"Ooooh! Look who's here! You're so soon, missed me already?" — A childish like voice raised next to me in an annoying tone.
A silver, shining cascade of hair swept right next to me, sitting down on the only chair that was left in the room.
His irritating words have broken up the silence that painfully arose, since all of us have come here.
The same meeting room where the idea of the Cube has been explained to me. The same expression on the faces of my so-called colleagues, which today are slightly shaken by the fact that I'm here. What did they think, that I'm dead?
Well... I was supposed not to take a part in it... But if not...
An opportunity to get what I want will pass by, and I will be grounded and locked here, useless, powerless...
l wanted to stand up for myself, run away, and yet...
I returned to the abyss.
"Silen... Shut up." — Aura has growled at the sight of the feisty man.
"What? I'm just happy to see our half-dead weak-ass friend. You're happy too, right?" — He slapped me forcefully in the back, making me wail in pain.
"You're one of the reasons he probably hates it here..." — Meridies exclaimed quietly, swirling a finger around her curl.
"What are the other reasons then? I bet it's your shitty attitude..." — He proceeded to make everyone around uncomfortable, as always.
It is, indeed one of the reasons this place is shit.
With Noctis' void, black eyes almost sucking me in with the hatred, he was biting his lip all the time, his stare piercing me. The cold sweat run my back. This sight, it wanted to sent me a definite message.
You will regret this.
Just by that, my attitude melted down into the indecisiveness. Is it really the right to do...
Maybe I should intend, leave it all and escape.
But... Then I will prove... Useless.
In vain for all I lived and been through. My fight.
I stared into the center of the table, and not even tried to move my eyes away, to anywhere, to anyone. Being surrounded by stone faces, it eats me from the inside. I tried to avoid everyone's glares, especially Paul's, which was sitting on the chair the furthest from me.
But a bright light suddenly stung my eyes.
The big screen at the middle of the table lighted up. A 3D projection appeared before our eyes, out of nowhere, showing an indistinct layered map of a place I think I have seen before.
An image of a white building, a tall skyscraper with glassy panels on it. Countless floors grew from the top of the bottom, making it seem like an infinite well.
"Six days have passed. Having completed gathering resources yesterday, tomorrow will be the seventh, the day of our first mission such serious as this. To finally retrieve the Cube fragment." — A low voice of an older man arose from behind the group.
Mr. Vanus, the same old man which apparently was the chief of the group, approached closer, rotating and zooming the image with his quite slender hand.
His presence has made chills go down my spine, especially when his glare landed on me. A glimpse of surprise could be seen on his face, but it immediately melted with the topic he was speaking about.
"I hope everyone is ready for the mission." — He smiled softly, with eyes locked on my person. — "There won't be another chance like this. My befriended acquaintances provided me with only three entrance permits. A group of inquisitive transfer scientists who have been working on improving energy renewal technologies. That will be the first group. The infiltrators. Stella, Bellus, and..."
YOU ARE READING
Metropolis of Ashes
ActionI could see the reflection of my frightened face in his ice ocean eyes. So close, they are even more beautiful, with those long dark eyelashes that won't even move. He won't even blink. I felt the warmness of his close body, and the hot blood that w...
