InsaneJournal

Who: Kelan and Open
Where: Station, heading towards the food court
What: New arrival
When: today
Open: Yes



It was the quiet that woke Kelan.

Normally, the shelter had something going on, someone yelling or a child crying or a fight, and the Factory was always loud. Absolute silence like this was unknown to him, and his ears rang to try and make up for the sudden lack of sound. It would be impossible for him to get back to sleep now, and he carefully opened his eyes to see what was going on. What he saw startled a yell out of him, and he sat up so quickly that the wounds on his back tore yet again. But he couldn't think about that right now as he stared all round him at the chapel he found himself in, one devoted to his Gods.

His hand flew to the necklace he wore as prayers tumbled from his lips, and he carefully got to his feet as he grabbed at his blanket with his free hand. This was like no other chapel he'd ever been in, all sleek lines and beautiful imagery, but given that the last time he'd been in one he'd been a small child, that didn't really mean much. Five walls surrounded him, and in the center of the room there was an altar, also five-sided. The walls came to a point above the center of the altar, and the low lighting created flickers of runes and half-glimpsed faces as he slowly made his way round the altar. A prayer for each God and a request for their blessings (and an apology for having no offerings for them yet again) was muttered as he faced each side of the altar. He managed all the prayers before he had to stop and cough, a hacking wet cough that made his ribs ache and did his back no favors either.

[I don't know where I am,] he said softly once he had his breath back, addressing all five of his Gods, [but I woke in Your house, wherever this is. I would ask for Your protection and Your guidance no matter what happens after this, and I thank You for this wonderful moment of peace.] Stepping close to the altar, he let his hand rest on it like he vaguely remembered his father doing, and then backed away towards the small door behind him.

The door opened into another room, which lay empty. The chairs were a mess, though; some of them were broken, others lay in piles on the floor, and there were small piles of broken glass everywhere. Kelan pulled his blanket tightly round himself as he walked through the room and out into the corridor. He stopped to lean on the wall and catch his breath after another coughing fit, and wondered where he was.

There were signs on the walls telling him what level he was on, and where the stores were and one wall was giving directions to a processing plant and explaining what to do in case of emergencies, and all sorts of information. This was all well and good, but... where were the people? He walked a bit further, letting his hand trail along the wall, and stopped when he saw the sign for all the canteens and restaurants. Maybe he could eat? His stomach growled at the idea, and he quickly decided to head in that direction. Hopefully, the food supplies would be there even if there were no people.

His breathing was starting to get really loud as he continued to walk, wheezing in his chest, and it seemed magnified in the quietness that surrounded him. He had so many questions about what had happened, but he deliberately clamped down on his thoughts as he slowly made his way towards the potential food. It wouldn't do to get excited at the thought of food to eat and maybe a shower or even a bath (Kelan was more than aware of how filthy he must look against the clean walls of wherever he was) only to discover that all the supplies were gone and he was trapped. He'd see what the food supply was like, and then he'd allow himself to think about what he was going to do.