Blood - Chapter 7

Nico has never known a feeling like it. As he steps out of the transport it is like stepping into pure light. Something is supporting his weight but he can't feel what it is. Like water. Thicker than water. He can't see any of the others but he can hear them.

“Lara!” he shouts. “Denny!”

“Nico!” he hears Lara's voice quite near to him, over to the left. If it's like water then maybe you can move through it like swimming, he thinks.

“Lara, keep talking,” he calls out, “I'll see if I can get to you.”

She calls his name, says 'over here' and Nico turns his body and leans towards her vouce. He kicks his legs and claws his hands in front of him like he would if he was swimming in the pool at the Unit.

“Nico, here!” Lara calls. “Over here!” Her voice is definitely getting closer. He keeps struggling towards her, calling back. He can see his own hands moving throuhg the light but nothing beyond them.

“Nico!” she calls. Nearer and suddenly there is her hand, near his, visible and he grabs it. Pulls. Then her face appears as if through thick fog or smoke.

“Nico!” her face is made of smiles. She pulls on his hand and draws closer until she throws her arms round him and hugs him. Nico is surprised. He's never been hugged before. She notices his expression and lets him go. He sees her face turn red against the dark of her hair.

“What is this stuff?” she says.

“It's kind of like water that you can breathe,” Nico says. It is really easy to breathe the stuff. And just being there in it is making Nico feel relaxed. The man, Nim, said it was Ultraspace, safe as houses. Safe as houses.
Nico lies back and for a second loses sight of Lara.

“Nico!” she shouts, grabbing out for him. He bobs back into sight and grins at her. Lara looks relieved. Nico leans as far forward as he can and feels himself whirling slowly over like turning a somersault in the pool. All his fear is evaporating, he can feel it leaving him like water leaking out. He turns a whole somersault and comes back upright. Then he turns a half one and hangs in the air above Lara, looking down at her. She looks up at him and smiles. He pulls her towards him then dives underneath her. She laughs. “Nico!”

“We're in Ultraspace,” he says and she gasps. He can see her mouth open.
“The man in the transport told me. He said we'd be safe as houses.”

“Houses?” Lara asks. And Nico laughs as he realises he doesn't know what houses are. Lara laughs too. “I didn't see a man,” she says. “What was he?”

“I couldn't tell,” Nico realises as he says it. Usually it is easy to recognise a Dreamer or a Warrior or a Mystic. Everyone just knows what everyone else is.

“What?” Lara's face looks disbelieving.

“He was something else!” Nico says and finds it incredibly funny. He remembers the little stick in the man's mouth corner. “He was a chewer!”

“A chewer?” Lara laughs.

And then they hear a strange voice. Not like anything they've heard before. It's all round them and seem to enter through their whole bodies, not just their ears.

“Welcome,” the voice says – soothing and smooth, “we are sorry to keep you here but this is where you have to be decontaminated. Please let go of any negative thoughts or feelings you may be holding in your hearts or minds. You see, we can't allow any of these negative things into our space. We hope you'll understand. Please just lie back and relax and allow all the tensions in your body and mind to flow out.”

As the voice carried on, Nico felt himself drifting backwards, letting go of Lara's hand, ever so slowly but not minding. Just relaxing and falling backwards into a warm and relaxed state unlike any he'd ever felt. He was going to sleep, just as the voice suggested and letting go of all the worries about where he was and why and what was going to happen to him. Or what had happened to the little red haired Dreamer or who she even was. Or what was wrong with his blood or anything at all about the invigilators who just didn't matter any more at all.