies, too.

  Avonari: Dang it! What’s the point of staying home from school if you can’t have fun?!

  Venessa: That’s why it’s called a “punishment” and not “happy fun time”.

  Avonari: Ugh! Well, can we leave home at all?

  Venessa: Only to go to the Keeper headquarters.

  Avonari: Okay, that’s fun!

  Venessa: Fun?! That place is nerve-wracking!

  Avonari: Well, I like the Resting Bay. It’s so amazing! Oh, and none of the members of the Cyclone Sector are human! They’re like me!

  Venessa gets out of her bed and picks her clothes out for the day: I don’t think you and the Cyclone Sector are as similar as you think. What Sector are you in?

  Avonari: I’ll be a Sea Sector Keeper. And you wear red, so you’re in the Flame Sector. I heard it’s really challenging to become a Keeper when you’re in the Flame Sector, but I’m sure you’ll do fine.

  Venessa laughs nervously: Thanks, Avonari.

  After Venessa gets ready for the day, she heads downstairs where Annelise has breakfast on the table.

  Annelise:(to Venessa) Get your coat when you’re done eating. It’s cold outside.

  Venessa perks up: Are you busting me out?!

  Annelise laughs: No, I’m not busting you out! You’re going to the headquarters with me.

  Venessa’s face falls: But you hardly ever go to headquarters.

  Annelise smiles: That’s not exactly true, Venessa. I go there a lot. I’m usually busy with something there, so you don’t see me as much.

  Venessa: Why do I have to go? Why can’t Avonari go?

  Avonari perks up: Yeah, I’d like to go.

  Cory steps in: You’re gonna be helping me sort files at home.

  Avonari: Darn! Sorting files is boring!

  Cory: Well, getting hurt isn’t fun either! Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you both rushed out of the car.

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  Avonari: I was trying to talk Venessa out of it!

  Cory: But you still got out of the car!

  Annelise flinches a bit: Cory, calm down.

  Cory collects himself: Avonari will be staying home with me, and Venessa will be going with you to headquarters. Okay.

  After Venessa grabs her coat, she and Annelise say goodbye to Cory and Avonari before heading out. Once they arrive at headquarters, they’re immediately greeted by their fellow Keepers. The two of them head to the second floor.

  Venessa: Annelise, did you know there’s a secret, unlabelled room over there? *she points to it*

  Annelise smiles: Yes, I did.

  Venessa: Have you been in there?

  Annelise nods: Many times.

  Venessa: Are you gonna tell me what’s in there?

  Annelise: You’ll find out one day, trust me.

  Venessa sighs as she and Annelise enter the room with the projection of the World Sphere. Many Cyclone Sector Keepers are working and speaking to each other in the Bridge-dweller language.

  Venessa: Are we gonna get in trouble for being in the headquarters without a uniform?

  Annelise shakes her head: Only if we’re on active missions, and it’s a case-by-case thing.

  Venessa looks around: Are we supposed to be in here?

  Annelise nods: I’m allowed in here, and you’re under my supervision. Now…

  She pulls Venessa’s school tablet out of her bag.

  Annelise: You’ll want to stay up to date on your schoolwork.

  Venessa groans and takes the tablet. Her schoolwork is pretty light, mostly studying for tests and reading her assigned chapters of Frankenstein for English class. Venessa finishes her homework in about an hour and a half and puts her tablet away. She overhears Annelise talking to one of the Bridge-dwellers in their language.

  Venessa:(to Annelise) I didn’t know you spoke Cyclonese.

  Annelise laughs: Cyclonese?! Is that what you call Jhanyoruich? Or did Avonari come up with that?

  Venessa: No, I came up with it.

  She looks at the projection of the World Sphere. The Vast, which looked like a large, electric blue hurricane (the largest hurricane Venessa had ever seen) last time at the headquarters, is now an electric blue film floating somewhat calmly around the pink Bridge.

  Venessa: The Vast doesn’t look very Vast-y today.

  Annelise: Really? How so?

  Venessa: It looked like a super-hurricane the last time I saw it.

  The Bridge-dweller that Annelise was talking to steps over to the projection.

  Felandrul:(in perfect English) Hold on, there are times when our machine can’t measure changes in the Vast fast enough. Many times.

  Felandrul presses the reload button on the metal hologram stand, and the projection flickers before stabilizing again. Now, the Vast is still mostly calm, but now it has a few rotating spirals in different places. It seems to move almost intentionally around the Bridge. It doesn’t orbit, but moves in many different directions.

  Venessa:(to Felandrul) Is the Vast alive? Dortor said it was almost alive the other day.

  Felandrul nods silently.

  Annelise: Yes. Yes, the Vast is alive.

  The three of them stare at the projection.

  Venessa: How can anything live in there if…if it’s alive?

  Felandrul: Nothing lives in the Vast. To step beyond the Bridge and into the Vast brings death. But…

  Venessa: What? What is it?

  Felandrul: That’s not necessarily true if it’s the other way around.

  Venessa: What are you talking about?

  Annelise: If the Vast entered the Bridge and the Core, like what happened years ago.

  Venessa watches the living storm on the edge of the Bridge.

  Venessa: What…is it?

  Felandrul: The Vast, the only one of its kind.

  Venessa: Why does it look like that?

  Annelise: Like what?

  Venessa: Like a storm or sky. Why does it look like that?

  Felandrul: The Vast has no form except the one that it chooses to take. This is what the Vast looks like without a form.

  Venessa nods: Okay. So, when you’re one of Dortor’s people, right?

  Felandrul laughs: Yes, I’m a Bridge-dweller.

  Venessa: How did you…I don’t know…keep the Vast at bay when you lived in the Bridge.

  Felandrul: That’s an interesting question, Venessa. We didn’t try to appease the Vast.

  Venessa: Then, why aren’t you dead? Wouldn’t it have killed you?

  Felandrul shakes his head: The Vast could have taken our lives, yes. But it chose not to. Instead, it gave us the Veils, the places where the border between the Bridge and the Vast was thinnest. Where we could ask for counsel, but didn’t dare to speak.