'I forgot how disgusting buses are...' Lorraine thinks, tastefully ignoring the moldy lollipop stuck to the seat next to her.
'When we first merged, I remember sensing that you rode a bus-'
'Hold up, hold up: you looked into my memories?' Lorraine feels a chill running up her spine, but it's most likely due to the unmovable windows blowing in the cool desert air.
'Duh. Everything is splayed out before systems at the moment of death for everyone. I thought you would've picked up on that after downloading others' memories,' 008 dryly laughs, causing a wrinkle between Lorraine's pale blond brows.
'I mean, it makes sense... I just never had time to think about the technicalities of me downloading others' memories...'
'You don't really need to.' Lorraine can almost sense the system shrugging based off its tone. 'Just focus on your survival right now. If you have any burning questions that I have the ability to answer, save 'em for a rainy day.'
'Fine... what were you saying earlier? Something about me riding a bus?'
'Yeah... how did you do it? I know you had the music routine to time out the route, but on rainy days or when there were road accidents, it would be off.'
'I...' Lorraine paused, racking her memory. 'I... I can't remember.'
'Oh...'
Lorraine shifts, sitting up in her seat. 'Damn, I really can't remember. Like... like I remember the big things, like how my bedroom felt and how I'd time things out, but...'
'I'm... I'm sorry if I stressed you out, that was not my intent-'
'No, no, don't worry, this realization would've been inevitable,' Lorraine responds, turning her body. Outside, golden squares of light from the bus raced along murky blue sand, colored by the night. 'It's funny how much I can remember from the past two worlds that didn't belong to me, but how little I remember from my own.'
Without moving her gaze, she props her elbow up on the seat, setting her chin in the palm of her hand. 'And from when I could still see-'
'Lorraine-'
'I wonder if I'm even recalling my own parents' faces right, or if those have been muddled, too-'
'Eman, look at your elbow!'
'Huh?'
She glances down, noticing her right elbow is sunken into the seat she was leaning on.
'What the f-'
Lorraine yanks her arm back, but it's stuck. Shit.
Quickly, she moves her head to look at the front of the bus, but the tired bus driver keeps his gaze only forward. Thank the gods she took a seat near the back...
'008, what time is it? And how far away is the next stop?'
'It's currently 7:08, so we're about 6 hours or so out from Starsan. The nearest bus stop that this bus will pull up to is about 25 minutes away.'
Okay, that's not too bad... but my elbow is still stuck in this gross seat!
'You said I have superpowers, right? Is this one of 'em?'
'You have one ability, which is to phase through objects at your leisure,' 008 responds.
'I thought I'd automatically know how to use my abilities? But why can't I get my arm out?!' Lorraine yanks once more with her elbow, trying not to get the bus driver's attention.
'You are given the memories, which includes muscle memory, as well as the ability to read and understand the world's language. So if you're having issues pulling your arm out, it must be because you're not doing it how the original Lorraine would've done it.'
'Ugh... okay, that's a bit helpful... so I just need to think about how the original Lorraine would've done it...'
The transmigrator closes her eyes, searching through memories. Instances of Lorraine's childhood came into mind, where Lorraine would have a hand or foot stuck in an inconvenient space. The memories appear in 3rd person to the transmigrator, almost knowing that she was a foreign entity watching something precious.
She pauses at a memory of probably an 9 year old version of the girl, giggling next to an identical version of herself. Their cheeks were both rosy, with curly blonde hair falling over matching lilac nightgowns.
In the memory, the lights are off, and the two appear to be in the kitchen, standing eye-level in front of a painted cookie jar.
"Mom will know if we take off the lid since she taped it," one of the little girls says, squinting at the jar as her face turned a bit more red, "but the chocolate chip cookies she was making earlier are in there."
"Watch and learn," the other giggles, rolling up the sleeves of her nightgown. Sucking up a huge gulp of air and puffing out her cheeks like a pufferfish, she reaches towards the jar. Her hand phases past the walls of ceramic, before quickly coming out with a large cookie. She exhales before breaking it in half, giving her twin a cheeky smile.
"Here you go, Lucy!"
"Thanks, Lori!"
Five minutes later, the girls were caught with the chocolate all over their faces.
However... I can use this.
Lorraine slows her breathing, before deeply inhaling. She glances over at her trapped arm and slowly pulls it out of its entrapment.
'Nice job,' 008 compliments.
'Thanks,' Lorraine internally responds. 'So, I guess that means I have to hold my breath to phase through objects?'
'Well, about that... while you were working on pulling your elbow out, I also looked through every memory of you training to phase in and out of objects, and two things have come to my attention.'
'And they are?'
'First: you're able to phase in and out of objects without holding your breath, it's more so about intention and clearing your mind of any doubts. The original Lorraine and her sister, Lucille, used the breath method until the age of 12 until their parents trained them to use it instinctually and when necessary, as they occasionally would slip through objects on accident. Well, the original Lorraine would slip through objects, but Lucille would lose focus and end up seeing... unsavory things.'
'Poor girl. Anyway, you're saying I can train myself to phase through objects without holding my breath?'
'Essentially.'
'Awesome, that'll definitely make my situation easier... and what was the other thing you wanted to talk to me about?'
'Yes... I also discovered Lorraine's weakness.'
'Oh... cocaine?'
'Not funny.'
'It's a little funny.'
'...Okay, maybe it's a little funny. Anyway, Lorraine's weakness is her inability to phase through sponge.'
'That's... specific.'
'It's also Lucille's weakness. It was discovered when Lucille was unable to see through a shipment of sponges when the twins were doing reconnaissance at a grocery store, which was a front for a local gang. After that mission, the parents glued together a wall of sponges, and made the original Lorraine try to grab her favorite toy from behind it, otherwise it'd be burnt.'
'Oh...' Lorraine could see the wall in her mind, and recall the dolly's melting face in the fireplace.
'Either way, this weakness is only known within the family, and I assume most businesses in this world aren't in the habit of lining their walls with sponge,' 008 ensures, throwing in a light joke at the end. Lorraine scoffs a little, but a light smile spreads, cracking her lips once again.
'Alright, alright, it's time to figure out what I'll do for a mission. Logically, it'd be easiest to blend into a city, especially after the crime I committed.'
'I agree. The city will have more resources, and you can avoid the scrutiny of locals that comes with small towns. After all, this country's most important treasure probably won't be in a 300 person town.'
'Most definitely. 008, do you have the authority to tell me how many people are in Starsan?'
The system pauses before giving a light chirp. 'I do. The town has a population of 4,492, and is one of the bigger cities out in the desert.'
'Awesome. 008, please keep on the lookout while I take a light rest, and wake me up when we're 5 stops away from Starsan.'
'With pleasure.'
Lorraine curls up as much in her gross chair as possible, clutching her purse to her chest as she closes her eyes. Nothing's going to get in her way, not this time...
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Hello readers! I know it's been a while, but now that university is out for the summer, I have more time to write, so I decided to give this story the love and time it deserves :) while this chapter (personally) felt very chit-chatty to me, I promise that the upcoming chapters will have a lot more action, drama, and new characters.
I also plan on going back to previous chapters and re-writing portions to fix grammar issues, so keep an eye out for that, too!
Please vote, comment and add to your library if you liked this chapter! And once more, thank you for all the support <3