/It's me/ his voice is suddenly in my head.
I stopped on my steps.
What was that? I suddenly feel like I'm lifted on my feet but I'm pretty sure I'm still standing on the ground. It's like vanilla in my mind. I'm flying on clouds and just freely floating above. My heart and mind feel at ease all of a sudden. I am more comfortable than I was earlier. Like my worries are over.
"What are you doing?" he turned to look at me. "Why did you stop walking?"
"Ah…wa…was it supposed to feel…strange?"
"Someone just sent a message through your mind. Of course, it is strange. You better work on your barrier. You can't just let anyone speak like that to you. Others have good mind control."
I gulped. "Yes, Sir." I continued walking.
I examined his back. I realized that he has broader shoulders than a typical guy at my university. "Do you work out?" I asked.
"I'm an agent," he answered immediately.
"Of course…you need to have a strong psych. Anyway, where are we going to meet your commander?"
He breathed heavily, "You're too noisy."
"Is it alright if I call you Aaron, just Aaron? Unlike Lieutenant Henry?"
"No. Just Aaron,"
We are now inside of an army jeep. The smell of leather occupies the whole space. It makes my nose wrinkle a lot.
"Are you guys, real soldiers?" Because I think Henry is a soldier too. This 'Commander' and that 'Lieutenant' are giving off the same vibes. Are they playing with me? What if they're working together?
"No, not at the moment. We are creating our own army," the one that Aaron called Commander answered my question.
"Ah, I see."
"We are planning to have our own military facility since the government doesn't want to deal with Artisan problems and they don't want us to mingle with their problems. They're too afraid to accept the fact that there are people like us around the world. They think we're a threat instead of a friend," he scoffed a little at his last statement.
I just nodded. The government is aware of such existence. This artisan world is more serious than I thought.
"Here we are. In our HQ." The car stopped.
I looked outside through the tinted window. I see a simple house. It seriously looks like a simple residential house for a simple family. How can an army car belong in this kind of house? How can these people live in this kind of house? The style doesn't fit them at all.
"How can this be an HQ? Isn't this just a normal house?" I studied the structure in front of us.
"Although this part of the town is civilian free, just in case someone would break through the barriers, they'll think this all was just a normal house. You're just seeing the camouflage." The Commander smiled.
"Camouflage?" I repeated to myself.
Aaron got out first then he helped me down. His touch, even though his hands are covered with gloves, still seeps some warmth through my sweater. My body is like telling me that he's a perfect match.
"Aaron will guide you to your room to fix yourself. At sixteen hundred we should meet again." The Commander said and left.
"Six…sixteen hundred?" I tried counting on my head.
"4 o' clock," Aaron answered nonchalantly.
"'kay."
Aaron guided me towards my room. The Commander is telling the truth, the house outside is just a camouflage until you go inside. As you enter the front gate, you will see a garden that is not properly landscaped then enter the front door and you will see a fake living room. It's complete with sofas, tables, accessories and curtains and other elements you will see in a normal living room. Then you go to the left and you will see a huge double door and when you enter that door, that's where the magic happens. Everything is suddenly huge.
"This is our main and real lobby," Aaron said. My eyes landed on the group of kids playing on the side and on the other side were some young adults discussing something then suddenly a yellow smoke appeared from someone's hand then they started laughing.
"To your left are the dormitories, in front, behind that huge glass door are the different facilities like the medical facility, training facility and to your right, a tall building for other businesses. You're not allowed to go there unless you're part of the Commander's circle." He explained.
"How can all this fit? I don't get it…You can't see this from the outside." I examined the dormitories on my left. I think it's at least thirty floors or more. My eyes can't see the full view from down here. On the other side is another tall building. In front through the glass doors, are cars, more military cars.
"The Military, with the help of some illusionists and shields, was able to invent something that would shield us from the outside world."
"But h-"
"Don't ask me how they did it because I'm not part of that group."
"Okay." I shut my mouth.
I followed him to the left where the dormitories are located. We entered another door. All the walls are painted in white while the ceiling was perfectly sculpted with the curvy dropped-cove ceiling. The flooring was covered with green carpet which means less noise for me. Yey.
Which reminds me, "Aaron, do you still hear my thoughts? I tried doing what you told me. Though I'm not entirely sure if I'm doing it properly."
"Sometimes."
"Are you always like this? Quiet? Less moving. Unhappy…reserved?"
"Yes."
"Tried smiling?"
"Is there something to smile about?"
"Okay…"
We stopped in front of a brown louver door—which is like the others—there's a number on the door which says 2409…Room 2409. I must remember that.
"I'll get you at 4 o'clock. Try to get some rest."
I looked directly to my side, the hallway was still long. How many people live here?
I nodded and opened the door in front of me. The room is not as plain as I expected it would be. The floor is wooden, the walls are painted in white still, and the cabinets are in wenge-color and so are the other furniture pieces. There's a door on the other end which I'm guessing is the bathroom. I closed the door behind me and lied on the bed. The covers are soft—I tried making a bed sheet angel. Then my phone rang, I fished my hand through my pocket for it and answered the call.
"Sapphire, what do you mean you won't be back soon? Ven and I are worried." Jo blasted my eardrums.
"Yeah, hello too. Jo, I'm sorry. I don't think I could tell you what's really happening." Not that they told me it's confidential but I think it is.
"Are you in danger? Do you want us to call the special force?"
Special intelligence, special force, "I think I already have enough help that I could get. Thanks." Why am I in this place again?
"When are you coming back?"
"Soon I guess." I just trusted a person I just knew three hours ago. I slapped my forehead. What is wrong with me? I followed a guy I just met, rode a car with people I do not know and went to a strange place with these same unknown people. Did I just step through a danger zone?
"I guess? Sapphire, 'I guess' is not the right answer. But you know what? Fine, we'll just make some excuses here. But make sure you come back or else."
"Yes. I promise. Thanks for understanding. I'll return the favor." What if I get killed today? What the heck am I doing here?
I stood up from my bed and tried to make a plan to get out of here.
"What's the point?" I moved around the room. "I'm surrounded by people that have some sort of magic that comes out of their hands!" I stopped moving, "They could hear my thoughts right now, right?"
I moved around the room again. "There's no way out…" I sat back on my bed. I am now finding it difficult to breathe. "I shouldn't have followed him. I should've run…but he'll definitely catch me even by just using that telekinesis thing he just did…Or maybe this is just a dream?" I slapped myself. "Wake up!" But what was that earlier? When he talked to me in my mind. I'm pretty sure that was real…
I dropped my head on the pillow and closed my eyes. Too much running exhausted me really bad. Bad luck. Yes, the reason why I'm here is because of that Aaron guy.
The sudden thought of Aaron made a smile on my face. Why am I feeling this way? I don't usually feel anything like this knowing that I couldn't get to choose whom I want to marry and I don't think Aaron is interested in me anyway. I sighed. Whoever comes, comes.