Meeting The Ghost of You

Page 4.5: Surprise

Page 4.5: Surprise

The office is abuzz with meaningless chitter chatter. The plethora of voices become hushed when someone enters the floor. Copies in hand, I peek over the nearest cubicle, wondering just who could accomplish the impressive feat of hushing the entire floor. The copies that I had once in a firm grasp fall out of my hands when I see HER, a woman with bright orange hair. No way... I killed her! I killed her because I thought she had killed Mayuri. I know I killed her! I know I did! The woman, who had been playing with her smartphone looks up after a few minutes. In an instant, our eyes connect, and as they do, she smirks. My view of the world tilts and becomes distorted as I get lost in a memory.

I dash. I charge, aiming for the girl’s heart. My flood of emotions, my anger, my sadness, my frustration fuels me and makes me move faster than humanly possible. If I kill a murderer, a monster disguised as a human... Does that make me a monster too?  

The girl, who should be fearing for her life merely smirks as my sword nears her body, and for a brief moment I’m confused. Shouldn’t she be scared? Shouldn’t she be trying to protect herself? Why isn’t she doing anything? Why...

I stop, mid step as I notice the sword that is protruding from my stomach. It was all one big trap... Anyone that enters these woods are as good as dead. As I steadily break apart, becoming a mass of glowing fragments, I stab the girl in front of me. Take that! We’re both dead! We’re both...

To my surprise, as we both fade away, a voice announces that the game has been cleared. I’ve been saved... Someone saved all of us... All of us but Mayuri and the others that died sooner. 

“Darling, it is SO good to see you,” a voice calls, bringing me back to the present. The bright orange haired woman walks past me, and kisses someone behind me with a loud smooching noise. “Daddy has you all working today? What a shame, it is BEAUTIFUL outside.” I turn around, ever so slowly curious to see who she is talking to, who she is kissing.

She is kissing Brent.

She is dating Brent.

Could Brent be the one who stabbed me in Sword Art Online? 

“Stop gawking and pick up your copies, copy boy,” Brent orders, earning a cackle from his girlfriend. Annoyed, I pick up the copies in quick grabs, ripping a few as I do so. Stupid Brent, he thinks that he can just order me around... Despite my thoughts being clouded with annoyance and anger, I still manage to notice that only one set of footsteps fades off into the distance. Which one of them left? I hope it was Brent that left, I don’t know if I can deal with him for much longer...

Unexpectedly, lips brush against my right ear. “Kirito saved you that time...” the woman says, twirling a strand of her strange colored hair around one of her index fingers, “But he won’t save you again. No one is going to make it out alive. No one is going to save anyone. Be sure to watch the news at noon, his death is going to be a fun one.” She soon saunters away, hips swishing in time with her footsteps. She is the killer... She is going to kill Kirito...

Now I understand why the man I met the other day doesn’t want Kirito to help with this case... He needs Kirito to focus on protecting himself, not others. I glance at my watch, and to my horror find that it is 11:40. She is going to kill him soon! Throwing the copies I had just picked up in the nearest trash can, I make a mad dash for the elevator. To my annoyance I find it blocked by none other than Brent. 

“If you leave I’ll have you fired,” he says, trying to intimidate me. Get me fired? Ha! My job sucks anyway. He scowls at me, and if we weren’t in a public place, I’m sure he would try to kill me like he did back in Sword Art Online. I chuckle as I think of an amusing response.  

“For someone so young, you sure do have a lot of gray hair. It is likely that you’d die before they got around to firing me. Besides it doesn’t matter... I QUIT!” my response clearly surprises him as his face flushes due to his anger. As he lunges for me I run past him into the elevator. “See you later, jerk,” I add, waving to him as the elevator doors close in his face. As I ride the elevator down to the ground floor, I pull out my smartphone and call Akiki. “Hey Master Hacker. I know who the killer is... Well there is possibly two. I’m not sure if he is aiding her in the killings or not. Either way, she is heading to kill Kirito NOW. Where is he? I’m hoping to stop her before she reaches him but you should still warn him...”

“Kenji,” he says, his voice sounding strained, “Don’t go after her. It’s a...” he begins, and his voice his muffled by the sound of the dinging of the elevator, signaling my arrival to the ground floor. I step out into the lobby, the lobby usually filled with many people. Currently it is empty, the only other living thing present is a vase containing a bouquet of roses. “It’s a trap. IT’S A TRAP. GO BACK THE WAY YOU CAME. RUN KENJI, RUN!” Akiki screams, I barely hear him over the sound of squealing tires.

An SUV is headed straight for the lobby, straight for me at top speed. Knowing very well that I don’t have time to get back in the elevator, I jump to the side, hoping to avoid getting hit by the car, although I’ll surely get hit by the shattering glass.