Chương 38: [XXXVII] - Warming Flames
"What on Earth is happening in here?? Why is the alarm running in the whole base and not going off?! The monitoring system has been glitching since a while and I don't know what's going on! " — An aggravated voice came from behind my back. — "Why are you both wet, standing in the middle of the dark corridor?"
Turning my head back, I saw a white-haired doctor standing, with his face showing a visible displeasure.
Before I could tell him anything, Silen was faster to do so.
"That's what you get for making these children do the meals themselves. I preferred Harris making the job himself." — The silver-haired man exclaimed in disappointment.
"So someone burned the kitchen?? Ahhh…" — He grabbed his head in a headache. — "These kids… I made sure that every of the equipment is safe to use. And still, someone was crazy enough to push it to its boundaries…"
Visibly being upset about what was happening, the doctor suddenly gave me an inquisitive gaze, as if my still tired face could tell everything.
"…Asha. Have you already met everyone?" — The doctor asked after a while, in a caring manner.
"Um… Vaguely, yes."
"…Oh Then I guess we can start our training from now…" — His gaze looked like wondering in clouds. — "…But, we'll have to do some research on your abilities first."
And I still haven't discovered that myself… It's all so hard and strange…
I think I want to avoid discovering anything.
I've decided. I'm going to run away from here. Sooner or later. I don't see any good coming from staying here.
„Did anyone take you to your personal room yet?" — He asked out of nowhere.
My personal room? So, the one I was in wasn't a place of my own?
"I was sleeping in the place you told me to, and that's all…" — I answered honestly.
"Silen. Could you take him to the A room in the quarters area?" — The doctor turned towards Silen, which was silently dozing off, supported against a wall.
"Ahhh… Okay. But deal with those imbeciles who still haven't cooked anything to eat. I'm dying from hunger." — The silver-eyed man responded bluntly, and supported his arms against the hips, as if ready to do anything he is asked to.
The doctor glanced at me, and sent me a soft smile, which was probably given to comfort me somehow. As if my face could show the play of two villains fighting on a scene in my mind, everything was being watched by a spectator. Him, who could understand everything that's going on. Or maybe he just guessed it right. Who wouldn't feel lost in a place like this after such experiences…
He wanted to say something, but upon opening his mouth, loud yells could be heard in the distance, where the kitchen was.
His expression changed as fast as he rushed swiftly to the place where a faint smell of burnt could be felt.
With his transparent like hair swaying in the air, I followed his figures with my eyes, until he disappeared in the darkness, leaving me and Silen alone.
This man is truly strange. Sometimes soft and caring, almost serene, as if nothing could move this heavy stone mind of his. Yet there are also the times when a dangerous gaze comes from his pale eyes, changing the appearance of the man I see by 180 degrees. That time I first met and choked him. His eyes were empty. The second one when he and Noctis talked. There was a spark of passion and madness behind. It seemed like despite his almost dull behaviors, something expressive hides, like an oil spill. Being a doctor in a place like this. I wonder how it led to that.
I've stopped wondering about the mysterious scientist, and remembered that Silen would show me my room.
But turning my head to Silen, I found out he wasn't in the place I last saw him.
What the hell.
Where did he disappear into?!
A bolt of shivers went down my back, as there was no other living being around, other than me.
"H-Hey, Silen. Where are you?!"
But no response, as I was in an empty corridor in a place I didn't know yet. A scary silence surrounded me from every side.
"Man. It's not funny. You realize I don't know this place…" — Turning myself around, I searched for anything that resembled a person.
But nothing like that was detectable, only gray walls with no recognizable signs.
I ran a few meters in a random direction, losing the sense location. I couldn't remember where I came from.
"This motherfucker…"
"Hey, who you're cursing at like that."
An interested voice came out of nowhere, startling the hell out of me. I jumped as the person's warmth could be felt from behind.
"AAAAH!" — I yelled, as an interested voice came out of nowhere, startling the hell out of me.
I jumped as the person's warmth could be felt from behind. Turning around, a tall man was standing directly behind me.
I instinctively withdrawn a few steps, before I could recognize the one who frightened me thoroughly.
His face seemed surprised, as he explained himself:
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, ahaha…"
An athletic man with shaggy ginger hair was staring at me inquisitively, with his two orange like eyes glowing like amber. His quite attractive face was in a rhombus shape, with a wide and long nose just in the middle of it. Thin almond eyes glared surprisingly from under thick brown eyebrows, His cheekbones, and chin were pushed forwards, making his face look very dimensional and lively at the same time. His light smirk with dimples on both sides told me that he's waiting for a response. It was Ignis, the man I met in the kitchen.
And I was still glaring at his uncommon face, scared and anxious.
He only seemed to grow more embarrassed and distressed.
"Uhhh, I'm really sorry for burning up that pot man… I was having everything under control until… I just turned my head for a second, and then it started burning… Ughh, we have to wait until Doc makes someone come help him fix the problem…"
Scratching his head, he seemed like disappointing me, and I definitely felt disappointed, but not in the way he probably meant. Yeah, I haven't eaten in like I don't know how long, but right now I was still drying my mind about Silen leaving me, and meeting my biggest enemy after so many years…
"This could have happened to anyone, so don't worry too much about it." — I tried to comfort him somehow, but didn't come up with anything else.
His abashed appearance is definitely worrisome
"Yeah… What worries me… Is the fact that I couldn't deal with the flames… You know, I'm a heat manipulator, I should have been able to put them out, but it seemed that… Something else made them inextinguishable."
So that what was worrying him. Well, I do not know what was the cause, but I undoubtedly won't be eating tonight.
"…Actually, Meridies noticed you weren't there, so she asked me to look for you. Good thing you didn't get lost yet." — He showed his teeth while confidently smiling at me.
His crestfallen mood has changed in a blink of an eye. How could this man change so quickly from a deeply perplexed one, to the person with more energy than the sun itself.
Some kind of warm aura beamed from him, that made me calm down and become a bit more lively than usual. His face glowed with positivity despite him committing a mistake…
This is the kind of confidence I want to achieve. Smiling despite bringing trouble.
"…By the way… Have you seen Silen? He was gone too." — Ignis interrupted the silence that has fallen from my side.
"Ah. This man." — I remembered he left me here all of a sudden. — "He was supposed to show me my personal room, but disappeared last moment."
I showed a visible disappointment on my face, filling my voice with disgust for that fake man.
But now Ignis is with me, so I guess I don't have to care for that asshole. Someone else will lead me out of this corridor maze.
"Oooh… Yeah, he is like that, but you shouldn't fill your head with him and his problems. Silen just teases people for fun and never means it, so don't worry." — He tried to put a good word for Silen.
Just from this, Ignis appeared like a kind of a person who wouldn't tell a bad word on anyone. Being as annoying as Silen, I would never defend him, yet the ginger-haired man tried to speak up for him.
Suddenly, he seemed to get an idea in his head, which made him lose his gloomy expression.
"You know what? I can show you the room! It's where everyone else's rooms are, the quarters area. I actually need something from my room myself, so we'll kill two birds with one stone!"
He went into the corridor and waved his hand for me to follow him.
Well, I think I should follow him up for now. Maybe I will get to know about this place's layout more.
Walking just right behind him, we've had a small chat.
He firstly asked me about how I feel in here.
I lied, telling him that I feel okay, despite not knowing the place at all, and barely having met the members of the CRT.
I didn't feel like trusting him yet.
But it felt like the words I said, didn't speak through him at all. He turned his head towards me, and saw a hollow face, not able to say out any emotions. I felt lost, and he seemed to feel it too.
"Ah… I understand you more than you think. Finding yourself in a completely unknown place, with all kinds of different people you don't know… It's not easy, and it won't be for a while. But staying here is really better than depending on yourself and luck in these cold streets outside…"
His voice got a bit sad and quiet at the end, as if he spoke from experience.
"Nothing is worth keeping inside, everyone has doubts, and they won't fix if not let out."
I couldn't bring myself to telling him anything that worried me. I… I just don't like throwing my problems on other people. Having others worry about you, while the conflict is mainly in my inner soul, makes my feelings shatter.
He sighed, hearing still nothing in response from me.
"Ah… I rarely come back to those times… Before I came here, It was really difficult for me too…"
An indiscreet silence fell from his side.
I felt that he doesn't want to actually share his past, painful memories coming to his mind. But if it was to somehow made me feel better, he would go for it.
"Long time ago-"
"If you don't want to talk about it, don't push yourself. I know that some memories may be more painful to recall, when all of the time you try to forget about them…" — My quiet voice got to him walking in the front.
"…Hahaha. Indeed, it was painful. But if I forgot about it, I wouldn't appreciate what I have now. And it's a hell lotta better than it was. Believe me." — He turned his head towards me, and sent me a wink, showing me a thumbs up.
He is a really positive man. Hearing his silent words earlier, I felt that his life wasn't easy at all. But despite all of this, he is still going on, having a smile on his face…
This person is a true motivation for me.
"Oh well, you won't hear my backstory, cause we're actually right before your room now." — He suddenly stopped in the middle of the corridor, making me almost bump into him.
I didn't notice it earlier, but these corridors got a lot more brighter, with the colors of the walls turning into light gray, and the surrounding appearing more vibrant. Well, now the hair color of Ignis' hair turned from orange to beaming orange.
He turned himself front towards me, and pointed the dark red door with his hand, as if he expected me to open them first.
Having a good look at him with such a light now, I noticed out of nowhere a dark mark on his neck. Looking a lot like a fresh scald, I got worried that he may have really injured himself at that accident today.
He seemed to notice my inquisitive gaze glaring at his slightly exposed neck, and instinctively zippered his hoodie up.
"Um… Don't worry, it's just a… mark." — He confidently explained, but I heard a glimpse of hesitation in his voice.
"Did you get it from today?" — I asked curiously.
But this response seemed to make him laugh.
"No, ahaha… It's from a long time ago. But don't worry. Now, this is your room! As its owner, I think you should come in before me." — He fixed his hoodie and shook his body, as if he wanted to shake some thoughts off. — "Well, actually to enter it, you need to put your hand in the middle, and the sensors will analyze your handprints. It won't open to just anybody, so it should make you feel really secure! Try it!"
Him pointing to the middle of the door, I came closer to them, and as he said, put my hand in the middle of them.
I felt a weird sensation, as if an electric current coming through my palm, and then an unsealing click could be heard,
The door opened before me, unraveling a quite spacious room. The insides were bright, despite of the walls actually being dark gray. I made a few steps forward, looking around my room.
It was a simple and undecorated place, with a large, white bed by the right wall, a desk right opposite to the bed, and the rest of the wall next to it being covered with a large, plain wardrobe. The shelves above the desk were empty, except of a ventilation crate being right above them. In the wall, opposite the door, was a passage to the small toilet and a sink.
"A downside to this place is the showers being located in one place. Man, I'd really like to shower in peace, not hearing Silen's loud singing from the cabin next to me…" — Ignis went inside behind me, and glared around just like me. — "We'll, nothing interesting in here for now… But I think you should visit Bellus' greenhouse for some plants he takes care of! I have a one Euphorbia on a shelf myself!"
He talked about it with passion. It actually reminded me of my own greenhouse I had in my old home.
Despite me having my own room, it felt strange and foreign to me. A smell of artificiality, the buzzing sound of the ventilation, the color of the walls. They were suffocating and overwhelming.
Suddenly, I felt a warm touch on my shoulder coming from behind. I almost jumped from under it, but his strong grip made me stay in place.
"Every new place is like that at first. But don't lose your hopes, we are all here now. Soon we will achieve our goals, and everything will be better."
It surprises me how much this man knows what is going on in my mind. Yet I guess this is obvious, a person being put in a situation like this. I guess I wasn't the only one like this.
I need to calm down. It won't get better from now.
"Okay! I think you've had enough of my overwhelming company. I'm gonna leave you be for now, I should get changed from these wet clothes. I could dry them off with my ability, but they smell like if they were burnt…" — He went towards the exit with a smile, but suddenly stopped right in the doorstep. — "And if you meet Bellus, tell him about some plants, and maybe some interesting books to fill these empty shelves!"
Then I saw his ginger hair disappeared behind the wall, and was left completely alone in the empty room of mine.
Speaking of clothes, my white shirt was weirdly dry right now, being loose and not see-through at the moment, so I didn't have to worry about anything now. But changing outfits would definitely spark my mood up a little. I wonder if there are any clothes in the wardrobe.
Coming up to it, I didn't expect it to be actually filled with some clothes.
And to my surprise, they were actually all black and industrial, with a techwear vibe, something I would usually wear.
Searching through all of them, at the end was hanging a long, dark brown coat with a hood, exactly the same one I wore when going through the underground and everything else.
An unknown fear filled my body.
I instinctively searched through all of its outer pockets, to see if the items I've hidden there were still there.
But I would be surprised if they were. The pockets were as empty as I've hoped they wouldn't be.
Huh… Did I really hope they would be stlll there…
…The only thing that worries me, it's them getting in wrong hands.
But as I've wanted to leave my coat be, I felt something flat in the inner pocket of it, hidden right where the sleeve was beginning. A very well hidden place, I would forget the pocket was there myself.
No way. It can't be.
My hands were shaking like a dancing flame now. They couldn't catch the zipper in the fingers. But I felt it. A paper like item inside.
The zipper hardly went off, and I rapidly reached for the item inside of the pocket.
I pulled out a halfly destroyed photo of me as a child, and unknown people all around me. The coat must have been washed up, as the picture wasn't in the same great state it was before. Its colors vanished, and the edges got torn off, but the faces could still be seen.
Seeing a precious thing being destroyed like this, my heart felt crushing. Having the only memento from my old home, I was on the verge of my tears. Yet, I held them in, as the tears falling on the poor photo would destroy it even more.
If there is any way to restore this photo, and find the people from the picture, I will do anything to make it possible.
I won't give up just for this.
I've carefully hanged the photo, sticking its most stable edge behind the shelf. It was tilted and looked more like a trash than an actual picture. But I could never throw it away, holding such a value to me, I wish I could see these faces in reality.
I've decided to change from this crumpled white shirt into something else. Searching through the clothes, bringing some of them out to wear, I was surprised when I found a binder. It's not like I had any big attributes to hide beneath it first, I wasn't very gifted by the nature in terms of breasts. But it came in handy when running, as nothing weighed me down. Yet, finding something like this, I eased a little bit. I could wear tight clothes without worrying that anyone mind find out about my secret. Bringing to consideration that only the Doctor knows about it, and the old man, either of them could have brought this.
I got undressed, and started to change into some other black clothes, when suddenly a noise came from the door.
Freezing in place, being half naked in the middle of the room, I petrified from the fear of someone seeing me.
Just when I thought that they were closed, a quiet creek could be heard, with a fist knocking on the door.
But they didn't wait for the response, and went right in.
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