Emika Grows

After making his request, he started running down the various benefits of their facility; explained how they could help her, where she could stay, and the various luxuries to be found in their corporation.

Emika barely listened to him. Rather, she tried to figure out what in the world was happening — but the more she thought about all of this, the more it made sense.

These people hadn’t invited her here to help her. Instead, they had invited her here to capture her. At this point, there was no doubt in Emika’s mind about that. There was only one thing that she struggled to comprehend: Did Victor honestly believe that whatever he had performed here would cause her to stay voluntarily? In what world would that have happened?

As her gears shifted, she realised a few things, though. The animals placed in the cages to make her feel bad about herself. Giving the safety of workers as an excuse for drugging her. Claiming that she could unknowingly be a monster.

They were trying to insinuate that she couldn’t trust herself.

If she was right about this, then that told her another important thing: These people had put a lot of effort into making her stay here willingly. In other words, they might not be able to stop her from leaving.

Eventually, Victor finished his introduction to the marvels of the Great Magical Fund Research Branch, and looked at her with a warm smile.

For a moment, Emika acted as if she was seriously contemplating any of his ideas, but then she politely replied: “Thank you very much for the offer, but I have business to tend to at home. I will not be able to stay.” After a small pause, she added: “That said, please do notify me when you have come to any conclusions regarding my data. I will also happily provide more material.”

With her last sentence, Emika smiled, and gestured towards the door in the direction where she had placed her bonsai tree earlier. She was rather happy with the way she had worded her refusal; at least now, he couldn’t easily insist without having to drop his act.

He netted his lips, apparently trying to conceal his discontent with her reaction. “Are you really sure? Chances are, you’re not going to be safe when you stay home and the Cursebreakers catch wind of you.”

Emika got up. “I can’t remember asking you for your opinion,” she said calmly. “I’m going home.” As she opened the door to his office in order to leave it, she turned around, and with a heavy gaze, told him: “I strongly advise you to let me go peacefully.”

His polite smile had finally fully vanished from his face. He nodded, adding in a low voice: “I hope you reconsider one day. This place will always be open to you.”

As Emika left, she heard him pick up his telephone receiver. She wondered if he was going to call security to keep her from leaving, but in fact, the corridors and elevators on her way out were completely empty, including the reception hall on the ground floor. If anything, it seemed like he had told them to evacuate.

When Emika had finally left that awful building, she still felt a little numb. She wasn’t immediately sure where she was, but managed to get her location cleared up after using the map on her phone. She’d need to get home using public transport. The trip was about 2 hours… she would only be back late at night.

And thus, not sparing many thoughts, she made her way off, if only to quickly get as much distance between this place and herself as possible.

She knew that she would never come back here; no matter what kind of promises they made. The most tragic thing about all of this was that she had sacrificed one of her trees; any info they had given her, she figured, she could have just gotten out of feeding that tree to Barnacle.

Honestly, she thought, I should stop using them.

The truth was, each and every one of her bonsai would have a longer life in front of them than her. Razing any of them for a vague chance of survival seemed less and less appealing. And it seemed less and less just to them.

Those poor two maples… Both the one she’d left at the corporation, and the one she had fed to Barnacle… They were trees she had grown from scratch herself, which made her feel that at least she’d had the right to abandon them. But in a way, that logic was flawed, because creating them didn’t give her the right to destroy them. They had been alive, after all.

Studying the return journey, she noticed the longest part of it actually was the waiting time at a railway station that wasn’t too far away from her home. It would take almost an hour for the next train to appear, even though she’d already be very close to home — the worst part of it being that it was only a very small village that didn’t even have a station building.

With a sigh, she walked through the rain. She had an umbrella, at least, so she wouldn’t be completely soaked. She knew already that depending on how many other people were transiting today, she’d have to keep her distance, which also meant not being able to use rain shelters.

Hopefully, she’d just be the only person to travel today in the entire world. Even though they had completely removed her growth earlier, it had already grown back a considerable amount by now — but this time, for once, she simply didn’t care.

The first half of the trip went by without a single thought occupying her mind. She just sat there, in an empty wagon, watching the lights pass by in the dark window. Next to the emptiness in her stomach, next to the heavy beating of her heart, there was still that one feeling of unrelenting, overboiling anger in her body. She wanted to crush something. Wanted to see something destroyed. And yet, she just sat there, staring into the night.

Her gut feeling had told her from the start that this was going to be a bad idea, and then, it had turned out to be just that terrible. She wasn’t ready to blame herself, but she figured she might as well call it a lesson and not again do something just because it seemed like it could help.

Maybe, I should have touched that guy after all, just before leaving. Just to see the look on his face.

With that thought, she involuntarily retreated her arms closer to herself, pressing the growth against her own body until it hurt. If anyone died because of her, she’d only get in more trouble. There was truly nothing she could possibly do, was there? Thinking about this more, she noticed a particular trend: When she had left to see her friends, they all died. When she had left to get rid of the evidence, she had been seen. And now that she had left for this… 

Lester’s words echoed in her mind. I suggest you live out your days in your home, not harming anyone else, and you might get a while of peace before leaving this world.

Maybe he was right. Maybe that had actually been amazing advice. Maybe struggling to find a way out of this was entirely pointless.

Waiting for her next train, she finally pulled out her phone again, feeling absent, apathetic. And she found herself writing a message to Melisande; without even reading the ones received in the meantime.

And that message was, I thought you’d come save me if something happened.

No elaboration, just that simple, unfair reproach. 

The answer took longer than usual, but still arrived within the same minute.

Are you okay?

Emika bit her lips. She hated that reaction. Since when was Melisande writing properly, anyway? Was this some kind of impostor? Also, Melisande was a damn liar. What good was it to be friends with someone who couldn’t even keep the simplest—

Taking a very deep breath, Emika terminated that train of thought before she could finish it. She was angry, but she shouldn’t let it out on the only person in the world she felt close to right now.

Then again, a small remainder of her bitterness thought, who else am I going to let it out on…?

In the end, Emika wrote, I guess it’s slowly sinking that my life sucks. Mayve I should just give up

She didn’t even care to correct that error.

Where are u right now? still in danger?

Emika felt guilty. I’m on the train home, she replied. I’m not in danger anymore. I just feel awful. Sorry.

It didn’t take long for the next two messages to appear.

The first one read, No.. I’m sorry I can’t come for you rn. But you can come to me. Pls be really quiet when you enter

And then, the follow-up was a home address.