บท 13: Waiting

Sitting and waiting sucks. Most people would agree to that. Even worse, waiting without knowing what is to be your future, is agonizing. Add to that, being scared into doing nothing. No magazines, no forgettable music, no Soap Operas, nothing to divorce you from dreading what is to come. Time just drags, in normal circumstance, when you can keep track of time. It is even seems to crawl, ever so slowly, when there is now way to see how much time has passed.

I do not know how long I was kept there in suspense. Though I was apprehensive of Muceni, her presence at least helped to keep me grounded. I am not sure if I hated her at this moment or just despised her. Her yelling at me, and commanding me to be silent had hurt me. I assumed that she had cared for me, and was trying to help me out.

An unknown amount of time came and went, before anything happened. There was nothing, in however long I was waiting, to signal life was existing outside of where I was at, before something jolted out of my woolgathering. I was feeling my sanity, seemingly, leave me.

When I felt myself to be at my wits end, the door, which Muceni had previously knocked at, was finally opened. Finally, there was something. Oh sweet mercy, I am not sure how much longer I could have kept myself from staying here. Still though, I kept staying seated. Muceni had instructed me to sit here and stay silent, but I could still at least look.

I turned my gaze on the man that had just walked through the door. I tried to take in everything that I could about this new person. And after the glance towards the man, I turned my eyes towards Muceni, to try and ask what I should do.

"Rehor! Just stay there and do not do a thing." (Muceni)

What the fuck Muceni. I have done everything that you have commanded of me. I have sat here silently, not doing a bloody thing. Now I cannot even use my head and eyes to do a cursed thing? I am just supposed to be a mute, fucking, doll.

"Come in girl. I take this meeting is do to...him?" (Man)

"Yes. I know you have other things that you need to do, but he is one of us." (Muceni)

"Let's take this inside my office before we continue this conversation." (Man)

"Understood. Please lead the way." (Muceni)

And so the man and Muceni left me in the room, I guess I should call it a waiting room, by this point. Again, I was left to wait, by myself this time. At least I had some new stimulus to contemplate. I think by this point my emotions have gone through too many up and downs, to truly feel anything. At this point, I cannot feel anger or confusion.

Let me get onto dissecting the appearance of the man. I am horrible at guessing people's age. So I had no idea how old of a man he was. He definitely was not past the age of retirement, at least. Here is what I noticed about him.

He has fairly short hair, just past the length of having been recently shaved. I could clearly see his scalp. His facial hair, unlike the rest of his head, was unwieldy and full, barely allowing his mouth to be seen as he was talking to Muceni. It was mostly a dark brown color, but there were some good chunks are gray able to be seen through-out it.

Much of his face was obscured by the massive amounts of facial hair, I could tell that some wrinkles were starting to adorn his skin. Nothing extreme, but it could be seen that the weight of the years he had lived were starting to catch up to him. Overall, it was not a pleasant sight. I am not saying that he was ugly or frightening. No, he was just one of those men that has lived his life, and it has not been the kindest to him.

One other thing that I tried to view, when I looked at him, was his neck. Since I assumed I was in a location for other Unleashed, I made sure to look there. He was wearing a linen collar, unlike the leather one that Muceni was wearing. Also unlike Muceni, his chain was made of bronze chain. If it were not for the chain and collar, he would not have stood out from any other person that I have had met.

* * *

"I'm sorry for bothering you, Otec. You know that I'm not a fan of being here. But, as you see, I have found another one of us. I can't do what is needed for him." (Muceni)

"I can't say this for everyone of us, but none of us, truly, wants to train Unleashed. Unfortunately for me, and the other instructors here, we can… shoulder the burdens imposed on us. I don't blame you for being who you are." (Otec)

"I know, I know. But still, I don't like to impose something like this onto someone else, when I can't even do it myself." (Muceni)

A short silence filled the room. Pulling out a chair, Otec offered a seat for Muceni to sit own on.

"Would you care for some tea Muceni? We need to talk about the boy that you brought with you, and you look like you need it. I have some liquor to put in it, if you need." (Otec)

"Yes, please. And please, can you add a little whiskey to the cup? It's a little early, but I agree, I need it." (Muceni)

"Pardon me. I'll be in the kitchen for a few minutes. Then we need to talk about…?" (Otec)

"Rehor." (Muceni)

Out of sight from Muceni, Otec methodically prepared the tea. Two cups, one for himself and one for Muceni. Two cups of tea, brewed rather strongly, with a generous splash of liquor added to the both of them.

Handing the tea to Muceni, he sat himself down next to her and silently waited. The conversation waited until a few sips of tea were taken from the cups. The alcohol helped to relax them.

"So, about Rehor? Can you tell me how you found out about him being an Unleashed?" (Otec)

"You know that I hate how we are trained. I know it's necessary. But, still, I wish there was a better." (Muceni)

"Even if I didn't know, I could like. You are trying to protect him, for as long as you can. Just look at you trying to talk about the boy." (Otec)

"I know. It is still hard to make someone go through what we have, and he will, go through. Just for a minute, no, a second longer, I want to protect him from this." (Muceni)

"You are not protecting him by doing this. We are having him sit out there, feeling afraid, at this moment. Please don't protect him anymore. You have brought him here." (Otec)

"I know, but still… It started with his mother…" (Muceni)