Watched

“Yuka, give me the axe. " Himari stretched out her hand into an upside-down palm, her expression clearly indicating that Yuka should follow.

Reluctantly, Yuka handed over the axe; she gave a final scoff at the fact Himari thinks she can’t handle herself.

“If you think I can’t handle myself, so be it.” Yuka’s gaze went upwards towards the overhead lights, the buzz of the lights reminding her of her goal. “There should be a computer of sorts around considering this place has electricity.”

She knelt down and picked up the files, then rose back up and started to walk further into the corridor. Her feet, despite having durable shoes, decided to avoid the increasing glass fragments that lay on the floor; the more glass shards there were, the more scattered they became.

Himari spun the axe around her fingers while she followed behind Yuka; unlike her, Himari didn’t care about stepping around, just crushing the glass with each step she took. “I don’t hear anything because of this glass; it feels odd here. Just don't go too far in front of me.”

I am not sure if Himari said that because she noticed it too but was being watched by the cameras in the corners. Yuka moved the corners of her eyes towards the camera, trying to avoid alerting the person behind. It seems that their indicators are turned off, but I think they saw me.

The corridor started to show signs of humans; there were broken-down rooms, each with shattered glass windows and a half-open door hanging from its side. Destroyed and left to decay forever. Her curiosity, however, started to move her gently on autopilot towards a room on the left before peeking inside.​

Chairs, tables, shelves, devices, red stains—this definitely isn’t a normal room, but asking Himari won't tell me anything.

Yuka turned around, her bright pink eyes staring down Himari, who stood looking back at her. “So you aren’t going to tell me even if I can see the signs?”

Himari gave a smug smile. “If you knew it all, then you wouldn’t be asking me.”

​…

As Yuka peaked into each room, they all had the exact same layout. It was uniformly made in a sense. There were once people doing things, moving about, and now she can only see the remains; a shiver ran up her body.​

As they made it to the end of the corridor, Yuka sensed another camera in the corner, directly staring into her eye. Both acknowledged their presence in silence.

“Once we get a computer, I wonder what the next step will be." Yuka looked down at the files in her hand, just begging to be opened.

A sigh erupted from behind. “Maybe it would be to show us what we're missing or what the full story behind this place is. We both don’t know anything."

Yuka stood still suddenly; that sentence annoyed her the most. “You mean that I don’t know? I'm pretty sure that you are aware of a lot more than that." Her tone didn't match her words; it was rather enthusiastic.

They got to a crossroads at the end of the corridor. “Don’t turn left, Yuka.”

Yuka, however, kept staring at the left, the camera watching her from the ceiling; she was too curious to give this up.

“What are you staring at?” Himari looked over at the same spot; she couldn’t sense the camera in the corner like Yuka did; she just thought Yuka might be seeing things.

“I’m not seeing things; we have to go to the right!” Yuka moved into Himari’s personal space; her eyes didn’t blink, and her body pressed up against hers, like she was sizing her up.

I can tell she is getting more arrogant down here. She seems on edge. The blocking of files from me or the insistence on going right instead of left; I should appeal to her logic.

“There is a camera watching us." Her fingers pointed over in the corner. It was too dark to see, but I stared back at Yuka’s face. It was riddled with need.​

A slight, amused chuckle left Himari’s mouth. “If we're trying to avoid danger, going against the camera’s view would be better.”

Yuka pointed at the floor next; there were no glass fragments anywhere. “There is no better place to rest than here; you are getting tired. Your spinning is slowing."

Himari let out a sigh. “Let's go left. But we better find a place to rest or else we're going right.”

“Got it!” Yuka began leading the way left; she gave a quick wink towards the corner camera before carrying on.​

The sudden shift of cleanness: there are no glass fragments, and the camera is watching us. I assume this place is within their wandering zone then. But I see a perfect room for safety anyway.

A cell door on the left hung across nearly the whole way but left a gap to crawl underneath from. They both looked down, their bodies being so small in stature actually benefitting them this time.

Yuka knelt downwards underneath the door. “Just, trust me.” Once she emerged on the other side. Her eyes scanned the room; it was in the shape of a cube. There were damp padded walls, a concrete base which provided structure and a bunk bed in the corner. The only entrance being the gap was the most reassuring part.

Himari started crawling in from behind and also emerged from the other side before she grabbed the axe and slid it in.

Himari nodded in affirmation; her eyes scanned the room around in acceptance of the situation they put themselves in. “Not a bad pick; I already slept for an hour, so let me guard first this time.”

“Suit yourself.” Walking to the bottom bunk bed, Yuka decided to rest, lying down on her side. The bed had a mattress, but it provided minimal comfort; the structure at least didn’t seem to shift.

Himari decided to sit opposite the gap of the wall; her eyes could always watch the entrance while using no energy. “I will wake you up in six hours.”

Just close your eyes; I can rest for six hours. But I have the urge to journal; it feels odd without it.

Yuka raised her arms upwards, like she had an invisible pen. Himari sat confused but thinking it was some sort of sleeping technique; she let it continue if it even helped a bit.

It’s day 1678; we got caught breaking into the staff room and were forced to descend into an unmarked area. There is something watching us all the time, but Himari is guarding me, so I should be safe; we're both tense right now.

With her journal done, her mind already started shutting off; even if her diary wasn’t physical, the familiarity put her at ease.

…

“Yuka, wake up.”

Yuka’s eyes fluttered softly, taking in the pale, white-haired Himari in front of her.

Her slim fingers went onto her forehead; she wiped off a bit of sweat from the dampness and sweat that piled up before she got her shoes off the bed. “It's my turn now.”

Ah—I feel so tired; sleeping this little really is a big change, with just a bit more time, however. I can see what the files are truly without Himari stopping me.

Yuka took the axe from Himari, who then got into the bed on her side.

Yuka walked over to the same spot on the wall and planted herself down. To her side were the files, and to the other were markings.

Six markings, so every stroke was an hour. That's pretty resourceful, but I wouldn't expect anything else since we got underfed for all these years—this just made me think about that ramen I made; I wish I had taken some with me.

An hour passed.

Time for the first stroke. She used the axe to strike gently at the wall until it scratched a line into the wall.

The first hour passed by quicker than I thought, and if Himari is truly asleep, I want to start reading now.

Her gaze snapped onto Himari; her dark grey eyes were closed perfectly. The files were at the other side of the room; any movement might alert her.

Just one step at a time.

Her feet moved, making a click noise with each step she took. The files only got closer; her hands reached out and snatched them quietly. Then they glided across each one, scavenging for the right files that Himari had been looking at earlier.

J something, J something – J-019 found it. What was she hiding from me? ​

Her hands gripped the file folder harder; they trembled ever so slightly. The fear of what was inside – why was everyone trying to prevent her from seeing this? It all came down to the truth.