Chapter 11: Neo

"The female pilot, Sharara and the male pilot, Dara are both wanted by the Castle authorities," says the man in the suit on the screen.

Dara squints at the screen.

Who is this person? I have never seen him on the first floor before.

"Sharara, focus. We need to quickly move to a safe place for now," he says to her telepathically.

Sharara snaps back to reality as she processes his words and moves, "I know a place," she says as she takes off running.

The large screen still broadcasts the news, "If anyone sees them, please contact the numbers displayed now. This is yours truly, Zahtan, from PNS."

The screen jumps to other ads.

. . .

"Great job, everyone! Update me if anyone approaches the gates and most importantly, I need to know where Pilot Alexio is─ " Zahtan stops talking as his eyes fall on the woman.

"Charlotte, honey, I want you to do me a favor. Follow me," he says, walking towards a door.

Charlotte follows behind slowly, her arms crossed. The door opens as they reach it, and she sees a man standing in front of an arcade cabinet.

"Can you keep an eye on him, please?" asks Zahtan as he gestures towards the man.

Charlotte looks at him expectantly.

"Oh, right. Here," he takes out a vial containing pills from his suit jacket.

The vial of pills steals her attention instantly and as he moves it towards her, she extends her arm in anticipation.

He stops right before handing it to her, "How about we make a deal? I will give you the first batch now, and another every week if you keep your eyes on him at all times," suggests Zahtan.

She pauses, her eyes on the batch of pills, "D-deal," she replies reluctantly.

"Great. Glad to have you back, love," he says with a smile, handing her the vial and hugging her.

"Alright, I have some stuff to take care of now. Remember to keep an eye on him and feel free to do whatever you want with him. If you want to contact me, here," he hands her a phone.

"Just contact me using this, it only has my number in it. Take care, love." he says as he turns and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. 

Once he's gone, Charlotte immediately takes one of the pills out and consumes it. She feels her nerves calming down as she approaches the man playing the arcade game.

"Hello," she greets but receives no response from him.

"Excuse me?" she calls as she approaches him.

The man continues to play despite Charlotte's calls. She comes to stand beside him and looks at his face.

Wait, he's that guy!

She recalls the first time she met the pilot. And then sorrow fills her face for a moment as she remembers the female pilot.

She sighs.

Why did Zahtan bring him here?

The man seems to have his full attention on the game. So, she waves her hand in front of his face, "Hello?"

"Huh, what?!" the man jerks backward.

The words "You Lose" flash on the screen.

"Damn it, I lost . . ." he mutters and then looks at Charlotte.

"Hi there, who are you?" he asks.

"My name is Charlotte, and I've been asked to accompany you," she replies.

"What about you? What's your name?"

"Name . . . I don't have one,"

"No way, are you from the void?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"As in, you have never been in any place like the Castle. You were in the void, the darkness that seems to have no end to it," she explains.

"I don't know the terms but all I know is that I have been falling in darkness all my life until I met the pilot and asked him to land on this Castle,"

"Wow! Your kind is very rare, especially the ones from birth. How did you learn how to speak?"

"I ─ I don't know . . .," he mumbles with a slightly distressed look.

Charlotte bites her tongue against the overflowing questions in her brain.

I should probably slow down and not overwhelm him with questions.

"Do you want to go out and grab a bite? I am pretty hungry," she asks.

"Sure," nods the man.

"Alright, follow me," she leads them out of the room, "By the way, what should I call you?" she asks as they walk out.

"Did you hear me?" she questions, turning around.

The man isn't following behind as she expects, and this freaks Charlotte out.

Where did he go? Not even 24 hours and I've already lost track of him!

She looks around frantically, trying to locate the man.

. . .

Woah, this is so cool!

The man looks around animatedly as he wanders around the first floor, staring at a group of people playing a game on a console.

Smack!

He feels something hit him at the back of his head gently.

"You gave me a heart attack!" Charlotte exclaims loudly.

"Sorry . . . "

"Jeez, you are like a kid," she sighs, looking up at the lights when an idea pops into her head.

"Neo," she snaps her fingers.

"Neo?" questions the man.

"I'll call you Neo from now on," decides Charlotte.