Into The Aether

Chapter Thirty: Uninvited Guest

I awoke first the next morning with determination to enjoy the solitude of a nice warm shower. Strangely, we managed to locate a still intact water heating system when we first arrived. Richtofen had fixed it up along with the generator but finding the right opportunity had been the challenge.

Everyone was still asleep as I tiptoed out - trying to contain my excitement. I made my way over to the showers as I held my pistol tightly; on the odd chance the undead would decide to put a stop to my bathing. But I had always suspected that the undead went after Richtofen. It always seemed like Samantha was sending her army after him and the others were simply caught in the crossfire.

So whilst I remained cautious, I anticipated that our break from Richtofen also meant we would have a break from Samantha's wrath. Even if she was angry with me. I had not heard from her since my last dream so I had assumed she saw no point in our occasional meetings anymore. There was absolutely no way I was going to kill Richtofen - no matter how terrible he was.

I finally made my way to the showers to be met with an open space rather than the decency of cubicled privacy. Evidently, there had not been many women in this facility. Before the showers, a square area lined with lockers and benches did at least conceal the showers from the main entrance. On one of the benches, there was a stack of towels. Though, describing the towels as white would have been an affront to the colour itself. The towels were more of a dirty grey which surprisingly still remained soft enough not to be considered sandpaper.

I suspected Takeo had washed them for us as they were impeccably folded and stacked with the utmost precision. And despite my less positive assessment of the situation, I was still very grateful for his efforts. So I reached down to pick one up and made my way to the showers.

Back home, I was accustomed to a more civilised way of bathing. There was no shampoo or conditioner, no face scrubs for exfoliation and certainly no shavers for my legs. It was terribly miserable but it was definitely a wake up call from the pampered life we all led back home. Which, at this point, I was ashamed to say I took for granted.

There was one chalky white bar of soap pathetically teetering on the ledge next to one of the showers. I picked it up before sniffing it delicately to make sure it was safe to use. The soap smelt musty but I discerned that it was still at least usable. I then walked over to the shower which provided the most concealment should I be unlucky enough to have visitors.

The mixer taps were rough and worn. The holes in the shower head barely allowed for any water to escape them as it was encrusted in rust and grime. As I turned the taps, flakes of rust crumbled from the sudden use as the system slowly woke up from its long slumber. The shower head lifted slightly as the pressure of the water flowed up the pipe. After a struggle, the water won against the rust and flowed unrestricted down onto the tiled floor below.

The whole shower had come back to life as if it had simply been waiting to be used again. Everything worked exactly as it should - which really conveyed the resilience of the place in general. I had half expected brown filthy water to come out as the water flow cleaned out the pipes. However, to my surprise, the water was crystal clear. I put my hand under to gauge the temperature and adjusted the hot and cold taps accordingly. Once I had the correct balance, I quickly stripped off and slung my clothes on a pipe nearby.

Once I was under the shimmering veil of water; I was enveloped by its comforting warmth. The heat was soothing to my muscles and I instantly felt relaxed. I reached for the soap and lathered it in hands as I tried my best to clean my body. There were no cloths or bath scrunchies like I enjoyed back home - just the awkwardness of trying to slather myself in soap with bare hands.

I laughed to myself as I thought about the amount of exfoliation it would require to rid myself of the grime I had accumulated since I got here. Maybe the heat alone from this shower would cause me to shed so many layers that I would simply shed my form for the next unfortunate man to walk in on. Now I knew how reptiles felt...

I tried my best to clean my hair though the soap only made my dyed hair brick hard. My hair was now steadily matting together as I tried to untangle it under the water. As tragic and ungrateful as it may sound, I was absolutely miserable. My hair was so bad I had manic thoughts of simply cutting it off if this is what showering was going to be like from now on. I even cursed the very day I ever decided to dye my hair!

As I stood hunched over under the water feeling sorry for myself; I heard the door click open and closed. My body stiffened and my eyes shot wide as I panickedly scrambled for my clothes and hid behind the wall where my uninvited guest no doubt stood on the other side.

I cautiously pulled out my pistol and held it close to me. I stood listening for footsteps yet nothing clicked against the tiled floor. I began to grow anxious as I had expected to hear something had it been one of my comrades. Plus, they would have known someone was in here since the water was audibly crashing against the tiled floor.

My bare feet padded against the floor as I quietly tried to make my way to the edge of the wall and sneak a glance around at whatever was there. My clothes were now sadly damp against my wet body as I had hastily bundled them under my arm. My attempt at a nice relaxing shower was clearly not going to happen today. Which was something that was beginning to make me angrier the more I thought about it.

I trusted my comrades not to walk in on me and I knew if it had been them they would have simply turned and left. Yet the underhanded silence in which this entity was operating under gave rise to my concern. I began to worry it was one of the undead but stopped myself at the thought.

"They can't bloody use doors!" I chastised myself for being so ridiculous.

Richtofen was not due back for a few more days so how on earth could it be him? Did he deliberately lul me into a false sense of security? Was he really creepy enough to say that just so I would finally take a shower thinking he was not there to watch?! This scenario began to make my blood boil. I was becoming increasingly inspired to punch him should I discover this was the case.

I finally made my way quietly to the edge of the wall and took my opportunity to look around. No one was there.

But I immediately frowned at what was now sitting on one of the benches.

End of part thirty...