“Two.”

“Four.”

“Six.”

“Eight.”

“Ten.”

“Twen. . . twe. . . aaaaaaaaagh. . .”

I grabbed Hoshi by the collar and pulled her back around the corner. I covered her eyes with my hand and shouted in her ear. “TWELVE, TWELVE , TWELVE, COUNT WITH ME , HOSHI, TWELVE !”

“twel. . . twe. . . oh god, the colors, the colors, it’s beautiful,” she moaned. “Oh god, Kyle, you should see the starbursts. . .”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Pen: an old epinephrine injector, now carrying a dose of rohypnol. I injected it directly into her bare neck, and she went limp. Hopefully, it would be enough to wipe her short-term memory. Either way, she’d be waking up tied up and blindfolded, for the safety of everyone around her.

I listened closely. No footsteps, must have been a long-range ‘blight hit. Still, no point in taking chances.

I took out the spray can and painted a red eye on the wall – area unsafe. I slung Hoshi over my shoulder and retreated, keeping my eyes on the ground the whole way.