Free Cryostorm by Lynn Rush

shut. She took a step back, but her knee buckled and down she went. Before she hit the ground, Nate appeared and caught her.
    She flinched and pushed away from him.
    Georgia stood there, mouth open. Paralyzed. Tim came in beside her and touched her shoulder. “Georgia.”
    She finally blinked.
    “We should get inside.” Nate guided Lois to her feet and then led us into the restaurant Georgia and I had just left.
    It had been the person standing at the phone booth. Same red shirt and black down vest. Only the Lois that I knew was about fifty pounds heavier, at least. The woman standing, well almost standing, was different. No wonder I’d missed her. Sure, I hadn’t seen her face, but still. Georgia’s mom had always been roly-poly.
    This woman standing before us had black, short, braided knobs of hair jutting out from beneath a black skull cap. The eyes were distinctly Lois’—bright green. High cheekbones were more pronounced now with the weight loss. Her behind was still wider than the average person’s, but Lois looked great.
    “How?” She finally managed to say something.
    Nate guided us to the bar side. “Lois Kelsey?”
    She fixed her stare on Nate, then Tim, who still hadn’t let go of Georgia. Georgia stared at Lois, like she was torn between strangling the woman or hugging and kissing her.
    Couldn’t blame Georgia, though. Thinking Lois was her mom for over eighteen years only to find out it was all a lie, then to disappear only to resurface months later, appearance considerably changed and possibly an Agent.
    “Georgia,” she whispered, then lurched forward and yanked her into a hug, completely bypassing Tim. “Georgia, you’re alive.”
    The woman fell into sobs.
    “You’re alive.”
    Georgia didn’t return the hug, just stood stiff armed within her former mother’s grasp. Total confusion flickered over her eyes, along with a hint of orange. That told me she was struggling to keep her power in check. Despite the control we’d gotten over the last handful of months, intense emotions still challenged us sometimes.
    And I’d say finding Lois after all this time qualified as an intense emotion.
    “Lois. It’s me, Amanda Smith.”
    “You both died. I saw it. I read—how?”
    “I know what you read and heard, but we’re not safe here. We should leave. Right now.” I stepped forward. “Agents probably got tipped off to where you were like we did.”
    “I’ve gotten sloppy, I know. When I lost my Georgia, I—or thought I’d lost you—I almost didn’t care anymore. I—”
    Sobs rocked through her body again, but she managed to step away. She looked at me from red-rimmed eyes, and then to Tim and Nate. “Who are these men?”
    “They’re helping us. They’re the ones who staged our deaths to get away from the Agents. Come on. We need to go.”
    She nodded. “I was on my way out of town, just needed to stop here to check the net.” She pulled out a smart phone. “To find out where to go next.”
    “Well?” I said, stepping toward the door. “Where were you headed?” I nodded at Georgia to follow me.
    “North.”
    “What’s North?” Nate asked, coming by my side.
    Lois eyed him with a cautious glance. “Someone who knows the head of The Center and is willing to talk.”
    “Like I haven’t heard that before,” I said.
    Lois nailed me with the motherly glare I’d seen before any of this had come to pass. She’d not liked me since I’d shown up in Trifle. Looks like it hadn’t changed any.
    “Tim, check it out.” Nate nodded to the front.
    “Are you guys back for some food already?” The waitress that helped me earlier approached, a smile splitting her face. “Oh, it’s five now? I saved you a seat.”
    “Sorry. No thanks,” I said, nodding for Nate and Tim to keep moving. “Looks like we’re going to head out. Thanks.”
    I nudged Georgia into Lois.
    “Bye.” The waitress waved, but regarded us with narrowed eyes. I could imagine how dumb we looked, but