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

Part VI: Ami

Just as the first light began to creep through the thin crack between the dark drapes and window, Ami was awake and already going through her morning rituals. Her fingers delicately traced over the mechanical locks on her door, making sure nothing was broken or tampered with in the night.

With a sigh of relief, she laid back in her bed, and began to stretch out the morning tightness. As she pulled her arm over her chest, her eyes caught on something out of place. One of the books on the dusty shelf in the corner wall of the room had been turned to her, facing out. She hadn't touched the shelf since she was first moved in. Curious, she got up to examine it closer, then her stomach dropped.

The first title was unassuming - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García. But after she saw the title behind it, her heart began to race. It was a message.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

In the Cage

The Rats in the Walls

I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This

Let Me Out

And for the finale, stuck behind the last book was the typed letter she had found in her apartment the other morning.

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Ami's stomach began to churn and she felt a chill as the blood drained from her face. It was a message. A message from the monster who took over her body at night. Her Predator.

Protect me? She shook her head. How? By murdering those I love?

Her stomach knotted further as images of her sister's limp hand dangling off the bunk bed came to her in waves. She felt violated, used. Was it trying to manipulate her into opening the door? Mock her?

Ami carefully considered her next steps. Although she had enjoyed not knowing what exactly happened to her body at night, locked up and trapped in the room, something had to change. How could she know?

A camera.

---

Ami got dressed and made her way downstairs. The little corner vendor that helped her set up her door probably had security cameras also. It was on the northside of Downtown so she prepared herself for a longer walk than usual. She had grabbed the lens that Charlie had given her, using this venture as an opportunity to finally try it out. It felt strange and foriegn on her face as she attached it around her eye. She felt like it was about to fall off on every heavy step down the winding stairs, but it stayed secure. She was able to figure out how to put in directions before she left, and after she entered the name of the shop, a neon green line pulsed on the floor, guiding her to her destination.

It was still early, so the streets weren't as cramped in the tight alleyways of Downtown. Although the packs of people could be overwhelming at times, Ami liked the cover they provided. Weaving between the groups, she felt invisible. She was just another stranger, an unnoticed face in the crowd.

Just as she stepped around a group of robed, metal-masked men, she heard a chime in her ear. She looked up to see that there was a tiny blue notification blinking on her lens.

New Message.

She stepped aside to a nearby alley. She wanted to get out of the flow of foot traffic, not trusting herself to walk and read, and opened it.

"Hey, hi there, Ami," Charlie's voice awkwardly started in her ear, "Sorry to call you so early... Just wanted to give you an update on what I was able to find out... About the murders."