Save Me From Losing Myself
The girl stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom as she dressed for the day. Her hair was still slightly damp from the shower she had just stepped out of. She pulled on a pair of perfectly creased, black dress slacks and a dark red button up blouse. She left her shirt untucked as she walked back into the bathroom to grab her hair brush. The small apartment she lived in was silent in the early morning hours and the sun was just starting to peak through the curtains on the window. The girl took her time as she ran the brush through her violet hair; her hair reached down past her waist and had a slight wave to it, it was so light that it looked almost white.
Suddenly she heard a crash come from the kitchen. She carefully set the brush beside the sink and turned to start crossing through the bedroom and towards the kitchen. She held her right hand straight down by her side, fingers spread open. A gun materialized in her hand and she carefully wrapped her fingers around it. When she reached the kitchen she peaked around the edge of the doorway. She heard another crash coming from the part of the kitchen that she couldn't see. After a deep breath she jumped out, gun pointed in the direction of the crash. A small, gray mouse scurried across the counter, banging off of dishes and a small sugar bowl she had sitting by the coffee pot.
She lowered her gun and sighed, "Stupid rodent." Her left eye was a bright red color but her right eye was replaced with a small glowing red light. She looked down at her gun and felt foolish for being so jumpy. The gun disappeared into the air and she closed both of her eyes, when she opened them back up her right eye was normal again.
She returned to the bathroom to finish brushing her hair. She quickly tucked in her red shirt and grabbed her black jacket off of the bed. After shoving her arms through the sleeves she grabbed a small purse and headed out the door. The subway was only a few blocks from her apartment and the cool morning air made the walk only slightly bearable. She caught the train leaving for downtown, sitting alone on one of the benches. When she exited the subway she had a twelve block stroll to her office. The building she worked in was no different than any other in the large city. A gray twenty story skyscraper, plenty of windows, though most of them were blacked out so no one could see inside. She walked in through the front sliding glass doors. A quiet lobby with a small woman behind the desk greeted her.
The large front desk hid the entire woman except the top of her head, she stood to see who had entered but sat back down without saying anything when she saw who it was. On either side of the desk stood an elevator. The violet haired girl crossed the vast lobby and entered the elevator on the right of the desk. She pressed a button and the door closed, sending her quickly to the seventh floor. The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal what looked like another lobby. There were a few desks scattered randomly around the room with people typing away on computers. There were multiple TVs on each wall, all broadcasting different news stations. Chairs and couches took up almost all floor space and made the huge room look cluttered. At least fifty people sat around whispering and watching the TVs intently.
Each person was wearing the same outfit she was. The only thing that differed was the color of the shirts under the black jackets and the name embroidered in gold on the jackets. The girl weaved through the people who were seated, to one of the desks. Each desk was the same, dark stained wood, simple designs carved into the front. None were as tall as the one in the lobby down stairs so the people behind them were easy to see. She stopped in front of the desk of a girl with short black hair.
"Good morning, Kayoko." The girl behind the desk addressed the violet haired girl without looking away from her computer screen.
"Morning, Suki." The violet haired girl mumbled to the girl. She walked to the wall behind the desk where a set of wooden mailboxes hung. Each one had a small gold nameplate under it with a name carved into it. Kayoko reached into the one with her name on it and pulled out three manila envelopes. She glanced at each ones content then she turned to leave the crowded room.
Before she could walk completely around the desk Suki held out a small piece of paper. "They want you on the tenth floor." She said simply.
Kayoko took the paper and read it, "What for?"
"I don't know." Suki replied.
Kayoko glared at her, "What do you mean 'you don't know'?"
Suki finally tore her eyes away from the screen and stared straight into Kayoko's eyes. "They didn't say." The look she gave Kayoko warned her not to ask any more questions.
Weaving her way back through the busy room she entered the elevator again. The tenth floor was the complete opposite of the seventh. It was silent and empty except for a single desk in the center. Kayoko walked to the desk and presented the young man behind it with the small note.
"Do you have an appointment?" He asked without looking at her.
"I was given this and told to come here." She told him, he looked up and took the paper from her.
"Oh yes, Kayoko, they've been expecting you. Go right in." He motioned to a door on the left side of his desk. It looked like a normal office door but she knew that the things behind it were anything but normal. She held the folders tightly in her right hand and she gently pushed the door open with her left. The room was full of about twenty men and women dressed in white lab coats. It was the typical mad scientist set up; human experiments dominated the research studies. People laid half naked on metal tables as "scientists" studied them. Not much was know about people like her, people who could form weapons about of parts of their bodies. One of the "scientists" saw her and quickly walked over to her.
He read her name on her jacket, "Kayoko Miyu? We've been expecting you." There was nothing special about the man, his hair was short and dark brown, he wore dark rimmed glasses and his amber colored eyes hid all emotion. He led her to a small, make shift cubicle where he ordered her to remove her jacket and form her weapon. This was not an unusual occurrence for Kayoko; each person with a weapon had to do this monthly. She placed her envelopes on the small table that was available and she covered them with her jacket. She held her right hand out in front of her, closed her eyes and took a breath. Her gun appeared and the man grabbed a clipboard and started to take down notes.
She opened her eyes and glared at him. "Is that all?" She asked impatiently.
"Not quite." He replied as he walked over to have a closer look at the light that replaced her right eye. "Can you see out of this?" He asked indicating her eye.
"No, my eye is my weapon." She was annoyed at always having to answer the same question every time they studied her weapon. "Can a person with a weapon made from their arm still use their arm?" She asked him sarcastically.
"I suppose not." He replied as he wrote more onto the clipboard. She stood there in silence for a few minutes. Finally the man stepped out of the cubicle which told her she was free to go. She let her gun disappear and slipped her jacket back on. After grabbing the envelopes she left the room as quickly as possible.
Entering back into the first floor lobby was almost a blessing to Kayoko. She walked over to the front desk.
The woman looked up at her and smiled. "May I help you?" She asked.
"I was given an assignment in a town that is about seven hours from here and I was wondering if transportation would be provided or if I was to take a bus." Kayoko told her.
"We have set you up with a car and a driver, Miss Miyu. All of your expenses will be paid in full." The woman explained.
"Is the driver aware of any of this?" Kayoko asked indicating the oddness of the office and its strange staff and employees.
"He knows nothing of our organization or you for that matter. He is under the impression that you are going on a business trip. We gave him orders to not ask any questions." The woman stated coldly.
"I'll be on my way then." Kayoko turned to leave.
"When will you be back?" The woman asked though she sounded uncaring.
Kayoko paused and glanced over her shoulder. "It might be a while, I'll keep in touch."
She exited the building to find a small, black four door car waiting for her. The driver was an older man with neatly combed black hair and trimmed beard. He held the rear door open for her. She slid in and found herself sitting on heated leather seats. She smiled; this was the nicest car they had provided for her since she started working there almost two years ago. The driver climbed into the driver's seat and turned the car in the direction of her apartment. When they arrived a few moments later he left her to go pack her things.