Welcome back! I know it's slow paced, but I hope you like it anyway. Don't worry. There'll be enough fluff and smut in the future. I promise. :D
I plan on posting regular updates every week or so. Still got some winterbreak left!
Enjoy, rate and review! :)
Chapter 2: Frozen
I turned and walked for the right door, probably the changing room. I figured that I'd be here, because this hall just looked like the ones I've been in before, not many, but it gave me a direction. Not to mention the gray symbol of a female mannequin on the door. I took a key from the nearby stand and searched for its matching locker.
Simple hospital like clothes lay in there folded with same simple white sneakers underneath.
I get to wear these absurdly fashionable crap every day. How lucky I am, I mused with a dry smile on my lips.
Stuffing my old clothes back in the locker along with my bag which just contained of my door keys and my cell phone, 'specially made by STIGMA for all their outpost staff. It established a secure line and was blessed. So fancy. It just reminded me of my old Nokia brick back in the old days. And how I loved it, it was almost unbreakable. Until it got swallowed up by Limbo. My dad wasn't so happy that day, that I brought it with me in the testing room. He never understood me, back then I was obsessed with the game „snake" and I was bored, waiting for them to finish the tests on my brain waves. Then I accidentally opened up a vent.
„Still waiting for the devil's call..." I grumbled to myself as I pulled on the sneakers and headed towards the little bathroom.
Loosening my already messy ponytail, I studied myself. Pale skin as always. I didn't go outside that often. I just wasn't allowed to. Besides I had red hair and some light freckles, what made me a ginger. Hopefully I still have a soul though, I tought.
I tied my hair up to a high ponytail again, brushing my sidebangs aside. My olive green eyes looked darker than usual. It was probably the lack of sleep. I took a heavy breath before stepping out, in direction of the testing room.
The interior was rather different from what I was used to. It was almost empty except for a console with test boards and a chair that looked like it came straight out of a dentist clinic. A white floating tray was attached to it with my „beloved" gel pads laying on it. But the oddest part was the big glassy wall that was adjoined. It was so dark behind it, I couldn't figure out what lay beyond save for some flickering lights that might belong to a monitoring console.
Alex stood there arms crossed behind his back, absently looking through the glass wall into the darkness. He didn't hear me, although I did struggle with the heavy door to open it.
I cleared my throat and tried for a firm voice: „I'm done." It came out rather weak, still taken aback from the strange room.
He turned in suprise, spreading his arms in anticipation. „Great, le't's get going. I hope you're ready for something new, come here and have a seat. I need to check on your brain stability first."
I proceeded to sit on that dentist's chair thingy and tried to relax. Standard procedure. Alex carefully attached the gel pads and moved to the monitor to set the test up.
I looked around again. „Where's the rest of the staff? If it's so new 'n' all, aren't there any supervisors here to sniff around?"
He snorted amusedly and pointed with his thumb behind him at the glass front.
„They're all inside waiting for you.", he replied.
„What? But there's no one and it's so dark..." I implied confused.
„Yeah, true. That's because you just see the ceiling of the room. We need to go down another level, but all in good time.", he smiled at me again. And this time I could see something strange flashing in his hazel eyes. Was it fear? Or something like sorrow?
„So what do you guys have planned for me now?" I was silenced by Alex putting a finger to his lips. „No talking, I need to get a clear image of your brain. C'mon Joe." He was actually the only person allowed to use my nickname.
I pouted, but didn't argue. The quieter I was, the faster this would be over.
After a couple of minutes Alex broke the silence. „Ok, we're done. Let me remove the pads first." He did as he had inclined and focused on the monitor again.
„Everything seems normal. High deltas as always. Now, Joe. How are you holding up? I'm asking you this as a friend here." He gave me a penetrating glare and continued to watch me closely.
In an instant, I averted his eyes and replied: „I'm fine really. Maybe a bit more sleep wouldn't be so bad." He gave a slight knowing smile and gently grabbed my arm. „If you need to talk, I'm here. You know that." I nodded weakly in reply.
„Thank you." I almost just whispered.
„Anytime." He looked at me, just a few seconds too long it seemed. There was this sorrow again, that he so desperately tried to hide all the time. But it leaked eventually.
I didn't want to pry, so I left it be.
„C'mon now. We need to get to the lab. They're probably looking for us."
With that said, I crawled out of the chair and followed Alexander back to the black safety door. He then led me through the main hall to another big black door with a red glooming bio hazard symbol on it. Behind the door was some sort of winding stair-case, going down.
It was slowly getting dimmer from that point on.
We were walking silently, until Alex spoke: "Remember when you showed me your first birthday? But without photos or movie clips or anything like that, but with your mind?"
„Yeah, I do.", I returned rather grumpily. Those weren't the best memories.
„You did that to some of the nurses and your nanny, too. Some got so overwhelmed they had nose bleed for couple of days." He sounded slightly amused.
„It wasn't intentional." I retorted.
„I know that. And I know that you couldn't control it back then. You were just too young to know what you were doing." I averted his eyes again, a bit ashamed. Actually I was 5, when we – or let me put it better – my doctors and my father found out, that I could link my memories to another person. Not recieve anything from them, but show them bits and pieces of my life. I tried to suppress it ever since I nearly killed a colleague of my father with it. That's why I almost avoid physical contact with people. It just works so randomly. And it works through touching. But until now, I could always push it back, if someone came that near to touch me. I guess, the medicine I recieved after some sessions played also a big role in that part...
„Point is, I want you to try it again tod-"
„You know I can't. They increased my dosis of antidepressiva a week ago." I cut his sentence out of didn't he know? Wasn't he the one to assemble my medication?
„These were infact detoxication meds to remove every chemical substance from your body."
He countered with a serious tone. Ah, well so that's why I'm getting shakier by the minute.
I wasn't too suprised really. After all the crazy stunts HEXAGON has pulled on me, this nearly came expected.
„But... I just don't wanna hurt anyone, ya know." It was the truth. And Alex heard the concern in my nervous tone of voice.
„It'll be fine. Don't worry. You're not going to harm anyone." With that he slightly turned to me and gave me a reassuring smile.
I kinda was scared by his confindence in that moment. But also damn curious. Furthermore the fact, that I wasn't on medication anymore gave me a sense of freedom. I couldn't have rebelled against those drugs in the past. I chose to play along. They could've just simply forced me to take my meds. And I got tired of fighting a long time ago.
As we left the stair-case, we were greeted with yet another heavy door. And this time it was secured. Shit's about to get down it seemed.
Alex pulled out his ID-card, sliding it through the slit on the wall and leaning forward to let one of his eyes be scanned. An automatic female voice popped up from the metal device next to the door:" Access granted." With a loud click, that echoed through the high room, the door unlocked itself and Alex pushed it open.
The gloominess was present down here, too.
„Welcome to TH-335. Blessed research facility, cryo chamber and safest place on earth. Except for the other 334 similar halls we have here." He gave me a short smirk and continued to walk through the broad room.
The white floor with matching walls were nothing new. The only intriguing thing was that strange vault of glass in the middle of the hall. It gave off an odd blue glow and some sort of fog was gathering around it. On each and every wall were consols and monitors dimmly glowing in the dark. I looked up. This hall was incredibly tall. And the lights I've seen from the other room were actually coming from some fireboxes and cameras maybe?I couldn't make it out.
„Let's go, Joelle. We have a job to do." He slightly pulled me along in direction of the strange vault. I could see the rest of Alex's research team now. They were bustling around that odd thing of glowing blue and there were more vaults stacked against the wall in some sort of containers behind it. All dark and empty.
Come to think of it, it was rather cold here and the coolness was radiating from that object.
I hugged my chest in reflex as I slowly trotted nearer and nearer.
„What's that?" I asked, teeth nearly chattering.
„It's a cryo-capsule." He simply said as he stood right before it, greeting his colleagues shortly.
„Ready to remove the cover. Stef, you set?" A male voice coming from one of the suited scientists before me.
„Sure, let me decrease the temperature for a bit." A female voice replied, typing something on a console nearby. „Ok, done."
With an icy whiz, the cap of the glass vault lifted slightly and 3 of the all together 7 scientists pulled it off from the rest of the pod. Steam emerged from the half-capsule, clouding my view. I took all my courage and stepped forward. I could make out the silhouette of a person now. He was lying in there, so still.
Almost lifeless. Almost dead.
...
Helloooo again! 2nd chapter coming right up. Let's see, who's lying in there, shall we? ;)
Disclaimer: Vergil belongs to Capcom, Joelle belongs to me!
Thanks for reading
Lisa x