Chapter 22 - Liberating

Point-of-View: Alexis Tucker

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Okay, I might have overdone it a bit...I picked out way too many outfits. But in my defense, I've never had the money to go clothes shopping like most people...the only clothes I ever had were my mother's old clothes and super cheap outfits that would get worn down in like a couple of months.

So to be put in a room with what seemed like thousands of outfits and being told that I could take as many as I wanted for free, well...I kinda lost control. Those two guys took a bunch too, but both of their hauls combined were still a bit less than mine.

I even ended up taking some that were too big for me, since I liked how they looked but, unfortunately, there weren't any in my size.

Anyway, after we each picked out some outfits, Kiyana led us to an area with a bunch of rooms, and we were told to each pick a room for ourselves. They were pretty simple, yet comfortable, rooms, each with a bed, desk and a small closet with a mirror on the door. The rooms were all carpeted and air-conditioned too.

They also came with attached bathrooms, which were on the smaller side, with a shower stall, sink and toilet. It was a pretty simple room...and yet, I already felt more at home here than I did in the house I grew up in.

We agreed to continue the tour in about an hour, think I'll use that time to take a shower and then rest up a bit. I still haven't gotten changed since I was kidnapped, I was too paranoid that there might be hidden cameras or something in that stupid doorless room I was stuck in.

I'd used the first-aid kit in that room to patch up my cuts, but that was all I did. I headed into the bathroom with a sigh, taking off my tattered clothes and removing the bandages around my left arm and should-...huh? Woah...no way, it's completely healed already. I stared at my reflection in surprise...there wasn't even a scar or anything.

I think Neo mentioned that Meta-Humans heal faster than normal humans do, but still...I didn't think it'd work this fast. Well, uh, that's certainly convenient. I then turned around to get a look at my back in the mirror...guess my old scars aren't going anywhere, huh.

The bruises and stuff were gone, but there were still several scars on my back, from whippings and having hot knives pressed against my skin. In the end, I'm glad that I got to kill those pieces of shit myself. And I won't let myself be haunted by my memories of them...I have no reason to even think of them ever again. Gotta take my mind off the unpleasant memories, time to distract myself using my surroundings...

Huh, this bathroom may be small, but it kinda gives off hotel vibes...like, there were a bunch of stuff in the cabinet above the sink, including small bars of soap, little tubes of shampoo and conditioner, disposable razors, nail clippers, small scissors and some other stuff.

Sweet, I was never allowed to use anything besides a bit of soap whenever I took baths in the past, so I'm going to really help myself to these amenities. Wait, small sparks of lightning are still crackling around me, will I get electrocuted if I take a shower?

I mean, I guess I could just not take a shower, but the last one I took was before I 'ran away' from my 'home' after I destroyed it, I've sweated a lot in the time since then...I really don't want to go for much longer without rinsing myself off. It might be risky though...

Ah, screw it, I'm going for it, because I want to...!

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Okay, that went fine. I didn't get electrocuted or anything, even as the crackling never stopped...though I am feeling kinda tired, I need to learn to control this ASAP. Well, nothing I can do till then, so I guess I just have to deal with it, huh?

I then glanced at the clock in the room, checking the time...wow, I was in the shower for forty minutes, that's way more time than what I usually spend. One time, back in the wretched house I grew up in, I was so worn out that I fell asleep in the bathtub while the water was running, and my father mercilessly whipped me with a belt for what felt like ages, cursing me for increasing the water bill and wasting their precious water.

I was only thirteen back then, and while he was whipping me, the pain was so intense that I legitimately thought that I was going to die. That was before they forced me into doing part-time jobs and made me pay the utility bills for the house myself.

I think another reason why I took my time with this shower was because it had hot water...I wasn't allowed to use hot water back in that house. Once, during winter, I was freezing cold after coming back home after working part-time jobs all day.

So I used some hot water to take a bath, just a little bit, it couldn't have been more than two liters...but somehow, my mother realized that I'd used some hot water and nearly burnt my face with a hot knife, before changing her mind and burning my elbow instead, since the mark would be less visible there.

If I squint, I can still see the burn scar on my right elbow, though it's very faint, barely noticeable anymore. It'll probably fade soon, but I don't think I'll ever forget that excruciating sensation, the burning hot steel pressed against me while my mother pinned me to the ground to keep me from moving.

And afterwards, as I cried and screamed in pain, I remember her laughing, as she snorted up some cocaine, nearly choking on it as she laughed. I was fourteen at the time, about three years ago. Wish she'd choked on her drugs and fucking died.

After that, she made a habit of using a hot knife on me, I think she enjoyed it. Some of the burn marks slowly faded away, but there were instances where she heated the knife so much and pressed it against me for so long that the marks left behind are probably permanent. She always made sure to burn spots that aren't usually visible, like my back and thighs.

Anyway, for the last couple of years or so, whenever I took a bath, they'd barely last two or three minutes, and I made sure to never use any hot water, I was far too scared. It may not seem like a big deal, but taking a bath or showering without a looming sense of fear and paranoia, it's...it's seriously liberating.

It's not an exaggeration to say that this was the best, most relaxing shower I've ever taken, and even after spending so much time in it, I was reluctant to shut off the water at the end. Oh, well, I can shower whenever I want here, I can just enjoy it again tomorrow!

As I got dressed after picking out the outfit that I felt looked best from the pile I'd brought from that large room, I checked myself out in the mirror, barely recognizing my reflection. I mean, I look the same, my face hasn't changed and I haven't gotten a haircut or anything, but something was drastically different.

It was my expression. It looked...so much lighter, it was hard to explain exactly, but it was change that I definitely wasn't complaining about...in the past, whenever I'd see my reflection, it'd just make me miserable.

But now, you know what, I think I actually look pretty cute, if I do say so myself. And I really like this outfit too...I'd picked out a white tank top, which I wore underneath a dark red jacket with a black collar that I kept unzipped, black shorts that stopped just above my knees, full-length black tights and dark red boots that stopped halfway between my ankles and knees.

That large room with all those clothes racks also had some accessories, I'm not all that interested in fancy jewelry and stuff, mainly because my mother would waste so much money on them, money that I earned, of course.

But while jewelry isn't my thing, I like other types of accessories. I mean, from my perspective, jewelry is impractical, they look really uncomfortable to wear, for one thing. I used to have long hair and enjoyed tying it up with scrunchies and hair ties, I also liked wearing stuff like wristbands and charms...until I once accidentally knocked over one of my father's bottles of booze, and to 'discipline' me, he cut my hair super short with a rusty old scissor and burnt most of my belongings...so, yeah.

Okay, I'll stop with the horrific family flashbacks, because there's literally no end to them. Those two monsters are dead now, I'll never have to cower in fear before them ever again...I hope they're rotting in hell.

Anyway, uh...back to the accessories! I put on a sleek, plain black choker around my neck and used a red hairclip to move aside the hair over my left eye a bit, both which I'd gotten from that room.

Only about five more minutes to go, time really flew. Wait, I think Kiyana said something else too...ohh, right, the phones! So, without our knowledge, Neo had taken away our phones before bringing us here.

Meta-Humans don't use regular smartphones-...actually, that's a bit inaccurate...-specifically, they're made to use smartphones that have been modified to be untraceable, which are provided by Harmony. Otherwise, they'd be at risk of their hidden bases being discovered by Eden.

Seems awfully high tech for an organization that deals in the supernatural, but I guess they're adapting to and going with the times. On the bright side, these phones have a VPN constantly active so that they can't be traced, have international SIM cards that work anywhere, and unlimited internet.

But on the not so bright side...Neo took our phones without permission, and had apparently tossed them out in the middle of the sea. Kiyana said that she'd get three phones ready for us after we're done freshening up in our rooms, but I'm still really ticked off about that.

Fortunately, I don't really have any embarrassing pictures or texts on my phone...I mean, I vent a lot on Twitter and some of my old posts might've been overly emo and edgy, and therefore, cringy, but it's not like I'm hiding those, I don't even use a fake name for my account, so it's whatever.

Oh, time's up, it's been an hour. I checked myself out in the mirror again to make sure I'd put everything on properly, before heading out. For the sake of convenience, those two guys and I decided to pick rooms that were all next to each other. All the available rooms are more or less identical, so it doesn't matter which ones we pick.

As I walked out of the room, I saw that one of the guys was already out, looking a bit restless. What was his name again, the one who saved me in New York? Oh, crap, I forgot both their names...I definitely knew them at some point, but not anymore. I think this guy's name started with a Z? Or was it an X? Hm, or maybe it was a Y?

"Uh...why are you glaring at me? You trying to pick a fight?" He suddenly remarked with a slight frown.

"Huh? No, uh...never mind, it's nothing," I responded, a little too taken aback to snap in response.

It's almost like his default expectation from people is conflict...he has no problem arguing with people, but when it comes to just talking to them normally, he sucks.

Maybe I'll try talking to him...I mean, the fact is that he did save me from getting gang raped, and probably murdered afterwards, so it's the least I can do. Also, this silence is kinda awkward, so there's that too...

"So, um, it looks like you didn't change much in your room, huh?" I spoke up, as I glanced at him.

It looked like he was wearing the same clothes, though his hair looked a lot neater. Actually, his clothes looked a bit more fresh too.

"Hm? Oh, uh...I, uh, just changed from a dark blue to, uh, a navy blue hoodie and, uh, combed my hair, after taking a shower. So, uh...yeah," He responded awkwardly.

Just as I thought...at first, he looked like he was getting ready to respond to hostility from me. When he realized that I was just asking a normal question, he seemed caught off-guard, and stumbled all the way through his reply.

"Did you only take hoodies from that room? Why not go for more options?" I asked him.

"W-well, uh...I'm most comfortable in hoodies. I, uh, haven't really worn many other types of clothes, so it felt, uh, kinda overwhelming to see so many options...so, uh, I just stuck with what I was familiar with, I guess," He replied, his gaze darting about, as if he wasn't sure where to look.

He kinda reminds me of a stray cat...with stray cats, it's easy to tell how people have treated them by the way they react. Those that hiss or run away were probably abused by humans, while those that remain docile were probably fed or petted by humans.

In the same way, the way this guy reacts to people, it's obvious that he's probably spent a lot of his life in conflict with other people. Well, he did seem homeless, or at least poor, when I first ran into him. I'll try being nice to him...

"By the way...thanks again, for saving me back when I first encountered you, I mean. That was seriously terrifying," I remarked with a sigh, as I recalled the despair I'd felt in that moment.

"Oh, uh...y-you're welcome."

"But just because you saved me, don't expect me to be unconditionally nice to you or whatever. I don't know you yet, and if turns out that you're a jerk, I'll treat you accordingly," I warned him with a wry smile, my tone friendly.

He looked surprised for a moment, before nodding and saying in response...

"Fair enough, uh, that's fine by me."

The next door over then opened, and the other guy stepped out with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck with a lazy look in his eyes. Huh, he'd looked like a total slob before, but he cleans up nicely.

His hair had been an absolute mess before, and still kinda was, but was a lot better than before. His hair was about medium-length, and had been all tangled up on one side, matted down on the other, with several strands pointing in random directions, but now, it was a lot more even and structured...but like I said, still a bit messy.

He'd also shaved off most of his facial hair, just leaving a bit of fuzz on his chin, which made him look a bit younger than he did before. Oh, he's got a black metal piercing on the top of his left ear...didn't notice that before.

As for his outfit, he'd gone with a simple combination, an unbuttoned black shirt over a white t-shirt, a dark blue pair of jean-like trousers and wore a pair of sturdy looking black sandals on his feet.

"Oh, am I the last one out? My bad," He apologized with a stifled yawn.

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Came another voice, right on cue, as Kiyana jogged over, "Setting up the phones took a bit longer than I thought, but they're ready now!"

Oh, cool, those look like recent models of a new smartphone company called XYZ, it's supposed to be be pretty high-spec. I'm not much into technology, but it was all over social media a few months ago, that's how I found out about it.

"Ooh, gimme," Remarked the older guy, taking one of the phones and switching it on curiously, "Huh, I was pissed that my phone was disposed of without me even knowing about it, but since this one's got way better specs than my old one, I won't complain."

"So, um...," Began Kiyana, after she handed out the remaining two phones, before suggesting, "Shall we continue the tour?"

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