Unknown Depths

Chapter 3: Micheal

Diane visited her siblings briefly three days before she departed for the hotel in district 1-A because of the invitation extended to her. It was a cathartic experience, at least for her. She knows they are taken care of, but they, for some reason, only improve so little from what her memories tell her.

She was only eleven when the incident happened, while her siblings were only eight and six years old respectively. All three of them have various burnt degrees, the nastiest was on the youngest whose half of her face is forever scarred. Diane’s case was lucky enough that it was hidden in her clothes that it is not so obvious to the outside. Else she is sure to get some extra look from her peers for sporting such blemishes on her skin.

Bearing something other than flawless skin could spur bad things. Should it be visible enough underneath her shirt, Diane will be thrown to the lowest district by jealous and vain peers. Even if her patron ensures that no one could do so without their knowledge, Diane is not taking chances that people could see her burnt scars.

While she didn't remember the incident itself and what it would be, she knew that her family would never be the same and her siblings would not be able to live together with her. Unlike her, whose defense mechanism was to forget, her siblings’ minds were shattered so that even speaking to them was hard. The scars on their skins were another factor, but they could hardly hold a candle to an unstable mind. So, other than the window of time she could visit them, she really rarely saw them.

But she is very sure that, despite the less time of her personally interacting with her siblings, she knows that they hardly recovered during their time there. It was her source of worry as she had to provide for the expenses for them after the advance payment she gave to the institution. Although the organization who is responsible for the facility was okay with credit, Diane did not like owing others as much as she could. So finding a new job that could at least allow her to live as well as provide for her siblings was what had made her so anxious about not finding one for so long.

The expenses were expensive enough that it propelled her to do her best to graduate with above average grades just to get at least a high-paying job to continue her subscription. If she didn't care about them, she was more than okay to make her performance less outstanding and be taken to the factories to work as she envisioned her dream job to be. But alas, she cannot abandon the only family she has left.

Because of the minimal improvement of their situation, she was thankful enough that Dennis, the older of the two inside the facility, was able to convey a few things to her. Although he was deemed unsuitable for society, she shows that she cared enough for those who cannot personally care for them. She said no words and only used her gestures and actions to show her concerns. It was enough for Diane to feel she had done the best thing she could do.

“Miss Grace, we’ve arrived.” The robotic male voice of the driver A.I said to Diane. In front of them was the impressive entrance of the most luxurious and expensive hotel of all, Butterfly City.

It was a twenty-floor building with a huge surface area to operate on. The style was quite mundane compared to the other buildings of the same scale, but it gave off a pleasing to the eye vibe in comparison. At least Diane didn’t feel like blinding herself when she looked at it. She didn't know if it was aesthetic or something, but she liked this hotel so much that she got out of the taxi.

Scanning her phone to the designated payment area, Diane left the taxi. She fared just so that she could get in without much trouble. Commuting via public transport was no problem for her, but security checks were a hassle, so fetching a taxi with all her necessary credentials—her full invitation on display to digital security -- was the fastest way. Places of the rich were often that strict just to get inside them, for people like her anyway.

A beautiful brown-haired woman welcomed Diane inside the moment she stepped into the establishment. No doubt the hotel system had dispatched her the moment the taxi confirmed them coming in. Thus, there is no delay in the reception at all.

“Are you Ms. Grace?” The woman asked her with a smile. Her hand was a small gadget that Diane was sure to have contained her basic information, at least the basic information.

Nodding at the receptionist, the woman then introduced herself as Anna and she would be her exclusive guide throughout her stay at the hotel. Explaining that the others have yet to arrive and the formal meeting for all the invitees and the invited will be the next day. Anna especially empathizes that at this period, more or less, her limbs should do whatever she needs her to be.

Diane felt a little weird, but did not ask much as to why. It must be the service here to other hotels she has been to in the past. Do not hold a candle to this one with one helping hand. She had heard strange things about upper society in particular, so this must be one of those particularities.

Leading her to her assigned room, Anna gave her a bracelet with communication functions whenever Diane needed her. Only when the woman left did Diane inspect the room designated for her. Quite luxurious as expected.

It was big and there were quite a few appliances that Diane was more than unable to name due to the fact she did not know about them. But from the brief tags on their surfaces, they are just upgraded versions of the appliances she has at her home. Quite striking was that there was no house A.I or, in this case, a room A.I for assistance. Maybe the rich have this tradition of sorts of not relying on them as she really cannot see a trace of them here.

Despite being unnerved by the lack of presence of A.Is here, she was able to thread well. Believe it or not, Denise boosts her adaptability more than anything she ever has. It only took her about an hour or so until she was like fish in water here. Though she noticed that there were quite a lot of cameras in most areas— the bathroom not included as well as the bedroom she checked— she just thought it was a security system of sorts this particular hotel utilized.

Exploring her room for all she wanted, Diane then thought she should get familiar with the hotel before the formal meeting would happen. One to not lose her way and the other to familiarize the other people in the meeting if she bumped into them during the tour. And she indeed bumped into one quite literally.

In the dinner hall with Anna, who was explaining things to her, she bumped into a tall man with the darkest hair and the most striking gray eyes she had ever seen. He is quite a handsome guy too, though his facial expressions were a little distorted due to their collision. His temper is quite gentlemanly too, given that he did not flare carelessly.

“I’m so sorry.” Diane immediately apologized.

“It’s okay.” The man was a little displeased with what Diane’s instincts were telling her, but not so angry that the other would make her day hell. Her instincts were trustworthy most of the time when it came to people, so she was comfortable enough not to flinch at the other’s eyes. “It was kind of my fault for forgetting where I am, so don’t worry about it.”

“Regardless of what you say, it does not excuse that I bumped into you. Let me and Anna fix your shirt, the least I could do.” Diane insisted as she was holding a cup of water when they collided against each other in the hall and she took the opportunity to taste the hotel’s craftsmanship. Thus, she had a cup in her hand in case she would get thirsty at the end of her tour.

She could have taken those water pellets, but she was never a fan of them. So even if it looked strange for her to take a cup everywhere, she still took it with her. Nothing beats a real liquid flowing down one's throat. Those inventions and products were also good, but they just did not sit well with her.

The man’s clothes are wet and, out of concern, she proposes to Anna to get some clothes for the others to change into. Her personal guide has told her that the hotel will provide her and any of its guests with everything they will need. Clothes and the likes are included in the service they boost. Diane has no qualms taking advantage of this and she is confident that the hotel will not do anything to discredit its reputation by giving anything substandard. The man in front of her looked like an elite person and possibly one of those who were raised and lived in the district where the hotel was standing.

“There is no need for that really,” the man insisted. But Diane was stubborn, not letting the man go before she could hand over the clothes Anna had fetched for her. Giving the man no choice but to stay and keep company with Diane until Anna returns.

The man introduced himself as Micheal. No last names were given due to them being strangers, but Diane could understand. It could have been a fake name too, though her guts were telling her otherwise, thus making her think Micheal might be his first name or somewhere along the lines.

In return to his introduction, Diane gave her first name to the other. Briefly, they chatted as to why they were in the hotel and, to their surprise, they were beckoned with the same invitation. It is some coincidence and the mere mention of it has brought a subtle change between the two of them.

Diane does not know what has changed, but it was not malicious towards her. It was like that one time when she was in college that she last felt something similar to it, though her feelings back then were disastrous in comparison. Warriness grew inside of her, but she still did not act anything impulsively, as she distinguished the other did not want to hurt her as of yet.

Only that she would try her best not to say much about her during this short conversation of theirs. Anything she gives here is potentially be used against her. And from the lessons of her past experiences, necessary caution is warranted, especially since Micheal is essentially a stranger to her.

But despite her sincerely thinking so, there was something familiar in Michael that Diane had only vaguely felt in Vivian. She cannot explain it well, it was like he was not a total stranger and was someone whom she could trust like a family. Truly a weird feeling to have.

Anna arrives precisely in the middle of Micheal, subtly influencing their conversation as he desires it to be. Diane felt that it was already appropriate for her to leave at this moment, tapped her bracelet in a rhythmic way, informing Anna of her wanting to get away from there. Receiving Diane's instructions, Anna made an excuse that they were going late for their next appointment. Not exactly a lie, but it was a nice save anyway.

Giving an apologetic look to Micheal, Diane and Anna left like their tails were between their legs. As much as Diane had a good impression of the guy, he was getting more and more dangerous as time went by. He is definitely not normal in a sense that society has yet to curb him.

After they created a reasonable distance between them, Diane sighs in relief. Anna asked Diane if she was okay and, indeed, something, which she only shook her head. Whatever that comes to her is not something others can help her with, this is inherent to her and it serves as a good warning alarm to her before she gets hurt so much.

Deciding that she cannot risk meeting others at this rate, she told Anna that she wanted to rest after the next area they were heading to. If the others were like Micheal, she needed to relax her mind as much as she could. Otherwise, by the time they are a regular in each other’s presence, Diane will be drained out before she can do her part in whatever her role in this project they will be in later.

Saying vaguely that she was a little tired despite the fact she was feeling an unprecedented discomfort deep within her, Anna escorted her back to her room after they had a brief tour to the pool area. There were plenty of people there too and Diane simply did not want to talk to them. Her gut feelings were telling her to not go there and she was following her instincts out of caution.

Back in her room, Diane called Vivian for a breather. She admits that this whole place gave her a bad feeling the moment she noticed a few odd things there. The lack of A.Is can be shrugged off as a quirk of the rich, but the number of eyes—the feeling of being watched more than normal—was overwhelming to her. Not to mention, most people she met were a little abnormal too. Like Micheal, they let off a reassuring presence to her despite there being a sense of danger in her mind.

Vivian was more than happy to respond to her call. She was even eager to hear what Diane sees and feels being at the venue. Her eyes were predatory for some reason too, as to why Diane would rather not try to know. Vivian was scary enough to know what was on the surface and she was sure that she was even scarier if one were to know her thinking processes.

Still, as one of the few people Diane can contact without invoking all sorts of complications at the moment, Vivian’s digital presence was reassuring to her. It allowed her to let her guard down for a bit and start to enjoy the luxury surrounding her. Vivian was amazing in her way of making her feel a little vain from the undisguised envy she spoke of and showed. It made Diane think why she did not at least reach out more to her during her busiest and hectic working days. If they had conversations like this, it would surely make things better for her mentally.