A piece of truth

“I need you to do something for me.” He says while working on a computer.

“I’m in as long as I get to explore more than your office!”

“Go down the stairs, to the ground floor. When you pass the reception, on the right there should be a black hallway that leads to an elevator. That’s the point where I could reach. We are not allowed to go there.”

“But doesn’t the elevator go up? I mean you know all the floors already.”

“I also thought this at first, but there is something strange. If it were a normal one, why aren't we allowed to use it?”

“Well, you also have a lot. I don’t see why you need another one.”

“Listen, will you go there for me or not?”

“I got nothing better to do anyways…”

“I will give you a camera so make as many photos as possible, ok?”

“Yeah yeah, whatever!”

Haru gives the girl a purple camera.

“Let me guess, your favorite color is purple?” She says full of irony.

“Wrong. I prefer blue, the pastel version of it.” He winks at her and goes back to his seat. “Take care!”

“Maybe I will run away with the camera. Do you have any ugly pictures of yourself on it? I can sell them for money.” Kibo shows a mischievous smile.

“I look good in any picture, but the memory card is empty. Feel free to do whatever you want. It’s not like you can find your way out of this building anyways.”

“I know where the entrance is!”

“You expect an award or something?”

“Not an award, but a reward.”

Her words make him raise his head and glared at her with interest.

“Is that so? What would you like?”

“A wish.”

“Do you realize I’m no genie, right?”

She laughs at his reaction.

“I won’t ask for eternal youth. I will ask for a favor that will be simple, yet special.”

“And what is that simple, yet special favor of yours?”

“I don’t know.” She says with a boring look. “You never know when the best opportunity comes.”

Kibo turns her back to Haru and leaves his office without adding another word.

“I'm like a spy! Let’s finish the job already!”

When she reached the ground floor elevator she took a photo.

“Nice!”

She gets in and the doors close.

“What an idiot! There are buttons for every floor! It’s a normal elevator!”

The surveillance camera’s light turned red. Then above the buttons appeared a place to scan your id.

She takes other photos.

Suddenly, some loud steps were her from behind the doors. They got closer and closer.

*knock*

As soon as a gentle knock was heard, the steps returned down the hallway.

After a while, Kibo decides to open take a look outside. As expected, there was no one anymore. She still glanced around and found an id on the floor.

“Did Haru forget to give this to me?”

For sure the event was intentional and she knew that the card will help her. It was the missing piece.

“But if Haru had this, why didn’t he use it? What if it was from someone else? But why would anyone help me? No, wait! Was someone able to see me?”

She took a photo of the id and scanned it in the elevator.

Approved.

“Please press the floor number you need to go to!” A robotic voice speaks out of a sudden.

“I’ll go to Haru’s floor.” She says while pressing 3.

After that, she started going down.

“What is going on?”

Kibo felt surprised. Did Haru know about this?

When the doors opened, she stepped out of the elevator without hesitation.

The place seemed abandoned at first, but as she walked more in the hallway, she saw people.

The workers were running everywhere as they were late with something. They were staying in little offices separated only by a wall.

“Here is no window or luxurious furniture. Also, they seem to be isolated here. But why?” She thought to herself.

She approached some desks and took some papers that were staying on the floor, near the trash. The documents were colorful and caught her attention.

“1000 people unlocked the feeling of love.”

“500 people were corrected from the feeling of confusion.”

“2000 people have been restrained in their houses because of their intensity level of emotions.”

She read those things out loud while her heart started to feel heavy.

“What is wrong with this society?”

She kept the papers and took some photos of the surroundings. While she explored the place, at the sound of an alarm, a lot of armed soldiers made their appearance.

“STAY ON THE GROUND WITH YOUR HANDS IN A VISIBLE PLACE!”

Everyone looked terrified and they were shaking in fear.

“Check everyone’s id!” A general orders.

“YES SIR!”

“Someone that was chosen for the Freedom Festival has entered this place.” The higher-up adds with a harsh voice. “When we checked to see if he is missing, he was still in the cell. One of you stole his id and used it.”

Everyone was whispering and after some time, a woman spoke:

“It’s not fair to treat us all like this! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

*bang*

For Kibo’s terror, the woman fell to the ground dead. Even if she didn’t know her, she started crying. She saw Aiko in that lifeless body.

“Does anyone shares the same opinion as her?” The general says with a smirk on his face.

“Bastard!” The girl whispers to herself.

The workers were being pulled aggressively and hit if they weren't cooperating.

Kibo must do something, but every object she touches becomes invisible. What can sly do?

“Does Hajime Daichi sound familiar to any of you?” A soldier asks.

Everyone shook their head.

The girl felt the sudden urge to look at the id she found.

“I’m screwed!” She says after reading the exact name.

The person who left it for her in front of the elevator wanted to frame her. This means he or she knew about her existence. Now Kibo has to find that mysterious someone.

Until then, she had to find a way of saving the workers. What if she frames someone?

“I can put this id in a pocket from the general’s jacket. But that won’t work… The only ones that would be believable would be the workers.” She lets out a groan of frustration. “It would be worse if the id isn’t found, but I also need it. What should I do?”

After some minutes she finally decides to do the best thing she could think of. She steals a mobile phone and calls Haru. She used the number written on the card he gave to her at the fountain.

“You better answer or else-“

“Representative-“

“Shut it! We have a serious matter here!”

He stays silent for a few moments.

“Aiko?”

“Disappointed?” She sighs. “You were right. There is something under the building, another 6 floors. I’m currently at the third one, but the army came in.”

“ARMY?”

“Stop yelling! They are searching everyone for a stupid id. But the problem is that I have that id…”

“How did you manage to get one?”

“That’s another problem, but I don’t have time to explain. The thing is I don’t know what to do to save the workers… I need your help!”

“You can’t do anything. Return to my office!”

“Yes, I can’t do anything. But you can. So do something if you want to see the pictures and papers I took.”

“This was not part of the deal, Aiko. Don’t put me in a difficult situation.”

“You think you are in a difficult situation? What about all these people that are getting bullied? Not to mention that the bullys were supposed to protect the civils.”

“It’s you who put them in that situation, so get over it.”

“You’re a heartless bastard! You’re not better than this general who shot an innocent woman! I will solve this matter myself!”

“Wait-“

She hangs up and runs towards the elevator. Her attention falls on a red button made for emergencies.

“Just you wait and see! I’ll save everyone!” She says while anger flows through her veins.

The fire alarm starts playing and the fear dominates again the atmosphere. The panic takes over everyone and the silence is replaced by screams.

“THERE’S A FIRE!”

“WHERE?”

“WE HAVE TO GET OUT!”

“I’M GOING TO DIE!”

“HELP!”