Null

Chapter 5

I ground my teeth together as Kira pushed me through the door and into the dining hall filled with the mid-day lunch rush.

"Keep moving, Null. We don't have time for any more of your rebellions," she hissed, shaking the wet strands of hair off her forehead with a huff.

Although an intimate encounter almost occurred between my lips and the white, polished, tile below from the force of the shove, I couldn't help the evil smile that spread across my lips. I wasn't even mad at the excessive use of force this time.

Not when Kira's uniform was as thoroughly drenched as her hair. She clenched her fist tight to hide the shivers that were beginning to show as the slight chill from the cooling units above began to get to her.

Hopefully, she'd learned not to try me again.

While escorting me to my room last night, she refused to let up on her grip on my arm. Making it tighter when I raised complaints. This morning when she had appeared to escort me to the mandatory counselling sessions I had been assigned by Margaret, she decided I needed to be manhandled the whole way since I was such a flight risk. She didn't ease her grip any, digging her nails in each time I protested.

She still hadn't eased up while escorting me from the bathrooms to the dining hall. I could feel her satisfaction grow with the pressure she applied and the hiss she drew out of me. A mistake on her part, especially given the freshly surfaced anger that was simmering under my skin after witnessing the ring of bruise that was already forming around my arm in the bathroom. The array of colours had me deciding that she needed to cool her head seeing as all that power she was given was going to it. The other Agent, Mantis, wasn't half as bad as her. I had barely noticed him trailing behind us in comparison to his coworker.

As we entered the communal area for the Nulls that I was briefly shown the night before on the way to my room, everything changed. While the rest of the center reminded me of a sterile hospital, this section consisted of old Cathedral-style architecture. It must have been the part of the original Null Center's building that was opened. The lifeless sterile parts must have been added to it in the past few decades.

When we entered the foyer where all the separate housing pods that housed groups of Nulls met, I couldn't help but take notice of the beautiful fountain spitting glistening water at the center. It even had a majestic beam of light highlighting it as it came through one of the high arched windows. I would have been a fool if I didn't see the direction that even the gods were pointing me in. They were lighting the path for me.

What better way to cool her head than a quick dip in cold waters?

The arm-numbing grip that followed as she dragged me the rest of the way to the dining hall was well worth seeing her struggle to keep a professional mask in place while dripping a trail of water behind us. Even Mantis was struggling to hide his amusement at seeing her trying to button close her jacket with one hand as her pink bra became more and more visible through her white shirt.

If she was going to walk around like she was untouchable, she shouldn't have been so easy to knock off balance. And here I was, always terrified of the uniformed agents that patrolled the streets because they were rumoured to be skilled and ruthless. The reality was it just took a well-timed stumble to push them over a stone ledge and into frigid waters.

Mantis stepped between us before things could escalate further. "You don't have any funds in your account. Grab a tray and go to that station," he instructed, pointing towards the back corner of the room where a sad-looking cart sat.

It was heating food that looked like it had been sitting for a while under the heat lamps. Nothing compared to the line of chefs throwing woks of food and fire while stirring pots and pans steaming with flavour. While I was expected to eat stale bread and cold chicken, fresh dishes were being prepared for wait staff to deliver to Nulls seated at numbered tables around the hall.