“Kaiya! Are you okay?”
Amity jumped onto the couch, and Himiko stood behind her.
“I’m fine, but-”
“What happened?” Himiko questioned.
“I…”
“How did you-”
“Himiko, don’t stress her out.” Amity put her hand behind her, a gesture letting Himiko know to stop.
“It’s fine, sorry.”
Kaiya sat back down, and gazed forwards. She looked at her hands, confirming she was truly here, before looking back to the girls beside her, as well as the two on the chairs.
“Ah, I… died, in the facility.” She held her breath, and everyone predictably exploded with questions.
“What do you mean?!” “You died?!” “How are you here!?”
All that could come out of her mouth in the chaos, was “Sorry.”
“EVERYONE! Shut up!”
The clear voice penetrated the tense air, and let Kaiya keep talking.
“I died, in that facility. Some huge old dude on crutches hit a button, and something crushed me.”
“Did it… hurt?”
“… no. Not physically, but… but I felt grief. Grief for myself, even though I never lost myself.”
…
Kaiya laid on the couch, keeping some room for Amity to stay sat where she was, but letting herself get more comfortable. “It’s fine… but I don’t know how to describe where I went,” she pondered. “It was… not heaven. But it wasn’t hell. The place was like, super gray, and it basically looked infinite.”
Himiko took her hat off, resting it on Amity’s head, and slid down the side of the couch.
“Some… purgatory?” She asked.
“I think so,” was the reply. “I could see all of you guys, through some windows, and that’s how I escaped.”
They all sat idly, waiting for the rest of the story.
“Pretty much, I just broke a window, and fell into one of their facilities.” Kaiya knew she was telling a condensed truth, but it was less difficulty than having to recite the whole path out. “There was a little skirmish to get out of the place, but I made it fine. Then, you saw the glow thing, which is how I found you guys again.”
Nobody said anything for a few seconds, before Katie piped back up.
“Honestly, that’s kinda cool. You Fuckin’ Died, and said screw that.”
Everyone gave that a chuckle, but Kaiya kept speaking.
“Ah, Amity. When are we going to fight that… what’s her name?”
“… Winter?”
“Yeah, her! When’s the fight?”
“I’m gonna be honest, we’re probably not fighting her, at least not yet. You guys barely made it out of that place. You didn’t even make it out!”
Kaiya sighed. “You’re… right. Wait- How did you survive? Didn’t you fall down that pit?”
She sighed, “It’s a long story, but basically there was some machine down there that slowed my fall so I didn’t hit the ground hard, and it also sent me back up?”
Kaiya looked at her a bit skeptically, but she was too tired to meaningfully question it.
“I don’t quite understand what happened either, it was weird.”
The girl who asked stretched in her seat, cracking her back before standing up.
“It’s fine.. Listen, I know we just got out of that situation, but can we please start on our way to Winter?”
Everyone just stared at her, glaring.
“We need to leave this place soon.” …“Why?
***
Kaiya reiterated what’s happened up to this point. “We have a target on our backs! Even if Amity and I don’t have what they want, we’re still at risk along with all of you because we’ve helped you escape them multiple times!”
They all sighed.
“You’re… right. We need to run, not walk, out of this.” Raleigh stood. “Kaiya, do you know where we’re going?”
“South, against the wind. I’m pretty sure we’re in the dead center of the island, so Winter’s cell is just a bit away.”
Amity helped Himiko up after getting up herself, and Katie stood too, following Kaiya out of the door.
