0 & 1

print("Fifteen")

print("Fifteen")

Ari

I pressed the red button next to the main vault entrance of the base. It made a loud, sizzling buzz and the door slowly whirred open. Today had been chaotic, to say the least. I wondered how we even got to this point.

"Why did you drag me out here?" Yelena said. "Couldn't you see I was trying to sleep?"

I chuckled. "You were hardly sleeping."

"I was trying to, but guess who pulled me out of my bed."

I felt a sudden pang in my chest, and it became difficult for me to maintain my bubbly tone. "I would also hardly call that a bed." My voice was harder. Just a little.

I heard Yelena sigh. "Why did you bring me here, Arya?"

"Hush!" I told her. "Just wait and look into the sky."

She paused for a moment. She sighed again. "I'm waiting," she said loudly.

"Just a little longer." I insisted.

"It's late, Ari!"

"Jesus Christ, be patient!" I exclaimed. "For once I'm trying to be nice to you!"

She seemed to be taken back by this. I sigh and stare into the sky. I suddenly remember my demeanor.

"Lena Lena," I drawled with a grin, "do you remember, many-a years ago, when we wanted to build our own company? Just like you wanted? Don't you remember?"

She groaned. "What the hell are you going on about?"

I grinned.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Suddenly she gasped sharply.

"Oh, now I get it." She snorted. "You think that you can try to make me forgive you for everything you've done by bringing back old memories. Don't you?"

I frowned. "What? No! I just-"
Yelena shook her head. "You don't even need to say anything."

She was adamant. She sighed and turned to leave.

"What did I even DO?" I shouted.

I felt her hesitate. I turned to face her, my chest heaving, my eyes wide.

Yelena stared at me. I thought she would say something, but I felt my expression morph into her blank one.

My eyes lowered to the stale ground. Slowly, I looked up at her. "What...did I do?"

She didn't even blink. Just gaped at me.

In the moments we stared at each other, I realized that she didn't know either. Neither of us did. Only, that something had happened.

But what?

The more I think about it, the more questions I have. What happened?

Yelena took a step back, whipped around and ran inside quicker than when we ran from the robots, leaving me alone under the stars.

She was wrong about everything. But it hadn't been worth it. Now, I had more questions than answers.

I didn't understand why she had to make everything about the past. Couldn't she look past her ideals and see what I'm trying to do here?

I had been hoping to break the whole "if you respect me I respect you" aphorism just a little with Yelena. But my luck was a switch, and lately, it happened to be off. I headed for the base.

Right above it was a streak of red, splitting the night sky in two. I had been told that it was a flare sent up in case one of us ever got lost. It told me it would be morning soon.

Despite this, I ran into the base, went straight into my room and collapsed onto my bed. I closed my eyes for a second.

I thought about the Phantasm, and of everything we had been going through in just a day.

I was tired.

Very tired.

Connected to Server 4A.

Arya Azael has joined.

Toby Anderson says...

"Oh, hello, Boss."

end

End