Free Web NovelChapter 58: Chapter 57 - Adapt
Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
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It’s...a little bit sickening. I feel kinda nauseous. The smell of...the smell of soap and shampoo is overwhelming me a bit. Scents that I haven’t smelled in over fifteen years, and now that my senses are so much sharper, the scents are a bit too strong.
I should probably get used to it though, since it’s not going to go away. Because while my nose is struggling to adapt, my body feels great. My skin feels a lot smoother than usual, and my hair is actually staying down for once.
Normally, even if I comb it with my claws or a branch or something, it doesn’t fully stay down, a bunch of strands stand up. And it feels so silky too, even after sleeping for what’s felt like a pretty long time.
I had just woken up after dozing up following my first proper shower since I was nine years old, and after initially being confused by my surroundings, it soon all came back to me as my gaze landed on Dot, sleeping peacefully at the foot of the bed.
As flashes of the recent events I’d gone through played through my head, all I could do was lie back down and stare up at the ceiling, as my emotions welled up. I’ll...I’ll probably never see that savanna again, I’ll never see the caves I lived in, or the waterfall, or...any of it.
Because even if I could, I don’t think I could bring myself to go back there...not any time soon, at least. Even with the good memories I had there, I can’t think of them without remembering how it all ended...in a sea of blood, my mind consumed by overwhelming rage and endless despair.
I then stifled a yawn and rubbed the corner of my left eye as I sat up, Dot rolling off my legs and nestling into the corner of the bed as she let out cute, quiet snores. I reached over with a faint smile and lightly stroked her head, before silently getting out of bed.
It’s been so long since I slept in a proper bed, and it definitely beats sleeping on the makeshift beds I made for myself in the caves I lived in. Those were made of dry leaves and grass wrapped in animal skin, and while that was better than sleeping on the rocky, uneven ground, it wasn’t exactly luxurious.
This is probably the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on, period...before I ended up in that nature reserve, my dad and I didn’t have a lot of money, so our beds were all rusty and creaky, while the mattresses were pretty rough too...even so, I was happy back then.
I shook my head to try and shift my thoughts away from the past...there’s no point in looking back on my past, it’ll just make me miserable. Because all my best memories have been scarred by the way each previous phase of my life ended.
Anyway, I wonder what time it is now? It’s dark, so-...wait, never mind, I’m inside a room without a window, and the light is switched off. Right, of course...electricity. I forgot.
Let’s see, light switch, light switch...oh, that must be it. I flipped the switch and turned the lights on, blinking a couple of times for my eyes to adjust...that’s almost too bright, I think I might have been more comfortable with it switched off, since I can see fairly clearly in the dark.
I then headed into the bathroom to wash up a bit, splashing some water onto my face with a sigh. It’s probably been less than a day since I came here...I need to get used to this place and adapt. It seems safe enough for now, but I’m still suspicious of this place...if need be, I’ll kill everyone here.
Once I was done in the bathroom, I headed back into the bedroom and looked through the clothes I’d picked out with a bit of fascination...I was too worn out to care before, but I’m a bit excited to try on the first real clothes that I’ve picked out for myself in over fifteen years.
They said that these clothes also work as light armor, since they’re made extra durable to withstand the use of super powers...oh, they really are quite tough, it feels like I’d have to put in a bit of effort to tear this fabric with my claws.
I definitely can rip them if I want to though...but that would be wasteful. I picked out a dark orange sleeveless top that wrapped around my neck, exposed my shoulders and had a low back, a pair of black shorts that went halfway down my thighs and black boots that stopped below my knees.
Good, the boots are nice and flexible, my feet and ankles don’t feel like they’re significantly restricted. I didn’t feel comfortable covering my knees, since that’s where the core of the flexibility in my legs resides. I’ll ask for lighter and more flexible boots, these aren’t too bad, but they’ll probably slow me down a little bit.
My stomach then rumbled, as I felt slightly hungry...I should go find some food. I hope they have some meat I can give Dot. She has a pretty small appetite, but I’ll make sure that she never goes hungry.
I unlocked the door and quietly exited the room, before shutting it behind me and looking around. I could smell the scent of the girl who had showered with me coming from inside of one of the nearby rooms.
What was her name again? Oh, right, Alexis. She seems nice enough, I guess. I could hear her moving inside, so she must be awake. I walked over and knocked on the door, a little reluctantly. I took a step back as I heard footsteps approaching from inside, before the door opened and she poked her head out.
"Oh, it’s you, Aurora. Can I help you with something?" She inquired with a sleepy smile, as she stifled a yawn.
She must have just woken up, she had gotten dressed and her face was slightly damp, probably from washing her face. Her hair was a bit dishevelled, and her eyelids were droopy.
"Sorry to bother you...I wanted to know...where to get food from," I responded awkwardly.
I’m still not fully used to talking out loud again, it’s hard to move my mouth precisely the way I want to.
"Oh, that’s right, you don’t know the layout of this place. I was going to go get some breakfast in a bit myself, so I’ll show you the way," She replied, as she walked out and shut the door.
"Thank you," I remarked gratefully.
"Sure, don’t mention it. Hey, by the way, if anyone tries to provoke you, try unleashing your Aura, they’ll back off for sure," She advised me with a grin, as she combed down her messy hair with her hand, before wincing as her fingers tugged on a heavily tangled bit of hair.
"Oh, I see...is that what you do?" I asked her, as she tried to untangle it tentatively.
"Nah, my Aura is immense but nowhere near the capacity that yours is at. I could probably intimidate someone a bit by unleashing my Aura, but you’re would probably straight up terrify a person, considering how dense it is when suppressed."
Hm?
"What do you mean by...dense?" I inquired curiously.
"Oh, uh...there’s a technique used for seeing Auras, called Appraisal. You focus a small amount of Aura into your eyes, and you’ll be able to see the Auras of other Metas around you, regardless of whether they’re suppressed or not. Though even when suppressed, Auras can still be felt within about ten meters or so, but without much noticeable pressure. Crap, uh, sorry, didn’t mean to ramble," She apologized sheepishly.
"No...that was interesting. I don’t know...anything about these powers, and I’m...curious," I replied, intrigued by what she’d told me.
Let’s see, she said that I have to focus a bit of my Aura into my eyes to be able to see other people’s Auras, let’s try it out...
"We’re almost there, the cafeteria is just around the next corn-," She began to inform me.
"Wow, it’s like...like a fire burning around you very steadily...the color is like a mix of blue and purple," I remarked in fascination, as I figured out how to focus Aura into my eyes.
"Huh? Wait, hold on a sec, did you just...figure that out right now? Like, immediately after I told you about it? No way...," She muttered as her eyes widened.
Does that mean it normally takes longer for people to learn that technique? I wonder what she’s-...
"I smell food...," I mumbled as my nose twitched, a faint scent invading my nostrils, "Not much meat, but...some scents that I haven’t come across in a long time."
"Does you mean, like, spices and stuff?" She asked me in response, as we entered the cafeteria.
"Mhm, yeah."
There were a few other people in the room, who tensed up as they spotted me...after that ponytail guy, Neo or whatever his name is, killed that one other guy, I don’t think any of them will bother me.
It’s clear that they didn’t expect him to do that, even though I could already sense some fear from them towards him...my guess is that he usually puts up that nice guy act of his, but some of them must have seen or heard about what he’s actually capable of. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Still, the nice guy act didn’t seem completely fake, I’m fairly sure he’s not malicious, but I’m not entirely convinced that he’s a hundred percent good either...I don’t like it, he’s both easy to read and hard to read at the same time, I find it very concerning.
"They call this place a cafeteria, but it only has pre-packed parcels of food available...every few days, there’s a different selection, usually around four or five options. Have a look at today’s list," Alexis said to me, cutting off my train of thought, before adding awkwardly, "Um, you can read, right?"
I feel a little offended, but it’s a fair question...I’ve been away from civilization for nearly sixteen years, after all.
"Yes, I can read. Uh...’shredded beef submarine’...’tuna club sandwich’...’chicken fried rice’...and, uh...’bolognese pasta’," I read out the available options.
"Oh...sorry, hope I didn’t offend you or anything," She apologized wryly.
"No, uh...it’s fine."
"I appreciate it...so, what do you want to pick? I think I’ll go with-...," She started to decide.
"Hm? I guess this must be the new Outlier, huh?" Interrupted a stern voice, as someone walked into the cafeteria.
It was a woman with dark brown hair...and when she walked in, most of the others in here stiffened, Alexis looked pretty tense too.
"Oh, no, talk about shitty timing...why’s Tara here?" She groaned quietly, as the woman then began approaching me...
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