LINKAGE

CHAPTER 3: PRESENT INNER TRAUMA

His body was in a wave of tiredness even after sleeping for 20 straight hours. But nobody could blame him, it was entirely because of the anesthesia that circulated his blood for hours and hours since the examinations were done. By this time, already safe from any political and military threats, the boy was lying down in a single bed comfortably. He never wanted to open his eyes and face that kind of inhumanity again, so he didn't know he stood in a different place right now.

But he noticed right away when his senses were a bit awake. The bed was more comfortable, the covers weren't thin as a paper sheet and the pillow was actually a real pillow. He also felt that the environment was warmer and quieter, that's when he opened his eyes and his heart raced.

The boy's eyes traveled everywhere in the room, while his vision was getting into focus again, and he almost jumped when looked to his right and saw the sea so close to himself but still untouchable, with some bioluminescent fishes swimming here and there. After a bit of getting things together in his mind, the boy sat on the bed and put his feet on the floor, feeling the warm graphite-colored porcelain tile. His thumbs caressed it constantly before coming back to reality. He was afraid he had been kidnapped or something, but the place he was in didn't look like a kidnapper would keep a victim.

His body hurt badly everywhere. From the deplorable headache to the agonizing pain in his muscles. The boy wasn't aware of what those people did to him, but it didn't have neutral collateral effects on him.

His attention was now directed to a figure standing in the door frame. It was a tall girl that had long brown hair, almost hitting her coccyx. She was wearing dark tight pants and a high heel black boots with a creamy-colored jumper. She approached him with a smile and the boy didn't know what to do, he just stood defensively in the corner and watched her, afraid she would do him any harm.

"So you're finally awake! My name is Lola and it's really nice to talk to you. Don't want to sound weird but I was afraid you weren't going to wake up." She said with a playful tone but got no smiles from the boy.

For a second, the boy was trying to remember how to speak, because no words to say came into his mind. He opened his mouth constantly in an attempt to try to speak. "It's alright, take your time." Lola said.

"Where.. am I?" He asked looking directly into Lola's eyes.

"We're in a bunker in the middle of the sea. It's amazing right?" Lola said looking into the sea in front of her. Somehow she was trying to cheer the guy up but it wasn't working even a little.

"Where am I?" He asked again, raising his voice a bit, showing some irritation while his eyes got wide while looking at the floor, like he was too focused on his thoughts.

"Well..." Her tone turned serious. "if the things they say about you stand right and you're from the Other Country... you're in the second part of the planet."

"Second part... agh!" He moaned in pain, his head was having some internal twinges, as if someone was kicking his brain inside.

"Are you in pain? Come on, I'll give you something to eat and some pills. Then I can explain everything to you." Lola waited for him to get up, but he didn't. She obviously didn't expect him to trust her right away, as much as she wanted to. "I'm not going to hurt you. My friend and I were the ones who saved you from the place you were before."

She just stood there and waited for him. The boy just decided to get up because he was aware that if she was going to hurt him, he could do nothing to avoid it. So he got up and Lola started leading the way. They just got out of the room and turned right to walk over a corridor and get into the kitchen.

There was a winter garden in this room of the bunker and the boy got amazed by it. A big tree with pink leaves stranded in the middle of it and the panel of glasses that provided that view had probably 5 meters long, just like the other walls in this room.

Since they were underground, all the plants were living through a synthetic yellow light that was strong enough to illuminate the kitchen as well. The boy sat on a stool in front of the counter.

He held his hands together and played with his fingers until Lola came back with a glass of water and a pill. "T-thank you" He took it in and drank the entire water in the cup. It was like he didn't take a drop of water in weeks.

"You're more than welcome." She smiled again. Lola wanted more than ever to make the boy feel comfortable. She was actually putting herself into his place. He was in a world of strangers right now, and after everything he's been through, the last thing he needs is to feel uncomfortable and displaced. "I'll make something for you to eat and you answer me some questions. Is that okay?"

The boy didn't reply just after he listened to her question. Something in his brain was malfunctioning, so he was slowly collecting the words he thought he needed to use. "Sure, it's fine."

"I think we can start with you telling me your name." Lola opened the cabinets searching for a frying pan to put a perfectly round cut beef into it. "My name..." He said in a low voice again.

"You don't remember?" Lola asked, turning to him. The boy shook his head left to right, meaning his answer. "What do you remember before waking up here?"

"I do not remember anything." He said looking down at the floor. There were so many feelings inside his mind at the moment... he felt sadness, he felt lost, confusion, and a bit of desperation...

"It's weird... because you do remember how to speak." Lola considered for a second that he could be lying, but then she remembered his confusion while trying to speak a few minutes before. Then she looked at the bruises on his arms, the dry lips, cuts on his body... the Federal Opus certainly had him tortured in an attempt for him to say something. "They tortured you, right?"

"Yes. I do not know where I am, o-or how I appeared here." He said quite slowly, thinking about the right words to say. "I just remember waking up in the cold."

"That is bad." She said mostly to herself. The boy didn't seem a liar or an actor, and if he was he was a good one. Lola turned the fire of the frying pan off, while turning another on to warm some rice and boiled vegetables.

"His name is Gavin." Isaac suddenly said standing at the entrance with crossed arms. He was analyzing the boy, who quickly turned to look at him as well.

"Hey, Isaac. How exactly do you know that huh?"

"I had a conversation with my mother. She seems to know him and if he is who we think he is, Gavin is his name." The boy felt intimidated by the way Isaac looked at him, which was on purpose. He was just being cautious.

"Well, then Gavin is such a pretty name, right Isaac?" Lola didn't get an answer from the taller boy. "Isaac, stop it. You're looking like a maniac."

"How do we know he isn't lying?" Isaac approached the counter, switching glances between Gavin and Lola.

"Look at his body. He isn't. Plus, he's having some confusion while speaking. It must be related to the fact that he doesn't remember anything, right Gavin?" She handled a plate in front of the boy, with rice, vegetables, and a well-seasoned beef placed on it.

"It must be." Gavin said, looking at the plate and getting amazed by the smell.

"So Gavin, while you eat, let's have a little chat, okay? Lola said and put a finger in front of Isaac's mouth before he said another mannerless phrase. "You've been the news in here since you were found. Everyone is intrigued by the outlander who survived the desert. No one ever traveled this far before. Because of that, our beloved President emitted a search warrant to get to you, but don't worry. You're safe here." Lola placed a glass cup on the counter with a yellow liquid inside. "It is a juice made of fruits and medical herbs." She smiled warmly at him.

"My mother believes you are part of a prophecy. That is why we saved you."

"Go slow Isaac..." Lola said with gritted teeth.

"We were waiting for you during years now." Isaac said, softening his gaze over the boy who listened to everything carefully.

"And this prophecy it's important to everyone." Lola continued. "If it is not now, someday it'll be. The time you'll stay with us will be enough for you to understand everything. You are part of something immensely important."