Kat's dorm, which I would also be calling my dorm from now on, was fairly simple. Like every other piece of furniture and decor here at Atlas; it all consisted of white, glass, and wooden, minimalistic interior design components. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by an open-space kitchen, with the necessary home appliances and a little marble counter, directly connected to the cozy living room, or living space in this case. A brown couch and a big TV, with a tiny coffee table in between, lead to the most outstanding part of the room; a giant pair of crystal sliding doors that showed a marvelous view of the other side I didn´t get to cross from a very familiar rainforest.
"Wanna see the balcony?"- Kat tells me, I nod at her with a bright smile. She returns it and immediately guides me to the exterior.
Once outside, the fresh and chill wind hits my face and sways my hair. The sun is about to go down completely, and the moon is already making its grand appearance. I take in a deep breath and close my eyes, letting go of reality for a few seconds. I'm interrupted by an odd sound, a sound I would have never expected to hear. Waves, the sound of waves breaking on the coast and going back into the ocean. The rhythm of the tides. I open my eyes and see it. The beautiful immensity of a ruby-red sea, waves hitting the rocks of a great cliff, which is where the forest came to a halt.
"It's beautiful, isn´t it?"-Kat says admiring it as well.
"Yes, it truly is."-I respond, absolutely mesmerized.
. . .
The sun rays slipping through the sheer curtains and the sweet smell of breakfast make me unglue my heavy eyelids. The memory of yesterday's sunset causes a smile to form on my lips. After looking at the starry night sky, Kat showed me my room and told me to rest. It was almost identical to the medical dorm I had been staying in for the past few days. However, my new blonde friend told me I could decorate it how I liked it, which left me thinking about what that liking was exactly. Back in my old life, the room I had when I wasn´t isolated was even duller than what Atlas had to offer, and any decoration was strictly prohibited. That's why I haven´t really created my own style. Villainous thoughts about that life I had left behind threaten to attack my mind, I try to make them go away by getting up from my warm bed and wondering what is being cooked in the kitchen.
"G'day Bianca! How did you sleep darling?"- I'm instantly greeted by Kat's bright greeting. She's making some pancakes and the counter's already showcasing two plates and two tall glasses of orange juice.
"I slept really well, thank you."- I say as I sit on the stool and watch her serve the pancakes on the plates.
"Ready for the tests today? Don´t worry, they're not as scary as they sound."- She asks me while she sits down next to me, I take a bite of my breakfast and it tastes amazing. I smile and assure her I was fine doing the tests.
After chatting for a while, the doorbell rings, and in enters Olivia. She shows a little smirk as she watches us have breakfast together.
"I see you two are getting along just fine. Bianca, after you finish eating, you'll be coming with me to the first test."- She states, work-face back on.
. . .
We now are at the obstacle course and running field we were at yesterday. Olivia explained the first test was the physical one, I had to run one mile and go through the course. The time it would take me determined if I was good enough to specialize in this training. It went pretty well, I only struggled a bit with one of the obstacles, which was kind of like monkey bars. I already knew more or less how it was going to go, I had done similar exercises in the past. The other test was aiming, she gave me a bow and arrow and I had to hit the target in three tries, which I managed to do twice. She said I did well overall, but the result of the mental test would determine what special ability I would be training on.
After a short break, she guided me to a room that consisted of a desk and a chair, she said it was just an IQ test that would last an hour. I did it and handed it to her, she was impressed with how fast I had done it and explained the next and last test.
"This is a "neuro-helmet", it will scan the activity of your neurotransmitter pathways and will send certain stimuli and capture your mental responses."-She puts the helmet on me, which is composed of thick wires, and tells me to sit down and relax. After approximately half an hour she says I'm finished and would get the results very soon.
. . .
"So how did it go?"-Kat asks me, we're having dinner on the couch and watching a film. It was the first time I could watch a film out of the permitted list Roman gave me, but she didn´t have to know, so I just said I wasn´t keen on action movies.
"Honestly, I don´t know. The physical test went well, but I'm not sure if it'll be good enough. And the results of the mental tests aren´t out yet, Olivia told me I'll know tomorrow."-Kat says I had nothing to worry about. A few minutes later she got a phone call. Personal phones were granted to ones who had accomplished something in their field, I learned earlier this morning. Hurriedly, she excuses herself and runs out the door. I was left alone and surprised, mainly just curious about what could have made her leave so suddenly, but I guess I would have to ask her later to find out.
*3ºperson POV*
Katherine rapidly makes her way over to Olivia's office. She had got an urgent call from her and is very confused about getting such a warning at such a late time of the night.
"What's wrong Liv?"-She says as she closes the door behind her, the instructor was analyzing something on her tablet with a fuzzy expression.
"Here are Bianca's results from the IQ test. She's above average, but that's not it. The neurological scan has detected irritation in her primary visual cortex, as well as abnormal signals in the hippocampus, going crazy all over the temporal lobe."-She's talking very fast as she shows Kat the bright screen.
"That can only mean one thing Miss Mellows…"-Kat whispers with a blank, shocked expression.
Katherine Mellows was speechless, completely mute. She remembered the first lecture she had about this topic. The professor's words played in her mind like a broken record;
"Deep inside the temporal lobe of the brain, the hippocampus has a central role in our ability to remember, imagine, and dream. Our most vivid dreams are a remarkable replication of reality, combining disparate objects, actions, and perceptions into a richly detailed hallucinatory experience. How does our brain accomplish this? It has long been suspected that the hippocampus not only contributes to dreaming but has an impacting control over what we dream, in part due to its close association with memory. According to one estimate, about half of all dreams contain at least one element originating from a specific experience while the subject was awake. However, there's a very reduced number of people in the world that can control those dreams lucidly, combine them with memory, and bring them to life. There's only a number left existing that's countable by the palm of my hand."
"... But they exist, and they're out there, never forget that."