After Dare gave them the tour of the hospital-turned-lab, they continued the tour of the island.
"Does it have a name?" August asked, as they walked back towards the shore.
"What?" Dex said, as if he had just been snapped out of a daydream. "Oh, the island. Not really - we just call it the Lighthouse."
August wondered what he was thinking about but didn't ask. They walked in silence for the rest of the way, walking beneath the shade of the trees once again. August had the occasional twittering of a bird, and saw small crabs skittering by them.
The scenery of the island was beautiful - there were some hills in the distance covered by grass which gently swayed in the wind. Once they entered the thickest part of the vegetation, the distance between trees slowly increased as the trees reached higher and higher into the sky. There were tufts of fern fronds which sprouted from the ground here and there, looking otherworldly with their circular mud-yellow spores on the underside of their leaves. Due to the lack of sunlight in certain areas, some trees were dressed in a dark-green moss with the mushrooms ocassionally peeking out from through cracks in the thick bark.
When they got to the beach, they removed their shoes and August soon understood why. The grains of sand were so soft and fine that they kept sinking into it, and their shoes would have immediately been filled with it. The waters were beautiful - crystal clear and a lovely shade between blue and green, stretching out endlessly until it touched the cloudless sky. It felt oddly peaceful for a place that had been a base during a war.
There were pieces of sun-bleached driftwood scattered across the beach, along with the some seashells. August took note of how devoid of rocks the entire beach was.
They reached a stretch of land and rocks which had clearly been made artificially in order to reach the lighthouse on foot. It was several feet away from the shore, built on a base of a large rock. As they got closer, the taller and more foreboding it looked. As they carefully treaded along the rocks after putting their shoes back on, the water lapped at the sides of the rocky pathway, spraying their faces with a fine layer of saltwater.
August noticed that much of the walls of the lighthouse were entirely made of glass, but the rest of it was stone. When they stepped inside, the darkness was such a contrast to the bright sun outside that August felt momentarily blinded. He waited for his eyes to adjust, and noticed that the base room was empty aside from a spiral staircase in the middle of the room. August was sure there must be more to it but Dex just started going up the stairs.
August followed, going up just a few steps before they came to a landing and a door. Dex gave August a code to enter, and showed him how to unlock the door.
"The codes change every two weeks, but we will keep you updated." Dex said. "I hope you have a good memory for numbers."
When August opened the door, what he saw was not what he had been expecting at all. It was a room with a panoramic view of the ocean below. The room itself looked more like a lounge than anything else - there were couches, beanbags and comfortable-looking armchairs all around. There was a large table on the other side of the room, and upon approaching, he noticed it had a very subtle pattern of hexagons etched into the surface.
"Cool table, right?" Dex grinned. "Just wait 'til it's turned on."
He seemed to press a button of some sort on the side of the table, and August heard a low hum as a faint blue glow appeared from the surface of the table. Before his eyes, the light formed what seemed to be a 3-dimensional illusion in the middle of the table. August realised it was a map of the island, showing the general shapes of the buildings on it.
"It's fingerprint activated, of course. We can't have just anyone messing with these - not that we really get visitors out here. Remind me to add your biometrics to the database." Dex said. August simply nodded, a bit intimidated by all the high-end technology around him. He felt like a child again, in constant awe of the world around him. For the first few years of his life, his mother had an almost saint-like level of patience for him, entertaining all of his questions. August felt a weight in his chest as he recalled how she had died.
"Are you alright?" Dex said, settling down into an armchair. "I'm no expert when it comes to reading people but you always seem preoccupied somehow."
August hesitantly sat down across from him. "I'm not used to this -" August said, gesturing towards the room, " - and being… free. You could say I was a sort of prisoner for most of my life."
"For what crime?" Dex asked.
"For being alive." August said, pressing his lips together. The very idea that he was supposed to be a person, a person with independence at that, disturbed and unsettled him. He had spent his formative years following whatever order or command was thrown at him, living out of sight and suffering horrible consequences for stepping out of line. He shivered at the thought, absent-mindedly running his fingers across the bumps created by the numerous scars along his arms. When he looked up at Dex, he seemed worried.
"You know, if you ever feel the need for it, Locusta does offer psychological assistance. Like therapy." He said, his usual cheer gone from his voice. "I can understand what it's like. To not know who you're supposed to be."
August said nothing. He felt that Dex had already developed a soft spot for him, and it only made him more uncomfortable. All of this was a means to an end for August - he was just here with a specific goal in mind. To save his sister. Everything else came second to him, and he couldn't risk having relationships and attachments that would get in the way of that. He needed to find a way to get closer to Raven, find a way to convince him to let August rescue his sister. Surely she was pure-blooded as well - they were full siblings after all. Locusta wouldn't turn down another weapon.
As for therapy - he was not about to trust a complete stranger with his thoughts. He didn't believe for a second that any therapist working with or for Locusta would maintain anonimity in any form. They would probably report everything right back to Raven or even someone higher up.
They continued with the tour after August refused to elaborate any futher. The highest floors of the lighthouse consisted of residential areas, with two on each floor. The floor directly above the lounge where they had been was a sort of kitchen, which appeared to be very-well stocked. Dex claimed that they took turns cooking, but usually just made food for themselves. Dara and Dex shared the floor above the kitchen, each with their own private rooms. Above that was Catriona's room, which, upon peeking through the slightly open door looked more like an office than a bedroom. The empty room next to it was for August.
Stepping inside, he felt strangely at peace with it. It was very empty, except for the furniture. There was a comfortably-large bed, a closet, a desk and chair and an empty shelf which covered a whole wall. The wall which faced the water was all glass, showcasing a beautiful view of the waters around them. Dex said that he could take them shopping for some decorations or even build some things for him but August shook his head. He was determined not to get too comfortable.
The topmost room of the lighthouse was a security room. It had plenty of screens, buttons, switches and things that beeped or flashed occasionally that August didn't understand. It seemed that the overall purpose of most of the devices there was to ensure they had no surprise guests on the island.
August sighed as he closed the door to his room and made sure it was firmly locked. He sank into the soft bed, burying his face into the pillow. It didn't feel right, somehow. For a covert organisation, the people here seemed too normal. Too friendly. August had been expecting them to be more military-like, more strict and harsh. Instead, he was being welcomed into this polished and clean-looking room which was larger than anywhere he had been allowed to sleep in before.
August had thoroughly inspected the room, not quite knowing what he was looking for. Maybe some sort of hidden camera or recording device? Surely they didn't trust him.
The room slowly sank into the darkness as the sun disappeared behind the water. August felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him, as the past few days events caught up to him. He was risking his anonymity to be a part of Locusta, but given his history and heritage he didn't have many other choices. And he would probably get paid well. Maybe enough to escape from them too, if his first plan didn't work. He slipped into a restless sleep as thoughts of his sister gnawed at his mind. His guilt had teeth sharp enough to eat him alive if he didn't keep it in check. And as his life with Locusta grew more familiar and comfortable, he found it increasingly difficult to keep his peace of mind.