11:55 PM
Five minutes before midnight.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp..."
Sally downed a glass of sweet, icy green syrup with the blissful satisfaction only a child could know.
She sat on a cushioned bench inside the research wing, right next to Supervisor Jade.
The scene could've passed for a mother bringing her child to the hospital.
Once the drink was finished, Sally looked around unsure of where to set the paper cup. Jade offered to take it. The girl passed it over.
"Ma'am."
A medical officer hurried over and raised his tablet. With a flick, he sent the data wirelessly to Jade's pad.
"Thanks."
"Yes, ma'am."
The young doctor then turned to Sally.
"You're all done for today. Come back tomorrow, okay?"
"...It's over already?"
Sally frowned slightly.
"That's right~ All done for today. You can go rest now ☺"
Jade patted her head.
Sally didn't really know what they'd done to her. Truthfully, she hadn't felt a thing.
When Roxxy brought her in, the medical team put some weird oxygen mask on her, and not three seconds later—bam—she was asleep.
The next thing she knew, she woke up in a bed. Apparently five hours had passed. It was like being put under for surgery. In—out—done. What the heck?
"Yay~"
After that, she'd just sat out here waiting for results. Only about half an hour, really.
She'd been nervous at first—the staff looked intimidating—but most of them turned out to be nicer than expected. That helped her relax a bit.
She still didn't know what tests they ran, but hey—if it's done, it's done.
"Come on, follow me."
"Okay~"
She hopped down from the couch and toddled after Jade. Just then, she overheard a staffer teasing Jade.
"Oho~ Supervisor, practicing for motherhood? Haha."
Jade: "Just doing my job."
"Who's the dad, then? Supervisor Vega, right?"
Jade practically tripped over herself hearing that. Sally noticed how flustered she got.
"N-n-no! What are you even saying?! Not possible!"
She whirled around, desperately defending herself. The cool, composed image she'd cultivated evaporated instantly.
"Yesss, ma'am~"
"Ughhh... 😩"
They took the elevator down to the residential floor—the same one where the six-member group was staying.
But on the way...
"Hey hey…"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Who's Vega?"
Pfft!
"U-uh..."
"I heard them mention him. Who is Vega?"
"Oh, um, he's... a colleague. Works for the organization."
"Like Boss?"
"Yes, like Sid, Toshi, and Mickey."
"Oooh~ Is he hot?"
"Uh..."
Sally's eyes sparkled.
"Well... not really... haha. He's just a normal guy..."
"Hmmm… sounds suspicious~"
Slide.
Thankfully, they arrived before that conversation got worse. Jade used the excuse to press the elevator button.
"We're here~"
The corridor looked like something out of a luxury hotel. Gleaming white tile walls contrasted with black carpet and rows of sci-fi doors lining the hallway. So many rooms. So many twists and turns.
"Woooow~"
Sally stepped out, wide-eyed, taking it all in.
"This way, sweetie."
Jade led her forward, but just then—an incoming call buzzed through her smalltalk device.
"Oh—just a sec, Sally. Click. Hello?"
"..."
Sally stood around while Jade took the call. With nothing else to do, she idly scanned her surroundings.
Then she saw it.
At the end of the hall, just beyond a corner...
A woman—peeking out from around the bend, showing only half her body—and staring at them. Watching.
"...?"
Sally frowned.
She looked around. No one else was here but her and Jade.
So that woman had to be looking at her.
"...Huh?"
She pointed at herself, confused.
The woman didn't respond. She just stared a while longer, then slipped back around the corner and vanished.
"..."
Something compelled Sally to glance up at Jade.
Still on the call.
The little girl made a decision.
She walked off.
Toward the woman.
"..."
She reached the corner and peeked around—
There she was.
The red-haired woman.
"...Oh…"
The woman was walking away with her back turned.
Sally watched her go, curious.
But if she were older, she'd have noticed something odd…
There was no sound to the woman's footsteps.
"..."
In moments, she disappeared. But Sally didn't stop. She followed.
But she couldn't find her.
The red-haired woman was gone.
"Wha… where'd she go?"
Frustrated, Sally decided to use her power.
Her orange aura flared, and the symbol of an "eye" hovered beside her glowing green eye.
Thermal mode: activated.
Clusters of orange, red, and purple blobs appeared—heat signatures of everyone on the floor.
Some were gaming. Some were in showers—harder to see. Some watched TV, read books, etc.
But none of them were in the hallway.
"…Huh?"
Sally blinked.
She began rotating the spectral frequency—like tuning a radio.
With no technical knowledge, she blindly cycled through the electromagnetic spectrum. Until eventually…
Between radio and microwave frequencies… she found her.
"Ah! There!"
Sally toddled toward the curved wall up ahead.
Peeking around the bend—
She saw the red-haired woman again.
She was doing something in front of a room…
Stomping. Punching. Trying to break in.
But Sally didn't understand what she was seeing.
There was no sound.
So it just looked like some woman doing weird pantomime motions in front of a door.
"Um… what are you doing?"
"..."
No reply.
In fact… the woman didn't even acknowledge Sally.
Sally stepped closer.
That's when she saw her face.
And froze.
She could feel it.
The closer she got, the clearer it became—
This woman was furious.
"...…"
Suddenly, the woman stopped moving.
She stood still, staring at the door.
Then… turned to look at Sally.
Then turned back—and walked away.
"...…"
And right at that moment—
Slide.
The door opened.
And out stepped—
Jody Johansson.
"...…"
The two locked eyes.
And Jody said,
"…Sally???"