The Remnant of the Past (GXG)

Chapter 16: The Council

After staying with Martha for almost two days, Anne found me a shelter in Section 58. Although we might have a few disagreements on things, I am very thankful for her kindness. Today, we are driving on our to Section 58, which means that we will be passing the Council.

"Hey, want to do something fun?"

"Like what?" I sleepily asked. For those two days, I haven't been really sleeping well. I guess the soft bed and warm air give me jitters because I was typically used to the bed I had back in Section 1.

"Sneaking inside the Council."

I glared at Anne like she was out of her mind. She can't just decide to sneak past the Council out of blue, that place has tough security with guards rounding every corner. Anne only grinned evilly before maneuvering the road we are supposed to be at.

She drove us recklessly to the pavement which made me even more nervous because the guards might see us. I kept telling her to stop but Anne won't listen. She changed the speed of the vehicle when we drove past a guard's post that is unbelievably vacant.

"See? It's like going to the park." Anne proudly said while I grunted in response.

We left the vehicle and Anne guided us somewhere behind the wall. She bent down to lift up something and that's when I realized that she regularly sneaks in here. She was in the Nightwatch for a reason.

"You go first." She beckoned me to go down first. I am probably going to regret this decision.

I released a deep breath before going down the narrow ladder. I was finally down to the ground and my eyes roamed the spacious hideout of Anne. 

"This was used to be filled by the horrendous laughter of that two nuisance, but for now it will just us."

I made my way beside Anne and rested my hand on the top of her shoulder. "I'm really sorry for what happened to them."

"No, it's not your fault. Those two will do everything to save their own skin...it was their choice to die." Anne shrugged off her shoulders. I decided not to press the topic on her anymore because I might not make it out of here alive.

We continued to walk in the tunnel and as we go further, the smell is starting to be unpleasant. I just mustered up that we are actually walking in a sewer, which explains the odd sounds around that make me shiver. 

I spotted a ladder going up again, Anne told me that she will go up first to check if the coast is clear. Once she made her way up, I followed her and my eyes widened when I saw where she took me. We are inside the bathroom, of course.

"Trust me, no one frequently uses this anymore. Come on."

We cautiously walked outside the bathroom, trying to blend in with the other people who wear the same clothes we have. We were walking past a lot of stalls that has people buying things. It was just like Anne said, it's like a park here.

"I got that reaction too when we first sneaked in here. I was like...We don't have this in Section 1, so I sneak here every night to buy awesome merch like this." Anne fished something from her jacket's pocket. It's a tiny thing that has chains attached to it.

"Aww...you look so clueless. Maybe I should buy you some keychains."

Oh...keychains.

Anne excitedly squealed when she saw something. Her eyes somehow lit up and I think I have never seen her this excited. She may have even forgotten that I was with her because she disappeared into the crowd to go somewhere she saw.

It was no use in walking between people, and shouting her name might make us even more suspicious. My eyes immediately shot up to the corners of the place and expectedly saw cameras pointing in my direction.

I stared intensely at it before going to a blind spot. I was still searching for Anne but my eyes can't really catch the familiar blue-haired girl. Her hair color might actually make her easy to spot, but there are too many people around and I think I have seen five people who have the same hair color.

I decided to walk aimlessly around in the meantime, and so far I haven't seen anything interesting. I walked further until I was far from where the crowd is, I turned left at the exact time a council member is walking toward me.

I swiftly turned back around and walked to the other turn. I sighed in nervousness when I was almost caught by Co-Director Hendrick, the father of my instructor. When I saw that he took a different direction, I cautiously went back to that left turn and carefully walked further.

There were a few signs that says what the room is for but one room, in particular, caught my interest.

Laboratory 1.