As Kiyoshi dangled in mid-air, held by the huge guard, the other soldier pulled out a needle and a small bottle with a yellowish, reddish liquid inside of it. The liquid swirled around in the bottle as the man shoved the tip of the needle into the top and pulled the lever outward. Kiyoshi trembled as the needle’s tube filled and steamed. A picture of her mother flashed through her mind, and Kiyoshi’s eyes widened. There was nothing to live for if her mother was truly dead, so why should she resist? It might be an easy way to forget everything, and have a care-free life that she, really, was no part of.
Kiyoshi relaxed and smiled. “You can put me down now. I have decided... that I want to have my memory taken away, even if it means I won’t know who I am, or that I’m me. I just want to forget about everything.” Kiyoshi stared at the baffled guard as he gently put her down. He grabbed on to her arm and held it tightly, in case she tried anything funny. Kiyoshi stood by the large man and watched as the other one took the metal tip of the needle out of the bottle. She clenched her teeth and eyes shut. Her body was hot all over and she wiped her forehead to rid herself of the sticky moisture. The guard holding the three inch needle came forward, grimacing happily. He took Kiyoshi’s arm in one hand and slowly drew the needle into her skin.
“No!” Kiyoshi snapped her eyes open and stared at Ray, who had just slammed his shoulder into the first guards stomach, forcing him to drop the needle. Kiyoshi bit the second guard to stop him from giving Ray a blow to the head. Ray grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room and down one of the long corridors. He looked at her and smiled. “Don’t give up. You good inside. You live, okay?” Kiyoshi looked at Ray blankly. She nodded and gave a determined smile. Ray flashed his white teeth as he smirked and ducked into a room with plush chairs and couches. Two doors stood adjacent, and through one, Kiyoshi heard men talking. Ray pointed to the opposite door and nodded. Kiyoshi looked to the door for confirmation and they jetted through it.
It was a bathroom! Now what were they supposed to do. Kiyoshi panted and looked at Ray, who had a big grin on his face, in frustration. How could he be smiling at a time like this? Ray noticed Kiyoshi glaring at him and coughed. “Oh yeah,” he whispered, “I forgot tell you, we use shaft.” He shrugged his shoulders and pointed to a ventilation shaft above their heads. Kiyoshi smacked her fore head. Why didn’t she think of that?
Ray walked over to a barred metal plate screwed into the wall to cover a hole large enough for about a seven year old to fit through. Kiyoshi assisted him in pulling on the door as hard as they could. Kiyoshi and Ray gritted their teeth in unison and tugged one last time. A screw popped out of place and Ray pulled out three of the other five. Kiyoshi unscrewed the last two and they set the plate down on the floor. Ray bowed, allowing Kiyoshi to enter the shaft first.
The shaft had a shiny silver interior and there wasn’t a speck of dust or a cobweb to be found. Kiyoshi stopped inside the boxed shaft and ripped the knees of her pants to make holes. She didn’t want to lose control and slide all over the place. Ray simply climbed in and set the metal plate back onto the hole, fitting it inside the shaft so it wouldn’t fall.
Kiyoshi crawled onward as silently as she could. Why was it so clean in this ventilation shaft? There wasn’t even a spider leg lying around. Kiyoshi pondered this until she realized Ray was tapping her. “What?” Kiyoshi snapped. Ray frowned and looked at the floor of the box and Kiyoshi bit her bottom lip. “Sorry, I was thinking. What is it?” Ray pointed to the upcoming fork-in-the-shaft and whispered “left” into her ear.. Kiyoshi nodded and crawled into the left chamber that seemed to stretch on for miles.
It seemed like they would be in the shaft forever when suddenly Ray dropped to the metal floor with a clank. Kiyoshi jumped and smashed her head into the roof of the tiny corridor. She whirled around to glare at Ray, only to find him asleep. Kiyoshi smiled and shook her head. He was always two steps ahead of her. Kiyoshi curled into a little ball and lay her head down on her arms. She wearily drifted off to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The exit...?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A small boy jumped out of what seemed like a pipe in the ceiling. He looked around cautiously, and motioned to a girl in the pipe. She slipped down and onto the floor. The room was dimly lit with only one large green door. The girl walked over to it slowly and put her ear against the cold titanium. Nothing was heard. The boy walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. The girl nodded as he pulled it open. A blinding light filled the room and flashed into the two children’s eyes. They shielded their shrinking pupils with their arms. Outside...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* And so...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kiyoshi woke up, her whole body vibrating. Was the shaft turned on? Kiyoshi sat up in a panic and looked around for Ray. Surprisingly, he was sitting right beside her. The shaking had stopped. “What was that?” Kiyoshi looked at Ray in confusion. He scratched his head as a sweat bead ran down his head. “You? You were shaking me?” Kiyoshi doubled up her fist and Ray pointed ahead. Kiyoshi glanced over her shoulder and saw the hole the boy in her dream had jumped out of. “That’s the way out!” Kiyoshi whispered with joy. She crawled as fast as she could to the hole in the box. She looked down into the room to see if anyone was there. Nothing was seen or heard, so Kiyoshi hopped out of the shaft followed by Ray. Kiyoshi ran over to the metal door and put her ear against it. She heard nothing. Kiyoshi hugged Ray and he blushed a bright red. Kiyoshi laughed and grabbed the door handle. She turned it slowly and pulled on it. It didn’t open... Kiyoshi frowned and kicked the door, frustrated and anxious to get out of the building. Ray’s eyes widened as Kiyoshi stomped around the room looking for a key.
“No,” he whispered. “They hear you.” Ray pointed to a tiny device on the table next to a couch. “That pick up sound. They hear everything.” Ray looked around the room and listened in every direction. Kiyoshi cursed at herself for being so naive. Why wouldn’t these people have camera’s and motion sensors everywhere? If they could destroy countries, they had a pretty good chance of catching an ignorant little girl like her. Kiyoshi mouthed the word sorry and Ray nodded in appreciation. Kiyoshi crept around silently, still searching for a key. She heard a faint jingle and whipped around to see Ray picking up a key ring with one key attached.
“Good job, Ray! You found the key!” Kiyoshi ran over to him and hugged him once more. His face flushed a tanned red and Kiyoshi took the key from his limp hand. We can finally leave this place. Well, I know it must be more exciting for you, since you have been here longer than I have. Do you want to open the door?” Kiyoshi hung the gold key in front of Ray’s face. It rocked back and forth in the air, and Ray just stared at it blankly. “Uh, hello?” Kiyoshi laughed and took Ray’s hand. She turned it upward and placed the key in his open palm. “There you go.” Kiyoshi smiled and moved out of the way, allowing Ray to move to the door. He gently slipped the key inside the lock and turned it. He motioned for Kiyoshi to come and help him pull it open. Kiyoshi nodded and joined him at the door.
“On three,” Ray mouthed. “One, two... three!” Together, the children pulled as hard as they could on the door. It creaked and began to open. Light flew through the opening and flooded the room. Kiyoshi grew excited and pulled harder, knocking Ray back. Ray laughed and began to pull still farther.
ooc: Whew, that was a little long.