Noah, City of Von 2067, Sunday, January 12th, 6 days since Winter Rose was killed
In the chilly morning, a tall steel-barred gate with thick walls on both sides opens slowly, followed by a screeching sound. Once the gate is fully open, someone walks out, then stops and looks over their shoulder at the giant words on the walls that read "Von Maximum Security Prison." Then they wave over at the correctional officer as the tall steel-barred gate slowly closes with the same screeching sound. The person then breathes in and then exhales into the cold, thick air.
As the person begins to walk away from the prison, he starts to hear the honking of a nearby vehicle. The person looks to his left, and when he does, his right eye begins to light up blue. After taking a closer look, he realizes it's Rudolph waving over at him, signaling him to come over. The person then slowly approaches the vehicle to the point where he is within talking distance of Rudolph.
"Hey! It's been a while, Noah." Says Rudolph with a smile. "What has it been? Two years?"
Noah breathes in, then breathes out while rubbing his hand through his white, short, thick hair. "Yeah, something like that."
Rudolph opened the car door behind the driver's seat. "You should be twenty-one years old, right?"
Noah gets into the car, then says, "Yes, I am now twenty-one years old."
Rudolph hops back into the car, shuts the door, and drives off away from the prison.
Noah takes a look over into the passenger seat and sees someone he doesn't recognize. "Who is the person sitting next to you, Rudolph?" Noah's right eye lit up all bright blue again.
Rudolph glances over his right shoulder at Noah, then back to the road, "This is A-3, a new type of robot that is being made for detective work.
"Nice to meet you, Noah." Says A-3.
"Yeah, nice to meet you, A-3," Noah says as he lies back in his seat and closes his eyes. Noah then asks, "Where are we going?"
"We are going to your new home," Rudolph says as he puts a cigarette in his mouth.
"And where may that be?" Noah asks.
"In the second district of Von City, just behind the police station in the small neighborhood complex called 'The Stacks.'"
The vehicle pulls up onto a narrow road, with houses lined up to the right, almost as if they were stacked on top of each other.
"We're here," Rudolph says as he turns off the car.
As they exit the vehicle, Noah looks around. One of the first things he notices is that all the houses have tile roofs, and some of the roofs have different colors: red, blue, and black, with black being the predominant color. Noah also takes notice of the mini gardens in front of some of the houses; some of them are growing tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots. Then they have the giant paths of steps that split through parts of the neighborhood.
"We're over here," Rudolph says, standing in front of a path of stairs. "Just up here to the right is the house you will be staying in."
Noah walks up to Rudolph, and they go on up the stairs. "Am I going to be living with anyone?" Asks Noah.
"Yes, you will be living with a kid in high school and her Grandma." Rudolph comes to a stop and points to his right at a small house. "This is it."
Just before getting to the front door, there is a small space enclosed by fences. In the space, there is a clothing rack, a small garden, and cleaning supplies. The small garden is located in front of a window just to the right of the door, and the clothing rack is positioned in front of the garden. The cleaning supplies are to the left of the door.
Noah, Rudolph, and A-3 walk up to the blue door, which has a placement mat on the ground, and knock.
The door opened, and neither a short nor a tall girl stood behind it. "You must be the new person we're expecting?" She says with a curious look.
"Yes, I'm Noah." Noah puts on a smile. "What's your name?" Just as she's about to say her name, Noah can overhear the news playing in the background, and his body freezes.
"It's been six days since Winter Rose was killed, and the cops have still not found a suspect."
"Noah?" A voice tries to reach Noah's attention.
"People are beginning to question the police force and their true capabilities." The news reporter says.
The girl then claps in Noah's face, bringing him back. "Sorry, what did you say?" Asks Noah.
"I said my name is Cho Young-Mi."
Before letting Rudolph and Noah inside, she notices someone who looks peculiar. "Who is that standing behind you, Noah?"
"Ah, you must mean A-3, don't mind him, he's just Rudolph's new partner."
"I see, I like the blue and white suit and black tie A-3." She says, smiling.
"Then we have Rudolph with his black parted hair, slight mustache, and beard, and blue polo shirt with black jeans." Just before Young-Mi can speak again, she coughs, "I've been meaning to ask? How has your family been in Korea?"
Before Rudolph can answer, Noah looks over to him and asks, "Your family lives in Korea?"
"Yes, I told you before, Noah, that I was born in the States, but I am Korean, living in a Korean family."
"Huh, I guess I forgot, I mean that's bound to happen when you spend two years in prison for a crime you didn't commit," Noah mumbles to himself.
"Hey!" a loud but cranky voice comes from the back of the house. "Just let them in already!"
"Sorry, Grandma!" Young-Mi stands to the side and signals them to come in. "Take your shoes off when you come in."
"You guys can just take a seat at the table in front of you. Knowing Grandma, she probably made you guys some food."
Noah takes a look around. Just past the entrance sat a table, with a kitchen right behind it. To the left of the kitchen was one room, and to the right was another room. To the right of the table was a TV hanging on the wall.
An old but short person can be seen cooking something in the kitchen. She has long, white hair tied back in a ponytail and wears a green flower apron.
"Okay, you guys should sit now, I made pasta." She says, walking over to the table.
"What's your name, Grandma?" Asks Noah.
"My name is Cho Mi Cha." She says as she walks back over to the kitchen.
"Mmm, this looks delicious." Rudolph looks over at A-3 and says, "It's too bad you can't eat any A-3."
Noah chuckles, "I agree, this pasta does look delicious."
Mi cha comes back over with the plates and sits down. "Here is a plate for everyone."
As everyone starts to dig in, Noah looks up at Rudolph, then back at his food. He does this multiple times.
"What? You got something to ask me?" Asks Rudolph.
"Huh?" Noah looks up at Rudolph, confused. "Oh well, I'm curious about what I saw on the news, the Winter Rose girl who was killed six days ago?"
"Ah, her." Says Rudolph as he shoves pasta down his throat. "That case is none of your concern, Noah. You just focus on getting your life together."
The room is silent for a second.
"No, that case is of my concern, Rudolph," Noah says in a serious tone.
"And may I ask why?" Rudolph puts his bowl of pasta down and uses a napkin to wipe his face.
Noah stares directly into Rudolph's eyes, and as he does, his right eye begins to glow blue again. "Because she is someone I knew before I went to prison."
"I see. Still, though, you should not concern yourself with this case."
"Okay!" Mi Cha chimes in. "I think it's about time for Rudolph and A-3 to head out."
"You're right." Says Rudolph. "Let's get ready to go A-3."
Rudolph and A-3 stand up and head towards the door. They slip their shoes on, and just as they're about to leave, Rudolph looks over at Noah.
"Don't get involved, Noah," Rudolph says before closing the door behind him.
"Wow, not even a single thank you from either one of them?" Says Young-Mi.
Noah sighs, "So where will I be sleeping?"
"Right, I think you will be sleeping here, in the dining room, also known as the living room."
"I see." Says Noah.
Mi Cha walks over to Noah and hands him something. "Here, Noah, take it."
Noah looks at what she is giving him, "You're giving me a phone?"
"Yes, I figured you would need one now that you're out of prison." Mi Cha then reaches into her pockets and gives him something else.
"Earbuds to?"
"Yes, they're cheap, but they will do the trick."
Noah looks at the packaging, and it says 'Ultras.' "Well, thank you, Mi cha."
"No problem." Says Mi Cha.
"Well, I think I'm going to head out now."
"Head out?" Asks Noah.
"Yes, I'm going to hang out with my friends now."
Noah looks down at his phone and turns it on. The time reads 11:32 am.
"Well, I won't be back until later, so take care of yourselves."
"Okay." Says Young-Mi.
The door closes, then Young Mi immediately looks over at Noah. "Say? What was prison like?"
"I'm not answering questions right now."
Young-Mi frowned, "What? Why?"
Noah puts an earbud into his ear and says, "I'm going to take a nap now, so I'll tell you later." Noah lies down against the floor and closes his eyes.
"Whatever." Says Young Mi as she walks to her room.
"Noah! Noah!"
Noah wakes up from his sleep, sweat running down his face. "What!" Noah rubs his eyes, realizing it's Young Mi who is yelling his name.
"Noah, look at the news!"
"How long have I been asleep?" Asks Noah.
"That doesn't matter, look!"
Noah finally looks over at the TV.
"Amelia Ashford, the daughter of the Second Division police station chief, has gone missing."
Noah's eyes widen, "What the hell?" Noah says. "How can the chief's daughter go missing?"
"I don't know, but I think this might be linked to that new killer going around." Says Young-Mi.
Noah looks over at Young-Mi, then stands up. "I have to go."
"Go where?" Asks Young-Mi.
"To the police station." Noah looks at Young-Mi again. "If there's a chance this is linked to the new killer, then I want to help." Noah's eye lights up blue again.