Chapter 69

chapter Sixty Nine

*Ariya*

"Try to put yourself back in that room, Ari. See if you can do that but leave everything else in here the same." Keo told me.

I held my arms out, once again. Thinking of the room. How the metal chains felt, how the room smelt, how the temperature was. I thought of how big the room was. Sure enough I began to gain focus back on the room that I was in.

*Are you all still there?* I asked in my head.

*Yup, and your voice is overhead like a projector now.* Keo laughed.

*You guys sound the same as you do when we usually talk. Can you see anything?* I asked.

*Yeah, we're all still in the room. You on the other hand, basically just disappeared in front of us. It's kinda freaky. Like you get downloaded into the room and then you exit by fading away.* Keo said.

*How did you get yourself back in the room?* Caleb asked.

*I thought about the details of the room. How it felt, how it smells, the temperature. Anything that I could think of.* I answered.

*Can you look around for us so we can see it? I want to see if I can jump over to you and swap places.* Keo told me.

I looked around the room. Usually I just zoned out when I talked to them but this time I was aware that they were there and I was also aware of what was going on around me. This must be what the link was supposed to be like.

*It is supposed to be like this, Ariya. When you speak to us, you are still supposed to be aware of your surroundings.* Drake laughed.

*We can feel what you feel right now and your thoughts are put on the overhead speaker for us, Ariya.* Caleb added.

*That is so creepy.* I said.

*That's how it's supposed to be. When we talk to each other through our mind we are basically granting access to how we feel. Our thoughts, our feelings, everything. But because you and Keo aren't used to it, it ends up a little off at times. But this is how it's supposed to be. You're not supposed to zone out.* Drake explained.

I looked around the room trying to take in the details this time. The room wasn't exactly small but it wasn't exactly large either. It was a pretty decent sized room. Enough room to move around. Probably fight if we could figure out how to project ourselves. Another thought that I had. What if we could project ourselves and train in the room with each other. I looked at the table that was behind me. The one I had been attached to when I first got here. Boss had been kind enough to let me not be attached to the table. I just wished sometimes I had a pillow and blanket. Though Ivan was very comfy to lay on, and he was warm too.

*Shoot. Sorry.* I said, looking down, embarrassed.

*Ari, it's ok. We know you're with Ivan. Don't stress out about it.* Keo told me.

*Ariya, you aren't going to be able to censor your thoughts. Something like that isn't an easy thing. You can learn to control them eventually. But it will take a lot of time.* Drake told me.

*No. You're not allowed to learn how to control your thoughts because you're not allowed to hide things from us.* Caleb growled.

*So you're saying you want to know about Ivan and I kissing?* I asked.

*No. No. That's not what I'm saying. You can keep that to yourself if you want. I'm just saying don't hide things from us. We'll eventually see you 2 kiss in person when you both are out here. But we don't need to know what it feels like when you 2 kiss.* Caleb stammered.

I laughed. At least I wasn't the only one that was worried about that. I looked at the chains that were around my wrists and ankles. I thought of how they felt. I heard 3 simultaneous growls in my head which made me laugh again.

*It's better now than it was before. Before I was chained to the table. At least I'm able to move around now.* I laughed.

*Is that everything in the room?* Keo asked.

*Pretty much.* I told him.

*Good, try to come back here with us then, Ariya.* Drake told me.

I held my arms out and thought of being back in the room, seeing all 3 of them, face to face. I opened my eyes and was standing in front of them. Keo was looking at me with a big grin on his face.

"Your face is screaming trouble, Keo." I laughed.

"When you were thinking of coming back in here we could hear what you were thinking and how you got from one place to the other. I think I can do it to take over on your side." Keo told me.

"Better try it quick then, Ivan should be back anytime now." I grinned.

Keo nodded and then held his arms out how I had. He closed his eyes. It was almost as if I could see the wheels turning. He started to disappear right in front of us.

"That is so weird." I said.

*I heard that.* Keo said overhead.

"Definitely weird. Can you try to move around or blink or something?" I asked him.

We watched on the screen as Keo lifted his arms up. My arms. From my real body. My eyes went wide. This was going to be really weird. But I could see how useful it could be too. It would give me an opportunity to train with Drake and Caleb. But I knew Keo would try to take over so I wasn't always taking the brunt of the torture. Keo spoke out loud in the room I was being held in but we could hear him in the room where we were inside of my mind.

"Someone's coming." Keo said.

We all froze in place.

*Please be Ivan.* I thought.