Ch 38: The Nexus Quarter

The sheets were warm, clammy, slightly sticking to his skin. Ace turned again. Having blown out the warm candlelight, the room, checkered with mismatched shades of brown, became one sheet of darkness.

The Mission is tomorrow. How can I be ready if I’m on like 2 hours of sleep?

He was always like this, whether it was an exam or any important thing the next day, it was always a struggle to fall asleep. It was the mix of excitement and nerves that kept his mind buzzing. Thoughts racing.

I’ll get the cure out of Dr. Rotoro. No matter the cost.

Finally able to make a difference, Ace was hopeful that things would change. That he’d be able to fight against the relentless tides of the cruel world and not be swept along by it.

As he turned again, he reached for the cold side of the pillow, pulling his sheets higher. Tugging harder, the sheet didn’t seem to budge.

Stuck between the bed frame? How annoying. I finally got into a comfy position, too.

Looking down to the end of the bed, he saw only darkness, his hand feeling around for the edges of the blanket.

He felt something cold, fleshy.

“Hello, Ace.”

A howling scream. His soul left his body. Jumping back, Ace crashed his head into the wall.

A creature crawled through the darkness, its limbs blending into the imperfections of Ace’s vision. He couldn’t figure out what he was looking at, and he didn’t want to. He could cast a flame on his finger, but the idea of seeing it in the light was more terrifying.

Ace was scared speechless. Only waiting for the creature’s next move.

“Tomorrow.” The voice was like a chorus, a blend of a thousand stolen voices. “On the edge of death, when the shadow of salvation calls your name. Who are you siding with?”

“I-I don’t understand.” Ace trembled, his words a stuttering whisper.

It was too dark even to see what was right before his eyes. But he could feel it. The mattress sank as the creature crawled forward, the sound of its limbs dragging on the sheets. Then, something sharp, tracing, caressing his face.

“Tomorrow. If the walls collapse. If the ground crumbles. If the mission fails. Whose side are you taking?”

Ace didn’t think. He muttered the first word that came to his mind.

“H-Hiro.”

SLAM!

The door swung open, the light from the hallway spilling in, purging the darkness.

“What’s the matter?” Mira stood at the entrance, her grey eyes and the tapered blue ends of her hair glowing from the candlelight. “I heard screaming.”

Ace’s face was pale like he’d just seen a ghost. Scouring the room, he saw the usual. The cold hardwood floor, which was checkered in mismatched shades of brown. The white curtains and a dusty table at the heart of the room, circular, with the edges cracked and splintered.

He was still too stunned to speak, remaining silent.

“What was the screaming?” Mira asked again.

“Yeah, I think we both know what he was up to.” Hiro grinned, popping his head out from the doorway.

Mira sighed, her face contorting in disgust toward Ace and Hiro before returning to her room.

“No, it’s a misunderstanding! I had a nightmare and-“

“Alright. We all believe you, goodnight.” Hiro slammed the door once more, and the room returned to darkness.

Left alone in his room, a wave of dread seeped into Ace’s bones. He lit a flame on his fingertip, bracing for a jumpscare. But it never came.

He ensured all the candles in the room were lit, keeping his pistol at his bedside. But after that, he couldn’t rest at all. Not a wink of sleep.

Stressing over every way the mission tomorrow could go horribly wrong, tomorrow arrived, the light of dawn breaking through the curtains.

                                                                         ***

The Spearhead trudged forward in single file, mushy gunk squelching beneath their boots. The narrow tunnels were dimly lit with Snow’s floating blue orb. If the crystal plant chasm was one huge hole with no bottom, the tunnels were a never-ending maze of cramped tubes.

Oden was hunched, knees bent, and shoulders rolled forward. His bulky frame filled the entire width of the tunnel.

Hiro looked back at Ace out of boredom. “You look…tired.”

“I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night.”

“No way you spent the whole night-“

“It was a misunderstanding!”

“How long till we get there?” Mira’s voice was nasally from pinching her nose. The lingering odour of faeces clung to their clothes like a second shadow. Though by now, their noses were mostly adjusted.

“Two days.” Shell signed.

“TWO DAYS!?” Hiro yelped.

Ace sighed.

He's messing with you. Since when were you this stupid?

BOOM!

At an intersection, Shell shot an echo in each direction that carried along the tunnels, pinging whenever they collided with an object.

“Wait,” Hiro, at the back of the line, turned toward the way they had come. “Do you hear that?”

The Spearhead stopped for a moment. Mira’s pointy ears twitched. “Something's…coming.”

“EHHHH?” Hiro’s face creased. “KEEP MOVING, I’M AT THE BACK! IT’S GONNA EAT ME FIRST!”

Marching, their footsteps echoed through the air.

“QUICK!” Hiro pushed forward, nudging each person into the person in front of them.

“Hiro, stop pushing-“

Mira slipped, using her hand to break her fall; it landed with a squelch into brown mush.

“Fourth Echelon,”

“W-WAIT!”

“I call upon the great ocean spirits of the Azure, grant me strength.”

“IT WAS AN ACCIDEN-“

“Striking Tides!!!”

                                                                                  ***

“Ah, finally! Some fresh air!” Oden stretched his arms outwards, water dripping from his armour.

“Yeah, if Mira didn’t try DROWNING us.” Shell signed, his mouth curling into an angry frown.

“I was just cleaning the sh*t from your clothes. That’s all.” Mira inspected her robes for any stains. “You should be grateful.”

They had climbed out of a manhole into a grungy alleyway littered with bottles, garbage, cardboard boxes, and scraps. On either side, two towering buildings loomed over them, tangled wires gapping the grey sky. Graffiti of names and symbols lined the walls as well as overflowed garbage bins and air conditioning units.

In the distance, past the flashing ‘MOTEL’ sign, they could see the cyberpunk city in its true scale. Neon towers of different heights piercing the sky, patched with holograms, and the distant whirring of high-speed trains.

“We’re here. The Nexus Quarter.” Ace’s eyes widened.

Hiro squinted his eyes, dipping his head to look at the floor.

“Hiro, you okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing really.” Hiro straightened his posture, his voice quiet and resigned.

Ace pulled on the back of Hiro’s trench coat. “Hey, really, what’s the matter?”

Come on, Hiro. Where’s that ego gone? We need confidence, not doubt. We can’t take any risks. This mission could change the lives of millions of people, not only now, but for generations to come.

“It’s stupid, really,” Hiro scratched the back of his head. “I just never liked big cities. I don’t know what it is, but it’s overstimulating.”

“Maybe it’s the bright lights? But it can’t be, don’t you use flash bangs?”

“It’s ironic, isn’t it? I made them try to get over it at first. But after using them again and again, that feeling never really went away. So, I guess it never will.” Hiro cast his eyes to the floor.