Ray of hope || by Elin Moon

Chapter 7: What comes after

I'm not sure how much time passes until I'm not alone anymore. I feel as if I've lost track of time, the minutes turning into hours, and hours into days. Realistically, it was probably only a couple of minutes left to my own devices, but it still felt like an eternity. My ears were filled with only the minimal of sounds, footsteps and chatter, and the occasional whisper between people that I couldn't decipher. I wonder if they were talking about me, maybe out of concern or out of pure curiosity of who I was. Maybe it was because I was a child, and the Military clearly didn't have children around here on the daily. Or maybe, they weren't talking about me at all, and I'm being paranoid. Whatever.

Soon, I hear footsteps, very deep and loud footsteps, that I could hear from anywhere and seems to easily grab others attention. I lift myself into a sitting position on the bed, and immediately notice a dark furred tubby approaching my bed, but it takes me a while to recognize who it is due to lacking any outstanding feature from afar other than the black fur and their tanned skin. Fortunately, as soon as he's closer to my bed, I notice familiar soft, brown eyes almost immediately, even without the mask.

"Hey kiddo! How are you feeling?" Dutch says as he reaches next to my bed, giving me a small smile. I notice that it doesn't quite reach his eyes, and that he seems a bit worried, with his brows furrowed slightly and his lips noticeably bitten down on till they're bleeding.

"Hi Dutch! I'm alright, I feel better now, although Jo says that my arm still needs to heal. Something about the bone being broken." I say back, choosing to ignore the deep rooted worry within him. No reason to point it out, it's probably for a good reason, like those monsters outside.

"Well, that sucks, but at least you're feeling better, eh?" he says, lightly patting my back. I give a small nod in return. "Alright, now come on! We have to get you accommodated before the recording." he says, urging me to get off the bed and follow him out of the seemingly medical area. I gladly follow, thankful that I don't have to stay on that horrible bed for any longer, and that I might actually go into a room that isn't literally just white everywhere. Although, I do wonder what he means by recording. It sounds kind of ominous, but I trust these people, since it can't be anything worse than what's already happened. Besides, the Guardian trusted these people a lot, and the Guardian isn't bad.

"Okay!" I say, deciding not to ask any questions.

I jump off the bed, and follow him closely as he takes me out of the medical place, and out into the world. Now that my injuries aren't as big a distraction, and people aren't looking weirdly at me anymore for walking around naked, I try to memorize some of the places and the routes we take. Unfortunately, it's quickly proven rather difficult, we're moving through at a too rapid pace for me to really take it in, and at some point the places start to blend together. It's a shame really, I actually want to figure out this place more, and get to explore a little. I want to learn of all the little crooks and hiding spots, just like I did back at home, I know it will definitely come in handy later. However, it seems I may have to do that later, because Dutch seems to be in a rush, speeding ahead and almost having to run to keep up with him.

"Hey Dutch, can you slow down?" I ask in my most polite tone, rather running out of breath and my legs starting to itch where my burns are. He looks behind me, and probably noticias my rapidly rising chest or my red face, and an awkward smile graces his lips.

"Sorry, kiddo. Didn't mean to rush. I forgot you have short little legs." He says with a chuckle, his laugh becoming more prominent as my face scrunched up.

"I don't have short legs! You're just fast!" I whine, which just makes Dutch laugh harder. I grumble, and stomp my foot down in annoyance. "You're not taking me seriously! Stop it!"