The Perfect Solution

The wind rose suddenly in response to Rin's words. He had a solemn look on his face as he awaited his reflection's response.

"So, in other words... You're giving up?"

Rin's finger twitched.

"It's all I can do. The police won't make it in time to save Lena so that gives us one of three options..."

He covered his mouth with his hand before continuing.

"One, I try and fight off the terrorists myself. I shouldn't have to spell out the problem with that one so let's move on."

He gritted his teeth.

"Two, I give the terrorists what they want. I can tell that woman where I hid the pocket- or stasis bomb and try to ensure Lena's safety that way." 

"Risks are too high. Her behavior is too erratic. You can't reasonably say she won't kill you even after giving her what she wants. Plus, handing over the stasis bomb would basically guarantee the end of the world."

"Which only leaves me with one other choice. I do nothing and let whatever happened in your timeline... happen again. Any other option would lead to unnecessary danger to myself or the rest of the world."

-It's the most logical decision.

Rin's head slumped as he finished talking. Out of frustration, he ran his fingers through his hair. He kept reassuring himself this was the best solution, but something was nagging at him on the inside. Despite this, his reflection changed the subject.

"Well, since we agree doing nothing is the best choice, how about we listen to that recording now?"

It took a bit for Rin to figure out what his reflection was talking about, but then it clicked for him. He reached inside the paper bag he was carrying and pulled out the portable voice recorder. There was only one message on it.

-It has to be related to the stasis bomb.

Wary of the people in the parking lot below him, he lowered the volume to its second quietest setting before hitting the play button.

Despite this, a cold voice echoed out loudly within the depths of his soul.

"Take this key away. I don't care where as long as it's far from here."

The rest of the message was lost on Rin as he could only focus on one thing.

"...Dad?"

The message cut off, leaving Rin alone with only the rising winds and the reminder he'd have to abandon someone for the person who abandoned him. 

***

Rin dragged the paper bag behind him as he trudged through the mall. Despite how small it was, it felt so heavy. A constant weight pulling him down as he traversed the countless and empty pathways. 

Somewhere along the way, he started to count all the windows he was passing by, while having nothing to listen to but his own heartbeat and the rustling of the paper bag.

Window, heartbeat, rustling. 

Window, heartbeat, rustling. 

He kept focusing on these things for an amount of time he didn't keep track of. The longer he walked, the more details were starting to disappear from the world around him. The ceiling lights and floor tiles were fading away, leaving only white in their place. 

*Ba dump*
The paper bag slipped through his fingers.

*Ba dump*
Rin stood there for a second looking down at it before leaning over to pick it up.

*Ba dump*
For whatever reason though, he couldn't stop himself from dropping onto the floor and lying next to it.

"So, this is the furthest you could get.", his reflection said.

Whether Rin heard that or not, he didn't show it. He simply lay there staring into the endless void above him. His eyes wandered unconsciously. 

-Was there even a point in looking anywhere else? 

He wondered this to himself since no matter where he looked it was all white. To his surprise though, he eventually found a faint red light blinking in the distance. The more Rin looked at it, the brighter it became. It was the light of a surveillance camera. 

It was striking even disregarding the fact it was the only thing that stood out in the void. Rin sat up for a better look. For some reason, it seemed important. He thought backwards through his entire day so far. 

His brain flew past the carnage and destruction, his scolding from Lena, and his walk through the back entrance. One detail stood out to him above all else. The see through door he passed by on his way in. He muttered to himself.

"...A security office. This mall has a security office."

The void shattered. The mall's finer details returned in an instant.

He looked to his left and stared at the paper bag.

***

*WHAM*
Eva was holding Klein by his collar and beating him relentlessly. Sirens were blaring in the distance now. Eva paid them no mind.

"Where is it!?", she asked.

"I... don't."

*WHAM*
Klein's face was a bloody pulp now. He couldn't even form complete sentences anymore. After a while, he didn't even know what he wanted to say. It left him with no other choice but to lie there silently and take his beating. 

Any more damage could've been fatal, but Eva didn't care. Despite her exhaustion, she raised her fist again, pulled it back, and prepared to strike.

"Stop it! You're going to kill him!"

Eva's fist hovered directly over Klein's face. She turned her head slowly to look at the person yelling at her.

It was Lena.

Letting go of Klein's collar, Eva got up. She turned to fully face the nervous wreck of a woman looking back at her. Her heels echoed loudly against the tiled floor. Eva started her walk over and nobody in the crowd was excited for what would happen at the end of it. 

***

Rin ran as hard as he could, almost collapsing from exhaustion as he made his way to the mall's back entrance. His legs gave out as he approached. The security office was only a couple of meters away.

***

Every footstep sent chills down Lena's spine. She even forgot to breathe over the course of Eva's long walk over. 

***

The door's shattered glass cut Rin's cheek as he stepped through it, rushed over to the computers, and slammed something onto the desk.

***

The footsteps stopped. Their echoes died down. And the mall was dead silent.

*Click*
Lena stared down the muzzle of a gun. Her body was entirely still as she waited for the unfair consequences of her actions.

Unblinkingly, Eva placed her finger on the trigger.

Out of nowhere, a staticky noise filled the entire mall. The intercom had been turned on. The voice that came through sounded a little out of breath but immediately commanded the terrorist's attention. 

"I have the stasis bomb. And if you hurt anybody else, you're never getting it."

Lena, recognizing Rin's voice instantly, looked up in shock.

"I thought you swept the entire building!", Eva shouted.

She scoffed in reaction to her subordinate's incompetence and then turned her attention back to the intercom.

"What do you want?"

"First, you'll release the hostages."

After brief consideration, she raised her gun and aimed it at Lena's head again.

"And if I kill them all instead?"

There was an unusually long pause. At first, Eva thought she'd succeeded in scaring the person negotiating with her, but he responded back with complete calm. 

"If keeping the bomb for myself wasn't good enough... then how about I go a step further and activate it right now?"

Eva's eyes widened. The sirens in the distance were getting closer and closer. 

"That wouldn't be a good outcome for any of us. So how about you do as I say.", Rin said.

Eva stared at the camera intensely as Rin spoke through the intercom again. 

"Letting them go is your only means of getting what you want."

It took a while and great consideration on Eva's part, but after what seemed like forever, she lowered her arm, finally letting Lena off the hook.

"Fine. What else-"

She'd just barely finished enunciating the words when Rin responded to her. 

"Well, I've decided it's your turn to run around now."

He paused before continuing.

"I'll be hiding somewhere in the mall. If you want the stasis bomb, you'll have to find me."

"How do I know you won't just leave?"

"If my word isn't good enough, then you can surround the entire building if you'd like. It'd be impossible for me to leave without getting caught." 

Eva grinned as Rin finished speaking. She relayed the proper orders to all of her subordinates over a walkie talkie, then turned to the hostages.

"You heard him. Get out of here."

All of them immediately clambered towards the exit except for one. Everybody else frantically shoved past her and tripped over each other to get out. But she couldn't bring herself to leave. 

She was waiting. Waiting for her cousin who was being abandoned.