(Viewpoint: Ela)
A breath.
Court.
Breeze.
Then another one.
Deeper.
Air enters with difficulty, as if it had to force its way through a forgotten passage.
– (I'm in pain)
My eyelids are trembling.
Lourdes.
But they give in.
The light strikes me.
White and Pure, Violent.
I have to blink several times, without understanding.
The ceiling.
Smooth.
Perfect.
Without a crack.
Without a trace.
Nothing to do with…
I sit up abruptly.
– Roum–
The pain cuts me off completely.
Sweat trickled down his jaw and…
A flash in the chest.
My muscles tense, my breath breaks again.
A hand grabs me.
Farm.
– Stay lying down.
The voice is cold.
Controlled.
I turn my head.
Beta-2
Standing next to the bed.
Immobile.
I grit my teeth.
– Where is he…?
My voice is trembling.
Against my will.
I hate it.
I hate losing control; I hate this feeling of constant distress.
– Roum… Where is Roum?
Silence.
– Answer me!
I'm looking around me.
The room is clean.
And the battle...
A bed.
White walls.
Uniform lighting.
No windows.
Nothing.
Then-
I stumble upon "She".
Standing.
A little behind.
Asmara
I stare at her.
Just a moment.
Something's wrong.
Her hair.
Whites.
Her eyes.
Blues.
Faded.
Almost… empty.
But I look away.
Not important.
Not now.
– Please answer me.
I straighten up again.
Faster.
More abruptly.
Beta-2 immediately grabs my attention.
It forces me to lie down again.
– You are not in a state to do this.
– LET GO OF ME.
My hand grips his arm.
It is a force.
But my body can't keep up.
Weak.
Too weak.
I hate it, I've never felt so small in my entire life.
– Where is Roum?
Silence.
I've lost something, I have this feeling that grips my heart, give it to me, where is it, who is it?
Again.
Always.
My breathing quickens.
– Did you see it?
I turn my head towards Asmara.
She doesn't move.
She observes.
Just.
His eyes remained fixed on me.
Fixes.
And-
A smile.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
I frown.
– …did you see it?
My voice is falling.
But she's still trembling.
Beta-2 tightens its grip slightly.
– Calm down.
– NO.
I try to get up a third time.
He pins me against the mattress.
Effortless.
– You're going to hurt yourself.
– I DON'T GIVE A DAMN—
My voice breaks.
I stop dead in my tracks.
Breathe.
Fort.
Very strong.
Then nothing more.
Just this emptiness.
In my chest.
I close my eyes for a second.
Then he reopens them.
All my strength was released
– …answer me.
Further down.
Colder.
Beta-2 barely hesitates.
– No.
One word.
Simple.
Direct.
My heart skips a beat.
- …What ?
– We haven't found it.
Silence.
My world freezes.
– …and the others?
My voice is almost absent.
– Chetan ?
– Beta-1?
Beta-2 doesn't concern me.
– Gone.
Another blow.
More violent.
Deeper.
– …disappeared?
I half sit up.
He's not stopping me this time.
– What do you mean, disappeared?
Beta-2 rubbed his forehead
– No body.
– No usable trace.
– Just… nothing.
I stare at him.
A long time.
– You're lying.
He doesn't answer.
I turn my head towards Asmara.
- You.
She tilts her head slightly.
– if you really want to know… To tell you the truth…
Silence.
– I don't know anything
She even laughed and then regained a cold expression while looking at me. That same look.
And that slight smile.
Something is tightening in my chest.
–...
Nothing.
I grip the sheets tightly between my fingers.
– YOU LEFT IT.
My voice crackles.
Broken.
Violent.
– You left them there.
Beta-2 intervenes immediately.
– That's not what happened.
– SO WHAT?
I straighten up completely this time.
Even though my body is trembling.
Even if it hurts.
I don't care.
– You were supposed to pick them up.
– That was the plan.
– I even came all the way back here to warn you
My throat tightens.
– …Roum is important.
Silence.
Heavy.
Beta-2 slightly averts its gaze.
– We have lost a lot of EMOTIONAL.
That's enough already. I told you we'd look for them. I'm not going to dwell on the past. We have other priorities, so calm down and let us handle it.
The word is dropped.
Cold.
Clinical.
I stare at him.
I remain motionless.
– …no.
A whisper.
– No.
I shake my head.
– No.
My voice rises.
– It is one of the priorities.
– He must–
I'm stopping.
Suddenly.
Something is blocking it.
A memory.
A glance.
I'm not sure.
– …it must be retrieved.
Beta-2 turned around and left the room.
I turn my head.
Slowly.
Vers Asmara.
She didn't move.
Not by a millimeter.
Her blue eyes are always fixed on me.
Calm.
Almost soft.
… moved.
A shiver runs up my spine.
– …what are you looking at?
She doesn't answer.
Obviously.
I look away.
I don't have time for that.
And she murmured
– We don't know where they are.
The words fall slowly.
– And even if that were the case…
– The orders are clear.
She smiled.
Slowly.
Coldly.
– The orders?
She also turns around and follows in Beta-2's footsteps.
– Wait, explain to me, what order?
I stare at her one last time before she disappears behind the door.
Something wrong.
But I can't quite grasp what.
I clench my fists.
– …wait