Unknown Depths

Chapter 7: Kindness

Diane woke up with a sore body from her activities yesterday. No amount of conditioning could stop her body from complaining about her rough treatment of it yesterday. The training they did in the facility did make sure of their foundations to be at least proper. It did not help much when she drew out her potential to safeguard her life yesterday. The after effect of pushing yourself to the extreme does more than torment in the flesh.

In Diane’s case, she is experiencing soreness in her muscles as well as some breakdown of her mood when she remembers what state she is in at the moment. The now colder cave lets her know that her rest time is now up and she needs to keep moving to at least meet up with someone of the same origin as her. She did not know if it had something to do with her history, but she was not at ease not seeing a person in her vicinity.

It kinda reminds her of her siblings’ situation. Isolated and confined. Without any visitors, they cannot even interact with each other without the permission of the one in charge of the institution. Only that there is no visible jail keeper as far as her eyes could see.

Finding the boiled water she prepared last night, she drank sparingly to save as much as she could. Her health classes have clearly told her that humans need at least eight glasses of water to function well, so she must maintain her water intake to at least be within that number. But her current supply of the much needed liquid is too limited, so she could not only heed those and plan how long her supply could last without her body compromising its functions.

“I need to find something that will store more water.” Diane said as she drank the contents of the tuber with a frown on her face. “This is too uneconomical in the long run.”

After she drank and ate a pill, she then left the cave without any sentiment.

The sky was currently blood red with the sun not yet managing to climb up into the horizon. There were some darker shades in the sky too, but honestly, other than wariness growing deep in her, she was in no mood to appreciate the strange view. In her mind she has to hurry up else she will encounter something she cannot deal with.

Diane went to the north in accordance with the locations of the constellations she saw last night. She had no compass to tell her of her location, so she could only rely on her mediocre astrology knowledge to not let herself be lost. It was a hassle remembering years-old memories, but she was thankful enough to remember a few that let her get some directions.

With her unreliable methods, she wished to get to bump into some people along the way to let her know what was happening there. Micheal will be a preferable one to encounter, but any person will do. As the saying goes, two are better than one. And if possible, the more the merrier is applicable in the situation at hand.

But after she traveled a few distances away from the cave where she stayed for the night, she saw no signs of a person in her vicinity at all. This has her feeling disheartened as she then gathers anything necessary for her survival. Some fruits she forcefully fed to some small animals she caught to test their toxicity and some plants she thinks she could use to protect herself along the way.

She also found some plants she could utilize to make her life easier. Like some bigger variety of plant parts, she could use as water containers. Having a small amount of water is not too ideal as it is very essential for her survival, so she was very grateful to the said plant parts for allowing her to store more in her being.

This continued on for a few days before she finally saw someone.

Diane was improving her craft with her newly discovered few species of plants of the weirdest and probably the most curious cases she had ever seen. She found herself giddy over their flexibility in usage. From observing the dynamics of the local community of animals, Diane has more or less understood what plants are not safe and safe to get near to. The vine-like plant she was currently using as a rope was one of those non-lethal ones that she could use to string her things. Utilizing them to be usable has made her fondly remember the lessons she shared with her siblings before their parents left them.

Tying the tubes and gourd-like a plant, she stored her water in her waist, Diane continued northward. On her back was a makeshift bag of tough leaves she sewed using a small bone and thread-like the vines of a huge tree she passed by. It was a delicate little thing she made, but it served its purpose in storing as much as she could, as long as it did not exceed the weight it could carry. Thus, this resulted from her tying her water to her waist.

It was around afternoon that she finally saw some person whose face was familiar to her. It was the girl from district L, the one with an amputated arm back then.

Perhaps the girl was happy seeing her after being trapped in this strange place they were in. She smiled at Diane with relief visible in her face while she moved towards her with as much speed as her current situation could allow. After all, she does not look very well in Diane's eyes.

The girl's clothing was in a terrible shape with large patches of torn tears all over. Her exposed skin had some scratches that drew some blood out. Her lips were pale and she was severely weakened by how slow she was moving. Her blue eyes were shrunken from the exhaustion of days she had been surviving all this time. No doubt she is doing her best at this moment to not collapse out here in the open.

Although they are not close nor do they know each other well, Diane helped her out by virtue of being the first person she saw after she woke up in this strange forest. Knowing that she is no longer alone, the girl collapses the moment she is close to her. Entrusting Diane with her actions.

Diane took her to the cave she would stay in for the night. Using some weeds she experimented with earlier, she healed the girl with what was available to her. After she was done with her treatment, she then placed her near the fire as she prepared supper.

Recently, to not waste her pills, Diane has learned to hunt some weaker animals for their meat. Earlier on, she learned to use some plants and fruits that she could as condiments or simply her dish to practice her cooking skill with. Then, when she has finally determined the creatures she could take on, she then utilizes what she has to cook and improve her menu.

Unfortunately, her food is not really as delicious as she hoped it would be, but nothing inedible. With the sacredness of food there is, no one will be complaining about her products at all. Not to mention it being a cooked food with efforts to make them, no one has the luxury of putting them in the situation they are in. So offering these to the injured girl is like giving her the most luxurious feast in the most expensive and well-known hotel feast there is.

As for its nutritional value, what was taught them a great deal growing up? What was that? Can it fill her stomach when she needs it? Energy to move is what she needs and not that balanced diet that aims to maintain their body shape for aesthetic purposes. Any food will do for her at the moment that she hardly cares about the taboos she was imposed on to stay in district D.

The girl stirred awake just as she was done making her soup. She woke up with a start and warily looked at everything around her. Eyes full of alertness that says she has been so many things during this period of time.

“You’re awake.” Diane said to the girl, who flinched hearing her voice. “You’ve been asleep for a few hours now, from what the sun tells me at least. Come eat this to fill your stomach. Just don’t mind the taste. I don’t have the exact condiments to make things savory and delicious, like things served back in the hotel.”

“It’s you.” The girl said as if she just remembered that she was the last one that she saw before she lost consciousness. “Thank you for taking care of me. I owe you my life.”

“Save the pleasantries for later,” Diane said as she gave the girl the made-up plate she made out of the shell of a nut like the fruit she had consumed yesterday. The shell was big enough to hold soup as well as some of the meat she had thrown into it. There was no spoon for the girl as she was unable to prepare one for her due to the short notice. Honestly, it is already good enough that they had some things resembling cutlery at that moment.

“Let’s eat first before it gets cold. Though sorry for the lack of spoons to eat them with. Those were a hassle to procure at the moment. I mean I haven't seen anything that I could use as a temporary spoon whenever I make some soup out of my available ingredients.”

Fully understanding what Diane was saying, the girl did not hesitate to drink the soup directly from the makeshift bowl. She is famished from days of running and saving any food she could consume in her quest to continue living. The warmth of the soup filled her belly as well as her impression of Diane.

"Well, we never formally introduced ourselves, right? My name is Diane Grace." Diane said after they finished their food.

"Rhian. Rhian Markhel." Says the girl.

"I see," Diane said as she collected their cutlery to dispose of it. There is no need to clean them up as it was all natural material, leaving them to be or burying them in the soil would do as nature would do the rest of the work. Though it's a hassle to find another piece of the said fruit to have another shell to be her bowl.

"So do you have any idea what is happening?" Diane bluntly said to Rhian, hoping she had something that could tell her what they were doing here.

Rhian was mute for a while before she shivered visibly for whatever she had recalled. Her breathing became rapid as she was gasping for air. Her face turned blue from the lack of oxygen in her lungs.

Her state was purely a result of her mentality and not of physical problems. This was something Diane had seen so many times whenever she could visit her siblings, either from her beloved brother and sister or from the other patients admitted there. From experience, all they needed was someone they could lean to or hold on to.

Diane has to hold the girl as she is showing signs of losing herself for some reason. She was like little Daisy a few days before she and Denis were taken away from her, throwing a tantrum-like episode wherein they are not able to hear any words or reason from others.

"Rhian!" Diane said, despite knowing that she would not be heard. She held the girl tightly like she did before to her sister to stop her from attracting the authorities back then. It was her preferred method to calm down people in these episodes, unlike the direct tranquilizing of patients done by the asylum. She did not like the fact that when they regain their reasons for using tranquilizers, they are in great pain and have memory lapses and she thinks that some malpractice is being done that she cannot prove due to the lack of evidence and expertise.

To be honest, her method of calming down a person in this episode is very dangerous to her. One was that the person throwing a tantrum was like they were without limits, their strength was great and they were basically mad bulls released into the crowd accidentally during some festivals that were popular in the long past. Second, was that Diane is simply so unprofessional in this that sometimes she judges the situation wrong and lets go of the person. This resulted in her doing some damage during that time.

It took more than ten minutes before the girl showed signs of calming down. Diane studied the girl for a while before she let go of her. Though in her hand was the vine she used as a rope just in case she would react violently.

“Are you calm now?” Diane asked Rhian who was now starting to breathe normally now. She then reached a tuber where some water was stored and offered it to the girl. “Here, drink this.”

Rhian wordlessly took the water, then drank the water without preamble.

“So what happened?”

“I-I remembered some scenes prior to us being transported here.” Rhian said with a tremble in her voice. “Ivan said something about a gamble or a test of sorts for us. A project that, according to him, was his life's masterpiece.”

“Was there anything else you know?” Diane became alert at the words said by the girl before her. A lifetime masterpiece. An old master once said the same words before he shone so bright like a shooting star in the sky. Disappearing and forgotten by all, but his works are immortalized by all who have seen his brightest moment.

“I-I don’t remember.” Rhian shook her head. “But Danny has left me some message that he will be helping me three times while I am here. I have already used one of the three currently.”

“Danny? Who is that?”" And how did they help you?”

“My guide,” Rhian said with fondness in her voice. “Although he is not human, he was much kinder than most people are. He was the one who directed me to your location after I escaped those swarms of bees.”

Diane went silent at the information, digesting it as much as she could. She received no message from Anna that indicated something like what Rhian had received. All this time she survived with her wits and guts without any external help.

Perhaps understanding her silence, Rhian asked Diane what was wrong.

“Nothing.” Diane only said, as she did not want to look strange because of being different. “Have you met with anyone else? Before me, I mean.”

Rhian became solemn as she did not answer her like before. She took her time to think before she opened her mouth and began telling her what she had seen a few days ago.

It was a short tale, but basically Rhian was telling her that she saw a person of sturdy build, someone from District G or H of the description, killing a person from another district. She did not know that person well, to be certain. But when she saw that guy, she did her best not to be detected by that person. Hiding until they left the vicinity before she ran away from the area post haste.

“Kill?” Diane did not know why the incident did not frighten her as she should. She was only mildly curious about the reason. For the weirdest reason, she wanted to know this person without them trying to make her the next victim of theirs.

“Yes, kill someone from the lower district like me. That one guy with a leg disability, was killed by thick wood repeatedly hit by it.” Rhian summed up what she saw as quickly as possible without going too descriptive about it.

“Then the danger is not just with the creatures here.” Diane murmured deep in her breath as she began observing the girl in front of her. Silently evaluating how she could tackle her should she turn out to be a wolf led by her to her ‘house’.

The people of Butterfly City, despite being strictly divided using the standards of the main brain, are smart. Rhian saw a minute change in Diane's expression and knew that the other person was judging her if she was a danger to herself. This is a normal reaction in Rhian’s opinion and did not do much that was out of place until Diane was more or less deemed harmless at the moment.

From the moment Rhian saw Diane, she knew that she was a little like her. Paranoid and perhaps a dangerous version of herself. Diane is a charming woman who knows how to use what she has to get what she wants while using appropriate energy and efforts to do so. Deep in her aloofness that only that man she had allowed to interact with could thaw for some reason, Diane was a calculating person, as she was impulsive in Rhian’s eyes.

In Rhian’s own words, she was like those people back then who survived the worst there was that their society could offer.

Only that Diane was smart enough to assimilate with the norms and, so far, was not caught by the eyes in the dark. If Rhian had not been familiar with that look, perhaps she would also have missed the beast deep within her. Skillfully masking herself that even the person herself is illusioned of who and what she is, Diane was someone who is akin to a timebomb waiting to explode. The type that could take others down when the buried side gets to awaken,

Like a beautiful and dangerous creature, Diane had judged her as harmless and allowed her to stand out of pity or for some personal reason. Rhian was expecting it and savored the moment. Because being around Diane is safer than anyone else, she is more than happy to stay as long as she is allowed.