It had been nearly an hour since
school let out for the day. The sun
began to make its way across the sky, sinking lower and lower as the time flew
by. It was going to be another nice
night, warm and comfortable, but the sky suddenly began to grow an odd
reddish-purple color as if a storm was about to shake the heavens. There were a few clouds in the sky but not
many, not enough to warrant a severe storm of any sort of precipitation for
that matter. The sky itself was changing
color, slowly, gradually as the sun crept closer to the horizon. In only a few more hours, the sun would have
its rest and the world would grow cold and dark.
The night was Chryarnth’s favorite
time of night. It was quite, cold, and
somehow peaceful. Several nights a week
he enjoyed stepping out for an hour or more simply walking around town. The things he saw were both expected and
alarming, yet nothing would ever stop him from enjoying a night out. He had lived hardly no life at all; it was
about time that he started living again.
The world owed that to him.
During the day, he worked a small
person’s job at the PCM offices, although, ever since his “vision” of divinity
coming within his grasp, he somehow managed to make acquaintances with the higher
ups, namely Gulabel. This vision he had
seen one clear, winter day was that of a great bird falling from the sky, into
a giant pool of tears. He didn’t know
what it could have meant, at first he didn’t think anything of it, but as he
began to write down the details, the truth began to show its way to him. The bird he saw was golden, just like the
ancient god of forgotten times, and the lake was the location where the god was
said to have fallen after a great battle with opposing forces. He was shocked to hear that the people
around Tokyo knew hardly anything about this ancient legend, the legend of the
Golden Dragon, it was called, but then again, Chryarnth came from a small,
country village— if anyone still remembered these legends, it would be the
little folk in isolated, remote villages like his.
At least that was his explanation of
it all.
It was about 4:15pm and he was
supposed to be at work. His rank at
work was exceptionally high for his age.
No one below the age of 18 had ever held the top few positions at PCM,
but Chryarnth was different. Many of
his co-workers were a bit leery of him because of his age and his dark
demeanor. He was clean-cut and
handsome, but his eyes... His eyes are
what frightened the others. He looked
like a cat that had two different colored eyes; one was purplish-blue and the
other was a bright yellow-gold color.
The other workers would comment that his eyes are the gateway to his
soul and that since they were different colors was to show his own internal
conflict. “A war between good and evil
was raging within that man,” people would say.
With his short purple-blue hair and his ominous eyes, everyone wanted to
stay far away from Chryarnth. He just
seemed like a bomb ready to explode. In
fact, Chryarnth was a very calm and serious character, always to work on time
and he never turned in a single piece of work late.
Except this time.
He had no excuse as to why he was late to his late
afternoon shift in the office, but that did not concern him. He had Gulabel right where he wanted
him. He could come to work late every
day if it fancied him and nothing would happen because of his promise. And it was a promise that would eventually
come true. Time was the only thing that
now stood in his way. Everything else
had fallen into place just as he had suspected it would.
Chryarnth felt like a god, weaving around in the
world of the living, causing casual uproars here and there as he pleased, only
his prime uproar was forever set in his sights and it loomed before him in the
future— the near future. As he walked
along the street with the sun shining down upon his delicate, pale skin,
Chryarnth, in his black button down shirt that came up tight around his neck
and black dress pants and shiny black shoes, passed a hand through his
hair. The wind was strong this
evening. With every step he took down
the road, the wind continually blew the long strands of his hair in his eyes. He would have had to keep both of his hands
plastered to his head to keep his hair out of his eyes as he walked along, but
instead, he let the wind blow, he let it heave with all its fury. He did not care. In fact, he liked the way the wind parted and combed his hair,
only his co-workers would look at him just as strangely because of it.
With his hands in his pockets and hair strewn all
about, he stepped into the PCM building.
As he entered, the two young girls at the receptionist desk glanced up
at him and continued to stare as he passed by and into the elevator. Normally Chryarnth would have like to shoot
a black stare back at them, his two eyes clashing with light and darkness, but
he was on a mission... and he was already late for work.
As the double doors to the elevator closed and he
was finally alone for a brief few moments on the way to Gulabel’s office,
Chryarnth let his seriousness melt from his face. He was tired, perhaps just as tired as his target, but he had to
continue. Fate was driving him forward
now and he could not argue with it.
Still, he could sense his
feelings nearby. Yes, he was in the building at this very
moment. He knew it, he sensed it, and
he could almost hear the echo of his
mind’s voice in his black heart, coming from so very close by. Time was ticking, ticking by. Soon the tale will unfold, completely.
At the top level of the PCM building, the doors of
the elevator opened, and with his serious mask replanted, Chryarnth stepped out
and made his way along the medieval like path to Gulabel’s secretary.
With a cool look, Chryarnth spoke softly, “Sorry I’m
late. Is Gulabel in his office?”
“Oh, hi, Chryarnth.
Yes, Mr. Schmick is in the back.
He’s been expecting you,” the receptionist said.
“Yes, I’m sure he has,” Chryarnth replied. “Well, I suppose I should personally
apologize for my absence. Thank you,
Teresa.”
Nodding, the girl pressed a red button hidden
somewhere on the desk, which opened the two giant doors.
As the doors opened, the dark atmosphere inside
welcomed him, enwrapping himself in the warmth of the fire in the fireplace
along the wall. Good, Gulabel still
kept this room the way Chryarnth liked it, even if this wasn’t “his”
office. He liked it dark, he liked the
way the shadows danced about as the fire fed on a few logs. These shadows reminded him of something,
something distantly familiar and yet distantly forgotten. As he walked near the fire, he reached out
his right hand, his palm open to feel the heat. His fingers cast a shadow upon the stone floor, shadows that
wriggled and writhed like unearthly snakes.
The sight of the fire before his outstretched hand reminded him of
something, too, like a far off dream, but this dream was clear, crisp. He knew everything that happened in this
dream, knew every possible outcome, and knew how to manipulate it. Chryarnth was like a lucid dreamer with
everything and nothing at his grasp, but everything was just out of his
reach.
Suddenly he realized how close to the flame his hand
had become and he withdrew it as the sensation of pain crept up on him. It was the fire that made him lose his mind,
to get swallowed up in foolish dreams and memories. Memories did not exist as far as he was concerned. The only thing that was important was the
future.
“I see you are enjoying that old fireplace as much
as ever. Just be careful not to get
burned next time,” Gulabel said from behind a shroud of shadows.
Chryarnth clenched and relaxed his “burned” hand
then glanced up to Gulabel. “I am
fine,” he said plainly.
“Yes, of course you are.” Standing and taking a few steps toward his praised worker who
would give him everything he ever desired, Gulabel grinned. “So, have any new news for me, son?”
Still clenching and unclenching his fist, Chryarnth
stared off into the darkness before him.
“Yes, I do. In fact, the one who
can give you everything is in this building.”
How could that be?
Did Chryarnth already retrieve the one?
With an unbelievable look of impatient anxiety, Gulabel nearly grasped
Chryarnth by the throat to demand more details than simply knowing that the one
was in the building. Calming his mind,
Gulabel stood before the young man calmly and took a deep breath. “When will our plan unfold, then?”
“At any moment, it shall all begin, however, I
cannot foresee if the approaching opportunity will fully awaken the power that
you want.” Just as soon as Chryarnth
spoke these few words, Gulabel’s face eroded into a deeply angered frown. “Don’t worry,” Chryarnth continued. “Your understudy is about to make use of Dr.
Fankoli’s facility to unknowingly further your desires.”
“How does Dr. Frankoli have anything to do with
this?”
“Absolutely nothing, however, his psyche/mechanical
tools are just what we need to spice up the action around here.”
Sitting his fat butt on the end of his desk, Gulabel
folded his arms across his chest. “I
really wonder how you know everything that you do, son. I do hope you will share the knowledge with
me at some point.”
That’s what everyone wanted:
knowledge and power, power and knowledge.
When humans want such things, it’s all to easy to tease them with the
possibility of one day obtaining such desires.
Chryarnth felt like he was dangling a carrot just out of reach of a dumb
work horse. Granted, Gulabel was
smarter than some, but still; he was no genius.
“Unfortunately, that was not part of
the deal,” Chryarnth answered at last, as he turned to walk out of the shadowy
office.
“Now just wait a minute.” Quickly standing to his feet and nearly
running after Chryarnth, Gulabel grabbed his arm, turning him around. “You promise me the power of a god, you tell
me that the one who can give me that power is in the building as we speak, and
you don’t bother to mention how you or anyone else is going to harness this
power? No, unacceptable. I want some answers now.”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Schmick, you are
not in the position to demand answers.
You will get what is yours, when it comes. Now, if you would please excuse me. I have matters to oversee.
Unless, of course, your desire to become something more than human has
changed...?”
“Never,” Gulabel spat as he
violently withdrew his grasp. “I will
never stop this blaze of desire within me.
If it is as you say and the one is here, then I leave it to you to take
control of the situation. When should I
expect some results?”
Again, as if it was none of his
concern, Chryarnth turned around and started walking toward the doors leading
out of Gulabel’s office room. “By the
end of today, you shall have some answers.”
With nothing more than a cool look over his shoulder, Chryarnth walked
out of the room, the doors closing swiftly behind.
By the end of the day... That is when a new god will be born. It was almost too much to contain, too much
to keep hidden away inside. Gulabel
wanted to dash around the entire building to find this person who could give
him such power and wring his neck until he did. He had never wanted something so badly as he did now. What more could he want besides omnipotent
power? Nothing! There was nothing else to be wanted besides
that! Gulabel slowly stepped around his
desk, glaring at his uncomfortable desk chair.
How many years had he put up with that piece of junk? Too long!
Soon, he would never have to worry about managing his job or the people
working beneath him, or his family back home, or anything else for that
matter. The average Joe did not matter—
they could all fade to nothing as far as he was concerned. All he wanted was that one thing, and he
would not let some young kid push him around in order to get it. Angered greatly over the whole situation,
Gulabel kicked his chair across the room, where it smashed against the
wall. He could not wait any longer.
Breaking into a sort of sprint,
Gulabel threw open the doors. “Hold all
my calls, Teresa. I’m going to be out
for a while.”
“Yes, sir. May I ask where you are going?”
“I am going... to achieve my
dreams.”
**********
Dr. Frankoli’s lab was located on
the 7th floor of the PCM building, away from the office workers and
just close enough to the head master’s—Gulabel’s— office. These halls were far different than the
plain gray halls Hisoka was familiar downstairs. The tiles on the floor and walls were a sleek purple color, like
rare amethyst gems. It gave the whole
area an unexpected eerie feeling, one of both excitement and dread. A whiff of something putrid wafted about as he
walked by. Hisoka suddenly felt like an
injured animal being taken to the vet.
No matter how much he struggled to escape the strange sights and smells, the anticipation would never go away. Only, a new sense of relief entered his
spirit as he began to focus on the positive out come after whatever test Kaori
wanted to perform.
As Kaori led Hisoka into the main lab room, past
strange mechanical devices, robot experiments and assemblages, animal
experimentation tables, and psyche experiments and research centers, they
finally came to a device with a large plack on the front of it, labeled in
silver, “Dredge.” It looked like a huge
fish bowl with a bubbler aerating the green-blue water inside. The color of the water reminded him of the
ocean or maybe even a lake that he had seen sometime during his life. The light as it passed through the water
flickered on the purple tiled floor, making the area seem even more
surreal.
Hisoka didn’t have a clue what Kaori had in mind,
but the curiosity that he felt when he first saw the smoke coming from his hand
returned, pushing him forward to find out more information about this place,
what all the machines were for, what they did and why. He felt strange when this emotion washed
over him; it was like he was a little kid, or a kitten getting into
mischief. He watched as Kaori stepped
up to what appeared to be the control panel to the machine. She pressed a few buttons and suddenly the
device roared to life, the pitch of the mechanical hum growing higher and higher
until it finally reached its idle speed.
“There,” Kaori said, turning to look back at Hisoka,
who had just stepped up beside her. “It
sure doesn’t take long for these heavy-duty machines to boot up, does it? Certainly isn’t my 486, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah right,” Hisoka grinned. He couldn’t stop looking at the huge thing
in front of him, wondering what it could be or what it could be used for. “What is this thing?” he said at last.
“Oh, this?
This is the Dredge, as you can see, of course. Uhh, this big guy is what I think will show us the problems that
you’ve been having and tell us why.”
How could a piece of machinery do something like
that? It’s impossible! It was just a take full of water… or so he
thought. Kaori was surrounded in the
strangest sort of work, and she already showed him the odd power this place
had—fire/heat proof gloves and now this?
What was the PCM anyway?
Hisoka stared at the marvel before him, the color of
the blue water shimmering on his own blue eyes. All of a sudden he began to feel sleepy as he looked on, sleepy
or dizzy. Blinking hard a few times, he
pushed the feeling away, then looked back to Kaori. “Well, what do you want me to do?”
“Oh, right.
This is too exciting. ‘kay,
follow me.” Again leading Hisoka around
a few turns down the lab to a metal clauset, Kaori unlocked the door with her
key. Several black leather suits of
some sort hung neatly in a row. “Here,
you need to put one of these B.O.D.I. suits on,” she said. “This one will work, I think.” She took one of the suits out and gave it to
Hisoka, who just looked at it oddly.
“What’s this thing for?” he asked as he examined it
closely. It was made out of a strange
material that he had never seen before.
It was almost like soft leather, but it wasn’t. It was like a cross between the soft touch
of leather and strength of metal. Along
the seams where small worm-like structures, weaving in and out of the fabric,
that covered every appendage of the suit.
“That is a B.O.D.I. suit: Bio-Organic Dredge Interface. It is what connects the wearer with the
machine and helps us figure out what is wrong.
With past studies, it is said that the Dredge Unit can even sense or
read a person’s destiny, if you believe in that.”
“You’re right.
I don’t believe it,” Hisoka said blandly. Feeling the first impulses of skepticism setting in, Hisoka
sighed, suddenly feeling tired again.
“Well, here.
Let me show you where you can put that sucker on before you start to
fall asleep standing up. I know those
things are pretty heavy,” Kaori said.
Lightly stepping a short distance away, she pointed to a white door at
the end of the hallway. “You can get
changed in there. Then whenever you’re
ready we can get started.”
“Right. I
guess now’s the time to get this over with, huh?” Hisoka said as he began
walking down the short path toward the white door.
Kaori watched as Hisoka pushed open
the door and walked into the dressing room behind. She knew what she had to do next, and she had to do it
quickly. Swiftly making her way back to
the console in front of the Dredge, she picked up a phone receiver that was
attached to the left side of the console.
She dialed a number waited for the other end to answer.
“Hello?” said a woman, a voice Kaori
knew very well by now.
“Hi, Aiko. We’re just about ready to start things down here.”
“Oh, dear god...” she said under her
breath. “Is it really time for this
again?”
“Yeah,” Kaori said, watching the
doorway where Hisoka passed through across the hall. “But I think it will work this time. Besides, with the new machinery that we have now, I can’t see how
anything could go wrong.”
“Yes, I know... I wish I could be there,” Aiko said, her
voice trailing off.
“Don’t worry about it, Aiko. I’ll take care of things here. We all know that the people downstairs would
kick you out the second you tried to come in here again.”
“I can’t believe they still hold
that against us. It wasn’t like I
personally did anything to that thing.
It was all Toosei’s fault, that rash man. Kaori, the PCM is dangerous!
I don’t know why you still insist on working there or using them to
“help” Hisoka... I don’t like them,
especially when they are the ones that have my son’s life in their
hands... I’m coming over right now.”
“No, Aiko, listen you can’t. I am on your side okay? Don’t ask me why they still think that you
were somehow responsible for destroying the old Egdert...”
“Don’t remind me...”
“Sorry, but I can’t help but laugh
when I think of that time... Seeing the
pieces of Egdert flying all around. I
hated that machine, you know? It was
such a piece of junk. But...”
“Well, whatever it did, it certainly
did something to Hisoka... He was too
young to really remember anything about it.
He still thinks that his father died of a heart attack in his
sleep. How could I tell him that Toosei
died to free him from that horrible machine.
I know all that is in the past, but I cannot forget what happened. I’m just afraid that history is going to
repeat itself.”
Glancing back down the hallway
again, Kaori noticed Hisoka looking around for her as he walked out of the
doorway. “Well, listen. I have to go now. Looks like Hisoka’s ready to go.”
“I’m so sorry you have to take all
of this upon yourself, Kaori. If only
there was something I could do to help...”
“Don’t worry! You worry far to much! Now, I have to go before Hisoka gets
suspicious. I’ll call you later
tonight.” Quickly putting the phone
back where she found it, Kaori turned back around and met up with Hisoka,
standing awkwardly in the B.O.D.I. suit.
He looked so silly, she thought.
The suit was designed to connect a person’s mind and body to a computer
in order to diagnose far more complex conditions, such as Hisoka’s. The suit was made out of a strange, thick
material and the cords that wove in and out in an upside-down U shape that ran
the length of the suit made him look like some sort of alien from another
planet, or a crazy astronaut in a newly designed space walking suit. They were designed to attain the maximum
performance from the device not for fashion.
As Kaori continued to look at him, she started to laugh, covering her
mouth daintily.
Hisoka was not enjoying
himself. The suit was too damn tight
and it made him itch. It was difficult
to walk without waddling back and forth with all the cords and whatnot sticking
out of the material. Not to mention the
way it looked at all, but it was hot too!
The material stuck together just like leather when he walked or tried to
move his arms. So in the end, he ended
up walking up to Kaori, moving like a robot himself.
“Okay, you can stop that now,” he
said when Kaori couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the sight.
“Ohhh,” she giggled, trying to catch
her breath. “I’ve heard that those
suits were butt ugly, but man... I
didn’t think they were going to be that bad.
Hahaha.”
“Great. I’m glad I’ve accomplished something in my life. I just never knew that it would only be to
make you laugh.”
“Oh, don’t feel bad about it. It’s not like I’m gonna take your
picture... Wait a minute. You know, that doesn’t sound like a bad
idea...”
“What?” Hisoka said, his eyes bugging out.
A huge grin peeled across her face
as she jumped over to grab a small Polaroid camera that was lying on a
cluttered desk next to the Dredge console.
She picked it up and held it up to her face, ready to take a snap before
Hisoka could dart out of the way.
Holding up his hand to cover the
lens, he frowned darkly at her, “No way.
You’re not going to get a shot of me in the ridiculous thing.”
“Ohh, Hisoka!” she whined like a
five year old little girl. “It would be
funny!”
“Yeah, for you! Just put it down, would you? We’ve got other things to deal with.”
Why did he always have to be the
party-pooper? But he was right. This was a big step in this sort of
research. With the results taken from
the Dredge machine, who knows where that would take technology in the future,
not to mention studies of the human mind.
Other experiments had been done with the Dredge but only very minor
cases; people with DID, amnesia, that sort of thing. Whenever Kaori was excited about something, she tended to get
carried away and act rather silly. She
realized how much like a little kid she must have looked like and she frowned.
“Fine then, fine. I won’t take your picture, but it would have
been a great one...” She set the camera down on the main console of the Dredge
and looked back to Hisoka. “Well, are
you ready, bud?”
“As ready as I ever could be. I just want to get this, whatever this is,
over with— and get out of this suit!” Hisoka said, uncomfortably itching his
side.
“Heehee, right. Okay then, what I need you to do is step
over here on this platform,” Kaori told him, walking over to a small platform
made out of a metal grate that could be seen through once it lifted off the
ground. It was only maybe 15 feet long,
the console that controlled the platform stood to the far left front of the
platform. Kaori stepped up onto the
platform and stood behind the console.
“Here, just stand here. Now,
careful not to lose your balance when this thing moves up. I’ve told the people who made this thing
that they needed to add railings so people don’t fall off it, but no... Nobody ever listens to the wise Kaori!”
“Heh, I think I’ll be fine, Kaori,”
Hisoka grinned slightly as he looked upward to the top of the Dredge. It was a huge machine, indeed, but Hisoka
was never afraid of heights, much.
“Alright, let’s go!” Kaori pressed the little blue button in the
shape of an up arrow and instantly the platform quaked and lifted off the
ground.
As the platform continued its ascent, more and more
of the lab could be seen. Hisoka
cautiously turned around, away from the Dredge, to get a better view of the
whole lab area. He could actually see
the workers now. Why he hadn’t seen them
before he wasn’t sure, but he watched as they walked their way through the maze
of machines. He watched one person
dressed in black standing among a group of scientists staring up at him. He didn’t think much of him, even though the
rest of the scientists were all dressed in the usual white lab coats. Hisoka imagined that not many people
actually got to see the Dredge in action, so that was the reason for the
attention. Only he felt strange as the
man looked up at him. It was like the
man knew exactly what was going on and how it would all turn out. A very frightening feeling. But what else was new? Forgetting the whole awkward feeling, he
turned back around and watched as they slowly approached the top.
“Okay,” Kaori said once the platform came to a
complete stop. She hit the lock button
to keep the platform safely in place.
“Now comes the instructional part of the trip.” She stepped off the elevator platform and
onto the main Dredge deck that circled a small opening into the center of the
machine. Pointing to the hold, she
continued, “This is what I like to call the Fish Bowl Hole. Eventually, when you’re ready, you need to
jump down in there.”
“Into the water?”
“Yip. No
worry about air. That is specially
oxygenated water— If you’ve ever seen that old movie “The Abyss,” this is
basically the same thing. It might take
a little while for your body to adjust to it, but you really don’t need to
worry about that. That’s it for the
Water Instruction. Now, if you were
wondering why the B.O.D.I. suit is covered in those weird computer cords: Those are the internal circuitry of the
Dredge. Since there’s really not much
machinery actually in the tank here, the suit makes up for it— so really, the
Dredge is actually the suit you are wearing.
Once you jump in and are ready to begin, I’ll be back down at the
console down below. I will flip the
switch to activate the machine. What
will happen from there will be a blur to you.
You will sort of drift off into a deep sleep— don’t get this confused to
what happened to you before with that dream...
That will not happen here. When
I mean you’ll drift off to sleep, I mean that you will sleep— you won’t have
any dreams or anything like that— you’ll just be out of it.”
Hisoka sighed and said sarcastically, “Great, that’s
good to know.”
“Anyway, that is when I should be getting some
readings on the monitor down below. If
all goes well, I’ll be able to know exactly what’s going on with you in about
an hour.”
Looking down at the green-blue water below, Hisoka
repeated quietly, “An hour...”
“Yeah, it sounds like a long time, but really, you
won’t have any concept of time while you’re in there. So, have any questions before you take the plunge?”
He shook his head.
What questions could he ask? He
suddenly began to feel pulled in two directions: to go through with Kaori’s
plan, and not to, to simply walk away.
But no matter what he thought or felt about it, he knew he had to go
through with this test. If there was
any way to finally learn what was happening to him, he wanted to do it. He wanted to know. Then, like she said, if all goes well, perhaps there could be an
end to the conflict within his being, maybe then the demon would disappear from
his mind, and maybe then he could continue living his life— a normal life. That’s all he wanted.
Looking back to Kaori, he said, “I have no
questions.”
“Okay then!” she nodded, excited to be starting her
first Dredge mission. “I’ll get ready
below. When ever you feel up to it,
just step off the deck here and enjoy your nap!” With that said, she stepped back onto the elevator platform, hit
the red down arrow button, and began her slow descent to the main level.
He was alone now, on top of the world. Stepping to the edge of the deck, gazing
down into the blue depths, he wondered what would come of this test, what would
he learn in the end. Maybe he wouldn’t
learn anything at all, and then again, maybe everything would suddenly make so
much more sense in his life. When it
all comes down to it, he was doing this for that sole reason: to get control
over his life. Ever since the lightning
incident, which wasn’t too terribly long ago, something was set out of balance—
whether it was within himself or within the whole course of the planet. He doubted it was anything that serious to
involve the fate of the planet with his own, but it was an interesting
thought. It made him think of all those
old Armageddon movies and books that he heard so much about. What if this was only the beginning of the
end, the end of everything? What if the
results would tell him that he really isn’t human and that he truly is some
sort of demon set out upon the earth to destroy everything and all? What if what the demon said was true? “If you say I am a demon, then so are
you!” What connection did they have, if
anything at all? There were just far
too many questions without a single, easy answer. He could never attempt to answer them himself, so he was going to
let a machine answer them for him.
He looked back down to Kaori, who had just made it
back to her control station in front of the machine. She excitedly waved a hand at him to let him know everything was
all set. All that was left to do was
jump, jump off and into a world where endless possibilities were born, raised,
then killed. What would happen when he
steps off the ledge and into that thick sludge below? Was Kaori right in saying that he would be able to breath under
there? She would never lie to him, and
yet it was very difficult for him to believe.
Taking a deep breath, he raised a foot over the
ledge. What was there to fear? Nothing!
There was absolutely nothing that he logically could be afraid of. The only possible thing that thoroughly
frightened him was the thought of the demon, and if this machine could somehow
erase that being from his mind, then there was nothing to fear. He had no pleasant life to look forward to
as it was now, but if he was able to learn what was going on with his life and
be able to fix it, then he could very well life a normal, happy life. But that possibility only existed after the
Dredge test. So he stepped off the
ledge, first holding his breath, and splashed into the tank.
“All right, he’s in,” Kaori said to herself as she paid close attention to the many screens that now lit on the console. One screen was a basic life support screen that showed various medical conditions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate. Just before he stepped into the tank, his heart rate and blood pressure spiked up slightly, just enough to notice a change. And now that he sunk into the center of the Dredge, she noticed one area of the medical screen fall below recommended levels. He wasn’t breathing like she had told him to. She looked back up at him, saw his face contorting as he instinctively tried to keep in the last breath. “No, Hisoka, breathe! Breathe in the water!”
Hisoka didn’t know what was happening, he remembered
what Kaori had said about the water, but he couldn’t do it. It was like his body refused to believe that
he could survive and actually breathe
the water. He could feel the last bit
of air catch in the back of his throat, feeling as if he were losing grasp of a
rope that kept him from falling down the length of a steep mountain. That mountain was life, and the crevasse
below was death. He didn’t want to let
go of that rope, but eventually, he had no choice. At last he lost control and tried to breathe the water in. The first thought that crossed his mind was
that he was drowning.
A high pitched beep sounded along with a little red
light that flashed on Kaori’s computer screen next to the respiratory and level
of oxygen in his blood. She knew it
took a little while to get accustomed to the water, to be able to breathe it
in, but she couldn’t imagine that it would be this difficult to adjust do.
“C’mon, Hisoka!
Just breathe the darn stuff...”
There wasn’t much she could do on this end. She could try and get him out before he
drowned in the tank, but it would take too long before she could make it up to
the top and use the big crane to fish him out.
Suddenly a time limit of 60 seconds lit up on the screen. It was hard to determine how long it would
take for an average person to drown without taking a breath, so the default in
the computer was set to 60 seconds. As
the time counted down, Kaori jumped up and down, screaming at the Dredge,
“Shit, shit! C’mon! Breathe dammit!”
45 seconds.
Kaori didn’t understand it. Hisoka was breathing in the water, but he
wasn’t getting any of the oxygen from it.
Why? Did he has some strange
body that couldn’t take in oxygen of a different form? The PCM scientists didn’t take this into
consideration! Kaori never would have
put Hisoka to this sort of risk if she had known that there would be a problem
in adapting to the water.
30 seconds.
She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what was wrong in order to
fix it. She didn’t know what to alter
in the system to help him adjust to the water if he was able to do so in the
first place. Then the same man that
Hisoka had seen as he accented to the top of Dredge approached Kaori at the
console.
25 seconds.
“Let me give you a hand,” he said, alerting Kaori of
his presence.
She quickly flipped around at the sound of his
voice. Before her stood a man of
mystery, a man dressed completely in tightly fitting black clothes. His purple hair hung loosely about his face
and hung down in his eyes, his clashing light and dark eyes. Kaori knew this man, well, she didn’t really
know him, but she knew of him. There
had been word of him somehow gaining the trust of Gulabel and manipulating his
way into whatever he wanted. What was
he doing here, she wondered. She would
have taken the time to ask him, but there was no time to waste.
15 seconds.
“I think you have a setting on the suit setup
wrong. It’s what tells the suit that
then tells the body to take and use the oxygen from the water.” He approached the console and nearly pushed
Kaori out of the way. His hands flew
over the console, hitting buttons here, flipping a switch there, and
compensating for others that would not function at all. “There, that should do it.”
“What’d you just do!? You have no authority to be in this area!”
5 seconds.
“Don’t worry.
He’ll be fine. Just tell him who
he owes his life to once he gets out.” Just
as mysteriously as he appeared, the man casually lurked away from the scene.
“Hey! Hey!!”
Kaori yelled after the man. But he was
gone, disappeared. Disappeared just as
the air from Hisoka’s lungs disappeared and filled with water.
0 seconds.