"After seven?" Rea's eyes went wide and shot to the clock.
Karma scooted to the edge of the bed as Rea wildly threw on clothes. She was amazed at the speed with which he could get fully clothed. When he was dressed, he shoved his feet into boots next to the bed.
"What's wrong with seven?"
"I'm late for training. I haven't been late since—" Rea looked like he would say more, but he stopped himself and ran his hand through his rumpled hair.
Frowning, he crossed to the door of the bathroom and disappeared. Karma sat on the side of the bed and waited for him to come back. How was she supposed to know what time he had training? She didn't even know where her clothes were.
Rea rushed out of the bathroom and headed straight for the exit. He paused at the door with his hand on the knob. For a moment, she thought he was going to exit without saying anything. He spun around and looked at her like he'd completely forgotten she was there. Karma was mildly annoyed.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" He swore two more times and then swiveled his head back to the door.
Karma stood and went to stand next to him. She could tell he was worried, and she could see the war within him starting.
Ignoring his frantic state, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and brought his mouth to hers. She kissed him with barely leashed passion, not letting him go for a second. Karma swept her tongue inside his mouth to taste the toothpaste he used. She clutched at his muscled upper arms. She didn't let go until he wrapped his arms around her body and crushed her to him. When he finally surfaced from the kiss, he looked at her with a bemused expression on his face.
"What was that for?"
"I wanted to say good morning before you left and to tell you I had a great time last night. I can wait here for you. I can sit around and try to get my memory back while you're out. You don't need to worry about me."
Rea's expression turned grim. He ran his hands through his hair again. Her words had the opposite effect than what she'd intended. He looked more worried now than before.
"No, you can't stay here alone. Your boots are over by the chair. Put them on and come with me."
"You want me to go with you… to training?" Karma was truly astounded.
Once, she'd snuck in to watch his training with his dad. After his father had humiliated him in front of everyone, he then pitted Rea against two men who were better trained.
Karma remembered keenly watching Rea get slammed into the mud repetitively. When Rea found out she'd seen it, he had made her promise to never come to training again. She'd honored his request because she couldn't watch his sadistic father in action ever again. Watching the love of her life get crushed had been a hell like none other.
"Hurry up." He pulled a pair of socks from a drawer and tossed them at her.
Karma was still stunned he invited her. She fumbled with the socks. Karma grabbed the soft black leather boots he pointed to and sat in a chair by the table. The shoes felt like they were made for her, and she zipped them up over her calf. These boots gave her a measure of comfort. Out of everything, these were familiar. A memory of her zipping up these boots popped into her head.
Rea didn't spare her another glance as they hurried out into the hallway. As Karma trotted along, she glanced at the empty rooms to the right and left. The plain cement walls were smooth on either side of the large walkway. Bright round lights hung every few feet above them. Each room they passed had the door open, and empty beds and sparse furniture came into view.
"Why are all the rooms around here empty? Are we antisocial?"
"It's 'coz once I leave to build a new base, my room and all the rooms in this area go to the scientists and their families. Once the men are trained, they'll be the police and the safety of this water base. Scientists, women, and children can't move onto the base until it is safe. It's my father's rule."
"I didn't know this was a new base. Thank you for bringing me along while you build it. I heard you're not supposed to do that." Karma mulled what they'd been discussing. Was having no one around him hard, or did he want it that way? Maybe he liked that his life was just her, him, and his dad. Karma shuddered at the thought of Rea's father. She was glad she hadn't run into him so far.
After a few seconds of silence, she started to wonder if they were going to stay on this base or if they were going to move on to build another one.
"After this base is fully operational and people move in, will a family or a couple live in your room? After the scientists and workers move here and this base is safe, where do we go?"
They turned a sharp corner and headed down similar hallways of cold cement with large fat columns. The walls were sterile, as if they were waiting for someone to decorate them. She thought that adding finishing touches to a base might be fun.
"My room and the others around me are for single people and sometimes for couples. Down further, there are rooms for larger families. This way is past the greenhouses that grow some of the food. Spouses and children are responsible for the underground farms that get added after I leave." Rea sounded resigned, as if he was a tour guide educating her. "All the best shit gets added after I leave."
Rea hurried Karma over the rock flooring past the different areas of the water base. They rushed past large equipment rooms where the scientists would clean water from the surface and put it into huge tanks. They passed barracks for the single men and an enormous empty cafeteria.
Something about the greenhouses was familiar. The time 1:05 a.m. leaped into her mind. As soon as she tried to catch the memory, it was gone again.
"Until the families get here, who takes care of the greenhouses?" she asked to chase away the perturbed feeling seeping into her. She was practically running to keep up, and she was irked that she had no memories.
"All the men have to spend time in the greenhouses. It's partly 'coz we have to grow our food, but mostly it's mandatory that we all have to be under the sun lamps. Gears gets after us if our vitamin D drops too low. He checks our health once a month."
"That makes sense, but you didn't answer my other question. Where do we go after this water base is built? What do we do when we don't have Gears with us? Does he come with us, or is there another doctor?"
"We?" Rea gave her a quick side glance and kept up his jog.
"Yes, we. Are we going to a new base to train others, or are we going back to an already established base? Do we stay here? Where does your father go? Does he come with us? Does Gears move with us? I thought he was a close friend of yours."
Rea abruptly stopped. They came to a large metal door and paused. His hand reached out and grasped a long metal handle.
"That's a lot of questions, Kitten. We're going to work it out." He spoke meticulously. Rea turned around to look at her. A fierce frown wrinkled his brow as his eyes slashed over her. "What are you wearing?" he added after studying her.
"Clothes."
"That's not clothes. That's a second skin, only in color."
Karma looked down and shrugged. The boots came up to where the black stretch pants left off, and the blue shirt covered her torso even though the top was snug. The clothes fit, but he was right about the fabric not hiding much. It seemed tight, but she could move easily.
"Gears gave the clothes to me this morning." She smoothed her hand over the bottom of her shirt. "He also told me to wake you. I think he was surprised you slept in."
"I bet he was," Rea grumbled. He then mumbled under his breath a few more words about how Gears made his life miserable. With a frown now permanently plastered on his face, he swung the door wide. The entrance was a large double door, but the opposite one stayed firmly shut.
"I would've worn my clothes if you'd told me where they are," Karma commented to his back. What did he expect her to do? Run around the base naked? This was better than nothing.
"We can work that out too," he grumbled. It was apparent that he now dismissed her from his thoughts.