Chapter 17 - Pessimistic
Tokyo Underground Base
Level 12: Civilians Level
Section One: Marketing Hall
Millions of citizens of Tokyo roamed around in the extra-large hall, doing various activities. Bunkers for trade lined at the corners, the center long passage filled with space, people walking to and fro, bright light sensors, bright as day, enlightened the wide hall like daylight. Whispers, talks, and chats could be heard in every corner.
Uchida Anzai having dark brown shoulder-length hair unkempt and dull reddish-brown eyes was seated on the floor, his back against the iron wall far from the crowd passing by, his eyes bore on others as he drunk himself with each sip from the bottle of alcohol he held, his dull eyes landing on the picture he held, he took another sip his eyes not leaving the picture.
"Anzai-san!".
His head shot up when he heard his name, it came from a middle-aged man halting his steps in front of him. Anzai grins.
"Ha... Kado, you're here" Anzai said hiccupping, his cheeks flushed in a matter of seconds. Kado scowls at his actions, he had black hair and black bright eyes full of life.
"Now's not the time to be drunk, quick... the patrol team is coming!"
Anzai chuckles deeply, holding onto the wall to steady himself, he leans shakily.
"What will I do without you?"
"Well you will be fraction-less that's what!"
Anzai features gloom in amusement, he shoves the picture he held into his pocket and brought out a packet of cigarettes.
"I still don't get why you won't register yourself and gain a fraction".
Anzai just rolls his eyes lighting his cigar in his mouth with a lighter, he knew Kado was scolding him again, he liked the guy cause he always looks out for him whenever the patrol team began supervising the matters on each fraction to keep the baserunning. Kado meet Anzai when they were moved to the base, Kado was speechless and bewildered when he saw Anzai covered in wounds, they entered the same tanker when they were moved to the base, not bothering to ask what caused his misfortune, Kado just helped him out and they became sort of close. And to make things weirder, Kado knew nothing about Anzai, just his name Anzai.
Kado sighs knowing Anzai wasn't listening to any words he was saying about him joining a fraction and making a living for himself.
"And you are ignoring me again," Kado said sighing out a poof of smoke.
"You sound like an annoying dad when you say things like that" Anzai said amused.
Kado just rolls his eyes.
"One day you will be caught you know, sooner or later you will have to register and trust me it won't end well because you haven't for the past 2 years, and that is against the law now we are off the surface".
"If that's my fate," Anzai said blowing off smoke from his lips, his dull eyes staring at the tall ceiling that held bright lights, saying...
"Cause I'm already damned for hell!"
***
Level 17: Bio-genetics Level
Room Hall
Hiro's heart slams loudly in his chest 'Escape?!' He thought with trembling eyes, his fists tight against the edge of the door holding onto it for support. He heard everything, their talks of escaping from an unknown facility, he wanted that with every fiber of his bones, he wanted to leave this place and find his parents in a heartbeat but something didn't sit well with him, it wasn't just that, his body didn't respond to the idea of escaping even if he wanted to. He gulps hard.
Whispers fill the room hall, all talking about how good or how crazy their idea was.
"Well there's no way I wanna be a guinea pig," Sumi said with a stern look, not liking the thought of it one bit, all attention averted to her.
"So tell me", her dark pink eyes that held a cold glamour going back and forth Ten and Shino who suggested the idea.
"How do you suggest we escape out of an unknown facility?!"
Ten smirks as his glasses turned blank white.
"The answer to that is quite simple"
Their attention averted to Ten.
"Ten got it all figured out," Shino said still amazed at Ten's idea.
"The Prime Minister said we are underground in Tokyo underground base. Well to explain more on that...when I was in school our teacher suggested a class trip to explore this base but our invitation was declined by the head staff because it appears the trip won't be very studious for us. But we were given some briefing about the place, we were told it goes miles and miles underground" Ten said adjusting his glasses, as it cleared.
"Miles and miles under?! How big is this place?!" Mirai asked with trembling eyes.
"I'm thinking way big, this was a project carried out by the previous Prime Minister before our present one, it was held tightly that the press didn't get much involved like I hoped it would be, they just simply called it a project".
"It appears it did get useful now in this so-called end of the world," Ryoji said rolling his eyes.
"Precisely!"
"So tell us smart guy, seems like you did your research after the board rejected your class trip....now tell us, how do we get out of here?!" Sumi asked taking a step closer to Ten. His sweat drops behind his head, he clears his throat regaining his composure.
"Our way out is through an elevator, there must be one since we are underground".
"An elevator?! I don't see any, the last time I checked there was none" Kaname said scratching the back of his head with a thoughtful face.
"There certainly is, when we were called to the classroom, I was able to spot two pathways, I saw the end of the other but it was a locked door but the other went straight down, that's definitely where our elevator is".
"Okay good, there's an elevator just like Ten said. But Ten... If there is one it's programmed to stop level by level right?!" Shino asked.
"Yes indeed it is, this is an underground base so I'm thinking the top is our way out, and I can tamper with the elevator control panel to take us up nonstop to the very top. That might trigger some alarms but as long as we are in the elevator whoever will stop us won't get a chance to".
"And you got all this figured out when?!" Kaname asked amazed at Ten's smart plan.
"Since we were called to the classroom" Ten shrugs like it was nothing.
'Too cocky'. Kaname thought with a twitching eyebrow.
Some of the kid's nods and talks to each other about the plan, it seemed genuine.
"Are you guys seriously going ahead with this plan?!"
A voice came in, their attention averted to Hiro further away from them. They stared at him puzzled.
"You made it sound so simple, one thing I know is that things don't go that smoothly," Hiro said as his features grew sad recalling how his dad would tell him he would be home for a month but then leave the next day, unexpectedly. One thing that has taught him was things never go the way you want and hoped them to be.
"There's always a holdup, there's always something that gets in the way!"
"Really Hiro... Aren't you the one who wanted so badly to get out of here, so what changed?" Kaname asked puzzled at his sudden change of action.
Hiro gulps hard at his words cause he was right, he did want to get out of here so badly, but he didn't agree to this plan, yes.... waking up he wanted to see his parents so badly but then found out he was blind, he didn't know how much that affected him until now, he couldn't even agree to an escape plan cause he can't see it for himself if they ever got out, that thought kept ringing at the back of his head.