Chapter 4 - The Exception

                                    

                                          
It's nearly 2 AM when Norae steps out onto the dark hallways of Deliverance. There's not an initiate or soldier in sight, and other than the rush of the ocean below them, it's dead quiet. 
                          
Everyone must be asleep, exhausted from the training. But Norae's insomnia persists, even now.
                          
Slowly and deliberately, she sneaks down the hall to the exit, happily surprised to find it open. She chooses a random direction to go in, simply hoping to acquaint herself with the ship. She's no fool, she knows she won't escape easily. But reconnaissance is the first step.
                          
There appear to be endless twists and turns in this place, each hallway seemingly leading down to another. As her hand gently grazes along the tattoo on her arm, she realizes what she really wants to find is the laboratory she saw in Dr. Carvel's video. In the hopes that there she can discover what exactly this 'gift' is that Lt. Brass spoke of.
                          
But when she turns another random corner, and finds nothing but a window and a dead end, she can feel herself losing hope. Defeated, she steps up to the glass. Part of her was still wishing for a silver lining, a hint of the world beyond this sea bound vessel. But it's pitch black out, and she can hardly see anything.
                          
"Not much of a view, huh?"
                          
Caught red-handed, Norae whirls around, expecting to find a soldier. But instead she finds the boy from her unit. The one who miraculously made it to the front of the train today, before anyone else did.
                          
"You should get back to your room, before the soldiers find you. They don't like us wandering off." The boy warns, his voice serious but his eyes glimmering with a hint of playfulness.
                          
"They should have locked the doors then." Norae counters.
                          
A tiny grin shapes his face as he studies her intently for a moment, shades of cinnamon and honey tinting his irises. Then he turns around promptly and begins to leave.
                          
"How did you do it?" Norae demands, stopping him in his tracks. "On the train. How did you get there first?"
                          
Turning around, his brow furrows as he looks at her. "Do you always interrogate people you don't know?"
                          
Considering his comment, Norae steps forward and offers her hand. "My name is Norae."
                          
He pauses, which makes her slightly nervous, but finally accepts her handshake. "I'm Nash."
                          
Impatient, she holds his gaze. "Well?"
                          
"Well what?" He asks, that hint of playfulness returning to his expression.
                          
"How did you do it?" She asks again.
                          
"Oh, so now that we've introduced ourselves, I'm supposed to share my innermost secrets?"
                          
Feeling increasingly foolish, Norae casts her eyes to the ground. "Well, no..."
                          
Nash smiles, a lock of his wavy dark blond hair falling in his face. "Hey, it's okay. I get it. I think we all have a lot of questions. At least you can ask this one." He hesitates briefly, growing serious as he contemplates his options. "To be honest with you... I'm still trying to figure out how I did it myself."
                          
Confused, Norae draws closer, her voice low. "What do you mean?"
                          
"Something happened to me during the training. I don't know how to explain it. It was like..."
                          
"Hey! You two!" Lt. Brass's heavy baritone ripples down the hallway, causing both Norae and Nash to jump. "Get back to your rooms, now!"
                          
They scurry off quickly, as Lt. Brass watches them go.