2-6 Answers

Date: August 25

Place: Kyoto Headquaters

[Rei]

    I woke up finding myself surrounded by them. Yui, Kazuma, Haru, and Misaki we're looking at meーno...us.

    I found Cedrick sleeping next to me, hands wrapped around me without his t-shirt. I heard them laugh as Cedrick slowly rose and rubbed his eyes.

"What's everyone doing in this side ofー?" he yawns and went silent as he saw me already sitting and he fell off the bed as soon as he realized why they were laughing.

"It's not what you think. It was hot, " he explained almost shouting as he hurriedly put his shirt back on. A couple of minutes passed and they're still laughing and teasing Cedrick.

    Someone knocked at our door and when Haru went to see what it was, there were foods outside the door that we all shared and enjoyed.

"I haven't eaten proper food for the last few days"

"This is delicious"

"Not bad"

    They commented.

    Haru and Misaki sat on the same end of the bed, Yui and Kazuma did too,  while Cedrick and I also sat at the end of his bed so we could hear each other properly.

    Even if they were talking and telling jokes to each other, while we're in the middle of eating I feel like the atmosphere was getting quieter and quieter. And every time my eyes met anyone, they just stare at me for a second and looks the other way.

"Doesn't anyone have a question? " I asked which made everyone stop everything they were doing and looked my way.

"What's your relationship with Cedrick?" asked Kazuma seriously which led the room to be filled with their laughter.

"Of all the questions, " Misaki said eating another piece of bread while giggling.

"Come on, I'm curious, " Kazuma explained smiling at everyone.

"Hey! I told you were notー" Cedrick tried to stop the topic but everyone told him to stay quiet.

"Shush. I'm not asking you, " Kazuma teased.

In a situation like this, I wonder what Kazuma was thinking. Maybe he just wants to lighten the mood. But I can see that they're all eager for an answer.

I looked at Cedrick, from his head down to his hands that are holding a piece of bread.

"What?" he says nervously when his eyes met mine as I scan him.

"Not now, " I said shaking my head.

"But soon, I hope, " I added and smiled which made them look at Cedrick and me with sparkles and awes in their eyes.

However, Cedrick didn't respond, and instead, I can see him blush when he turned his gaze away from me and took a bite from his bread.

I let a few minutes pass as they tried to tease Cedrick before I spoke.

"That isn't all, right?" with that question, everything went silent and tense. I feel like I'm interrogating someone.

They exchange glances for a second until one of them picked up the courage and asked me the first question.

[Cedrick]

"Yui mentioned to us that you had amnesia. Do you perhaps remembered something from the recent situations?" Haru asked with a serious tone as he looks Rei directly into her eyes.

I already know the answer to that but they don't. Rei froze for a moment and grinned. Like it was the question that she wanted us to ask. She looked at Yui and smiled.

"Yes," she answered shortly.

"What did you remember?" Yui instantly asked, leaving no second for Rei to think.

"My past, " she said.

"Why are you answering us with a few words only? I thought you're going to tell us anything we want to know?" Kazuma was pissed, he wants answers like there was no tomorrow.

"It's because none of you asked me the right question yet, " Rei said grinning like she was teasing Kazuma. But we all know that Rei isn't the type of person to tease someone.

"What are you?" I blurted out even if I didn't know if that was the right question. Looking at the floor, shivering at the words that Rei will tell.

When I turned to look at her, she was pleased.

"Favoritism" Kazuma commented which led Misaki to nudge him to stop.

"I'm a human being, just like you, " and with my question, Rei started to tell us her story.

All of us were like children who listens to the person reading us a storybook. We are paying attention to everything she says and no one interrupts her.

"I was an only child with a mother, a father, friends, and teachers. Although, I've never attended school and was never given a chance to live a normal life. My parents got me a private teacher and I was homeschooled. When I was five years old, they introduced me to some of their friends and their kids. We became friends for a few days. Play games, eat, study, that was my daily routine. Until one night, I saw my parents arguing about something. The next thing I knew I was hiding at the back of the car without my parents knowing I was there. They were still arguing even inside the car as they drive the long road. It took hours before we get to our destination. It was in a distant place, nowhere near a house or any city. They found out I followed them. And the next day, I was a test subject, along with some children around my age, " she said with a gloomy expression printed on her face.

"A test subject?" Yui said, confused. Rei only nodded and continued her story.

"Yes. It seems like they were working on some experiment and ran out of children to test them onto. At that time I didn't know what was happening at all. And just followed whatever my parents told me and wherever they take me, " Rei paused and took a sip at her water.

We were all eating while listening to her story until it gets worse and eventually lost our appetite.

"The people there were scientists, others with a unique profession and different passions. And it seems like their leader wants everyone to hand over at least one child. I bet that was why my parents were arguing. But they couldn't do anything. I saw some of my friends there too. They did awful things to us. Take our blood, our skin, or even parts of our body, " Rei paused again, holding her mouth like she wants to throw up.

She looks sick of remembering and retelling us the past that's better off buried. Everyone in this room was holding back tears while others were already sobbing. But none of us wants Rei to stop the story that we crave to know.

"Every second of every day, every child went to hell. I hear screams and crying every night as I sleep. One by one, children were dying. A few years after, I and some of my friends decided to escape. We wanted to leave that place for good. It took months to plan and prepare, " she says with additional grief from her earlier expressions.

"Is that where you learn how to plan, fight and move like that?" asked Haru and Rei just nodded.

"And how many of you escaped?" Yui asked with Kazuma calming her as she dries her tears.

Rei gritted her teeth at the question and sighed before she answered.

"Sadly, I was the only one"

That single phrase she said made us froze and look at her. I can't help but look at her with gloomy eyes like the others did even if I knew that already. Because this time, tears crawled their way down her cheeks. She tried to stop them from flowing, but it was useless. More tears rolled down as she sobs.

We were all out of words and my body can't even move to calm her down. Rei is crying in front of us. But we couldn't do a thing, Yui and Misaki were also crying. But funny, they're crying but only quiet sobs were only escaping them.

We just waited for her to speak again and break this awkwardness. There are a lot more things she hasn't told us yet.

"But the cruelest things of all were every child was assigned to be experimented by who brought them to that facility. For me, it was my parents who had no emotion every time they took away something from me. And every time a child dies, their parents follow, " another awful information entered my thoughts.

"Just thinking of it makes me sick, " coughs Yui.

"I'm sorry for making you tell us your past, " Haru said looking like he doesn't want to hear another unpleasant memory that Rei already buried deep inside her.

"It's alright, you deserve to know the truth, " she exclaims drinking her water until the last drop.

"But if you don't mind me asking, how did you have amnesia?" asked Kazuma like he didn't care about Rei's feelings.

And I think Rei hated Kazuma for that when I saw her gritted her teeth and grinned afterward.

"After I stepped out of the boundary and escaped, I have no idea what happened after I got out and I found myself in the middle of a highway at the midnight and some car hit me, and the next thing I knew I was asleep in a hospital bed, " she said brushing her tears away until they're gone.

"Who was that Uncle Leon who just got us everything in here?" Misaki asked.

I think we all wanted to know this for some time now. And right now, I am ashamed of myself for wanting to know more about what happened to her even if it pains her to remember everything. I'm sure everyone prefers to stop this question and answer but desires to find out everything we want is what we choose.

"If you still haven't noticed, he was also a scientist in that laboratory but I never once seen him in that place even if I was there for years. And earlier, he told me that he already quit as soon as he found out what was the purpose of the experiment. He's my real uncle on my father's side, " she answered us calmly.

"Then, what was the experiment about?" Misaki and Yui asked in sequence.

    Again, they couldn't hold back on asking such questions. And I think Rei is being torn apart at every question they shoot at her. Even I tried to ask her that back at the water park but she never answered me, instead she looked scared. Like she just saw death knocking on her door. 

    I looked at Rei wearing that same expression she has on the day when I asked the same question.

[Rei]

    I feel terrified at that question and what might happen if they find out. And if they react like the way I've imagined, I might regret telling them everything.

I looked at them one by one, Yui and Misaki were still sobbing, Kazuma and Haru were sadly waiting for my answer as they were at their girlfriend's sides calming them down. While Cedrick, averted his gaze when I looked at him. He looks worried and scared at the same time.

Even so, I can tell that they're all curious at what was the experiment that led thousands of lives to form a line at the death's door a few years ago.

I took a deep breath and gathered all my courage to tell them. But I looked at my feet that lay on the ground with black socks.

"Those zombie-like creatures that we've encountered are called 0-007 and are prototypes of every child in that facility, and that includes me, " I said.

I slowly lift my head to look at them. And it's just as I thought. They were horrified, they looked at me like I'm a monster. Kazuma and Haru even shielded their girlfriends from me when I stood up from the shock I got from their reaction.

I slowly turned my head to Cedrick who I found with wide eyes looking at me and hands covering his mouth. I tried to say a few more words but no voice came out of my mouth.

I sat again and regretted telling them that piece of information. I could've lied to them that I didn't know what it was or told them that I can't.

[Cedrick]

I can't help but be surprised at what I heard. I already knew that it was going to be something heavy to take in because she didn't tell me at first. I didn't even believe that she will tell everyone about it.

She looked at everyone's reaction and felt terrified herself when she sat down after she saw how I reacted. I can tell that she didn't want us to know about her secret in the first place. She must have thought it carefully, butー

Then there was a knock on the door. No one answered so he swung the door open and scanned the place where all of us were sitting and are in deep shock.

"Rei, your uncle wishes to see you, " he said and closed the door when Rei replied with a nod.