Hyde dragged the invader into the police station. He took him to the interrogation room. There was a table with a hook and one chair on either side. He pulled him towards it. He freed one of his hands, pulled the other hand to the front, hooked the cuffs to the table and cuffed his other hand again. Hyde stepped away from him as he said, “You sit tight while I go clean this,” gesturing at the wound on his arm. He walked out.

The invader let out a long sigh as he sat down on the chair. He leaned over the table and laid his face on his hands. He was so tired. Tired of running, tired of traveling, tired of everything in his life right now. He didn’t know what he could do about it. He guessed going to prison would make it all stop, which was going to happen now. But would that be any better?

Hyde walked back in with a bandage on his arm.

The invader looked up, his black hair a mess.

“Don’t you look cheery,” Hyde said as he sat down on the other chair. He took a good look at the one in front of him. His skin had a grey tone to it; his eyes were raspberry red and dim with exhaustion; his hair raven black and hanging in front of his eyes; an earring in his left ear; stubble on his chin and above his lip.

“Alright,” Hyde spoke up, “why don’t you start with telling me your name?”

The other faked a mocking smile. “Don’t you think it would be more polite to introduce yourself first?”

Hyde sighed deeply. So, this was how this will go, huh? “Fine. Hyde Walker. You?”

The other pushed himself up from the table and leaned back into his chair. He remained silent.

“Is it really so difficult to say your name?” Hyde snarled.

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because you’re being interrogated.”

“So? What will you do if I don’t answer?” The other gave him a mocking grin.

Hyde groaned. He couldn’t do anything, really, except exhaust him. He wasn’t sure if he had enough energy for that himself. “Then we’ll be here for quite a while.” He casually shrugged. “I have nothing better to do. Even if I did, I could just leave you here. These chairs aren’t very comfortable, are they?”

“You’ll torture me with discomfort? Well, aren’t you hardcore?”

Hyde leaned back and placed his hands on the back of his head. “We’ll see how you cry after twelve hours.”

The other squinted at him, trying to read him. “I suppose we will.”

“Great.” Hyde slapped the table and stood up. “See you in the morning.” He went to the exit, he caught one final glance of the other’s face. He seemed surprised he was actually going through with this. He left.

He locked the door behind him. The room he found himself in had a desk, an idea came to him. He doubted it would take twelve hours for him to break, it felt cruel to leave him there longer than necessary. He’ll get his notebook from his house and sit here until he was ready to talk. Hyde wasn’t that tired anymore anyway, he’d had his nap.

The invader sat in the dark room, alone and stuck. Would he really leave him here for twelve hours? Surely not, he must be bluffing.

He let his head fall on the table with a bonk.

He didn’t have the energy for this. He wanted to go home, he wanted to see his family.

Damn it, he was hungry.

He could close his eyes and try to sleep the night away. He’d get a hernia in his back in this position, though.

He lifted his head and glared at the cuffs keeping his hands locked to the table. Would his hands be thin enough to wiggle out? And then what? The door was locked, he had nothing to pick the lock with. Still, free hands would be more comfortable.

He pulled on one hand, his skin strained against the metal. He groaned and released the tension. He leaned into his chair; he didn’t even have a wall to lean his head against, it was too far away. He let out a loud sigh. This’ll be a long night.

Hyde sat at the desk, doodling twigs in his notebook. He heard the sound of metal clanging and straining coming from the room, sometimes accompanied with a frustrated groan. He grinned; it won’t take long.

The invader sat on the table with crossed legs, the hook of the table between them. He repeatedly tugged at the cuffs, just out of boredom at this point. He let himself fall back and go limp, using the cuffs to not fall. The table was bolted down, thankfully. Should he give in and accept his prison fate? It would probably be better than being cuffed to a table. No, he won’t give up that easily. He gave the cuffs another hard tug.

Hyde had gotten himself a snack, doodling again. He’d filled about ten pages. He glanced to the locked door. Any minute now.

The invader sat on his knees on the floor, his chin on the table. His butt didn’t like that chair anymore. He whined a little. How long had it been? There was no indication of time in here. Would that guy really have left? If he did, he’d respect his commitment, but that would mean the invader was in quite the predicament.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

He was tired of this, he was only stalling the inevitable.

“Hey,” he called out. He had no idea if this room let sound through. What was his name again? Hyde? Using his first name felt inappropriate, but he couldn’t recall his surname. “Are you still there?” This was humiliating. He quickly got back on the chair; Hyde walking in to him sitting on the floor would be even more pathetic.

“Are you still there?” Hyde snapped around to the door, munching on a nut. Finally, after two hours. It was longer than Hyde had expected him to keep this up.

He opened the door and stepped inside. The invader sat on the chair and stared at his hands.

“Ready to talk?”

The invader sighed deeply. “I suppose.”

Hyde sat on the chair opposite of him.

“Why didn’t you actually leave?”

“I figured you wouldn’t keep it up all night, it felt cruel to leave you here for that long anyway.”

The other frowned. “That’s surprisingly considerate for your prisoner.”

A shiver went up Hyde’s spine; he didn’t like that word. “So, what’s your name?”

The other evaded eye contact. “Rune.”

“And your surname?”

Rune scrunched his face up in annoyance. “I don’t see what you’d need it for.”

Hyde folded his arms and shrugged. “It’s one of the most basic things to know about a person.”

Rune gave him a cold look. “I’m not telling you.”

“You called me in here to talk, right? How could I possibly use your name against you?”

“It’s not me I’m—” he cut himself off. Rune looked away again, tense.

“No, go ahead, finish that sentence.”

“Don’t belittle me.”

“I’m not—”

Rune placed his elbows on the table, glaring at Hyde. “If you want me to tell you anything, then stop acting like I’m less than you!”

“Eh”—he caught Hyde off guard with an accusation like that—“I wasn’t trying to insinuate that.” Hyde’s posture softened, he scratched his cheek. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel lesser-than.”

Rune stared at him, his face also softening. He pushed himself up and leaned back into his chair again. He looked down with a frown.

“Could you finish that sentence, please?”

Rune considered it for a moment, but then sighed and gave in. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“With your surname?”

“Yeah.”

“Who are you worried for, then?”

“My family,” Rune mumbled. “All I want is to protect them.”

Hyde frowned. “I see. Then how does stealing things protect them?”

Rune fidgeted with his fingers. “I work for some shady people. They’re like a gang or something. If I don’t do what they tell me to—they’ve threatened to hurt or kill everyone I care about.”

Hyde stared at him, feeling bad for him. He was glad he didn’t leave him here all night.

“I’d love to get away from them somehow,” Rune continued. “Without going to prison or risking my family.”

Hyde was quiet, thinking. He leaned over the table and leaned on his elbows. “Could I help somehow?”

Rune raised his eyebrow. “Would you want to?”

Hyde shrugged. “Protecting loved ones seems as good a reason as any to do something illegal. And it’s not like you’ve killed people.” He squinted. “Right?”

“No!” Rune shot up. “No, no. No.”

Hyde chuckled a little. “So, could I do anything?”

“Are you not going to put me in jail?”

Hyde leaned into his chair and folded his arms again. “To be honest, there isn’t much I could do to you anyway, since I’m not actually a cop.”

“You’re not?”

“No one in this village is. I guess I’m the only one willing to put any effort into it. Plus, people pressure me about it a lot,” Hyde mumbled at the end.

“Wha-eh, huh?” Rune tried to wrap his head around it.

“But those gang people don’t know that, so how could I help?”

“Uh.” Rune tried to come up with something. “They did tell me I would get fired if I ever got arrested and held in custody for at least forty-eight hours.”

“That’s oddly specific.”

“They said it was because I’d be too much of a liability at that point. They wouldn’t know what kind of info I could’ve given up in that much time.”

“So if they fired you, you’d be free from them?”

“I think so.”

“Then why haven’t you let yourself be caught before?”

Rune shrugged. “Because most people that could catch me are actual cops that would throw me in jail. I’d rather keep doing what I’m doing than spend years of my life in prison.”

Hyde nodded. “That’s… fair.” He hummed and grabbed his chin in thought. “I could keep you in our holding cell until the forty-eight hours are over. And then let you go.”

Rune let out a breathy chuckle, but still frowned, not able to fully process what was happening yet. “Spend two days in a cell to get my life back? Sign me up.”

Hyde smiled. “Alright, let’s do it.”

He stood up and walked around the table to Rune’s side. He sat on the table, got the key for the handcuffs out of his pocket, then freed Rune’s hands. Rune pulled his hands towards him and rubbed one of his wrists with an unsure frown. Hyde squinted at Rune’s hand as he realised something. He grabbed it and intensely examined it, making Rune yelp.

“I bit you, didn’t I?”

Rune huffed. “You sure did.”

“Then where’s the wound?”

“Eh, I’m a vampire?”

“Yeah, I can tell. Why?”

“Vampires heal flesh wounds in minutes. You didn’t know that?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t. I haven’t met a vampire before.” Hyde let his hand go.

“Oh.”

“Anyway.” Hyde pushed himself off the table. “Let’s get you to your cell.”

“Right.”

Rune stood up and followed Hyde out of the room. They walked through a hallway into a different room. It looked like an office, with a desk and everything. Except the back half of it was blocked off by cell bars. The cell itself was empty and barren, aside from a small bench and a barred, glassless window.

“Not what I expected a cell to look like,” Rune spoke up.

Hyde shrugged. “We don’t have much space here, I guess they built one in an unused office.”

He approached the cell and pulled the door open. He gestured for Rune to go in with an uncomfortable look, realising this couldn’t feel great for him. Rune took a deep breath and walked inside. He turned back around to Hyde. Hyde gave him a sheepish smile, then closed the door and locked it.

“Okay,” Hyde breathed out. He looked behind him at a clock, it was 1am already. “You’ve already been here for about two hours or so, so forty-six hours start now.” He looked back at Rune, Rune nodded.

“It’s late, I’m going home for the night. I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Okay,” Rune said as he sat down on the bench.

Hyde frowned. He looked around the room. The chair at the desk had a cushion on it. He walked to it, grabbed the cushion and went back to Rune. He handed it to him through the bars. “Here. It’s not much, but it could make the night at least a little more comfortable.”

Rune hesitantly took it with a sad and unsure look on his face. “Thanks.”

Hyde smiled. As he turned to walk away, Rune called out, “Hyde.”

Hyde turned around with a hum.

“I—” Rune looked down. “I’m sorry I cut you.”

Hyde glanced at the bandage on his arm, then breathed out a chuckle. “Sorry I bit you.”

Rune looked back up and smiled a little. Hyde smiled back and turned around to go home.

He left, leaving Rune to figure out how he was going to sleep tonight and process everything that happened. At least a bench was more comfortable than the table. He looked out of the window at the stars. He sighed and hugged the cushion in his arms. His eyes teared up. “Didn’t think I’d end up in a jail cell someday, did you?” he whispered at the stars. He chuckled sadly to himself. He laid down on his back on the bench and stared up at the ceiling, a few tears escaped his eyes.