A.S.H

Cat's Den

Three. Whole. Hours. Only the Lord knows where I am right now, because after a whole two hour journey in the car, and a further half an hour in a helicopter, plus half an hour (maybe even more than that) later, I doubt I would ever find this place on Google Maps. The helicopter,  as eager as I was to get on at first, turned out to be the worst part of the entire journey. It took only 10 minutes in to the ride, for God to bless my stomach with a nauseous feeling, and I could practially feel myself pale. The worst part, was that I had to maintain the 'business cool' so I forced myself to look like I was fine, before half-gagging every other minute, which I tried to cover up.

Luckily, the seats in the SUV I was currently sat in, had spacious seats, with a smooth cushioned material, which I have to admit, was helping with calming down my stomach as I made myswlf comfortable. The view outside the window was breath-taking; I would  only ever imagine of witnessing something with such raw beauty like this, but it was real, and I was more than happy to relish in the feeling.

Hues ranging from purple and blue, to pink and amber, painted the sky with meticulous strokes. The soft gleam of the sun, as it lowered with grace, blanketed the floral meadows before it, encouraging them to show their hidden pulchritude, which could only be seen at this particular time of the day. A gentle gust caused the flower petals to sway,almost as though they were dancing to the soothing, melodious tune of the sun's descending form; on the other side of the road, the gleam of the sun brought a sense of serenity to a forest of viridian leafed trees, it's perfect glaze lighting a minature pathway into the depth of untouched nature. If you looked hard enough, you could see a few fireflies begin to toy with the harmonious breeze.

"A beauty it is indeed," Doctor Turner must've noticed my awe-struck gaze as I viewed the idyllic sight, "every beauty has it's darkness though. A looming danger. An inevitable consequence..." He seemed to deliberate purposefully, a cloud of thoughts coated the green of his eyes. "What do you find beauty in?" I couldn't help but query, and in an instant the fog cleared, replaced by a darker look, "My work." His answer was simple, although it got me curious as to what kind of dangers he knew revolved around what he did.

"Curiosity is a dangerous thing," He stated, examining the look on my face and then taking a quick glance at his watch before looking back up, "very dangerous." My eyes narrowed, in slight anticipation, "how so?" "I imagine it like a mouse in a cat's den. An unusual analogy many will argue, but it conveys the message justly." He glanced directly into my eyes, and then continued,

"There's a small block of cheese laid out in the middle of this den, and although the mouse is not starving, but also not completely food satisfied, he decides he wants the cheese. Now, he knows very well the dangers lurking around him, after all he is in his predator's nest, and he doesn't absolutely need it, but something provokes him to go for the cheese, and so he does. The moment he does so, every cat has it's eye on the mouse, and say, somehow the mouse manages to crawl back into it's little shelter alive, all the cats are aware of his presence, and evetually they will either dig him out, or wait for the precise second to pounce. The mouse can try to run, but he has every predator breathing down his neck; all in all, he's trapped. He cannot escape whatsoever."

Doctor Turner leaned forwards, his fingers interlocking with each other, "what provoked him? He's never even seen a cheese block before, but something pushed him. Something, being his curiosity. It took one moment of curiosity to send him into a impenetrable web of its consequences. See, that's exactly my point; given, a little amount of curiosity is acceptable, but the point at which you act upon it, that will wind you up into the cat's den which will, ultimately, be inescapable." 

I nodded as he talked, a little wary of what the underlying meaning of his words were, perhaps there was a kind of warning between the  his analogy: control your curiosity, before it consumes you, and carves the path towards ineluctable repurcussions. Or in other words, know your limit. A growing tension began to slither around the cool atmosphere, causing a flight of goosebumbs to encompass my body. Turner's eyes never left my face, they were narrowed as he assessed me once more, only this time I felt unnerved under his scrutiny.

I peered out the window, pretending to be unaware of both the suffocating atmosphere, and his fixed gaze. I couldn't help but think, how I felt like a prey in this moment, and he, the predator ready to pounce- an ironic thought really. I let out a small sigh of relief as he finally adverted his eyes, and watched as the vehicle turned into a barely noticeable road, amidst the map of trees. It drove further and further into the depths of nature, until the rays of sun that were once so bright, could hardly be seen. I had to say though, the lack of sunlight allowed the light of the fireflies that flew around shine brighter, and look more mesmerising. 

The car came to an abrupt halt just as I was admiring the picturesque scene before me. "We're here." The driver announced, as he rolled down his window and muttered a few incoherent words to a bodyguard that had come to the car from outside. "About time." Dr. Turner mumbled, glancing at his watch, as if to emphasise his point.

Turning around, my jaw nearly dropped to the ground as I took in the sight of the building before me. My eyes, although fixated on the barrier that guarded it at first, quickly moved towards the entrance, as the barrier's gate opened to let the cars in. It was huge, to start with, and mainly coloured a pebble-grey, yet there were a few glimpses of black that popped out, but at the same time, blended with the darkness of the surroundings. Large glass doors, despite the fact that I suspected were probably much stronger than they appeared, gave a view of the reception inside, an area filled with white and ranges of blue shades. On either side of the building, trees filled the compass of the eye, almost making it seem as though this were an expensive hotel, straight out of a storybook. 

That was however, if you ignored the metal that surrounded the structure, which was not particularly easy.

This was simply the front view as well, which begged me to wonder as to how big the inside would be. "Let us go inside." Turner clipped, heading straight to the double doors. I followed, not missing the number of bodyguards that were positioned around the inner barrier, with what seemed to look like guns, strapped to their belts. Steeled eyes surveyed every step I took, as if I were capable to pose a threat. Rather unnerving it was to evidently be able to acknowledge their tensed stances with vulture gazes; in fact, it made me think about what kind of dangers could be faced or what kind of dangers, had already been faced. 

Or maybe that was simply what they were trained to appear as...which seemed more of a calming thought than the prior ones. 

My jaw nearly dropped the second we walked into the reception, as my eyes traced the gargantuan blue and white ombre walls that boxed the room. A crystal chandelier encompassed the reception with a harsh, white light which did well to put the main desk in the midst, into a perfectly staged spotlight. Cream coloured with glittering gold accentuates, definitely caught my attention, followed by the two females and single male, who sat behind it, their gazes solely focused on the screens before them as they simultaneously prodded their keyboards. 

There were a number of seating areas around the room, as well as a mini snack bar behind and a little left of the main desk, although seeing as how vacant the spaces were, it looked more as though the lavish equipment was laid out for show, rather than use. I shrugged it off as i followed Dr. Turner to the closest receptionist: a platinum blonde haired woman with emerald orbs that glimmered behind rose gold frames, with a corresponding green dress, who continued to type away unaware of our presence.

"Harper." And just that, was all Dr. Turner said to catch the attention of the woman- Harper, infront of us, who now noticing our existence, stammered a sentence in response to the cold, emotionless look of the man besides me, "A-apologies Sir," her brows twitched in a moment of confusion, however it was replaced with swift understanding as her eyes found mine, "just a second." She marched, her heels clicking being the loudest- or might I say only sound in the room besides tapping, as she went to the male receptionist, and grabbed a small, labelled object from besides his computer.

She returned, handing it out to him with smile that was most definitely not returned, "room 32, floor 9." He took it, not bothering to mutter a 'thank you', and then held them (keys as I now saw) to me, "your appartment keys. Do not ever lose them as they alone are for your room. I will escort you, and then leave you to it." I grasped the keys, and walked after him to one of the two elevators that were positioned on the right end of the room. Dr. Turner unfolded a badge from one of his pockets, placing it against a black pad that flashed green, when he momentarily placed the card on it. The door slid open with a soft 'ding', before we stepped inside.