Sound, like passing under water.
All she could see was darkness. Lights flashed behind her eyelids.
The words of whoever was speaking never reached her ears—everything was muffled and loud all at once, pressed together into a haze.
Something pressed into her sternum.
A moment later, pain shot through her chest.
Her eyes snapped wide open.
"Hands off!"
She knocked the hand away and jerked backward on the gurney before her vision could settle. The cramped cabin rolled around her, its shapes bending and overlapping until a gasp slipped out.
A muffled voice pulled at her attention, but the words never formed.
"—?"
Their voice blurred into a single, continuous sound.
She tried to sit up. Her weight carried her too far over the edge, and her feet missed the floor beneath her. She fell face-first into the narrow aisle, her jacket catching on the raised gurney rail and yanking her sideways.
"Cuidado lady, let me he—"
She shoved the hands away again.
This time, the person stepped back.
She found herself staring into the eyes of a man. Her dark blue hair spread across the floor, carrying a faint wine-colored hue beneath the cabin lights. Her pupils widened, and the blur slowly thinned from her vision.
She swallowed before forcing out her voice.
"Where am I?"
Bzzzt—bzzzt.
A vibration crawled along her wrist.
She ignored it. Her fingers searched blindly until they found the gurney beside her. Gripping the rail, she forced herself upright.
Her head thumped.
Her palms ached, her joints full of exhaustion.
"In an ambulance."
The man answered plainly, his wheat-colored hair gleaming beneath the cabin lights.
Cold...why's it so cold in here?
Krrrriii—
Metal trembled through the cramped cabin, far too loud and far too close. The sound scraped through her teeth before tapering off a second later.
The paramedic placed an open hand in front of her before she could move again.
"I can't let you do that. They're outside, and if I need to call them in, I will."
His tone was flat above all else.
"You'd be billed for all the damages."
She stared at the paramedic, looking past the glasses and into his eyes.
Her grip on the gurney loosened.
She backed off and lifted herself onto it instead. Her knees throbbed, popping under her weight before she sank slightly into the orange pad, which let out a muffled groan of its own.
Did I call them?...no. I would remember that. Wouldn't I?
"How long...was I out?"
Her body eased enough for her spine to curve slightly.
"Veinte—twenty minutes since we arrived."
She looked down at the back of her hand, too exhausted to do anything else.
Small bandages covered it.
The bracelet around her wrist buzzed again.
She stayed quiet yet her eyes drifted to the small white pouch resting along her leg. She stared at it until the man turned her way.
"Está bien, everything looks stable for now. Any nausea, dizziness, blurred vi—"
"—zhhrr...mm...nn...thh...blah blah bah.."
She blinked once then twice.
The man kept talking, but only pieces made it through. The rest became a useless drone beneath the rain, the cabin hum and the dull beat inside her skull.
He finished his questions with a few sealed items resting in one hand.
"Yeah...I...I want out."
Her voice was soft, the crash of adrenaline already settling in her blood.
The man studied her for a moment before reaching for his tablet.
"You lost consciousness." He said. "Headaches, vomiting, confusion, blurred vision—if any of it gets worse, you call immediately."
He set the sealed items beside her and added the warning to the form. Once he finished, he turned the tablet toward her.
"Just sign...right...here."
He tapped the bottom of the screen with each enunciated word, ignoring the text above it.
She raised a hand.
One of the bandages on her finger had peeled back just enough for the small black minerals underneath to shimmer under the light.
She signed her name, scrolled down with a light swipe and hit accept.
The man picked up the few items and set them beside her. The screen continued loading.
Ping!~
She peeled her gaze from the black of her hand.
A list of notifications dropped down the wall behind the man, off to the side, cutting into her field of view.
The top notice took center, loading quickly.
The discharge and refusal form.
The one she had just signed over.
She gave it a brief look before turning away, and the notice faded right after. Her hands reached for the small pile beside her, pulling everything together and slipping it into the white pouch at her side.
She swung her legs over and slid off the gurney. Her shoes hit the floor, and she took a quick inventory before moving any farther. Her fingers passed over her pockets and the panel on her right, counting softly under her breath.
"Didn't touch anything."
The paramedic muttered without looking up, catching his breath midway.
"Si falta algo, así te encontré."
The patter of rain outside seeped into her ears, steady against the roof. Raindrops slid down the windows in uneven trails. She caught her jacket where it had slipped down one shoulder and pushed it on without a second thought.
When she looked back, the man was still typing on his tablet, his attention already elsewhere.
She reached behind her back for the hoodie and slid it over her head.
"Open it."
Without a word, he leaned sideways and hit a button.
The locks released with a solid thunk.
Her hands moved to the plumaged tufts on her head, dark amber beneath the cabin lights, with the occasional spot of white and brown mixed through them. She found the two clips on the hoodie and pinned the tufts down carefully, keeping them from catching when the hood settled over her head.
Then she turned to the rear doors, grabbed the handle, and pushed down.
Wind howled through the sudden gap.
Cold, wet air rushed inside, cutting through the warmth the cabin had barely managed to build.
The soles of her shoes slapped against the wet concrete, and her knees nearly gave the moment she landed. She caught herself before she could fall, one hand twitching toward the ambulance. Flashing orange lights scattered across the puddles.
Red and blue washed over her body, flashing across her eyes in uneven pulses.
The rain hit harder than she expected and she raised an arm to shield her face.
Where is it...
Her gaze swept the ground.
No.
No, no, no.
No one would be dumb enough to take it. It was right there. It was right there when I went down. They wouldn't. Paramedics know better. Officers know better.
...even thieves know better.
Thmp!
The ambulance's rear doors slammed shut behind her. The thump inside her head faded at the same moment.
The hood's clear front gave her an unobstructed view in every direction. She took a few steps forward. Rain slid over the surface in thin sheets until an icon appeared in the distance.
Wind pushed against her jacket. The white wool underneath soaked through quickly, growing heavier against her skin with every passing second.
The faint icon ahead was shaped like a backpack.
It drifted farther along, like something had been tugging at it across the ground. A thin line connected downward from it, half-hidden behind the haze of rain.
Her mouth formed a flat line.
She pushed through the rain until only a few feet remained between them. Her eyes landed on the figure dragging it, its shoulders hunched, visibly struggling against the weight.
The icon faded once the backpack came into full view. Her steps struck the pavement behind the figure, slow and heavy.
"Hey."
The figure froze for half a second.
Then kept dragging.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You found my things."
"Go away!" The voice cracked, young and rough, trying too hard to sound older. "I found it first!"
"And now you're about to give it back."
The figure ignored her and kept dragging the backpack.
Her patience thinned by the second.
She clicked her tongue and the bracelet began vibrating again, souring her mood even further.
"I said move."
"No!" Their grip tightened around the strap. "You don't need it!"
Her foot drove toward their shoulder, but weakened. Her knee nearly folding on itself.
The figure stumbled into the wet street and almost lost the backpack. Anger kept her upright. She forced her leg forward again, catching their side before restraint could catch up with her.
"Ack!"
They caught themselves with one hand slapping against the slick ground. Their hood slid off, revealing a malnourished teenager with hollow cheeks, soaked hair and anguished eyes.
That was all it was.
The teen clutched their arm and glared up at her.
Anger with nowhere to go.
Rain ran down their face and cut through the grime on their cheeks. Their mouth twisted around words that could not change anything.
step.
"You don't even know what it's like!"
Step.
The teen dragged themselves backward through the rain.
"You can spare at least so—"
"Move."
The teenager's mouth stayed open, anger trembling into the edge of fear.
The teen turned and bolted into the night, leaving the backpack behind before disappearing into the damp haze.
She dropped to one knee beside the backpack and started checking through it.
frrshh—rrshh—clk!
WRAA—WRAA—!
Her hands froze at the blare of a siren.
She lifted her head.
A pair of headlights flashed in quick succession through the rain, her silhouette stretching long across the wet street.
Dammit...
The back of her head throbbed.
Her gaze dropped to the open backpack.
She checked it once more, making sure nothing had fallen out, then pulled both straps over her shoulders without taking her eyes off the approaching lights.
Then she slipped one strap over her shoulder, all while keeping an eye, then the other strap.
She pushed herself up from the wet pavement.
FSSHH—!
Ah!—my eyes, you damn imbécil!
The bright, sudden glare forced her to raise one arm over her face. A feeling like she could burn straight through the concrete rose in her chest.
She stepped cautiously toward the driver's side when the window rolled down a little.
The street remained nearly empty except for a few cruisers and the lone ambulance. Her heart still hammered like the whole block was closing around her.
A voice came through the gap.
"Causas tantos problemas, . How are you going to compensate me for that shit you pulled?"
Her hand slipped into the pouch hanging at her left. Her fingers closed around a small roll of bills held together by an elastic band.
She flicked the money through the gap.
fwip—fshh.
"...do what you want with it, damn dog."
The bundle disappeared into the driver's hand. The window slid upward immediately afterward, his command cutting through the closing gap.
"Back off."
step...step...step...
The cruiser rolled forward to join the other two at the far end of the street.
"Hahhh..."
The cold drizzle eased her nerves just enough to face the rest of her worries.
She left the open street and cut into the nearest alley, stepping around a trash bag surrounded by water. The red and blue lights faded behind her, swallowed by brick, rain and the hum of faraway traffic.
Only then did she stop.
She crouched near the wall and slid her backpack off carefully. One hand stayed against her side to steady her until the bag reached the wet ground.
The fabric hit the concrete with a soft, heavy sound and she unzipped it.
Inside, everything had been shoved together in a hurry. Cloth, loose supplies, and smaller pouches pressed against one another with barely enough room to breathe.
She pushed her hand through the mess until her fingers caught thin plastic.
Then she pulled out a folded bundle of clothes, sealed inside a clear bag.
A loose white top.
A long, oversized beige jacket.
And a pair of thin-framed glasses.
She hooked a finger beneath her soaked collar. Sweat had cooled beneath the wet fabric, leaving everything cold and sticky against her skin.
"Ugh...I feel disgusting."
Keeping close to the wall, she peeled off the heavy clothes and changed beneath the alley's cover. The fabric clung stubbornly to her skin before she shoved it into a plastic bag.
Afterward, she put on the glasses and pulled the backpack over her shoulders. One word crossed her mind.
Home.
She shifted her gaze forward and stepped off, leaving the street for another, then doing the same two more times.
The farther she moved from the cruiser, the less tightly her jaw held. Anger drained with every block, leaving only the pain in her knee and the weight of the backpack behind.
She lifted her bracelet and turned it on with a finger flick. An opaque screen materialized above it, its curved edges pulling in the light when she brought up the map.
Her shoes splashed through shallow puddles. Cars cut through the rain and washed the sidewalk in dirty water.
One man nearly walked straight into her before veering aside at the last second.
A few moments later, the bracelet buzzed again.
She pressed a recessed button, and a caller ID filled the floating screen.
A lovely cat with brown, black and orange fur.
Her thumb hovered over the decline button. The anger left in her face softened before she could press it.
She pulled her wireless earbuds from her keychain and accepted the call.
Silence followed. Rain filled the background of the call. She swallowed once, twice, gathering enough nerve to speak.
"H—Hey there...um..."
The stutter left her feeling like a fool. She waited for a response with an embarrassed smile pulling at one corner of her mouth.
A half-laugh escaped her lips.
She stepped closer to her destination, looked both ways, then crossed the street, too lazy to wait for the pedestrian light.
A soft sigh filled her ear. The feminine voice that followed eased the last of the tension from her shoulders and stirred something warm behind her ribs.
「I've been calling you for thirty minutes... I even made food for us. You were supposed to be home an hour ago. You said the trip would only take a week, Cecilia...is my food really that bad?」
「How cruel.」
Cecilia stumbled over her words, her tongue suddenly turning 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 would have put the red of an intersection to shame.
「So? How was the office today?」
The voice was light and teasing. Utensils clinked in the background, followed by the faint sizzle of cooking oil and the soft gulp of someone drinking.
Cecilia paused for what felt like hours. A tender ache moved through her chest, and she wiped at one eye after stopping at a busy crosswalk.
"...terrible...absolutely terrible. I ended on the floor, you know?"
The cooking cut off the instant she spoke.
「What.」
"Just kidding..."
The conversation drifted into small talk, unimportant things filling the empty space between them. Minutes stretched on. Rain kept pouring all around.
Eventually, she reached a parking garage entrance.
"We'll talk later, okay? I found my car. Mmm. Mm...it'll be a while before I return...so, could you wait until tomorrow?...err...actually, maybe three...days..."
She rested against the wall of the narrow booth, sliding down slightly until her finger dipped into a puddle spreading beneath her shoes.
「Come back in one piece, okay? Jaa.」
The call disconnected, leaving only the rain to fill the silence.
Cecilia exhaled and let her shoulders sink. Her reflection rippled in the puddle below.
A raindrop slipped from the edge of her hoodie and struck the water, breaking her face apart. In the shifting reflection, her eyes shimmered red, like a fowl's caught in the dark.
She drew in a breath and let it out slowly.
Then she stood.
The narrow booth sat a few steps away, empty except for the glow of its screen. No one worked this place at such an hour, not unless they were cleaning or desperate.
Cecilia walked around to the front.
The screen flickered, then shifted into a number pad. A barcode blinked at the top, the manufacturer's name printed faintly beneath it.
She lifted her bracelet, opened the app she needed, and aimed it at the barcode.
Tap...tap tap tap.
Before she could lower her wrist, her ticket number and vehicle information appeared, followed by the toll.
"Nine hundred and thirty-two pesos."
"...so much for overtime..."
She pressed pay.
A new code appeared.
Cecilia stared at it, then pushed it forward with a thought. An outline formed in her view, followed by a string of numbers and the same amount marked with a minus sign.
The booth screen changed. A receipt slipped from the side, and a cheerful expression appeared in its place.
Cecilia walked through the opening gate.
She followed it from one floor to the next, descending three levels through the same repeating concrete walls. Halfway down, she unclipped her hood from her tufts and let it fall against her back.
Her car waited near the middle of the row, quiet beneath the low ceiling lights.
Cecilia unclipped her keychain on the way over. After a brief search, she found the right key and unlocked the door.
She opened the driver's door and slipped off her backpack. It dragged across the edge of the seat before she tossed it into the back.
She slid off her jacket and tossed it onto the passenger seat, over a small duffel bag.
She dropped into the driver's seat next and pulled the door shut. Cecilia grabbed her keys, slipped her earbud back into place, and pressed her right foot onto the brake.
Her left foot found the clutch and pushed it to the floor. She slipped the key into the ignition and turned it once.
The cluster lit up in a soft glow, followed by the headlights washing the concrete wall ahead in pale light.
Her hand closed around the parking brake. With her thumb on the button, she lowered it, pulled the gear stick into neutral and gave it a quick shake.
Once.
Then again.
Only then did Cecilia turn the key over.
The engine cranked for a few seconds with nothing to show for it.
She tried again.
This time, the car roared awake.
Its rough idle climbed unevenly, shuddering through the chassis and up into her body. The whole thing trembled around her like it wanted to shake itself apart before finally settling.
Her bracelet linked to the stereo. Music bled through the speakers, and the volume knob turned on its own until it landed somewhere comfortable.
Cecilia rolled the window down.
She leaned slightly toward the opening, listening for anything wrong in the rough idle. Exhaust curled through the garage and slipped into her lungs, thick enough to make her eyes heavy.
At first, the outside came in pieces.
A faraway hum.
The faint bark of a horn.
Wind howling through narrow gaps between buildings.
Once the engine sounded warm enough, she shifted into first and eased off the clutch. The car crept forward under its own power. Only after it started rolling did she pull the seatbelt across herself and click it into place.
After a couple turns, the street opened up ahead of her.
By the time she reached the first red light, the city had consumed her.
People moved along the sidewalks in uneven streams.
A woman in office clothes hurried across the crosswalk, her heels clicking sharp against the painted lines. The smell of oil, rain, and cooked food drifted together beneath the glow of traffic lights.
Cecilia stopped beside another car.
Red light spilled over both vehicles in long streaks. It painted the glass, the hood, and the sharp line of her cheek.
Green.
She hit the throttle the second the light changed.
Second.
Third.
Then down again. She drove harder, the engine rising through its mounts. Streetlights streaked across the windshield, every storefront blurring into ribbons of color.
She shot past glowing signs, shuttered shops and crowds.
Over.
And over.
The city thinned just enough for a restaurant sign to appear between the rain and passing headlights.
It suited the building just fine.
She killed the high beams and eased the car toward the far end of the lot, the tires rolling over wet leaves and cracked paint.
The sound changed the second she crossed in.
The city dulled behind her, replaced by rain tapping against her windshield and the low idle of her engine.
She let the car coast a little farther before pressing the clutch and brake together, bringing it to a slow stop beneath a dying lamp.
The stereo kept playing for all of three seconds before the music began to warp.
An opaque screen bloomed above her bracelet.
「Calling...」
What...a farce...