The X Pathogen

Chapter Seven

Ash had decided to go back to their old room to grab their stuff before unlocking their new room. They knew themself well enough to know they wouldn't want to leave once they got inside.
    The sanctuary residence halls were only a short walk away. The setting sun cast shadows all along the path, bathing the road in an orange and red glow.
    The building's doors slid open, and Ash walked down the hallway to the lift; their footsteps echoed loudly in the empty hall. Ash was used to riding the lift and walking to their room without anyone else around, but after spending the day with Saji, they felt a little lonely. It was a strange feeling, they'd never really felt all that alone before now. It would be nice, they decided, to have a friend. Ash shook their head. They were getting ahead of themself. Sure, Saji was nice, but that didn't mean they considered her a friend. At least not yet.
    They opened their old door and grabbed the bag they'd prepped in advance. They didn't have much to pack, so the single duffle bag was sufficient to carry everything they owned. Before they left, Ash sat down on their old bed and looked around.
    They remembered the first time they'd walked through the door, a scared kid clutching their new plush polypede. The woman who'd helped Ash fill out their application had taken them to a big room filled with racks of clothes and let them pick out whatever they needed. After they had the necessities, she'd lead Ash to a shelf lined with stuffed toys. At first, Ash had felt a little embarrassed about picking out a toy, but the woman's smile was genuine and encouraging. Polypedes were Ash's favorite, so the second they saw the plushie, they knew it was the one.
    This room was their safe haven from probing questions, bad days, and nightmares. Of course, nightmares were the worst of those fears, even after two years. They'd woken up in a cold sweat countless times. Visions of their father's raised fist and their mother's cold glare would probably haunt them forever.
    But those days were over now. Ash's parents couldn't hurt them anymore. Two years ago, they ran away, leaving behind the dark room they'd been confined to and the bruises left by their parents' blows.
    Ash grabbed their polypede and stood up. Compared to the last move they'd made, this was going to be easy. There was no running, no paperwork, and nothing to be scared of. Except maybe heights.
When they got back to the cadet dorms, Ash was surprised to find Nadil in the entrance area. He was slumped over on one of the couches, a backpack hung off of one of his shoulders and a duffle bag sat at his feet.
Ash warily approached him and asked, "um... what are you doing down here?"
He glared up at them without raising his head, "this place is a maze. Of course, it's so easy for you since you grew up here."
"Mmhm, sure," Ash rolled their eyes, "C'mon," they held out their hand.
Nadil stared at them blankly.
"Let me see your keycard," Ash grumbled.
"What? Why?"
"So I can figure out where you're supposed to be, you dumb grick," they explained.
"Do you have to call me names all the time?" Nadil hissed as he handed them the keycard.
"Do you have to call me a girl all the time?" Ash retorted.
Nadil squinted his eyes, "seriously, what are you talking about? Are you a boy or something? Because if you are, you shouldn't be on the same floor as Saji," he grumbled, "learned that the hard way, no thanks to you."
Ash blinked, "you really have no idea?"
"Clearly I do not, you spoiled brat."
"Agree to stop calling me a brat, and I'll tell you."
Nadil grimaced, "fine."
Ash grinned triumphantly, "nice. I'm non-binary. I'm not really a boy or a girl."
"So what are you?"
"I dunno, honestly. I'm just a person."
Nadil's brow furrowed as he tried to process, "but biologically..."
"Don't ask people that, it's rude," Ash interrupted.
"But-"
"Just don't."
"Geez, okay."
Ash shifted the strap of their duffel bag and jerked their head towards the lift, "okay, now that we got that cleared up, can we go?"
Nadil stood up and nodded.
They shuffled to the lift and stepped inside. Ash took a deep breath before pressing the button for the fourteenth floor. They gripped the railing until their knuckles turned white as the transparent car rose towards the sky.
Nadil glanced over at them and smirked, "what, are you scared of heights or something?"
Ash's face flushed, "no!"
"Geez, relax, it was just a joke," Nadil muttered.
"Yeah. Hilarious,' Ash muttered.
The door finally opened and Ash walked Nadil to his door. As soon as he'd confirmed it was the right room, they turned around to leave. Before they got more than a few steps away, Nadil said, "hey," he looked down awkwardly, "thanks."
Ash blinked in surprise, "oh, yeah. No problem." They shrugged, "see you tomorrow I guess."
Nadil nodded uncomfortably then disappeared inside his room.
The ride down to the third floor was no better than the ride up, but thankfully it was over quickly. Ash stumbled into their room, dropped their duffel bag, and fell face-first onto the bed. Their stomach complained loudly, and Ash realized they hadn't eaten all day.
They shoved themself into a sitting position and looked around the room. There were dining facilities on the top floors, but they were too tired to try to find them. Ash opened the small refrigerated compartment built into the wall. To their immense relief, there was some prepackaged food ready to go. Ash popped a package into the reheater and waited.
The food wasn't particularly good, but to Ash's exhausted body, the reheated, prepackaged food was more delicious than a freshly cooked meal prepared by the best chef in the galaxy.
When they'd finished eating and cleaned up from their informal dinner, Ash started unpacking their duffel bag. They carefully hung up their old uniform, which they would eventually need to return to the academy since the uniforms were often reused for new residents. Their everyday clothes were placed in one of the four drawers under their bed, though they only took up half the drawer. Old sketch pads whose storage had long since been full went on the shelf above the desk, along with their half-full sketchpad, reampad, and stylus.The blanket from their old room was carefully spread over the bed, providing a familiar warmth and smell. Finally, the polypede plushie was placed next to their pillow, in the place of honor.
Ash looked around the room, finally starting to feel like it was their own space. It would take a while to really settle in, but it felt like a good start. More importantly, it was late, and Ash was so tired they could barely move. They quickly changed out of their outfit and into loose fitting, soft clothes. They turned off the lights and crawled under their blankets, snuggling up against their plushie. Ash briefly remembered the instructions they were supposed to have gotten about the next day, but decided it could wait until morning. Before long, they were sound asleep.