Chapter 3 VIP

The cafeteria here is such chaos. Not only was it full, but it was a bit small compared to the one in Atlantis. 

“Isn’t it great?” Byron asked me as we squeezed our way into the crowd. 

“Great?” I questioned him. “Byron, what is so great about crowded places?!” I demanded as I squeezed myself through the gaps of people. I looked back to see that Trei was looking at us amusedly. “What are you standing there for?” 

“Nothing.” He grinned while trying to fight off a smile.

“Geez. If there are so many people here, why can’t they make a bigger cafeteria?” I squirmed.

“What are you talking about, Nat? This is great. This way we can be closer to people.” My brother, whom I previously have respect for, seemed to be enjoying himself.

I looked back at Trei. “Are you going to just stand there or what?!” I was basically annoyed at this point that I was snapping at him.

In my defense, it didn’t help when I saw Trei laughing at the sight of our struggles. It only fueled my anger even more that I was even thinking of going back and whipping that smile off of his face.

“Trei, have you seen Lord Byron?” I heard a pleasant and familiar voice spoke making me tilt my head to the side to get a better view of the person who just approached him. I wanted to make sure that it was him. 

Skyr was wearing a black spandex shirt that hugged his muscular form. For bottoms, he wore dark gray loose trousers that seemed more comfortable to move in than the jeans that I was wearing. Seeing him in mundane clothing isn’t new to me, but it was still weird.

But seeing him there made me realized something. 

No wonder Trei was laughing and kept looking at a particular area. He already saw Skyr and didn’t even bother to tell us that he wasn’t inside the cafeteria!

With an amused smile still on his lips, Trei pointed in our direction. Skyr followed his hand and his eyes found mine. “Nathalia?” He whispered.

“Hey.” I waved at him in a struggle as I was being swept in a sea of bodies. “A little help?” I asked as I reached out a hand.

Skyr seemed to snap out of his trance as I immediately sprung into action and grabbed my hand. I felt him started to pull me towards him until I collided with his chest. “Thanks, general.” I said.

“Still getting yourself into trouble I see.” He grinned back and pulled me into an embrace that surprised me. “But I glad to see that you are doing well.” He says.

I was still too surprised at my position that I wasn’t able to say or do anything at the moment. It was Trei who pulled us apart as I moved in between us and pushed us apart. “There. Happy reunion. We good now?” He says while giving the two of us an annoyed look before grabbing Byron from the crowd.

“Hey!” Byron protested. “I’m trying to make friends!”

“You guys are hungry, right? Let’s go to the North wing and grab ourselves some food.” He says.

“Well, we could have gone to grab something to eat if you weren’t playing around.” I pointed out.

Trei shrugged. “It was fun to see your angry face once in a while.” He smirked. 

A few minutes ago, he was laughing, and then he was annoyed. Now, he was happy again. This guy might be bipolar.

The three of us followed Trei along the long concrete corridors. The longer that we walked, the more the temperature drops. Even Byron and Skyr were rubbing their arms when they noticed the cold sinking in. 

“Why the hell is it so cold?” I wondered out loud. I can even see my breath.

At my comment, Trei looked back and cursed. “The heater must be malfunctioning in this area again.” He says.

“Heater?” I questioned him. “Trei, I did not sleep that long for it to become winter season, right?”

“No, you didn’t, Nat. It’s always been cold in these parts. Especially when we’re in Antarctica.” He said so nonchalantly that made me stop in my tracks.

“What did you just say?”

“Antarctica. The closer to Santa the better, right?” He joked and continued to move. “The cold weather hides us from the radars of Atlantis. And it also makes their equipment ineffective.” He says. “Well, it also makes our equipment malfunction as well.”

Trei stopped into one of the doors and ushered us in. As soon as we were inside, it was warm again that my muscles began to relax at the newfound comfort.

The place that Trei took us was just another cafeteria. But this one seems less crowded compared to the other one. But the people eating here seem a bit weird. Their skin has a blue tint to it and most of them were eating the all too familiar sea vegetables that were served in Atlantis as well. 

This cafeteria looks like it is specially made for a whole new different race of mutants. No, not mutants. I faintly remember Trei showing his blue skin before. I think they’re called the sea people?

“They’re with me.” Trei told the man guarding the door.

The man was wearing some sort of gray military uniform. He was bald and has the same bluish skin as the others. His eyes darted towards us one by one. “My lords.” He breathed out when he saw us Byron and I. “Please step inside.” He says while moving us and allowing us to pass. “I assume that the Atlantean is with you as well?” He was talking about Skyr.

“Yes.” Trei confirmed. “Give the three of them permanent access in here.”

“Very well.”

And with that, the four of us headed to grab our food from the cafeteria lady. “If you could do that, why have you made us suffer for days in that other cafeteria?” Skyr questioned him.

“Suffer? Are you kidding me?” Byron gave him an incredulous look. “It was fun! I got to talk to a lot of people!”

Trei chuckled as we lined up to grab food. “See? He likes it. I was just being generous and telling him experience life first before I give you guys the VIP in this place.” Trei grabbed some trays on the counter and we passed them along as we waited in line.

Skyr doesn’t seem convinced and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him. His eyes darted to me for a brief moment before looking back at Trei. “You’re just trying to impress someone. Admit it.”

“What I do is none of your business, general.” The way Trei spoke of Skyr’s old title seemed like he was mocking him.

I was standing between the two of them and I am already feeling some unwanted tension brewing in the air. I decided to change the topic. “You sound like someone important here, Trei. Or more like you’re someone with a high rank. Care to explain?”

As soon as we got our food, we found a vacant table where we all sat and ate. “I um…” Trei started as he tried to look for a way to explain things. “If I tell you, you might not believe me.” He says while smiling innocently at me.

Skyr scoffed. “If you tell us that you’re general rank as well then I would be surprised.”

“If I tell you, I might just embarrass you.” Trei retorted back.

I kicked Byron under the table. When he looked at me, I gestured to Skyr and Trei with my eyes. Thankfully, he seemed to understand. “So, Trei.” Says my twin while eating something that looks like a purple raspberry. “What is your rank here?”

Trei moved his focus from Skyr to Byron. “You guys heard of Legends of the sea folks, right? After the death of Lord Meruem, the sea people made his advisor as their new leader.” He says. “And that Advisor just happens to be my great grandfather.”

The three of us stared at Trei silently and we did some calculations in our heads.

“You mean your great-great-great-something grandfather?” Byron suggested.

“No. My great grandfather.” Trei insisted with a grin.

I looked at Trei. “Hold on. Isn’t the legend of Lord Meruem about a thousand years old?”

“Yep.” He responded again.

“Then it should be as Byron said. Because there’s no way that-”

“If you’re implying that my grandfather is dead then you’re wrong.” Trei chucked as he watches our face contorting in confusion. “You see, unlike humans, pure sea people live for a very VERY long time.” Then, with his eyes focused on Byron and I, he said, “And, he is definitely looking foward to see the both of you.”