The Unknown

Hurt, Part 18

As I'm just finishing up the last of my food, I decide it's time to tell them the truth. The truth about me. What I really am. They deserve to know. And honestly, at this moment, I'd rather do anything but that.

"Well," I clear my throat and all eyes turn to me. "You guys heard Elitsa earlier today."

"About what?" Arden stands up to keep his tray back on the trolley but I notice how his eyes subtly scan the room.

I wonder if he is feigning ignorance out of pity. I clear my throat again. "About me. About what I am."

"Her first successful experiment. Superhuman, as she claims. Yeah, we know about it," Irene wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Way to be gentle, Irene," Tyler sneers.

"What? That's what it is," Irene fixes a glare on Tyler.

"She... didn't exactly say that. How do you know?" Confusion clouds my features. There's no way they could've heard our conversation the other night, is there?

"Remember the band I gave you?" Tyler lowers his voice and my hands instinctively encircle the place where it's supposed to be as I nod.

"That," he explains with a proud smile, "has a microphone attached to it. Anyone else wearing a similar band and in a particular range can hear the conversation going on, that is if the person involved in the conversation allows it."

"But I didn't-"

"Yes, you didn't but your band is still in default mode. Tyler can change it for you, if you want," Arden speaks this time.

"You-you've been listening in on all my conversations?" I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks. This is embarrassing. They aren't supposed to know the weak side of me...

"No, of course not," Irene speaks first, gently. "It was only Elitsa and your conversation because we thought it might be important and nothing else. We respect your privacy."

I nod, a bit relieved. Arden's temporarily lowered eyes don't go unnoticed by me but I decide to ignore it just this once.

"Was it--was it any help to you? Any information?" I ask, curious.

"Yeah, a lot actually. You keep her distracted by being the superhuman you are and we'll keep trying to get ourselves home." She finishes just as Mr Fassy comes in to guide us to our rooms. I'm not sure if she was actually taking a jibe at me or if she was casual but her choice of words hurts me. I decide not to show that.

****

As I'm lying down in my bed, just going over the days' activities in my head, I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in," I think about getting up but decided against it. Manners be damned.

"Tired?" I look up to see Ivan standing just in front of my bed, smiling mockingly.

"What do you think?" I throw my hands back and tuck them behind my head so that I can see him clearly. I exhale loudly just to prove my point.

"I see. Want to go out for a walk around the building?" He pushes his hands in the back pocket of his jeans. What part of 'I'm tired' did he not understand?

I just make a strangled noise at the back of my throat and close my eyes.

"Come on, Nia. It would be fun, I promise! I'll even make you a coffee if you want."

"Deal?" I open one of my eyes to look at him.

"Yeah, deal." He smiles.

"Okay then, let's go." I stand up and wear the jacket lying on the chair as he waits for me outside the room.

We walk through a corridor in silence. Then another. And then another. At some point, I start to wonder if we'll ever reach our destination but we do. We come to a stop in front of yet another metallic door. This place seems to be full of them. Ivan enters the pin and the door opens with a hiss.

"Welcome to Ivan's Haven," He smiles as I shuffle into the small room. What lies in front of me is what really takes my breath away. There's a glass wall in front of me through which I can clearly see the night sky. I believe the room is some kind of an observatory or had been because all I see are cardboard boxes stacked over each other in the corners. Storeroom, then.

Ivan takes out two cushions from somewhere behind the boxes and offers one of them to me. We seat ourselves facing the glass wall.

"I used to come here all the time when I was a kid." Ivan exhales while rubbing his eyes, clearly tired.

"And now?"

"I do, sometimes. When I want some peace, mostly. It's easier to clear my head in the silence. Whenever I gaze at the sky, or rather whenever I used to as a child, I had this hope that my father would travel across those stars to rescue me," He exhales again. A bit longer this time.

"What happened?"

"Well, he never did and here I am," He opens his eyes and smiles at me. I can see it is a facade. Beneath it is the same boy who once hoped for his father to come and get him. I think he still does, deep down.

"You didn't have to tell me this."

"Yes, but I felt like you should know. Moreover, there's still so much about me that you don't know yet. There's still so much about you that I don't know yet. And no, you don't have to tell me," He suddenly gets up, "Anyway, what do you say to a cup of coffee?"

There we have one of his mood swings. I understand that he doesn't want to talk about it right now so I don't push him.

"Sure," I follow him out as I think about what he had said. He wanted to be rescued. Elitsa had her revenge. His past is way more twisted than I can imagine. What exactly did Elitsa do to him and his family? I wonder if it is somehow related to me.

Ten minutes later, I find myself standing on a glass-bottomed bridge, at least five hundred feet above the ground if Ivan was to be believed. It is a bit terrifying to look down so I fixate my eyes on the coffee mug in my hands instead. The cool night air gently caresses whatever part of my skin is exposed and a shiver goes down my body.

"It's beautiful!" I exclaim as I take a sip of my coffee.

"I did tell you it would be worth it but I made you a coffee anyway," He laughs.

"Nice coffee, thank you."

"You're welcome."

After a few moments, the silence starts to get awkward so I try to initiate a conversation. "So, this training-it starts tomorrow, I believe?"

"Yeah."

"And you'll be training me?"

"Yes."

"What exactly would you train me in?"

"Combat-uhm, using weapons," He forces a smile. "Oh, and how you should act and what you should do when you go back on Earth. You know, to make more 'humans' like you." Ivan realizes his mistake and instantly bites his tongue. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean--"

"It's alright. I know what you meant," I rub my hands. "I think I'll go to sleep now. Thank you for this."

I can see conflict arising on Ivan's features but suddenly I am too tired to care about anything. All I need is a bed and some sleep. I turn around and without waiting for Ivan, I trace my way back to my room, with a couple of detours of course....

On my way back, I do get a glimpse of Arden's room. Almost the same as mine. I didn't see him though. I wasn't really in the mood to 'hang out'. What's more interesting was that Ivan did not follow me at all and I didn't see him until the next day, morning.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Guess who's back? Me, that's who XD.

Anyway, I've been writing slowly and I think I can start updating weekly again at that rate so yay?  So, let me know how you feel about this chapter? :D

Adieu until next time

Tanz :)