Chromium

6.2

Unedited / First draft

Dia didn't know for how much she had slept, but she was still tired when she woke up. Someone was knocking at her door, the noise so annoying it looked like someone was banging a hammer on her skull.

"Who is it?"

"It's Collins, Miss Zephyr."

Collins...? Collins who? She didn't really care. She just wanted to sleep.

"Miss Zephyr." He called again but she didn't answer. "It's time. Lord Umbra wants to see you."

...and she popped right up. In hindsight, maybe it was better if she didn't. She felt dizzy, the vertigo so strong the floor seemed to move. It was like she was on a ship, drifting aimlessly during a storm.

"Miss Zephyr..."

"What?" She slurred, still groggy. It was like she had the fog in her brain, and Collins didn't make it any better. The jarring sound of his voice was like an alarm clock: it kept ringing, but she couldn't turn it off.

"Lord Umbra doesn't like to wait." Collins repeated, and this time Dia woke up for good.

The Umbra can go fuck himself! She thought and without warning lifted the bed and threw it like a bowling ball. Only when it crashed against the wall, Dia realized what she had done. She was angry for some reason, senselessly furious.

"Miss Zephyr?!" Collins' voice sounded agitated."What happened?"

"I...I" She stammered, searching for some kind of excuse. "I-i bumped into the corner of the bed and fell." Lame.

Collins didn't answer, but she heard him snorting. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes as she felt her anger rising again. She was grumpy at morning, but this illogical fury was new. New and scary.

What's going on with me?

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but it was useless.

"A-anyway I'll be right there. Give me some time to..." She said, looking at the tangles of hair reflected in the mirror. "Fix myself."

"Ten minutes." Collins answered though it sounded a lot like an order.

She took a shower, wore the uniform but hesitated when she saw the armor. It wasn't particularly hot inside the room, maybe even a little colder than she was used to, but she was sweating. In the end, she didn't wear it. Armor or not, it wouldn't have made much difference if something went wrong after all.

"It seems I was wrong. You are a lady." Collins said when she came out, sarcastic and annoyed for some reason. He sounded a little snobbish when he talked like he didn't think she was worthy of his services.

As a woman in an army of men, she had her fair share of encounters with condescending and misogynist assholes. She had to learn to ignore or at least tolerate them. But this time she couldn't.

The more she looked at him, the more she wanted to crack his skull open to see what was inside that bald head.

"Follow me." Collins said after a while, and she did as asked.

She really didn't have a choice. There were at least two dozen soldiers surrounding her, watching her like hawks.

What are they afraid of? This place is freaking fortress!

Besides, she was just a girl, wasn't she?

"Don't lag behind." He said, his tone frosty when she lingered.