Silent Fog

Chapter 4 - Connecting Points

The sun was high in the sky when Clara woke up. She stared at the next bed and saw that Mirela was no longer there, but in front of the wardrobe door tying her boots.

"Good Morning," she said, getting up and braiding her hair.

Mirela had straight blond hair, blue eyes, and a skin full of freckles that might have settled there due to the sun. Her clothes, a pair of pants and a tank top, were black. She had a scar on the right side of her face that ran from cheek to chin and by the bright red that still outlined it, Clara was sure that it was a recent injury. Mirela was tall and thin, but there were clearly muscles in her arms and hands full of calluses and small scars. The blonde girl also had rings on her left ear and one on her nose which made her look wilder and threatening.

"Morning," Clara sat on the bed as she slid her fingers through the wound at the base of her skull still sore.

"It still hurts, doesn't it? Let me take a look," said Mirela, in a tone that sounded more like an order. She came towards Clara and lowered her head. "They're dry. Nana did a great job. I don't think even Dr. Rezende could do a better job." And straightening up added, or rather, commanded: "Come, let's have something to eat. You must be starving."

They passed over the narrow and long corridor, finding other people on the way probably going in the same direction. Clara felt uncomfortable standing among so many people, dizzy, suffocating. She doesn't remember anything about her or her past but being exposed was something that she rather avoids as much as possible.

"Why did you come up that story about being your cousin?" Clara asked in a low voice as they walked down a flight of stairs.

"It was the only thing I thought at that moment to stop the guards and keep you alive. With that whole mess and you there, the patrols would not even think twice about firing first and then asking."

"In this case ... thank you."

"I didn't do this for you. I did it because Nana asked me to."

Mirela, walked beside her as they passed through large doors at the end of a corridor towards a large hall, with huge metal tables lined up, where several people were together, eating and talking. The buzz of voices was so loud that Clara could barely hear what Mirela was saying.

The other girl took her to a large line that led to a kind of station where other people handed trays to those in line. There, Clara could see the dining room: a few narrow windows were located on a background wall.

"Do you know how I got here?" Clara whispered, afraid that someone could hear her.

"When the alarms rang, and I got to the patio, I thought it was odd that Nana was not there. A woman told me she had been seen going to the basement shelters and so after looking for her a long time, I heard her screaming inside one of the bedrooms. Then she told me that you had been found by Daniel, injured and did not remember anything and you had arrested her there, probably trying to escape." Mirela explained as they walked in line, avoiding Clara. "And then she asked me to go after you."

"How did you find me?"

"Being honest? By chance... I tried to think like someone who does not know our Cell. The main gate seemed the perfect pick."

"What about the cousin's story? Do you really have a cousin in Cell 2?"

"I created the history. And yes, I had a cousin there, but she died last summer."

"Are not they going to check this information?"

"I doubt it. We have many other problems to worry about than you and in addition, it's a great story. You came along with the grocery staff to see me because I got hurt." Mirela finished in a proud tone and pointed at the scar on her face. "A knife in the last attack of the government troops."