Returning

Finally after all this time, everything that has happened up to now has led me here. Himari, the mysterious leader; Koyomi— all of them got me to this point. I was paranoid for nothing; they need me now like I need them.

Yuka gave a soft smile. 'How are we planning to leave anyway? The staircase must be guarded by THEM."

The screens behind them flicker onto the entire complex; each camera scanned each hallway, each floor, the garden and the outside. Everything was visible from here.

“Lucky you have ways to spy on us all this time. " Himari butted in with a sarcastic voice, a bit dissatisfied.

The leader didn’t answer back.

“There are maintenance vents around this entire complex." His mechanical voice box shifted lower. “I discouraged their use forever."

Himari sighed. “You killed people in them; something like you would do anyway, considering you nearly scared us to death for just a test."

“I had no choice; I was human. I know how illogical it can be under pressure. Considering your anger issues and Yuka’s memory gaps, it was necessary.”

Yuka put an arm onto Himari’s shoulder. “Now isn’t the time; just leave it there, Himari."

"Yeah, you're right." Turning herself over towards the cable mess, she scans the area around before briefing the two: “I will find my own axe; you can just wait here and do whatever is left."

Himari paced away from the elevated platform into the mess of the cables; the heat emitted instantly overwhelmed her, but it wasn’t risky anymore.

There really seems to be some bad blood between these two; I just have to diffuse the situation if something happens.

The mechanical fingers kept the cameras on the computer screen while its yellow glowing eyes scavenged for a safe place to go into. "We're going to need to enter a safe room, and I'm thinking about your room, Yuka."

My room – it's been a while for sure, even if it's just been two days. Being stuck there for years and now leaving it feels like I divorced somebody that I planned to stay with for the rest of my life. I also can see my journal—

Yuka’s mind flashed, a small smile appearing on her face. “I have a journal which noted most of my stay here; I can put it on the camera for you to see. It has a lot of stuff, like being misfed, or the isolation, or the inspections. I wrote they will seem like I was being tortured, but that helps, doesn’t it?"

The leader put a mechanical arm onto his chin. “Right— It would, but it will be the least of our concerns, as we need visible real-time footage. " A vent on a vent box on the left stopped to pump in fresh air, its fans halting. “You will enter that once Himari comes back."

Yuka nodded; a question was left on her mind. "Can you give yourself a name? Saying 'leader' all the time is getting annoying."

…

“I prefer to be a leader; names are for humans. Those will make change happen while I only can watch."

“Why not?” Himari ascended back to the platform, her grey eyes zoning in on the leader, her suspicion never vanishing. Why would someone not deserve a name? Only someone who did something terrible would say that.

“I won’t explain; it's not necessary, but I didn’t cause all of this if you're assuming that." A scoff came out of Himari; it was obvious what she had in mind; her cards are always laid out.

Yuka hurries over to Himari; her bright pink eyes widen at the axe’s wooden hilt getting way darker than before. “Your sweat turned the axe dark. We might need a shower after we finish all this.”

"Yeah, you're right about that," Himari chuckled.

“Put on the cameras and this earpiece.” The leader's hands wander back to the desk of the control panel. Taking out two little metallic pieces, he reaches out his slender metal arms towards Himari and Yuka before dropping them onto their expanded palms.

Putting it onto their right ears, they both heard a buzz before it disappeared. “Do you hear me?” The leader's voice bounced twice into their ears.

Everything was in check; their hands clipped the cameras tightly onto the chest of their frilly dresses. Its quality was comparable to that of an early 2010s camera. It wasn’t the best piece of equipment, but it had security modern-day devices could never have.

“Just don't lose us." Yuka began walking over to the vent box in the side of the room, Himari following close behind.

The narrow tunnel would force them to crawl; they both give each other a final look as Yuka goes into the first, with Himari after.

The tunnel itself branches to many pathways; slowly, with the help of their leader's direction, they begin turning left or right until the tunnel begins shifting upwards back up to the rooftop of the complex.

“My back hurts—” Yuka complained; the height, even for their short height, was enough to make them lean forward.

Himari kept pushing her forward, knowing the presence of someone behind her kept her pacing up; it was rather cruel but better than slowing down.

After a minute of traversing. They finally saw it.

"I can see the moonlight!” Yuka hurried even more; Himari’s support quickly faded into nothingness as she darted forward faster and faster. Himari didn’t rush; the axe in her hand couldn’t bang off the tunnel no matter what.

Getting to the top, Yuka ducked underneath the fan connected to the rooftop; it was also not moving due to the leader’s influence. Leaving the tunnel, she began stretching herself out openly in the cold air.

This is a sight I will never forget until the last moment; it's so beautiful.

The sky wasn’t crimson; it wasn’t filled with the view of cubes, only if she looked towards the left or the right while looking up. It was just her and the stars, a peaceful, calming bond.

From behind Himari emerged as well; her white hair instantly reflected off the moonlight. “You really like the sky, don’t you? Is that part not cubes, or is it just a nostalgic feeling?

“The sky is beautiful; it's blue. The moment we leave this place, it will turn that dark crimson. Even my room where I look out is all red, oppressive, waiting to kill me the moment I step out to get consumed by these black and crimson cubes."

A small smile appeared on her face, her head lying on the concrete rooftop before turning over to the staircase. She was so used to “Let’s go back to my room; I want to see my journal too!”

“Being attached to a book is rather scary—” Himari sighed.

Yuka scoffed at her comment. “This book is all I had for my entire stay here; it's what kept me from going insane, but I'm glad I can also find new things to put hope in."

“I don't care about your sentimental talk; lead the way already."

"Ok, relax—” Yuka tapped around the rooftop; her feet moved towards the staircase. The handle of the door got closer, and as she tried to pull it, it opened. It always did; nobody ever came up here, so why would that change now?

Each step down the staircase created that same echoing sound. They paced slower and more gently; getting caught this fast was definitely not part of the plan. Not even whispering came out of their mouths; THEY could be watching already.

Just a few more steps, and we won’t fail.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the third floor greeted them: the haunting concrete floor, the parapet walls overlooking the dead garden, and the silence of the hallways, just like it always was. Their absence didn’t change anything at all up here.

They tapped past the first neighbour, where Yuka got the cryptic message; this is what began it all. The second neighbour passed soon after. They never made a sound and never answered anything; they were most likely not alive anymore.

The final door of the hallway before the turn was Yuka’s, the hardwood door staring them down, welcoming them back into the safe environment; if there was anywhere safe, then it would be here.

Time to return to my room—

Yuka opens the door slowly, the handle barely making a sound, in the room…

“It's ruined—” Yuka spoke barely above a whisper; Himari, from behind, closed the door gently.

The room was massacred, drawers hung open in the kitchen, her bed wrecked and thrown around, instant ramen lying on the floor, closed and abused; even the dust felt the torture as it hid from the two.

I wonder if they took my journal. How dare they break into my room, which I care so deeply about!

"They ruined this room, huh? Himari, looking around, opened a couple drawers. Instant ramen. "I'm going to make us food this time, but don’t expect anything as good as yours."

“Koyomi seems the type to cook; if anything, you're a bit too brutish for it! Just my opinion—” Walking over to the window, her eyes took in the view.

The crimson moonlight bathed below; the cubes have spread. They always are twisting and folding into shapes that make it hurt to follow. That cubed building she remembers was already mutated into just spirals, like a pulsing tree without leaves that just wants to take over.

“What do you see?” Himari asked from the kitchen.

Yuka gave a small smile. “Something I can't explain to you." She steps away from the window, moving towards the ruined bed, her eyes going in between the wall and bed as her hands, reaching down all over the gap, have started to search for her journal.

Please be there, please just be there—

She leans in closer, nothing.

Her hands freeze.

My 1678 days here— all my memories, all my experiences— they're gone. THEY took it. Of course THEY did.

“Himari, it's not there." Her voice slightly cracked.

The ramen was placed on the table; the word 'instant' wasn’t a joke. “If you can’t find it, then that sucks for us, but it's not needed."

From the side of her ear she hears a metallic male voice, “She is right. It's fine if you can't find it."

Yuka quickly jolted upwards, her face flushing instantly. "Were you spying on us the entire time? I forgot I even had you near me!”

“That was the intended purpose."

…

A pout formed on her face. “I just valued it a lot— you said it wasn’t planned either way but still."

“It wasn't; just eat first, then we will talk. Having you run around on empty stomachs isn't ideal anyway."

Yuka took off the earpiece. “Then let us eat in peace," she said, and walked over to Himari, who was already sitting down with her plate. Yuka took the chair next to her, staring down towards the cup of ramen noodles. It wasn’t served like she did to Himari; it was just in the plastic holder, heated and then put onto the desk, but it wasn’t the right time to complain.

Following Yuka, Himari took off her earpiece too, just a moment between them now.

Silence filled the room. It was just the two of them now, with warm ramen to keep them full while they sat together.

Himari didn’t even touch her food yet; she just stared at Yuka.

…

“Yuka, today is the day I achieve my freedom."