Chapter Eight

“Her internal damage…negligible…” A voice reported somewhere distant. “Conscious…soon. Aftereffects shouldn’t last more than…”

I drifted in and out of consciousness for what felt like an eon. At several points, I could have sworn there was a Syldrari in my room, but that seemed…highly unlikely. It had to have been my groggy mind messing with me.

“Elara?” The question, though quiet, made me wince. I covered my eyes with my right forearm when the lights flickered on. My left arm felt asleep and didn’t respond when I attempted to shift it. “Sorry, I’ll dim the lights.”

Zafir quickly tapped at his data pad, then set it aside and carried a bottle of water, replete with a straw, over to me.

After downing nearly half the bottle, I grumbled, “Thanks… How long have I been out?”

Zafir set aside the bottle, took a seat in a chair next to my bed, and adjusted his glasses. “A few days, though not due to whatever conflict you found yourself in. The doctors sedated you so that you’d remain still long enough for your internal injuries to mend.”

“I feel like I got hit by a cargo liner,” I whined.

“The doctors said whatever injured you wasn’t human weaponry.” Zafir gave me a pointed look. “Did the renegades—”

“It was a Syldrari who was pissed about me interfering in Syldrari business,” I interjected flatly, causing Zafir to go silent. “He was able to hide his eyes, but he revealed them to me before attacking. I didn’t get enough other information on his true appearance to identify him, but I know damned well I haven’t encountered someone like that in the Syldrari Sector before.”

“You’re certain?” Zafir murmured.

“Yeah. He has a presence to him unlike any of them do. He nearly subdued my feral with a look because it scared the feral so bad.” I shook my head faintly. “He was trying to ‘deal with me’ but was also looking for entertainment.”

“Then…why didn’t he…” Zafir paused, a look of recognition on his face. “He didn’t think you were entertaining enough…yet?”

“Mhm. I think he’s going to continue to be a problem.” I rubbed my aching temples, debating how much else to say. “Whoever he is, that sort of power is more what I was expecting when everyone kept telling me Syldrari are infinitely stronger than humans. He was very clearly toying with and testing me…and I think blowing off some frustration, too.”

“Frustration?” Zafir raised an eyebrow.

“He was pissed off that me, the military, and the government didn’t have answers to any of his questions.” I shook my head, though I noticed Zafir went slightly pale. “Care to explain what’s up with my left arm?”

“What— Ah.” Zafir composed himself before answering, “The doctors injected the sedatives and treatments into your left shoulder. It will probably take a few days to fully work out of the muscles and return to normal. I’ve been debating what tasks to have you handle in the interim. The bosses want you to go to the Syldrari Sector—”

“That would be fucking stupid. I’m pretty sure that would fully out me as ‘Lethe’ if I went there like this.” I shook my head. “Absolutely not, even though I could seriously go for some lunch from there right now.”

Zafir gave me a lopsided smile. “Fully out you, you say?”

Well shit. Guess I may as well go into that… I sighed heavily before explaining to Zafir the way my battle suit had mostly stopped functioning when the Syldrari appeared.

“I see…” Zafir murmured, running his chin. After a moment, a sly smile spread across his lips. “I think we can keep that as our little secret. Perhaps, while you remain on the mend and under house arrest, we can see about furthering our study of your suit. If it’s truly Syldrari tech, and they have a way to control the suits of others, then it’s imperative we discover a way to modify yours and those of your potential team members.”

“Our…secret? Really?” I stared at Zafir in disbelief.

“Indeed. It wouldn’t do for the other survivors, or our bosses, to begin questioning the validity of your battle suits—or worse, scrap them and this project altogether,” Zafir answered innocently. He crossed one leg over the other and rested back in his seat, his hands folded in his lap. “My priority is keeping you and the others safe—mentally and physically—to the best of my ability. That I get to research fascinating subjects at the same time is merely a bonus. Or, perhaps more accurately, if researching interesting things wasn’t my role in life…I wouldn’t be here to keep you all safe.”

I rubbed my temples. “Please just don’t start doing the, ‘you’re all like sons and daughters to me’ bullshit Abel pulled.”

“You don’t need to worry there.” Zafir made a sour face. “Now then, we should discuss how we’re going to keep you occupied while you heal.”

“Fine,” I grumbled before giving him the side eye. “Can you hand me more water first, please?”

Zafir did as I asked, then got comfortable once again. “Since you will be remaining at headquarters while you recover, I think it’s time we started working with some of the more troublesome survivors we have isolated here. The ones you’ve met so far are on the cusp of mastering their feral, but there are many more in isolation who are stuck in that state.”

“Stuck?” I echoed. “I can’t say I’m familiar, as I was never stuck in that state.”

“Yes… Abel’s reports said you merely had a hair trigger.” Zafir shook his head and continued, “The ones who are stuck were victims of more recent incidents, and the damage to their cities were different. The varying strength of the weapon leads me to believe they’re still in the testing phases.”

“So, you think I can do something about it? On an empty stomach?” I gave him a pointed look.

He laughed, then tapped a few buttons on his communicator. “Sarah, come to Elara’s room, please.”

A few minutes later, Sarah peeked in, a questioning look on her face.

“Her Highness is hungry and demands Syldrari food,” Zafir began, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You expressed interest in the Syldrari Sector, did you not? Grab Nikolai and see if you can grab her something to eat from Rel’s place for breakfast.”

“Wait? Really?” Sarah’s eyes brightened, then she turned to me. “What should I ask him for?”

“Tell him I said to surprise me, and that I feel like I could eat a…” I paused, struggling to find the word. It was on the tip of my tongue, but…nothing. I couldn’t even picture the creature I was going to reference. “Uh…just say that I’m really hungry. He’ll probably make multiple dishes or something.”

“Okay! I’ll go grab Nikolai!” She promptly darted off.

Zafir watched the door slide closed, then returned his attention to me. “Are you feeling up to walking around while waiting for your food?”

“Yeah, sure.” I nodded, then winced when my shoulder pulled. “Think you’re gonna have to help me up.”

“A change of clothes?” Zafir suggested as he helped me to my feet.

I gave him a sour look. “I’m not getting dressed, and I’m not letting you get me dressed. You may help me put on a robe, but I’m only putting one arm through it.”

“Fair enough.” Zafir assisted without complaint, then fetched a pair of slippers for me without prompting. “You’re confident you can help them without putting on more daunting attire?”

I considered it for a moment, visualizing the ways such encounters could go. If they were stuck in feral mindsets, wearing ‘intimidating’ or ‘professional’ clothing wouldn’t mean jack shit. “I don’t need to wear costumes in order to put them in their place.”

Zafir shook his head. “Losing didn’t damage your confidence at all, did it?”

“Of course not. I have no reason to think I could defeat a Syldrari in a proper fight. Whatever I did after the Resonance Incident was an extreme circumstance, and not something I can replicate at will. My ability may be above the average human…but it is still in the same range as far as I’ve been told.” I shifted my gaze sideways, giving the uncomfortable Zafir a pointed smile. “I would have to lose to one of those ‘average humans’ for my confidence to be shaken.”

“…point taken.” Zafir waited a moment, then cleared his throat. “Anyway—”

“One more thing.” I held up my good hand to stop him. “Since when are Sarah and Nikolai allowed to go to the Syldrari Sector? I thought Nikolai was too unstable to go anywhere?”

“They’re ‘allowed’ ever since I impressed the importance of maintaining an image upon our bosses,” Zafir answered innocently, his very not innocent smile returning to his face. He brushed his pewter hair out of his eyes with a flourish. “As of a few days ago, I can permit people under my care to go outside to various sectors—at my discretion. More importantly, our bosses believe it will help to make the Syldrari think of you and Lethe as separate people.”

“…and how did you manage that?” I asked, flabbergasted. “Or are you telling me that the government and its military branches are run by utterly incompetent fools?”

“I can be quite persuasive.” Zafir made a dismissive motion. “Now then. The subject I need you to help stabilize is being held two floors down. She is considered to be close to you in danger levels—perhaps worse since the feral has taken over completely. She destroyed her bedding and clothing in favor of…making a nest, if you will. We’re struggling to keep her fed, as we have to tranquilize her when we need to access her room.”

“Huh. Alright then.” I raised an eyebrow. “Nesting?”

“Indeed, her behavior is the strangest observed thus far.” Zafir nodded as we took the elevator down. “She is highly aggressive and attacks on sight. Are you sure you’re up to this without protection?”

“Trust me.” I glanced at him long enough to see his taken aback expression, then the doors opened and I walked out into a sterile white hallway. “Tch, would it kill the military to make things look…nicer?”

“They are quite obsessed with making any medical or research facilities depressingly white.” Zafir sighed, running a hand back through his hair. “I’ve asked for permission to make changes, but all have been denied. They do not care if the blandness makes our subjects depressed or agitated, so long as they get the results they want.”

“By that same logic, shouldn’t they ‘not care’ if we made changes?” I rubbed my temples.

“No one has ever accused them of being sensible.” Zafir scoffed as he led me down the hall, around a left turn, then to a door at the very end. Each door was guarded by a pair of soldiers holding tranquilizer rifles. Shock batons rested by their hips, and real weapons hung at their back. “Here we are. Ready?”

“Straight to it then? Sure.” I turned to face the door, listening for movement.

The guards hesitated before moving further to the side of the door and accessing a pair of secret panels. Several readings were taken before I heard the hiss of hydraulics disengaging, followed by a series of dull thunks. They had this woman under a much more secure lockdown than I’d ever been under.

When the door opened, it revealed a mostly empty room, save for the large nest Zafir had mentioned tucked into a corner. So, she was hiding in a blind spot. I listened carefully as I stepped through over the threshold, considering saying something aloud to potentially startle the woman.

I heard the rushing of air first, before my gaze found what I could only describe as a rippling in front of me. A rippling in the shape of a woman. Either her control was lacking, or she sensed that I was aware of her, because she unstealthed as she rushed me.

Now then, what was that feeling again…? Ah, yes. I locked eyes with the woman as I grasped the sort of sensation I’d felt from the Syldrari that scared my feral. “Sit down and behave.”

The woman flinched and skidded to a stop, her eyes going wide with terror. Urine soaked her pants and pooled on the floor as her gaze flickered, and ‘the lights came on.’

She fled for a back corner of the room and huddled in it, mumbling to herself. I caught a few curses directed toward me as Zafir cleared his throat and took a few tentative steps into the room. “Sydney? My name is Zafir, and I am in charge of this facility—and seeing to it that you and those like you don’t hurt yourselves or others. This here is Elara…she will be helping you all learn to control your abilities.”

“Control? It can’t be controlled. It’s a demon, inside me, I—” Sydney shivered in fear.

Oh please. It’s the things outside yourself you should be afraid of. I held myself back despite the strong urge to walk up and slap her. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I instantly disliked the woman. “It isn’t a demon. It’s us but with primitive, feral filters. In that state we’re reduced to our most basic of instincts—and with a hair trigger on the desire to fight. Fight for territory, to protect ourselves, and so on. We’re little better than animals, mentally, in that state. If you learn to control it, you can make use of its powers without the negative impact to your mental functions.”

When I finished talking, I noticed Zafir was watching me with a rather intense expression on his face. His arms were crossed as he stroked his chin with one hand. It struck me as strange that he was watching me instead of the woman he’d wanted me to subdue.

“Control it?” Sydney scoffed. “Why not kill it? A thing—”

“Then I suggest you acquire a jug of bleach from the cleaning staff and drink it.” I gave her a cold look, feeling my feral stir in agitation. “You are your feral and your feral is you. If you want to kill off your last remaining brain cells—”

Zafir cleared his throat. “That’s enough. Sydney, someone will be along to show you to the shower and give you a change of clothes. Once you’ve learned to control yourself and aren’t a danger to the others in this facility, you will have a proper room and free run of the residential floor—well, aside from rooms that don’t belong to you, of course.”

“Can I go see about breakfast now?” I asked, crossing my arms over my stomach.

“Indeed. I will join you.” Zafir nodded.

“W-wait! Food?” Sydney protested.

“You will be well taken care of, worry not.” Zafir glanced back at her. “If you are still in control after you bathe and change, you may even have pleasant company for your meal.”

I followed Zafir out of the room and down the hall, feeling more agitated than before. If I never had to interact with that woman again, it would be a blessing.

“Where did you learn that?” Zafir asked quietly.

“Hmm? What?” I looked over at him—that serious expression was back.

“The way you subdued her.”

“Oh. It’s similar to how that Syldrari scared my feral. I figured I’d see if I could backwards engineer and replicate the effect.” I tilted my head. “The feral may seem fearless, but that just means when it does get scared, it gets very scared. A non-violent solution seemed ideal given the small space.”

When no reply came, I looked over to see Zafir’s arms were crossed again and his brow furrowed. I had a feeling he would have walked smack dab into the elevator door if I hadn’t opened it before he reached it. Once we were on the ascent, he heaved a sigh.

“You are full of surprises. Next time, do try to have a more solid plan. That should not have worked.” Zafir gave me an unusually fiery look.

“I did have another plan—I just changed my mind when I saw what I was working with,” I answered sweetly. That, at least, got a short laugh out of him, though he still looked concerned. “You said you’re joining me for breakfast? I thought normal humans dislike the smell of Syldrari food?”

“It isn’t an offensive smell, it’s just strong.” Zafir shook his head slightly. “And yes, we will eat in the mess hall. I should have the reports from your medical treatment, and the analysis of your suit, so we should be able to discuss it over breakfast. We’ll figure out what you’re doing next after I’ve gone through the reports.”

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