The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 2 - Chapter 35: Ari

I can't see anything with this bulky visor over my face. Yet, I feel a familiar comfort when Cithara places her cool, soft palm on my cheek.

"I'll see you in the morning," Cithara says as she slips her hand from my grasp.

I may not see her face, but I think she's smiling. She's happy we're together again, and if she's happy, then I'm happy too.

My head drifts, wondering about tomorrow. Wondering where I would be. Wondering... wandering in a sea of void, recalling dreadful memories deep from a past once forgotten.

My vision clears, and I lay on a small bed in a strange facility. Plain white walls enclose me along with a pale skin Asian woman with short black hair. I spot a metal dresser next to a door, and a decorated Christmas tree standing at the corner, its red and green lights pulsing in rhythm.

The woman is wearing a white lab coat, and a pinned badge displays her name in a large font, job title in a smaller font, pronouns in finer print, and the turquoise crystal depicting the CrystalCorp company logo off to the right: Ms. Hikaru Kagura, Assistant Lab Technician, she/her/hers.

"Good morning, Arizona," Hikaru says.

I leap off the bed and stand in front of Hikaru, only to realize I'm much shorter than usual. I turn my head to the standing mirror next to the bed. It's me but much younger and with longer hair and a rounder face. I almost forgot I had long hair as a kid. Also, I'm blind in one eye with a silver fake prosthetic occupying that eye socket.

"Hi, Miss Hikaru," I greet, my voice pitch high and cheery. "What are we going to do today?"

"Today, I have news to share. Remember the Christmas wish you made last week?"

I don't remember, but perhaps my younger self might. My lips twitch and my eye squints, making a funny face, thinking what this could be. Then an image flashes in front of me of an angry white-haired woman screaming and hitting me. Something hits my eye and I cry, feeling helpless.

After a moment, the images stop flashing and the sequence returns to normal. I ask, "Will I get a new home?"

"Yes." Hikaru nods. "Today is the day where you will no longer have to deal with the abuse from the horrible person who claims to be your mother."

"How about Mathilde? Is she coming?" I ask.

Hikaru turns her head, wavering, a frown forming on her face. "We'll try to bring Mathilde along, but I can't make any promises."

"I know," I say, sulking. "You told me before that promises are hard to make."

"And keeping them is much harder," she adds, "which is why I'm always afraid to make promises I that I might not keep."

"But can you make this one promise to bring Mathilde along? Even if it takes a really long time."

A thunderous bang echoes, startling both Hikaru and I.

"We need to go," she says, grabbing my hand while rushing out the door.

A siren wails and red lights strobe. People are screaming and running around, panicking. Scientists. Military personnel. Everyone. All in a state of hysteria. Explosions go off and guns open fire.

"Red alert! Red alert! All personnel please evacuate the premises. This is not a drill." A voice repeats over the radio.

I turn my head, glancing behind me. I think something is behind us. Something otherworldly. A beast maybe. I don't know, but it's not human. The unseen monster let out a deafening roar. I suspect it's something large and menacing.