Rising Shards

Ash could tell right away, Myles didn’t trust any of them. Octa had brought them to meet three girls, Caeda, a girl with lilac hair and a squirrel tail, Chickadee, a smug looking girl, and P.D., a tall, lanky girl in a mask.

“I’ll be the team leader,” Caeda announced before even introducing herself.

“We’ll worry about team dynamics later,” Octa said.

“So…why are they here?” Charmaine asked.

“These three have had the same treatments as you,” Octa said.

Chickadee snapped her fingers, and in an instant turned red like Charmaine, horns and tail now visible as well. “This is the real me, but I like putting the glamours on, so to speak, ya know?”

“Are they all from a different place, too?” Ash asked. “Our world?”

If they were from home, maybe there were others they could find, friends they’d lost like Serril and Auren.

“Not your world,” Octa said. “But others like it. The only one from this place is Caeda.”

Caeda waved. “Er, that’s not why I want to be leader though. I mean, that does mean I have the most experience in this world than any of you, but I just think I have natural leadership quality and charisma that are perfect for this role.”

The only response she got for that was the droning hum of the air conditioning unit.

“So…um, hi?” Ash said. “Nice to meet others like us, I suppose.”

“Is this just a hello?” Myles asked Octa.

“My request is that you all work on some projects together,” Octa said.

Ash felt a bit stupid for hoping it’d be some arts and crafts projects, but she knew Octa meant something for her research.

“Additionally, I am looking into programs that could enroll you at a nearby school,” Octa said. “You’d be attending with Caeda, P.D., and Chickadee.”

“So we finally get to leave this bunker?” Myles asked.

“That is the idea,” Octa said. “Part of the experiments needed with the full group together will be testing stability outside of the labs.”

Getting to be outside again would be nice. The labs weren’t exactly cozy, and it had been weeks since they’d arrived.

Octa left them so the two groups could mingle and talk a bit. Ash wasn’t sure what to say. She kept looking to Sai for advice, but Sai didn’t meet her glance like they used to. Back home, when the two worked side by side, Ash could always count on the two almost knowing what the other was thinking. A twinge of hurt hit her, but she brushed it away.

It’s not Sai’s fault they can’t remember.

While Ash was awkward at making small talk to their new friends, Caeda was the opposite, she would not shut up. Ash almost felt relieved when she practically cornered Myles, Esther, Charmaine, and Sai, chatting them up. Chickadee quickly grew bored of this, and pulled out a device that looked like the tablets Octa had given them, but smaller. She typed on that, leaving Ash effectively alone with the girl with the helmet, P.D.

“So…hey,” Ash said. “Nice to meet you.”

P.D. nodded.

“Octa showed us that kind of mask you’re wearing,” Ash said. “It keeps you stable outside?”

“Yes,” P.D. said.

“I tried wearing one and it made me a bit ill,” Ash said. The stabilization masks made Ash think she was underwater, it was an awful sensation, one she couldn’t imagine anyone being able to stand for more than a few seconds. But P.D. appeared used to it. It was strange for Ash to talk to someone and see her own reflection staring back, as the orblike center of P.D.’s mask had a reflective surface. “Do you have to wear it all the time?”

“I can take it off sometimes,” P.D. said. “It’s safe in here, actually.”

Ash wondered if it was impolite to ask. “I hope it isn’t rude to say, but I am a bit curious about—”

P.D. reached up, pressing at the back of her helmet. As she lifted the back part, the orb at the front retracted into it.

“I was told that if the treatments we’re getting work,” P.D. said, her long hair flowing down her back. “I won’t have to wear this at all anymore.”

It wasn’t a startling shocking face under the mask for Ash, she didn’t recognize this person, but it was nice to look the girl in her eyes.

“Well, I hope it does work out then,” Ash said.