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."
Charlie went on to describe his findings. Apparently the most recent murder of the couple she had seen was related to some sort of vigilante group. He said that this one seemed to be unrelated to the recent string of downtown homicides.
"Something seems off though," Charlie continued, "All of the victims had been stabbed, even the recent couple. Maybe the vigilante group was hiding their tracks... making it seem like it was the same guy? It's just weird... Anyway... That's all for now... See ya."
Vigilante group? Maybe it wasn't the dancing girl then. But Ami couldn't help but still worry about her as she started to make her way north again. She wondered how many of them were out here, lost and wandering the streets. How many of those children, finally free from years isolated in the blue tanks, now left alone in the crowded Downtown. Sure, they gave Ami a place to live and credits transferred to her account, but that's it. After that, they cut Ami off completely. Even when she first ran out of food, there was no number to call, no person to ask for help for even basic things. She was on her own.
The Optica Corp.
Ami remembered back to when they had blasted through the thick steel doors, dressed in all black. She thought she was hallucinating. It wouldn't have been the first time during her stay in the tank. The armed groups walked through the rows, saying nothing, only taking notes. They hauled away the computers and file cabinets in a rush, leaving only the glowing rows of blue pods.
Ami remembered the loud thunk before the generators chugged off. She watched, numb as the stiff blue liquid slowly drained through the floor. She lay in a set mess, crinkled on the cold floor, her long hair heavy against her body. Her legs and arms, her entire being, far too weak to stand. She remembered as they carefully approached her, and removed the mask she used to breathe, before she finally passed out due to the shock.
The next few days were fragmented in Ami's mind. One memory in particular burned vivid. She was standing alone between two silver beams, like the ballet bars of the dance class she took when she was little. Her arms were shaking as she struggled to keep herself upright, but a small needle prodded the back of her ankles, urging her forward.
One step. Then another.
They had taught her how to walk again.
As Ami made her way north through the strange crowds of the morning, she felt the fluttering phantom pain where the needles stung. As painful as the memories were, Ami did everything she could to keep them fresh in her mind. She would go over them each night before she slept, making a mental list. Learning to walk, cutting the hair, and finally, stealing the stale cigarette pack from under the dusty desk before they put her in the transport van. It was this ritual that let her make the connection to the Optica Corporation. When she had seen the logo on an advertisement downtown, her memories flashed to the little insignia on the black jackets that came to open her tank. What interest did an apparent marketing firm have with a group of murderous and traumatized pseudo adults? Ami was still trying to piece that one together.
It was a strange period of time, the days after she left the tank, but several of the memories seemed to be blacked out and blocked off. They had been drugging her at night, Ami was sure. They must have been giving her some sort of sedative to keep the monster at bay. But if they knew what she became when she fell asleep, why did they drop her off in the middle of a crowded city, free to roam unattended?
The glowing path at Ami's feet took another turn, bringing her to the more industrialized part of the city. The buildings seemed older here, and it was easy to get lost between the narrow alleys as they all seemed to look the same. Ami knew she had a keen sense of direction, but she was still grateful for the path at her feet.
As she rounded another counter, she accidentally bumped into someone, her eyes too focused on following the green line. She looked up to find the wide, wild coal-black eyes of a tall, lanky man. His bright red hair was striking in the grey smog of the city, and stood up in sharp points. His eyes dug into her as she made a careful step to the side. He was probably on a bad trip by the looks of it. She tried to shake it off. But, as she took her first few steps, she felt a hand grab her arm from behind.
"Don't go that way," the man urged in a hushed, low whisper in her ear.
Ami moved to shake him off, but something in his frantic eyes caused her to pause.
"What? Why?" Ami started before he cut her off again.
"Shh," he spat out, eyes darting through the crowd.
Before Ami could protest further, the tall man pulled her into a nearby alley with a sharp tug.
"Just watch," he whispered again as he gestured over his shoulder to the main road. "Do you see them? It's starting."
Ami scanned the packs of people, trying to understand what he meant. A group of antlered Saging teens, a grey group of tin headed men, a fly-eyed girl and her boyfriend. Nothing particularly strange, until suddenly, she saw them.
Weaving carefully between the typical morning groups were individuals dressed in all grey outfits. She wouldn't have noticed them at first but they all seemed to be wearing the same strange mask. She strained her eyes but it was difficult to tell what they were. Some kind of animal?
"Rats," the red-haired man whispered through silver capped teeth.
Rats?
"We gotta get outta here... now," he continued, pulling her further down the alley.
"We?" Ami shot back, finally shaking him off, "I don't even know you-"
But before she could continue, there was a thundering BOOM behind her. She shot forward, falling hard on the pavement, her palms scraping against the rumbling ground. Thick heavy chunks of concrete crashed around her. She reached to cover her head but suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm, yanking her on her feet.
"We have to go!" the red haired man urged.
His eyes were wild now as he yelled over his shoulder, pulling her forward between the narrow city walls. Left, right, right again. She jumped as more rubble crashed behind them.
Ami's ears rang as she darted between the panicked faces of people, lost in their terror, running through the streets. She followed close behind as they ducked through doorways, between vendors, and through smoky passageways. It was only after they were several blocks down in the central part of Downtown did they finally slow. Ami shook off the red-haired man off her arm with a lazy shrug as she leaned back against the wall of some sort of restaurant, and tried to catch her breath.
"What," she coughed, "was that?"
"They blew up the chip factory," he choked, slapping his chest to clear his throat, "Hungry?" he added. He leaned against the menu screen of the restaurant and began to flip through the choices.
"What?" Ami sputtered.
In the distance there were still screams. The packs of people around them started to hurry as they received messages of what had happened. Stunned faces passed them, most clutching their ears or lenses as they rushed home.
"I love this place," he continued, scrolling through the menu screen, "Sure you don't want anything? Final chance."
"No," Ami choked out in disbelief.
"Okidoke," he chuckled to himself as he submitted his order.
With a sigh, he leaned back against the wall next to her, smiling as he watched the chaos slowly start to brew around them.
"Wild, huh?" he breathed, an amused grin across his face, "I'm Red by the way."
"Red. Very fitting," Ami said, gesturing to his head, "Thank you Red, for getting me out of there. Also," she continued, slowly gathering herself, "Why? Why did you grab me? I don't even know who you are..."
"Right, valid question," he nodded, crossing his arms across his chest, "You just look a lot like a friend of mine." He turned to her, brows furrowed, "It's kinda freaky actually."
"Looks like me?" Ami's mind raced.
It couldn't be.
"The dancing girl?"
"Huh?" Red asked, grabbing his steaming food off the counter.
But before Ami could continue, there was a chime in her ear. The screen was blinking on her lens. It was Charlie. He was calling her.
"Don't move," Ami demanded, pointing a finger at Red. She still had questions.
Red raised his eyebrows and threw his hands up in mock protest. His mouth was already full of food.
Ami opened the call, and Charlie's frantic voice came into her still ringing ear.
"Ami? Ami?"
"Hello?" she answered, "Still getting used to this thing."
"Are you okay? You need to get home. Get out of Downtown," he urged. He was panicking.
"I'm fine," she answered, "What happened?"
"A machine failed in one of the plants - caused a chain of explosions. People are running each other over. People are getting trampled. You need to get out of there," he stuttered out.
"A machine failing caused all this?" she asked cautiously. Her eyes turned to Red.
The strange man smiled wide with his silver teeth, eyes wide in apparent amusement, as he shook his head slowly.
Nope.
Ami bit her lip. Why would Charlie lie? Maybe this was just what they were telling the HoloGuards?
"I... I have to get home," Ami sputtered, cutting Charlie off. "I'll talk to you later."
With a beep, she turned the call off. Her head was spinning, but she knew what she needed to do next.
She turned to Red.
"Can I meet your friend?"