INTERWOVEN ADVENTURES | Circadian Earth: Book 1

Chapter 33

Josie and Azaleah had had a rough sleep in their new room. It hadn't been easy, as the beds were nowhere near as comfortable as the ones back home. Eventually, Josie woke up first.

"Morning," Seven said quietly, so as not to wake Azaleah.

"Oh wow..." Josie inhaled. "All that actually happened..."

"Yeah, it did..." Seven looked nervous. "Are we allowed to leave our room?"

"That squirrel girl didn't say we couldn't," Josie replied with a grin, before putting her boots on.

Seven gave a slight smile, and followed Josie out of the room, being sure to keep quiet until the door was closed. "Now what?"

Josie saw Chelsey in the distance, and ran in her direction, with Seven in tow.

Chelsey noticed them. "Oh, hey you two! Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yeah! It was rough, but we managed," Josie replied. "What is there to do down here?"

"Not a lot," Chelsey replied. "I have to admit, life in these tunnels isn't the most extravagant. But we get by with what we have, and only Melissa and I ever need to visit the surface."

"Wait. So we can leave?" Seven perked up.

"It depends on whether I trust you to not rat the rest of us out. Melissa is my own Nasric companion before I arrived in these tunnels, so it's fine for her. She knows how much this means to me."

"Okay... what about me?"

Chelsey stared at Seven. "You seem trustworthy, so maybe in the future I can allow it. Not yet though, as you're still new. Why do you want to go up to the top, anyway? I already said Layla was a lost cause."

"I'm a Nasric prototype," Seven explained. "I came to Pronio because I was told that all of the other prototypes were here, and I want to meet them."

"Well, you're in luck. Follow me." Chelsey started heading back in the direction of the room Josie and Seven had slept in.

"You're saying they're here?" Josie asked, excited.

"One of them. I don't think she's the friendliest, but we can see if she's interested in seeing you." Stopping at the door before Josie and Seven's room, she knocked.

"This is it..." Seven whispered. "I didn't expect it to be this easy..." She looked at the sign on the door, and stared at the serial number that was written on it.

The three of them heard a voice from inside. "What?"

"There's someone who wants to meet you!" Chelsey announced.

"Tell Stardust that she can stick it."

Chelsey scratched her head in confusion. "Your name isn't Stardust, is it?"

"No. It's Seven."

Nodding, she turned back to the still-closed door. "I don't know who Stardust is, but she's not here. This is someone who I think you haven't met."

"Nasric? Or something else?"

"Another prototype Nasric."

A groan could be heard from inside. "Fine, let her in."

Chelsey opened the door, and Seven slowly flew inside, unsure of what to expect.

2-14 stared at Seven. "Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't you. Who are you anyway?"

Seven didn't know what to say. Now she'd actually come face to face with another prototype, it was almost as if her voice module had broken again, although she knew it was her own shyness. She just pointed at the number that Josie had written on her two days prior. It was still crazy to her that everything had happened in just forty-eight hours.