Destruction - The Oasis Project Book 2 (Complete)

Seven - Ira

I sat at the table closest to the TV, which was constantly showing news with Chinese captions. I didn't understand a word, but it made my world bigger - I saw montages of farming, diplomatic meetings, and interviews with strangers that reminded me of the existence of an outside world. Resting my chin on my forearms, I stretched my body across the table. There was a battleship gliding proudly over tiny waves.

To my relief, no one had bothered me again, not even Celestia, linked with Desmond by the arms, when they appeared for dinner. Whenever I made accidental eye contact with one of the Chinese people, they owned it and nodded at me with respect. It was as if being number one automatically made me their ringleader. I almost smiled; this could be useful one day.

Doctor A was most pleased to see me when she filed in with some older people of Asian descent, and straightaway led them to where I was sitting to introduce me to her circle. I had no idea what she said - her words sounded like what was coming out of the television - and I could only make out my first name, and Yihao, which I remembered Wu saying meant "number one". Doctor A even introduced her colleagues to me, but I could barely remember their names when she introduced the next person. Like Wu, they offered to shake my hand, but I was frozen in place. Doctor A didn't seem to mind my rudeness. When the crowd dissipated, she patted me on the shoulder and told me that she was proud of me.

You've come a long way, Ira.

Not now. I shook Stuart's voice away and turned to hide my dampening eyes.

󠁌♟♙♟♙

I didn't know how long I stayed in the common room; I stared mindlessly at the Chinese broadcast until the lights dimmed. Looking around, there was no one left here, and soon after the lights dimmed, the sound of the TV went with it. Zipping up my jacket against the cold air conditioning, I realized that I should really go back to my room. Yet my instinct told me it was the perfect opportunity to snoop around. I eased out between the fixed stool and table and made my pupils wider under the bluish lights. The walls were white again. I passed door number one, two, three... there were fifteen of the same grey doors in total, but I had no idea if all of them were occupied. The hallway came to a T, with glass doors on either side that I bet were reinforced and bulletproof.

"You can go anywhere. It's not locked," a voice sounded from behind me, making me jump. My elbow flew around, and I pinned the boy who spoke against the white wall with my forearm. He was shaken and his dark brown eyes were wide as he tried to breathe. He was so in shock that he didn't even try to push me off. "I mean no harm. Please let me go. Please."

I blinked and released him from the wall. He coughed loudly a few times and I looked down the corridor to make sure that no one just saw what I did. I only saw empty space. "No wonder... you're the new One," he said, rubbing life back into his hoarse throat. He couldn't have been older than eighteen, and he looked so normal. There were no signs of instability, nothing to suggest a bad past - he looked like he just shed his baby fat from underneath his golden brown skin. Barefoot, he was just a little taller than me. "I'm Keshav. You must be Ira."

I had so many questions to ask him, but at the same time, I didn't want to talk to anybody in here. New One? How did he know my real name when none of the others seemed to know? How had I not seen him in the corridor? Instead of opening my mouth, however, I gave Keshav a long, hard stare before spinning on my heels and walking back to where I thought my door was. I wanted to explore, but I certainly didn't want to do it with a stranger watching over my shoulder.

"So, are you heading to the gym or the library?" Keshav asked. I was confused for a moment before I realized that I was heading towards the end of the corridor with glass doors instead of my room. It was hard to hide my embarrassment. Keshav caught up to me with a few light steps. "It's fine. You're new here. First time out of your room, eh?"

I nodded. I took another step and the intersecting corridor lit up too suddenly for my dilated eyes to adjust. Acting like it didn't bother me took most of my will. I couldn't afford to let any of them know my weakness, especially Keshav, who seemed to know more than average.

"Might as well show you the gym," Keshav suggested with a shrug. "I was going to shoot some hoops before bed." He looked at me quizzically. "Ira?"

I let him know that I didn't mind with a blink. Keshav took the lead and turned left at the end of the hallway, triggering the automatic glass doors to open. I saw a round gadget installed on the ceiling next to the door that had to be a security camera. This corridor was just like the last, except that there were no grey hotel-room-like doors on the left, only a few closet doors with unwelcome locks painted to blend into the white walls.

Keshav came to a set of double doors and laid his palm on the bioscanner next to it. Again, I wondered just who he was when the doors swung open by themselves. The gym in this place exceeded any of my expectations. It wasn't like a city gym filled with unnatural equipment; the gym here had an indoor basketball court, a fenced squash court, ropes and ladders hanging from the ceiling, stacks of acrobatic mats, and a rock climbing wall on the side. Keshav turned on more lights and grinned proudly. "Cool, huh?"

I nodded, not knowing what to make of it all. I found my eyes automatically scanning for exits. They were marked on either side of the basketball court in white Chinese characters against a green background.

"Isn't this a strange place?" Keshav asked, his voice echoing through the empty gym. He picked up a basketball from a rack by the wall and threw it to me. "You're in shock after Dell Island, aren't you?"

Hell Island. I almost dropped my ball. I watched Keshav effortlessly dribble up to the hoop and throwing a dark red ball in with a layup. He signalled to me to have my turn, but all I could think about was the fact that he mentioned Dell Island. I missed by far, but it was good to feel in control of my body again. I was certainly not in control of my mind.

"I was there too," Keshav continued, bouncing the basketball on the spot and keeping his eyes on me. "After Desmond, before you, but I've heard a bit about you. Liana always said that you were the only one out of all of us with the grittiness to really be One. She has zero faith in her own son." He laughed awkwardly and took another perfect shot that didn't even touch the backboard. "Doctor Stuart - I don't know where he's gone, but I hope he's okay - heard he found you difficult as hell, and there weren't many people he couldn't get through to."