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It was at least four days after the original alpha zombie incident, Michelle now stood in front of an odd part of the agency.
A place that seemed to be covered in dust and a chill that never left. That’s how Michelle felt looking at the door, with Elijah going over a key ring.
“Alright, I know we already said you're cleared, but this is more a precaution for the rest of the agents.”
He said, as he finally opened the door, only to reveal a room filled with towering filing cabinets, and a group of people running about the large room with files and books, boxes and old equipment.
Even stepping in, that chill traveled further in the room, Michelle assumed that was to keep everything in the room from rotting or something. Still everything felt larger than it needed to be, even with everything in this room.
“Do we really need to be here Elijah, there really wasn’t another option?”
Michelle asked, the nerves finally kicking in full drive.
Elijah on the other hand simply nodded again, “You're going to be alright, these guys are harmless.”
Michelle wished she could believe that, but when she got closer and saw the looks of the workers, her faith in Elijah’s words faltered.
Most of them looked like older men and women, but what scared her was the number of scars, missing features. All of them wore the agency jumpsuits like most of the other agents, but the difference was a bit odd, some were covered in stickers or those sewn on patches. Another jumpsuit had embroidered song lyrics like tattoos.
Elijah waved to get the attention of an older woman, a towering tiger humanoid, that was missing an ear and where half her face was patchwork of scars.
“Zelda, I’ve got a new one for you.”
He said, looking actually happy to see the tiger woman.
Zelda gave a catish grin, and held out a clawed hand to pat the young man on the back.
“Ah Elly, it's good to see how much you’ve grown.” Looking over Michelle, she frowned. “Your saying this is the one that needs to run the racks?”
Nodding Elijah properly gestured towards her, “Yes, this is Michelle, she got through an incident of being a Zombie Alpha, you know that problem from Custodia?"
Zelda’s frown deepened, “It's terrible to think that such proud people were overtaken by the plague.”
That same clawed hand was held out towards Michelle.
“But don’t you worry, we’ll have your mission ready within the next two weeks.”
Michelle blinked in confusion, whipping around to face Elijah, completely ignoring the extended claw.
“What! You didn’t say anything about this being two weeks Elijah.”
Elijah quirked a brow, before giving a nervous shake of his head.
“I know, but this is like our personal rehabilitation center, until Mary finishes the actual one. Our Mom had this set up years ago.”
Michelle still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that a filing room counted as its own rehab.
“So, I’m just here until I’m deemed mission worthy?”
Elijah nodded, “Yeah, if it's any reassurance the files go through quickly, so give it a little time and you’ll be going on missions again with the rest of us.”
Michelle, deciding to accept her fate for the moment, was just allowed to be left alone with the other file workers, as Elijah gave one last wave and left the building.
All the other workers didn’t spare her a hello or glance, and just returned to their work, grumbling about being set back for a short moment. Zelda on the other hand, just rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh, and gestured towards the table.
“Since it's your first day, I’ll start you with something small, something easy you know.”
Michelle turned towards the table, where a series of files sat with boxes and tools were scattered with them. The table also held an over abundance of pens, pencils, and any writing utensil for writing. Michelle assumed that all of these were used for labeling and such, but there could be other reasons that she didn’t know.
Tapping the table Zelda grabbed one of the pens.
“Here’s what you're going to do.” First Zelda grabbed one of the papers, holding it up to show Michelle what she was looking for.
“You’re first going to take one of these forms, and fill it out in accordance with the file or object as shown on the table.”
Moving the filled paper and the object down, another member grabbed it and took it off towards the rest of the massive room.
“And then all you do is move it down for the rest of us to put it where it belongs.”
Michelle frowned, “That’s it? I thought I had to run around or something? Elijah made it sound like I’m supposed to be doing more work.”
Zelda chuckled.
“Depending on how the next two days go, then you’ll be running about the shelves. For right now though, you fill out sheets of paper.”
With that, she didn’t stick around, already moving on to more completed stuff, and heading back towards the stacks.
Leaving Michelle to stare at the task given to her.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next two days were just like Zelda had said, papers being filled and filed away, while all she did was write.
It was on that third day though, as she was finishing another stack, hands aching that a different member of the archives approached her.
A man with tattoos of letters and numbers, inked in different colors, his gray jumpsuit standing out, by also being covered in those odd codes. As if he was trying to remember something.
“You're Michelle right?”
She nodded, not sure if she needed to say anything.
The man sniffed and gestured her forward.
“Today, I will train you in the run.”
He started walking away, immediately, not saying anything further.
Following him, Michelle was guided through towering cabinets and shelves each with all sorts of containers and boxes. All holding things that Michelle herself had seen or never thought about before.
There was even a massive back wall where a number of weapons of all sorts were labelled and being catalogued by a couple of members.
Finally though they reached the end, where the man stared at the wall for the moment, before passing her a file that he held in his hands the entire walk.
“Alright, here’s what you're going to do”, he explained, “You’ll have the next hour to figure out where that file goes, and we’ll keep doing this until you have memorized the routes.”
Confused and a little annoyed, Michelle folded her arms.
“What? How many of these files do I have to memorize?”
The man pointed at the file in her hand.
“That’s for all the A coded Realos.”
Those were the final words spoken, and before Michelle could start shouting for more answers, the man was gone, leaving her alone amongst the stacks.
In the couple of days of being here, she noticed that most of the workers didn’t talk to each other, like normal agents did during work hours.
In the sense that they didn’t ask each other anything about the room, as if the room was made just for them.
Which was weird, why would Nelson's mom have made the archives come off as some kind of storage place for odd employees.
Deciding to spite the odd man, Michelle took to the challenge, besides how many A marked Realos were there.
Turns out in the next three hours, Michelle spent the whole time running around, gathering sweat and frustrations as she searched for a single A127, which also turned out to be right under her nose. Grumbling when she finally went to B, which then took another bunch of hours.
By the end of the work day, Michelle was sweaty, annoyed and nowhere chose to figure out the last C file.
The man approached her again, from where she laid on the floor of the place.
“The day’s done, Zelda’s dismissed you, and don’t worry you can finish all this tomorrow.”
Michelle gave a weak nod, and left.
Now she was just sitting in the commons area, glaring at the dinner she grabbed that Elijah made for some of the late night folk.
Apparently she maybe was still a zombie, with the fact she’s still crawling around at late night hours.
“If you glare at that bowl for any longer it might run away.”
Said a male voice, looking up from her bowl, Micah stood in front of her, holding his own dinner and gesturing to the empty seat in front of her.
“Mind if I sit at your table?”
Michelle glanced around, there were a couple other agents, each of them chatting about this or that. Elijah was in the mini kitchen that the agency had.
Yet there were plenty of other spots, so why was Micah talking to her?
“Sure, but may I ask why?”
Micah shrugged, “Heard from Mary that you got shackled with the archive recovery, and thought I checked on you?”
Michelle frowned.
“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me, considering we’re not really friends.”
The man didn’t correct her or anything, he just sat there for a moment thinking, before he spoke again.
“Sure, but if anything you can check on someone even when they're not your friend.”
He then proceeded to eat his meal, without another comment, causing Michelle to be left sitting there in silence.
The words were strangely kind, in a way that Michelle had felt from the other Nelson’s after the whole Alpha incident.
Shiloh gives her a job, even after everything, Judah and Josiah she hasn’t spent enough time with to fully understand everything. Mary was kind in that doctor’s manner, making sure she was healthy and alive. Elijah helped show her the ropes in the agency.
Micah though was a stranger, not in the sense that they didn’t know each other, it's just Michelle had taken the long route into sneaking into the agency only to be defeated in the same day.
No, they were strangers in the sense of starting over, something that he himself offered the next morning.
Michelle ate her dinner with a slight bitterness in her mouth.
They didn’t talk at all, and yet Michelle wanted to say something against his kindness. Maybe it was just the bitterness though, the exhaustion from a day running about a deathtrap of a frost room.
Micah left the table first, not giving anything more than a nod as a goodbye with him happily clapping another guy on the back talking about whatever mission they had for today.
The envious feeling in Michelle’s chest came from the fact that she was stuck in one place, while everyone else was moving forward.
Maybe she was still a zombie.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michelle finally made it to H the same day, Mary walked in to evaluate her.
Nothing too hard, just a series of questions and tasks to properly rewrite some of her paperwork to continue allowing to be a full fledged agent.
The question portion was first, with Mary talking and her simply answering.
She was doing fine, all the normal stuff, until one question stumped her.
“Has any of your memories resurfaced since your time as a zombie alpha?”
That question alone stopped her in her tracks.
Michelle didn’t really like thinking about her past sometimes, worried that it was something peaceful and nice, something that she was bound to miss.
The worst part, Michelle knew it was.
Sometimes she would be standing in the rows of cabinets and chance a whiff of something that reminded her of her mom or the sound of the food in the kitchen made her think of quiet nights when she was a little girl.
Now though Michelle was older, and didn’t want to think about those things.
Maybe that’s why the zombie parasite sought her out, if that was how it even worked.
Mary had written down nothing, when Michelle didn’t answer, but because of that stumping question Michelle was too in her head when the practical portion came. Making her falter and fail with her glaring at the boxes she was forced to carry.
Zelda over seeing it with a pitiful frown.
Michelle worked though, and when it was finally time to end for the day, she once more dragged herself out of the archives.
Since that interaction with Micah at the tables though, Michelle had taken to eating in her room, not wanting to encounter any of the Nelson’s at the moment.
Right now she was akin to a cat she guessed, wandering at late hours and bolting if anyone took note of her.
Eating meals in her room was a lonely affair, but it helped Michelle try and think of any of her memories.
None had resurfaced since she was cured.
Since she stopped being a zombie.
Maybe she had been for so long, and forgetting was common, that’s what Mary told her from the only files they had on the infection from Custodia.
Right now Michelle was literally a blank slate, which was why she was focused on the present, not the future or the past. The present, something she could handle, something she could manage, maybe that's why she distanced herself from the Nelsons, because they weren’t something anyone could manage.
The Nelsons moved at their own pace, on their own commands, sure they could command others and rise to challenges, but they could also handle their emotions. Something Michelle was working on, since returning to life.
Maybe just maybe, she was slowly, not staying a zombie.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once more Michelle was challenged with the stacks, but by climbing the ladder and shelves themselves to reach for things, if Shiloh or Elijah called from something to be sent to the main room.
That’s where Micah appeared again, for some reason.
How she figured that out was when she climbed down after retrieving something for the electrical part of headquarters.
“So, you finally made it to climbing.”
He said, startling into punching him in the face. Since he didn’t see it coming, he took the attack at full force, and the result being his obviously bruised eye.
Micah didn’t look too discouraged though, as he took the pain with a pained noise, before he attempted to look at her with his good eye.
“Sorry, I hadn’t meant to scare you. Genesis told me where you were.”
Michelle though stared in shock for a moment, confused. He was just going to brush it off, and not yell at her for literally punching him, she’s certain that she gave him a black eye.
“I’m sorry. Did you need something?”
Micah nodded, hands moving to pull out a small tablet from his jackets.
“Yeah, Mary approved you for a couple of test field missions, it's just on the Among Us Realm, so you should be just fine.” Passing the device to her, he continued, “I won’t be on these missions per say, but you're more than welcome to join the others.”
Michelle frowned, “Should not be going on a mission, after clocking you in the face?”
Micah shrugged, though he did wince slightly when he tried to touch his eye.
“It's fine, I’ve handled plenty of injuries and don’t worry our family’s been known to attract face injuries.”
Deciding to just let it go, Michelle was left standing there, as Micah left after having to head to talk to Mary.
Leaving Michelle with a decision.
With a choice.
A choice that a zombie wouldn’t have been able to make.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
The missions were fun, she wasn’t going to lie.
Jumping from Realo to Realo, facing all kinds of dangers and seeing just fascinating sights.
At the end of the day though, she was pursuing the future she wanted and that was enough.
She even struck up a better friendship with the Nelsons, spending more of her time with Micah and Shiloh, even getting to know the staff better like Patience who had taken a doctor’s path.
While her memories and past were still a mystery, it was nice for things to start going right.
Today was her last day in the archives, Michelle was sitting in the final racks. The place Genesis left her to figure out how to navigate everything.
Right now she was holding the final file.
Zelda had told her she was always welcomed back, but Mary finally gave her the full okay to stop doing closeted work for full field movement.
While the achievement made her happy, at the same time Michelle was going to miss the cold room, and getting to know some of the people in it.
There were mysteries in these cold walls, but for now Michelle was just happy to have gotten to know these people.
And sometimes that was enough.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michelle was laying on the ground in the training hall, Shiloh and Patience standing over her each with their own worried and concerned expressions.
The reason was simple, Michelle was trying to test different ways to get her memories back.
Anything to get that semblance of the past that alluded. Not following her in the slightest.
If anything, all she had is that hazy memory of her mother and a headache from accidentally taking a full kick to the chest from Shiloh.
The young girl in question was conversing with Patience about something, as Patience herself, knelt in front of Michelle.
“She’ll be fine, it's not the first time she’s taken a hit like this before.”
Shiloh sighed in agreement, but didn’t fully settle even at the words.
“I know, but I can still feel guilty for hurting a friend.”
Patience hummed in slightly as an answer, before speaking directly to Michelle.
“Come on Michelle, give me your arm. I’ll probably take you down to the infirmary to make sure that Shiloh didn’t break a rib.”
Michelle groaned from the pain and ache, but didn’t say anything. Afraid of crying, from the facts in her head.
In the infirmary, Michelle still stayed silent, not really knowing what to say. Patience was talking to Mary about the training incident, while Shiloh had stayed back to continue training and helping agents.
She had apologized before Michelle had left, and there really was nothing more to say.
Right now, she was just in slight pain, but the pain wasn’t really in her chest anymore, Michelle knew it was in her head and heart.
From the fact that she was hollow, just as hollow as the zombie that maybe would always linger in her.
That past that didn’t exist maybe, haunted her.
Maybe she had to move on.
Maybe….maybe…maybe.
All she had her maybes, she was tired of having nothing to account for her past.
Was she just made to command an army of zombies?
Is that why she had been infected?
There were just too many questions.
Still when Mary finally turned to speak to her, Michelle shoved those feelings down again. Tears still pricked at the corner of her eyes.
—------------------------------------------------------------------
Desperate times pushed Michelle back to the records room.
Where she had asked Zelda a hard question.
“Can I read through all the records on Custodia?”
Michelle asked, eyes not on the senior agent in front of her, but on the files behind her. Her mind was already supplying the location of the files that she sought.
Zelda’s mouth was set in a thin grim line, as she sighed.
“I don’t see why not, but I warn you the files are a little out of date, so be considerate that they might not hold the answers you seek.”
With that Michelle had been digging and reading for the last several days. Having dragged the box back to her room, and been looking through everything.
When that didn’t yield full answers, Michelle pulled the records on the zombie infection and started working on those two.
During that time, she moved back to eating in her room again, and accidentally cutting contact with most of the agency again.
In her mind, that was fine.
It was almost like being in that state that seemed like a long time ago, when she was just thinking about spreading the infection. Not about the people around her.
The silence finally got broken though by a single knock on her door. Michelle almost didn’t answer it, but she was hungry, and had forgotten about lunch for the last few days.
Opening the door revealed Patience holding a medical bag in one hand and a large takeout bag in the other.
“When’s the last time you saw the sun?”
The statement was more of a comment than a question, but nonetheless Michelle ignored her, heading back to the corner of the room where a corkboard had been put up, and files were unneatly stacked in the room.
Patience on the other hand just set the food down on the only surface that didn’t hold papers.
“Look, I know you probably are lost in your head, but this isn’t healthy for you to start skipping meals and all that because you want to find answers to something.”
Michelle whipped her head around with a glare in Patience’s direction.
“I know, but this is important, more important than the agency stuff right now. I really think I found something.”
Patience didn’t look annoyed, just worried, and that bothered Michelle.
“I know, but I worry that you're taking this too far, Michelle. Maybe it's time to stop.”
Michelle shook her head at the words.
“Maybe? Maybe that's not the answer here. I’m really certain that I can come to terms with my memories. Patience, I really am.”
Patience shook her head, before sighing, and gesturing towards the food.
“Well then, here’s what’s going to happen.” she held up a hand when Michelle opened her mouth to argue. “You're going to eat some, and I’m going to read through what you sorted to help you.”
Those words were spoken and final, because she gently shoved Michelle towards the chair near the table with the food. Already going through the papers, not ruining the system, not making a new one, just adapting to the one that Michelle herself made. As if Patience did want to help.
Michelle once more had that small feeling to rebuke her kindness, to say that she didn’t want the agency’s help anymore, but this was Patience's own kindness.
So, instead of shouting or saying anything, Michelle ate the food. Eating made her simply stare at the wall, not wanting to look.
Patience on the other hand spoke up, holding up a piece of paper.
“I think you're right, there’s actually something that matches up on these two sheets of paper you have.”
She barely got the words out, before Michelle climbed quickly back to her feet with haste, snatching the paper.
“WHAT! Let me see!”
With the papers in hand, and Patience looking over the food she had eaten. Michelle saw it, coordinates, an idea of a destination. Somewhere tangible with potential answers.
The only problem now was, how was she to get to this place?
Patience on the other hand frowned, sensing the thought.
“If you pack a bag, I can get you to the place mentioned in the notes.”
Turning her head carefully, Michelle felt some slight hope in her heart.
“Really? How?”
Sighing Patience, folded her arms looking a bit troubled.
“I owe a favor to a patient I had a couple of weeks back. He can get us through the Arxis without the Nelsons knowing, but it's up to you if you really want to chase this Michelle?”
The words Michelle would’ve ignored, maybe pretend that they meant nothing, but Patience’s words struck a cord in her heart.
Is this worth chasing?
What if she found nothing?
No answers, no family that she’s chasing in her mind.
Taking a deep breath, Michelle shook her head.
“I have to try patience, I have to.”
Patience nodded in some form of understanding, before cleaning up the trash and walking to the door.
“Then gather whatever you need, I’ll meet you at the Arxis in ten minutes.”
She left after that, leaving Michelle alone in a room that needed a new lightbulb and was covered in papers and junk from the Archives.
Still with hasten interest and her own personal worry Michelle grabbed what she needed.
Tightening the laces of her boots, Michelle stood at the ready.
An old backpack on her shoulders, and standing in front of the gateway to realism.
Patience walked up, another man standing next to her wringing his hands looking worried.
“I could get in trouble for this, but please be careful.” as he booted up the machine slightly. “You'll have about ten hours before I can open a portal.”
Both the women nodded, knowing the process considering the missions they’ve been on.
Finally though when the portal opened, and they stepped through.
Hoping to find answers, hoping to find anything.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Where they finally appeared wasn’t Custodia or some zombie infested realo.
No, where they landed was an open green field, with a handful of homes. Even a farmhouse with some livestock could be spotted.
Michelle stood there though, taking it all in.
Her and Patience didn’t say anything as they walked. After all, what was there to say?
We made it? No, that didn’t fit right. Nothing fit right at the moment, right now it was walking down the dirt road that must lead somewhere she wanted to be.
That's what Michelle was thinking about.
Eventually they made it to a place that looked like a cross between an inn and bar, where they stepped in. Farmers, strangers, even some odd dogs were going about the place.
Yet as they stood there though, many eyes fell upon them, until an older woman at the bar counter spoke up.
“Well, wouldn’t you know. It's Marty’s girl.”
Michelle frowned at the words.
Marty? Whose Marty?
Walking up to the counter, stares still following them, she leaned forward.
“What do you mean Marty’s girl?”
The question lingered in the air for a moment, as the lady slid them some water.
“Marty’s your father's little one. Use to work as a rancher before his passing.”
Passing?
Michelle blinked, life draining from her face, an ache in her chest.
“Passing?”
She whispered, but the bartender only nodded.
“Yeah, he and his wife died when a terrible sickness swept through the town years ago. They were already heartbroken when their daughter was taken, and while sickness is known to take weak hearts.”
In the silence Patience talked, asking some questions that Michelle didn’t hear.
Instead what was roaring in her ears were the facts that her parents were dead. That she was too late to find them, to reach them.
At some point, Michelle was dragged to her feet, and it was only when her feet finally stopped again, that she had been brought before a house.
It was a small building, something easy to live in and manage with no issue. The outside was white, with some dark blue shading, shudders the same color, even the door was the same shade.
“Patience, why are we here?”
She asked in a hoarse voice, even though she drank water.
Patience only stared at the building.
“I asked the lady where your house is and I thought to at least let you have some time in it. See if there was anything you wanted.”
Michelle turned her gaze from her friend to the house, and nodded.
“You're right, but can I do this part alone? I don’t know if I need company just yet.”
Patience nodded, patting her friend carefully on the shoulder.
“Sure, I’ll give you about three hours, but if you are not outside when I come back, I’m going in.”
Michelle nodded, knowing that it was probably better this way.
To give her this moment.
When she opened the door, and saw Patience heading back to the bar, she stepped in.
But she barely had the door closed when she collapsed to her knees. Eyes dripping tears, as her body finally broke down. All the exhaustion, all of the hurt from forcing herself to keep it all in.
So she cried, because that’s all she had left in her. She cried over all of it, the memories that she couldn’t make, the stuff that was her but didn’t feel like it, of the photos and the items around the place that had nothing to do with her, but with the parents that were buried here.
It was a good thirty minutes later, that Michelle pulled herself back together, wiping tears and snot and getting to work.
Work was going through the rooms, the kitchen, anywhere and everywhere to see if there was anything she actually wanted to take.
At the end of her two hours and a couple of extra minutes Michelle had gathered the following items.
- A brown jacket, that felt comfortable and easy, fit her perfectly.
- Guitar strings, even though she couldn’t find a guitar anywhere in the house.
- A box filled with her mother’s recipes, books, a couple of odd end cards, and even personal spice suggestions.
- A stuffed deer, that felt personal, and Michelle felt in the future it could symbolize something.
And finally a letter labelled for their missing daughter. She had opened it, but decided to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself. Maybe she talked about it later.
In the end though, she had everything she wanted. Everything she could carry back with her, that she wanted to carry back.
Patience helped her carry it back to the bar, where they left it under the watchful eye of the bartender. So Michelle could take the final step in her journey.
That being visiting her mother and father, seeing where they were laid.
The two graves were slightly mossy, but clean.
Here lies Marty Moren & Jessica Moren.
They said other things, but Michelle focused on the names, these two people had raised her until she had been taken and infected.
These two loving people still held signs of owning a child.
These parents were enough, and even though Michelle never got to say goodbye, she smiled. Maybe the first time since everything went down in the records room, in that form of the infection that made her chance upon the Nelsons, upon the M.O.M.
“Thank you.”
Was all she whispered, Patience close by, not too close to the crowd. Understanding that Michelle needed this moment, this space.
In the end Michelle got her answers, and there wasn’t a price, just evidence of the time she had lost while infected.
Evident by the scars that lingered on her chest, by the memories that would never come back, but now they wouldn’t haunt, maybe linger on the bad days, but they wouldn’t be something that she’d regret.
If anything this was her chance to move forward.
To find a future that was perfect for a non-zombie.
Taking one final breath, and climbing back to her feet, after kneeling and placing her hands on the grave.
Walking back over to Patience, a single nod to say it's time to go home.
It's time to go forward.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------
They did get in trouble for using the Arxis without the Nelson’s permission, and thus Michelle was once more forced to work in the Archives.
Though when she went back to her room, she found it clean. All the files missing and the documents all cleaned up and placed on the side table in her room. Then she had to note that the guitar strings were missing, but she decided to let that go, maybe it was fate saying it was dumb to take something that she actually didn’t need.
The Archives would always be slightly odd, but in a normal natural way. Until today when Zelda stood at the desk, with most of the other workers with her. It seemed like they were all a little nervous and excited.
“Michelle, as you know today’s your last day, since you have your final eval with Mary.”
Nodding Michelle leaned back on the desk.
“Yeah, if all goes well then I’ll be back on field missions.”
Zelda grinned, “Of course, it's where you belong after all. Not hanging with these old souls.”
The group with her murmured in agreement, stepping forward though Zelda held something out to her.
“This here is a gift from us in the Archives, our way of saying thanks and for you to move on to hopefully your next part in life.”
Looking at what was in her hands, made Michelle tear up slightly.
Being passed forward to her was a dark brown acoustic guitar, with pink antlers painted on the back and the guitar strings attached neatly in their proper places.
In the arms of another archivist was a case.
“This is for you to have a hobby, now that you are back to working again.”
Said Genesis, as he scratched his marked cheek. Eyes looking saddened by something Michelle couldn’t see or know, but maybe could understand.
“Thank you everyone, I’ll be certain to take good care of it.”
They nodded and congratulated, and instead of working endless for once. The archivist, these older agents all just laughed and partied. Grinning from ear to ear, Michelle hugged them, enjoying the company of new memories and odd friends.
“Is this seat taken?”
Asked Micah, once more finding Michelle in the lunch room.
He didn’t ask where she went, or why they misused the Arxis, instead he had just allowed her to exist without crowding her space.
Even now, as he set down a tray of food for himself and a report in one hand, he wasn’t bothering her. If anything they were slowly becoming friends and she liked that.
“Yes, but you sat down anyway, so does it matter?”
Michelle said, eating her own food, but still reaching over to snatch some fries.
Micah just rolled his eyes, even if he was still reading the report in front of him.
“I’m the only person besides Patience that sits with you sometimes. I don’t see why you keep up with saying yes to a person that isn’t in the seat or coming for it.”
Michelle took another fry, waving it to make her point.
“It's about the principle of the matter. Not considering if there’s a person coming for the seat.”
Micah gave her a deadpanned look, a blank stare as if he was trying to come to terms with the statement.
“Sure Michelle, whatever gets us through lunch.”
Michelle smiled at that and so the two new friends ate their lunches. Completely content with each other's company.
Life takes you through many roads, and Michelle knew that the rest of it was going to be no different.
Jumping from Realo to Realo, Michelle would keep working with M.O.M, sure she was still trying to find her way.
But right now with the friends and companions that she met, she was happy.
And she knew for certain that her parents would be happy for her.
Now she could fully say she wasn’t a zombie anymore, because she was simply just her.
Michelle Moren, Field Agent for the M.O.M. signing off on her report.