REND

Reo Hinode (Oberon) – Part 2

 

Reo Hinode closed his eyes and stretched his arms. His hands brushed the walls of the small room on both sides. Fortunately, there was enough space for his ‘pose’. Such a stupid power he got from the artificial Core. He chased away memories of dumbass tests he had done until he got how his power worked.

Time to be Oberon, the king of fairies.

Tilting his chin up, he opened his mouth as he focused on Sneak, his loyal subject specialized in spying. Think of the little gray man, he told himself.  

Easier said than done. Extreme focus on a specific fairy was required to summon it, but his mind was filled with worries and fear. The image of Sneak was hazy. Faces of other people kept popping up. The phantom pain of getting stabbed by Rofirio was also there. It was hard to descend into a trance—some Buddhist zen meditative state, he’d like to think, even though he didn’t know much about Buddhism—because the possible ways he could die clouded his mind.

He suspected he unconsciously tried to get distracted so he couldn’t summon Sneak. And what would happen if he didn’t? Erind would continue her investigation. The longer they stayed on this level, the bigger the chance of getting found.

Found and murked.

Best get this over with.

Sneak! With one forceful thought, he zeroed in on the gray fairy. He chanted words that he didn’t understand. They just came to him.

One time, Reo recorded his summoning session and tried to decode the words out of curiosity. Nothing came of it. He didn’t pursue it further. His chant wasn’t nonsense—Dario had told them that all powers, whether from the Cores or Adumbrae, had underlying meanings. Reo realized he was better off not knowing what.

As Reo intoned bullshit, his whole body became numb. A sensation of falling into a hole followed, the same feeling when dreaming. He jolted when he ‘reached the bottom’. He could feel his body again, but could also feel another. An out-of-body experience was the best way to describe it. Something he had felt before when drugs could still affect him.

The summoning was successful.

He opened his eyes. It was total darkness.

No, there was a small light above him. He willed ‘himself’ to reach it. In reality, he was ordering Sneak to climb out of his body while sharing its senses. But unlike his other summons, he was conscious when Sneak was out. Reo could speak, feel things, and think. He had control of his body, but he couldn’t move, change his position, or open his eyes. Else, Sneak would disappear.

Reo wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay conscious. On one hand, even though Erind couldn’t fight, at least she could alert him.

On the other, it might be better if he was in a summoning stupor so fear wouldn’t grasp his heart.

Even if he wasn’t in this situation, a downside of summoning Sneak compared to other fairies was always present. Reo could feel Sneak climbing out of his throat while also seeing the inside of his throat at the same time. He tuned this part out.

“Uh, hello?” Erind squeaked. “Reo, you can speak when summoning this guy, right?”

“Sneak reporting for duty.”

Reo looked around the room with Sneak’s eyes. Everything was much clearer like a video on the internet suddenly turned from shitty to the highest resolution. He could pick out minute details—the fibers of the cardboard boxes, almost invisible dust mites on the floor, the individual pores on Erind’s face. She had a horrified, maybe disgusted expression, though trying to hide it. An expected reaction to seeing a small humanoid crawl out of her friend’s throat.

I guess we’re friends, Reo thought.

“Looks like you’re fine…ish,” said Erind with a grimace. “Sorry. Can’t help it. I’ve seen it before, but it’s really disturbing. Sorry again.”   

“Not my most flattering side,” said Reo. He ordered Sneak to look down at his body. “Can’t get girls with this pathetic pose.”

“Since I’m the only girl around here,” said Erind, “does that mean you’re trying to make an impression on me?” She hesitantly laughed.

Reo appreciated the attempt to make a joke. He had no intention of hitting on Erind. She was too plain, barely registering a blip on his radar. However, it made him think more about her. She was far from his type, but her grit and drive to do the right thing inspired him… and also guilted him.

“If I was trying to make an impression on you,” he said, “I wouldn’t have tried to back out in the first place.”

“But you’re here,” said Erind. “You didn’t abandon me.”

“Nothing to it,” said Reo, somehow feeling embarrassed. “I’m going now. Can you open the door? Sneak is too weak to do it.” Erind nudged it an inch open, and Sneak flew out. “Everything clear. I’m going back to that hallway with the bioscanner.”

“Be careful out there.”

“I’m always careful,” he said.

“If something happens to your fairy, you’ll also feel it, right? Like, if it dies—”

“I can feel it,” Reo curtly cut in. Why did she have to remind him? Now, he was thinking of Adumbrae eating Sneak, like the narrow shave he had at the docks. To change the subject, Reo said, “Don’t do anything funny to my helpless body. You may be tempted, but I’m pure.”

“Uh, I-I can put a mop on your head,” said Erind.

That got a laugh out of Reo, a real one. And a laugh of relief. Erind was quite the perceptive gal. She knew he was nervous and kept trying to make the situation light-hearted. But part of Reo also didn’t want Erind to think he was worried. A machismo bit going on. In the end, it felt nice that Erind cared for him.

“Don’t distract me now,” Reo said, turning serious. “Sneak’s passing by the bioscanners. No one here.”

“Just wait for someone to pass by.”

“I’ll park Sneak on the floor, by the corner. I’ll have a view of who’s coming from any direction and can sneak up on—”

Erind snorted, sounding like she was stifling a laugh.

Reo raised a brow of his closed eye. “What is it?”

“You said ‘sneak.’ Get it?” Erind said with giggles. “That’s the name of your fairy. It’s like characters in movies mentioning the title of the movie.”

Reo was tempted to open his eyes and give Erind an incredulous look. What was up with this girl? He didn’t know she had this quirky side of her. It was adorable in a way. If this was any other situation, he’d like to just chat with her and hang out. But they have a mission here.

“Anyway, I’ll keep Sneak on the floor,” said Reo.

“If he doesn’t move, he’s invisible. I remember.”

“No, not invisible. What’s happening is that once Sneak stays still, he doesn’t register in the consciousness of anyone who sees him. He’ll be like the social outcast in high school. Even if somebody bumps him, it’ll be fine, so long as his body doesn’t move. If he does, then, yeah, he’ll get seen. This is why it’s best to wait on the floor instead of the ceiling or walls for something to latch onto. No one’s going to notice that brief moment he’ll leap on a leg.”

“You’ve really thought up a strategy for this,” said Erind.

Reo felt his ears heat up from the praise. He wished he didn’t tie his hair in a ponytail so his ears were covered. “It’s not much of a strategy. Just common sense. Now, we wait.”

“I’ll keep you safe, I promise. I mean… that doesn’t mean anything, but I’ll do my best keeping this door shut.”

“Yell if something bad happens.” Reo appreciated that Erind kept talking to him. “That’s your part. The moment you sense something wrong, just yell. I’ll cancel the summon and take care of whoever it is.” As long as he’s a human, he added in his head.

After a minute of silence, Erind said, “I forgot to say thank you.”

“You already have,” Reo said, sighing. Was she trying to chat because she was nervous? Likely. He was too.  “Once again, I didn’t do any protecting. It was just—”

“I meant for saving me from the docks. Have I thanked you for that?”

“Probably.” Reo shrugged, arms still outstretched. “But you have nothing to thank me for. To set the record straight, that also didn’t count as saving. More on the side of finding you after the dust had settled. We didn’t stop the monster that was Red Hood. We didn’t do anything to the 2Ms’ men. Nothing.”

Reo wasn’t one to shy away from taking credit. If he didn’t find Erind when he did, who knew what bad things could’ve happened to her? True, they didn’t do any fighting—except Myra, though that wasn’t necessary—but they did find her. He found her.

But Reo didn’t want to take credit. Guilt stopped him. That time, they were tailing Erind on Dario’s orders. They were supposed to kidnap her so Dario could wipe her memory. It was for the group’s security. It was the most insane coincidence that Erind got kidnapped by the 2Ms, specifically Rofirio and his men, while they were watching her. What choice did they have? They had to go after Erind and get her because she might spill information about them.

“I’m thanking you for finding me,” Erind insisted.

“It was more luck that we found you in the rubble,” said Reo. He was tempted to say, I found you. “That doesn’t count. You talk of movies—think of it like the scene where the police arrive after the climax battle is already over and they have nothing to contribute.”

“The police did arrive. If you didn’t find me, they would’ve taken me into custody and investigated me, especially because the 2Ms and Red Hood were there. I’ll probably get locked up in quarantine and have tests done on me.”

“Fine, you win. On behalf of the group, I accept your thanks and say ‘You’re welcome’.” Then it was silence again.

They waited for several minutes more without anyone showing up. Reo started to think this was all a mistake. He relented to Erind’s plan and used his powers, hoping this would be over soon. It would be neat and quick: Sneak hitches a ride on someone, gets a view of the other side of the bioscanner, and Reo and Erind rush up to safety. Reo didn’t consider it might take time for Sneak’s ride to come. This is the exact opposite of quick!

Erind broke the silence. “Any sec—minute. Any minute now and someone will pass.” She must’ve noticed him fidgeting in impatience.

“I caught that,” said Reo. “You were going to say ‘any second’, but you realized it’s not going to happen soon so you changed it to ‘minute’. Every minute that passes, the danger grows. We should abort this mission.”

“No! We’re so close! Like, distance-wise. When it comes to time, I—yeah… I don’t know when someone will pass.”

Reo thought of the perfect plan to get out of this situation—set a time limit. They couldn’t wait forever; Erind couldn’t argue with that. Another five minutes, and if no one showed up, they’d leave. That way, it was up to fate, and it wouldn’t seem like he was running away. “How about this: if someone doesn’t come in—” Footsteps made Reo pause.

Clear and distinct. He heard it through Sneak’s ears. Fucking fate!

“Is someone there?” Erind asked.

For a moment, he considered lying. But there was no danger. Sneak would be the one doing the infiltration. “We have a target,” said Reo. “Here he comes. Another guy with the same uniform. Here… we… go… Agent Sneak has successfully attached himself to the target.”

“Finally,” said Erind. “I was getting worried there with all the waiting.”

Sneak needed to get up the leg to get a better view. He let go, zipped upward, and latched on again before the leg swung forward to step. Soon, Sneak grabbed onto the outer side of the man’s knee. It’d be too risky to go higher or the man might notice. Sneak clung sideways, facing front, craning his neck up to see as much as possible while holding that position.

“We’re through the bioscanner,” said Reo. “No alarms. This guy’s passing secure-as-fuck-looking doors. There’s a camera. We’re not getting through here undetected even if we got past the bioscanner.” He was already preparing lines to dissuade their group from going down here for when they’d meet later.

“What else? Where’s Sneak now?”

Reo narrated to Erind what Sneak saw. The corridor became narrower, and the steel walls were painted dark gray. Dim lights. More cameras. There were doors and side paths, but Sneak’s ride continued walking forward. He read the signs to Erind as the man descended the stairs.

“Containment facilities…” muttered Reo. “Containing what?”

“Adumbrae stuff, I bet,” said Erind.

“We reached a fork.”

“Go right. Same as last time—right’s the right way, right?”

“Go right, what? I’m not controlling which way we go. Or do you mean Sneak will fly on his own and—oh, the guy’s picked right.”  

“I’m telling you: right is lucky.”

The man stopped in front of a door. Sneak heard beeping. The man pressed buttons on a keypad. Concerning noises from the other side. Groans and guttural moans. Scratching and banging.

“I’m thinking we found where they keep monsters on the ship,” Reo said. “Erind, you may be on to something with your right-is-right thing.”

“I-I told you so,” she distractedly replied. She lowered her voice to almost a whisper.

“Something wrong?”

“No. Continue telling me what you see.”

Reo didn’t immediately talk. Were those voices he was also hearing? And footsteps?

He wondered for a moment if Sneak heard it or if it was on his side. They seemed distant and muffled, unlike what Sneak could hear. Must be the thick door. Erind would say something if danger was approaching.

The door swished open and Reo returned his focus to Sneak. The monstrous sounds turned up, along with mechanical clinks and clanks. The man walked across a bridge over a wide pit, his heavy shoes banging on the metal with each step. Too much noise.

But he was sure there was talking there somewhere. Coming from below, maybe?  

Since we’re already taking risks… Reo made Sneak look down. For a second, Sneak was visible. And there were a dozen possible witnesses right below them—but none were going to sound the alarm. About five feet from the bottom of the metal walkway were the roofs of large transparent crates, each one containing a monster. A mindless monster raving, banging on its cell to escape.

“The fuck!” Reo exclaimed. “Monsters galore!”

“Shut up,” Erind hissed.

Reo wasn’t listening. He gagged at the pageant of abominations, his stomach churning. Sneak’s vision was too good, even in the dim light. He could see the pus swirling inside the boils covering one monster’s face. To head off Erind thinking he was pathetic, he described what he saw to her.

Turned out to be a terrible idea because it made him want to puke more when he focused on each monster. There were some sounds that he was sure came from around him. Erind was probably trying to get away from him in case he vomited.

Was that the door opening? She seriously wasn’t leaving him here, was she?

“Hey, Erind. I’m not going to puke,” he said, making Sneak look forward. He had enough of the monsters. “Don’t get away from me like I’m the plague.” He laughed.

Erind didn’t reply. That was a lame joke, worthy of Everett.

Reo cleared his throat, turning businesslike. “If I have to guess what these creatures are, they must be mutants, failed experiments of turning people into Adumbrae. Either that, or they’re Adumbrae that lost control of themselves. Maybe this is part of the process of getting their selves back. Just go all wild and let the ferocity out of their system.”

Erind still wasn’t answering him. He heard more noises, but he wasn’t sure of what… and where they came from. This was another problem when using Sneak. It was like not knowing whether a ringing doorbell was his own or his neighbor’s because all of the apartments had the same ringing sound. This was also how Rofirio got him; Reo thought the sounds of that parrot creep were heard by Sneak.

The man that Sneak clung to reached the end of the bridge and entered another door. As soon as the door shut behind him, it became way less noisy. Sneak could still hear the monsters. But Reo could now discern more of the sounds around him.

“Erind?” he said. “Are you here?” He began to panic. Did something happen to her? “Erind, I’m going to open my—”

“Don’t,” Erind said. Then there was a click. “I’m here. Continue the mission. We need to know as much as we can.”

“What was that sound? Did you open the door?”

“I was checking outside if someone heard you shout.”

“I didn’t shout,” he said. “Okay, maybe I did. I would classify it as a yelp. But you shouldn’t go out of this room. Wait for me to finish Sneak’s snooping, and then we can both return to the elevator.”

“I think… I think we should move,” Erind slowly said. Then she hastily added, “Don’t break your summon.”

“Wha-what?” Reo almost opened his eyes.

“When I poked my head outside, I heard some footsteps. People walking not that far from here. You’re right, the longer we stay, the riskier it gets. But we also need Sneak to find out as much as possible. We should move while you continue investigating.”

“The hell? You expect me to walk on my knees, like doing penitence?”

“This isn’t the time to joke,” Erind replied. “Of course, you’re not going to move on your knees. Way too slow. I’ll push you while you kneel on this cart I found hidden behind the boxes.”