Marcid

Chapter Four - E

E jolted awake, his breath hitched as he gasped for a search of air, and found it quickly. His eyes darted around, collecting his thoughts and absorbing his surroundings. I'm not in the lab, E reassured himself. I'm here.

He took a glimpse of the outside, feeling the cold wind brush at his skin as he crawled out of the tent, stretching and popping the joints in his back and neck.

It seemed off-putting that it's so quiet. No laughing or crying children, generators running, or guards chasing after delusional experiments after being drugged.

There was just silence. Just the birds chirping and leaves rustling. Peace and quiet. He breathed in, and out slowly, absorbing the calm aura the forest gave off at the crack of dawn. Raymond was still asleep; it was obvious due to the relentless snoring coming from Raymond's tent. E cringed vaguely every time he heard another snore.

"He seems like he's having a good sleep . . ." E mumbled gently to himself, craning his neck to look up at the sky, it was concealed from the tall trees under it. The sky was gray and orange anyway, and it was humid outside; something E didn't like the feeling of. He felt the warm, invisible wetness in the air as he scratched the front of his neck, sometimes feeling a weak pulse. His hand paused slightly, feeling for the pulse again. E needed to remind himself that he's breathing, his heart beating. He feels alive.

Being off the medication the guards and scientists always gave him to lessen the chances of him using his powers made E more aware of things; like the chirping of birds, the rustles of leaves, and his own movement. He wasn't sedated, or groggy anymore now. He was aware. E glanced around one more time, before hearing Raymond's voice from behind. "You sure woke up early." Raymond mumbled out, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes before leaving the tent.

"I couldn't sleep." E replied, looking down at Raymond who was still sat down on the floor.

"No worries, kid. We should get a head-start on that way out, shouldn't we?" Raymond informed, his voice confident but E noticed him stressing his bottom lip. He seemed more nervous than confident. E examined Raymond's expression, his body language and the way he fidgeted with parts of his clothing, or rubbing the palms of his hands together.

"You seem nervous. Why are you acting so confident when you aren't?" E asked, his voice blunt and curious at the same time. Raymond's shoulders slumped, revealing his tired demeanor under the confidence he constantly displayed. "I'm only asking." E continued.

Raymond nodded slightly, clearing his dry throat before speaking. "Just wanting to lighten the mood, is all. Motivation can go low with bad attitudes. You're killing my motivation, kid." Raymond complained, as he fiddled with the hem of his Hawaiian button-up shirt.

E didn't understand the point of 'lightening the mood'. It's already dark enough as it is. He shook his head. "For what purpose? I genuinely don't see a point in 'lightening the mood'. It sounds irrelevant." E stated, his voice a bit confident now with his own opinion.

"I see a point in it. It makes people feel better." Raymond explained. 

"It doesn't make me feel better." E claimed. "Your brain is just getting used to not being drugged all the time. It'll pass." Raymond said, his voice less tired now. E nodded but quickly changed it to a head shake, refusing to accept this information. He had been trusting Raymond too much, and how odd would it be to trust a stranger? Raymond could be something more vile than E knows. He could be a child murderer, if worse. E shivered slightly at the thought of that. But what child murderer targets teenagers? I'm seventeen, E reminded himself. Not seven. Maybe the Zodiac killer could kill a teenager. I've read about him.