Akina's Reflection

XIX

I nodded.

"Yes, Aubrey Alstein. Do you know him?"

Cody was silent. His hand he slowly removed from the glass.

"Aubrey..." He repeated.

"Yes, I know him.... Poor Aubrey, where is he now? How is he?"

I hung my head. Should I tell him? Would he understand?" I glance up at Cody. He looked rather desperate to hear more.

I looked up at him. It wasn't my fault, Aubrey did this... for me.

"He was taken, by MIRROR. Aubrey had dressed up as me, and told Antonio and I to go... He wanted MIRROR to have a false trail... but... but I failed Aubrey..."

"It's okay... I understand..."

"Sayoki, my name is Sayoki."

"Sayoki.... I see. So Aubrey made himself a decoy for your escape. You do look a lot like him."

Cody sighed, sitting down on the floor by the cold glass wall.

"I thought I've seen you before, but that was really Aubrey, huh..."

He paused, then stood up.

"Aubrey is down that hallway," He said, pointing down the empty hallway.

"Past that door, around the second corner, at the third cell on your right. I've passed through a few times, He's in there."

"That's a start." I said, getting up.

"But we have to get out of these cells."

Cody sighed.

"We can't, Sayoki. A grenade could be thrown down this hall, and there will still be these glass walls."

"Then how do we get out!?" I asked, pouting.

Cody sat down on his bed.

"I've had this plan for a long time, Sayoki. But we must add even more time. First: we wait."

"Codyyyyy....."

"We can't break these walls down, but we can wait for someone who can open these doors, okay? Now, wait. There would be people here tomorrow, I promise. Get some sleep."

I pouted some more, and crossed my arms.

"There's no clock here, how do you know it's night?"

"I've been here for four years, Sayoki. Four years can teach you a lot."

I stopped talking, suddenly having a new respect for Cody. Cody is very similar to Aubrey, in a way.

"Get up, Akina."

Xela's face loomed over me as I slowly opened my eyes.

Xela looked away from me for a second, but when she looked back at me, I was on the floor, groaning.

She sneered.

"Come on, Farsdale is waiting for you."

Alex sighed, then lifted me off the ground, carrying me over his shoulder.

Xela chuckled, then shot a glare at Cody, who has been up a while.

"What are you staring at, Inmate?" She barked.

Cody chuckled too.

"Nothing really, Ms. Farsdale."

Xela just about pushed her face up against the glass.

"Did you just call me, Ms. Farsdale?" She asked, the anger and distaste in her voice rising.

"And if I did?"

Xela breathed deeply through her nose.

"When I come back, when I come back, you should be keeping that smart mouth of yours shut, or I'll beat that smug face of yours in, you..."

Cody raised his eyebrows.

Xela snarled.

"And your eye colour will be of no assist to your beating."

She turned away, and walked out of the cell.

"Come, Alex." She sniffed.

Alex walked close behind her, carrying me over his shoulder. As I was carried off, I glanced back at Cody.

He said something, but I did not hear what he said. The glass really was soundproof, just as he had said. As I was carried to a nearby elevator, I thought about what I would do if Xela really did beat Cody's face in.

We travelled up a couple floors, I would have thought for sure we hit the surface, but we never did. The door opened to more of MIRROR's maze work of labs and personal offices, I assumed that the inmates are forced to be kept lower underground.

On this floor Alex put me down, letting me walk the rest of the way. They still kept on either side of me, Xela glaring at me, and Alex looking forward down the hall boredly. I've continued to notice Alex wasn't as, bloodthirsty as his sister. If not for their looks, they would seem barely related.

I looked up at Alex. He glanced at me for a second, then away again.

"Umm, are... Are you and Farsdale really related..?" I asked, nervous, and a little awkwardly. I did not know what better to ask, but I wanted to test Alex's personality compared to Xela. He never really says much.

Alex glanced at me again, this time, more like one of Xela's glares.

"We are related. Keep quiet, Akina." He replied, sternly, almost robotically.

"Don't ask stupid questions, okay?" Xela barked loudly at me. A few passing doctors pushing a covered stretcher shuddered along with me when she opened her mouth.