"You're telling me he left the compound?" Alex tried to confirm the boys' suspicion as they sat inside the infirmary.
Chase, Kai, and Taro went quiet. They didn't want to say it aloud, but they had checked every crevice of the grounds.
"Has he always been this much of a troublemaker?" Jason rubbed his forehead over the now sleeping Biggie.
Vida was being held in the second room of the infirmary so that the rest of the group could talk about Hendrix without throwing her into a frenzy.
"No. Something's changed." Bloom stared at Biggie's wound. How could Hendrix do this? He'd always been so quiet, so caring.
"We wouldn't be able to go searching for him. Calling his name would put us on the Correctional Forces' watch list." Jason shook his head.
"So what? Are we just gonna hope and pray he's alright?" Taro grew frustrated, throwing his arms into the air.
The room went silent for a few seconds before Jason spoke.
"It'd be different if he didn't choose this. Let it be a lesson to him." Jason began to walk out of the room, his head hung low.
"And what about your sister? She's out there following him blindly!" Taro was now yelling while his brother put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from standing up.
Jason stopped at the door for a moment. A moment of silence passed. Jason opened the door and continued his way out of the room.
"There's nothing I can do for them right now. Just come back alive. Please." Jason reasoned with himself.
Inside the heart of Shinjuku City:
The motors of busy businessmen on their midday commute blared through the bustling noise of the busy street.
Hendrix and Molly had made it far in the thirty minutes that had passed since they left the compound.
Hendrix walked at a moderate pace with his head down while Molly followed behind him.
Occasionally she called his name just to be met with no response, but the further they got into the heart of the city, the less she could call his name without gaining suspicion.
They stopped at an enormous intersection as they waited alongside businessmen and tourists alike for the walking signal to turn green.
"Hendrix." Molly whispered one more time through the crowd.
"Why are you following me?!" Hendrix whispered back.
Molly went quiet for a second.
"I just wanted to see what you were up to." Molly sounded defeated.
Hendrix turned backwards towards the girl in surprise. Her response reminded him of Vida when they were younger, even though he and Molly were the same age.
"I-I'm sorry." Hendrix muttered. Molly's expression seemed to take him out of his manic state.
The light turned green, the crowd pushed forward across the street.
"C'mon. Let's go somewhere fun." Molly seemed to switch back to her regular self in an instant. She grabbed Hendrix's hand, dragging him across the street and into one of the busiest streets in the city.
"Fun? Do I even deserve to have fun right now?" Hendrix asked himself as they sped across the intersection.
Molly's smile wasn't enough to get Hendrix to smile. Even though he had slightly calmed down, his mind was still in the compound. His thoughts were still in that gymnasium.
The two began to walk down what seemed to be some sort of shopping street. The stores wore name brands Hendrix had only seen on the electronic billboards back in D.C.
"Oh look at that over there! Let's go!" Molly dragged Hendrix by the hand.
They rushed into a store completely filled with every kind of plushie imaginable.
Molly's eyes seemed to light up like diamonds as they scanned the shelves.
"My favorite!" Molly exclaimed as she dragged Hendrix over to a specific plushie.
It was a small plush of a giant panda.
"It's the State Mascot series! You can only get all six of them by visiting all six states. This one's the mascot for Asia. I wanna collect them all one day." Molly smiled at the panda.
It had a pink t-shirt on that showed the outline of the Asian continent.
"Have they been your favorite since you were little?" Hendrix asked.
Molly went quiet for a few seconds before answering.
"I… I don't remember… Me and my brother don't remember anything before getting to the compound. It's like our brains were washed right before Manny took us in." Molly's lips trembled, the brightness leaving her face.
Hendrix was taken aback for a second. "She's just like me…"
"Let's see." Hendrix fumbled around his patch pants' pockets, finally pulling out his wallet.
He remembered that he had a few dollars left over from his time in D.C.
"C'mon," Hendrix held his hand out for the plushie.
Molly handed it to him with a confused look on her face.
They walked up to the register, quickly paying for it and politely making their way out of the store.
"Here." Hendrix handed the handheld panda plushie to Molly.
She took the doll, tears welling instantly.
"Oh, sorry. If you didn't want it I can-" Hendrix's awkward rant was interrupted.
"No, I love it. Thank you." Molly held it to her chest like her life depended on it. She was smiling while she cried, pushing her jet black hair out of her face.
"I'm glad I followed you out here. You scared me back at the compound. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't disappear like everyone else." Molly buried her face into the panda plushie.
Hendrix's eyes widened before letting out a small smile. The two of them leaned against the storefront as Hendrix looked up and down the street.
There was so much to do in this city, so much to see. He thought that D.C was big, but this definitely topped it.
"Oh look!" Molly exclaimed, wiping her tears away.
Hendrix silently rolled his eyes, thinking "What'll it be this time," until his eyes met the subject at hand.
A small sign read "Shinjuku's Hardcore Record Store" with a red arrow pointing down a set of stairs leading below ground.
This time, Hendrix's eyes were the ones lighting up.
"Let's go!" Molly chuckled, grabbing Hendrix's hand once again.
The two crossed the street quickly. They entered the record store in a hurry, where a middle-aged man with a stretched-septum piercing welcomed them from behind the counter.
"Welcome in, lovebirds!" The man smiled. His long dreadlocks were tied into a ponytail.
Molly smiled, holding Hendrix's hand tighter as Hendrix thought "Oh, he must be mistaken,".
"Well, look around as much as you want! My name's 9287, call me if you need anything!" 9287 smiled.
Hendrix power-walked over to the hardcore punk section. It was far too small for his liking, but he didn't expect much more under the watchful eye of the Correctional Forces.
He searched through each and every record, imagining the soundscapes of each album off of the cover art alone.
Molly watched him with excitement.
"You really love music, huh?" Molly asked.
"It's the greatest thing humanity has ever created." Hendrix didn't seem to be exaggerating at all, he was dead serious. He picked up a record, examining it with intrigue.
"I remember you." Hendrix seemed to talk to the record. Molly chuckled at the sight.
Hendrix held up the record Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix. The memories flooded back into his psyche as he stared at the yellows and oranges that covered the front of the record.
"He played like the world was on fire," Mr. Frewin's words echoed through his head. Hendrix used his whole soul to stop himself from crying.
"I miss you. I miss you and Mrs. Frewin so much." Hendrix finally admitted it to himself.
His mind drifted back to the compound as he thought through the events of the day.
"I wonder if Bloom and Alex would still smile at me after what I've done. I wonder if my friends will still want to be around me. Will I even be able to go back?" Hendrix's mind began to race.
"Guys, get down." The store owner whispered to the kids. The two ducked under the shelves as the store owner made his way around to the other side of the shelf. "Hey, Officer. What can I help you with today?"
The moment the Officer's name was mentioned, the walls seemed to close in. The fluorescent light flickered, and Molly swore she could hear her own heartbeat.
"Oh, you know, just patrolling the area. Have you seen any suspicious behavior around here? Any heretics or dissenters?" The Officer's voice sent chills down Molly's spine.
"What's wrong?" Hendrix asked.
"That's the Officer in charge of the Japanese sector of the Asian state. He's the one who killed Manny." Molly's voice was shaking.
Hendrix balled his fists. It took everything in him to not stand up and confront the Officer.
"Oops, I dropped something. I'll get it later. But anyways…" The store owner, 9287, had dropped two masks onto the other side of the shelf, making sure it looked accidental to the Officer.
The kids rapidly caught on to what 9287 was trying to tell them. They put the masks on and started to slowly sneak towards the exit.
"...But I think you'd like the records in the back. They're super fun." 9287 directed the Officer to the back of the store, quickly turning his attention to the kids once the Officer was out of earshot.
"My real name is Hardy. You guys get out of here while you can; I hope to see you guys some other time." 9287, or rather, Hardy smiled as he turned his attention back to the Officer.
The two masked teens bolted for the exit.
"Hey! You two! Stop it right there!" The Officer demanded at the top of his lungs.
Hendrix and Molly's eyes widened as they sped up the stairs and onto the street, the Officer right on their tail.
Hendrix realized he'd just crossed the point of no return.