Touch: Saving Ai | ✓

9

My footsteps echoed down the abandoned halls as I made the conscious decision to exit via the certainly empty main foyer instead of the emergency room lobby where Mariko Oshiro would no doubt be headed when she arrived to see her son. Motion-activated lights flickered to life as I opened a door into a darkened hallway, casting my shadow into eerie relief on the white walls.

Half of me expected to hear the Voice whisper in my ear, but the world was thankfully silent as I continued on my way out.

Or it was until my phone rang.

With a buzz that made me jump, the default ringtone played – the sound echoing deafeningly down the long empty corridor. If it weren't for the vibration, I would have taken longer to recognise it. Unknown numbers rarely called.

I fished the device out of my pocket, jagged edges of the shattered screen prickling my thumb as I swiped to answer the call. 'Hello?'

'Evy?' The voice on the other end was barely understandable.

'Sorry?'

Crackles surged from the speaker as the caller laughed. 'Sorry – ' The static started to clear. ' – I meant Evelyn.'

'Gwen?'

'That's me!'

She sounded so... cheerful. How'd she even get my number? 'Sorry, now's not a great time – '

'I know. My dad told me what happened.'

'He did?' Wasn't that a breach of confidentiality? I mean, I'd always known he sort of toed the line with certain things, but how much had he said, exactly?

'Yeah, he said I should make sure that you're okay. You're heading home by yourself, right?'

'Um, yeah, but – ' The lights overhead turned off.

'You did the right thing.'

Or I thought they did. When I blinked, they were back on. Was it my imagination? Maybe it was just the empty halls giving me the creeps. I started walking towards the exit.

'Sorry, what do you mean?'

'Saving Ai. You did the right thing.'

Did I?

'But Ryo – '

'You saved him too.'

'I don't think I – '

'I always knew you could. I mean, I had my doubts here and there but – '

My steps faltered. 'What do you mean by that?'

'Hmm?'

'You just said – '

The speaker crackled with static.

'Hello?'

'Oops. Sorry, bad reception. Just wanted to say, you shouldn't feel bad that your friend got hurt.'

My... friend? 'You mean Ryo?'

'Yeah, him. You saved him. You saved Ai. You saved that little boy down at the train station too. Keep doing what you're doing, Evy.'

There it was. She'd just called me Evy again. Like I knew she was a sort-of pushy, overly-friendly person, but despite the fact that she'd been to my house twice over these last few days, we didn't actually know each other very well. There was a strange feeling in my chest. Something felt off, but I didn't have the words to explain it.

'Um, Gwen, this might seem rude but... is everything alright with you?'

She paused. 'I'm not sure what you mean.'