Without thinking about it, Sylvie had breezed out of the two small cities and onto the quiet rural route that headed east towards Virginia Beabsp; She didn’t like that somehow she’d gotten into an auto-pilot mode and while her bike slipped through traffic with the greatest of ease, Sylvie decided to focus otle newscast that An had presented her before she left. “Code?”

  “Query?” Was the immediate answer from the AI.

  “Strange news, starting with the video game death a few days ago.” Sylvie slipped between a pair of slow moving cars and chuckled to herself. “Put up a time to arrive in the dispy, please.”

  “Added features on the dispy will affect vision by two pert, deying the arrival by..” Code stopped when Sylvie spoke again.

  “Fine. Give me an update betweeraicles you find.” Sylvie sighed and passed a semi that was also going over the speed limit. Glowing softly within her dispy, Sylvie kept the taeter from going into the red while maintaining the speed she had told Code she’d be doing. “I am terrible at math, Code. you tell me how long on average we will be on the road?”

  “Not ating for stru or weather, the trip from start to finish takes forty-five minutes.” Code stopped for a moment, “Strange news. Boston, Massachusetts..”

  Laughing to herself for the ck of detail, Sylvie stopped the little puter. “..Keep the strange news within an area of fifty miles around my home, including Rid.” Ign a red proximity warning, Sylvie took great pleasure iing her reflexes by narrowly going past a car that had merged into her hout any indication that it would happen. “Restart Strange News.”

  “Beginning with video game death.” Code paused, “Associated Press release. College student dies pying a video game non-stop for over one hundred and twenty-five hours. Initial report cites dehydration as the cause.” Code paused. “Unused eyewitness at of the person’s eyes wide open and pletely bbsp; Unused description, Bck lines covered the male subject’s cheeks as though he was g. No further report.”

  -An, why is this so important to you and how the hell is this my problem?-

  Sylvie circled her way onto arip of highway and gunned her motorcycle once more. Merging into the six ne highway, she whizzed by the small pack of trucks and cars that built up he entrance ramp. “Code, keep going.”

  “Associated Press with jun of Chesterfield and Rid police task force, still warning citizens about the o travel in groups of two or more while ‘The Cross Killer’ is still at rge.”

  “Code, give me more on the Cross Killer. I don’t know the reference.” Sylvie knew she got a little too close to a mirror on a car when her leather jacket almost ed itself around an egg like protrusion then snapped bato pbsp; Moments ter, her HUD began giving e alerts for the first stru zone.

  -Let’s get crazy.-

  Timing so that she found a break ial road barrier, Sylvie angled her heavy duty mae so that she ended up oher side of the road with oning traffibsp; While able to swing and mahrough the rushing traffiing at her, Sylvie didn’t want to take the ce that she would scare the drivers any more than necessary and decided to stay in the small emergene. With the help of the HUD, Sylvie knew down to the yard where the stru zone would end and open road in her dire would be avaible.

  “Cross Killer. Named for the fasation of the murderer to affix his or her victims on a crucifix. Currently twelve deaths are associated. Deemed Serial killer.” Code stopped rep, “Estimated fifteen miinia Beach City limits. Total current travel time, thirty minutes. Adjusted for avoidance of stru zones.”

  Finally ba her side of the highway, Sylvie hadn’t realized how fast time had passed. Leaning her bike low and to the right, she took the fi and onto the straight se of the highway that would take her directly to the ofront. “So much fun. Code, keep going.” Sylvie paused, “Dey that, do you have the ability to call someone?”

  “Phone unication avaibility via the I is possible. Query?” Code waited for input.

  Sylvie didn’t hesitate, “Jennifer Rivers. I o speak to her.” Less than thirty seds passed before Sylvie heard the worried voice of a mother.

  “Sylvie? The caller ID only gave your initials.. SM. I almost didn’t pick up. Please tell me it’s you.” Jennifer’s voice sounded desperate.

  “Yes, Miss Rivers. I am nearly in Virginia Beabsp; I am headed to where I think Casey is, I got…well.. a feeling.” Sylvie slowed down to a normal speed when the highway stopped and turo a two ne road. “I think she is visiting a grave site, someone named Linda Stone.”

  Sighing deeply, Jennifer’s voice softened with the familiar sound of the vampire oher end. “She’s been gone for about a day. I don’t know where she eve st night.” Jennifer paused, “Oh, Linda. That was her college roommate. I was so worried, but afraid to tact the police given her past with them.” A long silence made the call almost unfortable. “Sylvie, take care of my baby. She’s going through something, and she’s not telling me everything. Maybe she will open up to you.”

  “When I find her, I will do as you ask.” Sylvie stopped at a stop sign, “I might have to get her out of Virginia Beach, will that bother you?” Looking both ways, Sylvie turned right and followed the night vision into a darker part of the Beach. “So many memories here for her to process.”

  Jeook another long breath, “Sylvie, it doesn’t bother me at all. Things with her ged the night she met Vivienne. It’s almost like she doesn’t belong in the normal world anymore.” Sniffling and clearihroat, Jennifer added, “I am alright with her decisions, they aren’t mio make. Just…just make sure my daughter is..”

  “Like you said, I will take care of her the best I .” Sylvie idled her way to one of the cemetery’s closed gates. “Martin will be there to collect her things and take them to my house, if that is alright with you?”

  “That is fine, Sylvie. Really she didn’t have anything except a small bag and one suitcase. It was like she didn’t io stay anywhere long.” Jennifer cautiously mentioned. “You don’t think she is going to hurt herself, do you?”

  Sylvie took a deep breath and shut off her motorcycle. “I won’t let that happen. Jennifer, I am at the gate now, let me take care of this.” She waited for a polite goodbye before she asked ‘Code’ to disect the call.

  “Arrived at the requested destination. One female human subject is detected beyond the gate. Vital statistics avaible upon request.” Code fell silent.

  Unstrapping her helmet and pg it on the deep blue gas tank of her bike, Sylvie smiled at the little i blinking quietly in her vision. “Thank you for your assistance, I think you should power down at this point.” Sylvie spoke to her AI friend as though it were alive. Fluffing out her blue-gray short hair, Sylvie waited a few seds as the lenses powered down.

  Guessing that the iron gate and apanyi wall were roughly thirty feet high, Sylvie half-crouched aically leapt over the arrow pointed gate and nded without a sound oher side.

  Making her way silently to where her vision showed her, Sylvie’s hidden third eye opened and matched the premonition with the present. Squatting down in front of the polished stone, Sylvie set the pink grahat Amber gave her on the edge of the memorial. “Casey?”

  Tossing back the thin hood that protected her curly auburn hair, Casey looked up into her friend's moon-shifting eyes. “S-Sylvie? It’s really you.” Casey wiped a few tears from her cheeks. “I don’t know what I am doing.”

  Tug a few strands of Casey’s hair behind her ears, Sylvie shrugged. “Not many of us do.” She tried to lighten the mood, and poio the grave. “The simple answer is that you are paying respect to Linda.” She paused for a breath, “Your mother said you hadn’t been back to her pce for the st day or so. Tell me what’s going on.” Having long sehe presence of dried and fresh blood on Casey, Sylvie tilted her head and noticed that her friend’s blouse was mostly in ribbons with the wounds visible. “What happened here?” Sylvie touched the thin fabric.