Chapter 3#

   Blurens thoughts of the messenger were imideatly replaced with alarm. They had found her? How? She had always been so secretive, and hadn't told anyone but Tara about the project and the plans. She knew Tara was trustworthy, Tara had been her closest friend for as long as she could remember, and had even helped her with Bethany's project.y

   Tara's expression was mixed with shock, curiosity, and pity. "Well...should I read it?" Bluren asked. "I guess." Tara said wearily. The parchment cracked when Bluren unfolded it. The letter was hand written in perfect handwriting, and was sealed with the same letter "M" imprinted in blood red wax. The notice was shorter then Bluren expected.

                       Bluren Steelman, Child 475,

The Masters Head Quarters demands your presence at the head quarters on 5-13. Consequences will be dier if these instructions are not heeded.

               -The Head Of Masters

   As soon as she finished reading, Bluren felt nauseous. "I- I can't." She told Tara, stuttering. She new where the masters head quarters was, she road by every day on her way to work. It was a gargantuin glass building, mysterious, with intimidating fences, and people in purple cargo pants and grey shirts on patrol around the front of the building. Tara frowned "Well maybe they don't know. It didn't say what you had to report about, so maybe is somthing compleatly unrelated", she said, but she still sounded doubtful. "Working for the Masters requires me to come and report at their headquarters sometimes. It's really not that bad, a lot of security, and a little crowded, but other then that, it's just a big building." Tara was trying to be comforting, but Bluren still felt like her insides were being squeezed.

   "This is exactly what Bethany didn't want." said Bluren, more to herself then anyone else "But," her mind reminded her "She also said its time to be brave."

•------------------------------------------------------------------------------------•

   Bluren and Tara were both late to work. They had spent time making a plan on how to react to the Masters message. The idea was, that Tara would time her work, so that she would do her Masters report on the same day Bluren went in for "questioning", as they called it, for moral support, mostly. Bluren would answer their questions honestly, and if they asked of her inventions, she would just talk of her other inventions, and not the dimond. Then, after the questioning, her and Tara would discuss what happened, why they needed her, and what they would do next.

   Only three days remained until Bluren was to go before the masters. She was distracted from work, but not from Bethany's invention. Bluren spent almost all her free time rereading instructions, refitting pieces, and testing it out. Sometimes she got frustrated when she did this, for you see, Bethany never specified what the invention was to do. She only said "In this package are instructions to a mechanism that will bring down the dome connection" She had stressed that this project was important and that she must finish it because the vanishing had gone too far. She also said she wished that she could spare Bluren the risk of completing it. Had Bethany had just assumed she would figure it out on her own? Bluren also liked to think that Bethany left out what the invention did on perpouse to keep it secret from dangerous people. That theory made it seem like Bethany wasn't trying to leave Bluren in the dark, which she appreciated. Domes? What risk? So far the dimond didn't seem to do anything but glow and sometimes shiver, which was strange.

   Two days past, tomorrow Bluren would meet the masters. They hadent told her when to come, so she would go during her break and hope they hadent been expecting her earlier. Ciri was confident that he would inherit the bakery, and Emi became more anxious every day, what with her vanishing coming soon. Bluren felt sorry for her. She had done nothing to deserve a vanishing that Bluren knew of. It would be sad to see her go. Emi had known Bethany and kindly gave Bluren a job, and a good one at that, so she could support herself after Bethany was gone. Bluren had thought of asking Emi if she knew the perpouse if Bethany's invention, but abandoned the idea for fear she wouldn't know and ask more questions, which Bethany  wouldn't have wanted.

   After a long day at the shop, Bluren pedaled home. As she was passing the Masters head quarters, she stopped to look at the place she would be visiting the next day. It was the same tall, with blackish looking glass, and doors all around the bottom. There was a guard at each door. "I will have to bring my letter to prove I need to come in." She thought. As she pedaled home, there was no possible way she could have known that this would be one of the last times she would.