The thought struggles up through the molasses drowning my mind. I turn my eyes up at Jax as she approaches.What did you do to me?I try to demand an explanation. But my entire body feels like it’s made of rubber now, and even as I stay awake, I find myself sliding sideways until I’m lying on the floor, focusing on Jax’s boots. My heart beats rapidly, the sound drumming in my ears.
Am I dreaming?
No, I’m awake. I can see what’s happening around me, eventhough it seems to be happening inside a dim tunnel, and the edges of my vision are dark.
The next thing I remember is the feeling of my arm draped around Jax’s shoulders. Of her dragging me down the tunnel and toward a black taxi. I try to focus on the four-leaf-clover symbol on its glowing cab light. The faint smell of new leather permeates the space. Jax looks down at me. From my view, her face is swimming in a haze.
“You’ll be fine,” she says calmly to me. “You just won’t remember this tomorrow morning.”
My head lolls weakly to one side as the car begins to move, rumbling over the unfinished tracks in the tunnel. Slivers of weak light illuminate parts of the dark passage, and I remember the flash of gray against black against gray on the fabric seats. I struggle to remember our route. My heartbeat is irregular, fluttering frantically.
Can I record a Memory? I try to bring up the menu, try to send an invite to connect to Hammie or Roshan—to anyone—but my mind is far too numb to make it happen.Help me.I try in vain to send a message out.Help.I want to scream Jax’s name as I stare at her, but I feel like I’m still wading through the air, and my tongue feels thick and immobile.
My level changes as we emerge from the tunnel into the night, and suddenly we’re surrounded by office buildings that rise up along either side of the street like woods bordering a path. They stretch up ominously like living things.
Welcome to Omotesando District!
+150 Pts. Daily Score: +150
You Leveled Up!
Level 85
My determination momentarily shifts as I notice the change in the sky’s colors. Unlike Shinjuku, where the Phoenix Riders’ scarlet and gold coat everything, Omotesando’s favorite team is the Winter Dragons—so the sky here is covered instead with a sheet of undulating blue and orange-gold. The light posts are draped in vibrant banners, and over them hover virtual versions of the Dragons’ players.
Jax leans over briefly to check on me. She barely glances at the passing celebrations, and when she does, she watches them stoically, without much interest. I fight to keep looking at her, but my thoughts fade into darkness.
My nightmares are full of faces. There is Jax’s grim look as she points her gun down at a human and puts a bullet through his skull. There is Hideo, his voice whispering my name close to my ear, his furrowed brow cutting dark lines over his eyes, his hair brushing against me as he leans in.
Then, there is Zero. A mystery. I can only see him in the form I’ve known, his black armor reflecting red light surrounding him, his features completely hidden behind a black helmet as he sits across from me and laces his fingers together. He’s telling me to run.
I don’t know how long we ride in the taxi before it finally comes to a stop behind a building.
Jax opens my door and helps me out. I turn weakly toward her, trying to move my limbs, but all I can feel is the faint sensation of pavement beneath my dragging feet. Jax has her arm around my waist, keeping me up, and she’s saying something to people standing at the building’s sliding glass doors. It looks like a hotel.
“Out partying too hard,” she explains in a singsong voice to the attendee at the entrance. I want to blurt out that she’s lying, but it takes all my strength just to stay upright. The world spins.
Remember this. Remember this.But even the thought itself flitters out of my mind the instant I think it. My vision blurs more, and the more I fight it, the more it fades. I end up focusing on Jax. She runs a hand through her hair and casts me an unconcerned glance.
There’s the inside of an elevator, then a hallway. As I start to fade away again, all I can hear is Jax announce our arrival.
“Tell Zero she’s here.”
4
Five Days until the Warcross Closing Ceremony
Darkness. Two voices.
“She should have been up by noon. You shot her with too strong a dose.”
“I thought she could handle it.”
“Let her sleep, then.”
Weak light slanting across my face makes me squint.
I roll over in bed and curl into a ball. Where am I? A swirl of images rotates through my mind—dreams, maybe, but brighter, hazier in a way that I can’t explain. I furrow my brow.
