Naraka - Ch.5

 This time – as one of the first times in years – I don't dream of bad things. My dream is not frightening, nor is it filled with monsters.
 My dream is like a fairy tail; I dream of a perfect world with crowded cities and many people. There's no fear, no fighting, no death – only happiness.
 The time that passes in my dream feels like years, and never once do I feel hungry or anything else bad. Nothing bad, up until I start noticing my own boredom, my own purposeless. I feel lost. I don't like the perfect world any more, and after more time passes I start to hate the world. In all it's perfection my life starts to feel imperfect. It's too much. I don't want this – but what do I want? I think of the answer for what seems like months. But I never come with an answer.
 And then I wake up.
 The first thing I notice is that we're not moving. The second thing I notice is that I'm still sitting; I'm still in the car. I throw a glance at the seat next to me and see Alexis is no longer sitting there. I look at the clock from the electronic dashboard – it's seven forty in the morning. I can't see the sun yet, but the sky isn't black any more.
 When my eyes start adjusting, I can see two figures standing in front of the car. One of them is Alexis. The other one is a tall, broad man in a dark green uniform.
 I can't see what they're doing, nor can I think of any reason why we would have stopped. So I get out of the car to find out.
 At the sound of my door, Alexis turns instantly. ''Marianna, good morning,'' she greets me with a friendly smile.
 The man doesn't react to me in any way. He just stands, waiting, facing away from me.
 ''Good morning,'' I reply as I take in my surroundings – now much more clearer than through the car's windows.
 We're standing on a rough road that looks to be used a lot. Which is strange.
 Next to Alexis and the man is a very small sort of building. The door is open and through it I can see it's only big enough to hold one bookcase and a desk with a chair. That's it.
 Before us a silver bar stretches out from the little building, to a rest one yard further. Immediately from where the bar ends on the rest, starts a two yards high silver fence. On the other side of the bar and after the little building, there's silver fence as well.
 ''What is this?'' I ask when no one else says anything, gesturing to all what is before me.
 Alexis walks over to me and sits down on the hood of the car. I move to do the same since my legs feel very stiff – sleeping in a car doesn't exactly make you feel better rested, I've just discovered.
 Her voice is low when she speaks, so the man can't understand her. ''We're at the safe house. The guard is waiting for a call from my superiors to give us permission to go in,'' she explains.
 As soon as she says safe house I strain my eyes to see what lies behind the fence. But it's too dark, I can't make out anything from this distance. I just see endless, rough ground stretched out before me.
 ''Is it big?'' I whisper back, thinking it must be with such a big and long stretched out fence. My heart flutters at the thought.
 She nods and her smile turns a little smug as she watches the wonder on my face. ''Very big,'' she says.
 We sit in silence for a while, until her face suddenly turns troubled. She frowns. It makes her look older than before. As a result I find myself wondering what age she is. Or better; at what age she'd stopped aging. It's a difficult one, since her manner is so adult and wise like, but her looks are so young.
 Our eyes meet. Hers are still troubled, and doubtful. ''Marianna?'' she whispers slowly.
 ''Yes?''
 ''Are you glad I recruited you.''
 I'm taken aback a little by her question. But much more at the way she asks it, than at the words themselves. I think about it: Am I glad I'm not sure. I think so. But I don't know enough to make my mind up about this in such a definite way.
 I want to tell her I'm not sure, but I can't do anything to make that hopeful face fall. She's been so kind to me. And it's a fact that I owe her my life, since I never could have gotten out of that cabin on my own.
 So I answer her the truth in a more thoroughly way. ''You'll have to ask me that in a couple of days before I know for certain, but until now I'm glad.''
 A dazzling smile spreads across Alexis's face, and I know it's not just because she wants to do her job as well as possible, it's also because of me. I think she's actually growing fond of me. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Or if I feel the same way about her. I can't exactly see myself be friends with someone like her. Not to mention that I barely have any experience in the 'friends' department already – even with humans.
 The ringing of a phone interrupts my reverie. It's coming from the little building.
 The guard picks it up right away. ''Yes?'' he answers brusquely.
 He listens for a moment. Then he nods and hangs up without another word.
 He pushes a button on some kind of a keyboard on his desk, the bar starts to rise. ''You may enter now,'' he says, as if there was a problem before, but 'now' the coast is clear.
 I don't take much time to think about it, because I know I know far too little to make any realistic assumptions. And because Alexis is back in the car before I know it. I get in at the other side quickly and we're passing the fences a second later.
 It's lighter now. I can see the first inches of sun starting to appear, through my window. I turn my eyes straight ahead. I don't know if it's because of the light, or because the car moves so fast – probably a combination of the two – but all of the sudden a very big building has appeared on the horizon.
 Though I guess I shouldn't be calling it a building, since it looks much more magnificent than an average structure you can call home. Why did Alexis call this a safe house? It's a freakin' safe palace! It's big – very big – and its soft cream color is sometimes varied by gold. The gold glistens in the early sunlight.
 As we come closer, it becomes only more beautiful. But also . . . stranger. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's unlike anything else I've ever seen. And though I have to admit I haven't seen much, it looks kind of unearthly as well. Like something not of this world.
 ''Do you like it?'' Alexis asks me as I gape at it, her voice has just the right balance of smugness and hopefulness.
 I nod, unable to speak for the moment . . . it might have something to do with my mouth hanging open. I shut it immediately when I realize that.
It takes us only a minute to arrive at the 'safe house', and I still haven't had the time to take it all in. I'm still not sure of how it's laid out, on the outside.
 Heavy wooden doors are open up for us. Once we're inside I'm shocked again: it's completely different here. Less ancient looking. Every color I see, which are many, is very light. And there are many windows, even above us, so you can see everything that goes on outside.
 We drive to one of the parking spaces where Alexis parks between two other, very fast and fancy looking cars.
 She gets out, and before I know it I'm out, too – I'm not really realizing all that I'm doing, my mind much too occupied with taking in my magnificent surroundings.
 Alexis is at my side in an instant. ''Let's go show you your new home,'' she beams at me.
 I nod in vague gesture and follow her as she starts walking. From – what I'm guessing is supposed to be the parking garage – we head for a stairway that takes us only a few feet higher. The ground of the parking garage was made up out of grit, but now the floor is of smooth stone. It's white, but not a perfect white. I'm not sure, for I've never seen it myself, but I think it's marble.
 At the end of the little stairway is a dark brown wooden door, like the big ones of the garage. Alexis opens it for me and let's me go first. We enter a very, very big hall. It's white with a little bit of gold and bronze here and there. When I don't see any electrical lights I am even more surprised at how light the hall is. Above me I see the entire ceiling is made up out of glass. With it's many, many facades it forms a copula above us.
 There's a little furniture in the hall: a rug, made up of many colors; on it stands the longest table I've ever seen; and there are a few very comfortable looking chairs scattered across the hall. All the furniture is the same dark brown wood as the doors.
 I wonder what the table and the chairs are for. But not for long, since I quickly notice the hidden coves in the hall. In the coves I can see bookcase as high as the ceiling, all utterly filled. The hall must function as some kind of a library.
 ''Alexis!'' A woman with long bronze hair calls out from across the hall.
 ''Amilia!'' Alexis replies, beaming again.
 Before I have time to blink, the woman – Amilia – is at our side. She and Alexis embrace warmly, and laugh enthusiastically; obviously happy to see each other again.
 ''Amilia, I would like you to meet our new recruit: Marianna,'' Alexis introduces me.
 Amilia turns and stretches her arms out to me. When I realize what she's going to do, it's already too late: she hugs me tightly, and I'm frozen to the spot.
 The last time someone ever hugged me was my mother. So that's at least six years ago.
 Amilia let's go of me quickly – to my greatest relieve – and then moves to loop her arm around mine. ''You must be dying with curiosity,'' she assumes correctly – though the wording is a bit grim for my taste. ''Let's go give you a tour of the place.''
 My heart swells in anticipation. Though I also a feel a bit uncomfortable with those ridiculously beautiful women around me. Two, nonetheless. When it was just Alexis, at least the numbers were even. Now I'm outnumbered in every possible way – speed, strength, beauty, survival, people, and go so on. I would be glad – and very relieved – to finally meet some other humans again.
 Amilia leads me down a hallway. Everything is still all made of marble. And even pass through many doors, crossing other rooms.  Everywhere, the ceiling is made up out of glass facades. It's beautiful – no, it's more than that: it is breathtaking and astonishing.
 Not just because of its beauty, but also because it is so unlike anything else I've ever witnessed in my life. Unearthly.
 After passing through many halls and many sitting rooms – who are all much the same – we finally reach a different area. It's round like the full moon, and eight separate staircases pour out from it. Some of them take you down, some take you up.
 The room is actually kind of cozy. There's a little fireplace with three couches facing it. In the middle of the room there are a few tables with chairs. And between the staircase endings stand pillars with high bookcases in front of them.
 ''This is the girls quarters,'' Alexis explains to me. ''All the staircases lead to the bedrooms. You'll share your room with one other person, like all the other girls.''
 Behind me, Amilia laughs lightly at something I can't guess at as she looks around the room. ''It's usually much more crowded here,'' she states.
 ''Yes, where've they all gone?'' Alexis asks as Amilia's words trigger her memory.
 ''They're– '' Amilia starts and then pauses; seeming to search for words – but only for a short second, ''at an early training.''
 Although she says the words with a face as serene as can be, and the pause was so short that I might've just imagined it, I get the feeling there's something up. A feeling that's only intensified when I witness a loaded glance shared between Alexis and Amilia in the corner of my eye. The tension rises.
 As soon as it does, Alexis turns to face me; beaming again, ''Let's go introduce you to the other recruits,'' she says after receiving a short nod from Amilia.
 My heart swells . . . meet the other recruits.
 I hope I like them.
 I hope they like me.
 Well: let's see . . .