Bang!
As the race kicked off, the noise in the grandstands and the near stampede-like movements in the lobby provided enough cover for when Zeraki broke the bathroom window in his stall.
The bathroom windows led toward the ‘backyard’ of the building. At least, that’s what it looked like, considering the open fields and the trees that gave the impression he had just exited into the outskirts of Astrohelm. Below the window sills was a 50-meter trench that served as ‘drainage’.
[Number 3: Don’t worry about it, Dad. Just grab what I grab and do what I do.]
‘Alright.’
Number 3 made it look like she was grabbing the window sill with both arms, then hefted herself out. She couldn’t interact with the material world, so Zeraki needed to make some adjustments to how he copied her movements.
After twisting through the window, he aimed to grab a horizontal steel pipe that was fixed to the wall, running around the building.
As Zeraki dangled over the trench, his body panicked and sent waves of distress signals to his mind.
He understood they were self-preservation instincts, but instead of dominating them with his will to push forward, he sent sentiments to every part of himself—sentiments that his body immediately recognized as the same reassurance as during his drills.
His body entered a hyper-focused state, intent on memorizing every move he made. Number 3, seeing the slight shiver in his form ease, smiled and started moving.
Zeraki’s arms started slow, placing one arm in front of the other, then letting go and swinging before grabbing the steel pipe once again. His palms remained dry for the most part, but soon, Zeraki received feedback that his body intended to moisten his palms one at a time. So he stopped and waited. He didn’t know why it was necessary, but he’d progressively begun to return the trust his body showed him.
It didn’t take long for him to appreciate the results. As soon as the palms dried, they gained better traction on the steel pipe. They were now behind the announcer’s offices, as they could hear the commentator’s excitement talking about the race.
As the building extended outward at this point, Number 3 brought up one leg and tucked her foot behind the steel pipe. She then reached up with one arm, grabbed into a gap where a brick once existed, and brought the other in while slotting her other foot behind the pipe.
This tested the limits of Zeraki’s balance. His body sent feedback so fast and frequently that he started leaving more and more room for automation.
This developing of instinctual trust enhanced his gut feeling, and as he remained motionless in a near-horizontal position fifty meters above rock and sludge, he suddenly felt his psyche expand throughout his mind… and beyond.
His thoughts no longer felt confined to his skull. They flowed in his feet just as well as they did in his skull. Though outside his skull, his thoughts remained simple; they more than made up for it with sheer reaction speed.
Zeraki found it easy to keep up with Number 3 as she contorted around a corner and began a vertical ascent.
———
The third-floor office window was open and offered no resistance when he pushed it. There was a desk with a wheeled chair facing the door and its back facing the window. A library of books was to the left, and a horse portrait over a fireplace to the right side of the desk.
Though there was a safe behind the horse portrait, Zeraki moved to the desk and pushed it to the side.
There weren’t any security patrols, but Number 4 went to keep a lookout. He’d been high-strung throughout the entire climb and could only hope that Number 3 knew what she was doing. Watching for the unexpected in the hallway was a simple exercise that would allow him to relax his metaphorical nerves.
Back in the room, Zeraki folded the carpet to the side and found another dial safe. Number 7 sunk into the safe and let Zeraki know whenever a click sounded. Soon, the compartment was unlocked, and Zeraki reached into it for the folders.
He sat at the desk and went through some of the files with Number 3, who still radiated smug joy for—in her own words—being more useful than the rest. She then appointed herself the leader until Number 1 woke up. Zeraki hadn’t even known there was a ‘leader’.
‘A leader?’
[Number 4: You are the Shogun, Otousan. Number 1 is the Daimyo, and we are the Samurai.]
[Number 7: Don’t mind them, Father. Number 3 and 4 are lunatics.]
Zeraki nodded and turned back to the folders. The office belonged to the race director. Everything looked to be legal if one excluded the files he had just pulled out. They contained lists of Extractors in their security rosters, their shift schedules, their pathways, and sequence levels.
The organizing committee, stewards, and support staff also had one or two Extractors. A list of those who worked as bookmakers and their statuses as mortals or Extractors. Some Extractor files were color-coded, but Zeraki left that puzzle for Ola to figure out.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He then leaned back and smiled. He felt excited. Though the feeling was wrath-induced, he had to admit, he really liked it. What would happen if he went on a killing spree and took out each of the Extractors in the rosters? Every single name he’d pulled from the compartment was a Valentino.
He shook his head. He didn’t want to head in that direction. Personally, the direction didn’t matter to him. A life of killing was just as valid as any other. But this wasn’t a path in life Number 3 and the rest walked. Ola also disapproved of it, so Zeraki reluctantly ignored the wonderful feeling welling within him when he thought of murdering the Valentinos and Mawaki.
He packed up the document files into the folders, stole a leather briefcase from the desk drawer, and emptied out the money from the safe behind the horse portrait for good measure. Twelve rubies going missing was bound to have someone pulling out their hair and contemplating suicide.
[Father, are you finally ready to advance?] Number 7 asked as he tidied the room. Zeraki paused and recalled the feeling of sudden expansion. He also felt for the mass in his psyche and was pleasantly surprised to find that he no longer felt claustrophobic in his own mind.
‘I believe so! How did you know?’
[Number 7: We can see sentiments better. At least I can; I’m not sure about the rest.]
[Number 4: Hai! Skill: Sentiment Perception Acquired.]
[Number 3: Indeed, Sentiment Perception has been acquired,] she said with her hands behind her back and chin raised like the monarch she now believed herself to be.
‘Wonderful, let’s get these files to Ola and then start working toward advancement.’
———
Zeraki got to Ola’s place and was made aware that Hadiza was unofficially under house arrest. He would have shrugged it off, but then Hadiza pointed out that she could leave on the condition he accompanied her. Zeraki’s eye twitched at being dragged into that particular mess, which only made the smug grin on her face widen.
“Fine,” Zeraki relented. “I’m no longer on a shoestring budget anyway. So where’s Miss Ola?”
“Upstairs. Plotting someone’s downfall,” she said as she turned to walk him to Ola’s office.
“Huh… who?”
“You’re asking me? Who do I ask? Anyway, here’s a list of books I want from the library tomorrow. Do bring Tara with you, alright?”
“Sure.” He looked at the list and found that, other than the *Mother’s Universal Language* book, there were engineering texts and a couple of children’s stories.
“Great! I’m going to convert the basement into my workshop. Have fun in your scheming, big man,” she shouted as she ran down the stairs, leaving him halfway to Ola’s office. Number 3 and 4 followed her down, and he proceeded with Number 7.
He found Ola sticking pins and notes to the map of Astrohelm.
“That was fast, my friend. What do you have for me?”
Zeraki took a seat in the armchair while Ola took the couch.
“The Valentinos and the mawaki. I haven’t found anything yet on the companies, but that might change once I advance to the next sequence.” He then handed her the folders from the race manager’s office.
“I stole these from the Valentinos. Hopefully, they’ll be useful.”
“All without taking a life or losing yours. Wonderful.”
Zeraki wondered how she knew he hadn’t killed anyone as he watched her pull out the documents from the folders.
She flipped through them, then smiled.
“You are vindictive, my friend. I still need to verify whether those who attacked you are Extractors. Once that is done, I’ll give the green light to do as you please with them. Should they be mortals, you’ll have to calm your heart knowing they no longer live.”
Zeraki was stunned to hear this. He’d thought that Ola was against murder on principle. She looked up from the document she was reading and gave him another smile. “What I’m against, my friend, is losing yourself to anything. You were born free. Make yourself a slave to no one. Not even yourself.”
Zeraki contemplated Ola’s words, and he was certain that he would be up all night still thinking about them.
‘How does she keep guessing what I’m thinking?’
[Number 4: Your face has subtitles, Otousan. You aren’t that hard to read.]
Zeraki had to use his capillary control over himself to stop his eye from twitching.
“You said you’re ready for advancement?” Ola suddenly asked.
Zeraki nodded. “I still haven’t figured out what my pathway is, though, so it may take a while.”
“Nonsense, my friend.” She waved the file she was holding. “Leave that to me. Tell me what abilities you have, and I’ll have answers for us soon.”
His abilities didn’t even take four minutes to explain, and he was done.
———
Zeraki got home late that night, still thinking about what Ola said about not being a slave to himself. That sounded like a really difficult thing to do. He only ever experienced two emotions, and the only way he could quell them was by giving in to them.
Was what she said a universal rule, or were there instances when it was okay to give in to his impulses?
He didn’t want to live with guilt, so he did all he could to help Tara. He didn’t want to feel wrath, so he wanted to kill everyone who caused it.
Was he supposed to learn to suppress guilt and wrath? Just the thought of waking up with those emotions bottled up inside him exhausted him.
Once he fell asleep, he realized that even though his brain was resting, he could still have rudimentary thoughts. It was like he was partially lucid in his sleep.
———
The next morning, Zeraki ran more laps and expanded the area of his workout to ease his agitation. He came back soaked in sweat and began doing push-ups until his arms felt like jelly. Tara found him lying on the floor, unable to move, and panicked.
“I’m alright, Tara. I… I just overworked myself. That’s all.”
Zeraki struggled to move and was only able to turn and lie on his back. Tara, seeing that he was okay, came and sat next to him.
“Why did you do that to yourself?” she asked cautiously.
“Hmm… I’m trying not to think about something.”
“Oh.”
Zeraki smiled. “I thought you’d have words of wisdom for me. You are a smart kid, after all.”
Tara pulled her knees in and wrapped her hands around them. “Thank you, Mr. Zeraki. But I’m running away from things too.”
Zeraki remained silent for a while before speaking again. “Maybe we could help each other out? You’ll tell me what it is you are running away from, and I’ll tell you mine. Putting our heads together should make it possible to unshackle ourselves, don’t you think?”
Seeing her reluctance, Zeraki had to admit he wasn’t exactly the paragon of wisdom and cut a sorry figure lying worn out on the floor like that.
“If you and I aren’t enough, we can rope in Hadiza.”
She looked at him, then nodded and murmured a thank you.
“No need, you are an equal contributor. You are helping me as much as I’m helping you. We should both thank Hadiza if we end up roping her in, though.”
Zeraki summoned what little strength he’d regained and shuffled to the bathroom.
“I’ll go take a shower, then we can leave. I quit my job at the library but got another watching over Hadiza, so we’ll be spending more time at her place. Looks like I get to fulfill my promise to give you my undivided attention earlier, eh, Tara?”