"There you are, Blake!" Alma exclaimed. "How much did you eat?"
I shrugged. "Honestly, I completely lost track after the fourth bowl," I admitted. After breakfast the others had headed off to explore the labs and look around. But I had listened to my stomach and stayed in the dining hall. Tearing myself away from that wonderful place had taken an intense amount of focus and self-control. Now we were all together again, hanging out in Alma's room.
"So, everything turned out fine. Nothing happened to you?" asked Sadie softly.
"No. What would have happened to me?" I frowned at her.
"I-I don't know. I just don't like splitting up," she said. I sighed.
"Why do you have to be like this?" I muttered. That was something that I would never ever understand about Sadie. It seemed like every little thing she did, she did out of fear. She totally let fear control her and rule her life. Why would anyone want to live like that? Vera was like that too. There wasn't a single moment when she didn't seem to be terrified of something. Were they even capable of feeling anything else?
Well, if not I was happy to not be them. Don't get me wrong, I felt my fair share of daily fear. But I also felt plenty of anger, rage, despair, hunger and hopelessness. On second thought, it might be better to only ever feel fear. But that didn't really matter, because for now, I was happy.
Everything here was calm and filled with peace. It really wasn't at all like the labs that I remembered. How strange it was to think that this was the same place that I used to live in. I had thought that returning here would be a nightmare. Well, I had been wrong. Maybe we really could heal. Maybe there was still hope.
"Have you seen the gardens, Blake?" asked Vera suddenly.
"No. I mean I saw them when we first got here. But I haven't looked around them," I admitted.
"There are several. They're all huge! You should really explore them at some point. You won't be able to believe how beautiful they are!" Vera exclaimed. That was real, genuine joy on her face. Who was this girl and what had she done with Vera? Vera was meant to look like a ghost girl or haunted doll. But the Vera that stood before me was smiling and glowing with real life. How was that possible? What was happening? Could the cure really be taking its effect on her already? Her normally pale skin was slightly flushed, and her eyes were glittering.
"That's a good point, Vera," Alma piped up. "We could give you a brief tour of them if you want, Blake."
I shrugged. "Alright. I guess I don't really have anything better to do at the moment."
"They're really beautiful! Trust me, you won't be able to believe how lovely they are!" added Sadie.
"Alright, you folks lead the way," I said. It was very amusing to see everyone so excited about something as small as a garden. Even Alma's eyes were glowing with that almost childlike excitement and anticipation. It was as if we had all become totally new people. But I didn't mind.
The new Vera and Sadie were much easier to put up with than the old ones had been. If we really did heal, then what would happen? I wouldn't need to be afraid anymore. We wouldn't attack or harm each other anymore. There was a slim, very slim chance that things would work out for us, and I could let go of this rage that I had carried with me for such a long time.
But it was unwise to start hoping. Things could always change. Things could fall apart. But for now, things were going well. I didn't get many chances to be happy. I might as well enjoy it while it lasted. With a soft sigh, I turned my mind towards happier thoughts and followed the others down the hall. We moved quickly, speaking to no one.
People looked up and smiled back at us. Sadie smiled back shyly. Alma and Vera didn't. How odd all these people looked. It was hard to believe that they were really infected. Their faces were full of color and there was no hunger in their eyes. Was that how we would look if we stayed here for long enough?
Unlike yesterday, the air outside was crisp and clear. The sky was the color of the blue iris that were planted everywhere to be seen. Soft, white clouds that looked more like pillows than clouds were scattered across the sky. Sunlight spilled itself out onto the soft green grass. There was a part of me that wanted to flop down into the ground and bury my face in the ground. The whole world was alive with a crisp freshness that I couldn't quite describe. Who knew that the world could be this lovely? Perhaps it had always been this lovely and I was only now able to see its beauty.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"This way!" Sadie was calling happily. But I wanted to stay here and stare at the sky forever. "Come on, Blake!" Reluctantly, I followed her. A guest of wind came rushing down the hill it carried the fragrance of a thousand different wildflowers with it. I watched as it tossed the irises this way and that.
"Look! Over there!" Vera called. I glanced in the direction where she was pointing. My heart began to race. What was that? What was I looking at? This wasn't a garden. I was staring down at what I could only describe as a field of colors. The flat plain was a rainbow of different shades. Reds faded into oranges that faded into yellow. I saw colors that I hadn’t never seen before. I saw colors that I hadn't known could be real. The field also seemed to be glowing as if it was one huge gemstone. At last, I realized that the colors were hundreds and hundreds of flowers. The flowers were all different sizes and shapes, but they all glowed with that same deep light.
"Alright, let's go," Alma commanded. Sadie took my hand and led my down into the field. For a split second, I hesitated. Were we really about to walk down into that brightly colored field? Something about that just didn't feel right. It was too beautiful to be real. It looked as if it had come from a distant fantasy world. Was it even possible to explore it. I half expected it to vanish into thin air the moment that we reached it. To my surprise, it didn't vanish. We made our way through the garden. Everywhere I looked I saw color. My heart was still pounding, and I felt slightly dizzy.
"Are you feeling alright?" Vera asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm just tired," I said. Goodness, why was this all making me feel so lightheaded? This place couldn't be real. I must be dreaming. Yes, that was it. This was a dream. But it was a dream that I didn't want to wake up from. I wanted this dream to go on forever and ever.
"What do you think?" Sadie asked.
"It's very nice," I whispered. Those were the only words that I managed to squeeze out of my mouth. The world around me was glowing and spinning all around me. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. We were walking back up the hill away from the field. The sun was much higher in the sky now. How much time had passed? It felt as if only a few minutes had passed by. My stomach growled. I was hungry again. Well, there was a hall filled with food waiting for me.
"I'm going to grab a bite to eat. Would any of you like something?" I asked as we reached the top of the hill. The field of colorful flowers faded away.
"Nah, I'm good," said Alma. "Besides, I wanted to ask Dr. Green some questions."
"I feel like I could use a nap, so I'll pass as well," Vera said.
"Did you not sleep well last night, Vera?" I asked her.
"Nope. I slept really well. But now I want more of that good sleep," she laughed. That made sense.
"I'll come! I'm starving!" Sadie said happily.
"Alright." Of all the people to come it had to be her. Oh well, this was the new Sadie. I could tolerate the new Sadie for a few minutes. At least I hoped I could.
"See you guys around!" Sadie called to Alma and Vera as they headed off. My stomach growled once again. Was there nothing that I could do to keep it quiet? Food was the only cure. I grabbed Sadie's hand and began tugging her down the hall. Soon we were sitting together at a table with plates full of food in front of us.
Neither of us talked as we ate. Priority one was to get rid of the hunger. The food filled me much faster than I had expected it to. I had been planning on heading back for seconds, but by the time I had finished my first plate, I was already full. Sadie also looked satisfied.
"This stuff really is amazing. I wonder what seasonings they put on it," she said.
"Whatever it is, it tastes incredible. Honestly, I don't normally enjoy eating anything that has been cooked. But I've loved everything I've had here," I said.
"Exactly! Normally cooked meat just tastes dull. But there's flavor in every single bite here. I'm glad that we came here. This place really has changed. It's the perfect place to live. It's hard to believe that it's really the same place where we all used to live."
"Don't remind me, Sadie! As far as I'm concerned, this is a totally different place. It's our brand-new home that we've never seen before." The last thing I wanted right now was unpleasant memories of the past.
"You haven't seen the library yet, have you?" asked Sadie.
"Nope. I've spent most of my time here, eating. Honestly, this is probably going to be my favorite room no matter what," I admitted. At that, Sadie burst out laughing.
"Yeah, it's certainly my favorite as well," she giggled. Suddenly, I found myself smiling. Sadie had been acting differently lately. She had been acting more and more like old Sadie. This was the Sadie that I had once known. I hadn't realized just how much I had missed her. Maybe it was this place that had brought her back. Well, I was happy to have her back. This was a Sadie that I could put up with. "It's funny," Sadie went on. "Ever since we got here, I've been remembering things. Like things that I didn't even know I had forgotten."
"What kind of things?"
"Just random things. Like days from before the Z plague took over. I remember daily life. I remember what I would eat for breakfast and how I would walk to school. All of that seems so far away now," she explained.
"Ah, I see. That's been happening to me too. Just here and there, I'll get a little blurry glimpse of the past. Interesting, isn't it?" I said.
"Hm, I wonder why that's happening. Do you think that the z plague does something to your memory? Maybe the cure is already taking affect and we're regaining little bits of our memories," suggested Sadie.
"That's a good idea. It might be true. I think that Alma was planning on looking into how this lifestyle affects the plague. Maybe you should ask her about that. She might have an answer for you."
"That's a great idea, Blake!"
With that, we cleared our dishes and headed back down the hall to meet the others. I followed behind Sadie. I could see it more clearly now. Even the way that she carried herself was different. She just looked much more alert, but not in a frightened way. It was as if she had just woken up from an incredibly long sleep. She hadn't looked this happy in ages. A happy sigh escaped me. It really was great to have the old Sadie back again.