Axel's shoulder slumped as the air in the room got cold. Axel collapsed into the leather seat, cradling his head in his hands and sighing. His voice broke in the middle of the sigh as he began to choke back tears. He tried to look at Evelynn again, but couldn't manage it.
Meanwhile, Silas remained standing, crossing his arms because it made him feel safer.
Charybdis came in a moment after. She went straight for the coffee cup, taking a long swig before letting out a stressed breath.
"Alright," she said. "We might be able to make this work."
"I suppose I should be grateful for the chance to study a human. Even seven is still seven more than I'd anticipated. And there's still Huxley."
"Anyway," Charybdis continued, "If she doesn't come to soon, we'll have to wait. I want to make sure I speak to each and every one of you together. I can host private interviews, but I also need all of you in one place so that you can hear what I have to say. I understand the situation you're in must be extremely confusing, especially since you've lost your memories and have no context as to what's even happening. I promise that I'll make everything clear for you in due time."
Silas looked at Charybdis out of the corner of his eyes, hoping to catch a glimmer of deception in her eye. But he couldn't find any. Charybdis' pose was earnest, and her tone was sincere. It was completely different from the behavior she'd first shown. It marked her as dangerous and unpredictable.
They waited in awkward silence for a while until it became clear that Evelynn was not going to wake up any time soon. It made sense, as her injuries required her body to rest for a longer period of time. No way she would be waking up in the middle of the night or the early morning.
Instead, the trio, let by Charybdis, ventured to the other members' rooms. They met Saya there at Julia's room. She was leaning against the wall, her arms folded over her chest. She was already wearing a hostile frown when Silas rounded the bend. He gaze went straight past him and shot into Axel's face.
Axel scowled back at the fact she'd refused to visit Evelynn. Silas himself thought it was quite petty. Why was she making such a big deal out of something so stupid? They should work together. Sure, Evelynn and Axel may be dangerous, but they had to survive together, nonetheless. It was far too risky to behave like this now.
Or maybe that's just what Macy had convinced him. Maybe there was a reason to mistrust them…
But after Macy's faithful optimism and her compliments, Silas couldn't help but want to hear more. And he knew it was selfish, but perhaps if he got along with the others, Macy would compliment him more…
Charybdis politely asked the four of them to wait outside. She closed the door behind her and they saw the black curtains descend slowly, obscuring any view they had of Julia. Silas instinctively wanted to bust in and ensure Charybdis wasn't torturing her or trying to murder her, but he was too scared to do so. He hoped that Charybdis wasn't doing anything terrible, even though he knew she wouldn't. But maybe, just maybe, she was. And if so, Silas would never forgive himself for doing nothing for the girl who'd saved his life.
Instead, Silas simply leaned on the wall next to Saya. He wondered why she hadn't chosen to sit down. Silas was skinny enough that his spine protruded sharply from his back and grinded against the hard, unfeeling metal wall. It was extremely uncomfortable, but he was too nervous to ask Saya to sit down. What if that made her angry, especially after what he was about to say?
Silas took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.
"Why didn't you come to see Evelynn?" he whispered, hoping Axel wouldn't hear. Fortunately, the tall, gaunt boy was locked in a one-sided conversation with Macy. But despite his silence, Axel was still listening intently.
"…I don't know," Saya responded. Her tone wasn't angry, or frustrated, but uncharacteristically dejected. It was full of guilt.
"There's just… something off about her. I know that nobody else sees it. I know there's no reason for me to be wary of her, but I can just tell. I think she and Axel are the ones that are hiding something. Her aura…"
"I guess I should explain to you a bit more about how my powers work. I mean, it's kind of like trying to explain color to a blind person, but basically it's as if emotions are colors to me. I can sense them like mana. They're just… there. I don't know how to describe it. But depending on the color I can tell how a person is feeling at any given moment. And Evelynn always has this… guilty air, that's hidden behind a whole bunch of loneliness and confusion."
"It's like she knows she's done something wrong. But it's almost as if she doesn't know what. I just… I don't know. It's stupid. It doesn't matter. I just feel really strongly about it, and I'd hate to be the one who knew all along and did nothing if she does something crazy later on."
Silas said nothing. He was tempted to say, "I understand," because he had just had that same thought just now. But something told him it wouldn't be of much use, so instead he put his hand on Saya's shoulder. She shuddered and suddenly leaned into his arm, her golden locks catching the yellow light of the artificial lamps by the edge of the glass wall.
Inside the cold and modern interior of the concourse, with how vast and empty and lifeless it was, Saya's brilliant hair stood out. Silas leaned his head, his cheek pressing slightly into the top of Saya's hair. He realized it still hadn't been washed since the oasis, and it was dirty and unkempt. There were flecks of blood and grime in it, and it smelled like tree bark. Nevertheless, it still maintained its luster, something that Silas couldn't help but admire.
Perhaps it was just that everything else was so alien and so cold, but locked in that half-embrace, Silas felt almost at ease. He felt safe enough to close his eyes, even if just for a moment.
Meanwhile, Axel was staring straight forward, trying his best not to look at Macy. Macy, with unbridled affection, took his large hand in her small one and pressed it against her chest.
"May I hold your hand?" Macy asked. Axel coughed gently.
"No, you may not," he said stiffly. Then, after a brief pause, he smiled. "But thank you."
"No problem. It must be hard for you to see Evelynn like this, to not know what's going to happen to her."
"Yeah," Axel said, reaching his hand behind his back in awkward embarrassment. "I know we've only known each other for a few days, but I feel like I've known her my entire life."
"I get that," Macy said, leaning against Axel instead. Axel made no move to return the gesture but his shoulders began to relax. "Sometimes I also get feelings that I've done something my entire life. Some things that just seem natural to me as if I've done them a hundred times before. Especially talking to people. I feel like I had a lot of friends before a lost my memory. Perhaps you two knew each other before then?"
"I suppose," Axel said, his voice trailing off. He seemed uncomfortable discussing it, but didn't react angrily to it.
After Charybdis had talked with Julia, she took the rest of them to see the other members, one by one. It was getting early in the morning, and the sun was beginning to peek above the horizon. Saya was already beginning to doze off, but Silas was too on edge to sleep. He'd been awoken at the stroke of midnight. There was no way he'd be able to fall asleep now.