Flames

Chapter 6 Intuition

Reika took a moment to register what he had said.
"In what way is it not what I think it is?"
He got up, stuck his hands in his pockets and paced in a circle, once again deaf to her question.

"How much do you know?'
She frowned, was the Wire still managing him? Should she be cautious? He faced her, peering stoutly into her face as if he'd heard her thoughts.
"Aye Reika, stop it, stop being wary of me, gosh. I can't prove it to you but no, the implant isn't controlling me."

She pooched her cracked lips and sighed, glancing away to discover a mini fridge. 

"Just being careful, Conall." She attached a flare of drama to his name.
Hopping out of the covers she speed walked to the bathroom, passing the adjoined door to a separate room. There wasn't much pain, had those people done something when they had worked on her brain?

"There's clothes for you in the bathroom when you shower."

She prioritized freshening up, not because her brother had suggested so, but because anything could arise in the next hour. She needed to mull over the past few days, especially reuniting with him.

Once dressed and out of the bathroom she raided the fridge of apple juice and turkey sandwiches, then waved for him to sit.
He plopped onto his unmade bed, and she sank down onto a hardwood chair. Her melted chocolate brown eyes drilled into him.
"So you go or I go?" She raised an eyebrow at his question.
"You brought it up so you go first." She snapped before thinking, still hurt he had chosen to leave her last time.

"Alrighty then grumpy pants. I'll make it simple." Reika nodded sarcastically, urging him to start.
"I'll begin with small things and work up to the big shocker." 

She bent her head back and sighed loudly, "Please, just start."

"Okay, there's two main groups, Grains group B, and then there's group A. I've figured out why we keep bouncing between them."

He shot an uneasy look at the locked hotel door before going on with his spill of data.
"Let's move first."
They rose in unison and swapped rooms.
She decided she would believe him; only if he was against Grain.
Bright rays danced animatedly throughout the mellow, spacious room.

He sat on the floor beside her, scooting closer, eyes lost in the clear blue sky.

It was morning and there was no sound of life in the hotel, only a spotless backdrop outside of the window and the ticking of the clock in the room they had deserted.

"We keep transferring hands. I'm not sure if Grain somehow keeps losing us or what, but we've got-to trust the right people." 

Conall hugged a leg to his chest as he talked. Reika gave him a quizzical stare.
"Second, The Graves is where we are, it's an alternative type of the Mires."
"Wait, so you're saying it-" She tried to interject with what could be a piece of the puzzle but he went on confidently. 
"It's more realistic and brilliantly generated than the Mires, it can't even compare." He shook his head, and closed his mouth chewing the inside of his cheek.

"I know this is the Graves but it's just-a building with games Conall, that doesn't make sense. I don't see what your getting at"
He tossed his empty juice box into the trash can beside her. 

"This place is not what you think, it's-a-a training ground, did you not see how few cars there were in the lot!"
He threw his hands up in the air and gave a frustrated grunt.
She whistled through her teeth, crossing her aching arms.

"Just spit out what you're trying ta say, please." 
"If you don't get it sis, that just means your dumb. Anyways, the Graves is-a false reality, it can be anywhere. Like this room, this building are real, but the majority of people here aren't. We have ta pick up hints."

Her eyes went as wide as humanly possible, things clicking.
"Wait, wait, so we have-a job here?"
He nodded his head energetically, allayed she was getting it. He spoke excitedly.

"That's why we're not fully blacking out, we're aware but we don't have control over our bodies." He made a sweeping gesture down his chest to demonstrate.

Her eyes unintentionally enlarged once more.
"You too? I thought it was only me because of the malfunction." She piped up.
Conall was anxious but eager, and she matched his vibe.

"It's because our minds are key, we're gonna have to remember these things later on in the next stage." He tapped his temple and his face went solemn as if his words reminded him of something depressing. 

"Next stage? What do you mean?" He looked down at his knees not answering her.
The coo-laid rays of sun made the sweat beaded on his forehead shine.
So the Wiring was pointing them in the direction of hints, they only needed to pay attention.
Conall sighed shakily, running a hand through his shaggy, light brown hair.

"Here's the mic drop sis, you know how hard we've worked to get to the Free Styles?"
Her shoulders tensed. This would seal the rest.

"This IS the Free Styles, we ARE partnering, we've made it. Its just not like we imagined."
To be honest it wasn't that big of a blow, the Wires had downloaded that information into her subconscious.
The thought spurned her to a fresh question.
"Do both groups have access to our Wiring?"

His brow furrowed in thought, worry and rising vexation.

"I mean it's possible but I-I have no clue."
He stared into her eyes.
"Reika, we're partners in this but we might have to do things we won't like, we can't get butt hurt. What's that thing guys are always told to do, oh yeah, to man up. Well do just that, cause this is worse than The Mires."

From the way he had rapidly switched she knew it wasn't him, the Wiring had taken over.
Only moments later it took her over. Her minimal comfort was that they were still conscious.

After weaving down to the bottom level of the structure, the Wiring sprinted them out of the technologically advanced building, traipsing them through mud.
A few yards away in the muck of the now empty lot, someone hollered at them. It was the German man, and he was aggressively pointing to their rear.
Realizing she was free to move, Reika spun around, her hair brushed over her face and neck at the swivel. 

Bubbles of air pockets rose in the sludge like bubblegum. Conall, bellowed for her to run, she instead headed in their direction.