MIKOTO POV
“Think ---- can run ----- ---- us.”
“Jack ---- ----- silenced, what about ---- ----- of the ------”
“Found ----, Don’t need ---- --------. Made sure -- --------- --- trace ---- Gas explosion.”
“--- ------ them?.”
“--- ----.”
“---.”
My consciousness flickered back and forth as I heard muffled sounds. I could barely stay awake as they carried my body from one place to another. Throughout the whole time, my worry for big sis’s well-being was the only thing preventing me from blacking out completely. I prayed that she would be all right. Please don’t hurt her.
The vehicle finally stopped, and I was transported one last time into a tiny room. On the way, I could hear my big sister calling my name over and over again as she was carried into a separate room. I wanted to tell her that I would be fine, but my mouth and tongue wouldn’t move.
It’s okay, big sis. I’m alright. I just need to sleep for a little bit more. Then we will wake up and celebrate my birthday together with mom and dad. I’m Mikoto Meiling, the district’s number one SpeedGear star after all. Don’t worry, the leader of Lightning Catz will save you. Strawberry cake is waiting for us…
…
I awoke in a narrow, cramped room with a small window high in the ceiling barred with metal mesh. It was the only source of light available for me to tell the time, along with the lunch and dinner they served through a small opening at the bottom of the door.
I tried shouting for my sister but to no avail. I cried myself to sleep that day, wondering what would become of us. Who were these bad guys? What did they want from us? What about mom and dad? Where were they? Were they safe? Why was nobody coming for us?
I even tried speaking to the guy who delivered my food, but I was met with silence. The floor was cold, but the food was even colder. Mom, dad, sis. I don’t know why this happened, but I’m sorry. I won’t play pranks anymore. I won’t stay up late at night. I will even treat that stupid boy better. I will be good from now on. So, please be safe.
A week passed by at a crawl before the door finally opened. The men, dressed in strange coverings, didn’t speak a word as they grabbed my arms and dragged me away from my cell. The whole place smelled of chemicals, some of which I was familiar with. Dad’s coat sometimes smelled like that when he came home.
So, this place was a laboratory? What were they researching?
I got my answer in the worst way possible as I was treated to a front-row seat, looking at my sister strapped inside a capsule. My heart sank. I could feel my mind dreading what these people were planning on doing to my sister.
Our eyes met, and she jerked off the constraint violently. I could hear her muffled shouting from the capsule. She glared at the man standing behind me with an expression that promised murder. It was the first time I ever saw my sister like that. Yet, I dared not turn back to see who the man behind me was.
So cold and unfeeling, I felt sick just being near him. When he put his hands on my shoulders, I wanted to scream so badly. But I shouldn’t make my sister more worried than she already was.
“I know you can hear me. Or read my lips for the better term. A smart kid like you should know why I brought her in here, no?”
Big Sis’s expression darkened as she yanked her bindings more violently, to the point that it began to bruise and cut into her skin. Big sis, don’t hurt yourself, p-please calm down.
I-I needed to calm down too as the man behind me neared his face next to my ear. I could feel my ears twitching and shivering uncontrollably as he began to deliver his speech languidly. The boredom in his tone told me that he had done this countless times before.
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“It’s simple. Survive this, and your cute little sister won’t have to go next. Isn’t that right, little Mikoto?”
My spine straightened up as he licked my ear slowly. Malice. I could feel the thick, pure malice emanating from behind me. I wanted to run to my sister and save her. Tell her that everything is alright now that I’m here. But I was just stuck rooted in place, unable to move even a single finger, trembling like a newborn fawn.
Big Sis’s muffled shouting grew louder as she began to bang her head against the capsule glass.
“Start it. I don’t want her physical condition to deteriorate before we even get a proper reading. These sisters better be the one. I have risked so much, and gotten so close. Any more and the bloody CounterForce will come knocking.”
A moment later, a blinding light emanated from inside the capsule. Big Sis’s figure became a silhouette among the blue light.
Then she screamed.
It was so primal and guttural that I cried then and there, begging for them to stop it. Tears streamed down as I pleaded, threatened, and even went down on my knees, hugging the man’s leg, telling him that I would do anything if he turned the capsule off.
The man looked at me with a cold eye that held disdain. It’s as if we were not living beings in his eyes. He grabbed my cheek and forced me to stand up, then looked back into the capsule.
“YOU HEAR ME, YOU PATHETIC WASTE OF SPACE? I WILL SKIN YOUR LITTLE SISTER ALIVE! I WILL HAVE HER CRY OUT YOUR NAME AS I CUT HER OFF FROM LIMB TO LIMB! I WILL HAVE YOU WATCH THE WHOLE THING AS I STRUNG HER RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR PARENTS’ DEAD COLD BODIES!”
Synchronization at 0.72%
Synchronization at 0.92%
Synchronization at 0.93%
Synchronization at 0.93%
“YOU DONE!? IS THAT WHAT YOUR LIFE AMOUNTS TO?? Tch, bring me a plier.”
The hand grabbing my cheek slackened and a moment later I felt him taking my hand out and ripping my fingernail in one motion. The pain exploded and I screamed. I screamed my sister’s name while choking down on my snot and tears.
Synchronization at 0.94%
Synchronization at 0.95%
Synchronization at 0.95%
Synchronization at 0.7125%
Synchronization at 0.399201%
Synchronization at 0.0277390911%
Synchronization at 0.000128892367920---%
Synchronization at 0.0----%
--------
Subject #128 deceased.
Life support terminated.
I stood there motionless as the surrounding light died down to a silent still until I finally opened my mouth.
“W-what does it mean…?”
“It means, your sister is a piece of……. ARGGGGGG!!”
I dared not look back as the man began stomping around and smashing everything he could get his hand onto. The table, the lamp, the tray, the equipment. All except me were not spared from his anger. I flinched at every banging sound his fists produced. My injured finger went numb from fear and dread.
My sister…..What happened to my sister?
“Fuuuh, get it out. Pile it with the rest. Now.”
He grabbed my cheek again and forced me to face him. I wanted to peer back at the capsule as a couple of men began to tinker with it. Are they taking my sister somewhere?
His grip tightened as he brought my eyesight back onto his face.
“Nuh-uh. Listen to me, listen very carefully. Your sister is in a better place now. You, on the other hand, need to do your best so that you can see your sister again.”
“I-I can see her? Where are you t-taking her?”
“Yes, my dear, yes, you can. Don’t worry, you simply have to survive for her sake. Got it? Good. Now off you go.”
A man came and hoisted me like a sack of potatoes. I couldn’t even retaliate as I felt my body paralyzed at his touch. He tossed me into the capsule and strapped my arms and legs onto the cushioned bed.
“We are down to the last one, huh? Make it quick while the trauma is still fresh on her mind. Also, inject the last stimulant. At this point, even 0.000001% is welcomed.”
My anxiety spiked as the capsule glass lowered, revealing a speck of blood and black matter littering the surface. Then came the injection from the side of my neck, and I felt my pupils dilate instantly. My heart pumped faster, and my lungs drew in more and more oxygen. It felt like running ten consecutive marathons non-stop.
First came the blinding light, and then the pain followed.
I screamed as if my life depended on it, feeling like my entire body was being run over by lava and electrocuted simultaneously. Everything hurt, everything burned, and yet it didn’t stop. My heart pounded with every ounce of power it could muster to prevent me from fainting.
Despite my failing body, my awareness and senses sharpened to an acute level, allowing me to feel every nerve and vein being seared. The muffled voices outside the capsule became clearer and clearer.
Synchronization at 3.25%
Synchronization at 4.59%
Synchronization at 5.62%
“Is… Is this it? Have I done it? Haha… HAHAHAHAA!”
Black spots filled my vision until they engulfed everything in darkness and pain. Throughout this hellish ordeal, the thought of my sister was the only thing keeping me sane. Big sis, where are you? I’m sorry. I want to see you. It hurts. It hurts so much.
Please, answer me. I don’t want to be alone.
A pinprick of light appeared as if it had always been there, gently blinking in the distance. I would do anything to see my sister again and make the pain stop. So, I desperately moved toward the light, as if it were my only salvation.
Somehow, I knew what it was the moment I grabbed it. It was a shard of memory, a memory of something far bigger than me. I couldn’t stop it from swallowing me.
The pain was too much, and I just wanted to see my sister again. I let myself go willingly, hoping that my family was waiting on the other side.
And then, Mikoto Meiling ceased to exist.