Dani’s POV

“She wasn’t there. I’m sorry. We only left for a moment but she disappeared. I don’t even know how she got past the lock spot if she hasn’t agreed to a deal with you yet.”

I found myself on the verge of one of the worst headaches in history. First, Aly dies only AFTER losing her Time-Table in the face of a Hollyday. Then, my father had to come for a visit to investigate the kid and I had to lie about it. Now, that very same kid is missing from a secure room all because I forgot she already has my pseudo-authority embedded in her and could unlock the blasted door! 

“This day cannot get any worse…”

“Director?”

I look up to see Sherri with a weary look hiding behind her glasses, probably sensing my distress. She’s been my secretary for a few decades now so she’s pretty good at knowing when I’m at my worst.

“Alright. Well, you weren’t gone for long so she couldn’t have left the building. Did you alert the guards?”

“No, I wanted to check with you first.”

“Good, we don’t need to have the whole place going on alert for one person. Have a couple of people ask around to see if anyone has seen a kid who looks like a new recruit.”

“I’ll do it right away, director.”

“Thank you, Sherri.”

Sherri walks out of the office, but just once, looks back at me before going through the door. Once she’s gone, I can’t help but sink in front of my desk, not even bothering to sit in a chair. 

It’s one thing after another with this child. 

I’m going to have to figure this out the old fashion way.

I get up from my sloppy position and go around my desk to my middle drawer. I unlock it with a touch by sending my signature manna through the latch. I pull out the drawer and go underneath the false bottom. I reach into the secret compartment and pull out Aly’s file— her real file. 

Underneath her file are two others. One for someone with the last name Kerioth and another with the last name Shaifer. 

If I just came into the territory of a Host, where would I go?

I flip through her file to get a better grasp on this teenager’s mind. There’s already a good couple of places to look in her 50 page file. These things always record what thought process led people to their decisions and she has made quite a lot of them through saving souls. 

She’s smart so she looks for opportunity. 

I flip through a few more pages.

She adapts to a given situation fairly quickly and then adds that adaptation to her plans if they fail. 

I don’t pay too much attention to the urgency of the matter as the time ticks by. She’s stuck in my territory after all. The only way out is if she uses one of the pathways which I highly doubt she knows anything about. 

I continue reading.

She’s selfless to a fault and puts personal gain after the well being of others. 

After rereading what she thought through for the final day of her life I weigh my findings. 

Aly cares for those around her with a mature enough mindset, way past that of a normal 17 year old girl. Given that she’s saved plenty of souls from their accidental and momentary deaths through her own intervention and has also experienced her own fair share of hardships, that's to be expected. She has had to grow up fast. Because of that, she’s able to act on each opportunity without hesitation, knowing what it’ll cost her if she lets the timing go by. She adapts her plans accordingly, never being set in stone but being pliant. 

I can’t help but smile at the facts. 

This girl has turned out to be simply outrageous.

However, because of her speedy conclusions she always forgets one thing: what would become of herself after the goal has been met. 

Not only that but her selflessness is to the point of cluelessness at times which can lead her into mortal danger or become severely wounded in the process. 

Like today…

I close her file and quickly pace through my near infinite mind to come up with some direction as to where she would head in LIMBO. But I soon come up blank myself because I’m missing one piece of the puzzle. 

What exactly did Jessica say to her before I came in? Whatever the exchange, that must have been her reason to act. 

I’m left with only one option.

Let's go find Jessica. 

I place my right pointer finger on my forehead and my left hand flat on my desk. Shifting manna through the two points of contact I search for my Grim within all of LIMBO. I’m always able to tell where someone with my full authority is, but finding someone with only a pseudo-authority is harder, especially with the sheer volume of people who die that come here to LIMBO. It’s like that old human saying about needles and haystacks.

With the entire map of LIMBO flashing in my mind, I’m able to see her particular manna storehouse glowing against the rest of my Grim. 

I stand and walk towards the door. Walking the halls may be better in helping to find Aly rather than taking the express route to Jessica. 

After all, we may just run into each other.