Flores Greens was an old sub-city. Older than most, and stranger than most. That is what Marina had always been told. And the sub-city was no stranger to disappearances. In her head, Marina knew this. But being aware and being prepared were two very different things. She had never truly expected her little sister to go missing. Nor was she prepared to face the reality of it.

By now, Tess had been gone for nearly five days. The authorities hadn't started looking for her until a full day after she'd missed Bug's vet appointment. Marina paced back and forth across her kitchen, biting her nails. She hadn't been in to work since day two after Tess went missing. Uncle Fred had asked her to close Ritty's Pharmacy until further notice. Together, she and her family had canvassed nearly the entirety of Flores Greens. They'd gone door-to-door, asking for any news about Tess's whereabouts until the very tired police chief had asked them to stop. They had to wait. Marina, however, did not appreciate being told to wait. She needed to do something. And if she could not address the situation directly, the next best thing to do would be to preoccupy herself.

No more pacing. Marina leaned against her kitchen sink. She stopped biting her nails and furrowed her brow. A single, curled lock of hair fell across her forehead. If she must wait for news of her sister, then what else could she do?

Connor's parlin?

Marina straightened up. Of course! Connor had promised to return for his full prescription refill, and that stubborn man still hadn't come back! In fact, when Uncle Fred had reached out to their clients to notify them of the pharmacy's closure, he had been unable to contact Connor. Marina bit her nails again. Connor should have ordered enough parlin to get him through the next few days, but here was yet another thing to worry her. She gave a disgusted sigh and strode towards her door. Tess was being dealt with. Tess would be found. She would be alive and fine, and had probably just gotten lost taking a short-cut down some access tunnel. Marina had to reassure herself of this. She couldn't afford to think further on the matter of her sister.

She'd had her hand on the doorknob and was ready to leave her apartment when, for some silly reason, Marina paused and looked down. She was still wearing the same fluffy slippers and rumpled grey dress that she'd had on for the past two days. Marina released the doorknob as if it had suddenly become quite hot. She couldn't meet a customer in this state! And she was particularly keen to avoid having Connor see her like this. She must first get dressed. There. That was yet another thing to do. It was something to keep her busy.

It took Marina mere minutes to don a new, clean dress – dusty blue this time – and a bit of dark lipstick. Detangling her curls could wait, so she tucked her hair under a kerchief, slipped on a pair of low grey pumps, and out the door she went. She had never visited Connor's apartment, so Ritty's Pharmacy would have to be her first stop. His address should be kept on file somewhere on their datalog.

The hall that she strode down was quiet. Marina was an early riser, and the time was only 04:15. The hall lights were still dim, and the only sound to be heard were her heels clicking rapidly across the floor tiles. It took very little time to arrive at her family's pharmacy.

It was a strange feeling, standing in front of its shuttered window. The brass sconces on either side of it were left dark. This hadn't happened since her grandmother had died – and that had been years ago. The Ritty family had taken a week to mourn, and then it was back to the pharmacy for them. Business as usual. Or as close to "usual" as could possibly have been. Marina had been only seventeen at that time and hadn't even begun university yet. She had been eager to return to work. The pharmacy provided a sense of structure and normalcy. Because what was she without this place? It was good work and a good way to manage her grief.

Losing her grandmother had been difficult, but expected. There were no wandering questions, no desperate hopes, no "what-if's." There were long, sleepless nights of sadness, and then acceptance. This time was different. This time, Marina was lost in limbo.

With a light huff, Marina shook herself from her thoughts and squared her shoulders, heading for the pharmacy door. She held her shae band to the reader above the doorknob, and after a faint click, the door swung inward. There was a light switch just inside the door frame that Marina flicked on to illuminate the pharmacy. Everything was still just as she'd left it, right down to the broken mug she'd thrown across the room in a flash of anger. Its ceramic shards still littered the floor near the door to the back room.

Marina frowned. Now that she thought of it, one of those shards wasn't just broken – it was crushed. Almost as if someone had stepped on it. And that someone certainly hadn't been her. Nor had it been Uncle Fred or anyone else in her family. She had been the last one here to lock up.

The front room of Ritty's Pharmacy was far too small to hide anyone. And it would be quite difficult to enter without a shae band that had the proper access codes. The pharmacy door had still been locked when she arrived, hadn't it? Perhaps she was imagining things. Even so, Marina still slid out of her heels and crept barefoot towards the pharmacy's back room, carefully avoiding the broken bits of ceramic.

The door to the back room was still slightly ajar, just as Marina had left it. Although, now that she was scrutinizing it more closely, it did look as if it were open a hair more than it should have been. She stood outside it with bated breath, listening carefully. Not a single peep could be heard from the back room. Quickly, she flicked out her hand to tap the door open further. It swung silently on well-oiled hinges, and she stepped back, ready to make a run for it.

Still, there was nothing.

Marina waited a moment more. Time seemed to pass at an excruciating pace, and so she crept towards the door once more, finally poking her head into the back room. It was too dark to see, so she flicked on the light switch and then gasped, heart in her throat.

It took a moment to recognize him, but in the corner stood Connor Rocha. He grimaced.

"Shit," he breathed.

"Language, Connor," snapped Marina. The response was automatic for her. Connor's appearance here had stunned her. She needed to gather her bearings.

Connor's left arm hung loosely at his side. He was gripping it with his free hand and had used his jumpsuit's sleeves to tie the lame arm to his torso. His long, sinewy arms were left bare. Only a thin, white undershirt covered his chest. It was soaked with sweat. Dried blood plastered the side of his face, and his long, ruddy brown hair was a tangled mess. His clothes and hands were burned, and he was missing his shae band. At his feet sat an opened box of bandages.

It took Marina mere moments to make note of all of this before adding brusquely, "How did you get in here?"

There was yet another grimace from Connor. He let go of his bad arm and fished something out of his pocket. It was a shae band.

"Your sister lent me this," he said.

Marina sagged against the doorframe.

"Tess?" she said. She stared at him incredulously, and then the questions came tumbling from her mouth faster than she could stop them. "You've seen her? Why? How? Where is she? Why hasn't she come home? Why isn't she here?"

Connor waited for her to quiet down before speaking. He'd gone back to gripping his bad arm, and there was an odd stiffness in the way he stood. His answers were short and to the point. He swayed on his feet.

"Yes. It's a long story. She's in the tunnels, and she got burned. That good enough for now?"

No – no, it really wasn't enough. Marina wanted immediate answers. The tunnels? Did he mean the access tunnels that the mechanics and engineers always used? She could taste the temptation to press him further, but stopped short. More than anything, she wanted her sister. And she knew Connor well enough. He was honest, and he would tell her all that she'd need to know in due time.

"Take me to her," she said.

"That's not a good idea," was Connor's response.

"I don't care."

Connor met her gaze and held it for a long time. Then, he grunted and looked away.

"Fine," he said. "Whatever. Just tell me you've got a good filter mask on hand."

Yes, of course Marina had filter masks in the pharmacy. Medical professionals and even construction workers would occasionally require them for especially hazardous situations. But it was an odd request, and it set her even more on edge.

"For access tunnels?" she asked, "What sort of trouble have you two –"

"Tess isn't in the access tunnels. She's stuck outside of Heart."