FYSH: Diving Deeper.

Chapter Four: The First Analysis.

The room was, how could I put it for someone like us...?

Nirvana? Paradise? The Promised Land?

How, you ask? The room itself was plain, paled in comparison to the majestic sight on the ground. In the spacious room, white benches stuck to the sides of each wall. And in the middle of the room, there was what seemed to be, at first, a gigantic rectangular hole. The hole was inordinately huge, leaving only thin slivers of space to walk around it. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the hole, the kids peeping their heads through every crack in the doorway they could.

"Go on and check it out." A boy at the front urged, shovelling into Tyde with his bony elbow. Tyde stumbled forward, shooting a dangerous look over his shoulder at the boy. He crept forward until he was a metre away. Then, he leaned his upper body as far as he could. From the angle I was in, I could see everything. Tyde's eyes widening, his jaw dropping, then clenching, then smiling. He flipped around, honey melting off his pure, innocent lips.

"You guys have got to see this." He grinned.

At once, our whole group leapt forward, still careful not to get too close, and we huddled together near the edge of pool. You heard me. Pool. Honestly, it wasn't much of a pool. It was more like-

"The ocean." A little girl wheezed.

And right she was.

The water was clearer than glass, slicing through each wave like a blade. Beyond the surface of the water was a trove of jeweled movement. Rocks glinted from the bottom of the pool, decorated with starfish and speckled crabs. Limp seaweed, livid grass and lush reeds sailed through the water. Bright little fish darted in one direction to another. Silver schools of fleeting arrows swam in spurts, the light reflecting of their scales. Mosaic octopi lurked in caves, shrouded in a comfortable darkness. At the sight of the miniature ocean spread out in front of us, the little ones gurgled, and the older ones gawked.

"They did a good job." Tyde pointed out. What an odd thing to say, I wondered.

Our heads split to the right at the sound of a clank! A metal door, out of place in the dazzling room, burped and swung open, revealing several men in labcoats. Not pure white labcoats, navy blue and white ones, resembling the suit that wrapped firmly over Mistress Ioa. A young man with a blonde little bun and a maroon jumper, with the flaps of his pale undershirt dog-eared over his jumper collar, led the group of intimidating men, his odd, auburn shoes clicking against the floor. He looked like a gentle, if hippie-ish, young man, all soft smiles and little shoulders. His pretty gold eyes yawned as they surveyed us, touching on and lifting up upon every child. Though his frame made me think he was relaxed and easygoing, the way his eyes shifted, and the way his head tilted over to the side pushed my naive thoughts out of the way. He cleared his throat.

"Well, well." He grinned. "What a gorgeous bunch of healthy kids you are."

I mean, he was good looking. That's probably why the two girls who were in my coach (including the one who had tried to assault me) were starry-eyed.

"My name is Kai Fraudulenti. I'm very young, I know, I'm only eighteen, but I'm the co-operator of this experiment, and the main overlooker of Stage One. So you could say that you'll be seeing a lot of me. Any problems or issues you have with anything to do with this stage is on me, so just make sure to tell me when you see me and I'll take everything into consideration. Okay kiddos, now that that's over, these nice men behind me are going to run a few health tests so just do as they say, okay? Answer all their questions, honestly please, and I guess you guys can meet your new home. It's too late to do any training for now." Kai looked longingly at the pool, hastily looking back at us.

"Follow me, please." He continued.

I dawdled near the back, still unable to completely trust Kai, and thankfully, I wasn't the only one. Beck gave me a wan smile and closed in the gap. I was suddenly aware of my sex, which I was usually quite oblivious to (including totally oblivious to the opposite sex) and shuffled away. Past the metal door we went, in a tiled hallway. The tiles were purely different shades of blue, glitters and mattes, like an aisle of a design store. For a second I became inspired and took the chance to have a talk with Beck.

"Beck, I just wanted to say," I told him, choosing my words carefully, "Back then, I was really scared and stressed out. I mean, I've never watched someone die before. Never even mind that quickly or disgustingly." A shiver reverberated up my spine, snaking under my tattoo.

"So when you held my hand," I continued, avoiding his eyes.

"Pinkie." He corrected me, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Right, pinkie." I echoed. "I was really grateful. You made me feel less, scared I guess, and less alone."

"That's okay. I, too, actually wanted to-"

"Wait. Just let me finish."

"Okay."

"So I was relieved and even now, I'm grateful. It's like you jolted me out of my numbness, so that I was able to react. I also haven't thanked you for trying to help me on the coach. So thank you for that, as well. " I paused for a second, no idea how to continue on.

"You have that sort of aura about you, you know? Something immensely comforting, and... warm. And though I don't know why you're helping me out so much, I'd like to ask you to stop."

"Atlanta, I-"

"I mean, I'm not weak! I'm very independent! You just wouldn't know because, uh, because, well you just don't even know me! And I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea. I'm here to collect lots of money for my family. And when this is all over, I don't need any baggage to pull me back from my family. Be it friends or anything less, or... or more. I hope I don't sound spoilt. In fact, I'll break my rules for you. Because I'm, at the moment at least, indebted to you, let's be friends. Until I can return the favour." I finished on what I thought was a strong note, and stuck out my hand. I held a strong gaze, and kept my chin high. Beck looked back at me, my face reflected off his eyes. He erupted into a chuckling mess, stopping to take a breath.

"We'll get left behind!" I hissed at him, as his body shook with laughter. We jogged back to the group, where they stood stopped.

"Okay then." He countered evenly, as he wiped his tears away. "Friends?" He extended his own hand with a toothy smile. Gladly, I took it and shook it gingerly.

"Friends." I retorted.