Chapter 4

The Gears In Motion

Kyon's head pounded and roared with blood as it rushed around his head. What was going on here? Where was Clarke?

"Nagato, where is he? Can you tell? What happened to him?" He started to spin on the spot, panicked, staring at the messages. His mind flashed back to the alternate universe, to how peaceful the computer text and book mark messages that Nagato had left him. Why didn't Clarke leave something like that? Why was an impossible order written in hardened brown blood across every wall around? Lying against the wall were several large bins full of tapes, discs and old records.

"Clarke!" Kyon yelled into the pile, shifting the mass of plastic, praying that he would wake up. He dug through all of the bins, calling the alien's name. He was nowhere to be found.

"Alistair Clarke has been corrupted by a foreign source. I cannot pin-point his or the offending source to any location."

"So you're saying he's hiding from this thing that wants him?" Nagato didn't answer for a few moments. A Kyon's heart still pounded loudly against his ribs, he couldn't help but notice Nagato's eyes started to drift close slightly.

"I do not know." Those words and Nagato's tired face would haunt Kyon until his dying breath. "This space is causing considerable stress to my body. The source is data-based and is now affecting me." Kyon shook his head, turning to look back up at the screens, to Alistair's face, steadily on the rise to insanity and fear as the monitors went on.

"We have to get out Nagato, you got that? We have to get the others and leave right now, just like Clarke said, right?" She didn't answer. "Nagato! Right! You can help us get out of this-" The small girl slumped in her seat suddenly, her breath like a tiny gust of wind. Kyon's heart thought it would be nice to take a vacation for a few moments as he stared at the slumping figure. Nagato twitched slightly, her chest barely moving. It took her a moment, but her eyes slowly opened.

"This space is causing heavy stress on my body. It is... difficult to maintain optimum efficiency." Kyon looked into her endless eyes. They looked drained and her skin had started to gleam with a fine gloss of sweat. Kyon felt not only scared, but painfully exposed. The hair on his neck began to prick up as he cast a look behind him. Same old walls. Same old horrific omens of death and pain. He picked up Nagato's tiny body and felt the smallest breaths still circulating. He hooked the door open with his foot and started to run, trying desperately not to notice the sliced wallpaper and broken doors. He rounded the corner to see Mikuru enter one of the bedrooms.

"Miss. Asahina! Miss. Asahina, wait!" Mikuru's heavenly smile drifted back into view for a single second before it dissolved into shock. She covered her mouth and checked the door.

"Um, I'll just be a few minutes." She mumbled through the door with a forced smile. She closed it and timidly ran towards them, Kyon still not struggling with his burden.

"You- What- How-"

"Miss. Asahina, from now on, I want you to stay with me, okay? Don't go anywhere where I can't see you, got it?" Mikuru's eyes kept on darting from Kyon down to Yuki's flickering eyes.

"Kyon, you're scaring me. What happened to Miss. Nagato?" Kyon walked on past her and opened the door, where Koizumi jumped as the door hit him in the back.

"Oh, how did you get there? I didn't see you behind-" His smile strained like a flag pole in the wind. "Oh my, what happened to Miss. Nagato?" Kyon set her down on the bed, Haruhi rushing up to her. She pressed her hand to Yuki's head, feeling it burn.

"What the hell, Kyon?" She suddenly rounded on him. Kyon was speechless.

"What?"

"How and why is Yuki in a state like this? How come she's so ill?" Kyon was in awe of her narrow mind.

"That doesn't make any sense! I can't help it if Nagato gets sick!" Haruhi pouted and folded her arms.

"Well, I suppose so. But as a punishment, you have to go find some medication for her. There'll be some in the bathrooms." She said with certainty. Kyon didn't protest, stealthily tugging on Koizumi's sleeve as he turned. He closed the door behind him, which opened again the moment his hand left the brass. Koizumi exited the door with a surprised look.

"Have you been waiting out here for me all this time?" He gauged Kyon's reaction. "Oh, right. This time warping is becoming something of a hassle. Anyway, what did you want to show me?"

Kyon didn't dare watch the screens, not again. He was even tempted to block out his ears, instead opting to stand by the door and gaze past the hall. The lights still glowed a calm, bright yellow, making the aged wallpaper seem all the older. The constant gale outside cast darting shadows over the walls. He was here, Kyon thought to himself as he surveyed the destruction. He tore that paper off the walls. He broke everyone of those doors down. Alistair, were you trying to get out? Were you trying to find someone or were you just scared and alone here?

"This is very, very bad." Koizumi didn't even try to smile. His face was sombre, even worried. "We can only assume that Clarke is still in this house and, from what we've seen, dangerous." He left the room at a smart pace, not hesitating to leave the disgusting room. "We should keep a constant watch on each other at all times, even if that means sleeping in the same room. We can't allow ourselves to be singled out if whatever is now controlling Clarke wants one of us too."

"But, it attacked Clarke and Nagato's not feeling well. Isn't it reasonable to assume it can only attack aliens?" As they reached the wide landing, Koizumi gazed longingly at the door. He slowly descended the staircase, his hand sliding along the polished banister.

"I don't think we should rule out any possibility. If we start letting our guard down, we leave ourselves open for attack." He sighed as he came to the door, brushing it with his hand, wishing something would happen, an escape to appear. "There is also the case of Miss. Suzumiya. I don't know if she can create Closed Space inside of this space but I don't really want to try." He managed to put on a braze face and turn to Kyon. "But whatever the case, I'll leave it up to you. You always seem to leads us out right, so whatever you choose to, I'll support you, deal?" Koizumi smiled in earnest, making Kyon feel even worse.

"Hey wait a sec here, you're just dumping all of the-" The familiar pounding of his heart returned as Koizumi's jaw hung and his eyes widened in horror as he stared over Kyon's shoulder. Kyon spun.