Part 3: The Next Morning
Sunlight reached Marion’s face through the living-room curtains. She blinked and tried to stretch without waking Sonia. The sofa was too narrow for it; under the quilt they were still tangled together, ropes and clothes scattered around them.
Marion looked toward the worktable. Sonia had left the fragments in their neat arrangement on the cloth, but something was wrong with the color. She blinked again. The black surface gleamed in places, and she could distinguish colors in jewels that had looked dull the night before.
“Sonia.” She nudged her, then kissed her cheek. “Come on. I need you to look at something.”
Sonia groaned softly, reluctant to leave the warmth of Marion and the cocoon they had made together. “What?” she mumbled, her voice heavy with sleep.
Marion sat up, pulling the quilt around her shoulders. “Your artifacts. The collar. Something’s happening to it.”
That woke Sonia. She sat up, pushed her hair back, and stared at the collar fragments. The metal she had cleaned was no longer black. In the sunlight, it had lightened to a dark grey, almost metallic in its sheen. Grime still blackened parts of the surface.
Sonia wrapped herself in the quilt and crossed to the table. She didn’t touch the fragments, just leaned over them, her eyes wide with fascination. The jewels were clearer now, their colors distinct and almost glowing in the sunlight.
“What the hell?” Sonia whispered, her voice hushed with awe. “This… this wasn’t like this last night.”
Marion joined her, standing close but careful not to get too near the table. “Do you think it’s reacting to the sunlight?” she asked.
“What else has changed?” Sonia said. “It was sitting here all night. Now the sun’s on it.” She crouched to get a better look, peering at the fine lines and details of the collar. “It’s not just discoloration, though. The surface—it looks… alive. Almost like it’s waking up.”
Marion crossed her arms, watching Sonia uneasily. “Do you think it’s safe? I mean, this thing has been buried for thousands of years. What if it’s releasing something?”
“I don’t know,” Sonia admitted, glancing back at Marion. “But I don’t think it’s dangerous—not in that way. The material—it’s not like anything we’ve ever seen. It should be corroded after all this time, but it isn’t. And now this…” She gestured at the fragments. “This is why it stayed intact. It’s… designed to do this.”
“To react to light?” Marion asked, her voice skeptical.
“Maybe,” Sonia said. “Or maybe it’s part of something bigger. A mechanism, a system. Whatever this was made for, it wasn’t just decoration. It had a purpose.” She paused, her fingers hovering near the collar but not quite touching. “I don’t know what kind of purpose, though.”
Marion shifted uncomfortably. “It’s kind of eerie, don’t you think? I mean, we were joking about high-tech bondage jewelry, but this—this feels… different.”
Sonia turned to Marion, her expression serious. “It is different. Whatever this civilization was, they were way beyond anything we’ve seen before. And this collar? It might be the key to understanding them.”
They watched the sunlight brighten the fragments. Marion finally broke the silence, her voice softer now. “You’re not going to try anything with it, are you?”
Sonia shook her head. “Not until I know more. I’m not stupid, Marion. This thing—it’s too… strange to mess with. I’ll keep studying it, but carefully.” She paused, her gaze returning to the collar. “For now, we just watch. And see what it does.”
Sonia set the collar halves down on the cloth-draped table, her hands trembling slightly in their protective gloves. The fragments no longer looked ancient. Days of careful exposure to sunlight had transformed them into something gleaming and pristine. The metal—if it was metal—was polished to a mirror-like chrome finish, completely free of grime. The “jewels,” or whatever they were, now shone brilliantly, their colors by now mostly sapphire blue.
She could feel the collar’s faint hum more than she could hear it. Several times she had caught herself leaning closer. Now, sitting at the table under the same midmorning light that had revealed its transformation, she couldn’t resist any longer.
With her gloves and the cloth, Sonia lifted and aligned the halves. The hinge moved without catching. Sonia turned the joined halves over in her hands, searching for the seam. She could barely find it. Whatever had made this, whatever the material was, it still worked.
Experimenting cautiously, Sonia tried closing the collar completely. The front edges met with a satisfying click, but the lock—some sort of recessed mechanism with a small ring or button—didn’t engage. She pressed lightly against the ring, then the button, testing it, but nothing happened. The collar opened effortlessly with the slightest pull.
“What are you hiding?” Sonia muttered, inspecting the lock more closely. Tiny grooves, blue lights, and seams marked the mechanism. She could not work out its function.
Marion’s voice startled her from behind. “You’re still at it? I thought you were taking a break this weekend.”
Sonia turned to see Marion leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed. Her expression was a mix of amusement and concern. “I’ve never seen you this obsessed with anything outside a dig site.”
“I know.” Sonia set the collar down and pulled off her gloves. She rested a finger on the cloth beside the clasp. “Look at it, though. No damage. The hinge works perfectly. Everything fits. Except it won’t lock.”
Marion stepped closer, eyeing the collar warily. “Maybe it’s broken. Or maybe it needs something to activate it?”
Sonia frowned. “What kind of something?”
Marion shrugged. “I don’t know. A tool? A key? Maybe it’s not meant to lock unless it’s on someone.”
Sonia took her finger away from the clasp. “On someone?”
Marion gestured toward the collar, her tone light but her words pointed. “It’s a collar, Sonia. What else would it do? Maybe it needs pressure, or contact, or… something.”
Sonia hesitated, her curiosity battling with caution. “I’m not about to start putting it on people—or myself—until I understand more about it.”
“Good,” Marion said firmly, stepping closer to place a hand on Sonia’s shoulder.
Sonia nodded, her gaze lingering on the gleaming collar. “It’s incredible, though,” she murmured. “Can you imagine what this could mean? For understanding them, the Atlanteans? Whoever they were, they were so far beyond anything we thought possible.”
“Yeah,” Marion said, her voice dry. “So far beyond that they left us their glowing bondage gear. Very advanced.”
Sonia rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her. “Whatever it is, it’s the key to something. We just have to figure out what.”
Marion’s hand tightened gently on Sonia’s shoulder. “Well, you’re not doing that today. Come on, let’s grab lunch and get you away from this thing for a while. You can obsess over it again tomorrow.”
Reluctantly, Sonia let herself be led away, though her thoughts lingered on the collar, its faint hum, and the mysteries it refused to give up.
Children laughed and dogs barked in the park. A breeze stirred the leaves. Sonia and Marion walked hand in hand along a shaded path. They had eaten their sandwiches under a sprawling oak tree, the sun dappling their faces through the leaves, and now they strolled at an easy pace.
Marion nudged Sonia gently with her shoulder. “So,” she began, a teasing lilt in her voice, “what’s so fascinating about that collar? I mean, you’ve been glued to it like it’s the Holy Grail.”
“It does something,” Sonia said. “Someone made it to do a job, and we can’t even work out how to close it. Doesn’t that bother you?”
Marion raised an eyebrow, her grin turning mischievous. “And what if it really is a slave collar?” she asked, her tone light but her words deliberate. “Like, you snap it around someone’s neck, and they’re compelled to obey. Wouldn’t that be… hot?”
Sonia stopped walking, turning to face Marion fully. The corners of her mouth quirked up, her expression sly. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Marion flushed faintly but didn’t back down. She held Sonia’s gaze, her smile quiet and knowing.
Sonia’s grin widened. “Wearing or controlling?” she asked, tilting her head slightly, her voice teasing but her eyes warm.
Marion looked ahead and nudged Sonia with her hip.
“You think you’re so clever. We both know how this goes about eighty percent of the time.”
Sonia chuckled, lacing her fingers more tightly with Marion’s. “That’s because you like it that way. And I’m not complaining.”
“Maybe I just like making you happy,” Marion replied, her voice softer now, her smile tinged with affection.
Sonia stopped and kissed her. When they broke apart, Sonia’s voice was barely above a murmur. “You make me happy just being you. The rest? Just a bonus.”
Marion smiled as they kissed again. When they finally broke apart, they continued their walk hand in hand, at ease again, though neither had forgotten the collar.