S a l e t é I I

XIII - Cheveux - Cinq

"Good luck." Klavdiya said to the three girls as they headed for the exit, her words brief yet firm, Monet acknowledging her encouragement with a respectful nod.

She led the way, removing the metal sheet from its regular position, enabling them to pass through the hole in the wall - a short, sharp scraping sound ringing out as it was shifted, causing Cassia to wince.

As expected, darkness loomed outside, and yet it wasn't the sort of ambience that Cassia had envisioned. It was somewhat inky, with an almost deep, slightly bluish tint rather than just outright blackness, and she was able to see quite far ahead, though a sort of mist obscured the distance - a culmination of the dust and age the place possessed, its abandoned nature not helping to dispel it.

She couldn't remember much about the path to the hole in the wall, due to how weary she'd been as she'd been brought in. The gritty path... Old bits of junk, broken metal drums, splintered chunks of what might have once been boxes, or containers...

The remnants of the area's industrial past were strewn around in a meaningless way.

The tall walls behind them, to the left and to the right, all must have belonged to other warehouses. Looking up, she could see windows in those walls like the ones that were present inside their building, indicating that her suspicion was probably true. Were these all the ones that Uliana had been talking about? The old structures they'd been unable to get into, despite various efforts?

The alleyway that led to their hidden entrance - which Monet concealed again, once they were all outside - was of notable length, to the point that Cassia was unable to see the end of it well due to that strange haze. She couldn't see any kind of ceiling above them either, or...

Wait, could she...?

All that was above was a sort of thicker darkness, only there were bizarre shapes within it, as if masses existed in certain places up there. Perhaps those masses were features present on the underground's ceiling...? Was it man made, or natural? She had no way of telling. She had no idea how the place she was in even worked.

She hadn't even been aware of its existence until she'd arrived there herself. She may as well have been on some other planet, where nothing made sense. It was somewhat cold now that she was without her blazer, but she would just have to tolerate it.

"Cassia, make sure you stay close once we're out of these alleys." Monet said, not looking back as she continued to lead the way.

Cassia hadn't had any intention to be anywhere but close to her, so she didn't really have to worry about that.

She was feeling those familiar twinges within herself now, ones that always returned no matter how many times she thought she'd finally done away with them. Each one brought a trickle of fear, and anxiety, the mental equivalent of ice gliding up her back.

She had to deal with it. She had to get on top of things. Here she was, on the verge of perhaps being able to make some progress - no, of definitely being able to make progress, of being able to see and learn things that would no doubt prove invaluable - and that old, foolish doubt of hers was creeping back up, scratching at the thoughts she'd worked so hard to organise with its greasy nails.

No. She wouldn't let it. She had to stay focused. Monet was with her, Uliana was with her, they were safe.

Eventually, they arrived at the end of their alley, a split occurring; one path went left, the other went right. Facing the direction she now was, Cassia could remember being brought to the area by Uliana from the right, but now she followed Monet to the left, the route they were following no different in terms of appearance - it was another long alleyway, murky and forgotten.