"What the fuck is going on in this town!" Eli yelled to himself. He cranked the ignition again, but the Mustang stubbornly refused to start."

"Fuck my life," He groaned as he tilted down to retrieve his cigarettes, oblivious to the pink Miata stopped at the opposite side of the intersection.

A catchy pop song caught his attention as the pink Miata passed, just as he sat back up in his seat. An eerie, static-charged glow surrounded the car, its deep mulberry hue pulsing like a heartbeat. The mulberry aura buzzed against his molars, a frequency that tasted like burnt hair and regret. His eyebrows furrowed as a rush of déjà vu washed over him. The déjà vu wasn't just familiarity—it was the same feeling he felt flying over the Bermuda Triangle. The same hum. The same dread.

"There's no way,'" he muttered, shaking off the unsettling sensation. He forced himself to focus as his eyes fixated on the license plate as the Miata turned the corner.

"Stc-0101"

His Mustang hummed to life like a Frankenstein monster. The radio blared at full volume, thanks to Bruce.

BRRRRZZZTTT

A distorted static voice resembling a teenage girl echoed from the radio. "S̴͖̦̿̀̽͘t̸̖͋̿̈́̏̒̄͂̀o̵̰̣͎͉̍͒͌͂p̷̡̢̀̊́̌̓͐̉̍̊̏̊͐ ̷̛̠̳̃̊̃̌͋̉Ŕ̵̨͈̗̞͍̪̭̟̹̞̼̎̇̃͒̚̚͘ḙ̷̢̞̞̳͓͍͚͍̹̬̐̇̏̒͐͂͗̌́̕̚͝͝ͅa̸̛̫͓̗̣͍͖͍͕̲̘̽͛̑͑̓̄͛͌̄̕͠d̸̡̢̛̙̘̝͔͚͇̮̙̋͌̏̉̈́͒̄͠"

{₲Ⱡł₮₵Ⱨ ĐɆ₮Ɇ₵₮ɆĐ, Đł₳₲₦Ø₴₮ł₵ ɆⱤⱤØⱤ. ₵Ø₥₥Ʉ₦ł₵₳₮łØ₦ ₳₮₮Ɇ₥₱₮...ⱤɆĐ₳₵₮ɆĐ}

"'You rewrite fate like a scratched-up cassette.'"

The cryptic message shot chills down Eli's spine. With a growl, he bashed the radio until it fell silent, though the words echoed in his mind like a warning.

"It's an easy job, they said. Just a gamma level anomaly, not a damn Delta or Omega Level Conduit!"

Eli stepped out of the car and headed towards the payphone on the opposite side of the road. "I am too old for this shit," He muttered to himself as he lit a cigarette and picked up the phone."

"Did you enjoy being back in high school, Agent Echo?" Ashley chuckled on the other side of the phone.

"Knock it off, Ash. We have a serious problem. I need you to run a license plate number for me," Elijah replied as he lit another cigarette.

"Alright, what is it?"

"Stc-0101."

Elijah leaned against the phone booth as he gazed back at his Mustang. The haunting message from his radio still lingered in his mind. However, he had no recollection of the static voice before, as if it wasn't meant for his ears.

"Pink Miata?" Ashley asked.

"Yup, that's the one."

"It belongs to Rachel Harper. Looking deeper, she is this town's high school female basketball captain. You think she is smuggling Gloom?"

"I can't say for sure, but either she or whoever else was in that car was a conduit."

"A conduit? There are only twenty of them around the world. You sure, Eli?"

"Yes, I am sure because I am one myself. Now listen, I need you and Bruce to do some reconnaissance. I need eyes on who was in that vehicle while I go to the Reactor to inspect."

There was a pause; Elijah could hear Ashley talking with Bruce in the background. "Okay, what should we tell HQ?"

"Nothing."

"Ummm, Why?"

"Because they won't believe you if you told them I think an Omega-level conduit was in that vehicle."

"Okay, Eli, stop fucking around. There never been an Omega level anything."

"I wish I was joking. I single-handedly classified twenty-five percent of all anomalies at HQ because of my Ether Trace. The energy reading I got from that car was off the charts."

"And you want us to do reconnaissance on that! We don't have any powers like you," Bruce yelled.

"I just need to see who was in that car. I don't need you two doing anything crazy. I need to know what we are dealing with before I tell HQ."

"Wait a minute, Stc-0101. That's an SOS."

Eli's eyes widened as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. His eyes darted from side to side as he tried to organize all the information he learned about the town so far. He started to recall all types of anomalies and Conduits in his previous jobs, how they were created, and how they behaved. He lit another cigarette as dread began to claw up his body like a cat clinging to clothing.

"That's no coincidence," he muttered to himself as a rush of Deja Vu dug into him again as he hung up the phone. He hesitated to pick up the phone and call HQ immediately or return to his Mustang. Elijah couldn't shake the feeling that he had done this all before as he returned to his car.

He stared at the radio for several seconds, expecting something to happen as he turned on the engine. The radio stayed silent the whole ride up to the Reactor. His eyes narrowed, noticing several unmarked black SUVs around the gate of the Reactor. Latino men wore black suits that hid most of their tattoos. Each man had a similar skull tattoo on their hands, which Eli immediately recognized.

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

"Los Fantamas, I guess the intel was on the money," he muttered as he drove up to the gate.

A bald Latino man raised an eyebrow as he approached Eli Mustang. "No se permiten visitas. "Got it?" he yelled as he waved Elijah off.

Elijah pulled out his badge as he rolled down his window, one hand on his waist where his Desert Eagle lay. "P.I.A. Special Task Force, I am for the inspection. Comprendo?"

The Latino man's eyes widened as he turned his head towards Eli. "Eres tonto? I don't give a fuck if you're the president. We ain't taking visitors."

Eli's head throbbed as he fixated on the faint yellow ether residue on the man's hands and face.

"Of course, he is fucking high on gloom," Eli thought to himself as he noticed the other men turn their heads toward him, hands on their weapons.

"Easy, kid, your boss knows I am coming, I assure you."

The Latino man laughed as he shook his head and gazed at the others watching. He leaned on Elijah's car and branded his pistol at the door.

"Last chance , amigo."

BANG!

Elijah's eyes dilated as the man's blood splattered on his face, and his skull bounced off his window as a high-caliber bullet pierced his head. His head bounced off Eli's door before his body slumped on the road like a ragdoll.

"Apologies, Agent Elijah. No me gusta el comportamiento grosero y poco digno," A Tall Latina woman wearing a designer raven-colored blazer with golden buttons that matched the ether aura radiating off her. Her sharp cappuccino-colored eyes stared at the dead body on the road and then at the blood that dripped off Elijah's door and face.

"Dezerea Hernandez, I would like to take a moment of your time before you meet my brother regarding the Reactor inspection," She said as she gestured to one of the men, who then gave her a handkerchief.

Eli's hands shook as he accepted the handkerchief and wiped the blood off his face.

"Ummmm, Okay," Eli forced himself to mutter as he opened his car door and followed Dezerea to a black Mercedes Benz. Her high heels clicked on the asphalt, splashing blood on her pants.

"Tequila?" she asked as she poured herself a drink while they sat in her Mercedes' backseat.

Elijah nodded as he accepted a glass from her. "Thank you," he said. "Could I get another?"

Dezerea smirked and poured another for herself and Eli.

"Iré directo al grano. We have been watching you since you arrived, and yes, I am aware that your agency, your government, is investigating what relationship Ether Tech has with Los Fantamas del Mercado." Dezerea explained with a stoic expression.

"Then why are you just best begging for the FBI to arrest you?" Elijah replied as he downed his second drink.

Dezerea chuckled. "Please, Agent Elijah, we both know your government has nothing on me that would stick in court. Si acaso todos me necesitan."

"Need you; what are you going on about?"

"I know you are a conduit, Ether Trace that, right? I am a Binder; your agency has me down as Mirror, correct?"

Eli's eyebrows raised as his head corked to the side, his mouth slightly open. "How the fuck do you know that?"

"My influence is as vast as the ocean, Agent Elijah. But that isn't important; what is important is what you will do after completing your inspection of the Reactor."

"And what is that?"

"This town, you know something is off," Dezerea said as she glanced at the backseat window. Her once brown eyes faded to a sickly eggshell white for a few seconds before the window cracked. "I can sense it too, but not like how you do."

"And what do you see?" Eli asked as his eyes narrowed.

"A distorted static woman. I can not see her face, but the visions get clearer the closer I am," Dezerea explained as she glanced at the Reactor looming just beyond the gate. "And they are as clear as a movie in this town."

"She really knows," Eli thought back to the Pink Miata. "No, not yet. Can't trust her yet."

"What are you saying?"

"If you encounter anything or anyone, specifically a female, that may have something unusual about her. Please consider handing her over to me instead of your agency.

"What are you not telling me, Dezerea? Are you saying you're better suited to handling para-natural things than the P.I.A.?"

"In this specific case, yes. Your government and agency are complacent or ignorant of the threat in this town. Now, Agent Elijah, you may think me a monster, but it takes a monster to hunt a monster. You know something is hazardous in this town, and you can be my bloodhound so I can end it before it ends us. "

Elijah's eyes narrowed as he met Dezerea's gaze. His eyes drifted away as he remembered the mulberry glow vibrating off the Pink Miata. His hands got clammy as his spine tingled.

"I know your duty to your agency is by force. After all, how can someone like you or I live amongst the general public." Dezerea said as she gestured for someone to open the door for Elijah. I have to return to Mexico for business. I will be back in three days. Please consider my offer, and I will find a way to get you out of the P.I.A."

Eli didn't reply as he glanced down before leaving the car and walking up to the reactor gate; its natural hum reverberated off his chest. He glanced back as Dezerea's car as it slowly drove down the pothole-riddled road. The reflections glitch in latency as the sunlight shimmered off it.

The gate rattled as its rusty chains crackled as it opened. The Pearlescent White Reactor loomed over him, its shadow casting down the hill. As he approached the main entrance, a Latina man sporting a v-cut black business suit approached him with a smile.

"Agent Elijah, I see you met my sister." The man said as he forcefully shook Elijah's hand.

"Yeah...I did. And you are the CEO of Ether Tech, correct?"

"Yes, Diego Hernandez. I hope we understand one another and that this inspection will not cause complications, " he asked with a smirk as he led Elijah into the Reactor.

The sound of gears, running water, and disinfectant rattled Elijah's eardrums as he walked down what seemed like an endless catwalk. Yellow pipes stretched along every wall, leading to a large core that hummed and glowed with an eerie mulberry aura.

"Are you sure you want to be here, Diego?" Elijah asked as he glanced at the eye of the core that seemed to follow them as they walked.

"No worries, I already passed my ether aptitude test," He replied as he handed his passport to Elijah.

Eli glanced down to see his agency's stamped insignia on one of Diego's passport pages. He stopped walking and handed the passport back to Diego." You and your sister seem really dedicated to this community in one way or another."

Diego smirked as a nervous laughter passed his lips. "Don't get in the way, Agent. Dezerea has hopes to make an alliance of some sort with you. But Amigo, I do not give a fuck. It's just a backwaters redneck town. Little shit to fix a much bigger problem."

"Oh, so you see something too?"

Diego shook his head as they walked to the exit. "I can't see what my sister can see, but I can feel something is off about this town."

"Maybe that's the gloom you are smuggling into town," Elijah said with a raised eyebrow.

Diego smiled as they exited the Reactor and reached the gate. "Consider my sister's offer; you don't have to die over this."

Elijah didn't respond as he watched the gates close before returning to his vehicle. The engine roared to life, and his radio turned off as he drove down the hill. His mind drifted back to the Miata as the Mustang approached the bottom of the mountain. He kept glancing at the radio as he drove, expecting it to hum to life on its own, but no such thing happened.

BAM!

Shattered glass and metal ripped through his skin as a truck collided with his Mustang. His vision blurred, and his body ached as he willed himself out of his mangled vehicle. The dented truck radio blasted a dark, catchy pop tune amongst the continuous car horn noise that reverberated in his eardrums.

"Oh, the agents search in echoes low,

For truths that only we will know.

If you listen close, they'll tell you lies:

We're all just static under endless skies."