"They say the ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME," Emily sang as she walked with Elijah.
Her feet echoed underneath the hardwood flooring while subtle baroque rhythms reverberated in the museum. Portraits of previous PRIMEs aligned the wall while statues stood center stage, bathed in natural sunlight. The scent of fresh citrus, perfume, paint, and Elijah's cigarette smoke lingered in the air. Emily's hands grazed over a portrait of the ENGINE staring down at a previous PRIME standing on top of a mountain.
"They say the ENGINE chooses the worthy, finds the PRIME. But I'm no PRIME."
Elijah exhaled a cloud of smoke and then flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Kid, you're the most pessimistic person I've ever met."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Well, what do you expect, sourpuss? I am homeless, an orphan…. I got mental issues from childhood trauma, and I probably got some personality disorder to boot."
"Not any longer."
"Were you listening?"
"I was. You're not homeless anymore."
"And the other stuff I said?"
"Oh yeah, your head is really messed up. No denying that."
"You were supposed to emphasize, you dipshit."
"Eh, I think you got under control. I saw all types of fucked up shit in my life, and for what you've been through, you came out alright."
"Thanks?"
"For what it's worth, you get to live like a queen until the pilgrimage."
Emily stopped walking. "This mask changes nothing. What use is luxury when I can't escape the ENGINE?"
"Well, you don't have an empty stomach because of it?"
"If you think that I am thankful, you are sorely mistaken. The only thing I want to do is make sure it doesn't get what it wants."
"Well, at least you're just not assuming your fodder."
"Rachel and I decided to team up, by the way. Strength in numbers in all that stuff."
"No surprise there."
"Is it really that obvious?"
"As obvious as my cigarette addiction."
Emily snickered.
"That Shiyu woman is unfortunately tagging along. She won't leave me alone," Emily whispered as she saw Shiyu following her from a distance.
"So is this the part where you try to recruit me to your merry party?"
Emily crossed her arms. "Kinda yeah."
"I'll think about it."
"Oh, yeah... um, that's fine."
Elijah chuckled. "I am just kidding, kid... lighten up. I was tagging along anyway."
"I will lighten up when I can get this stupid mask off my face. Like, how the fuck am I supposed to wash my face with this shit?"
"Good point, imagine getting an infection underneath that thing?"
"Gross... just like your smoking habit."
Elijah chuckled and exhaled smoke at her.
Emily waved the smoke out of her face. "You think you're funny? Oh, that reminds me, we need to pick up our clothes from Ashley."
"Where is Rachel, by the way?"
Emily shrugged, then stopped at a marble statue of the seventh PRIME. A grizzled, muscular man in a leather jacket and camo jeans. Resistance tattoos covered his arms while he wielded a heavy Gatling gun.
"Cameron Wallace, born in the small town of Avalanche. He became the seventh PRIME in the year 700. He was an Ether miner and resistance fighter in his mortal life. We celebrate Cameron PRIME," Elijah read as he smoked.
"He looks cool," Emily said.
"Random fact: I am related to him."
"You are kidding?"
Elijah shook his head. "He is apparently my great, great, great, great, great. Damn, lost count, how many great's was that again?"
"Too damn many."
"Well, you get the idea."
"Well, he got the whole fuck the system vibe about him... except he became the system."
"Or maybe the system became better?" Shiyu asked, walking up to them. "We can't get rid of the system any more than we can breathe in space."
"Or maybe we figure out how to do that?" Emily replied.
Shiyu laughed. "You would defy the sun, Emily."
"I'll defy the damn universe."
"And that's perhaps why the ENGINE marked you."
"You talk about the ENGINE like it's some all-knowing entity and not some extremely powerful machine chilling in the sky. We just need to punch it really hard."
Elijah laughed. "Vivid imagination there, kid, but I would be more concerned about surviving the pilgrimage than trying to punch something you can't even reach."
Emily rolled her eyes as they gossiped. Her eyes drifted towards the other statues. "Ashley will just have to forgive me. There will be no statue this time around."
The warm afternoon air illuminated Emily's freckles when they exited the museum. Trees swayed in the wind as Leonore citizens talked and shopped at merchant stalls. Flower petals and confetti lay scattered across the cobblestone streets while the scent of holiday spirit lingered in the air. Music echoed down Main Street while people huddled around the chosen.
"Which way to that seamstress? I want to check if your order is done," Elijah asked.
Emily gestured for Shiyu and Elijah to follow her.
"Oh, great…the stupid flamingo is here," she groaned when she spotted Sarah at Ashley's shop.
"We meet again, Emily of Leonore. Funny how you fly around me like a moth to a flame," Sarah joked. "Just like someone else I know," she said, eyes drifting towards Elijah.
"More like you're a mosquito and I'm a bug zapper," Emily replied.
"Now that was not very nice, and here I was about to compliment you on your live cello performance."
"Wait, really?"
"You made that cello weep. I must say we would make an excellent duet," Sarah replied with a smile as she purchased a garment from Ashley.
"I must also admit that was indeed a marvelous performance," A baritone man chimed in.
Emily turned around, her eyes narrowed as she observed a young man with a burgundy colored mask. His coffee-brown skin complexion radiated in the sun's glow, while his long, black dreadlocks hung down his shoulders.
"Who the fuck is this guy?"
She felt exposed beneath his grayish-green eyes, which stared back at her with stoic precision. Her eyes drifted towards his urban street clothes.
"You had the ENGINE's attention. No small feat if I must say."
Emily glanced up at the ENGINE, then looked at the man. "Wait, what?"
The man nodded but did not respond.
"Well, the ENGINE really knows how to pick its chosen," Sarah said. "Amos from the empire of Augustine. Looks like the pilgrimage just got more competitive."
"I see my reputation precedes me."
"I'm sorry, I do not know who you are," Emily replied, shrugging.
"That's fine, but you will."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, a promise," he said. "Peculiar, you don the white mask."
"What's your point?"
Amos chuckled. "Statistically, the white mask becomes PRIME more often than the other colors."
"Yay me."
"I would love to see your attitude when you're the statistical outlier who doesn't become PRIME."
"I would love to see what your face looks like smacked against that wall."
"You're going to have to wait. In the meantime, try not to become a hollow."
"Well, this has been a pleasure. But I got things to do, places to see. You guys play nice," Sarah said, then left.
Emily sighed as Amos walked away, vanishing into the sea of people. His words echoed in her mind, and she instinctively rubbed her mask. She then turned around, eyes drifting towards the star-speckled hoodie hanging behind Ashley.
"I see you are making friends?" Ashley asked.
"Sure."
"How is Emily's outfit coming along?" Elijah asked, lighting another cigarette.
Ashley clapped her hands and smiled. "It is done and even, and I even made you a new jacket, even though you said you didn't want one. "
"That wasn't necessary."
"Perhaps, but I am increasing my odds of dressing the next PRIME," Ashley explained, then pulled out a dark brown leather jacket.
Elijah picked up the jacket and examined the many pockets woven into the fabric, and then the insignia on the right sleeve. "I am honestly impressed. Not too heavy and feels very durable. What is this made of?" He asked. Elijah took off his weathered utilitarian jacket and put on the jacket Ashley crafted for him.
Ashley waved a finger. "I am glad you like it, but I can't be revealing trade secrets. All I can say is it's not just the materials and fabric that make a good garment … It's about the stitching."
Elijah smirked, then put his cigarettes into his new coat.
"Sarah was one of your customers as well?" Emily asked.
"She is a regular, actually. I craft all her outfits. Leonore has the best seamstresses in the world after all," Ashley explained, then grabbed the hoodie hanging up behind her. "For the future Prime," Ashley explained before handing the hoodie to Emily.
Emily smiled and removed the protective plastic over it. She clutched the oversized black hoodie sewn with durable but light designer thread and stitching. Ashley's insignia adorned the hoodie's cuff. The black thread featured subtle speckles of stars woven into the fabric that could be mistaken for accurate astrological patterns of the very cosmos. Emily felt like she was wearing the night sky as she slipped the hoodie over her head. The hoodie's warmth washed over Emily as it clung to her skin, seeming to be designed just for her.
"I love it," Emily said, then hugged Ashley. "Thank you."
"Pleasure is all mine. You looked like someone who wouldn't like something I would have crafted for Sarah."
"Perhaps I should request your services myself," Shiyu said.
Ashley looked Shiyu up and down and then nodded. "I think I can whip something up for Sage. Come back tomorrow if you are not heading out for Reunion Day by then."
"What's Reunion Day?" Emily asked.
"It's when the ENGINE beckons all chosen to make their way over to where the previous PRIME lived before they ascended," Shiyu explained.
"Can we just say no?"
Shiyu shrugged. "Technically... but you won't meet your competition and would be at an extreme disadvantage."
"Don't care."
Elijah chuckled. "So you're just going to stay until Leonore and do what?"
Emily shrugged. "Probably sleep, to be honest."
"You're going. I want to see who else we've got to deal with," Elijah stoically replied.
"Same," Shiyu added with a nod. "Also, the ENGINE just might turn you into a Hollow if you ignore the call."
Emily sighed. "Fine, whatever," she replied as she gazed up at the ENGINE.
"It's the thread pulled tight," Ashley sang as she helped another customer. "And I am the needle's bite. Piercing through chosen skin."
"What the?"
She listened to Ashley sing as she worked.
"Stitch by stitch, I dress. For I am the Seamstress."
"Maybe I should ask her how…no….just a coincidence."
Goosebumps formed on Emily's skin as the lyrics lingered in her mind like an ominous melody. Inspired, she pulled out her notebook and scribbled down lyrics before walking down the road wearing the clothes Ashley had made for her.