I swipe a card over a lock panel and hear a beep. A short, high tone. The lock disengages and Silva opens the door.
I rest in the chair just to the side so that she can hold the door open. Once she had it held, I wheel over to her and spin around so she's at my back.
[Silva] "Alright, I'm gonna roll you over the step."
Silva leaves the door wide open far enough that it doesn't swing its weight back at us. Then she pulls my chair back and up over the small step into our home. Then a bit more towards the living room.
I can hear the sounds of bare feet hitting the floor behind me. Running. The sound stops right after I'm fully brought inside.
[Silva] "Hi Auntie Del! I brought Ymir back home."
[Delilah] "..."
[Silva] "Huh? Oh, the chair? I'll let Ymir talk about what happened today. Give me a sec."
I know mom is signing to Silva, but I can't turn around very well to see her. The entrance of our home isn't very wide so I can't just spin the chair around. I don't have the best control over it on my own. Plus my ribs hurt when I try to rotate far enough to look behind me.
Silva wheels me a bit further and into our living room. She spins me around to look at my mother.
Mom looks terrified. Tears are forming in her eyes and starting to drop.
[Ymir] "Whoa, hey! Don't cry, mom. I'm sorry for scaring you, but I'm gonna be all okay."
[Silva] "Hey, Ymir. I'm gonna close the door."
[Ymir] "Hm? Oh, please."
Silva goes back to the open door to close it.
[Delilah] [What happened? Why are you in the chair?]
[Ymir] "Ah, just to help me move around. Silva insisted. I got a little hurt today, but they treated me."
[Delilah] [You'll be okay?]
[Ymir] "Yeah, mom. I'm gonna be all okay."
Silva comes back into the room and walks passed me and over to my mother.
[Silva] "Auntie Del, I'm gonna go rest for a bit in the guest room. It's been a long day. I'll be heading home later, though."
[Delilah] [Go ahead, Silva. Please stay for dinner.]
[Silva] "Happily. See you two in a bit."
With that, Silva excuses herself from the conversation and walks upstairs.
[Delilah] [Come over here. Tell me what's going on.]
My mom signs that and walks over to a loveseat in the middle of the room. There's plenty of space around it. While she takes a seat at the closer side, I roll up next to her.
[Delilah] [First. The chair.]
[Ymir] "Auntie Harper broke three of my ribs in a combat test. I got a stim, though. Should be fine in a few days."
[Delilah] [Harper!? What?]
My mom has a horribly shocked expression on her face. I also fibbed about the test. Didn't want to say it was an off-the-books beating.
[Delilah] [I know she's a bit wild, but... Why would she hurt you like that?]
[Ymir] "There was a point to prove about Runners. But I passed with flying colors!"
[Delilah] [You mean the test? You're enlisted?]
[Ymir] "Yeah, mom. I made it. But I also made history... in some way. I'm a C-Ranker. Right below dad's rank!"
My mom's face was always filled with expression. It's half of how she converses. The shock only grew further now. I've never seen her this surprised.
[Delilah] [It takes a lot of work to get there, yes? Magni took five years. C is for elites.]
[Ymir] "And I got there on my first day, mom. Harp- I mean... Chief Harper made the decision. Said I know more than most Runners out there already. Took an oath and everything right there."
[Delilah] [You really are so amazing, Ymir. Magni and Gajjet would be so proud.]
[Ymir] "I owe nana so much, too. It's her notes that I studied to learn about Vaults. Harper knows how much I've read and memorized. There isn't even a way to use most of that stuff in the test."
[Delilah] [How did that go? How's Varun?]
[Ymir] "The test went fine. I was pretty good at the physical testing. Firearms, too. Uncle Varun wasn't there though. Silva said he's distracted with some new thing that was brought in for study."
[Delilah] [That's like him. But I knew you would perform well. You took three extra years to train.]
[Ymir] "Silva teased me for that earlier. Heh. But I'm glad I waited."
[Delilah] [When are you going to HQ?]
[Ymir] "Oh, once I'm healed. I promised to get a check-up from my injuries. Training starts in three days."
[Delilah] [It's gonna be lonely around here once you go.]
[Ymir] "I'm not leaving forever mom. I know some Vault Breakers live at home and don't spend their nights at dorms at HQ. I might be gone a while sometimes, though. Deployments can last a while."
[Delilah] [Your dad was gone a few months sometimes. I'm worried the whole time.]
[Ymir] "I know that it's going to be dangerous, mom. And... I know dad was killed in action. So I won't promise that I'll be safe. I promise that I'll always try my hardest to come back home."
My mom and I share our feelings and she has me recount how each test went. About half way through, my mother brings up something I'd totally forgotten about.
[Delilah] [I'm going to get dinner ready tonight. I think the chair will make it hard to cook.]
[Ymir] "I totally forgot about dinner! I'm so sorry! You're right, though. But it's been a while since Silva ate your cooking. I'm sure she'll be stoked."
[Delilah] [Go check up on her. The lift should still work just fine.]
[Ymir] "Sure thing."
We have a lift on the ground floor of our home. Gajjet lived here with my mom and I before she passed. She wasn't able to move around well in her old age so she had a wheelchair for a mobility aid. She could still walk around the house a bit, but not use the stairs or move for too long.
My mother is actually about that same age now. Something like 75 years old or a bit more. She never knew her age since she doesn't have memories of her past. But she was thought to be around 20 when she was found. The weird part is that she doesn't look old at all.
Still looks 20 years old.
I wonder what happened to her in the Vault. I'll have to ask her about it sometime.
Not today, though.
I roll the chair from the living room to the dining room, then pass the kitchen. The lift is over here next to a downstairs bathroom.
I swing open a metal door on the lift and roll onto the platform, closing the door behind me. We keep it at the ground level all the time so it's luckily already set up to get into easily.
With the flick of a switch, the lift system engaged and the platform slowly raises up to the second floor. It's setup almost like an elevator shaft so the lift stops level with the second floor. An iron gate could be pulled back by reaching over the edge of the lift, then the metal door of the lift could be opened. So I do that.
I roll out of the lift and close both doors, but leave the lift waiting at this floor.
Next to me, as I come out of there, is the door to the guest room.
I knock on the door. No response. One more knock. Nothing.
[Ymir] "I'm coming in."
I grab the doorknob and twist it. The door opens quietly and I roll into the room.
This room is a bit messy. Silva stays here a lot and my mom told her that she's expected to clean it. Silva failed to do that last time and so my mom left it as it was for her to finish when she returns. Mom isn't going to let her leave without cleaning the room this time. I know it.
Wrapped up in a big, blue blanket is my cousin. Looks like she kicked off her shoes and got right into bed.
[Ymir] "Hey, Silva. How you doing?"
[Silva] "Mmmhrhmmrmrm...."
[Ymir] "You're talking through a pillow."
She pulls her face away from her pillow and looks at me with sleepy eyes.
[Silva] "I'm so tired."
[Ymir] "Yeah, I bet. Nap for a bit longer then. Mom is making dinner. I'll wake you up when it's ready."
[Silva] "Yaaaaaaaay...."
Silva's head sinks back to the pillow. She's asleep in seconds.
I leave the room and close the door quietly so as not to wake her up again.
I go just across the hall to my room and head inside.
I keep it pretty clean, but I forgot to make my bed this morning. I was really excited so I got ready as quickly as I could and forgot about my bed. I'll be sure to make it tomorrow.
My room isn't big. A queen-sized bed in the corner of the room and a nightstand to the side. I have a map and alarm clock there, plus a notebook from Gajjet's collection.
To the left when you enter the room is my desk space. Another lamp there, a small bookshelf stuffed with Gajjet's notes, and my reading lenses. My eyes aren't perfect, but my eyesight really isn't bad at all. I just need some small correction to help read Gajjet's terrible and tiny handwriting.
My dresser is next to the desk. Just a few drawers. I don't have a lot of clothes. I prefer to just wash my outfits frequently and where a few rotations.
Of everything in my room, I just feel like I want to climb into my bed. I roll the chair closer to my bed and lift my body from the chair. I expect it to hurt, but I seems to be starting to feel some relief. It isn't a full recovery. A few sharp pains still stab me a bit while I stand up.
I sit down pretty quickly onto my bed and tenderly lift my legs up too. I don't feel like I could get my boots off. It doesn't matter right now though. I'll wash my sheets tomorrow.
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. Just like Silva, I'm so tired.
I didn't dream. I just felt my body succumb to unconsciousness and I drifted for a bit in that slumber.
[Silva] "Hey, Ymir. Get up. Your mom finished dinner."
[Ymir] "Hnn?"
I open my eyes. Silva is nudging my knee and calling out.
[Ymir] "I'm so tired."
[Silva] "Yeah and you didn't wake me up for dinner. Auntie Del came to get me."
[Ymir] "Sorry."
[Silva] "You know I love mac and cheese."
[Ymir] "She makes it every time she cooks for you."
[Silva] "So let's go eat. Get up!"
I lift up out of bed and stretch wide with a yawn. Then I push my legs off the bed and stand. Silva stopped me while I was walking out of the room.
[Silva] "Ymir, don't push it. Use the chair til your ribs heal."
[Ymir]"Huh? Oh yeah! The chair. I uh... Don't hurt though."
I press my hands against my chest and my sides, then touch my back a bit. I test all my ribs. They don't hurt at all.
[Silva] "There's no way that you're better already."
[Ymir] "Test it."
Silva is a scientist in nature. She needs to prove it herself. So she reaches over and jabs one of my ribs with a finger. It wasn't a strong hit but it would have hurt my ribs for sure if they were broken.
[Ymir] "Nothing."
[Silva] "You're not just trying to act tough right now?"
[Ymir] "Nope."
[Silva] "You're already healed?"
[Ymir] "Yup."
[Silva] "Elaborate more, Ymir. You just woke up all better after like an thirty minutes? That doesn't happen even with the higher grade Medic corps stims."
[Ymir] "I'd tell you more if I could, but that's exactly it. I just crawled into bed, and now I feel better after a nap."
[Silva] "That sounds so dumb when you say it."
[Ymir] "I'm pretty dumb."
[Silva] "Says the genius who got C-Rank on his first day."
[Ymir] "You bring that up a lot. You jealous?"
[Silva] "Not jealous. You just don't how good you are at things."
[Ymir] "Sure. Sure. Anyways, dinner?"