Chapter 22 "A Talk and Gossip"

"Ah, so it was you." William then continued his dinner, "What are you having there?"

Owen picked up his mug again and took a sip, "Oh, you know, just a normal coffee for tonight. Since we're basically back to our regular schedule, I've been put on patrol duty for tonight's session."

Both of them were enjoying their evening at the canteen before going back to their regular daily routine. William only had a few hours to enjoy his time outside his room, and Owen was given a bit of time to rest before going back to work.

Seeing that William was here, Owen asked him a question, "So, what is your name anyway?"

William looked at him, "People here like to call me Alpha One, so that's that."

Owen laughed for a bit and then continued, "Not that. I know about your designation calling name, and we're not at least in a working environment now. What is your name really?"

"You can call me William." said William as he scooped food into his mouth.

"Alright then, William. Nice to meet you." Owen then looked at the ID Card that was hanging on William's neck and pointed at it with his mug, "I guess that's what Dr. Erik gave to you for your rewards, yeah? Pretty cool to have that knowing not every SCP were allowed to roam around in this facility."

William finished his dinner, then stood up from his chair, went to the vending machine near the food counter, and pressed a button. The vending machine drops out a bottle of water. He then sits back at the same table to drink it.

He drank a third of the water and then asked, "What about you? What did Dr. Erik give to you about the rewards? I'm curious what they could've given to guys like you."

Owen stirred his coffee mug, swaying around it with his hand movement, and said, "It wasn't much, but I guess it's better than nothing. Both me and Gary, the other guard back then, got an extra 30 minutes of break from work every day. You may think it's just 'what a boring gift' or anything, but hey, that extra 30 minutes gave me a huge relief knowing that we only had 8 hours of sleep and the rest of the day patrolling around the site. It could get tiresome and boring, you know, especially when you do it every day."

Owen then took another sip of his coffee, "So, you wanted some action like before to get a bit of that adrenaline when working on this job?" said William jokingly.

Just as he said that, Owen spurted his coffee for a bit and put down his mug, "Come on now, it's not like that. I love my current job however it is, it pays well and it is pretty much what I can do outside some other job. Though, I have to say it's quite risky to be working here. But I have made up my mind and just live with it until it's nothing. If I die, then shit happens, you know? That's always been part of the job."

William chuckled for a bit and continued, "Heh, I thought you were that adrenaline seeker kind of person at work."

"Oh, no no no. I have a brother to take care of financially and certainly wouldn't just risk my life just for a rush. Not really my type of thing. I would've preferred where I don't have to do nothing and get paid for it." Owen laughed.

William and Owen enjoyed their evening talking to each other, mostly talking about their day in the Foundation since they had nothing better to do at the moment. Just as he talks about each other, a researcher walks past them in a very heavy footstep. It was obvious to Owen and William that the person was doing it intentionally, judging from the way he walked.

The researcher sat down on one of the empty desks at the canteen, put his tray of food down, and then ate there alone. However, he sometimes gazes at William as he eats his dinner.

William was a bit confused about that researcher and asked Owen, "What's up with that guy though? Isn't that the same person we met in the bio area?"

Owen looked at behind him, seeing that Wilson was eating his dinner just across their table, "Oh, him? I don't know. He's been in that kind of mood or behavior for the past few days."

"Oh, really? Why though?"

A weird look can be seen on Owen's face, and he continued, "I might have known the reason for it, but I'm not that kind of person who loves to spread gossip around the facility."

William lowered his head down and teased Owen, "Oh, come on. Just tell me about it. I swear I won't make a big deal out of it."

Owen sighed for a moment. He then left with no hope, "Captain Grace is one of the commanders on this site. She leads some of the guards in here to make sure everything is in control, and sometimes she goes on a mission as a Joint Task Force."

He then took a sip of his mug and continued, "Because of her strong characteristics and leader-like persona, most of the guard admired her, and this includes Wilson. Both Captain Grace and Researcher Wilson had been friends for a long time, and Wilson has what could be roughly explained as a feeling towards Captain Grace. Of course, it was turned down by Captain Grace because she was more career oriented and focused on her task rather than that kind of stuff."

Now William understands the chemistry between them, judging how they reacted to each other back then in the bio area. But it still left him confused, "So, is he still bitter about that talk?"

"Eh, not exactly. He was a bit temperamental knowing you and Captain Grace worked together as a 'team' and stole the highlight amongst the people in the Foundation. I heard that when Gary told the other personnel about our story on seizing SCP-049 in the staff break room, Wilson was being sour about it and told us that everything that you came up with was just 'pure luck' and 'unbelievably stupid'. So that's why and he probably acted like that right now just because you're here."

William laughed for a moment. He couldn't hold it due to it was hilarious for someone to envy him to this extent, "Really? was that really it?"

"Yeah, it was just a rumor, but that might be it. Don't laugh too loud, or he'll notice us!"

Wilson finished his dinner quickly and then just walked away from the table. He still had that kind of walking behavior as he left the canteen. Owen was a bit relieved, knowing that he had already left the area.

"Don't worry about it. He's gone now." William as he took a sip of water.

"Well, try not to make a mess or bump with him. I'm afraid that he'll do anything to you."

William shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I can take care of myself."

The watch on Owen's wrist started beeping, and he looked at it, "Oh, I have to get going now. My time is up, and I guess I'll see you later again tomorrow." Owen stood up from his chair, put his mug on the food counter, and started to jog towards the exit.

William also stood up from his chair, brought the tray to the food counter to give it back to Emma, and left the canteen with his bottle of water in his hand. There was still time for him to wander around freely before his time was up, then he decided to spend the rest of his night in the indoor garden.

He arrived at the indoor garden made by the Foundation. It was pretty big, and there were flowers, some trees, and benches for everyone to sit. It was like a small park within the Foundation site with an artificial sky to project the atmosphere of a park at night. Knowing almost all Foundation's sites were completely underground, and this park could be used by anyone to relax their mind.

He then sat on one of the benches in the middle of the indoor garden, with a tree at the center of it. He looked at the three that were towering in front of him and gazed through the night sky despite the fact that it was just an artificial one.

It made him wonder when was the last time he saw the sky with his own eyes since he was brought to this place.

Someone entered the garden, and the footsteps were clear as if someone was walking toward him gently. Not long after, a voice can be heard.

"Do you mind If I sit next to you?" that person asked.

William was familiar with the voice and looked in the direction where the voice came from, "Please, Captain Grace. Make yourself comfortable here."