Protector of Men Ch 29

Zandra woke up to the strange smell of something burning. She was still on the couch – it was surprisingly comfortable even though her feet dangled off the sides during the night. Zandra figured that everything in Zion was going to be surprisingly comfortable after Purgatory…

She opened her eyes a crack, as if testing the waters. She opened them wider, and saw Stephen meddling around in what she remembered as the kitchen. He seemed hard at work.

"What?" she asked, not realizing that no question had been posed. Stephen turned back towards her.

"Hey, sleepy," he called, "Breakfast!" After a few seconds, he came over to her and presented her with what looked a little like food. Zandra smiled a crooked sleepy smile. Her night had definitely been satisfying – a comfortable resting spot, quiet room, and no dreams. She was especially glad to have a dreamless night. Stephen was sitting on the ground next to the couch, offering her some of his food.

"Why'd you make breakfast for me?" she asked, crumpling her short hair, remembering belatedly that there wasn't much to crumple. At least it looked more feminine now that it had been a few weeks. She pushed herself up on the couch. Meanwhile Stephen continued to smile.

"I didn't want to wake you up," he replied, as if it were the most natural answer in the world. Zandra sighed.

"No, you know you didn't have to do that," she answered, blinking sleep out of her eyes.

"I know," he answered sweetly, "I just wanted to."

"Oh," she said, figuring that she might as well take him up on his offer - as long as he was being so uncommonly gentlemanly. The food was good, and they chatted comfortably as they ate.

"What time is it?" she suddenly asked.

"Hmm," Stephen wondered, "I'm not sure… oh well." He threw his hands up. "I don't think it matters here."

Zandra nodded thoughtfully. "I guess not." And they continued to talk.

"So who is this Emory guy?" he asked, after a second of silence. Clearly it had been on his mind.

"Oh, he's just a guy that told me about Neo."

"Neo?"

"The informant."

"Oh," he replied, nodding slowly, "Nothing I need to worry about?"

Zandra looked at him cluelessly, but then it hit her. Ooh! She laughed, "No, nothing that you need worry about."

"Phew," he answered, wiping a trickle of imaginary sweat from his brow, "I was scared there." Both of them laughed, a little strangely. Stephen was laughing out of gratefulness, Zandra out of confusion. Nevertheless they were both laughing, and that was a good sign.

"So what do we do today?" she asked, attempting to change the subject. Stephen looked up at the ceiling, as if the answer were hidden in the metal above.

"Well," he said slowly, drawing out the word to be much longer than intended, "I don't know about you, but they're making me practice today." He made a face and looked at Zandra.

"I see," she replied, "Well then I think I'll go exploring some."

"Fun."

"Well yeah, I want to see the rest of Zion."

"Good point," he answered, getting up, "But I'd better get going as long as I don't know what time it is."

Zandra nodded, and got up slowly. "Hey," she asked, "do you have anything I can wear for today? I don't have anything."

Stephen smiled, "Sure, I'll see if there's anything good." He came back a minute later with a pile of clothing, of which Zandra was able to find an outfit that fit her relatively well. Soon Stephen had left, and Zandra was alone yet again. But this time she would find something to entertain herself.

She first wandered down the hall towards the elevator that she and Stephen had come up earlier. She looked over the banister next to her, down at Zion. It was small, but impressive. She figured that she was at least twenty floors up, there were so many floors and connecting hallways that went from one side of the circular city to the other. Where to go? As long as she had nothing else to do, she could wander as much as she wanted. Three floors down? That sounded good. She stepped into the small elevator – on the inside it said 'Twenty-six', which she guessed told her what floor she was on. She pressed twenty three, and the elevator creaked slowly down the three levels to come to a rusty stop.

She stepped out warily and began to aim towards the center path that connected the two opposite sides of Zion. It looked like there was some kind of place there – she could see people sitting and standing together in clumps. Immediately she was drawn by the crowds, thinking that perhaps she'd be able to fraternize with someone other than her crew for once. Upon coming closer, it looked like she was going to what looked like a bar of some sort. There was a skinny storefront that was covered with a dark fabric. It looked like there were some chairs under the overhang, as well, but she wasn't sure. Zandra figured that she would go and check it out. She approached the bar, smiling nervously at the man behind the counter.

"What can I do for ya?" he asked. Zandra noticed that he too had no plugs.

"Ah," she started, beginning to realize that again she had no money with her, "What do you have?"

The man smiled and looked upwards, recollecting. "Well, we got your yin juice, your hickney ale, your geb juice, your engine fluid, your-"

"Any water?" she asked. This is probably not the time to be experimenting.

The man laughed. "But of course!" he waved his arms about, attracting the attention of many passerby's, "I've got a freeloader!"

Zandra looked around nervously hoping that the attention would soon fade, and it did. She took her water thankfully, and began to drink it at the counter. It was free, right? Why else did he call me a freeloader..?

The man laughed apologetically. "I'm sorry, love," he started, "Back from the tunnels?"

Zandra nodded while taking another gulp of water. It was crisp, clean… definitely refreshing.

"Ah," he said, nodding, "What crew?"

"Purgatory," she answered, pausing from her drink, the man frowned as if in thought.

"Quite a few adventures on that one, I hear."

"Tell me about it," she breathed. Adventures isn't the word I would personally use…

"So have you met this Zandra girl?" he asked, eyes wide with curiosity. Zandra couldn't help but look incredulous.

"By the way," he added, moving back a little, "What was your name again?"

"Kemp," she answered immediately, "I'm a new recruit."

"Phew," he mused, "I was worried you were her for a second." Zandra tried to laugh with him, but it ended up sounding rather strange.

"But," he started, moving back closer to her, "Is she really like they say?"

"How do they say?" she asked, perhaps a little too quickly. But the man didn't notice her haste, and continued.

"You know," he said, looking around before continuing, "she's like a hot-shot or something."

Zandra unconsciously frowned.

"Like," he continued, "She's all high and mighty," he looked at Zandra, trying to get some recognition out of her, but none came.

"They say she killed an agent or something like that, but I don't believe it." Zandra nodded blankly. It was three, she silently told him.

"You know what I think?" he continued, clearly ignoring Zandra's blankness, "I think that she's just another one of those type trying to get attention. I mean, one kid on that crew's a cripple now… and what does that say about her 'abilities', huh?"

Finished, he looked at Zandra again, looking for a response. She tried to say something, but stopped mid word. "We..ah," she said, realizing too late of how stupid she must have sounded. The man laughed good-naturedly.

"Oh, but I don't want to overload you," he said, refilling her now empty glass, "You probably haven't known much of her yet."

Zandra nodded. Yes – she was Kemp, and therefore wouldn't know much of Zandra. The conversation finally began to take a turn for the better.

"I tell you what though," he continued, stepping back, "I hear she's hot stuff." He finished with a resounding nod at Zandra, who tried not to return his gesture. She instead began to look outwards, back up to the walls of Zion, she tried to find Stephen's room…

"Well, I'll let you go then," he said, pushing her glass more towards her, "Go ahead," he said, "You can take it with you."

Zandra mumbled a quiet thank you and left the bar without another word. As she was leaving she noticed a few people gathering at the bar, speaking with the man, please don't tell him! She hoped. Still she didn't look back as she hurried to the elevator she came down on. A little bit of her water splashed onto her pants, making her leg cold and wet. But she didn't care. She punched a random button on the elevator and let it start its slow journey.

Zandra was embarrassed and angry. She was embarrassed that someone thought she was a 'hot-shot' and had spread it all the way through Zion. She was embarrassed that she had to pretend that she was someone else in front of a stranger – why didn't she stand up for herself? She was angry that the man was so rude, who would say something like that to a crewmember of hers anyway? But maybe that also stemmed from her embarrassment.

High and mighty? A hot shot? It sounded like someone didn't appreciate Zandra's war effort. I thought I was doing good, she silently whined, do I portray myself as too good? Zandra's inner demons came out to play again. What if I'm not really that impressive, she mused, what if it was a lie to get me to work harder? Her mood darkened as the elevator continued down. I would have been better back in Purgatory, she thought sadly to herself. But not everything the man had said was bad – just strange. He had told her that she was attractive, just indirectly.

The elevator doors opened, and Zandra walked out cautiously. Maybe this floor would offer something better.