The soft morning light roused Aki from her light slumber. She blinked sleepily. Her sparsely decorated room came into view. There was a desk with a regional map lying on top. A neatly stacked bundle of notes about runes was shoved to the back. Opposite her bed was a door leading to a small private bathroom. Next to it stood a well stocked bookcase. 

The most colourful part of Aki’s room were the walls. A bunch of pictures hung there, secured with small nails.

Every single one had been drawn by Maya. One showed two stick figures, one tall one short, holding hands. Beneath their feet was a green meadow and some blooming flowers. 

Although Maya had not been allowed to leave the Redwell Research Center, Aki did her best to bring her some small tokens. Not being able to see the outside did not equal to Maya having to remain ignorant about it. 

There were encyclopedias and picture books, but those paled in comparison to what runes could do. 

One of the deciding factors for runes and rune combinations to work were powerful enough materials. That was no problem for the Enhanced. They themselves had been mutated with the help of a variety of condensed essences. Their blood was the perfect material to use for runes. 

Each Enhanced owned a bottle filled with a special liquid from the cursed grounds. It looked like clear water but contained a dense amount of volatile vitality.  When combined with their blood, it could be used to draw and activate runes.

The Enhanced could use those runes without concern, but if the liquid came into contact with people or living things that weren’t enhanced, the consequences were dire. The best outcome would be various mutations. Plants and animals were more likely to survive the slow change and mutation. For humans, it spelled mostly death. Few would survive the change happening in their bodies. 

Aki suspected that it was that liquid that was used to make Enhanced. She had seen quite a number of blood crystals that would be implanted into an orphan's body and then merge with it. Resulting in either a painful death or an even more painful mutation into an Enhanced.

The surface of those blood crystals had been densely packed with runes. Aki didn’t know if those determined the element the Enhanced would have affinity with or something else. She also didn’t know how they added special abilities, like the ability to heal that the guy from squad nine possessed.

Squads usually carried around more than one bottle of the clear liquid. If they wanted to use runes for communication purposes, the runes had to contain the blood of all those the rune was used on. There were two different types of communication rune sets used by the teams. 

One would allow them to project their thoughts to each other if they concentrated on it. That was the one most commonly used.

The other was like an intensified version of it. It could project thoughts as well as feelings or sensations. It was sometimes used for more dangerous missions. But using it could be a double-edged sword. While it let the squad monitor their teammates' condition, even if the other was unable to concentrate enough to communicate, it also meant that injuries would affect all teammates to a certain degree.

Of course, one could also tweak the runes to simply transmit sensation back and forth, but those were pretty much only used for nighttime activities.

Aki had brooded over those communication rune combinations until her head hurt, and her thoughts turned in circles. Finally, after using up all her accumulated Redwell Coins on books and finding a specialist during one of her missions, there had been a breakthrough. 

The runes to allow the projection of images were a bit more special. First, the involved parties had to be in closer proximity. Second, the requirement for the strength of the runes was higher. Aki’s blood essence was strong, so that was no problem for her. The thing she had struggled with had been the intense concentration required to transmit an image or scene to Maya. She had also been worried about somehow showing Maya gruesome memories.

However, it had all been worth it. Maya’s little face had lit up in unprecedented joy. She had clapped her hands while laughing, shouting out what things she wanted to see next.

‘Big sis, show me a bird, I wanna see a bird!’

‘It’s colours are so bright! What kind of flower is it?’

Aki had also tried to use communication runes, so she could stay connected with Maya even when they couldn’t see each other. The outcome had been far from ideal. 

A few hours after she had left, the rune had been broken, and she had been called to Greystone’s office. 

Right after, she had been sent on a one-way mission, and Greystone had threatened to have someone strip and search Maya each time Aki visited if something like that ever happened again. When she had seen Maya again, over a month later, the girl had rushed into her arms and cried.

‘Big sis, I’m so sorry. I was so excited about the rune that I kept looking at it. Someone must have come to the window and seen!’

So Aki kept using only the runes for visualization. Maya’s joy whenever Aki showed her something new was enough to chase away the bitter taste in her mouth.

Looking at the paintings, Aki smiled and finally got up. The rune powered clock showed that breakfast hours were almost over. 

Nobody talked to her as she walked into the mess hall and grabbed a plate of porridge. Some threw her a nasty look or whispered to their friends as she walked by. She sat down at an empty table and began to eat.

Aki was used to receiving stares, so she wasn’t particularly bothered by it. But today there were a few that felt especially intense. A few minutes of her shovelling bland tasting porridge into her mouth passed. Finally, when she felt that she could ignore it no longer, she looked up. 

Seated five tables over was a group of four people. None of them looked at her with any fondness. One looked slightly unhappy, while two others downright glared daggers at her. 

The last one she recognized. It was the guy from squad nine she met inside the facility yesterday. The spoon froze on its way to her mouth, and she placed it on the plate with a quiet clang. 

She raised a brow at the guy frowning at her. If he had a problem, he should just spit it out.

Thinking about the squad she was supposed to join, a slight uneasiness filled her. The porridge seemed even less appetizing, and she didn’t feel the slightest bit of hunger. 

The guy hadn’t been the friendliest of people yesterday, but he had still been civil.

The squad nine guys frowned at her for a while longer before mouthing something and gesturing outside.

Not waiting for her response, he got up. The three others following his example, and went away. 

Aki waited a while, swallowing two more spoonfuls without any enthusiasm, before she followed suit. 

Notes:

Author: how do you know those fun nighttime runes? You don't have any friends to talk with about stuff like that

Aki: 🔪

Author: violence isn't the answer!

Aki: but sometimes it's a solution

Author: *logs out*