I lean on the wall to catch my breath.
I think I lost them… I'm not sure, though.
There were so many… They're probably looking for me right now…
I'm scared… I'm so scared…
Oh God… I think I hear voices!
They've caught up to me!
I look around desperately, searching for a way out.
But there isn't any!
No! They can't catch me! Not now!
They're approaching! I need to be quick.
The window!
I carefully sneak in and try to open the window on the wall nearby.
Ghh… It's not easy…
The voices keep getting louder and louder.
Any minute now they'll spot me!
Come on… Come on…
YES!
I quickly lift the window and go inside, then close it behind me.
I'm safe here.
Or at least I should be.
It's dark, but I don't think there's anyone in the room.
I breathe heavily, trying to tell myself that it's over.
I did it! I escaped!
Right?
The people chasing me should soon go away.
I slowly get up and start walking forward.
I think I see a bed in front of me.
I'm tired, maybe I can take a nap for a few minutes.
The owner wouldn't mind, right?
I mean, it's already pretty late, and if they're not in bed, then they aren't home, right?
Suddenly, I feel my foot hitting something on the ground.
I can't help but fall down.
'AAAH!' I scream.
NO! Why did I scream? Now they'll hear me!
I quickly crawl back into the corner and hide below the window.
And, in an instant, the room becomes bright.
The light hurts a lot, so I cover my eyes.
'Hey!' I hear a voice. 'The heck are you doing in my house?'
No… There was someone here, after all!
Oh God, they're gonna turn me in!
'Wait… Are you naked?'
I slowly open my eyes.
It's an adult man, with black hair and a moustache. He's…
He's aiming a gun at me!
'Please… Don't kill me…' I beg.
'What are you talking about?'
I'm scared… I'm so scared…
'I'll ask again – what are you doing in my house?'
'I… I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…'
The man sighs and points at the gun.
'Is this what's scaring you?'
I nod quietly.
He slowly puts it away.
'There' he smiles. 'Now, can you tell me what exactly a naked girl is doing in my bedroom?'
Oh, that's right… I'm naked…
I quickly cover myself with my hands.
'Please… promise you won't turn me in…'
'Are you a criminal?'
'No! I didn't do anything wrong!'
'Wait…' he kneels down. 'Are those horns?'
He touches the top of my head, feeling my horns.
I nod.
'Oh… That explains it. You're a Diclonius, huh?'
A… what?
'I… I guess…'
'And you've probably escaped from that facility on the other side of the hill. Poor girl. Don't worry, you're safe with me'
I smile widely.
'Really?'
'Yeah' he smiles back. 'You can stay here for as long as you want'
'Thank you, sir! Thank you, thank you!'
'No problem' he grins. 'My name's Bob. What's yours?'
'Uhm… Sayu' I blush.
'Sayu? That's an unusual name. Oh well…'
Suddenly, he notices my blushing, and turns around.
'Oh, sorry' he laughs. 'I'm not used to talking to people without, you know… clothes'
I laugh.
'So, Sayu… Do you want to take a bath? I'd just prepared it before I came here'
'Sure!' I smile. 'Thank you very much!'
'It's right over there' he points at a door. 'In the meantime, I'll go through my stuff and find you some clothes you can wear for tonight. I hope you don't mind wearing a man's clothes for a bit…'
'No, not at all! Thank you!' I bow.
'Oh, come on, stop thanking me already! It's nothing!' he waves his hand.
I smile and go to the door he pointed.
Nothing? It's everything!
He's the first person who's been nice to me in a long time.
I wonder if all the people outside are like that?
I slowly go in the bath.
Ah! It's hot!
No… It's just warm…
Guess I'm not used to it… After all, I've only showered with cold water before…
Mmmmh… Feels nice…
Feels VERY nice…
As I enjoy the wonderful bath, I can't help but think back at my life at that place…
But it's all over now!
Bob will take care of me until I find Christoph, and then…
And then, I don't know. But I will be happy!
No more suffering!
After about 20 minutes, I go out of the bath and wipe myself with the towel hanged there.
Then, I leave the bathroom and go back to the bedroom.
Bob is not there.
I guess he's in some other room.
But, as he promised, he'd prepared some clothes for me.
I quickly put them on.
They are a bit loose, but otherwise comfortable.
And it really feels good to finally have some clothes on, after all these years.
I quickly leave the bedroom and go looking for Bob in the other rooms.
I find him sitting behind a table, looking at something on it.
I go to him.
'Oh! Hey! I didn't know you were here' he looks at me.
'What are you doing?' I look at the table.
'Isn't it obvious?' he smiles.
I'm a bit confused.
'Accounting. I'm counting my money, separating them, preparing them for taxes and other expenses, stuff like that. Do you understand?'
'Not a word'
So I'm guessing this is "money"… I'm not sure exactly what they're used for, but I know they're very important, and that you need them very much.
He sighs.
'How long were you imprisoned there?'
I start thinking about it.
'I don't know… A long time'
'Poor girl. Something like this shouldn't have to happen to anyone' he shakes his head.
I look down.
'So, now that you're out, what will you do? Do you have any plans?'
'Yes!' I look back at him and smile.
'Oh! Like what? If that's not a secret, of course'
'Well… I'm looking for someone' I confess.
'Who?'
'He's a friend. Someone I knew a long time ago'
'Do you know his name?'
'Yes! It's Christoph, uhm…' I try to remember. 'Taylor!'
He suddenly looks at me seriously.
'Are you sure that's his name?'
'Yeah! Absolutely sure! I know he also lives in Los Angeles, and has a sister… But that's about it. Do you know him, Bob?'
He quickly puts on a smile.
'Of course I know him! Christoph Taylor from LA, and his sister, uhm… Jessica, was it?'
'You really know him!' I laugh. 'Can you take me to him?'
'Of course' he smiles. 'But can it wait till tomorrow? It's pretty late'
'Oh…'
'Don't worry, though! First thing in the morning, I'll bring you there with the car! LA's nearby. I promise!'
'Thank you! Thank you so very much!' I hug him tightly, crying.
'Hey, hey, no need for that. I'm glad I can help. Now, I bet you're tired. You can sleep on the bed in the bedroom'
'Really? But then, where will you sleep?'
'Right here!' he points at the sofa.
I shake my head.
'No, I can't… You've already done so much for me…'
'But please, I insist!' he smiles once again. 'You're a guest here, and if anything, I take good care of my guests!'
Why?
Why is he so nice to me?
It makes me feel really bad.
I want to be nice to him too, but I don't know how.
'Hey, hey, are you crying? What's wrong?' he asks me.
'Nothing, it's just… Nobody's been this kind to me for years, and…'
'It's alright. It's my pleasure. Now, go get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day, right?'
'Yeah!'
I smile and go in the bedroom.
Hmm, the bed isn't very big… I guess Bob lives alone here.
That's weird… He's so kind. Why doesn't he have a wife?
I lie down on the bed, and suddenly realize how tired I actually am.
But for some reason, I can't fall asleep.
It just bothers me too much…
Why am I so useless?
I want to be of use to Bob.
I know! I'll look into the drawers and see if there's anything that might give me a hint about what Bob might need.
I quickly get up and open the drawers.
Hmm… Noting useful here…
Hey, what's this?
It's a scrapbook!
Mrs. Sherling once showed me hers while I was at that place.
I wonder what kind of scraps Bob collects here.
I quickly take the book out and open it.
Hmm… Wow!
"Hero-cop saves 3 children from an armed mugger"
Is that him?
Wow… So he's a hero policeman…
"Officer Robert Parker helps stop a bank heist'"
Amazing… He's amazing!
"The 'LA Butcher' caught by Det. Parker"
Wow… I never imagined…
He's so awesome…
"LA Kira caught by Task Force"
Hmm, I wonder why that's here… It doesn't say anything about Bob in the title…
WHAT?
I gasp as I read the text in the paper.
"Christoph Taylor, aka Kira, was captured today by the Kira Task Force"
No way… No way…
Captured?
No, that can't be right. This isn't my Chris. He's not a criminal!
"The Task Force, consisting of only six people, finally managed to apprehend Kira after months of investigation. According to inside sources, Taylor committed suicide minutes after his arrest"
Committed… suicide?
No, no way! Absolutely no way!
That's not my Chris!
That's a funny coincidence, someone from LA with the same name.
But… What if I'm wrong?
What if it IS him?
No, I can't allow myself to think like that!
There's only one way to find out!
I quickly head outside.
I'll ask Bob. He's the only one who can tell me the truth.
Yeah, there's no reason to worry. He already promised to take me to him tomorrow, so Christoph must be alive, right?
Still, I won't be able to sleep if I don't know for sure.
I go to the door to the living room and prepare to turn the knob.
'Yeah, now I'm stuck here!'
Oh? He's talking to someone?
I better not interrupt him, then.
'It sucks? SUCKS DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE IT! She can whip my head off with a thought, man!'
Eh?
'Yeah! Now, I'm trying to be as nice as possible, but you never know. What if she decides to kill me in my sleep? Are you crazy, of course I'm not gonna sleep at all! Gun in one hand, and phone in the other, that's how I'm gonna spend the night!'
HUH?
'What're you talking about? I'm taking her back to the facility first thing in the morning! I'm NOT having that thing in here for more than I need, alright?'
Th…thing?
'Hey! Don't you DARE tell anyone about this, no matter what! We'll both be in deep $%# if anyone finds out about this. What do you mean who I'm gonna call? You, of course! No one else must know! OH %^# YOU, MAN!'
I fall on the ground and start sobbing.
'Yeah. Nah, that's okay, she's asleep now, I think. Right. Cool. I'll come over tomorrow once I leave her, then. Alright. Thanks. Till then'
Suddenly, the door opens.
Bob looks at me.
'Oh… Damn it…'
I look at him straight in the eye.
'You lied to me…'
'Sayu… I don't know what you heard inside, but I assure you everything's…'
'YOU LIED TO ME!' I grab him with my vectors and hit him against the wall.
'Ugh! Let me go!'
I throw him in the bedroom.
'WHY? WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?' I scream. 'I THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE! I THOUGHT YOU CARED!'
He looks at me.
'You're gonna kill me'
'I'M NOT A MURDERER! I wasn't going to kill you!'
'Well, you're not proving your case right now, are you?'
I calm down a bit, then point at his scrapbook.
'This. What do you know about it?'
'This? It's my scrapbook'
'I know that! What do you know about that article?'
'That…' he looks at it. 'Oh, God, Sayu…'
'Please, tell me the truth!'
'Yeah… That's him. That's Christoph Taylor'
'But not MY Christoph, right?'
'Sorry, there's only one Christoph Taylor in LA, and that's him'
I fall on the ground and start to cry.
No… Everything… My entire life is now meaningless…
'It's a good thing we caught him, too. Guy was a psychopath'
'Shut up…'
'He killed hundreds, and he had no intention to stop!'
'I said shut up…'
'Listen to me, Sayu, your Christoph was nothing more than a sociopath! You gotta believe me!'
'SHUT UP!' I launch my vectors at him.
Suddenly, Bob explodes in a fountain of blood.
I start shaking.
'B…Bob?'
His body is lying on the ground.
I can't even recognize him!
Did I just do that?
Oh God…
Oh God…
I killed him…
I really did…
I… I can't stay here anymore.
I quickly get up and pick up the scrapbook, then tear the page about Christoph and put it in my pocket.
I gotta get out of here… But first…
I go to the living room and pick up all the money from the table.
I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… But I really need it right now.
It's too late now…
Too late to save Christoph…
But I can still avenge him.
I'll find all of the people from that Task Force… And I'll kill them, just like I killed Bob.
I'm sorry… but it's the only thing I can do…
I quickly leave Bob's house and look around.
Chris… They'll pay, no matter what. They'll pay for what they did to you.
I swear.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story's part of the "Game Over" storyline. If you enjoyed it, please visit my profile and read its prequel "Game Over" and its sequels to learn more about the story. Thanks!