All she could see was darkness, colored light flashing behind her eyelids. The words didn't seem to reach her ears—everything was muffled and loud at the same time.
She felt something press into her sternum, and a moment later—pain shot through her chest, her eyes snapping wide open.
"Hands off!"
Her voice was firm, pushing the person off her while her blurry eyes caught only shapes. Sharp gasps left her mouth while the person tried to speak.
"—?"
The voice blurred into a single continuous sound while she tried to stand, only for her legs to give out. She hit the cramped floor face first, her shoulder jerking when her jacket caught on something, yanking her sideways as she stumbled down.
"Cuidado lady, let me he—"
She pushed the hands away, the person in blue latex gloves stepping back. Her dark blue hair hit the ground, streaked with a faint wine-purple. Her eyes dilated, her blurry vision fading and she swallowed nothing before forcing out her words.
"Where am I?"
She felt a vibration on her wrist but ignored it, grabbing onto the gurney beside her while she stood up carefully. Her head thumped, her palms aching—her joints exhausted before she flexed her free hand.
"In an ambulance."
Said the librei in blue gloves, their wheat-colored hair gleaming under the cabin lights. A shiver ran through her from the temperature.
Something hanging from her hip let out a low, sharp whistle—far too loud for her in that moment, the cabin amplifying it before the sound tapered off a second later. The cabin began to warm just as a blue-gloved hand shoved itself into her face the moment she lifted her gaze.
"I cant let you do that, you would be damaging sensitive stuff."
A pause followed shortly as the voice turned flat.
"And you'd be billed for it."
She only stared at the paramedic, looking past their glasses and into their eyes while her grip on the gurney loosened. The small smile on their face barely shifted, and the air neither rose nor settled.
She backed off, lifting herself onto the gurney. Her knees throbbed, cracking under her weight before she sank slightly into the orange pad, which let out a muffled groan of its own.
"How long was I out?"
She asked, her body easing enough for her spine to curve gently. The paramedic leaned in, a gloved hand extending toward her neck—staring flatly at him.
"Veinte—twenty minutes when we arrived. May I?"
Her brows stayed slightly furrowed when she turned her neck to the side. She felt something being grabbed and taken out before she turned her head straight again.
The hand pulled back with something clenched in their grip, and the man spun one eighty on a stool—doing whatever it was paramedics did, something she couldn't bring herself to care about.
She looked down at her hand, already tired and too exhausted to do anything else. The back of it was covered in small bandages, and the bracelet around her wrist buzzed again.
She stayed quiet, her eyes drifting to the little white pouch resting on her thigh. She stared at it idly until the stool spun her way.
"You seem fine, nothing broken except for mild pain yes?"
The man finally spoke, a few medical items resting in his hands. A thought crossed her mind as she looked at him, her tired gaze lingering on his tinted glasses.
"I...I want out."
Her voce was firm but low, the crash of adrenaline already settling in her blood. The man said nothing but simply nodded before turning to his side and opening a cabinet. He pulled out a few things, reached over the desk, grabbing a tablet, and pressed at the screen before turning it toward her.
"Just sign...right...here"
He tapped the line at the bottom of the screen for each word he enunciated, the text above it ignored while she raised one hand—
One of the bandages on her finger had peeled just enough for the small, glossy rock stuck in her skin to shimmer under the light.
She signed her name, scrolling down with a light swipe and hit accept. The man picked up the few items and set them beside her while the screen finished loading.
A small notification rose in the corner of her vision, the nearly transparent bell icon turning red and trembling.
She glanced at it before a list of notifications dropped down, cutting into her field of view. The top notice took center, loading quickly while its sound filled her mind.
It turned out to be the form she had just signed. She gave it a brief peek before looking away, the notice disappearing right after. Her hands reached for the small pile beside her, pulling everything together and slipping it into the white pouch.
Swinging her legs over, she slid off the gurney, her shoes hitting the floor before she quietly took inventory. Her fingers moved over her pockets and the larger pouch on her right hip, counting softly under her breath.
"Didn't touch anything."
The paramedic muttered without looking up, catching his breath mid way.
"If something's missing, I checked you that way."
The patter of rain outside seeped into her ears, the steady tapping on the roof. Raindrops sliding down the windows. She caught her jacket that barely clung to one shoulder, slipping it on without a second thought.
She looked back and found the man typing on his tablet, writing his report. She reached behind her back for the hoodie and slid it over her head without hesitation.
"Open it."
Without a word, he leaned sideways and hit a button, the locks releasing with a solid thunk. Her hands found the tufts of feathers on her head—pained a dark amber with the occasional spotted white and brown. She squeezed the two slits in her hoodie, and they clamped around both tufts.
She turned to the rear doors, grabbed the handle, and pushed down. Wind howled through the sudden gap, cold wet air rushing inside. She hopped out, the soles of her shoes slapping against the wet concrete that barely kept her from falling.
Flashing orange lights caught on the puddles reflection. Around her—red and blue lights reflected across her body and eyes.
The rain hit her harder than she expected. She spun around, searching for the rest of her kit—its size made it easy to spot even with the downpour hammering her. The ambulance's rear doors slammed shut on their own, the thump in her head fading at the same moment.
The clear polypropylene hoodie gave her an unobstructed view in every direction. Her eyes narrowing from the rain and she took a few steps forward before an icon appeared in the distance. Wind pushed against her jacket, the white wool underneath soaking through and weighing her down even more.
A faint icon that appeared ahead—in the shape of a simple extinguisher.
It drifted farther, moving like something tugged it across the ground. A thin line connected it to her kit, almost lost behind the falling droplets.
She walked until only a few steps remained between them, her eyes landing on a figure dragging it, visibly struggling with a silhouette that looked parched. The icon faded away while her steps echoed around them, slow and heavy.
"What are you doing?"
Her voice was devoid of most emotion, too tired to even be mad about it, too exhausted to raise her voice.
"Go away! I found it first!"
The voice cracked—young and rough, forcing itself to sound older. She continued forward without a pause.
"Move or I'll make you."
Her tone turned irritated when the figure ignored her completely, her patience thinning by the second. She clicked her tongue, and her bracelet began vibrating once more, souring her mood even further.
"I said...move!"
She kicked the person square in the shoulder, sending them stumbling into the wet street. Her leg snapped at them again, frustration driving her foot.
"Ack!"
They stumbled backward, clutching their arm while their hoodie slid off. Her expression didn't change. She met their eyes and dismissed the panic in their stare. A malnourished teenager—that's all it was, ranting about the unfairness.
She took another step, and the figure dragged themselves backward through the rain before turning and bolting into the night, somewhere she didn't care about. She dropped to one knee, looking at her kit in front of her while her knee popped a few times. It looked the same from what she remembered, the only difference being the rain covering it.
Grey in tone and slightly glossy, some parts looked more worn than others. She opened a pouch, its faint brown color catching the light while she dug through it, the contrast sharp beside the mostly red trauma kit.
Her hands froze when the blare of a siren caught her attention. She lifted her head, and a pair of headlights flashed in quick succession through the rain, her silhouette throwing long shadows.
She let go, ignoring the rest of the items flat on the ground—each piece still connected to her kit. She slowly rose to her feet, weary of the headlights.
The back of her head throbbed, and the object on the ground let out a light groan before lifting off the pavement in a quick rise. It bobbed up and down like a living beast, then settled behind her. Its barrel angling downward, it's body hid behind her while her mind churned.
I can't do anything. They already saw it—theirs no point in hiding...it'd only make it worse.
The woman walked toward the cruiser that illuminated her. The moment she got close, the street the rain catching the blast and pushing it hard enough to almost cause a seizure.
Ah!—my eyes, you damn bastard!
The bright glare forced her to raise one arm, covering her face. She felt like she could burn into the concrete, the urge to cave the driver's face in coursed through her heart.
She stepped cautiously toward the driver's side, the front window rolling down a little. The street stayed mostly empty, with only a few cruisers and the lone ambulance nearby.
"You paying lady? You caused quiet the scene"
The voice was flat, and disinterested. She couldn't see the face behind it, and she wasn't interested either—the indifference was mutual, a relief to her.
She stood there, staring through the window while she dug into the dark brown pouch on her left, hanging from her belt. Her fingers brushed against smooth shapes—five small objects, each the same color as the shimmering rock.
Once only a few on her fingers, they now crawled up to the back of her wrist and onto her forearm.
Tossing them through the gap, clattering to the floorboard before being followed by the ruffle inside.
"Five...do what you want with them."
Her voice stayed flat during the entire exchange, leaving no space for negotiation. The window slid upward, the driver's command echoing through the gap.
"Back off."
The person remained equally emotionless, and she took a few steps backward.
The cruiser rolled forward to join the other two at the far end of the street. She let out a sigh through the rain, her soaked shoes dragging her shoulders down. The cold drizzle eased her nerves just enough for her to handle the rest of her worries.
She looked over her shoulder at her kit hiding in her silhouette—its shape barely visible, lit only by the moons above. Her fist clenched in frustration and a single thought pushed through her mind.
⌞Perception.⌝
Its figure began to distort slightly—others wouldn't notice it, even with it right beside them.
She shifted her gaze forward and stepped off. The street carried people in every direction, each with their own stride—an abundance of life for such a late hour. She headed toward her car, the map guiding her while her eyes focused on nothing.
The night a blanket for her weary spirit.
A few moments later, the bracelet on her left wrist buzzed. She lifted her hand and pressed a recessed button, the device coming to life while a caller ID filled the floating screen—a cute cat with brown, black, and orange fur.
She accepted the call after a brief hesitation and pulled her wireless earbuds from her pouch. She swallowed nothing in particular and slid one bud into her ear.
Only silence followed, the pitter-patter of rain filling the backdrop of the call. She swallowed once more and spoke after some hesitation.
"H—Hey there...um..."
Her stuttering left her shocked, feeling like a fool while she waited for a respond.
A half-laugh escaped her lips, stepping ever so closer to her destination. Looking both ways before crossing a street, too lazy to wait for the pedestrian light.
A soft sigh filled her ear before a feminine voice massaged her ear, ticking her heart with bliss.
「I've been calling you for thirty minutes, I even made food for us since—you were supposed to come home an hour ago...you've been gone for a week already. Is my food not good enough—Sierra?」
Sierra stumbled over her words, days without speaking to anyone turning her tongue useless. Her voice broke into a strangled noise, and a giggle rippled through the line, setting her face on fire with shame.
If someone shone a light on her face, it'd put the red of an intersection to shame. The rain doing little to cool her down.
「So? How was it?」
The voice was light, and teasing—utensils clinking and the faint sizzle of cooking oil echoing behind it, followed by the soft gulp of a drink being drunk.
Sierra felt the weight of her unintended failure and rubbed her eye while she stopped at a busy crosswalk—Perception still doing its work, unnoticed by everyone around her, each person drifting past them like it was part of her silhouette.
"Terrible! Absolutely terrible! I ended up on a gurney, you know?"
The cooking cut off the instant the woman at the other side spoke.
「What.」
Before the woman could say anything else, she calmy explained.
"It's fine, don't worry! I was just caught off guard...that's all. Guess I was… tired."
She lied as naturally as ever, patting her chest as confirmation. The conversation drifted into small talk, unimportant things that filled the empty space while the minutes passed—the rain still pouring all around.
Eventually, she reached a parking garage.
"We'll talk later okay? I found my car. Mmm. Mm."
Even once her car came into view, she didn't move right away. She rested against the narrow booth's wall, squatting low with her finger dipping into a puddle that kept spreading under her shoes.
「Come back in one piece okay? Jaa ne!」
The call disconnected, leaving only the sound of rain filling her mind and numbing her heart.
Sierra exhaled, her shoulders sinking while the reflection in the puddle rippled under her touch.
She looked at her face, the raindrop slipping down the hoodie and onto the ground. Her eyes shinning red in the flowing puddle—just like a camera capturing the eyes of a wildefowl in the dark.
From here, she could see her skin—miraculously soft after so many years of the same thing happening over and over again. Mostly pale with a healthy tone, no luck to the supports that have held her up these past few years.
She drew in a breath and let it out, her breath becoming one with the air. Sierra stifled a laugh, laughing at her predicament and at her fortune.
The sound dissolved into the rain, leaving only her quiet reflection reflected in the water.
Sierra stood up all at once and turned to her side, walking toward the front of the slim booth. No one worked in a place like this at this hour except maintenance or the cleaning crew.
The screen on the booth flickered and shifted into a number pad. A barcode blinked at the top, with the manufacturer's name faint beneath it.
She lifted her wrist quickly and searched for a specific app before opening it. She aimed at the barcode and snapped a picture, and not a second later—
Her ticket number and vehicle information appeared, along with a toll. A few hundred in total, nothing severe, even if she wouldn't receive her full pay this time.
"Nine hundred n thirty two pesos."
She pressed pay, and a new barcode appeared. She stared at it and willed it forward, an outline forming in her vision. A string of numbers surfaced at the top, and the same amount showed beside it with a minus sign.
The screen on the booth changed as a receipt came out from its side, a joy filled expression took its place. The gate to the parking garage opened—well, the underground version of one at least.
Sierra walked through the gate, and another icon appeared a few meters ahead, a slim green arrow appeared next to it as it pointed downwards while it bobbed in place.
So that's what she did—moving from one floor to the next, walking three levels down. The concrete walls stayed identical the entire way. She unclipped her hood from her feathers and let it fall against her back, its purpose finished.
Her car waited near the middle of the row, quiet and beneath the low ceiling lights only married with the presence of a few other cars.
She walked up to it and dug through the brown pouch, pulling out a small bundle of keys. After a brief search, she found the right one and unlocked the door. Sierra slid off her jacket and tossed it onto the passenger seat before unlocking the remaining doors with the press of a button.
The door unlatched, and she dropped into her seat. A quick look in the side mirror showed the rear door opening. Her kit—a driver—lifted itself into the back seats, and the door shut, the lock clicking into place.
She grabbed her pile of keys, slipped the earbud back into its place, and pressed her right foot onto the brake pedal.
Her left foot found the clutch pedal and pushed it to the floor. She inserted the key and turned it once. The cluster gauge lit up, followed by the headlights, their beam washing over the concrete wall.
Grabbing the handbrake, she pressed the button at the top and push down. Sierra pulled the gear stick into neutral and quickly moved it side to side.
She did it again before turning the key over, the car cranked for a few seconds but no dice.
She cranked the key over as it roared to life, its rough idle coming up to speed as it.
The car shook violently, the tremble running through her body while her bracelet linked to the stereo. Music started to play, the volume knob turning on its own until it reached a comfortable volume. She let the engine warm for a brief moment.
She searched for her home and punched it into the map. The trip would take over an hour, something she sent to her waiting friend.
The car's exhaust poured its intoxicating smell into her lungs. She rolled the window down a little, letting the sound from outside pool into her heart and spirit.
With the car warmed up, she buckled her seat belt and shifted into first. She eased her foot off the clutch, letting the vehicle roll forward, then pressed the throttle to pick up speed.
Soon enough, she reached the gate and waited for it to open. The car rolled backward a small distance before she shifted into first again.
Sierra blipped the throttle on the way to the street, its noise filling the empty space.
A blacked out Alfi One Fifty-Five.
Though it would take over an hour, it was enough for her to decompress from the stressful week.
She banged through the gears, downshifting before pushing the rev limit again and again, the engine yelling in protest.
"Shit!—F!"
For a moment, she scared herself—nearly sending a piston through the hood.
The highway's curves and the endless gates dividing the land plots, Sierra let the car take her stress.
But even that had its limits—more so with her place sat near the center of the city, practically married to the river cutting through the land.
The river came into view over the bridge when she peeked—its dark, moving current cutting through the city like a knife across a plate.
Sierra steeled her nerves and forced herself into a civilian once more, following the city's rules while she rolled into her driveway. The gate stood between their home and the outside world, just like the others on her street.
Sierra slipped the car into neutral, the remaining momentum enough to let her coast. She glanced at the dash and pressed a button, and a second later the gate opened. She blipped the throttle, then rolled slowly onto their property.
She crept a few more feet forward and shut the engine off, shifting into reverse and lifting the handbrake.
With the windows rolled up, she got out and grabbed her jacket. The metallic click of the engine filling the backdrop..
She opened the rear door as her driver lifted itself and followed her—tossing her jacket over for more relief, already using Perception again to hide its presence.
Sierra walked to the front door and searched for another key. One after another—wrong, then wrong again—until the last finally slid in.
The door opened as she announced herself, her voice filling the short entryway.
"Ikade! I'm home!"
The smell of food drifted through the air, warm and rich, cutting straight through her stomach. She pressed one hand against the wall for balance as she slipped off her shoes, setting them neatly aside and outside.
A pair of slippers waited by the wall inside. She picked them up and slid them on without thinking.
With the slippers on, her feet were finally free from the wet outside. She had already switched to a fresh pair of socks pulled from the small box beside the slippers. The old pair catching fire in the cold concrete and crumbled into a tiny heap of nothing, her gaze leaving the mess.
Her sacred slippers remained untouched by the filth outside.
"I'm gonna shower, okay?!"
Her voice carried through both stories of the house, bouncing off the walls before a yell responded.
"Wait! I wanna do something!"
Ikade's voice reached her, the steps light but quick while she turned the corner. Their eyes met for a brief second, and the feline ran up to her—long light-brown hair with a touch of wheat, white feline ears flicking with every step.
She wore a rather simple but cute outfit, a sleeveless dress with a checked pattern print, each little square smaller than her pinky.
But her own feet betrayed and stumble to her face, stopping a few feet from her own undoing.
Sierra flinched, her mouth dropping open as a reflexive curse escaped.
"Oh shit!—Dude… you good? Hello?"
She crouched and poked Ikade's cheek once, then twice—gently pressing the soft flesh to check if she was still conscious. The feline let out a faint groan, her chest rising and falling while her eyes blinked open with the flatness of someone reconsidering life itself.
"Shut up. Bitch."
The words came muffled, one cheek still pressed against the floor.
Sierra snorted and before she could stop herself, one hand covered her mouth while a giggle bubbled through her exhaustion.
A few minutes later, Sierra remained doubled over, wheezing hard. Ikade attempted tried to through her embarrassment.
"Its not funny! Shaddup!"
Ikade covered her face within her arms, her face pressed against her knees, still squatted down. The fluffy ears twitching at each giggle escaping from Sierra's mouth, her other pair of ears turning red.
"Cough—! Heh—It's not funny, but it's funny—heh—hahhh—hahahaha…"
Sierra clutched her stomach, coughing between fits of laughter, sliding down the wall.
"I'm gonna piss myself."
Ikade shot her a wide-eyed look before blurting.
"Eww! Hello?!? TMI!"
Sierra slowed down, taking deep breaths while her stomach cramped from laughing too hard. She stood up carefully before walking down the non existent hallway before finding the staircase and climbing them.
Followed by her driver with the rule placed upon long gone.
She found the room she wanted—her bedroom. Technically hers, though she hardly slept there anymore.
Without ceremony, she tossed the driver onto the bed. The mattress sinking a fuck ton under its weight, she peeled off her damp clothes, leaving herself in nothing but her bra and underwear.
Opening a closet and pulling out some spare clothes, she headed to her bathroom—closing the door, not even bothering to lock it. Sierra turned the shower know and a moment later, the steady rush of warm water filled the tub.
Steam crept up onto the mirror, clouding her reflection as droplets gathered and ran down the glass.
"Alright.."