Chapter 14: Approaches and Perceptions
Himeko advanced with methodical curiosity, her probe left behind, well camouflaged in the pasture. The readings on her tablet guided her towards the heart of the city, where the energy anomalies seemed to be concentrated.
She noted the local architecture, the flora, the occasional motor vehicles that passed by on dirt roads before reaching the asphalt of the outskirts – everything was cataloged with the eye of a scientist and the soul of an adventurer.
Her natural elegance and calm demeanor made her look like a particularly observant tourist, rather than an interstellar traveler investigating dimensional ruptures.
While Himeko was closing in, Joey was at home, finally concocting an excuse that seemed to placate his mother, at least for now. He claimed he needed to go to the main stationery shop for special supplies for an "online course" he was supposedly taking.
The lie pricked his conscience, but the urge to check on Lyra was more powerful. His father remained holed up in his office, buried in reports and a foul mood, which cleared the way for Joey's escape.
He passed through the living room on his way out. His mother, Clara, accepted the story with a concerned smile, simply telling him not to be too long.
Mai Sakurajima, seated on the couch reading a book Clara had lent her, lifted her eyes for a brief moment. Her expression was neutral, polite, yet to Joey, it felt like a spotlight dissecting the flimsy excuse. Her quiet scrutiny was nearly as daunting as his father's anger, and he rushed out the door before she could voice a sharp, insightful question.
Walking through the familiar streets, every glance felt like a pinprick. The previous night with Lyra had given him a surge of bravery, but it hadn't magically cured his social anxiety. He fixed his mind on his objective: reach the abandoned theater, leave more food, and try to get a sense of whether she was safe. His mother's mention of the neighborhood "watches" still echoed in his mind.
Meanwhile, not far away, Leo and his friends were already roaming the town center. Their "investigation" was mostly just people-watching and wild speculation.
"Dude, what if the 'elf girl' is like, a scout from another planet, and the 'pilot' is her partner?" one of Leo's friends theorized over ice cream in the town square.
"Or what if they're enemies!" Leo shot back, his eyes shining. "And Joey, being his weird self, is secretly helping one of them!"
It was meant more as a joke than a real accusation, but Leo couldn't shake the image of his brother acting so strangely by the library.
Kael, the Tracker, followed Himeko's energy signature. He was a master at moving unnoticed, using the shadows and blind spots of the urban environment with preternatural skill.
He caught a glimpse of Himeko – a woman with vibrant red hair, moving with a confidence and purpose that set her apart from the locals. The technology she carried, though discreet, emitted signals Kael's sensors identified as highly advanced.
She wasn't a simple accidental "displaced" individual; her arrival had seemed intentional. This made her more dangerous or, potentially, a source of information.
Himeko, for her part, sensed she was being subtly observed. Nothing she could pinpoint directly, but a slight distortion in her tablet readings, a pattern of silence in the ambient noises that seemed to move with her.
It was the feeling of an experienced predator or a highly trained observer. She showed no change in her behavior, continuing her approach to the area her tablet indicated as the location of the "stable and fluctuating anomaly" – the abandoned cinema.
"It seems this planet has its own guardians or, at the very least, its own well-equipped curious onlookers," Himeko thought, a faint analytical smile on her lips.
Joey finally reached the vicinity of the cinema. His heart was pounding. He looked around, searching for Léo or the "vigil" groups from the previous night.
The street seemed calmer under the Saturday morning light. He approached the alley, hesitating before entering.
Inside the cinema, Lyra was restless. The food had sustained her, but the isolation was beginning to weigh on her. She had heard the city noises outside, the voices passing by.
Would the young human return? Was it safe to trust him? She had no answers.
Himeko was now a few blocks from the cinema. She stopped at a small café she found open, the aroma of roasted beans of that city drawing her in.
"A black coffee, please," she asked the attendant with a gentle smile. While waiting, she observed the people around her, absorbing the local atmosphere.
"The passion for coffee seems to be an interesting universal constant," she mused.
At that exact moment, Léo and his friends passed by the café door, loud and laughing. Léo paused for an instant, his gaze drawn to Himeko's elegant figure, with her unusual red hair.
"Wow," he murmured to a friend. "Look at that woman. She looks like she stepped out of a movie!"
Himeko merely offered a discreet, polite smile in their direction before taking her coffee. She was used to attracting attention but preferred discretion on her exploratory missions.
Joey, in the alley, took a deep breath and entered the darkness of the abandoned cinema, calling Lyra's name in a whisper.
Kael, now positioned on a rooftop overlooking the main entrance of the cinema and the café where Himeko was, observed both situations unfolding. The human, Joey, was entering the probable hideout of one of the displaced. And the red-haired newcomer was dangerously close.
Saturday was about to get much more interesting.
The morning sun bathed the city in clear light and the promise of warmth, but for some of its inhabitants and unexpected visitors, the atmosphere was charged with a subtle electricity.
Himeko, after savoring her coffee – a strong, aromatic brew she mentally cataloged as "robust, with notes of chocolate and a surprising earthy sweetness" – proceeded with her investigation.
The tablet in her hand guided her with discreet precision. The "stable, yet fluctuating energy signature" she had detected seemed to emanate from a large, old structure, an abandoned cinema adjacent to the municipal library, according to the cartographic information her device had quickly assimilated.
"A place that accumulates forgotten stories," Himeko mused with an appreciative smile, "often attracts equally forgotten or displaced energies."
Her scientific curiosity mingled with a maternal nature that made her concerned for the well-being of any being that might be emitting such signals of isolation.
Meanwhile, Joey approached the same destination, his heart hammering an irregular rhythm against his ribs. The stationery store excuse was flimsy, and the possibility of encountering Léo or, worse, hostile groups, kept him on high alert.
But the image of Lyra, her vulnerability, and the silent connection they had shared the previous night were a stronger call. He needed to ensure she was safe, that she had the supplies he had left.
Each step towards the cinema alley was a victory against the paralysis of his social phobia.
Léo and his friends, after their ice cream, had indeed decided to "patrol" the library area. The brief sight of the red-haired woman in the café (Himeko) had added another item to Léo's list of "strange things."
"D'you think she's an ET too?" he asked his friends, who laughed but followed him anyway, the prospect of any adventure, however unlikely, livening up their morning.
From atop a neighboring building, Kael, the Tracker, observed the intricate ballet of movements. The red-haired woman (Himeko) approached the abandoned cinema with a calm and purpose that intrigued him.
The young human, Joey, was also heading there, his anxiety almost palpable even from a distance, but his determination was undeniable. And the group of noisy teenagers, led by Joey's brother, added an element of chaotic unpredictability to the situation.
Kael adjusted the sensors on his hood, prepared for any eventuality. That cinema was becoming a focal point.
Himeko reached the side entrance of the cinema, the same one Joey had used. The door was ajar, a dark slit inviting mystery. Her tablet confirmed that the source of the anomaly was inside.
She didn't hesitate. With the elegance and confidence that characterized her, she pushed the door a little further and entered, her eyes quickly adjusting to the gloom.
The smell of dust, mildew, and stagnant time enveloped her.
"Hello?" she called softly, her calm, thoughtful, and elegant tone of voice designed to be reassuring. "Is anyone here? There's no need to be afraid. I'm a friend."
Inside, Lyra, who was sitting on the floor of the old auditorium, started at the new voice. It wasn't Joey's hesitant, low voice. This one was different, feminine, calm, but with a resonance of quiet authority.
She instinctively recoiled, fear tightening her chest again.
At that exact instant, Joey reached the alley entrance. He heard the feminine voice coming from inside the cinema. It wasn't Lyra.
His blood ran cold. Had someone found Lyra? Someone from the "vigil"? Or worse?
The need to protect the elf, which had become almost an instinct, overcame his fear. He ran the few meters to the ajar door and entered the cinema, his eyes wide.
The scene that greeted him was surreal. In the center of the dusty stage, bathed in a beam of light entering through a broken skylight, stood Himeko. Her posture was relaxed yet attentive.
She was looking in the direction of the shadows where Lyra was hidden.
Upon hearing Joey enter, Himeko turned slowly, without alarm, merely with observant curiosity.
"Well, well," Himeko said, a slight smile appearing on her lips as she saw Joey, who had stopped abruptly, pale and breathless. "It seems this place is busier than I expected."
Her gaze was penetrating but not threatening. She recognized in him the same type of anomalous, though more subtle, energy her tablet had registered in the city.
Joey was speechless. Before him stood a tall woman with flaming red hair, dressed in an elegant and exotic manner, exuding an aura of calm and intelligence that intimidated him and, at the same time, made him strangely less terrified than he should have been.
She didn't seem like a threat in the conventional sense.
"You..." Joey began, his voice failing. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Himeko tilted her head slightly. "I could ask the same of you, young man," she replied, her voice maintaining its melodious tone. "My name is Himeko. I'm an... explorer."
And I sensed a peculiar energy coming from this place. An energy that seemed a little lonely." Her gaze shifted for a moment to the shadows where Lyra was hiding, then back to Joey.
Before Joey could respond, voices were heard from outside the cinema, approaching. It was Léo and his friends.
"Hey, guys, I think I saw someone go in here!" Léo's voice rang out, loud and excited. "Let's check it out! Maybe the elf has a secret headquarters!"
Panic seized Joey. Léo couldn't find them there. He couldn't find Lyra, and certainly not this new and mysterious woman.
Himeko, however, didn't seem disturbed by the voices. She merely raised an eyebrow, a glint of amused resignation in her eyes.
"It seems we'll have company. And I haven't even properly finished my breakfast."
She looked at Joey, then towards the shadows where Lyra was. Her gaze seemed to say, "And now, what shall we do?"
That old abandoned cinema in the city, the stage for so many forgotten films, was about to become the setting for an even more unlikely encounter, uniting a local young man burdened by secrets, an elf from another world, an interstellar navigator, and, just outside, a group of curious teenagers and a silent Tracker observing every move.
Saturday morning was far from boring.
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I'll be redoing the story. Many things will remain, some will change. I hope to count on your feedback to know if you're enjoying the story or want me to change anything. This is my first time creating a story, so I made several mistakes the first time around. I read one of the comments on the chapters and decided to redo the story to make it more pleasant for you all.
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