Esper Chapter 10: Doubt

Part 1

“Five males…” The officer gagged. “Two killed with nails driven into their skulls, one wearing his own head backwards, one shot dead, and the other with a cracked open dome on the ground outside! Good God!”

“That’s enough Pedro, thank you. What do you think, Detective Bennet?” Tobias Bennet didn’t immediately answer the question posed by his partner, Raquel Childs. He was busy looking under the sheet placed over one of the many corpses left in the lone parking lot.

“Oof…don’t look under there, Childs. That’s…essh!” The graying man turned away while trying to maintain a light-hearted tone, even with disgust plaguing his face.

“I’ll be fine, Tobias. What do you think about all of this?”

“Well, we got the call early in the morning about gunshots, then the bodies were discovered. It doesn’t look gang related, specifically when you consider this horror show left for us. I feel like these guys aren’t 365, or those Beset kids, but not totally sure. Plus, not many gangs I know forgo guns entirely and turn the scene into a slasher flick.”

“Nothing to even give us a hint. No plates on the cars, identification will take a bit, and no affiliation to any local gangs has been confirmed yet. Seriously, who the fuck did this and for what purpose?”

“Whole day has gone to shit, and I haven’t even gotten my coffee yet!” The two took a seat on the hood of their cruiser. Tobias flexed, his wide shoulders popping, and old joints aching as he groaned. “I swear, just yesterday we were escorting Joffe, arresting those internet cats, and now we’ve got a multiple homicide. Wish Kevin hadn’t run off. We’re so short-staffed right now and he was always on the ball! Don’t miss Niles as much though, he was a piece of shit.”

“Really? You didn’t like Niles?”

“No! Bastard was racist. I just don’t speak up much, since I don’t like to rock the boat, is all.”

“You don’t say. Wherever the two of them went, good riddance to Niles, I guess. I do feel bad for Kevin’s family though. His wife is pregnant. You wouldn’t expect that he’d just disappear.”

“Shame. Speaking of, how’s your family doing? I saw your dad’s practice ended up in the news after the ‘Newtonville incident’ details leaked.”

“Dad’s fine. My concern is how someone got a hold of the victims’ names, and the fact that they were treated at our practice.”

“Ol’ Daryl’s a tough one, but he’s like a duck, you know? Can’t ever tell what’s going on under the surface! Like father, like daughter…sort of.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know…” Tobias leaned in and cupped his hand over the young detective’s ear. “You dating that one guy from the incident.”

“What?! H-how…” Raquel recoiled, then quickly regained composure. “How do you know about that?”

“Oh, come on. I’m your partner! I pay attention to what’s going on with you. You haven’t been too shy about hiding it either. All the phone calls, coming in late, smiling so much…wearing the same clothes from yesterday.” An obvious tell, as Raquel had spent the night with Vernon. “Plus, I saw you two at the hotel.”

“It’s not interfering with my work. Work is always my priority.”

“I know, I know. Just…don’t let your youth go by without having finding what you want, Ms. Honor Roll.” He laughed as Raquel glared a hole through the man.

“Excuse me, Detectives Bennet and Childs…” The two were approached by another officer. “Uh…the chief informed me that this man here, Mister…”

“Pontz, Horatio Pontz, nice to meet you both.” An almost comically nondescript white man in a black trench coat loomed over the cringing officer’s shoulder. With a hand extended to Raquel, he grinned with teeth so white they appeared to glow.

The detective simply looked on, confused. “Who is this?” She asked, cautiously observing the ghoul.

“Chief said Mister Pontz is a part of a special investigation team that will be observing the Trenton Police Department.”

“For what purpose?”

“…It would appear that…” Horatio began, his hand still outstretched. Raquel noted the man’s ghastly pale hand, and reluctantly shook it. Far worse than imagined, it was akin to holding a lobster fresh fished out of the ocean! Tobias followed, making a face like he’d stepped in animal excrement; noting also, Pontz’s eyes were totally hidden behind a pair of square frame sunglasses reflecting his own perplexed reaction. “Mr. Niles Letterman and Mr. Kevin Greene, both have been found dead.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Holy shit! We were just talking about them.” The other officer scurried off, not wanting more put onto his plate.

“Detective Bennet and Detective Childs, you both are highly respected and considered the Trenton Police Department’s best. I look forward to us working together.” Every word that left Pontz’s mouth made Raquel shutter, and his insistence on leaning into her personal space didn’t help. If not for adequate self-restraint, Raquel would’ve hip tossed the man! Again, he extended his hand; that time, holding a business card. “Please, do reach out.”

“Right…” Both accepted the cards as Horatio slinked off, back to his all-black sedan.

“Goddamnit. I swear, we just can’t relax for two seconds now, can we?” Tobias said as he stormed off, looking for somewhere to smoke. Meanwhile, Raquel inspected the card she was given. A hand lifting a head encircled by a halo, below, Horatio’s phone number and the slogan ‘bringing the future forward’, were printed on it. Needless to say, Raquel felt uneasy about the entire situation.

Part 2

Nicolaus Thompson frantically jotted down notes, trying in vain to keep up with everything said in the meeting! Sitting at the long table’s top, was an old man with a handlebar mustache obscuring his mouth and rambling on incoherently. The young technician wasn’t used to large meetings, nor was he dressed for the occasion; wearing his blue jeans and black v-neck. He fussed, as per usual, with his spiky black hair.

“…That should conclude the fiscal discussion. Vernon, you mentioned wanting to have our workers assist in establishing the new computer lab for the parks and recreation department?” Just when it seemed the assembly was ending, the old man pulled up another subject, to Nicolaus’s dismay.

Vernon Marino, sitting beside Nicolaus, stood up and began presenting. All around the table, everyone listened attentively. “We’ve covered a lot today, so I’ll try to keep this brief. First, it’s not the parks and recreation department that’s in need of a computer lab, it’s the low-income families in the area. The library there has been on the brink of closure for roughly three years now, and I’ve spoken with members of the community; many who live there still don’t have regular access to PCs, or even the internet. If the library is really bleeding that much funding, then why not move the staff, the machines, and the books to a smaller and more accessible location? After that, we can focus our efforts on upgrading their workstations and even, if we wanted, getting public programs started. I know, lots of work is going to pile on top of our already full plates with the president coming to town in a few months, but it’s just something for us to think about.”

“W-well…I think we should pay attention to that, but the president coming to town is top priority!” The handlebar moustached grump huffed in response, nervously ruffling his papers.

Finally, the meeting ended. Nicolaus followed Vernon as both quickly retired to his office. “I swear, that old fart needs to hurry up and retire.” Vernon closed the door behind them and threw himself back into his chair behind the desk. “Sit down, Nick’o, may as well unwind.”

“…” Nicolaus kept awkwardly standing, looking at his superior with disdain. “I took the notes like you asked, so can I go? I’d rather be at my desk.”

“If you want. I appreciate you stepping up, since Amala isn’t in, again. I needed some back up there!”

“…You just dropped it onto my calendar at the last minute though.” The misanthrope muttered under his breath. Nicolaus handed the notes to Vernon and got ready to leave, but Vernon called out to him.

“Oh, before you go! I’m probably going to put you on the project I mentioned in the meeting.”

“What?!”

“Don’t ‘what’! You’re one of the better techs we have. I trust that you’ll be reliable, and that you’d make sense of the more technical aspects. Plus, it’ll look good to people upstairs, maybe get you a raise…?”

“Fine…” Insinuation aside, Nicolaus fumed. (As usual, this asshole dumps work onto me. I can’t even breathe! You know, since everyone else ditches training sometimes, maybe I’ll start doing that too. Get my free time back.) A message came through on both Nicolaus and Vernon’s phones. Both looked at each other for an instant, thinking it was from the same person. Nicolaus’s came from the eccentric and suspicious sleuth, Aran; while Vernon’s was from the headstrong investigator, Raquel Childs.

“Oh…uh…you can go. Oh, and don’t forget about training tonight!”

“Right.” Nicolaus left, stifling the urge to slam the door behind him. He walked out into the empty front hall, growing curious as the buzzing of his phone hadn't ceased for a second!

The messages from Aran read disjointed and frantic! [Can you make it?] [1515 northway] [This is huge] [Grandpa would be proud!] [Hurry!] [They might come!] [Are you here yet?!] [Hurry!] [Please!]

Nicolaus had zero idea what Aran was trying to convey, but took an early lunch and made for the location mentioned!

Meanwhile, Vernon read a message from his own secret associate. [Hey, sorry about running off this morning! Got a call for work. I’ll stop by tonight, if that’s cool.]

Vernon pondered for a moment. [Sure! I don’t mind. I’ve been wondering for a while actually, what exactly are we?] He began to type but quickly erased the response. [Sure! I’ll be done around 10:30. Stop by any time after that.] Was sent instead. Training with the group was planned beforehand, so having Raquel over afterwards was a bit of a reward for his hard work.

Part 3

After scouring the area for a safe landing point, Nicolaus floated down into a vacant parking lot. [Where are we meeting?] Messaging Aran, it was marked ‘read’ immediately! Another response came right through!

[I’m waiting outside the motel! Come to the address, quick!] Urgency gripped Nicolaus with…next to no concern, as he suspected Aran to be exaggerating. As casually as possible, he strolled to the meeting spot.

On his way down the street a thought popped into his head. When was the last shared conversation with Katie? Gleefully, Nicolaus pulled out his phone and began typing a message to the red headed waitress, then swiftly deleted it. (No, that one was too desperate sounding.) Then, he wrote another and deleted it. (The way that sounds, it’s like I’m forcing her to answer!) He wrote up yet another message and deleted it! (No, no, no that’s too familiar!) For over fifteen minutes, Nicolaus walked in circles near the neighborhood park. Producing the most perfect, awe inspiring text message ever was vital! It had to be done! Eventually, the infatuated man settled on a simple… [Yo!] and left it at that. Proud of himself, Nicolaus almost forgot about the reason for his trip.

“Thompson…” Along the wind came a small, whispered voice. It went almost unnoticed, but Nicolaus unintentionally casted his eyes downward, meeting gazes with the brush cloaked sleuth, Aran! The strange young man’s face peaked out from one of the many park shrubs, equipped with a grin. “It took you quite some time to make your way here, thus I took it upon myself to track you down! No need to thank me!” Though the smugness of Aran’s demeanor made Nicolaus consider walking away, never to deal with the animated brat again, he brushed off the urge.

“Well…what is it you wanted to see me about? What’s so important?”

“Before that! We should return to my base of operations. Talking out in public like this is dangerous!”

“…Ok…come on then, unless you’re still busy getting acquainted with that bush?”

“Indeed!” Nicolaus chuckled at his own joke and began walking up the street, until noticing he was alone. Turning back, he spotted Aran’s pale face remained firmly wedged between the low lip of a park wall and the bush.

“Hey, what are you doing? Come on. If you’re going to BS then I can just go back to work, you know?”

“Oh…well…” Aran averted his baby blue eyes. “When I came looking for you, I needed to stay out of sight; be as hidden as much as possible! My trench coat - which is necessary, regardless of what many may say; inflates my normally narrow and elusive frame, even if my mind doesn’t often register the differences.”

“…You got your jacket caught in the bush when you were running around trying to be sneaky.”

“What?! Absurd! What’d make you think that?!”

“The fact that you look like a puppy that has one of those cones put on their heads by the doctor, mostly. But hey, prove me wrong. If you’re able to stand, then let’s hurry up and go! Otherwise, you’re wasting my lunch hour.”

“…” Aran’s pale face turned bright red as the young man struggled but barely made any headway in removing himself from the shrub.
“…*Sigh*…hang on, I’ve got you.” Nicolaus bent down and grabbed the obviously mortified sleuth by the shoulders. Gripping tight, he heaved, noting that Aran was in fact, tremendously stuck. He pushed, then pulled with all his might! “Push off the ground if you can!”

“O-Okay!”

When the two’s timing matched, Nicolaus dislodged the small man from his prison and nearly launched him into the street behind! “Finally! Wow…that was harder than it looked!” A moment of success! (If I could’ve hid it, using my telekinesis would’ve made that infinitely easier.) It dawned on the young man how dainty his associate felt, still held up in his arms. “Aran, you’re way lighter than I thought you’d be.”

“Ahaha…” Aran chuckled awkwardly as Nicolaus placed the young man back onto the ground. “W-Well!” He cleared his throat, attempting to appear poised in spite of the humiliating circumstance. “Let’s retire to my base! Shall we?”

“Ok.” Nicolaus snickered, casually picking leaves from the silky blonde hair atop Aran’s head, with the young man swatting at his hand in response.

Part 4

From wall to wall, discarded scraps of paper, documents in cardboard bins, old CDs, books, and hard drives, Aran’s motel room was a dump! “Ehem! Welcome to my base of operations for the time being!” He said, brimming with enthusiasm!

Nicolaus’s eyes glanced over the dingy room’s single bed and bathroom, not bothering him much. Peering out from behind the blinds, he witnessed what was likely a drug deal in the parking lot, and a mangy dog chasing the men off; that did bother him! (This place…I’m flying out of here as soon as I get a chance!) Suspicious as always, Nicolaus decided to ask Aran about himself. “Time being, huh? Where are you from?”

“Hahaha!” Aran pulled open his trench coat, flaring out the back as if a sudden gust of wind blasted him! “I’ve never known a place one would call ‘home’ aside from that excellently kept van you see outside!” There was in fact, a well detailed dark green van situated in the lot facing the motel room. “I was raised and taught by my grandfather in that exact vehicle since I was 5 years old!” He said, with a flourish and snap!

(I swear, this kid’s so far up his own ass.) All of Aran’s theatrics irritated Nicolaus, but again he stifled any exasperated retorts. “So, what was the emergency, again?”

“Ah! My mistake! Come closer, I’ll show you.” On the side of bed, Aran fished out a laptop wedged between the frame and the wall. He discarded his coat and hat onto a nearby chair and began typing away. “Come on, come on!” Aran patted the bed beside him, like he was calling a dog.

“Fucks sake…” Nicolaus mumbled, begrudgingly sitting down next to the small man. “What are these?” Blurry photos with timestamps filled the screen.

“I’ve equipped my van with multiple cameras. One points in this direction, right at the door! Over the course of the last two days, this guy, the one in the overcoat, has been walking by my front door over and over. I suspect him to have connections to the Delta Exceed testing group!”

“Hm…” Filled with skepticism, Nicolaus looked over the photos intently. “Well, it could just be someone else. You’re…not in the best neighborhood around here.”

“True enough, but no one would mess with me normally! I’m quite intimidating when I want to be!” Further skepticism, greater doubt!

“…ok.” Aran then played a video while Nicolaus zoned out. Seated beside the tiny sleuth, with legs too short to reach across the bed, Nicolaus pictured someone fighting with the diminutive man and that elicited a muted chuckle. On video, a man with shiny black hair did seem to circle, keeping out of sight, but still near the door. “Let's say this is true; that this guy is with Delta Exceed; then that means you’ve been compromised, right?”

“Most likely…honestly, I’ve had that feeling for a while. Their reach is somehow both larger and harder to track in recent years, despite my expert skills! Oh, Thompson!” Aran suddenly closed the distance between himself and Nicolaus to an uncomfortable degree! “Have you experienced any changes since the incident?”

“What?! Huh?! Back up!” That white dress shirt sitting atop dainty shoulders was driven into the side Nicolaus's pectorals as the sleuth leaned into him! (This guy says he’s some kind of private investigator, but he’s built like Amala!)

“Anything! Like muscle pains, loss of senses, gaining new senses, or…gaining new abilities, or something?!”

“No! No! Back off, dude!” Nicolaus back crawled across the bed away from the eager young man!

Aran pursued, closing the gap between them, until Nicolaus’s back was pressed against the wall! “I think they’re keeping an eye on you, on all the survivors from the incident!” So close, breath, body, and gaze, all warmed the formerly callus Nicolaus’s face. “They have eyes everywhere!” Baby blue eyes resolute, and noses nearly touching, Aran halted with Nicolaus beneath him, totally cornered! “They’ll continue to watch you until you either develop some kind of ability or…” From below, lights overhead cast a shadow, and Nicolaus was shown a silhouette bleeding through Aran’s thin shirt. A wiry frame; slender and pale, the sleuth atop Nicolaus whipped his mind up into a confused tizzy!

“O-o-or?” Stuttering, and face flush red with embarrassment, Nicolaus considered bolting out of the door!

“…Or if you succumb to the testing.” Aran spoke with a tone matching the gravity of the situation for once. “There have been cases of those who were experimented on…dying, even after the preliminary trials were conducted. My grandfather wrote extensive notes on all of his findings.”

Slinging his laptop back over to them, a myriad of documents pertaining to testing were highlighted. Broken syringes, abandoned buildings, old and unmarked vehicles, as well as bodies, rotting, dissected, and mangled, some even clearly still alive; a mountain of gruesome images were attached to the sleuth’s files. “OK! I get it!” Nicolaus climbed out from under Aran and rushed to the window, needing to see anything else!

“Sorry! It’s just you have to know how serious this is. I’m not sure when or where, but if they’re following you too, then you need to stay aware of your surroundings. They could be anywhere and I’m not sure if they’ve already infected the local government or not. They could just be walking the streets for all I know.” A rare moment of total sincerity from the often-exaggerating Aran struck a chord with Nicolaus. Successfully recomposing him, the technician checked his phone, noting only a few minutes of his lunch break remained.

“I have to get going. Aran…if anything happens, I’ll let you know right away!” Despite that, Nicolaus was still wary.

“Of course, partner!” Aran gave a thumbs up and wide toothy smile. Just before leaving the room, Nicolaus spied a string chart on a corkboard near the door. “Oh, that’s what I’m using to keep track of connections! It’s pretty elaborate, admittedly, but when you come back I’ll break it down for you.”

Nicolaus silently studied the board and quickly realized how ridiculous it was. There were things out of place, lines leading nowhere, and connections linking time stamps incorrectly, according to Aran himself. (…At this point, do I want Aran to even be right…?)

Part 5

“…Pick up…come on…” The line finally connected, six rings later. “Matthew! I’ve been calling you fo—” Red-headed waitress, Katie Vang, was cut off by the answering machine. She waited, holding her tongue as venom boiled in the back of her throat. “Matthew, call me. There are police here at the office and I have no idea what’s going on!” She whispered, because, just on the other side of the wall were police officers. They scoured Katie’s lover, Matthew’s office for something! “Hey, do you think you could explain what’s going on here?”

“This is police protocol, ma’am. Can’t.” One officer responded, vexing Katie.

(Police protocol, my ass!) Her phone buzzed just then. A message from Nicolaus, which Katie, with near perfect accuracy, guessed the contents of before reading. [Hey Spike, sorry for being a ghost. :( Work has been crazy! I’ll tell you about it later tonight!] The thought of Nicolaus haphazardly attempting some stoic persona when interacting with Katie delighted her. Normally, allotting herself some teasing time with the spiky hair pessimist, just to force an awkward response; however, said freedom wasn’t afforded in such a worsening predicament.

A phone call suddenly came in! Katie almost jumped to answer it, but quickly realized the display read ‘Mom’ and slinked away, leaving the police to continue their search. After taking a deep breath, she reluctantly answered. “Katie, are you there?”

“Yes. What is it, mother?”

“I’m just calling to make sure you’re doing alright. Can I not do that?”

“…I’m busy right now, mother. Can this wait until later?”

“Why is it whenever I call you, you’re so hostile? I was calling to make sure this whole venture hasn’t blown up in your face this time.”

“…Mother…” Unintentionally, Katie tightened her grip on the phone and her stage dress.

“If it has, you can always come home. I can pay for your ticket.”

“…” Another buzz from the device in her hand nearly shocked her into dropping it. To her surprise, several texts from Matthew flowed in with rapid succession!

[Katie] [My way!] [Documents] [The closet behind my coats! Move them!] [Hide them!] The messages wedged a slab of confliction in Katie’s throat. Her heart sank. Whatever documents that were hidden must’ve been so bad, the police couldn’t find them!

“Katie!” Her mother called from the phone. “Are you listening? Just come home. We can get you a job in Dad’s shop.” The thought stewed. She could just point out the documents to the police, gather her things, and move back home. Escaping every bizarre turn her life had taken and returning to live a normal life was just an answer away.

Upon calming down, she saw how her grip had wrinkled the hem of her dress. That dress had been her partner for weeks, and a goal for months! She wanted the lead role, worked her ass off, and finally achieved the first part of her dream. Losing that foothold was, tantamount in the aspiring actresses mind, to falling back down the mountain she’d scaled! “No, mother! I’m not coming back to that town. That town isn't even a one-horse town, it’s a half horse town; and I’m not going to die a no one out in the middle of nowhere! You wait and see.” Katie ended the call and slid back into the office. “Excuse me, boys. I’ve actually been wondering…could I trouble you for a bit of your time?” The two men turned to each other and then looked back at Katie, intrigued.

“What’s the matter ma’am?” They halted their investigation, eager to chat with the attractive actress leaned in the doorway. With only a minute to do so, Katie attempted to properly analyze the situation. There were two doors in the room, and she was blocking one, with the officers staring at her. She required her mannequins to discreetly retrieve the documents in the closet, and move them through the unoccupied door behind the officers into the empty storeroom across the hall! That idiot, Matthew, was the lifeline to her future career! Protecting his secrets, didn’t matter; protecting her future, did.

“You see…” Katie focused as hard as possible, splitting her attention between the conversation and her psychic mannequins working behind the police! “I’ve been having some auditions lately, and in those I’m trying to nail the role of a police officer.” Plumes of pitch-black energy gathered on the ground, building into Katie’s mannequin. The figure sifted through coats, searching for the documents. (I’ve never had those things do something this complex. One order is the limit, I think. Please, please, please! Don’t fuck up!) Praying her focus would remain strong. “Can you boys give me some tips? Like, what you normally do when questioning a suspect?” Both officers jumped at the opportunity to explain their process; which Katie paid no mind to. In the background, that black doll emerged holding a cardboard box full of manila folders! Again, she focused on building another mannequin. (One needs…to go to the room across…the hall…) A deep roaring noise resonated in the back of Katie’s head. Pounding, growing louder, cutting into her mind like a knife! Katie’s nose bled as she slumped against the doorframe!

“Oh shit! Are you alright, ma’am?” An officer helped lower Katie to the ground. She knelt, eyes cutting to the mannequin, expecting one would form like before; but almost shrieked when a small, more childlike doll took the box from the taller one! “Should I call someone?” Before he could turn and see the bizarre sight, Katie secured the man’s arm, and attention, in between her prominent breasts.

“Don’t worry! Just a bit anemic.” The small creation bounded through the opposite door! It nearly tripped with the box held over its head, crashing into something in the next room over! Just then, the other mannequin shattered, disappearing into thin air; and at the same time, short and stubby Matthew walked in!

He spoke with the police who had plenty of questions for him, though Katie wasn’t able to hear them. She laid on a couch in the adjacent room, looking up at the ceiling with a towel pressed firmly against her nose. “Alright, they’re gone.” Matthew said, closing the door behind him while wiping beads of sweat from his growing forehead, and shrinking hairline. “Where are the…files?”

“Over here.” Katie sluggishly rolled onto her side, using her foot to pull the box out from behind the couch. Tension in her lover’s face evaporated; meanwhile, Katie remained oblivious and annoyed. “What’s in there?”

“Oh…uh…nothing really.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re a liar by nature.”

“T-Takes one to know one.”

“I’m an actress, lying is what I do. Now tell me what’s in the box or I’ll call the police back!”

“You’d do that to your own boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? Pfft! Depends on what kind of shit my ‘boyfriend’ was getting me and my career into that involves the cops. Now, spill!”

“…One of the guys who funds this theater house and some of the galleries around the state is being investigated. His name is on all the documents here, and there is some…noticeably sketchy activity. If that guy goes down, we could end up losing the whole business.”

“…Fuck. How bad?”

“…Rumor says it’s human trafficking and drug deals.”

Katie threw her bloody towel right into Matthew’s face! “You dumbfuck! Get a lawyer! Call someone, anyone who can separate us from this place as soon as possible!” Despite her head swirling still, Katie got up from her seat just to look down on Matthew as he rifled through the bin.

“I can’t.”

“What?! Why not?!”

“We’ve…hosted some of the drugs here, and…I’ve run some for him.”

“…” In the back of her mind, Katie considered divorcing herself from the entire affair, but remembered the choice she’d made less than twenty minutes prior. Her eyes went cold with her next statement. “You promised me these plays would take me to the top, to some of the biggest stages in the world. I’m doing all this because you were the one who scouted me, remember that! So, you better not fuck up, and you better find a way to fix this.” Matthew sheepishly returned to going through the documents while Katie sat back down onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling again. With blood running from her nose, she scoffed. “As if I’ll go back. Human trafficking and drugs, huh? Do I always have to struggle?”

Part 6

A mostly silent day at Landon high was only broken up by constant whispers. “…Warren Prince…” They said. “…Heard he got shot in the throat…!” Words echoed. “Yeah. He was killed! bet you anything that’s why Maggie’s out.” True enough, she wasn’t in. “I heard he was dealing drugs. He was a burnout, so not a surprise.” Rumors spread like wildfire. “I feel sorry for Maggie.” All those words, cycling around, shaking the already frayed conscience of one, Vergil Trask.

The boy sat, head covered and trembling, with his psyche bombarded endlessly by flashbacks to that scene. No amount of furious cleaning scrubbed away the acrid stench of murder permeating his hands. Unclean. Ghastly! Unintentional as it was, he’d used his powers to strike through Warren’s neck, taking his life. Killing another person!

“Verg…” Lefty, his friend, sat atop Vergil’s desk. She was accompanied by the fluffy-haired Pete, busy looking through social media on his phone. “Ya’ look— You look sick.” The young black girl shuttered, catching her southern accent just before it escaped her mouth.

“…I’m alright, L-Lefty.”

“…Okay.” She said halfheartedly. “Harper is out today too. Did you hear from him?” Vergil didn’t answer.

“I messaged dude earlier.” Pete put away his phone while twirling his curly locks, bored. “He saw it, but never said anything back.” Lefty and Pete conversed, but Vergil drifted off, lost in thought.

Class began. With Vergil’s seat far to the back, no one noticed him sending off messages to Nicolaus; all unread. The young man’s eyelids gradually grew heavy, lowering the sleep deprived teen into an unfortunate mire of nightmares…

Vergil’s feet dragged across dried, dead earth as he ambled through a lifeless forest. Frightened, unsteady hands caressed withered trees, snapping every branch with the slightest touch. The forest’s edge stretched on infinitely, no matter how hard he ran; it expanded outward! Alone, not a soul in sight, stalked by soft voices whispering his name, anxiety ravaged the timid boy. “Vergil…Vergil…Vergil…” The murmurs built into echoes. Branches piled up in front of him, obscuring the path, taking away all hope for escape! Salvation seemed beyond his reach, with voices growing louder and decaying fauna falling atop his head! “Murderer…murderer…murderer…” They became violent. His breaths short, Vergil fell to his knees, watching the branches stack further up toward the sky, surrounding him, leaving the guilt-stricken teen trapped! They rained down blows, pelting and pummeling him for simply looking up the deadwood wall! “Vergil…Murder…Vergil…” Louder and louder, the inescapable forest called his name, until all at once it stopped…and low gurgling began.

When Vergil peered up next, the tree bark was neither gray nor dried, but pasty, quivering, hairy and pinkish. As his eyes traced the trunks, agonized, gasping for air, Warren Prince glared down with bloodshot eyes! His face, warped into a tree, filled with rage, blood bubbled from the roots! “I’m…I’m…sorry…” Vergil wept, as the branches all twisted to point at the sobbing boy. The accusatory fingers of the withered fauna blamed him, saying he was at fault. “No…I…I didn’t mea-” A hand clamped over his mouth, holding him down as all the others struck him; punching, and slapping the boy as blood welled up around his head, drowning him in the dirt below! “No…no…No! Stop!”

Vergil screamed and shot up from the desk! Glassy energy around him exploded outward, blasting several nearby classmates back! “What on earth?!” The teacher hollered from the front of the room! Vergil quickly came to his senses and dispelled the projections! “What happened back there?!” Surrounded by several downed students, Vergil couldn’t catch his breath.

“I don’t know! Trask stood up and then we all got blown around!” One student said from the floor.

“Are you all okay? Vergil! What did you do?!” Vergil’s eyes bounced between the terrified students, picking themselves up off the ground, and the teacher approaching him! Fight or flight kicked in, so the boy grabbed his bag and hightailed it! “Vergil! Get back here, now!” Before he could be stopped by anyone, Vergil had already dashed out of class and ran for the hills!

Part 7

Nicolaus watched the hands of the clock tick by. He craved distraction! Video games, anime, loafing about his apartment; anything aside from being at work and stewing on trepidation about Aran, was ideal! However, he was stuck at his desk, looking over tickets from users, while the monotonous ticking slowly drove him insane! Nicolaus wanted to get up and…! A message popped up on the screen of his PC and to his astonishment it was from Amala Singh!

[I’m outside. In the back. Let’s chat.] The surprise alone propelled Nicolaus to clock out early! Sparing only a second on his run to the elevator, he messaged Vernon. With an excuse made up about his sister’s pregnancy, eager Nicolaus left his job with glee!

Once outside, the on-edge Nicolaus scanned the common area. “Where is she…” The lovely, petite, Indian woman was nowhere to be found.

Amala slipped in behind for a playful scare! “Rah!” Only a joke, it nearly caused Nicolaus to burst into flight right out of his worn-out sneakers! “Hello, Nicolaus! Mighty jumpy, no?”

“Wh-what’s with you?!” Feeling his heart slam the back of his ribcage, the spook was successful! That sudden rush of adrenaline turned Nicolaus’s legs into a pair of wet noodles, barely able to support him. “Can you even be here? Shouldn’t you be home or something?” Nicolaus staggered to a nearby bench for support while trying to catch his breath.

“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying.” An uncharacteristically soft, toothy grin was flashed by the normally stoic and standoffish young woman. In fact, Amala’s whole demeanor was oddly easy going, despite being dressed in those dingy purple sweats.

“Well…Vernon has been making me take your meetings, you know.”

Amala literally poked Nicolaus in the side with her fingers! “Are you pouting? Haha…you act like a little girl sometimes!” Teasing and whimsical giggling made the pessimistic young man glow bright red with embarrassment!

“Huh?! What’s with you? Since when have you been like this?”

“For the first night in months…I got some sleep. Finally…things feel…it feels like I’m doing something right.” She smiled again. Her joy, despite having zero context, even made Nicolaus a bit happy. “I messaged Vernon anyway, so it’s fine for me to be off. It’s a mental health day.” With her eyes cast down, and a shy air, Amala presented an unexpected invitation. “Hey, how about going to the ballet…?”

“Ballet? I…” Before an answer could be given, Nicolaus’s phone blared! “Hang on. Hello?” On the other end of the line was incoherent stammering. Nicolaus knew immediately it was Vergil failing at forming a sentence. “Vergil…Vergil! Calm down! Hey, what’s up? Are you alright? What…calm down! What’s going on?”

“…Is he alright?”

“I think…he’s crying about something.”

“…Find out where he is…let’s go get him!”

“Yeah. Vergil, relax…I’m…going to come and get you.” Vergil managed to calm down, resigning to message Nicolaus the location instead. “Looks like he isn’t too far from his school. I’m thinking, we fly over and just take him home.” Amala agreed so the two searched for a secluded place. They hid behind an unpopulated café and using their powers took off into the cloudy sky!

Part 8

Dusk rapidly approached as Nicolaus’s azure telekinesis cut through the fading orange sky. Amala trailed behind with her magenta haze, doing everything she could to keep up, but even so, Nicolaus was edging further away! “You’re really fast! Slow down!” She hollered over the roaring winds.

“Huh?! Oh…sorry.” Nicolaus hadn’t noticed, not even moving at full speed. It felt like the limitation of his power wasn’t even in sight! “That’s strange. It’s just…I feel I could go twice that speed. I didn’t feel this powerful before…”

“What are you doing, come on!” Unintentionally, Nicolaus had come to a full stop but resumed once Amala zoomed by. Landing in the woods, out of sight from the football field in the woods, then landed. As soon as Nicolaus called Vergil, the phone connected.

“N-Nicolaus…I’m over…h-h-here.” Underneath the bleachers sat the ghastly visage of Vergil. The boy’s white hair and pale skin contrasted with the darkness surrounding him, looking like an apparition. Both adults remained vigilant to avoid being seen by any faculty. “A-Amala came t-too?”

“It was her idea, actually. You should thank her.” Amala turned away, to which Nicolaus could’ve sworn he saw a slight blush on her cheeks. “How about we get you home? No wait, what about your sister?”

“…She’s…home for the day…” He clutched his bag, thinking of how traumatized Wilhelmina must’ve been. “…I-I-I…”

“Relax, it’s okay. We’ll get you home and then you can sleep it off.”

“…” Vergil wanted to confide in Nicolaus, but when he looked over to Amala, stopped. Unsure of how to open up properly, the timid teenaged boy held his tongue.

“Nicolaus, you fly with him.” Amala began floating upward as Nicolaus wrapped Vergil in his blue haze, and joined suit.

All three flew through the sky, slower than before but held a solid pace. “…Vergil, does this have to do with yesterday?” Nicolaus’s question intrigued Amala.

“What happened yesterday…?” She asked, her own activities from the day prior in mind.

“…K-K-…yes…maybe…” Vergil gripped tightly onto his bookbag. “…I…I just don’t know…w-what c-came over m-me…m-my powers…I don’t k-know…” Divulging the truth wasn’t going to happen. Vergil felt like a branch had been twisted sideways in his throat, blocking any words.

“Did your powers act up?” Amala slowed herself down to meet eye to eye with the boy.

Amala’s piercing purple eyes showed little relent with their powerful gaze, frightening the already shaken teen. “Let’s just drop the subject for now…look, isn’t that where you live?” Nicolaus interjected. The cul-de-sac was coming into view. Several smaller homes rounded the street, with a smattering of leafless trees in a gray forest outlining that. One large and well-kept home, with a car parking in the driveway, stood out amongst the other ordinary residences.

“…That’s Harper’s house.”

“Oh…well, we should land somewhere that isn’t compromised.” Though Nicolaus was scouting for a deserted spot, he quickly took notice of Amala hurtling toward the car as two passengers exited! “Amala! Where are you going?! Stop!” Nothing he screamed mattered, because Amala had seen something.

That long blonde hair, unmistakably slender frame, and looks that hadn’t changed in years; the wind carrying his voice to her ears, brought a visceral flashback! Her blood ran cold; each and every vein in her body flared open to draw in frigid air! Lasting less than a second, every thought played back at the speed of light! Just hearing him speak, Amala was sure, there was zero doubt in her mind! “Hurry now, Harper. Your mother is waiting for us inside.”

“Mister…no! Calvin Wolf!” He turned to see Amala Singh landing in the road behind him! Calvin Wolf looked at the small woman utterly baffled!

“I’m sorry. Do you know me?” He said as Harper came around from the side of the car.

“What’s going on Dad…?” The second he laid eyes on Amala; scanning her mind, Harper knew what she was about to say! (Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Stop it!) He attempted to intercept her, screaming words into her head! Everything from, leave, fear, run, flight, escape, incorrect, liar, false, mistaken, irrational, idiotic, and wrong, were being forced into the girl’s head!

“Agh!” The sensation of swelling caused Amala’s head to pound in agony! She squeezed her temples in pain while falling to one knee, fighting growing discomfort! Harper believed it was working, but the pain shot back to him as well!

(Fuck…why does my head hurt? I…is she pushing back?!) Amala rose back up just as Vergil and Nicolaus ran up! They had successfully landed unseen in the woods, then rushed over just in time for a revelation to drop like a bomb into a sleepy suburban town.

“Calvin Wolf, it’s me! Amala Singh! If you want to keep pretending like you didn’t abuse me and my friends…then go right the ahead, but at least tell that lie right here, right now, in front of your son; to my face!”

End of Chapter 10