Through The Ascension Room***Book One COMPLETE***

CHAPTER TEN ~PART TWO~

CHAPTER

                             Ten

I wake to a churning feeling deep inside the pit of my stomach. After a night of tossing and turning I can’t say that I’m exactly ready to face the day, but I roll out of bed anyway. My head throbs with the immense pains that follow an overused brain.

I rock back and forth cradling my head in efforts to numb the pain. I scan the room to find that I am the only one left in the sleeping room. I glance over at Cynthia’s bed to find its covers neatly pulled over and tucked in.

Valde’s bed is left the way it was last night. Pillow hanging off the edge of the bed, covers crumpled up in a pile. He must not have returned after his hospital visit. Images from the night before pass through my mind and I can’t get Valde’s screams out of my mind.

I look at the clock hanging on the wall by the door and see that if I hurry I can still make it for the end of breakfast. I slip on some clothes for the day and leave the sleeping room looking back one last time to see Valde’s bed unchanged. He really didn’t return last night.

The dining hall is half empty by the time I get there and I see Tristis and Cynthia sitting together in the back. I grab some food and head over to them. I sit down next to Cynthia and she turns to greet me. She hugs me in a mournful, sad way.

“Any word on Valde?” I ask.

“They say he’ll be back later on today.” Tristis answers, fiddling with a gadget in his hands.

“That’s good news.” I comment hoping that it truly is good news. Tristis takes the gadget he was fiddling with and puts it away in his bag and it reminds me of what today is. It’s the day of the burial.

Cynthia must see me eying Tristis’ bag, “Are you ready for the burial today?” I try to think of the last place I had my burial bag. I either left it under my bed or in Dr. Finley’s room.

“Yeah, I think so.” I respond while trying to pinpoint its location in my head. “This is it huh? The real deal. Today we get to see the Ascension room in action.” We’ve been waiting the whole time to see the room serve its purpose.

I remember when Richard took me inside the ascension room for the first time. It was right after I agreed to join the society. It’s weird looking back on that moment now. How different I was. Young, naive even.

“Well well well, if it isn’t Mr. Briggs,” Percy’s voice hits my ears and my stomach starts to flip.

Here we go.

“So I heard about your little,’outing’ last night,” Percy slides into the seat next to me, folds his arms and continues, “It’s a shame really. Valde was a good kid.”

“Is. Valde is a good kid you mean. He’s coming back.” Tristis fires at Percy.

“Well aren’t you a smart one. Dr. Tristis Grant is it?” His comment is bitterly riddled with sarcasm.

“What do you want Percy?” I ask hoping that he would just get to the point and leave us alone.

“Point is,” He continues before peeling his glaring eyes off of Tristis, “You’re mine. From here on out, you do everything through me. You want to sleep, you ask me. You want to eat, you ask me. You want to blow your nose—,”

“We ask you.” Tristis mouths cutting off Percy mid-sentence.

‘You think you’re real smart, don’t you?” Percy stands out of his seat where his height is exaggerated all the more as we are all still sitting. “Let’s find out how—,”