BANG BANG BANG

  Liv's eyes flutter open, her bleary orbs clearing away the drowsy sleep clouding the outer reaches of her vision. Her rooms door rattles with the insistent knocks banging against its wooden surface, its shape barely visible to her through the moons pale glow. A yawn peels from her throat as she pushes herself up, her limbs heavy and sluggish.

  It had been two days since her conversation with Kara, since she heard that music... A small bud of worry seeps its way into her chest. Was she in trouble somehow? Her Ma said it was rude to spy. But she couldn't have helped herself from spying! That siren song still echoed through her mind, even now. It wasn't her fault they left a door open that just so happened to be perfect for snooping. Besides, it was just for the music, and she hadn't stayed long.

  She shrugs her heavy blanket off, groaning as she stretches her groggy limbs. The cold air blows across her skin, the unheated room far colder than it had any right to be. She shivers. Damned cold...

  Her eyes dart toward the small side table stood stark still next to her bed. Perched on its surface is her gauntlets. She slips them on quickly, warmth flooding her body in an instant of cathartic relief.

  “I was resting. Why are you awakening me at this hour?” Her boss questions simply. She splays her fingers out, stretching the digits as far as she could.

  “Someone’s at the door. Reckon I’d rather check 'n it be nothin' than not 'n get in a buncha trouble.” She responds groggily, dragging herself to the door, her hand braced against the wall to keep herself steady. She had spent most of the day at the arcade learning about a complicated game where you go through a maze while ghosts chase you. She had, at the cost of nearly all her tokens, gotten better– not great, but better. If she knew someone was going to come and see her, she would've gotten to bed earlier... Probably.

  Her hand falls to the knob, twisting it open lamely. Her look of exhausted annoyance quickly morphs to surprise as she sees the person on the other end. Someone new, someone she’s never seen.

  He’s a short, plump man, nearly as wide as he is tall with hair buzzed as short as can be, not that it matters with the abowler cap obscuring the crown of his head. He wears a fitted navy suit, a maroon tie tucked in with a white dress shirt back dropping it. Liv blinks, experiencing something she rarely gets to: the feeling of towering over someone. The man in front of her is no taller than five feet, his head arced up to stare into her eyes with his dusty brown ones, a frown on his saggy face.

  “Liv Boss?” He questions, his voice mousy and high pitched, like a whistle piercing the quiet air.

  “Focus.” Her boss chastises, her eyes refocusing. She had been so caught up in her own mind that she forgot to respond. Her hand twitches to shake his, but it's clear he already knows her.

  “Y-yeah, that’s me.” She says, running a hand through her tangled hair. She winces as her gauntlet catches on a particularly rough knot, the faults latching on to the wavy follicles, trapping her like a net. She tries to wrench it free, but is unable as the rotund man continues to speak.

  “You gotta meetin’ to attend, lady. No time ta….-” He starts, but stops as he watches Liv struggle with her hand, his eyebrows furrowing in concern as he speaks. “...What’re ya doin dere?”

  “Nothin’... Just… Keep… Goin'…” She grunts, emphasizing each word with a tug of her hair. Each tug is harder than the last, strands ripping out of her scalp in painful bursts.

  “Have you tried pulling harder?” Her boss inquires unhelpfully, her muddled mind flaring with annoyance.

  “What do ya think I’ve been doin’?” She responds mentally, her teeth clenching as she continues to pull, her muscles tensing as she tries to free her hand from its tangled prison. The mousy man gives her a once over, confusion and concern mixed in equal amounts across his flat features as he begins to speak once more.

  “Well… Da warden want’s a word with ya. Ya got a minute or two, but da warden ain’t wanna wait too long, and it's my ass if ya take ya sweet time-.”

  CRASH

  The mousy man stops as Liv’s head slams into the ajar door, hobbling to the floor in a daze– her hand, somehow, still tangled in her hair. She groans, a red spot forming on her forehead as she peers up at him.

  “Aight… Gimmie a sec.” She mutters, pushing herself up with unsteady steps. Slowly, she pulls her hand out of her gauntlet, walking to the bathroom to clean herself up.

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  After minutes of pain, pulling, and persistent prodding from a certain weapon, she opens the door, her hair just a bit less tangled than before and both gauntlets returned to their proper spots on her hands.

  “Did ya get dat… Er… Situation cleared up?” The mousy man asks, gesturing to her hair cautiously.

  “Yup.” Liv mutters, just a bit more alert than before. She made a mental note to try and avoid running her hand through her hair when her boss was on. She sighs, her mind wandering, thousands of hair related topics springing into her mind. Could she uncurl her hair somehow? Maybe she could fill the fault lines? Were either of those the issue? Maybe if she just...

  “Stop that.” Her boss says, her hand stopping just below her hairline, subconsciously going to run through her hair. She quickly snaps her arms to the side of her body. With flushed cheeks, she slides out of her door, her foot hooking on the edge. It creaks closed as Liv takes the spot just beside the mousy man.

  “Alright den…?” The mousy man says slowly, muttering a “crazy lady” under his breath as the two walk toward the stairwell. Liv groans internally, looking at the stairwell. Maybe she could just throw herself down them and have her boss heal them, though that wouldn't work if she went up. The door way slowly gets closed, Liv's mind working hard on a plan to avoid walking in any way. The stairs were too clumped together, so blast jumping out wasn't an option either. They slowly walk past, Liv’s mind still rumbling. If that was the case, she could go through a window? That was borderline suicidal, but she could probably-.

  “Huh?” Liv thinks, looking at the retreating stairwell, her eyebrows furrowing. “Oi,” Liv says, her thumb jutting back. “I think ya missed the stairs.”

  The only response she gets back is a simple “Nah”, the mousy man not stopping for a moment as they walk down the hall. After a handful of left turns, a single right turn, and a seeming circle, the mousy man comes to a halt, his hand deep into his coat pocket. Liv looks to the door, the room number emblazoned on the front, clearly reading “777”. Liv cocks her head, confusion blooming in her mind.

  “They got one of them testin’ things in there?” Liv questions mentally, her arms crossing as she walks.

  “I was led to believe your testing phase was completed.” Her boss replies. “Perhaps it’s a secret batch of testing to keep you sharp and keen?”

  “In the middle of the night? That's-!” She starts incredulously before thinking for a single second, a groan escaping her lips. "That's somethin' this place would do."

  "I concur." Her boss says, adding, "Still, I don't know why it would be in the residential area. With so many floors, you would think-."

  “Dere dey are…” The mousy man mutters, producing a ring of keys. He flips through them, coming to a deep gold colored key, one of the smaller ones. It’s about the same size as hers if not a bit larger, it’s color far richer as well. He slowly inserts it in the lock, the lock thunking open as he turns. Liv cocks her head to the other side as he reaches up, opening the door, her curiosity piqued.

  The door swings open, revealing an elevator shaft with a mesh door. Liv looks at it with a blank stare, her body freezing up as the mousy man walks up, clicking the “Up” button. Her drowsy brain short circuits for a moment, unable to process the sight before her. Slowly, she turns her head to the mousy man, her eyes wide.

  “How long’s that been there?” She questions, nodding her head to the elevator, her voice cold as ice.

  “Whazzat?” He asks, shooting a glance at her. “Oh, dat? Since I’ve been ‘ere. Sooo… Six years. I dunno.”

  Liv's jaw tenses, memories of the stairs popping up. The endless, tiring stairs... Waiting for George to climb down each flight as slow as he could, that same smile on his face. Climbing down the endless flights any time she wanted to get anywhere... And there was an elevator the whole damn time.

  “I think they were hiding the elevator from you, Liv.” Her boss comments, causing a vein to bulge from Liv's forehead as her jaw clenches.

  “Really!? I couldn’t’a pieced that together myself.” Liv says mentally, her arms crossing as her muscles tense. Her fingers dig into her arms hard enough to leave small red marks, her eyes closing as her nostrils flare.

  “Of course, that’s why I’m here.” Her boss says, adding, “This is what people like you call ‘teamwork’.”

  DING

  The mesh slides open, the enclosed space now free to enter. The mousy man slides in, motioning for Liv to follow. As he enters, he turns to see if Liv is following, his eyes widening at the sight before him. Every muscle in Liv’s body is tensed, her face contorted in rage as she continues to cross her arm, her nostrils flared like a bull as she breathes in and out. He, ever so slowly, pushes himself against the wall, sweat pouring down his face as Liv stomps in, shoving herself into the nearest corner. The mousy man slides across the elevator, slowly pressing the highest button. The elevator lets off a soft ding, the mesh closing slowly. The elevator lurches upward, the exposed elevator shaft running before their eyes.

  The two stand in absolute silence, Liv’s face remaining a maroon as she breathes in and out, her finger tapping against her bicep like a metronome, her foot tapping in tandem as they ascend the building. The mousy man gulps, his heart thumping out of his chest. Could they smell his fear or somethin’? Why was she so mad? He hoped it wasn’t at him, she could crush him with her bare hands. Whatever had her so mad, he would make sure to avoid it… And her. He just wondered what was brewing inside that mind of hers.