Chapter 6: Seeing Outside the Box
I woke up later, my eye lids flicking open, yet seeing only black still. Had to be a glitch, I first assumed. Whatever the hellish virus was it had eaten into my screen, my sluggish dream-webbed head assumed. The back of my legs were bliss in something cool and wet; I wiggled my toes to test if they were still there while I blinked my eyes. It was like trying to hit the enter button to get out of a program. Enter. Enter. Enter. Enter…
Something creaked.
I grabbed the blanket hung over my shoulders tightly in a flinch. My ears strained for sound other than the beating of my heart. I shifted in the chair I had fallen asleep in, hard and dully warm wooden texture. I remained completely still, eyes hopelessly open and blind, trying to detect breathing. I got it after two minutes.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale…
"I can hear you breathing." I said aloud in an irritated tone. Someone sucked in a breath tightly. I listened intently for a moment, waiting for a name of some sort to drift loudly into my ears. There was silence. I frowned, getting more annoyed.
"I may be blind for the moment, but I'm not deaf." I snarled.
"Sorry." Said a voice to my left. I titled my head in that direction. I had actually half expected it to be Seto, but this voice sounded more like a kid than his Like it could've been playful. It was being timid right now. I let my expression soften.
"…It's alright. I'd just like to know when someone's in the room, that's all."
"I thought you were sleeping." I furrowed my brow.
"After I started talking?"
"You had been talking in your sleep a while ago." This was news to me.
"What did I say?" I asked.
"Nothing important."
I doubted that. I wondered whether to confront him about this now. He sounded like a nice kid. People can be deceiving. I held the blanket in tight fists. I knew this place was starting to have an effect. This was just a game. Yet I feel close to death at times were I feel myself falter. I knew it was probably all these extra senses that caused the illusion. I could feel the itch on my eyes and the warm air swirling in my lungs.
I let it out in a weary hiss.
"Where am I?" I asked with a soft, almost menacing tone.
"My house. The Game Shop. My Grandpa was there when you rescued Rebecca's grandfather. They're old friends. Thank you for saving him." It had a kindly ring. I had a bitter smile.
"Don't. Had to do it." I heard a chair squeal as he pulled it closer. I can imagine him sitting down.
"Had to?" I nodded sharply. If his Grandfather and…Rebecca's grandfather were such good friends, if boy's grandfather is bound to know something about Egypt. It was worth a shot to ask the kid incase he over heard anything, though it was a bit slim. I could only nose around and hope. Not much else I can do without my eyesight.
"Yeah. I have to ask some questions. He's an Archeologist isn't he?"
"Yes, he's also a Professor." His voice is curious, yet I hear slight avoidance. I was smiling by that time though, couldn't stop it.
"Even better. Need to look up some history. About a Pharaoh called Atem." There was silence. Such silence; we're you could hear the fuzz in it, like on a tape recorder. Almost like you can hear the atoms moving that made up that air. Loud and strangely ominous. I lean back against my chair slowly, still blinking in hopes of scratching that itch a little. It was maddening.
"Do you have eye drops?" I asked but got no answer. It was like a red flag. I place my feet down, submerging my toes and feeling the smooth plastic of the bucket. I sat up tall, ignoring the flaring pain in the back of my legs. I let go of the blanket and place my open hands on my lap, trying to look calm and relaxed. I listen and only hear a creeping sort of breathing. I ask again much louder.
"Yes." Different voice. I furrow my brow a confused. When had I missed him coming in? When the kid was talking? Couldn't have been just now, I would've heard it. I hear him get up and walk somewhere, a little away, hear shifting in an enclosed space, like a cabinet, stop, and footsteps coming back. I take a cool plastic bottle lands softly in my hand, and fingers are quickly removed before I clasp it.
I recoil when I put the stuff in my eyes, aware of the fact that I really didn't know what he gave me. I had to trust. It was hard enough putting this stuff in my eyes. I claimed my eyes shut reaction, holding my hands up close to my eyes to protect them.
"You alright?" Same new voice. I nod not trusting my voice. Never had to use eye drops before. I was always careful when it came to my eyes. They are my primary sense. I'm blinking slowly, feeling unnerved.
I kept blinking up nothing was coming. I felt around for a table or something to get up on. I'd wash my eyes out with water if I had to. A warm hand grabbed my outstretched hand to help me. I was opening my mouth to snarl at him when something inside shuddered. I froze, eyes shut, confused by the lack of feeling of skin. It was not soft. It was rough. Not skin at all I slowly realized. I flexed my hand and felt something covering it, that rough uncomfortable material. Uncomfortable like-
Gloves. It was the goddamn gloves around my hands. THE GODDAMN GLOVES! Malfunction. Had to be. Another glitch. It was hope. A strange hope that I wasn't allowed to fully think about. It was kept under tight chains in the back of my head, like where that fear of be coming brain dead had gone, and I was disallowed to think about.
But something was wrong. I still felt his grip outside of the cloth, warm and tight. There was no sound. He wasn't breathing for some reason. I tried to pull my hand away but couldn't. He had a vice grip around me. I opened my eyes despite my lack of sight to glare at him, growl at him to let me go or else.
I was met with the vision of the screen, a dull blue, folded three ways to cover my eyes like before. My eyes widened in disbelief. I was back. The game had to have been shut off. The humming of the machine there, but voices were loud over it. So loud. They didn't make any sense at first. Just incomprehensible screaming and bellowing. I forced my brain to listen.
"I WANT THAT BASTARD OUT OF THE SYSTEM NOW!"
"Sir, we're trying everything-"
"STOP TRYING AND DO IT!"
"You yelling doesn't help shit so sit down!"
"AND WHY ARE YOU TALKING!"
"Because this is a delicate process! We need to track the bad program and delete it without fouling up any of the other connections. A wrong move and we could possibly kill our own member."
"We already lost the other six, what going to happen if we lose one more?"
"You heartless-"
"Why can't we just shut the system off!"
"BECAUSE SHE'S STILL IN THERE!"
"And?"
"How about this for you, you sniveling piece of shit, we shut down the program, she dies. She dies, we get an investigation, and the whole project goes all to fricking hell. Get it? Besides, she's lasted longer than the others. We still have a chance to get her out…PUT THE GODDAMN CIGARETTE OUT! You're hurting my eyes."
"Sorry..."
"HER EYES ARE OPEN!"
I shuddered and lifted my hand to remove the helmet from my head. Didn't move. Pinned to the chair. A tight grip was still curled around my hand. Could hear ragged breathing that wasn't mine. Felt my eyes widen and knew I wasn't controlling them. Something was very wrong.
Shuddering small earthquakes tremored into my body from the chair. Heard thuds as well, stomping faster and faster until they were very close, like a stampeded. The button on the side of my head was pressed hard, making my head move to the right. The screen flipped up immediately and the frightened gray eyes of one of the five boys were staring.
"Drayce?" He whispered. A shadow of a person moved behind the boy, smoke trailing behind him, as one of the white coated men I had met before leaned over the youth's shoulder. His eyes were a fierce blue, calculating and studying.
"There appears to be no other movement. She's still deep in the REM Phase. Interesting. This has never happened before…"
"So she's still sleeping?" Asked a drawling bored voice.
"I would think so, yes."
"Wonderful." Same bored tone.
"…Does anyone else remembering her having purple eyes?" One of the boys in the background asked curiously. Those gray November eyes widened.
"N-no. They were brown before…"
"Are you sure?" Serious tone.
"Of course he's sure! He'd know since he looks at her so goddamn much." The gray-eyed boy turned away and glared to my left with angry yet embarrassed eyes.
"I do not!"
"Liar."
"At least I don't get a hard-on like you do."
"BOYS!" It ended the squabble for now. A flicker or rage was still in his face when he turned back to look at me again with studying eyes. Smoke drifted lazily over his head.
"Doctor, has anything like this ever happened before?" The blue eyed doctor stared with unsettled gaze.
"…no." There was silence. For a moment.
"Then what the hell is going on?" A seething whisper that sounded like crackling leaves asked.
"…I don't know." Another shudder. The grip crushed down so hard I was sure I was going to scream. I felt myself drifting back. Away. Into a grayish black haze. Someone was breathing unsettled next to me. Eyes wide I submerged in the depths, hearing someone yelling.
"We're losing her!"
I was already lost.
And back to my frozen form with a raggy glove around my hand and a human hand holding it. Wet and clammy. Unsettled breath floating like wind. The tremoring though was of my own creation. The blackness was gone and I was standing in a kitchen. The bag was by the wooden chair was sitting in.
I eyed it for only a moment before I ripped my hand away from his, and fell forward, into a roll, dove my hand in the bag and pulled the metal butt of the gun out, feeling the floor hold my back as the chair tipped and clattered, water from the bucket splashed but didn't spill. As I spun out of the roll and onto my side, gun pointed up, legs moaning with pain, glaring at the boy standing in front and above me at a slight angle.
He was looking at me with wide purples eyes.
"Who are you!" I asked in a quiet hiss, pointing the gun at him. Not very rigidly. My arm wouldn't stop quivering. Steadied it with my other hand. My breath was a wheeze.
This guy was more than a damn program. I don't know what the hell he is. Don't even know how he did it. This guy had just hacked my body and used my eyes. Used. My. Eyes. Made them his own, actually.
Does anyone else remembering her having purple eyes?
He looked at me. Looked with confused almost terrified gaze. His face had gone a milk-white. His hair was wild and tri colored. Red, black, yellow. Wore a blue coat, black pants, black tank top. Gold item around his neck in the shape of an upside down pyramid. Pyramid. I realized rather nervously he looked exactly like the idiot on the tablet. He was still staring with confused purple eyes.
He took a step back.
"W-what are you?" I frowned at him, still seething with anger. This was the kid. He didn't realize I was pointing a gun at him. Looked like he was close to having a damn breakdown.
"I'm human. What the hell are you?" I asked. He still looked confused. Different confused though. His eyes were unfocused now, almost like someone was whispering softly into his ear. Hell, I could've sworn I heard a voice under the fuzzy silence. He didn't move. Not at all. We stared at each other, waiting for the next move. I sat there trying not to think about anything, but found that wasn't working. I was rattled.
I put the gun away fumingly.
"Of all the bullshit…" I was muttering under my breath as I pushed myself stiffly off the ground, aware he was watching me, ignoring the burning in my legs. When I was upright he was still looking with suspicion and uneasiness. Didn't blame him. It was becoming more and more apparent that he hadn't meant to do that, nor expected it. Dusting off my clothes I kept my eyes on him. Picked up my bag and slung in on my shoulder, still staring. Didn't put the gun away, though.
This was getting me nowhere.
"Look," I said, brushing my hair back on my head with one hand with a sigh, "I don't know who you are, or how the hell you even just did that, and I don't care. What I want is to finish this and go home. For the way you're looking at me, you probably want me out of here too, I'm guessing, so we have a mutual goal, right?" He frowned.
"That's not what I'm thinking." I felt a grin slide on my face in amusement.
"Alright, what were you thinking?"
"I didn't want you out of here." I waited for him to continue, but he didn't. There was more to be said. Knew that. He was smart by holding his tongue. Still wondered what he had been thinking, but didn't say. I refrained from shaking my head in the growing annoyance, holding the gun loosely in my hand.
"Okay. Whatever. The point is you get my drift. And if you can oblige to answer a couple of questions for me, then I'll be out of your hair. Capisca?"
He had the most distant look I have ever seen. His eyes down and unfocused. It was hauntingly familiar. Horrifically similar to an expression I'd seen before. Like he had slipped somewhere, through a crack or something, and he wasn't here at all. Like he was somewhere bad, but bad was too weak a word. Like nothing here was real and he was getting a special glimpse of hell, all for himself.
Violet eyes down and pointed unfocused at the gun.
Even I stared at it for a moment, biting my lip, thinking, before shoving it out of view in the back band of my pants, lifting my shirt to cover it, and stood there a moment, staring. He was my age in his face, sure, but his eyes were different. Not hard. More like a child's eyes than I could have ever believed.
Couldn't help tilting my head, knowing some of it had to do with shock, but there was another lurking factor of the dramatic change. I could've sworn they had been an entirely different shade of purple. Was it the lighting in here?
Gooseflesh traveled down my arms, like the temperature had gone down fast and it was cold. Like, being the key word here ladies and gents, because it had gotten no colder. It was like the air around this kid was bewitched, invisible shimmering you could only feel in your gut when he concentrated. It didn't feel wrong. It just wasn't normal.
He still didn't move.
The next thing I did was just plain weird. I remember thinking that a hot drink might help the kid. I blink my eyes once and I have a white mug in front of me in one hand, and the faucet tap in the other. Steam is rising in my face, tingling my skin. I shut it closed and pick up the spoon from the counter top that hadn't been there a minute ago and start stirring the brown powder briskly as I narrowed my eyes confused. Chocolate wafted and smelled better than home, which was creepy.
I walked briskly next to him, still stirring until I banged the spoon lightly on the side of the mug, and took his hand and curled the mug around it. Both of us flinched at the cloth texture between my hands and his. I only let go when he had it tight, almost a fist from the shock, before I pushed him down onto the seat again with the other hand. More cloth weirdness there.
I picked up the container of hot chocolate while shutting off the sink, trying to remember where the stuff went. I ended up having to follow my feet in some sort of eerie game of follow your nose, or rather your gut. I put it in one of the bottom cabinets, more to the left than right of the sink. I was pleasantly surprised and rather miffed.
Lifted the chair and put it right before I sat down, stiffly, and took out the gun so I could sit back properly, twirled in my fingers for a moment before removing the bag from my shoulder and put it in there. Then putting the bag on the floor before I let myself look at him.
He was staring at me; perhaps a little surprised, maybe not, I can't tell; never was very good with people. Always felt a sort of unhinged uneasy feeling of 'what should I do or say next?' I guess it's having too much time to think sometimes. What I'm trying to say is I don't do well with people, and he was acting more human than a program should. That was scaring me.
But I had to remind myself that I was sitting next to a hologram.
"Nice to see someone can get as zoned out as me, but at the moment I don't think it's suits you." He blinked, and then smiled. That suited him far better, I found after a second. My lips twitched. I almost smiled back. Held it in tightly.
I settled to nod at him once and shifted a bit in my chair, locating the bag incase I needed it in a hurry, and then settled to looking at my hands or the floor. God this was strange. Couldn't help an embarrassed sort of expression from spreading on my face.
"You use to this kind of thing?" I asked as smoothly as I could. A pause.
"…You could say that…"
"Different line of weird, maybe?"
"Maybe."
"How about definitely?" No reply to that one. I shrugged it off.
"Doesn't matter. I'm not use to this either. This line of strange, anyway…so don't worry about it too much. It can't be-"
"You knew those people." I flinched at the sudden shift of serious in his voice. I didn't answer.
"From the vision."
"Vision's a bit too big of a word." I muttered. There was that straggled sort of silence.
"Yeah, I knew them."
"Who were they?"
"Who's Atem?" I countered. We sat in another pocket of fuzzy sound, both us breathing silently. Not looking at each other. Both of us irritated for all I know.
"I can't tell you that."
"By the looks of things, kiddo, we both have secrets we can't give up then." I said. Looking back now, kiddo was a weird word to use with a guy that was my age, but what can you do? What's done is done. Doesn't make me feel any less like an idiot though.
"I'm going to find out, you know that don't you?" I said to him, not looking at him but at my hands lying relaxed in my lap. Or rather only thinking I was looking at my hands. The illusion was spectacular. Freakishly so.
"Maybe not from you but someone else that knows. One man can't keep a secret like you've got all to himself. You gotta know that."
"And what about your secret?" He asked. I chuckled a moment, picking up my bag and getting out of the chair. It was time to go before he decided to stop me, weather by words or force. I stopped at the door on my way out, picking up my shoes with the socks stuffed in them.
"I never said a woman couldn't keep a secret all to herself, now did I?" I grinned at him.
"My names Drayce, in case you're wondering."
"Yugi Mutou."
"See you around Yugi Mutou." I was gone.
Author Note:
('Capisca' in English is 'understand'. I couldn't figure out how to spell 'Ca-pesh'?)