Cold pellets of rain sparkled in the sky, briefly illuminated by the lighthouse.

A hand folded around my palm pulling me out before the mud could reach above my heels.

I consistently turned my head to see how much the distance had closed between people with white lab coats and the other children.

We were fortunate enough to have not caught the attention of any, because we were the farthest ahead. Looking down, our footsteps looked like quaint symbols in the mud.

"Keep moving straight."

I listen intently to the noises that surround me and the voice startles me.

"Are you okay?"

My legs, especially my knees, begin to ache and burn, and my focus drifts.

"I… need a—break," I say, but my tone is so frail, I imagine the rain managing to break it in half.

"No." The response is blunt, but I accept it given the circumstances. Our breathing was gradual, stifling the wind that was flapping the tail of the coat and stinging my cheeks.

The heat from previous daylight created a humidity that aroused a light after-rain fragrance.

"There's no ground ahead!" I say, pushing it aside as I approach the cliff, not daring to hesitate yet.

From a distance the turbulence of water could be heard, it made my heart race with every second we drew closer to the edge.

In the next moment, heavy breathing and remote shouting overpowered the wrath of two currents, but in the last, everything had gone still, like the ominous rest in a classical piece.

The voices were strident, as the ferocity of the rain dissipated with urgency.

"Where is the girl?" I asked, noting that we had initially left the interior premises with three people.

"She fell back, don't worry about it, I need to get you out of here."

"How do you intend to do that? There's nowhere for us to go!" I respond, doubtfully tugging at my wrist.

"There's water below us, I heard it."

"Y-you want me to jump off the cliff!?" My chest tightens with dread upon hearing his initiative.

"There's nothing else we can do—" he turns to look in my direction, but facing ahead I see a light encompassing two dramatically long shadows in the mud.

"Step away from each other! You in the coat drop the access key on the ground!"

The voice was young and not nearly as threatening as the large gun that was being held by the young man.

I couldn't tell for sure if what he was holding was a gun or something that functioned like one, because the light on it was so bright it practically set the entire cliff ablaze.

"I-I'm a researcher from the Red Quadrant! My patient, A…5-1-5-7, he-I was given orders to escort them to Blue Quadrant and seal him in the cleanroom."

"The Red Quadrant was never finalized—" The feeling in my fingers goes cold. I turn to the kid beside me, pleading for a new plan.

Damn it!

"Find shore," the kid whispers, he lets go of my hand, raising both of his hands into the air as he places a foot in front of him.

Like simulating movement without actually moving from his place.

"He can't shoot me, run straight and I will cover you from behind."

He pulls his other foot in front of him. One step ahead of me.

"That's it..." The young man rests the gun under his arm, cautious as to not train the barrel away from me.

He turned his head to an angle and pressed a button on what I presume was a communication device.

"A5175 has been apprehend–"

"Jump into the water!" The kid barrels his weight into my torso, and I scrape the mud as I turn around and throw myself forward.

His movements were so swift I knew he had anticipated my slip.

The proximity of where the ground ended had only become apparent when my foot slipped off the bedrock.

The young kid caught my hand before I could bash my head on the rock.

"I need something before you go," His breathing was heavy.

He put his head down when a loud bang followed by a bullet ricocheted off the ground next to him.

"Wha–"

He reached down and yanked the card from my lanyard.

"Sorry… you're too heavy." He let go of my arm, and I attempted to grab onto his sleeve but he pulled it back before I could close my fingers around anything.

I do not think he intended to betray me. Though we had only just met I worried for the other people in that place.

It was strange. I am trying to remember why I came here. Who am I? Why is it so cold? Has the world always been so dark and serene?

He said something before telling me to run. Something about finding shore, but I was under a cliff.

For a moment, I had forgotten myself. Maybe it was the shock of my body submerging under freezing water.

Then I remembered.

Hoku.

My name is Hoku.

Prelude To The Memoir

Rule 1

All living species will undergo death. Immortality is only achievable if the living defies the memoir.

The other method is if the living find their way into the stream. But the living must die first.