Like the day before, Jericho was interrupted mid-training, and he followed the doctor’s assistant. This time, there were no formalities with Doctor Yorke as she was invested in her work. Jericho simply followed Eda.

“Over here,” Eda said. She pointed at a door at the other side of the room. It was windowless and a solid black.

Eda pushed the door open and held it just long enough for Jericho to take the helm. Upon pushing the door he found himself outside. The fresh air struck him with panic and he fumbled over. Eda grabbed him before he could fall completely and guided him towards the ground. In the field house, there were windows on the ceiling and ones that went along the upper walling. Apart from the lighting or cloudy weather, the windows did not allow much of the outside world in. It was a little over a week into Jericho’s stay here and the outside world was already a commodity.

“Are you okay?” She asked. “I should have let you rest a bit after I called you over.”

“I’m fine,” Jericho said through ragged breaths. “Just leave me alone for the next few minutes. Please don’t use your power on me. That will only make it worse.”

She nodded and gave Jericho some space.

Jericho ignored the animals he saw and looked off into the distance. Despite his mild panic attack, he looked at anything that would help him; landmarks, paths he could take. All he saw was an open hilly area with trees scattered about. Behind the hills and grass were more buildings, but nothing to mark his surroundings. Despite the minor discomfort, he was utilizing the time well. He chuckled softly to himself before rising to his feet. He nodded for them to continue. He was not fully prepared mentally, but he pushed on forward anyway.

Outside, dogs, cats, chickens, and a horse walked around in a fenced-off area. Some frolicked and looked normal even, though Jericho knew they were all sick in some way.

He approached a spotted dog with a limp leg. Eda calmed the dog slightly which was not needed since the dog was already calm, but he was assured the dog would not suddenly lash out and bite his face off. In the dark parts of his mind, he thought a dog bite wouldn’t be too bad, since he would be able to experiment and heal himself. He added scars and bites to his healing to-do-list.

“How are you?” Eda asked as he treated the dog.

“I’m feeling fine now,” hes said. “If you’re talking the healing, then it’s going great. I’m surprised I’m doing so well with the animals. Then, again. I’ve only been healing myself, so I can’t compare much for my progress.”

“No,” she said. “I meant how are you doing? How are you holding up?”

“What?” The healing stopped abruptly, then he picked it up again. “I’m fine. Can’t complain.”

“I would feel terrible if I was forced to be here against my will.”

He answered the question rather coherently, despite its jarring proposition. He said, “Are you trying to rub it in?”

“No, I’m only looking out for you. That’s all.”

“Sure,” he said. He had no time for pity, especially here. “Why do you work at a place like this?”

“I have my reasons. They pay a lot and I need the money. This is the most I’ve made in my entire life.”

Jericho could have moved up on the moral high ground, but he understood her. He pretended to look at the remaining animals to heal, but he looked around to see if anyone was nearby, within earshot. He then looked for cameras. He was told there was no surveillance inside, but the outside had to be different. Surely there had to be a camera positioned around here. It would not make any sense to him if an exit to the outside world was left unmonitored. After he found no visible surveillance equipment, he finished assessing his surroundings, then moved on to the next dog.

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Eda said, “If you told me I’d be here ten years ago when I entered the military, then I would call you a fool. My life hasn’t been what I expected. Still, I can’t help but feel sorry for you and everyone else.”

“Does this make you feel better?” Jericho said with a hint of a condescending tone.

“I suppose it does,” she said. “It sure makes me feel better when I can’t sleep as well at night, but at that point, I use my ability on myself and it’s sweet dreams for me.”

Even if his power was healing and not detecting lies, he could tell she was lying. This entire conversation was meant for her to feel better about herself. The fact she was speaking about it to him meant it was eating at her insides even if she was opening up about it.

Jericho used that minor vulnerability to dig around for information. “Do you live here? I heard the staff all have living accommodations. Well, at least the ones that don’t want to travel. Aren’t you prisoners as well?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. I consider it working abroad or even doing close and personal professional work.”

“With the number of people here, there can’t be enough to house all of you. Even if it was possible, you must all be cramped together just like us.”

“Quite the opposite actually,” she said. “We all get separate rooms. Some of you who graduate and move up take house in the very same ones. The rooms here are extraordinary. My younger self would only hope of living in such dwellings for even a night.”

“So, you’re not cramped up with the rest of the guards?”

“Our living arrangements are as if we never lived at our work in the first place.”

This was the hook, the one Jericho had been dangling in front of her. She was finally close enough for her to bite. If he messed up this question, then she would notice what he was doing, and immediately close up and become distant. He thought about the question carefully, but not too long to arouse suspicion.

He asked, “As if you never lived at your workplace?” He laughed as naturally as he could. “I would hate waking up and being where I work within a minute.”

“I would call it more of a ten-minute run. This place is much bigger than you would expect,” she said. “Although, we do live farther away for all of our safety.”

Jericho stretched his neck around and thanked Eda in his mind. That was enough information for now, any more and she would surely catch on. He applied the finishing touches on the dogs, then moved onto the cats.

Once he was done with the cats, he went on with the chickens, then finally healed the horse. There was nothing special about the healing today. All he did was heal the usual, such as cuts and broken bones. His mind went into a somewhat focused state, but he realized that healing was getting easier for him. He was confident in his abilities and he would have to do something new to break through a potential, upcoming plateau.

Then again, he might be terrible at healing. He was only seeing the superficial results, after all. Doctor Yorke never got back to him about how well he healed so his progress was still unclear. Maybe his healing was only temporary.

“Let’s head back inside,” she said.

“Is it okay if I stay out here for a little while longer?” The sun was starting to set and Jericho wished to breathe in the fresh air for as long as he could.

She looked at the door, then back to Jericho. She slid her back down against the wall and huffed out air from her nostrils. Like a mom allowing her kid to buy a toy, she obliged.

“Sure. I’ll give you five minutes.”

When the sun had set, escaping to the other side of the world, the lights in the grassy area perked up one by one. Lights traveled from the side nearest to Jericho to the other side farthest from him. The courtyard was now lit too. He wished he could see it up close, but accepted the view, for it was all he had. The grassy hills were illuminated by lights as if night had never turned to day. Although he was genuinely enjoying the view, he kept an eye out for potential housing areas.

He placed a hand on his forehead and thought deeply about his life, about the situation he was in. He missed home, his mom especially, and he hoped she was not worrying too much. The thought made him crumble inside, but he kept the tears in. He would have to cry another day, not now, not in the same week as his previous cry.

“Time’s up. Let’s go.”

“Thank you,” Jericho said. He rose to his feet and made his exit. She said five minutes, but at least fifteen minutes had passed. He felt bad about his thoughts of using her for his escape, but he knew she would be valuable.

He gestured a hand forward telling her to go first and they went inside.