The plane is going to land on me, but on the bright side, I might bleed out by then. My entire body is numb.
I hear the sound of Japanese swearing.
Kaya, Veah says, and I see her face above me. Bright with rain, her hair soaked black, strands clinging to her face. Kaya. Are you okay ?
Obviously, I try to say. What comes out is probably incoherent.
Come on, she says, and her rain-damp fingertips trace a lock of my hair. Tucking it behind my ear. I’ll get us out of this.
I manage to say, Good luck with that.
Her breath of relief makes my heartbeat stutter.
You’re not going to die, she promises. Not if I can help it.
God, you’re fired.
I hope you can keep me alive, I say weakly. It’s a lot of work.
Her voice is fierce as she whispers, Not for me. Not if it’s you.
She says something else, but before I can hear it, my eyes slide shut and the storm spirals into black.
When I wake up, the room is dark.
I am panting, shivering. Am I in the hospital ? Why is the body below my neck covered in a thin white sheet ?
For some reasons, my thoughts don’t connect. I feel drunkI feel out of control.
I struggle to open my mouth, to speak, but nothing comes out.
The last I remember is the colour of Veah’s eyes. Pure lightning.
Are you sure you can keep me alive ? It’s a lot of work.
Not for me. Not if it’s you.
A girl quoted a classical play for me. If she were anyone else, I swear I would be in love at this point.
Now I am alone, and my hands are trembling in front of mebut I can’t feel them. My fingers are numb as I lift the sheet from my body.
Maybe this is hell.
When I push back the sheets, there is metal jutting out from my legs. Metal, twisted through the bone.
I open my mouth to scream. Nothing comes out.
And Veah is suddenly there, her face carved in shadow. Shh, it’s going to be okay, Kaya.
She has a gun to my head.
Don’t watch, she whispers,
I just have time to think, This isn’t real. This is a nightmare, as she pulls the trigger.
I wake up again, and it is night.
And I know it’s night, because Tokyo city is lit up with the brilliance of a thousand windows. Neon lights gild the buildings in vibrant colour, and the worldeven through the glass, even from so high abovepulses with life, vitality. A disembodied heart, glowing from the inside in a million shades of pink and blue and gold and green.
I wonder how much electricity it takes to power a city like this.
When I try to sit up, my heart catches painfully against my chest. Where am I ?
It is a sleek room, with glossy floors and silvery curtains. But I’m alonethere is an IV in my wrist, blankets covering my body, and a glass wall to my left.
It was a dream.
The memory of it comes back to me. My legs, impaled with shards of metal. Veah, holding the gun to my head.
It was a dream, and I’m awake now.
I press my fingertips against my chest. My heart is pounding against the skin, a drumbeat.
We’re in Tokyo.
The last thing I remember, I was faintingoh, my God, againand there was a storm. But that was still in the U. S. How did she get us here ?
Still, even as the mystery lingers, I yank out my IV. The sharp edge stings my inner wrist, and I must not have done it right, because blood pools.
The entire wall facing outside is a window.
This hospital is so modern, so advanced, compared to the one in Florida. Jesus. America really does have it backwards.
I remove the bedsheets, relieved to see my legs are whole and not impaled by metal. Then I slip out of bed, trying to get a better view of the window.
It might be a minute, or an hour. I don’t know how long I’ve stood there, marveling at the colourful, twinkling landscape of Tokyo city, when I hear her voice.
I’m sorry.
Well, that isn’t what I expected.
I spin around, and Veah is standing at the door.
Where are the nurses ? I wonder. The doctors ?
I shouldn’t have kissed you, Veah says.
Every thought flies out of my head. And a hot, burning embarrassment clouds my cheeks. Excuse me ?