"Oh my God, I thought I lost you!"
On two ends of a concrete alleyway, two siblings met each other's gazes. Squinting, it was hard to make out the distinct features of the body, but even through the rather simple silhouette, she knew the body shape all too well. Beaming bright cobalt eyes held the gaze with her own gunmetal grey orbs, the male figure was relieved and ecstatic to see her too. Both of her hands found themselves flat against the ground, straining her muscles to push herself up. Failing, her body dropped against the cold and dirty Vanity earth once more.
Come on, come on. I have to meet Morgan.
"No, wait, Shima, are you hurt? Don't move! Those were some pretty mean guys."
Rolling over in place and onto her back, she let out a loud groan of discomfort. Of course she was hurting, but still she desperately wanted to get up, her instincts screaming at her to do so. Propping herself up once more, not going too far as to topple over again, she surveyed her surroundings, attempting to find the source of the unease. On the opposite side of her, shrouded in shadows, five bodies lay lifeless in a row. One of them had a horrid tear across the neck, the head nowhere to be seen. Another one's chest fully caved in by what seemed to have been a large object, no doubt crushing his organs. The last three obviously suffered from a singular fatal knife wound each, all with their eyes still squeezed shut from the pain moments before they died.
Oh my God, what monster would do this?
"It's alright, Shima, I'm coming for you! You'll be alright! Hang in there!"
The entire alley had blood splattered all over, resembling more of a slaughterhouse than a normal fistfight. A rather familiar knife sat on the ground, blade covered in some of the same blood that pooled under the trio of stabbing victims. It was likely the same weapon that was used in over half of the murders, just left on the ground and close to her body. Why was it still here, and more importantly, why did she feel such a connection to the ornate saxe knife?
The same scarlet red liquid stained her own previously white clothing, even sticking to her normally tan hands. Between the weapon, the bodies, and the copious amount of blood on her person, especially her hands, she finally connected the dots. Of course she knew the blade, of course she knew what she was doing there, resting up despite being in pain: Kanashima had killed them.
Their dying eyes flickered through her mind like a slideshow, burrowing their gazes of despair into her soul. The horrified expressions they each held on their face as the last iotas of life left their body still replayed fresh in her own mind, along with the screams of anger, agony and despair. Her dear brother couldn't see this, he would be so horrified, so angry at the needless loss of life. Most of all, he would be so disappointed in his baby sister and the atrocities she had just committed. Him and Mom went through so much work to make sure she turned out okay, but she was just going to fail them again, like she always did.
"Morgan… please, stay. I'll come to you, please just stay put!"
"It's okay Shima! Don't hurt yourself even more!"
Come on, get up. Get up, get up, get up! What are you doing, Kanashima? Just get up… God…
No matter what she tried with her appendages, she just could not move from her uncomfortable spot on the concrete floor. Some invisible force was holding her body down tight, not allowing her to even stand up and move away from the scene straight out of a horror film. Worst of all, Morgan was going to see her body's pitiful state, both from the fighting, and the matted dried blood from the killing.
Can I even lie and deny myself out of this one?
"Don't look! Just give me a bit, Morgan!"
"It's okay! I'm almost there, I'll help you up!"
Rapid footsteps slowed to a halt right beside her, striking blue eyes taking in the macabre alleyway. Each and every detail contorted his face into a visage of extreme disgust to the point he was almost unrecognizable, no longer the same stand-up, happy-go-lucky guy. Staring down at his own baby sister, for the first time in her life, she saw him actually spit out words.
"What… the fuck did you do, Kanashima?"
His voice was low and shaking in absolute horror, building with every word. Being his sister, Kanashima had heard her brother throughout all her life, but never before did he sound so frightened, so quiet, especially during one of the rare times he cursed.
"It's not what… I didn't- well I did, but-"
"Stop. A monster… you're a fucking monster."
Flinching at the harsh words, her head turned around towards the collection of corpses, but adorning their disgusting sight were more echoes of the hurtful words. In unison, they all spoke towards her, joining Morgan and forming some zombified version of a choir.
"A monster! A monster! How could you kill us?"
"I had such high hopes."
"Morgan, wait! Wait!"
Wait!
The morning sun coated New Bangkok in its benevolent twilight once more, welcoming in the new day. The air filled with the low hum of vehicles of all shapes and sizes along with the rapid footsteps of people going about the start of their days. Cracking open her eyes, Kanashima shook in her curled up position against a brick wall. Just a few moments later, she coughed into her right hand, more blood coming up and splattering out the sides.
What the hell was that? A dream? Oh my God… I'm going to vomit.
Unable to halt her shaking, she scooted across the freshly cleaned alley ground over to a familiar dumpster. Pulling herself up by one arm and leaning her torso against it, she managed to get to the open top just in time to release the rest of her stomach's contents.
She must've been hanging off the lid for close to twenty minutes. Just when it felt like the saga was over, her revolting system made itself known once more, continuing her strife. Collapsing back down to the spotless concrete, she laid flat in exhaustion. There was simply nothing else in her stomach to come up, and she was grateful for the small bout of respite.
Where am I? This… isn't Vanity. Where did Morgan go?
Letting out a pained groan, she uprighted herself against the opposite wall, staring up at the sky. Large buildings perforated the crisp auburn sky, looking as if they were touching the clouds itself. On the close exit of the alley, a clean storefront with flawless glass, posters, and high quality speakers sat with their door open wide. Their signage up top held a simple name, but radiated a luxe experience inside.
RadioWorks… where have I seen this store before?
Just as she was about to move closer to the shop, the expensive speakers boomed to life with a smooth, male voice fit to be an announcer. The baritone register really reminded her of her late brother and the recent dream.
"Good morning New Bangkok! Today is December Fourteenth, with a high of nineteen degrees and a low of five! Make sure to wear some sunscreen, today's UV is no joke! Last night's body count rounded out to a grand total of fifty seven! Seven of those poor souls belonged to Vanity's own NBPD! Find time in your day for a moment of silence for our fallen brethren. In other news…"
God, seven? I had to have been responsible for that…
"...A huge fire in an apartment building! The suspect is still on the loose, if anybody has any information, please contact your local department!"
Ah… damnit. It shouldn't have been this big.
A large pit formed at the bottom of her physically empty stomach, pairing nicely with the drained batteries and exhaustion of her nervous system. It was just supposed to be a simple smash and grab and nobody would have been the wiser, but now all the crimes she committed were practically national news.
"...Today is our multinational Candle day! Pick up some HomuraWicks at your local store, and thank you for sponsoring us!"
Everything down to her bones groaned and ached from the entire ordeal, however long she spent sleeping did not help in the slightest to ward off the immense fatigue. If this was a side effect of fully draining her battery, she had to find some way to pump up her capacity. She burned through seventy percent of charge like it was nothing. All she wanted to do was pass out right then and there again, but deep down she knew she had to get a move on.
Passing out in a random run down alleyway was absolutely not conducive to good sleep, Kanashima barely regained any sort of energy, waking more fatigued than before, and she already went and spent what little she had on crawling to the bin and throwing up everything she had. Her eyes fluttering shut, she rested her head against the brick wall once more. Moments later, she fell back into her standardized restless sleep.
I'm so sorry, Morgan… That dream, I hope I don't get another.
The shabby metallic door was always locked, no matter what. Her mom always insisted on that rule, so Morgan and Kanashima always had duplicate keys attached to their blue cards. Times like these when she lost it were always rough, she would for sure get an earful and a half from her mom once she got home. Walking towards impending doom always took a short amount of time, no matter the real distance.
Knocking three times on the door, Kanashima took a step back, folding her hands behind herself and waited patiently. There was no use trying to hurry up her mother, she would just have to take whatever she decided was appropriate, acting more selfishly would only increase the levels of hurt and punishment she would receive.
A handful of seconds took an eternity to pass before the doors electronic lock buzzed, the door opening from the other side. The older woman was only a few centimeters taller than her, but she certainly knew how to impose her presence over people. Pulling the cigarette from her mouth, she leaned forward, meeting her daughter's eyes on the same level as her own. Her facial expression soured before releasing the smoke in her lungs into her daughter's face.
"What are you standing there for? Get your ass inside."
Scrunching her nose at the foul scent of despair and addiction, she didn't dare lean back, it was those kinds of mistakes that she only made once. Her legs shook under her, ready to give any second under the intense pressure her mom was known to exude. Her mom already knew the reason, for some reason she gained some sort of satisfaction from making them say it, as if they weren't embarrassed already.
"I… lost my blue card, Mom."
"Yeah? Yeah, was it when you were killing fucking cops? Fucking stabbing them to death and shit?"
Her solemn grey eyes widened in shock, she didn't even have the capabilities to do something like that. She was just nine years old, small as can be, and nowhere close to having something sharp enough to stab with. Everything that made any lick of sense said she didn't commit such atrocities, and yet, that assumption felt off. Despite everything, she knew a fact to be true, even if she couldn't explain it.
It's true, I did do that.
"Wait- mom no! I didn't- I wouldn't-"
"You thought I wouldn't know? I know everything there is to know, Kanashima. Like how I know I raised a stupid fucking bitch for a daughter. Truly your father's."
Uncaring about the lit cigarette in between her index and middle finger, the backside of her hand made direct and forcible contact with her right cheek, audibly cracking. Like any other kid, she naturally started tearing up, face flaring up red in irritation and hurt. Legs finally giving out under the pressure and harassment, she collapsed at the front door, doing a horrible job at holding back pained whimpers and tears.
"Don't come inside until you're finished. Fucking daughter of a bastard."
Taking another drag from her Krong Thip, she tossed the lit butt at her, contacting her forearm and searing a dark circle on it. After depositing the smoke on her new head level, her mom retreated back into the sub basement apartment, shutting the door in her face once more. The same audible electronic lock buzzed with life once again, locking the door behind her. In between sobs, she tried to reason with the metal alloy door, nobody else around to listen to her wails.
"I really didn't… did I? Why do I think I did… I didn't… right? Please tell me I'm right!"
I really… killed them… I did.
I'm… an awful daughter.
"An awful sister…"
"Holy shit, Sera, she's awake!"