Shantrice from The East: The Anthology

RECOURSE: The Second Season! (Not Really!) [Story No. 07]

"EEEYYAAAUUUGGRRRLLLLLBBBBBLLLLGGHHHHH!"

THE FUCK?! Somebody or something just fuckin' shocked me!

Okay, yeah. I'm awake now, for the third and hopefully final time. I don't know where I am, but my head is pounding like a HBCU band at a jamboree and I'm extremely groggy. I can hear voices, but they all sound garbled and also rather deafening. My Auditory Brilliance—the scientific name for my Eclipsed Faculty of enhanced hearing—is back in effect, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I really need to get a handle on that, because every single sound has been turned up to thirty-three. I'm hearing frequencies I shouldn't even be hearing right now.

(Is there a fuckin' ant crawling around somewhere?)

The lights are brighter than usual, almost blinding, which makes keeping my eyes open torturous. It feels like they're all piercing my brain. Everybody around just looks like blurry fractals or something. To my right and left, I can make out rows of almost contiguous capsules, but only their outline, slotted into the wall like batteries. My vision is beginning to return to normal as I continue to survey my surroundings, revealing that there are people inside of them. Teenagers, to be precise. So, if my deduction is correct, this means that I'm finally at my destination: STRATUM 4.

If this is that floor, then Pygmeat didn't know what he was talking about, or he lied in order to discourage me. There are no guards from what I can tell, just a bunch of T'Karians in regular clothing walking all around. Some have given me a death stare as they passed by, but nobody's said anything. Guess seeing a human here isn't all that surprising, but still very unwanted.

With all the noise and casual attire, it feels like I'm in a mall or something. The chatter is still killing me though. Hopefully this Faculty of mine subsides soon. Aside from that, I'm excited that I'm closer to finding Zuri and getting the fuck up out of here. I really hope they haven't done anything bad to her.

It only recently occurred to me that she's the cousin whom Shantrice has been looking for these past few months. Like, I've heard her name before and everything, but it just didn't ring any bells during our conversation. Can't blame me for not remembering immediately though. Shan is a thorn in my side most of the time, and I generally aim to ignore all of her blogs and streams. Especially the streams, which I've only watched after the live broadcast has ended, and mainly when I'm told that she has made mention of Sinead and me. Can thank Kanesha Kellum and her big mouth for that though.

With that being said, Shan has opened every stream lately with a plea to all of her viewers, asking them to remain on the look-out for anybody suspicious, as well as to send her any info they can gather on possible sightings of Zuri. Sadly, only one person ever had any info, but Shan has never talked about that encounter. Not in full anyway, she just told Sinead and me that it was a dead-end.

Well, rescuing her cousin should keep that afro-puff wearing demon off my back for a while. That's my hope anyway. However, considering the ranting from Zuri earlier, I'm not sure she wants to be reunited. I imagine there's going to be a fight once they see each other again, and I'm gonna have a front row seat to it. The clash of the century: ‘All the Smoke in Cayenne Oaks’!

Speaking of fighting, I'm only now realizing that Stratum 4 (if that is indeed where I am) is a stadium and that I'm in a lobby. As I stated before, there are a lot of T'Karians walking about. Mostly chit-chatting, but there are those at what I perceive to be concession stands. Probably buying snacks to enjoy whatever's going on straight ahead in the arena. I see now that is where a majority of the chatter's coming from. Still fuckin' deafening.