After taking a long nap I woke back again in the same bed, feeling better but also completely perched and extremely hungry, I got up slowly, my muscles sore in a way I hadn't felt for a long time, since when I used to abuse my body more recklessly.
Getting up I saw that I was just in my boxers, seeing the rest of my clothes in a table besides the door I went to get them, they were completely filthy, caked in blood and dust and the smell wasn’t great either.
I searched the room for a better option, looking around the small square room, besides the bed there was only a little nightstand and some stools, nothing that would help me. I thought about using the sheets but there was still a cabinet on one of the walls so I went to check it first finding some hospital gowns inside I thankfully put one on, throwing my clothes in the thrash.
I sighed there goes a couple more of my clothes, I would need to ask how to get more, getting outside the room it was even more silent than normal, the few times I had spent alone were brief moments, when I was going to get showers. Now I was following an unknown corridor alone, it made it eerie.
My saving grace was that almost everywhere I had seen so far, this room as well, was all straight corridors that led directly to the lobby with the elevator, I passed by lots and lots of closed doors but decided to stick with my conclusion, being rewarded when I arrived at a wider room with a brighter light in the center where the elevators door sat, I sighed in relief and weakly went to it, calling the machine to this floor.
It didn’t take much time and soon I was inside, deciding to take a bath first and then put some actual clothes I pushed the 2, the elevator smoothly taking me down quickly and I took the most familiar way for me, the one to my room, taking a change of clothes and then to the bathroom. It was probably very late in the night as I hadn't encountered with anyone and it almost seemed like I was the only person alive in a post-apocalyptic bunker, my steps echoing in the halls, each one a methodical movement, one after the other.
Taking my shower was very nice and eased my muscles a bit, I also took the opportunity to drink as much water as I wanted, glad to realize that my body absorbed what it needed at an accelerated speed, feeling much better after drinking an unordinary amount of water.
I saw that even my power seemed a bit more vibrant which really helped ease my mind. Eventually I finished my bath realizing that it might have been a longer bath that I intended, with no way to tell as I left my phone in the room, I dried myself with one of the available towels, putting it in the basket together with the gown, not really sure if it should be there but thinking it the most likely, I went my way, with surer steps, towards the elevator. I wanted to see if there was any food left.
Again, taking the route to the elevator and using it to go down, I arrived at the mess hall, it was illuminated by evenly spaced lights on the ceiling just like the corridors, being somewhat far from each other, the illumination wasn’t the best, but it made enough light to be able to see, although a little gloomy.
I looked through the mess hall but didn’t see the normally laid out buffet, I had seen a door before though, at the back of the room, so I went to check, my hunger driving me forward even if I felt I was sneaking around, opening the door it was indeed a kitchen, I went inside going straight for the fridge.
It really drove home how I was a member of the organization now, just ransacking the fridge in the middle of the night, I chuckled to myself at the situation.
Seeing a plastic container with leftovers and using the microwave that I found there as well to heat it up, I silently ate it up while standing, finishing it quickly. I felt even better, still very tired though, so I went for bed. Setting my alarm to seven not wanting to lose the day even if it was 4am now, I had slept plenty since the accident.
Pulling the covers over myself for the first time, I settle in for a brief sleep.
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I woke up to the sound of my alarm, still feeling dizzy from sleep, I took the phone, turning it off. I slowly sat up, sleepy but it just felt the normal for sleeping weirdly.
I got up and stretched, today no one was at my door when I opened it up, going to the elevator I encountered with Glassmetal and Swordjuice also going to take the lift down, they looked surprised to see me.
“Are you well already?” Swordjuice asked, quickly walking closer to check up on me.
“Yeah man, you seemed pretty beat up yesterday, sorry again.” Glasmetal said a hand scratching his cheek.
“It's fine I'm much better already.” I said easily. “I even found out that getting the resources speed ups my recovery.
“Ooh, that’s pretty cool, you should bring some snacks around with you, as part of your uniform.” Swordjuice suggested with a smile.
“Uh, sure.” I smiled back “Let's go then? I’m hungry.”
“Not still completely filled then?” Glassmetal laughed at me.
I shrugged “Apparently.”
We went to the elevator, not encountering anyone else, only when in the mess hall we saw LED and Payback already there.
“Joseph, what you doing up?” LED said as soon as he saw me.
“We thought you were still in the infirmary.” Payback remarked from besides him.
“No, I woke up feeling better, so I went to my room. “I told them, “Also ended up finding out that if I eat and drink, I can recover faster.”
“That's good to know, we can even take some high calorie bars for you eventually.” LED said, nodding.
“True, it might help fuel the big transformations” Glassmetal supplied.
I nodded, it made sense. LED continued speaking looking me up and down. “I don’t think you should train more today still, anyway.”
“Eh? Why so, eating again I'll probably be back to top heath.”
“Even so, best not to push it, besides you had to have a day to help with the chores, right?” LED told me with an amused smile pulling the corner of his mouth slightly.
I sighed, a day put back to do chores, it was fine though. It was good to rest mentally, and maybe think more about the facets of my power I discovered in the past days. I didn’t really mind doing house work anyway.
“You're paired with Spyglass today” Payback said, smiling.
“Impossible! that’s clearly not random, after yesterday I don’t even think she’ll want to do it.” I said shaking my head.
“It's fine. If anything, she's professional” LED said. “And besides don’t you want to make amends?”
I sighed... “That's true.” I just never know how to approach people, even more in those situations.
“You'll do fine, she wakes up at around 9, you should probably go back to sleep.”
“No, I wouldn't really rest any more than what I already did anyway.”
“You do you” LED said ending the topic with a shrug.
After that slight worrying news, we all had breakfast together and I asked what Glassmetal and Swordjuice did during the day.
“When it's not my chores day, I normally just start early at the lab. Training my power, constructing better mechanisms and training making them faster, this Kinda stuff” Glassmetal said listing it off on his fingers “When not doing that, I try to figure out some of the other tinker tech.”
“Interesting, you also being a tinker helps with that?”
“Surprisingly not, actually.” Glassmetal said sighing before continuing his explanation. “Sometimes there the tiniest bit of some sort of intuition, it could just be luck as well. Or that particular tinker having a method of craziness similar in their power.” he shrugged. “Half the time we can only get batteries, when they have it, and when extracting them doesn’t destroy the whole stuff.”
“Hmm, I see” it's always interesting to see how for as much as the tinker powers have similarities, in creating crazy technologies that sometimes were straight up impossible, reusing or mass producing the stuff was close to impossible. And even other tinkers could have trouble understanding how any of it worked.
“I train my powers under LED.” Swordjuice continued. “The other day you were the focus of attention, but I'll probably continue my battle training today.” her schedule was basically only training. “We’ll probably spar one of these days.”
“That's cool, I can see more types of enhancements maybe.” She nodded agreeing to the preposition.
“Hmm when not doing that I help in the lab as well, Victor and Glassy here always try and figure more of it out, or enhance other weapons.” she finished her piece mulling about things with a hand on her chin.
We talked more over breakfast and while they went to do their things I went back to my room, made some notes on my diary putting things to date, then took a bath, grabbed my phone and went to wait around in the mess hall.
A bit after nine Spyglass appeared, her neutral face falling a little, not quite becoming a scowl, at seeing me. She sighed, but started approaching me anyway, I put my phone away in my pocket.
“They put us to work together?” She asked straightaway.
“On point” I confirmed for her nodding.
She sighed again, moving to the food table. “Wait for me to eat and we’ll go.”
I was a bit surprised that she hadn't just refused, seems like LED was right about her.
“Sure” I said.
She ate in silence with me awkwardly waiting around, thankfully she didn’t take long, getting up and gesturing for me to follow.
“Let’s go, I'll show you the ropes” her tone was distant and I got up to follow her in what was turning out to become a wonderful day.