Pandion (Genera #1)

Chapter 21

K agesawa wished he’d had Satoru in a better state to keep him grounded through this, but Satoru was still out of commission sleeping off his migraine. Kagesawa sat in the dark with only the light from his screen as company.

He needed to come up with a plan. No matter how the data had leaked, he was responsible for digging it up in the first place. Innocent people were dying because he’d been so caught up worrying about himself.

The police had arrested some of the protesters, but the number of people now gathering on the streets was staggering. Even after the worst of the commotion had died down for the night, there were still occasional unsettling cries coming from outside. There weren’t that many empaths in the local community. At this rate, by dawn there might not be any left.

Maybe if he could prove the organism either wasn’t sentient or didn’t mind being used? Would any of that make a difference at this point? The rioters were out for blood, and half of their reasons for hating the empaths were based on false accusations. Why would they care if a few were proven wrong?

Kagesawa turned his attention to preparing for the worst. He exhausted all of his usual channels and gathered as much information as possible, mapped out escape routes and made calculations to figure out how far his resources could stretch.

Around one o’clock Harumine woke up. Kagesawa had dragged him here and into his bed so he could keep an eye on him while connected to his BCI.

“Uh, what time is it?”

“Twelve past one. You can go back to sleep.”

“My head hurts. I’m going to get my meds.” He shambled out of the room. Kagesawa was in the middle of something and hardly paid attention to it. When Satoru returned, he crawled back into bed and curled up under the covers. Kagesawa looked up to check on him.

“Is it getting better at all?” Several days of this excruciating a headache seemed excessive.

“A little. Maybe tomorrow.”

“All rig—” A noise from the corridor alerted Kagesawa mid-word. He got up and moved into the hallway to hear better. There were people somewhere below, making their way into the apartments. Familiar voices expressed their complaints and rushed footsteps in the stairs headed up floor by floor.

This is bad. Kagesawa pushed aside the covers and yanked Satoru out of bed. Sorry. We need to go.

Their route out the door was blocked, and the window in the living room was the only other option. The drop down didn’t bear thinking about, but Kagesawa had to look to check that no one was at this side of the building. He couldn’t see anyone.

The outer wall felt rough against his hands, but there wasn’t much to hold on to. Kagesawa was confident he’d be able to reach the downspout at the corner of the building, but Satoru was shorter and had a significantly shorter arm span. On top of that, he was not at his best.

Look out to the left, do you think you can reach that? he asked and guided Satoru to the window.

Satoru hesitated only for a moment and jumped onto the window sill. He held on to the jambs and leaned out, back first. I think, if I can gain a bit of momentum… He leaned over to the opposite side and swung himself with complete disregard for his safety.

With his heart jumping to his throat, Kagesawa reached out to grab him. Thank heavens Satoru was more athletic than expected and caught a hold of the downspout—if a metre or two lower than the window.

Shit, fuck, Satoru! You scared the living daylights out of me. Kagesawa climbed out the window and shimmied it shut from the outside.

Satoru climbed down a few steps to reach a ledge on the other side of the corner and moved aside to give Kagesawa space.

The ledge was a godsend considering the downspout probably wouldn’t have carried the weight of the both of them. Can you move over some more? I don’t want to be here if they think to look out the window. Kagesawa tried to fit in the tight space left for him on the ledge. Satoru moved over as much as he could.

On this side of the building, there were only a few small windows that led into the bathrooms of some of the other apartments. The neighbouring building was only about a metre away with a narrow alleyway in between. The area was secluded enough to give some shelter from the worst bite of the wind, but having to stay still in an awkward position not wearing a proper jacket or any other outerwear, it took less than ten minutes for Kagesawa to start to shiver from the cold.

Satoru was huddled next to him with a death grip on the corner of a window sill. How long do we wait? he asked, pressed his forehead onto the surface of the building and closed his eyes.

I don’t know. I’ll go check once all the noise has died down. Kagesawa considered climbing down, but with nowhere safer to go, staying put seemed like the better option. He tried to make himself comfortable.

After a good five minutes of silence, Kagesawa was about to go check whether it was safe to return when they heard a bone-chilling scream from the apartment next to them.

Takazaki? Satoru glanced at Kagesawa and bounced up to see if he could see anything through the small window above him. He froze.

Can you see? What happened? Kagesawa tried to lean closer to look, but the angle was wrong, so all he could see was a corner of the bathtub and the bathroom mirror.

Satoru did not respond. An eerie silence fell around them. Kagesawa pulled Satoru back down, worried that someone in the apartment might notice him staring through the window.

I guess we need to wait a while longer. Kagesawa took a better hold of the downspout next to him and draped his free arm over Satoru’s shoulder. Hang in there. It’ll be over soon.

An hour later the neighbourhood had finally fallen silent. Kagesawa made sure Satoru was holding on properly before he turned the corner and checked whether the apartment was empty. The place was a mess, but no one was there.

It’s safe to come in. Kagesawa reached back for the downspout and peeked around the corner. Satoru was perched on the ledge, eyes fixed to the wall in front of him. Can you move? If not, it would be a challenge getting him back inside.

I don’t know. Satoru hadn’t said anything for a while now, so it was a relief to hear him respond. My fingers feel stiff, he added.

Does it hurt? Kagesawa made his way back onto the ledge.

No. The opposite. I can’t feel them. I’m afraid if I move, I’ll slip…

Satoru had been crouching under the window in a static, awkward position most of the hour they’d been waiting. Kagesawa had been able to stretch from time to time, so he’d fared much better.

Try to stand up and move a little. I’ll hold onto you. Kagesawa wanted to assess the situation through the link, but Satoru had dampened it at some point. Why are you dampening?

“I feel like crap,” Satoru mumbled. He straightened himself and tried to fix his grip. No, that’s not accurate, blue. I feel messed up, 7, more like. He turned to look at Kagesawa. Something happened to Takazaki. We need to go check…

He lurched towards the corner with Kagesawa backing away in front of him, trying to keep him from falling but giving him space to move.

How the hell do we get you over to the window? It was obvious that Satoru wasn’t in any condition to reliably jump over. The first time had been frightening enough, and he’d been less of a mess then.

I might be able to, if you go in first and stretch your arm out to me. Satoru leaned on the downspout and looked ready to fall off at any moment. But the odds would only worsen the longer this took and the more tired he became, so Kagesawa climbed in and held out his hand as far as he could.

Ready?

If I fall, don’t start pining for me, all right? Satoru chuckled.

What the hell — Kagesawa was caught off-guard when Satoru jumped.

Their hands failed to connect.

The sensation of a sleeve brushing against his fingers and slipping out of grasp sent chills down Kagesawa’s spine. He all but threw himself out of the window to reach after Satoru. It left him hanging precariously unbalanced over the window sill, but at least at the end of it Satoru dangled in midair instead of either of them attending an impromptu get-together with the pavement below.

Give me a fucking signal, you ass! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! He managed to help Satoru reach and take a hold of the window sill.

Can you pull me all the way? Satoru looked up at him, helpless.

Kagesawa considered the absurdity of the situation: Not only was he not a body-builder, he was supposed to pull up a full-grown man with no help? And soon, too, since Satoru looked like he might not be able to hold on for much longer.

Fuck. We’re in this shit together, right? You’re gonna have to help me! Kagesawa forced past Satoru’s dampening, flooded him with every bit of the adrenaline-fuelled panic he was feeling, relayed the plan and grabbed him by the wrists.

Satoru’s eyes widened and he kicked the wall for momentum. This almost yanked Kagesawa out the window again, but the kick was enough to help him pull Satoru upwards some ways before he had to release one hand to keep himself from falling. Satoru hit the wall sideways but managed to get one arm over the sill. Once there, it was much easier to help him over the rest of the way.

Kagesawa fell into a panting heap on the floor and released the dampening. Consequently, a wave of numb lethargy washed over him and turned his limbs into strengthless noodles.

“Whoa—!” His head reeled. He turned to look at Satoru, who tried to get up.

“Sorry.” Satoru re-dampened the link, closed his eyes and sat back. “I think I need a moment… ah, I just wanted some sleep.”

He pulled himself up against the side of the sofa and leaned on the wall behind him. Then he wiped his face and took in the view. Kagesawa did the same.

The living room was in a state of complete chaos.

“Takazaki.” Satoru took some unsteady steps towards the front door.

Kagesawa had half a mind to stop him but followed him instead. That scream was still fresh in his mind. “He’s not an empath, so he’s safe, right?” Even if they were after Takazaki for his extracurricular activities, he wasn’t an empath. Killing him would not free an organism. Unable to justify murder, they must have just roughed him up for not cooperating. “Right?”

Kagesawa followed Satoru into the corridor. The door to Takazaki’s apartment was ajar.

Before they entered, Satoru turned to look at Kagesawa, but he was still dampening and his expression was difficult to read.

The apartment had been destroyed similarly to theirs, but it was now dead silent. Despicable cowards. Satoru stopped at the kitchen door and let Kagesawa pass him into the living room.

“Takazaki?” Kagesawa saw the man lying on the floor, unmoving. “But why?” He knelt at Takazaki’s lifeless body. There were no obvious lethal injuries, but the pungent odour of burnt flesh and hair was too strong to miss. Kagesawa turned his friend’s head carefully, to confirm what was there. The port was scorched beyond recognition, but because of its size and location, there was no mistaking it. “Shit.”

Kagesawa glanced at Satoru, who’d turned to face the wall and leaned his forearm and head against it, clenching his teeth.

Shit, I take it back. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. We weren’t done. I was supposed to be angry with you for a while, you’d keep apologising a couple more times, and then things would go back to normal— Kagesawa choked.

There would have been time. He could have rushed over, called or sent a message to warn Takazaki as soon as he’d heard the noise. Surely, he could have prevented this, had he realised it was needed.

He’d already been through this once. He’d thought he was smart enough to learn something from his mistakes, yet he’d let it happen again.

Kagesawa felt dizzy. Breathe, stupid! Steadily! But he couldn’t focus on it for long enough for it to make a difference.

Why hadn’t he noticed Takazaki was an empath? He was such an idiot! Everyone around him would end up getting themselves killed like this, one by one, because he couldn’t pay attention like a normal person, like he was supposed to. He couldn’t even breathe properly, for heaven’s sake! Breathe!

He was too much of an incompetent birdbrain to stop any of it from happening. Everyone was going to die because of him. Everyone was…

He glanced back at Satoru.

Shit. What if… w-what if… In that moment, the thought was simply unbearable. Kagesawa broke down crying, gasping for breath between his panicked sobs. Takazaki was dead. Satoru had nearly died. What if— what if all of them really—? They would all— He swallowed. What if Satoru, as well—

He could feel Satoru leaning over his back, heavy. He was still there.

Sorry. I know this sucks, but we can’t stay here. We need to call the police, let them handle this and find somewhere safe for now. Satoru tried to help Kagesawa up, but in his condition, it was surprising he was even still standing on his own.

This was not the time to be having one of his idiotic panic attacks. It was disrespectful to Takazaki and an unreasonable burden for Satoru. Things needed to be taken care of. He needed to pull himself together and dust this off.

“You’re right. We need to go.”

It was too late to help Takazaki, but Kagesawa swore he would do anything and everything to keep Satoru safe. He’d managed that much for now; he’d make sure he’d do the same again, as many times as he needed to.