Florence’s eyes flew open.

She rested on the freezing granite floor of a massive and empty lobby. Her arms wrapped around the leather briefcase, holding it close to her chest. On her left, a range of colored lights seeped past the large glass panel, drawing her attention. Outside, on the side of the skyscraper plastered with numerous translucent advertisements written in different languages, various colored lights emitted.

Next to her, Aisling leaned into view and said, “You’re finally awake.”

A throbbing ache erupted from Florence’s skull. She pushed herself off the ground to a sitting position. Yuze sat at the reception counter on the opposite side of the room. In her hand was a metal cuboid with dozens of camera lenses watching Florence.

Florence rubbed her head. “Both of you have to go to the hospital now.”

“So you feeling alright?” Aisling asked with a bright grin.

“She dead.” Yuze kicked her legs into the air. “Could tell, Aisling.”

Florence’s eyes widened, and jaws dropped as if this chill ran along her veins, leaving her stunned.

“Yuze, I’m not asking you,” Aisling said.

The stabbing numbness of the puncture on Florence’s forearm reignited, stiffening her muscles. “Absolutely… Actually, I am fine. But… more importantly, why are you not going to the hospital now?”

Yuze’s face remained neutral, ranging from her eye to mouth.

“So what about you, Florence?” Aisling pointed her finger at Florence’s wounds. “You also need treatment, isn’t that right?”

Florence struggled to massage her bandaged forearm, stained with dried blood. “That is none of your beeswax,” she said.

A pause of quietness filled the air. Both Aisling and Yuze stared at Florence.

Aisling tilted her head, hands covering her smile. Moments later, she giggled and coughed simultaneously, breaking the silence. But, soon, she steadied herself.

“What does beeswax have to do with me?” she asked.

Florence rolled her eyes. “Beeswax as in business.”

“Cute,” Yuze said. However, she stared at her metal cuboid with camera lenses that looked at Florence and Aisling.

“Just ignore her,” Aisling said. “And also, feel free to call Yuze an idiot cyborg. She likes it for some reason.”

Yuze shoved her metal cuboid into her black leather jacket. Her cheeks blushed bright red. She averted her eyes from both Florence and Aisling. At that moment, Yuze fiddled with the collar of her black leather jacket.

“You see that, Florence.” Aisling pointed at Yuze. “That’s exactly what I meant.”

Aisling grabbed Florence by the dress and dragged her towards the glass doors. Florence’s feet squeaked against the marble floor, stopping the momentum. Immediately, Yuze pushed herself off the reception table, limping behind them.

“Hey! Aisling, what are you doing?” Florence asked.

No response was given.

“Aisling?” Florence asked again.

Without replying, Aisling turned her head, looking over her shoulder at Florence. Still, why wasn’t Aisling answering at all?

The glass doors slid open. Aisling stepped outside, tugging and forcing Florence to set foot on the pavement. Large groups of people went in different directions, bumping into Florence. The leather briefcase pushed closer to her chest. For some reason, within the deafening sirens and honks, an eerie silence permeated through every stranger walking past her.

High above the sky, the dark clouds floated, and zero stars twinkled. The blazing-colored advertisement fended off the moonlight from reflecting on the skyscrapers with futuristic architecture made of glass and steel. Cameras with a speaker wired to the top of a pole, watching the streets and ready to make an announcement.

Aisling stood still and pulled Florence’s dress. “You really gotta believe me when I told you that by completing the contract. You’re gonna be back home in your original world soon.”

“Pardon me, but I have got to head back immediately,” Florence said. She tried to push the grasp of Aisling. But Florence’s energy drained away, numbing her limbs and preventing her from doing it.

Florence shook her head. She had… no… must head back. She couldn’t leave her sister alone all by herself. All those reckless chuckings down numerous giggle juice that her sister did, mainly when Florence worked to the bones for hours. And, of course, her sister used to not act in this behavior. Well… at least not before the Great War…

Finally, hobbling behind Aisling, Yuze said, “Stats.”

Aisling glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

The color on Yuze’s face paled. Her eyes drooped. She stumbled with shaking steps and collapsed, falling towards Aisling. Nonetheless, before Florence could react, Aisling wheeled around, catching Yuze in her arm.

“Be careful,” Aisling said.

Florence crossed her arms. “I have already told both of you to go to the hospital. Do not go off on your investigation or this stats nonsense.”

No one answered her at all. Yuze’s left arm flung over Aisling’s shoulders. Together, they moved unevenly down the pavement and through the quiet mass of people. At the same time, lugging Florence behind them.

“Hello?” Florence asked. “Are any of you listening?”

Aisling coughed and then took a deep breath. “Yup, I did hear that,” she said. “And I’m sure I’ll be fine. But… for Yuze… I’m just gonna let her decide.”

“I’m… okay.” Yuze shook her head. “Don’t worry about me.”

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Florence blinked, struggling to understand what they said. “But… if none of you get immediate medical treatment…”

“You heard what we just said. Plus, it’s gonna be alright,” Aisling said. “And if both Yuze and I go to the hospital. You’re gonna go back in the corridor to find the door back home… isn’t that right?”

Now, Florence’s eyes widened. She clenched hard on her leather briefcase, digging her nails deep into it.

“You’re not gonna survive if you go back now,” Aisling said. “Did you forget I already told you there’s another way out of here?”

On the pavement, Florence shifted her weight from right to left. “Absolutely… I guess you are correct,” she said with downturned eyes.

With a tug on Florence’s dress, Aisling dragged her through the crowd while assisting Yuze in limping. Skyscrapers ran alongside the street, surrounding and looming over everyone. Each step took more energy for Florence, but the air around her thickened and rested on her shoulder.

“Yuze, could you help me get my phone out?” Aisling asked.

“How will that be possible?” Florence scrunched up her eyebrows. “Are those supposed to be connected to a wire?”

No one answered her.

Yuze reached into Aisling’s ripped jeans pocket, taking out a metal cuboid with dozens of camera lenses. Florence’s eyes widened. Never had she seen a phone shaped like a cuboid, which was also portable. Yuze’s thumb tapped on its dark screen, ringing it, and held it next to Aisling’s ear.

A few seconds passed, and Aisling shook her head. “Where’s she?”

“Who are you talking about?” Florence asked.

“Co-worker for a certain job. She went out tonight and is gonna get something important for work.”

“Pardon me, what is this thing which is essential for work?”

“I’m gonna be honest here… I’ve no idea. We didn’t get any details on it.”

“Sick,” Yuze said. She swayed side to side, depositing the phone back into Aisling’s ripped jeans pocket.

Aisling pulled Yuze closer, cuddling her. Along with Florence, they trudged down the pavement and through the crowd.

A little later, Aisling halted in front of a store entrance.

“Pardon me? Why are we stopping here?” Florence asked. She stared through the glass panel at the empty interior.

The glass door opened automatically as they approached. Aisling entered, dragging Florence, helping Yuze inside, and stepping on the white marble floor. In front of them, a male receptionist with pale hair and skin stood behind an oak desk.

A smile appeared on the receptionist’s face without squinting his eyes. “Hello,” he said. “How may I help you?”

Florence, Aisling, and Yuze limped to the receptionist.

“May we get a new phone?” Aisling asked.

“Wait.” Florence scratched her head and brushed her blond, unkempt hair aside. “Are we not supposed to get this stats thing?”

“Don’t worry about that. You’ve come to the right place,” the receptionist said. “By the way, which type would you like?”

“The cheapest version,” Aisling said.

Yuze pressed down on her bandaged left thigh. “Second-hand.”

The receptionist nodded. He turned towards the typewriter on the desk, which had a transparent and blurry screen, and typed on the keyboard. Once he finished typing, he spun around and walked into another room.

“Aisling, what’s the other way for me to return home?” Florence asked. “Could you tell me how to go back, please? And does this stats thing help me in any way?”

“Well… you’ll see it after the supernatural investigation is completed.” Aisling gave Florence a cheerful smile. “And about the stats…”

However, the receptionist exited the other room before Florence could question Aisling more. In his hand was a metal cuboid with a cracked dark screen and dozens of camera lenses.

The receptionist said, “This smartphone will be one hundred million dollars.”

“How’s that cheap?” Florence asked.

Aisling pulled out her own smartphone from her ripped jeans pocket. “It’s not that much for today’s standards.”

She tapped her smartphone on the typewriter, making a buzzing vibration.

“Sorry,” the receptionist said. “Your transaction failed. Would you like to use a different payment method?”

Aisling slammed onto the desk. Sweat trickled down her brow. “Yup, could I use my credit score?”

The receptionist positioned his fingers on the typewriter, clicking while he typed. A ding rang through the store. “Thank you for using our service. Your purchase has now been processed,” he said.

An elbow from Aisling jabbed at Florence’s waist.

The camera lenses glared into Florence’s eyes. She wrapped her fingers around a smartphone, gawking at it in her hand. “So is this it?”

A blue rectangular box popped out on the smartphone’s cracked dark screen…

NAME: FLORENCE WATSON STATS DEXTERITY [ERROR] EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT (EQ) [ERROR] INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT (IQ) [ERROR] MEMORY [ERROR] THOUGHT [ERROR] CREDIT SCORE [ERROR]

“Is this… supposed to happen?” Florence asked.

Aisling smiled, putting away her smartphone in her ripped jeans pocket. “At least this is gonna be better than nothing,” she whispered into Florence’s ear.

“By the way, I was wondering?” The receptionist took out a package tied with a red ribbon from underneath the desk. “Do you want an expansion pack for your phone?”

Florence raised her eyebrows, scratching the back of her head. “What is an expansion pack?”

“Just… don’t,” both Aisling and Yuze said, glaring at Florence.

The white marble floor tapped as Florence swayed where she stood. Her upper teeth sank into her bottom lip.

“We’re gonna get out of here,” Aisling said.

Florence slipped her new smartphone into her apron pocket. “Where are we going?”

“Time?” Yuze asked. She wrapped her left arm tighter around Aisling’s shoulder, trying not to let go.

“There’s still time.” Aisling turned towards the exit, swinging her arms. “So we’re gonna go to the harbor at District Nine.”

In preparation for leaving, Florence spun around, trudging towards the exit. Outside, Martine peered through the glass panel. Florence widened her eyes. A jolt of electricity crept underneath her spine, dazing her in place.

A booming explosion like artillery shell bombardment from somewhere afar shook the ground. She lost her balance, thudding her head on the white marble floor. She winced and gritted her teeth.

When she looked up, Aisling hugged Yuze as both of them fell.

The array of colored light emitted outside changed to flickering red. The speakers attached to the poles blared, warning everyone to stay calm. Screams and shouting vibrated Florence’s eardrums. Loud stomping footsteps hurried down the street.

A chill tingled Florence’s spine.

Not just because of what happened…

But… Martine was no longer there.