Day 7
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White. Warm. Dreamy.
Tentatively, I open my eyes and meet natural light coming from a windy open window somewhere in the room, embracing me with its alluring warmth and compelling me to stay, if only for an eternity more.
Birds, real this time, sing calmly to indicate the beginning of a new day. A fog, this time a lot less thick, circles around my mind, slowly unloading the heavy weight of what happened the last time I was awake.
Before I'm able to start seeking answers to every question imaginable related to how I'm even alive, any focus I could find within myself is stolen by a figure standing near me.
I turn to look and find a woman pale as the stars, with ears long and pointy as a knife, and a body enveloped by a white medical coat that smells of summer rain and cheap cigarettes. Her face is both familiar and eerie to me, as every inch of my body tells me to run from her before she finds an excuse to use her 'healing' again.
Instead of letting this feeling become apparent, as I fear that if she notices it, things will inevitably have bad consequences, I choose instead to watch her dancing, silky white hair as she extensively notes down on a phone every piece of information a strange machine connected to me presents.
"I wouldn't bother to try, patient. I'm sure that you would love to yank everything connected to you, but please control your childish desires and stay put as I ask." The woman, Doctor Yavia as I know her, finishes noting down the relevant information and quickly discards her phone inside the coat's breast pocket. "Unlike our last encounter, the injuries you sustained are a lot more severe, to the point they are almost beyond me. Even as I did all I could, your body will need time to adjust to what has been done."
Awkwardly, I laugh, feeling every inch hurt extremely from the sudden movement—the only way my body has to tell me I'm completely exhausted and will continue to be for at least weeks more.
The day before yesterday, it feels almost like a dream to think there was so much peace before such darkness befell. Her anger—there's no way I can blame her for feeling it. I really just stepped over her orders and almost managed to undo all the careful work she had done to keep me well.
"I'm sorry, doctor; it won't happen again, and there's something I want to ask. How exactly am I even alive right now?" Accompanying the question, I look over myself, specifically my wrists, and catch the deep, hurting marks that the experiments left; now I think I'll never be able to forget about that night. "I thought that after what happened to me, I would never be able to come back."
"It isn't on my duty list to tell you the details surrounding your case; my job is only to assist you with any wounds that might threaten your life. A specialized agent has already been assigned to this task of explaining things to you."
The way she says things seems for a moment to be in bad faith, but, looking closer, I can sympathize with the tiredness she tries to hide behind a pair of sunglasses adorning her face. Ignoring my prolonged stare, the doctor looks over me and changes the expression she wears to something that I can't read.
"Allow me to tell you something, Patient; the sole fact you can breathe at this very moment isn't any miracle; don't fool yourself to think otherwise." She speaks in a tone that compels me to think, to try to find the reasoning behind why these exact words, and the moment I believe I get it, she nods her head and prepares to leave. "Anyhow, I'm needed elsewhere; there's work that needs my immediate attention. Follow the instructions I gave and stay put if you want to heal properly; next time I am to check on you, I want to see you in a better state."
Her figure disappears through the door, like a silvery devil slipping away after planting doubt on this head of mine. Carefully, I give in to the feeling and brush a finger down the side of my neck, searching for any signs of a bite scar but finding none.
As a frown settles, a quiet knock on the room's door gets me startled, forcing my head to turn quickly in the source's direction.
Flowing blond hair wildly pokes from the figure's head as she leans in to look at me, seeing whatever state I am and sighing.
"It's been less than twenty-four hours and you're already awake; you're one tough cookie, puppy. I'm very proud of you." Julia, wearing a sweet smile, enters the room and walks to a distant chair before grabbing it and dragging it near me. "I'm glad to see your body is dealing well with all that happened. Doctor Yavia worked overnight to keep you stable."
"Yeah, I don't believe myself that I'm even here right now." I look at my hands and again stop to question if all of this is real, and what ends up giving it away that this is really happening is the sharp, cold pain ringing all over. "Not that it is without some pain here and there, but that's good; it means that I'm really not dreaming."
Strangely, considering everything that happened, one question stands above all in priority, leaving me almost automatically. "Is everyone okay? Did they manage to make it out of the warehouse safely?"
Julia looks at me for a good second before a genuine, amused laugh escapes from the depths of her heart, growing a smile that is soon hidden by a few strands of golden hair.
"Pardon me for this unprofessional reaction; I'm just relieved to see how much you worry about them. Now, to your question, yes, the three of them are without a scratch. All thanks to your courage and good heart, I heard."
"I don't think there's a world where I would be able not to worry. Doctor Verso was very clear when he said there was only one way I could survive his experiment, so I know it was one of the three who saved me—I only don't know who." I say genuinely as well, only that instead of laughing alongside her, I permit a small smile to take over me. "Me being here means I owe everything to them."
"Since you brought that name to the conversation, I want to tell you something. Good news, I promise." A comforting hand is placed on my knee as a more motherly expression takes over Julia's features; the unexpectedness paired with the softer tone she adapts leaves me to speechlessly stare as she hands the news. "Things have already been taken care of; he was already processed into our system and sent to a place where he won't be able to hurt anyone again—he won't be able to hurt you again."
"Well, I'm a little embarrassed; it wasn't all me. Yui, Colette, and Dalia did most of the work."
For some reason hearing this makes me blush, perhaps because it reminds me of times long gone from when I was fresh out of the academy, yet, instead of delving deeper into this feeling, I decided to speak about something that's on my mind.
"I'm only guessing, but is that why I was moved from the underground to this area?"
"That is..." The question causes her smile to die down slightly, already a hint that whatever she's about to say next won't be either easy to process or good to hear. "That's partially the reason; the other half is a little more complicated. In truth, I was sent here to talk to you about something important."
"This may come as a shock, or not; I'm sure that since you heard the target's plan and considering that I saw you looking for scars, you must have already caught up to the details."
Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Julia intertwines her fingers tightly and rests them atop her lap, keeping eye contact with me, but, from time to time, stopping to look down and carefully reconsider the next words that are going to come out of her mouth.
"Olivia, your status in the agency has changed from temporary human agent to unknown threat." Even as the woman in front of me says such words, with a little further study, it becomes easy to notice how she doesn't agree with them; she merely says what she was told to. "You're not a human anymore; actually, we have no idea what you are. Doctor Yavia is currently working on trying to find out what you are capable of, but until this moment all that she was able to determine is that any supernatural abilities you have inside you lie dormant and will for a while."
"For centuries we studied everything you can imagine, supernatural or not, every secret dead or alive, and in all that time no new type of supernatural being was ever registered. Everything that has already existed has since the beginning. You're the first in, well, forever, to be totally new. People above me are scared of what you may be capable of doing when you fully bloom to this potential."
Julia takes a deep breath and fixes her posture further, almost breaking her fingers as she presses them together strongly, a heavy feeling showing on a frown she adopts.
"That means that the choices I've offered you before are no longer available; it is either you stay or you'll be hunted and captured to further study. The only thing I can promise is that, if you choose to stay, I'll keep you as a member of Unit 0; that means I can guarantee your safety until the dust settles. But, in the end, the choice is yours; if you want to run away, I'll at least give you a head start and buy you a couple of hours."
After all of that, silence is her ultimate end as she waits patiently for an answer and quietly hopes for me to give her the one she wants.
To deal with the fact that I'm not human anymore is...strange for sure, but that's better than not being able to ever see any of the people I love again. Mel's stupidly funny jokes that always seem to come at the right time, Astero's supportive words that always have been able to push me into trying a little more, and Pirate's annoying habit of leaving fluff all around the house that inevitably turns it into a lively home...
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
All things I can't just leave behind to spare myself some of the pain and tiredness that comes with the sins I committed, if anything, I have a duty to be there for them as I have now to help the four new people in my life. Colette, Yui, Dalia, and even Julia; I have a debt to pay here too.
"Well, it isn't much of a choice, huh?" An awkward laugh leaves me as I try to lighten up some of the mood, and seeing how I failed miserably, I change the approach. "You don't need to make that face; it is okay. I don't think my answer would be different even if things didn't happen as they did."
I smile at her and glance at the open window, seeing outside a beautiful blue sky that helps me ease any doubts I once had.
"I'm glad to stay if you'll have me, and if I can help with anything regarding discovering what I am now, I'll gladly help if it means that one day this can help someone who finds themselves in the same situation as I."
All weight is taken away from the woman's face as she hears these words; if for the fact she wanted for me to stay or if she just didn't wish to hunt me down is unclear and at the same time non-important—I'm content to simply see the pained clouds graying her blue eyes clear out and reveal a nice, pretty sky of its own.
"Great, it is settled then! As promised, you don't have to worry about a thing; leave all the political issues to me. I'll make sure you can rest easy." Julia's eyes move to the room's door, where she grows a small grin. "Well, since you agreed to stay, puppy, some things will inevitably change. There's one last thing I have to say, but this time, I need all members of our unit to be here. I'm sure some of them are very excited to—"
When Julia's just about to finish her words, a quiet hum reaches my ears, indicating that the room's door is opening.
As it slides to reveal the one standing behind it, about one-quarter of the way, an impatient certain someone decides that it is taking too long and hastily squeezes themselves past the narrow space, securing their spot as the first to enter in a race against their own self. That same person looks around anxiously until landing their gaze on mine, grinning from ear to ear instantly.
Yui, as if testing the limits of their speed, jumps in my direction without thinking twice; their grin stays, only different as it adapts a more worried underline to it, almost desperate.
"Detective! Oh, my night, it is so good to see you're alive; how is it? Does it hurt a lot? Do you need something? Cause I can get you some water, or maybe some snacks from the vending machine outside if you want." They talk so fast that their questions run over each other's and become almost impossible to understand.
I smile sanguinely, trying to offer them some room to relax; the way Yui looks so genuinely real, not hiding behind some jokes or cheap flirts, is enough to make me want to reach out and hold their hand until they feel calmer, but before that can happen, a second figure makes herself known.
"Simmer down a little, Yui; we don't want to drown the detective in questions right when she managed to open her eyes, do we?" Gentle as a summer breeze, Dalia steps into view and presents me with a smile that has the same effect on me as looking at the sea when the sun starts to set. "Pardon their excitement. Yui is a little accelerated due to everything that transpired—in truth, we've all been hoping for you to recover."
From behind her, the last expected figure blooms out of the woman's shadow; her mind seems to be deeply lost in a private chorus of her own creation as she walks in heavy steps.
Colette, looking serious as ever, reaches my side and wanders her gaze around the right side of my shoulder with a face that indicates she's looking for something before stopping for a second or two, seemingly focusing on the very thing she wanted. I, of course, become curious to find out what it is that got her to focus like that, but before I'm able to do anything, her eyes shoot up to meet mine.
Right as she nods her head to me, Yui's face contorts into a familiar, devilish grin, revitalizing their spirit to do something that won't end well to them.
"Ha, is that it? After all that shit from yesterday, you don't have anything more to say to her." Yui laughs alongside the teasing words, presenting me with a smile that can only indicate this is the point where they'll say something that they shouldn't. "I thought that since you were pacing around outside so much for the last, what? Two hours? You would have something nice to say to our detective."
To everyone's surprise, Colette, instead of growling, warps their arm around Yui's shoulder intimidatingly and whispers something in their ear, which scares every ounce of courage out of Yui and leaves my imagination to figure out what possibly she could have on them that caused this strange phenomenon.
"Okay, alright, fucking hell; there's no need for us to bring that back, does it?" Frozen in the woman's tight hold, Yui shrinks like a scared bunny and tries to escape. "That was a one-time thing that I would very much like to forget, please, so let's keep it to ourselves and never talk about it again."
Allowing a heavy sigh to leave her lungs, Dalia walks past the agents and circles the bed, stopping at the other side and taking a vacant spot on the window's stool beside Julia.
"It means the world seeing you awake, detective; even more when remembering that you risked your well-being for us." Her gray eyes shine in such appreciativeness that it leaves me to feel a blush starting to crawl over from within me.
Luckily, she doesn't seem to catch on to it, or at least, if she does, she doesn't react in a way that I can tell, choosing instead to keep talking. "Believe me when I say that we'll do whatever is in our power so there won't be a next time. I won't let things get to that point again."
"Hey! A little too eager to take the spotlight, huh, Lia?" Yui pouts and makes sure to reinforce their presence in the room, forgetting how scared they were a second ago in Colette's hold and escaping from it without a sweat, as if they were never trapped to begin with, and instead only decided to act as if they were. "If that's the case, I too promise to make sure you'll be safe; all you need to do is stick close to me, and I'll drive every evil away. That only makes sense; after all, I'm a magnet of good luck."
When I look at Colette, she doesn't even look surprised at how easily their hold was nullified, and actually, her focus stays on someone else. Intensively, the woman holds my gaze; even without saying anything, it appears the sentiment the other two have extends to her as well.
A clap from Julia is all that's needed to break the moment and remind everyone that there are things the boss still wants to talk about, so, without wasting a moment, everyone turns towards her.
"Everyone listening? Good, then let me give you four the good news." Adjusting her posture, she looks at everyone with a proud smile that fills the room. "My bosses have recognized the effort that our unit has put into capturing our latest target, and for the overall success, they decided that there's nothing fairer than reevaluating our rank. We have gone from rank C to rank B, which means our unit is being assigned a city to stay in and protect. So no more being thrown around places to fix small problems; this is the real deal."
Julia looks at each of us, watching the overjoyed Yui jump around at the news, the composed Dalia quietly and proudly smiling to herself, the quiet Colette crossing her arms and listening carefully for any catches, and the confused me as I lack the context to understand the whole meaning of these words—at least that's something Julia starts to provide shortly.
"Congratulations! You four are now officially the guardians of Havenport. Unfortunately, this means that it will be a month before we can start operations, so Olivia will return to the city and continue her work normally as the rest of you pass the personal rank reevaluation test and endure some training to ensure everyone's ready for what'll come next."
Yui stops their commemoration and frowns at the last words from Julia. "Wait, so not only we won't be able to see the detective for a month, but we will need to waste pointless time on some boring ass mandatory training? I don't like it."
"Believe me, Yui, I too would enjoy some time off for us four where we could all relax after this week's stress," Dalia admits, not hiding her own discontentment with the current predicament. "But, do think like this: the sooner we get through this, the sooner we can return to Havenport. We could even walk on the beach again with the detective if she so wishes for it."
The woman's words are enough to pump Yui back up with excitement. "Fine, whatever, I'll finish this damn thing and make sure we are all going to be back together soon. I know it is hard, but try not to miss me much, detective."
Colette breaks her usual quietness and lets out what sounds like a chuckle, a bizarre event that has me almost questioning reality for a second, which once again manages to surprise everyone.
"You can laugh? Holy shit! Since when can you do it?" As Yui points it out, Colette looks away from them, trying to hide what just happened, which leaves them to think about something. "Wait, you laughed because of what I said, didn't you? You dick, for your information, the detective agrees with me."
In a low blow, Yui, wearing the most puppy eyes I've ever seen, looks at me expectantly that their charisma alone gets them the answer they want. "I'm right, ain't I, detective?"
I have to use every ounce of strength I have not to say yes, and so, instead, I take a deep breath and open a smile.
"I don't know, do I?" I fake being deep in thought for some seconds before looking at them again. "Maybe you could have the answer, but that will cost you some. Nothing major; five bucks will do the trick."
"A dirty cop? I didn't know you had it in you; maybe this roleplay can be very interesting."
Exactly as Yui starts to reach for their pocket, Julia steps forward and hands me ten. "Here, you can have it, puppy; the condition is that you don't tell them the answer."
"Deal; it is a pleasure to do business with you." I take the money and look apologetically at Yui, holding a laugh so I can keep acting as they look in disbelief at the woman who just betrayed their precious trust. "Sorry, pal, but business is business. Don't take it personally."
"What! No, that's not fair. She knew I just spent the last ten that I had to buy snacks; that's why she did this."
Watching their sadness, despite being just an act, is too heartbreaking to ignore, so with a gentle smile, I place the money in their chest pocket.
"You hang on to it for me; this way you can buy some snacks for us to share later."
Yui smiles happily and greedily accepts the money. "Leave it to me. I'll get us the best snacks that this money can buy. I solemnly swear."
"Well, puppies, it seems that it is time I leave," Julia says quietly after checking the time on her phone; already two steps out of the door. "Have fun, but not too much; we want our sick puppy to get better after all. I'm talking to you, Yui."
Her voice echoes down the corridor before she's totally out of reach, then the door closes, and a wave of pointless conversations about simply anything we can think about starts, accompanied by bad jokes that breed laughter just because crying would be too much work.
Before this moment, I believed that getting drunk off the atmosphere was just an expression, and I'm glad I was wrong.
Time flies by carelessly, escaping fast from between our fingers, and at one point most of us are either sleeping or very close to it, reinforcing that the stress we felt was very real.
Dalia rests her head against the wall, using Yui's flannel shirt as a pillow, allowing herself to leave all the problems for later.
Yui sits awkwardly on a chair while laying their head on my legs, drool flowing out of their mouth and pooling around the covers as they focus solely on recharging.
As per Colette, she fights with all that's left to stay awake, constantly bobbing her head back and forth in the constant battle against the sleepiness that takes over.
The calm silence allows me a moment to look outside again and appreciate the day.
This morning, the sky outside looks extra beautiful, perhaps because the world knows one less evil lurks around in the night to hurt its inhabitants, or maybe it is due to the four misfits that have found today something to celebrate together.
In the end, the answer to that is frivolous, because what is truly meaningful is this strange feeling inside of me that brings sleepiness to my already heavy eyes, one that screams of belonging.
This—simply being around them—is home.
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