EMBLEM

III: Settling In

So if all the others had, then why not him?

"Oh, I'm so glad..." she breathed, resting a hand on her chest, "I thought it would never end. But it looks like you did well, I don't think you damaged your room even slightly." Her positive attitude returned quickly enough, glancing around at his spotless bedroom, "That's good. Mine doesn't usually make a mess either. The others, though...they aren't so lucky. You were okay, right? You've only changed once before and this came out of nowhere...I hope you weren't too scared."

Was he supposed to tell her?
What would happen if they found out he hadn't changed? Would they have to make new, stronger frequencies?
Would these people, the only ones like him, look at him as an outcast?

"...it wasn't bad...I don't...even really remember it. So don't worry." Xander lied through his teeth. The last thing he needed was a reason to stand out now, "What about you? Are you alright?"

"Well, it was scary, as always..." Emi sighed, "But I'm pretty used to it by now. Besides, when the doors are sealed, there isn't much she can do. I'm more worried about Eden and Wilbur. Come on, we should go and check on them." She smiled, reaching out her hand, "I really hope they aren't too badly hurt..."

Taking her hand, Xander allowed Emi to lead him out into the hallway. Where, even now, he felt a nonsensical fear that one the switches would jump out and attack the two of them.

However, Eden and Wilbur were definitely back to their normal selves, helping each other stand.

The glass table was most definitely smashed, and a fair few of the shards appeared to be lodged in Wilbur's back.

Emi let go of Xander's hand, covering her mouth as she gasped.
"Oh my god, Wil!"

"I-I am so sorry..." Eden stammered, "I can't believe...that I-"

"Hey, relax, both of you." Wilbur chuckled, hunched over, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Eden always had the stronger switch. I tell you, she's one mean son of a bitch."

Even though he smiled, there was undeniable pain in his squinted eyes as he waited desperately for help to arrive.

Eden wasn't free of damage either. Her arms and legs were bruised and she had been cut with the glass several times.

The strangest part was Kalmin, still struggling onto his feet while panting heavily.
Emi helped him up as a shiver crawled down Xander's spine.
He was certain that Kalmin had been locked away too. Which could only mean...

With a frozen expression, Xander slowly turned to glance down the hall where, sure enough, Kalmin's door lay in wreck.

The centre completely was torn apart from the inside out. Those marks, the damage applied to such thick, solid metal couldn't possibly have been done by normal, human hands.

And now, fully aware that a beastly version of Kalmin, who was scary enough normally, could have broken into his room at any point, Xander could only swallow his fear with an unsteady gulp.

Obviously, the original version of Kalmin couldn't handle the brute force of his own switch, each of his fingers bleeding. He appeared strangely more tired than the others, still panting after everybody else had calmed down, sweat dripping from his forehead.
He kept his head down while Emi sat beside him with a comforting hand on his back.

"Are you alright, Emi?" Eden asked, sitting down beside her, "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No, I'm fine. As always."

"What about you, Xander? I'm sorry, we normally get warnings before a test like this. I guess they wanted to catch us off guard."

"I'm fine. But, it was scary..."