Maxwell's head snapped sideways, and he stared intently at the door. "Snowy, did you hear that?" Snowy tilted his head, a flicker of confusion crossing his face, as though he didn't understand what Maxwell was saying.
Maxwell turned back to the door, puzzled. He didn't believe his hearing was better than Snowy's, so how had he heard something Snowy hadn't?
Am I that fatigued that I'm starting to hallucinate?
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now was not the time for such ideas. Still, he remained vigilant.
A few minutes later, he heard faint footsteps coming from the direction Nova had left in. He slowly opened his eyes and found her standing beside him, tossing a towel and a change of clothes his way.
Maxwell caught the bundle with practised ease. "Thank you."
"No need," Nova said, pushing the door open. "Since you're already sitting, why don't I go in first while you wait?"
"Sure," Maxwell said, nodding.
"It wasn't negotiable," she added flatly.
Not even having the strength to argue back, Maxwell closed his eyes again. He was exhausted; all he wanted was to have his bath and go to sleep.
Hehe, I just pray she doesn't fall asleep in the bath.
Minutes later, Maxwell drifted into a strange state, neither fully awake nor asleep. In that state, the only sound he could hear was the constant splash of water and another sound he couldn't quite understand.
It continued for some time, until he actually fell asleep.
When Nova came out of the bathroom, she found Maxwell sitting on the ground, asleep. Remembering that he was just a normal human who had already been through a lot, she could understand why. But it still pissed her off, though.
She looked at the white-and-black hair that nearly covered his eyes and shook her head. Then she tapped him lightly on the shoulder, startling him awake.
"I'm awake!" Maxwell's head jerked sideways the instant he felt the tap.
"No, you weren't."
"Sorry, I slept off," Maxwell said, shaking his head with an apologetic smile.
"It's understandable," Nova said.
Maxwell got up and entered the bathroom while Nova took his spot beside Snowy, right where he had been sleeping.
As Maxwell locked the door behind him, he didn't even bother observing the space. All he knew was that it was a big bathroom, with showers and a large bath in the middle. He found a place to hang his clothes and took off the school uniform he had been wearing since day one here. Man, was he glad to finally be rid of that thing! He walked all the way to the pool and practically fell into the bath.
The moment his body touched the bath water, his entire being relaxed. The mysteriously warm water definitely did its job, calming his nerves.
Once again, Maxwell felt a fresh admiration for the First One. The guy had pretty much thought of everything when building this settlement. I just pray I don't fall asleep in here. I certainly wouldn't appreciate someone waking me up! And he was even naked. Definitely no way.
Maxwell chuckled, closing his heavy eyes as he slowly relaxed, his body sinking into the pool while his thoughts slowed and became as calm as a still body of water.
After a nice, refreshing soak, during which he had to fight the warm embrace of mother slumber multiple times, Maxwell finally got out, towelled himself, put on the clothes Nova had given him, which fit surprisingly well, and took the time to observe his surroundings properly.
The first thing his eyes unfortunately had to rest on was, in fact, his old uniform, now torn, dirty and worn out. Maxwell had mixed feelings looking at it. On one hand, he was happy it had gotten him through everything they'd encountered while remaining relatively intact. On the other, just looking at it made him think of home. And thinking of home made...
He shook his head and picked up the uniform, then let his eyes wander over the rest of the room.
It was literally a bathhouse with showers. But what really surprised him wasn't the showers. No, it was the fact that he had bathed in friggin' clean, warm water!?
At this point, it's my own fault for being surprised at all. Maxwell chuckled.
This settlement just kept getting creepily fascinating. He shook his head, remembering Nova's advice that thinking about the workings of this place was never worth the headache.
He quickly left the bathroom, feeling too relaxed for his own good.
When Maxwell got outside, he turned and found Nova sitting beside Snowy, her eyes closed, clearly asleep! He smiled smugly. "Seems I'm not the only one tired here."
Just like she had done earlier, he tapped her shoulder. "I'm done. Let's go." The moment he said it, he felt a cold glare directed his way. He looked at Nova, but it wasn't coming from her. It was coming from Snowy.
Snowy the bird was glaring at him!
"Why are you glaring at me?"
Snowy didn't bother making any effort to answer. He simply got up and marched into the bathroom, just like the two of them had.
What the... He wants to bathe too?
Maxwell shook his head. Even Nova, who had just woken up, looked slightly dazed and clearly puzzled. Isn't this bird's behaviour way too abnormal for a simple mimic soul? she thought.
Seeing that Snowy had entered the bath, Maxwell simply sat down and waited.
Minutes later, Snowy came out of the bathroom, his feathers gleaming as they puffed out, making him look even cuter than before.
He looks so soft and cuddly. Should I? No, he probably wouldn't like it. But who knows? He might actually like it in the end. Maxwell really wanted to cuddle Snowy.
While Maxwell struggled with his internal musing, Nova had already started leading the trio away from the bathroom.
It didn't take long to return to Nova's room. She pushed open the door and they all filed in. Neither of them spoke as they claimed their beds, Maxwell the one on the right and Nova the one on the left.
Maxwell immediately slipped under the covers, looked at the ceiling, then at the lamps, which were still bright, and sighed. He got up, went to the lamps and reduced their brightness; no one wanted an already white room to be very bright while they slept.
"Thank you," Nova said from her bed, "but I think it would be better if we turned them off entirely. I don't like sleeping with the lights on."
"Don't mention it," Maxwell replied. "I was thinking the same thing, but I didn't think you'd like it, so I just reduced them instead."
With that, he went to his bag, retrieved his phone, and went back to the lamps. He turned them off entirely and finally crawled into bed.
"Phew, now I can go to sleep," he muttered.
Surprisingly, neither Maxwell nor Nova ended up eating the fruits she had picked for them. They both fell asleep immediately. They were just too tired.
As Maxwell lay in bed, he suddenly felt something cuddle up against his arm. He was startled at first, until he felt the soft, feathery texture and realized it was Snowy. He slowly closed his eyes and finally drifted off.
That night, Maxwell had a series of strange dreams.
In one of them, Maxwell and Nova were cooking together, and everything was going perfectly until they realized that a small white mouse wearing a red bow had been sitting on the kitchen counter, watching them the entire time. Neither of them knew how long it had been there. The strange thing was that the mouse didn't move. It just sat there, staring at them.
In the second dream, it was Maxwell's birthday. Nova gave him a present, and when Maxwell opened it, he found a tiny white mouse wearing a red bow. He looked at her in confusion, but she simply smiled and said, "Happy birthday."
In another dream, they were about to play a multiplayer racing game, but when they opened it, it was white mice wearing red bows driving each car. At first, Maxwell found it funny and quirky, but the longer he watched, the stranger it became. Every mouse was staring directly at him while driving, as if they knew he was watching them.
In another, Nova disappeared, and everyone around him insisted that she had never existed. One day, he found a white mouse sitting beside an old photograph. He picked up the photograph and saw himself standing beside Nova. A white mouse with a red bow was peeking through the trash in the background. The disturbing part was that he didn't even remember taking that photograph.
Among all those dreams, the strangest was the one where every time he turned around, the same white mouse was somewhere behind him. At first, it was harmless. It would simply sit there and watch him. But each time he looked away and turned back, it was a little closer.
Eventually, he found Nova crying in an alley. He walked toward her and asked what was wrong.
She looked at him, tears running down her face, and whispered, "It's been following you since before you met me."
Maxwell turned around.
The white mouse was standing at the end of the alley.
He blinked.
It was gone.
When he turned back to Nova, she was no longer crying.
She was staring at something behind him.