Page 47 of Beyond The Maples
Polite chatter fills the small room as we sip our tea. I can tell Farra is ready to get going, so I offer to tidy up. I take everyone's mugs to the sink and Leo and Farra give the woman their thanks before heading to the door.
Sibs catches my arm as I pass her, more firmly than I would have thought possible, given her physical condition. Icy blue eyes lock with mine, and I almost flinch at the intensity radiating from her.
"Come back anytime. An old woman like me loves to chat about her good, old glory days." She gives me a wink. "Not much else going on, anyway."
I cock my head in question. She says it like she's offering something other than a simple chat, but she just gives me a subtle nod.
Glancing at the relic on the wall one last time, I say goodbye and walk out with my friends, wondering if I'll ever have the courage to come back and ask the questions I want answered.
"Well, that was kinda... odd, wasn't it?" I say with a shaky laugh as we walk back towards the compound.
I wonder if either of them felt the same things I had when we were in there. It was like homesickness for a place I'd never seen before.
Farra nods, twirling her lanyard with her key tags in her hand. "Yeah she was spooky, honestly."
Leo snorts. "Well, I liked her and all her little trinkets. Like being taken back in time. It was neat."
I bob my head, not wanting to say too much more on the street. The people that had crowded the church there earlier had all dispersed throughout the joining streets, only further stirring my desire to get back to the dorms.
When we pass the area again, I look over and see the clergy member still there, standing in the exact same spot by the doors. With the same satisfied look on his face that I'd seen before, and I shudder as I lean away from the darkness that seems to reach out at us from the building.
I scarf down my food, deep in thought at the table, when Leo plops down beside me, slamming his tray down dramatically.
"Guess what?" He grins.
Across from me, Berkley is trying to read, and gives Leo a disapproving look, mumbling something before going back to his book.
Leo ignores the grumble from across the table and says gleefully, "I've moved off janitorial! It's the best news ever. I'm now onwall patrol. Which I've heard is basically just sitting around, watching stuff."
Leo's is practically vibrating with excitement, and I can't imagine why. Standing around and staring blankly at stuff sounds like my nightmare.
"Wait, why did you get moved? Did you get fired, Solano?" I question Leo.
Berk grumbles something like "probably", but keeps his head hidden in his book.
"Actually, they needed to move people around after that cadet died."
Everyone's eyes shoot towards Tarius, who I'm embarrassed to say I'd not even noticed sitting quietly at the end of the table. I'm the first to say what we're all thinking.
"How long have you been sitting there?" What I don't say is that Tarius is like a shadow, and it can be downright unnerving.
He blinks back at me.
"I sat down right after you did."
Leo eyes him and says matter-of-factly, "I'm going to bribe engineering to make me a bell for you, so you're easier to keep track of."
I laugh, but finally register what Tarius had originally said.
"Wait, which cadet?" I had heard nothing, and there had been no incidents reported in the weekly briefs.
"The one from the tower. He passed the other day. I heard the med cadets talking about it." He says this while shoveling food into his mouth, another meal of oatmeal mash, completely emotionless.
"I'd assume that's why Leo got moved. He was a patrol."
My eyes roam Tarius curiously.
"You seem to always have extra information. Why is that?"
