The Mutation Wave

Chapter 23: Mistaken Identity

"Waaah! Please don't kill meee!" a girlish scream rang out.

William moved cautiously towards the person cowering in fear. Bright light flooded the room as Masako restored the electrical supply. He lowered his pistol warily while Masako ran to the lady, almost tackling her to the ground.

"Marianne, you're alive! You're really alive!" she cried out, hugging her tightly.

"Let go of me! W-who are you?" Marianne pushed Masako away roughly, staring wide eyed at both of them.

"Huh?" Masako looked at her in confusion. "Oh no, did you lose your memory from the fall? You're Marianne, I'm Masako, and he's William. We met after the mutation wave, don't you remember?"

"What fall? I'm not Marianne."

"What do you mean? You totally are Marianne! You're our friend!" Masako grabbed her by her shoulders.

"N-no!" The lady shook her off, backing up against the wall again. "My name is Vivian and I don't know you!"

Masako blinked rapidly, her face a picture of pure confusion.

"Pardon me lady," William said, his voice almost dropping to a whisper. "But is 'Cha' your family name?"

"H-how did you know that?" the lady gasped, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Marianne once mentioned she had a sister," William muttered to himself. "To think she was referring to a twin sister..."

"I-I have a sister?" Vivian looked surprised.

"Huh? Marianne never told me she had a sis- Wait, how do you not know you have a sister?" Masako casted a wary gaze at her.

"I... I can't remember..." Vivian clutched her head. "All I can remember is that I have a master. I think he brought me here for some kind of experiment. It... hurts, but he still forces me to... to..." Her voice grew increasingly agitated.

"No! I won't go back to him!" she screamed suddenly, grabbing a chair in front of her. "Get away from me!"

"Calm- just calm down, Vivian." William raised a hand, trying to placate the hysterical woman. "We're not here to bring you back to your master. We're just here to look for our friend. Won't you tell us what happened?"

"GAAAHHH!" a scream rang out from outside the room.

"Yuxia!" William shouted. "She must be in trouble. Look after this lady, will you?"

"But-" Masako started, but William was already out of earshot.

William arrived at the scene quickly. Yuxia was surrounded by three men in fighting stances. He could visibly notice her breathing heavily as she clutched her side, blood dripping onto the floor beside a bloody dagger.

The men leered at her before attacking in a coordinated fashion. Yuxia defended bravely against them but for every hit she deflected, she suffered two more punishing strikes. Her assailants kept their hands up with a slight smirk on their faces. It was obvious that they were martial arts experts. The Red Clover screamed in pain once more, toppling to the ground after one of them struck a well aimed kick to her wounded area. The three men walked menacingly towards her.

"Get away from her, you cowards!"

A huge blast of water hit them with the force of a water cannon, pushing them back. They coughed and spluttered, glowering at the man running to Yuxia's side.

"It's an enhanced mutate!" one of them shouted. He had scarcely finished his sentence before dropping dead with a gaping hole in the side of his head. The other two men looked upwards, distracted by the bloodied jet of water zipping around them.