Disbelief was the only thing that crossed Alex's mind as sunlight blinded her. Directly in front of her stretched an entire landscape that shouldn't exist where it was. Yet, it did. She could smell salt in the air, hear birds shrieking, and looked out on waves crashing onto a beach.

Alex turned her head slowly, looking at Edric with an unspoken question. All he did was motion for her to enter the room, and so she did. She walked without hesitation onto a beach.

Sand crunched beneath her bare feet, rolling and squishing between her toes. Salty air whipped at her face and carried her hair off in every direction. She took a breath, closing her eyes.

The door sealed shut. Startled, Alex looked behind her at the noise.

A vast expanse of sandy dunes and sparse grass blended into a blue horizon. White clouds, as large as any she had seen before, lazily crossed the sky overhead. The endless beach wasn't overwhelming, but comforting.

She turned her head back to the sea. There were white gulls catching the breeze, floating with ease over the rolling waves. Mountains towered in the distance, green and full of life.

"I don't understand how this is happening," Alex said, drawing herself from the view to meet eyes with Edric. "What did you put in that drink?"

Edric laughed, shrugging off his leather jacket. He dropped it on the sand and took a seat, Alex joining him promptly.

She took a handful of sand and admired each grain. Each one was a different color, a different size, unique and individual.

"It's about as real as that alcohol I gave you," Edric answered coolly. He stretched his legs out in front of him, dragging the heels of his boots down through the sand.

"Wait." She dropped the sand from her hands. "You tricked me," Alex realized. "The bar wasn't real, either. Why were you there drinking fake alcohol?"

"I wasn't, but you were. I always carry the genuine stuff with me." Edric pulled a flask slightly out of the pocket of his jacket and tucked it back in.

He kept his gaze steady on the ocean, sweat forming on the edge of his brow. Taking his hat off, Edric put it beside him and swiped his arm across his forehead.

Alex noticed a tattoo that wound up from under the neck of his shirt to behind his right ear. It looked like someone had done it over an old scar. Sporadic edges danced out from under the black flowers. She imagined dozens of scenarios for what caused it, but bit her tongue to avoid spitting any of them out.

"What are these rooms for?" she asked.

"They're called sensory rooms. Some of them are for training, some for therapeutic purposes; others for the pure sake of keeping memories and traditions alive. They interact with every sense—tricking the mind into thinking everything is real. The floors even move with you. You can walk miles in any direction."

Walking miles reaching nowhere sounded idyllic. She could walk the line between land and sea for hours, feeling nothing but peace. Everything she had always wanted was around her.

Her eyes closed again, taking in the sound of the waves. It was therapeutic. The events from the day before, and every year before that, washed away with each wave as it receded.

She wanted to jump into the ocean and disappear into the quiet beneath the waves; nothing but her and the depths to keep her company. The sun felt radiating yet revitalizing on her skin. Bare legs and arms gathered the heat.

Alex leaned back on the palms of her hands, squinting against the rays when a familiar sound interrupted their peacefulness.

"What are you doing here?"

The beach and all its sights and sounds had vanished as soon as the door opened. A white room, small and compact, surrounded them instead.

Alex and Edric stood up quickly, turning to face a very agitated Cicero.

"I couldn't sleep," Alex blurted out. She folded her arms tightly and tried to ignore how red her cheeks probably were.

Cicero's face was unreadable; he only stared at the two of them.

Edric grabbed his hat and jacket, swinging the latter lazily over one shoulder. "I'll see you guys in the morning," he said, walking out of the room. He didn't seem scared or even concerned by Cicero, and gave him a small nod as he passed. Edric disappeared to the darkness of the hallway.

Alex tried to read something, anything, in Cicero's unblinking hazel eyes. Nothing. No anger, no joy or sadness.

Dammit, she cursed to herself.

Keepers had such frustrating control over their emotions when they wanted to. Cicero was usually an open book and rarely closed himself off in such a fashion. He wanted to make her mad.

"I know what you're doing." She cocked her head to the side. "You've done this before, but I'm not a child anymore. I won't get mad and storm off so you can swoop in to take control of things. I let that happen when I was five, but I'm older now."

His expression never changed. If she didn't know him like the back of her own hand, she would think he was as robotic as a Patrolman.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to figure out a way to bypass every instinct in him. They were in a foreign place, surrounded by people he didn't know or trust. She knew he wouldn't budge on his thoughts until he was convinced everything was safe.

"Things are different here. I just know they are." She took a breath, realizing that she believed every word she said.

Maybe it was putting faith in Edric and following him down the hall, and not getting murdered, or the few minutes she spent sitting on the sand. Either way, her instincts were telling her they were safe. For now. And that was more than they'd had in years.

A twitch at the corners of Cicero's lips signaled a shift in his composure. He allowed emotions back onto his face, and a smile appeared. "How can you have faith in them so quickly? You've always trusted me."

Alex shrugged at his question. "Maybe I just want to trust myself for once."

Cicero bobbed his head slowly, looking out over the room "So," he started, "you two were just sitting here in a room doing what, exactly?" His eyebrows raised and he leaned back on his heels.

The throaty laugh that shook Alex's shoulders sounded forced, even to her. "I don't—I don't like what you're hinting at. This is a sensory room."

"Right," Cicero mused.

"That sounded worse, I'll admit," Alex said, her face burning.

She looked around the room, trying to figure out how to make the beach appear again. The only way she knew how to get the room to do anything was the way Edric had before, but she wasn't sure if she could remember the order of the buttons he had pressed.

It's worth a try, if only to wipe that look off Cicero's face, Alex thought.

Alex walked back to the door and leaned out, mimicking Edric's movements as best as she could. She pressed her index finger to the wall. Once the panel appeared, it was best guesses and hopeful wishes.

The room faded to black beyond her. What once had been shielded behind a closed door took place right in front of her eyes. Thousands of small lights flickered across the room like a wave. They rolled over the walls, the floor, and the ceiling until every inch of the room sputtered from white and pristine, to an expansive beach.

Carefully, Alex closed the door behind her and sealed herself back in the room with Cicero. The sounds of the beach roared to a crescendo.

"It's a bit loud," Cicero said, dragging his feet through the sand toward her.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the best at this," Alex chuckled out. She motioned around her, sweeping wide with her arms. "Well?"

Cicero closed his eyes, visibly taking in a deep breath. "It's pretty amazing," he said after a moment. His eyes fluttered open. "I can see why you're trusting them a little more."

"I'm trusting me," Alex corrected. She folded her arms. "I can't say it's something I've been able to do in awhile." A playful smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she fought hard to hide it, but ultimately failed when Cicero let out a breathy laugh in realization.

"Ouch, okay." He sucked in a deep breath. "And what if you're wrong on this?"

"Then I have you to help me out of trouble."

"I thought you were trusting yourself?" Cicero raised a brow.

Alex nodded and looked out over the beach, blinking against the sun's rays. She didn't want to learn to fight because she didn't want to fulfill her duties, but she didn't want to be dead weight forever.

"I suppose we both have something to learn in this bunker," Alex said. Her gaze fluttered back to Cicero.

"Yeah?" He smiled faintly at her. "What's that?"

"Given the chance, I'm going to learn to take care of myself. And you're going to learn how to lighten up a little."

"How long do you think we're going to be down here?"

"Why, you think it would take you too long to learn how to relax?" Alex teased. 

They both turned back to the ocean in front of them, watching the waves crash at their feet. The water sloshed mere inches away from where they stood. Unexpectedly, Cicero pushed Alex forward, sending her stumbling into the shallow waves.

Spinning around, Alex looked back at Cicero with her mouth ajar, a giggle erasing the surprise etched on her face. "What the hell was that for?"

"The bunker must be working already," Cicero replied with a shrug. "Now, if only you could have been able to stop me from pushing you, we both would have achieved our goals."

He doesn't realize I really mean to learn how to take care of myself without him.