The house still felt as empty as the morning; nothing had changed—the chairs, the TV, and the note lay untouched.
The basement stretched longer than the house above, with many tools Kaelen had never seen before; he had found where they operated from for their work.
"Is this how basements look in Halvyr?" he asked, trying to act clueless.
"You are a part of our team now," the kid said. "Look around."
Kaelen nodded quickly. It was awkward, but he felt more welcome now.
It split into multiple other rooms. They went inside one. Aurelion and the old guy were waiting there.
"Come here, Kaelen," the old man said, inviting Kaelen to a chair nearby by tapping it. "Let's introduce ourselves since we didn't get the chance to last night."
He sat down without hesitation.
"Sooo... Kaelen, are you getting comfortable with your new life here?" He gave a smile suggesting he knew the answer would be negative.
"With the great treatment I have been getting, I haven't faced a single problem yet," he said sarcastically.
Aurelion stared at Kaelen without reacting.
"Don't let your fears win again; don't hesitate," he said. "You've already lost enough doing that."
Kaelen couldn't connect with the old man. "I hesitate because I don't think anything is guaranteed."
"No, no, no," the old man said with a slow, tired tone. "That is your problem; you fear and hesitate because nothing is guaranteed, but is the outcome you desire guaranteed if you hesitate?"
His words felt arranged this time.
The kid moved; it was the first time Kaelen noticed the thing in his hand as the kid approached him with a long tube having a thick metal tip at one of its ends.
Kaelen backed off on his seat, fearing the thing in the kid's hand; it felt like a needle. What was he going to do with it?
Someone caught Kaelen's hands—the old man. The old man's strength was too much for him; he couldn't move his hands even one inch.
"Don't worry, you won't feel any pain; that's how the tool works. We had to get your hands so you don't move."
How could he change their minds on something they had already decided?
The metal tip hovered a few inches below his neck.
"Hey—" Kaelen said in a loud, scared tone. "You welcomed me as a member, Aurelion. What is this?"
He had already turned away.
Kaelen shut his eyes.
Nothing happened; he kept his eyes shut for a few more seconds. His chest started feeling cold, but nothing else.
"And it's done," the kid cheered.
"What—" Kaelen blurted out, finally opening his eyes.
All of them were in front of him staring at his chest. He looked down.
They had created a hole, a deep one.
Kaelen stared at it.
He couldn't understand it at first.
His breath turned uneven; he hovered his hands midair.
"What… is… this?"
"Tsk... it might have turned out to be a bit deeper than needed."
"What do you mean by 'a bit deeper'? There is a fucking hole in my chest. It's hard to believe that I am alive." He kept his voice low but his tone loud.
Aurelion patted him on the shoulder. "This had to be done for your survival after you got cursed by the glass."
"What did it do to me?" He asked with his voice shaking to the point no one could understand what he said; they interpreted it with the bits they heard.
Aurelion looked at him for some time and began to explain.
By the time Aurelion finished, Kaelen was in a state where he couldn't sense his surroundings. Unknowingly, he had placed his right hand inside the hole.
They had to attach a chain in that hole and connect the chain to 10 other thin chains that he would have to wrap around his arm and keep them hidden under his sleeve.
Kaelen fell from his chair, curled up like a child, and held his knees close to his upper body.
"You are just overreacting at this point. You are in perfect shape; you don't feel pain while touching the hole, so why do you force this suffering on yourself?" The kid tried to scold Kaelen.
Maybe that hit Kaelen deep; he stood up. Went upstairs without saying anything.
Everyone followed him.
The house was still empty; other members still hadn't come back.
He went to the kitchen and cooked food. Simple scrambled eggs.
Others watched him without noise. "Make 4 for me too," the kid ordered.
Kaelen took 5 more eggs from the fridge and continued cooking.
He served food to the kid and took his portion to his room. Didn't even bother to clean or put the plate in the kitchen. He lay down with the plate still in his bed.
His sleep was broken; he picked up his phone to check it.
Kaelen turned and hit the person behind him with an elbow; he knew it was an ally. Once it landed, he covered his mouth and gasped, acting clueless.
It was nothing more than a mannequin.
"Why did you attack it?" Someone was in his room.
He looked around him; the person wasn't close.
"Look, Kaelen, we are not your enemy. All we have done till now is save you."
Kaelen realized it was a girl. The name Nevyziel did sound feminine.
"Nevyziel?" he asked.
"Good guess," she clapped once.
The lights flickered on. She was there on the chair, almost hidden in the dark by the curtains that covered most of her body.
"Why are you in my room?"
"Ohh... am I one of your fantasies?" She had a long smile after saying that.
"What—" Heat rushed to his face before he could stop it.
She jumped on the bed and slowly came towards Kaelen on her hands and knees. "Did you not hear me the first time, or are you still pretending?" She said with a tone that made Kaelen lose his senses.
Now that she was close, he could see her clearly.
Too clearly.
He was ready for this moment.
Wait, what if she is teasing me? If he were right, then he would have to take the right step.
Her hands lifted, resting on Kaelen's face lightly.
They felt warm.
Kaelen closed his eyes completely, submitting. He didn't initiate.
"Hahaha," she said, pulling away.
Kaelen understood it. He hid his face under the blanket on his bed.
"Aww..." Her voice softened. "You look so cute from here."
He didn't reply.
She stopped moving. "You don't need to feel sorry," she said. "I get it; you are in a vulnerable state."
"Can you just leave my room, or at least my bed?" he said from under the blanket.
"Or at least your bed, huh?" she gave a quiet laugh.
"So you are still hoping for something?"
"AGHHH... Are you going to stay silent forever?"
"Could you please leave?" he said quietly.
She got off the bed.
The door didn't open.
The lights didn't go off.
He got out of the blanket. She got back on the chair.
Kaelen spoke first this time. "How did you become a member here?"
"Silas Vire, the old guy saved me from them, the guys my father worked with." She said with soreness.
"Your father?" He suspected her father was the same guy he was working for.
"Yes, you got it right; my father is that monster," her voice lowered.
"Are you also a follower?" he asked to continue the conversation.
"Yes, I am somewhere in upper stage 4. Still nothing compared to you."
It struck him that stage 4 was nothing compared to him. "What is my stage?"
She observed Kaelen's movement. "I can't tell if it's above my capability of reading."
He looked at the ceiling and said, "It's so hard to believe that I lived a normal life up till now and I find out I am so different from others around me."
"It felt the same for me." She stood up and started stretching her legs. It was distracting for Kaelen. "You get used to it."
"I heard what happened to you; it is really tragic. I don't think the others would have done better than you," she stopped.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Kaelen blinked.
She crossed her arms. "You shut your eyes when I touched you, but now you're staring?" She shouted.
Kaelen regained his senses. "Uh, what?"
"I never understand men. You closed your eyes when I touched you, but you checked me out when I stretched."
"So that's what you said," he mumbled to himself, which was enough for Nevyziel to hear.
"Haa... I am so sleepy; I will catch up with you later," she said as she opened the door.
"Bye."
The door opened this time.
Kaelen couldn't sleep all night.