A New Manhattan

5 - Feelings

He had walked absently while rummaging through his thoughts, and now realized he was standing in front of the Animus. He frowned and looked down at it like he'd looked at Lucy only a minute ago. His hand subconsciously reached up to touch his wound, flinching as he did. He suddenly became aware of how incredibly realistic his experience in the Animus was. He felt every step his ancestor took - every breath was synchronized. Every wound his ancestor received hurt him like it was himself who got them. He knew it wasn't real; just his imagination and the realism of the machine playing tricks on him. Yet he hesitated. Now that he remembered how it was like, and proof how it felt to get hurt for real, he hesitated to enter. He didn't want to feel more pain. Didn't dare to think about what memories might be up next.

As if he'd heard Desmond's thoughts, the ghostly holographic image of his ancestor appeared on the other side of the Animus. They both looked up and their gazes met. He felt a burn behind his eyelids upon seeing the kindness in those eyes. "I'm sorry Ezio" he whispered inaudibly. The image of his ancestor shook his head and smiled brightly. The bronze colored eyes had delivered the message without having to open his mouth, but Desmond could hear the voice in his head.

The Italian accent soothed his nerves better than any booze could manage, and he relaxed where he stood. There was still time. Ezio smiled again before the hologram vaporized, leaving Desmond to stare into nothingness. With newfound strength, he turned to give another rant about how he felt, but found that neither of the girls were anywhere to be found. Shaun was bent over some documents at one of the tables, and the only one present in the dimly lit cellar room - apart from Desmond. With nothing else to do, he might as well see if there was anything among their stuff that might soothe his raging stomach.

Rebecca's P.O.V.

"You're not seriously proposing we need the rooftops to find this guy?" Lucy said as they were on their way back toward the hideout. They'd left shortly after Desmond had woke up, not just to get groceries, but also to get a break from the boys. Rebecca didn't really grow tired of Shaun's attitude, but Lucy certainly did, and she had to admit that he was being kind of an ass sometimes. But that was Shaun, and she didn't blame him for it. As for Desmond, he needed both mental and physical rest, so it was better if they left to leave him to his thoughts. He and Lucy wasn't on very good terms right now. So Becca had made the decision to take her friend out for a walk and get some general girl-time together.

"I'm saying we should check it out. It's where I woke up after he broke me out, and to tell you the truth, I think it's where he'd be holding up" Rebecca answered casually to Lucy's question. "Besides, I've been longing to do something thrilling, and this might just be the chance I've been looking for".

They soon pulled the doors open to the lobby in the apartment complex they were currently residing in. The whole building was mainly abandoned except for a few residents in the top floors that still dared to stay, or was simply too sick or too old to move out. The chaos that had broken out in the city was kept in control by the military, and while Rebecca was grateful for that, she didn't doubt a second that they were hiding information on purpose to keep the citizens from raving havoc. Though it might be a thrill to do something a little bit dangerous then and now, what they could face in this city was beyond her imagination. She had a clue, but she didn't want to dig deeper than she'd already done. If she got too worked up with things that troubled her, she wouldn't be able to focus on what was important, and the whole expedition could crash. She had to take care of Baby, and make sure Desmond didn't go under for too long at a time.

They had left the bags at the foot of the stairs before ascending, and soon reached a metal door. It opened without complaints and they exited onto the rooftop and inhaled the sweet, fresh air. Up here, things were so much clearer. Rebecca could totally see why the guy from earlier preferred the roofs over the streets. It was cleaner up here, both under their feet and in the air, especially now at dawn. She made a mental note that she'd have to ask for his name. Just calling him 'the guy' wouldn't work out in the long run.