This Reality

7: The Headquarters

A/N
Hello! I'm at 430+ reads for this story which is pretty amazing.
Just wanted to say thank you for reading, and if you are enjoying this, votes/comments/follows are always appreciated!
Enjoy,
Kori.

In.
Is she in?
There is no question.
Yes.

Milla and Jax look at her nervously, waiting for an answer.
Astrid nods her head eagerly.
"Fantastic!" Milla exclaims. "We had better get you back down to HQ. We can give you a place to stay until all the briefing and preparations have been done."

Astrid thinks about her home. She doesn't remember one. Heck, she doesn't even recognise the town she's in.

She follows Jax and Milla out of the restaurant after Milla pays for the drinks, and they end up on the street. They go down several main roads, busy with shoppers and tourists. Suddenly they duck into a side alley and follow some more desolate footpaths. They arrive at a manhole cover.

"Well, this is it!" Jax explains.
Is he serious? A hole in the ground. How welcoming.
After seeing Astrid's confused face, Milla whispers, "Oh don't worry about the way it looks here. It has to be inconspicuous because we work in secret."

After opening the cover and going down a ladder, Astrid finds herself in a room vaguely resembling a reception. The man at the desk widens his eyes upon seeing them. "Jax! Milla! You've got her!"
Milla nods. "Yep, we've got her. We're going to take her to a suite, are there any free?"
The man types some things into his computer. "Yes, there's one free on the East wing, fourth corridor, number 62."
"Thank you," says Jax and they lead Astrid down a complex of corridors. They eventually arrive at room 62.
"Here it is," chirps Milla brightly.
They take the key card and let themselves in.
They walk into the room. It's cosy, bright, comfortable and spacious. The walls are painted pale blue and the carpet is white. The blinds hanging above the windows are light green, and a door leads off to the left, presumably to a bathroom.
Astrid sits down on the bed. "How come you run this place like a hotel?"
Jax answers. "Well, we technically are an illegal organisation plotting against the government. People live here because they need to be protected and it's more convenient if we're all in one place together. Plus, not many of us have any where else to go."

Astrid nods, understanding.
"We're going to leave you for a bit. To relax, maybe take a nap, have a bite to eat and a shower. I can't imagine how exhausted you must be after all that you've been through. Someone will be round shortly to drop off some clean clothes and some food," Milla explains, "if you need Jax and I, our room is just down the corridor, at number 63."

They share a room? Interesting.

They leave, and Astrid steps into the bathroom. It's big and luxurious, with patterned tiles on the walls. She removes her dirty clothes and steps into the shower. They are the clothes she was kidnapped in, so she is glad to have them off. The jets of warm water feel so good and refreshing.

After her shower, she steps back into her room to find some clothes on the bed and some food on a tray. She puts on the clothes, a dark red t-shirt and black jeans, and tucks into her pasta.

About two hours later it's getting dark outside. She can tell because there's a small screen on one of the walls with a view of outside. She presumes it's meant to serve the purpose of a window, since the HQ is underground. She stands in front of the screen and watches the cars pass and the people walking by. She contemplates her situation.

She and her parents were kidnapped from their home by the Leaders. Her parents were in trouble because they wrote fictional stories for her little brother before he died, as he was terminally ill. She has joined the side of the Permitters, who want to shut down the Leaders and allow people to write. Jax and Milla also promised they would try and rescue her parents. It was only today that she had escaped the room.

I also start to think about her. She is on the side of the Permitters. She is in danger. If she goes with Jax and Milla to overthrow the Leaders and rescue her parents, there's a chance she might not come back alive.

Exhausted by all this thinking, she lies down on the bed and promptly falls asleep.