Ch.143Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

I tried to call Lucia and Francesca, but there’s no signal. Out of service range.

I stared at the screen in silence. My mouth stopped, but my thought process was running faster than ever.

There are many situations where communication devices can’t get a signal.

Solar winds can disrupt signals, or surrounding mountains and rivers can scatter radio waves. Or remote mountainous areas or uninhabited islands far from base stations where service isn’t provided. Communication attempts in such places are very difficult.

But where we were now wasn’t some remote mountain area, but downtown.

A large department store in the center of Abas capital. The very center of the center, less than a 5-minute walk from the subway station. It doesn’t make sense for there to be no signal here.

So the situation is one of two things. First, there might be a problem with nearby base stations preventing the carrier from providing service.

Or second,

“Hey. Why did you suddenly stop talking? Hello? Hello?”

“Oppa. My phone’s not working.”

“Team leader, the radio isn’t working. Is it broken?”

Someone is deliberately jamming the signal.

“……”

It seems the latter is correct.

Episode 8 – Say Hello To My Little Friend

An uneasy feeling crawls up my entire body. My nerves are on edge as if someone is pulling my hair, and I feel like my consciousness is draining out through the back of my head.

It’s a familiar feeling. The same feeling I always had right before a bomb went off or gunfire erupted.

Sensing that something was seriously wrong, I looked around.

The department store has 9 floors total. 7 floors above ground and 2 basement levels.

The center is open like a donut, forming an atrium. At the very bottom is the main lobby with the main entrance to the outside of the building. The ceiling is made of glass to allow sunlight into the building. It’s a floating design.

I tried to memorize the locations of emergency stairs and exits and the building structure while checking if Lucia or Francesca were visible.

That’s when it happened.

“Um, excuse me.”

Camilla gently tugged at my arm.

She was looking at me with an uncomfortable—no, slightly pale face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Something… something feels strange… I feel like… like we shouldn’t be here…”

Her grip on my forearm tightened.

I looked around and at the main entrance, then placed my hand on Camilla’s shoulder.

“Calm down, Camilla. Don’t be tense, just breathe.”

“No, it’s not that I’m tense… I don’t feel well…”

“That’s why I told you not to eat anything before bed.”

I tried joking a bit since she looked so tense, but Camilla’s complexion showed no signs of improving. She must really be feeling sick.

I took her hand and started walking slowly while speaking.

“It seems there’s a problem with communications right now. It could be temporary, but I’m not sure of the cause.”

“Strange…?”

I sat Camilla down on a chair and briefly explained the communication system in this area.

“Communication here doesn’t just use radio waves. There’s magic, after all. They’ve commercialized communication using magical waves, but this technology is somewhat sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment.”

“What kind of changes…?”

“I don’t really know since I studied humanities. I guess it’s similar to when communications go down during solar flares. Something like that.”

I explained as simply as possible so Camilla could understand and not worry too much.

“It’s just happening because of natural phenomena. It’s common. There will probably be an announcement soon and communications will be restored, so just calmly—”

—BOOM!

“…I guess we can’t wait.”

The sudden loud noise made both Camilla and me turn our heads. I gestured for Camilla to stay seated while I headed toward the source of the noise to assess the situation.

“Stay here, don’t go anywhere.”

“Is… is it dangerous…?”

“It’s fine. Surely nothing serious is happening.”

Even as I slowly walked away, an uneasy feeling was creeping up from deep within my chest.

Please let nothing be wrong.

I checked the department store lobby while desperately praying inside.

And.

As always, the world beautifully betrayed my expectations.

“…Ah, damn it.”

In the lobby stood people who were clearly suspicious, holding guns and knives.

It was a terrorist attack.

*

A terrorist attack has occurred. A terrorist attack in a department store. That is, a terrorist attack in a public facility.

I don’t know the purpose, the perpetrators, or the number of terrorists. I’m not a fortune teller—how would I know all that?

I quickly racked my brain. I needed to think carefully but make decisions quickly.

“It’s a terrorist attack.”

“…What?”

“I said it’s a terrorist attack.”

I grabbed Camilla’s hand and hurriedly pulled her up. She looked up at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Anyway, what we need to do now is clear.

Run.

“Let’s go.”

I grabbed Camilla’s hand and ran quickly. The terrorists had entered through the main entrance and occupied the lobby, so we needed to escape in the opposite direction.

“Where are we going…!?”

“We need to find a place to hide. Stay close to the wall and follow me!”

Camilla pressed herself against the wall as I instructed.

Usually during terrorist attacks or fires, people tend to move through the center of corridors.

The problem is that when too many people crowd together at once, it becomes uncontrollable.

One wrong move and you could be crushed to death while trying to escape. Or get caught up in the crowd, move too slowly, and get caught by the terrorists.

I held Camilla’s hand firmly and ran along the wall, avoiding the confused crowd that was panicking without understanding the situation.

—BANG!

A gunshot rang out. It sounded very close, even considering we were indoors.

Camilla looked in the direction of the gunshot, then quickly turned to meet my gaze.

“What… what should we do…? What about Lucia and Francesca…?”

“Where are they now?”

“They… they said they were going to the third floor earlier…”

The third floor is where the women’s clothing department is. And we’re currently on the first floor.

Damn it.

I looked Camilla in the eyes and spoke in a resolute voice. I unconsciously tightened my grip on her hand.

“I can’t take you with me to look for those two right now.”

“……”

“Let’s do what we can first.”

I quickly crossed the corridor, noticing that the interior design was gradually changing.

In large department stores like this, facilities used by customers and those used by staff are typically separated. This is because staff should remain unseen once they leave the sales floor. So staff use separate bathrooms and elevators from customers, and facilities like offices and break rooms are usually located in the most secluded areas.

Usually, customers don’t know the locations of staff facilities, or even that such facilities exist. So there was a good chance the terrorists wouldn’t know either.

We needed to go there.

Right now.

“I’ll take you somewhere safe, and you wait there. I’ll find those two and bring them to you.”

“But… but how can you do it alone…? We just heard gunshots…”

“Wait.”

As I was turning a corner in the corridor, I quickly pivoted and pushed Camilla against the wall.

And covered her mouth with my hand.

“What are you—!”

“Quiet.”

Camilla, who was about to speak, seemed to realize something and met my gaze with a deathly pale face. I could feel her anxiety in her trembling pupils and the short, damp breaths under my palm.

With my hand still covering Camilla’s mouth, I quietly peeked around the corner.

There were terrorists threatening staff members.

“……”

Two terrorists.

No uniformity in their clothing; they wore ball caps pulled low or covered their faces with scarves or masks. I couldn’t tell their ethnicity. One thing was certain, though—one of the terrorists definitely wasn’t human. He had a furry tail on his backside. Probably a beastkin.

They were armed with guns and knives. A hunting shotgun and a large knife.

I fingered the handle in my pocket while making eye contact with Camilla.

“Camilla. You said you like James Bond, right?”

“…Wh-what?”

Camilla nodded with a bewildered expression.

“Can I borrow your body for a moment?”

*

I adjusted the crude suspender straps on my shoulders and pulled out a cigarette pack from my chest. With a flick of my wrist, I tapped the pack upward, making a white filter jump up like a salmon leaping above the water’s surface.

As I took out the cigarette, the fox turned to look at me and frowned deeply.

“Hey. I told you to go outside if you’re gonna smoke. If you’re gonna light that thing, stay at least 50 meters away from me.”

“What’s a furball like you so sensitive about smells for? Are you a dog, not a beastkin?”

“Foxes are canids, you ignorant fool. And didn’t I tell you I’d kill you if you called me ‘furball’ one more time?”

“Ah, whatever…”

The fox pointed his knife at the hostages. Intimidated by his menacing demeanor, the people hunched down and lowered their heads.

The fox said:

“I’ll take these people and go first. You finish that smoke, get rid of the smell, and come back. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re not my wife, stop nagging.”

“If you come back after just rinsing with water, you’re dead. Go scrub yourself with soap.”

I waved my hand in acknowledgment. Like the Pied Piper, the fox led the hostages toward the center and disappeared.

I put the filter tip between my lips and opened the matchbox. The last remaining match was rolling around inside the paper box.

Freight trains don’t come by often these days, so matches are always in short supply. I’d need to steal a lot more on the way back.

If I could go back, that is.

I struck the last match against the striker and lit up.

Under the shadow of my palm, the damp, dried, and moldy cigarette began to burn red, and the stale smoke was just starting to fill my lungs when—

From the corner of my vision, far down the corridor, I sensed movement.

“Who’s there? Come out.”

“……”

I gripped the shotgun hanging from my shoulder and pulled the handle.

Click. With the chilling sound of a bullet being chambered, my hair stood on end.

“Come out!”

As I aimed the gun and strained my ears, someone emerged from the end of the corridor with their hands up.

“H-hello…?”

It was a woman.

A girl with a somewhat pale complexion. She hesitantly came around the corner of the corridor and slowly, gradually raised her hands. Whether she was physically uncomfortable or nervous, the girl was hunched like a small animal drenched in rain.

I lowered my gun slightly and raised one hand to calm the girl as I slowly approached.

“Come out with your hands up. Put your hands on your head.”

“Um, okay.”

“It’s alright. I won’t hurt you. Just follow quietly with your hands up, and nothing will happen.”

The distance closed. The girl backed away slightly, but her legs seemed frozen, and she didn’t run.

Just as I tucked the gun against my side and reached out to grab the girl’s arm—

A strong impact made my body tilt. It felt like my right knee had been kicked. To avoid losing balance and falling, I dropped the gun and braced against the wall. It was instinct. As I leaned against the wall trying to get up, I felt a powerful force lift me up. Like floating.

—THUD!

My stomach burns. It hurts and feels hot, like I’ve been punched.

My head doesn’t seem to be working properly. I don’t understand what’s happening.

Something that was embedded in my stomach pulled out and then forcefully pushed back into my abdomen. Wondering what had hit me, I tried to lift my head to look forward, but a hand grabbed my chin and turned my head to the side.

Before my eyes closed—

What flashed on my retina was trembling red hair, a hand covering a mouth, wide blue eyes, a girl’s expression filled with shock.

And a man in a suit holding a blade to my neck.

—SLASH!

A red flower bloomed on the corridor wall.