When the skies go dark

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”

— Haruki Murakami

. . .

It was two hours before midnight when her cellphone suddenly began it's incessant ringing. Cassandra–assuming that it was just probably Cyan calling to pester her why she missed dinner again for the fourth time this week and was still working at the office–opted to ignore it as she continued to pore over some of the files that needed her immediate attention or signature.

...until the noise finally bothered her.

Why was her brother even awake at this hour?

Barely suppressing an aggravated huff, Cassandra tugged the phone out of her pocket, mentally preparing the argument she’s going to present to Cyan...

That is, until she read the caller ID.

It was... Akihiro...?

She immediately swiped the screen to answer the call as she held the phone closer to her ear, doing a quick scan around her office just in case her bodyguard was within earshot… just because Anton’s not in plain sight doesn’t mean he’s not in this office.

“Nani?” she called asked when she didn't hear his voice right away.

There was a moment of silence.

It was kind of disturbing, to be honest. Cassandra was so used to her… former professor’s ability to always have a reply ready for the most part. And, well… he hadn’t really told her directly, but she was getting the feeling that Hiro wasn’t the type to contact one of his (former or not) students through a phone call. He’d always reached out to her by her school email, or he sends her messages.

“Uh... Lunamor?”

Cassandra very nearly sprang out of her seat.

That voice did not belong to Akihiro.

It sounded far too uncertain, lacking the faint traces of a Japanese accent that Cassandra had gotten so used in hearing from Akihiro whenever he speaks. And yet, for some odd reason, despite the fact that the voice who answered was not the one she's expecting and that alone is so wrong in so many levels, it was still… kind of familiar? She had heard this voice from somewhere… but where?

“Who is this?” she demanded, “Where did you get that phone?”

“Uh, it’s M-Mr. Anderson...”

She pauses. Her Lit professor...?

Cassandra is aware the two were close, possibly even best friends, from what she can tell whenever she sees them talking or sitting together in the academy's cafeteria.

The two reminded her of Colorado and Damian.

There was a faint shuffling noise in the background, a sound that made her snap out of her thoughts, “…you know, your professor in World Litera—oh, FUCK! IS HE DEAD?!”

Despite herself, Cassandra began to feel uneasy. She could practically feel the panic oozing from her professor’s usually cheerful voice. She couldn’t be too sure who the ‘he’ in question was, but she suspected that Professor Anderson most likely meant Akihiro.

She just hoped that he was wrong, that there might be some sort of misunderstanding... for Anderson’s sake, this better not be a prank call.

“Professor,” Cassandra began, in the calmest voice she can muster, effectively cutting the older man from going straight into a panic attack. Had he somehow forgotten that she was still on the line even though he had been the one to call her? Why did he even call her in the first place? “You need to calm down–”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?! KID, YOU DON’T GET TO TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Anderson’s unholy screeching noises barely made Cassandra wince (no thanks to receiving the worst of Cyan’s temper tantrums) although she did tilt the phone away from her a bit to spare her poor eardrum, “…your boyfriend is practically bleeding out all over my carpet! Which part was I supposed to be calm for?!”

…What?!

Cassandra’s pride would never let her admit it out loud to anyone, but her brain effectively felt like it just shut down in that one moment.

“Is this a joke?” she finally snapped.

The too many questions Cassandra had remained unanswered, much to her annoyance, no matter how much she raised her voice to the point that Anton and one of the guards she had stationed to her floor were now hovering by the doorway, looking concerned. She didn't even noticed they had knocked, let alone opened the door...

A bit distracted, and still incensed, Cassandra watched Anton’s mouth opening–no doubt to ask her if there was something wrong.

She angrily waved them both away as she tried to make sense of what was happening on the other line. Anderson may be no longer paying attention to her, but if she listens hard enough, she might have an idea what the hell just happened… unfortunately, judging from the faint sound of his voice, it seemed like he wasn't even near the phone anymore.

Then she heard it.

Akihiro’s name.

Anderson was pleading for Akihiro to stay awake.

This time, Cassandra did stand up.

Then, as she began to march out of her office without her coat and her phone still firmly placed by her ear, she hissed out an order to her bodyguard:

“Chiama SkyCare.”

Barely stepping out of her way, Anton pulled out his own phone and began dialing the emergency number before he hurriedly jogged after her to the elevators.

“Signorina, cosa sta succedendo?” he asked.

"Metti la linea sull'altoparlante." Cassandra simply told him as they both got inside the elevator. To the guard, she said: “Lock my office and secure the floor. I don’t want anyone else stepping foot here, especially inside my office until I come back.”

The guard nodded frantically just as the doors closed. Anton diligently held up the phone towards her. Someone had already picked up the call.

Good.

She’s not in the mood to wait.

“SkyCare Hospital, what's your—?”

“This is Cassandra Lunamor of Luna Enterprises,” Cassandra didn't even bother waiting for the lady to finish her sentence as she opened another tab on her phone–pointedly trying not to react as she can still faintly hear Anderson’s panicked calls for help on the other line–to search for the necessary details. “...my significant other was shot in his friend’s house. Get them an ambulance.”

She immediately listed out Anderson’s address (thank heavens unlike Akihiro’s, Anderson’s account was not set in private; the home address was literally posted on his social media’s background).

“I understand ma’am... but don’t worry, one of the neighbors have called a few seconds earlier and it is already on the way now.”

Not good enough.

“Have him placed in a private room as soon as he gets there. Put him under Doctor Florentino’s care,” she demanded just as the elevators opened once more.

“Yes, m–”

Cassandra barely waited for the agent to finish her sentence before she pulled away, a silent cue for her bodyguard to end the call.

As they both stepped out of the elevator, Cassandra kept silent as she tried listen to what she could still hear through her cell phone. From what she can hear, it seemed like the medics have already arrived on the scene and were telling people to back away, judging by the faint sirens that was going on and on in the distance.

She hung up.

There was no point in keeping the call going if Anderson couldn’t be bothered to answer... and no one’s going to tell her what the hell just happened to Hiro anyway.