"Eyes between spaces always looking,

Tongues between times always tasting.

The thrill of the hunt, and the thrill of the book.

I am the hunter."

-quote from the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ Manifesto

12-13..

14-15...

It's been almost 2 hours since he started looking. At this point he barely had any hope left. Of course, it was only a dream... dreams don't show you magical signs about the real life or anything like that. At least that's what Marko believed. He's been pacing around the same blocks looking confused. The same streets, the same corners, the same alleys. It's not here.

21...

22-23...

24-25...

At least the weather is nice.

There were some clouds here and there, but the sky was clear for the most part. It has been chilly for the past couple of days, unnaturally so for the middle of august when the temperatures can reach 40 degrees. Marko would look up from time to time and shiver. It felt as if the deep blue of the sky itself was the source of this cold. There was something serene, but icy about it.

He's been searching for 2 whole weeks now. Every morning he opens the pic with the symbols on Alexia's hands and copies them on the back of his hands with a black marker. He then packs the white candle in his backpack and takes off in the city trying to look for something. What is he looking for exactly? He doesn't know himself. Anything that could be a sign or some information. People, antique stores. He reads books that vaguely resemble hear-say about esoteric knowledge, but it's mostly a bunch of gibberish. So is what he finds on random, obscure forums online. He's looking for a sign or a guide to get somewhere, but he didn't even know where to look.

4-5..

6-7...

Last night he had another one of those dreams, that seemed way more real than it should. He was a kid again, walking through endless tight corridors and rooms. There were thick curtains and pillows everywhere. Endless curls of velvet on the walls, on the ceiling and the ground. It felt like walking on clouds. He was with 1 of his uncles by his mother's side, but he couldn't tell which one. Their guide was a woman, short, with silvery blonde hair tied behind her head. Her black eyes were shiny but grave, and the lip gloss made her lips look bloody. She was wearing black jeans and a black shirt, and was holding a thick sheet of paper that she was reading off of. As they passed through each room there were tables laid around covered in the blue velvet. She would present them all kinds of sets of tableware, made of silver and gold and platinum, in all kinds of shapes and sizes. His uncle would stop and admire each and every one of them. There was no sign to indicate it, and no one would say it outright, but Marko kept hearing a voice inside his head. Perhaps his own voice. "This is afterlife." It felt like it, and he felt at peace here, no matter how weird. His uncle was with him at least. After passing through what felt like hundreds of rooms, he randomly asked the woman what the place is called. Would she say it's the afterlife and satiate his curiosity?

"Arregat."

Then he wasn't inside anymore. He was standing on a bench, and in front of him across the street he could see a bodega with a rugged sign above it's doors that read "Arregat". He recognized this place. The corner of the street, the roundabout, the bakery far to the right down the street.

And he was here now, though no sign of store. Of course this is what he expected, but that didn't stop him from being disappointed. After all, dreams are just dreams, fabrications of our subconscious while we sleep. Him seeing the street he grew up on could've been just nostalgia or something like that. Still, he held some hope that just maybe he would find something here. With all the weird stuff that happened to him recently, would it be really that crazy if dreams could mean something? Or maybe he was so far gone that he's starting to have unrealistic expectations. Mix dream and reality. Sometimes Marko could swear there are people following him, like some strange men in black trope. Was he really going crazy? The paranoia. Different worlds blending.

Arregat, Arregat...

There had to be something about this name. An idea occurred to Marko.

He pulled out his phone and started typing the name in the google search bar. "Arregat Outlet". Good, good. He stopped for a second. Reading that word reminded him of his parents, of his family. He opened the map and laughed to himself.

Well, I'm fucking dumb.

The store was close to where he lived.

Wasted 2 hours and I'm tired. Should've checked first, God I'm dumb!

And with that he went off, ever counting his steps.

1..

2-3...

*

They sure love to take their time. Hmm, I'll say it to them like that. I have my time too!

"What can I get you?" the waitress asked with a smile, revealing some perfect teeth. She had sun-kissed brown hair kept in a bun. "I'm Amanda by the way."

"A cappuccino, please."

"Sure hun. You wanna eat anything? Like breakfast or something?"

"Just the cappuccino."

"You waiting for someone?" Amanda asked smirking. "You know, like should I leave the menu?"

"Just the cappuccino." This time perhaps she sounded more irritated.

The waitress rolled her eyes and walked off.

What a bitch.

It's been so long since it last rained, feels like an eternity.

Alexia sat at a table next to the window, so she could watch the raindrops trickle down slowly. It's a pretty sight, especially from where she's standing. Weather like this would be perfect to just sit inside and sip some warm coffee or tea. Of course the atmosphere in this pub wasn't that far off, it was small and dark and intimate. There was something muddy about it, though it didn't smell bad. Still, she would've preferred to be home, and while the atmosphere inside is nice, getting here sure wasn't.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"There you go." Amanda was back with her cappuccino.

"Thanks," bitch.

At least the weather meant that a lot of people won't come here today. The hour was ideal too, who goes to a pub in the middle of the day? She'd heard from her friends that the Slava Pub was mostly frequented at night, and even then it felt really private due to how small and dark it was and the distance between tables. Marko especially loved to talk about it, it was his go-to place. At least as far as 'inside' goes. It's kind of ironic, Alexia thought, that she would come here without him; to talk about him.

A small bell rang above the wooden door, and two people stepped inside. Black rain coats. Wet.

The blonde woman just looked around the place and came towards Alexia's table when she spotted her. The man went by the bar and said something to the servers in a low voice, raising two fingers, then he came to sit down at the table as well.

"You sure love to take your time!" Alexia greeted them.

"Oh don't give me that!" the woman quietly snapped at her. "We came as fast as we could, it's not my fault traveling is so hard in this shithole of a country."

It is a shithole, Alexia thought to herself. God I wish I could leave, but now with the Order it's almost impossible.

"C'mon Viv, don't put it on her" the dark skinned man intervened. He had deep, warm eyes and a nicely trimmed beard. "It's her job to report things, not her fault we moved slow."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes and sighed.

"So you were still here?"

"There were more cases we had to take care of, and some work back in the capital... orders, reports, bureaucracy shit. You lucky you only local I'll tell you that." There were hints of silver in his beard and his curly hair, just super small patches or threads, hard to spot.

Amanda came back with 2 small cups, no sugar or milk.

"Thank you!" He seemed friendlier than the other.

Maybe it's like an act, like the 'good cop bad cop' stuff in movies, Alexia thought to herself. Isn't that like so played out?

The blonde woman, "Viv", finally spoke again.

"So what was so urgent to report, that you're still not reporting?"

God, is she always this bitchy?

"Like a month ago with the merge, uggh breakout – whatever thing, you guys were here right? And there was that incident with the Slygoon."

"23 days ago" the man responded, with a more stern voice this time.

"Sure. How did you cover up?"

"Protocol, police, all the usual. As for the victim, we had someone handle it." Definitely more stern, it was as if a switch flipped when he was talking about those matters.

"That person who handled the victim, are they good?"

The man turned his head to look at the woman next to him. She was staring attently at Alexia. Then he turned back with a smile.

"Great."

Is Viv the person? No way.

Even if Alexia had already convinced herself that the tall blonde woman couldn't be the 'person', the thought already sparked annoyance in the girl's head.

"Well, I don't know how great she is." Was it a she? Who knows, Alexia made her mind up anyway. She was gonna be mad at 'Viv'. "The victim happens to be one of my best friends, Marko, and this kid shows up to my birthday party 2 days ago talking about how some weird creature attacked him."

The 2 seemed shocked. Their expressions meant that they're finally taking Alexia seriously, so at least that's a win.

The man was still the only one talking to her.

"He told anyone else? From what you gathered, you know.."

"He said he only told me. I believe him, he seems to like me."

"You tell him anything?"

"No! Obviously not, I didn't say a word."

The woman finally started speaking again, resting her hands on the table. She looked kind of big.

"Did you tell him anything?"

"I said no!" God, this bitch!

"Do you like him?" she followed.

Like him, what? What does this have to do with anything? Why is this bitch so bitchy and annoying, even more annoying that Amanda. And they have annoying names too.

"Do you like him?" the woman insisted.

"I don't know, why? What does this have to do wit-"

A muffled slam sound followed.

"You said he likes you, I'm asking if you like him too you dumb little girl! Did – you – tell – him – anything?"

The sudden aggression startled Alexia. She was fighting hard to stop herself from tearing up.

"I don't know, ok? Maybe. MAYBE! Ok? I might like him, I might not, I don't know, but at least he's a good friend. That's EXACTLY why, and again, I DIDN'T – TELL HIM – ANYTHING!"

Woah, what was that?

It was like a fire burning inside her. It felt liberating to fight back like that.

The blonde woman slouched back on the bench and picked up her little cup. She looked at Alexia with pity. Oh, you dumb little girl. That's what she must be thinking if Alexia had to guess. She's looking down on me. Bitch.

A couple more minutes of silence passed, with the occasional sip of coffee in between, and the steady raindrops hitting the window. After what felt like an eternity the man finally turned back to Viv, raising his coat to cover his mouth. Weird, Alexia thought. He was obviously speaking yet she couldn't hear anything. Not even a whisper or the wet pounding of his lips. Nothing. The coats? Must be. Pretty cool.

Finally he turned back to the girl and broke the silence.

"This thing, with your good friend.."

Alexia noticed that emphasis, it was intentional.

"We'll make contact with some of the locals here, they'll make contact with the guys lower. Probably, most likely, they'll put some guys to follow him around and stuff, and if anything is to go crazy, they report to the guys who report to us. We might have to take care of things or not. Let's hope not."

And with that they got up and ready to leave. The man pulled his wallet out to leave some cash, for Alexia's coffee too from what she noticed, while Viv just waltzed off without saying a word. After taking 2 steps the man turned back, as if he just remembered something.

"Almost forgot, you said it was your birthday right?"

He reached inside his coat and pulled out a small wooden box, then gently pressed it on the table.

"Also, good job."

I did a good job, huh. You hear that bitch? I bet you're super mad right now that's why you ran outside.

"Thank you."

A small head tip and he was out too.

Alexia sat alone and looked at her cup.

Do I like him, do I like him... I don't know? Maybe? Not Really?

I know he likes me for sure... do I? Yeah, yes, yeah, no way he doesn't..duuh.

He's nice with me, he always listens to me, he looks pretty good too... we're good friends... I don't know...

She looked at her hands, then grabbed a little circlet she was wearing around her neck. She thought of her grandma.

I can't like him know. I don't know...

I can't focus on it now, not on him, not on anything...

Only on getting higher...higher...back...

She didn't leave immediately. It was still raining outside, so she was going to stay inside a little more. Sipping on her cappuccino in the dimly lit room. Enjoying the silence. Enjoying the trickles on the window.

Only for a little longer..

Later when she got home and opened the box, Alexia found 2 identical rings inside.

*

"You really think she didn't tell him anything? Or show him some crazy shit?"

"I don't know, she seemed confused and afraid... she seemed like she said the truth tho."

Viv scoffed at him.

"You always say that you know."

"Do I now? Say what?"

They both looked at each other and smiled.

"What do you make of the boy? You really think Toki could slip up like that?"

"I don't know". He looked truly puzzled himself. Not often that Viv saw him like this. "I don't think so."

"You think he got something going? I mean Toki said he didn't."

She pondered for a second.

"Wrong about that?"

"That's just as crazy, maybe even crazier."

They sat in silence for a while.

"You gave her the rings?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

*

12-13..

Fuck, didn't make it to the end.

Marko finally found it. No way he never noticed it before. There were no signs around it that stuck out, only a small, old, rugged white paper above the door, barely hanging, with "Arregat" written on it. You need to look very attently to even spot the letters, let alone read them out.

He opened the door and got inside what's both a nightmare and a nice dream.

A moderately large room, with low ceilings and shelfs on top of shelfs filled with clothes on all walls. In the middle racks supporting hundreds of clothes on hangers too.

He usually liked stores like this. Small and cramped. It felt like hiding in the closet or making a fortress of pillows and blankets as a kid. Intimate. That's what he liked.

What he didn't like was, for starters, the large glass door and windows around it that let way too much light in. Ruining the atmosphere, are they dumb?

There was also the clothes.

Marko grew up in stores like this one, and being inside one reminded him of it, of his childhood. He hated clothing stores for that reason. "I spent enough time in them for 10 people, you wouldn't get it", he'd always tell his friends, but at the same time... he misses those times way too much...

He walked around, faking interest. The short old man showing some 2 ladies customers his goods finally got to him. Marko knew the line all too well.

"How can I help you?"

Of course Marko is not gonna tell him about being attacked by a monster, and seeing his crush control fire and dreaming about this place. None of that crazy stuff.

"You know, one of my friends said she likes to come here, said you got some nice clothes you can't find anywhere else."

Marko reached up to one of the clothes on the higher shelves, at random. All he wanted was to subtly show the old man the scribbles on the back of his hand.

"Of course, I didn't think much of it, not into shopping like that, but then last night I had a dream that I was in here shopping for clothes. Can you believe that? So I had to come. Isn't that crazy?"

"A dream, eh?"

Marko turned around and saw that his 'plan' had worked. The old man was definitely looking at his hand, even staring.

"So, you got anything for me?"