Forever and a Day

ChapterThree

Excitement coursed through her veins like boiling water. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in so long. She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy.

Her gaze cast to the window. Everything outside felt new and promising as it passed in a blur.

She looked down at the black and various shades of grey she wore and smiled broadly.

Getting to feel fresh air and normal clothes as well. The lackluster white of the lab had grown tiring. It was the only thing she could see while she was awake. And though she did dream while she slept, for those long periods of time, she could never remember them.

She liked to think they were of her family and the time before everything went to hell.

“Korey ,” Dr. Rebecca called to her from the front seat on the passenger's side. The lady only liked to use her name when the two of them were alone, but she wasn't sure why. Any other time, she would be referred to as P-01.

“Yes?” Korey responded, her eyes not leaving the scene on the other side of the glass.

“You’re excited?" It was more of a statement than a question.

This time Korey looked up at the small mirror dangling in the front. She met the pair of dark brown eyes staring in her direction. “Yes.”

“Today you’re going to meet Levi and the team you will be traveling with. Aren't you nervous?"

Korey wasn't the least bit nervous. She anticipated meeting the new people she would be around and entrust her life with. Levi especially.

When Dr. Rebecca had first given her the list of possible participants, his tired and dull green eyes caught her attention almost immediately. Something drew her in, and when she finally got to see the man in person, she knew her hunch wasn't wrong. She felt a pull towards him.

As if he was just like her. Not entirely human.

“No, I'm not,” she responded.

“Are you sure? It's your first time out in a while. You–”

Korey cut her off. “I’m sure.” Her guardians in the lab liked to think of her still as a child. Though she was far older than them, their reasoning was that she’d only been awake for almost twenty-seven years, and of that, she’d spent a good sixteen years locked away.

Dr. Rebecca doesn't offer any more inquiries, but Korey can feel her unsteadiness. She smiles to herself. The last person who worried over her like this was yet another doctor she knew from her past.

Korey rolls down her window and focuses on looking at her surroundings. There weren't many people in the area here, and they grew closer to the looming wall that protected everyone inside.

Soon she would be outside it. Leaning her head onto the door, she wondered what it would be like, how much it had changed.

She must’ve drifted off because she was woken up by Dr. Rebecca’s voice. “We’re here.”

Korey sat up and brushed her hands over her very tangled hair. Climbing out of the car, she looked around. The wall that had looked relatively close before, was so close now she needed to crane her neck just to look at the top. The height of it made her feel nauseous.

“Seeing it up close for the first time can be interesting,” a voice said to her left. It was a man wearing a uniform bearing a close resemblance to the outfit she wore. His dirty blonde hair was shaggy and hung low over his dark eyes. “I wouldn't look at it too much though.”

She nodded in agreement. “Just looking at it makes my stomach churn.”

The stranger gave a small smile but gave Korey a curious look. Perhaps it had something to do with her grey turned hair and eyes. They weren't always that way, but one thing led to another.

“I'm sorry, you are?” Rebecca slid beside Korey in a protective gesture.

The man beamed, presenting a deep dimple on his left cheek. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Reed. I’m with the team that will be escorting you.”

Korey returned his smile and said, “I’m Korey. I’ll be in your care.”

Reed made a gesture with his head towards a couple of tents set up by a tall tower that looked like a watchtower but didn’t seem to house any guards. “Their setting up over there. Let me show you the way.”

He leads the way and Korey follows behind. A couple steps in, she stops to turn back to Dr. Rebecca, who hasn't moved at all.

“I won't accompany you there," she said, her hands apprehensively pushed into the pockets of her lab coat. “Just promise me you’ll make it back in one piece.”

Surprised, Korey looked at the older woman with raised eyebrows. In a few steps she was there, throwing her arms around her.. “You know I will,” she asserted reassuringly.

Turning to face Reed, she continued to walk after him, not looking back this time. It felt. . . odd to part with Dr. Rebecca the way she did. She felt a hollow feeling in her chest but chose not to dwell on it too much. There were other things she needed to worry about.

“So,” her guide started off as they approached the tower. “Is that your natural color? I mean, I can get behind it. My niece dyes her hair so much I can't keep up with the colors.. Yours just looks really real.”

“In a way,” she answered. Her mind was racing too fast to go into detail. Maybe faster than her heart as it beat against her chest.

Turns out Dr. Rebecca was correct. She was nervous.

Reed chuckled under his breath. “Don't be too nervous. They won't eat you alive, I promise. They're more intrigued than anything. It's not everyday you meet someone old enough to possibly be your great-great-great grandmother.”

“I'm not nervous,” she lied for the second time.

At their pace, they would reach the tents in less than a couple minutes. She would satisfy her curiosity before they arrived.

“So Levi- should I call him captain Levi?”

“He would most likely prefer you to call him Levi, as the rest of us do. He's not too big on that type of thing.”

“Levi then. What kind of person is he?”

Reed gave her a sideways smirk. “Ah, yet another woman after our dear captain. I hate to break it to you, but it won't work.”

Korey tilted her head. “After?”

“Dont worry. I'll keep my mouth shut until the time is right." He made the effort to run his hand over his mouth and throw away the key.

She was still confused when they stepped into the shade of the first tent. Just beside it was a large vehicle, one Korey had never seen before. The exterior was thick and jet black. One wheel was half her body’s height.

A woman with dark brown skin walked around the back with a large crate in her hands. She wore the exact same thing Korey wore, except there were straps that wound around her upper arm.

“Ness!” Reed called out. The woman looked up as she set what she'd been carrying down on the ground. “Look who I found at the entrance.”

“Holy,” she spoke, her dark eyes trailing over Korey. “The way they described you, I pictured you like some sorta alien or somethin’.” Korey smiled and took Ness’ outstretched hand. Well, she wasn't completely wrong. “Ness. It’s great to meet ya’.”

“Please call me Korey.”

“Why did Levi send you to get a precious gem like this?” Ness gave Reed a semi disgusted look as she sifted through the box.

He shrugged lazily. “He didn't. I just happened to be wandering around that area.”

“You,” she grunted, putting the container back into the truck, “are going to get your ass kicked. Again.”

“Nah, he’ll let me off this time.”

The trio started in the direction of the next tent after Ness made sure everything was secure.

“How are you so sure?”

“He's big on first impressions. Doubt he’d show his bad side to our newest member.” The two looked down at Korey as they walked.

“Technically, this won't be our first meeting.” Though our first meeting was through a glass full of water. She left that part out.

Ness decided to make jabs at Reed’s stupidity on the short way there, resulting in him trying to explain how it wasn't stupidity but his charming side she talked about.

Other than the two that walked along Korey, there were six people beneath the thin fabric. One of which was Levi.

He eyed the small group at first. Then when he noticed Korey with them, he stood up, his eyes questioning.

“Wheres Mackenzie?” he asked.