Location - Medical Base (Sanctuary)
It had been three days since I first woke up, passed out from the strain, and then came to again. The SilverBane was still working its way through my body, making it hard to stay awake. Strangely, there was still no sign of Monnae or Lark.
The door slid open and the nurse that has been assigned to me by my new "older sister" helped herself into my ward. I turned towards her, curious about why she had appeared.
"Recruit Kael, we have checked your vitals and we have determined that it is safe enough for you to be discharged today," Finally, I can escape from the stale medical smell, the boring and lonesome ward and the constant watch of the nurses and the hellish medication.
"I see. Thank you for what you have done for me these past few days," Kael showed his appreciation and gratitude to the nurse. "It's fine, recruit Kael. This is what is expected because you all are humanity's saviour who will lead the world back from its ruined state and dispose of those monsters," the nurse said, eyes blazing with anger. She seemed to have a personal, vengeful hatred for Xions which wasn't surprising at all.
If you walk around Sanctuary and question, a lot of people have the same story to the point it feels like a sob story, but one can still feel each survivor's personal grit and hatred, their human emotions and this is what we fight for.
'Yes, I may be selfish and driven by motive but if that by the end, it can make these people feel at ease, then it's alright right?' Kael pondered in his mind as he walked out of the medical ward into the hall of the base. In the hall that led from outside the base, he saw a huge digital imagery of a man's silhouette, with a researcher's coat and glasses with his arm crossed backwards and an air of command and authority. On the base of the digital image was a name, Dr Detel Ivor, humanity's first pioneer and leader.
"Mr Kael, you have been granted discharge, if you could kindly sign out here," the receptionist in the base called out to Kael taking him from his long stare at the digital imagery. He presented his identification code for her to scan. After a few clicks on her terminal, she looked up, a weary smile adorned on her face. "The forms have been completed. Have a nice day, sir and we have been informed to give a notice that classes will officially start tomorrow so you can take today to explore or rest, recruit Kael" and dove right back to her work.
"I see. I'm thankful that you relayed the message to me. Do you mind if I ask a question?" he asked the receptionist. "No, please go ahead," she said as she looked up to Kael. "Have any other recruits been discharged already? You said that tomorrow is when classes start, we can't begin if I'm the only one who has awoken right?" he mentioned
"Oh yes. Recruit kael, I should inform you that all of the other recruits have already awoken and you're the last person remaining. The last person left here yesterday and we were informed that when you awoke, we should inform you that the lessons would begin the next day because they couldn't hold down the rest of the class just because of a recruit so you're quite lucky that you awoke now" the receptionist said.
"Alright. Thank you. I'll be leaving now" Kael said as he stepped out of the base itself, he was hit with the sun, the warm air albeit mixed with the sadness of a decaying world whilst still harboring hope. I'll leave now" he said as he waved goodbye to the receptionist.
"It's beautiful," Kael murmured as he blocked the direct rays of the sun with his hands, head raised high as he stared to the direction of the sun that hung from the sky. Emerging from the building, he began walking to his dorm, where he intended to wash up and get ready before heading to check his results that should have been posted by now.
SOME MINUTES AFTER
Kael glanced at his Detel infusion result with confusion barring on his face. Well, afterall as he checked through the board where the result was posted, despite his initial thoughts, not only did he pass, he passed so highly to be at a percentage of 99.98%, a value so high and unheard of through the history of Sanctuary and a number that the DIF researchers concluded as impossible to achieve, like an imaginary number.
He kept on staring at it, his face decorated with shock, clenched hands and with slight precipitation dripping through his forehead. "You're also shocked right? Much like anyone who heard this value," a voice sounded next to Kael that bought him back from his dazed state.
He turned his head and his eyes caught the person who was now talking with him. A girl with an authoritative presence stood beside him now. Her light ginger coloured hair which were naturally curly flowed freely down her back which complimented her warm amber with grey halo eyes which carried a heavy but noble predatory gaze within them.
"You're staring" she reminded Kael, her voice steady and calm, who seemed lost admiring her beauty. "That isn't gentlemanly of you, recruit" she said, with the same calm face not rippling with any sort of visible motion, to the point that what she said felt like a lie to Kael.
"I'm sorry," Kael mumbled, lowering his head. "I was just respectfully admiring your beauty." Kael said, trying to justify himself.
The girl's face had no change in expression nor was she flustered as she cared little about that. "That was honestly a poor excuse but I'll take that. You seem lost. Are you new here?" she questioned as she kept on looking at the board that contained the Detel Infusion results.
"I can't say I'm new here because I've been in Sanctuary for more than two years but I guess you can say I'm a new recruit, I'm part of your batch, Rank 4 Recruit, Sirette Wain," Kael spoke while mentioning her name hoping to get the girl flustered.
"Hmm, fair enough. That means that we're basically about the same age, so I can't command you to call me my lady," she said, the last bit of her sentence wasn't muted at all, which made Kael's eyes widen as he stared in surprise at her unfiltered opinions.
"Isn't that last bit supposed to be a thought?" Kael questioned as the girl stopped staring at the board as she seemed to have found what she was looking for. "Why should I? It matters not anyway. Walk with me, recruit" she said, her voice carrying a commanding authority to it.
"My name isn't "recruit". It's Kael, Kael Levane, for your information," he said, while joining the girl who had begun to walk away from the board. "Kael Leva…. Levane." She rolled the name on her tongue with a careful interest. "I've heard the rumours. The recruit with the impossible Detel score." Her face didn't change when she said it; there was no awe, only the small tilt of an eyebrow.
"Follow me if you're going to wander the base like a lost ghost, with nothing worthwhile to do. I believe that I have much better use of your time," she said. Kael wanted to protest, but the rules were clear: lower or non ranked recruits must show respect to the top five. He had no choice but to follow, but he definitely was interested in this mysterious girl.
She led him with a machine like precision through corridors of the base that he'd lived in for years but never seen. Sirette walked with a confidence that was practical,with every step efficient, every glance made with purpose.
"So," she said after a moment of silence. "You passed. 99.98% infusion rate, they said it was ridiculous. Perhaps you're an experiment who escaped a locked lab?" She gave a small look towards Kael with seriousness. "You don't actually believe that right?" Kael questioned as he began the type of person Sirette was. "You'd have to convince me that I'm wrong. I tend to believe facts, you see and you haven't proven that you're not a research experiment," and with a thoughtful expression, she added "Besides, I'm hardly ever wrong so my intuition has been determined to be superior" with pride and clear superiority.
"I'm clearly a human like you! How can you come up with that idea?!" Kael questioned her loudly, his face starting to biome reduced to nothingness thanks to the attacks of Sirette, who by the way was doing this unconsciously. "Sure, I'll let it go…for now," Sirette added, clearly still suspicious of him.
'Why the hell are you still suspicious of me?!' Kael screamed in his mind as he followed the girl as they stepped out into the courtyard where the sun struck the concrete in wide, warm bands with the silence of humanity while nature sang in harmony and joy with the birds chirping, the warm smell of the pollen and the serene atmosphere.
"Wow…I didn't think such a place existed in Sanctuary," Kael commented as he looked at the small garden courtyard. Sirette sat on a bench in the garden as she stared at the flowers fitted on the flower bed.
"Neither did I. I stumbled upon it during my time searching through Sanctuary. It was abandoned and unkempt so I decided to take care of it. But enough of that, that isn't why I called you here. I'm curious about your strength and I wish to engage in a spar with you," she said, her tone filled with interest and expectations.
"Sure, I'm very excited to fight with you too," Kael mentioned as he looked towards Sirette excitedly, tension filling the small garden. "What is your choice of weapon? I'll get it ready for the spar," Sirette questioned as she looked at Kael,who became deep in thought before answering.
"It'll be much appreciated if you could get me a blade. That weapon would be most ideal" Kael relayed to the strange girl in front of him. "I'll ask my aide to acquire those weapons so we'd have to wait a bit," she commented as she handed the order to the man who had just walked out of the darkness and exited the little garden, the only thing that could have rendered about his presence being the sound as he stepped outside from where he was hiding and with a blur appeared next to Sirette.
His appearance gave Kael a fright, his fists clenched tightly while he tensed his body and reaction as he questioned himself internally 'Who is he? How didn't I notice him all this time?'. "My aide and a veteran Pioneer, do you think it's strange not to find the presence of someone who has been taught to conceal theirs all through their training? How bold of you" she condemned him, but her voice carried no sign of her condemnation but more of interest on the boy.
"Alright," Kael said as he understood that it was impossible to have sensed a veteran Pioneer who has spent years possibly honing the craft of hiding one's essence from the Xions so as to survive, sneak up on them and complete missions. The gap in experience was clear, but it still didn't explain why she had him hidden.
"I'm still a girl after all. It's dangerous to be in a secluded place all alone with a boy I barely know so he came around for protection," Sirette answered calmly as she seemed to have read the next question the boy had. "You? You're scared of being alone with me and that I would do something to you?" Kael questioned quite baffled because ever since he has been interacting with Sirette, she never once showed nervousness nor fear of him, so it was quite out of the blue for him, 'Or was it because she had such protection that she was calm with me?' he mused internally.
"Those were not my thoughts but my aide's. I am Sirette Wain, the first daughter of the Wain family and the last patriarch. I am a blade that shall strike against those I deem as an enemy," she said proudly, with the authority befitting her status, an oppressive feeling radiating from her words that seemed to crush Kael's will and carried by a determination forged under hardships and pain.
"Alright. I'll await your aide then" Kael commented as he leaned upon a wall in the small garden, eyes closed as he listened to the tranquil sound of nature, something that has become very rare to listen or enjoy in this forsaken world, after all, who has the time to connect with nature when they have to give it their all each and every day to survive the threat of Xions?
"We should add states to the bet to make it a bit more interesting, don't you agree, Kael?" the girl questioned as she looked at Kael hoping for him to accept. "True, this would crank up the intensity and make it more than just another sparring," Kael accepted Sirette's proposal.
"You have accepted the deal. I believe the deal should be kept much simpler and let it be that whoever loses the match will have to accept the request of the winner once," Sirette mentioned calmly but it came as a shock to Kael. To accept any request, even though it's only once, was still a big challenge for a recruit like him and he had an inkling that whatever she wanted to wish for wouldn't be something common in the first place.
"Oh, I didn't take the miracle recruit to be scared of such a simple spar. I'm sure many others would be quite disappointed. I guess this is all what the title amounts to in the end. I can't blame you for being scared after all, it's normal to feel scared, I'm just disappointed," Sirette said, each word delivering a heavy blow to the skeptical Kael.
"Fine, I'll accept the deal, and there'll be no taking back. I'll show you I'm not afraid and what happens when I get serious," Kael commented as his eyes flashed with determination towards the spar.
Sirette watched over the flowers while a thought still brewed in her mind, a question she desperately needed answers to to solve her current dilemma.
'Is he really not a research experiment? Should I injure him to check his blood? I also need to check if he can become an ally' she used within'
Such a dangerous thought was indeed brewing within the mind of the calm and collected facade the authoritative girl gave off.