Chapter 4. Thank you to my two fantastic reviewers, Faust91x and Timmy Sparx. You guys encourage me to update so quickly!
"Ma-do-ka." The girl said, and Homura frowned.
"Is that your name?"
The girl said nothing, simply looked at the chain affixing her to the rock before turning her head back to Homura. "He-lp."
Homura was affixing the camera to the inside of the door, determined to record how her interview went. She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and quickly fiddled with the pliers, making to jam the lens into the peephole of the apartment door. Then, she sat down in one of the chairs, crossing her legs as a woman entered the room.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Tomoe." The blonde woman said, sitting down across from her. "Is it hot in here? Perhaps I should turn on the air conditioning?"
"It's fine." Homura said roughly, wanting to keep the conversation straight and to the point.
"So...Miss Akemi, correct? You are a trained news cameraman?"
"My last agency worked closely with the news, yes," Homura answered.
"Here we do all types of filming, not just news. Please be prepared. We have even been asked to do some television dramas before." Miss Tomoe said. "When we have a production, we'll put you down for it." She smiled, letting out a light chuckle.
"That's fine." Homura responded.
"You're hired." The woman finally said. "Congratulations, and welcome to the family!"
Homura walked home to her apartment, taking the back roads, and going up three flights of stairs. The interior of her home was dark, unlit but for a small bit of sunlight filtering in through the pulled blinds. She walked through the apartment, straight to the back where her viewing screens were located, and flipped on a lamp next to the desk. The trick with the camera during the interview had paid off. She had known it would. Now it would be much easier to survey the apartment while she was away.
Homura dropped the bag full of groceries next to her desk, hearing a groan, and bending down to look beneath the structure. The pink-haired girl lay there, apparently asleep. Homura stared at her for several moments, before once again standing, and flipping off the light.
Madoka sat up, knocking over the camera. A loud crash resounded through the back room. Homura walked over, a cup of coffee held in her right hand. She reaached down, reset the camera's position, and looked toward Madoka. The girl looked at the cup of coffee with suspicion, sniffing it. Homura held it out. Madoka recoiled, crawling further beneath the desk.
Homura watched herself on the screen, camera looking down on her apartment from the ceiling. She could see the puzzled expression on her face as she sipped at the cup of coffee slowly, ever so slowly. Then she leaned in, affixing her eyes on a screen at the far right of her desk. On it was the recording of herself, touching the girl's face, brushing her hair back, examining her eyes. Her eyes...held a distant, confused look. Homura couldn't help but wonder how long the girl had been chained to that rock. She continued to watch as her hand pulled on the girls cheeks, exposing her teeth. That was the thing she couldn't figure out. The girl had unusually sharp canines, gums retracted so high up you couldn't see them without pulling the lip back. Homura leaned back in her chair, taking another swig of coffee, as the camera recording pulled away, drawing down the girl's body until it reached her swollen ankle where the chain had been placed. She watched attentively as her hand moved in front of the camera, touching the skin lightly. The girl pulled back, hissing. The recording ended.
Homura looked behind her chair at the girl sleeping on the couch, blissfully unaware of everything around her.
I tentatively decided to use the name she gave me. Madoka. She wrote in her document journal. Not that I actually call her by that name. I don't know how old she is, but obviously... The woman trailed off, holding up her pencil, before placing it back to the paper and writing in that light, spidery handwriting. ...this is the first time for her to meet a human. Madoka does not eat or drink anything. She is only awake for three hours or so in a day.
"Hello! This is Sakura Okami in Shinjuku!" The woman Homura was recording for said in a rather peppy voice. "We're here to check on the latest fashion trends! Let's see...any young couples...? Oh, over here!"
Homura turned the camera.
"Hi," the woman said to the couple. "Would you like to be on television?"
Her coworker snapped at her, turning to Homura. "Stop! Stop the recording! We're moving!" He called.
Homura sat on the stairs as the coworkers talked to each other, staring into the recording on her phone. The footage was taken from the video camera set up inside her apartment. She wanted to keep an eye on the girl. There was just something...off...about her. She watched as Madoka quickly stumbled across the floor toward the desk, spinning around a chair next to her, looking around. Her eyes settled on something on the desk, but just as Homura thought she would do something, the girl dropped down, and crawled back under the desk.
"Ho-mu-ra A-ke-mi." Homura said to the girl, whose eyes were wide open, and head bobbing up and down. "Ho-mu-ra A-ke-mi." She tried again. Madoka's mouth moved, and while it looked as though she were trying to pronounce the letters, nothing came out. "Ho-mu-ra." Homura prompted. But Madoka said nothing.
Perhaps the vocal cords are impared from being inactive. She came from a world where vocalizing was unneccessary.Homura paused in her writing. Of course, that does not explain how she so easily gave me her name.
Homura looked around the store as the woman asked, "How old is your sister?"
"No, she's not my sister," Homura said, without thinking. "She's...a friend." The words were odd on her tongue.
"Then how about this one! It would look lovely on her." The storekeeper held up a green and white ruffled blouse.
"Perhaps something...more plain..." Homura said bluntly. The woman frowned, but instead went back to the shelf, picking up a light pink shirt.
"This one?"
"Yes. That will do."
Homura held up her phone, examining the latest footage of the girl, staring at the window, nodding her head up and down, mouth moving to form syllables.
Who is Madoka talking to? She wondered, before raising her head, eyes widening. She turned around quickly. Behind her was a tall figure, with a long black coat, and black glasses affixed to his face. Homura looked around, trying to see if anyone else had reacted. No. Nobody else could see it. Homura turned, and began to walk away briskly. She could feel the dark figure's eyes on her back as she left, but did not look back.
Homura returned to her apartment that evening. She began to open the door, but stopped abruptly, turning. Slowly, she walked over to the stairwell, and looked down. A woman stood there, long, red hair, and a blue shirt. Homura pretended not to notice, walking back to the door of her darkened apartment, and closing it swiftly behind her.
It took her several moments to turn on the light. That's when she noticed Madoka, huddled into a ball on the floor, trembling wildly. Homura leaned down next to her, arms shaking her lightly. What's happened? She questioned inwardly.
Suddenly, Madoka retched, pitching forward, causing Homura to lean back as the girl shook, choking. Homura looked down at Madoka's form, and an idea struck her. That's insane, she thought, as she stood up. What am I doing?
She moved quickly toward her desk, rummaging around in the drawers, eyes still on the screen.
Then there was a buzzing noise, and the screens went dead. Homura stopped what she was doing, looking up in shock. Impossible. Footage doesn't clear itself until the tape stops.
And just like that, the screens flashed back on. And there was Madoka, on the ground, shaking. 12 seconds... Homura thought, looking down. What happened in those twelve seconds?
The phone rang, and Homura quickly picked it up. "Who is this?" She asked demandingly.
"Who I am is irrelevant to the problem you have," the voice replied. "You are in serious trouble. Do you realize that?"
"How so?" Homura questioned.
"There's someone there who shouldn't be. She can't survive like that. You think that you're saving her. But you're not."
The line went dead.
End Chapter 4.
