Norbert looked around, seeing it be the same as ever; going to the TV, landing back on the couch, and feeling himself sink into it. Something jabbing into his leg, fishing around, pulling out his phone, staring at it, eyes glazed over, wondering what he was doing with it.
Pressing the lock screen button, he saw it flash in front of him. Staring at the lock screen as the time flashed, he swiped up as it asked him to input his code. Looking away, Norbert typed into his phone what he thought would be correct, feeling it vibrate in confirmation as it rolled up.
Swiping through the phone between the pages, the call button on the bottom left corner asks him to press it.
His finger descended, the phone vibrating in response. Jerking it out of his hand, it splayed to the couch in surprise, bending over to pick it up as it continued going off and flipping it around. Norbert accepted the call as he held it to his ear.
“Hello, Norbert speaking?”
“What the ….” Norbert hearing a heavy breath come through “The head office wants to speak to you, rumour already spread across the entire campus on how you sent a guy flying. The paramedics came, and now the police are asking questions.”
“Man, even the police. Directly in front of you right as we speak, Jack?” Norbert asked.
Hearing silence over the phone, Norbert shook his head, not believing the muck he had already brought himself in, the memory of Casper’s smug face looking back down at him from the podium, feeling the vein on his forehead pulse.
“I’m just at the apartment. I can head over to the campus if that’s ok with them?” Norbert heard chatter on the other side, half paying attention to it.
“No, that’s fine if you stay there.”
“Want me to stay on the phone?” … Norbert nodding at the lack of response “Relax Jack, I’m not going to go and kill anyone, no need to be so on edge.”
"Any reason for the behaviour change?" Jack asked him.
Norbert bouncing his tongue between his lips, "Well, not one that I can tell you. Not like zipping off to another world and Casper blowing up an entire stadium of people is going to be believed by you or anyone else."
Hearing through the phone, whoever spoke with Jack said, "He's not thinking straight. Approach with caution."
"I'm not going to hurt anyone, officer, except Casper. But I think he deserves it." Norbert spoke into the phone, pulling it away from his face, pressing the speaker button, and taking it with him as he moved to the kitchen area, opened the fridge, moving around, and saw a packet of salami. He was annoyed at having forgotten to buy some pizza. Norbert took it out as he made a sandwich for himself, dismissing the conversation that was trying to be made with him.
"Trying to eat here!" Norbert shouted to the phone as the other side became quiet.
Turning around, Norbert devoured his sandwich, not caring about the conversation the other end wanted him to have. He makes his way to his bedroom and sees both Obsius and the fox already in there, both lying on his bed.
Shaking his head, Norbert took a deep breath in, only smelling himself and his own stench. His face crinkled up. “Luck, can you clean me off?” he asked in the open air.
Several moments later, with nothing happening, Norbert just nodded, making his way to the bathroom with a spare change of clothes. Turning the shower on, he felt the warm water come out of the shower head. Norbert groaned as it tickled his skin; he began washing himself.
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Rinsing the suds off his body, Norbert stood in the shower for a moment, just letting it clear himself of the bad memories of the new start he would be making. Shuddering, the water suddenly felt cold as the flash of the opponents he defeated.
Rushing out of the shower, dripping wet, falling to his knees next to the toilet as Norbert puked inside of it. Their body was shaking as each time he thought he was over; another victim would appear in front of him.
The last image, as he was dry hacking, was the wolves that were chasing after him, feeling the rush of the waterfall surrounding him as he lost consciousness, the fear of death knocking on his door.
Only a small amount of bile came out, dribbling and sticking to his chin as Norbert half saw himself in the porcelain reflection. Stumbling towards the still-running shower, Norbert wiped the filth that clung to him. Closing the water off abruptly, still standing there, letting the droplets fall from his hair, cooling himself down until he was close to shivering.
Taking his towel, Norbert quickly dried himself off, leaving a puddle of water on the ground, dropping the towel to mop it up. Getting changed into transparent clothes, Norbert walked to his room when three knocks wrapped on the door.
"Give me a second!" Norbert shouted out, throwing his clothes in the basket. He came to his room, quickly looked around, and everything was in its place.
Knock KNOCK knock
"Wanna come with me, you two?" Norbert asked, seeing Obsius and the fox come up from their sleep, looking at him expectantly. Sighing, Norbert reached forward as he placed them on their appropriate shoulders. He felt their claws and paws slightly dig into his skin through the t-shirt he currently wore.
Feet plodding on the ground, his toes finally free from the boots they had been subjected to for hours.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Norbert reached for the door handle and pulled it towards him, smiling as he opened it.
The person on the other side instantly charged in, tackling Norbert to the ground, moving Norbert's hands behind his back, the fabulous metal cuffs clicking onto his wrists. Feeling himself hauled up, still Obsius and the fox on his shoulders.
"Don’t need to be so rough," Norbert told them as he tried to straighten his clothes as best he could while restricted.
***
Norbert sat in the police station, turning to the side of the one-way glass window, his reflection staring back at him. Still, Obsius and the fox are on his shoulder, and his retainers cannot pry the two creatures off his shoulders.
Giving a slight wave to whoever was watching through the glass, the chains around his hand rattling as the chains clinked together. "This isn't necessary."
Nobody else in the room heard what he had said as Norbert stared at the window, sure that the person over there could see him. He had a bag over his head after he was placed in the back of the van, hearing his captors follow in after him as the van moved about, the entire thing clips and clothes rustling around.
Norbert turned to Obsius and the fox one at a time. " Do you have any idea if you saw any?” Norbert stopped, waving his fingers in front of his face.
Obsius is tweeting at him for being stupid. “Will take that as a no, then. But we are quite far underground; I wonder what they have me locked up like this for?” Norbert asked, listening to the door out of the room behind him, if he could have some footsteps coming.
Obsius twittering at him, poking him in the ear. “Sadly, it doesn’t seem to work every time,” Norbert told the bird.
“What doesn’t work every time?” A voice asked from behind him as the door opened up.
“Still got it,” Norbert replied, watching as a man wearing a black suit, a white pressed shirt, and black aviator glasses.
Norbert watched, but he only saw his own reflection in the glasses as he tried to stare at the man's eyes.
The man sat down, his metal chair squeaking across the ground as he flopped a manila folder onto the metal table. He opened it up as he placed pictures around the table, positioning them so Norbert could see.
“Have any idea what these could be?” The interrogator asked.
Norbert looks at the pictures, eyes moving from one to the next, seeing the grainy black-and-white footage from a security camera. Moving from one to the next, Norbert saw the insides of a warehouse as someone rapidly came upwards.
The interrogator placing another one, directly into Norbert’s hands, as he looked, seeing a man with his back towards a wall, and several people pointing guns at the lone person.
Norbert gulped as he looked.
“Now, someone wants to talk about you being here.”
Norbert holds on: “Don’t I need a lawyer, and you can’t just say I’m guilty with no evidence?”
“It's best to remain silent and mull over what to do,” the interrogator said, leaving the pictures and the report on the table. Norbert heard the two hands connect with each other behind him.
“Hello Norbert, how are you doing?”
As Norbert looked at the new man who had entered, sitting down where the interrogator had previously been, he said, “Hello Geoff, I'm guessing the room is no longer bugged.” The leader of a Solution sat in front of him, and Norbert forced his face to lose emotion as he felt a collar starting to tighten around his neck.