Lone Star

Madrid woke me up the next morning with a blast of sunlight. she threw open the curtains with swift movements as she hummed a bird song.

"Morning, miss. Officer Young has requested for you to be up and ready early today. Best you get in the shower while hot water is available." She chides before slipping out the door, no doubt off to either make breakfast or wake another "experiment". I slip the covers off my warm body and let the cold air seep in to my bones. This is how I always wake up, cold blasts to the nervous system alerts it faster. I rub the sleep from my eyes and make my way to the closet to grab clothes before hopping in the shower. I grab my deep cherry red practice suit and undergarments before I slip towards the shower.

The water takes forever to warm up, thankfully I can dip my feet in the cold water before I burn my skin off in the shower. The water soon warms up, at least enough for me to get in. I lather my hair in shampoo, massaging my scalp as I do so. I've always loved showers, warm water envelops you and it feels like your in a whole other world, where none of your worries exist and you could just be a kid again.

I imagine soft grass, flowing in the breeze. Flowers grow and reach towards the sun. Sweet smells of candy and other sweets mix with the shower's mist and envelopes me. It almost feels real.

Except I never really was a kid. I never got to play with the others on the playground at school, I never got to have my parents walk me home after school, I've never had someone to look to for guidance. Instead I had to be the adult, I had to walk Zoe home after school, I had to help her with all her school work, I had to support my family. No one told me how to do it, and I made a lot of mistakes. Thankfully six year old me was a perfectionist.

I thought for a little bit after that. I thought until my water ran cold and I lost feeling in my toes. I thought about what I could have done different, who I could have asked for help, who I can ask for help now. But I don't need help now. I need answers.

My walk down to breakfast was lonesome. No one lurked in the hallways, no one sat around at the lobby. I didn't see anyone till I got to the kitchen. Madrid was standing over a pan and, still, humming a birdsong.

"Hello Madrid, breakfast smells wonderful." I greet her as I take a seat at the table.

"Oh hello miss, would you like bacon or sausage?" She asks, waving the spatula around as she talks.

"Sausage please."

"Very well, miss." She says as she turns back to the stove. She's very formal, even for an elder.

"Why do you call me miss? I'm not someone very important, actually I'm more of a trouble maker." I tell her. It's not usual for elders to be so respectful.

"Well I call you that because of how I was raised. Growing up my mother taught me how to be the best maid possible, it was a family job of sorts I suppose. Then when this research facility opened I was asked to work here." She said as she handed me the plate with my food.

I thank her for the food before I dig in. The eggs are fluffy and lightly salted, the sausage crisp out the outside and spiced inside. There is also a slice of toast buttered and slathered in jam. It's delicious, and for a while my mind clears and all I do is eat. Its rather relaxing actually, but then I finish and the trance breaks.

"You can call me Phoenix, you know. I'd rather that than Captain or Miss." I tell Madrid as I walk the plate to the sink. I rinse it and take a drink of water from the faucet.

"Well alright then mi- Phoenix. If you insist, I'll drop the miss title. You best be on your way to the training grounds, I don't think Officer Young likes to be held up." She says as she readies the others food before they wake up. I thank her and make my way outside.

The morning air is crisp and cool, the kind of feeling you'd expect getting out of the river on a summer evening. It's nice, refreshing.

Something isn't quite right. Something feels out of place. There's a presence that hangs in the air, thick like a morning fog, and it envelops me in it's cold embrace.

I see something, over at the far end of the field. There's an animal. Except it's not like any animal I've ever seen. It's huge, taller than the officer who's talking to it. It's feline features make me think of the house cats around our district, the ones that grew feral after the wars.

The animal is lean, muscular, and completely black save it's eyes. The eyes are a shocking, vibrant blue. It's legs are hard to see from here, but compared to Officer Young, the beasts paws are larger than any I've ever seen.

Just then the beast sniffs and catches my eye. Slowly both it and Young turn and see me watching. He waved the animal off and the two of them part ways. He comes towards me while the beast jumps the fence back into the forest.

"What was that?" I cautiously ask Young once he reaches me. He doesn't seem mad, maybe he's surprised I was so punctual this morning.

"That, little mouse, was a Holy Beast. Messengers of above, able to travel through dimensions. I shouldn't be surprised that you could see him, however most can't" He picks a piece of lint off his sleeve, unfazed by the sudden nickname I just gained. He lifts his gaze and follows the clouds above us, picking out shapes and patterns.

"Well, I'm not sure what to tell you. I don't seem to know what I can do any more than you do." I say. I tilt my head up, shaping those same clouds above us. There's no birds in the sky today, maybe the Holy Beast scared them off.

We stay like that for a while, me shaping clouds and him... Well he was doing whatever it is he does. Chatter starts from inside the building, building in volume as more people wake up for an early breakfast.

"Well, I'd say we've wasted enough time, don't you think?" He blinks himself out of the trance. He looks embarrassed after wasting time daydreaming like that. His cheeks darken a shade before he turns around and motions me to follow.

"We're going to the training grounds, the larger one. It's less used but should be perfect for us." As we walk the sun rises higher in the sky. An empty sidewalk is our only trail, the insects in the grass our only companions.

Up ahead I can see a fence stretching into the sky. It looks tall, taller than most houses surrounding it. It's made of simple wire and poles, like the old rusted ones around houses back home. It's crazy to think that we ever had that much metal.

"What is that?" I ask, pointing towards the fence.

"Our destination"