Destruction - The Oasis Project Book 2 (Complete)

Fourteen - Ira

"Well, this is awkward." I pulled my pillow over my head to block out the light that had just been switched on. Not only was just after I'd gone to sleep but whoever knocked on my door had let themselves in and turned on the light. It was only when I realized that it could have been Desmond with some sort of weapon that got into my room that I threw the pillow aside and sat up in alarm. It was only Doctor Nita, but it was still awkward.

"Are you okay, Ira?" she asked, poking her head around the wall to look at me.

"Is that a loaded question?"

Nita shrugged and came over to the couch, her favourite spot. "Just checking on you like I should."

"I'm fine, I guess," I conceded. There wasn't much else to say. I'd probably turned everyone against me in one afternoon, but I wasn't even a bit sorry. I licked my split lip. It was just very awkward.

Doctor Nita sighed. "I know it's all been very hard for you, but you shouldn't be too hard on Celestia." She paused but didn't include Desmond even after thinking. "You're absolutely right - she did like Jaysen very much. After he died, Celestia did horrible things to herself. The Desmond thing... I like him as much as you and the next decent human being, but that was my idea, the only thing I could come up with in a desperate time."

"Do I want to know how?"

"A form of hypnotism," Nita answered. "I just wanted to keep Celestia alive. I'm sorry."

I was too spent to be angry again. "Nita, seriously. You ran tests on Celestia for days at a time on the island, didn't you? She changed before Jaysen died. Am I supposed to forget the times that she tried to kill me? Those are the most vivid memories I have, for the record."

"Stuart was right; you've always got a voice of reason. You force people to take you seriously." Nita smiled and leaned back into the couch. For a second, I imagined Stuart there instead, letting our "sessions" turn into philosophical conversations before the island descended into chaos.

"Doesn't matter," I said. "I'm still wasting my life away while you're all still playing games."

"I think you underestimate how big this program is, Ira." Nita sucked her top lip in, but nothing in her voice pointed to a lie. "A lot of the protocol is out of our control. Doctor A and I are just here to make sure that you're comfortable with your new abilities. Kathryn... Liana was forceful with you on the island because you were suffering. I'm a marine biologist by training, so I was assigned to look after Celestia, and I do care about her. The way she was after you left and Jaysen died, it broke my heart."

"You're still responsible." I crossed my legs on the mattress. Some flesh had grown back, at least.

Nita shook her head grimly. "Honestly, Ira, our hands are tied. Our job is only to see how we can hone your abilities and supervise you in case you need help. Us doctors don't even get weapons. Not here, not on in the labs, not even with our military backgrounds. But you do."

"Huh?"

"The world's worst people are dangerous people, Ira," Nita answered. "You may have talents they don't have, but you still need to be prepared." She paused before putting on an inviting tone. "If you want to get started, we can."

Despite not believing every second word that came out of the doctor's mouth, I appreciated Nita's openness and willingness to take risks. "After everything that's happened today, you're trusting me with weapons at night?"

"Am I an idiot?" Nita laughed musically and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Someone's got to trust first."

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"I analyzed your fight with Desmond," Nita said in the middle of the empty gym. "You don't care if you get hurt, huh? As long as you win. That's messy and worrying."

I frowned. I could barely believe that she would watch the security footage of something she should be sweeping under the rug, let alone lecture me on how I should have attacked a fellow recruit instead. "I..."

"That's no good, Ira. Not when you're up against people who actually want to kill you." Nita was standing with her legs shoulder-width apart and her hands on her hips. Her light blonde braid rested lightly over her left shoulder and her slightly tanned skin glowed under the lights. "Desmond's not our best fighter. He's spent most of his life surfing and sunbathing, he might as well be a crab. And I'm allowed to say this because I'm unfortunately distantly related to him." She went over to one of the shelves by the wall and pulled out a blue plastic prop. It was shaped like a knife, and she pointed it at me. "The first rule of working with weapons is to know how to take one away. You should always look to minimize threat and damage to yourself; you can't do anything if you're dead. Now, I'm about to stab you, and you're unarmed. What do you do?"

"Get out of the way?" I said hesitantly.

"Pretty good." Nita took a sturdy step towards me and pushed the knife prop towards my torso, making me realize how clueless I was at fighting strategically. She frowned when I didn't step back, and the knife would've gutted me. "Ira, did you not just give a correct answer?"

"Sorry." Blood rushed to my cheeks and my heartbeat sped up. I didn't deserve my rank at all.

Doctor Nita stepped back and readied the blue prop in her left hand. I could see the curves of her arm muscles, something I'd never noticed before. "If I was Desmond and I charged at you with a sharp knife, what would you do?" She pursed her lips and did exactly that, her dark blue eyes betraying a sliver of danger. My heart pumping, I ran towards Nita, veering slightly left, and swiped my forearm outwards to hit her knife arm. She didn't drop the knife or lose her posture; instead, she slid up my blocking arm and the prop ended up at the side of my neck. "Not bad, but this can still happen." My shoulders slumped as I sighed, but Nita patted me on the shoulder and flipped her grip on the prop, handing it to me. "Here, try to stab me. I'll show you how you can take me down."