He [Timothy] waited inside the room along with his friends. They envisioned the analysis data, waiting to overhear the status doctor Heiran shared. "Other than the bullet's wound, your sister seems hygienic and fresh of any bacteria." Timothy folded his arms, disordered and his mind blank of any understanding, "We know Aurora's infected, but if neither of us around here holds that bacteria, then it must be either Cassidy, Tarot, or Ayuka."
Heiran removed the gloves, placed the thermometer on the desk, and leaned back on the chair, "Correct. None of you here dominate that unique bacteria. But it would be wise to analyze Aurora's body, even if she's already infected." Their views got directed toward Aurora, who stood there in silence, "I'm not really comfortable using the thermometer to check my infection. Let's just put it aside and find the others. Since we already know my body can't get infected with the same toxin twice, I'd rather focus on the others. I hope that's possible."
Nobody suspected a thing about Aurora's response and instead prioritized their cynosure on everybody else who wasn't with them. "Doctor Heiran. If I'm not mistaken, you said you found Chiaki on her own, right?" he nodded, letting Timothy continue, "Does this mean... Hey, Chiaki. Did you receive some funny chip, and if you didn't, have you found one, doctor?"
Chiaki elevated her arms, evidently denying Timothy's inquiry, while the doctor reached into the desk drawer. "Now that you mention it, I did, in fact. I found the chip lying next to her head, so I seized it." He passed out the chip to Chiaki, so she read it herself. She did precisely the same by racking her arm and permitting Timothy to read it, "... and run when I'm dead... It *is* the clue we're searching for, but this one seems to be numbered as the third."
Timothy studied the two articles combined and arrived with an unclear verdict, "I fly when I'm born... and run when I'm dead. We're missing the part in between." Timothy raised his chin, "That means..." Chiaki intruded and finalized what Timothy had in mind, "Ayuka, Cassidy, or Tarot carry the final clue. I can't uncover them with soul link, but if we want to obtain the answer, we ought to find *them* at all costs."
-
Ayuka held her head in distress, peeking at the writing in her hand, but unexpectedly got called out by Cassidy, "Ayuka! Tarot and I went digging for others but found none of them. Have you learned their whereabouts?" Ayuka's body jerked at the rash inquiry. She hastily swiped the paper in her pocket, "I came back earlier than expected — haven't encountered any of them."
Cassidy and Tarot sat down, "This is bullying. I feel like we're getting duped by that weird "game master" that spoke to us. This game *sucks* a ton!" Tarot snorted, crossing his arms behind his neck and closing his eyes.
"Maybe you're too "stupid" to understand what's driving up around here. Like any other incoherent rats." Their views simultaneously pictured an alluring, sensual, and "scalding" woman entering the bar holding a glass of whiskey.
The woman kept her eyes shut, grinning at them, "Who-" Ayuka couldn't complete her query, witnessing the woman unfurling one of her eyes, "Torque Torrente. That's who I am." Instantly, the three of them hopped to their feet, belting Torque and encompassing her before she could flee. "Aw, comeeee on... Gimme a break!" Torque tucked her hip to the side, setting her hand on her hip, "I ain't lookin' for no trouble. Ease up on me, will ya? Every *single* time I try to communicate, everyone jumps to conclusions like I'm 'bout to kill them." She said, rolling her eyes.
One of the men stood up, intoxicated, and walked toward Torque like the undead. He held a smile, stepping next to her. "Hi, sexy. You came at the perfect time. Wanna go for a round?" The man reached with his hand behind Torque and seized her rear, squeezing it, "I'm sure you can jerk that mule perfectly." Torque took a sip of the whiskey as if nothing had happened and then trekked toward the counter, putting the glass on top — the man tracking her, trying to receive "more" than just the tap of her butt. "You want to go for a round, huh? Sure, let's go, but don't come crying to me." She stepped in front of the man, making him believe she'll pleasure him, "Damn, a real slut, huh?" The moment he spoke, Torque grinned creepily.
She swiftly took a Glock from her belt, pointed it at the man's forehead, and pulled the trigger. The man got skewered as the bullet penetrated his forehead, crushing his skull. "Don't touch me without permission, you degenerate," she said as his body slumped to the floor. The blood gushed and splashed on the walls.
Several men and women in the line became startled by her grim expression, which subdued them without splitting up protests.
"Now, back to what I was saying." She inserted her arms in her pocket, guaranteeing not to frighten others with the firearm, "I can clarify everything concerning what's running on around here and get you to your captain, Timothy. Don't be scared. I have no intention of exterminating you unless I'd have a good rationale. Unlike that degenerate." She threw her thumb and aimed it at the man's corpse. "Or do you wish to seek the "key" for an eternity?"
Ayuka and the others chose to soothe down before something went awry and ceased to listen to what Torque had in stash for them. "Good, let's get down to business, shall we?" She modeled on the sofa, bridging her arms under her trunk and leg over her left knee. "You're in a virtual dimension — a world in Erembour's management and authority. You're pretty much "tools" in his experimentation, recreating a delusional game in which he vowed to reward you with a bonus."
The men around repetitively snuck glimpses from the hub of their countenances, inspecting Torque's mature and provoking body, "I better not see you operating your kit in visualizing me nude." Torque cautioned the guy, who fastly turned about and locked his high-tech, futuristic gear. "How should we believe you? The gossips say you're a jailbird who massacred thousands of people." Torque grinned, showing no delay of hate or anger, "I've never been in lockup. People are too dense and wimpy to catch me. But this isn't roughly about me. Is it? If you don't accept a word I say, take a peek at this."
Torque reached to the side of her head and dragged out a chip she placed on the table before others. "Use that holograph in front of you. It'll recreate a video that will display you everything." Ayuka grabbed the chip, keeping an eye out on Torque, "You hauled that out of your noggin. How does that make sense?"
"My body's computerized. It's a close representation of a cyborg but is highly advanced and well-developed. In short, I'm partially a cyberlander. How else do you suppose people inside this game utilize their headgear to strip any women inside their sanity? This "world" is gross. Trust me on that one. It's worse than the Vast Expanse and its world government and WPDA. The people I obliterated were perverts, deviants like them, and associates of the "ghouls of the sinister eye" cult. I never kill a guiltless."
Ayuka set the chip inside the appliance, lingering for it to review for any disproportionate viruses and to download the data. "People say you're a brutalist, a cyberpunk, and a pirate with $628,5 million bolts of reward. Are you trying to mislead us or what?"
Torque blinked in confusion, leaning onto the settee's backseat and positioning her legs on the table, "Gee, this is boring. Do people not acknowledge I'm just "unclogging" out the cult who has the proficiency to assemble a venom that can even butcher a deity?"
Ayuka lifted her chin, "Are you telling us you're not a wrongdoer?"
Torque shut her eyes, inhaling and exhaling, "Oh, I *am* a wrongdoer, but frankly, I wouldn't call myself an adversary to the innocents. You don't need to trust me, but I entered Cyber Refuge only to bring Erembour to "justice." If you want to *quote* it like that."
To be continued...