Purgatory

Chapter 23

I stood facing the waterfall in the recreational ward’s entryway with little running through my mind.  I let the sound of the water crashing against the rocks fill my ears and hush my thoughts.  Free time was not something given to me often by Midvar since I was promoted to observer class, so I cherished the moments I could find time to do nothing.

For the past week and a half the guardian had been training with me every possible second, even taking the nightly hours to work more in the dark room.  I personally felt my tracking was improving, but it never seemed to be fast enough for Midvar’s taste.  It seemed like every situation he threw at me I would still be bested too easily.  I could tell his patience was wearing thin with the gradual severity of his pursed lips each day.

Despite my attention to the thundering waterfall and lack of thoughts, I was aware of the slight rustle of the synthetic grass approaching me from my right.  I turned to be greeted by the brilliant smile and happy demeanor of the petit Uvine who clutched dearly to her sketchbook as she looked at me.

“Hi Helena!” she said enthusiastically.  “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it has.”  I turned to face her, genuinely pleased to speak with her.  Out of all my former squad mates, Curse was the only one to talk to me since the incident.  “How are things?”

“Oh, great!  I have really connected with Guardian Viega.  We figured out I have pretty good aim,” Uvine replied.

“So, is that your ability?  Super aim?” I asked curiously, and Uvine laughed.

“Super aim?  No, I’m still human, and there are still situations where I will miss,” she said waving a hand through the air dismissively.  “Why do you ask?”

I shrugged off my disappointment.  “I had a theory about abilities, but you might have just proved it wrong.”

“Oh, well, Viega did say it was probably my ability with how naturally it comes to me,” Uvine said thoughtfully.  “I know it’s nothing superhuman, but I hear there are people around here with those types of abilities.  Is yours bizarre?”

“I don’t know what mine is, really,” I admitted.  While I had a hunch, I still wasn’t certain it was even an ability and not just my mind maddening.  “Guardian Koen seems to believe it’s tracking, but it’s not really coming naturally to me.  I can’t track very well when I see, much less in the dark room.”

“Yeah, that’s probably not it, then,” Uvine said with a smile and a shrug.  “But don’t worry, it will come to you.  It wasn’t until after my first mission as an observer that we realized my aim was really good.  I shot a Ghat mid phase and boom!  Like that it was dead.”

“Wow,” I said in slight shock.  Uvine was so small and looked so harmless.  “And you’ve already been on a mission?”

“Two, actually,” she corrected.  “Viega likes to jump into things.  She says the best way to train for Purgatory is to experience what you face.  Most people have only gotten to their first mission by now.  How many have you done?”

“Uh…none,” I admitted with slight embarrassment.  Uvine’s brow furrowed in a thought as her head tilted to the side.

“That’s strange,” she said.  “But I think I heard about some people not getting a mission for weeks, so don’t worry too much on it.”  Her eyes looked down at my arms, apparently noting the exposed ports across the tops of my forearms.  “Hey, are we getting upgrades or something?”

I looked down at my arms before shrugging in reply.  “I don’t think so.  I haven’t seen anyone else with these, but I don’t know what they’re for.”