The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 2 - Chapter 34: Cithara

I assume the orange Mustang across from Charles's Charger is Makoto's. That and the Mustang's color matches the shade of orange of Makoto's racing suit.

The Subaru driver, whom I assume is Sebastian, exits his car and confronts Charles, Makoto and I. He's much taller but a shy shorter than Charles. He removes his racing helmet, revealing a clean shaved, ivory skin man with shaggy blonde hair. "Holy hell! That's one mean chase, aye?" he gasps.

Charles opens his eyes wide. "They followed you two?"

"Yes," Makoto answers.

Sebastian adds, "There were three red sports cars chasing us. Unbadged Euros. Mercedes-Benz, I think. They must have expected us, so we jacked the Porsche and booked it. Our boxer engines were blasting hard. We even attracted the cops. Didn't realize the Vegas cops had Lambos and Ferraris. I guess the locals like to drive fast, so the cops got faster cars."

"Red cars," I mutter. "Sounds like The Eyes."

Sebastian grabs a wedge-shaped device from his windshield. "I got it recorded on my dash camera. I can show you guys." He plays the footage and a holographic scene appears, displaying three red exotic sports cars chasing the blue Subaru and the silver Porsche.

"I recognize those cars," I say, pointing at them. "Those are definitely Eyes vehicles. They usually drive unbadged exotic sports cars."

"Crazy," Sebastian says with a wide grin. "Anyway, we should get to work on this Porsche. It's got a boxer engine. It's like working on my Subie, yeah?"

"True," Makoto says while popping open the rear engine bay, "except the engine is in the back of the car, not the front. We need to improvise."

Charles chuckles. "I got some ideas already. Let's make this warp drive work."

While those racers get to work, I wander outside to the parking lot. Glancing around, I can't help but notice how much this place looks like a city than a typical lab complex. It reminds me of Toyota's Woven City in Japan, a place I visited three months ago during a business trip. Quite advanced in technology, yet green with foliage in some parts. I see white and bronze robots wandering around, tending to the plants and trees. It seems the locals of this island have some appreciation for the environment.

In a secluded part of the parking lot, I spot Ari resting on her BMW motorcycle; her face down on the holographic instrument cluster. I confront her and place my hand over hers on the bike's handlebar.

Ari notices and turns her head slowly. She offers a feeble grin and says with a weak voice, "Cithara?"

"Hey, Ari. Are you okay?" I smile.

"Kind of," she mumbles. "I need some time to process all this. The thought of Gunhild being my biological mother seems a bit much, and I'm trying to make some sense of it."

"Take your time with it. Maybe even sleep on it. It might make sense in the morning."

"I hope you're right." Ari lets out a calm smile. "Speaking of sleep, where would you be staying tonight?"

"I'm not sure," I say. "I plan on stopping by Dr. Williams's office. Maybe she has a room for me."

"I can take you there." Ari smiles and hands me a motorcycle helmet. "Take a seat. We're going for a ride." She pats the rear seat of the motorcycle.

I put on the helmet and hitch a ride, wrapping my arms around Ari's waist as she powers on the motorcycle. The electric motor hums and we begin our adventure as we roll out of the parking lot.

As Ari pilots the bike at a steady speed, I continue looking around, admiring this strange place while the breeze flows through my hair. I find it amazing how this research complex has so many trees and plant life, contrasting what's depicted on the satellite photos. I'm not sure how this is possible, but in the satellite photos, all I see is a barren island with an abandoned lighthouse. Yet, there's a bustling city with holographic billboards and technology, lush vegetation, and even a tower at one end of the island. It feels bigger than the island it sits on. I can't read many of the signs since they're in a alien language, but the city itself is technologically advanced, similar to cities like Silicon Valley, California; Redmond in Washington State; Tokyo, Japan; and even Dubai.