Why Do I Remember You?
LEVEL 1
"AAAAAHHH!"
Will's eyes flew open and he bolted straight upright with a gasp.
His second-grade math teacher, Mrs. Todd, had just tossed the classroom pet guppy at him for being late to class. Toby the guppy opened his little fishy mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream that went through Will like a lightning bolt.
Terrified and still somewhat asleep, Will fumbled through his pillows for wayward fish and breathed a sigh of relief when he found none. He took a few seconds to calm his breathing and rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of the dark room. He was home, he was safe. No evil math teachers, no flying fish. He must have been dreaming.
He looked at his watch and groaned when he saw the time.
He'd taken precautious the night before and changed Daphne's settings so she would start making a racket at exactly six o'clock in the morning. There would be no need for that now. With two whole minutes to spare before the alarm went off, Will fell back on his bed. He was wide awake now. Wide awake and a little perturbed. He made a mental note to check Madame Dare's Dream Diary for the meaning of dreaming with math teachers tossing mascot later, if he had time to spare during the day.
He rubbed his eyes again, rolled to the side and sat up, carefully planting his feet on the floor. It felt amazing. The heated floor warmed him from the soles of his feet to the tip of his nose, though he still wasn't exactly used to it. Heated floors were a rare amenity to be had in the city's BSL apartments, but Will had managed to pull some strings. The installation itself had been easy enough, once he'd procured the permits. He'd fallen asleep on the floor that first night, he remembered, smiling for a second before yawning widely.
It had been three whole weeks since he'd moved into his new apartment and he was still over the moon about it.
Suddenly, the floor and upper cabinet lights were automatically turned on, coating the apartment in a warm, golden light, and Daphne's voice rang through the room. The light fixtures were so much better here too.
"Good morning, Will. It's six o'clock."
Just like that, his sound system came to life and a ridiculously upbeat song started playing through the headboard speakers while in the kitchenette, the coffee maker beeped on.
"Goooood morning, Lethenians!" boomed a hyped-up voice from the live morning podcast. "It's two Mondays before the Ides of March and we are expecting an average hallway temperature of 45 degrees, so make sure you bring a jacket if you're out and about! Outside temperature is… ha-ha! I'm just kidding! For those of you who are having a sleepy start, you're listening to Shine On You Crazy Cyclops by Persephone and the Pussycats, the newest single from their brand-new album JUMP!"
Will got up, stretched his arms over his head and began to wiggle his hips to the rhythm of the music. He turned to peel the sheets off the bed, bundled them up and tossed them into the bedframe's built-in hamper—another fantastic amenity of his new apartment. He loved making the bed in the mornings now. He watched as the mattress retracted into the wall, then slid back out perfectly dressed in fresh sheets. So satisfying.
"Daphne, turn it up a bit. And get the shower started. Set water temperature to sleepy lobster."
"Verbal confirmation required. Water temperature previously set to tundra cold. Override?"
"Override. I don't think I'm going to need a cold shower after all," said Will as he pressed a button on the touch-screen by the closet. His outfit for the day moved to the front of the clothes rack and into the steamer capsule.
"Water temperature successfully set to sleepy lobster."
"Thank you, darling."
"You're welcome, sweetie," replied the robotic female voice. Will had long added a few phrases to Daphne's interface so she would always reply with a sweetie to his darling. He knew it was stupid, but it made him feel more at home.
He would have loved to stay a bit longer in the shower—the temperature was just right—but that would have to wait for another day. He had a big meeting today, and he could not be late. He began reciting the main points of his presentation as his favorite shampoo was squirted directly onto his head and the side jets sprayed him with soapy water. He had to stop for a bit as the retractable arm brushed his teeth, but then continued as if nothing had happened.
"As you can see here and here," he said, drawing circles on the glass door that had built up steam, "we have managed to sustain a healthy growth over the past three years, considering the shortages we've experienced within our supply chain. Not to mention the seaweed crisis of the last six months..."
He went on until he ran out of drawing space on the door, and just as well, because the shower stall had just about finished blow-drying him from head to foot. By the time he walked out of the shower in a cloud of perfumed steam, Daphne informed him breakfast was ready.
"Be right there, darling," he said, collecting his freshly-pressed suit from the steam capsule.
"O-kay, sweetie," Daphne replied unemotionally.
Breakfast was simple. A cup of black coffee with just a dash of reconstituted milk and a seaweed bean burrito were waiting for him in the kitchenette.
He checked his watch—right on time. If he managed to catch the early elevator, he'd even have time to go through the day's menu before Jason arrived for their meeting.
This was it. Today was the day. He'd been dreaming about this day for years, ever since he'd moved to Lethe all those years ago.
He remembered his first year in the city. His tiny sleeping capsule all the way down 27 BSL. The shared bathrooms. The cold floors. How far he had come since then!
He looked around his apartment as he took a sip of coffee to wash down the burrito. A burrito that came straight from his shop. A burrito that sold out before the day even started thanks to the early bird option they'd added to their delivery service. Sure, they now had to have someone making the damn things since 3 in the morning, but his business had grown so steadily he was now able to afford his spanking new place all the way up 7 BSL. A huge upgrade! Twenty whole floors!
And if today's deal went as planned, he'd be saying goodbye to living in the darkness within two years, maybe one.
Will popped the final bite of his burrito into his mouth and wiggled his fingers majestically. One day, he would move to the upper levels. One day, he would be ASL. One day he would be...
"Above Sea Level," he said. The words tasted better than his breakfast, which was already pretty damn good to say the least.
He checked his watch for messages. Nothing yet. Good—that meant he was the first one up. First one up and ready to go.
"Daphne, download the album JUMP! by Persephone and the Pussycats. I wanna listen to it on my way to work," he said, then took a final sip of his coffee and set the mug down on the little niche on the wall. A sliding door closed so seamlessly he wouldn't have spotted it had it not been already open, and the mug disappeared to be washed somewhere behind the wall.
"Persephone and the Pussycats, JUMP! is available for download. Two drachmas will be deducted from your account. Verbal confirmation required," rang Daphne's voice through the sound system.
Will smiled. He remembered a time when he wouldn't have been able to spend two drachmas on something as superfluous as music. Hell, he remembered the first time he ever spent two drachmas on anything—a wholly reconstituted meal back in 27 BSL, which he had deemed an absolute splurge. Now, the cheapest item in his shop's menu was a small coffee, and even that cost four drachma.
"Download it. I can afford it," he said with a smirk.
He'd been about to put on his shoes when an alarm went off. Will almost jumped out of his skin as he recognized the sound. A high-pitched noise blasted through his speakers and a red light flared over his door. He heard the bolts seal the door from the outside a second before the warning message blasted through his sound system.
"No! Not now!" he yelled, running to the door and pulling on the handle that wouldn't budge.
"Lockdown alert. Lockdown alert. Breach detected BSL. Breach detected BSL. All citizens to sealed compartments. All citizens to sealed compartments. Please confirm your position. Please confirm your position. All communications down in T minus fifteen minutes. Countdown set to fifteen minutes. Repeat, communications down fifteen minutes from now. Please confirm your position."
Cursing loudly, Will made his way back to the touch screen. He quickly accessed the emergency channel and browsed through the messages. Nothing but more of the same. He reached for his tablet and joined one of the residents' servers. He scanned the messages, taking in the fragmented bits of information with hungry eyes.
An explosion. A tsunami. An alien invasion. An earthquake. The feed moved up so quickly Will had a hard time making sense of his neighbors' panicked messages that flew through the screen.
"Fuuuuuck," he yelled, poking the screen with haphazard abandon. "I… can't… be… late! Not today!"
It was useless. Security protocols in all BSL levels worked the same way. The breach must have been near his partition, otherwise it wouldn't have affected him. Lethe's BSL levels had a redundant security system. If a breach was detected within five levels directly above or below his own, it wouldn't necessarily send his place into lockdown; it had to be within his own partition for him to be grounded into a sealed compartment. Will's apartment was located on Partition Four—that's where the breach must have been, or somewhere within at least fifty meters radius, otherwise there would have been no reason for his apartment going on lockdown.
Setting his tablet down, it took Will almost an entire minute to react. He went to the door and punched in the security code to let the system know he had received the warning and that all occupants of his capsule—apartment, he reminded himself—were accounted for. Being only him, he punched in the combination a second time and the alarm and flaring lights went out in an instant.
"Daphne, call Cecil," Will said dejectedly as he plopped down on his bed.
"Calling Cecil."
Cecil took a full minute to pick up.
"Will? Whassup?" he asked groggily. Clearly, Cecil hadn't had Will's early start.
"I'm in lockdown, Cecil."
"Communications down in ten minutes," boomed Daphne, her volume settings having automatically been switched to emergency loud.
Despite the interruption, Will practically heard Cecil sit up in bed.
"What? Now? But… but I thought you were up in seven now. How could this be?"
Having spent many years down the lower levels, Will was somewhat familiar with lockdowns; the lower you went, the more common they were.
Will sighed. "Clearly, breaches still occur in seven. I don't know how long it's going to be. Can you get in today? Like, now? I'm sorry to bother you like this—"
"N-No, for sure. I can… just hang on. Shit, Amber. Get off! Okay. I'm on my way. What do you need me to do?"
Will shook his head, then drew a hand through his hair.
"Just… just do what you can. I'm calling Jason now. Fuck, I hope we can reschedule. But if he can't…"
"You can call in, I'll put you up in the big screen! We can make it look super professional—"
"Cecil," Will cut in with a sigh. "I'm in lockdown. Communications will be down in… about eight minutes. I gotta go. I'm gonna see if I can reach Jason. I…" Will cut himself short.
Was there still a chance? Surely, a lockdown was completely out of his control. Surely, Jason would understand. But would the other investors understand?
"Will? Will, you still there?" asked Cecil.
"Yeah. No. I gotta go. Do what you can. Walk them through the process. I'll send the slides right over. I know it's a lot to ask… you weren't supposed to come in today—"
"I'm on it. Don't you worry about a thing, boss. We'll get through it—Amber, get the fuck off!"
Will chuckled half-heartedly, picturing Cecil trying to fight off his foster lamb, then commanded Daphne to end the call.
He took a deep breath, then slapped his cheeks for good measure.
"Daphne, call Jason."
"Calling Jason."
He was much quicker than Cecil. Within two rings, Jason picked up the call.
"Will. I just heard. Is everything alright?" Jason asked.
Will sighed. He wasn't expecting Jason to tune into the video feed, but there he was—his hair neatly combed, his suit crisp as the hallway's autumn mornings, all set and ready to go.
"Sudden lockdown. All good here. I was just about to set out," he said. He tried to smile but judging by his vid-feed, he looked just about to puke.
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose.
"It took me months to set up this meeting," he said. His voice was strained, but Will was glad he couldn't sense the tones of reproach.
"Maybe I'm not the only one in lockdown here, maybe—" he began, but he knew better than to continue.
Jason smiled sadly, almost indulgently.
"They're all ASL, Will. The lockdown won't affect them."
Will could only admire Jason's diplomacy. He could have just as easily said us instead of them.
"I'm… I'm truly sorry. You got someone down on 2 ASL? Tell me you've got a contingency plan," Jason added.
"Cecil is on his way. I'm sending the slides over right now. Jason, I know you've pulled all the strings at your disposal, but I'll be eternally grateful if you think you could—"
"Will, calm down," Jason cut in. He sighed, then he adopted that sparkly, annoyingly positive look. The very same he would force on his face whenever they got in trouble at school when they were kids. "I'm sure we'll be able to work something out. It's a lockdown, it's not like you set a bomb down there or something. This wasn't your fault, and I'll make damn sure the investors know that."
Will smiled. He remembered Mrs. Todd and distantly wondered if Jason had ever been the recipient of a sudden fish-projectile.
"Thank you. For all it's worth, I'm in your debt for setting this up for me. You'll always be a platinum member at the shop, ten percent discount on all orders between two and five am from Tuesdays to Thursdays."
Jason laughed. "Thanks, buddy."
Will smiled, then overrode Daphne's upcoming warning with a flick of his hand.
"Make sure you ask Cecil to show you the fiber optics cable that feeds the production line. We've got a sample in the kitchen—"
"Will," interrupted Jason, "we've got it. Let us take it from here. Just stay safe. If all goes well, I'll come down for lunch. Then we'll talk about it. Chill. Do some push-ups. Read a book. We'll be in touch."
With a weak smile, Jason hung up.
Will finished sending Cecil the slides with numb fingers, then he fell back on his bed just as Daphne announced that the communications shutdown was set to begin.
"Good thing I've got Madam Dare's Dream Diary in PDF," Will announced to no one in particular as he kicked his blankets and tugged them over his head.
According to Madame Dare, dreaming of your math teacher means you will soon find yourself enveloped in a blossoming friendship, while dreaming of fish points to a successful course of affairs, favorable circumstances and or the resolution of a problem.
Will called bullshit on all those things.
By the time lockdown was lifted and the bolts on the outside of Will's door released their hold, it was well past noon.
Communications were back up the second Will stepped out of his apartment, and he practically ran while fumbling with his watch.
"I heard a whale smashed a part of the outer wall down 9 BSL," whispered a man to his companion as Will trotted past them.
Will frowned and checked his watch for information, but nothing was available yet. The authorities had yet to comment on what caused the morning's lockdown. If it was anything like the past occasions, they would never really find out.
The hallways were packed with late commuters and disgruntled Lethenians in general, but he paid them no mind. If anything, the sheer amount of people walking two and fro made the hallway temperature rise slightly. He was starting to sweat.
Will reached the sector's central transportation hub and waited in line to get in one of the elevators. The line was ridiculous—he'd be there for at least an hour. He decided to take the long way to the shop, with everyone crowding up at the elevators, it would be much faster to take the conveyors to a different partition, then catch an elevator once was away from Four. If you didn't have access to the fast lines, moving around Lethe could be a bit of a pain sometimes. But then again, since when had public transportation not been a pain? All cities around the world were the same, and Lethe was not the exception, especially since it was one of the largest.
Seen from above, Lethe resembled something like a fried egg, not exactly a perfect circle. However, the city was so large it was also divided into partitions, not just levels, the way you would a massive pizza—if pizzas were cut into twelve slices. The partitions were modeled after a clock, with each "slice" being represented by a number. Partition One pointed north, Partition Six pointed south, and so on.
Will lived on Four, the southwest of Lethe, which meant his partition occupied what would have been the space between numbers four and five on a clock. His shop was on Ten, almost exactly on the opposite side of the city, and nine whole levels up, on 2 ASL. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have taken him more than forty minutes to get there, but the way things were looking today, he wasn't quite sure of that anymore.
He decided he wouldn't wait for the elevator. He got out of the line and headed for the conveyors that transported citizens from partitions within the same level. Joining the flow of people on the conveyor belt felt a bit like stepping on a massive, communal treadmill, only one that went very slowly. It was wide enough that those who wanted to stand still would stick to the far side, and those in a hurry would take other. Today, everyone stepping on at Four seemed to be in a hurry.
Will stepped onto the belt, already used to the slight discomfort of stepping from something hard to something soft, and picked up a steady trot. The belt didn't move too quickly, partly because it was slightly curved as it moved clockwise from partition to partition. Its vaulted ceiling was slick and bright, with purple-blueish LED lights and colorful advertisements that flashed through the walls, practically chasing after the commuters.
"Infested with lichen? Got a wall to brighten? Try Triton! Polishing and cleaning solution, two in one! Now available in lilac, honeysuckle and grass! Smells just like the real thing!"
"Let legal problems be a thing of the past. Chase & Chase will take your case. Scan code for a free consultation! (Fast Line pass not included.)"
"Is your adoptive cattle being a jerk? Scan code and give us a call! Echidna's, taking over your pests since 2255!"
The first time he'd been in the conveyor, Will felt as if he'd been running inside a state-of-the-art, giant, fluorescent donut that kept shouting things at him.
"Did you hear about the bomb back in Four?" asked someone next to Will. He turned, wondering if the woman was talking to him, but then realized she'd been speaking into her watch.
A bomb? Could it really have been a bomb? More plausible than a whale… but still.
His own watch beeped and Will almost bumped into someone as he checked his messages, trying hard to keep up the pace.
Cecil was awfully sorry. So was Jason, apparently judging by the NFTs of Will's favorite digital artist he'd purchased directly into Will's account.
The deal had not gone through.
His suit was crumpled all over his left side from going back to sleep without taking it off, but he didn't care about that anymore. If anything, the whole thing made him want to crack up. There was no need now, he realized. It had all been too good to be true.
He had planned on getting out in Partition Five or Six, but it seems like he wasn't the only one to think of this plan. In the end, he ended up running all the way around to Ten—a new personal record, and it might have been only because jogging kept his mind away from the events that had transpired that morning.
When he stepped out of the conveyor belt in Ten, it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon. He felt as if the hallway temperature had been set to a hundred instead. He walked to the elevators and didn't have to wait more than two minutes by that point. When he finally got in the elevator, he was sweating so profusely his shirt was sticking to his body, as if he'd only just walked out of a steam room.
"Level Two, ASL" announced a robotic voice.
The elevator doors slid open and Will breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Sunlight.
For a second, he almost forgot all his problems. He stepped into the golden gleam and outstretched his arms as the sunlight drifted through the massive glass panels that lined the outer walls. Sunlight, wonderful, life-giving sunlight. And to think he'd almost gone years without being touched by its warmth.
"Will!" someone yelled nearby.
Will opened his eyes, feeling suddenly rejuvenated. Cecil was trotting his way—his shop was only a few yards from the elevators, which was one of the reasons they were so popular with the commuters.
"Hey," he said, smiling widely as sunlight caressed his cheek.
Cecil frowned at him.
"Why… dang, Will. Come, let's get you a fresh shirt," he said, pulling Will by the elbow and dragging him to the shop.
Will left the spot of sunlight on which he had been standing rather grudgingly, but allowed Cecil to pull him away nonetheless.
Lunch hour was well past by the time Will had changed into his apron. He went through the day's reports—at least everything there was fine. The burritos had sold out, as expected, but so had the burgers. That was good news, what with the new soy patties they'd been working on for the past weeks.
Cecil was being annoyingly remorseful. It seemed like he had messed up some of the numbers and shown the investors the wrong slides. He'd been going back and forth offering Will food and drinks and even went as far as offering a shoulders massage.
Will couldn't bring himself to blame him, as much as he wanted. There was no one to blame, and that was the worst part of it all. Unless he blamed the whale or the retard who had set a bomb somewhere down BSL. He felt as if the universe had been trying to send him a message.
You don't belong up here, it seemed to whisper into his ear.
Will pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to call his mom all of a sudden—heck, he would have settled with calling his dad, and that was alarming at best.
"Cecil, would you mind taking over for a bit? I think I'm going for a walk," said Will, turning away from the counter and untying his apron just as the entrance bell chimed.
Cecil gave him a sly smile.
"You sure, boss? I daresay your day is about to pick up slightly," he said, inching closer to Will and motioning to the entrance with a nod.
Will turned. He was embarrassed at how well Cecil knew him. He was right, if there was one thing that could cheer him up right about now, that thing had just walked in through the front door.
"Hey, Nico" said Will. "H-How are you?"
Nico, as he had introduced himself about six months ago, was one of Will's regular clients. His favorite client, to be perfectly honest. He was slim and tall, perhaps a couple of inches shorter than Will, but they'd never stood close enough for Will to make sure. He had long, straight hair that barely grazed his shoulders, and he favored wearing black. Today he was wearing his trademark leather jacket, dark-grey skinny jeans and white kicks. He couldn't see what was on his shirt, but it looked like a band logo. It was probably something awesome. Will distantly wondered if Nico liked Persephone and the Pussycats, or if he'd heard their new song on the live podcast this morning.
"Hey," said Nico, saluting Will with a finger to his forehead. He walked up the counter, placed his hands on the smooth surface and inched closer, peering up at the menu displayed on the back wall.
They'd only known each other for about six months, and not socially. Nico would come in three or four times a week and order an assortment of items. He always tried the new things on the menu, but he had his favorites. Will knew them by heart. He was especially fond of their soups and the reconstituted flat white.
He'd introduced himself that first day too, but just as Nico. At first, he didn't look like the friendliest of types, but Will was surprised to learn that Nico was actually nice. Sort of. A little sarcastic sometimes, but generally nice. Even though he often communicated through frowns and smirks.
Nico wrinkled his nose as he looked at the menu, then bit his lip and frowned. He turned to Will for a second, as if sensing what Will had been thinking.
"Nothing new this week?" he asked.
Will shrugged sheepishly. "Busy week. No time to try new recipes."
Nico nodded and a wayward strand of hair fell over his face. Will wanted to reach out and pull it behind Nico's ear, but Nico managed to do so on his own without so much as glancing back at Will.
Will took this precious opportunity to carefully study Nico's face. This was the closest they ever stood to one another, and Will was determined to make the most of it. Nico's mouth was slightly open, his dark eyes moving quickly as he scanned the options.
"What's the soup of the day?" he asked.
"Seaweed tortilla, back by popular demand," Will replied with a smile.
"Oh, hell yeah. Gimme an extra-large bowl to go."
Will chuckled. "A bit late for lunch, isn't it? Or is this for dinner? I can have it sent to your place if you want, it'll arrive nice and hot no matter the time."
What he really wanted to know, and what he would have asked had he ever grown a pair of balls, was if Nico was going to take the soup home to a girlfriend… boyfriend? And where was home, exactly? And what was his favorite movie.
Nico bit his lower lip somewhat apologetically. "Nah. I'm hungry. I've been up to my ass in paperwork today, no time for lunch. This has possibly been the worst day of my life, to be honest."
Behind Will, Cecil snorted. Both Will and Nico turned to him.
"Uh, nothing. Sorry, just. Will's had a rough day too, haven't you Will?" Cecil interjected, then took a few steps back, hoping to merge into the wall.
Nico arched an eyebrow.
"Ah. You wouldn't happen to have heard of this morning's lockdown?" Will asked as he punched in Nico's order into the counter's built-in touch screen.
Nico's eyes widened. "Don't tell me. You were there? Partition Four, right? Fuck. I heard about it. Apparently, there was some explosion down on 7 BSL."
"9 BSL," Will corrected him. "I live down in Seven, so I can tell you the breach wasn't there. Actually, I'm not even sure where. I must have overheard someone mentioning it."
Nico looked thoughtful, his eyebrows furrowed.
"You live in 7 BSL? Partition Four?" Nico asked.
"Yep," said Will. He wondered where Nico lived. But it was poor Lethenian etiquette to ask someone where they lived. It was an extremely personal question, as it tended to pretty much disclose someone's social status. He wasn't embarrassed though, if anything, letting Nico know he was down in Seven made him feel even prouder of his accomplishments thus far.
"Shit, sorry to hear that," Nico said in the end, rubbing his neck and looking down at his shoes. He looked truly apologetic.
"Don't sweat it. It's not like you set the bomb down there or anything, right?" Will said with a chuckle.
Nico narrowed his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest and inched in closer, compelling Will to do the same. This wasn't the first time Will had had a weird feeling about Nico. Like he did something dangerous for a living. Maybe he was a mercenary, or a marine biologist. Whatever he did, Will was all the more attracted to him when he could sense that little bit of danger emanating from him, like he did now.
"If I had set a bomb," Nico whispered, his voice dangerous. "I wouldn't have set it anywhere near you."
Will swallowed.
They'd been flirting for months, which was Will's favorite part of whichever day Nico actually showed up in person, but this was the first time he almost asked Nico for his contact information.
Just as quickly, Nico let out a breathy chuckle and straightened away from the counter without another word.
"Ehem," Will cleared his throat and turned around, looking for something to clean.
The bell rang and Nico's soup appeared on the conveyor behind Will, all wrapped up and ready to go.
"Here you go," said Will, transferring the package onto Nico's hands. Their fingers touched for a second and Will almost dropped the whole thing.
"Thanks, charge it to my account?" said Nico. "I'll see you around, Solace."
"You know, you can call me Will!" Will spoke up as Nico turned around to leave.
"I like Solace," he replied.
Will stood staring at Nico until he turned the corner and was out of sight. He heaved a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. Next to him, Cecil did the same.
"I gotta admit, he is kinda hot, in a murder-y way," said Cecil.
Will pushed Cecil away with his hip.
"Shut up," he said.
"When are you going to ask him out?" Cecil asked.
"Shut up, Cecil," Will said warningly, but he couldn't help smiling at the thought.
"Come on, I'm sure he's into you. No one can like that seaweed tortilla thing that much to order an extra-large. He's totally trying to impress you."
"Cecil…"
"Just ask him out!"
"Cecil!"
"Ask him out, or I will!"
Will broke into a fit of laughter. Cecil was a renegade womanizer, if anything Will would pay good money to watch him try to flirt with another man.
"You were right though," said Will.
"About what?"
"My day has definitely picked up a bit."
Jason showed up around dinner time. The employees were slammed preparing all the orders for takeaway, but the shop itself was relatively empty. Dinner was usually the one meal Lethenians liked to have at home, so takeaway was popular at this hour.
Will and Jason sat on one of the tables in the far end, out of earshot from his employees. It didn't take long for Jason to convey everything that had transpired over the meeting, and they were all things Will had pretty much already guessed at. Cecil had messed up, the investors weren't impressed that Will hadn't been there in person, lockdown or not. In the end, there had been no deal, and no word on whether or not they would give Will another chance. There were many other blooming small businesses that they could invest in besides his humble shop.
"I'm really sorry, Will," said Jason, twirling his coffee mug.
Will shrugged.
"Well, at least I've got this shop. So, what if we can't add a couple more shops in the upper levels. Level Two is fine, in fact Level Two is my favorite!" he said, trying to put on a smile.
Jason chuckled. "I'll let you get back to work. They're waiting for me back at the office."
"Overtime?" Will asked, already knowing the answer.
"What's new?" Jason replied. He got to his feet, patted Will on the back and walked out the door.
With a heavy sigh, Will leaned back on his chair. He checked his watch. He could go home, but to what? The sun had set, which meant all ASL levels were now sharing the darkness that permeated the BSL levels. Serves them right, Will thought sourly. He considered going out for a movie or something, but he didn't feel like spending more money. He had sort of already splurged on that album, which he hadn't had a chance to hear yet.
"Cecil," Will said, turning around on his chair.
Cecil peeked from behind the counter. "Yah, boss?"
"You can go home now. I'm gonna close up tonight. I feel like doing a bit of cleaning."
"Whatever you say," Cecil replied with a shrug.
Yes. A nice, thorough scrub of all the surfaces in the shop would do him good. A bit of extra exercise, even though he'd already run halfway around the city today.
They closed down at 10. The system would continue to take orders for the morning's breakfast service, and the cooks would arrive at 3 to start prepping the food. Will thought about taking tomorrow off, but he hadn't made up his mind yet.
The album was fantastic, it had been totally worth the two drachmas he paid to download it. He cleaned through the night, or what felt like the entire night. When he had finished, he checked his watch and was surprised to see it was only 2 am.
At least the elevators would be empty now, he realized. He was actually pretty tired. He sometimes wished he had access to the fast lines. They were hella expensive, but the little tubes could deliver you to your destination in a matter of minutes, no matter where you were, and you got to sit down for a change.
He closed up, punched in the security code and made his way home, his wrinkled suit hanging over his shoulder. It was chilly in the hallway now. He thought about putting on his jacket, but he did not want to be reminded of the morning experience, and those wrinkles would have undoubtedly done so.
As expected, there was no one waiting for the elevators. In fact, once he made it down to 7 BSL, the entire level seemed completely deserted.
He got off the conveyor belt at Partition Four. It was still well illuminated, but the lack of people and the blasting advertisements that kept flashing across the walls made him feel like he was in some ghost town. As he approached the living quarters, the hallways became more and more narrow. There were wider spaces available through Four, but narrow hallways also meant cheaper rent. Will didn't mind, so long as he wasn't in a hurry, he could live with the limited walking space.
He turned a corner, only a few more blocks to go until he reached home, when suddenly, something caught his eye.
Something, or was that… someone, was curled up in a ball.
Will's eyes widened.
Someone was lying on the floor, their back to the wall, their knees wrapped around their arms.
"Hello?" Will asked, craning his neck and taking a few, cautionary steps. "Hello? Are you alright there? Do you need me to call security? Paramedics? Hello?"
The person looked up. Will gasped. He recognized him.
It was Nico, and he was bleeding.
"N-Nico!" Will stammered, dropping his suit and running to his side.
Nico's eyes were unfocused, and there was blood on his hands. There was blood on his neck too. Will knelt beside him and inspected his head.
"Fuck, Nico. Nico, I think someone… someone hit you in the back of the head, we need to call—"
Suddenly, Nico looked straight into Will's face, his expression feral. He grabbed Will by the wrists and pulled him close.
"Will, yes? Will? Will Solace?" Nico asked. His voice was hoarse, he sounded as if he'd spent the last few hours screaming.
"Yes, Nico, it's me," said Will. His anxiety was spiking to a point where he would start screaming if he didn't calm down stat. Just what the hell was going on? Why was Nico here? Had he been attacked? Was the assailant still somewhere nearby?
"I'm… I'm Nico?" Nico asked.
Will looked perplexed.
"Yes… you are Nico," Will said unsurely.
"I'm Nico?" Nico repeated with a frown.
Will's blood turned to ice.
"You don't remember?"
"I don't remember anything," he said, staring at the blood in his hands, then he started to shake. "I don't remember a fucking thing!"
"Fuck," said Will, getting to his feet and looking around, not knowing what to do. "We need to call the paramedics, they'll sort you out—"
"No!" said Nico, jumping to his knees and pulling Will back down. "No, don't call anyone! Take me somewhere safe, take me… somewhere, I need to remember. Why can't I remember?" he asked desperately, looking down at his hands, then drawing his fingers through his hair and smearing blood on his forehead. He looked as if he were about to have a nervous breakdown.
Will grabbed Nico by the shoulders. "Fine, but… but you're injured. You've hit your head. I'm not a doctor, I wouldn't know what to do!"
"Will, Will Solace, right? Why can I remember you, but I don't remember anything else? I… I came down here because… I kept thinking… Sector Four, 7 BSL, Sector Four… Why do I know this?"
Will gluped. "We spoke earlier, I mentioned this is where I live."
"We spoke earlier?" Nico asked, his eyes going from Will's right eye to his left.
"Yes, you stopped by the shop, you ordered some soup?"
"I did?" Nico whispered. Then he let out a guttural groan and pulled his hair. "What the fuck… what the fuck is going on?"
"Perhaps you hit your head? Did you see someone walking nearby? Someone suspicious?"
Nico's nostrils flared and he gave will a scathing look. "I just told you, I don't remember!"
Will nodded stupidly. Yes, yes he had mentioned that.
"How is it possible that you don't remember anything?" Will whispered almost to himself.
"I remember you," said Nico, his voice brittle. "Why do I remember you?"
Will was at a loss. How was he supposed to answer that? It wasn't like he'd made an impression earlier today. They'd barely exchanged any information at all. But one thing was for sure, Nico was hurt, and he needed Will's help.
"Come with me," he said gently, getting to his feet and offering Nico a hand. "My place is just around the corner. We'll get you cleaned up, and then we can try to figure out what happened. I'll do an online search. I'm sure we'll get answers. I also wanna check your head wound. I'm no doctor, but my HHAI will sort you out."
"Your HHAI?" Nico asked, reaching out very slowly to take Will's hand. Will pulled him up gently.
"My Household Artificial Intelligence?" Will said. He didn't suppose Nico came from the lowest levels, where HHAIs were not available to residents, or did he? He couldn't possibly. He'd bought a thirty-five drachma bowl of soup for lunch today. He wouldn't have been able to afford that if he lived anywhere below 10.
"I feel like I should know that," said Nico, shaking his head and pressing on his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"You must have hit your head, look. You're bleeding," Will said. He reached to the back of Nico's neck and collected some blood from his hair with the tips of his fingers.
When Nico saw the blood, his eyes unfocused and he almost toppled over.
"Nico!" Will yelled, stepping forward and grabbing Nico by the shoulders to steady him on his feet.
"No, no, no…" Nico began to stammer. He made a grimace, like he was in a lot of pain. Hell, he probably was.
"Let's get you to my place, come. Can you walk alright?"
Nico looked up. His eyes were glassy, pleading.
"Will?" he asked, grabbing Will by the forearm.
"Yeah, I'm here. Let's go," he said.
"N-No, no. I can't come with you."
Will flinched. "Why not? I can help you. You came all the way down here, you remembered where I lived. There must be an explanation for all this."
Nico raised his right hand over Will's mouth. He didn't touch him, but Will could have kissed the tips of Nico's fingers if he so wanted to.
"I… I can't come with you because… I think I just killed someone," Nico whispered, then looked down at the blood in his hands.
Will froze and a shiver went through him.
"W-what? What do you mean? Of course you didn't…"
"This blood isn't mine, Will," said Nico. He touched his head, then pulled Will's hand to do the same. There was no wound.
"I think I killed him," Nico whispered, his voice dying at the last word.
Will looked around, then focused back on Nico's pale face.
"Who?" he asked. He wasn't sure why he did so, or whether he really wanted to know the answer to that question.
"I don't know…" Nico said, digging the meaty part of his palms into his eyeballs. "I don't know! I don't remember! I don't fucking remember anything!"
Will took a deep breath. Honestly, he didn't know why he was still standing there. He'd made his decision the moment he'd recognized Nico on the floor. Gently, he removed Nico's hands from his own face, then gave his shoulders a firm squeeze.
"Come. My place is just around the corner," he said softly. He put an arm around Nico's shoulders and turned him in the direction of his apartment.
Nico tried to speak, but words seemed to have failed him.
"It's okay," Will added, sounding a lot more like himself now that he had made the decision to help. "You don't need to say anything. We'll sort it out. We'll get you cleaned up, then maybe really check that you're not injured. We'll take it from there, one step at a time."
They walked in silence for about a block until they reached Will's door. He'd been about to put his watch to the lock and punch in the code when Nico stopped him.
Will turned. Nico was standing so close to him he could smell his breath. He was right, he was about two inches taller than him, an idea that made him want to smile. He didn't, because Nico was looking so intently at him he might have set him on fire with his eyes.
"Why do I remember you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head disconsolately.
Will smiled.
"I don't know, but I'm glad you did."
He opened the door and let Nico into his apartment.