Fortuna

6

"Who else would it be?" 

I stood puzzled in the darkness, my heart beating fast. The voice was feminine and youthful and I tried to recall who it could be. A dozen names popped up in my head but I managed to narrow it down to one.

"...Imara?"

"Great job, detective," the voice replied monotonically. "I've waited for you to get here for the whole day."

"I'm...sorry?" I didn't know how to respond. "Do you want to get out from under the bed or something?" 

It must have been extremely uncomfortable being cramped under there all day if what she claimed was true. I somehow felt bad and responsible that I kept her waiting even though by no means was it my fault since I didn't even know she was here.

"Wait. Is it past two yet?" she whispered.

"I think so." 

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I thought back to what Max had said about the dimming lights. "I'm sure."

"Cool. Close your door; a guard is going to start patrolling this hallway soon."

I closed the door. A hand and arm appeared from beneath the bed, pulling the rest of its body out. A shadow was cast on the wall as she got up: a real life monster from under the bed. Except she wasn't a monster but instead a petite girl who looked annoyed but otherwise very pleased with herself. The light from outside softly illuminated her features. She had tanned skin with shining hazel eyes, and frizzy dark hair tied back into a messy ponytail. She was also wearing my suit which was a bit over-sized for her small frame.

"Why do you have my suit? Why were you under my bed? Where -"

She interrupted me.

"I know you have a lot of questions but fortunately, I have a lot of answers. I'm here to help but before I start, you're going to have to be honest with me," she took my x-disk out of the suit pocket and placed it on the bed. "How did you get this?"

I pursed my lips, guilty. "I took it from the hospital. Sally - you know Sally right? - told me to take a look at it and I decided to take it with me. Yeah. I took it but you can't blame for being a little freaked out, waking up in a hospital on some random planet."

She looked at me and glared, like she was trying to detect if I was lying. After a few seconds, her expression loosened up and she sighed. "Okay. It doesn't seem like you're lying." 

Why would I be? I thought to myself. I had nothing to hide unless she was some undercover guard who wanted to arrest me for stealing an x-disk from a goddamn hospital. Oh wait...arrest? This place was basically a prison already so I guess I had nothing to lose.

"Alright, newbie. Come sit on the bed. This is going to be a hell of a bed-time story."

"It's Hayden, by the way."

She ignored me and plopped herself down onto my bed. I followed. We sat facing each other, with only the stars listening in on our conversation.

"My name is Imara but you knew that already. I woke up one day and found myself on this planet about two weeks ago. I don't remember anything much about travelling here but I do remember a bright light the night before I came," her voice was soft, just barely audible.

I noted the similarities between my experience and hers but I let her continue talking without interruption. 

"When I came to my senses, I was in the hospital and Sally came to take care of me. Afterwards, a little later in the night, three men with blue hair escorted me out of the hospital and one of them brought me to this place. I presume the same happened to you."