The Grey. *-(A SciFi Thriller)-*

Part IV: Red

Red slammed his palm into the side of his desktop monitor. The stupid thing had gotten so slow recently. He had the strange girl's Sage Stick on the desk in front of him. When he took it apart yesterday, he had found a small chip inside. He had spent the last 48 hours straight working to de-encrypt it.

He smacked the side of his computer again. Deep down, he knew it wouldn't make a difference, but it still made him feel better. Finally, with a buzz, the screen changed. Among the code he was able to decipher, he was able to trace the chip back to one source, Optica Corp.

He shook his head. How the hell did she get a Sage Stick from Optica? The marketing corporation? Red searched his memory trying to connect the two. Last he heard about Optica, they were holding some sort of event Downtown. Queenie, the hyper-modified spokesmodel, was taking photos with groups of people and clogging up the streets. What were they advertising again? Leg mods? Toothpaste?

His door chimed. Red looked over his shoulder to see a girl's face on the door security screen. She was standing too close to the camera, making her bright grey-blue eyes bug out like a fish. He waved his wrist to let her in.

Sabrina looked better than the last time he saw her. She seemed to have slept at least once during the last couple of nights. She looked so small, sitting on the floor of his back room, next to the high stacks of desktop towers. However, as he looked at her, he noticed that she had her hand wrapped in what looked like gauze.

"What happened?" he asked, pointing to her hand.

"Oh," Sabrina hesitated, "I don't really remember."

She then smiled and hid the bandaged hand behind her.

He shook his head.

"Ya don't -" he started, then stopped himself, rolling his eyes, "Nevermind."

Red spinned around in his chair then grabbed the Sage Stick off his desk.

"Where did ya get this again?" he asked.

"Oh! It was there when I moved in," she answered, sitting up, excited, "Was it broken?"

"Nah, not broken. Modified," he wiggled his fingers in suspense, "By the Optica Corp, actually. Know anything 'bout them?"

Sabrina hesitated then looked up, avoiding his eyes.

"They found me and put me here," she answered, then jumped up and straightened out her long dress. "I don't want to talk about it though," she added. She smiled again and jumped down the stairs to the main room. "Can we Sage?"

"Right now?" he called down, his head swimming.

They found me and put me here? What was that supposed to mean?

"It's so early though. I didn't even eat yet."

"Please," Red heard her cry out, playfully.

He sighed, climbing out of his chair in defeat. When he jumped down the stairs, he saw her sitting on the white box, kicking her feet. She was short, and her feet didn't reach the ground. She had apparently planned to Sage this morning, as she was wearing the tightly strapped shoes he had recommended. Her white hair was long enough to touch the floor though, with short bangs that framed her face. There were beams of light that came in from outside and streamed between through the black drawings that covered the walls. The light from behind made her glow. Red felt his face grow hot.

"Off," he coughed. "You're gonna break it."

She jumped off, lightly lilting to the side, an excited smile on her face.