11: Drain

Jay cursed the System as he was brought back to the black void.

[ MEMORY ENDED. ]

[ RETURN TO REALITY? ]

[ YES ] [ NO ]

"Reality" is being used lightly here. The transmigrator sighed and chose the left button.

Instead of returning to the warmth between the two teens, being crushed underneath Red King's forearm and looking at the creepy ceiling, Jay found himself looking at the corpse of Armani Wolfwood.

He let out a scream, which reminded him that he's still a baby. As he looked around, he realized that he's in the basement. Water was the main obstacle blocking him from the basement door, which was wide open and letting in golden sun rays.

Oh, the sun is rising, which means the horror of Armani Wolfwood's corpse was shown even clearer to him.

Hold up...

It took him another second to take in the fact that he's on the metal closet, and the box of buttons was a foot away from him. His baby ass was sitting on the rusty metal closet all this time? Or did the system take him here?

Maybe the System is useful after all.

Letting his curiosity win, Jay reached for the metal box. He cringed a little at the rust, but his little hands managed to get the lid open with just one try.

It's a little hard to read in the uneven light, yet it didn't stop the baby from touching the buttons with labels on them.

'Sewage' was neatly written on a sticker which was stuck to a button. Jay balled his fist and slammed his entire weight on the button.

Nothing happened.

A yelp of disappointment left Jay's lips. Fuck... The Red King once mentioned that the tunnels were destroyed by the flood. Hell, so the sewage system is definitely gone, too. Then, why did the System show it to him step by step in Armani's memory? Useless piece of shi—

"I think I heard him from the basement!" JJ's voice was frantic as footsteps hit the dusty wooden floor of the cabin.

Heavily footsteps were heard leading towards the basement door, and soon, two pairs of eyes landed on Jay. Panic was still evident on both of the teens, and yet their confusion was more clear.

"How did he get there?" Red King mumbled, and his partner just shook her head. The teen boy let out a sigh. "I'll get him. You already wasted some clothes on getting that necklace—"

A sound of metal being moved alerted them, and Jay felt relief taking over him. The sound was none other than the familiar sound of the manhole opening, and he watched the water dropping rather rapidly.

The difference was made clear when the corpse of Armani Wolfwood was fully visible in the sunlight coming from the basement door being opened. Her head was twisted at an odd angle from her neck while her limbs were stretched far and wide into tree trunks and thick vines. Once beautiful dark skin gleamed gold in the sunlight now looks like an oak tree in the woods underneath the morning light.

"Armani." JJ said her name and bowed a little in respect. Then, she started climbing down the stairs. The Red King didn't waste any time following the teen girl.

The basement floor still has waterlogged puddles, and debris of things ranging from sticks to chunks of rusty metals made themselves known when the water was drained. Some vines and tree roots still lined the walls and all four corners of the room.

"Sleep walking is cool and all, but how did you get to the control center?" The Red King was tall enough that his eyes were on the same level as the closet. He opened his arms for Jay, so the baby crawled into them.

"We never taught him to swim, did we?" JJ was inspecting the three doors which were covered by vine and tree roots.

The transmigrator did his best to ignore that the tree roots were coming out of Armani Wolfwood herself.

"I don't think we did, but he's Lady Red's baby, so he must have some natural things going with water." The teenage boy lifted Jay up in the air, earning a laugh from the baby. "Right, little guy?" Red King's voice softened as he talked to the transmigrator. "Yeah, you're such a cutie. I'm glad you're safe."

"Huh, his powers might be awakening." JJ turned around and faced them, her deep blue eyes were making eye contact with everything in the room except them. Huh... She's deep in thoughts. "Maybe you're right, Jay. It's a little too early, though."

"Hey, hey, it's not too early." The Red King clicked his tongue and grinned at his companion. "I mean come on, look at all the things he did! Sure, he's a baby, but our baby is lucky. He slept walked into the basement and woke up to play with the control center. Hell, I didn't even think the control center was working."

JJ shrugged at her partner's enthusiasm, but she smiled nonetheless. "Yeah, lucky baby. Let's see if the tunnels still work."

The teenage girl's gloved hands peeled away at the vines and tree roots covering one of the doors, and Jay cringed internally since he remembered vividly that the plants are parts of Armani Wolfwood.

A few words of babbles came out of Jay's lips, and he was disappointed that he still couldn't talk. At least he caught the attention of the teenage boy holding him. Baby Jay was comfortably sitting on the Red King's forearm when the teen slowly lifted up his arm so that he was face to face with the baby.

A rush of fear came over the transmigrator, fear of the Red King knowing his secret. However, a look at the teen's face said that it's just the pure joy of having a baby around. Deep red eyes were shining and his full lips curled into a genuinely sweet smile.

"You've always been a quiet little guy, and now you're a little more vocal." The teen put his head against the baby as he made his voice into a higher pitch. "I don't get what you're saying, but talk some more. If anyone finds us, I'll make sure they won't hurt us."

It was at this moment when the middle door was pulled open by JJ. She's small and petite, but it didn't stop her from being able to do it.

It was a claustrophobic line of darkness that Jay couldn't see the end of the tunnel, accompanied by the smell of rust and stagnant water. Shit, are they gonna use that?