Chapter 326: Just an excited boy and a very special test
Kellen stood silently in a room he’d always seen, but never actually been in. He had his arms crossed, his expression grim as he heard the noises the machines around him made. The Doctors and others in the room with him and Rhys were speaking to each other, moving around the room as Kellen watched Hill and Charlie on the other side of the glass.
The head Doctor, a woman Kellen hadn’t seen before, was sat down in front of a large screen on a stool with wheels. One side of her vision was on the giant glass window before her, while the other was focused on the screen before her. Numbers were flashing across the screen, and they meant nothing to Kellen.
On the table before her was a microphone, and Kellen realised that was how they were able to speak so clearly to him in the other room. He admitted that he hadn’t put much thought into how he was able to hear the others when he’d gone in for his tests. It wasn’t part of his concern.
For now, he was concerned about how this was going to go for Charlie. He didn’t really care what Charlie came out as. Not really. The man could come out as a D Class, and he wouldn’t care, he just didn’t want Charlie to be upset with the results.
He didn’t think that Charlie would come out as a D Class, or even a C Class if he was honest. He was sure it was something higher, just from the level of Guiding Charlie had provided thus far, how often, and how much he was being used by Guiding Center C.
Kellen closed his eyes for a second, taking a moment as he felt his body tremble. He swallowed thickly. He could feel how his fear was affecting him, even after Rhys had helped calm him down. He knew that Rhys was right beside him, but being surrounded by all of these people was making his nerves even worse.
"Are you almost ready?" Rhys’ voice almost made Kellen jump. His tone wasn’t rude, but it was clear he was impatient. The woman in charge chuckled.
"Almost, Captain Thatcher. How are you two doing in there? Excited?" It was a testament to the Doctor in charge that she wasn’t getting scared by the powerful people around her. Charlie turned his head towards the room, grinning.
"I’m super excited! This is nothing like my first test!" Charlie had his shirt off, and Kellen’s chest ached at the fact that even after being in his parent’s care for as long as he had, you could still see his rib bones. Either that was normal for Charlie, and his body wasn’t going to let him go further, or there was something else going on. He’d have to talk to Taylor about it, because it was concerning.
The people in the room shared a look, but the Doctor smiled at Charlie.
"Oh wonderful. Glad to hear it. Lieutenant Hill, are you doing alright?" The Doctor asked and Hill nodded, giving a smile. She was in her sports bra again, sitting across from Charlie with a grin. They were already holding hands, but that wasn’t a big deal to Hill it appeared.