I rolled over, opening my eyes to the same ceiling from last night. I pulled my cheek, feeling the sting.
Not a dream. Thank god.
I sat up, throwing the blanket off as I turned to sit on the edge of the bed. I spotted a bottle on the bedside table filled with pills. Right, I have to take meds. Eh, at least it's pills, liquid medicine fucking sucks.
I reached out, picking up the bottle as I traced the label with my finger. Take two right? I opened the bottle, taking out two tiny pills, and I mean tiny. Like the kind where you don't need water to swallow it.
"Why are they so small?" I mumbled to myself, closing the bottle and putting it back on the table.
Then, I took the pills, swallowing it dry. I flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. The bottle said it would take effect in five minutes for the pill to work. That's kinda weird. Usually, it takes around thirty to sixty minutes for most painkillers to kick in. It could be narcotics, that takes five to ten minutes, and I doubt these people would give prescription medication over the counter. I scrolled through all the medical knowledge I could remember to make this make sense.
Suddenly, I heard the door open, and I sat up. Emily was standing in the doorway with a tray of food, staring at me with a less judgy look than normal. I smiled, waving at her.
"Good morning Emi."
Emily's eyebrows rose, before glaring at me.
"Don't call me that."
"Right, sorry," I shrank back, looking away from her glare.
She walked towards me, placing the tray on the bedside table. The tray had a bowl of soup, slices of bread, and a bowl of sliced apples. I smiled at the food, reaching out for an apple slice before munching on it.
Yas, food! The greatest thing in the world!
I scooted over, closer to the tray as I started eating breakfast. Emily sat next to me, yawning as she watched me.
"Did the painkillers kick in yet?"
I stopped eating for a moment, turning to her.
"Right, I wanted to ask you," I started, mid-bite into a slice of bread.
"Normally, the painkillers where I come from usually kick in after thirty to sixty minutes. But the bottle said that these painkillers would kick in after five. My injury isn't that serious, so I don't think you gave me prescribed medication. Sooo..."
Emily stared at me longer than usual, her normally deadpan face showing a surprised expression.
"How the hell do you know that much about medicine?"
Ah, right, that.
"Well, I originally wanted to be a writer. But if that didn't work, I was going to be a pharmacist. I like biology and chemistry and stuff, so it wouldn't be a job I'd hate," I explained, shrugging.
"When I got bored, I'd research about different medicines and their effects for fun, so I guess I know a lot."
Why does everyone look at me like that when I start talking about sciences? I know I don't look the type to like math, but you don't have to be that surprised! Yes, I like reading. Yes, I like writing stories, even if they aren't the best thing ever. And yes, I'm an idiot, but it doesn't mean I'm stupid! Even when I was still living in Vietnam, I had pretty good grades, especially in science and math. We don't talk about ELA here. But I at least got a b in those subjects!
"Okay... good to know," Emily nodded, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I turned, blankly looking in front of me, slowly blinking. Huh, I feel tired again. Weird, I'm not usually this tired in the morning. I blinked a few more times to keep myself awake, letting out a yawn. And before I knew it, I flopped back onto the bed, half-asleep. Then, I heard Emily's voice.
"Sorry, this isn't personal."
Then, I fell asleep.
--------
I opened my eyes for the second time today. But this time, I was in a dark room and- tied up???
The fuck?!
Where am I? Why am I here? How did I-
The meds. Knockout pills. Was it ketamine? No, I'm perfectly sober right now, the itchy feeling on my wrists is proof of that. So, how did I? Wait, why am I trying to match fantasy drugs with Earth drugs? I should just stop thinking about it. But, I should look into it later.
I pushed sideways, almost falling on the floor in the chair I was tied up on. But, the ropes didn't budge. Nope, can't do it.
Do I just... sit here?
Nah, fuck that. For all I know, I've been fucking kidnapped! They could dissect my organs, or sell me, or torture me for fun. Maybe not the last one, but there are some sick sick assholes in every world where humans exist, so there is definitely a chance.
I thrashed around in the chair, it wobbling under the force. I kept going until it fell over, crashing to the floor.
Ow. Fuck me...
Tears welled up in my eyes, already feeling the bruise that's gonna bite me in the ass later. I could use magic to get out, but the last time I used magic, I almost died, so no thanks. I struggled against the ropes, which did nothing.
God damn, are these ropes made of steel or something?!
As I was fighting for my life against itchy strings, the door to the room opened, lighting everything up a little bit. There, from across the room, I saw Minh in front of a guy in the station's uniform holding a sword to Minh's neck.
Yo, what the fuck?!
I'm the only one allowed to threaten him ass hat, put that sword down right now!
I struggled and thrashed, hitting my head on the floor a few times by accident. Ow. But I tried! That counts!
I locked eyes with Minh for a second before he turned to glare at the guard next to him. Guard didn't react though, holding the sword closer to Minh's neck. I saw him throw one last glare at that bitch before walking towards me.
He grabbed the chair I was tied to, putting me back to where I was when I woke up. He took out the gag in my mouth, allowing me to finally talk.
I sucked in a breath, looking at Minh and then at the guard at the entrance.
I turned to Minh, "Chuyện gì đang xảy ra vậy??"
He looked at the guard before answering me.
"Họ đã phát hiện ra chúng ta, anh sẽ giải thích sau."
What do you mean we got caught??
"Điều đó có nghĩa là gì?!" I pressed, making sure my voice still quiet.
"Anh sẽ giải thích sau," he assured, stepping closer to me as he kept his eye on the guy in front of us.
I glared at him. He better explain later or I'll beat the shit out of him.
Then, another person showed up in the doorway of the room. The guard stepped aside, lowering his sword. Yeah, you better back down. I may be traumatized from it, but I'm not afraid to throw a fireball straight at your face!
The man that just walked in was tall, not too tall, but taller than me at least, with black frizzy hair and a beard, wearing a fancier version of the military uniforms the guards wore here. At that moment, Minh stood in front of me, blocking my view. I stretched my neck, only seeing a small part of the guy.
Hey, Minh, quit blocking the way!
The guy raised his hands, a smile on his face, "It's alright, we don't mean any harm."
"I doubt that," Minh shot back, taking a step forward, further blocking me.
Hey, I said move out the way!
"Anh, đây là ai?"
"Câm miệng."
Bitch????!
Don't tell me to shut up you asshole. We could die here you know!
"You two seem close," the guy mentioned, looking between us.
Minh took another step forward.
"You must be blind then."
"Yeah, fuck this guy!" I chimed in, still craning my neck to see over Minh's shoulder.
Minh took in a breath, muttering, "Oh how I wish I could chuck you into a ditch right now."
"Yeah, yeah, fuck off," I scoffed.
He glared at me. Ah shit, right, be serious. Get together Phuong, we could die here. I shut my mouth, shrinking back into the chair.
He stopped glaring, turning back to the scruffy-looking guy.
"Right..." the guy said.
I couldn't see him that well, but I could hear him, so I'll take that.
"But, I can assure you that I'm not going to harm you in any way."
"Sure you are," Minh scoffed.
I heard a laugh. Should be from that guy. Suddenly, Minh stepped back, getting closer to me. I craned my neck past him, not seeing much but it was good enough. Then I heard another voice.
"Eric, report the situation."
"Of course, City Lord. We've currently captured suspected Crimson spies. One of them has been reported to have strange powers, similar to members of the Crimson Sun cult, and the other remains to be seen as we don't have enough information on him."
Wait, the fuck??
"Hey! What do you mean we're spies. We aren't shit!!" I argued, thrashing in the chair, almost toppling it over.
Minh caught me, putting me back in place, glaring at me. I glared back. What the hell are you glaring at?! We've been kidnapped for nothing! I watched him let out an angry groan. I would know, he always does it when he can't chuck me out a window for pissing him off. Turning back to our kidnappers, he still stood in front of me, blocking my view of anything going on.
"Spies hm? You two are quite young."
I heard a step, and Minh stepped back.
"No need to be nervous. As Captain Eric explained before, we won't harm you unless you try anything," the person explained.
So the scruffy guy is Eric. Still don't know who the other person is, but Eric did call him City Lord, so he must be someone important. Wait, wasn't I supposed to meet a City Lord or something? Yeah, Emily did say that. Oh, and Emily! She's in cahoots with these guys! Girl, I know I was fucking weird in your eyes, but you didn't have to turn me in to the government!
"Now, I would you to step aside. I have a few words for her."
Ah? He wants to talk to me? Why? Is it because I can use magic? The Eric guy did say that they knew about me using graphien. God fuck, I shouldn't have used it in public! I'm a fucking idiot!
But Minh didn't talk, nor did he step aside. Aw, thanks meatshield. But, for real, please step aside, this guy can probably kill you.
"Relax, I won't harm her. I just want to talk to her. I'll send him away if you want."
Who's him? Actually no, probably that asshole with the sword. Fuck that guy for real.
Everything was silent for a while, I didn't know how long it was, but it felt long. But then, Minh stepped to the side, unblocking my view. There, I saw a tall man, like really tall, with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and wearing a fancy white collar shirt with the frilly tie thing and black pants. I met his dark eyes, a smile on his face. I bit my lip, glaring at him as he stepped closer.
He looked down at me, making me clutch the arms of the chair.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," he reminded, "I just wanted to ask you some questions. As long as you don't lie, all will be well."
That doesn't change shit asshole.
He put his hands behind his back, his smile dropping as he asked, "First, how did you gain such powers, and where are you really from?"
I shot a look at Minh, meeting his stare, and what his stare was telling me was to lie. Lie like my fucking life depends on it!
A/N
Ello everyone! We're now getting into the meat of this arc. There will be a few timeskips towards the ending of the arc, and our mcs will be getting older. Tragic I know. For those you don't remember, Aliya and Angelo are 15 currently. Also, there will be more Althea chapters as well, so get ready!
Let's all pray that it will be smooth sailing for them from here! ٩( ᐛ )و