Akina's Reflection

XXIX

"How to finish the facility..."

"By not burning, or potentially destroying the town..."

"But effectively deleting the evil doctors, scientists, and building..."

Cody stopped abruptly, I almost ran into him when he did.

"We've been wandering for about an hour now. We've helped everyone we could get out. Any ideas?"

I sadly shook my head.

"None."

"There's just nothing we can destroy the entire building with ourselves." said Paul.

"There's only three of us, and it's not like we're specially trained cops or anything..."

Cody sighed.

"We've been here way too long. Let's just get out of here, Aubrey wouldn't be too happy, but..."

The silence of the hallway was suddenly broken by a burst of modern song.

"Ugh," Paul said as he lifted his phone.

"I forget we're just under the town. There's still reception here."

He lifted his cell phone to his ear, looking ready to yell about wrong numbers like he usually does. He listened a while, not making any remarks back.

"It's for you, Cody." Paul said, quietly.

"He's telling you to put it on speaker though, so we can all hear."

Cody, confused, took Paul's phone carefully, pressing the 'speaker' button.

"Is it on speaker, Cody?" came Aubrey's voice from the phone.

"Aubrey!" I cried. "Aubrey, did you make it out?"

"Of course I did, now listen: I thought through the burning strategy, and realized there was a flaw in it. It might be too late, but did you all start the fire yet?"

He sounded anxious. Aubrey must have figured out the same problem in his plan as Cody had figured. I sighed with relief.

Cody did as well, then replied,

"No, we figured out what would have happened, even before you did. Good thing we didn't just burn the building."

"Great." said Paul, "But then how do we get rid of the building?"

"Just evacuate the building. I, We, are not alone in this."

After those words, Aubrey hung up. Cody did not hesitate. He stood up and began walking.

"Let's get out of here." He said. Paul and I looked at each other, then ran to catch up with him.

We passed hallway after hallway, room after room. Even though they mostly looked the same, Cody didn't seem lost at all.

"This place is just a big maze, I probably found you guys by pure luck." Paul muttered.

"Four years I've been here." Cody said, looking between two hallways, paused, and chose the left one.

"I've walked many of these hallways, some only once before, and yet, I remember each turn perfectly. It's strange, I don't really forget things, not even little redundant details."

"That's weird, I guess." I said, looking around.

"I also apparently have good reflexes, and a better immune system."

Cody stopped, and turned towards us. He had a sad look on his face.

"Farsdale looks for a rare trait in people. A trait I have, an almost inhuman one." He said, softly.

"Huh?" Paul was confused, and so was I.

"But I thought Farsdale was all about eye colours... He only liked purple eyes...He is an eye doctor, after all..."

Cody sighed.

"Eye colour pretty much brands you as one with these traits. That's why Don looks for purple eyes, or red and blue."

"Red and blue? That isn't real, it couldn't..."

Cody pushed his thick bangs aside. We both stared.

The eye I was familiar with was a deep blue, but Cody's left eye was blood red. There were also many scars around his eye, emphasising the strange colour.

"I could be seen as evil, I'm just like Farsdale, Alex, and Xela in a way. And yet, I don't see the world as they see it. They see themselves as all mighty with their traits, but I see myself as what we all are,"

"...What do you see yourself as?" Paul asked, slowly.

"A freak to nature." Cody said in a low voice.

I frowned.

"You think you're a freak?" I asked.

"I don't think so, I am one." Cody said, a little more harshly.

"I can't change myself, and I can't quite come to embrace myself."

I glared at him.

"Accept yourself Cody, you're a good person."

"I said I can't!"

"You can!"

I puffed out my cheeks, then blew out the air again. I looked down at my feet.

"Stop calling yourself that... because...."

I looked up at him.

"I'm a freak too!"

Paul and Cody looked shocked.

"Guys, stop calling yourselves freaks... You're both good people..."

I continued, ignoring Paul. I walked up to Cody, and on my tiptoes pushed his bangs aside again so I could see his red eye.

"To me, you are lucky. You only have an oddly coloured eye to shame... I have it much worse..."

"Tell me..." Cody said, quietly.

"You and Paul were born boys, Teri was born a girl, but I was neither. I'm a hermaphrodite, Cody. I am genderless. Think of what it would be like to be me, I can't just pick a bathroom without second thought, I could have had a terrible time looking for a partner, luckily Paul reached out to me. Learn to accept who you are, and work with it, or you find it much harder to make it through the day."

I didn't notice I started crying halfway through. I rubbed my eyes with my arm.

"I guess so..." Cody said, quietly.

"I'll put that in mind."

"We'd better get going..." Paul said, nervously.

"Lovely speech, Sayoki, but we're still in a facility full of nut doctors."

"True," Cody said.

"Let's get going, we might just slip out unnoticed..."