KARL'S EYES snapped open, finding himself staring at a white ceiling.
He blinked. 'I fell asleep?'
"Good morning."
"Good morning," he unconsciously replied, then he stopped. Karl's head turned to the side, and a set of ambiguous eyes stared back at him.
For a moment there was only silence until it was disrupted by Karl's sudden cry of panic. He immediately sat back up on the bed, pulling the sheets on his chest, and warily looked at the white-clad guy sitting on the sofa. "Who are you?"
The guy's lips curved widely.
He had really pale skin, hair as white as snow that reached his shoulders, and an unusual pair of eyes. As far as Karl knows, it was called Heterochromia—central heterochromia, to be specific. The color of his eyes closest to the pupil is purple, while the edges are gray.
"ZT."
Karl blinked. "Huh?"
"My name."
"ZT" cocked his head to the side, and his smile widened.
Karl's hair stood on end. For some reason, that smile made him uncomfortable. Maybe because it was so wide it kinda looks fake. And a bit creepy.
He gulped before asking, "How long was I out?"
ZT shrugged. "I don't know. Don't know how to read an analog clock." He guffawed.
Karl let out an awkward laugh before roaming his eyes around the room. As he expected, he was rescued and hospitalized. Looking at the wall clock, it seems like almost three hours had just passed.
As if remembering something, he looked back at ZT with a panicked look. "My father sent you, right? Did my father send someone to help my friend? She's in danger."
ZT looked at him, his brow raising, "How would I know? I was just asked to treat you."
"Treat me—?" Karl's hand flew to his stomach, groping the wound that was supposed to be there.
It's gone.
He looked at ZT with wide eyes. "You're a healer!"
ZT merely shrugged, his lips forming a proud smile.
Karl stared at him in amazement. Holy shit, it's really a healer. A very rare ability user that is made up of only 0.2 percent of the population in the world. It was almost impossible to meet one in their country, but Karl even managed to be healed by them!
Karl hates to admit it, but being a General of a high institutional prison must really have perks to know a healer. Just how wide his father's connection is to actually call this user to heal him?
Karl cleared his throat and pulled himself together. "I don't know how to thank you properly, ZT. If it weren't for you, I might have died back there. Tell me how can I repay you—"
ZT waved his hand dismissively. "You think this is for free? Your father will pay all of the expenses."
Right. Karl sighed. "But still, thank you so much. Just tell me what can I do for you in the future, I'll gladly be of help."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." ZT leaned back in his seat, clasping his two hands and bringing them back on the back of his head as a support. A few seconds passed before he spoke again. "By the way, does no one gonna visit you right now?"
Karl glanced at the door. "You're waiting for someone?"
ZT suddenly laughed. "Of course not!" With his smile remaining, he stared at Karl's eyes as if staring right into his soul. "You must be a terrible person that's why no one wants to know if you're okay."
Karl's jaw dropped. "H-Hey, that's kinda offensive…?"
ZT shrugged and then rose from his feet. With fake enthusiasm, he said, "Goodbye. I hope we meet again."
"I'd rather not," Karl whispered, cringing. There's only one reason why they can meet one more time—if Karl got himself injured again to the point of death.
When ZT shut the door closed, Karl remained to stare at it, and one thought came to his mind.
Is he waiting for Mizuki?
MIZUKI sneezed. What a timing.
"So he told you about me."
She rubbed her nose, frowning. "Don't make it sound like we're gossiping about you. You're not famous."
That is right. The man behind this mirror is none other than Karl's father, Kingston Abueva. Mizuki knew a little about this old guy, and none of it was pretty. It doesn't look like it, but Karl kinda has discord with this old man, so he always talked shit about him whenever he had the chance.
"Ms. Kanako, you must be informed that copying confidential information from a private institution like Carcerem is highly forbidden—"
"Why are you saying this to me? Am I the one who got the files?"
Niccolo smiled. "So he did take the files."
Mizuki stilled, realizing she had just indirectly snitched on Karl. Oh, my bad.
She tried to coax it by letting out a forced, awkward laugh. "Did I say something like that?"
"Quit it," Gen. Abueva said. "As long as you two didn't spread the copies on the internet, no one's going to be punished."
Mizuki pressed her lips together. "We didn't. Why are you even hiding it anyway?"
"It will cause unnecessary chaos in the city."
"As if the city's not chaotic enough," she mumbled, looking up at Niccolo who had been observing her for quite a while.
Mizuki was just about to say something when a loud, ringing alarm burst into the room.
Then a mechanical voice sounded on four corners, reciting WARNING! WARNING! SYSTEM OVERRIDE! SYSTEM OVERRIDE!
"Situation?" General Kingston Abueva's face remained stoic as if the warning bells didn't give him any panic at all.
Lt. General Ayden Wilston is currently on a call, a few gasps out of shock were heard before he turned to Kingston. "Sir, a report just came in that the prisoners of cells 46-56 had been opened. The prisoners were running rampaged on the third floor, two of our officers were killed, six of them injured."
Kingston's face didn't waver despite the news. "What about the third floor?"
The answer Ayden gave him was no better.
"Smilingman's cell is opened."
Niccolo's voice sounded from inside the interrogation room. "Is something the matter?"
Kingston eyed Niccolo, then Mizuki who displayed a bored expression, then Niccolo again. "Heis, come with me. Wilston, go to the lobby and check the situation."
Ayden saluted to his general before going off first.
Niccolo in the room stood up, grab his umbrella, and gave Mizuki an apologetic smile. "It seems that our chat will be delayed for now. Please stay in here for a moment, Mizuki."
"What? Why?" Mizuki's brows furrowed. Why he won't just let her leave?
"The danger hasn't been measured yet. I must ask you to stay until I confirmed it's safe."
Mizuki clicked her tongue and watched Niccolo as he exited the room gracefully, with his suit and a black umbrella in his hand.
"ANY IDEA who's attacking?" Niccolo broke the silence as they strode towards the elevator. He cast a glance to his right, where Kingston was walking beside him.
Kington's eyes remained ahead. "Considering the audacity, it must be someone with a backup."
They both stepped inside the elevator and Kingston was about to press the button stating 2, when Niccolo's expression changed. "Wait!"
His warning came off late because Kingston already pressed it.
Sparks flew from the buttons, and the door slid shut with a loud thud.
The elevator starts moving.
They looked up and saw the elevator bringing them to the fifth floor when they were originally about to go to the second floor.
"We should have taken the stairs," Niccolo commented.
Kington's eyes narrowed. "Nothing we can do now."
Seems like the system is really being run by someone.
ON THE fifth floor of Carcerem, the room was lit by multiple sets of monitors showing different footage from CCTV cameras.
Sat by the only swivel chair in the room was a curly-haired young man, his feet crossed on top of the table. He munched popcorn as he watched funny cat videos on his phone. He was snickering at a clip when all of the monitors turned red in shade.
Just a beat passed when he heard the loud alarm. Panicked, he immediately sat back up, threw the popcorn and his phone to the side, then got ahold of the keyboard and mouse. "What the fuck is going on?"
With the alarm ongoing, the young man clicked on the footage on the second floor. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the scene.
Pools of blood spilled on the ground, bodies from either officer or prisoner of Carcerem laid down on the floor, some unmoving, some unalive.
He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not being tricked.
But no, it's really happening!
The telephone beside him went off, and he almost jumped from his feet. He immediately took the call. "Y-Yes, hello!"
"This is Niccolo Heis. I believed you're the officer assigned with the cameras. Officer Sebastian Sterlington?"
Sebastian's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Bloody mother of kangaroos it's Niccolo Heis! "Yes, Sir!"
"Can I ask about the situation from your end?"
Sebastian gazed at the monitors. "Not good, especially on the third floor. The cells had been opened and officers were injured. It was pure chaos."
"And the fourth floor?"
He clicked the footage of the third floor, and he was stunned.
Only one cell had been opened. The prisoner of that cell sat on the floor, leaning on the wall at the end of the hallway. One moment he was looking down, then his head snapped upward, directly looking at where the camera is.
Sebastian felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he answered in a slightly shivering voice. "There's only Smilingman here."
"What is he doing?"
A pause.
"He's... smiling."