SHE FOUND Karl in front of the hood of a dark jeep that almost went inside the counter—lying with a pool of blood beside him. His glasses were nowhere to be seen, probably flew somewhere, and he had wounds and blood on his forehead. She peeked inside the car but saw no one. Mizuki let it go for now as she went to Karl's side. A large piece of glass pierced halfway through Karl's lower stomach.
Damn it. "Don't move."
Karl winced. "Is it bad?"
She hesitated. "Well..."
"That doesn't sound so good."
Mizuki is not dumb to know that if she will take that glass out, Karl will die of blood loss before he makes it to the hospital. "Let's get you out of here first. Can you stand?"
"What do you think?" Karl even managed to laugh at his situation.
Mizuki clearly looked distressed. "I didn't know you could be as stupid as saving me and not yourself first."
"Is it another way of saying thank you?"
"I'll thank you when you live the other day, so do your best not to die tonight."
Karl didn't speak anymore, silently enduring the pain of his injury.
Mizuki looked around, trying to find something that can help them out of there when a disgruntled voice of an old man was heard.
"I'll kill you…"
Mizuki's brows furrowed and she turned her head, finding a figure standing at the back of the jeep.
It was the man earlier.
She sneered. "Of course, it'll be you." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she eyed the crazy man. But she frowned when she noticed something.
The man's eyes were all black.
"What the hell?"
Seeing that, Mizuki also noticed odd things about this stranger.
The man rather had an unusual posture. He appeared to be unable to use his legs or arms properly, as his bones appeared to be broken. What made her think that the man's bones were broken is that there were a number of unnecessary joints in his body.
Like a… a…
"A marionette?" Karl muttered, making her look at him.
"A what?"
"He reminds me of a marionette." Karl eyed the man. "Be careful, he isn't normal."
Definitely not.
The man's shallow eye sockets stared right through Mizuki. Her eyes didn't leave the man as she stood slowly, being careful not to alarm him.
Karl coughed beside her. "Mizuki—"
"Oh don't start me with that 'run away, just leave me here and save yourself bullshit, Karl. You're not in some kind of novel."
He still had the gut to laugh a little. "At least let me say that line once in a lifetime," he kept wincing between his lines, trying to move around, "where is my phone…"
Mizuki watched the man's slow movements, which caused his bones and joints to crack. He doesn't seem to be able to move that fast—
The man charged at Mizuki, sending both of them flying.
Mizuki let a startled cry as her back hit the station where coffee machines and other stuff were placed. The glasses, cups, and anything else fell from the cupboard above the station. Mizuki nearly missed a heavy glass that fell and broke beside her head.
She saw the man not so far away, lying on the floor and trying to get up.
"Mizuki, you okay?" Karl shouted.
"Stay there!" Mizuki kicked the man's face so hard she was sure it'll snap his head off, but to her disappointment, it only cracked, it was still intact. "Damn it." Mizuki gritted her teeth. It seems as though he can't feel pain. '
Pushing her hands against the counter to stand up, Mizuki head the pantry. If she can't get Karl out of here, she might as well just get this crazy man out instead.
Meanwhile, Karl was trying to crawl. He kept flinching as the pain of his wound intensified. He felt a warm liquid flowing on his stomach, but he knew he couldn't stop. Not this time. He must at least help Mizuki in some way.
"Where is it, where is it…" Karl roamed his eyes around the area. It must have been on the ground, I hope it's not broken. His eyes caught something. "Found it!"
Karl picked up a phone that lay motionless among the pile of broken wood and chairs. Its screen has a slight crack, but he sighed in relief when it opened.
He didn't waste any time, he immediately called a contact that he was sure could help them.
A few rings and a low voice answered. "Yes?"
"I need your help."
MIZUKI DOESN'T need to expend any effort because the man appears to be aiming at her from the beginning.
A strong gust of cold night wind came Mizuki's way the moment she step out from the back door. Mizuki looked from left and right, then decided to go to the right.
Right at that moment, her right leg ached.
Mizuki wasn't sure if it was because of the time she was slammed into the counter, or if something else is making her leg hurt. Nonetheless, she ignored it and continued running toward wherever her feet may take her.
The street was narrow, so she didn't expect she'll lose the man right away. There were even streetlights that were maybe helping the man behind her to know where she was going. That thought made her eye roll.
Mizuki was not even thinking about where to go anymore. As long as she runs fast, maybe she'll lose the man eventually. Her breath hitched, and sweat ran down her forehead as she sprinted.
Mizuki is unsure of whether she will consider it fortunate that no one was outside this time. Do they know there was going to be some random old guy who'll rampage this evening?
As she continued running, she cursed the heavens and the earth for not making her taller for her pace was not as long as she wanted it to be. The sound of her boots clacking on the pavement was followed by the man walking behind her in long steps. If she knew she was going to have a race with some crazy dude, she should've worn jogger pants instead of tight ripped jeans. Talking about luck.
She was confident that her speed was above that of most ordinary humans—one of the privileges of being like her, an ability user—but she wasn't sure if the man behind her was a human at all.
In this case, it is unquestionably not.
Her eyes squinted in the dark. Where was she going anyway? She has to find a place.
Mizuki swore her eyes caught a shadow from afar, running in the same direction as them. Her eyes sharpened, brows furrowed. Is it my hallucination? She fastened her pace, not really bothering to look behind. Hearing the man's displeased grunts as he chased her was enough to know he wasn't slowing down at any moment.
So she did it instead.
She slowed her pace so that the man will be able to reach her.
Then the moment Mizuki passed a street she twisted her body and turned, threw her foot, and kicked the man's chest as hard as she could.
The momentum helped the impact, and the man flew back, letting out an inhuman growl as he hit the ground.
She was sure he heard a crack again, it must be the sound of his ribs breaking. Or something else. Whatever. Mizuki used that chance to flee.
It was dark when she turned to another street. The moon can't even lighten the area as it was blocked by the trees. Well, that's fine.
She turned to a narrow alley. Garbage dumps, random trashes, and a bunch of cartons welcomed her sight. Mizuki ignored them all. It was a dead end, so she stood in the middle of the alley, gasping a large amount of air as she put her hands on top of her knees.
Why is she in this situation again? A few minutes earlier she was having a heart-to-heart talk with Karl, and now she was caught up in this. She didn't sign up for this, for fuck's sake.
Mizuki heard footsteps, looked up, then cursed silently.
The man walked ever so slowly as if his feet weight tons. But it doesn't seem like it when he was chasing Mizuki earlier.
"What do you want?" Mizuki asked.
"You… dead…"
Like hell. Mizuki took a step, but a searing pain struck her right leg the moment it touched the ground. Her pupils contracted and her body shook. She almost fell out of balance if not for the hand that caught her arm and stopped her from falling.
Mizuki stilled, her eyes frozen on the ground, then slowly swept on a long, slim black object that is standing behind a pair of shoes.
Mizuki's eyes went from the object—an umbrella—then to the gloved hand that was holding it, to the golden brown suit, and lastly, to the handsome face of the man in his thirties.
The man gently smiled as he looked at her. "Are you hurt?"
For a moment Mizuki couldn't talk, wondering where this man came from when there was only one entrance in this alleyway. Then she remembered the shadow she saw earlier. So that wasn't a hallucination. This man must've been an ability user too, to have agility like that.
"Who are you?"
The man's smile didn't fade. "Niccolo Heis. I came to help."
"What—"
Niccolo looked ahead. "But let's get down to business first."
Mizuki averted her attention from him and looked at the man in front. To her surprise, the man wasn't moving at all.
He just… stood there. Unmoving.
And this Niccolo guy seemed like he was expecting it, as he casually walked toward the man, the umbrella in his hand.
Mizuki doesn't know what to expect, but she was sure she didn't expect Niccolo to put his hand on the man's shoulder as if he was sympathizing with him. "It must be hard for you," he gently said.
Mizuki watched as the man's lips quivered, then he lets out a long cry. A cry filled with anguish and pain.
It startled Mizuki when the man fell on his knees, hands gripping his hair, looking down at the ground. His shoulders shook, and later on, tears start dripping from his eyes. "Mila… she's gone now…" He was sobbing. "I can't even do anything about it…"
Mizuki blinked, looking from Niccolo to the man and to Niccolo again. Her expression shows she didn't understand what was happening.
Niccolo lightly tapped the man's shoulder. "You can rest now."
Like a puppet, the man listened to Niccolo and his body fell to the ground.
Mizuki stared."Is he…?"
"Dead? Not at all." Niccolo looked at the man, then turned to Mizuki. "He was asleep." He tilted his head as he smile. "Your friend was being taken to the hospital, so you don't have anything to worry about."
Mizuki straightened. "Oh shit, I completely forgot about him."
Niccolo's smile froze, and then he blinked. "Oh."
She blew a breath and stretched her arms, eyeing Niccolo from ehad to feet."You're working for them, aren't you?"
Niccolo tilted his head. "Pardon?"
"Carcerem."
A cold, biting wind blew, making the trees' leaves rustle. The moon was high above, and Mizuki's face was shone by its light for a second.
Mizuki concluded his encounter with this man is not a coincidence at all. Karl must've called them.
It was for a moment before Niccolo spoke. "Are you an ability user, Mizuki?"
What a question. "Why?"
"Because Carcerem is a prison designed specifically for people with abilities. And I can't disclose more information other than that to ordinary people."
Prison for ability users? Not news to her.
She wasn't ignorant about the state of the world now.
The existence of ability became the norm in society several decades ago. In the present time, thirty percent of the world's population were ability users, possessing superhuman abilities that were once only seen in fiction.
Some people think that the world has been improved to something more beneficial to society, but in reality, it just become a more dangerous place to live in.
Many ability users disregard the fact that they are still humans and become conceited simply because they have the power.
They turned into a predator of ordinary people. They abuse their own abilities, which they believe were bestowed by God.
That's why Carcerem is made, an extraordinary prison made for extraordinary humans since extraordinary issues require extraordinary means.
That's what all Mizuki knew about this highly-developed prison.
Mizuki's eyes went to the man on the floor. "Are you going to imprison him in the Carcerem too?"
Niccolo glance at the man. "It's not an easy process. We need to interrogate him first."
Mizuki's brows raised in understanding. "Oh, well. Thanks, I guess." She turned her back on him and was about to walk away when she heard him speak.
"Mizuki, where are you going?"
She froze.
Slowly she turned her head, brows furrowed. "I never said my name to you."
"Someone told me about you."
Of course. Mizuki's deadpan face didn't falter. "I'm going home."
Niccolo's brows raised in amusement, then he started to follow Mizuki. "You can't go home yet."
"And why is that?" she replied, not looking back at Niccolo.
For some reason, Mizuki had a bad feeling about this.
Niccolo kept up with her pace, then rested his hand on Mizuki's shoulder. "We have something to talk about…" his voice trailed as an unexpected thing happened.
The setting collapsed.
Mizuki, the man, the buildings— everything else vanished. His hand, which should have been resting on Mizuki's shoulder right now, dropped to his side.
Niccolo was suddenly alone. And he was in another place.