CHAPTER FOUR

I remembered the desert. I remembered the sandstorm, or whatever that was. I remembered seeing Isaac give me a look I couldn't quite understand. It was a mix of nerves, anticipation and persuasion. I remember him grabbing on to Erin's hand, Erin taking Hussein's, and then Hussein holding on to someone else's. I tried to make out the other presence, but they were gone before I could see anything.

Was this it? I wondered. They jumped ship and left me here for the Union to get me and lock me away again?  What was I even thinking anyway? Taking off with a bunch of weirdos I met a while ago. Maybe Rhys was right all along.

Before another thought could cross my mind, I started to notice my body do something amazing. It started at my fingertips, flesh and bones turning to something much like smoke and ash.

What in tarnation was going on?

The next thing I knew, there was this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, and it felt like I was being torn apart, mind and body. In my mind's eye  I could see someone staring at me. Hard and unshaken. It was like he was there but he wasn't at the same time. Most parts of my arms were gone now, and the rest of my body was rapidly falling apart, if I could call it that. Then came the darkness, and the suspended feeling of nothingness. I felt my knees grow weak, and it almost felt like the very life was leaving my body.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a room. I first picked up the smell of morning dew and old books. But where was I?

I sat up on the bed looking around to take in the view. It was mostly just lighting, curtains and furniture. Maybe it was the Union. Maybe they had taken me back. Maybe those bleeding vandals had left me out here to my fate. But I still couldn't wrap my head around what happened back in the desert. As I made to get off the bed, I heard a voice.

"Did you enjoy your little nap?" a boy with curly blonde hair asked. He was seated in a wheelchair by the door, looking dead straight at me. He rarely blinked or moved even. I wondered how to communicate without difficulty in transmission and was eventually going to settle for a nod. But then his words interrupted my musings again.

"It's alright," he said in a fine British accent. "Not that you can, but you don't have to say anything." He smiled. "I understand you quite well."

The son of a—

Was he…?

"Yes," he spoke again. "I am reading your mind." Now my forehead creased a little. "Though, I do apologize if it appears intrusive. I can't exactly help it." He smirked, still not batting an eye, and it sent chills through me for a brief moment. What was this guy's deal?

"And I must say, it was significantly difficult pulling you out of that heap, seeing as physical contact was not an option."

My eyes narrowed. What on earth was he even saying?

"I'm saying I find you interesting." He flashed a curious smile before wheeling himself away.

Of course he read that too! What the fudge brownies even was this place? And the freak thing in the desert, did he have anything to do with it?

I quickly got up and pulled the curtains aside to have a look outside. Nothing was familiar. The air was slightly hotter than back at the Steelgarde. There were hardly any people. No drones or soldiers either. Just miles of grass, trees, water and wreckage. Was the boy here all by himself?

"Hey." Isaac's voice swiveled me around. I had no idea he was here as well. He was leaning by the door with his arms folded. "Sorry about Harold. He's not big on boundaries or personal space, even though he prefers the word 'curious'"

Silence.

"He's also blind. That explains the creepy stare." He added. "Why don't you come out and have something to eat, first. There's someone you should meet."

He walked out and I followed him down the hallway. There were rooms on both sides, a lot of them too. This place seemed like some kind of apartment or something, or maybe it was a hotel. Not that it looked much like the ones I saw in books and what have you. I followed him down the stairs and into what looked like a makeshift kitchen. He pointed to a stool by a table in the corner and I set myself down as he poured a cup of coffee.

Eggs and coffee was a little step down from what I had back at the Steelgarde, but it was good enough. My cup was almost empty when I heard distant chatter and footsteps. Two identical girls made their way past the kitchen and then one stopped, pulling the other along. They had straight and long black hair, and wide smiles on their faces that made me a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, Christ." I heard Isaac whisper as he rubbed his forehead.

"Hi," one said in a high pitched tone that was warm and innocent. "You must be the new girl." Her accent was slightly difficult to make out but I had heard it before. French maybe.

Then the other one spoke. "Ooh, is it true that you can't—"

   "Leave her alone already, okay?" Isaac cut in, slightly harshly, and they both pouted.

   "We were just trying to get to know her."

   "Well, girls, meet Xaia. Xaia, Camille and Collette." Then he smirked. "All good?"

I watched in utter cluelessness, and the one called Colette shut her eyes, sucked in a huge amount of air and then let it out before opening her eyes again. For a minute, I could swear I saw her left ear drooping, but the big grin had returned, and her glossy black hair went up in a bit of a twist when she swiveled around. She looked like she was one wrong step away from setting her hair on fire with the way she walked out of the room, but Camille's voice, which I could hardly tell apart from her sister's, stole my attention. She chuckled and shuffled nervously, and I forced a smile.

"It was nice meeting…" Her voice died down.

Someone else had stepped in. The woman was small and graceful in her movement, her skin a shade darker than mine, with a fair amount of wrinkles here and there. She smiled at Camille as the tall brunette left the room, and then she propped herself down on a stool a fair distance away from me. Her legs were crossed and her fingers interlocked as she rested her hand on her right knee. Her thin lips curled up and her aging eyes squinted when she looked at me. She sat there in silence for almost two minutes, just staring at me with that smile glued to her face. And then she called Isaac, giving him a knowing look of some sort, and Isaac reluctantly exited the room. To think I thought Erin and Hussein were weird. This place was literally packed with creeps. I tried to avoid her eyes, very slowly sipping the almost empty cup of coffee.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Xaia," she said, Her strong yet subtle voice breaking the silence in the most ethnic East African accent I had heard outside movies. "Isaac has told me quite a lot about you. Though, I feel there is more to learn."

Pause.

"I wish the circumstances surrounding your extraction were better, but as you've probably already seen, we try to make the best out of what we have." She continued. "Your mind is probably overflowing with questions. Feel free to ask."

With a reasonable amount of reluctance, I signed to her. "Who are you?"

   "Oh, where are my manners?" She chuckled, "my name is Tadiwa Zuze, but you can call Doctor Zuze, or Doctor Z. It's what the kids like to call me."

   "What is this place?" I asked.

   "This used to be a university, until you-know-what. Now it's a shelter. A safe space for people like you" Her voice was gentle and so was her smile.

   "Newborns?" I gestured, and she snickered.

   "Tell me, Xaia, have you ever heard the name Maui?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"Maui was a demigod in New Zealand mythology. He was the son of Makeatutara and Taranga. Makeatutara was the guardian, or god, if you may, of the underworld, and Taranga was a mortal woman. Maui was born premature, and so his mother cast him into the ocean, but, you see, the ocean spirits protected him until a storm brought him to shore where his grandmother found him and nurtured him to perfect health. Maui then went on to become a legend, possessing a tremendous amount of strength and shapeshifting abilities that helped him achieve numerous feats for himself, his people, and humanity as a whole."

Pause.

"In at least three ethnic groups in the Philippines, there was a deity known as Mayari–goddess of the moon. She was the daughter of Bathala–king of the gods–and a mortal woman. When her father fell into a deep sleep, she made a proposal to her brother for them to rule together, but, Apolaki, her brother, wanted to be the sole ruler, and this caused Mayari to revolt, and eventually, Apolaki agreed to Mayari's proposal. Centuries later, Mayari is still revered as a god and hero."

I stared at her blankly and she could tell that I didn't fully understand anything she said or why she was saying it, and so she went on.

"People like you, Xaia, have existed for centuries. Descendants of gods, or maybe even gods themselves. Which is why I find the word 'newborn' simply amusing. Though for centuries, people like you were practically non-existent as well. People thought the great death was the end of the world. But it brought you as well as all the others. I believe there is a reason for that. Do you?" She asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

   "Maybe, for them, there is. Me? I don't know." My head sank a little and I shifted my gaze. I was no hero.

   "Why do you think you're here?" Doctor Z asked.

   "I don't know." I shrugged. "Hiding?"

   "Hiding. Is that what you think the others are doing here as well?"

   "Yes!" I shot back in frustration. No words, but she could see the look in my eyes. "They are all hiding. I know the Union has been killing them. I know they are being hunted. It's only a matter of time before they find this place." I exhaled.

   "Why do you think they kept you inside their walls? Among them." The calmness in her voice remained as she asked question after question. "For people who kill people like you on sight, they let you live. Why do you think that is?"

Silence.

"You know, you're not wrong. We are hiding, for now. And it is only a matter of time before they find this place, but until then, we are going to keep searching and recruiting 'newborns'. You probably think you're a freak of nature, because that's what you've been made to believe. In fact, there was a time when the color of our skin was practically a crime. None of you asked to be born this way, but you were, and you shouldn't have to always look over your shoulder or sleep with one eye open just because you are different."

Different. That was what she went with. If I didn't know any better I would say she sounded just like Rhys.

"Make yourself comfortable. You can take a look around if you like. We will discuss more later." She said with a smile before standing up to leave.

************

The colonel stood in in his office with a cigar between his lips, staring out through the window as rain poured down from the sky. He took a drag, letting the heat run it's course before letting out a thick cloud of smoke.

He heard the door knob turn and someone walked in. He took another puff before dropping the cigar and crushing it beneath his boot.

"You asked to see me." The visitor spoke.

   "Yes." Ritter answered. "Recently, there was a break-in and a very important asset of ours was taken. Stolen by one of them. A pyro."

   "You think it was him?"

   "I don't know, but we'll find out soon enough. And when we do, I trust you know what you're supposed to do."

   "Just as long as you keep your word." The man grunted in the darkness

"That won't be a problem. When we do find him, he is all yours."