Log 5: The Storm

Saturn awoke to a pair of voices. Kairo was talking to someone. She slid out of bed. From the bedroom doorway, she saw her savior speaking with a man wearing a red shirt, black pants, and a red hat. A black and red satchel was slung over his left shoulder.

"... glad he's off the streets, though," the man said.

"Definitely," Kairo agreed.

"Anyhow, I gotta get to my other orders. See ya 'round."

"Have a wonderful day."

"You too, man."

The man in the red hat vanished down the stairs. Kairo carried a breakfast box into the bedroom.

"Who was that?" Saturn asked.

"He's a food deliverer," Kairo explained after sitting down.

"Oh. Okay."

Saturn and her savior ate a breakfast of burgers, fries, salad, and juice. It was even tastier than last time.

"Why isn't the food box metal?" Saturn curiously asked.

"Because, this way, it's disposable."

"Is that better?"

"Maybe. I don't really know."

"Oh. Okay."

Kairo leaned back and sighed. Saturn mimicked him.

"So, what's your plan while I'm working?"

Saturn flopped onto her back and rolled across the floor. "I don't know. Maybe I'll do puzzles?"

"Sounds like a plan. If you're awake when I get home, do you want to go shopping?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Saturn stared at the steel leg of the bed frame. "What's shopping like?"

"Well..." Kairo scratched his head. "You go to a place where things are sold, look around, and buy something if you see anything you want, I guess."

Saturn rolled over and looked at Kairo. "Sounds fun."

"How about we play a game until I leave," Kairo suggested. "I think I have a set of playing cards somewhere."

Saturn sat up and nodded. A game sounded fun. Saturn crawled over to the bedside table and grabbed her tablet. She did a couple easy puzzles while Kairo looked for the cards. After several minutes, the two sat down. Kairo shuffled the deck before laying it face down and spreading it around the floor in a circle.

"I'm going to teach you Go Fish," Kairo said.

"Okay. But why make a mess?" Saturn tilted her head to the left.

"It's part of the game."

"Oh..."

"Basically, since it's just us, we each get seven cards. After that, we make as many pairs as we can from our initial hand and place them in front of us like so." Kairo took two 3's and set them on the floor. "The goal of the game is to be the player with the most pairs at the end."

"What's a pair?" Saturn asked.

"Ah. Right, um... well, if you have two cards that have matching numbers, then that's a pair," Kairo explained. "There are also face cards. Kings, queens, and jacks. They can be paired just like numbers."

"So, if I have two kings, I should put them on the floor?"

"Right." Kairo nodded.

"I have two k's. Are those kings?"

"Correct!"

Saturn placed her kings on the ground, along with a pair of 2's, and a pair of 7's. "Who goes first?"

"You do."

Saturn stared at her savior confused. "I don't know what to do, though."

"Then I'll explain." Kairo smiled. "On each of your turns, you look at your hand, then ask a player if he or she has a card that will pair with one of yours. For instance, if a player needs a queen, that player may ask you if you have a queen. If you do, you hand it to the player, who then places the pair. If you don't have the card in question, you say 'Go fish' and then the player draws from the card pool. I don't think I missed anything, but if you have questions just ask away."

"Okay..." Saturn blinked. "Do you have an A?"

Kairo looked confused for a second, before a look of realization spread across his face. "Oh! Yeah, the cards that have an A on them are called Aces. Sorry about that."

"Mm. Then, do you have an ace?"

"Go fish."

"So, I draw from the mess, right?"

Kairo chuckled. "Yeah."

Saturn took a card from the mess. It wasn't an ace. The two played Go Fish for several rounds. It was a lot of fun. Yet another precious memory was born. Unknown to the girl or the man who freed her, this bliss was to be far shorter than either had hoped.

Kairo stretched, packed the cards, and began to put his boots on when the doorbell buzzed. When his eyes narrowed, Saturn grew worried.

"If anything bad happens to me, run and don't look back," Kairo ordered.

As Kairo walked to the door and Saturn took her tablet and neared the balcony, the doorbell buzzed again. Kairo scanned his keycard, and the door slid open. A tan-skinned half-elf man with solid amber eyes stood in the doorway. His brown hair nearly touched his shoulder. He wore an open coat over a v-neck and a long sleeve shirt, his black jeans and boots complimented the red t-shirt.

Before he had said a word, Saturn already knew who he was. She began to shake. Not him, anybody but him! He was as scary as the Professor! Why was he here?

"Name's Perraden Octavian. I'm here on business." the man said, offering up his hand to shake.

"What business would you have here?" Kairo asked.

Perraden smirked. "I work for a guy who works for a guy. The guy my guy works for was robbed, so I'm performing retrieval. Understand?"

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to come by another day."

Kairo clicked a button above the card scanner and the door began to slide shut. Less than a quarter closed, Perraden put his hand in the way and held it open. Saturn stepped closer to the balcony's guardrail.

"Mr. Morutsuku," the scary man began. "I don't think you understand the situation. I'm taking the ginger back whether you want it or not."

"Try me," Kairo challenged.

Perraden sighed. "I didn't want a fight but—oh who am I kidding?" the man grasped the door tightly and pushed it open, cracking the steel. "I don't actually give shit!" Perraden punched Kairo in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.

Saturn threw her tablet over and clambered up the railing before dropping herself onto the mattress below. A plume of fire burst from the balcony above, with another loud crash following it. Saturn grabbed her tablet and bolted for the streets!

After several minutes, Saturn nearly collapsed from exhaustion. She leaned up against an alley wall and stared into the clouds.

"W—why?" Saturn coughed. "Why so soon?"

A tear slid down her cheek. She hated it. Why did Perraden show up? Did the Professor send him? Was she that valuable to them? Why? Why? Why? WHY? She couldn't make heads or tails of it, but she knew she had to continue forward or be caught.

Saturn walked for several hours. At nightfall, she leaned against a dumpster and fell into an uneasy sleep. She was woken by the sharp light of dawn. She picked up her tablet and dusted her shorts.

"Oh, right..." Saturn mumbled. "These clothes aren't mine... I can't go back, though... I never got to thank the neighbors..."

Saturn wandered onto the pavement and slowly walked. Traffic was sparse, only a few cars sped down the road. Saturn stumbled forward, her stomach grumbled. She didn't have much energy. If they came for her again she would be captured. Her savior would've protected her for nothing. She couldn't have that.

"I hope he's okay..." Saturn muttered.

A car coming down the road began to swerve unusually. After a few seconds, it turned and began to speed in her direction. Although she saw it speeding toward her, even though she was afraid, even though she was walking, she didn't have enough energy to flee its path. Was this the—?

"MOVE!" a woman yelled, pushing the girl forward with inhuman strength.

"Aaaaaah!" Saturn screamed

A sudden crash! A crack of bone. Saturn tumbled, her tablet flew through the air. What had just happened?! She scrambled to her feet and looked back. The woman who had pushed her was unconscious against a building's wall. She rushed over, her vision becoming spotty. Panic-stricken, she tried to shake the woman awake.

"P—lease," Saturn cried. "W—wake up! Wake u—up!"

The car's passenger knocked the door open and rushed over along with several others. They tried to get Saturn's attention, but she was completely unresponsive. She shook and shook, crying for the woman to awake, but she did not.

"Just don't die!" Saturn screamed. 

Her Aspect flashed white, everyone scrambled back in shock. Saturn looked back. Several people had crowded around her. With her eye's tearing up, she began hyperventilating. She couldn't handle the situation, so she ran as fast as she could and as far as she could. She didn't want to leave, but she couldn't bear to remain at that spot any longer!

She ran for what felt like an eternity as tears streamed down her face. Before she knew where she had gone, she crashed into someone. She tried to move away, but the person grabbed her arm. Through blurry vision, she stared up at whoever caught her. A dark-skinned woman with bright red hair stared down.

"Who the hell are you?"