Daughter of fire

Tension

Daniel takes a step forward, putting himself between us. I can see only a part of his face, but I see that he is trying to look confident even though he is as white as a sheet. He must think of the same thing as I do: Does she know something? 

"Don't be so tough, hero. I just want to talk..."

If someone would have learned something, they wouldn't only send one of The Sisters after us. No, they would have sent The Brothers. But even knowing that I can't help but think how strange it is that a Sister wants to talk with us. In particular. 

Something is wrong. Something's not right at all.  But, in the given situation, we have little choice. We follow her silently to the lab floor. I feel my hands shaking from the adrenaline, while Daniel is getting paler with every step we take...

 "Your friend has been so sick lately. I'm sorry for her. But do you know what's interesting? The fact that apart from a fever, there is nothing to it. All tests came out perfect. Odd, isn't it?"  

"What do you want from us?" Daniel asks.

"I told you I just want to talk, hero."

We get to the medical office, but we don't stop. We continue to move forward, to a simple wooden door, on which "ADMINISTRATION ONLY" is written, on a silver plate.

We go inside!

Daniel enters first, and I follow him closely. Liana is here too, sitting on a chair, in front of a desk full of various papers and files packed in chaotic piles. The Sister motions us to go and sit on the other two empty seats, while she positions herself at the other side of the desk, in a fancier chair. For a few seconds, the only sound that can be heard is that of our increasingly jerky breaths. She looks at us. While we are looking at the situation we are in. Not a good one.

"You want to escape."

In the first few seconds I can't convince my brain to process what I just heard, but then…

We freeze. A storm of thoughts and questions come rolling in my head. Is this the end? Is this where all our dreams and hopes end? Will they separate and close us, torturing us for the rest of our lives? Will I never find out what chocolate tastes like?

I feel my cheeks are burning hot. My eyes are damp. Fear? Anger? Rather, a deadly combination of the two feelings that had ruled over my existence since I can remember.

I look at Daniel and Liana, and then an idea comes to my mind: If I burn them, then they can run back to the common room and claim they have nothing to do with the situation. That's the only solution. I take a deep breath and look at my friends. Daniel probably catches what I want to do and catches my hand.

"Well, I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry, my bad."

The Sister starts laughing and we jump, almost falling off our chairs. Is the World going mad today?

"The thing is that I didn't bring you here to kill you or anything like that. How could I? Do you see Brothers anywhere ? It's just me, so you don't have to be so frightened…"

"What do you want?!"

Daniel got up, slamming the chair. The objects in the room begin to tremble as he looks at her with his eyes growing darker and darker. Even if he can not move anything to the point of actually hitting her, the effect is the one he wants. The atmosphere becomes more pressing and The Sister stops laughing and becomes cautious.

"Calm down, hero!"

"I asked you what do you want."

"And I asked you to calm down."

She sits up, too, slamming the chair to the floor. After a few seconds, Daniel gives in and sits down. The objects around us stop moving as well. The Sister takes a deep breath, too. The moment of tension is over. At least for now.

"I should probably introduce myself first. I am Miri. Your new best friend, for the moment."

The Sister, Miri... clears her voice, looking at us. She wants to tell us something but hesitation is written all over her face. Finally, she makes up her mind, taking a determined posture.

"Do you want to know a tiny, little secret? The Brothers and Sisters are as locked here as you are. We cannot go outside either, but unlike you, we have a little more freedom. I used that freedom to bring you here without anyone knowing. I risked a lot by doing that. And I didn't do it for nothing... I know you want to escape and I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to come with you."

What?!