Conquering Infinities

Chapter Two- Overcoming Views

After spending a few more hours in the panel with Alex and George, the two eventually gave up on beating me at staying awake and bid their farewells when going to bed.

I still felt uncomfortable with being all alone in the huge control room, but what made me feel even more uncomfortable was the fact that every person in here seemed to trust me so blindly.

I looked at one of the large monitors in front of me while the light around me slowly dimmed itself down. People were visible, rebels to be exact. Some were sitting on walls with their weapons in their hands, waiting for new attacks, others were still racing around the streets, fighting, shooting, shouting and pushing unarmed people back into their houses. Just like that I was in the middle of all this. Just like that I was one of the rebels.

I pulled a few switches and flicked between the screens, now regarding a map with several blinking areas, indicating the different Sectors and how difficult the situation was there right now. I'd go to Sector Quattuor with Leika tomorrow, one of the "middle rated" ones, not the most bombs and attacks, but also definitely not the least.

I pressed my lips together and tried to hide my feelings from myself. Taking this in, acting like this was all pretty much to cope with. Eventually, I turned off the remaining screens and got up from my chair, making my way out of the panel and back into the elevator that had brought me into my new life just a few hours ago.

I pressed the button with a glowing number "30" tattooed into it and leaned against the back of the little room after the doors closed and it started moving.
I slowly started to twirl my hair into a long French braid, a ritual that had become one of my major helps against anxiety and too strong feelings.

When the doors opened, I stepped into the new apartment the rebels had assigned to me and was immediately in awe.

The flat was way more luxurious than I had expected it to be. It was decorated completely in black and white marble, with the wall opposite to my current location being an entire glass front, providing me with a spectacular view onto the city below. A large bed stood on the right side of the room, a black wardrobe on the left one. A silver kitchen was set up in the middle of the entrance hall and the only other door I could see led into a fairly big bathroom, equipped with a shower, a bathtub and several counters, offering enough places to put your stuff on.

The remaining apartment part was decorated like a modern-art living room, but still left enough opportunities for me to decorate it myself. A smile flickered across my face when I spotted an admittedly quite expensive terrarium right beside my bed, providing a nice living place for Clae, who I'd already feared I'd have to fight for. After all this was the main rebel den and not your average residence.

I stepped into my new home, still braiding my hair, and took it all in. This wasn't only strange, this was too much. I'd expect the politics to live like that, but not the rebels. Why did they grand themselves such luxury and what did all this stand for?

To my relief, I found another door which I could shove and lock in front of the closed elevator.

Eventually, I started undressing myself, getting out of my boots, jeans and shirt before of my bra and picking up the blouse I'd worn wrapped around my waist to use it as a night shirt.

"They even have a pretty great taste in fashion, Clae." I remarked quietly when lifting my little snake out of my pocket and carefully placing her in the new home. She twisted her body and looked at me with her head tilted to one side and her tongue flickering around her face.

"Let's see what this new place brings to us, shall we?" I closed her terrarium and stepped over to the window, letting my gaze travel over the rough skyscrapers and the countless buzzing lights sending brightness into my black apartment.