(Mira Oka)
We ended up taking umbrellas from outdoor stands to go to the sewers. The umbrella’s hid our faces, which helped us reach there. Once we got under, we closed them.
“We’re here.” I said.
“We should look for them too,” Ace said. “With just us two, it’s difficult.”
I nodded. “The sewers are now our transportation. We can then find service telephones after getting disguises, fake a voice in case the guards or the council themselves pick up. If that works, we can mislead them by telling them we found one of us in a different location.”
“So we’re basically finding communication.” Ace said.
“Let’s first see where this takes us.”
124Please respect copyright.PENANAVjwagWLiCC
We ended up finding two paths opposite from each other.
“Maybe we should split up from here,” I suggested. “In case one of us finds something.”
“They could be endless.” He pointed out.
“If it seems endless then meet me back here,” I told him. “Who else travels here other than nasty bugs?”
124Please respect copyright.PENANAIQYwg4kPVZ
I decided to take the left while Ace took the right. As I walked, I observed the scenery. Green mucky water flowing. Dimmed lights. The odor was unsettling. As if something was rotting. I took out my mask and wore it so I didn’t have to inhale the smell. I kept one of my hands in my bag in case of any unexpected attacks. This place is disgusting. But, at least it was better than the clubs. I turned to the wall. There was a picture of me with capital letters saying: WANTED. Talk about being the face of the public. I tore it off the wall before ripping it to shreds and tossing it in the water. Someone was definitely here to put that up. But then it couldn’t have happened long ago, right? No one really goes here. But maybe that's the point. It’s not like I go into the sewers on a daily basis though. Yuck, can you imagine? Surely there should be another sewer lid that leads to a busy street. I can hide my face with the umbrella again. It won’t be as good, but it could at least get me to the mall in order to obtain those disguises. Not to mention we could easily find the other two without getting caught. Ace told me that he had disguises but they were gone along with his hideout because he thought I invaded it. I guess I can see why he was mad.
124Please respect copyright.PENANA3BJR8NacnF
I looked down to see the scar across my ankle. What a nasty scar, I thought. I wonder how he did this. Could it be some type of electricity power? If that’s the case, then he could cause a blackout, right? No, that might be difficult to pull off. It’s not like I know. It was so fast. I suddenly realized that I was getting lost in thought. I shouldn’t be thinking about things that happened already. I have to find that sewer lid. I continued walking until I noticed one above me. There was a dusty metal ladder leading to it. I climbed and pushed the lid up to reveal the place it led to. It was a busy road with lots of cars and buildings. Across the street, there was a large building; higher than the others. In big capital letters, it read: The Grand Mall. Feeling victorious, I closed the lid and headed back to our meeting spot to meet up with Ace.
124Please respect copyright.PENANASRdSj0APTq
124Please respect copyright.PENANAZV5kX3OQQZ
He wasn’t there. A sudden feeling of nervousness rose in me. If it seemed endless, he could’ve just turned back. I shook my head. Maybe I’m just overreacting. It’s not like anyone else is here. I decided to wait a while more.
Five minutes pass. Then ten. Fifteen. Twenty. Then it went all the way to thirty. I’m going to find where he is. It would be wrong to ditch him. I stopped. He wouldn’t ditch me…right? Come to think of it, he never said he wanted to make amends with me. In fact, he said the opposite. Does he still want me to die? But then he wouldn’t have checked if I was alright after the train crashed. Either way, I have to find him. WIth a stinging feeling, I went to the path he went through.
124Please respect copyright.PENANAu0VXMi9hOK
How far did he go down? I thought, following the pathway he went through. I could feel as though bricks were weighing down on my legs. I forced them to straighten up and I continued through the path. There was very little light, which gave the sewer a more unpleasant aura than it could’ve been. This seemed endless. I spotted another wanted poster of me stuck on the wall. I tore it down and threw it away. Who went here to put these up? That thought alone was suspicious. And along with Ace’s absence only increased it. I walked some more until I grew fed up. He must’ve left. I should’ve known. I wouldn’t be forgiven that easily. I turned back and only then I heard something. Like a crash. I spun and followed the sound. Could it be? When I finally made it, I found Ace, who was pinning a guard at the wall.
Guard! That’s how the posters got here! “Ace!” Wait… I froze and examined the scene from afar. The guard had blood splattered all over them, helmet cracked. As for Ace, he had wings that had a gradient of black to red out of his back. His jaws were extended, exposing sharp teeth. His eyes were blood red. I had never seen something like that before. I couldn’t even tell if what I was seeing was real. “Ace, is that really you?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at me. He just pressed the guard against the wall and began thrusting his leg into them over and over. The guard, trembling, tried to grab his leg to stop him from kicking. The guard kicked back, knocking Ace back a step. Ace, at full speed lunged at the guard and dug his teeth into his shoulder. Blood poured as the guard yelled in pain. He pinned Ace down and was about to dial a number. Ace took the phone and tossed it in the water before kicking him off. He was smiling in satisfaction. A pool of blood dripped from his mouth. He laughed before charging at him again.
I was too stunned to speak. To move. I have to do something. But what? What is happening? I had never seen him like this before. What’s going on? Is this new? Did something happen? I turned to Ace again. He was swinging punches at the guard’s face. He’s going to kill him. Sure, it’s a guard, but we shouldn’t kill him. The guard seemed to appear unconscious, yet Ace continued beating it with an evil grin. “Hahahahaha!” It didn’t really sound like a laugh though. More like a growl, in utter excitement. Utterly crazy. I finally managed to yank him off the guard and tried holding him still. He began resisting while making screaming and snarling noises.
“What happened?” I asked him, while holding onto him. “How did this happen? What happened to you?”
He didn’t answer, but kept resisting. He coughed before growling at me.
He elbowed me but I didn’t let go. What should I do? I looked down at his torso area. It was stained with blood. He’s really wounded. I then realized my grip loosened as I noticed Ace leaped to the guard but I pulled him back just in time.
There’s only one way to do this. I thought before glancing down at my side where my umbrella was. I moved my arm so it could wrap around Ace’s body to keep him from leaving, while my other arm grabbed the umbrella. Propping it against my hip, I extended the metal handle. Just when he was about to run off again, I swung the umbrella as the metal handle struck his head. He froze for a second before falling to the floor. He was lying on his stomach, head facing to the right. His extended jaw and the wings were gone in an instant. What did that mean? I shook my head. Nevermind, I have to hurry. I squatted next to his body. I lifted his top lip. His teeth were no longer sharp, but there was blood dripping down from his mouth. His eyes were closed. His bandaged hands were stained in blood as well. And there was blood on the floor. I turned him over. The guard must’ve fought him too. I lifted his shirt and took the last bit of the bandage roll from my bag. There were blood splotches and cuts from the hip to his abdomen and lower abdomen. I wrapped it around his torso and pulled his shirt back down. 124Please respect copyright.PENANAkBRxdtNRFg
How do we get out? I turned back to the unconscious guard. I wore the uniform. It may be a bit damaged, but it will cover me. I carried Ace’s body on my shoulder, and carried the umbrella to cover him. Why were his hands already bandaged? Did he always have them? Anyway, we’ll have to delay the mall plan. We need to go to Lena and Laura’s place. Luckily, I know the way.
ns 172.70.126.189da2