A Hazy Connection
Controlling my power. Exploring an unknown, uncharted space. It was the kind of thing that always set my heart racing. I marched down the hallway with energetic steps. The wide, sprawling corridor seemed to stretch on forever. It didn't seem to be just because my body had shrunk, either. No matter where I went, there wasn't a single window to look outside. If that was the case, then this hallway I was wandering through was likely just a tiny fraction of the entire building.
"Jeff, is this really necessary?" Shine asked, rubbing her forehead. She looked like she still hadn't gotten over her hangover.
"Of course it is!" I replied confidently. This was extremely important. My social circle was narrow, and these were the friends I considered closest to me. There was no need to make them worry. All I had to do was send a quick message letting them know I was doing fine.
"Guess it's not here." I reached the end of the hallway. Well, there had been a fork in the road earlier, so it wasn't a dead end in the truest sense, but we couldn't go any further in this direction. The countless doors lined up along the walls and the cold air leaking from beneath them made it clear these rooms hadn't been used in a very long time. The dark, unlit corridor made me hesitate to go any further. Catching a faint whiff of dust, I turned around. Where can I find a place to use a computer freely? As I wandered the hallways, lost in thought, I reached out and grabbed the hem of a passing man's trousers.
"Huh?"
"Excuse me."
Startled by the sudden call, he turned around with a bewildered expression. But his gaze didn't land on me. Instead, his eyes hovered in the empty air right above my head. Annoyed by this, I tugged on his trousers once more. "Down here."
"Oh..." His expression turned strange. He seemed flustered to see children, a rare sight in a place like this. In fact, excluding Shine and me, there wasn't a single child to be found here.
"Is something the matter?"
"I'm looking for a place where I can use a computer."
"Ah, if that's what you're looking for, just go past the entrance of the smoking room next to the lounge. There should be some computers there that anyone can use."
No way. It turned out the computers I was looking for were much closer than I thought. A child's field of vision is narrow, which must be why I hadn't noticed them. Releasing the man's trousers, I bowed politely. "Thank you."
"My, what a polite child." Hearing the praise drift down from above my head didn't feel particularly great.
I turned around and began to walk. Our destination was the cafeteria. I didn't actually know where the lounge was. However, there was a small smoking booth right next to the cafeteria. Therefore, the wide-open space in front of it had to be the lounge. Ah, so they call that place the lounge. Feeling like I had just made some grand deduction, I wanted to brag to Shine. My lips practically itched to say something. I covered my mouth with both hands, but then, noticing Shine's puzzled stare, I quickly lowered them. What was I thinking, trying to show off to a kid?
"Let's go, Shine." Taking Shine's hand, I marched confidently down the hallway. People's eyes were still glued to us. They stared wherever we went. Was the mere act of us walking really that fascinating? Feeling uncomfortable, I glared back at them to drop a hint, but they were completely oblivious and simply waved at me. So, naturally, I waved back.
Shine and I finally arrived at the lounge. Many people were already lounging on the plush sofas, passing the time. Looking at them, I couldn't help but wonder: What do all these people do? What kind of work requires so many people to be here? It seemed a bit too grand to be just a mere terrorist organization. There had to be someone with an astronomical amount of capital backing this place. If my hunch was correct, I should definitely avoid reporting this location to the police once I got out. Anyone capable of maintaining an organization of this scale would undoubtedly have connections within the police force.
Shine and I walked past the smoking room. The moment we did, we spotted a path branching off to the side. A massive potted plant stood in front of it, completely hiding the path from a distance. Fortunately, it seemed the man hadn't lied to me. We rounded the large potted plant and turned down the path. A long corridor stretched out before us. I could sense the presence of many people. The area felt slightly dim. Through the wide-open doors, I could see dozens of computers lined up. I quickly ran inside one of the computer rooms, the oversized slippers Amy had given me clattering loudly against the floor.
"Is this a computer?"
"Yeah." Nodding in response to Shine's question from behind, I took a seat in an empty chair. It didn't seem like using them cost any money. Looking around, I pressed the power button on the computer and pulled out the chair next to mine. "Sit here."
Shine did as she was told, climbing onto the plush chair. Although the chairs felt a bit too large for either of us, they were soft and comfortable enough. I kicked off my loose slippers and sank into the seat. Because the desk was so high, I adjusted the chair's height to its maximum setting. Shine's eyes went wide with curiosity as she stared at the screen. Once the computer finished booting up, the desktop revealed various messenger programs and ordinary games. I immediately launched the messenger program. But a problem arose. The moment I typed in my ID and password with practiced ease, I realized a critical issue. I didn't have a phone. Specifically, a phone registered under my name. The messenger I used was linked to a phone number, meaning logging in on a computer usually required a separate mobile verification. I recalled the final, shattered state of my phone back at the laboratory.
"Ah..." My hands froze.
"Jeff?" Shine asked from beside me, sounding puzzled, but it was fine. If I couldn't use the messenger, I could just log into a game. But once again, a problem arose. Logging into the game also required mobile verification. At home and in my quarters at the laboratory, I had registered my specific computers as trusted devices, allowing me to log in without a phone, but that wasn't the case here. I rubbed my dry face in frustration. As I sat there in deep, serious contemplation, I spotted a very old messenger icon in the corner of the screen.
"This is..." A white, cloud-shaped icon. A messenger called CloudTalk. It was a program I used to use strictly on computers without linking it to a phone. Is this service still running? Filled with doubt, I launched CloudTalk. The familiar interface of the login window welcomed me. Hoping for the best, I typed in my ID and password and attempted to log in. It was a success. Along with a familiar notification sound, my sparse friend list popped up.
"Oh..." The last message log was dated three to four years ago. That was how long it had been since I last used it. Hoping against hope, I began drafting a message to my friends. Hey. I'm back. I typed out those embarrassing words, only to delete them all. In times like this, keeping it simple was best.
The message was sent. I had no idea if those guys still used CloudTalk, but this was the only way I had to contact them. However, even after several minutes passed, they didn't read the message. A tedious wait ensued.
"Jeff, are those other people?" Shine asked, staring at my friends' profile pictures on the screen. Every single one of them used the strangest photos. Some had anime characters, while one guy had literally set a picture of his own big toe as his profile picture. They were too embarrassing to show anyone, so I quickly minimized the window. "No, they're not." Shine's expression remained sour, clearly unhappy with my answer. She glared at me, her face full of petulance. Intentionally ignoring her gaze, I opened MeTube. Since this wasn't my usual computer, most of the recommended videos were things I had never seen before.
"Jeff, how much longer are we going to stay here?" Shine already seemed bored. In response to her question, I checked CloudTalk. My message was still unread. Normally, it wouldn't have been surprising to get an instant reply. As expected, they must have stopped using CloudTalk as well.
"Hmm..." The ringing in my head grew louder. Letting out a small sigh, I shut down the computer. Soon, the screen faded to black, reflecting the two girls sitting before it. Shine, her lips pouted in a deep scowl, began tugging on my arm. "Let's go back."
It seemed I would have to try again next time. Nodding blankly, I climbed down from the chair. The petulance on Shine's face instantly vanished, replaced by a bright smile. Next time, I should sneak out while Shine is asleep. Making this quiet resolve, I had no choice but to let Shine lead me back to our room. I wanted to explore these wide hallways a bit more, but Shine wanted to go back. If that was what she wanted, I couldn't help it. I let myself be dragged along limply.
Once we returned to the room, we didn't really do anything special. We just passed the time watching television. That was our current daily routine. Lying on the bed, we watched anime. When the show I was watching ended, Shine would take the remote. In that way, we took turns watching TV to pass the time. My shrunken body grew tired quickly. Staring at the boring news screen, I began to doze off. I was starting to feel a bit hungry; when would dinner time arrive? Rolling around on the bed, I couldn't resist my heavy eyelids and began to drift off to sleep.
The faint sound of the news filtered into my ears.
Maybe Amy would return this evening. So Amy had a status that allowed her to move in and out of District 5. Why would someone with that kind of status be involved with a terrorist group? My consciousness grew increasingly faint. The ringing in my head intensified. I blinked with blurry vision. Shine? A hazy figure of a girl was looking down at me. Why was Shine, who should have been watching the news, staring at me? She stroked my forehead and smiled. Why are you smiling like that? At Shine's incredibly cute smile, I smiled back in response. Shine's eyes widened. She seemed surprised that I wasn't asleep yet. But that was as far as I could go. My mind began to sink into the deep depths of sleep.