Finally, they reached the last room, which was Rekka's room. Macy fidgeting with her hands, wringing them against her chest. Silas noticed she was also shaking and looked at Charybdis with furtive eyes. The tall and mysterious dragon lady noticed but didn't say a word.
Several minutes passed, in which the members of Last Stand engaged in conversation. They kept their voices hushed as they huddle together. Silas looked around for any cameras that could be watching. He couldn't see any but he had a feeling he was being watched. They had to have at least some sort of security system.
"What's going on?" Julia asked, clueless. Her voice was free from panic but remained calm and curious.
"We've been captured, and we're going to get shipped away to some company called RimTech so they can… experiment on us," Macy answered.
"We're the last humans, so we're worth a lot of money to be studied…" Jasper mused.
"I can't believe it. The last humans? That can't be possible. You're telling me that every other human is dead? How did they even die?" Axel said. He snorted incredulously to hide his panic.
"From what Charybdis tells us, there's an organization called PSEF that's supposed to eradicate all humans… for one reason or another," Silas spoke up. All the eyes turned to him and he instantly regretted it.
"What?" Julia and Jasper said in unison. Apparently, Charybdis had neglected to provide that one crucial detail.
"You mean everyone's trying to kill us?" Julia whispered.
"That can't be true…" Jasper added. "Think about it logically. If they wanted to kill us now, they would have done so already. But those darts that got shot into us were tranquilizers. They didn't even leave a mark. I bet they want to keep us alive for experiments, since we're the only living specimens left. After that, they'll kill us without a second thought."
"Damn…" Axel whispered. The gravity of situation weighed heavily upon their shoulders.
Just then, motion in Silas' peripheral vision alerted him to the door opening. It opened silently – if they'd been caught talking, they wouldn't have known. He turned to face Charybdis so that the rest of his companions would know to stop talking.
Rekka was by Charybdis' side. The tall and regal girl was almost Charybdis' height. Her face was serious and solemn as she refused to so much as even glance at Charybdis. She stared stiffly straight ahead at Macy. Her face broke out into an almost microscopic smile as she saw that most of her teammates were intact and unharmed.
"Where's Evelynn?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
"Evelynn is on her way. She's sustained some serious injuries, but nothing lethal," Charybdis explained smoothly. Her tone was soft and comforting but the aura that Rekka exuded was so cold it stung.
Right on cue, Yona came out of the shadows, a headlamp attached on her head. She wore an affectionate and casual smile and she walked, her hand on Evelynn's back. The petite girl was wrapped in bandages and visibly tired, but she walked upright. She raised her hand to her eye and rubbed in groggily.
"She's right here, miss," Yona smiled.
"Why are you here, too?" Axel spat, baring his teeth like a wolf.
"Woah, there. Easy, easy! I'm a bounty hunter, this is our base of operations. Chara here asked me to help out a little bit, so I'm escorting your friend here so we can all have a chat. How's that sound?"
"You literally just fought us," Axel said, fear and anger in his tone. "Don't touch her."
"Oh, harming her is the last thing on my mind. Unlike Redd, I'm a pretty civil person. And of course, bounty hunter code of honor states harming people unaffiliated with a mission is a severely punishable offense." Yona gave Axel a carefree wink that left him fuming, but he didn't press any further.
"Listen, guys. Bounty hunters like Jayken – the fox dude who shot you – and I are probably the friendliest monsters you'll find. Everyone outside these doors hates your guts. But Chara and I, we're honestly just curious. We don't wanna harm you, despite the fact that we're part of an organization that literally hunts you down."
"I know it sounds counterintuitive," Charybdis explained, gesturing for the members of Last Stand to sit on one of the several long benches that lined the concourse. "But we want to help you."
"Well, sorta," Yona corrected. "See, we bounty hunters get money where there's money to be had. But honestly my number one goal is to have fun. And no way I'm going to pass up a chance to make friends with the last eight humans on the planet. I mean, how lucky am I to find them? I'm not gonna mess this up. And Jayken feels the same way. We'll both be here to make your lives at RimOps as enjoyable as possible before you have to get shipped away."
"You all have a month before you're shipped out. In the meantime, I want to learn as much about you as possible. I want to get to know you all so that I can record your existences in my databases," Charybdis explained.
"I've dedicated my life to the pursuit of knowledge. Erasing an entire species from the course of history is one of the most egregious crimes imaginable. And even though humanity as a species may very well become extinct, they'll forever remain immortal as long as someone remembers them from an objective standpoint. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"
"So… what you're saying is that you want to get to know us so that you'll keep us alive through your memories even after we die?" Julia asked, her tone hopeful.
"I don't believe that one bit," Axel muttered. "When we die, we die. Nothing we can do about it."
"But once you're dead, monsterkind will want to forget that you exist. They want to forget the crimes they've committed, the atrocities they've performed. They want history to be nice and clean, and they'll try and hide the sins of both sides in the past. And because of that, history will just repeat itself. How can we learn from our mistakes by ignoring them?"
"I truly do want to help you. I want to help everyone – we can use this as a lesson to prevent conflict in the far future. I'm begging you, not just for your own good but for the future of the world, please cooperate with me. I'll do experiments of myself on you, of course, but I promise none of them will be harmful in the slightest."
Charybdis extended her hand. Macy was the first to take it and shake, followed by Julia. The rest of Last Stand looked skeptical, but one by one they took her hand. All of them except Rekka, who refused coldly. To this, Charybdis shrugged and turned to Yona.
"Yona here will show you all to your rooms. In the morning she'll wake you up for breakfast. It's imperative that your mental state remains in pristine condition in this environment. We'll see to it that you're treated with utmost kindness and respect here, as is deserving."
Charybdis then looked around furtively, making sure she wasn't to be overheard.
"Those barbarians outside this building's walls will treat you like scum. It's quite sad, how this cycle of endless blame continues on and on. But whatever anyone outside or inside this place may say to you to demean you, remember you are worth just as much as they are. You're an important contributor to history and nobody deserves to have their rights stripped from them. Mark my words, I will break the cycle. You're in good hands."
With that, Charybdis did a 180 degree spin on her heel and promptly marched off, looking quite satisfied with herself. Evelynn had her hand raised in question, but Charybdis ignored her. She dropped it, disappointed.
"What will happen to me, now that I'm not human anymore?" Evelynn whispered fearfully. She tried to finger her weapons out of habit, only to find they'd all been confiscated.
"I don't know, but I promise I'll always be by your side," Axel said solemnly.
"Look at those two lovebirds," Saya said without a hint of affection. "Known each other for like two days and they're already like a married couple. How does that even work?"
"Shh," Silas said, eyeing the prickly boy and the newly turned werewolf. He turned away before he caught their stares.
"Alright!" Yona quipped, interrupting the conversation. "We have four rooms available for the eight of you, which means that each of you will have to share a room with everyone else."
Silas looked at Macy, but she was already turned away.
"Macy," Silas whispered, hoping Saya wouldn't hear. "Would you like to share a room with me?"
Macy smiled sweetly but waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh, no, sorry. Rekka and I are already going to share a room."
Silas nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. Of course, he wasn't close to any member of Last Stand. Macy was no exception. He'd been stupid to expect or even hope that Macy would pick him over someone else. Saya was the only person who even wanted to speak with him.
"We sharing a room?" Saya asked Silas, creeping up behind him and elbowing him gently in the ribs.
"I guess," Silas said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He supposed it could have been worse, but it wasn't his first choice.
Yona guided them down the dimly lit concourse, suddenly veering off into a branching hallway that was completely shrouded in darkness. Silas almost lost track of Yona and nearly bumped into a nearby wall, but Saya with her perceptive magic was able to guide him on the right track through the hallway.
As Yona set foot along the long and narrow carpet, several square and rectangular yellow lights lit up automatically, illuminating her position through motion sensing technology. It was the norm of large office spaces and buildings in Lachlan. Silas thought it was wonderous, just like magic.
Her bandages on her forearms trailed behind her in the air. Despite her ragged appearance, she was well-groomed and clean, having just taken a bath. In comparison, the members of Last Stand were haggard after just two days out in the wilderness. Their clothes were stained with dirt and specks of blood, crumpled and beaten.
One by one, Yona guided them to a group of four rooms at the end of the hallway, two on each side, facing each other. The numbers on the metallic plaques by the entrances told Silas that he was on the lower level, underneath the ground floor. How he knew that, he had no idea.
Silas and Saya entered the room together, their sides brushing. Silas stopped in the doorway, taking in the sights. The room was medium-sized and rectangular with a large king-size bed in the center of it by the far wall. At the doorway sat a sharp and clean modern black table with two seats and a pair of draconic wooden coasters. The floor was dark tile with a glossy sheen, covered with a large white carpet rug. Blown glass lamps in organic, asymmetrical shapes hung from black ceiling racks.
To the right of the room was a bathroom, and Saya sighed in relief upon seeing it. Not only that, but there was a closet which upon further inspection Silas found had several sets of newly washed clothes for the both of them in their exact sizes. Saya's eyes bulged out of her head as she immediately grabbed a slick-looking leather outfit that must've been quite expensive and held it against herself in the bathroom mirror.
To Silas, this unnerved him – it meant Charybdis or the medics had taken his measurements in his sleep. Monsters who wanted humanity dead getting that close and personal with him without him even knowing – it make him not want to sleep at night.
Meanwhile, Saya wasn't taking it seriously at all. She ripped off her shirt and jacket, tossing it on the side of the bed.
Well, I guess that's her side now, Silas mused to himself.
Underneath Saya was wearing a low-cut white undershirt. Saya stretched her arms out wide, taking in the fresh air with her exposed skin.
"Man, only two days and it still feels that good to finally trash this outfit."
Seeing that Saya was already letting her guard down, Silas decided it must be at least a little safe for him to relax. It was morning, but he was exhausted. Perhaps he'd been wrong about not being able to fall back asleep. His eyelids began to droop as he laid down on his side of the bed. He slept for the first time he remembered.