Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not trying to sell any of it.
AN: Damn you "rest of the world" I'm Amurican Darnit! I don't use the metric system! But Naru's English… which meanshedoes… In fact… Doesn't EVERYBODY in this story use the metric system? Idk… it hurts my head… I feel like I need to reread through my story AGAIN and change anything that's "imperial" into "metric". Somebody wanna just do it for me? Lol jk.
AN 2: Updated 3/14/16
~o0O0o~
PERSONAL CASE 5: Hide and Seek
…and grasp
That my mind is its own…
~o0O0o~
Darla and Atticus fawn over Naru until lunch time, when he makes a brief mention that regards his need for food. Realizing that smothering him with affection isn't going to feed him, they decide to keep an arm's length away so that he can finally have some space.
"It's a good thing you aren't leaving until the day after tomorrow," Atticus says while Naru munches on a sandwich brought to him by Eldon.
"And why's that?" I ask; answering in place of Naru since his mouth is full.
Atticus looks taken aback, but this isn't the first time I've spoken on Naru's behalf; he just doesn't know that we can read each other's thoughts.
"Uh…" he says, still not used to our behavior. "Because Carnig really wants him to see his testing, and we're testing him tonight."
"His testin-g?" This is my own question.
"For his psychic ability," Naru says now that he's swallowed.
"Oh, I suppose it woul-d make sense that he has some type of psychic abil-ity," I say.
"Are you being silly again, Mai?" Yasu says, entering into the dining room and messing up my hair the way Monk does.
"Sh-shut up!" I spout off in Japanese as Yasu takes a seat at the table, John coming in after him.
"It's nice to see you awake and well Big Boss,"Yasu says to Naru before turning to me. "The others are in the cafeteria."
"It's not l-ike I was asking," I say coyly. Yasu smirks and begins to engage himself within the conversation. After I had reconnected the link I have with Naru, I accidentally mentioned to everyone that I felt lonely being away from all of them. Now they like to make it a habit of "checking up" on me. Really, they just tease me… I don't mind though; I think it's one of the ways they like to show that they care.
"So who's this Carnig boy?" Yasu asks but there's a mysterious smile on his lips.
"He's a fan of Naru's. An ador-abl-e boy, who's about twel-ve years old," I say with a polished tone.
"So you've met him then?"Naru says to me.
"A few times, yes. He came by the r-oom you were staying in to check on you short-ly befor-e you woke up. He disappear-ed quickly though. I took a second or two to look at the cl-ock and he had vanished," I say.
Naru turns to his father. "So he's gotten better. It was just a meter that he couldjump throughand twelve meters that he couldjump acrossthe last time I watched him tested."
"That was years ago though. You're his idol, he's been trying to strengthen the length of hisjumpsin order to impress you," Atticus says.
"Yes. Well. His ability alone impresses me," Naru says.
Jump?
"Is Car-nig-kun r-eal-ly athl-etic or something?" I ask.
Yasu smirks and John looks at me with a sheepish grin; they both know already.
Was Yasu just teasing me when he asked who Carnig-kun was?
Atticus coughs to hide a chuckle and Naru rolls his eyes.
"Don't mind the boys, dear. I can see how using the term 'jump' could cause your confusion. You see, it appears to be the best way to describe what exactly Carnig does," Darla explains.
"You see, Mai-san," John begins to explain. "Carnig's power is very rare. There aren't any cases that have been studied aside from his…"
"And it's imperative that we keep anyone from discovering his…specialtalent," Atticus continues.
"What is it that hedoes?" I say, growing annoyed that they won't quit beating around the bush.
"Carnig can teleport," Naru finishes. I stare at him, wide-eyed as my mouth drops. It takes a few seconds before I remember to breathe.
"And that's how he disappeared so quickl-y?" I gasp. I think back to a few occasions and try to find clues.
Was it a coincidence that I found him in the 'T' section of the library?
Maybe he was searching for books related to telepathy?
And the day of Naru's seminar…
I had chased the fox across the mansion, coming to the institution side of it. I never questioned why he was there.
Why wouldn't he be?
But he did say that he was looking for me.
Why would he know to look for me if he hadn't already been to the seminar hall to see that I wasn't there?
"Veryperceptiveof you, Mai," Naru says dully. My ears perk at his sarcastically snide remark.
"Well sor-ry that I'm not a genius l-ike you," I say bitterly.
"At least you're aware of what you're up against," Naru says with a smirk.
"Why you—"before I can say more, Darla cuts in.
"Noll, please, she's our guest. Behave yourself."
Naru gives me a dirty look. I know it's meant for his mother, not liking that she has just embarrassed him, but he isn't about to stare at her with thatexpression. I smirk back at him.
"Apologize," Darla says, pushing the matter.
For a second, Naru's eyes squint as he gawks at her comment incredulously. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as he calms himself, and then he appears normal again. "I'm sorry, Mai."
My smirk grows at his dismay.
"You too, Mai-chan," Darla says and I chance a baffled look at her. She frowns at my hesitation so I quickly turn back to face Naru.
"I'm sorry too…" I say dejectedly and then Naru's smirk is back up. I decide it would be best to ignore him and continue the conversation. "So why do you refer to Car-nig's power asjumping?"
"Rather than just being one place and then being at another, it seems he's limited to distances and obstacles. So, when Noll had participated in his testing the last time, he couldjumpacross a room without much effort. He'd simply be at one side, and then appear at the other. With an object in front of him however, he would have to choose to either go through the object or go around the object.
"If he chose to go through the object, then the object could only be so thick before he would injure himself. It seems he dissolves and then coagulates as he passes through. On the other side, if he chooses to go around the barrier, he would appear off mark, or would have to do a second jump to get back on track,"Atticus explains but I still have a hard time understanding.
"Let me help you Mai," Naru says with false affection as way of satisfying his mother with masked sarcasm. "He can only go in one direction at a time. If he hits a wall that's thick enough, then he has a high chance of seriously hurting himself."
"Thank-you Naru-kun, it was so nice of you to explain that for me,"I say with a chipper smile and the biggest doe-eyes that I can manage. Naru glares as I bat my eyelashes and Yasu starts laughing gallingly.
Before Darla can make a comment on our behavior, Atticus throws out a suggestion, "Why don't we go tothe vaultand watch a few of the recorded videos in preparation for tonight's testing?"
We all agree to the idea and dismiss ourselves from the dining room; Darla hesitantly stays behind.
~o0O0o~
The vault is a large room filled with reports and study archives hidden behind a bookcase within Atticus' personal office.
Classic.
On the far side of the room, past all of the bookshelves and stands, is a couch and a projector.
It's like they set it up for horror movie marathons…
I giggle lightly at the thought of a young Naru and Gene sitting with Atticus, watching movies like Onibaba, Kuroneko,and Parasite Eve.
Then again, they probably wouldn't have watched Japanese movies…
Dracula or Dawn of the Dead perhaps?
Yasu, John, Naru and I sit on the couch while Atticus finds a flash-drive that contains the tests Carnig has performed. Once he has loaded up the files on a conveniently located laptop, he dims the lights and plays the tracks.
「Day 97: Test One: Floor Jump」
Carnig looks a year or so younger than he does now. He stands nervously in front of the camera, playing with the wispy bangs that hang in front of his eyes. A test conductor is standing on the other side of the room. He waves a blue flag and there's a click from the conductor's stopwatch. Before I realize, Carnig is now across the room, standing next to the conductor.
「Test Two: Floor Jump」
They've moved the camera back and reveal that the room is larger than I had thought. The conductor waves his flag again and I notice a slight gap is Carnig's jump. For a fourth of a second, Carnig all but disappears from the screen.
「Test Three: Floor Jump」
The conductor takes a mere five steps back and requests that Carnig perform his jump again. This time, Carnig isn't able to make it to the man and is five steps short. He does another jump to finish off the final steps.
「Test One: Obstacle Jump」
The area that Carnig has to jump across has shrunk back again. In front of him, a wooden slab has been rolled out. He jumps through the slab with no problem.
「Test Two: Obstacle Jump」
Two more wooden slabs have been added to the obstacle. There still appears to be no problems for Carnig.
「Test Three: Obstacle Jump – Side Jump」
Five more slabs have now been added. When the conductor waves his flag, Carnig jumps to the side of the slabs and then jumpsto the conductor.
「Test Three: Obstacle Jump – Through Jump」
Carnig positions himself in front of the slabs. He's nervous again, but decides to try the jump. I watch him disappear from the screen, but when he reappears, there's an explosion on the final slab, the wood bursts outward, and Carnig crashes to the ground. The conductor rushes over to him, hurriedly followed by medics and Atticus who have all been watching off screen. The cameraman runs over to catch a shot of Carnig's injuries before he's carted off to the hospital ward. His back looks as though small chunks of flesh have ruptured; skin appearing torn and dislodged.
I gasp at his injuries before the testing ends and the screen goes black.
"And you willingly test people like this?" I say. I need to express my frustration out loud but I choose not to speak in English; I don't want to offend Atticus.
But Carnig couldn't have been older than ten in that video…
Yasu and John give me half-hearted expressions, feeling mixed about their opinions on the matter. Atticus mentions something about heading to the testing facility early so the three of them leave the room. Naru stays sitting on the couch though, so I sit and wait for him.
"It's actually for reasons like that, that my mother wouldn't let Gene and me test," Naru says quietly and I feel that, on some level, he understands my concern. "Carnig wanted to test though. By that point, he understood the circumstances."
"How could you be so sure?" I say; my voice louder than I meant it to be.
Naru doesn't say anything about letting my feelings get the best of me. "I know, because I was with Carnig when he first tested. He arrived at the institute when he was seven and Gene and I were fourteen. He realized he had the power just half a year earlier and already understood the problems that having such a power could cause. My father had seen his power earlier and convinced his unaware parents that transferring to the institute would be a great, academic opportunity.
"When Carnig arrived, I couldn't believe his claims, so I requested to watch him. He was already taken with me, having overheard about my accomplishments from his soon-to-be peers. As soon as we met, I was put off by him because I recognized the annoying adoration he was sending my way. I gave him a lot of hassle to perform well or else he wouldn't be able to impress me; all the while Gene teased me for being rude, but I didn't care.
"Carnig was very driven by the idea of impressing me. He would leap a few meters, and then do another few meters. Then he mentioned how he had trouble fazing through objects. My father thought it would be a great opportunity for him to give it a try with researchers watching. A single slab was faced in front of him, and when he jumped, the same thing happened that you just watched on the screen."
My breath catches at the thought of those injuries occurring on a seven-year-old. "What did you do?"
"I stood there and watched him cry, like I was some kind of idiot," Naru says and I can hear the venom in his voice so I don't berate him for being heartless. "He, of course, was sent to the hospital ward and in the middle of the night, I sneaked into his room to make sure he was okay. I felt that it was my fault for his injuries because of how hard I had pushed him.
"He was awake when I arrived, and he smiled at me when I walked into the room. The first thing he asked was if he had impressed me. I couldn't think of anything to say to him so I nodded my head and told him that with a power like his, he doesn't have to push himself in order to impress me, but he said he wanted to train and get better. At seven, Carnig had resolved to become stronger and more adept with his ability." Naru pauses and looks at me shrewdly. "That's why I don't look down on my father for testing him and that's why Carnig has a lot of respect in my eyes."
I nod my head but then blush when Naru's next words catch me off guard.
"It's one of the reasons that I respect you too, Mai." I gape at him, my eyes pleading for an explanation but the look frustrates him. "I'm not spelling it out for you." He stands up and ushers me out of the vault so that he can lock it.
~o0O0o~
On our way to the training facility, we're chased down by Jolie.
"Oliver!" She says frantically and we turn in time to see her come to a halt before us.
Naru doesn't say anything, choosing to stand and wait for her to catch her breath so she can continue.
"A strange man is going to come to theinstitute.I don't know what he looks like or what his intent is, but I know it's not good…"
Naru's brow furrows as he contemplates what she has told him. He places a hand on her shoulder and studies her. I open my mind and close my eyes so that our psyches can merge with ease. He scans through her for a recent vision, but it's hard for him to watch something that has already passed. We're able to see glimpses of a man—face hidden by a bandana, wearing gloves and a long coat—entering in the security code that separates the main hall from the school. He starts wandering into the library before the vision fades.
"Go find my father and tell him the same thing,"Naru says, adding "He's in the seventh facility," before Jolie can ask any questions.
Jolie doesn't question him and takes off down the hall again. Naru changes direction, originally heading to where Jolie is going, and reroutes himself to the same door we saw in the vision. I follow wordlessly.
At the door, Naru reaches out and touches the handle while I connect our minds again, right in time to catch another vision.
This time, there's a second, and then a third man—both of which are hiding their faces—that enter through the door. They appear to guard the entrance to the library when the first man walks inside. Then the vision becomes hazy and drops.
"Why aren't you able to pick up much?" I say as Naru turns away from the door.
"With all of the psychic students in the institute, there's a lot of interference with the visions related to that side of the mansion," Naru explains.
"Even with someone as talented as you?" I ask
"Even with someone as talented as me," he retorts.
After several minutes go by, we come to the seventh facility.
"We're you able to find anything Noll?"Atticus says. Naru explains the visions and Atticus summons two men over to his side; fellow test conductors who he asks to watch the door to the institution. The men agree to the task at hand and head out of the room.
"I wonder what those men in your vision are after,"John says once the activity has died down. Atticus has already examined the training room to make sure everything is in order, and we've headed towards the cafeteria where the others are still sitting.
"Well, hopefully the men you've asked to guard that door won't have any trouble when they show up,"Monk says after we've filled them in on everything.
"That's if they haven't already come by, or if they even come today," Ayako says.
~o0O0o~
It's been nearly two hours since Naru and I shared the vision; our group has been chatting in the cafeteria the whole while. I take a sip of my tea and then watch the tanned water ripple within my cup. I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right.
Maybe I should tell Naru…
But I don't want to worry everyone for no reason.
The urge to place my hand onto Naru's hand is strong, but the act isn't necessary so I restrain myself and open up my mind to his.
I have a bad feeling about the vision.
Naru glances at me from the corner of his eye for a brief moment before going back to the notes he has laid out in front of him; he's studying some of Carnig's past tests.
"When do you feel that the men will break into theinstitution?" Naru's thoughts say to me.
I think for a moment.
I think they already have.
His brow furrows and he thinks for a second before standing up.
"What's up, Naru?" Monk says, unknowingly asking my question for me.
Naru turns away from us and starts heading out of the cafeteria. I leap to my feet and hurry to catch up with him while the others hesitantly start to stand from the table as well. "Maybe it's time for Carnig's training?" I hear Yasu say.
Naru? I question.
"Why wouldn't the men have stopped the intruders?"Naru thinks.
Maybe the intruders were able to subdue them? I guess.
"We would have heard something about it…"
Do you mean…
"Yes."
Naru has led me to the door from before. It's been left wide open, for anyone to have access to the students and their school.
"The men my father told to guard the door were the same people that we saw in the vision." He turns away from the door now that his theory has fallen more in place, and starts heading to the training facility where he knows Atticus is waiting for Carnig.
But there were three of them, I argue, trying to make sense of everything. I can hear Ayako complaining about us not telling them what's going on; her voice being drowned out by the distance we're creating from walking so fast. Naru's so caught up in what he has just discovered that he's almost running.
"Which means that they've had this planned out. I'm sure that us finding out ahead of time and then having my father tell them to watch the door was just a happy coincidence. I'm such an idiot."
He's angrier than I've ever seen him so I don't respond, and just let him keep showing me to the training room.
~o0O0o~
"Oliver, is there something wrong? You seem out of breath," Atticus says as we rush into the room.
"Those men you told to guard the door were the same men I saw breaking in,"Naru says.
Atticus' face drops. "Where's Carnig?"
"What?" Naru and I both say together.
"Carnig always gets to these tests early. I thought that he might not be here yet because he was spending time with you," the professor says.
Naru clenches his jaw and growls as he races out of the room again. I'm still stunned by what's going on and take off after him, keeping up with his pace as best as I can. Our ghost hunting team enters the room as we leave, looking questioningly at each other and then turning to Atticus for an explanation.
~o0O0o~
Naru is quick on his feet and I have trouble staying beside him as we head deeper into the institute, sprinting up a flight of stairs and then down a long corridor. His black dress shoes slide across the slick floor as he comes to an unnecessarily graceful stop in front of door. He doesn't bother knocking and instead turns the door knob, using his PK to break the lock and force the door open.
"Naru! You shouldn't be using your power," I say as he forces his way into the room; which is a small dorm for one.
"Desperate times Mai," Naru says bitterly. He scours the room, searching for something. The space is rather dull, with bare walls and a plain, white bedspread. The only interesting item is a small frame sitting on the side table, with a picture of Carnig, Naru, Gene, Attics, and Darla.
So this is Carnig's room…
I hear Naru stop picking around the room.
"This will work. Link our minds, Mai." I follow his instructions and watch the vision unfold before me as he clutches onto one of Carnig's belongings.
~o0O0o~
In the library, Carnig is sitting at a table, skimming through the pages of a thick book. Four or so other books are piled up next to him. He looks up and watches the first man walk over to him. He isn't suspicious, despite the man's covered face.
"Carnig," the man says, pulling away the bandana that he has tied around his face. "I've come to collect you."
"Why's that?"Carnig say, his voice filled with confusion.
"Oliver Davis and his Japanese companions plan on watching your testing today. We're going to bring you to an offsite training facility since the one you generally practice in isn't big enough for them, the conductors, and the medical team," the man explains and I admit to myself that even I would be convinced of his reasoning.
"Mister Oliver is going to watch me?"Carnig says; his mouth wide as he smiles eagerly. The other man nods his head and escorts him out of the room. "Why are you wearing that bandana around your face?"
They've exited the library and are now being escorted by the two men who were ordered to watch the door; both of which are now wearing bandanas in a similar fashion.
"We'll be recognized as members of SPR in the public and we don't want to draw any attention to our group since there'll be a lot of us entering the other facility,"one of the two men explains. Carnig is unfortunately naïve enough to believe him, and the four of them walk over to a small car that lacks any identifiable characteristics.
~o0O0o~
The vision clips to a scene that shows the two guards shoving Carnig into an abandoned meat factory. A sign outside of the front door has a picture of a lamb on it with smeared paint making the company title unreadable. Once they're inside of the building, Carnig finally becomes aware of the situation but the men grab his arms before he can dash away.
"We know you can'tjumpwhen you're already moving, Carnig," the main man says. "We've been studying you for a while, you know."
"Why are you doing this?"Carnig says quietly.
"There's a manveryinterested in seeing your power first hand. He has a high price set for you once we prove to him that you can really teleport," one of the goons says, gushing over the thought of his coming riches as they force Carnig further into the factory, leading him down a cold, cement staircase.
"Like I'll show him,"Carnig says and his voice is soft and dry.
The men laugh as they drag him down a hallway that sits away from the factory, and under the earth itself.
"Do you think we don't know you?"There's a rusty noise as metal scrapes the cement floor and a thick door is opened, leading into a cooler. "You'll try to escape as soon as you get the chance!" Carnig is tossed into the cooler and the door is slammed shut. "But if youjumpthrough the door, you'll be forced to stop andjumpagain, giving us time to catch you."
Carnig bites the inside of his cheek and stares angrily at the cooler door. Tears almost begin to well at his eyes, and I can't tell if it's because he's scared or because he's biting himself so hard. As if answering my question, despite the fact that these events have already transpired, he spits out a bead of blood.
~o0O0o~
Minutes drag by in the vision, and Carnig eventually ends up sitting on the far side of the cooler. After another moment, the voices pick back up.
"Is the boy in here?"
"Yes. Are you ready to meet him?"
"Don't beat around the bush now! Open the door up!"
There's a booming of laughter that drowns out the rusty screech of the door reopening. Carnig stands and stares down the men as they enter into the room. They keep their distance so that the new man can admire him at a distance. The purchaser's appearance is cast in shadow and the only noticeable detail that I can take in is his wide girth.
Carnig looks defeated as the man enters into the cooler, but then a resolve comes across him.
"I'm not going to get out of this, am I?" he says cooly.
The big man doesn't reply, and even though I can't see his face I know he's smiling down on the young boy.
"I won't let you have me…" Carnig says. He looks up at the ceiling of his prison.
And then vanishes.
~o0O0o~
The vision fades and Naru and I find ourselves back in Carnig's room.
Naru sighs and places the object back where he found it; whatever urgency he had is gone now.
"Why are you lollygagging? We need to get to that factory and help Carnig!" I say as Naru slowly stands from the slouch he's been in.
"There's no point anymore, Mai," Naru says.
"What are you talking about? You saw him teleport just like I did," I argue. "We have to go."
Naru doesn't make any attempt to leave Carnig's room.
Can't he see that Carnig is in trouble?
Why doesn't he care to help?
We have to get there as fast as possible!
"We have to go nowNaru!" I yell loudly. I'm surprised if the occupants of the neighboring rooms didn't hear me.
Naru's eyes soften as he looks at me. "Okay."
He only picks up his pace when I pass him in the hallway.
~o0O0o~
Once we have reached the ground floor, he ushers me to a parking lot and nods to a car. I hesitate for a second.
Is Naru going to drive?
When he enters the driver's seat I comply with his suggestion and hop into the passenger's seat.
"N-Naru?" I say as he reverses the car and heads out of the garage, driving away from the mansion.
"Don't be surprised, Mai," he says nonchalantly. "Why wouldn't I know how to drive in the country I was raised it?"
"Well… I…" I start to say but then stop myself from going on. There really isn't a reason I should be questioning him.
It seems that Naru's already familiar with the location of the rundown meat house and he drives the car across an abandoned road for twenty minutes before we arrive to the building.
I jump out of the car and race to the front doors, Naru fumbling out of the driver's seat and chasing me down. "Mai!"
I open the door and enter the factory.
"Carnig!"
But there's no sound.
The men are gone.
Their cars are gone.
…
Carnig is gone.
"Where is he?"
"Departed, Mai," Naru says.
"What do you mean?" I say and my voice cracks.
Naru sighs audibly and grabs my hand, dragging me back out of the building. He pulls me around the structure onto a patch of grass.
"Here."
"Here?" I say.
"Carnig is right here," Naru says and his voice is soft.
"What are you trying to tell me?" I ask and I feel my voice crack again.
"When he jumped, he jumped up," Naru explained. "Going through the ceiling of that cooler, and crashing into the earth above."
"C-c-couldn't he have just… jumped past the earth?" I stutter as I try to fight the realization.
"Do you remember the video we watched? The wounds afflicted onto his back when he tried leaping through the thick slabs of wood?" Naru says.
"Y-y-yes…"
"My father had mentioned his ability to dissolve and then coagulate…" Naru is attempting to explain the situation but I don't want to hear anymore.
I fall to the ground mumbling for him to stop talking. To stop telling me the things I don't want to hear.
He kneels beside me and rests a hand on my back. "Carnig received those wounds because his back couldn't properly form together when he jumped through the barrier. This time… none of him came back together."
I break finally and fall into his chest, crying hard.
If only I had spoken sooner, when I first thought that something was wrong.
If only I could have put the pieces together.
Then that little boy might still be alive...
"It wasn't your fault," I hear Naru say and I realize I never fully broke the link between us. I can hear the remorse in his words though. He saw the vision too, and he's trying to convince himself of the same thing.
We sit like that for I don't know how long, until Naru's cell phone rings and brings us out of our hold on one another.
Why is it we're only close in moments like these,is a disheartening thought that stretches across the foreground of my mind before guilt boils over and I focus again on Carnig and the fact that I didn't save him. Naru's hidden his thoughts behind the brick walls in his mind so I don't hear his reply. He mumbles a few things into the phone across the span of a brief conversation before he hangs the phone up.
"That was Lin," he says. "We're missed."
I nod my head and wipe as many of my tears away as I can while we head back to his car and then make our way to the mansion.
~o0O0o~
The drive back is quiet and the rest of my time spent at the mansion is drowned out by the thoughts that flow through my mind. I remember Carnig for the small amount of time that I knew him and I can't help but question myself again and again, wondering 'what if.'
Naru takes the time to explain to everyone what happened and there's both relief and shame from the fact that we don't have to deal with the aftermath of his kidnapping. Everything is in Atticus' hands.
How is he going to explain the missing body?
What will Carnig's parents say or think?
The next day there is a brief memorial for us to have—a bigger one will be held later, for the whole institute to attend. But even that goes by in a stream of faded memories. I still can't help wondering what I could have done, if anything. I know I could have saved him.
The thoughts keep me up every night and on the nights I do sleep, I fear I'll see him, so I've regressed to taking my pills again, because I don't want to meet him in my dreams in case he's angry, and my body can't handle another sleepless night.
~o0O0o~
The wear that his death has on me is so strong that I don't even realize when I'm back in Japan. I find myself sitting in front of the table located in the main room of the SPR office; we arrived in Japan in the beginning of the day and Naru thought it would be good to work to get our minds off everything. I'm so exhausted that I know I'll be able to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Maybe my sleep will be so heavy that I won't have to take a pill…
"Mai," Lin says as he leaves his work room and realizes I'm still here. "You were off of work an hour ago…"
"Wha—?" I say and look up at him. "R-right…" I stand up and turn to leave, catching Lin mumble 'Gene' under his breath.
Gene appears before me. I haven't seen him in a few days. Lin can't see him, but speaks as if he can. "Watch over her please."
Gene looks at me and the dark expression softens. He nods to the door and I make my way out, heading down the stairs to the street. I stop. There's a woman standing on the other side of the door, examining it, unsure if she should enter.
Is that really why she's here?
We locked the door an hour ago when I was supposed to leave. The main lights are off and it's clearly written on said door that we are closed now; our hours are staring at her from on top of the window.
She looks up at me as I descend the stairs, her eyes hidden by the bangs that swoop across her face, the blue colored sunglasses she wears, as well as her blue head scarf that she has tied around the top of her head. Once I've been spotted, the woman turns around and runs.
"Wait!" I yell and hurry out the door, trying to catch her. She's gone though. "Who was that?" I turn to Gene but he isn't paying attention to me. He's still in the building, floating wide-eyed and gazing at the spot where the woman had stood. "Gene…" I say, and my voice seems to snap him out of his trance. He looks disheveled as he glides to me, but his expression quickly changes again as I make my way down the street.
While the cars pass us, I can barely make out the words he seems to be whispering over and over. "Do you…
"….
"…like?"
I turn my head to glance at him over my shoulder.
"Do you know…
"…it's like?"
I stop walking and let him come closer to me.
"Do you know what it's like?"
"What what is like?" I ask.
"Do you know what it's like to be hit by a car?" he says. His eyes are crazy and big. There's a sadistic smile spread across his face.
Or maybe it's a smile filled with agony?
"N…no" I say.
"Let me show you." Gene's expression has hardened and he reaches his hand out, shoving me. I fall backwards, my feet moving awkwardly in an attempt to catch me before my side is hit by the oncoming traffic. Luckily, the driver was paying attention and had already started to slow down. I bounce off of the hood, hit the asphalt and roll several yards.
Cars honk around me as the vehicles slow to a stop, halting traffic as people come to me, hoping to see if I'm alive.
I can't move. My body is heavy and my breathing is shallow. Blackness is slowly creeping across my eyesight.
I have to tell Naru…
I close my eyes and make the connection.
N-Naru? even in my head, my voice sounds weak.
"Yes Mai?"
I'm lying outside, in the street…
You should call an ambulance...
With my message sent, I take a deep breath and then lose consciousness.
~o0O0o~
AN: So much to say! First! Carnig means "little lamb." Second! I've watched Parasite Eve (the movie) I'd give it 5 out of 9 tails. Maybe 6. I plan on watching the other two soon as well. Three! Sorry about the abrupt transition from England to Japan, it was intentional and yeah… I know there's a lot of cliff hangers huh? Four! I do plan on replying to reviews from the last chapter! I had just promised to get this one out ASAP so I was focusing on that. I'll begin my review replies either tonight or tomorrow.