Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 2: Reunion

"Huh?" At an unknown location, Ayumi suddenly opened her eyes, having awoken from a long slumber. She glanced around and was surprised to find herself laying on a couch in what looked like a gaming center.

"Oh come on! Who designed this!? This level's unbeatable!"

Ayumi arched her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the incredulous sight of James Shouyou kicking a Pacman arcade game with competitive anger in his eyes. The man's coat jacket hung off the machine as he pounded the controls with rolled up sleeves. Fortunately, the strange sight triggered her memories, causing her to recall her decision to leave home, the VTOL, and most importantly, the strange syringe.

Having recalled the purple liquid and the terrifying accompanying pain, Ayumi quickly sat up and rolled up her sleeve to check her right arm. Shockingly, there was no puncture wound to indicate she had just taken an injection. Just as she began to suspect her memories, James playfully called out.

"Catch!"

Ayumi turned, and instinctively caught the black mass shooting towards her face. She frowned, but then her eyes widened in surprise in recognition of the black ball in her hand. Without thinking, Ayumi softly squeezed. To her shock, though she felt some resistance, the ball clearly depressed under her fingers. In disbelief, she squeezed with all her might.

"How?" That was all the confused teenager could muster as she observed the fully deformed ball, with swollen part popping out between her fingers.

"Don't doubt it. It's the same ball," said James as he looked over. He then beckoned as he picked up his jacket. "Come on, we're burning daylight. It's time for the great reunion."

Ayumi hesitantly stood up. She reflexively moved to tie her hair, but then remembered she didn't have her hairband. So, she instead, asked as she walked up to James, "Where are we?"

"This is my office," James proudly said, but then stifled a chuckle at her deadpan gaze. He led her out of the room, as he explained, "Fine, fine. We're at an island owned by a shell company. Genaco uses it for more~ clandestine experiments and research."

"A whole island?" Ayumi raised a brow in disbelief. "And you haven't been found yet?"

"We have our ways of deceiving satellite imagery. We will not be discovered that way."

"So, you're saying there are other ways we might be discovered?"

A strange glint sparked in James' blue eyes as they stepped into an elevator. "Perhaps. No place is perfectly hidden forever. You are part of our preparations for such a contingency."

Ayumi softly chewed her lips, but ultimately decided to move onto more immediate matters. "Alright. I am here now. What exactly are my duties while under your care?"

"I really love working with intelligent, diligent people." James took out a phone from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to Ayumi. "First things first. This is your communicator from here on out. I have taken the liberty of adding my number should you have any questions. Our network is fully encrypted so feel free to go online whenever you'd like, but do keep in mind that all communications are monitored by Charlie, our security A.I. You can chat sweet nothings with whomever you wish but giving classified information to uncleared individuals has severe consequences, including imprisonment."

Ayumi nodded as she tapped on the screen to turn on the device. "That much is a given." As she went through the relevant security features, the elevator came to a stop. James led her into a hallway that branched into several more. Several signs were posted atop each corridor reminiscent of railway destinations.

Sure enough, at the end of the corridor James chose was a platform beside a rail line. James pressed a button on a wall, and then looked at Ayumi. "This is our underground rail system. There's some things we can't risk regular employees like you coming into contact with so we built these railways to transport those to whatever section we need. The design isn't exactly the most efficient, but it works as intended."