Sorry for not updating in sooooo long . . . hope you enjoy the chapter tho! :)
The ground was lined with cobblestones which had grazed the heels of her hands. The subtle breeze made the raw skin sting and the blood running down her fingers cold. Cautiously she looked at her surroundings, her hands curling into fists. They were standing in a square which seemed to be several times the size of a football field. Buildings clustered in the corners, hugging the face of a wall made of large stone blocks. The only way out appeared to be four large gates at least four stories high made of wrought iron situated exactly north, south, east or west.
A poorly disguised snigger brought Rebecca's attention back to the girls. They were of all ages and races, most of which staring shamelessly from doorways and others sitting on the edge of a fountain off to the side of the box from where she had come from. Different styles and types of garments clothed their fit and shaped figures creating a strange uniform which would only comply with a time traveller's wardrobe.
"So you done looking?" Nissa's voice cut through Rebecca's observation.
Rebecca nodded slowly, glancing back at the numerous doorways and windows.
"Then why are you still looking?" amusement seemed to colour her words.
Cautiously avoiding the staring faces Rebecca continued to fix her gaze on the misty rooftops fading into the distance. She opened her mouth and a brief moment of terror stole across her spine, as if the ability to speak had left her.
"Where . . ." the word was awkward and soft, shaking in the chilly evening air. Nissa watched her expectantly, slowly starting to speak after a few more minutes of tense silence.
"Do you mean . . . where is this? Or maybe where did we come from, where you came from?" the questions were probing, asking for explanations leading of f into a direction where maybe she had control.
"Where do the gates lead?" Rebecca asked, white knuckles stained by lines of dripping blood.
"Oh . . ." the leader girl trailed off. The gossip-like whispering had disappeared plunging the square into silence.
Rebecca bit her lip and stared fixatedly at the floor, eyes reflecting her discomfort at not knowing what to do next or why they were reacting like this. After what must have been only a few seconds in which her fists once again shook and she could feel the gazes of the entire square in her peripherals, she pulled her head stiffly up to once again meet Nissa's eyes.
The girl standing before Rebecca looked at her intently, evaluating her with an intelligence she hadn't noticed before. She seemed to be weighing up her options or calculating the risk she was about to take.
"To the city, to Arcade," more shock ensued, expressions changing from curious to amazed and some to dislike.
"But that wouldn't mean anything to you," She said continuing to watch Rebecca's reaction to the words. Rebecca shook her head although it hadn't been a question. Something about the way Nissa had said it told her that she shouldn't know anything about this strange world, which was luckily quite true. Although it wasn't until Nissa's searching gaze seemed to be satisfied that Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief.
"Um, Nissa, do you think we should break this up before we get behind?" a girl who appeared to be part Asian spoke from behind her. Dark short and layered hair framed her face.
"Yeah, get Nina to ring the bells," Nissa said without turning and then pointedly looked at Rebecca, "You need to follow me."
The exchange of words made sense, but the context and connotations of the words didn't. In order to understand, new terms and concepts needed to be learned, triggering the setting of a school classroom to appear. How much would she need to learn?
Rebecca followed Nissa away from the lift and toward some shabby buildings with peeling paint. Loud bells began chiming making her jump and the sudden movement and purpose of the figures now bustling through the square, her fright created a ridge of ice along her spine. The stone covering the ground were worn and dark lines of moss framed the path. Quite abruptly they reached a doorway which contained what looked like a misshapen piece of wood attached by two rusted hinges.
Distracted by the warped designs and grain of the wood, she failed to notice the girl standing in the doorway and Nissa's friendly greeting. It wasn't until Nissa emphasised the Rebecca in, "Rebecca this is Elizabeth," which continued onto, "and Elizabeth, this is the new girl if you hadn't guessed, I want you to settle her before this evening's meal."
The said girl, had an upright posture, long blond hair tied back in a severe bun and bright blue eyes which watched her curiously.
"Would you like her to have a guide? And if so I would be glad to assign someone to her," she spoke in a refined way, with a tone that promised educated intelligence.
"Yes that would be good," Nissa said smiling. "I need to get back to the office," she said flicking her eyes impatiently over to a group of buildings set with shiny glass, "If anything happens let me know ok?"
Elizabeth simply smiled fondly, her eyes acknowledging her leader's need to keep working. "Why of course, how dare you belittle me with such little faith?" Nissa, rolled her eyes and threw a "I'm sorry I should know better by now, shouldn't I?" over her shoulder as she strode purposefully across the square.
"Please follow me Rebecca?" Elizabeth instructed holding the door open for her. Rebecca dragged her eyes away from Nissa's retreating figure and appraised her new acquaintance. Embarrassingly it took a few moments for her to stop staring at the doorway and understand her brain's synapses. The hallway ahead lead to many more doorways and finished in a t-junction which lead off to two more corridors. Elizabeth after shutting the door behind them walked down the left corridor and into what Rebecca's brain labelled as a dormitory. The girls inside who had been busy stripping the beds and piling the linen into a giant basket immediately looked up as Elizabeth entered.
"Everyone this is our newest member, Rebecca," she said meeting each of the girl's eyes.
"And thus she needs a bed and I would like a volunteer to be her guide to step forward."
The expressions of the girls' faces differed greatly. Amongst them there was curiosity, but disturbingly to often there was despair and haunting emptiness. No-one seemed prepared to give an answer. Rebecca shrank back, what sort of place is this? Elizabeth was speaking again but her mind refused to register anything but the lifeless eyes staring back at her. The shadows were tumbling and a stream of violent screeching had seized the air. The sheets that had been piled into the basket were dissolving into a shapeless mess and became rotting corpses, the flesh soft and pallid. Where am I? What is this place?
Rebecca stumbled backward; an irrefutable desire to escape grasped her clumsy limbs. Her widened eyes stared horrified at the room, in a last attempt she hurled herself down the corridor and began to run, stumbling into the walls. Shouts seemed to follow her and at first there might have been footsteps giving chase. The worn carpet beneath her feet was slippery and light glared from behind the door's uneven edges. She tried to force the door open by throwing herself at the wood and then scrabbled at the lock. With her heart beating loudly, sweat pulsing down her neck and chest heaving she fell out into the cobblestoned square.
A brief sense of relief accompanied the fresh air affecting her fevered skin. Then she remembered the people and the questions. Horrified she looked around her and met the surprised gazes of the girls busily moving about the square. The splashing of a fountain nearby pulled her attention and she ran towards the sound, not noticing the dark eyes watching her.
….
"Cat?"
"Sorry I'm late Nissa," the tall dark eyed Asian girl said taking a seat overlooking the square.
There was a table in the centre of the room surrounded by thirteen chairs, grey carpet covered the floor and the walls were covered in filling cabinets. The only wall left uncovered was completely glazed in windows which overlooked the square and the various buildings which occupied it.
"It's unlike you to be late," Elizabeth said slipping through the door.
"Just as it is unremarkable for you to be late," a girl with caramel hair said, watching the blond with amused eyes.
"Had a bit of trouble with the new girl . . ." Elizabeth said, her countenance concerned.
"Yes, I thought it was her," Cat said, breaking Elizabeth out of her revere. "That was why I was late."
"What sort of trouble?" Nissa said, a slight frown on her face.
"I took her to the dormitory and asked for a volunteer to be her guide as per usual and she freaked out," the blond said gripping her seat.
"And?"
"Sent Nina after her, she ran off in the direction of the fountain."
"I saw," Cat said watching the conversation carefully.
"Huh?" a girl with dark blond hair questioned.
"She burst out of the maintenance house and collapsed on the ground for a few seconds and then she suddenly looked up then ran away," Cat said, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"And how does this have any relevance to today's meeting?" Loz asked, her fingers drumming impatiently on the table.
"It is perfectly relevant," Nissa stated calmly, "today's meeting is all about the placement of Rebecca."
"True that," Clary said.
The banter carried on for a few minutes and lead to various unrelated discussions. Nissa kept a vigilant eye on the proceedings although was resigned to the fact it would be impossible to keep her colleagues on track. Grey clouds covered the sky and rain started to fall down the tinted glass. Nissa stared out over the large grey walls at the rooftops scarring the horizon. Her green eyes seemed to watch the black iron gates.
"Nissa, Nissa,"
"Yeah?"
"We need more medics," a girl with thick chestnut hair said.
"I'm sorry Anna, but we'll have to wait until after the testing is complete," Nissa said firmly.
"We thought you might say that, what are we going to do in the mean time if she hasn't calmed down?" the partly Asian girl from before asked.
"Let's just see what happens . . . Wallee's back."
…
Rebecca sat beside the fountain with one side pressed against its marble stone. A small grove concealed it from the square. A small lizard had come out while the sun briefly warmed the stone, but now that it had begun to rain it had disappeared into the thick leaves of the small trees making up the grove. Her head rested on her knees while her arms wrapped around her to try and ward off the cold. The terror she had been gripped by before had left her. Now a desolate wind washed desert filled her, tears sat behind her closed eyelids.
"Hey? Are you the new girl?"
Rebecca looked up abruptly; another girl with dark wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail stood on the other side of the fountain. Rebecca managed to nod. The girl nods back.
"I'm Wallee," she said proceeding to splash water onto her flushed face. It wasn't until after closely examining the new comer that Rebecca noticed the differences between her and the rest of the girls. Wallee was quite short and thin and was wearing clothes that reminded Rebecca of a place called a gym. She looked like she had been running all her life and was now drinking almost hungrily from the fountain.
"Soooo, how's everyone been?" she asked after she had completely drenched her head.
Rebecca shrugged.
"Hmm, I guess Nissa's still being all business like as usual, Elizabeth is probably manning the maintenance house and so on . . . "she paused, "speaking of which, has she assigned you a guide yet?"
Rebecca looked away choosing to bury her face in her knees once again. Wallee looked at her seriously, her dark eyes studying the figure before her keenly.
"You know it's not that bad here . . . I can't deny the fact that some of the girls have lost hope, but there's still a heap of us who are still kicking," she said, "It'll get better soon, once you get some answers . . ."
"Wallee!"
"Hey! What's up Candii? How's everything going?" she said addressing Nissa's deputy, the half Asian skipped over to her grinning.
"Well, Nissa's still being business like, Liz is manning the maintenance house and so on . . . " the private joke was enough to continue to break the dreary atmosphere and Rebecca was looking at the pair once again. Her curiosity once again ignited.
"Oh and I brought Nina! Lizzie said she wanted to be Bec's guide!"