Subduction

Corpse Carrier - Act 1 | Chapter 1 - Subduction
Six Minutes Until Juna Dies

Theo had to be diligent.

Diligent enough to labor after school for one more week. Diligent enough to substitute his meals for cheap rice and soggy bread. Diligent enough to continue fighting the urge to fit in and join the masses. One more week—

Of Theo being diligent.

He pondered on that idea while riding his bike to the warehouse, leaving the rehabilitation center. He parked his bike outside the warehouse's garage door and stepped inside. He checked the location for his next delivery, then loaded it up.

The next stop was Nile's Arcade. A hotspot for students after school, and luckily for Theo, it was the closest delivery of the day. He hopped back on his bike and rode out, eager to finish the last few deliveries and head to bed early for once.

It took two minutes to reach the road adjacent to the delivery location. Even without the blaring neon sign hanging from the roof, Theo could tell this was Nile's Arcade. Flashing lights faded from the opened glass door onto the sidewalk, like ocean waves meshing against the shore. Posters plastered on the windows were shadowed from the vibrant flashing lights inside, hindering Theo from making out a single image.

As if it were morning, Nile's Arcade was blatantly awake in the dead of night. Laughter echoed from the arcade, joy expelled from each fading color that seeped from the doorway, and dings of game machines soaked the silent night Theo brooded in from across the road.

How fun must it be to enjoy something.

Theo—had to stay diligent.

Kicking down the bike's stand, he straightened the pack frame and walked to the crosswalk. He stood and waited in a place opposite to Nile's Arcade. A darker side with no one in sight, and an overflowing trash can underneath a rusted light pole being nibbled at by moths. Theo watched the insects flutter around the orange bulb. How they occasionally bumped into each other, flying in different directions, while heading to the same place. Even the bugs had something they enjoyed.

The walking light flicked green. Theo sluggishly placed one foot onto the street, looked away from the moths—and froze.

Theo didn’t take another step.

A girl stood on the bridge. The short, half railed bridge next to the crosswalk. There were no street lights around the bridge, only the moonlight showed Theo the silhouette of a young girl pressing against the railing.

She moved. Hazy as the image was, Theo could make out her actions. She sat a box down—no, a backpack down first. Then crept over the bridge's edge and picked up a stone. She waddled back to the bag, carrying the large stone with both hands before dropping it into the backpack. She zipped it up, squatted down, and shimmied both arms through the bag's straps. It took the girl two attempts before she could fully stand up without tumbling over. She arched her back forward, centering her weight. Then lifted one leg over the railing. Grabbing onto the rails, she lifted another leg over until her whole body found itself on the opposite side.

Splash—The girl dropped.

…the girl….dropped…?

Theo’s heart sank just as fast as the girl disappearing beneath the river’s surface. The water's surface bounced around at the point of contact and rippled unevenly. Eventually it evened out. And then, the water moved as if unchanged. As if a body did not just drop into it.

Theo unclipped his pack frame. He hobbled forward as he struggled to unhook the buckle around his waist. Of course now of all times it jammed. He twisted his hand across the metal buckle, trying to mash the clip down further to dislodge it as his skin became pinched from inside. Finally, it came off and hit the street. Theo ran to the bridge, panting, sorting out what he’d just seen. A girl jumped? Who? Why? Too many questions. Unimportant.

He snatched the bridge's railing and peered over. Bubbles broke the surface, a couple at first, then a swarm. Theo scanned for options. Left of him was a dark, silent pasture. To his right, the booming arcade with laughter and hollering loud enough to overpower any call for help. It was a mistake to run to the bridge. Now he’d need to run all the way back to the arcade, convince someone of what happened, and bring them back in time to save the girl. A horrible mistake, though he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Theo released his clasp on the railing and turned towards the arcade, he rushed to get help, because after all—

Theo had to stay—

There was no time for that. Theo spun on his heel, turned back to the bridge, and vaulted the railing. He prepared himself for the fall and gritted his teeth.

Splash

A chill rushed his spine. The water was cold for summer. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but faded moonlight from the surface struggling to illuminate the riverbed below. Theo aimed himself down and dug his arms through the water, hoping to swim in the same direction the girl sank. Though he didn’t know how long the river's depths reached, nor how much air he collected in his lungs before the rushed dive. Time was against him, and he had no clue how much time that was.

Water filled his sneakers and turned them into weights, causing his legs to become slow and useless. Theo kicked them off and swam harder, dove deeper, losing his sight and warmth the farther he went. Eventually, his hand grazed the riverbed. Sand and pebbles clattered against his fingertips. Relief washed over him. He found the bottom.

Now to find the girl.

He dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Quickly, he opened it and turned on its flashlight. The device wasn’t high tech or fancy enough to be waterproof, it would only work for a few seconds at most.

He spun around in the water, squeezing himself dry of breath, but searching for the body. And as he turned around, she was there. Her head at his feet, and her body laying stomach up. Theo had only jumped over her by a bit, he counted himself lucky in this unfortunate situation. Lurching forward, he brought the light closer to the unconscious girl. Her silver hair covered her face like seaweed, each strand swaying towards the surface as if trying to escape her scalp to swim for air. Something she needed desperately.

Theo didn't need to see her face to know who the girl was. The tone of her hair and the bruised underside of her eye gave it away instantly.

Juna.

Theo swallowed a bit of water in the realization. Though he acted fast, he tilted her head up and scrambled to point the light on her book bag. He snatched the zipper and pulled. The backpack inched open. Struggling, he managed to get the zipper a quarter ways around the bag before it went still. The zipper snagged against the fabric. Theo yanked it backwards, fighting it loose, but it didn’t work.

His phone turned off. The water had gotten to it. Faster than Theo hoped. He dropped the device, letting it sink to the ground as he shoved both arms through the tiny opening in the backpack. His hands met the rock’s rough texture immediately, and he attempted to pull it out.

Nothing. The rock wouldn't even poke out of the desperate opening. Though that tiny crevice was all Theo had. He tried again, planting his feet against the riverbed and yanking it upwards—hopefully breaking the zipper loose. With each strained tug, sharp rocks dug through his socks and pierced the soles of his feet. He could feel blood run out of them, and breath evaporate from his lungs.

His time was up.

Theo dropped the rock. If he could resurface and take a breath, there was a chance he could figure something out during the second dive. He just had to swim straight up and not lose Juna, that was all. Theo pressed off the ground and lifted off towards the surface.

Something yanked him down. His shoulder hit the riverbed.

His bracelet was stuck. A thread from the quartz caged bracelet intertwined with the backpack's zipper. Bubbles of air seeped out his mouth as he clutched the trapped wrist and struggled to set it free. No budge. He snatched the bracelet and began to unknot it. Suddenly, Theo needed air. Badly.

His mind knew there was nothing down here for him. That taking a breath in the depth of the river would accomplish nothing. But his body didn’t. Theo’s mouth opened without his control, and he took a breath. For a second, Theo thought he had air. For a second, Theo didn’t feel the water rush into his lungs and clog his throat.

Sluggishness consumed his body. His hand slipped from the bracelet and he watched as it floated above him. Theo felt his eyes gently close while the water choked him from the inside. He slumped next to Juna, hand still attached to the bookbag, and facing up. His eyes faded, the rippled moonlight past the water’s surface above him faded. And Theo—

Faded.