Core: The First Step

Chapter 8: We Saw Each Other, Naked ( Ethan, Tia )

( Ethan )

The man drove the bus away, leaving me with Tia, Sam, Stella, Hera and the two pilots at the inn. The dust left by the bus made me cough. " He's doing that on purpose!" Syron mumbled in my head. " Ignore him, Syron. He's not worth it," I thought back to him. I sling my bag across my left shoulder.

" Alright, let's get in," Hera told us, grabbed her bag and walked into the inn, the rest of us simply followed her.

The lobby looks comfortable in a modest way.  Three leather chairs were forming a circle around a wooden coffee table at one corner, a shelf with newspapers and books at another corner. The receptionist gave two keys to Hera. She gave her daughter one of the keys. " Tia, you and your friends will be sleeping in the same room, you got it?" Hera told her. " Um, are there enough beds?" she asked. Hera nodded, " There's four beds in each room. One for each of you. I'm sure it's enough, " she grinned as she walked to her room.

Tia turned to us, " Um, right. So we get to our rooms first before we hit the hot springs." " Okay, sure," Sam agreed in a tired manner. Stella simply nodded, still quiet. Tia led us to our room along the long hallway. The wall was made out of cement, not like the exterior walls at the lobby. The lights made it look gold. The wooden floor was replaced with green carpet. The place felt chilly as we walked down the hallway. Probably because my clothes were torn apart from previous events.

When we made it to our room, Tia unlocked the door with the key and slide it open. The room was big enough to have four single beds, and a huge wardrobe at the opposite corner. There's a small size television attached to the green wall. Beside the entrance door was a restroom with a translucent door. There's a sliding glass door which leads to the balcony, revealing the flat ground of the sahara. I was half-hoping to see a lion or a giraffe, but apparently it was empty.

We put our bags on our respectful beds, mine was closer to the glass door. Stella insisted to take the bed furthest away from mine. I wasn't sure what's wrong with her, even Tia seem clueless. I grabbed my new bought clothes ( a black t-shirt with the number 26 on it ), and took a white towel from the wardrobe. " I'm going to eat first before I take a bath. I'm starving," Sam rubbed his belly. Before he left, Stella blurted out, " Wait, I want to join you, too." At first, he seem stunned, but when Stella silently begged him through eye contact, Sam sighed and agrees with it before both of them left the room. Leaving me and Tia alone.

She played with a strand of her hair with her fingers. I can't help but to notice how her hair was elegant. I shook my head.  Dude, don't be too attached to her, I told myself. Break the ice.

" What's up with Stella? She seems...depressed," I asked Tia. She shook her head. " I have no idea. She won't tell me anything about it," she grumbled. " Really?" I perplexed. Tia took her clothes from her bag as she said, " Well, actually, as far as I know, she doesn't like Iktus. I asked her on the bus, but she simply grumbled, " I hate this place." I think she meant Iktus entirely or maybe this particular place of Iktus. We're in Jancam, right?"

I shrugged. My geography isn't that bad. I mean, I remember some countries  in some continents, and I know this particular country named Jancam is placed in Iktus, but I wasn't sure where it is placed. Heck, I wasn't even sure which part of Iktus we're on.

" Well, friends keep secrets from each other. I guess it's normal for them to do so," I told her. She stared me for a while, slightly surprised with my statement. " Is it? Do you hide secrets from Sam too?" she inquired. " Yeah, for personal reasons. Maybe she has her personal reason to hate this place. Give her some space, and don't bother about it unless she decided to share with you," I replied.

Tia sighed, " I guess you're right." She sat down on her bed, her brown eyes scanning for a remote. She saw it on Sam's bed and took it before she switched it on. At first, I was thinking why shouldn't she just use her abilities, but I realised she has already used it more than enough to save us, with side effects affecting her.