Fractured Worlds (Worlds Away #1)

Brela Chapter 5: Jumper Gem

I followed Edoline through the empty, dimly lit halls, both of us silent. Doors lined the walls, various names on the eye level brass plates.

"So, how does your sword work?" I asked, nodding towards the weapon strapped to Edoline's back. "A sword like yours is impossible to draw from your back." My father had explained that to me when I was younger. It was not possible due to how long the sword was compared to an arm's length and the angle in which the blade sat at.

"It is a special magnet contraption that Wayne made," Edoline said simply. I noted that her accent was gone, most likely a result of the translator. "The sheath appears when the sword is on my back, extending from the strap itself, and the magnet that holds the sword in place. The sheath only retracts to my touch, and no manner of flipping or hanging upside down will make it come loose, thanks to the magnet."

Awe filled me. Wayne was a complete genius.

We passed an individual carrying a stack of files. He passed us a nod of acknowledgement, before tripping over his feet. The man stumbled forward, papers flying off in all directions. Suddenly, the papers stopped in midair, hovering as if frozen in time. As soon as the man rightened himself, the papers fluttered back into a neat pile in his arms, all sorted back into their files.

"Thanks, Edoline," he said, somewhat flustered. Hurriedly, he rushed off. My eyes followed him, wide and questioning.

"I have telekinesis," Edoline explained as she noted my expression. "That along with telepathy is a part of my race." Edoline paused, before cocking her head slightly. "Well, my third race." My eyes widened further. "I am what is known as a vivifica. After we die, we are reborn, sometimes as a different race, sometimes as the same. That is how I have telekinesis and telepathy."

"You can resurrect?"

Edoline nodded her head.

What kind of life did I just walk into?

"Here we are," Edoline said as she stopped in front of a door. A name plate with my name engraved into it was already on the door. "Your bag is already inside, and everything that you should need as well. If anything happens to be missing, let me know. There is a list of important room numbers on the table, mine and Director Cornelia's among them. Should you choose, there is a form for MEPA's uniform on the table as well. If you wish to wear one, fill the form out and return it to me. The uniforms offer more protection against the weather and attacks than normal clothes do, so it would be a smart choice. Keep in mind that wearing a uniform is not mandatory here. Very little is."

"Thank you," I said gratefully.

"Here is the code for the door," she said, handing me a four-digit code for the lock. "I can see you doing a great deal of beneficial things for MEPA; I would like to help you anyway I can. Let me know if you need help with anything at all."

"For sure," I said, smiling at Edoline's comment. "I might need the help."

"I will leave so that you can rest. Sleep well, Brela."

"You too," I said as Edoline turned and walked back down the hall. I shut the door, locking it as I readied myself for a night's sleep.

༺❀༻

With coffee in my hand, I was as happy as ever. I sipped at the hot drink as I read over Mae's papers. She had sent them earlier, somehow beating Edoline and me to my room last night. In the booklet were tagged pages of the explanation of MEPA's ranking system of agents, the ranking of fractures, the seven units of MEPA, and important worlds and the system they were numbered by.
There was still a lot for me to learn about MEPA, an abundance of information that I needed to learn if I wanted to understand my new life. It would take a while, but I was determined to do it.