Well it's been a hot minute since I've posted last. I hope that people are still enjoying my posts. It's been hard between school and work (I now work in a place that I write professionally for a living.) But I'm hoping to get back into this. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 14- 'Flashbacks'
"Dude! If we don't know what we're talking about, what are we doing here?!" hissed Odd.
"I don't know!" argued Ulrich, "You were the ones who wanted to come here!"
"Well we better come up with something soon…!" said Seth, pointing towards the kitchen. The trio of men could hear footsteps as Yumi walked their way.
"Uh…um…"stammered Ulrich.
"What is that!?" shouted Seth, pointing out the window.
"Seth, that'll never work…" said Odd, condescendingly, "There's no way that Yumi will…um…Ulrich…?"
"What?!" said Ulrich, taking his eyes off Yumi. Then he saw what everyone was talking about. There was a large, wide wall of light coming towards them. It was almost like the white light in Ulrich's nightmares.
"Hey guys, what going o-," said Yumi, but she was cut short when the light wall engulfed them all. Ulrich lost consciousness.
"Ulrich! Ulrich! Wake up, man!"
"Huh?" Ulrich's mind felt super foggy like someone had run it through a blender.
"Ulrich!" cried a voice nearby, "Man, I didn't want to do this, sorry good buddy!"
The brunette was back outside that Japanese restaurant
Ulrich instinctively lifted his arm, and he caught Odd's hand just inches from his face.
"Whoa!"
"Don't do that…" growled Ulrich.
"How did you know…?" asked Odd.
"That you were going to slap me?" asked Ulrich, "Call it a gut feeling."
"That was more than a gut feeling Ulrich. That was like some Kung Fu master stuff there!" said Odd, "That was like something out of a movie!"
Ulrich sighed, "No…it's because this has happened all before…like almost twice now."
"H-huh?!" sputtered Odd.
"Look, just point me in the direction of Yumi, where did she get dragged off to?" asked Ulrich, getting fed up with all of this.
Odd just continued to sputter and pointed towards a nearby alley.
"Thanks…" grunted Ulrich, and he took off in the direction that Odd pointed. It didn't take long for Ulrich to catch up with Yumi. After a bit, all he had to do was follow the noise.
"You let me go right now! I am a person! Not a piece of meat!" shouted Yumi to her manager as she was being dragged away by her two burly bodyguards.
"Hey!" shouted Ulrich, finally rounding the corner to see them.
Yumi's manager turned and groaned when he saw Ulrich coming up behind them.
"Look, we know this looks bad, but this is Yumi Ishiyama, I'm her manager and I—," Mr. Durand's words were cut short as Ulrich wound up to deck the short-haired sleaze-ball. But Ulrich's shot was stopped short by one of Yumi's bodyguards.
Mr. Durand looked at how close Ulrich's fist got before the bodyguard stopped it and gasped, "How DARE you?! Do you know who I am and what I can do to you?!" the short man fumed.
Odd had just caught up to Ulrich, and he seemed still at a lack of words, "How dare you?! How dare you all!?" continued to scream Mr. Durand, pointing a finger at Ulrich, and then to Odd, "A high ranking member of the company, associating with such…degenerates!" Odd scowled, and looked about ready to deck Mr. Durand himself.
"Look Mr. Durand…" said Odd, trying to soothe the situation, he looked to Ulrich with a kind of 'what the heck has gotten into you?' kind of look. Ulrich just scowled and shrugged, but they were drowned out by Mr. Durand's incessant screams.
"When Mr. Cardiff hears of this! You'll be lucky if you're just fired! You'll be out on the streets! Lucky if you even have the opportunity to BEG for scraps! We are late enough as it is, and now we're…waylaid…! And no less than by those who should be helping to keep to our sch-edule!" said Mr. Durand in his weird way. Yumi's manager turned on heel and started to walk away with surprising speed. For someone with tiny legs, he certainly seemed a lot faster than he looked.
"Mr. Durand, please!" shouted Odd, trying to jog after the sleazy man.
"I've had enough of this, if you have any more issues, you can take them up with my lawyers and Mr. Cardiff!" huffed Mr. Durand.
"Mr. Durand!" pleaded Odd.
"Enough!" he shouted, "Carry on, we're late enough as it is. We'll have to bump the event numbers from 500 to 600 just so that people don't feel bad waiting in line…" muttered Yumi's manager.
"Ulrich!" shouted Yumi, as she was dragged away.
"Yumi!" shouted Ulrich.
"And you!" said Mr. Durand, turning on one of the bodyguards, the one who had stopped Ulrich's fist, "You should have seen that coming and stopped it sooner! Former Special Operations Command my tuckus…" scoffed Mr. Durand.
"Dude, what the heck has gotten into you?" hissed Odd to Ulrich.
"I was trying to stop something from happening again," said Ulrich.
"What?" asked Odd, "Dude, why you aren't making any sense?"
"Enough!" shouted Yumi, and she finally wrenched herself free from her bodyguard's grasp, "Mr. Durand…" she said her voice full of passive venom.
"This…" grunted Ulrich. He figured if he could keep Yumi from preemptively firing her manager, at least for tonight, that she wouldn't go home and then she wouldn't be depressed, and then Ulrich could save the day and then it would be that much easier for him to express his feeling for the Asian girl, and then things would be back to the way they were before this endless cycle of déjà vu.
"Miss Ishiyama, we don't have time for this! We have a sch-edule to keep!" Mr. Durand said nervously, looking back down the alley to where Odd and Ulrich stood.
"Nuh-uh!" shouted Yumi, cutting the man short, "You have done nothing but treat me like property this entire week, and I am getting SICK of it!" howled Yumi.
"M-m-miss Ishiyama?" stammered Mr. Durand.
"No! You're fired!" screamed Yumi. The petite Asian walked away from Mr. Durand who was still aghast at what had happened. She strode up to Ulrich and Odd, and then hid behind Ulrich, placing her hand on his chest, and peering out from behind his shoulder.
"S-stop her!" hissed Mr. Durand to the bodyguards, "Before I dock your pay even more than I already cou—, "Mr. Durand's words were cut short again as the other bodyguard clocked Mr. Durand. The short sleaze ball spun around once, groaned, and then collapsed on the ground in a heap. Yumi gasped, and so did Odd as they all watched Mr. Durand fall.
"I was the one who was Spec Ops," growled the man as he looked at Mr. Durand's unconscious form, the man then slapped his bicep, like he was slapping where his uniform patch used to be, "Little prick couldn't even keep us straight!" he said to the other bodyguard and to the trio at the end of the alley. The man then wound up and spat a boogie at the feet of Mr. Durand.
"I was in the French Foreign Legion, get it right next time," said the other bodyguard. And he too spat a boogie.
"We're so sorry Miss Ishiyama," said the first bodyguard, "We were only following orders to protect you and escort you, but Mr. Durand took that a little too far."
"We even felt that Mr. Durand's orders to physically restrain you was a bit much," admitted the second bodyguard, "But we couldn't say anything because he was still technically our boss, but as soon as you fired him, he no longer could control us. Please accept our apologies."
"Uh, yeah, um-," stammered Yumi, poking out from behind Ulrich, "No hard feelings guys…"
"Let us know if there is anything we can do for you in the future," said the first bodyguard and the two large, hulking men wandered off.
"Well…! That was a thing!" said Odd, still coming to grips with what happened.
"Ulrich! What the heck is going on?" asked Yumi.
Ulrich turned around to look at Yumi, "Well I thought you'd understand since you just fired your agent," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder to point at the unconscious form of Mr. Durand.
"No, I mean, you and Odd and Seth were in my house and then we're here! It's like time is happening again!"
"Okay! You two are obviously on something, or you fried each other's brains while kissing earlier, because you're crazy!" said Odd, "How can time be happening again?"
"We're not crazy Odd," said Ulrich, "How could we both have the same experience and it still be a coincidence?"
"Well, all I'm saying is that I don't feel like time is repeating!" said Odd.
"Odd has a point," said Yumi, "How are we remembering this and he isn't?"
"Well Odd hasn't remembered the last two times that this has happened," said Ulrich, "This is about the third time these things have happened."
"Wait, this has happened two other times?" asked Yumi, "Are you sure there were only two other times?"
"Yeah, pretty sure," said Ulrich, "At least I think so, there could be more. That could be why you remember only one, I remember most, and Odd doesn't remember any of them."
"Why is this happening?" asked Yumi.
"WHAT is happening!?" shouted Odd, "You two are making no sense!"
Ulrich sighed, "We seem to be stuck in some sort of…temporal loop, we're reliving the same hours of this day over and over, and none of us know why."
"Well then how come you guys can tell what's going on, and I have no clue?" asked Odd.
The two shrugged, and Odd threw up his hands.
"Maybe it's something we're doing that's triggering this…thing…" said Ulrich, unable to find words to describe the phenomenon.
"Like what, exactly?" asked Yumi.
"I don't know," said Ulrich, "It could be something we've said, something we've done, or something we're going to do or say."
"Well how do we know if it's us?" asked Odd, "What you seem to be saying is that literally almost anything we do or say could trigger this evening to start over again."
"Well, kinda yeah…" said Ulrich, but then Odd cut him off.
"Well then how do you know it isn't you?! You seem to remember this the most, how do we know you aren't causing this loop?"
"I-I don't…" said Ulrich.
"Well what have you done today? Maybe that will give us a clue as to what might be causing this," said Yumi.
"Honestly? Not much…" said Ulrich.
"We're not looking for you to describe your weekend like this is Monday at the office!" said Odd, "Come on! Give us the play-by-play!"
"Well I woke up, had breakfast—,"
"Ah-ha!" shouted Odd.
"What?!" shouted Yumi and Ulrich.
"Oh, um nothing, I had breakfast too this morning. I just thought the first thing you said would be an important clue," said Odd, sheepishly.
Ulrich sighed and rolled his eyes, "Anyway, then I just chilled around the house, then I went shopping, met up with Odd and Samantha."
"Samantha?" asked Yumi, turning a sly eye to Odd, "As in Samantha Knight, Samantha?"
"You, uh- remember her?" asked Odd, gulping.
"Of course! How could I forget the most awesome party ever thrown at Kadic?!" said Yumi, "Good for you Odd!"
"Uh- thanks Yumi!" said Odd, brightening up.
"Anyway, what were you saying Ulrich?" said Yumi, turning back to the brunette.
"Well I met up with Odd and Samantha and we went clothes shopping, and then I went art shopping and—," Ulrich froze when he thought about the painting he got while at the art shop.
"And-? And what, Ulrich?" asked Yumi.
"While I was art shopping, I got some weird painting of a factory…" said Ulrich, almost muttering to himself.
"A factory? Like what kind of factory, exactly?" asked Yumi.
"And how long ago did this factory close?" asked Odd.
"I think it was a car factory, but from what I hear it's closed down now, has been for years now," said Ulrich, "Why do you guys ask?"
"Because I've been having dreams of a factory…" said Yumi, she looked almost frightened, "A car factory, floating on the water."
"And I've been having dreams of being in a run-down old factory!" said Odd.
"This painting is of a factory on an island!" said Ulrich, "And it's been closed for almost twenty years now!"
"We have to see this painting!" said Yumi.
"To heck with that, I think we need to see this factory! And I know exactly where it is…" said Ulrich.
Things were starting to click in Ulrich's mind. The factory he saw the other day when it was all foggy had to be that factory. And the voices he heard when on that bridge, that had to be Younger Jeremy and Ulrich. Ulrich was sure that there would be answers there. There was no coincidence that Ulrich got that painting.
"Whoa! Hold up-!" said a voice from above the trio.
"We're coming-!" said another voice.
"Too!" said the voices in unison.
The three looked up and saw the Cardiff twins lurking above them.
"What are you two doing up there?!" shouted Odd.
"We were just out practicing before the big event tonight, and happened to hear a commotion, and then people whispering about a factory!" said Seth, climbing down the side of the building.
"We heard the whole thing with Mr. Durand, and thought we'd check it out, then you guys started talking about that factory, we've been having dreams of a factory too," said Sean, clarifying what his brother said.
"Are we sure that they're telling the truth-?" asked Odd, whispering to Ulrich.
"Yeah, they know about the super calculator too," said Ulrich, "We've talked about it before."
"You mean before the return to this moment?" asked Seth.
"I'm telling you man, you're crazy. There's no way we went back in time!" said Sean, reaching the ground level.
"Thank you!" said Odd, gesturing to the twin.
"No, we did go back in time…" said Yumi, "And Ulrich also believes me."
"Ha!" remarked Seth, "Three against two, we did go back in time!"
"Whatever…" fumed Sean, he then pulled out his wallet and handed twenty dollars to his brother.
"What?! What was that about?" asked Ulrich.
"Well I told Es-ee here that we went back in time, and that if we wanted answers, we needed to find you and Odd and Yumi. And that Ulrich and Yumi would know that we went back in time and then that Odd would have no clue…" explained Seth.
"You bet money on that?!" asked Odd.
"That—is an oddly specific bet…" said Yumi.
"It's a gift, what can I say?" said Seth, "I once called the recent World Cup game and its details down to the score, which players would get injured and when, and how the final goal would be scored. A lot of people owed me money after that."
"He gets me every time…" said Sean, dejectedly, "I think that there's no way he could predict these kinds of things, but he gets it every time!"
"Wow…" said Odd, "So any guesses on the Rugby Union?!"
"Odd!" chastised Yumi.
"Sorry…" shrunk Odd.
"See me later," mouthed Seth to Odd with a wink, and the two blondes perked up with big smiles.
"We want to see this factory too," said Sean, "So as soon as we heard you talking about it, we knew we wanted in. We've both been having dreams about an old, dilapidated place on a river."
"Well you're welcome to tag along, but what about the signing event?" asked Ulrich.
"As soon as I struck the bet with Seth, we talked to our Mom and cancelled the event," said Sean.
"Yeah, we rescheduled it for next week. Same time, same place," said Seth, "That way people don't get too upset. At least people didn't buy tickets for it…" said Seth, and he wiped his brow in relief.
The group awkwardly stood around for a second, looking at each other.
Sean rocked back and forth on his heels, his hands in his pockets, "So…we gonna get this show on the road?" He looked to Ulrich as if he was in charge.
"Wh- why are you looking at me? I'm not in charge here, and besides, aren't you older than me?" the brunette said to the blonde twins.
"Yeah, but only by a year," replied Sean, "And I've never really held the belief that age equals wisdom, I mean, look at Seth here…" he said pointing to his twin brother, who was currently engaged in looking around the alleyway to follow the buzzing sound of an insect that was flying around.
"My point exactly," said Sean.
"Huh-?" said Seth, perking back up to join the conversation.
"Nothing buddy, just keep doing what you're doing…" smiled Sean.
"Okay!" said Seth, and he went back to being distracted.
"So I still fail to see why I am the one in charge here," said Ulrich.
"Because, Ulrich, may I offer some advice?" started Sean, "Many people will confuse wisdom with confidence if you believe in yourself and what you're doing. And many people will want to follow the person who seems to know what they're doing."
"Are you saying that I know what I'm doing?" asked Ulrich.
"Well at least more than all of us here…" said Sean, gesturing to the group gathered in the alley, "And we might want to get going soon, I think Mr. Durand is waking up, and we don't want to be here when he finally comes to."
"Uh, right!" said Ulrich, "Parking lot, um- now?" he said seeing Mr. Durand start to worm around on the ground.
"Good idea!" said Yumi, and she took off in the direction of the parking lot. The rest of the group took off after Yumi, and mostly stuck to the side streets and alleyways around so as to not draw attention.
It wasn't long until the group was standing around Ulrich's car. He popped the trunk and pulled out the painting of the factory.
"That's the factory from my dream!" said Yumi, "I never get inside though. I'm standing on a bridge outside the factory, and I end up getting close, but then a wave of white light hits me, almost like the one that brought us back here!"
"You've seen the white light in your dream?!" asked Ulrich, "I see it in my dreams too, but in my dream I have no idea where I am. It's like a bunch of long tunnels and pipes and things."
"I don't know where I am in my dream," admitted Odd, "But it seems like a factory, since there are big machines, and a lot of conveyor belts around. Then, yeah, there is a flash of light and I wake up."
"In my dream, I'm standing in a ruined room, one of the walls to the room crumbles, and outside I can see a river. Then there's a flash, and I wake up," said Sean.
"And in my dream, I'm standing in a room with these weird tube looking things that are hooked up to a bunch of wires. I try to get into one, just to see what would happen, but before I do, there's a flash of white light."
"Hold up," said Ulrich, "We all are having dreams of weird places, and bright flashes of white light?"
The group nodded, "Then it's settled, we are going to this factory. This isn't a coincidence."
"Whoo! Road trip!" said Seth, pumping his arms in the air.
"But I'm driving!" said Sean, pulling out the keys to his really nice sports car.
"Yumi?" asked Ulrich, "Do you want to come with me?" It took almost all of the brunette's courage to ask her that.
"Uh, sure…" said Yumi, but she seemed a little unsure. Ulrich now felt really awkward asking her.
Ulrich unlocked the door and Yumi very carefully placed herself into the front seat. Once the door was secure again, Ulrich went around and got into his side. The group left the parking lot and got on the road. Ulrich tried to remember how to get to the factory. It literally took him by sheer luck and chance to find it last time, he wasn't sure quite how to get there, only the general area, and that it was mostly near Kadic Academy.
The ride to Sceaux was terse in Ulrich's car. Yumi spent a lot of time avoiding his gaze, and keeping really quiet. Every so often, Ulrich would look over to see Yumi trying to steal a glance in his direction, but when the two came close to locking eyes, they would quickly look away from each other. Finally, Ulrich tried to speak.
"So, about…" he started.
"Ulrich, I already know what you're going to say," said Yumi, her voice almost inaudible.
"What? How do you-?" asked Ulrich.
"I'm starting to remember all the other times we went back to this day, they're all a little foggy, but I can remember this car ride, our conversation, the trip to your house, and our um-," Yumi's face went a bright shade of red. Ulrich could tell she was remembering their time that she came into his room that one time and asked to be held. Even Ulrich had to admit that looking back, it was kind of embarrassing.
"So, Ulrich, please don't…not again." Yumi's words hit like a ton of bricks.
"Don't what again?" asked Ulrich, hoping that Yumi's words meant something else.
"Don't try to get us together again this time. I know what you were trying to do with asking me to come with you again this time, but please don't do this to me again. One time was enough, I don't think I could handle it a second time."
"Handle what a second time?" Ulrich's voice was starting to raise a little in concern.
"Ulrich, every time we get close to a relationship, or even just sharing our true feelings for each other, I feel like something happens that tears that away from us. I just feel like this hasn't been the first time that something like this has happened. I have had this dream in connection to my nightmares of the factory where you and I are in Japan and I'm dressed as a geisha for some reason, and you're dressed as a samurai and we both lean in for a kiss, but then it's torn away from us in the same way that my nightmares end, with that bright flash or white light," explained Yumi.
"I- Bu- Hu-," stuttered Ulrich.
"Ulrich, please save your breath. The gods have cursed us," said Yumi, rather bluntly.
"What? What do you mean, 'the gods have cursed us'?"
Yumi sighed, "Back in Japan, my parents practiced Shintoism, which is basically a religion, if you want to call it that, which believes in multiple gods, all in charge of their own separate job if you want to call it that. The gods are very interested in the lives of regular humans, and will often help or hinder them based on their whims. And if they feel very strongly about a person, or even a couple people, they will do all that is within their power to ensure that their will is realized." Yumi's voice started to crack, and Ulrich could tell that she was trying very hard not to cry, "The gods have taken an interest in us that is all I can use to explain this situation where we continue to get close to each other, only to have it ripped away in the end. Over and over again, and I can't handle it Ulrich. I literally can't handle this another time."
"Yumi…" said Ulrich, trying to comfort her.
"Ulrich, please, let's just get to the bottom of this," said Yumi shortly.
Ulrich's emotions were a whirlwind inside of him. On one had he wanted to pursue this subject further, on the other hand, he didn't want to make Yumi more upset with him. So he just managed to let out a low, and rather defeated, "Okay…"
Focusing more on the trip allowed him to remember more on how to get to the factory. Finally, the group neared Kadic Academy. Ulrich pulled up to a light just outside the sprawling grounds of the school when Sean pulled up next to his window and motioned for Ulrich to roll his window down. Ulrich wrestled with the creaking window lever, while Sean pushed a button to make his windows slowly glide down.
"Hey! I just remembered something! We should pull over and head onto the grounds!" he shouted over the booming noises of his car stereo. The twins were listening to some sort of techno song.
"What?" shouted Ulrich, it wasn't because he couldn't hear the blond twin, it was because he was confused, weren't they heading to the factory?
"Just trust me!" shouted Sean, and he pointed to a few open spots on the street where they could park.
Ulrich nodded, and then pulled off the street and into one of the parallel parking spots on the street. Sean pulled in front of him, and Odd in front of them all. They all got out of their respective vehicles and stood on the side of the road.
"I love this little trip down memory lane, but weren't we going to the factory?' asked Odd once he joined the group.
"I remembered something," said Sean, "Some sort of secret passage or something to the factory, here on the school grounds."
"A secret passage?" asked Yumi, "You know how crazy that sounds? The river is almost miles from here, the only thing that might go that far would be the sewers, but that's a big maybe."
"C'mon, let's just see if this works," said Sean. The blond took off towards the gates of the school and the rest of the group paused for a second to look at Ulrich. The brunette shrugged and then took off after Sean.
"Do you think Delmas is still principal here?" asked Odd as he jogged to catch up with the rest of the group.
"I was wondering if Jim is still here…" admitted Ulrich, "If Delmas was here, he would be ancient, anyone know how old he actually was when he was working here?"
"No, but he seemed much older I mean, his hair and beard were already greying," said Seth, "And if Jim were here, he'd probably be somewhere in his forties or fifties by now."
"Really? Jim was that young?" asked Odd.
"Well I'm assuming he was in his thirties or forties when he was here, maybe in his 50's at the absolute latest, and it's been about ten years between when we were all in school together, and now, the oldest Jim could be would be in his sixties, but that seems unlikely. If anything, I'd probably put him at about forty to forty-five," said Seth.
"Well, you would know, wouldn't you?" said Odd, referencing Seth's uncanny ability to guess things correctly.
"Want to put money on it?" asked Seth, a wild glint in his eye.
"Umm…no…" said Odd, his face fading.
"Probably for the best good buddy…" said Ulrich, patting Odd on the back.
"So, what are we looking for here?" asked Sean calling everyone's attention back to the matter at hand.
"If I remember correctly," said Ulrich, "Some sort of grate, or valve cover, or sluice?"
"A sluice?" asked Yumi, "What is that?"
"Basically, just a cover for a large hole, often, one that leads to a sewer…" said Sean, nonchalantly.
"Okay mister dictionary…" said Seth.
"What?" asked Sean, "I write for a living…so I know a lot of words, is that a bad thing?"
"Wait, wait, hold up…" said Yumi holding up both her hands, "You mean we're looking for a manhole cover to the sewers ? I am NOT going into a sewer!"
"No, not really…" said Seth this time, "Most of the things that people consider 'sewers' is more like a surface runoff movement system. In other words, when rainwater gets too high in certain areas, the 'sewer' collects it and makes it so that the roads and other places don't flood by diverting it to someplace else, like a river. An actual sanitary sewer that passes human waste is too small for a person to pass through. Their pipes are too small this far out from the older parts of the city. So, all that we'd find out here is maybe a little sitting water, nothing dangerous to a human."
"And you know this how?" asked Yumi.
"I once got permission to film a movie in the tunnels and 'sewers' of the city. It was a cool location to shoot in. Too bad that my camera man was inexperienced, and the audio was unsalvageable since the tunnels messed too much with it," said Seth, "I ended up having to scrap a lot of those scenes. But still, the things you learn about sewers when you do research for your shoot."
"Yeah, and speaking of research and sewers, it should be around here somewhere…" said Ulrich as he moved piles of fallen and decomposing leaves around on the ground.
"Everyone spread out and look," advised Sean, "I believe Ulrich that there probably is something here that would get us from where we are to the river at the very least."
The next few minutes were filled with rustling of leaves and dirt as people dug around looking for something that Ulrich was starting to feel like was a figment of his imagination. Finally, Odd called out, "I found it!"
Everyone congregated around Odd as he pried away the last layer of accumulated dirt that looked like hadn't been cleared off in at least the same amount of time that had passed since they were last on this campus. Odd cleared around the rim of the cover, and Sean and Ulrich both helped to open it. However, the cover seemed much lighter than it looked. Ulrich was able to take it out of Sean's hand and hold it by himself no problem. He was sure that he could have hefted it over his head too with no further difficulty.
"What is this made of?" asked Ulrich, swinging the cover back and forth through the air.
"My guess?" said Sean, "Titanium, it's lightweight and strong at the same time. They make the bike frames that race in the Tour de France out of the stuff."
"Who would replace a sewer cover with a fake one made of titanium?" asked Odd.
"I think you're looking at them…" said Ulrich as he placed the cover on the ground finally, "Think about it, if we were all kids when we used this passage, then we'd want to make sure we could get in and out quickly without any difficulty, and that would include the weakest of us all, Odd especially."
"Hey!" griped Odd. Everyone laughed.
"Kidding, man…mostly…" chuckled Ulrich, "But still, this wouldn't be too hard if we had a dilapidated factory at our disposal. We would have had a place to melt down metal, and cast it in the same shape, size, and maybe even print as a manhole cover. And then we get rid of the original one or use it for something else."
"Man, we were kind of awesome when we were kids…" said Seth, "Whatever happened to change that?"
"I think we're close to figuring that out…" said Ulrich looking down the now exposed hole. The ladder to the bottom looked sturdy enough, but even in the years that had passed, Ulrich noticed a few signs of wear and tear.
"How about I go first?" said the brunette, swallowing some of his fear as his vertigo was slightly triggered as he peered over the edge again into the swallowing darkness.
"Be my guest," said Odd, pointing the way.
Ulrich swung over the edge and placed his foot on the first rung his foot would need everything seemed to hold just fine. He continued down the ladder, then Yumi swung over. It took all of Ulrich's control not to look up at her as she shimmied down the ladder after him. He wished that anyone, literally anyone had come down after him. Ulrich was so caught up thinking about Yumi that he almost fell when one of the welded rungs came loose and threatened to dump Ulrich as a heap at the bottom of the shaft. He barely caught himself, and almost came close to cutting his chin open on another rung.
"Ulrich!" cried out everyone.
"I-I'm fine…" heaved Ulrich, "Watch your step everyone," he joked.
The rest of the journey down into the depths was rather uneventful. Except for Odd complaining on occasion when his hand touched something that he considered "gross".
"Dude, calm down!" shouted Seth, "There is nothing down here that would be gross, it's probably just a bunch of water and rust."
"Ew…" muttered Odd one last time.
Finally, the group made it to the bottom. There was a dim utility light that lit the small alcove that they found themselves in. The light flickered slightly, and the housing on the bulb that kept it protected looked broken and cracked. No one seemed to have been down here to do maintenance or even replace the bulb in forever. Ulrich was kind of impressed that the bulb was still even working, well, mostly.
"Where are we?" asked Yumi.
"Currently?" asked Seth, "About a hundred or so feet below where we started…" he said dryly, but obviously sarcastically. Yumi punched his shoulder.
"Ow!" joked Seth, "Okay, I have no idea."
"Well let's find out…" said Ulrich, stepping forward into the dark. There was a thin wire fence that looked like someone had taken a pair of wire cutters to. The jagged edges were bent back and looked rusty, like someone did this act of vandalism ages ago.
"I wonder who did this too," said Ulrich, reaching up a finger to rub the ragged edges of the metal, then to dust away the layer of rust that he got on his thumb.
"Man, we were little rebels," said Odd, a little shade of appreciation in his voice, "Breaking into the sewers regularly, replacing manhole covers."
"That sounds kind of lame when you put it that way," said Yumi.
"Whatever, you get what I'm trying to say," said Odd.
"We were smaller then," said Ulrich, noting the size of the hole in the grate.
"Just hunch down, and make sure that you don't stand up too quick," noted Sean, "Or you're going to hope that you're up on your tetanus shot. And that could be the least of your worries."
"Right…" said Ulrich grimly. There was so much more to worry about now that they were adults. Ulrich's mind flashed to the memories that flooded into his mind about this place. When they were kids, they would just jump through the hole, no care in the world. No thought about the consequences, just occasionally having to patch up a tear in a shirt or something.
Ulrich bent down, he could feel the metal wire like teeth scraping at his back. Once he was sure he was clear, he gingerly stood up to his full height. The rest of the group followed suit as carefully as they could. Sean pulled out his phone and switched on the flashlight function.
"Handy? Isn't it?" he asked, like he had put it there himself, "Found this the other day when I was figuring this thing out."
"Yeah," said Yumi, pulling out her phone and doing the same, like it was no big deal.
"Okay…how do you do that?" said Ulrich, pulling out his own phone. He felt like his parents when it came to technology.
Yumi took it from him after he opened it, and then swiped up on the screen, a separate list of icons came up, hazing the screen behind it. Yumi pointed to a little icon that looked like a flashlight. Ulrich tapped it, and the light snapped on, dispelling the darkness.
"Hey! Pretty neat!" said Ulrich, shining it around the dark space, "Hey, what's this?" Ulrich's light landed on a pile of something dark, covered in leaves and other debris. The brunette swept away the refuse and saw something familiar. An old skateboard.
"Whoa! I haven't seen this in forever!" said Ulrich picking it up. He turned it on its tail so could see it all and still hold his phone to provide light. The board had certainly seen better days. The trucks were rusted over, there was one missing wheel, and the grip tape was peeling on one side. He pushed on it, and the board gave a faint crackling sound, and he could tell that moisture had seeped into the board and caused it to warp and weaken.
"Hey! There's mine too!" said Odd. His was in worse repair. One of the trucks was completely cracked down the middle, the other missing entirely, and there was a large chunk missing out of the nose.
"Man, guess when you get blasted ten years into the future, not everything holds up…" said Yumi, picking up her board that was next to the other two. Her board looked like it could snap in half at any moment, and the grip tape was next to gone. The wheels were still there, but the trucks were rusty like the rest of theirs, and the wheels looked brittle, like any kind of movement would cause them to shatter into a million tiny pieces. Yumi's words seemed to have dual meanings. Was she referencing their conversation about their relationship in his car on the way here?
Ulrich was a little concerned when he saw two spots next to the boards that looked like a couple somethings had been recently dug out, but he couldn't remember what they were. Maybe a couple other boards that had either been washed away in the years that had passed, or something else.
"So, we did use this passageway," said Sean, snapping Ulrich back to the group.
"Was there any doubt?" asked Ulrich.
"Hesitancy," said Sean shortly, "but never any doubt. I think the fact that you knew about it is proof enough."
"Well how do we get to the factory from here?" asked Yumi, "I don't see a map or anything."
"And I can imagine that it could be easy to get lost down here…" said Odd looking around.
"Well, we know that campus is right above us, and the river is kind of in this direction," said Sean pointing towards the direction of the Seine way off in the distance.
"Now I know why we had skateboards down here," said Ulrich, "The river is forever away, it's going to take us at least an hour or so on foot."
"We can always go back up and take our cars?" suggested Yumi.
"But we're already down here…" started Ulrich.
"I don't know Ulrich, I appreciate this little walk down memory lane, but I think I agree with Yumi on this one," said Sean, "Even if we did have another means of transportation, we have no way of knowing if we're going the right way, or if the tunnels even still work. Look around, this place has kinda gone to…"
"Okay!" said Ulrich, "I get it. We'll go back topside and drive there. I just thought that this would be easier or faster or something."
"I don't doubt you Ulrich, but in this case, I think age has given us something that we never had before. The ability to drive," said Sean.
"Okay, everyone up," said Ulrich.
"Alright!" said Odd, and he ran towards the ladder.
Ulrich took one last look at the skateboard resting on its nose in his hand. He thought for a second, and then took it and threw it into the water with a large splash.
"What'd you do that for?" asked Yumi.
"No use clinging to old and broken things," he said gruffly.
Yumi looked concerned for a second, but then relieved. Ulrich could tell that she got his double meaning. It didn't take them long to get back topside, and then sneak across campus again to their cars.
"I have to say," said Odd, "Being an adult certainly has its perks. And it has its downsides."
"What do you mean?" asked Yumi.
"Rent, gas, groceries, car insurance? I never knew being an adult was so expensive!" explained Odd, "Although the job helps."
Ulrich hadn't even really thought about all the other things that being an adult meant. Now he realized why he had so much money saved up in his accounts. He felt a little guilty now going on a shopping spree earlier that day. Maybe Older Ulrich had a reason for saving that money. Then he thought about it. Maybe the money was being saved so that Ulrich could move out of his parent's house? Ulrich felt a little awkward now. There was still plenty of money, but not as much as there could have been.
"What do you mean the job helps?" asked Seth, "You're a top-level executive in the country's leading entertainment company! You're probably making what…? A hundred and seventy or two hundred thousand a year?"
Ulrich's jaw dropped, "You're making what?!"
"Oh c'mon!" said Odd, "That can't be that much now can it?" he asked as he looked around.
"No, not really, Es-ee and I make probably a cool eighty each."
"Eighty thousand? That doesn't seem like much…" said Yumi.
"No, eighty million!" said Seth, like that fact was obvious.
Ulrich's jaw just about hit the ground, "Seriously?!"
"Hold up there, you're the one who makes the big bucks, mister 'big movie director'!" said Sean, tousling his brother's already messy hair, "I only make about sixty million a year, and the rest of that is my executive paycheck. And you make about seventy million, the rest of that is your executive paycheck, adjusted for a whole bunch of other factors."
"How much do your parents make?!" asked Ulrich, now feeling very small.
"My dad hasn't had a pay raise since he first got hired working at the small-time production company that got him started as a writer," said Sean, "He figures that he was able to live comfortably on that wage, and so he has set his salary to that original sum."
"So, what does he get paid?" asked Ulrich.
"Sixteen euros an hour, that's what he was making when he got hired as a screenwriter, and he doesn't see the need to raise it any further," said Sean, matter-of-factly, "It makes him relatable to the rest of the company that he built from the ground up. It allows him to relate to even those who work in IT or anywhere in the company because everyone makes at least seventeen euros an hour. That's our starting wage for everyone who enters the company, and from there it's up to performance to earn raises and promotions. However, for those like Odd, he gets paid a little bit more because he's got the important job. Also, it makes sure that my dad stays true to the essence of the company, if it isn't worth sixteen euros, then it isn't worth his time."
"And yet your parents live in the lap of luxury?" asked Ulrich.
"Well that took years and was only because my parents wanted us to have what they didn't when they first got married," said Sean, "But now they manage their money, and keep within their means. They own the house that they live in, which wasn't easy, but my parents were determined to not only live within their means, but also provide me and Seth, and also our sister Olivia with the things that they could only dream of when they first got married, and then were evicted and living out on the streets."
"And they did that while your dad was still only making about sixteen euros an hour?" asked Odd, now taking an interest.
"Well…" said Sean sheepishly, "That was a lot of scrimping and saving and waiting until they could afford certain, plus my mom still got regular raises…she probably makes more than we do. Around ninety mil a year."
"Really?" asked Yumi, "Isn't that kind of cheating? She basically is making the money your dad should. Either way, your family is loaded."
"Well, no one said that she had to be the example to the company. In fact, many people see it as a good thing. My dad stays at the same pay, while our mom is an example to women all over the world that pay equality, following your dreams, and being successful can be a thing, and even surpassed. Many women and girls want to be just like our mom. But of course, she doesn't let it get to her head since most of the money she makes, after taxes and making sure the bills are paid, goes to charities or building the company further. We wouldn't even have jobs in the company if it weren't for our mom building up the literature and film divisions to the level they are now," said Seth.
"And what do you make Yumi?" asked Ulrich, feeling a little small being in the presence of people who probably made at least five times as much as he did a year.
"Well that's not really a fair question," started the Asian woman, "Not only do I make money as an actress, and get a regular salary based off that, but I also get royalties on all movies that are a success at the box office."
"Which almost all of them are," confided Seth to Ulrich. The brunette figured he would believe the twin since he was the one who probably directed most the movies Yumi was in.
"I also have my own clothing and makeup lines, and I also am the voice of several characters in Odd's animated shows and cartoons," said Yumi, "As well as countless other investments, and business ventures."
"Let's just put it this way," said Odd, "You add that all up, Yumi is probably the richest out of all us here. She makes almost a billion a year."
Ulrich felt like his chances, even if there ever were any, now dried up. There was no way that Yumi would ever see him as an option for dating if she made more in a week than he ever did in a year.
"No, the twins are," said Yumi like that wasn't even in question.
"She's probably right," said Sean scratching some stubble on his chin, "Between the two of us, not only are we in line to inherit the largest entertainment group in the country, let alone the continent," He said like it was old news, "We are also in charge of, and have our own clothing, men's line of grooming products, and athletic wear," said the blonde showing off his outfit, hair, and then shoes. They were split-toed, like the ones that serious athletes wore, but still surprisingly stylish.
"And on top of it, even though our departments are part of the overall group that is 'CEM', Cardiff Film Industries, and Cardiff Publishing are their own separate entities that are owned and operated by us," said Seth, "So all profits go to us and our employees, and not the larger entity of the company. Also, we have our own business ventures that we've either bought or invested in. Like how Sean owns a nightclub, and I invest in a movie distribution company that allows my movies to get out to the masses."
"Like…Redbox in the States?" asked Odd.
"Bigger," said Seth, and Odd's eyes widened.
"It would take us so long to list all the things that we own or invest in or otherwise draw some sort of profit from since we try to make the money, we earn work for us," said Sean.
"So, the seventy million" he said pointing to Seth, "And sixty million?" he said pointing to Sean, "They're only a portion of what you make?" asked Ulrich.
"Yeah," said Sean, he scratched his head as he started to think and crunch numbers in his head, "I think that Seth is valued at over 5.75 billion dollars, and I'm close behind at about 5.67 billion. But that's just our personal brand value. What we make right now may only be close to about a couple billion a year, but that's only set to go up in the next couple years. I think we both are now richer than Donald Trump in the states."
"We are around two hundred on the recent list of Forbes's five hundred richest people in the world. Our parents are around one eighty.
Ulrich's jaw dropped completely to the ground. Or at least it felt like that when the news hit that of the four people he was hanging with, two were both multi-billionaires, "And I probably have a personal value of 3.3 billion," said Yumi. Make that three out of four...
Seth laughed, "And even you're richer than Donald Trump!"
"Yumi is around four hundred on the list," confirmed Sean, "Trump is around four thirty-five on that list at about 3.1 billion."
Odd's face flushed a bit, "Wow, now even I feel poor," said the blonde.
"Ditto good buddy," said Ulrich, and the two of them bumped fists out of the corner of their eyes.