A Warm Meal and a Cold Sweat

I jolted awake as a sudden voice cut through the sleepy haze in the resistance room. I'd been dozing off, buried deep inside a fluffy teddy bear, so I wasn't hurt—just badly startled. "Jeff?" Jeff. Jeff. Yeah, that's my name. But wasn't it a little too familiar, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coming from a voice I'd never heard before? It felt like we needed some distance, but I kept that to myself and climbed to my feet.

A tall woman with long, shimmering pink hair. Amy. "Yes?"

I couldn't believe how lucky I was that they mistook me for one of the test subjects. The terrorist group that kept popping up on the news was always described with words like vicious, cruel, and utterly merciless. If they found out I'd been a low-level employee, they'd probably tear me limb from limb.

"It's dinnertime," Amy said, holding out her hand.

I stared blankly at it. Anyone who'd seen the devastating beams that erupted from those fingertips would hesitate to take her hand. I couldn't bring myself to reach for it. An empty, chilly feeling crept up my arm—the warmth had vanished.

I glanced around for Shine and found her already standing just outside the door, watching me. "Dinnertime?"

Now that I thought about it, I was pretty hungry. I checked Amy's expression before standing up, carefully picking my way through the pile of giant teddy bears and slipping past her. The hand she'd offered dropped limply to her side. Her face grew strangely unreadable, and at the same time, fear gripped me. Had I upset her? I really didn't want to melt like glass.

While I fidgeted, wondering whether I should offer my own hand, Shine walked over and took it. I looked surprised. I'd been working at that place for over a year, but this was the first time she'd shown such initiative.

"You two seem close," Amy said with a hint of laughter.

I made a complicated face. Close? Maybe that's how it looked to her. But I felt a twinge of unease. Those unwavering eyes were fixed solely on me. The truth was, our relationship had always been ambiguous—we weren't that close at all.

Amy began leading us toward the cafeteria. The long hallway was spotless. It wasn't quite as pristine as the lab where I'd worked, but it was clear someone had put real effort into the building. We reached the end of the corridor and stepped into a huge dining hall. The moment the doors opened, delicious aromas washed over us. My tiny stomach growled loudly for food. I swallowed the drool pooling at the corner of my mouth and looked around.

It was a perfectly ordinary cafeteria, no different from the one at the lab. I couldn't help wondering how a secret terrorist organization managed to own a building this massive. The police in our country had to be nothing but tax thieves.

My eyes kept darting everywhere. If I wanted to escape this place, I needed to memorize the layout.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Tonkatsu, please."

The words slipped out so naturally that I nodded. I'd have to fill my stomach first if I wanted any chance of escaping.

"What about you?" Amy asked Shine.

But Shine didn't answer. She just kept gripping my hand tightly and staring at me.

"Come to think of it, I never asked your name. What's yours?" Amy bent down to meet Shine's eyes.

But Shine's gaze never left me. "Shine."

The indifferent voice that flowed out was identical to mine.

"Shine?" Amy turned to look at me, assuming I'd spoken.

It wasn't me. Shine had said her own name. I was genuinely shocked. Hadn't she always hated revealing it? As far as I knew, no one at the lab had ever learned her real name.

"Alright, Shine. Tell me what you want. We've got everything except what's not on the menu."

The cafeteria's menu board listed an impressive variety of dishes. The chef must have been incredibly skilled.

"The same as her."

Amy turned her gaze away from me. Even though the voice had been exactly like mine, my mouth hadn't moved. She smiled at Shine and replied, "You finally spoke to me."

Talking to someone who never answered all day long must have been exhausting. Since I had some idea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how Amy felt, I could understand her relief.

Amy guided us to a large table and lifted both Shine and me into our chairs. She hoisted us up so suddenly that I didn't even have time to be surprised. I just stared up at her in confusion until she grinned and ruffled my hair. It felt strangely nice. As I touched the spot where her hand had been, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shine grabbed my hand again. Her eyes looked distinctly unhappy.

"What?"

Shine didn't answer. She simply held my hand so I couldn't move it.

A little while later, Amy returned carrying two enormous trays. The sight of the tonkatsu set meals made drool spill from my mouth before I could stop it. I wiped it away, picked up a fork and knife, and felt their reassuring weight in my hands. The cool touch of the blade stirred up memories I'd tried to forget.

Die, tonkatsu. The crispy breading split under my blade with a satisfying crunch. The hot, juicy meat inside beckoned temptingly. Slice, slice—my sharp swordsmanship carved through the tonkatsu's massive body.

"Ahahaha!"

The sudden burst of laughter was so high-pitched that I couldn't help jumping. I lifted my head from the tonkatsu to look at Amy. She was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. I had no idea what was so funny.

"Ah, sorry. You're just too cute."

Cute? Who? I glanced at Shine. She was gripping a fork and knife in both hands, glaring intently at her tonkatsu. It was pretty adorable, sure. But enough to make someone laugh until they cried? I'd have to shake my head at that. Amy was clearly a strange person. Then again, what terrorist could possibly be normal?

I stabbed my fork into the tonkatsu, coating the crispy breading with sauce before shoving it into my mouth. The savory flavor gave way to the sweet sauce, and the juicy meat wrapped around my tongue. A smile formed naturally. It was delicious. An incredibly satisfying meal.

Shine seemed to feel the same—her mood looked unusually good. Her expression hadn't changed, but somehow I could tell. Maybe it was because we shared the same body now.

Amy naturally took care of clearing our empty trays afterward. Just sitting there while someone handled everything felt so comfortable that I found myself staring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blankly with my mouth open. Stupid, idiotic thoughts began creeping in. If I didn't get caught, maybe I didn't have to leave this place at all.

But those thoughts were shattered when the large television in the cafeteria began broadcasting the news. Scenes from the lab where I'd worked flashed across the screen. Then came the accident site—black smoke rising, injured people groaning. A male researcher sat on the ground with blood streaming from his head. I didn't know his name, but I'd seen his face often coming and going. Cold sweat ran down my back.

None of the people in the cafeteria seemed particularly interested in the news. The footage changed again. Figures wearing white masks and suits moved freely through the darkness. It wasn't enough to identify them, but this was the first time any footage of the terrorists had ever been released.

The screen switched once more. A message about searching for missing persons from the lab appeared, followed by Shine's face. It was a photo of her standing expressionlessly. More photos of her followed. But one of them was strangely out of place. It showed her—no, me—walking down the lab hallway in slippers, sucking on a lollipop. It must have been taken near the staff dorms.

"It was a horrible place, wasn't it?" Amy sighed and stroked both our heads. From the way she spoke while watching the news, she clearly believed Shine and I had suffered terrible experiments there. The hand resting on my head felt like pure terror. Cold sweat trickled down my back as I nodded vigorously.

"Y-yes...!"

Until I could get out of here, it looked like I'd have to keep pretending to be one of the girls who'd been subjected to all those experiments.

"Don't worry. I will never send you back there," Amy said in a kind, reassuring voice.

I subtly pulled away from her hand. It was too mentally exhausting to keep my head under her palm for long. I just wanted to go home and rest. But the biggest problem was my real body. With a major terrorist attack at the lab, I had no idea if it was still safe. The thought made me anxious. It was just a low-level employee's body. No matter how close I was to Dr. Hebrum, there was no telling how long they'd keep it.

After we finished eating, Amy handed us a big bag stuffed with drinks and snacks. Its heavy weight pulled at my hands. It was so large I had to cradle it with both arms just to move.

"Sorry! Something urgent came up, so I have to go ahead. I'll come find you tomorrow morning, so head back to your room and rest, okay?"

With that, Amy disappeared. I clutched the crinkling bag of snacks and carefully made my way back to the room. Shine followed silently behind me.

Even while pretending to be a helpless little girl, my eyes never stopped moving. I had to memorize the building's layout.

When we returned to the room where we'd first been taken, I tossed the bag into the middle of the floor. Snacks and drink cans spilled everywhere, rolling in all directions.

"Haa..."

This was exhausting. This tiny girl's body had no strength at all. I rubbed my trembling arms, picked up a rolling cola can, and plopped down on a nearby teddy bear. The giant bear's belly sank softly under my weight. I popped the tab on the can.

Psst—!

A refreshing sound accompanied a strong, sweet cola scent. My tongue danced in my mouth. I couldn't resist the craving for something sweet.