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.
He crouched down and the white box opened, reading his wrist. Victorious, Sabrina began to spin around the room, her long dress flowing with her.
"Thank you, Red," she clapped her hands together and ran to him, and raised her arms to give him a hug.
Red locked an arm out in front of himself, stopping her.
"Stop it, this already feels so wrong," he muttered, sifting through the Sage refills with his free hand. "How old are you again?"
She laughed, grabbing his arm, "I think I'm supposed to be 23? I always forget what they told me."
He looked up at her, brows furrowed.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Sabrina ignored him and began to once again spin around the room. Her light steps danced around him. She then stopped to trace her finger over one of the many dark drawings that covered his walls. He shook his head.
"Here, give me your wrist."
He led her over to the security scanner at his door. As he placed her small wrist to the mounted metal box, the screen flashed on, pulling up her profile.
Name: Sabrina X
Birthday: January 20th, 19??ERROR
Age: 23
Height: 5' 4"
Birthplace: ERROR
Credits: HIDDEN
He stared at the small screen for a long time.
Error?
Also, why did the birth year start with 19? He turned to the girl clutching his arm. She clearly wasn't over a hundred years old. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He'll deal with whatever this was later.
They both crouched at the white box of Sage supplies. He sorted through the drawer until he found a dark blue canister with clouds on it and tossed it to her.
"Here," Red said, closing the white panels, "You can take this one. I'm gonna sit this round out."
"Are you sure?" Sabrina asked, wide-eyed.
Sabrina eagerly installed the refill. She placed the small needle under her tongue and took a deep inhale. Almost immediately, her eyes began to turn into the familiar glassy stare.
"Yeah, I'm starved," he leaned back on the couch behind him, "I'm goin' to grab somethin' downtown. You can stay here - I can grab ya somethin' too."
Red stood up and grabbed his jacket with a yawn.
"No," Sabrina cried out, grabbing his arm. "Please, let me go with you."
He looked down at her. Her wide eyes were such a light blue, they were almost white. Was it a mod? Red hesitated and considered his options.
"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. He didn't want the responsibility of babysitting someone Saging, but he didn't mind having her attention.
---
Red wasn't used to having a girl on his arm. On most days, people usually kept their distance from him, and he relished in it. But this time felt different.
Downtown, distance became power. Whether people avoided you out of fear, disgust, or embarrassment, the physical space they created was a shield, a barrier. It was power, whether they recognized it or not. Red knew his power, and it was strange to share it with someone else.
Sabrina had his arm wrapped tightly around his. She had to take huge strides to keep up with him, even when he slowed down. Red looked down at her every couple of minutes, only to find her looking up at him with the same blissful, foggy-eyed expression.
Up ahead, he noticed a group of HoloGuards taping off a vending kiosk. He recognized it immediately. The Pharmacy. It dispensed medicine, needles, gave quick diagnosis, everything. As they walked by closer, he saw that the entire screen was cracked down the middle, and pills and needles were scattered below on the asphalt.
What kind of asshole would break the MedMachine?
They walked a bit longer until they reached his favorite restaurant, and Red started tapping the menu stand outside for his order. When he asked Sabrina what she wanted, she just blinked vacantly. He made a guess and grabbed the food from the counter.
They made their way back slowly, as Sabrina insisted on spinning every other step.
"C'mon," Red urged her forward.
His stomach was rumbling and he felt himself starting to get impatient.
Suddenly, Sabrina stopped in her tracks in the middle of the sidewalk, almost yanking Red to the ground. He turned to her, about to shout, but stopped himself as he saw her expression. Her eyes weren't glassy anymore, but horror-struck and filled with tears. She dropped away from him and used both of her hands to cover her ears before crumbling to the ground.
Red had never seen someone fall so hard, so fast, after Saging before, especially not after just a single inhale. Had she already taken some in the morning?
Had she taken something else?
He wrapped the food bag around his shoulder and bent over Sabrina. He had been like her, in this state of over-stimulation, only a couple of times. He knew how it felt - the pain, the shock, the vulnerability.
Idiot, idiot, idiot.
How could she do this to herself? He felt a pain in his chest, seeing her shaking on the ground like that, and quickly wrapped his arms around her, cradling her, and using his body to shield her as much as he could. He knew it would help some, blocking out the sounds and smells. He put his mouth to her ear.
"Sabrina," he whispered, "I'm going to pick you up and get you out of here, okay? You can keep your eyes closed. Let me know when you're ready."
Her shaky breaths slowed. She was quiet for a while until she finally squeaked, "Yes, please."
With a grunt, Red picked Sabrina up. She hung tightly around his neck, making quiet weeping noises. Red grumbled to himself. He saw how much she inhaled. It should have lasted her more than long enough.
They passed the broken kiosk again, and he couldn't help but think of her bandaged hand. Could she have done that? Broken into the machine to get another fix? He looked down at the tiny girl in his arms and let out a laugh as he tried to imagine it. At his laugh, Sabrina dug her face into his neck. Her hot breath against his skin made his face grow warm again.
When they finally got back to his pod, he moved to place her on the couch, but when he started to unwrap her arms from his shoulders, Sabrina only held on tighter. He sighed and sat down, sitting her on his lap, then grabbed the food from his shoulder and set it on the white cube. One handed, he grabbed a fork full of noodles and put it to his mouth.
"Hungry?" he asked, his mouth still full from the first bite.
Sabrina only shook her head.
He took a couple of more bites and swallowed hard before finally asking, "So what did ya take this morning?"
Sabrina slowly looked up from his chest.
"I didn't... I didn't do anything this morning," she sputtered through watery eyes.
He took a deep breath.
"'Kay," he finally responded.
He didn't want to interrogate her, especially when she was in this state.
"If you're not going to eat, you should at least get some rest. I can make up the couch for you."
She froze up again.
"No, I can't sleep," Sabrina whispered. Her eyes grew wide, and she bolted upright from the couch. "I can't sleep, " she said again, louder. She backed up until she hit the wall. "Please don't let me sleep, Red."
"Hold on, calm down," Red urged, as he slowly made his way towards her.
She was shaking again, and fresh tears filled her face. She looked like a cornered animal, her eyes were wild and full of hot fear. Her hands clenched her face, then tugged at her dress, before scratching at her face again.
Suddenly, Sabrina leaped over the white cube and grabbed her Sage Stick on the ground. It must have been on the floor before they left. She opened her mouth to take another dose, but Red grabbed her arms. He pried the device from her clenched fingers, and she let out a quick but desperate scream as he quickly locked it away in the white cube.
Sabrina crumbled to the floor again. They were both hyperventilating, staring at each other, each shocked at what had just happened. He sat down next to her, coughing.
"What the hell was that?" he choked out with a smile.
"I just-" she started, then stopped to catch her breath, "I just get bad nightmares... I don't like to sleep."
"Nightmares?" he laughed again, then laid back on the carpet. "It seems like it's a little more than nightmares." He shook his head. "Just take a nap or something. I'll stay with ya if you want. I just don't think ya need to be adding any more Sage to your system right now."
It was quiet for a while when Red looked up to Sabrina again. She was sitting up, looking at her hands. Her eyes still held so much sadness, so much fear. Red was lost at what to do next. Finally, she turned to him.
"Sure, let's nap," she responded flatly, before taking a spot on the couch.
He rubbed his face in his hands.
"Alright weirdo," he chuckled, then reached back to throw a blanket on top of her from the closet behind him.
---
Red sat next to her and watched her sleep for a while before he felt his own eyes grow heavy. He was still going though the morning over in his head, shocked that this girl, this porcelain doll look-alike, would have it this bad. He had never met someone in person so hooked on Sage that they refused to sleep. He knew they existed though. They called them "Daywalkers." When he first met her though, she seemed so inexperienced with it.
She had even lost her shoes.
He crossed his arms and finally shut his eyes, losing himself to sleep.