by Thea Chin
“Well, Dr. Tsujii. Thank you for your time. We will now—”
“Wait!” cuts in the other one.
Tsukiko curls in her fingers. They walk to the freezer together. One of them holds open the door.
“Didn’t we check this already?”
“We did everywhere except here.”
“Seriously? That seems unnecessary.”
“Oh really?” he challenges.
With that, he pulls out the ice bin. From it, he lifts up a cut of pork meat, one that glows a soft yellow right across the center of it.
Her body reacts before her mind can even process her fear. She grabs her briefcase with one hand and injects the two inspectors with whatever she reaches first with the other. Thankfully, the two fall unconscious at her feet. The Council will most definitely be suspicious when their two representatives are unconscious in a lab they already see red flags about, but at least this will buy some time.
“Come on!” she hisses at the boy who’s staring at the whole thing in shock.
“M-Miss Tsujii, w-we’re gonna— they’re gonna—”
Tsukiko curses and grabs him by the wrist, dragging him out the side door with her. If she is going to run, she is going to need as much time as she can get to do so. It is not until they are safe inside an inn room that she paid for with a ring they gave her for the wedding does she allow her body to relax. Her mind, however, continues to race.
Thankfully, the briefcase contains more than just files. The boy had stuffed everything that doesn’t smell in there including the two vials she stole from Destiny. There are also three orange pills in the bag. There were five, and she took one, so there should be four left. What did he do with the fourth one? He’s too shaken up right now to tell her even if she wanted him to.
For now, she needs a plan in order to survive—running away from the Council cannot be easy—and finding how to perform re-biosucitation on herself. This reminds her of what the representative said earlier. Lynford University… Could it possibly be there? There are, after all, many, many labs at the university, and the Council’s influence seems to be endless. For all she knows, the chairman can be someone sponsored by the Council. She will have to go there herself to see what she can find.
She looks over to John shivering in a corner on a chair. She is going to need help before doing anything. But who can she ask? She looks at her bracelet. Jaiden? Darren? Undoubtedly, both will be running over if she takes off the accessory and gives them the antidote, but will they help her? She is asking for them to rebel against the Council after all. No, will she let them help her? She can’t forsake her friends then turn around and ask them to risk her life for her.
In the end, her options narrow down to Mark. She still has his number on a napkin in the bag. Should she risk giving him a call? And how? John did it once, so he might be able to do it again. Once he’s calmed down, at least.
Tsukiko kneels before the kid and takes his hands. “Hey, look at me. Look at me.”
He does with dilated pupils.
“You’re going to be okay, alright? I’ll make sure of it.”
“This…” he begins softly. Tsukiko leans forward to hear him better only to be blown away by what he bellows next. “This is all your fault!”
“H—”
“If you hadn’t gone and tampered with all that soulmark stuff, we wouldn’t be here, running! They already said they’ll revive you after death. What more do you want? And on top of that, you dragged me here with you? I could have claimed ignorance. Maybe have my soulmate whipped or a few years in the dungeons, but now? Now? The Council’s going to kill me the second they get their hands on me. Which, might I add, they will!”
“I’m sorry.” That’s all she can say.
“Sorry?” he cries. “You’re straight up insane! Crazy! Did St. Valentine’s screw with your amygdala, or have you always been this detrimentally reckless?”
He raises a fist, and Tsukiko closes her eyes. He is the first she deserves to be hit by, but he definitely won’t be the last. Then she feels the impact on her chest. It isn’t a painful one like she was expecting however, but one caused by him burrowing his head against her.
“I-I don’t want to die, Miss Tsujii. I-I don’t… I don’t want to die…”
It is at this moment she finally realizes how young he is. Despite his wild intelligence and overflowing talent, he is still a child. She brings a hand to his hair and strokes it silently until he falls asleep. She isn’t just fighting for herself anymore.
* * *
“What? No!”
“It’s for the best.”
“Still! I’m not leaving you!”
“It’s the best shot we have at getting you out of this mess! Just crawl back to St. Valentine’s a little scratched up and say that I kidnapped you, a wolf, in attempts to have you help me escape with your supernatural strength and speed.”
“Is this because of what I said yesterday? Miss Tsujii, you know I didn’t mean any of that! I was just scared and delirious!”
Delirious or otherwise, there are still some true emotions in those words. Besides, Tsukiko can’t ask him to live his life as a fugitive for something she did.
“Regardless, there’s no point in both of us being killed in the end.”
“Surely I can still be of some help to you, right? A phone! I saw you looking at that napkin with the numbers on it. I can get you cellular access.”
“No, you will just tell me how to get a phone and then go back.”
“But..! But..!”
Tsukiko gives him a stern look. The boy grumbles something and stuffs his hand into his pocket and procures from it a few coins.
“I used a payphone. It’s not hard science.”
She is a bit taken aback by his simple solution. “Then how did you know I was with Mark?”
“Lucky guess? It’s the only phone number I saw you with.”
Tsukiko holds out her palm. “Now go back to St. Valentine’s.”
The cheeky boy curls his fingers over the change and retracts his hand. “I’m staying with you, Miss Tsujii. I’ve done so for so long, there’s no point in stopping now.”
She lets her arm back down. “Alright then,” she says, standing straight.
He flinches. “You aren’t going to sneak off and leave me, are you?”
Clever little thing.
Tsukiko does not answer and flips on the television.
“Miss Tsujii, you wouldn’t!” he continues.
Someone in the background of the nightly news waves down a taxi. His soulmark peeks out from his sleeve as he does so. She quickly clicks off the device as a bead of sweat rolls down her face. They’re everywhere.
“You want to help me?”
He nods.
“Then bite off my arm.”
“What?”
“Bite off my arm and go back to St. Valentine’s. Tell them you escaped by killing me. Tell them I’m already dead.”
She half expects him to protest again, but he doesn’t. He too saw the man on the television and knows the gravity of the situation. There’s no telling men aren’t already here at the inn. They can’t even go out to get food without getting caught, and they have already finished what the inn has on the coffee table today. He probably won’t even have to make it to the hospital before they find him.
“Okay,” he says in a small voice.
Tsukiko and he share a firm nod before standing and motioning for the boy to do the same.
“Make it bloody. We need the inn to confirm your story.”
“But the body?”
“We’ll just have to risk it. Tell them you ate it in your madden state.”
The boy swallows a lump. “It’s going to hurt.”
“I know.”
“I… I…”
Tsukiko pulls him into one final hug to calm him down. “It’s okay. It’s either one arm or both our lives.”
“At least let me make sure you are unconscious first.”
/>
“Alright.”
He fishes for a syringe from her bag. When he’s found what he’s looking for, he walks up to her.
“Are you sure?” he asks again.
Tsukiko reaches to cup his face. In her eyes, she sees Angela in him. She wonders how the child will look like when she is his age, talking about her crushes and worrying about college acceptances. Tsukiko realizes she won’t be there for her then, but at least, maybe she can free her from the Council’s manipulation.
“Yes,” she smiles.
* * *
Tsukiko wakes up with her back flat against the bed and her eyes staring straight at the stained ceiling. She contracts the fingers on her right arm. Still there. Then her left. Also still there.
With a sigh, she sits up. Of course he didn’t do it. She should have known better than that. Where is he now?
On the table, she spots a few coins and a folder laying open. Upon a closer inspection, she sees his note.
‘I’m sorry, Ms. Tsujii! I can’t do it. In the end, I’m just a coward. I have left for St. Valentine’s like you asked. When it came down to tearing off your arm or running away, the choice became clear. I guess it’s only easy to fight for something when death is but a concept. Please forgive me.’
She flips the page over and sees that it is the procedures she gave him to test right before she left for the wedding. Procedures that worked. She repacks everything into her bag and straps it over her shoulder. There’s no use crying over spilled milk now; she has to get to Lynford University.
She doesn’t know whether to wait for night to fall before sneaking out for less visibility or setting out now when people are still in the streets and the Councilmen cannot turn wolf as they please. Her deciding factor is the growl from her stomach that sounds loudly. She has to act before she’s weak from hunger.
Perhaps a dress is not the most ideal get-up to run around in, but Tsukiko doesn’t have much of a choice. She’s just glad it isn’t a full-length gown, so she won’t attract too much attention when she walks on the street. She then tucks her hair into a bun to hide her blue ends and wears the bedsheet like a scarf to hide her face. With a neuro repositioning shot in an accessible area, she places a hand on the doorknob.
Deep breath. Deep breath. You can do it, she tells herself.
With one more inhale, she pulls open the door and steps confidently outside. She turns the corner but quickly turns back when she spots a person before she realizes it is just a housekeeper. The employee walks by with her cart while giving Tsukiko a weird look.
Tsukiko shakes off the adrenaline and continues on her way. She makes it to the street and spots a bus approaching. It would be a ten minute journey to school on the bus—and the boy left her just enough change for it—or a twenty minute walk. If a Council member is on the vehicle though, she’ll have nowhere to run.
She takes her chances and opts for the bus. The driver doesn’t recognize her which she finds relief in; he has been taking her home from Destiny for a while in the past after all. She then chooses a seat near the back door in case anything should happen.
As the bus is nearing full, the next man who enters sits beside Tsukiko, making her heart rate increase. Immediately, her eyes dart to his wrist only to find that he is wearing a long sleeve dress shirt.
“You’re rather fancy, aren’t you? Going somewhere?” he asks casually.
Tsukiko nods silently.
“That’s cool. Where?”
“Lynford U.” She pitches her voice higher in case he is from the Council.
“Oh, you’re a student!” He continues, rambling about one thing or another; Tsukiko isn’t really listening. Rather, her attention shifts to a shiny black object in his coat. A phone!
He notices her stare and takes out the electronic. “Did you need to make a call?”
Tsukiko nods. “I do. May I borrow your phone?”
“Sure!” he agrees, unlocking and handing it over.
She thanks him, ignoring the panic when a new passenger chooses to stand right in front of her at the next stop. Quickly, she taps in the number from her napkin, surprised to see it pop up as an existing contact. ‘Mr. Matthews,’ it reads, despite the man being considerably more advanced in age than Mark.
“Oh, you know Mr. Matthews too?” he inquires, peering over her shoulder at the screen.
“We’re… friends. How about you?”
“He’s my boss! Well, one of them at least.”
This, Tsukiko is interested in. “Ah, what do you do?”
“Some, uh, government things.” It’s his turn to look uncomfortable now, and she does not know why. “Anyway, are you guys friends or friends?”
“Just friends,” she chuckles.
“That’s good. Make sure you don’t develop any more feelings. My boss can be quite the ladies’ man if you know what I mean.”
Tsukiko gives another polite laugh before bringing the phone to her ear, making the man finally mind his own business.
Someone picks up after the third ring.
“Mark Matthews.”
“Hi, Mark,” Tsukiko whispers with her regular voice.
“Miss Tsujii! I’ve been waiting for your call. How are you doing?”
“I could be better. Listen, I’m heading towards Lynford University. Do you remember where you were two winter breaks ago?”
“Of course. I was at—”
“Can I meet you there right now?” she cuts him off before someone can hear.
“So eager! Aren’t you the little tiger?”
“Please?”
“Sure. I’m already there anyway.”
“Thank you, Mark. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
She hears a coo on the other end before she cuts off the line with a sigh. Alright. At least now she will not have to break into the research building.
Tsukiko gets off a stop earlier in case there really is someone watching her on the bus. She blends in with some students and makes the rest of her way to campus. The whole time, her eyes dart around, checking for anyone with a tattoo on their wrist. She doesn’t stop until she spots Mark playing on his phone. A sense of relief washes over her. She’s made it.
Mark looks up before she even says anything.
“Hello there, little mouse.” For once, she is grateful for the nicknames if it means he doesn’t use her real one. “I assume you want something from my research based on where we are and your tone on the phone?”
She nods though a little worried that he can recognize her. “May we go somewhere more—”
“—private?” he finishes for her with a wink.
“Your lab would be nice.”
“Be my guest,” he invites and holds open the door for her. Tsukiko rushes into the building away from the public and potentially from the Council’s eyes.
“Woah, slow down there, little mouse,” Mark calls after her.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have much time.”
“Who does?” he shrugs and easily matches her pace despite his earlier complaining.
Once in the lab, Tsukiko’s stomach growls unceremoniously. She blushes freely now with her scarf off, but Mark just laughs it off and offers her some non-perishables which she scarfs down.
“So,” he begins. “Why is it that you’ve called me?”
“Soulmates,” she manages between bites.
“Oh, so you believe they’re real now?”
Tsukiko shakes her head. “They are, but they aren’t. They’re made by humans, or rather”—she points to his wrist—“werewolves.”
Mark pulls out something from the ice chest. Again, rats jump out of it. Tsukiko doesn’t want to think about what she is eating.
“I know. I’ve been making my own soulmarks too. I’ve had the feeling the Council has been up to something weird for a while now, but this isn’t enough to prove anything. We could have just made something that replicates nature’s processes.”
“Is this enough proof then?” Tsukiko pull
s from her bag the two vials she stole from Destiny. “There’s a whole storage of these; one for each wolf and his soulmate.”
Mark’s eyes widen as he looks at the solutions in her hand. “M-may I?”
Tsukiko nods and puts them in his hand.
After a few seconds of admiration, Mark inquires, “Did you find anything else from them? The main problem I ran into is figuring out how they get two people attracted to each other. After all, that’s what will upset the public the most.”
She nods and hands him the file the boy wrote his notes on. “I did— or, we did. My lab and I. You use a microchip to send signals between each partner, right? Well, they use the same idea, except much smaller and with different kinds of chips, one of which activates the posterior pituitary to secrete different attraction hormones.”
Mark takes another few moments leafing through her notes and procedures. “Y-you did it… you actually did it…”
“Yes, but with a cost.”
He looks at her. “Oh?”
“Long story short, the Council found out about my experiments which are less than legal, as I’m sure you can tell.”
“So they’re off to keep you quiet, hence the scarf?” he guesses.
Tsukiko nods. “They’re everywhere. It’s a miracle that I’m even here.”
“So I assume you have a plan though?”
Another nod. “Turns out, the Council is also running a bio-resuscitation experiment, one which I was part of previously. I am under the 42nd moon curse, so the Council promised to perform the procedure for me if I behaved as their prisoner. Now that that book is closed, I have to find the papers done on the research myself, and I have reason to believe that they are stored somewhere here in this building.”
Mark cocks a brow at her. “That’s quite the claim, Miss Tsujii.”
“As is accusing your government of being founded upon a lie,” she reminds him.
“Touché.” Mark closes the folder and returns his gaze to her. “So I am assuming you are here to ask me to help you find it?”
“In return for that.” She nods at the information in his hands.
“That’s only fair, although I would do it for nothing more than a date too,” he winks.
Mark walks over to hand her back her research. Tsukiko holds out her hand for it only to have it be snatched from her fingertips at the last second.