JPHiP Forum
The Hello! Project Fanfics => H!P Fanfics => Topic started by: inDeceit on August 17, 2007, 07:57:47 PM
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I wanted to try a first person story. So here's something I wrote to pass time while having writer's block for Scapegoat.
For your information, the main character's is an original and written from my point of view (I'll probably..shamelessly name the character after myself lol) Also, the rest of the cast this time is bigger. Well, not the whole of H!P but more than two people anyway.
I'm pretty sure the prologue doesn't reveal much about the narrator and there's lots of loopholes. Those would be covered in later chapters. It's the past being told in the present, as if the narrator's story telling. There will be character deaths, so be warned.
---- Prologue (revised) ----
Any form of luster and vigor once in existence had became nothing but a mere memory.
The first attack began 8 years ago in incognito. It took everyone by surprise when death tolls went up at an insane rate within weeks. Authorities had no way to prevent the gruesome murders happening across the land. They were unable to find the culprit. Yet when they did, even weapons of mass destruction were unable to resolve the issue, but rather it destroyed the city, leaving a majority of the land in ruins. The entire city was in chaos and panic. All who had the chance to escape did just that. And those who stayed were the unfortunate and abandoned.
Prior to the battle, the Earth had already been on the edge of ending. A period finally came when natural disasters swept across the planet, burning down homes, burying countries in land and sea, and leaving craters where cities used to be. The existing government then was determined to come up with a solution for this catastrophe. The remaining survivors were moved into a city within a dome built above the largest piece of land left on the planet, containing even the skies. Technology was advanced; hovercrafts, holograms, you name it. Settling the citizens into their new abode was a breeze, but the officials were ambitious fools when they insisted on finding a way to evolve the human body. They wish to make it possible for humans to become immune to any chances in the ecosystem. But was it possible, to still exist if Mother Nature were to completely abandon us? It was uncertain yet the politicians and scientists were bent on challenging what is deem as impossible. A research organization was then born regardless of strong protests.
The project went on quietly for 9 years. During the first quarter, citywide searches for anyone involved in medicine and science were carried out. The willing and unwilling were dragged into the project and sleepless nights were spent researching on any feasible method of altering a person’s immune system, DNA or even reconstruct the internal structure of the body. Hundreds of experiments were done yet only a handful was proved significant. By the end of the 9th year, there was a breakthrough. The team came to a conclusion for their first phase of the research. Tests were run on apes by sending chemicals and toxins through their blood stream. Many died instantly, but some were able to survive far longer than expected. Those who failed the test were disposed of and the remaining batch was put through more analysis. The experiment was mostly trial and error until a finalized solution was concocted. A new group of test subjects were later called for.
A hundred infants were adopted into the organization in the following year and claimed to be the last batch. Failure was forbidden. Upon the children’s arrival, they were each implanted with a blood red chip into their forearms and later injected with the finalized formula. The red chip glowed occasionally and marked each individual subject as organization’s property. The infants stayed for 2 years before they were released into society to develop. Each child grew up like any other under the care of foster families who were a part of the organization as well. The children however, were oblivious of these facts. Memories of their first 2 years were forgotten as they grew.
15 years later, bizarre killings began. Also dubbed as the first attack. Bodies were found littered across the city; sometimes in masses, sometimes alone. Within a month, there were at least 50 corpses discovered. It was a disturbing sight to find the carcasses. Most of them were horribly severed beyond recognition. Some were torn into pieces with organs left over. No one knew whom or what did the crime, but everyone was terrified of being next. The attacks went on for months but there were no leads to the monstrosity. The city’s population began to fall drastically due to both the dead rate and citizens evacuating the dome to a safer island on the outside.
It did not take long before the perpetrator made their existence known to people. They started hunting even in broad daylight, and soon they were roaming the streets constantly. The military were unable to destroy them completely. They regenerated quickly and any forms of explosives were only able to stun them.
Seeing as it was a lost case to continue fighting, the organization abandoned the research and gathered their test subjects as a last resort. The subjects now being teenagers were kept within a quarantine area. There were at least 60 of them left in the group. Confused and scared, soldiers shot each of them to death. The organization and military were the last to evacuate the city after the massacre, sealing the main exit of the dome after them. The dome now serves as a cage for those who remained in the city who were too late in escaping.
A new civilization had begun, and we are at the bottom of the food chain.
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Chapter 1 – 化物じゃない!
It’s against logic to claim that someone could come back from the dead. It was ridiculous, farfetched, and impossible! But it happened. It happened to the group of children who were executed, and I was a part of the group.
I felt a pulsing sensation run through me when the triggers were pulled. I should have been in pain because I saw blood. Blood stained the marble floor, spilled out of the others who were in the room with me. I saw blood running down between my eyes. All that within split seconds before I lost consciousness, or technically speaking, died. They shot me through the forehead. It was impossible to survive that, right?
Wrong.
I did not know how, but I woke up eventually. I thought it had all been a nightmare after too many sweets at night, but I couldn’t be anymore mistaken. I sat up from where I fell, feeling at my forehead. There’s blood but it had already dried. How long have I been unconscious? I'm not sure. What surprised me was, there’s no wound there, not even a scar. I had no idea what was going on.
I looked around the room. Many corpses lay around me, their clothes soaked in red. Some still had a stupefied expression on their faces. It was too disturbing to look on further. I quickly got up and hurried to the door. Fortunately, it was unlocked. Blindly running out, I failed to notice that the room had a significant number of people missing compared to when we first arrived.
Knowing that I was safely away from the quarantine room, I slowed my pace. The corridor I found myself wandering in had hardly any light. I walked on in the dark, leaning against the wall as a guide. I was beginning to feel that there’s no end to this passage until I felt my shoulder hit a ledge and I stumbled into another room. I heard a gasp when I fell, but it was probably my imagination. I pushed myself up and scanned the room. The computers were still turned on, and so were the table lamps. Seems like whoever used the room was in a hurry to leave. I moved over to one of the stations and took a good look at the files. Under the ‘archives’ folder, I opened a document titled ‘March 11th, 2023’. I took the nearest chair and got comfortable.
The infants had just been sent out to the staffs’ families. The test is going as planned and we’re hoping to see success by the end of the observation period. A detailed copy of the formula would be delivered to you within the next 3 days.
The document ended like that. It is a backup of an e-mail apparently, but that did not answer my doubts about what’s happening. I scrolled down and opened a more recent file. ‘July 9th, 2036’.
We called back for one of our subjects yesterday, with hopes of coming across anything substantial. The subject was close to puberty and we suspect that it might cause a reaction to the chemicals in him. Our speculations were correct, but what happened were the least expected.
There appears to be a mutation in his cells, but we could be wrong. We will continue to observe any changes.
I felt a little uneasy under the impression of mutations. (Video games taught me that mutations were ugly.) Then it struck me. I have been too preoccupied with what happened within the last few hours.. or days even and had forgotten about what had been going on outside. The last I remember, there had been man-eating creatures outside. I’m not sure if they had been gotten rid of but instincts tell me that this building I am in may not be safe anymore. I must get out of here, but first I had to save the files somewhere. They might answer my questions. I started rummaging through the drawers in search of a blank disc. That was when I heard a click.
“Don’t move!”
I heard someone call out, it sounded like a girl. I dropped whatever I was doing and turned towards the voice. It was indeed a girl and she seemed slightly older than me. She held a gun in her hand. I could tell that she was an outsider with her punk like street clothes and even under the dimmed lights and her intense glare, there was something unique about her eyes. They were fierce but unfocused.
“You’re one of them!”
I snapped out of my thoughts. What was she saying? One of what? I tried to take a step forward.
“I said, don’t move!”
She shouted again, arms stretched out with the gun held steadily in her hands. She had no qualms about pulling the trigger at all, I was sure. She was determined to shoot if I attempted to even blink.
“One of whom?” I finally asked, not wanting to die (again) without some answers.
“Those monsters, that’s what you are!”
She really should stop shouting. The ‘monsters’ may just come because of that. Anyway, I’m not a monster! I was really confused with what she was saying now. I was afraid too. I’m not even 17 yet and already I’ve died once, this was all too scary but I had to live. I’m not going to risk being shot again so I obeyed her previous demand and stayed still on the spot.
“I’m not a monster.” I answered confidently, loud enough for only those in the room to hear which is the two of us.
“Don’t lie! You have the same red glow as them on the arm.”
Red glow? I looked at myself, pretty sure there’s no red glow on me. But I saw it after all. Underneath the fabric of my shirt, the glow was flashing prominently. I rolled up my sleeves and it’s true. Right under my skin was that same glow. I’ve always thought it was just a rash or sore.. but I guess not. I looked up at the girl again.
“That does not mean anything. And I’m human, look! No claws, no fangs!”
I raised my hands and opened my jaws. She was cautious at first, but she lowered her gun and advanced towards me. She grabbed my chin and started inspecting my face, pulling my head side to side and honestly, that fucking hurts. She was about to say something when we both heard heavy footsteps and a low grunt coming from outside.
Naturally, the first thing I thought of was to hide. I quickly grabbed the girl’s wrist and pulled her down behind a desk, covering her mouth with my hands. I released her when she agreed not to shout or shoot. Good thing she had common sense. We slowed down our breathing and restrained our movements as best as we could.
What ever it was outside, it was now in the room and in search of something.
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Ah so the formula that they tested on those infants has caused them to mutate into these monsters. I wonder what it was originally meant to do?
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Have them adapt to and survive climate changes..etc..etc.. basically become a superhuman, in a sense. Too bad it screwed up. Would've been nice if it work, but then there'll be no story to write :lol:
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^ True. :lol:
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I wonder if anyone realized who the girl was.
and I wonder who actually read this because I see the number rise but there's no comment ;_; Doesn't matter.. I'll still keep writing it >_>
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I'm guessing the girl is either Miki or Reina, what with the clothes and the glare.
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Hmmm..
Chapter 2
There goes that nerve wrecking grunt again. It’s like the creature’s mocking me. Laughing at me because I know I’m nothing against it. It was ten times stronger, faster and larger than me. Not to mention ugly. Of course, I have not the slightest of envy towards its ugliness. It even made me slightly nauseas. I’m not sure how much time has passed, but my body’s starting to cramp up. I involuntarily shifted.
Before I knew it, a shadow loomed over us. Us? Oh right, I’ve almost forgotten about the girl who tried to rip my chin off. Anyway, there’s that shadow shaped as a human. But it was definitely no human from what was reflected on the window in front of us.
It had a pair of ominous silver eyes, stood 2 meters tall and hunched over like an ape. Its body appeared to have lost any form of hair and some skin was hanging loosely to the muscles. Its limbs were huge, probably as hard as steel too. It had pronounced fangs instead of teeth and claws. Both were as big as an adult lion’s. Seems like it had the necessary ‘equipments’ of a predator. But from my point of view, it looked like a gorilla went bathing in acid, but that’s really just me.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was that girl again. I was too focused on the creature that I kept forgetting she existed. I looked at her, trying to figure out what she wanted. She looked at me as well, then at the creature and placed her gun in my hands. Did she want me to shoot it?! As if she read me mind, she started motioning for me to just run out and pump the humanoid with bullets. I knew it! She was out of her mind. I shook my head and tossed the gun back to her.
She glared at me like a mother to her disobedient child. I wanted to whimper. Smacking me over the head, she turned away from me and held the gun steadily. I inwardly reminded myself that I would attend her funeral if I do make it out alive after this. Just as expected, she jumped out from our hiding spot and started pressing the trigger rapidly. I was watching the entire show from the corner of the table and noticed that all the creature did was stumble backward, stunned. The gun had already run out of bullets by now but the creature was still unharmed. She dropped her gun and stared at the twitching figure.
“It’s not dying!”
She glanced at me with fear in her eyes, nothing like the glare she gave me when she threatened to blow my head to pieces. I looked back at her, equally scared. The creature was still stunned, and the only thing I could think of was to run. Taking this chance, I leaped to my feet and ran, pulling the older girl along. We sped past the creature before it had the chance to recover and sprinted down the dark corridor. I didn’t care if it felt like I was running through an abyss, as long as I didn’t have to be in the same place as that animal, I’m contended.
“Where are we going?”
The girl shouted behind me, trying hard to catch up. I have to admit, she’s a horrible runner. I did not know where we were going either so I chose to ignore her. I tightened my grip around her wrist and continued moving. Suddenly, I heard her scream. You know, I really hated screamers. I turned my head back, thinking that she nearly tripped or something. Yet what I saw only made me push my legs faster. Two silver orbs illuminated in the dark behind us and it seemed to be getting bigger, nearer. I felt like I was in a really twisted Jurassic Park movie. Anyway, I saw an opening in front of us and dodged into it, shutting the twin doors behind us. It seemed like a fire escape. The flight of stairs going down had been blocked by rubbles, probably from an explosion during the assault from the military. The only route now was up, so that’s where we’ll be heading. It was a good thing I didn’t know how many stories the building had.
It took us forever before we reached the rooftop, panting like dogs. The coast is clear, for now. I knelt down on the ground, trying to catch my breath. The girl I had with me looked like she was dying. We were relieved a little too soon, because not long after we had finally calmed down, the door flew open. That animal sure was persistent, and there were two of them this time. They looked like they were hungry. I didn’t have to guess, but the main course were definitely two teenagers served raw. There’s no way in hell that I was going to let that happen though, as terrified as I may be.
One of them kept a close watch on me, but the other was too impatient. Just like an animal, it pounced towards the girl. The heroin in me awoken and I jumped in front of her, taking a direct blow from the creature. And what a blow it was. Instantly, I felt pain surge through my body and I was on my knees in a pool of blood, clutching onto my shoulder. I gritted my teeth and looked to the side. The girl was shocked and stunned by my random act of heroism. I turned and looked back at the two monsters. One of them was chewing on something. Was that my wristband? Under the stress of the injury, I tried to squint my eyes for a better look.
My eyes would’ve fallen off if it were humanly possible to do so. That was my arm it was feasting on! I felt sick again. This was too much for a kid to stomach. It’s not the time to freeze from shock though so I’m just going to tell myself that it’s all a bad dream and I would wake up with limbs again. That didn’t work when the pain wouldn’t go away. Well, escaping from reality was worth a try anyway.
I was slowly growing weak, the world was starting to spin but then it stopped gradually. My right shoulder started to feel numb instead and I was beginning to think that the same thing that happened previously when I was shot was taking place again. But I didn’t have the time to wait and see if my arm would grow back. I tried to get up on my feet again with the help of one arm and it was freaking difficult. The girl snapped out of her petrified state and rushed in to help me up. I led us towards the edge of the rooftop while the two animals were busy playing with my severed arm. I will miss that arm.
“What’s your name?” I looked at the girl that had been with me all this while.
“Now’s not the-“ She attempted to scold me, but I cut her off.
“What is your name?” I repeated my question.
“Reina. Tanaka Reina.” She answered, obviously thinking I’m crazy. Maybe I just am.
“That’s a nice name..” I replied as though the next few seconds were to be my last.
“Do you trust me, Reina?” I continued, trying to look as serious as I could because I was close to determining my sanity. I felt like laughing.
“No.” That wasn’t what I expected to hear in a life and death situation.
“Well, you’d better.” I replied her anyway, taking hold of her wrist with my remaining hand. Before she could ask why, I had already jumped off the ledge and pulling her down with me.
It is official. I am insane.
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Ahhh she was Reina!!!!
But the other girl?
just another question
all the girls are going to appear?
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I wonder if anyone realized who the girl was.
and I wonder who actually read this because I see the number rise but there's no comment ;_; Doesn't matter.. I'll still keep writing it >_>
Well, after reading this part: there was something unique about her eyes. They were fierce but unfocused.
I figured it was probably Reina. And since she said that "the girl" looked older than her, our protagonist must either be Aika, Linlin or one of the H!P Kids (I'm peronally betting on Aika).
Oh and there are people reading it, obviously, but unfortunately most of them don't post comments.
It had a pair of ominous silver eyes, stood 2 meters tall and hunched over like an ape. Its body appeared to have lost any form of hair and some skin was hanging loosely to the muscles. Its limbs were huge, probably as hard as steel too. It had pronounced fangs instead of teeth and claws. Both were as big as an adult lion’s. Seems like it had the necessary ‘equipments’ of a predator. But from my point of view, it looked like a gorilla went bathing in acid, but that’s really just me.
Damn that IS ugly. :bleed eyes:
I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was that girl again.
...
She looked at me as well, then at the creature and placed her gun in my hands. Did she want me to shoot it?! As if she read me mind, she started motioning for me to just run out and pump the humanoid with bullets. I knew it! She was out of her mind. I shook my head and tossed the gun back to her.
...
she jumped out from our hiding spot and started pressing the trigger rapidly. I was watching the entire show from the corner of the table and noticed that all the creature did was stumble backward, stunned. The gun had already run out of bullets by now but the creature was still unharmed. She dropped her gun and stared at the twitching figure.
“It’s not dying!”
Damn, it's skin must be super thick/tough to be able to withstand getting shot like that. Either they need a more powerful gun or something bladed/pointed to be able to hurt it.
The creature was still stunned, and the only thing I could think of was to run. Taking this chance, I leaped to my feet and ran, pulling the older girl along.
Considering they don't have any more weapons right now, this is the best course of action since the creature's still stunned. It won't do them any good to remain in that lab where the creature basically has them cornered.
“Where are we going?”
The girl shouted behind me, trying hard to catch up. I have to admit, she’s a horrible runner.
Okay, that's definitley Reina. :lol:
Suddenly, I heard her scream. You know, I really hated screamers. I turned my head back, thinking that she nearly tripped or something. Yet what I saw only made me push my legs faster. Two silver orbs illuminated in the dark behind us and it seemed to be getting bigger, nearer.
Shit, the creature's chasing them! :scared:
The only route now was up, so that’s where we’ll be heading. It was a good thing I didn’t know how many stories the building had.
It took us forever before we reached the rooftop, panting like dogs.
If the creature follows them there, maybe the girls be able to lure it over the edge of the building.
That animal sure was persistent, and there were two of them this time. They looked like they were hungry.
TWO??? Crap.
Just like an animal, it pounced towards the girl. The heroin in me awoken and I jumped in front of her, taking a direct blow from the creature. And what a blow it was. Instantly, I felt pain surge through my body and I was on my knees in a pool of blood, clutching onto my shoulder. I gritted my teeth and looked to the side. The girl was shocked and stunned by my random act of heroism. I turned and looked back at the two monsters. One of them was chewing on something. Was that my wristband? Under the stress of the injury, I tried to squint my eyes for a better look.
My eyes would’ve fallen off if it were humanly possible to do so. That was my arm it was feasting on!
OMGASS! IT RIPPED OFF HER ARM?!?!? :OMG: :OMG: :OMG:
I didn’t have the time to wait and see if my arm would grow back.
It'd be a really interesting twist if it did. :yep:
I led us towards the edge of the rooftop while the two animals were busy playing with my severed arm. I will miss that arm.
“What’s your name?” I looked at the girl that had been with me all this while.
...
“Reina. Tanaka Reina.” She answered, obviously thinking I’m crazy. Maybe I just am.
...
“Do you trust me, Reina?” I continued, trying to look as serious as I could because I was close to determining my sanity. I felt like laughing.
“No.” That wasn’t what I expected to hear in a life and death situation.
“Well, you’d better.” I replied her anyway, taking hold of her wrist with my remaining hand. Before she could ask why, I had already jumped off the ledge and pulling her down with me.
It is official. I am insane.
Maybe by some sort of instinct she knows that they'll be okay from the jump (due to whatever those chemicals did to her). If not, then yeah, she's nuts. :lol:
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Oooh, story. XD
Interesting, yay genetic mutations. I suppose the true perpetrators of the mass killings were those ape-ish freakazoids that were the result of early test experiments on apes, NOT the human test subjects. Because, like the protagonist said, they didn't feel particularly different despite the ability to regenerate insanely. XD
Mhm, I can't wait to see what happens. Essentially, they are now more or less alone in a huge dome city with a bunch of murderous, hungry ape creatures who want to chow down on them. There might be a few other people lurking around, I think, so it's interesting to see how you're going to deal with the story. ^_^
Keep it up!
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From the ape, I kept thinking Dragon Ball. :O Then the domed habitat they were living in as Ergo Proxy(anime). Reading the first few chapters, I feel very worried, seems like there's no hope. :cry:
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@Kreuz_Asakura: Protagonist's an Original, I've mentioned that. :) Because you know, I'm not that cruel to put the girls through tests and have them turn into butt-ugly monsters. XD
Yes, the other girls will make an appearance one by one, or in groups eventually. I don't want to handle too many people at once. The story spans out for a few years actually, and the protagonist would kill herself if she had to face Reina's smacking for a decade Lol.
If the military can't hurt those things, I don't think blades could ;_;
I do hope it's the apes left behind that have been mutating and eating people, but.. that's no fun. Details of the research will be revealed throughout the story. Would be bad if the protagonist mutated, huh? I wonder if Reina is safe even if she survives the freefall. :shocked:
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I forgot what I was going to say..
Chapter 3 – 九死一生
There was nowhere to run, so our only other escape was to jump. It was a moment of impulse, really. Whether or not I had considered surviving this, that’s a whole different story. But let’s just keep this little information to ourselves, shall we? Great.
I could feel the wind in my hair and throbbing in my ears. She’s at it again, screaming her head off. But I can’t blame her, who could? We were free falling off a 50 story high building. Since I had the time to think about why the hell there had to be 50 floors, might as well think fast. We were plummeting at an intense rate. Despite being in mid-air, I pulled Reina down to waist level and had her hold on to my body so that I had my arm free. She did just that, squeezing the life out of me at the same time.
Thankfully, this building had balconies on every level. I reached out with my one and only arm and tried to grab onto the ledge of the balcony. I missed the first time. The second. Third. My hand was starting to bruise at the impact. I really wished I had wings now, and it wouldn’t even surprise me if I did. I finally managed to grab hold of the balcony railings, but holding on was harder than I thought. It only took a few seconds before I started losing grip. My fingers were slipping.
Too late.
We were falling again and it was my turn to scream.
. . .
. . .
* Tap tap tap *
I could hear someone typing.
Wait. Typing? Where am I? I stayed still on whatever I was laying on, replaying the previous events in my head. I could feel my leg suffering now from the running before. I remember having my arm torn off, and then we jumped. We didn’t managed to land anywhere and just kept falling.. then I hit something hard and passed out. So shouldn’t we be dead already?
“她醒来了!” (1)
“什么? 我正在忙!” (2)
“那女孩醒了啦,笨蛋! 快来!” (3)
I could hear a commotion going on in the room. Were they speaking Chinese? I couldn’t really figure it out. I tried opening my eyes, white light flooded my vision and it hurts. Suddenly I was pushed down and had blood drawn from me through a syringe. What the heck?
“What are you doing to me?” I tried to shout, but my voice only came out as a whisper.
“别紧张,抽点血来 研究而已” (4) One of them spoke up when she was done, she sounded a little too happy to me.
“Huh?” So they were speaking Chinese after all. That I could handle. They left me alone after that, so I was able to sit up. There were two girls, both in lab coats but they did not seem like professionals. I noticed that the room resembled a science laboratory, and there were at least half a dozen monitors lined up against the wall.
“<i>Test?</i>“ I replied in the same tongue.
“<i>Oh, you speak Chinese. Yes, tests. We want to know why you’re different from those genetic failures.</i>” Lovely, more confusion.
<i>”Genetic failures?”</i> I asked.
<i>”Ugly man eating things”</i> The other of the two replied, she seemed a little intimidating.
<i>”But I’m not-“</i> Now that I think of it, no point arguing when everyone’s convinced that I’m one of these ‘failure’. At least I’m not held at gun point this time.
<i>”Never mind. Why am I here?”</i> One of the two questions that had been bugging me ever since I regained consciousness. This time I must get some answers.
<i>”Why?”</i> That was not what I wanted to hear.
<i>”Simple! We were cruising along...”</i> Wait, cruising? At a time like this?
“<i>… the city in our hovercraft and doing some surveillance at the same time when suddenly two bodies, you and your friend, fell out from the sky and dented our vehicle. We would’ve thrown you off but we saw that red patch on your arm.</i>” There’s the story with the glow again! This is too unreal. It was like a really bad joke. I ignored the last part of their explanation.
“<i>Two bodies..? Then, where’s the other girl?</i>” I was on my feet now, eager to know what happened to Reina. The girls didn’t answer me, but shrugged instead.
Speak of the devil; Reina came in the moment I asked about her. She was busy stuffing herself with fried noodles or something. I really couldn’t say anything but stare at her.
“<i>She wouldn’t shut up when she woke up.</i>” The taller of the ‘scientists’ started talking.
“<i>Not until we gave her some food.</i>” Her partner added, pointing at the bowl that Reina held possessively.
“<i>Yeah, there goes 2 days supply of beef!</i>” The two started an argument of their own about groceries and I really couldn’t bother being involved. I turned back to Reina.
“What were they saying?” She just had to ask, didn’t she?
“Wish I knew.” I avoided eye contact, hopefully she didn’t see through my lie.
“...” She pushed past me and sat down on the foldable bed.
“How’s your right arm?” She looked up at me, more curious than concerned. I wanted to say ‘fine’ but I could hardly feel the presence of my arm anymore. I wanted to cry, but I just couldn’t. This girl was definitely messing with me.
“Oh I don’t know. I don’t have a right arm anymore!” I think we were enemies in our previous lives. No, scratch that. I am pretty sure we were enemies.
“Heh.. You’re lucky I’m just pissing you off instead of shooting you right now.” She was smiling. I don’t see anything funny about pissing off a handicap.
“You jumped a building suddenly and almost had me killed! What were you thinking?! ” Okay, She hold grudges and now she just looks plain scary when mad. I don’t do so well when being scolded. I had to back up a little.
“You’re yelling at someone who saved your life...” I muttered to myself, but damn her hearing was sharp.
“You? Save my life? You don’t try to suicide and pull someone down with you and call it ‘saving’” She really isn’t getting it. I hated to be blamed when it is not completely my fault, so time to be brave.
“Really? Just who was it that decided to shoot those things and catch their attention?” I spoke louder than usual, trying to remind her of earlier, which I suspect that she’d forgotten.
“And who was it that I lost my arm for, huh?” I glared at Reina, clutching my right shoulder to make a point. I could see her lowering her head and looking away. I hope she’s feeling guilty, because she should. I would not allow my confidence to falter now.
“Tch..I-I’m getting out of here!” That’s it? She’s running away? I wanted to say some more but one of our saviors beat me to it.
“You can’t leave.” She said sternly, grabbing Reina by the shoulders.
“And why not?” That stubborn girl spat, her patience was running low.
“Because we’re surrounded.” The taller one replied, pointing at one of the monitors on the wall.
---
1 - "She's awake!"
2 - "What? I'm busy!"
3 - "That girl's awake, stupid! Come here!"
4 - "Relax, just drawing some blood for tests."
:bleed eyes:
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Cool. I was lack for words when I started reading it. Very deep and interesting. Please keep this one up. :D
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There was nowhere to run, so our only other escape was to jump. It was a moment of impulse, really. Whether or not I had considered surviving this, that’s a whole different story.
Ok, that seals it. Nuts it is. No choice or not, it's still nuts. :yep:
Thankfully, this building had balconies on every level. I reached out with my one and only arm and tried to grab onto the ledge of the balcony. I missed the first time. The second. Third. My hand was starting to bruise at the impact. I really wished I had wings now, and it wouldn’t even surprise me if I did. I finally managed to grab hold of the balcony railings, but holding on was harder than I thought. It only took a few seconds before I started losing grip. My fingers were slipping.
Too late.
I'm surprised that she didn't mess up her (remaining) shoulder grabbing onto the balcony like that. :o
* Tap tap tap *
I could hear someone typing.
Wait. Typing? Where am I? I stayed still on whatever I was laying on, replaying the previous events in my head. I could feel my leg suffering now from the running before. I remember having my arm torn off, and then we jumped. We didn’t managed to land anywhere and just kept falling.. then I hit something hard and passed out. So shouldn’t we be dead already?
WTF? She should be dead, assuming that they didn't hit anything else that would have broken their fall. So what's the deal then?
“她醒来了!” (1)
“什么? 我正在忙!” (2)
“那女孩醒了啦,笨蛋! 快来!” (3)
From the translations, it sounds like she (whoever this is, I'm still guessing it's Aika) is in some type of hospital or laboratory. From the dialogue, it's probably the latter, and she's the subject of some type of study.
They left me alone after that, so I was able to sit up. There were two girls, both in lab coats but they did not seem like professionals. I noticed that the room resembled a science laboratory, and there were at least half a dozen monitors lined up against the wall.
“Test?“ I replied in the same tongue.
“Oh, you speak Chinese. Yes, tests. We want to know why you’re different from those genetic failures.” Lovely, more confusion.
”Genetic failures?” I asked.
”Ugly man eating things” The other of the two replied, she seemed a little intimidating.
”But I’m not-“ Now that I think of it, no point arguing when everyone’s convinced that I’m one of these ‘failure’.
Failure? But wouldn't that mean that she was SUPPOSED to turn into one of those creatures, or do these people just expect her to turn into one because some others did?
It still doesn't explain how she survived the fall. And where's Reina?
”Never mind. Why am I here?”
...
”Simple! We were cruising along...” Wait, cruising? At a time like this?
“… the city in our hovercraft and doing some surveillance at the same time when suddenly two bodies, you and your friend, fell out from the sky and dented our vehicle. We would’ve thrown you off but we saw that red patch on your arm.”
Oooooooooooooookay. So they're falling off a building...and these Chinese girls (maybe Junjun and Linlin) are "cruising" around in their hovercraft (why the hell would you be cruising in an area that had been previously closed off because of the "creature" infestation anyway)... which happens to break their fall and keep them from dying. And now they're in some lab being studied. :dunno:
“Two bodies..? Then, where’s the other girl?” I was on my feet now, eager to know what happened to Reina. The girls didn’t answer me, but shrugged instead.
Speak of the devil; Reina came in the moment I asked about her. She was busy stuffing herself with fried noodles or something. I really couldn’t say anything but stare at her.
“She wouldn’t shut up when she woke up.” The taller of the ‘scientists’ started talking.
“Not until we gave her some food.” Her partner added, pointing at the bowl that Reina held possessively.
“Yeah, there goes 2 days supply of beef!”
2 days supply? Nice one Reina. :lol:
“Tch..I-I’m getting out of here!” That’s it? She’s running away? I wanted to say some more but one of our saviors beat me to it.
“You can’t leave.” She said sternly, grabbing Reina by the shoulders.
“And why not?” That stubborn girl spat, her patience was running low.
“Because we’re surrounded.” The taller one replied, pointing at one of the monitors on the wall.
Wait, the lab is still in the area where these creatures are? Why the hell didn't these scientists evacuate??? :OMG:
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-infiltrates where-ever-the-hell-i-work's internet-
-has 1minute to type this post before boss comes back >_> -
This chapter probably confused the hell out of you, eh? :D Me too :angry:
To clear things up, lets say.. there's two mad scientists that are interested in the mutants, left to survey the city's conditions and by pure chance and luck picked up Reina and friend. Stuff like that. Oh god, I hate chapter 3.
And it's not Aika D: Not! >_< lol
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To clear things up, lets say.. there's two mad scientists that are interested in the mutants, left to survey the city's conditions and by pure chance and luck picked up Reina and friend.
Well, they'd HAVE to be mad to deliberately stay in a situation like this. Hopefully they've got means to protect themselves.
Oh god, I hate chapter 3.
Meh, don't worry too much about it. It wasn't that bad. Not as confusing as other stories that have been posted here in the past.
And it's not Aika D: Not! >_< lol
EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!? :OMG: :OMG: :OMG:
...
...
Koharu?
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First..
1. They're not really scientists, at least not (ex-)government hired scientists.
2. The city's been abandoned so technically once the city is sealed, it's possible for anyone still trapped within to venture anywhere.
3. They are failures because they have turned into those fugly things. The protagonist is different from these failures as mentioned, because she's not YET turned.
Second~
No, not Koharu. I don't think I'll put Koharu or Aika in this fic.. they seem too hyper/happy to be thrown into a world like this ;_; But I don't know.. this is only a Reina Arc, so there's still LOTS of time to decide which characters to add in the future.
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So then the protagonist might not even be an H!P girl? That's a bit of a twist.
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I knew I should have had the protagonist as a man ;_; Would've gotten the point across earlier. lol..
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^ No worries dude. Maybe just find some way to identify her in the story and give her a name that no one in H!P already has. That should help keep things straight.
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Chapter 4 – Answers
“What?” Reina and I shouted in unison. We really did not need more of those things on our tails. The pseudo scientists simply directed us to look at their surveillance monitors. Right there were at least a dozen of them mutants crowded around a run down building. The building looked no bigger than a storage house and was surrounded by a fence.
“I suppose we’re in there?” I asked them, pointing at the building.
“Yup. Don’t worry though, we’re safe in here.”
“How so?” I asked again.
“The fence has at least 10,000 volts of electricity surging through it. They’ll be too afraid of the shock to try passing through.”
“Hmm...” I looked at the monitor again. The mutants were trying to run down the fence, but the electricity sent through their body only made them recoil. They begin to circle the area cautiously with no intention of going through… yet.
“Just who are you? You haven’t answered me since you gave me the bowl of fried noodles!” It was Reina’s turn to do the questioning. I wanted to know just as much as she does. It was starting to get suspicious, as if these two people seemed like they were prepared to stay in the abandoned city for a long term. They even have the necessary safety measures put up. The fence, in other words. I find it unusual for there to be an electric fence around an insignificant building like this.
“Us? I’m Qian Lin and she’s Li Chun.” The shorter of the girl pointed at her partner, answering our first question with ease. I think I’ll call them Linlin and Junjun instead. It’s easier to remember.
“What is it that you do? Why were you drawing my blood just now?” I started babbling all of the sudden; the events in the past 20 minutes came rushing back to me.
“We’re scientists, can’t you tell?” Linlin pulled her coat’s tail and spun around. No, I can’t tell she’s a scientist when she’s dancing around like a kid.
“Real scientists?” Reina looked at them doubtfully. The least I expected was Junjun to lower her head… in shame?
“No, we’re just science students researching on the mutants. We don’t have a license for all these. But I don’t think we need one anymore.
We first saw these creatures sometime after the first few murders and we were intrigued with them, but we had no idea what they were or where they came from. The more they interested us, the deeper we had to dig to find out about them. It got a little too deep and we ended up doing real experiments and whatnot in the end.” She started doing an explanation none of us asked for.
“We’ve been researching them for months, trying to find any clues on the victims but there’s very little information we could gather. All we knew was that there’s some link between them and a certain nameless organization.”
“How do you know that?”
“Our hacker friend made this discovery by chance while intersecting e-mails... It’s contents showed something similar to the appearances of the mutants.” Linlin replied with a sheepish smile.
They were no ordinary people, that’s for sure. Wannabe scientists? Intersecting e-mails? What are the schools teaching people these days?!
“Anyway, we traced the e-mails to a building eventually. The building you guys fell from. To be honest, we weren’t really cruising around…” I knew it!! No sane person would go cruising in a dying city.
“Yeah… we were sneaking around for information after the staff deserted the place. But the mutants took over quickly so we had to flee. That was when you fell on our hovercraft and dented it.” Linlin looked at me as though I killed her pet dog. I felt like my throat ran dry. Then again, was that why the computers were turned on when I entered that room before? It’s starting to make sense now.
“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier then?” I swallowed hard and continued questioning.
“Didn’t see a need to answer you seriously.” What the… Does my face spell stupid to her? Damn.
“And the blood test?” Reina perked up for reasons I don’t think my temper can take. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she liked seeing me in pain.
“We want to know why you’re different from them.” They’ve said that before, but what does it mean?
“Different?”
“Yes. We found out that these things mutated from human beings and they all share one similarity -- A red microchip implanted in their arms, like you! But what puzzles us is why you’re in human form when you should have transformed like them.” So, I really am just a mutation waiting to happen? That... that can't be...
“Didn’t you get the information from the organization already?” Reina cut off my thoughts with more talking.
“No. We didn’t have the chance to investigate further when those things came.”
“I see. One more thing! Why are they surrounding us like a pack of wolves?”
Junjun and Linlin looked at each other uneasily. I had a bad feeling about this, but I pressed further for an answer anyway.
“You see… for the sake of research, the two of us decided to lure them into the area occasionally so that we could study them up close from the monitors. Or even in personal if we were lucky.”
“What are you, crazy!?” Reina wanted to give them hell for a ridiculous plan like this, but I quickly pulled her back. One casualty a day was more than enough.
“Say whatever you want! We'll have the last laugh when our research saves mankind.” Junjun snapped. The tension in the room grew heavy with the contradicting mentality that everyone was having right now. I for one am confused and conflicted.
“What do you mean?” Locking Reina in a strong hold by the shoulders with my arm, I looked at Junjun, demanding an answer from her with my glare.
“We are going to find a way to destroy them! Or better yet, revert them back to human form.” Revert? That got my attention instantly. But to lure a mob of mutants here for such a purpose? It did seem a little insane.
“But all the data are back at the lab, right?”
“Right. That means we have to go back if we want any progress.” Linlin spoke with a sparkle in her eye.
“Go back? I refuse!” I’m not playing savior of the city this time. Remember the last time I tried being a heroin? Yeah, bye-bye arm! I’m not risking losing my limbs until I’ve my head and torso left. I’m pretty sure they won’t regenerate, so no way am I running into a death trap.
Reina on the other hand, she wasn’t tuned to the same channel as I was.
“It is possible to kill them?” She grew eager and bit my arm, causing me to let go.
“It might be, but we still need the remaining data from the labs.”
“Then we’re going!” She dragged me up by the arm, pumping her fist in the air. I’m starting to think that everyone has lost a screw in their head.
“No! I’m not going! It’s too dangerous.”
“Ah, toughen up you big baby.” That does it.
“You’re not the one being injured you crazy Yankii!”
“Who’re you calling a Yankii?”
There we go, more arguing. Junjun and Linlin however, ignored everything including my protests and cheered.
“Our research is going to be a success! You two will leave for the organization headquarters tomorrow.”
“What?” I screamed, having been held in a headlock by Reina halfway through our squabble.
These people are impossible!
-
we’re safe in here.”
“How so?” I asked again.
“The fence has at least 10,000 volts of electricity surging through it. They’ll be too afraid of the shock to try passing through.”
Ah, but where's the generator? If the creatures take that out... :scared:
“Just who are you? You haven’t answered me since you gave me the bowl of fried noodles!” It was Reina’s turn to do the questioning.
...
“Us? I’m Qian Lin and she’s Li Chun.” The shorter of the girl pointed at her partner, answering our first question with ease. I think I’ll call them Linlin and Junjun instead. It’s easier to remember.
It's also cuter that way. :D
“We’re scientists, can’t you tell?” Linlin pulled her coat’s tail and spun around. No, I can’t tell she’s a scientist when she’s dancing around like a kid.
“Real scientists?” Reina looked at them doubtfully. The least I expected was Junjun to lower her head… in shame?
“No, we’re just science students researching on the mutants. We don’t have a license for all these. But I don’t think we need one anymore.
EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH??? They're just science STUDENTS?!?!? :OMG: Well, that would explain why they'd be nuts enough to be doing what they're doing! They're youthful enthusiasm for their research (coupled with a little youthful arrogance/self-assuredness, no doubt) probably lead them to do this, despite the fact that most licensed scientists wouldn't put themselves in such close proximity to the test subjects.
We first saw these creatures sometime after the first few murders and we were intrigued with them, but we had no idea what they were or where they came from. The more they interested us, the deeper we had to dig to find out about them. It got a little too deep and we ended up doing real experiments and whatnot in the end.”
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaait a sec, they were doing their own research on the creatures? Like what, exactly? They might have made things worse without knowing it.
“We’ve been researching them for months, trying to find any clues on the victims but there’s very little information we could gather. All we knew was that there’s some link between them and a certain nameless organization.”
...
“Anyway, we traced the e-mails to a building eventually. The building you guys fell from. To be honest, we weren’t really cruising around…”
...
“Yeah… we were sneaking around for information after the staff deserted the place. But the mutants took over quickly so we had to flee.
...
was that why the computers were turned on when I entered that room before? It’s starting to make sense now.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, so The Pandas were trying to find more information from the databases in that building.
“Yes. We found out that these things mutated from human beings and they all share one similarity -- A red microchip implanted in their arms, like you! But what puzzles us is why you’re in human form when you should have transformed like them.” So, I really am just a mutation waiting to happen? That... that can't be...
Gee, that's a really comforting to tell a person. :mon suspect:
“I see. One more thing! Why are they surrounding us like a pack of wolves?”
...
for the sake of research, the two of us decided to lure them into the area occasionally so that we could study them up close from the monitors. Or even in personal if we were lucky.”
“What are you, crazy!?” Reina wanted to give them hell for a ridiculous plan like this, but I quickly pulled her back. One casualty a day was more than enough.
“Say whatever you want! We'll have the last laugh when our research saves mankind.” Junjun snapped.
...
“We are going to find a way to destroy them! Or better yet, revert them back to human form.” Revert? That got my attention instantly. But to lure a mob of mutants here for such a purpose? It did seem a little insane.
While their intentions might be noble, The Pandas aren't going about it the right way. So far they've been lucky, but the methods that they're currently using is very risky, and when you keep playing the odds like that, sooner or later you're going to end up with the short end of the stick. They can't be so focused on what they might potentially get that they don't pay sufficient attention to what's happening NOW. Proper research (and being able to do it safely) takes time and patience.
“But all the data are back at the lab, right?”
“Right. That means we have to go back if we want any progress.” Linlin spoke with a sparkle in her eye.
Now in all likelihood, barring a sudden big-time discovery by The Pandas, this is one risk that they'll have to take. Their chances of success will greatly increase if they can find the old data from the original experiments. You have to know what's been DONE before you can UN-DO it.
Reina on the other hand, she wasn’t tuned to the same channel as I was.
“It is possible to kill them?” She grew eager and bit my arm, causing me to let go.
“It might be, but we still need the remaining data from the labs.”
“Then we’re going!” She dragged me up by the arm, pumping her fist in the air. I’m starting to think that everyone has lost a screw in their head.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...either Reina's looking for some payback, or she's beginning to show sings of changing. :O
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Hmm... no changing till much later.
Meanwhile~ Headlock!
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9415/sc004b853ail7.th.jpg) (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sc004b853ail7.jpg)
-goes back to writing-
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I know her name's kinda masculine (meh, she's tomboyish anyway) but the original one I intended to give her was too overused >_>
But hey, the meaning kinda fits the story, no?
T'is short, but enjoy.
CHAPTER 5 - Confrontation
Provided with only two pairs of stun guns, Junjun and Linlin sent us out of their hideout and into the city the next day. Who knew that it actually took one whole day just to travel between the organization’s headquarters to their place? Time really does fly by quickly when you’re unconscious. We were led to an underground sewer not far from the back of the building once the mob dispersed after a fruitless search for food. Apparently it was safer traveling underground until we’re out of the vicinity. It has been about an hour since we’ve started on this journey through the incredibly large sewer and most of the manholes we found were either shut tight or blocked by something large. Either way, we have to find a way to the surface before we could plan our next step. I just hope we’re safe down here.
We’ve been traveling quietly ever since we bid the scientists temporary farewell. With the exception of leaking pipes and wet footsteps, the silence was somewhat unnerving. I held a tight grip on my stun gun and followed closely behind Reina. She was after all the more aggressive one between us. I’m just impulsive; otherwise I’m no braver than a mouse with a really poor temper.
Along the way, several questions began to surface. It seems unimaginable for a human being to transmute into a horror like the mutants, but with proof being presented to me, I can’t help but feel terrified. If I am to change, when will it be? What will happen if I do change? I don’t want to hurt anyone, but what if I do? So many questions and I can’t answer any of them by myself. Even if they are solved, it is likely to be too late.
“Argh, what if I transform now?” I started to say my questions out loud, unaware that the slightest of noise can be amplified down here.
“I’ll kill you.” I stopped walking when I heard the startling reply.
“What?” I looked up in front of me. Reina stopped moving as well.
“I’ll kill you if you change.” She turned towards me, expressionless yet her words had every intent to kill. She pointed her stun gun at me, “I would’ve done so the moment I saw you back there if it wasn’t for that bastard.”
“Actually, I would even do it now if only these were real guns. Tch.” She slotted the stun gun back into her holster and continued walking forward.
I felt all that fear that I should’ve felt during our misadventure at the organization coming back and tripled. It was then that I realized how alone I was right now. I was nothing more than a research subject for Junjun and Linlin, and Reina wants me dead. Anyone and everyone who would have stood by me have left for good. I was indeed by myself, but I must know one thing.
“Why…” I ran towards Reina, grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her around rather violently.
”Why do you hate me so much?” I yelled, not caring if my voice echoed throughout the entire passage.
She shrugged off my grip and laughed.
“I don’t hate you. I loathe you! And those friends of yours.”
“Friends? You mean –“
“Yes, those monstrosities out there. I detest them.”
“But I’m not-“
“Not a monster, right? But those scientists already proved that you’re just another freak like them!” She pulled me by the collar and rammed me against the wall.
“Why do you… hate us?” I was in pain from the impact, and reluctant to place myself in the same group as the mutations, but how long can I deny it? She stared at me fiercely in the eyes.
“Wouldn’t you hate who or what ever it is that had ruined your life from the moment you were born?” She looked back at me, sending shivers down my spine with the anger in her glare. Did she mean I ruined her life, or the mutants to be precise? I don’t understand and I don’t think she’ll be elaborating any further when she ran me into the wall for a second time. She’s small, but it’ll be crazy to underestimate her strength.
“Look kid, you may have saved my life with your arm and I’m sorry for your loss, but you’re still no human to me. As long as I have a chance to destroy you and your kind, I will.” She dropped me and started to walk away. She was sorry? She should be grateful, not sorry. I don’t need sympathy from the likes of her!
“Then why are you dragging me along to find those stupid documents since you loathe my existence?” I shouted at her, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back again and smirked.
“Two heads are better than one, haven’t you heard? It was either you or the fake scientists. And they’re more than unwilling to come along after having your blood for research. So make yourself useful while you’re still alive…”
“Shou.” I spoke up suddenly while trying to stand up. My body was trembling from the brunt of her assault.
“Eh?” She probably thought I was being random, but I figured she wanted to address me for a moment there.
“My name.”
“Your name is Shou? As in, ‘destroy’?” She had an amused look on her face. I looked at her seriously and nodded.
“That’s rather fitting for something like you.”
I wanted to scowl, but I can’t. I was determined to stop being affected by her insults. Nevertheless, her amusement did not wear off.
“Well, make yourself useful until your death, Shou.”
I don’t understand her, but I don’t understand how being hated feels like either until now. I guess this takes time. Until then, what else can I do but continue this nightmare? I would be lying if I didn’t want to uncover the truth; even if the closer I am to it, the closer I am to dying. I suppose Reina was right though. I should be useful while I’m still alive.
We continued the rest of the journey in silence again.
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Provided with only two pairs of stun guns, Junjun and Linlin sent us out of their hideout and into the city the next day.
That's it? There's no way that'll be sufficient protection if things get ugly out there (especially if the creatures come in large numbers again). :o
Who knew that it actually took one whole day just to travel between the organization’s headquarters to their place?
Well, the last time they made this journey they were actually riding in (or on top of) Junjun & Linlin's vehicle, so naturally it would take much longer now to traverse the distance since they're just walking.
We were led to an underground sewer not far from the back of the building once the mob dispersed after a fruitless search for food. Apparently it was safer traveling underground until we’re out of the vicinity.
Well, so long as none of the creatures manage to find a way down there, it should be fine.
It has been about an hour since we’ve started on this journey through the incredibly large sewer and most of the manholes we found were either shut tight or blocked by something large. Either way, we have to find a way to the surface before we could plan our next step.
That's fortunate that they're shut tight like that, otherwise the creatures would likely be roaming the sewers as well. A way out would be nice though, since it would suck if they made this trek, only to find that they're stuck in the sewers and can't get into the building.
Along the way, several questions began to surface. It seems unimaginable for a human being to transmute into a horror like the mutants, but with proof being presented to me, I can’t help but feel terrified. If I am to change, when will it be? What will happen if I do change? I don’t want to hurt anyone, but what if I do? So many questions and I can’t answer any of them by myself. Even if they are solved, it is likely to be too late.
It's got to be incredibly disheartening to be told that you WILL turn into some freakish monster, and that there's little, if nothing, that you can do about it.
“Argh, what if I transform now?” I started to say my questions out loud, unaware that the slightest of noise can be amplified down here.
...
“I’ll kill you if you change.” She turned towards me, expressionless yet her words had every intent to kill. She pointed her stun gun at me, “I would’ve done so the moment I saw you back there if it wasn’t for that bastard.”
“Actually, I would even do it now if only these were real guns. Tch.” She slotted the stun gun back into her holster and continued walking forward.
Dang, a little harsh, no? Even though it's understandable from Reina's POV (if that were to happen, then it's "kill or be killed"), but still...it's still pretty painful to hear that.
“Wouldn’t you hate who or what ever it is that had ruined your life from the moment you were born?” She looked back at me, sending shivers down my spine with the anger in her glare. Did she mean I ruined her life, or the mutants to be precise?
Hmmm...obviously Reina has been through a lot more than we (or the protagonist) have realized. Assuming that Reina is not one of the children that were experimented on (like the protagonist is), then that means she was just an ordinary citizen of the city. Chances are when the creatures began attacking, Reina must have lost most, if not all of her family and friends, and has been on the run from/fighting them herself ever since.
“Then why are you dragging me along to find those stupid documents since you loathe my existence?” I shouted at her, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back again and smirked.
“Two heads are better than one, haven’t you heard? It was either you or the fake scientists. And they’re more than unwilling to come along after having your blood for research. So make yourself useful while you’re still alive…”
It would seem the The Pandas and Reina are thinking similarly, and figure that our protagonist is expendable. They already have the blood sample, so it's not like they actually need her to be alive to analyze it. If she's killed on this expedition, no big loss.
“Shou.” I spoke up suddenly while trying to stand up. My body was trembling from the brunt of her assault.
“Eh?” She probably thought I was being random, but I figured she wanted to address me for a moment there.
“My name.”
“Your name is Shou? As in, ‘destroy’?” She had an amused look on her face. I looked at her seriously and nodded.
“That’s rather fitting for something like you.”
...
“Well, make yourself useful until your death, Shou.”
Given the destructive behaviour of the creatures, it IS sort of a fitting name (especially if Shou mutates and starts going on a rampage). Still though, it's pretty harsh to hear. Reina isn't exactly being endearing here, nor is likely trying to be.
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Bingo! You're right about most of Reina's life in the story and they'll need Shou unless they find another experiment that has yet to mutate.
And the people reading this (I know you're out there!!) should at least comment something unless they find it horrible to read T_T Not that I'm desperate for comments, but it's slightly.. disturbing >_>
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And the people reading this (I know you're out there!!) should at least comment something unless they find it horrible to read
Quite the opposite! I've just been shy and thinking of responses for many stories; I didn't know where to start.
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Chapter 6 - Sacrifice
“Why stun guns?” Reina wondered out loud while inspecting the weapon given to us.
The passage was longer than expected and we had to stop to rest eventually. Hours have passed since that confrontation earlier and we grew tired, both physically and mentally. We may not be on friendly terms, but at least we still spoke to each other for the sake of surviving. Camping in a sewer wasn’t a favorable idea, but our legs were unwilling to keep moving. We managed to find a dry spot and have been resting there till now.
“They didn’t have any firearms with them so these will have to do. It was all they had anyway, probably left behind by whoever owned the building before.”
Reina nodded and fired a shot at the sewage river in the middle of the tunnel. A ball of electricity flew out and landed into the toxic water. At first the orb released only static, but before we knew it, the entire river began to have electricity coursing wildly through it. The flashes from the reaction were blinding, but it didn’t take long for it to calm down.
“It’s not enough to kill though.” I spoke up without even looking at Reina. By now I’m pretty sure I can tell what she is thinking with her every move, or at least assume. I heard her grumble and turn her back on me for the umpteen time today.
I took out my own stun gun and looked at it carefully, I had to figure out how to use this thing without shocking myself. It was the first time I held a weapon after all. It was lighter than the real gun I was forced to hold before, and also more advance than older stun gun models. Apparently ammunition were a few thousand volts of electricity per shot; a little less than the electric fence back at the hideout. I held down the trigger halfway and a sphere started to materialize by the barrel of the gun. That was cool. Anyone would be likely to find it amazing considering how weapons of any kind were rarely given to the public, and it was considered illegal to be in possession of firearms. I was tempted to press down the trigger fully and fire, but who knows how fast ammunition runs out on this thing. I kept the stun gun and stretched my sore legs. Our break took up half an hour when Reina promptly stood up.
“We better get moving. I don’t know how much longer we can be safe down here.”
I got up after her and we started to move along the river. I looked at the water; it was bubbling and probably acidic. I heard from someone a few years ago that all sorts of chemicals were released into the drains as a convenient way of disposal. It probably built up and contaminated the entire sewage system. Curious about the state of the sewage, I kicked a metal plate that was in my way into the water and watched it dissolve immediately. Visible static surrounded the plate as well, proving that it was impossible to cross to the other side unless there was a bridge, and so far we haven’t come across any. Possible exits on the opposite would have to be ignored for now. Any direct contact towards the water would have the static starting up again and even if I may be able to withstand the shock or burn from the acid without instantly dying, Reina couldn’t. She may be hostile towards me, but I have no reason to want her hurt. I still had a heart, which is probably the last thing left that separates me from my kind.
We didn’t get far when Reina stopped, causing me to walk right into her. She ignored me and bent down, facing what seems like a disemboweled body. Actually, there were at least 3 bodies littered along the path. The pool of blood had only just finished drying up, which means they were probably killed before we came down here. It wasn’t difficult to make out that they were from the military with the sub-machine guns and tattered uniform still remaining. I poked at the body, hoping to find anything useful while Reina picked up the guns and slung two over her shoulder, tossing the last one to me. The guns appeared to be freshly loaded. The poor soldiers probably never got the chance to fire before they were attacked mercilessly. I took the soldiers’ pouch that had spare ammo, a pair of two-way radios and secretly took a pack of cigarettes as well before running after Reina, who decided to go on ahead without me. It was hard doing all these with one hand, how am I suppose to use a machine gun with one arm anyway?
“Whatever killed those men is likely to be still around.”
I mentioned and gave her one of the radios along with half of the ammo when I managed to catch up with her. We silently agreed that it was the best if we hurried to find an escape. Increasing our pace, we eventually found a ladder leading up to a manhole. Reina handed me her weapons and climbed up to try and push the lid aside.
“It’s no use, this one’s shut too!”
I sighed and moved aside so that she could come down. The ladder’s sort of tall and narrow, so it might take a while just to climb up and down. She was barely halfway down when I heard familiar noises.
Sniff… Sniff… Grunt…
“They’re here…!”
Reina half shouted, causing me to become more alert. I looked to my sides and couldn’t see anything but badly lit lamps. However, the noise was far from just our imagination. Their grunting echoed through the tunnel, getting louder each time. I recognized those sounds immediately.
“Go on without me!”
“What? No!”
“It’ll be too late by the time I get down, GO!”
I refuse to leave. I couldn’t! I wanted to protest again, but Reina fired a shot from her stun gun right beside me. The electricity went wild and crept up my leg, sending a harmless but painful amount of shock through half my body. I bit my lip in attempt to suppress a scream; I could taste the blood now. I looked up Reina, blinking away the tears that had gathered. The numbness in my leg recovered quickly.
“Get lost already!”
She scolded me, threatening to pull the trigger once more if I disobey. I looked down the path that we came from and could see two shadows approaching. No point hoping whether they were human judging from the size of the shadows. I gave her one last look and tossed one of the guns she had me hold for her upwards. Thankfully she caught it on time.
“You better survive if you want to blow my brains out!”
These were my last words to her before I took off. I could feel her giving me a smug look and I turned around to take one last glance. The mutants had already arrived and were tying to reach for Reina. They were even attempting to dismantle the ladder. I want to go back, but I know I couldn’t. Gritting my teeth, I continued running. I heard two simultaneous gunshots echo behind me before everything went silent.
I believe that she will come back alive. She’s too stubborn to die so easily.
-
The title for this chapter isn't exactly comforting. :'(
“Why stun guns?” Reina wondered out loud while inspecting the weapon given to us.
...
“They didn’t have any firearms with them so these will have to do. It was all they had anyway, probably left behind by whoever owned the building before.”
They probably never thought that it would be prudent to bring their own since they had the electric fence.
I looked at the water; it was bubbling and probably acidic. I heard from someone a few years ago that all sorts of chemicals were released into the drains as a convenient way of disposal. It probably built up and contaminated the entire sewage system. Curious about the state of the sewage, I kicked a metal plate that was in my way into the water and watched it dissolve immediately.
Mental note...stay out of the water. :shocked:
We didn’t get far when Reina stopped, causing me to walk right into her. She ignored me and bent down, facing what seems like a disemboweled body. Actually, there were at least 3 bodies littered along the path. The pool of blood had only just finished drying up, which means they were probably killed before we came down here.
Oh crud...the creatures have gotten into the sewers, and they're probably still nearby.
It wasn’t difficult to make out that they were from the military with the sub-machine guns and tattered uniform still remaining. I poked at the body, hoping to find anything useful while Reina picked up the guns and slung two over her shoulder, tossing the last one to me. The guns appeared to be freshly loaded. The poor soldiers probably never got the chance to fire before they were attacked mercilessly. I took the soldiers’ pouch that had spare ammo, a pair of two-way radios and secretly took a pack of cigarettes as well before running after Reina
Okay, the weapons, ammo, and two-ways make sense...but cigarettes? What are they going to do, give them to the creatures so that they can smoke themselves to death? It's not like Shou or Reina have a lighter ready.
Shou also now needs to watch her back more carefully, since Reina actually now has a weapon that can actually kill her.
I heard familiar noises.
Sniff… Sniff… Grunt…
“They’re here…!”
Reina half shouted, causing me to become more alert. I looked to my sides and couldn’t see anything but badly lit lamps. However, the noise was far from just our imagination. Their grunting echoed through the tunnel, getting louder each time. I recognized those sounds immediately.
Oh crud, the creatures are nearby. They might be attracted to the scent of blood from Shou's wound. Reina had better hurry down that ladder so they can get away.
“Go on without me!”
“What? No!”
“It’ll be too late by the time I get down, GO!”
...
I looked down the path that we came from and could see two shadows approaching. No point hoping whether they were human judging from the size of the shadows. I gave her one last look and tossed one of the guns she had me hold for her upwards. Thankfully she caught it on time.
“You better survive if you want to blow my brains out!”
These were my last words to her before I took off.
Reina...no! :cry:
Strange though, considering her previous blatant disdain for Shou, that she should do THIS now and tell her to run away to survive. :?
Gritting my teeth, I continued running. I heard two simultaneous gunshots echo behind me before everything went silent.
I believe that she will come back alive. She’s too stubborn to die so easily.
REINA CAN'T DIE!!! :pleeease:
-
heheheh, Linlin and Junjun, the wacky scientists. I bet they learned a lot of shady but useful things.
I hope Shou and Reina are successful this time with gathering info...with their lame stun guns they got for protection :roll: They found some real weapons along the way but will they work against the monsters?
Reina sounds cold to Shou but I think it's just her yankee straightforward no nonsense talk. As long as Shou is not a danger to her and useful, she is willing to work with her for the common goal of setting the world right.
-
Chapter 7 – Hope… ?
How long have I been running? I slowed down my steps and took a look around me. The walls were moldy, the lights were faulty and the pavement was slippery. I could hear my heartbeat on the same tempo as the water leaking from the pipes above me. I’m alone again. I started walking forward aimlessly, disturbed and distracted by my conscience. Why did she choose to stay behind?
I’m still blaming myself and it’s making me sick. My footsteps grew heavy along with the guilt that’s taking over. Gradually, I arrived at a dead end, but there’s a ladder hidden in the dark right by me. I slung the weapons around my neck and reached out for it weakly. It was a difficult attempt to be climbing with one hand, but I made it to the top after much effort. The lid was shut tightly, not locked, but a handicap like me can’t possibly open it with ease. I knocked against the lid with my severed shoulder. Nothing happened. I rotated my joint, took a deep breath and rammed myself against the lid a second time. I heard a crack near my neck and the lid popped open.
“….”
It was pitch black around me when I crawled up to the surface. I tried to stand up only to trip over something hard. Whatever I touched felt like metal… bars? I’m probably in the subway or something. No other choice but to keep going. It’ll be stupid to be walking on the tracks, knowing that the trains these days were automatic and likely to be still running. I moved to the side, dragging my feet across the cobbles and hoping to see light soon.
Discomfort and paranoia, all that is beginning to well up inside me. Every step I take doesn’t seem to make any difference from standing still anymore. The blackness is starting to hurt my eyes, can’t decide whether to shut them or keep it open though. Every little sound is amplified down here and any that isn’t my own sends me spinning around in fear. Even a tiny breeze brushing past my ears sends my heart pounding. Being ignorant of your surroundings is quite terrifying, more so than having to face a dead body or those monsters down there even.
Suddenly I remembered the pack of cigarettes I looted. Searching around my pockets, I pulled it out and opened the lid. Not exactly expecting it, but there was indeed a lighter squeezed between the sticks inside the small box. I’m not even going to consider myself lucky least luck decides to run off. I held a stick between my lips and lit it. I really shouldn’t be smoking since I’m underage but well... who cares. It was either be influenced by peers or resist and I fell prey to the former quickly. I kept the rest of the cigarettes in my pocket and tried to use the lighter as a source of light. That was a lousy idea as the flame was hardly reliable. I released my hold on the device and placed it back in my pocket. Taking a deep breathe of harmful substances to calm myself down, I kept a steady pace.
It’s a surprise that I can even revert back to being stable again. I should be running back to try and rescue Reina, or anything productive instead of wandering in the dark and killing my lungs, right? Well, I can’t. Sure, I’m as confused and regretful as any normal person would be in my situation, wondering why the girl who hates my guts would sacrifice herself just like that but something tells me that what I’m doing now is correct. Like I said, she’s too stubborn to die. Given her mentality about us, she’d probably rather kill herself than let them do the job. Still, I could be wrong and foolish. Regardless, I’m going to take a risk and bet on her survival.
I let out a puff of smoke that lingered in front of me and passed through it, the stink trapped in my hair. I wonder if I can get rid of the smell without shampoo, hmm. It took a long while before I managed to see a ray of light coming in from a distance. I was hesitant at first, or probably stunned from joy. Either way, it only took a second to regain my senses. I threw the unfinished cigarette to the ground and ran towards the light, finding my way to the train station.
The floor was littered with flyers and other such nonsense. There was blood smeared across the walls, broken pillars and what not. The same thing that caused this bloodshed probably won’t be back anytime soon. I hope my hunch was right, I don’t know if culprits actually do return to the scene of their crimes. I climbed up to the platform and reached for the nearest seat located beside the subway route map. I sat down and plastered my back against the cold concrete wall. It was oddly comforting to do so. With a newly developed form of paranoia, even a finger’s width of space behind was enough to unsettle me.
I bent over and buried my face in my palms. Out of the blue, a loud cackling sound echoed throughout the station. I jumped from my seat, startled at the noise at first until I noticed that it came from my pocket. There’s that cackling again. I could hear a muffled voice. Then it hit me- it was the two-way radio! I quickly pulled it out and held the device close to my ears. Silence.
<i>“Craaaack!!!”</i>
Ouch! The sharp sound caused me to drop the radio. I pressed a finger forcefully against my tragus and did not turn to look at the fallen item until I no longer felt the pain coursing through my ear. Having unconsciously shut my eyes closed, I finally opened them to peek at the radio. It wasn’t broken judging from how it started to emit sound again. The cackling died down and I moved to pick it up. Just as I was about bend down, a voice came from the object
<i>“*crack* S- *crack* Shou?”</i>
That voice!?
-
Wait!!!
Is that Reina? :shock: So she's still alive? :wriggly:
Or maybe is a new character who knows about Shou? :mon huh: Maybe a hellopro girl?
-
Radio do your work, that means not making people deaf. :roll: Some miracle must've happened with Reina :yep:
-
A mircle? Perhaps~ I don't know :roll:
-
Chapter 8 - To the resue
“Reina! Is that you?”
I dropped to my knees and picked up the radio immediately, lamely shaking it as though more sounds would come out. I tapped the speaker and held it close to my ear but not like before. Once bitten twice shy, you know? I don’t want to go deaf.
“Are you okay? Where are you!? Oi?”
I shouted into the speaker, relieved that she lived yet anxious all at once.
<i>”listen…”</i>
Reception was loud and clear at the moment. She sounded weak and she was panting. That’s not normal. I kept quiet as ordered.
<i>“I’m in the south..”</i>
South? I looked at the map behind me. Right now, I’m in the central area. I’ve walked THAT far?
<i>”I’ve… found the organization… Where’re you?”</i>
“Central. Are you alright?”
<i>”Get o- *crack * here… Argh!”</i>
Argh? ‘Argh’ does not spell okay! What the hell.
“Hello? Hey! Reina, you there?!”
The machine went abruptly silent. It wasn’t turned off on the other end seeing how there’s still some noise coming from it. Something’s not right. I ran towards the control station. The next train comes in 20 minutes, and another 30 to reach the south. I didn’t have the time to sit and wait.
I raced up the stairs, three steps at a time until I reached the outside of the station. The skies were flaming red and the streets were awfully deserted. A car! I need a car, or any damned vehicle I can find in this god-forsaken place.
I ran through the streets breathlessly. Every hovercar I approached was locked and bikes were out of the question. I looked through the window of each vehicle and finally found one with a key still in its keyhole. I smashed the window with the end of my gun and opened the door. The vehicle was ready after some tweaking around. Now to put all those hours spent racing in the arcade to the test.
Ramming my feet against the pedal, the vehicle took off at full speed. It took me only 15minutes to reach the south without much of an obstacle. Ah, the joy of no traffic. I entered the southern region of the city soon enough and drove around cautiously. I could see the same building we fell from days ago, it was very much surrounded by ruins. It started to drizzle. Where would I be if I were Reina though?
Probably injured, out of the sewers and able to see the organization from wherever she managed to emerge from. I lowered the hovercraft and took notice of every manhole I found along the way, hoping to find traces of the girl if any. I had no luck at first. Sighing, I turned off the engine and hopped out of the vehicle.
I took to wandering on foot, checking out the alleys and corners near the manholes. It’s possible that she had crawled away to hide somewhere, and I was right. I finally found Reina huddled in a phone booth but in no state to be overjoyed about. She was leaning against the glass, pale, and probably far worse off than from what I could see. I ran up to the booth and opened the door in a panic. She was bleeding profusely from the leg and likely to have blacked out due to the lost of blood or pain. I pulled her out of the booth as quickly as I could.
“I want my fucking arm back!”
I cursed at the sky when my grip around Reina dropped on accident. Missing a limb just makes everything all the more inconvenient. I leaned her against the wall when we made it to a shelter from the downpour. I ripped my remaining sleeve of my undershirt off with my teeth and soaked it in the rain. I cleaned the blood away, washed the sleeve again and tied it around her wound to stop the bleeding. Hopefully there won’t be any infections; the rain in the city isn’t exactly clean but it was all there is. It was also disgusting having to have to tie a bloody knot with my teeth.
I didn’t know what to do next but sit down beside her and start thinking of a solution. Questions and answers ran through my head at a mile per second, but none was feasible. Not with our current state. I really want to just give up, find a safe place and stay there till I die of a natural cause. Too bad, I can’t.
... Minutes passed, or an hour for all I know.
“No! … He doesn’t want to go! … Where are you taking him!?”
I turned my head at the sudden outburst. Reina was talking in her sleep. He? Family member? Friend? Boyfriend? I mused at all the possibilities, but I’m sure she’s not having a pleasant dream with that frown on her face. She looked desperate, afraid, and vulnerable even. Just like… how I was.
“Mama…”
She went on again and… are those tears? Okay, time to wake sleeping beauty.
I cupped my hand and filled it with as much rainwater as possible. I splashed it against Reina’s face, tapped her on the shoulder, called her name but there wasn’t much of a response. I started patting her cheeks lightly. The urge to just slap her awake was strong but I held back. She really was out cold. I started shaking her by the shoulder. It took me by surprise when a fist shot out, missing my face by barely an inch. She started to stir.
“Hey?”
I greeted timidly, squatting in front of her
“…”
She just looked at me blankly. It took awhile before she remembered that she was injured and started wincing. Still, she looked slightly better than before. The wound had stopped bleeding, as bad as the tear was.
“You… alright?”
I asked again, folding one arm over my knees.
“… No.”
Ah, the bluntness I’ve grown accustomed to. Her focus was on her aching leg rather than verbally assaulting me. Good.
“What happened?”
“... What?”
“Your leg?”
“Managed to escaped… caught my leg… shit happens…”
“Oh?”
I fell back on my bottom and sat crossed legged. Feels kind of awkward right now. She wasn’t all that willing to describe her great escape to me and honestly, I wasn’t all that interested either. She sat upright suddenly.
“We have to get to the building!”
“What? But your wound! Don’t be crazy.”
“You’re crazy! I’m fine!”
Reina stubbornly tried to stand up. Was she that determined to help the mad scientists? I’ve never seen this much conviction in a person before. I got up and pushed her back down anyway.
“No.”
‘What are you-? Shut up, we’re going!”
She stared me in the eye angrily, struggling against my hold. I got timid again and gulped.
“Look, I’ll go.”
“What are you saying?”
Yes Shou, what <i>are</i> you saying? Playing heroin again?
“I’ll go search the building, you hide somewhere and recover.”
“And why are you being helpful?”
“Because you tried to sacrifice yourself earlier for me? Don’t want to owe you anything?”
“It wasn’t for you, you brat!”
“For what then?”
“None of your business.”
“Whatever. You know you can’t do it alone, that’s why you called me back, right? As much as you hate me…”
“What the? You talk too much, stop!”
I smirked at her, looks like I hit the nail on the head. She’s definitely more sensible than the average hotheaded teenager though. At least she didn’t let her hatred and anger get the better of her during times of need or danger.
”Can you walk? We need to find somewhere safe.”
I attempted to take charge of the situation. She nodded weakly with no more to protest about. Moving to her side, I pulled her arm over my shoulder and helped her up. She resorted to limping in order to move about. We walked around for a while until I found an abandoned place well hidden inside an alley. It was a sleazy drug store that had a steel door, seems like a safe place to hide. I doubt the mutants would wander this far in just to look for food too. We went in and were glad that there was some left over rations that were still edible. Electricity and water was still available. I cleaned her wounds a second time with clean water, reusing the cloth to bandage her again. Yeah, I have zero sense in first aid.
“You’ll be staying here until I get back, okay?”
“Don’t go giving me orders.”
“… I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You’ll run away and leave me here to rot anyway… why bother.”
What makes her say that? Not even half an hour and already so negative.
“I won’t.”
“Like I’d believe you. I hate you, you obviously can’t stand me and now’s your chance to leave and save yourself. Why wouldn’t you do just that?”
“I said I won’t and I won’t. What, you want a pinky promise before you would believe me?”
“Eeww no. You really are a kid!”
“Like you’re any different. If I wanted to leave you behind, I wouldn’t be here and neither would I be trying to keep you safe.”
She looked away from me. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but I just hope she’d trust me for once. A little trust among all that hate wouldn’t hurt a fly.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you but think about it. We’ll keep in touch with the radios.”
I left her to her own thoughts and headed outside. Composing myself, I started towards the building that stood out from the rest.
Whatever I might find there better be worth it.
-
Wow!!! She had to be really good at the arcarde if she could drive with one hand...
Poor Reina... :pleeease: maybe she lost all her family or maybe her brother was used for and experiment
BTW...
I cupped my hands together and filled it with rainwater.
I asked again, folding my arms over my knees.
I thought she had only one arm :dunno:
-
Chapter 7 – Hope… ?
How long have I been running? I slowed down my steps and took a look around me. The walls were moldy, the lights were faulty and the pavement was slippery.
Well duh, you ARE in a sewer. :bigdeal:
Why did she choose to stay behind?
Why indeed? Considering Reina has made it clear that she doesn't like Shou, why the decision to stay behind to give Shou a chance to escape? Is she still intent on killing Shou herself should she survive the run-in with the creatures?
Gradually, I arrived at a dead end, but there’s a ladder hidden in the dark right by me. I slung the weapons around my neck and reached out for it weakly. It was a difficult attempt to be climbing with one hand, but I made it to the top after much effort. The lid was shut tightly, not locked, but a handicap like me can’t possibly open it with ease. I knocked against the lid with my severed shoulder. Nothing happened. I rotated my joint, took a deep breath and rammed myself against the lid a second time. I heard a crack near my neck and the lid popped open.
Hmmm...so now Shou has finally reached the planned destination? Will the coast be clear, or have some move of the creatures managed to find their way in?
It was pitch black around me when I crawled up to the surface. I tried to stand up only to trip over something hard. Whatever I touched felt like metal… bars? I’m probably in the subway or something.
...
It’ll be stupid to be walking on the tracks, knowing that the trains these days were automatic and likely to be still running.
An old subway tunnel? Shou had better be careful to avoid stepping on the rails whenever possible. Even though the subway probably shouldn't be running since there's no one really around to use it, there's still a chance of electricity running through the rails. One wrong, unlucky step and Shou would be in a LOT of pain.
Every little sound is amplified down here and any that isn’t my own sends me spinning around in fear. Even a tiny breeze brushing past my ears sends my heart pounding. Being ignorant of your surroundings is quite terrifying, more so than having to face a dead body or those monsters down there even.
Some people would be surprised that being surrounded by silence can be just as scary as being surrounded by loud noises.
Suddenly I remembered the pack of cigarettes I looted. Searching around my pockets, I pulled it out and opened the lid.
Not the most healthy thing to do under the circumstances, but it's not like she's going to get busted for doing it. :P
Not exactly expecting it, but there was indeed a lighter squeezed between the sticks inside the small box.
Some smokers do this for convenience's sake. This way, they don't have to keep their lighter in a separate pocket and are less likely to be caught without a light when they need one.
I kept the rest of the cigarettes in my pocket and tried to use the lighter as a source of light. That was a lousy idea as the flame was hardly reliable. I released my hold on the device and placed it back in my pocket. Taking a deep breathe of harmful substances to calm myself down, I kept a steady pace.
Yeah, Despite what might have been depicted on TV or the movies, a lighter doesn't really provide that much light (it's not it's function to, after all). For now it's better to save it just in case it's needed to light something (i.e. to blow it up) in the future.
I should be running back to try and rescue Reina, or anything productive instead of wandering in the dark and killing my lungs, right?
Well, Shou IS doing something that's potentially productive. If she can get to one of those computers and get Junjun/Linlin what they need, they could potentially find a way to stop or even cure the creatures. I'd say that's pretty useful.
Besides, if she had tried to rescue Reina the latter would have kicked her ass from here to next Tuesday. :)
Given her mentality about us, she’d probably rather kill herself than let them do the job.
Okay, now THIS has me worried. Being told that you're one of those creatures is one thing, but when you start to refer to yourself as one of them? That's not encouraging. It's like Shou's given up, that she's resigned to the fact that there's nothing that can be done to help and possibly cure her. :cry:
I managed to see a ray of light coming in from a distance. I was hesitant at first, or probably stunned from joy. Either way, it only took a second to regain my senses. I threw the unfinished cigarette to the ground and ran towards the light, finding my way to the train station.
Hmmm...how long has Shou been underground again? This must surely be a refreshing change of pace for her.
Out of the blue, a loud cackling sound echoed throughout the station. I jumped from my seat, startled at the noise at first until I noticed that it came from my pocket. There’s that cackling again. I could hear a muffled voice. Then it hit me- it was the two-way radio!
REINAAA~!!! :mon star:
“Craaaack!!!”
Ouch! The sharp sound caused me to drop the radio. I pressed a finger forcefully against my tragus and did not turn to look at the fallen item until I no longer felt the pain coursing through my ear. Having unconsciously shut my eyes closed, I finally opened them to peek at the radio.
Considering how loud your typical, personal two-way radios get, they shouldn't be able to get loud enough to cause any real physical pain of this severity, unless Shou happens to be wearing an earpiece. The only other possible explanation is that Shou has started "changing", and the first thing to be different is that her hearing is much more sensitive.
Chapter 8 - To the resue
“Reina! Is that you?”
...
Reception was loud and clear at the moment. She sounded weak and she was panting. That’s not normal. I kept quiet as ordered.
Either she's tired from the fight, or she's somehow injured and is having a hard time breathing. :cry:
“I’m in the south..”
South? I looked at the map behind me. Right now, I’m in the central area. I’ve walked THAT far?
Well, heading in the right direction wasn't exactly on Shou's mind at the time that she was running away from those creatures. :roll:
”I’ve… found the organization… Where’re you?”
“Central. Are you alright?”
”Get o- *crack * here… Argh!”
Well, at least one of them found it. Reina might need Shou's help to get at the computers though, particularly if she's hurt.
A car! I need a car, or any damned vehicle I can find in this god-forsaken place.
...
I looked through the window of each vehicle and finally found one with a key still in its keyhole. I smashed the window with the end of my gun and opened the door. The vehicle was ready after some tweaking around. Now to put all those hours spent racing in the arcade to the test.
Can't help but wonder what kind of "tweaking" Shou meant. ;D Either way, driving the hovercar shouldn't be that much different from the video game...provided that the game was a realistic simulator-type game and that Shou didn't completely suck at it. :P
It took me only 15minutes to reach the south without much of an obstacle. Ah, the joy of no traffic.
If only traffic could always be like that. :lol:
I entered the southern region of the city soon enough and drove around cautiously. I could see the same building we fell from days ago, it was very much surrounded by ruins. It started to drizzle. Where would I be if I were Reina though?
That's right, Reina never told Shou where she was specifically. She might be inside the building, just outside it in the sewer, probably anywhere that could hopefully provide some shelter against the creatures. Only thing now for Shou to do is actually find her.
I finally found Reina huddled in a phone booth but in no state to be overjoyed about. She was leaning against the glass, pale, and probably far worse off than from what I could see. I ran up to the booth and opened the door in a panic. She was bleeding profusely from the leg and likely to have blacked out due to the lost of blood or pain.
Sounds like a major blood vessel was severed during her fight with the creatures. Any hope that Shou knows how to tie a tourniquet and/or that there might be a medical kit handly? :scared:
I ripped my remaining sleeve of my undershirt off with my teeth and soaked it in the rain. I cleaned the blood away, washed the sleeve again and tied it around her wound to stop the bleeding. Hopefully there won’t be any infections; the rain in the city isn’t exactly clean but it was all there is.
Good...good. It's not exactly what one would hope for, but it's better than nothing.
“No! … He doesn’t want to go! … Where are you taking him!?”
I turned my head at the sudden outburst. Reina was talking in her sleep. He? Family member? Friend? Boyfriend?
Mmmmm...someone close to Reina was likely taken away from her, and it was against his will by the sound of it. If this incident with this person is somehow related to the genetic experiments and those creatures, we might have stumbled upon a clue as to why Reina's so hostile the way she is.
“We have to get to the building!”
“What? But your wound! Don’t be crazy.”
“You’re crazy! I’m fine!”
No, physically Reina's far from fine. A severe loss of blood like the one she has suffered has likely left her body in shock. Plus with her blood levels depleted, it wouldn't take too long for her to pass out again, which could be really inconvenient depending on the circumstances.
“I’ll go search the building, you hide somewhere and recover.”
“And why are you being helpful?”
“Because you tried to sacrifice yourself earlier for me? Don’t want to owe you anything?”
“It wasn’t for you, you brat!”
“For what then?”
“None of your business.”
Might it have been for that mystery person that Reina was referring to when she was talking in her sleep? Maybe she really has taken to heart the claim that the Pandas think they can come up with a cure.
“Whatever. You know you can’t do it alone, that’s why you called me back, right? As much as you hate me…”
“What the? You talk too much, stop!”
I smirked at her, looks like I hit the nail on the head.
Whatever it takes to complete the mission, I guess.
We walked around for a while until I found an abandoned place well hidden inside an alley. It was a sleazy drug store that had a steel door, seems like a safe place to hide. I doubt the mutants would wander this far in just to look for food too. We went in and were glad that there was some left over rations that were still edible. Electricity and water was still available.
Lucky for them the rations and water were still there.
I cleaned her wounds a second time with clean water, reusing the cloth to bandage her again. Yeah, I have zero sense in first aid.
This time, yeah Shou should have known better. I mean, you're in a freeking drug store! :dizzy: There's bound to be some antiseptic around, not to mention antibiotics and a first aid kit (or at the very least clean bandages). Reusing an old bandage like this (even if it's been cleaned) is just risking the wound getting an infection.
Still better than nothing though. At the very least it's slowing down the blood loss.
“You’ll be staying here until I get back, okay?”
...
“You’ll run away and leave me here to rot anyway… why bother.”
...
“I won’t.”
“Like I’d believe you. I hate you, you obviously can’t stand me and now’s your chance to leave and save yourself. Why wouldn’t you do just that?”
Reina must really be trying to avoid getting emotionally attached to Shou. She's still trying to antagonize and push Shou away, even though she's come back and helped her when she was hurt.
Maybe for Reina, she's doing it so that it won't be as hard for her to kill Shou later on (as she swore she would).
If I wanted to leave you behind, I wouldn’t be here and neither would I be trying to keep you safe.”
She looked away from me. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but I just hope she’d trust me for once. A little trust among all that hate wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Sounds like Shou hit a nerve there. What she's saying makes sense, it's logical, and it's likely true...and Reina knows it.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you but think about it. We’ll keep in touch with the radios.”
I left her to her own thoughts and headed outside. Composing myself, I started towards the building that stood out from the rest.
Whatever I might find there better be worth it.
Hopefully she'll be able to find something, PERIOD (provided of course that it's NOT another one of those creatures).
I cupped my hands together and filled it with rainwater.
I asked again, folding my arms over my knees.
I thought she had only one arm :dunno:
Whoops...BUSTED! :wahaha:
-
Whoops, my bad. Did it at 4am you see XD
I changed it.
@Kruez_Asakura: Yeah, I can drive with one hand so.. she can too :yep: Plus, no traffic.. doesn't matter if she knocks over something anyway :3
drug store, not that type of drug.. but yeah... Ohh what the hell..
-wanders away- Couldn't access jph!p all day x_x
-
Rushed... :banghead:
Chapter 9 – Familiarity
Creeping up to the fence surrounding the tall office-like building, I looked around to make sure that there was no sign of danger lurking anywhere. Despite still holding on to firearms, we all know it’s useless. I got in through the front entrance. I found myself in the lobby, and it reminds me of a hospital. It was dark since nightfall is approaching and the ceiling lights were busted. There’s a reception desk, security desk and a directory. Starting with the security desk, I searched around for anything useful. Found a torch, battery packs and a bunch of keys. Anything potentially useful goes I guess, but I really need a bag to hold them all. I took out the radio again.
“Paging for Reina, are you there?”
I spoke into the device. It took at least 5 minutes before I got a response.
“Yeah? What do you want?”
“What exactly are we searching for again?”
“Anything scientific? I don’t know! Think mad scientist!”
“Oh, very helpful.”
I rolled my eyes and looked up at the directory hung on the wall. Hmm, canteen, administrative offices, more offices. Nothing out of the ordinary. I’m pretty sure there are at least 50 stories here but the directory only reaches the 40th floor. Where are the other 10? I went back to the security desk and opened the drawers. 2 were filled with stationeries and the last one was locked. I pried it open instead of using the keys since I’ve no patience to try out every one of them. There were some documents that proved no relevance and a floor map. It’s a layout of the entire building, including the ‘hidden’ floors.
“Don’t you think anything important would’ve been gone by now?”
I put down the radio on the desk and spoke again while looking through the map under a working lamp. Another 5 minutes to wait for one response.
“Don’t jinx the operation you-“
“Brat, I know I know.. Stop calling me that already.”
“Glad you know. There’s bound to be something around, keep looking.”
I sighed and tried to find a way up to the 41st floor at least. Seems like the map indicates that there’s a separate lift somewhere that goes higher up. Clipping the radio back to my belt, I rolled up the map and headed for the elevator. It was still working, thank God. Seems like this part of the building wasn’t affected by bombings. I took the lift and waited patiently. Nothing much happened during my search for the hidden floors and I arrived there without any trouble.
Stepping into this floor made me feel nostalgic for some reason. The quarantine rooms lined along the hallway were familiar. Memories I don’t remember ever experiencing began surfacing in my mind. I guess they have something to do with my birth. I have to admit, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m… not entirely normal. Actually, it’s more like accepting it without believing. It’s not half bad, as far as I’m concerned; I’m still human and not doing harm to anyone yet. It’s like there’s nothing unusual to begin with. Regardless, it feels a little like home here.
I kept moving with a torch held between my teeth until I came across an office. I guess I’ll start here. The door was unlocked so I invited myself in and flicked the light switch on. There were folders scattered everywhere and on the table was a file labeled ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ in big bold letters just screaming at me to read it. And so I did. I opened the file and it was a list of some sort. It was a name list upon further reading.
‘Shou, Li’ was within the list. That’s probably me, since my dad’s last name was there. Though, with all that’s been going on, I wonder if my dad’s even my biological one. This is a list of all the infants they took in to experiment on, 100 names in total. Many shared the same last names, especially the Chinese ones. I scrolled further down and nearly dropped the file.
“Tanaka, Ryota…”
I blurted out loud. I reread the names under T and there weren’t any other Tanakas. Two things ran through my head at the discovery.
1) It’s just a coincidence.
2) Oh boy….
What to do? I pushed any attempt of speculating to the back of my head and swiped a briefcase off the chair and kept the files inside, along with the map. I browsed the office again for anything of significance. Turning to the PC isolated to a corner of the desk, I wonder if it’s connected to the rest of the building’s network. I sat down on the huge office chair and turned it on. This reminded me of the room I was in days earlier where I stumbled upon email backups. Maybe I could access them from here. While waiting for the PC to boot, I unclipped the radio from my belt so that I could sit better.
“Hey brat, found anything?”
The radio went off the moment I removed it, as if it predicted that I would start slacking off the moment I find comfort.
“Yeah, still searching though.”
“So, what did you find?”
“Just a name list…”
I hesitated and concentrated on finding those email copies.
“… And?”
Hmm, says here that there’s a delay in the mutation which could even total up to a few years. Maybe that’s why I’m still how I am compared to the others, but there’s no telling when transformation would take place.
“Shou?”
I gritted my teeth, really not wanting to say anything even if she was being polite and calling me by name. There’s no telling what she’d do if she knew that I knew something about her. I continued reading the files I found. There was a description of effects that the drugs causing the mutations did. I had them all printed out.
“OI! Shou you brat, answer me!”
“Y-yes?” I finally gave in and responded.
“What else did you find?”
“Some documents too long to explain.”
I skip over trying to elaborate about the name list, hoping that she doesn’t notice. Taking the printouts, I placed them into the briefcase as well. I picked it up along with the radio and moved out of the office.
“Can’t find anything about destroying myself though.”
“I told you, think mad scientist. Where would you store stuff if you were mad?”
“But I’m not mad.”
“Says she who likes to free fall.”
I made a face at the radio, not wanting to be reminded of my stupidity.
“Anyway, I’ll just keep searching.”
“Obviously.”
“Tch. How’s your wound coming along anyway?”
We were starting to have a normal conversation as I walked down the hallway searching for any suspicious looking rooms to violate. I’ve completely forgotten the fact that monsters could be roaming about. I’ll worry about it when they come. I hope they don’t.
“Still smarts like hell.”
“You know, this is kinda nice. Us not bickering much and you sounding normal.”
“Don’t think we’re friends just because I’m not spontaneously expressing my hate for you. I’m just tired.”
“It’s still nice.”
I heard her did a ‘pfffft’ and I laughed a little until I started passing by a certain quarantine room. It was the same room I came out from when I ‘returned from the dead’. There were dead bodies in there, genuinely deceased. Perhaps even their cells had not begun mutating yet and they had to meet such an ugly end. I feel oddly lucky to be standing here and observing the morbid sight. Prying my eyes away, I walked away and instinctively entered that same room nearby where I first met Reina. It's just like deja vu. The computers were still turned on; everything was how it was when we ran off. Turning to the PC, I tried to find any other files that weren’t in the office before.
“What do I do if the documents are password protected?” I asked into the radio the moment I stumbled upon more confidential files. I waited for an answer while typing out random words into the password field.
“What do you mean password protected?”
“You know, like you need a password to read the files?”
“I know that. Means something important must be in there then…”
“No way!” I answered sarcastically.
“Why you…” She caught on fast.
“Seriously, what do I do?”
“I don’t know, crack it?”
“I’m not THAT smart.”
“Yeah, you’re not. Bring back the PC?”
“You try carrying a CPU with one arm!”
“What do you expect us to do then?!”
“I don’t know, come back another day?”
“Wait, remember how the mad scientists mentioned they had a hacker? Maybe they could access those files from back in the lab .”
“Is that possible?”
“We could always come back another day.”
That made no difference at all! I silently agreed with her still and copied any data of the organization’s network into a disc. Why? I guess I placed myself in the shoes of a hacker. It was so much easier than being a mad scientist. Whoever LinLin’s hacker friend is, he or she would definitely need information like these.
After completing my task, I made a beeline for the exit.
-
Creeping up to the fence surrounding the tall office-like building, I looked around to make sure that there was no sign of danger lurking anywhere.
...
Starting with the security desk, I searched around for anything useful. Found a torch, battery packs and a bunch of keys.
Just to be sure everyone is on the same wavelength, "torch" in this case is another word for "flashlight". :thumbsup
“What exactly are we searching for again?”
“Anything scientific? I don’t know! Think mad scientist!”
“Oh, very helpful.”
Probably would have been helpful if Junjun & Linlin had given them a hint of what might be useful. :roll:
I went back to the security desk and opened the drawers. 2 were filled with stationeries and the last one was locked. I pried it open instead of using the keys since I’ve no patience to try out every one of them. There were some documents that proved no relevance and a floor map. It’s a layout of the entire building, including the ‘hidden’ floors.
Hidden floors? Those would probably be good starting points. :)
“Don’t you think anything important would’ve been gone by now?”
I put down the radio on the desk and spoke again while looking through the map under a working lamp. Another 5 minutes to wait for one response.
“Don’t jinx the operation you-“
“Brat, I know I know.. Stop calling me that already.”
I wonder why it takes 5 minutes for Reina to respond? It's not like 2-way radios experience delays in transmission. Even if they do, Shou and Reina aren't far enough from each other to cause a really significant/noticeable delay.
Stepping into this floor made me feel nostalgic for some reason. The quarantine rooms lined along the hallway were familiar. Memories I don’t remember ever experiencing began surfacing in my mind. I guess they have something to do with my birth. I have to admit, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m… not entirely normal. Actually, it’s more like accepting it without believing. It’s not half bad, as far as I’m concerned; I’m still human and not doing harm to anyone yet. It’s like there’s nothing unusual to begin with. Regardless, it feels a little like home her
Right now I don't know what's more creepy, the fact that Shou still seems resigned to the fact that the transforming into one of those creatures is inevitable, or the fact she now sees this place a "home-like".
I kept moving with a torch held between my teeth until I came across an office. I guess I’ll start here. The door was unlocked so I invited myself in and flicked the light switch on. There were folders scattered everywhere and on the table was a file labeled ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ in big bold letters
Gee, think maybe Shou should take a look? :P
I opened the file and it was a list of some sort. It was a name list upon further reading.
The names of the test subjects from the experiments?
I scrolled further down and nearly dropped the file.
“Tanaka, Ryota…”
I blurted out loud. I reread the names under T and there weren’t any other Tanakas.
Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. :o
Well, this explains quite a bit.
“What do I do if the documents are password protected?” I asked into the radio the moment I stumbled upon more confidential files.
Yeah...probably would have been helpful if Junjun & Linlin had given them some help with that.
“Wait, remember how the mad scientists mentioned they had a hacker? Maybe they could access those files from back in the lab .”
They did? :?
/me checks
Oh yeah. Well, now that they have the data, they have to get it back.
-
Hmmm... weird chapter. Not good with tragedies. Haven't been proof read too.. Zzzz
Chapter 10 - Reason to hate
Getting back was such an unexpected breeze that I felt a little paranoid about it. Any moment now, something huge would jump out and rip my head off! That sort of thing was what kept running through my mind as I made my way down the stairs and back to the main elevator. If this was what reverse psychology meant, it really sucks.
Back in the steel cage, I pressed for the lobby and waited. Meanwhile worrying about my recent discovery. It’s only a matter of time before it’s brought up, and I can’t imagine the consequences of discussing this matter. If this Ryota guy really was related to Reina, I don’t know what to think of it either. Can she honestly bare such an intense animosity towards family? Curiosity just keeps getting the better of me.
The lift was incredibly fast. It only took a matter of minutes to reach the lobby and I strolled out, quite satisfied with my find. Brushing the matter at hand away for the moment, I hurried out of the building and back to the sleazy hut. Unfortunately, the way back was a game of hide-and-seek. It really was too good to be true, to be void of all man and beast during my trip. As soon as I stepped outside the building, an unlucky soldier was being devoured by one of the many mutations in the region. Turning around as quickly as I could, I took a longer route back by traveling behind buildings to avoid being seen. I consider it a difficult task, finding my way back when I’m lost in a maze of alleyways.
My goal was a big steel door and I simply wandered about hiding in shadows until I came across steel doors. Who knew the south had at least half a dozen of them scattered all about! Half a dozen of opening and slamming heavy doors later, I finally found the drug store. Tired out from the journey back, I quickly opened it and moved behind the counter where I left Reina. When I saw her, she was sound asleep.
Shouldn’t disturb her then, she needs the rest. I looked around the store for some food, can’t remember when was the last time I even ate. Apart from illegal drugs I recognize and god knows what those colorful liquids are, there wasn’t much. I found the leftover rations of instant noodles and bread anyway. Hot water wasn’t available so I had to make do with buns. Thankfully they had fillings. I ripped open the packaging and sat down beside the sleeping girl. While eating, I opened the briefcase. Taking out the files and papers I had printed out, I browsed through the headers for anything of interest.
“Hmm, superhuman eh?”
I spoke to no one in particular. Apparently one of the documents stated the desired effect that should’ve taken place within the mutants rather than… well, a horrible mutation. Seems like I should have an acute sense of hearing, sight and smell thanks to the experiment, enhanced muscles and immunity to injuries. That explains a lot, though I don’t feel much of a difference regarding my senses and physique. The rest were detailed information that just seemed like repetitions. I’ll leave it to the scientists to go through them. I quietly browsed through short paragraphs and summaries for the rest of the hour. I wonder what time it is.
Gradually being lured to sleep, I had to slap myself across the face to stay awake. Without warning, a bright light flashed across me and disappeared within milliseconds. I felt a sharp pain at the back of my eye immediately after and for a moment there, my vision unmistakably became like a negative photograph. There’s a faint feeling in me but just as quickly it went away. I slumped forward, knocking against the cabinet we were both leaning on. The impact aroused Reina from her slumber. I kept my back hunched, pinching the bridge of my nose to get rid of that odd sensation I just experienced.
“Uhh... What the hell?”
I sensed that she had sat up from her spot, probably cranky from the unwanted wakeup call. She saw me beside her and shoved me on the shoulder.
“What was that for? And I was having such a nice nap.”
Looking up weakly, I smiled sheepishly and apologized.
“What’s up with you? Seen a ghost?”
“Huh?”
“You’re pale.”
I placed my palm on my cheeks and indeed they felt a little chilly.
“Might be the weather, it’s nothing.”
I lied. Didn’t see a sense in telling her about something even I wasn’t sure about. I rubbed my face to refresh myself. She shifted her gaze to the papers around me and picked one up. Of all pages she could’ve chosen, it was the name list. From a corner of my eye, I watched her run through the list with a blank expression.
“You read the list, right?”
I kept silent when she asked. What am I suppose to say anyway? I didn’t want to incur her wrath.
“I assume you know?”
Was Ryota really her relative? I hate it when my guesses were right. I’ll just pretend I know nothing.
“Know what?”
“Don’t play games with me…”
“Alright, alright. I speculated a little about the guy on the list. So he’s your…”
“Younger brother.”
“Then he’s no different from…”
“Right, and I hate him just as much.”
“But why?”
She had that angry glare again, except it wasn’t directed at me but the ground this time, or something else. Assuming the ‘he’ mentioned in her sleep was Ryota, it wasn’t a glare of hate that I see. I’ve seen enough of her hateful glares within a few days to tell hate from something else. When she spoke in her dreams, that frown she had… it was like she had something important taken away from her and what she said supported it. It was anything BUT hate.
“Why? Give me a reason not to hate a monster.”
“I… Uh, they did nothing to you?”
“Another reason! Because they did do something to me!”
“…” I couldn’t come up with anything. She allowed anger to take over and started rambling.
“They killed my parents.”
“Destroyed my family.”
“Destroyed my life…”
I sat still and listened.
“Do you have any idea how it’s like to have everything you loved taken away just like that?!” She snapped her finger to make a point.
No, I did not know how it felt like. Technically, I had not loved. I strayed from my family, learned things I shouldn’t learn. I was murdered then granted a brand new crappy life, discovered my true ugly identity and thrown into a whole load of bullshit. That’s right, I don’t know what she’s going through, I can’t relate. I feel bad about it. She wasn’t expecting my answer and continued.
“He was one of YOU, I couldn’t believe it.”
Reina pulled her knees to her chest, growing vulnerable and emotional as she told me her story. I suppose the mention of her brother finally broke something inside that could bring her down to this state. Normally, I doubt even cruel and unnatural torture is capable of making her say anything about herself. Everything just exploded out of her right then.
“Dad dedicated his life to you… those creatures. Said it was his job as a scientist. You would think just one parent’s love was enough, but that’s not true. I’m grateful for everything mama did, but it didn’t felt complete...”
I nodded, unsure but in agreement. She had her gaze stuck to the ground.
“Ryota came along one day and we were like a real family again. I loved that boy, he brought dad back from whatever it was that took him away during my birth. I didn’t know we weren’t blood related, but he’s my brother all the same. We grew up as good friends, no secrets between us. Only trust.”
Trust… I wish we had that too.
“Then, just suddenly, dad took him away without a reason. They never came back. Not until months later. He did return, but as a different person. No… he wasn’t human anymore when he came home.”
Her voice started to break and she was trembling slightly. That tough girl persona was disappearing right before me.
“I saw him change, I watched him lose his senses and destroy everything in sight. Men came for him at the right time, but they all perished. Mama died trying to stop him. The murders around the city happened soon after.”
Was he the first to change? I remember the email I read. They took in a boy for observation. Was that him?
“I can’t believe that monster was my brother. The trust we had… I didn’t expect to discover what he was under such circumstances… I didn’t expect any of these at all! It was like betrayal. It hurts.”
She folded her arms on her knees and buried her face in them. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. I tried to comfort her but she pushed me away.
“I hated the project!! I hate… I hate you!”
It was a vague tale, but I forgive her. She deserves to hate me, all of us. If it weren’t for the project, none of these would have happened. She broke down and I couldn’t’ do anything for her. She wouldn’t let me. Neither did I know what to say. I stared straight ahead, deep in thought and allowed her to calm down.
Thinking about our situation, and how she’s really just a normal person whose life is being toyed with. We were different in so many ways, and for the fact that fate is twisted, we’ve come to know each other. She’s the victim here, and I’m neither hero nor villain. I’m just a typical teenager! We all are, including Linlin and Junjun. What can we do? No, who are we to try and destroy something as horrendous as a national project gone insanely wrong? I doubt myself, along with everyone else. We’re not in an adventure story where the protagonists always win, we’re in a life or death situation and this story has no clichéd happy ending. Who could be the next to die, next to transform, or are our plans of ‘saving the world’ even going to happen? Every second into the future is unpredictable, even with a solid plan. That’s why it’s so scary. Real life is terrifying like that and we can only try to make do with it.
Reina was sobbing quietly. I turned to her in attempt to comfort again.
“Feeling better?”
“I hate you.” She repeated under the sobbing.
“I know…”
“No, I hate you for making me sappy like that.”
“Oh… Still, what’s been done to you isn’t something that can be forgotten overnight… I’m sorry”
I murmured the last bit. I thought for a bit and was going to make a decision that I can’t take back. I felt responsible, in a way. I’ve decided to bare the wrongdoings of my kind, being undeniably part of them after all. I felt burdened and could only think of one way to compensate Reina. Sure, I couldn’t relate, I’m terrified of actually dying, there’s no real reason to be sacrificial about it, but it’s the only solution I could think of. Something in me really wants to help this girl and I don’t think I’m suppose to be alive anyway, so why not. I’m not exactly being clear with myself, but still…
I bit down on my lower lip, making sure that there’s no regret once I convict myself to this plan. I’ll gladly offer up my life once the formula to destroy is created. Of course, I’m not telling anyone else yet. When the time comes, my life will be at the mercy of this girl’s very hands whether she still likes it or not. I can’t explain my sudden decision to die, but nonsense happens. Some things just don’t need explanations, as stupid as spontaneously offering someone else your life sounds. I’m as confused about myself as everyone else, so let’s not harp on it anymore. It’s decided.
“We’re leaving when you’re prepared.”
Reina spoke up while I was lost in thought. I straightened up and nodded quietly. We spent the next few hours resting up and gaining back as much energy that would be required to travel back to the lab.
From now on, some things are going to change.
-
When I read that last line, I get the feeling something big is going to happen. I hope its not tragic.
You handled this chapter pretty well even if you didn't think so. It was also nice and long, something I really can't do XD
Will be looking forward to the next part :)
-
Getting back was such an unexpected breeze that I felt a little paranoid about it. Any moment now, something huge would jump out and rip my head off! That sort of thing was what kept running through my mind as I made my way down the stairs and back to the main elevator. If this was what reverse psychology meant, it really sucks.
It's not reverse psychology, but yeah, it sucks.
If this Ryota guy really was related to Reina, I don’t know what to think of it either. Can she honestly bare such an intense animosity towards family? Curiosity just keeps getting the better of me.
Shou might have it a little mixed up here. Reina probably doesn't hate her brother. She probably hates what happened to him (i.e. being turned into one of those creatures), and because of it hates all of the creatures in general.
“Hmm, superhuman eh?”
I spoke to no one in particular. Apparently one of the documents stated the desired effect that should’ve taken place within the mutants rather than… well, a horrible mutation. Seems like I should have an acute sense of hearing, sight and smell thanks to the experiment, enhanced muscles and immunity to injuries. That explains a lot, though I don’t feel much of a difference regarding my senses and physique.
The superhuman strength probably is manifesting itself within the mutations themselves. It's not quite what they expected, and definitely not what they planned or how they planned it to happen.
Without warning, a bright light flashed across me and disappeared within milliseconds. I felt a sharp pain at the back of my eye immediately after and for a moment there, my vision unmistakably became like a negative photograph. There’s a faint feeling in me but just as quickly it went away. I slumped forward, knocking against the cabinet we were both leaning on.
The first indications of transforming?
“You’re pale.”
I placed my palm on my cheeks and indeed they felt a little chilly.
“Might be the weather, it’s nothing.”
I lied. Didn’t see a sense in telling her about something even I wasn’t sure about. I rubbed my face to refresh myself.
Looks like Shou's not quite convinced that it's just the temperature.
Was Ryota really her relative?
...
I speculated a little about the guy on the list. So he’s your…”
“Younger brother.”
“Then he’s no different from…”
“Right, and I hate him just as much.”
Well, that sends my previous theory right down the crapper. :o
“Dad dedicated his life to you… those creatures. Said it was his job as a scientist. You would think just one parent’s love was enough, but that’s not true. I’m grateful for everything mama did, but it didn’t felt complete...”
...
“Ryota came along one day and we were like a real family again. I loved that boy, he brought dad back from whatever it was that took him away during my birth. I didn’t know we weren’t blood related, but he’s my brother all the same. We grew up as good friends, no secrets between us. Only trust.”
Wait, Reina's dad was one of the scientists? So then, Ryota must have been one of the infants that were found and used in the experiments. The records said that they were placed in foster families, which would explain why Reina's dad was home more often. He was there to monitor Ryota.
“Then, just suddenly, dad took him away without a reason. They never came back. Not until months later. He did return, but as a different person. No… he wasn’t human anymore when he came home.”
Her voice started to break and she was trembling slightly. That tough girl persona was disappearing right before me.
“I saw him change, I watched him lose his senses and destroy everything in sight. Men came for him at the right time, but they all perished. Mama died trying to stop him. The murders around the city happened soon after.”
He must have taken him away just as they noticed the children were starting to go berserk, possibly to try and cure him. Evidently whatever they tried, failed.
Was he the first to change? I remember the email I read. They took in a boy for observation. Was that him?
“I can’t believe that monster was my brother. The trust we had… I didn’t expect to discover what he was under such circumstances… I didn’t expect any of these at all! It was like betrayal. It hurts.”
Watching her own brother turn into the creatures that she hated...it's no wonder Reina's been so hostile to Shou.
But...did Ryota know what he was? Was Ryota conscious and aware of what he was doing as he was and after he transformed?
what’s been done to you isn’t something that can be forgotten overnight… I’m sorry”
I murmured the last bit. I thought for a bit and was going to make a decision that I can’t take back. I felt responsible, in a way. I’ve decided to bare the wrongdoings of my kind,
...
it’s the only solution I could think of. Something in me really wants to help this girl and I don’t think I’m suppose to be alive anyway, so why not. I’m not exactly being clear with myself, but still…
I bit down on my lower lip, making sure that there’s no regret once I convict myself to this plan. I’ll gladly offer up my life once the formula to destroy is created. Of course, I’m not telling anyone else yet. When the time comes, my life will be at the mercy of this girl’s very hands whether she still likes it or not.
I can see the reasoning for Shou's decision as being two-fold. First, she doesn't want to transform and become like the creatures that they've been fighting and running from all this time. The thought of losing your humanity and becoming something so...primal is terrifying. Secondly, by offering her life she hopes to give Reina the vengeance that she's been seeking. Shou knows that if they find the formula, she's going to be as good as dead anyway once she starts to change. If her death can give Reina some peace of mind, then her life (short and confusing as it has been) will have lead to something good. SHE will have done something good.
Dude I agree with lil_hamz, you handled this part quite well. :thumbsup
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Chapter 11 –Departure
Soon enough, we both silently agreed to drop the previous matter and worked to steal yet another random car off the streets. We got back to the lab safely in one piece after much searching. Well, almost. Never knew Reina could be a back-seat driver. The scientists were delighted to see us when we entered the room, or rather, they were more excited about what we’ve found. I tossed the briefcase towards them and dragged a limping Reina with me to the corner, demanding at least a first aid kit from the others before they got crazy with the papers. I had her sit on the bed while I knelt down on the ground in front of her leg.
While Linlin and Junjun were busy looking through our finds, I took the chance to properly patch up Reina’s leg. It was an ugly sight to see by now, and the gash was still pretty deep. The bleeding might have stopped hours ago but it’s not good to have raw flesh exposed for too long, I know that at least. But I have a first aid kit now; the wound should be a little easier to deal with.
“Nooo... No stitching! You’re not certified, go away!”
She kicked me when I suggested that I should stitch up her wounds for the sake of assurance. I smirked and caught hold of her ankle when she got flustered. Ha ha, she’s afraid of needles. I haven’t even started applying the antiseptic though! I held her ankle between my knees and started cleaning her wound.
“Bah, What’s so bad about stitching.”
“It hurts! OW! And you’re not a doctor!”
I ignored her. If she did not scream and wail when her leg got messed up, no reason to be sorry when she’s making a fuss now. But as much as I want to stitch up her wound because it’s needed, we don’t have needles, thread nor do I know how, so all I can do now is bandage it up and leave it to heal itself. I patted the well done bandaging and moved to sit on the bed beside Reina, who hit me again because apparently a little touching of the wound still hurts. I was about to say something when Junjun’s voice burst out from the other side of the room.
“This won’t do!! It’s not enough!”
“What’s not enough?” I asked her from across the room, cocking my head to a side. I saw her fling the papers into the air in frustration.
“Not enough information to do anything! It’s all just descriptions and we need none of these.”
“Should’ve told us what you wanted.”
“I thought you’d be smart enough to figure it out. Think mad scientist, you know?”
Reina nodded in an ‘I told you so’ way. I glared at her but she played innocent.
“What do you suppose we do now? We’re in no condition to go back. What about those protected files?”
“We have to wait a while before we could do anything about those. Until then…” She thought hard, but Linlin finished the sentence for her before she got the chance.
“Until then, you’ll have to stay here and be our lab mice.”
If it could, my jaw would’ve fallen off right then. How can she say that with the brightest smile I’ve seen in my life?
“What are you girls going to do to me?”
“Run tests, observe you, harmless things like that.”
“Just that?”
“That’s all we can do now until we have further information. Please stay. You’re our only hope in discovering anything new now. Besides, you do want to revert back to a true human again, right?”
I shifted my gaze to the floor, they’ve hit the nail right on my head. It’s no doubt that I’d be likely to try anything to become a real human rather than this ugly hybrid thing.
“There’s no way I’m staying with Shou though.” Reina interrupted.
“That’s okay, we don’t really need you.”
Consider it partially true. I tried holding back my laughter, but I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Ouch! A forearm came swinging against my stomach the moment I opened my mouth. I rubbed my tortured belly. Back to the question at hand, I didn’t have any other places to go, so there’s no other option but to agree.
“Alright, but promise there won’t be pain!”
“Oh, we wouldn’t dream of harming you.” Linlin flashed another bright smile, which made me feel uneasy. Very uneasy.
All was settled and I spent the next few weeks being observed by them. Occasionally they would send us out to pick up groceries, scout the area or do something incredibly dangerous like retrieve skin samples from the monsters themselves. I don’t even want to mention how we managed to achieve that. Having nine lives was probably not enough (No harming me my ass.). This dragged on for half a year and yet there was still little progress. The two geniuses were unable to contact their hacker and the protected files had been left unopened until now. Our old and new injuries were completely healed as well.
Linlin and Junjun were really… unique, and they’re good company to hang around when they’re not in scientist mode. I think I’ve improved my Chinese during my stay, and they can cook! I learnt something from them in exchange for being turned anemic. Reina on the other hand, still slightly hostile and threatening but we do have our share of laughs occasionally. Laughing AT each other, that is. It’s like we have some sort of weird sadistic friendship, I don’t know. Along the way, I’ve personally created a resolution for myself. Help these girls out with their research until my end. I seriously doubt they can revert me as much as I’d like that to happen, but I’m sure there’s a way to eliminate.
Needless to say, life went on as normal as it could get until one fine day.
“I’m leaving.”
I looked up from watching blood being drawn out of my left arm for the countless time this year. It was a random outburst from Reina, taking all of us by surprise.
“Leaving?”
“It’s a waste of my time staying here.”
“Took you long enough to realize, but where can you go?”
“My injuries are healed, so I want to find a way out of this accursed city.”
“But it’s dangerous out there!”
“Hey, I survived well enough before I even met you all, what makes you think I can’t do the same again.”
“She’s right you know.” Junjun chipped in. “It’ll do us all good if she found an exit too. I want to experience the outside world when we’re done with this.”
I guess they’re not all just about saving the world we’re confined in. Once this is done, they’ll move on to something else to lay their curious hand on. Hmm, I think I would like to see the outside world too if I am ever cured of this curse. I nodded quietly, giving her my permission regardless of whether she cares about what I think.
“I will be back, just so you know.”
“Be careful… Your hear?”
“You’re not the boss of me!”
I laughed at her stubbornness. Two days later, Reina up and left us just like that. It was a sudden move from her and I think I’m going to miss the physical pain as well as mental ones we gave each other. But better believe and let her go then have her run away without a word.
I wonder what will happen now.
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Funny, because I never planned for them to get long o.o I just keep going till a good cliffhanger comes up or something.
Thanks though, my self-esteem got boosted. I've been feeling like crap lately.
And about this chapter, sorry to make Reina leave just like that right after she told her story >_> It's a sudden change in direction, and I figured she's not one to stay on for months doing redundant stuff. Besides, now that she's on her own quest, I can bring in new characters :) Poor Shou's still armless though. :roll:
Hmm.. who's next.. *rubs hands together*
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It would be helpful if Shou could have 2 arms again. :oops: So now it's just the 3 of them and someday the hacker friend might show that he's still there.
Cool, waiting to see different environments and new characters. :yep:
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Yeah, it's challenging to write a one arm person. I keep forgetting :angry: lol
Two MM girls would appear in the next few chapters, one replacing Reina and another to stay behind as the hacker :shocked:
edit: Fast, aren't I? I got lazy with titles by the way.
This chapter's short, sort of like an introduction.
Chapter 12
The months following Reina’s departure were painfully boring. No one left to practice my arguing skills on; no more poking fun of people, and everything’s just so different. Sure it was fun with the other two, but it sort of died when they managed to contact whomever their hacker friend was. What I’ve grown used to in a short amount of time has changed just as fast. Doesn’t mean I’m going back on my word though. I’m still going to carry out favors for Junjun and co. Yes, even the dangerous, life threatening ones.
On the topic of life threatening favors, I’m currently outside taking a walk around the city. It was against my will, unfortunately but promises are promises. The girls had me fit into some boiler suit and I have to admit, it’s pretty comfortable and warm. Though having my right sleeve dangling about is distracting. They wanted me to retrieve more live samples of the mutants since the last sample I brought back were burnt to crisps in an experiment. No matter how many times I tried convincing them that it’s too dangerous of a task, they just keep brush me off. As if the mutants could tell that I’m one of them and tear their skin off for me as a welcome gift. As I was saying, I’m out in the city right now taking a stroll. It’s already my second day out. They wouldn’t let me back until I’ve gotten hold of what they want, how merciless.
You must be wondering, why am I taking a stroll instead of being wary when the outside is full of unexpected danger? Honestly, being out here puts me on the edge. Not for the fact that it’s obviously dangerous, but I’ve came to realize that there’s not a single soul regardless of being human or not anywhere! Maybe they went into hibernation because it’s close to winter. That’ll be funny, or strangely true. If it was true, I’ll be spending a long, long time out in the cold until those damned things wake up. As for the people, they are probably in hiding. Humans were like a rarity lately.
It is freezing! Doesn’t help that my surroundings were mostly metal, even the walls felt like ice blocks. I could see my breath becoming visible as I sighed. Maybe it wasn’t so bad if they were hibernating though, I could sneak in and steal a piece of them before they even notice! That’s right, I’ll do just that. I’m starting to sound desperate, aren’t I? Anything to get out of the cold, and return to the lab for some hot tea. I seriously hate the cold. Now, where do mutants sleep?
I would try the sewers again, but maybe when I’m out of ideas. That place gave bad memories still. I found myself lost under the highway after some aimless wandering. It was slightly foggy and the lights gave everything a sad look. How should I describe it? Like time stood still. Not just in this tunnel, but outside as well. Everything seems so cold and gloomy. Around me were sleeping bags that had been left behind, or its owners had been hauled away from the looks of the mess. I could hear shuffling among the fog but I’m not quite sure.
Advancing closer to the end of the tunnel, a gunshot suddenly went off and had gone through my armless sleeve. It startled me at first, causing me to look around in a slight panic. I couldn’t see anything and could only continue moving forward. Then there was the echo of a gun being loaded in a hurry. Before I knew it, another gunshot went off and I felt a tightening sharp sensation around my chest. The last thing I heard was a low scream and everything blanked out.
-
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
So...this person who shoot Shou is one of the new characters? :dunno: Who could be?
Shou has a bad luck with humans... if they don't want to experiment with her they want to kill her :on lol:
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Chapter 11 –Departure
We got back to the lab safely in one piece after much searching. Well, almost. Never knew Reina could be a back-seat driver. The scientists were delighted to see us when we entered the room, or rather, they were more excited about what we’ve found. I tossed the briefcase towards them and dragged a limping Reina with me to the corner, demanding at least a first aid kit from the others before they got crazy with the papers.
Yeah, scientists have that rep where they get so into their research that they sometimes ignore or forget the human factor/involvement.
I took the chance to properly patch up Reina’s leg. It was an ugly sight to see by now, and the gash was still pretty deep. The bleeding might have stopped hours ago but it’s not good to have raw flesh exposed for too long, I know that at least. But I have a first aid kit now; the wound should be a little easier to deal with.
With luck, no infection has set in yet.
Junjun’s voice burst out from the other side of the room.
“This won’t do!! It’s not enough!”
Are they sure they looked through everything? Maybe what they want is encrypted.
At any rate, Shou's not a scientist. A lot of the data that they'll need will be in the form of formulas and statistics and figures that Shou can't be expected to comprehend. As scientists, they should have known better and given Shou and Reina an idea of what they needed. Key words, or descriptions of what the files would contain or something like that.
“Should’ve told us what you wanted.”
“I thought you’d be smart enough to figure it out. Think mad scientist, you know?”
Reina nodded in an ‘I told you so’ way. I glared at her but she played innocent.
“What do you suppose we do now? We’re in no condition to go back
Reina = :mon geek:
Shou = :mon annoy:
Junjun & Linlin = :mon unsure:
“Until then, you’ll have to stay here and be our lab mice.”
If it could, my jaw would’ve fallen off right then. How can she say that with the brightest smile I’ve seen in my life?
Linlin = :hee:
Shou = :stunned:
Unfortunately for Shou, Junjun and Linlin see her as just one of the test subjects, and not as a person. It colours the way that they see her, and thus the way that they talk to her.
“What are you girls going to do to me?”
“Run tests, observe you, harmless things like that.”
For now. If Shou starts to show signs of transforming though, they'll probably have to take some more severe measures.
“That’s all we can do now until we have further information. Please stay. You’re our only hope in discovering anything new now. Besides, you do want to revert back to a true human again, right?”
I shifted my gaze to the floor, they’ve hit the nail right on my head. It’s no doubt that I’d be likely to try anything to become a real human rather than this ugly hybrid thing.
It would be nice if they could indeed cure her. That would mean that she wouldn't have to sacrifice her life. And if they find a cure that can be administered on a widespread scale, it would give hope of helping all the others who have already changed, including Ryota.
All was settled and I spent the next few weeks being observed by them. Occasionally they would send us out to pick up groceries, scout the area or do something incredibly dangerous like retrieve skin samples from the monsters themselves. I don’t even want to mention how we managed to achieve that.
Eh? :?
This dragged on for half a year and yet there was still little progress. The two geniuses were unable to contact their hacker and the protected files had been left unopened until now.
Makes you wonder if the hacker still even alive? He/she might have gotten caught by authorities and thrown in prison.
Needless to say, life went on as normal as it could get until one fine day.
“I’m leaving.”
...
“It’s a waste of my time staying here.”
“Took you long enough to realize, but where can you go?”
“My injuries are healed, so I want to find a way out of this accursed city.”
I wonder if Reina might have started to feel like she was getting close to Shou. There's no rule after all, that says you have to overtly like someone to get emotionally attached to them. If that's the case, she could be leaving to spare herself the pain of seeing Shou transform (even though it hasn't happened yet).
Regardless, a way out would probably be nice, as they're likely to be in need of a replenishing of their food supplies and what not.
Two MM girls would appear in the next few chapters, one replacing Reina and another to stay behind as the hacker
It's going to be interesting to see how the two new girls explain where the hell they've been all this time and how they've managed to survive with all the creatures running around.
Chapter 12
The months following Reina’s departure were painfully boring. No one left to practice my arguing skills on; no more poking fun of people, and everything’s just so different.
It's strange (in a good way) that Shou still hasn't transformed. Previous chapters had shown that most of the creatures transformed all within the same basic time frame, and yet here's Shou, several months after initially being "killed", and she's still herself. Did the pandas manage to find a way to slow down/delay the transformation? Is there some sort of trigger that Shou just hasn't experienced yet?
Sure it was fun with the other two, but it sort of died when they managed to contact whomever their hacker friend was.
Ok, now what? Is the hacker coming over? Is the data going to be transmitted to him/her to try and hack? How's that supposed to work?
Maybe they went into hibernation because it’s close to winter.
That would be an interesting twist if it was discovered that the creatures hibernate in the winter. At the very least, it would make collecting skin and bio-samples from them a lot easier.
Advancing closer to the end of the tunnel, a gunshot suddenly went off and had gone through my armless sleeve. It startled me at first, causing me to look around in a slight panic. I couldn’t see anything and could only continue moving forward. Then there was the echo of a gun being loaded in a hurry. Before I knew it, another gunshot went off and I felt a tightening sharp sensation around my chest. The last thing I heard was a low scream and everything blanked out.
Shou must have looked a lot bigger while she's wearing that boiler suit. Whoever shot her must have mistaken her for one of the creatures. :o
-
There's probably still quite a lot of untransformed kids around, it is possible that there are those who might transform even later than Shou. =O
Hmm, I should give a h!p girl the same role as Shou, just luckier. :yep:
There's one very short and extremely tiny clue as to who shot the poor kid ;)
-
I think I saw the clue.
low scream
I put my bet on Aichan. XD
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:lol:
hoho... Here, have a cupcake~
I should stop doing my chapters at 3am in the morning -__- *wanders away*
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^ It's all good. :wahaha:
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Omg, going on a hiatus because I can ;D
Lol, truth is, as much as I'd love to put up the next chapter in time for Aichan's birthday~ I've been obsessed with doing H!P covers on the guitar/piano to actually write anything anymore >_>
So.. yeah... My bad. I'll try to make the next update a better one. :)
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If you need a bit of a break go for it dude. Sometimes a writer needs a bit of time to recharge the creative batteries. :) It's all good.
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I need quality time with my psp :D
and I'm a girl ;_; but meh
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^ Oops. :P
-
Gaaah. headache.
Thought I'd get it over and done with before I completely forget the plot. Probably a WTF chapter with the randomness x__X
Chapter 13
“Holy… It’s human!”
I know I heard someone say that. Perhaps being attacked at a vital point only renders me semi-conscious because I was more or less still aware of my surroundings. I’m quite sure the shooter didn’t miss; it was a sloppy shot but incredibly accurate. A pinching feeling started in my chest, also a little like being pricked by a bunch of needles. Either way, it felt strangely nice. OR I’m starting to become masochistic. Damn, God help me if that was true. I think I’m healing anyway. It’s different from my severed arm healing though. The skin around my bullet wound was actually closing up compared to just stopping with the bleeding. I lay still while my assailant prodded me with her foot.
This person was oddly quiet. I kept my breathing steady, as uncomfortable as it is. Hopefully she’ll lose all curiosity in this here ‘corpse’ and move along with her life. That’ll be great, wouldn’t it? Then I won’t have to explain why I rose from the dead to an armed stranger. She’ll probably shoot me again thinking I’m a zombie, who knows? Just as I was praying for this female person to leave me alone, I felt two fingers somewhere under my jaw.
Well, my cover’s busted. She definitely felt a pulse on me seeing as she pulled her hand away immediately after. I sense the fabric of my outfit shift. I don’t suppose she’s going to check my bullet wound, is she? Eh?! She is! Oh no she don’t. If I allowed her to inspect me, I might be dissected next for all I know. I quickly turned over before she even knew it. I heard that same deep scream and a loud crash. For someone I thought who could hold her cool well in front of a dead body, she sure had one heck of a reaction.
Back facing the woman, I looked under the stained part of my suit and saw an ugly scar where a hole should be. It didn’t take long to heal, being a small injury after all. I turned back to the person who had fallen into a pile of discarded belongings. She seemed young. More mature than me but looks can be deceiving. She wore a soldier’s outfit and was sort of rugged. There’s a higher chance of her being a real soldier rather than a cosplayer. In that case, I had better keep a low profile. Linlin did tell me not to let too many people know about my situation, least they decide to mess up the research and what not.
“Uhmm, I’m sorry!”
I shuffled to my feet and apologized for startling her before attempting to flee before she could do anything else. Then I heard the click of a gun and froze on instinct. How I hate déjà vu, and with a passion too. I bet she’s thinking that I’m an undead or something. I could run now, risk being shot and let myself heal again… but then I’d just pass out for all I know if she did fire, then she’ll pummel me with bullets until I’m really dead… and… I should stop with the wild imaginations.
“Why are you alive?”
“Eh?”
I spun around to face her without thinking. She was sitting still in the pile of junk while aiming her pistol at me, her arm jerking at my sudden turn. My legs involuntarily moved back.
“You’re not supposed to be alive!”
She looked at me, her face more or less drained of blood. And the tone she used, it was enough to tell me that she was cautious, and afraid under that entire demanding exterior.
“Look, just let me go. I’m not going to hurt you or anyone else.”
“How can I believe you? You took a bullet but now you’re moving about like it never happened?”
“Miracles, haven’t you heard? ”
“Yeah, right.”
“Won’t do you any good keeping me here so please just … pretend it never happened?”
I really don’t want to go any deeper with this. I might just let my identity slip and bring myself more trouble. WHY must this woman be so stubborn?! Damnit. I need a distraction. She seems to have gotten a little confidence back when she realized I’m not a source of immediate danger.
“I can’t. It’s my duty to rid the city of potential danger. And YOU are exactly that.”
“What are you talking about? I’m perfectly harmless. I don’t even have a weapon with me.”
“Being able to survive a shot to the heart is suspicious enough. You could very well be those ‘things’.”
She ignored me and stood up, advancing towards me. Being suspected was about as bad as being exposed. I started to laugh nervously.
”Nonsense! I’m a hundred percent-“
Next thing I knew, I got a sharp blow to my head and passed out again. Not only was she stubborn, she sure was violent. Some time had passed when I came to. I don’t think I am at the same place as before anymore. The air felt musty, and all I saw around me was streams of light from the windows. I tried to reach for the bump on my head but was surprised that a rope had been tied around my body, locking my arm in place as well. I groaned in frustration and struggled, falling to my side in the process. Completely random, but I rolled about until I finally gave in to my predicament. 5 minutes into lying on the floor and light suddenly flooded into the room as the woman came in holding some... grocery bags?
“Oh, you’re awake.”
She smiled at me and laid the bags on the table.
“Why’d you knock me out?”
I looked up at her, and everything was upside down.
“Only way to keep you from running away.”
“But I told you! I’m harmless!!”
Maybe not completely harmless since I doubt myself, but still. I started rolling again, trying to sit up.
“Not buying that.”
“Damn, you take your ‘duty’ too seriously.”
She shrugged and knelt down on one knee by my side, observing me. She was especially curious with my missing limb, poking at my shoulder without a reason.
“It’s my job as a soldier regardless of circumstances.”
“But the city’s already hopeless, what’s the point?”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
I shook my head. I think she’s the one that is completely oblivious of what’s exactly going on. I give up trying to open up her eyes to facts. Deciding that I shouldn’t be too serious with her to prevent myself from leaking any information that an outsider shouldn’t know, I changed the subject.
“Could you release me?”
“No.”
I frowned and pouted until I laid eyes on the bags she brought in earlier. I wonder what’s in it. I changed the topic, again.
“You went grocery shopping?”
“Sort of. Just took whatever I could find at the abandoned market.”
Ah, just like what Reina and I used to do whenever the scientists told us to gather food. Speaking of food, I’m a little thirsty.
“Oh. Are you ever going to let me go?”
“Over my dead body.”
“Do you at least have chocolate milk?”
“What?”
“Milk.”
“You’re strange. I don’t have any.”
“Sucks. Could I know your name then, Miss Soldier?”
She gave me an odd look. I suppose I went a little too much on the subject changing and my way of speaking. But if I could convince her that I’m just a brainless teenager, she might release me. Although, I don't know what she’s thinking or just how clever a soldier can be. I’m afraid that she had already figured out what I’m trying to do from the beginning!
“Takahashi Ai.”
“Well then… Uhh…”
I find it somewhat strange to speak her name, and the word itself refuses to roll off my tongue. Probably something to do with my native tongue. Until I figure out what to address her by without feeling awkward, I'll just be ambiguous or something.
“Uhh… got any food?”
She gave me that WTF look again and stood up to look through the bags. This is going to be a long day.
-----
Funny, I tend to have trouble saying Aichan's name without the -chan >_>;;
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Yay Aichan. <3
Lol don't worry, I had that problem too, but I overcame it. XD Good job. Looking forward to their interaction. :D
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“Holy… It’s human!”
Heh heh heh...(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c340/J-F-C/oops.gif)
I think I’m healing anyway. It’s different from my severed arm healing though. The skin around my bullet wound was actually closing up compared to just stopping with the bleeding.
That ability was probably built into their genetic code as part of the enhanced abilities the scientists would have wanted them to have. At any rate, it's going to be tough for Shou to explain why she's not dead, though it'll be interesting interesting to see how she'll do it. :P
She wore a soldier’s outfit and was sort of rugged. There’s a higher chance of her being a real soldier rather than a cosplayer.
If she's a real soldier, then where is her platoon? If she's out on her own, either the others are all dead for some reason, or she's gone AWOL.
In that case, I had better keep a low profile. Linlin did tell me not to let too many people know about my situation, least they decide to mess up the research and what not.
That's probably true that that would happen, especially if Shou's dealing with a real soldier here. Military training would likely dictate that what has to be done is to destroy anything and everything (i.e. notes/data/equipment) that could possibly lead to the experiment being recreated in the future. Then, in this case, they'd have to make sure all of the mutants were destroys, and they'd likely imprison, if not execute Junjun and Linlin if they refused to cooperate.
I bet she’s thinking that I’m an undead or something.
KR Blade. :lol:
“You’re not supposed to be alive!”
She looked at me, her face more or less drained of blood. And the tone she used, it was enough to tell me that she was cautious, and afraid under that entire demanding exterior.
...
“Won’t do you any good keeping me here so please just … pretend it never happened?”
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...that's not likely gonna happen. This isn't exactly something that can be ignored.
“I can’t. It’s my duty to rid the city of potential danger. And YOU are exactly that.”
“What are you talking about? I’m perfectly harmless. I don’t even have a weapon with me.”
“Being able to survive a shot to the heart is suspicious enough. You could very well be those ‘things’.”
That WOULD be the first instinctual conclusion to draw. Regular humans don't just come back after having been shot in the chest like that. If this person is a soldier (as it would appear to be seeing as how she mentions her "duty"), she would have been briefed on the abilities of the mutants that they wanted destroyed. She would have been told that the mutants would be resistant to gunfire.
Next thing I knew, I got a sharp blow to my head and passed out again. Not only was she stubborn, she sure was violent. Some time had passed when I came to. I don’t think I am at the same place as before anymore. The air felt musty, and all I saw around me was streams of light from the windows. I tried to reach for the bump on my head but was surprised that a rope had been tied around my body, locking my arm in place as well.
A precautionary measure, no doubt. Until Ms. Soldier can figure out if Shou is an immediate threat or not, she needs to be secured to keep her from possibly attacking her, or running away. Our soldier is looking for answers, so it won't do any good if Shou kills her or escapes.
5 minutes into lying on the floor and light suddenly flooded into the room as the woman came in holding some... grocery bags?
Hmmm...obviously Ms. Soldier didn't feel all that safe where she and Shou first met. After tying her up she undoubtedly took her inside one of the buildings where they'd be less likely to be spotted by other mutants/creatures and thus (hopefully) be a bit safer.
Still though, where are the other soldiers? It's not good military strategy for them to be off completely on their own when in a hostile situation like this. Unless they're under orders to maintain complete radio silence, Ms. Soldier here should be trying to contact her platoon-mates and/or command centre to let them know that she's alive (assuming that she hasn't done so already). There's got to be some rendezvous point at which they're all supposed to meet up. Shou would prove to be an interesting prisoner to bring back.
The grocery bags sort of hint that perhaps this soldier really IS on her own, and for some reason is stuck in the city. Perhaps the others are all dead, or they already withdrew and she just missed the ride.
“Damn, you take your ‘duty’ too seriously.”
She shrugged and knelt down on one knee by my side, observing me. She was especially curious with my missing limb, poking at my shoulder without a reason.
“It’s my job as a soldier regardless of circumstances.”
“But the city’s already hopeless, what’s the point?”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
She sounds like one of those "by the book" soldiers. While that can be a good thing in that it ensures that the soldier knows what is allowed/disallowed as well as what should/shouldn't be done, it also can be a handicap if the soldier relies too much on it. Soldiers need to follow the rules, but they also have to be able to improvise and take the initiative at times. Military protocol tries to cover as much as it can, but it inevitably isn't designed to handle every single possible situation out there.
Could I know your name then, Miss Soldier?”
...
“Takahashi Ai.”
Now while everyone had already known that...still gotta say...YAY IT'S AICHAN! :k-thrilled:
“Uhh… got any food?”
She gave me that WTF look again and stood up to look through the bags. This is going to be a long day.
No, the grocery bags are full of guns and ammo. :roll: [/sarcasm]
Shou = :mon duh:
Aichan = :mon suspect:
Funny, I tend to have trouble saying Aichan's name without the -chan >_>;;
Yeah, somehow it just doesn't sound...right without it, ne? :hee:
-
I suppose some soldiers got left behind during evacuation. Shit happens XD
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=o 1000pageviews already? XD
Decided to quicken the pace of the fic. Lots of new characters coming soon.
Chapter 14
I’m still tied up and SOMEONE refuses to free my arm so I could feed myself, and she wouldn’t do me the favor of putting food in my mouth either. She’s either doing it on purpose, or seriously unaware of my situation. I sat upright against the wall, staring at the lunchbox that had gone cold. She had been ignoring my cries of hunger all along, probably thinking that I’m picky.
“I’ve yet to catch your name.”
Ai asked me as she turned around on a stool while munching on a biscuit stick. I bit on my upper lip and stared at the biscuit longingly until it was finally gone. Seeing that I won’t be getting any food for quite awhile, I went back to glaring at the lunchbox, hoping that I will develop some sort of psychokinesis during the process.
“Well? I’m waiting.”
“I’ll tell you if you let me go~”
“How many times must I-?“
“Or at least feed me! I’m too hungry to talk and, no arms.”
“What the- Oooh… Oh fine.“
She was nice enough to finally realized it. I huffed at her, and waited for my meal. Ai sat down in front of me and opened the lunchbox. She shoved the spoon of rice into my mouth and placed the box down.
“Okay, I fed you. Name?”
I choked a little, a string of curses running through my mind.
”Are all soldiers scary like that?”
“…” She glared at me.
“Okay, okay. My name is Shou, don’t hurt me.”
I still am intimidated easily. She nodded and smiled at me before taking another spoonful of rice and holding it in front of me. I looked at her suspiciously until she pushed the spoon closer with no intention of violence, then I dared to accept it. I finish the meal without too much of a hassle. She’s good with this interrogating thing, if one can consider it that (probably just me though, as always). I wonder what her position was in the military.
“By the way, where are we and is this place safe?”
I really am into this whole safety first thing ever since the first time I realized no where's...well, safe. I looked around and asked just as she was about to clean up the place. She stopped to think.
“It <i>is</i>… relatively safe. Hmm…”
She dropped what she’s been doing abruptly and headed for the barred window, tiptoeing to take a peek outside.
“Relatively?”
“Prison cell. These walls are made of titanium but…”
“But?” She appeared a little distracted.
“I’m not sure how well they stand against Shinra’s children though."
“Shinra’s children?”
I had a hunch about what she meant, but I’m not quite sure.
“Some inside information I’ve been told about, but basically, the mutations I’m sure you’ve seen.”
I did a silent ‘ohhh’, but still confused with what she had just said. Perhaps she knows more about the whole story than I thought. She could be useful to us if she wasn’t so… so… hell, I don’t even know how to start describing her.
“Who’s this Shinra person, thing, whatever?”
“The man who-“
There was a sudden loud crash from the outside, and screams followed by an explosion that came through the other side of the room. Guess titanium can’t withstand today’s explosive power after all. We both started coughing at the smoke, our eyes straining to see through the smokescreen.
“Ah! Shit.”
I growled when I saw a few huge silhouettes behind the smoke and smaller ones being held up above the ground. I’ve grown all too familiar to that figure. Taking action immediately, Ai pulled me up to my feet by a stray end of the rope and out through the steel door.
“Let me run myself!”
“Run now, talk later.”
She yelled back and tugged at the rope harder. Damnit, she’s a fast runner. I tripped over my own feet a few times. As we got out of the building, a man ran towards us and grabbed Ai by the shoulders. He looked distraught. Just where are all this people coming from?! Everything was happening too fast. The man shocked Ai, surprisingly, and she ended up stunned on the spot.
“You’re a soldier! Help me! They’re coming!”
The man yelled in our faces, but neither of us had the chance to say anything else when he got swiped away by a blurred figure. This is no good; these ‘children’ of a psycho named Shinra are raiding the entire area. People, actual people are running about in a panic. It’s only a matter of time that they’re done with their prey and begin searching for a new one. I’m only glad that they are single-minded after mutating. I rushed up to Ai and snapped her out of her daze with a hard shove on the back using my shoulder. Her body jerked from the surprise and she looked at me, confused. She then glanced behind me and gasped, apparently people were being attacked mercilessly, no matter where they ran.
“They must have gotten into the refugee shelter…”
That explains a lot. Didn’t know shelters had been specially set up. We had to start moving again. Needless to say, much would be lost if they caught us.
“No time to care for them anymore. Run, now!”
I repeated the same two words she gave me and grabbed her by the hand with my own despite being restricted. It was harder than I thought, pulling someone along with little space between us. I nearly lost balance during the run.
“W-where are we running to?”
Haven’t thought of that. We got to the same tunnel where we first ‘met’. The only safe place I can think of now is… home, the lab! I don’t care if Linlin’s going to drain me empty for coming back without mutant skin, I’m returning whether she likes it or not. Besides, bringing Ai back might prove to be more useful than some stupid skin. I fully depended on what little memory I had to find our way back to the lab, taking any and every route that appeared familiar.
I only started slowing down when the area started feeling friendly again, or as friendly as it could ever be at least. Already knowing my way around this part of the city beforehand, I led us back to the lab using a much safer detour. It took awhile, but the same old run down building came to view eventually.
-
I’m still tied up and SOMEONE refuses to free my arm so I could feed myself, and she wouldn’t do me the favor of putting food in my mouth either. She’s either doing it on purpose, or seriously unaware of my situation.
Okaaaaaaaaaaaay...just how exactly does Aichan expect Shou to eat, or is this some type of military technique to get Shou to talk? :mon huh:
“I’ve yet to catch your name.”
...
“Or at least feed me! I’m too hungry to talk and, no arms.”
...
“…” She glared at me.
“Okay, okay. My name is Shou, don’t hurt me.”
I still am intimidated easily. She nodded and smiled at me before taking another spoonful of rice and holding it in front of me. I looked at her suspiciously until she pushed the spoon closer with no intention of violence, then I dared to accept it.
Okay, if Aichan didn't intend to do that food this as a military tactic, she quickly realized that she could take advantage of it.
“By the way, where are we and is this place safe?”
...
“Prison cell. These walls are made of titanium
A prison cell? Hmmm...well they ARE designed to be secure. But prisons are meant to keep people inside and prevent them from breaking out. No one ever said anything about them being able to stop people from breaking IN.
“I’m not sure how well they stand against Shinra’s children though."
“Shinra’s children?”
I had a hunch about what she meant, but I’m not quite sure.
“Some inside information I’ve been told about, but basically, the mutations I’m sure you’ve seen.”
Shinra must be the name of the original project or the scientist who dreamt them up. Strange that Aichan, as a military person, would be referring to them that way.
here was a sudden loud crash from the outside, and screams followed by an explosion that came through the other side of the room.
...
I growled when I saw a few huge silhouettes behind the smoke and smaller ones being held up above the ground. I’ve grown all too familiar to that figure. Taking action immediately, Ai pulled me up to my feet by a stray end of the rope and out through the steel door.
Yep. Keeping people OUT wasn't exactly part of the original design plan. Plus the mutants are a LOT stronger physically than your typical human.
As we got out of the building, a man ran towards us and grabbed Ai by the shoulders. He looked distraught. Just where are all this people coming from?! Everything was happening too fast. The man shocked Ai, surprisingly, and she ended up stunned on the spot.
Hmmm...he might be one of the other soldiers that came with Aichan. By the sounds of it, he (and any other soldiers he may be with) are in a bit of a pinch, to put it mildly. He and the others must have been heavily pursued and/or attacked by lots of mutants, so much so that he's mistaken Aichan as one of them.
I rushed up to Ai and snapped her out of her daze with a hard shove on the back using my shoulder. Her body jerked from the surprise and she looked at me, confused. She then glanced behind me and gasped, apparently people were being attacked mercilessly, no matter where they ran.
“They must have gotten into the refugee shelter…”
That explains a lot. Didn’t know shelters had been specially set up.
...
“No time to care for them anymore. Run, now!”
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...so that must be where the other soldiers were.
We got to the same tunnel where we first ‘met’. The only safe place I can think of now is… home, the lab! I don’t care if Linlin’s going to drain me empty for coming back without mutant skin, I’m returning whether she likes it or not. Besides, bringing Ai back might prove to be more useful than some stupid skin. I fully depended on what little memory I had to find our way back to the lab, taking any and every route that appeared familiar.
It's going to be interesting to see how the scientists react to the soldier, and vice versa. The two sides are notorious for not seeing eye-to-eye on many things, particularly in how to deal with unknown situations.
Even more interesting is that even though the lab is the place where Shou's been poked and prodded and basically has been treated like a lab rat...she thinks of it as "home". :O
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Chapter 15
“Why the hell did you bring a <i>soldier</i> back?”
Linlin pulled me to the side not long after I had stepped into the laboratory. Junjun on the other hand, she took it upon herself to keep an eye on Takahashi. Those two appears to be having a showdown. The taller of the two watched the other like a hawk, while the other glared back suspiciously. One wrong move and the building may very well blow up. Sometimes I wonder if Junjun’s stoic, but seeing how she flared up last year when we first met, I take back my words. I ignored them for now and turned my attention back to the younger scientist.
“What? No 'Welcome back, we missed you?' and what's wrong with the soldier?”
“Everything! She’s going to nuke us with her military powers! To refresh your memory, we aren’t exactly authorized!”
“Powers…? What the hell. But she might be useful, she knows stuff.”
“So? She’s still go- wait, stuff? What stuff?”
“Everything <i>you</i> want to know. Mentioned something about those uglies belonging to some guy called Shinra.”
“Hmm.”
Linlin shoved me aside and joined her partner in observing our guest. She’s not being all that tactful when the next thing she did was point a finger at Ai and yelling. I detect a minor case of ADD.
“Tell me everything you know!”
Too bad for her, Ai had already zoned out from reality. I’m starting to conclude that after a certain period of time of not interacting with the woman, it causes her to switch off completely. Interesting. I slapped my forehead and moved to drag an excited Linlin away to a corner.
“What are you doing?”
“You said she knew what we want!”
“Being straightforward with her is not the way! It’s probably all confidential, and she will probably really nuke us, like you said, if she knew what we had been doing.”
“Oh, when did you become smart?”
“…”
I suppressed the urge to pop a vein and flicked my finger against her forehead before walking back to Ai. It’s becoming old to keep making fun of my brain. Before Linlin could start her whining, I had already led us out of the lab and into another room. Lucky for us, there’s Junjun to save the day. I heard her successfully persuading her partner into going back to their current research and something about someone arriving in awhile.
In the new room, I sat down on a stool and offered a chair to Ai. I’m surprised that she’s been quiet all this while instead of trying to restrain me. Maybe because she knew that this isn’t her territory anymore. At least she’s cooperative, to an extent.
“So… where were we?”
“Something about your intelligence?”
“You heard?! Argh! Whatever, I think you were about to tell me about Shinra?”
“ I don’t know. It’s confidential. Why would you want to know anyway?”
“Uh, I’m curious?”
“Or perhaps, you’re intending to continue in his footsteps? Hmm?”
“What? That’s crazy talk!"
“It’s completely logical. You are his child after all, in a figurative sense. And who wouldn’t want the abilities that he had hoped to grant the people? You’d be a god if you accomplished what he failed to finish.”
“Okay… you’ve confused me right there. And I’m not a mutant, nor do I want to be one.”
It’s partially true on the former claim, not denial!
“I’ve ruled out the possibility of you being human. But what if it was possible to remain one AND retain the powers as well? Can you admit that you wouldn’t want it?”
Why and when did SHE become the person in control of this conversation? Is she playing with my mind? Because I’m quite sure there’s some doubt growing in me now. What if… no… I don’t want to suspect that that is what they’ve doing all along. I don’t want to plant the idea of being deceived into my head right now, not when I’m feeling secured, not when I’ve found a place to return back to and be able to call it home even if temporary. If I continue asking about the project at the moment, I’ll be digging my own grave.
“Damnit. Can we… you know, change the topic?”
“If you wish.”
“Soldiers should’ve evacuated from the start, why are you still around?”
Her blank, slightly cold expression dropped to something along the lines of being upset, or worried.
“ I’ve been searching for someone. Then again, waiting should be a better word.”
Ai definitely had no thought of holding back on revealing personal plans. It’s tough facing someone unusual like her. One moment she could be saying everything and the next, you’d probably think she’s mute. For once, I’m not even going to discuss this thing called ‘Trust’ with her. I guess we’re even on that part.
“Whom are you searching for?”
“A friend. She told me many things regarding Shinra’s project. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be as clueless as you are. Though it’s only on account of friendship that she mentioned them, since it doesn’t exactly concern me back then.”
“Like, overstressed leading to a whole load of babbling?”
She shrugged. I’m taking that as a yes.
“Then, where did she go?”
“Disappeared. Heard they sent her to the borders, but it’s impossible to survive there.”
“She could be dead for all we know and you’re still waiting for her to return?”
She nodded and I wonder why. Our conversation was interrupted when Linlin barged in.
“She’s here!! You two, lab, now!”
We exchanged glances, then got up to follow the mad scientist back to her self-proclaim sanctuary.
“Shou, meet-“
Oh my god, are those antennas on her head?!
:shock:
-
Hacker Eri!!!
-
“Why the hell did you bring a soldier back?”
...
“What? No 'Welcome back, we missed you?' and what's wrong with the soldier?”
“Everything! She’s going to nuke us with her military powers! To refresh your memory, we aren’t exactly authorized!”
Now while this particular statement might seem a bit over-the-top, it does basically summarize how the military are thought of by many people in the scientific community.
“Powers…? What the hell. But she might be useful, she knows stuff.”
“So? She’s still go- wait, stuff? What stuff?”
“Everything you want to know. Mentioned something about those uglies belonging to some guy called Shinra.”
“Hmm.”
Hmmm indeed. If Aichan really DOES have information about the mutants, it can greatly help in their research.
“Tell me everything you know!”
...
“Being straightforward with her is not the way! It’s probably all confidential, and she will probably really nuke us, like you said, if she knew what we had been doing.”
Because of military protocol, as soon as Aichan finds out what they've been doing in that lab, her training will tell her to contact her superiors ASAP in order to report it in. In order to find out what Aichan knows, the three of them are going to have to be really subtle, so as to not arouse her suspicions (though that's not likely going to happen given the mistrust that exists between scientists and the military).
“Oh, when did you become smart?”
“…”
Linlin = :dunno:
Shou = :grr:
Junjun = :mon suspect:
Aichan = :mon duh:
Before Linlin could start her whining, I had already led us out of the lab and into another room. Lucky for us, there’s Junjun to save the day. I heard her successfully persuading her partner into going back to their current research and something about someone arriving in awhile.
A visitor? Is it the hacker? :?
you’re intending to continue in his footsteps? Hmm?”
“What? That’s crazy talk!"
“It’s completely logical. You are his child after all, in a figurative sense. And who wouldn’t want the abilities that he had hoped to grant the people? You’d be a god if you accomplished what he failed to finish.”
Thinking like a military person, this conclusion does make sense. Right now they're in the process of trying to eliminate all evidence of Shinra's work, and as such there whould be no other reason why anyone would want to continue studying/researching it.
“Soldiers should’ve evacuated from the start, why are you still around?”
Her blank, slightly cold expression dropped to something along the lines of being upset, or worried.
“ I’ve been searching for someone. Then again, waiting should be a better word.”
So then Aichan's not really here under military orders. She's gone AWOL. :O
“Whom are you searching for?”
“A friend. She told me many things regarding Shinra’s project. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be as clueless as you are. Though it’s only on account of friendship that she mentioned them, since it doesn’t exactly concern me back then.”
Was this friend of hers a scientist that was actually involved in the project in some way? If so, why is Aichan waiting for her? Were they supposed to rendezvous somewhere?
“Then, where did she go?”
“Disappeared. Heard they sent her to the borders, but it’s impossible to survive there.”
“She could be dead for all we know and you’re still waiting for her to return?”
She nodded and I wonder why.
This friend (I'm guessing it's Risa) must mean a lot to Aichan. She knows that she's in all likelihood dead, yet she still holds out hope that she'll turn up. Even if they find her and see that she IS dead, at least Aichan will KNOW what happened to her, which is better than not knowing at all.
"She’s here!! You two, lab, now!”
That's nice, but again...WHO IS IT???
“Shou, meet-“
Oh my god, are those antennas on her head?!
WTF??? :mon scare:
Hacker Eri!!!
Erien invasion? :P
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Chapter 15
“Shou, meet-“
Oh my god, are those antennas on her head?!
:shock:
Lol Kame immediately popped into my mind too!
Argh cliffhanger! Keep posting!