After fighting with Leo and Emily about letting Mark come along-they eventually relented, much to my surprise-I find myself standing outside, notebook in one hand, locket open in the palm of the other. Momma. Poppa. Artie. I study each of their faces, noting the happiness of the pictures, even the wedding picture. Sixteen years ago, if I remember correctly. Sixteen years, they had gotten married, and now...for all I know, they're both dead. I know Poppa is.

All last night, I had nonstop nightmares. Right now, I don't remember them too well. Except there were explosions. And blood. And lots of screaming. I think I screamed too, but nobody came to check on me. Eventually, I gave up on sleep and curled up in a ball under the covers and sang to myself a combination of Azeran and human songs. I had dozed off a little, but not for long. Instead, I had gotten up and made of list of everything I had to discuss with the ETL in my notebook.

Every time I hear tires go by the house, I glance up quickly, then back down as the occasional car goes up the road. After twenty minutes of this, I watch a blank white van pull into our driveway. "This the Everett's residence?" the driver asks, sticking his head out of the window. His rough voice sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it.

"No, they live in the shed out back," I reply sarcastically.

The man drapes his arm out of the van window. "Are you Callie?"

"Well, I think so."

The man seems to be immune to sarcasm. "We spoke on the phone yesterday," he says, stretching out his hand. I make no move to shake it. "I'm Joe."

"How common. I know Joes from where I'm from."

"How about you go get your foster parents so we can get this show on the road and talk more freely?" Joe asks, a tad impatiently.

"Will do," I say, opening the front door to call, "Emily! Leo! Our chauffeur's here!" 

"On the phone, you seemed very nervous," Joe notes. "What changed between now and then?"

Oh-that's where I know him, I think. I spoke with him on the phone.

I don't know how to answer his question, so I say, "Ummm..." then turn around to call back into the house, "Emily! Mark!"

"The other kid's coming?" Joe asks nonchalantly. Or what seems to be nonchalance.

"Yes," I say curtly. "The other kid is coming."

Joe raises his hands in a show of innocence, but before he can verbally claim it, Emily comes out of the house while clutching her purse, followed by Mark and Leo, the latter of which looking extremely irritated.

"Hop on in," Joe says as one of the van doors slides open on its own. I frown in confusion until Mark leans over and whispers, "He just pressed a button in the van. It's okay."

I purse my lips and climb into the van, sliding into farthest seat. Leo sits next to me, and Emily and Mark climb into the back row. Joe pulls out of the driveway and we're on our way-whether good or bad, I don't know.

Silence envelops the car for a good several minutes, until Joe clears his throat. "Is it alright if I put the radio on?" he asks.

"I don't care," I mutter with a shrug. Joe takes that as a yes, and the van is filled with what I believe is rock music. "If he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you. You know I still love you, though we touched and went our separate ways..."

"Good song," Leo comments.

"Good station in general," Joe agrees. "Hey, Callie, what kind of music do you like?"

"Azeran."

Leo tilts his head at me. "Huh?"

I suddenly remember that I never did tell Leo everything. Although I'm still a little hurt by the fact he snooped, I feel like I should fill him in anyways. It takes up a lot of the ride, since he has a lot of questions.

"So, this Tara...sorry, Tura...is another dimension?"

"If there's a rift in our backyard, how come none of us knew?"

"So you can't just use it go back?" 

"How do you plan on getting home, then?"

"You're expecting your enemy to give you a ride?"

"How would I know you're being sarcastic? So you don't think you're going home?"

"Leo, would you leave the poor girl alone?"

I'm thankful for Emily's interjection. Frankly, I hadn't thought about getting home in the past three months. Simon had said he'd bring me home, to my family, when he finished with me. But he made that deal to my father, and Poppa's dead. So I don't know if he'll keep his promise. But thanks to Leo's questions, I'm now debating whether or not I can get home.

"We'll make sure you get home, Callie," Joe says unexpectedly from the front seat. I lean forward to look at his face to make sure he isn't joking. He looks at me and gives me a small smile. "We probably could've done it sooner, if you'd let us."

"I was afraid," I whisper.

"Come here, sweetie," Leo says, pulling me back and wrapping both arms around my shoulders. I cringe at the pet name. I've always hated them. Back at the Training Base, James used to use them all the time just to annoy me. In return, I purposely peppered my sentences with swear words. But I just let Leo hug me.

I wish James were here. I had loved the man like a child loves her father. He would know how to comfort me. He'd know what to do, what predicament I was in. No matter what I tell my foster family, I know they won't truly understand the situation until they're up shit creek without a paddle.

It's three hours, in the van. Soon the radio station gets static-y, and Joe flips through stations to find another. But the only thing we can get is a fuzzy talk station, and he shuts it off. "Damn mountains," he mutters. "Callie, I'm sure you don't have this problem on...your planet."

"Azera," I say. "And we do not have radio."

"What do you have?" Joe asks.

"Computers. Books. Recorded music isn't popular. We like it live."

"Really? I've never found live music enjoyable."

"Concerts are huge on Azera. But I haven't seen any since I was five."

Joe looks at me in the review mirror. "You know any Azeran songs?"

I know one, but I'm not gonna be able to sing it without crying. So I shrug. "I was little."

"You must know one," Joe urges me.

"I don't want to sing."

Joe shrugs. "Alright. Just thought I'd ask."

I turn my focus to the window. I see a sign for Philadelphia briefly before Joe turns onto a dirt road so well hidden I hardly noticed it. For five minutes, we're bounced around as the van rolls over rocks and roots. Then it changes to pavement, and signs begin popping up: Government territory! Turn back now!

"What happens if we don't?" Mark asks. I jump; I forgot he was there.

"Arrest," Joe says simply. "Once we pull up to the gate, the van will be searched, FYI."

He's not wrong. At the gate, we have to get out as two security guards search the van inside and out, even though it was issued by the ETL. They give us a nod of approval and we pile back in. One minute and turn later, I see it.

"Welcome to the Extra Terrestrial Laboratories," Joe announces.

A/N: The song on the radio is "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey. I choose it specifically because it has a tie to this series, even though it has nothing to do with this particular chapter. I choose it because I wrote Callie+Amacus's first kiss to that song. Just a fun fact.