Delirious || Bozari

Chapter Sixteen: Atomic

The Compound had been in an uproar ever since Vixen's male friend had arrived. No one could believe that Vixen had let a man stay here. It wasn't that anyone was scared of him; they were just dumbfounded as to why he was here in the first place.

Atomic had gotten one good look at him while he was getting his dinner, his son at his side. He wasn't very tall, had short orange hair, and wild, intimidating brown eyes. They'd made eye-contact for a few seconds as he turned to walk away. He'd grimaced, like she was disgusting to look at. The interaction still sent shivers down her spine.

Like always, she didn't talk much with the other brawlers, instead opting to eat her food in silence. Earlier that day, they'd dumped Blade's body in the forest. Or, at least, what was left of it, as half of it disintegrated as soon as she touched it. The execution stage looked empty without it.

That night, she didn't go with the other brawlers to the bar. She didn't feel like she could. Dumping Blade's body had made her feel... hollow. Disappointed. She hoped that with some sleep, those feelings would disappear, right along with her daily memories.

Unfortunately, the one with Siren stubbornly refused to go away. It was like part of her was hanging onto it for dear life, and no matter how much Atomic tried, she couldn't shake it. All she could do was try to ignore it, but even that seemed impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, her subconscious forced it into her vision, making her look at it. But even that memory felt incomplete; the way Siren spoke was too rushed and jarred to be natural, and the words on the business card blurred. Atomic hated everything about it.

She made her way to her bed and got changed into her nightclothes. At some point, someone had put a chest full of clothes under her bed, so she had a variety to pick from. Then she laid down and shut her eyes.

• • •

A few hours later, she woke up, feeling restless. Lights were already out, and the rest of the girls were in bed, their snores echoing around the room. Atomic sat up and rubbed her eyes, before lying back down and trying to fall asleep again.

It became clear quickly that she wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so she managed to navigate her way through the sleeping quarters without banging into too many beds.

She'd never been out in the Compound at night before. In a way, it looked more beautiful than it did during the day. Moonlight streamed in through the glass ceiling, and all you could hear was the water in the fountain. She leaned against the railing for a little while, taking in the sight, before making her way to the bathroom.

The bathrooms were still marked with the gender signs, but seeing as there were no men here, everyone always ignored them.

Well, there was a man here now, she supposed, but he was sleeping in a guest room that had its own bathroom. Vixen had sent out a text to all of the girls describing exactly what his sleeping arrangements and schedule would be, to avoid mass panic. Atomic was glad for it; she wanted to see him as little as possible.

Something about him rubbed her the wrong way. It wasn't just his appearance, though that was frightening enough on its own. No, it was something rooted deep in her that told her to run every time she looked at him. Like always, she felt like she knew him from somewhere, but she felt that so often nowadays that she'd pretty much learned to ignore that hunch, so much so that she barely even recognized it this time around.

Vaguely, she remembered sitting across from him in a room that looked similar to the one she'd been in with Courtney. It was a memory she hadn't had before today, and would probably go away in her sleep. All he did was laugh, loudly, on repeat, droning out every word she said.