Chapter 34

                                    

                                          
Something pulled at Hailey's stomach, turning and twisting it in odd angles. She thought it would hurt, but she couldn't feel any new source of pain. She could feel Leo's waist slip away and she buried her nails into his skin. Vaguely she could hear a groan and a chuckle from behind them. Hailey didn't dare to open her eyes to look at either of them. 
What's with him and chuckling? She could easily tell that it was Ash laughing at her. 
Her stomach kept on twisting. She started to feel sick. Now she was quite grateful for having skipped breakfast. She was glad she didn't have anything in her stomach. Blood was rushing to her face. And then it all stopped.
She felt her feet land solidly and she opened her eyes, but the room around her was still spinning. She couldn't really see where she was. What she could see were some blurred figures looking at her. Hailey felt herself start to keel over, but several hands reached out to steady her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the dizzying feeling to pass. 
"God d―" Hailey started, but then realized she shouldn't curse. "Never mind. Man, that wasn't pleasant." She blinked several times when she opened her eyes again. 
The room became clear, and Hailey was shocked. It wasn't like anything she'd imagined. There were a lot of large computer screens. It was about the most modern room Hailey had ever been in and it was all very light, because everything was white or light grey colored. 
"Where am I?" Hailey stammered looking around the room in shock. Leo was still holding her up, but she felt the strength in her muscles return and told him to let her stand on her own.
"This is the Team Building," Leo explained. Hailey laughed, it was a stiff sound, but it could go for a laugh.
"Is that supposed to be ironic?" She stopped herself from laughing again. It betrayed how unsettled she was feeling. Hailey was starting to realize that she couldn't prepare herself for what she would come across. "Is the whole Dimension like this?"
"Not at all. This is really the opposite of everything else in the Third," Ash answered. He was studying Hailey closely, as if to check she could really handle herself. His scrutiny made her force herself to look neutral. Not at all like she was already getting overwhelmed by the first room she saw.
She looked around for something else to focus one. That was when she noticed the three, unknown people standing in the room. 
Two women and a man. They were at least in their late twenties, or older. They had a look about them that made them appear more mature. The first woman had blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked stern, but she also came across as a person who could be very loving and warm. The second woman was quite the opposite, not because of her black hair and green eyes or because she was Latina – although since this Soul Hunter couldn't possibly be from Latin America, that surely wasn't the correct term. What made her so different was her attitude. She didn't seem loving, more a bit bossy and secretive, as if she were hiding something. Then again, most members of the Team looked like they were hiding something.
The women were talking in another language that Hailey didn't recognize. It had the same kind of old British English tones with which Leo spoke, but the words sounded more like Latin. 
The man had brown hair and brown eyes making him a bit plain, but his friendly, amused smile made up for it. He was the first one to give her a hand. Hailey took it and tried to return his smile, still distracted with the other language the women were speaking in, trying to pinpoint what it was.
"Maxwell Theodore Carlton Nathaniel Paulson, but you may call me Max. I am the second Locator of Team Beta," the man said kindly with the same kind of accent as Leo, shaking Hailey's hand not too firmly. She started to open her mouth, but then realized the truth.
"I suppose you already know my name," she said. Max gave her a nod and understanding smile. Then he turned to the blonde woman.
"This is my wife, Bridget Lucker. She is the first Locator," Max said, holding his arm out proudly. His eyes twinkled when he looked at the woman and Hailey couldn't stop her own smile. Bridget gave Hailey a handshake, it was much firmer than Max's, which surprised Hailey, but she didn't show it – or at least she tried not to let it show. After they let go, Hailey turned to look at the other woman. She had her arms crossed uninvitingly.
"You're the Healer then?" Hailey asked after an awkward moment of silence in which the woman scrutinized her. Hailey really hoped she was right about her position, she needed to catch up with all the Soul Hunter information as soon as possible. Fortunately, the woman nodded.
"Jeanette Valerie Lashbrooke," she said flatly, in English, not giving Hailey a hand to shake. Jeanette turned to Leo. "Where is she staying?"
"At the Rosenberger Mansion, there is more than enough space for her," Leo answered business-like. "Ash and I will bring her there." He turned to the others. "Everyone else may leave. You may take a few days to spend with your family. Then we resume work." 
Right away, everyone started talking and grabbed their stuff. Hailey didn't understand a word of any of it, since they were all talking in the as-of-yet unidentified language. The Soul Hunters walked out the room in pairs. Hailey looked around for anyone who was not busy leaving.
"What language is that?" Hailey asked Ash, who was looking at her and came to stand next to her.
"Conturian," he replied. "It's the native Soul Hunter language."
"And you all speak English?" Hailey realized that she had a ton of questions going through her mind. Her world had expanded five-fold, but it was so overwhelming that she didn't know what to ask about first. 
"The Team members do, yes," Leo answered. He was holding a black box, about the size of his hand. "Nevertheless, we all wear translators."
"What—" Hailey started to say but Leo opened the box to show her what was inside. Laying on black foam were a number of small disks. They were about the size of the top of a thumb. 
It really didn't explain anything to Hailey. She had never seen anything like these disks. But before she could ask more questions, Ash picked one of the disks up by lightly tapping it. He stepped close to Hailey – she held her breath – and used his free hand to brush aside her hair. Then he touched the disk to a place just behind her ear and stepped back.
Hailey ran a finger over the disk; it was very thin, and she barely noticed it was there at all.
"So, what does it do?" she asked. She was a bit chafed about someone putting foreign technology on her without an explanation beforehand, even if she did trust Ash not to hurt her.
"It instantly translates anything others say to your preferred language. And it can translate what you say as well," Leo explained, while he put away the box into the drawer it had come from.
"Really?" Hailey's voice was full of disbelief. She couldn't quite wrap her head around technology like that. 
"Yes, really," Ash said with a roll of his eyes. "Leo and I are speaking Conturian right now."
Hailey still didn't quite believe him, maybe he was just kidding, to disorientate her on purpose. But then Leo started talking to Ash about some logistical issue and she realized that what she heard Leo say didn't match up with the movement of his lips even though it was still his exact voice. It was like she was looking at a foreign movie. She tried to wrap her head around that idea. When she didn't manage that, she made a promise to herself that she would try and not overthink all the crazy stuff that she would surely encounter. It was the only way she wouldn't get overwhelmed and lose her sanity.
"Okay," she said, more to herself than anything. Leo and Ash took it as a sign that she was ready to leave.
They were the last ones to go. All the other members were probably already out of the building. The hallway they walked through had one wall completely made of glass and Hailey got a clear view of what was outside the Team building. She stopped abruptly, looking at the horizon. The promise to herself went right out the window. Hailey was absolutely mesmerized.