Chapter 256: Nightly Explosions
Lukas had just turned the heat down on the stove when he heard the explosion.
It wasn’t massive, more of a muffled crack that rattled the walls and sent a brief shudder through the floor beneath his feet.
He dropped the spoon he was using to stir the food and moved.
Out in the hallway, Melody’s door flew open at almost the same moment, and they nearly walked into each other before both of them turned in the same direction.
Dark smoke was curling out from under Akira’s door, threading into the hallway in thin ribbons.
They dashed to it and reached the door together. Lukas grabbed the handle and pushed it open.
The smoke hit them first, carrying the tangy smell of something burnt and metallic.
When it thinned enough to see through, Akira was sitting at her table, upright and completely calm, her chin resting on one hand as she studied something in front of her.
The table had not fared as well. Cracks ran across its surface in several directions, and a fine layer of soot covered most of it.
At the center sat a small component, still smoking quietly, its shape partially collapsed inwards.
"Akira," Melody said. "What happened?"
"Ratio test," Akira said, not looking up. "I was working out the proportions for the compound mixture. This one was off."
She picked up a small tool and poked at the component. "It’s fine. Nothing dangerous yet."
"Yet," Lukas said.
"The keyword being yet," Melody added.
"I know what I’m doing," Akira said, finally turning in her chair to look at them. "I’m being more careful than you think. The amounts I’m working with right now couldn’t do serious damage to anything bigger than this table."
"That’s the table you’re currently sitting at," Melody pointed out.
"I’m aware."
Lukas leaned against the doorframe. "Lunch is almost ready. Come out and eat with us."
Akira shook her head, already turning back. "Save mine. I’ll eat it when I reach a stopping point."
"Akira—"
"I’m fine." She stood, walked to the door, placed both hands flat on their chests, and pushed. "Go eat. I’ll come out later."
The door closed.
Lukas and Melody stood in the hallway, looking at the door for a second.
Then Melody spoke. "I’ve never seen her that focused on something that wasn’t a fight."
Lukas turned back to the kitchen. "It’s good. She needed something like this."
"I agree." Melody followed him. "I’m just slightly concerned about how many explosions her new hobby seems to involve."
"Only slightly?"
"Fine. Moderately concerned."
Lukas pulled the pan back onto the heat, checking what had been sitting while he was away. "We just have to hope she doesn’t decide the apartment needs to go at some point."
"Don’t even say that," Melody said. "Don’t put that thought into the world."
Lukas laughed at that.
He worked quickly, making up for the time lost, adjusting the heat and finishing everything off.
When it was ready, he plated Akira’s portion first, setting it aside where it would stay warm, then dished the rest.
He set Melody’s plate in front of her and they sat down to eat.
Time passed, and the explosions from Akira’s room became a rhythm of their own, with small cracks and muffled bangs arriving at odd hours with no warning.
The first night, Lukas woke up at two in the morning to one of the explosions and laid there staring at the ceiling for a full minute before deciding it wasn’t worth getting up.
By the second night, none of them stirred.
During the quieter stretches, Akira emerged long enough to eat and run her ideas past them before disappearing again.
Eventually she came out with an excited look on her face.
"I’ve got everything figured out," she said. "Let’s talk about the trap placements."
They spent the better part of an afternoon moving through the apartment together, with Akira directing while Lukas and Melody handled positioning.
Each component went exactly where Akira wanted it, and they set the traps.
When it was done, Akira looked around the apartment with a wide grin. "Anyone who comes through uninvited is going to have a very bad time."
"Good," Lukas said.
The two days passed, and Karrakas never came.
Melody glanced at Lukas as they gathered their things. "Looks like Nic was telling the truth."
"Looks like it," Lukas said. "Let’s go."
They took the stairs down to the underground parking lot, the sounds of their boots clicking against the floor echoing in the space.
The dark blue sedan sat where they’d left it, untouched, along with the other vehicles belonging to other apartment residents.
They climbed in. Lukas put his hands on the wheel, pushed his mana through, and tapped the navigation panel.
He requested for the address from Nic’s paper, and the holographic map bloomed above the dashboard.
It located the building in an instant, and drew out the route in glowing lines.
"Sector three," Lukas said to himself. "Here we go."
He pulled out of the space and followed the route up onto the street.
The city moved past them as they drove, the wide roads of sector four giving way to narrower ones as they crossed into sector three.
Akira and Melody kept arguing about a few buildings and if they recognized it. They’d arrived in Salaria at the sector three station afterall.
The map brought them to a stop in front of an apartment building that looked like it had seen better days.
The outer walls were cracked in several places, with the paint faded and peeling at the corners.
Lukas found a parking space nearby. They stepped out and made their way inside.
There were no lifts, so they took the stairs, climbing to the third floor and moving down the hall until they found the right apartment number.
Lukas knocked on the door.
A few seconds passed, then the door swung open.
Nic stood there with a wide grin.
"You actually showed up," he said. "And here I was putting money on you either not coming at all or showing up in full battle gear with weapons drawn."
He looked at Lukas. "Given how suspicious you were."
Lukas laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fair enough."
"Come on in." Nic stepped aside, pulling the door open wider. "There are people you need to meet."
