1 - 12
Recollection
“You’re not supposed to be out of your room past ten o’clock.”
Dad was always the first to catch me sneaking out of my room. I didn’t like it when he did because he usually grounded me the next morning. When I get grounded, I don’t have anything to do except finish my school work or read the magazines Mom would often get in the mail. If I leave my room while I’m grounded, I get double-grounded and won't be allowed to eat as much as everyone does during supper. My big brother Kasu never gets grounded and I envy him for that, but it’s always me who gets in trouble and never him - It was never fair.
“Honey,” I heard the voice of Mom come from the opposite side of the living room, “Maybe she’s thirsty and wants a glass of water.”
“I don’t care, we specifically told her to stay in her room and she just doesn’t listen!”
“She’s fifteen now, Sato,” she said, “We can’t keep treating her like a baby and locking her up every night. It’s just not good for a girl her age. She needs to be free, and leave the tower, and actually make friends for once!”
“Don’t tell me how to raise our child, woman! I’m the man of the house, so I get the final word, alright!?”
Dad was always intimidating when he yelled at us, but he never yelled at Kasu because of how much he was favored within the family.
“Get your ass in your room. Now.”
“But I-” I attempted to complain, but he had cut me off with a hard stomp of his shoe against the floorboards.
“No ‘buts!’ I said ‘in your room,’ ASAP!”
“Sato, calm down!” Mom’s voice got louder, “She’s not doing anything wrong!”
“I'm sick of having to deal with this little shit every day! She’s the one who got me into this Goddamn mess, so why should I even care anymore!?”
“She is your DAUGHTER! You should at least show her the same respect as she shows us! You’re acting like a lunatic!”
Dad turned towards Mom and pointed down at me with his finger.
“THIS is not my daughter, THIS is some pink-blooded FREAK you gave birth to that wont get that goddamn scientist from Central off my back! It’s driving me insane!”
Dad’s face turned back to me as he uttered, “I would have been better off sending the both of you to Central so Kasu and I can run this business without worrying about this stupid Flawless bullshit.”
“You only think about yourself, Sato!” Mom shouted, “You’re a power-hungry, controlling, manipulating piece of shit just like your father!”
Dad stopped talking.
“I love you dearly, but you shout at me and her on a daily basis, try to pawn us off to Doctor Xerxes’ in Central whenever you get a phone call from him, and you treat Kasu like your little toy soldier,” Mom continued, “You told me when you married me that you’d, ‘never choose the business over the family,’ but look at what you’ve been doing since then!”
“Enough,” Dad finally replied, “Let’s just drop this conversation before...”
“Before what, Sato? Before you lose your temper again and march away to your office to ‘cool off?’ Why don’t you be a real man and ‘act for a better tomorrow,’ like your conman father did before he pulled that trigger-”
Dad growled and yelled, “I said, ‘enough!” before he lifted his leg and firmly planted his foot on my chest which knocked me into my room. Mom let out a shriek and Dad slammed my door shut before he left me in my room alone again. I gasped for air and held my chest as I struggled to stand back up. Holding back tears, I hoisted myself up to my bed and curled into a ball while Mom and Dad screamed at each other behind the door. I could barely understand what they were saying, but it didn’t matter to me. I was in pain and all I could do was bear it. I was surprised I didn’t cough something up after the kick.
I layed in my bed for an hour, holding my chest with one hand and biting my nails while my parents continued to argue outside my door. The pain subsided and suddenly so did the shouting. Realizing this, I uncurled from the fetal position and slowly shuffled to the door. I pressed my ear against it again and heard nothing, so I cracked open the door as quietly as I could. Peeking out, I see the silhouettes of Mom and Dad in the kitchen. Mom was laying on the floor with her legs twitching… and Dad had his hands around her neck, strangling the life out of her. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t scream from both the fear and pain in my chest, and couldn't bring myself to even approach the scene. Tears streamed down my face as I hastily grabbed my backpack from the corner of my bed and bolted out of my room to the exit. I nabbed Mom’s key card and unlocked each door I came across as I made my way out of the tower’s main entrance.
No staff gave chase - No one called the police - Nobody saw me run away - Nobody has seen what my father did to Mom - Nobody except for me.
I was now a fugitive - A runaway Flawless.
The next day, I saw my portrait in the various neon ads with the header: MISSING: Sachiko Koikuna - Kueski.
But no picture of my mother.
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[8:30 AM]
I sit up in a panic gasping for air in a sudden rush of adrenaline, my face nearly drenched in a cold sweat. I scan my new room and my eyes lock onto the bathroom door. I swiftly remove the bed’s covers and rush through the door only to stop at the sink. My reflection in the mirror is just as familiar as it always is, except something is wrong. That isn't me anymore. My hair has gotten so much longer - it reaches my waist. Why am I taller? Why do I look older? Has it really been two years? And why is my head hurting so much?
The machine worked. I can remember everything that has happened to me up until now. Tears begin to well up in my eyes as I reflect on my life and the events that lead me to where I am right now.
I remember my name - My bedroom layout - Kasu, my brother - My mom, Gabrielle - Everything I’ve learned in school - The automata housemaid that would babysit me when I was younger - My cousin, Kim and her awesome music - My dad, Sato - My…
My father. I hate my father. I hate him so much for what he did to her - to mom. I hate how he would treat me and her, and how he was so controlling over what we wore, how we walked, what our hairstyle was in public.
“My hair,” I mutter, “I hate my hair. I hate my dad. I hate everything he’s done.”
I place my hand on the edge of the mirror and pull lightly, opening the cupboard behind it. I grasp the scissors in my right hand and close the cupboard, staring at my reflection once more.
“It has to go,” I whisper again, “The last thing that bastard left me has to go.”
I grab a lock of my once beautiful black hair, raise the blades of the scissors to it.
Snip.
I take another handful of hair and cut it off.
Snip.
I repeat this a dozen times until finally stopping. My hair is now drastically shorter than before - about shoulder-length at the front, and mid-length in the back. It’s almost completely covering my face so I cut a little bit more off the left side, and push the rest over to the right so only my right eye is covered. I make a few more cuts to my hair to shape it up a bit, then finally place the scissors in the sink.
“I hope you like the new look of your daughter, Sato,” I mumble to my reflection, “You’re little girl now disowns you as a father.”
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I rub my eyes, yawn, scratch my neck, then leave the bathroom. On the wall next to the bed hangs what looks like one of the black jumpsuits the other agents were wearing when I met them. There’s a plastic note stuck to it that reads, “Welcome to the organization, Nine.” I notice a desk with a computer monitor to my left, so I take a seat in front of it and turn it on out of curiosity.
The desktop is pretty much void of anything really noticeable except for a folder titled, ‘Agent dossier,’ that catches my attention. Using my finger, I tap on the screen and open the folder. Inside are the alphabetized profiles of every Umbra agent to date including criminal records, history of education, medical history, family relations, favorite color, etcetera:
-->R. Ubura - AKA: Chief
-->V. Atma - AKA: Echo
-->A.Vauva - AKA: Star
-->M. Solis - AKA: Haze
-->Z. Solis - AKA: Flare
-->S. Lafere - AKA: Snow
-->Z. Ochtum - AKA: Dutchess
-->J. West - AKA: Keys
-->B. Hyuwett - AKA: Click
-->S. Koikuna - AKA: Nine
They only have ten members including me? I thought this place would be crawling with other agents, but I guess it’s not. I’m pretty sure I’ve met most of these people last night except Star, Dutchess, and Keys; however, I feel like I’ve heard Dutchess’ real name before. Right now, I can’t think clearly enough to care.
I get up from the desk and turn towards the bodysuit waiting for me on the wall. It looks really small and doesn’t seem like it’ll fit me, though, I remember Mac saying before he left that one size fits all. After undressing and throwing my hospital gown to the floor, I approach the suit and lift it off the wall. The material is incredibly light, and after giving it a few stretches, I notice it’s incredibly elastic. I scan the suit over a few times, searching for a way to put it on. It didn’t take long for me to find a tiny micro-zipper on the neck of the suit, so I unzipped and began slipping myself into it. The material clings to my skin as I push my legs in first, then my arms, and finally my fingers. I pull the zipper upwards until it stops at the highest part of my neck, then move around a little to let the suit adjust to my body’s shape. As I move, I feel the suit gradually getting more and more snug around me.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel any warmer than I expected, and to be honest, it’s as if I’m wearing nothing at all - It’s really comfortable too.
My heart skips a beat as a loud knocking is heard coming from the door. I hastily rush over to the computer, turn off the monitor, and close the bathroom door before I shout, “Come in!”
The door opens and tall, silver-haired Snow enters with a smile on her face.
“Hey, Sachiko - er, I mean - Nine,” she greets, “Glad to see you’re finally awake!”
“How long was I out for?” I ask her.
“Oh, about twenty-six hours,” she puts bluntly, “Your bioscan took a while since I had to manually repair the damaged synapses in your brain.”
“M-manually repair?” I repeat.
“Yup! That big machine knocked you out cold so I could get in there with my tools.”
I stare at the medic with a weirded-out look.
“There was a microscopic shard of your skull that lodged itself into your prefrontal cortex,” she continues, “That was the reason your memory was lost.”
I clear my throat and thank Snow sincerely for helping me. She then moves closer and leans forward, hovering over and inspecting me.
“Well, the suit certainly looks good on you,” she says, “And did you cut your hair?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I state firmly.
“Fair enough, but you did a great job on it! I’m loving this new style!”
“Thanks, now can you back off?”
“Sorry, hon!” she pulls away with a giggle then lifts a cylindrical object from her pocket, “Here, you’re going to need this.”
She holds it out to me and I eye it up. It looks like the same wristband Click and the other agents wore when I met them. It must be some kind of communication device. I take the band from Snow’s hand and slide it over my right arm.
“So, what is this?” I ask her plainly as I tighten the band around my wrist, then the middle of my forearm.
“That’s a Universal Vital Regulator, but we just call it the ‘UVR.’ It syncs up with your suit to monitor your vital signs, brainwave patterns, organ functions, and nervous system. It also doubles as a communication device so you can chat with the other agents from anywhere in the city.”
Okay, that’s pretty cool. The tech these guys have is freaking amazing! I wonder if it’s all originally designed.
“Oh, just a warning, though,” Snow blurts out, “You might feel some pain when you first connect it. That’s just the UVR connecting to the cathode in your arm.”
I adjust the UVR so it’s properly in place with the middle of my wrist, then I hesitantly place my index finger and thumb on the sides to activate it. As soon as I do, a sharp pain shoots up my arm, forcing the muscles surrounding the pain to tense up. With my teeth clenched, I let out a pained groan until the stinging subsides. I raise my hand, my fingers twitching from the aftermath, and make a weak fist.
“Ouch,” Snow says, cringing a little, “It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten how bad that must feel.”
“Will I be okay?” I ask her worriedly.
“The soreness will be off and on for a few hours, then your whole arm will go numb for the rest of the day.”
Shoot her an annoyed glare.
“Don’t worry, it goes away the next morning,” she quickly finishes.
“So, I have to deal with this all day?” I ask her then groan, “That’s really gonna suck for me considering it’s, like, my first day.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“You’ll be fine, honey. Just make a fist if it starts hurting again.”
She giggles once again as she heads back to the door, “Oh, just a heads-up, Echo and Dutchess are in the briefing chamber waiting for you, so I suggest you get your bum over there before nine-thirty, okay?”
I nod, still looking at my twitching fingers. Snow leaves my room and shuts the door behind her a little too hard, causing me to flinch. I can already tell my life is going to be much different from here on. I just wonder if I’ll ever get to see my old home - Koikuna Tower. Though, if I were to return, I run the risk of seeing my father again. Only time will tell, I suppose.
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[9:35 AM]
“You’re late,” a deep voice growled, “It’s almost ten o’clock.”
As I enter the briefing chamber, I fix my gaze on Vincent who is leaning against a counter with a freshly-brewed coffee in his left hand. (Judging by the guy’s attitude, he’s not a morning person.) The room is brightly lit and the air is seriously cold. Vincent takes a sip of his beverage and winces - he must’ve already burnt his tongue.
“My bad,” I say, apologizing to the tall man hesitantly.
“Whatever, just don’t be late for group meetings like this again. Nice haircut, by the way.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, holding my arms to my sides, “Thank you, sir.”
“Sir?” Vincent repeats with disgust in his tone, “Just call me, ‘Echo,’ okay? No need for that formal, ‘yes, sir,’ shit.”
“I’m sorry.”
After taking another sip of his coffee, Vincent sighs and moves to the big, circular hologram table in the center of the room. The tall man takes a seat in front of it and reclines in his chair, feet resting on top of the table.
“Dutchess should be here soon,” He says, clearing his throat, “She had to take care of something.”
“But, wouldn’t that make Dutchess more late than me?” I ask dumbly.
“She’s always late, no matter the meeting. I’ve quickly come to accept that.”
I sense a bit of unfairness immediately. Then again, I am the new agent, so they must expect better of me, or something like that.
“Okay,” he starts, “I’ve taken the liberty of going over your file as well as your citizen record. Shall we begin?”
“Yes,” I say firmly.
“Sachiko Koikuna… Seventeen-year-old female of Japanese descent… 157 centimeters tall, and weighing about 48 kilograms… Graduated at age fourteen with perfect scores in all basic school subjects… Crystal clear medical and criminal record,” he pauses then continues, “Blue eyes, white skin, and black hair… No tattoos, piercings, filaments, or mechanical augments on record… No driver’s or pilot’s licenses… And finally, a registered Flawless. Is this correct?”
I give him a hesitant nod in confirmation. He could have left out some of that information, though.
“Well, that takes care of that, I suppose,” he says with a sigh, “Thank you, Nine.”
As if on cue, the door connecting the hall and the briefing chamber slides open, and a tall, purple-haired, tan-skinned girl in her mid-twenties enters the room. I squint my eyes after turning toward the girl, then gasp loudly.
It was her - The same bitch who gave me trouble at Mac’s diner, and the same chick who I watched attempt to shoplift lingerie from Tusk’s.
Zyla.
I stand still as if her vision is based on movement or something dumb like that.
“Sorry, Echo, I had to piss real bad,” Her pompous voice pierces my ears, “So, what’s up?”
Her vision veers to the right until her eyes lock onto me, causing her jaw to drop. Zyla blinks a few times before she finally speaks. Not to me, of course.
“This is the new girl? Mac’s weird-ass little waitress is an agent?? She’s going to be working with... Me???”
“Her name is Sachiko,” Vincent answers her, “Her agent name is ‘Nine,’ and you will address her as such. She is an official Umbra agent as of last night.”
“But how did she find the Cylinder? I know for a fact that old fart, Mac wouldn’t tell a soul about the organization, so it was probably his freak brother.”
“Hey!” I shout to Zyla, getting a little pissed, “Don’t talk about them like that!”
She scoffs at my response and finally acknowledges I’m even in the same room as her, “Piss off, kid. I’m not speaking to you.”
“But you just did,” I retorted with a cocky tone.
She fully turns to me and raises her voice, saying, “I said ‘piss off,’ bitch!”
“Hey!” Vincent quickly shouts, shutting both of us up, “Stop behaving like ill-mannered children and just chill! I suggest you two cool down and start over from the beginning. Shake hands.”
Zyla and I look back at each other angrily. It’s painfully obvious we won't get along in here and both know nothing will go well if we keep up this pointless bitching. At least, that’s what I think.
“Fine,” She says coldly before quickly holding out her skinny arm to me, “I’m Zyla Ochtum. I'm the head of intelligence here.”
Head of intelligence? That’s a stretch.
“Sachiko Koikuna,” I state my name, reintroducing myself and reaching for her hand, “I’m a Flawless.”
As we shook on it, her grip practically crushed my hand, making my whole right arm tense up in pain again.
“Great!” Vincent says with a fake smile, “Now how about you ladies have a seat so we can discuss the matter at hand.”
Zyla and I stare at each other with the same face before giving up and taking our seats at the table with Vincent.
“So, first thing’s first,” He lifts his wrist and pulls something up on his UVR as starts, “We should start by explaining to you what your job will be in the agency, Nine. As agents of the Umbra organization, our main objective is to recover anything that has come into contact with or contains trace amounts of the material, Fluxinite. This substance is violet in color and has a putty or dough-like consistency. Fluxinite is extremely unstable and emits a dangerous wave of radiation at all times. Inorganic matter that has come into contact with Fluxinite, or has been exposed to high frequencies of flux radiation, is considered hazardous material and must be contained by any means necessary.”
“What about organic stuff like people or plants?” I ask him out of turn, “What does Fluxin-whatever do to animals?”
“I was getting to that!” He replies in an irritated manner, “Organic tissue and plant-based matter isn’t safe from the harmful effects of Fluxinite either. Once the human body is exposed to flux radiation for a long period, blood cells begin turning a slight shade of violet and the skin will become blue. This is the first stage of flux corruption. Next is usually followed by a searing pain in the heavily affected parts of the body in the second stage. The third stage involves strange, mushroom-like growths appearing on the corrupted skin. These growths produce spores that can easily be inhaled by the host, rapidly increasing the rate of infection. At the last stage of flux corruption, the nervous system is shut down and the brain is attacked by the infection, killing the host entirely.”
“Woah,” I whisper quietly to myself, interested and mildly distrubed.
Zyla doesn’t seem to care. Then again, she probably already knows about this stuff.
“Now we can move on to the next part of the briefing,” Vincent continues, “You’re aware of the Erado virus, correct?”
“I am,” I say.
“Well, according to multiple sources throughout the city, the first signs of the virus appeared around the same time the first sample of Fluxinite was brought to the surface of the planet. And, about a year later, the first Flawless was born somewhere in Sanctum to the West.”
“Alright, this is taking too long,” Zyla impatiently interrupts, “Basically, Erado, Fluxinite, and Flawless blood are all, like, connected somehow, and Umbra is trying to find out how.”
Vincent inhales and exhales deeply before continuing to speak, “Yes, that’s the gist of it. Thank you, Dutchess.”
“You’re welcome,” She says, “So, can I leave now? I thought this briefing was only for the goblin.”
“Goblin!?” I repeat, but she just ignores me.
She’s really trying hard to get under my skin, but why? I just can’t understand why she dislikes me so much. I didn’t even do anything to provoke her either.
“Dutchess, you’re only here because you’ll accompany Nine on her first mission,” The tall guy states bluntly to her, “If you don’t start showing our new agent respect, I’ll throw your sorry ass into the cafeteria with the Automata staff.”
Zyla’s lips shut tightly upon hearing the punishment. Serves her right.
“Alright, now on to the last bit of our little meeting,” He starts once again, “Your first mission, Nine.”
This is a little exciting! I’m already getting my first mission on my second day as an agent. I hope it’s nothing too hard, though.
Vincent taps a few buttons on the table and a three-dimensional map of the entire Altian cityscape appears in front of us. With a sequence of more button presses, the map zooms in on the Southern district of the city, the one we’re in, Duenba. A red blip appears over a cluster of skyscrapers and blinks a bright orange every second.
“Recon,” He says, “We’ve gotten reports from outside sources stating that a group of drug smugglers frequently make back and forth trips through the border of Kueski and Duenba. The cargo in question is believed to be vials of the drug, Pheromalixia. The vehicle used is an unlicensed, black sports car that makes occasional stops on the skyway next to the recon point.”
“Can’t believe I gotta do this with her,” I heard Zyla mutter quietly to herself, “Could’ve been anyone else, but no, it’s always me.”
I look over at her then back to Vincent who looks like he heard it too.
“Nine,” He says looking back to me, “The only thing you’ll have to do is watch for the car. If it shows up at the predicted spot, take some good pictures of the driver and passengers if you can - We need faces and heights. If the car doesn't show up for whatever reason, then just wait it out until we send a drone to get you ladies back to the ground. Simple, right?”
“I guess so,” I said unsurely, “What’s Dutchess’ job then?”
“She’s just there to make sure you actually do your job. We’ve had new agents flake out on us and run away with Umbra equipment.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“All the time as a matter of fact.”
“Since you said new agents tend to run away during their first mission, why start this buddy system thing now?”
“The previous newbies were grown men and women. You’re still a kid - not to mention you’re a Flawless. We can’t afford to have you bail.”
That makes sense.
“That concludes your orientation and first mission briefing, Nine,” He says, “Make sure you two arrive at the recon point before eight-thirty. You have lots of free time until then, so feel free to explore the Cylinder or something - I don’t care.”
I thank Vincent and give him a slight smile. Zyla, on the other hand, gets out of her chair and immediately leaves the room, muttering something under her breath. She’s obviously upset that she has to go with me on my first mission, but it’s not my fault; though, I can’t help but feel guilty.
I get up from my chair and start walking towards the door before Vince calls for me.
“Don’t leave the facility with your Umbra suit on, Nine,” He says, “The organization is meant to be hidden from the outside world, especially the police. Don’t attract any attention to yourself or your fellow agents when outside, okay?”
I nod quickly, then exit into the hallway of the Cylinder, feeling both excited and anxious for my first mission.
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[10:00 AM]
“How are you feeling, Nine?” Snow’s soft voice comes from nowhere and causes me to jump slightly, “Is your arm still hurting?”
I twist myself around and stare up at the tall, silver-haired woman. She is tilting her head intriguingly with a smile. I carefully raise my right arm and flex it as best as I can just before wincing in pain and letting it drop back down to my waist.
“Still hurts,” I confess to her, “But it’s not as bad as it was this morning.”
“Well, it’s good to hear that it’s feeling a little better,” She says, placing a finger on her chin, “But, usually the new agents experience waves of pain throughout the whole day. Are you sure your arm is feeling better?”
“Yeah, it feels a lot better!” I said to her, “It didn’t hurt at all during the briefing, too.”
“For real?” Snow asks, furrowing her brow before lifting my arm up for a closer look, “No way!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Your arm is healing itself exponentially! Back when I was still a trauma medic in central, I was taught that Flawless blood yields regenerative properties for the entire body, but I never believed it!”
“Hold on,” I stop her, pulling my hand away, “So, what? Am I like, part starfish or something?”
“No, no, no,” She assures with a giggle, “I ran a DNA analysis on you while you were asleep, and no, you’re not a starfish, honey.”
My cheeks turn red from embarrassment for even suggesting something so outlandish. Snow starts backing away before fully turning around and heading down the other end of the hallway.
“Good luck on your first mission, Nine!” She says, waving to me, “Drop by the med bay after you get back, okay?”
“Oh, before you go, Snow,” I say, halting her, “What’s up with Zyla - I mean - Dutchess? Does she have a vendetta against me or something? I hardly said anything to her.”
“She’s like that all the time, honey,” Snow answers with a smile, “Deep down, she cares a lot about everyone, so it might be best if you just get used to the attitude, you know?”
I say nothing else to her, but nod and wave as she disappears around the corner.
Sina is really nice. I’ve never had anyone act so kind around me like that. Well, except my Mom. I could say Sina reminds me of her, but I really shouldn’t. They just behave in the same way, that’s all. I should stop thinking about Mom - I don’t need to get upset today.
I step into the elevator and press the button that takes me up to the lobby. I haven’t had breakfast yet, so I may as well try the food they serve in the cafeteria. The last thing I recall eating was that really gross pizza I got from Galva’s before I came down here. I’ve always disliked pizza because of how greasy and moist it is. What the hell was my amnesiac self thinking? (I’m surprised I didn’t throw up this morning.) The only food I truthfully enjoyed was the chocolate chip pancakes Mac would always make me when I lived with him. Oh well.
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[3:45 PM]
I returned to my dorm after getting some food from the Cylinder’s canteen - a bowl of ramen. For a bunch of crappy synthetic noodles, it was decent. It’s no high-end cuisine from a restaurant by any means, but it satiated my appetite. It wasn’t a big serving either, but I was never the one to eat a lot - Explains why I’m still thin. I lean back in my chair and sigh. I’ve been sitting at my computer for a while now, staring at the screen with the list of every agent still open. Everyone’s name is typed in green except for Johnny West which was black. Clicking on his name, I’m brought to a webpage - an article by the Duenba Obituaries - titled, ‘Johnathan West: In Memoriam:’
“The body of the late Johnathan Albert West was just discovered this morning in the Doah residential district of Northeast Kuwaiti. Police speculate West was confronted by a street gang last night and shot nine times in the chest. It is still unknown to the public whether West provoked the gang or he wandered into their territory. West was found dead on the sidewalk wearing a strange black bodysuit. Police are still investigating the situation.”
The article includes two graphic pictures of the murder scene… I didn’t need to see that. There’s a footnote at the bottom of Johnny’s file that says:
“This is the closest our organization’s secrecy has ever been compromised. Please take note and never wear your Umbra suit outside the cylinder unless on-duty. Thank you for your cooperation and for preserving the agency’s integrity.”
“-Echo”
I close the file, leave my desk, and move around to the side of the bed. Sitting down again, I lay back and relax myself, staring up at the bundle of wires and cords fastened to the ceiling. I rub my eyes and let out a deep sigh. I lift my right hand up and examine the UVR on my forearm. My arm doesn’t hurt anymore, but my hand is still tingling and shaking a lot. It won’t stop even after I make a tight fist. I bring my wrist close to my face and use my other hand to touch the sides of it lightly with my thumb and index finger, activating the UVR’s interface. A holographic screen appears and shows a list of graphs displaying my vitals like heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and radiation levels. I scroll down with my finger until I come across a chart labeled, ‘Neural sync strength,’ which displays: 88%.
“Come on,” I mutter to myself, “Just finish syncing already.”
The tingling is unbearable. It’s like the bones in my hand are being pricked by a tiny cactus or something like that. I hope it ends soon.
I quickly sat up, startled by a sudden knocking at my door. I switch off my UVR and make my way to the other end of the room. I reach for the door but it swings open before I could touch the button. I stumble backwards as Vincent rudely lets himself in. He crosses his arms and clears his throat, looking down at me with a frustrated expression.
“You better start talking, and fast,” he says, “Explain to me why there’s a god damned BOUNTY HUNTER asking if a black-haired teenager came through the plaza!”
“Bounty hunter?” I repeat dumbfoundedly, “What are you talking about?”
“He didn’t give us his name,” he grumbles, “All he said is he works for the police, also he’s carrying some big-ass sword.”
No way - It’s that Horus guy from yesterday! Did he follow me all the way here!?
“Well?” Vincent ushers impatiently, “Are you just going to stand there in silence, or are you going to tell me what he’s doing here!?”
“His name is Horus!” I blurt out quickly, “He’s with the Hunters and I think they’re arresting all the Flawless in the city!”
Vince shouts, “Son of a bitch!” and kicks my empty trash can out of frustration. I take a step back, startled by his reaction.
“We can’t have that guy start an investigation in the plaza or else the organization is done for,” He says, “Stay here in your dorm until things are sorted. You’re too damn valuable to be arrested right now.”
With that, Vincent bolts out of my room, muttering something about a burden under his breath. I close the door and lean against it, letting out a deep sigh. I lift up my right arm and switch on my UVR:
Heart Rate: 197 BPM.
‘That was definitely intense,’ I thought, ‘It felt like I was going to have a panic attack for a second there. I really hope Vincent drives that Horus guy away - I don’t want to get arrested!’
I sigh one last time before I slowly return to my bed and flop back down. There’s not much to do now that I’m stuck here. All I can do is wait patiently.