OSA Reimeiki

As everyone brushed themselves off, Diya’s acute cyborg senses detected what no one else’s could: a burnt odour in the creepy narrow alley, wafting all around them in thick, sickly, noxious, overpowering rolls of…you know what I mean.

Gradually, everyone started gagging and choking as their noses became attuned to the darkness. (Teehee.) That is, everyone but Maria. The poor smoker couldn’t tell that something was well past its expiration date.

Diya was the only one unaffected by the stench. Flipping a switch where her ear should be, she turned off her sense of smell. “This way,” called the technologically-advanced beast as she led the group away from the Great Stink.

Rounding the corner of the dark alleyway, everyone gasped at the sheer splendour of what lay before them: a massive, beautifully wrought iron gate, both ends attached to colossal, fluted columns. Beyond the vast archway sprawled an immense stretch of brilliant green, dotted here and there with neatly trimmed hedges, tinkling water fountains, and— the group looked upward— a towering stone palace, soaking in the light of the midday sun.

“YES!!!! YES!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is my new CASTLE!” shrieked Anna, twirling here, there, everywhere. “You are all going to become my MEENIONS!!!” she cackled, and scurried to the stone palace.

“Wowwwwwwww,” said Jessica, dumbstruck, as the remaining seven walked towards the palace.

John, equally dumbstruck, but not because of the scene before him, leans in eagerly to try and catch Jessica off-guard. Only to trip on something shiny on the ground.

“DUDE! NO WAY! A SWORD!!” exclaims Nicole, her face blubbering with delight and...flub. “I’m sooooo stoked! This thing is so much cooler than the ones I ordered online!”

From out of nowhere, Diya snatched the shimmering blade. “That’s mine,” she hissed, and slipped it into her sleeve.

“Diya, why do you have a sword up your sleeve? It’s not like OSA is a dangerous place, right?” Emily asked, meekly.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut.” And with that, Diya resumed her position at the front of the line.

At last! Catherine notes, chills going down her spine. I always knew Diya had been hiding something. Perhaps a crime in the past gone horribly wrong? Or maybe it reminds her of someone a thousand miles away. Gasp! Does she have repressed memories and feelings that are just beginning to resurface?! Or! Is Diya becoming more human?? Her brain furiously trying to come up with reasonably plausible explanations, Catherine starts to lag behind.