Their base was the most impressive bunker I have ever seen.
When we first arrived we took a right and were meet with a long and spacious hallway, in which had a door every ten meters. Shouts of fighting were heard in the separate rooms which led me to believe this area was for training. As we walked down the hall I peered into one of the rooms, inside a small group of people with different colored hair, mostly brown, sat on the ground and watched two of their peers fight.
"This separate room is where the elementalist train, it was made specifically to withstand their attacks." He spoke beside me, his eyes glancing over at my head and peered under my hood. It was now the two of us, as he had earlier sent Sharp-eyes on a task to 'gather the rest'.
I straightened myself and placed my hands into my pockets, glancing at him.
"What?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh!" He grinned. "Let me introduce you to someone who will help you settle in!"
Before he could walk any further I grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. "Settle in?"
He nodded. "I'm aware of that, but I think you should stay at least for a week before you should leave."
"A week..." My voice cracked.
He giggled- should a grown man giggle? Once he regained his composure he explained himself. "I simply want to make sure the area is clear before properly sending you out on your own."
I bit my lip. Truthfully I know I would be able to easily escape the soldiers that loomed outside, but this man was too charismatic to go against. "Right."
Towards the middle of that extensive hallway was a tunnel.
Always study your surroundings.
I nodded to myself. It would be good to study the framework of such an extensive bunker, after all, if push comes to shove I am going to need to find the exit. We reached a fork, in which one was free to travel through but the other path was heavily guarded.
"Here we are. This area is where we hold meetings or where we discuss intel, it's an important place so we tend to only let special personnel in." Michael explained.
He's smart enough to do that much, I thought. Through several experiences I've come to notice that several rebel groups are highly unorganized but this man seemed to have everything under control. There was no doubt in my mind that this man had military experience when it came to leadership. His steps and posture were firm, and although the features on his face were calm, relaxed, and even easygoing, a very dominating aura came out of him.
The both of us walked into a room that held several large desks that all faced each other. "Hey! How's work going?"
Although Michael has greeted them as if they had been working diligently, I knew otherwise. Many of their features showed a curiousness and none of them seemed to be working seriously. Their desks were empty and some of them were still settling in by their desks.
Besides, I remembered clearly the task that had been given to Sharp-eyes, who glared at me from a corner. It seems like he executed it perfectly, seeing as there were people gathered here for me.
"Who is this Michael?" A grumpy-looking old man stared at me from his desk.
"Louis, this is-" Michael stopped, finally realizing one crucial fact. He did not know a single thing about me. He turned to look at me, "I never asked for your name did I?"
I stared at him.
"Lovely." Louis-the-grouch snorted.
"Well, at least now we could all get to know each other properly!" Michael chirped. I was beginning to take back everything I said about him. "Please take a seat!"
He pulled up a seat at what I assumed was his desk which was in the middle of all of them. I slowly sat down, feeling greatly uneasy behind the stares that everyone gave me.
Michael stood beside me. "Please introduce yourself!"
The room fell silent as they expected a reply.
It would be better if you didn't say a word.
His voice in my head was the voice of reason. These people didn't need to know about me, since I was a simply a passerby. Their eyes held suspicion, distrust, and hostility. The word hunting rang through my head and I realized they were looking for someone dangerous. They clearly didn't trust me, an outsider, and that was fine with me since I didn't trust them as well.
"God damn." The grouch grumbled.
In an instance an old woman with a kind face chucked a small notebook at his face. If he hadn't caught it, it would have hit him square in the face.
"Did anyone ask you to say anything Louis?" She snapped. She quickly turned to look at me, with a smile. "Don't worry sweetie, you can trust us."
I stared at her for a few seconds before looking down at my lap.
It seemed that my reluctance to say anything resulted the already tense atmosphere to grow ominous.
The woman stared deeply into my eyes, "You don't trust us, and that is reasonable but I hope you do understand that by keeping silent, we have every right to distrust you as well."
"I understand." I said calmly while feeling the intense stare Michael gave me.
They all gave each other glances and uneasy stares. While I seemed suspicious my actions were far too obvious, a real infiltrator would easily spill a false story. At least that is how I would think, but then again, I was a stranger who had been taken into a very delicate place.
I felt a firm hand land on my shoulder and my body went stiff. "I suppose we could at least introduce ourselves right?" Michael encouraged the rest with an awkward laugh.
"Suppose? Why should we?" Mr. Grouch huffed and Sharp-eyes agreed with him silently from the corner with a nod.
A man in a long white coat sighed. "My name is Jack Simmons and I am in charge of the medical ward. Please call me Dr. Simmons."
"Since you're so cozy with her why don't you let her call you Jack while you're at it." Mr. Grouch grumbled and Sharp-eyes nodded once more.
The old woman decided to ignore them once more but didn't forget to chuck another notebook. "My name's Claire, but everyone calls me grandma. I'm in charge of the living conditions of everyone here like laundry or assigning rooms.
That grizzly bear over there," she pointed at the old man, "his name is Louis. He's the head cook here and in charge of everything related to food. Mind you he learned how to cook in the military so it isn't the best."
She looked at Sharp-eyes. "The youngest one over there is Vans. He's in charge of training all the new recruits and youngsters to learn how to fight or defend themselves."
We exchanged silent dirty looks.
"And you already know my name," Michael grinned down at me, "I'm in charge of this bunch. I oversee all of them, and make sure this whole place stays running properly!"
I could care less who they were or what they were in charge of, but hearing their introductions felt weird.
Michael spoke suddenly, "I'm not entirely sure who this young woman is, where she is from, or if we can trust her but she'll be staying here for a week until we find the area clear. Any objections?"
I wanted to facepalm, He sure knows how to convince others.
Everyone except the old woman- Mrs. Claire, raised their hands in reply. I nodded in my head, Thank god! Some people with rationality.
"Claire!" Mr. Grouch snapped at her but simply glared in response, making him shrink in his chair.
"No objections? Great!" Michael beamed and everyone placed their hands down.
What? Confused, I looked at their faces and was left in dismay at what I saw. Their faces were unchanging and even expecting, as if this was a normal routine for them. How much do you make them suffer?
"Claire, please get someone to get her situated. I know you would normally attend to her but I'm afraid I have some urgent things to discuss regarding the situation upstairs." Michael said seriously and in an instant the atmosphere grew darker than it already was.
"Alright." Mrs. Claire stood up and made her way towards the door, she opened it and spoke to one of the guards that stood there. "Please take our guest to Ari, and get her situated." She turned towards me and motioned me towards the guard. "Tristan is going to take you to the resting quarters where you'll find what you need."
I glanced at Michael who smiled and nodded. I stood up and walked towards the door, ignoring all the stares that were penetrating the back of my skull.
"Go on." Mrs. Claire sent a ray of sunshine that blinded me.
I followed the broad back that lead me back to the entrance of that lone hall, the door closing behind me. There was no doubt in me that I was going to be in that conversation but I didn't let it bother me. Instead I was too preoccupied with the boy who kept sneaking glances at me.
What is up with him? Has he never seen a girl before?
He glanced at my shoes and the corners of his mouth grew into a mocking snicker. I looked down. I see.
I had already decided to look for new ones, these were already so worn that I could nearly feel the dirt. I frowned and looked at his shoes. The sneakers seemed to be in good condition, as if they'd never been worn. Maybe I should just take his? See that smirk wiped off his face.
I pushed the thought out of my head. I can think about that later, right now I need to focus on the layout of the place. Each turn and step were carefully jotted down in my head. The textures and specific features of the walls memorized in my head.
This place was truly worthy of being called a base. I had not seen anything like it despite being in many of them.
"Yo Ari!" The guy in front of me suddenly called out, causing me to stop in my tracks completely. "Grandma said to help this one settle down. She had something to do."
"It must be important, since grandma always helps the new ones settle in." A girl in front us us mused as she finished folding the shirt in her hands. Her eyes locked with mine and I was meet with a sparkling hazel color. She smiled and it seemed like the freckles on her face glowed. "Hello there!"
I couldn't meet the outstretched hand that seemed to wish me well.
She simply shrugged it off with a soft smile. "My name is Ari, short for Arianna! Welcome to the coziest rebel base in the nation!"
I shifted uncomfortably unable to respond to her kind greeting.
"Oh great, is she mute?" The boy looked at me.
Arianna and I shared the same feeling of annoyance and I knew because she so openly expressed it.
As she opened her lips I decided to say something to shut him up. "Better mute than saying rude crap and looking like an ass."
I still wasn't over the fact that my voice was so low and grumbly and although I expected the two of them to react to my voice rather than my words, it seemed otherwise.
The boy blinked with embarrassment as Arianna grinned from ear to ear. "Well done girl! Tristan needs someone to put him in his place from time to time."
"What! I'm-"
"Sure, whatever. Let's go get you situated." She beckoned me her finger to follow her. "See ya Tristan! Hey Violet take over for me please!"
"No problem Ari!" An older woman who was also folding clothes among of others hollered back.
"That area was the laundry, an assigned group washes everyone's clothes. Although it's usually the older woman who are assigned here." She laughed. "Although it seems boring it beats bathroom duty.
Right next door is our shower house, it's separated for the two different sexes. The used water is usually for the laundry. Pretty convenient if you ask me."
"Here we are." She stopped in from a doorless frame on our right. "This is the women's shower, there shouldn't be anyone in there so you won't be caught like a deer in headlights. I'll be back with some fresh clothes for-"
"I don't need them." I blurted out.
"That's alright! You can just borrow them until we clean yours! It won't take more than a day or two." She replied noticing my discomfort.
It wasn't until she glanced at my hand when I realized I involuntarily grabbed her sleeve to prevent her from leaving.
I quickly let go and shoved them into my pockets. Her slight warmth lingered on my cold fingers, something that was peculiar and bizarre. What is wrong with me? I decided against rejecting the shower since she was probably going to argue back.
"I'll be going then! There should be some soap bar by any shower head you use. I'll be back in a bit." She chirped.
I watched her leave and headed into the shower, my eyes looking at everything I could. It was dark, and without a doubt there should have been a light switch which I found easily. The lights flickered on, and were powerful enough to brighten the room perfectly. I felt a strange chill go through my body. I saw a stack of towels and fabric bags by the entrance and pulled one of each.
My footsteps echoed as they tapped against the tiles. There were many rows of shower heads, each in their own little compartment and space.
I picked one, relatively close to the entrance so that Arianna wouldn't have to walk far.
I stripped and placed all of my worn and dirty clothes into the bag, hanging it on a hook that was outside the compartment. Turning on the shower head was a bit of a struggle but once I managed to get it on I was sprayed with freezing cold water. My body didn't react as the temperature of the water was just under my own temperature.
The situation I lived in forced me to abandon any luxuries like showers. The best I could do to wash myself was find a large source of water, and normally it was bellow the average human temperature. It was a good thing I wasn't normal though.
My eyes lusted at the bar of soap that hung on a shelf next to me. I don't need it. Every time my eyes would stray as I scrubbed myself they would land on the soap. Don't need it. I don't need it.
Another thought filled my mind. It's just this once.
Without a second thought my hand leaped for the bar of soap and used it. If I had felt clean with the measly water, I felt like I was shining after the bar of soap. My hair felt silky and smooth for the first time in ages and my skin was no longer brown from all the dirt but had turned milky white.
My nose caught scent of the fresh smell and I was pulled out of the trance that I had been in since the moment I had been caught.
What am I doing? Everything I had done up until this point was not me. I would have never agreed to come to such a place. So why am I here? My hands began to tremble and my breathing became shallow. If I stay any longer everyone here would be in danger. Did I really let a man convince me to come into such a populated place? Since when had I become such a fool?
All these thoughts flooded unto my brain and I couldn't breathe, I blinked rapidly, the walls of the cubical closing around me. Not now.
A sudden pounding noise pulled me away from the fear that was crawling up my insides like fire. "Hello!? Are you alright? Hey?!"
My breathing was loud and surely ragged enough to cause concern. I looked for a quick excuse and saw it coming down like icy rain. "Cold." My voice trembled.
"I'm so sorry!" I heard her exclaim from outside the door. "I should have warned you the water was cold! I apologize!"
After a few moments she continued, "I- uh, have your new clothes, I'm going to place them by the door. I'll be waiting outside okay?" Knowing that she wouldn't get a reply she stepped away, her footsteps slowly receding.
"It's going to be okay." I whispered to myself. "I'll leave in a week. It'll be as if nothing happened."