GLITCH

CHAPTER SEVEN

    The months flew by and before I knew it, I'd already been in the facility for three months. Xera was a Sapphire while I was a Bronze. We never had anything to do with each other after my outburst in the Great Hall that day. I burned with curiosity to know what she was up to but she'd disappear for days on end and whenever she returned, I could only get a glimpse of her before she was out of sight again. I missed her; the her who loved the night sky and told stories under the moonlit night. She wasn't that Xera anymore. This Xera was cold; her emotions came off her like icicles. The gray in them were nonexistent at that point. I didn't have to look at her to know. I met Obinna a week after my official abduction to the facility. I called it the facility since it wasn't named. Maeve explained to me that it was due to the fact that being caught meant torture and subsequently, death.

    "It's a normal thing if you think about it. Nobody would want to leave terrorists alive. You understand? So, we never memorize the location of this place or even give it a name. Names are the most powerful things in the universe; you should know this." She stared straight ahead, not fidgeting in the slightest. We were outdoors that day; the smooth carpet grass provided a much needed relaxation spot. The trees all over gave a cool feel so it was never hot in the garden. That's what it was called; the garden. The sun always felt closer in the garden, the moon seemed as though I could reach out and touch it. The scenery was to die for. I spent most nights stargazing, wondering just what my place was in the grand scheme of things.

    Maeve had a wild yet collected look about her; she exuded authority without saying a word. She reminded me of Xera, the Xera who still believed in unicorns and pots of gold at the end of rainbows. With those eyes that seemed to swallow a person whole, Maeve had excessive charisma.

    "What are we doing though? I can't fathom. Is this what's left of life? Living life each day cooped up and waiting for a call that never comes?" I realized that I was complaining yet romanticizing. The cool air of the night made me shiver but I quickly masked it. Maeve was the kind of person to send me indoors the very minute I showed the slightest sign of being cold. She was overprotective, much like a mother with her young. I couldn't blame her though, she saw her sisters in me.

    "Why would anybody want more? This is the ideal life. What more do you want? To live the wild life like the Sapphires? Go on missions without knowing if you'd survive? That's not my idea of an ideal life. It's a life in constant anxiety and don't get me wrong, I understand that they're doing all of these for us. But it just doesn't make sense to put my life in jeopardy that way. I respect what they do but I can't do it. Maybe because I'm weak? Probably." Maeve never called herself weak, she always held the facility together with her quick judgements and precise decisions. She was the real reason the facility was run without a hassle. The real pillar behind it all.

    "I don't know, I just feel like there's more to life than just doing the same routine over and over again. It grates on my nerves that I can't be out there doing what they do. I've come to terms with the fact that they're killers but since it's for the greater good, I think I understand the logic." I said in a bid to make my voice heard but Maeve apparently heard differently. I could feel the air freeze as Maeve clammed up. She took a shaky step as she stood up, backing me. The coldness coming off her made me realize I'd totally messed up.

    "Maybe you want the wild life because you've never begged for your life. You've never seen everything and everyone you love gone in a flash. I won't judge you for your naivety but I don't have to continue this conversation either. Have a good night rest, Mavery. You're cold. Go inside." With that, she was gone. I sat staring at the doorway she went through and wondered why I kept messing up things as little as a normal conversation. It was definitely something to be studied.