2 hours ago in the abandoned city…
Reika and Chiyou’s figure manifests in the corner of their bedroom under the teleportation platform.
“Hnngh, I'm beat… my legs are cramping…” Chiyou immediately plops to the bed buried face.
“Don't lay down, we just ate. I'll massage it if you want.” Reika opened his computer set leaning on the back of his chair.
“Massage me? How daring of you~” Once again teasing Reika who immediately looks at her with furrowed brows.
She burst into laughter with the grumpy face he made. Reika ignored her and opened his tabs, unchecking his calendar schedules before sitting down in his chair.
“So how is it… Loving your day today?” Reika asked as he stared at the ceiling with closed eyes.
Chiyou repositioned and sat on the bed, embracing her legs and resting her face on her knees.
“Yeah… It's amazing Rei… Thank you.” She smiled warmly.
There is just an unexplainable feeling within her for something trivial like this.
It's just the morning sun. The day she always knew existed and stared.
Below her tall prison, she can see those people everyday going about their own life and jobs, yet there is a disconnect, unlike the nightlife. She thinks before that the life people live at night is just as rowdy as the day.
But looking closer for the first time, there is formality, and tame compared to the blaring noise of the people at night.
Even the music and dances have a certain magic to them that she would never know or dare to know if Rei wasn't there.
Thinking back again, Chiyou's heart fluttered.
‘The date on the bridge, in the arcade, in the park… Everything feels… Different today.’ She looks towards Reika who's just rotating his chair mindlessly before going back to his computer. It makes her escape a giggle.
‘From that night we met… from the competition we went and conquered… the championship… my miserable tantrum and now this…’ She bit her lips in contempt for that last image.
‘You show me everything that is beautiful… the beauty of the night and day. I wish things would always be like this.’
She stood up, gathering her courage to reach him.
‘I’m sorry Rei for all the burden I've given to you… I want to know more about the world and know more about you, I'm sorry that it took that long for me.’
Her hands reach the tip of Reika's shoulder.
‘Thank you for everything. Rei.’ She leaned her face on his shoulder and hugged him from behind with trepidation in her heart.
“What is it Chiyou? Need something?” Confused, Rei looks at her enveloping arms.
But she's not even listening, just deeply lost in her mind.
‘Let this moment stay longer…’
“Are you hungry? Or you're thanking me? You don't need to honestly caus…”
Rei kept speaking while still looking at his computer but Chiyou remained still and just seized this moment.
There is this feeling of reliance on him yet also guilt against it. This unavoidable feeling of wanting to stand up on her own to pay back everything he had done for her and yet this comforting warmth that wants to vocalize itself, is only held back by her fear.
It was a long day.
She was able to see his face illuminated by the sun, the feeling of the park, the unbridled enjoyment at the arcade and satisfaction at the park.
Yet this is the one where she hoped time would freeze. The warmth of his back.
Sweat trickled on Reika, her sudden action left him confused about whether she was going to cry again and seek his comfort or she was thanking him while crying.
Just as when he was about to touch her arms, a tremor disturbed their moment.
Both of them were left speechless. What can cause a tremor to shake this deep underground level?
Chiyou immediately removed her hand over this and Rei scrolled his computer but unfortunately…
“All internet services are down! There are no signals… what is happening?”
No matter how Reika tried, there's nothing that pops up on the internet nor receptions at any providers for even a simple message work.
“Rei, I think we need to leave. This is not a simple tremor.” Chiyou's voice is away from her nonchalant attitude. This is a serious matter that they both know is an anomaly especially for a ghost city like this to have that kind of quake.
For a moment, Reika thinks in silence before making an action.
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“I’ll burn everything here Chiyou. I'll give you the other teleportation platform and my private network service so we can still contact each other.”
He instructed Chiyou of their plan by storing one of the teleportation platforms to her gloves and his portable computer set.
“Burn? What do you mean?” Chiyou is confused about what he is planning.
“You go outside immediately, check carefully if there are threats. We need to go as far as we can away from this city. There is a 30-second ping on your location so I know where you are.”
Chiyou recognized the plan. Going far away to activate the teleportation and escape to the Ghost City since she already memorized the map of this place thanks to Reika but she doesn't know why she was the only one going.
“Rei, what are you planning by yourself!?”
“I will burn our traces first. I'll catch up to you with the ping.”
“But the tremor! Wouldn't it be better if we do it both?”
“No Chiyou, what if we both got trapped here? Who will pull the other out?”
Chiyou was speechless from this but even so… Abandoning him just to be safe herself.
“Rei!” Chiyou hugs him tightly as her tears leak.
“Rei… Promise me you'll be okay.”
“I'll be okay, once you set up the platform, if I don't pop out in 30 seconds, click the gloves twice to get me forcefully.”
Reika returned a hug. Despite being confused at first, he felt like he knew the feeling that Chiyou was trying to convey. This time, there is no joking, melancholy, or teasing behind that hug.
Yet he can't afford to think about it right now. If that tremor is what he thinks it is, then they need to work hard to escape this city.
No one would visit this city unless they were thrill seekers or criminals. To set off a tremor like this means a massive explosion occurred meaning that there is a war outside, and without the internet, EMP was used to silence the place.
This is no normal confrontation then. A massive scale of fighting must be on the outside, and Chiyou needs to go immediately.
“Are you ready Chiyou?”
As she drops her hands and wipes her tears, her face filled with conviction was enough confirmation.
“I'll see you Rei, so please… Be careful.”
“I will.”
They stared at each other one last time before Chiyou walked away from the room and sprinted as fast as she could until her heavy footsteps vanished from the hallway.
Leaving Reika alone who also started to move towards the kitchen, messing everything and blazing everything with fire.
He burned the clothing, foam, and any materials that could be set on fire.
He burned their instruments from all over the floors without regard, to all the studio equipment.
After all, if they find out that someone's living here, it will be traced to them, especially as normal humans leaving DNA samples.
Another reason is the fact Rei had hidden 14 teleportation platforms across the central building and others.
The most challenging to dispose of traces is the rooftop as people might already be in there hovering above.
“Goddamit… why did I become so careless?” Reika's body turns translucent with the generating suit in his body.
........
2 hours later, present time…
Chiyou pants heavily. In the middle of the forest yet still near the abandoned city see the thousand lights and roars of vehicles marching towards the city. Only then did she see the scale of the explosion reaching the heights beyond the length of the unfinished skyscrapers.
She took the secret shortcut Rei had dug by himself away from the fire exit of that building.
Though she couldn't afford to rest, she hastily clicked her gloves and the hologram pop-up image of the teleporter platform manifested.
……
[Exporting…]
[89%…]
[100%…]
[Zero portable spatial platform generated.]
……
She didn't waste any time or noise in her action, she immediately clicked upon the interface of the device to signal Reika.
…..
[Finding device…]
[Counting devices available in the vicinity….]
[.....]
[.....]
[No user found.]
[‘Chiyou’ is available for spatial transfer.]
.....
“Come on Rei… where are you?” Chiyou bit her thumb, nervous about whatever might happen for him to be delayed.
…..
[Rei where are you?]
Message sent 9:43
[Rei!!! What are you doing! Reply!]
Message sent 9:44
[Rei stop playing games Reika, there are massive explosions outside!!!]
Message sent 9:44
……
“Rei where are you…!” Tears trickled in her eyes, fearing for the worse. She can feel the panic setting in her heart again, grabbing her hair to distract herself. To think, but there's nothing that's coming to her mind.
‘Did he get injured?’
'Did he lose his glove?’
‘Was he hit by an explosion?’
‘Captured?’
‘Hostage?’
‘Killed?’
Those last three words are so repulsive to think about yet it is also searing her heart.
Anger sets off again, with her bloodshot eyes and bulging veins.
“Goddamn… Please Rei… please…” She clenched her fist tight enough to bury marks before clicking her gloves again.
………..
[Inventory]
[Fire extinguisher bomb] (8x)[Retractable baton taser] (1x)
………..
These weapons are the common objects inside Reika's gloves and other portable devices as self-defense items. Though it varies, she did expect her new gloves to have this as well.
Although not the strongest items he once put, there's nothing to do but accept this.
The anxiety was still within her but cold anger is what's present on her face.
For a moment, she was conflicted about whether to let this platform stay here out in the open but if she brought it with her, they or she had no chance of escaping if so.
She chose to push it a bit deeper to camouflage it for just a minuscule amount before retracing her steps in the underground tunnel.
Even if she lacks stamina, adrenaline is pumped to keep her ongoing even the sharp pain in her heart tells her to slow down. She can't possibly do it knowing the circumstances that Rei might have put himself into.
With nothing but him in her thoughts, the rumble above, the cries, the curses, and the clang of the bullets do not deter her.
…..
After 8 minutes, the escape tunnel collapsed, sealing her way out.
After 4 minutes, the tunnel once again, this time, the noises outside are louder beneath the dark tunnel.
6 minutes, back underground, the explosions reverberated back and forth like a chamber.
As she returns to the floor where their secret rooms are, she sees the embers left from the burnings he said he did.
Meaning that he moved above to destroy their other rooms.
She took a reroute and visited their other room.
The studio was burning, the sparks of the electricity and the smell of burning foam were evident yet she moved forward.
Nothing anymore.
Even other recreational rooms for sports and mini arcades, including pools. All are burning and getting intense leaving Chiyou in sweats.
But there is one more place that might be not done yet as electricity for their backup supply is probably damaged outside.
Reaching the rooftop will take a while.
“I need to go upwards to find him…” It is the only way to find him. Within a few steps, she will be on the ground floor where the epicenter of the bloodshed is probably occurring.
That's the only possible way where he might be.
“Rei… I'll find you…” The fear of death left her. It is anger and desperation that made her foolish like this yet with everything…
Everything he had done… There's no way she could ever imagine living a life with this.
The adrenaline is maybe to blame but now that she's here. There's nothing to do but fight. Inevitably and regrettably.
…..
[“Will you swim the depths of the crushing weight of the sea, to save the fair pearl beauty that you seek? Will you give the tree to the bird that never stopped soaring? You know that it is pointless and foolish. So what is it that makes you think you can defy inhuman odds?” -Says the vending machine robot standing on the edge of the pier.
“I have nothing but myself. My foolish heart and blind courage. Does it matter if I'm gone? How could I live without her?” -The man next to the robot.
“.... What a fool…”
“Indeed. Sorry old friend, one last time… I'll buy another miracle from you.”]
-The Vending Machine From the Sky Gave Me a Bottle of Love!, By Miraclefilms.