Aberrant

Chapter 22 - Fight Me

After seeing Essri I found Rylyn in Avex's room. From what I could tell she had been crying, her eyes were red and bloodshot, though she had found the time to re-do her eyeliner. I hugged her and we left the party early, telling Avex a happy birthday. Avex didn't seem to mind that we were leaving early, he just looked concerned with Rylyn. We didn't see Cree at all before we left.

It's the morning of my first day of training for the Militaes Vitae. I told Rylyn last night before we went to bed that I wouldn't be here when she wakes up since training starts early. She seemed disappointed but nodded because there wasn't really anything that she could do. Before I set off in the morning I wrote a note telling her that I had left an omelette in the fridge that she could warm up and that she was free to use the coffee and hot chocolate in the cupboard. I dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt for my training and brought along a bag with clothes to workout in. They didn't specify what I was to be doing on my first day.

When I reach the Militaes Vitae building, that is on the over side of town, I find that it's next to all the main farming here and the building is pretty big. It's a standard old bricked building with three floors, the windows on the first and second floor are both made from frosted glass, but the ground floor has clear glass with metal bars framing it.

I reach the large entrance and hesitantly grab the door handle. I start to pull at it but meet resistance. I pull again, expecting a different result. I look around for a buzzer, thinking that I might have to wait to be let in but don't find one. And then I spot the sticker on the door that says 'push'.

That's not embarrassing.

I then proceed to push open the door successfully. The inside of the building reminds me of the inside of my high school, brick only walls and the undertones of body odor circling my nostrils. But at least they tried to use air freshener to clear it up. Overall, the entrance isn't too unpleasant, the floors are clean and there's no evidence of crusty teenage boys that haven't yet discovered deodorant.

I look around for a sign about where I should go but come up with nothing. The desk at which someone should be sat is empty and devoid of any info on locations. There's an elevator to the left and a wide sweeping corridor to the right. I thought that there would be at least a couple of people hanging around.

I'm about to go exploring when the door slams open, letting a cold gush of wind in. I watch as a black haired beauty strides in, the wind making her hair mask her features. As the door closes the wind stops and reveals Essri's face, dark lavender orbs glistening.

She catches my eyes and seems a bit shocked but the face quickly spreads into a grin, "Hey, Trula, what ya doin'?" She lets her eyes scan me but flips back to eye contact.

"Er, I'm trying to find out where I should go?" I gesture to the empty desk.

"You don't sound so sure about that." She tugs at the strap of her bag, "Where do you need to get to?" She walks to the desk and throws the bag on the desk.

"I need to get to my training."

She raises her brow, seeming surprised, "You're joining us, then?" I nod, "Wow, didn't really expect that."

"What do you mean?" I say defensively, doesn't she think that I'm good enough for it?

"Hey, hey." She raises her hands in surrender, "I didn't mean anythin' bad by it, I just meant that you seem the type that would rather live a cozy life with a cat and your boyfriend in the suburbs." She says 'boyfriend' with a twinge of distaste, and perhaps... jealously?

I scowl, not really liking her assumption, "Well, I'm not like that. And Cree and I aren't together at the moment. We're taking a break." Why did I feel the need to clarify that?