rippled.
In the middle of the room was a very
large square of steaming water, broad steps leading into it.
Tina helped Frey get out of her
bloody clothes and bandage, then carefully placed two sticky plastic pieces
over the wound, telling her it would keep the water and soap out.
Frey tried not to think about how
far she and Jin had had to walk to drag water back to the orphanage together
with Father Patrick. Sometimes the drain was empty and they had to go even
further. The worst times had been when they had to sneak into gang territory to
steal water from them.
Someone had changed the bedding
while she was gone, and there was a tray of food waiting for her. Frey sank
into the crispy sheets and was asleep before even having tasted it.
She woke again to find the room dark. The plate was
still there. Frey wolfed the food down, glad that no one was there to see her.
Something caught her eye and she
looked down to see a pile of very dirty, but neatly folded, clothes. She
reached out for her bandana, pulled the hidden pocket open and let the small,
sleek object fall into her palm.
She was convinced it had come from
this side… She washed her bandana with steaming water, rinsing it five times
before the water came away all clean. The color looked totally different when
all the grime was gone, and she stood there holding it for a while, amazed at
how red it looked.
She went back to bed, with the thing
safely back in the hidden pocket.
Chapter
7
As soon as she sat up the lights went on and the glass
wall to her right faded into an image of an open hill covered in green grass.
Frey stared at it for a while before pulling the bedcover off, putting her bare
feet on the warm floor. As she got closer, the grass began to stir. She hovered
her hand tryingly over it and it stirred as if she controlled some magical
breeze. It wasn’t real, but it was still an improvement from the picture book
Father Patrick had cherished back at the orphanage.
“It must all seem strange to you,”
she heard Li say. Tina was next to him.
Frey looked back at the bizarre
wall. “Very,” she agreed.
Tina put down a pile of clothing
while Li put a new tray of food next to her bed. Li nodded to Tina and she gave
Frey a wink before leaving the room.
“Is there… is there anywhere else we
can sit? Just feel like getting out of bed for a while.”
Li smiled and picked up the tray of
food, leading the way to the living room just on the other side of the wall.
The big black screen covering one entire wall was apparently a TV. Shelved were
built into the other walls in shapes of giant letters, with books neatly tucked
into their corners.
In the middle was a large oval shape
extended from the roof, with a bright fire flickering inside it. Around the
strange fireplace there were tear shaped chairs hanging from the roof on white
strings, looking far too fragile to hold anything at all.
Li led them to a white sofa, shaped
like a triangle with smaller geometric cubes scattered around it. He put the tray
on a glass surface, this one also suspended from the roof like the tear shaped
chairs.
Frey
sat down slowly, biting down against the pain. She dared not lean back, lest
her wound reopen and bloody the crystal white sofa.
“How
long have I been… here?” she asked.
Li
looked surprised by her question and crossed his legs, putting one arm over the
backrest of the sofa. “Why, only since yesterday morning. You were unconscious
when Jon carried you into surgery but you woke up a couple of hours after that.
Do you remember the rest?” He asked, looking her in the eyes.
She
had the feeling he was trying to judge if she was suffering from the head
damage. “I remember.”
“Well,
I can’t say we’re not surprised to see you on your feet so fast. I used some
fast healing on you, but still. You were lucky the shot didn’t hit anything
vital, or you would not have been sitting here now.”
“We?
Who’re “we”? And why’d you save me?”
In the middle of the room was a very
large square of steaming water, broad steps leading into it.
Tina helped Frey get out of her
bloody clothes and bandage, then carefully placed two sticky plastic pieces
over the wound, telling her it would keep the water and soap out.
Frey tried not to think about how
far she and Jin had had to walk to drag water back to the orphanage together
with Father Patrick. Sometimes the drain was empty and they had to go even
further. The worst times had been when they had to sneak into gang territory to
steal water from them.
Someone had changed the bedding
while she was gone, and there was a tray of food waiting for her. Frey sank
into the crispy sheets and was asleep before even having tasted it.
She woke again to find the room dark. The plate was
still there. Frey wolfed the food down, glad that no one was there to see her.
Something caught her eye and she
looked down to see a pile of very dirty, but neatly folded, clothes. She
reached out for her bandana, pulled the hidden pocket open and let the small,
sleek object fall into her palm.
She was convinced it had come from
this side… She washed her bandana with steaming water, rinsing it five times
before the water came away all clean. The color looked totally different when
all the grime was gone, and she stood there holding it for a while, amazed at
how red it looked.
She went back to bed, with the thing
safely back in the hidden pocket.
Chapter
7
As soon as she sat up the lights went on and the glass
wall to her right faded into an image of an open hill covered in green grass.
Frey stared at it for a while before pulling the bedcover off, putting her bare
feet on the warm floor. As she got closer, the grass began to stir. She hovered
her hand tryingly over it and it stirred as if she controlled some magical
breeze. It wasn’t real, but it was still an improvement from the picture book
Father Patrick had cherished back at the orphanage.
“It must all seem strange to you,”
she heard Li say. Tina was next to him.
Frey looked back at the bizarre
wall. “Very,” she agreed.
Tina put down a pile of clothing
while Li put a new tray of food next to her bed. Li nodded to Tina and she gave
Frey a wink before leaving the room.
“Is there… is there anywhere else we
can sit? Just feel like getting out of bed for a while.”
Li smiled and picked up the tray of
food, leading the way to the living room just on the other side of the wall.
The big black screen covering one entire wall was apparently a TV. Shelved were
built into the other walls in shapes of giant letters, with books neatly tucked
into their corners.
In the middle was a large oval shape
extended from the roof, with a bright fire flickering inside it. Around the
strange fireplace there were tear shaped chairs hanging from the roof on white
strings, looking far too fragile to hold anything at all.
Li led them to a white sofa, shaped
like a triangle with smaller geometric cubes scattered around it. He put the tray
on a glass surface, this one also suspended from the roof like the tear shaped
chairs.
Frey
sat down slowly, biting down against the pain. She dared not lean back, lest
her wound reopen and bloody the crystal white sofa.
“How
long have I been… here?” she asked.
Li
looked surprised by her question and crossed his legs, putting one arm over the
backrest of the sofa. “Why, only since yesterday morning. You were unconscious
when Jon carried you into surgery but you woke up a couple of hours after that.
Do you remember the rest?” He asked, looking her in the eyes.
She
had the feeling he was trying to judge if she was suffering from the head
damage. “I remember.”
“Well,
I can’t say we’re not surprised to see you on your feet so fast. I used some
fast healing on you, but still. You were lucky the shot didn’t hit anything
vital, or you would not have been sitting here now.”
“We?
Who’re “we”? And why’d you save me?”
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