Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Investigation
"A-are you sure this is safe?"
"Of course. There’s only like at least one accident every day. But it’s mostly the tourists."
"...We’re tourists. And we’re minors? They’re... renting out to minors?"
"Huh..."
No. The Baby Crew wasn’t even at the notorious and dangerous path that Hannah mentioned just yet.
No. Right now, they were in front of a lot of men, but not just any old men... they were old men who rented out small, single-cylinder motorcycles to foreigners.
And yes, they didn’t care at all that the Baby Crew were minors. They just handed them the helmets as soon as Hannah paid for the entire batch.
"I... I don’t know how to ride a motorcycle." Pauline whispered, "I’ve only ever ridden a bike."
"You can get the scooter, then. You’ll be safe, relax. It’s just like riding a bike, except you don’t need to pedal." Hannah waved her hand, wearing her helmet as she mounted the motorcycle in front of her.
"Uhm..." Pauline was a little hesitant, and yet she ultimately chose to put on the helmet even so before nervously breathing out. Most of the Baby Crew haven’t actually ridden a motorcycle before, but it didn’t really matter.
What normal people and supers consider dangerous were on two completely different sides of the spectrum.
"Wait, Sis..." Bella raised an eyebrow, her eyes first darting across the other members of the Baby Crew, and then onto the motorcycles. "...We only have six motorcycles, there is seven of us."
"Oh..." Hannah blinked. "Riley doesn’t know how to ride a bike, like at all."
"Really?!" V’s eyes widened. "But he knows how to pilot a plane?! He was the one who brought us here!"
"What?!" Bella screamed, causing the local men to back away from the group as they carefully watched her. "Ain’t..."
She lowered her voice.
"Ain’t no way you telling that to my mama. The old lady’s gonna shut us down. You—"
"Alright!"
A loud, high-pitched roar thundered through everyone’s ears before Bella could finish her words. She looked to the side, only to see Gracey revving the only motorcycle with a clutch there. The owner of the bike approached her, but Gracey softly let go of the clutch and just rode away while doing a wheelie.
"G-Gracey!" Pauline screamed. "We only rented that!"
She watched her disappear into the bushes, slowly turning her head toward the owner of the motorcycle while awkwardly chuckling.
"My... my friend will pay for all the damages," she said, glancing at Hannah. And before Hannah could even say anything, Pauline rode away.
"Eeh?!" she screamed.
"Ayo! P!" Bella quickly rode off to follow her, as she swerved left and right, even though the path was just straight. And so, the only ones left there were Hannah, V, Tomoe, and Riley.
"Fuck! They don’t even know the way! Baby Crew, follow them!"
Hannah was next, but she quickly glanced back as she realized she had forgotten something.
"Ah! Riley! Just ride with someone else!" she shouted, not even stopping as she chased after the rest of the Baby Crew, leaving only a trail of black smoke behind her. And when it cleared, V was already glancing at Riley and Tomoe back and forth.
"Who... do you want to ride with, Riley?" she asked, already leaning closer to him while holding her scooter. Riley didn’t need to answer at all, however, as Tomoe put on her helmet and mounted her bike.
"Please, try your best to keep up," she said before riding away. V gasped, quickly getting on her motorcycle.
"Riley!"
"Okay." Riley didn’t even say anything else, just riding behind V... and then wrapping his arms around her.
"Eep!" V squealed, glancing back at him for a moment before gulping and lightly twisting the throttle. "A-are you... comfortable?"
"No, Victoria," Riley quickly said. "But I do not think comfort is what people are looking for when they ride a motorcycle."
"Oh... right?" V giggled, choosing to focus on the path ahead instead.
"Also, I feel like I am inclined to tell you that this island is surrounded by cameras, Victoria."
"It... is?" V instinctively looked at the nearest lamp post, only to see that there was indeed a camera right there—and it didn’t look old either. "Wow... why?"
"Father donated them since we used to spend a few weeks here every year when Hannah and I were younger, Victoria."
"Huh... Oh, that’s weird. I just noticed I can hear you clearly."
"I compressed the air and created a channel between us, Victoria."
"That’s... convenient."
"It is, Victoria."
"And... where is Hannah taking us?"
"I believe in her favorite spot, Victoria. It is not that far from here."
An hour later, the Baby Crew finally arrived at the spot Hannah wanted them to see, and they parked their motorcycles right beside it. Pauline’s hands were a little numb from all the vibrations, but all of the discomfort she was feeling disappeared as soon as she saw the view.
Hannah took them to a crescent cliff, sitting atop a lagoon. The cliff was devoid of trees, but the grass adorning it was so green it felt like it was a frame protecting the horizon of endless blue in front of them.
"W-wow..." Pauline muttered, her eyes reddening from the weight that was starting to fill up her chest. "This... this is so beautiful. Are... are we going to wait for the sunset here?"
She looked up at the sun, and it was obvious that it would rest right in the middle of this frame.
"It’s... only in four hours now?"
"Oh, yeah. The view here is fucking nice." Hannah smirked, facing the Baby Crew while she walked backward several steps. "But the view isn’t why I took you guys here."
"Huh? Then—Hannah!"
Pauline reached out for Hannah as she reached the end of the crescent cliff, but instead of stopping, Hannah even leaped back.
"This white girl’s crazy!" Bella smiled, rushing toward the edge of the cliff and quickly crouching down as she reached the end. She looked down, only to see Hannah still falling, both her middle fingers raised toward them, carrying a wide smirk on her face before it became too hard to see her, and then she plopped into the water.
Water so blue it didn’t seem real at all. Water so blue it distracted Bella from what just happened for a moment.
"Shit! She alive?!" she screamed, and everyone rushed to her side to see the situation. All that was left for them to see was the water calmly rippling.
"S-should we... should we check on her?!" Pauline pressed a finger on her temple, trying to sense if she could find Hannah under the water.
"Guys!"
"Kh!" She winced, however, when Hannah suddenly emerged from the water and screamed. She didn’t mind at all, and a smile crept on her face as she started waving at Hannah.
"What are you guys still doing up there?!" Hannah shouted. "Jump!"
"J-jump? But—"
"YOLO!"
"Huh?" Pauline’s eyes widened in shock as she felt two arms wrap around her waist. She looked to her sides, only to see both Gracey and Bella holding her by the waist. She tried freeing herself, but couldn’t.
The only thing she could do was hold her breath as the two suddenly jumped... dragging her down with them.
"Heee?!" she screamed, still managing to let out some words even as she felt her organs being left behind on the cliff. "I-I’m not as physically strong as you guys!"
This time, it was Tomoe and V’s turn to watch as half of the Baby Crew fell to their... entertainment. The two looked at each other, and V awkwardly chuckled while backing away.
"Are you... going to jump too?" V asked, and Tomoe immediately shook her head.
"I’m afraid of heights," she said with a completely monotonous tone.
"You... are?"
"Yes."
"But... are you going to jump?"
"Yes," Tomoe nodded. "I’m feeling peer pressured to do so."
"Wh—"
And with those words, Tomoe leapt toward the horizon. If V wasn’t mistaken, she could see a hint of a tear on her stoic face.
And so, they were down to two.
"I... I guess you’re going to jump, too?" V turned to Riley, only to see him in front of some sort of machine at the edge of the cliff. A machine that oddly looked similar to—
"What... is that?"
"An elevator, Victoria," he said as the elevator doors opened.
"O-oh..." V approached as Riley got in, but he also immediately stepped out.
"Why..." she muttered, confused as the doors closed behind Riley and it started going down.
"Hannah was the one who asked them to build an elevator here, Victoria," he explained. "And the sole purpose of this elevator was so that anyone who jumped could easily ascend back to the cliff."
"Oh..."
"It was not meant to take people down."
"I... see."
"You do, Victoria." Riley nodded, slowly making his way to the edge of the cliff. He then reached his hand out toward her. "Would you prefer to jump at the same time?"
"W-what?!" V’s face immediately reddened, her eyes not knowing whether to look at his face or his outstretched hand.
"Hannah always jumped with me while holding my hand, Victoria." Riley shrugged. "This is the first time I will be jumping down without her, and it would make me more comfortable if—"
"Yes!" V didn’t let Riley finish his words. She rushed to take his hand, gulping while standing right beside him. "I’ll... I’ll stay by your side and—Huh?"
V’s vision suddenly turned dark. It was just for a moment, a blink. And perhaps that was just what happened, she blinked.
But it felt different.
And she heard something—a voice.
Riley’s voice. And it said...
No.
"Did..." V looked back. "Did... you say something, Riley?"
"Yes, Victoria. I was asking if we should jump now."
"Oh... then, uh..." V blinked a couple of times, but without thinking about it any further, she stepped toward the edge.
"Then... let’s go?"
***
"How’s the investigation with this Darkday going?"
And while the Baby Crew were spending their day like normal, average teenagers, the adults were, well, talking about adult things. The ladies were still chatting outside, and they were now drinking something heavier—their conversations started getting heavier too.
And with Prophet now joining them, of course, they were going to ask them about Darkday. Prophet didn’t seem to mind at all, however, as he even chuckled at the question. Especially when—
"The Government asked us to stop the investigation."
"What?! Why?!"