PUZZLE 1: THE ETERNAL STONES - ACT 3
"Sixty seconds!" Maiden shouts from the army tent set up near the puzzle.
I stare at my watch as the minute hand moves closer and closer to noon.
Thankfully, it's not raining today. Yaeko was right to hold off the solving to a week of clear skies. No clue how long that'll last, though…
Yaeko stands at my side, arms crossed and foot tapping away.
"Relax, sister," I tell her. "I've got this."
"You'd better," she responds gently, before turning to me. "Just call if you need anything."
I turn to her and lightly smile. I guess she admires my bravery. "Thanks, Yaeko."
"Twenty seconds!"
Yaeko and I turn our gaze to the first stone that's a mere millimeter from my feet. It looks so harmless… yet the challenge it gates is ferocious.
"Stay positive. Remember your training."
"Will do," I boldly respond, feeling my pulse slightly quicken.
"Ten seconds! Five, four, three, two, one, step!"
Without hesitation, I place both feet onto the first stone.
The first few moments here feel a little uneasy. I guess… this stone's gonna be my home for the next twenty four hours, huh?
Hmm… So far, things aren't so bad.
The whole area is silent as I adjust to being on the stone. I feel Yaeko and Maiden watching me with intense anticipation.
They're probably wondering if I'll chicken out and run for the hills, but that ain't gonna happen.
I have something that no-one else in this position would have… Pure, unbridled motivation.
I clutch the pendant which hangs around my neck. I close my eyes, and breathe steadily to embrace the situation I find myself in.
After a few hours have passed, I've taken off my backpack and am now seated cross-legged on the stone, meditating with my eyes gently closed.
A shadow suddenly covers my face. I open my eyes and look up to see a silhouette standing there holding a steaming clay bowl.
"Ramen time!" Maiden announces with a big grin. She sits down next to my stone, also cross legged, and offers me the bowl. I return her smile and take the container in my hands.
"I hope you like the Hakodate style!"
"Actually, I don't."
"Bwaaaaaaaah!" the operator shrieks.
"But it's okay, Maiden. I'll happily take anything right now."
She sighs in relief. "Ah, thank goodness! You'll quickly change your mind when you try my own recipe!"
I pull apart the conjoined wooden chopsticks and put my hands together. "I'm grateful for the meal."
I begin eating the noodles, and drink some of the soy broth. Hey, Maiden's right. My mouth's in heaven right now!
And as predicted, Maiden's now distracted. She rests her chin on both palms as she eyes my Perdition.
"And what do you think you're staring at, sister?" I tease.
"Huh! I-I'm sorry! It's just that you have great taste, sister!"
I smile at her. "Thanks, Maiden. What do you wear?"
"Oh, nothing classy. It's just a simple smartwatch." She rolls up her uniform's sleeve to reveal the black rubber bracelet and a thin square box with a digital interface on her wrist.
"Simple, huh? Don't underrate it," I advise. "There's more technology in that little square than any traditional watch could ever hope to have."
"You're right, sister! Pretty soon, watches like this will project holograms and shoot fireballs and stuff! Pew, pew, pew!"
"Ha-ha! Yeah, the possibilities really are endless."
Hey, she actually made me laugh. No-one's been able to do that for a while.
And when I think about it, I'm underrating my own watch. I really shouldn't do that, all things considered.
After I've eaten and Maiden takes my bowl away, I put up my index finger at the army tent. Yaeko comes along and sets up four dividers around me so I can do my business. This part's never gonna stop being awkward, is it?
Eventually, darkness falls on the site. The area is lit by tall, standing fire torches surrounding the puzzle which the Hell Police officers stand nearby, as well as by the electric spotlight pointing down on the army tent.
Yaeko walks over to me with a blanket and a pillow, followed by Rin who's carrying some dry wood. I take the items from Yaeko and set up my bed on the stone, while Rin piles up the wood near us.
"Alright. Try to stay in the fetal position on the stone. Rin and I will take turns watching you so you don't roll off it."
"I won't, but I'm grateful nethertheless, sister," I say.
"Aww, are you at least gonna let me read you a bedtime story?" Yaeko sarcastically asks to hide her feelings of rejection.
I tilt up my nose. "You know what? You cast your sleeping spell!" I taunt.
"Hmph! Alright," she says, taking on the challenge with a grin and sitting down on the grass next to my stone.
Rin lights a match and the wood pile is set alight.
"Once upon a time, there were two girls. One of them was good, and one of them was bad. The good girl could not see the bad, as the bad girl never showed that side of her. The bad girl could not see the good, as the good girl never showed that side of her, too. So, their judgements on each other were always in the shadows-"
We hear snoring.
Yaeko looks to the side. "Huh!"
Rin is asleep on the grass.
"Hey! No sleeping on the job, Rin!"
"Huh? What? Where's the two girls now?"
"Less yawning, more working, Rin!"
"Y-y-y-yes, ma'am! Sorry, ma'am!"
As Yaeko lambasts Rin, I start to feel my eyelids shut.
That story… that repetitive little story… actually worked like a charm on me…
⧗⧗⧗
CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!
Hmm… Myna birds, I believe.
The sounds open my eyes, and I see Maiden sitting in front of me, smiling away.
"Good morning, ma'am!"
"M-morning," I squeeze out.
I suddenly remember why I'm here, and my adrenaline quickly spikes. I quickly check my watch.
It's 10:30AM. I guess I slept more than I thought I would on such a hard surface.
I grab the cup of coffee next to Maiden, sit upright, and take a large sip. Looking around, I've managed to stay on the stone the whole night. I knew I wouldn't roll off.
I make the signal so I can do my business, and I use a bucket of water and a jug to wash myself behind the screens Yaeko had set up around me. I dry myself off with a towel, and put my clothes back on. The screens are taken away by Rin and Maiden, and I’m standing upright, ready to make the next move.
I focus my eyes on the next stone. I have to make the step at exactly midday. No idea how precisely Asaya set up this puzzle, but doing it precisely on the second is the safest way to progress.
There are five minutes to go until I move. I wait for Yaeko beside me to give me the signal. She stares at her watch with bated breath.
Man, there's gotta be something to make these last few minutes less boring…
“Ma’am!" shouts Maiden from the tent, sitting on the grass with her laptop on her knees. "An energy source is being detected from beneath the stones!"
That's NOT what I had in mind!
"What? More specifics, please!" Yaeko calls over.
"It's uh… pretty dense… and pretty hot!"
"It's the Satanic power of the puzzle," I explain.
"Talk about an early heatwave!" exclaims a stressed Yaeko. "Maiden, is it safe for Akemi to be on the stone?"
"Checking its trajectory now. It seems to be coming from the Earth's core, and is heading straight for the puzzle!"
"I'll be fine as long as I move on the second," I calmly note.
"Dammit!" Yaeko looks at her watch. "Alright. Move onto the next stone in ten…"
The stone beneath me begins to glow scarlet red. How freaky…
The light from beneath the stone becomes stronger and stronger!
"It's closing in!" Maiden shouts.
Yaeko steps back. "Five, four, three, two, one, STEP!"
I make the move.
BOOM!
I turn my head sideways and see the stone behind me engulfed in a red light, like a thick spotlight shooting up into the sky.
It emits a strong wind outward. Yaeko shields her face with her elbow. "Akemi, stay still!"
I dare not move. I feel the raw burst of energy a mere couple of centimeters away from my back. I face forward, close my eyes, and force myself to wait.
WHOOOOOSH!
Finally, a still silence. I turn around, and see that the red light is gone. Then I look down, and the stone I once stood on is now charred!
My eyes widen in shock. That energy was strong enough behind me to burn solid stone without a hint of heat!
I face forward again, and try to calm myself down.
"Are you okay?" Yaeko asks.
"Yeah. A little shaken, but I'm still in one piece, at least."
Yaeko breathes out her stress.
“The stone has served its purpose," I comment. "Therefore, it must be destroyed by Satan.”
She closes her eyes in frustration. “Dammit. Now that the starting stone is wrecked, we won’t get a second try if your route turns out to be wrong!”
“It’s not wrong.”
She shoots me a look. “You’ve got a real big head on your shoulders, you know that, sister?"
“I'm aware of that. Thank you for reminding me.”
She rubs her hair. “Arrrghhhh! I can’t believe we’re both freaking out in totally different ways here!"
As Yaeko vents her frustration, I stare at the numerous stones ahead. I start to feel uneasy.
I seriously should do something to pass the time.
⧗⧗⧗
After a few days and a few more stones have been stepped on, I'm seated on my stone to the left of the Ratchet tower. I take advantage of being in its shade to work on my essay on the laptop on my crossed legs. The Professor walks up to my side and sits down beside me.
"May I have a spoiler, Miss Tsunagi?" he asks with a wide smile.
I bow my head. "Good morning, Professor. This essay was inspired by my current task. It discusses the second hand on a clock, and how it contributes to Parkinson's law. It's best to remove the seconds hand on clocks, and that will make people do work within their own time, rather than the time a clock allows. I don’t think it'll catch on in the world of commercial watch making, but those who make their own watches may benefit," I muse.
As I say this nonsense out loud, my heart begins to race a little. I try to distract myself from it by continuing on with my conversation.
There’s no doubt that my mind wants to do a multitude of other things than stay on this damn rock…
⧗⧗⧗
Hmm… My hand is shaking. I wonder why that is? It's never done that before…
Maybe it's trying to pull me away from this stone and into something more enjoyable. Like playing video games, eating candy, traveling the world…
I will only live once, but doing something fun is not always something worthwhile.
Abandoning my post and hopping on a plane to somwhere exotic may be nice at first, but that would never move me forward. I will progress only by standing still, then standing still, then standing still.
Hmm… Now my other hand is shaking. That's ridiculous. It’s not even cold today! Is it anxiety? Adrenaline? Fear?
I'm unable to tell.
I shouldn’t ignore my body, but I have other priorities right now…
“Ten seconds!” Maiden shouts. “Five, four, three, two, one, STEP!”
I hesitate for a split second, but I make the move forward, just avoiding the Satanic energy which engulfs yet another stone behind me.
I close my eyes and wait for the energy to stop burning.
Hmm… Even if some of it had singed me, it would have added a little spice to this mundane life I now find myself living.
Oh. Now my whole body… is shaking.
⧗⧗⧗
I'm finally at the junction, on the stone directly next to the brain stone.
I've gotta step onto the stone to my right, and that path will lead me back between the two towers. I must not… step to the left… no matter how tempting it truly is!
Gotta step right. Gotta step right. Gotta step right.
“Quit staring at the brain stone!” Yaeko commands with her arms crossed besides me.
“I’m not,” I argue.
“Hey, you read books, I read people. Avert your eyes now!”
My adrenaline spikes a little, and I shut my eyes to refocus.
She’s right. I've gotta be disciplined. Where the eyes focus determines one's destiny. Some people spend their whole lives looking at the wrong things. I can’t be one of those people… not now!
Oh, man… Eyeing at the stone which will move me away from the end is harder than I thought! A temptation calls me to avoid the path of least resistance.
No! Concentrate, Akemi!
Remember why you’re doing this!
I slowly open my eyes, and I’m now staring at the next stone… my correct destination.
Hmm… I wonder what Yaeko's staring at? Oh, she’s staring at my shaking hands.
⧗⧗⧗
I'm now between the Ratchet stone and the Centre stone.
This spot sucks. Now I'm mostly in the shade. I really wanted lots of vitamin D today…
I sit in the shadows of the towers, and type away at my laptop on my crossed legs again.
Someone arrives by my side and crouches down.
"Sister," begins Yaeko. "Dr Haruka will see you tomorrow."
"Huh? I've already seen her," I state, still typing away. "If anything, you guys need to see a psychiatrist. This crap's more stressful for you than it is for me, you know!"
She's goes silent for a moment. "I've… read a draft of your latest essay."
"Really? I think you're becoming my fan!" I grinningly remark.
"I needed to see where your mind was at."
"Oh. Even better. You're turning into my number one fan!" I turn to her. "So which part of my essay converted you, oh, follower of mine?"
The detective's sigh is melancholy. "There was only one part, Akemi, repeated over and over again."
"Hmm?" I look closely at my laptop screen, and read the current draft of my essay. "Hey, can't you take a joke, sister? I have to hit a word count of ten thousand words! What do you expect me to do on this rock? Write something that tingles the mind? It's way easier to just copy and paste the same thing over and over again, so that's exactly what I did!"
As I giggle to myself, Yaeko quickly gets up. Her face remains stoic. "Meditate, sister. The doctor will see you in the morning."
I ignore her and continue typing on my laptop.
⧗⧗⧗
Another day, another step onto another stone before I'm burned to a crisp.
Dr Haruka appears next to me with her hands in her pockets.
"Good afternoon, Miss Tsunagi," she greets pleasantly. "How are you?"
"Patient," I respond. "More patient than the rest. Those who lack patience always fail. Those who do not delay gratification always fail. But I'm not like them." I close my eyes and chant. "I am the patient one. I am the patient one. I am the patient one."
"Alright."
I open my eyes and continue boldly facing forwards.
I see the doctor nod and crouch down in the corner of my eye.
"Sister, what do you hear?"
"Hear? I hear you. I hear the wind and the rustling of the trees around me. I hear my own heartbeat, thus I know I'm alive."
"And what do you feel?"
"Hmm. Well, I used to feel my feet on the cold stone beneath me, but now I feel nothing at all."
"And what do you smell?"
"The flowers. Asaya built this puzzle around such beautiful flowers. I can smell them all. Jasmine, roses, and cosmos."
"And finally, what do you see, sister?"
I look ahead, and I see my mother standing on the burnt starting stone, smiling at me.
"A motivation," I announce. "A pure, unbridled motivation!"
"Uh-huh. Thank you very much for your time, Miss Tsunagi." Dr Haruka stands up and walks back to the army tent where Yaeko is standing.
I watch them talk to one another. A flood of fear suddenly washes over the detective, and she turns to me with widened eyes and quickened breathing.
I look Yaeko dead in the eyes. I know what she's thinking. I tilt my head down in seriousness and slowly shake my head.
Looks like I've failed the test… But I'm not going back. No way.
I've started this, so I'll finish this.
My sanity is of no concern.
"I am the patient one. I am the patient one. I am the patient one..."
⧗⧗⧗
Making my way anti-clockwise around the Crown tower is a little more manageable, thanks to Mother Nature distracting me with rain, wind and clouds.
One day, the heavens open up. Maiden rushes out of the army tent to my side, opens her umbrella above us both, and holds it tightly with both hands. I stare at her straining face as she ensures the wind doesn't snatch away our shelter.
I also put my hand on the umbrella's stem. Maiden opens her eyes and looks at me. I smile at her reassuringly, and she returns it.
Oh, Maiden… I can't think straight at all. I honestly just want this to be over so I can do something… way more fun.
The next day, the winds bellow and howl. It doesn't help that the clouds are blocking out the sun. I really need my vitamin D.
The Crown tower is at one side of me, and Gaku drives up his police jeep next to my other side - The two objects help shield me from the wind, but it's still uncomfortable knowing I have no real shelter. That human need is well beyond reach now.
I'm wearing Gaku's bulletproof vest to weigh me down, and I regularly shift my weight so that I'm not blown off the stone.
And during the following gusty night, I can't sleep at all. Gaku kneels beside me with his heavy hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place. He simply concentrates on helping me, not uttering a single word of complaint.
The following morning, I try to stand up, but I just collapse onto my knees. I close my eyes and grind my teeth while I'm down here on the stone.
I feel like screaming loud enough to wake the dead, but that would just make Yaeko call Dr Haruka again.
There's no need for that.
⧗⧗⧗
I'm supposed to be standing up right now… Get the blood flowing to all the right places… But today, I'm still lying down on my side.
I've never been this exhausted before.
Before me is a woman sitting on the grass, reading a book.
"Yaeko?" I whisper weakly. "I thought you were more of a rock star bio girl?"
"I've had enough horror this month," she remarks. "I may as well read what you read."
"Please… don't do that," I sluggishly beg. "What if you… become smarter than me?"
"Then I'll fire you," she teases without hesitation. "Everyone can be replaced."
"No. Please…" I respond with what little strength I have left. "I… kinda like this job."
My eyelids become heavy. I simply can't stay awake for much longer.
She must have given me medication at some point. Did I get sick earlier… from being exposed to the elements for so long?
I honestly… cannot remember…
