Wednesday 13th April 2084 9:55pm
AS IF THINGS couldn't get any worse, Malakai just had to dream about his past.
He was in a laboratory, or some sort of test centre. Test centre? Where had he gotten that idea?
He was standing in front of a row of glass pods, like human-sized test tubes.
"Just in and out, Kai," said a girl. Her long, silky brown hair came down to her waist and her heart-shaped face was splattered with light freckles. She looked a year or so older than Malakai and wore a stern, yet worried expression. "You just need to find out what's wrong," she continued, "Remember that. Come back to me."
She hugged him tight as if she couldn't bear to let go. Malakai turned round and stepped into one of the pods. The glass door slid shut. There was some sort of smoke inside, partially obscuring his view of the lab, but he could still see the girl, sorrowfully waving to him.
Raven.
That was her name, he was sure of it. But how did he know that? He wasn't sure where that memory came from but it was there all the same.
She turned around, and pressed a button on a panel; Malakai's vision was plunged into darkness.
* * *
Malakai woke the next morning, his eyesight hazy, to see someone sitting on the edge of his bed peering down at him, shining a torch in his face, continuously flicking it on and off. He groaned. "What on earth are you doing?"
"It's not my fault," said Jett, "that you didn't wake up when the alarm went off or when I punched you or when I yelled at you, or-"
"Yeah, yeah I get it," Malakai grumbled, cutting him off. He looked over at Jett's alarm clock to see that it was only 7 a.m. He groaned again, "Why the fuck it so early?" He complained, rubbing his eyes.
"Mateo's rules," Jett explained, "don't blame me." he rolled his eyes, "Did you have a good sleep then or what?" he asked harshly as he sat down on his own bed. Malakai noticed a small tattoo of a snake on his ankle peeping out from under his black Converse. The snake was wrapped around his ankle and looked quite menacing in Malakai's opinion. He hated it.
"Yeah... It's just... I- I had a dream..." Malakai replied sleepily, not registering who he was talking to.
Jett smirked. "We all have dreams, Kai. You're not special, mate."
"No, I mean it was like a memory or something."
"Wow, a memory! That is so crazy. Not at all like it's happened to the rest of us!" He scoffed mockingly. "What was it about then if it was so special?"
Malakai told him about his dream, about the mystery girl and the strangely familiar test lab.
Jett just rolled his eyes again. "You sure it's not just a dream?"
Malakai nodded, annoyed Jett didn't believe him. "Yes! There was something about it that was so familiar, like somewhere in the back of my mind I knew what was about to happen."
Jett stood up. "Well it's not my problem. Ask Mateo about it when you go downstairs if you really care that much," he said, "He always seems to know more than us. Anyway, your wardrobe should be full by now."
Malakai sat up, intrigued, "My wardrobe?"
Jett nodded as if Malakai was stupid. "Yeah. Your wardrobe." He sighed. "Somehow, usually the day after we arrive, the wardrobe in the room we choose to stay in is filled with clothes it'll know we like. I'm gonna be honest, it's like it's bloody taunting us since it seems to know more about ourselves than us." He walked over to the wardrobe across from Malakai's bed. "Open it so I can leave."
"Impatient much."
He joined Jett in front of the walk-in wardrobe and reached up for the handle.
Who knows. Maybe I'll get another memory back, he thought, almost afraid of what might happen. He bravely threw open the door and looked up at the masses of clothes hung up inside.
There was a lot: white shirts, brown trousers, brown trench coats, black t-shirts, belts, plaid shirts, brown and grey jumpers, turtlenecks and more. Malakai stared up in awe. So this was who he was.
"Not really my style," Jett wrinkled his nose.
"Well it's not yours, is it?"
Jett ignored him and made for the door.
"Get ready then come downstairs. Mateo can look after you after that." He said look after you as if Malakai was a toddler who needed baby-sitting.
He left the room leaving Malakai alone. He looked at the range of clothes, too overwhelmed by the choice. He eventually settled on a plain white shirt and light brown trousers and decided to get changed in the bathroom so he could wash.
Malakai was shocked at the sheer size of the bathroom, yet something told him rooms this big were normal to him as if his forgotten life had been this luxurious.
There was a huge circular bathtub in the centre of the room, the inside was marbled, the outside gold with elegant patterns carved into it. Sconces lined the walls, Greek-style pillars between each one. There were two round mirrors on either side of the room and candles everywhere. Countertops with the same engraved design went across one wall, dressed with more white candles, soap dishes, and towels.
Malakai fought the urge to have a long, relaxing bubble bath. Instead, he had a quick wash and put on his new clothes.
He made his way downstairs, briefly getting lost in the many twists and turns, until he eventually found his way to a winding staircase, hoping it was the right one.
To Malakai's surprise, the living room was full of people, very much contrasting the almost dead feeling it gave off when he arrived. There were at least half a dozen groups of people chatting loudly, which stopped as soon as they saw Malakai. He desperately tried to spot Mateo, already embarrassed by the sudden attention. He was relieved when he saw him, along with Jett, sitting on the nearest sofa, waving him over.
"Uh... why are they all staring at me?" Malakai whispered to Mateo, ignoring Jett's presence.
"You're the first newbie in a long time, mijo. I can imagine it would be quite exciting to them," said Mateo, "But don't be scared, they're all lovely... well except a couple."
As if on cue, a boy sauntered into the living room, hands in pockets and a bored look on his face. He had blonde, curly hair and the clearest skin Malakai was sure he'd ever seen.
"That's Hunter," Jett started, "He's worse than you. Absolute dickhead."
Mateo smirked, "You weren't saying that when he was your crush," he said quietly, earning an elbow to the side from Jett.
"Don't tell Kai that, you bastard," Jett mumbled. "Anyway, just don't talk to Hunter if you want to maintain a good reputation. Which, I'm sure you won't have anyway but... still."
Almost as if he heard him, Hunter started walking directly towards them.
"Oh shit," Jett muttered, "this won't end well."
"Who's this dumbass," Hunter asked, gesturing at Malakai, his icy blue eyes scanning up and down him, horribly criticising.
"He's new," Mateo said quietly, avoiding eye contact. He looked almost scared.
"I can see that, I'm not thick," Hunter smirked. He turned to Malakai, "You better not cause any goddamn trouble, newbie, or you'll have me to answer to," with that, he turned around and went loudly up the stairs. When he was gone, Mateo turned to Malakai apologetically.
"He likes to think he owns the place, although, until you, he was technically the newbie," he said, "don't let him push you around though, mijo. Don't give him the satisfaction." He heaved a sigh. "Anyway, just because it's your first day doesn't mean you can slack off. You've got chores to do."
Thursday 14th April 2084 7:28am
MATEO EXPLAINED THAT Sanctuary had a chore rota that Malakai would eventually be added to after he'd had a "Trial Day" as Mateo had called it.
"So basically," Mateo continued, "today you're gonna try some of our main chores, so we know you can do them. After today we leave you to it."
"Will there be a break time or something?" Malakai asked, hoping there would be so he could get the chance to explore. "I've gotta get my beauty sleep, y'know."
Mateo raised his eyebrows at his last sentence "Yeahhh, there's lunch and dinner breaks," he stood up and nodded at Jett, "I'll leave you with him for your first task."
Jett looked almost appalled, "Mate, are you trying to get him killed? Not that I'd be complaining, though."
Mateo shrugged, "We've gotta see if he's tough enough to survive this place," he gave Malakai a lopsided smile, "You'll be fine, mijo."
"I mean I'm not complaining either way. Die if you want." Jett shrugged.
Malakai nodded nervously. He didn't particularly want to be killed on his second day, and the thought of spending more time with Jett didn't appeal to him at all. But, he was curious to know what this chore was.
A few minutes later, the two of them were choosing weapons in the games room.
Malakai frowned. "Are we going to kill each other?"
"No. Well, it has happened before," Jett saw Malakai's horrified expression, "I'm kidding. Obviously."
Malakai let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle then cringed at himself for even making such a weird noise. Especially in front of Jett. Something told him he wasn't usually this awkward.
Jett picked up the sword that Malakai had been looking at yesterday, with the J engraved on it. J for Jett, Malakai realised.
"Right, pick one then. And hurry up with it." Jett gestured at the weapons laid out on the pool table. "And specifically one you're not going to accidentally kill yourself with," he added. "Although, I don't really care, I'd just rather you didn't die under my control."
Malakai raised his eyebrows, "So I'd be better off without a weapon, then."
"I mean, without one you'd get yourself killed anyway," Jett picked up a small, golden dagger, "This is probably fine," he handed it to Malakai, seemingly not caring if he dropped it or not, "Don't drop it, mate. I'd totally hate to see you with a dagger through your foot."
He got the feeling that was something he'd do, with his clumsy nature.
Malakai followed Jett into the porch area. They stopped outside the doors to the garden. Malakai bit the inside of his lip, wondering what they were going to do.
"So," Jett started wearily. "Every day, two of us go outside to see if we can kill some of those bloody things, maybe even find a way out of this place. Questions? No? Good."
"Wait," he said quickly. "Haven't you ever wondered if, even though we're killing them there's always going to be more? I mean, it would make sense considering there's still so many."
"I s'pose, but that means they're finding a way in that we could use as our way out, yeah? And we've gotta get some practice in, for the day we decide to take them all out. Now can you stop with all these bloody questions?"
The pair stood at the double doors leading to the garden, Jett shooting Malakai a concerned look as if he didn't think Malakai could handle what was out there.
"Ready, Kai?"
Malakai nodded firmly. He was not going to die, "Ready. Wait, no, why can't I practise inside?"
"Work experience," Jett smiled evilly, like a villain who had just announced his master plan to take over the world. He roughly grabbed Malakai's hand, looking disgusted. "Try not to die."
