Nucleic † Dennor

The Safe House

Beige.

That's the only way Lukas could describe it. His new home was incredibly beige. Beige trim lined the white walls, which enclosed rooms filled with beige furniture. The entrance to the apartment stood in a large living room, which seemed to double as an office. To the left, the door to the bathroom. And to the right, the bedroom. Nothing more.

Everything in this unit seemed stuck in time. It was kind of perfect. In a time where his head was cloudier than it had ever been before, Lukas needed this under-stimulation. It was calming. Any other time he would have scoffed at the dated interior design, but today it was just the thing he needed.

He approached the bedroom, the corners of his lips twitching slightly in amusement at the myriad of brochures sitting at the edge of the bed. He slipped his jacket off, which happened to be the only possession he could take with him, and placed it on the hook on the bedroom door. Curious, he picked up a few of the brochures and managed to stifle a laugh at the titles. The Safe House: A Safe Place was definitely his favorite. The redundancy was incredbile.

After taking a small stroll through the unit to familiarize himself with his indefinite home, Lukas grabbed his key and slid it into his pocket. He wanted to see if he could find Mathias. None of the other units' doors were labelled, but he figured the Dane might be in one of the common areas on the first floor. The officer that drove him here had explained that the safe house had common areas like the kitchen, living room, and dining room on the first floor where he would most likely see other people in protection.

Exiting the unit, Lukas crept towards the other unit on the third floor to see if he could hear anything. Unfortunately, nothing. Just silence and the sound of curtains moving in the wind. They must've left their window open.

Realizing that he might look like a creep to anyone who came upstairs or possibly exited the unit, Lukas quickly strode down the hallway to the staircase, descending onto the second floor. The second floor had four units rather than two, presumably containing smaller residences. He didn't want to risk an awkward encounter with a person if he was caught standing outside their door, so he moved along to the first floor.

Upon entering the hallway he heard the sound of the sink running in the kitchen, and quickly shuffled down the hall into the room, expecting to see the golden-haired Dane. Instead, he came face to face with a small blonde girl washing a mug. When she saw him she jumped, letting out a yelp as Lukas put up both his hands in an attempt at seeming unthreatening.

"Sorry- didn't mean to scare you" Lukas quickly let out, his heart racing as the girl removed her hand from clutching her chest. She seemed like Emil's age, maybe a bit younger. She was dressed quite cutesy, yet looked as though she hadn't slept in years. She reminded him of a porcelain doll, perfect yet kind of eerie, like she wasn't meant to be there.

"That's okay" she replied, "I just wasn't expecting anyone to be in here. I haven't seen a single person since I got here besides the security team."

"Oh- well I'm Lukas" he said as she set the mug down on the drying rack.

"Erika" she replied, giving a quick smile that gave the impression that she wasn't really open to further conversation. Lukas nodded in acknowledgment of their introduction, not wanting to bother the anxious girl further by asking any questions. Besides that, he wasn't the best at making conversation anyway. Any attempt at speaking would lead to awkward drivel.

Feeling uncomfortable now that he had overstayed his welcome in the kitchen, Lukas clicked his tongue and turned back into the hallway. He decided instead to try the living room. No luck there either. He nearly turned to leave but heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase. Not wanting to startle another resident, Lukas sat down on the couch and picked up a newspaper as if he had been sitting there all along. A few seconds passed before the sound of the footsteps neared the living room. Lukas resisted the urge to turn around as the footsteps stopped.