A Clandestine Meeting - 3

"This is serious," Silas said, once he'd reached the end of the message. "But how did they know Saya's name, and what her abilities are?"

"Well, they've probably hacked into our devices and seen the information that Charybdis has stored on us somewhere, which is really convenient."

"Which is really creepy, you mean," Silas protested. "Anyway, why are we the only ones in here? Why not the other four? Don't they deserve to know about this, too?"

"Yes, they do, and we'll tell them about it soon. I just feel like organizing all eight of us to meet together in the same place is too risky. It's obvious to Charybdis that we're planning a meeting."

"But isn't our secret helper disabling cameras right now? That means she won't know. And she's probably not watching right now. It is midnight, after all."

"You can never be too cautious," Rekka insisted. Something about that didn't quite sit right with Silas, but it didn't seem like the other two girls were taking any notice. Macy looked purposefully the other way.

"Anyway, you were going to tell me why it's only me you can talk to telepathically, right?" Silas pressed. "I'm curious about that."

"Well, er," Rekka stumbled, sounding suddenly awkward. Her serious face gave way to an uncharacteristically embarrassed one. "I'm not entirely sure myself… how do I put it diplomatically?"

"We think that it's because Rekka's magical power is rapidly increasing as she gets used to it. It means her magic is more potent as she realizes her potential. So that means that while she still can only directly control very weak mentalities, she can talk with stronger ones, now." Macy said, glossing over the point, hoping Silas wouldn't notice. But it was much too obvious for him.

"Which means I have a weak personality?" Silas stammered. The words he'd just spoken hung in the air, dense and heavy. What did that even mean? What constituted a weak personality? What about Wicke was so malleable that let Rekka take control of her? And what made Silas weaker mentally than everyone else around him?

A horrible, dreadful feeling took hold, gripping his stomach and squeezing it harshly. Here it was. Another reminder of how weak he was. But not only how weak he was physically, but mentally, too. Emotionally, Silas hadn't considered himself weak. He simply thought himself of average strength – which meant that as long as he was cautious, and controlled his feelings, he would be fine. But it seemed now was not that case. He should have known after he'd gotten his first panic attack. He couldn't control his emotions, after all. Just like he couldn't control his magic or anything that happened all around him.

Silas was the most powerless person in Lachlan.

"Well, you said that we should also be doing some exploring, is that right?" Silas said quickly to let everyone know that the discussion was over. There was nothing that could prepare him for if they decided to talk about his weakness right in front of his face. He bit his lip, shame prickling through his body. He felt his cheeks flush and his thought become uncomfortable and hot. He needed to do something – a distraction to help him ignore his shame.

"Macy and I have already read the letter. We spent our break scoping out possible places that Charybdis could use for her office. We have to be careful, though. We need to make sure we're not seen in a place that we're not supposed to be in. That's also partly why I only called for a meeting between us four. A group of four is far less suspicious, is more mobile, and stealthier."

While Rekka was talking, Macy was looking at Silas with a worried expression over her face. Silas knew that she wanted to phrase it as politely as possible to avoid him getting angry or dejected. Unfortunately, Silas saw through her. She gave him a pitying glance, which made Silas a little frustrated at her, before he reigned in his anger, realizing that the only person he really had to blame was himself.

"Given that the majority of the people in the facility are scientists who seem to live on-site, we can expect at least a few of them to be up right now, roving around the facility, doing whatever they're doing at this hour. It means that we'll have to take branching pathways that aren't out in the open. I've watched Charybdis after she dropped us off at certain places around the building, and I've memorized the routes that we've taken, too."

"You can remember all those twists and turns?" Silas asked, his mouth agape. The endless labyrinth of the Human Experimentation Labs swam to the surface of his memories. No way he'd be able to remember the path he'd taken. He probably wouldn't be able to orient himself after a week's worth of traversing the halls.

"Yes," Rekka said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Beside her, Macy cringed slightly at the callousness of her tone. But Rekka meant no ill will, she just was too focused on the task at hand to really care about Silas' feelings.

Bringing the group's attention back to the projector, Rekka showed Silas and the others a hand-drawn map of the facility. There were numerous passageways numbering in the dozens, with doors and labels galore. Many of the passageways continued before abruptly cutting off without an end in sight. Rekka had drawn question marks around these unexplored hallways.

The white lines on a light blue holographic backdrop made the map look like a blueprint. Rekka's lines were neat and organized and impeccably clean. They were straighter than a ruler and drawn with a steady hand. Silas tried not to notice, but he did anyway. It was as if they were trying to make him feel bad about his own lack of talent.

"Macy and I think that Charybdis' office is around this area," Rekka said, pointing to a passageway near the edge of the map. Silas noticed that the hallway that she pointed to ran between the areas labelled "Human Experimentation Labs", "Medical Wing", and "Dormitories". It also wasn't too far from the food court. Rekka, to further illustrate the point, snapped her fingers as several moving arrows appeared, tracing four routes from the four important landmarks towards the hallway. They all converged perfectly.

"I observed Charybdis heading in this general direction each time. If it's not her office, I don't know what it is. However, we don't know where Charybdis sleeps. She could sleep in her office or have her own dormitory. When she came to ask us about how our first day was before we went to bed, she left in this direction, too. We can only hope that she sleeps elsewhere."

"You're a genius," Silas said.

"I'm a survivor. We need to survive. Never let your guard down, and always look for a way out."

"It's kind of scary how thorough you are," Saya said, slightly quavering. Silas wondered what Saya could sense in Rekka.

"It takes its toll," Rekka replied tersely. The shining lights above accentuated the dark purple bags underneath Rekka's eyes. The experiments of today had worn out everyone, Silas included, but Rekka seemed especially stressed. Silas suddenly noticed how awful she looked. How much had she stressed about the responsibility of leading the last group of humans? Silas suddenly recalled how he'd stumbled upon her… crying? What was Silas doing, moping about his own lack of talent when Rekka, talented as she was, was responsible for the safety of all of them?

This plan could go awry very, very fast. They had no idea who their secret helper was, and if they'd even make the situation better for them if they escaped. They had no idea who would help them once they got out. They had no idea how to live and operate in this society. They had no idea if they could raise a hand with any threats that may or may not present themselves. If they were caught, there was no telling what would happen. Death was a very real and frightening possibility.

Silas had seen firsthand the power of Hydra and Scylla. Scylla had even told him that she could kill him if she really wanted to. He looked around, suddenly remembering her face. He peered into the shadows in the corner of the room as if expecting her to be lurking their with her shadowy jet black clothes.

Rekka no doubt knew that as well. In Silas' eyes, escaping like this was almost impossible. There were so many challenges to overcome, it seemed much safer to just accept his fate – that he was doomed to become a lab rat. At least he could then enjoy what little time he had left instead of wasting it with a false hope that would just crush him in the end. Then, at least, Silas could convince himself that he had to power to choose his destiny – he had chosen to enjoy his final moments. It was that little spark of control that comforted him. If he tried and failed, what control did he have? He had nothing, nothing until the very end. The very prospect haunted him.

At that same crossroads, what would Rekka choose? Did she have the strength to chase hope? Silas silently wished she did. She was already so much stronger physically than Silas.

"Well then, are we ready? Saya, your skills will be essential," Rekka said, and with one gesture, she turned off the holographic projector and rose to her feet. The others followed. Rekka didn't waste one moment before she stepped through the entryway and out into the hallway.

"Alright, we're doing this," Silas said, mostly to himself. Anxiety flooded through his chest the moment he left the safety of his room. As Rekka walked through the door, he half-expected Yona and Jayken to come leaping out of the shadows to recapture them, saying, "We've been listening in on your conversation! You've been caught red-handed." Fear pulsed through his heart as he crept down the hallway after the other three humans.

He'd chosen the rear position so that any attacks from the front would hit Rekka first. He was ashamed of his thought process, but it didn't stop him. Now all he had to worry about was attacks from the behind. He shivered. He walked slowly, his ears wincing at every footstep. It seemed that his footsteps were so much louder than the others. All the girls moved with feline grace, while Silas was awkward and clumsy. Perhaps it was their magical affinity that allowed them to muffle their steps. If that was true, it was totally unfair.

Rekka guided them without the map – the glow of the projector was too conspicuous. They passed through darkened windows with sleeping white machinery slumbering in hibernation. Ominous glowing blue light emanated from rods on the ceiling illuminating them and creating painfully long shadows. Under the cover of darkness, the vulnerable four made their way through the twisted and alien paths of the underground laboratory.