Lacrim

°Chapter 1°

It was dark. Very dark. Alex's eyes slowly became accustomed to their surroundings. Confused and groaning in pain, she sat up. I couldn't have landed more softly, she thought, looking around and trying to sort out her thoughts. As she did so, she realized that she was standing in the middle of a huge crater. Her legs were stuck in black mud, which was thick and smelled like gasoline. Alex wrinkled her nose in disgust. It felt like she had landed in hell. The air was stuffy and hot, but before she could notice anything more, Alex felt a tug and landed back on the hard couch. Blinded by the brightness, she looked, eyes narrowed, into the face of a man, in a white doctor's coat, in his mid-50s, who looked at her in shock. Immediately she recognized him. It was none other than Alex's therapist. Shit, she thought. He was usually late, why was he here early today? Awkwardly, Alex raised her hand and waved weakly. Her face had contorted into a forced smile."Um, what was that about?" the man asked, looking at her puzzled. Oh, well, I'd like to know that too, Alex thought. She shrugged her shoulders. The therapist, Dr.Phil, sighed and sat down across from her. "Can you maybe elaborate on what just happened to you. Maybe you did gain a skill. In that case, you would have to be examined and tested. You know that, I suppose."Groaning, Alex looked at him. It annoyed her how all the adults treated her like a baby who knew nothing about the rules of the Society. "Yes I am aware of that. I was waiting for you, as I do every Thursday, though I must say that today you are 5 minutes earlier than usual."Dr.Phil smirked and motioned her to continue. "Then all of a sudden I felt a pull and kind of fell backwards."She paused and watched the reaction of her therapist, who just frowned and remained silent. "I fell for a second and then landed in a kind of crater. It was very hot and stuffy and the ground was black mud. Does that help you?" asked Alex, finishing her short speech. "It certainly does. It really seems like you have developed a skill after all, however I can't tell you what kind. The best thing is to postpone today's session until next week and go to the skill lab instead. They can tell you more than I can," he said and smiled happily at the girl. Alex smiled at him as well and was secretly more happy about not having
to spend an hour in that awful room than about having gained a skill. Alex stood up and gritted her teeth. The fall had been more painful than she thought. Her tailbone throbbed, but Alex ignored the pain. Limping, she walked towards the door. "Alex!" she then heard her therapist say behind her and turned to face him."I'm really glad to hear that your skill has awakened after all. Things will definitely get better now, you'll see." he said with hope dripping in his voice. Alex felt herself getting goosebumps. "I just got back from hell and after a long 15 years I have a skill where I always get to fall on my ass? Yes, things will certainly get better!", Alex said sarcastically and energetically stepped out of the room. She felt a little sorry for Dr. Phil, who was sighing after her, because she knew that he only wanted to help her, but his positive manner got on her nerves so much that she couldn't hold back her sarcasm anymore. To be honest, Alex doubted that things would get better now. So often she had hoped and had only been disappointed over and over again. Nevertheless, she followed Dr. Phil's advice and made her way to the skills lab. The last time she had been there was 7 years ago. Her mother had often dragged her there in desperation, hoping they would discover a skill in her. So Alex knew the way to the tall modern building by heart. For that, she had to turn her back on the hospital and take the train. So Alex trudged through the snow and made her way to the station. As always, cold snowflakes fell from the sky. Alex shivered, but she quickly got used to the cold, when it was freezing winter 300 days a year. Arriving at the station, she held her ID card in front of the scanner and the barrier opened. At a run, she went to the D train and got on. The warmth welcomed her like a friend she had been waiting for. Alex deftly grabbed a window seat. She loves to look out the window at the city below. This was possible because the train no longer ran on rails, but was attached to a sturdy rope. This allowed the train to move independently of the car traffic and gave a great view of the snowy city. As Alex slowly warmed up, she thought about the latest events. What was this skill she suddenly had, and why was it only showing up now? Her mother and she had talked to doctors thousands of times, who had always told them the same thing: that she didn't have a skill. Alex had heard of cases where skills appeared very late, but she never thought that she could be one of those cases. Again and again Alex had to think about the so different world she had fallen into. But still she couldn't figure out the whole thing. While Alex was brooding and thinking about how her life would change now, the train continued to move north.