The Hannaria Series Book 1: Out of the Gray

Chapter 7--Rica Miller

For a brief moment, I thought we were in trouble, but then I realized Jernard must have notified them to look out for us. The guard escorted us around the rest of the line to a separate exit that led down a narrow hallway. When we reached the end, Jernard was standing in one large room divided into a living area, dining area, and small kitchen. All the major furniture was bolted to the floor. Several doors lined both sides of the room, which I assumed led to bedrooms.

Jernard wore what must have been his ambassador’s uniform. Combined with his hair no longer being spiked, it made him look older—though not by much. He almost looked like a military officer, only the red and blue uniform had no markings or pins. What made him look strange however was he now had his contacts out, and I saw his real eyes for the first time. Though he seemed calm, they still made the brightest I’d seen mine seem dim in comparison. This made me wonder if maybe they got brighter as we aged.

Jernard thanked the guard, who left and bolted the door from the outside.

“Sorry for leaving you two,” he said. “I had to talk to some people who wouldn’t be impressed by the human high school student look. Go ahead and take a look around. I’ll order dinner.”

He went out to the main hallway entrance, and Mom and I began opening all the closed doors. They led not to bedrooms but entire suites, each with four full-sized beds, a small kitchen, bathroom, and a large monitor built into the living room wall. Where we had first entered was a common area shared between all the suites.

“So, when are all those snobbypeople showing up?” Mom asked when Jernard came back inside.

He smiled.

“Hannaria’s Ambassador paid them to take the next transport,” he replied then clapped his hands together. “Food will be ready in about thirty minutes, and they will bring over your suitcases. I figure you and Rica take a suite on one side, and I’ll take one on the other—plenty of privacy, and we’ll still have three to spare. Sound good?”

Mom continued to shake her head in disbelief. I opened the door to the suite to my right and placed my backpack on one of the beds. I could still hear their conversation as I unpacked my only set of clothes that wasn’t in my suitcase and stuffed them into a dresser drawer.

“I’m sorry to keep sounding ungrateful, but don’t you think this is a little overboard?” Mom asked. “I know we’ll be here for a month, but two suites would’ve been more than enough. You’re going to make Charlie feel like he owes you more than he already does. You know how he is about—”

“It’s nothing like that,” Jernard interrupted. “It’s just the one main entrance to this section is easier to secure than if I had to worry about a dozen other doors. I—”

He stopped himself, and it was quiet. I opened the door to the suite and walked back out to the common area. Jernard had one hand on the main hallway wall and stared down at his shoes.

“Are we in danger?” Mom asked. Her hands balled into fists as her voice rose. “Don’t you dare lie to me—to us.”

Jernard sighed and turned to face us. Then he sat down on the floor with his back against the wall.

“I promise I’ll get you to Charlie, but he’ll have to explain everything from there,” he said then shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t even know the whole situation myself. I just have pieces of it that don’t fit right now. I believe that he may be in some sort of trouble, but I’m not sure at this point. Am I making any sense?”

“Not really,” Mom replied.

He stood and took a few steps toward us.

“I’m not withholding information to hurt you, Rebecca—I wouldn’t do that to either of you. It’s just I hope I’m wrong about some things, but I don’t want to put you in danger if I’m right.”