Gas Masks

Precipitate

Kiyoshi's face flustered in bright red blush as his eyes opened wide.

I shouldn't have showed him I thought. Feeling extremely difficult, I glance back at him.

It seems as if he was desperate to find a back up in this situation.

He then grasps my hand, taking me to the halls away from the embarrassing laughter. Him clenching my wrists felt like he meant to breaking them.

Both stopping in the middle of the endless hall, he looks up at me. His eyes were practically shaded out, as if he were ashamed of my actions.

Raising his hand high, I flinched knowing that he was about to give a hard strike in the face.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel the hit at all. All I could feel was his arms wrapped around me tightly never letting go.

"That letter was for you Amaya," He says confessing, "You could have read it before I... I should have guarded you!" His voice trembling.

To my astonishment, I wrapped my arms around him too, knowing that this would make him feel better and give him hope. That whatever happened in the past before my amnesia can't effect him at this moment.

I begin to speak what was on my mind. "Sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past, stop planning the future, figure out precisely how we feel, stop deciding what we want our feelings to desire, and sometimes we have to go with whatever happens... just happens."

I could then hear him bare out a small sob while he gave a out few shakes.

He then lets out small laughs bubble out inside him, "That's what you always used to say."

Finally releasing me, he turned around and walked away towards the elevators.

I guess this was the last time today I get to see his free face which was not hidden from his gas mask.

Watching him go, I walked my own path. The lunch room.

~~~

Later on in the afternoon, the device on my wrist flashes on and off with a printed message: Report to the Test Chamber located in level -7.

I headed to elevators. Who needed me? Are they going to do anything to me? Something to present I guess...

The elevator that I was waiting for opened, revealing another boy with a gas mask. Speaking of masks, this reminded me to put mines on. He had a hood over his head, Jacket was half unzipped.

The boy kept examining me. Annoyed, I say "Need any help?"

"No not at all Chiyoko." He says answering. Seriously, I bet everyone in this building knows my name!

He continues talking while smiling "I guess your going to level -7 too huh?" Level -7, no doubt where I'm going. "Good luck." He says.

There was complete awkward silence for a whole minute as the elevator took us down slowly.

"My name is Black if you forgotten by the way," He adds informing me. Black? Like the color black? "They call me this... well because I love the dark."

A ding of the elevator notified us that we were at the desired floor.

The door opened and we both stepped out. The whole place was a cave filled with test tubes, and unexplainable things that seemed to belong to those poeple using them.

Test Chamber was carved onto the top of the cave. Murmuring from the people with lab coats echoed the place.

"Black we needed your help with a few-" A girl says but then stops to look at me, "Ugh not you" Kiyoshi was with her too, filling up the test tubes with blue liquid.

She was looking at me in disgust. I felt unwanted at the moment, I don't really want to get into a fight right now.

"Cut her some slack, she just was hit with amnesia, haven't you heard the news?" Black adds reassuringly.

She groans and turns around, looking into a microscope "Just bring her to whatever you were ordered to do." She mouth something else to Black, he didn't seem to like the response.

We headed down one more floor which was below the cave. No elevators needed, just stairs.

"That was Red." he says laughing, "She gets mad and serious all the time."

"Why is she called that?" I asked in confusion.

He looked at me still smiling. This guy smiles all the time like there's no worries at all. "They call her that because whenever she fights, she loves seeing blood."

Now I know I need to keep my distances from 'Red'

"Anyways," he adds, "There is someone you have to meet."