Free Web NovelChapter 55: Chapter 54 - Disconcerted
Point-of-View: Alexis Tucker
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So, uh...wow, that just happened. I knew there was more to Neo than meets the eye, that much was obvious from the moment I first met him, but...but I didn’t think he’d go this far.
That was...that was just brutal. I mean, yeah, he did say that he’d kill anyone who’d provoke the Outlier, but still, to actually go through with it, just like that...
"Someone clean this mess up, please," Instructed Neo, breaking the silence, before looking around and spotting us, and then addressing us in his usual tone, "Kiyana, do you mind showing her around and letting her pick a room for herself? And you three, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to join in as well."
Yeah, after what he just pulled, I don’t think any of us are gonna refuse him. Also, I was feeling a bit weak in the knees at the sight of the widening puddle of blood, so I wasn’t exactly in a mood to argue anyway.
"Y-yes, sir, um...I’ll show her around," Responded Kiyana nervously, before walking over towards the Outlier, "Hi, um...m-my name is Kiyana Waller, it’s nice to meet you."
"...hm," The Outlier grunted in reply after eyeing her suspiciously, before adding kinda stiffly, "You can call me...Aurora."
What the heck...that’s an awesome name! I’m kinda jealous...I got stuck with a porn star-y name like ’Alexis’. And I’m not just saying that, I literally once heard my ’father’ admit, while he was super drunk as always, that he named me that because, and I quote, ’with a name like that, she’ll have the potential to be a super popular whore, just imagine the money she’d bring in!’...so, yeah, I fucking hate my name.
"Come on, we should, uh, go too," Whispered Zoraiz, snapping me out of it as he and Inoka followed after Kiyana.
"Oh, right...sorry, just got a bit lost in thought for a sec there."
Logically speaking, I doubt Neo would harm any of us Outliers, but despite that fact, I wasn’t willing to take the risk. I jogged after them, as most of the other Metas around slowly slunk out of the room silently, sweating nervously.
"Oh, man, what a mess," Suddenly came a familiar voice from the entrance, as Mike walked in.
"It couldn’t be helped, I really didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to ignore my orders like that," Sighed Neo in response.
"You do realize that you could’ve just portaled him to one of the other bases or some random spot instead of decapitating him, right? You’re supposed to give head, not take-...," Began Mike.
"Really?" Zoraiz raised an eyebrow at him in exasperation.
"Sorry, couldn’t help it," He responded sheepishly.
"Anyway, I’ll dispose of the body and go report what happened to the higher ups. You guys show Aurora around the facility, and Mike, get someone to mop up the blood," Instructed Neo, before portaling the corpse away and disappearing into a portal himself with a wave.
"Huh...him acting like he usually does after committing a gruesome murder is really disconcerting," Frowned Inoka with a slight shudder.
"Yeah, I, uh, still can’t believe that he did that," Added Zoraiz in agreement.
"Why don’t we move away from this area?" Suggested Kiyana.
"Good idea, the smell of the blood seems to be getting stronger, it’s really unpleasant," I agreed, scrunching up my nose, "Let’s do as Neo suggested and show the new girl around."
Kiyana flashed me a grateful look for backing her up as the others voiced their agreement, before she led the way out of the room, guiding us through the facility. The three of us have mostly familiarized ourselves with this place, but not fully.
There are still some spots that I’ve not been to yet, and some of the paths are kinda winding and complicated to follow, so yeah. Sometimes, I still get lost in this place.
I then noticed that the new Outlier, Aurora, was hanging back, making sure that no one was behind her. Her shoulders were tense and her eyes kept darting about suspiciously, she was clearly on edge. The others had noticed it too, and as a result, a tense, awkward silence fell over us. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Hey, excuse me...sorry to bother you, but is that a real cheetah?" Suddenly inquired Inoka with a look of curiosity, breaking the awkward silence that had built up, "It’s not very big, is it a cub?"
"...no, not a cub. She has...stunted growth, so won’t...grow anymore," Came the reply, after a brief silence following his question, as she seemed to contemplate whether or not to respond.
The way she speaks is a bit stiff, but it doesn’t seem like that’s because she’s nervous or something...it almost sounds like someone who’s speaking a second language, except that her pronunciation is fine. It’s hard to explain, but it feels like she’s almost...not used to talking.
"Oh, you mean it has dwarfism? So, uh, totally cool if you say no, but...mind if I pet it-...I mean, her?" He requested, his eyes gleaming slightly.
"Hm...," She muttered, looking apprehensive at that suggestion, before giving in as she narrowed her eyes at him, "Fine, but if you hurt her...I’ll kill you."
"O-oh, uh...don’t worry, I won’t. She won’t bite if I touch her, right?" He inquired nervously, as he stepped towards her.
"I’ll tell her...not to," Came the reply, before she met the gaze of the cheetah, who stared back at her and let out a chirp, before shifting its attention to Inoka, sniffing at him curiously.
Huh? What was that? The girl and the cheetah made eye contact for a brief moment, and in that moment, it felt like something was communicated, based on the cheetah’s reactions.
Inoka then slowly reached out cautiously and gently stroked the cheetah’s head, before his shoulders eased slightly as it let him pet her.
"Wow...I can’t believe I’m petting a cheetah," He grinned, as Zoraiz peered over his shoulder with a look that said he wanted to join in.
I kinda did too, but I was also a bit scared. Of both the cheetah and Aurora...her Aura is simply ridiculous, every time I use Appraisal and look at it, I can feel my knees go weak. Is this how the natural Metas felt when they saw our Auras?
As I watched Inoka pet the cheetah, I noticed Aurora stifle a yawn, rubbing the corner of her left eyes...now that I get a better look at her face, she looks really worn out, with a hint of sorrow in her eyes. Kiyana noticed too, and spoke up...
"Um, excuse me, Miss Aurora...we can take you to pick a room for yourself and get some sleep, if you’d like. You seem a bit tired, we can show you around after you get some rest, if you want."
"I-...that doesn’t...sound bad. Okay, fine," She responded after mulling it over.
"Wait, shouldn’t we get her some changes of clothes? Sleeping in jeans is pretty uncomfortable," I pointed out.
"I bet Neo kidnapped her without giving her the chance to take any belongings, just like with the three of us," Sighed Inoka in response.
"Well, uh, actually, I didn’t really have any belongings worth taking," Chimed in Zoraiz with a rueful grin.
"And I accidentally obliterated all of my belongings, so doesn’t really apply to me either," I corrected him.
"I...also didn’t have anything to take. But...probably for a different reason than you. I lived in...a cave with the cheetahs," Remarked Aurora, casually dropping a major bombshell on us.
"Huh? Wait, do you mean that you were living out of human society?" Inquired Kiyana in surprise.
Aurora nodded in response, as we all stared at her in disbelief.
"For real? How long were you living with cheetahs for?" I asked her with a sense of immense fascination.
"More than...fifteen years, I think."
"Seriously!? If you don’t mind, could you tell us how you got into a situation like that?" Requested Inoka curiously.
"Yeah, uh, I wanna know too, if that’s okay," Added Zoraiz in agreement, a look of intrigue in his eyes.
Aurora was looking kinda perplexed and taken aback at their reactions, childlike wonder and curiosity in their eyes.
"Um, guys, you should give her some space," Spoke up Kiyana, in an attempt to try and calm them down.
"Oh, uh, I’m sorry," Apologized Zoraiz, stepping back, as Inoka did the same with a sheepish smile.
She does look a bit overwhelmed, I should help her...
"Hey, how about I help you pick out some outfits to wear and then show you to where the rooms are?" I offered, stepping forward.
She was silent for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she stared at me, before replying...
"Okay...that sounds good," She relented with a weary sigh.
"Kiyana, you come too," I suggested, as I began to lead Aurora towards the room with all the outfits.
"Oh, um, okay, sure," She replied with a nod.
"Guess that’s our cue to leave, dude. Wanna head back and play some games or something?" Inoka suggested to Zoraiz, as he held up his phone.
"Yeah, uh, alright," Came the reply, before they both headed towards the rooms.
"See you all later," Remarked Inoka with a wave.
Kiyana and I then led Aurora to where all the outfits were stored, before opening the door as we reached the room and entering it. I still can’t get over how many clothes are in this place, it’s like a medium-sized store.
"Um, what kind of clothes would you like?" Kiyana asked her.
"Hm...something that’s light and easy to...move in. That man with the ponytail...brought me these clothes. But they’re...too heavy for me," She frowned, as she tugged at the hoodie with a look of discomfort.
"If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of clothes did you wear before?" I inquired curiously.
"Dried...animal skin."
"Oh...that must have been rough," I responded awkwardly, before she shrugged indifferently and began looking through the rows of clothes with an intrigued expression.
She’s really cautious and suspicious of us, but there’s an almost childlike innocence to her, despite the feral, murderous vibe that she gives off sometimes.
And it goes without saying that I’m more than a little curious about her story and why she’s so insanely powerful...I’ve got the feeling that things are going to get pretty interesting from here on out...
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