Epoch

Chapter 2

"Crimson?"

I look up, blinking despite the obvious swell of my left eye. The sudden movement sends a throb of pain through my head. My fingers slide away from the skin on my face, stained blue and purple, and I straighten. It's a stark difference from the tawny beige of my skin. Meraki glances down at me, her steely gray eyes unreadable. Maybe she's disgusted. Maybe she pities me. I don't know. Then again, I'm not sure if I care.

"Aegean would like to see you now."

I shift in my seat, stuffing my hands, bruised knuckles, cracked skin and all, into my pockets before getting up and ambling forward. Meraki turns briskly, her short black hair following the movement. I feel other Hunters' gazes burn into the back of my head as I follow her down the hall, eyes trained on the floor. Shame burns through me. It consumes almost every waking thought of mine, a mix of anger and regret and the constant replay of my decisions. 

"Look, if anyone asks-" I begin, lifting my face just enough to see the back of Meraki's head. She glances over her shoulder while walking, her gaze so sharp I flinch back.

"Crimson, if there's anyone you need to explain this utter shit to, it's Aegean." She snaps, lip curling. "I don't need, nor want, to know about whatever happened back at the Outer Circle's border."

I let out a sigh, turning my gaze back down to the stainless white floor. "I just-"

"Crimson." Meraki comes to a stop, the sound of her boots against the tile floor stopping. We're in an emptier part of the Penumbra facility now. There's nobody here. She could screech all that she wants at me and nobody would know.

Well, not that anyone would care.

She looks back at me, brows furrowed, and her expression softens by the most infinitesimal amount. 

"Look, Crim," She pauses. "I'd advise you to stop trying to justify your actions to me and save the excuses for your division leader. She's the one who actually changes things. She's the one that you should be watching out for."

I gulp, pursing my lips and looking back down. I force out a nod, trying not to let my contempt show straight. Reluctantly I follow her the rest of the way, gaze glued to the floor. Minutes pass through my fingers like hours. Every footfall is another step closer to an inevitable scolding. The sounds of people shuffling away as they see me make me want to shrink into my jacket.

It's not like I'm used to failure. I ranked top in my training class back in Inner Circle, but ever since Cadmium's joined me, I've found myself on a steadily declining path to constant failure. I work better alone, that's what I told them when they first suggested I work with a partner, but the second they brought up Cadmium's name it was an immediate decision on my part. There is no way in hell I'm letting Cadmium out there by herself. There are endless amounts of resentful Aberrants and Defects, looking for a naive new Hunter to fall into their clutches. 

Meraki finally pauses, the last click of her boots against tile both a godsend and a damnation. Pulling my head up, I turn to the sliding door she's gesturing to. I rap once, twice, three times on the Alabaster-colored door with my knuckles, wincing.

It slides open. I step back, biting the inside of my cheek.

Inside the office, it's simple. Empty, actually. There's one desk placed in the middle of the room, and two chairs. White, like everything in this damned building. Occupying one of those chairs, though, is the person I would never willingly interact with. Aegean, with her peppered black hair, and her frown, and her emotionless eyes, and-