Psycho-Pass: Halcyon Days

Chapter 3

"— —ri!"

What is that sound? A voice?

"In— —r — —ri!"

There it is again. Who is that? What are they saying? My addled brain was unable to form a coherent thought. My body felt heavy and numb, and my head felt like someone had struck me with a sledgehammer.

"W— — up, Insp— —r!"

Who are you? Where am I? I could almost make out the words now. There was an incessant ringing between my ears that demanded I claw at my head in order to silence it. The sensations were beginning to return to my extremities. A warm liquid ran down my head and face.

"Inspector Amari! You need to wake up!"

My eyes shot open and a I felt like I was hit by a truck all over again. I whimpered as my body was racked with pain. "G...Ginoza?" A pathetic murmur was all I could manage.

"Amari, are you all right?! Can you move?" His voice pounded against my already splitting head.

"I-I'm not sure," I replied weakly. I attempted to move all of my limbs. Damn it. Everything hurt. The gnarled steel and shattered glass was like a scene from a horror film. After a few brief moments I tried to move again, and miraculously, my body hesitantly responded. "I think–I think I'm ok!" I shouted.

"Thank goodness. All right see if you can reach the handle. You need to get out of the car." His voice sounded displaced.

"Me? What about you?" I looked over at the driver's seat and found that Ginoza was not only no longer sitting behind me, but the seat was inverted. Our cruiser had flipped over during the crash.

"Ginoza?!" I shouted again as I looked around frantically.

"I'm back he–ugh..." his voice cut off in pain.

I contorted my body so I could look behind my seat and saw Ginoza's twisted body in back seat. His face was covered in blood and both his arm and leg looked badly injured. "Are you ok?" He obviously wasn't, but I didn't know what else to say.

"I've felt better. My leg is broken and I don't think my arm is in much better shape." His voice broke again, clearly in pain. "You need to get out of here, Amari. Grab your Dominator. This was no accident."

"I'm not leaving you here!" My voice was still weak despite my attempt to shout.

"Damn it, we don't have time for this! Those guys are going to come looking to confirm the kill and you can't be here when they do. Now go!"

I had never seen Ginoza so serious before. Without further discussion, I honored his behests and released my safety belt, sending me crashing down. Ow! I scrambled for my Dominator in the center console, retrieving it in one swift motion.

"Good, now get away from here. I'm sure the MWPSB has already been alerted." Ginoza had calmed down a bit.

"I'll get help. Sit tight, Enforcer Ginoza." I squeezed out of the busted passenger window and took cover against the broken cruiser.

"Ginoza will suffice."

Before I could tell him to shut up, I heard the clamoring of multiple people exiting the truck. I froze, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Go check it out. No prisoners." The throaty voice of a middle-aged man rang out.

I could hear the crunching sound of footsteps over broken glass creeping closer. Our cruiser had been lodged against the wall of a neighboring building in such a way that there was only one clear path forward. I can't stay here. I need to lead them away from Ginoza. I waited for the opportune moment to make my move.