Day 6
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"Ugh..." A groan claws its way out of me automatically, a proper reaction to the lightheadedness that takes over and the weakness that follows.
Something deep inside tells me that this isn't the first time I woke up today, and that I know very well why.
While trying to determine where I am, it doesn't take long for me to realize I'm in movement—sort of.
I can feel the bumpy road against the car's tires through the seat I'm resting against, alongside a cool breeze that comes from the open window, scratching a bandage that extends from the bridge of my nose to the middle of my cheek.
Recognizable voices ring inside the car and help to start the cleaning process of the fog surrounding me, easing the job of fishing for the lost memories.
Little by little, it starts to come back to me.
'Ah!' I almost exclaim out loud. 'That's right, they did warn me this could happen.'
The memories take me back to the agency—when I first woke up, that is. I remember now.
A bunch of people unknown to me entered the room I was in suddenly, all as soon as I had opened my eyes, which only leads me to believe they were waiting on me and somehow knew that I was going to be up when I did. Then, without saying anything, they handed me some clothes in a plastic bag—my clothes—all cleaned and smelling of lavender. The smell still lingers in my nostrils.
Even without any words spoken, it wasn't too hard to understand the silent request; they wanted me to dress up quick and follow them, and that I did, all the while trying not to let my curiosity get the best of me as I was afraid of what that could get me.
They led me through the agency's corridors for a while until stopping at a door, then they got me inside the room and sat me on a chair in front of a woman whose face is nothing but a blur now. It hurts when I try to remember.
A fancy dip pen, the woman had handed me the item and a piece of paper to sign; her voice was soft when she spoke to me, like caramel.
She started to explain that due to me being a temporary member of a unit, a preventive procedure would need to be applied so I could leave the facility and not compromise its location. I'm sure she didn't explain what the paper was about and didn't give me time to read it before pressuring me into signing.
When I eventually did, a pair of strong hands grabbed me by the arms, lifted me, and led me to yet another room, where a doctor, different from the one who took care of me, injected my neck with something—a sort of cloudy liquid.
That's all I can remember.
Trying to go after anything else just gets me to feel like throwing up, forcing me to forget trying and focus instead on the present.
The moment I lift a finger and feel the protrusion left by the needle, a person beside me, the one driving the car, notices me moving and turns briefly to look before returning her eyes to the road.
"Oh, detective, it is good to see you finally awake, and in good time nonetheless. We are but a few minutes away from reaching Havenport." Dalia's words are spoken softly as wool, enough that it doesn't attack the headache I feel. "How are you feeling? I can tell by your face you don't seem to be at your best."
"Yeah, I just—I'm feeling some nausea and headache, nothing crazy but..." I lift the touch away from the needle mark and up to my temples, feeling them pulsate painfully, only to worsen when I fix my posture on the seat. "Whatever that doctor injected me with, I think was a little over the meant dose—I think I feel my tongue funny."
"Sadly, I do believe it is more likely than not." Apologetically, Dalia unglues one hand from the wheel and lands it on my shoulder; the touch helps alleviate some of the nasty headache by stealing all attention away from the discomfort it stirs, even if for a passing moment before it is back at its place on the wheel. "I did try to convince the agents who had you to go easy on the medicine since we were not going to take much time before departing, but these words of mine seemed to have failed to cause any effect. Do take deep breaths and try not to move though; it shouldn't take long for the bad feeling to pass."
"By the bite, it is sure good to hear our little detective's voice again. At least one person who is fun in this car." Yui exclaims happily and loses no time before jumping forward, almost climbing their way from the backseat as they lean over to me. "Hey, pretty; I heard about the fight you stopped. A human in the middle of two werewolves? Super rad if you ask me."
Shamelessly wearing the most kittenish smug I've ever seen, they lean themselves enough to rest both hands on my thigh while trying to find a good balance, something that seems to be the intended purpose instead of an accident, especially as there is the armrest for them to use.
"And pretty hot too." They whisper flirtatiously, their face so close to mine that I can see clearly the soft scars on their pale skin again—it sure never fails to catch my attention. "What the fu—"
In a flash, a hand surges from the darkness behind Yui's form, tightly clasping the back of their neck and effortlessly pulling them back like a small, weightless kitty.
If the surprised, pained groan that leaves them isn't enough to indicate how hard they hit their back on the backseat, the way the car shakes afterward, almost making Dalia lose the wheel, does it.
Immediately, I watch as the woman driving beside me almost loses her cool, starting to turn towards both agents before meeting gaze with me halfway. A loud laugh escapes me as the situation is just too funny, driving any self-control I once had to be tossed out of the window.
For a moment, as I look at Dalia's face through watering eyes, I notice her forming frown dissolving and a contained laugh escaping her as well. As expected at this point, without Dalia's intervention, the fight continues.
"Stop embarrassing me in front of the detective!" Yui screams and starts to, in a childish fashion, wiggle around in hopes of being freed from hold; it gets to a point that I'm sure Colette will start growling, but instead, she just lets go of their neck nonchalantly. "Seriously, do you have to do this every fucking time I'm trying to have some harmless fun?"
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"..." Colette doesn't answer, which in itself seems to do the job of one in its place.
"Rude. I think I'm deserving of a decent answer to a genuine question, but fucking fine, do you, and I'll do me." Their hands come to cross against their chest as they humph audibly, creating wavy wrinkles on their flannel shirt; that all lasts about two seconds before they find me looking at them through the rearview mirror. That seems to bring back their grin. "Detective~, can you open the glovebox for me, pretty please? There's something I want that only you can give me."
"Sure, that's no problem." After seeing their upset face, I'm reminded once again of how Melissa used to act just like that some years ago when things didn't happen her way—not that she stopped doing so nowadays, that would be impossible—and find myself answering, ignoring the double meaning on their words, and shooting a gentle smile.
For some reason that seems to disarm them of the flirting, as once I open the glovebox to find many pilling snacks flowing out as I do, they forget what Colette just did and lean next to me like before, only this time, instead of saying anything funny, they intently point to one specific snack with a watering mouth.
"That one, I want the one in the red wrapper, please," Yui says in rapid words as I inch close to getting the snack they want, and once I get a hold of it, they almost burst. "Gimme gimme."
"Here you go; try not to devour it in one bite though." Another laugh escapes me as I hand the snack to their hungry hands, and once I do, they fall backward into their seat again and begin to destroy the wrap surrounding the sweet prize. "Enjoy the taste a little before that."
When I start to close the hidden snack dungeon, a hand comes from my peripheral vision and stops me from doing so.
Dalia, without taking her eyes off the road, shakes her head. "Do eat one as well, detective. We won't be able to stop for breakfast, and, even if I don't believe snacks can replace a full meal, you still need to treat yourself to something. There is a cereal bar somewhere in there; could you do me a favor and eat it?"
I'm so used to going on without breakfast that the thought of eating something now is unappealing to me, but, as I grow quieter while thinking, the woman turns her head to me with an unsettling smile. Ha, the illusion of choice, I see.
Holding on to a sigh, I nod in defeat and do as requested, finding a cereal bar and pulling it out of the mountain of snacks before finally being able to close the glove box.
Without any other option, afraid that if I stare too long at the thing someone will force it down my throat, I unwrap the bar and start unwillingly nibbling at it. In the end, eating the bar helps clear the remaining pain in my system.
Once it is all gone, Dalia, satisfied, returns her focus to the street and drives us silently, ever so close to Havenport.
Thirty minutes go out of the window composed solely of comfortable silence; everyone, in their own way, takes the opportunity to bask in the little rest we can.
In the backseat, Yui rests their back against the door, eyes focused on their phone and feet lazily placed on Colette's lap, as she seems to not notice it—or simply chooses to ignore the fact—instead keeping her gaze sharp on each bush alongside the road. As for the front seat, Dalia taps rhythmically against the wheel, her eyes coming to a stop on a small sign surging in the distance.
It is somewhat hard to read, especially since it isn't in its best state, but I know it very well.
On its wooden surface, white text stands out; surrounded with a simple drawing of the city's famous mountains, it reads, 'The city of Havenport welcomes you. Stay. Have a drink. Happily home.'
A few cars permeate the street, and most go the opposite direction from us; normally, that would mean driving faster, but not Dalia, apparently. She uses this fact to slow down considerably and shift her attention to everyone inside the car.
"Okay team, please lend me your attention for a moment; before we get inside the city, we need an action plan." As soon as the words are spoken, Colette punches Yui's shoes from her lap, causing the agent to exclaim in surprise as they almost fall over, but, before they can fully utter a sea of curses, Dalia continues on. "Thanks to the agency's emergency team, we have the confirmation that the target hasn't left the city yet. This only furthers the theory that he won't stop until getting to the detective; that is why we won't wait around for it to happen."
"Hey! Thanks to those guys? I was the one who spotted the piece of shit watching us yesterday; the medical team didn't do balls." Yui speaks loudly, crossing their arms tightly as they let out an audible scoff. "Well, fuck it, at least I'm happy we are finally going on the offensive; I'm itching to break that bastard's fangs since he got me hurt."
"Yes, Yui, I understand your enthusiasm, but we still need to locate him first before anything can happen. Not an easy job when stopping to analyze the evidence we have at hand."
A silence extends inside the car as Dalia's statement sinks in, expected since it makes all sense; finding the killer isn't going to be an easy job, yet a feeling plaques my mind, one that tells me we aren't that far away from doing it. If there's something I should do is getting to the bottom of this feeling, and to start, I'll need coffee.
"Uhm, could I make a suggestion?" I break the silence, stealing everyone's gaze towards me in a blink.
"Please, go ahead, detective." Gesturing with her hand for me to go on, Dalia curiously waits for my next words.
This time, if I want to catch the killer, I'll need to combine the handbook stuff and intuition; no more relying solely on luck from now forward.
"Why don't we stop at some place to gather our thoughts and discuss what we have? I'm sure that there must have been something that we didn't consider or that we are just not seeing right. We need to look at things from an unthought perspective." My suggestion is immediately met with an expectation from the agents for further explaining, and of course, I don't leave them hanging for long before doing so. "Think with me. The killer hasn't been exactly subtle with his action, and he is no professional either; his killing doesn't look methodical—on the contrary actually. That means that at some point he must have slipped up, and we didn't notice because we were too distracted with ourselves. Not that I'm blaming anyone, seeing that these words serve me right as well; just stating facts."
"Oh, no, your words hold inherently truth to them, detective. Indeed, mixing the mission with keeping the truth hidden made it impossible to give the case all of our mental faculties." Quickly, Dalia smiles, nodding in concordance with my words. "I was too going to suggest that we stop to revise what we already know about the case. The only problem is to find somewhere comfortable to do so, seeing we can't risk being spotted by our target."
"If that's the case, then there's one place that we should be the safest. Coneflower Avenue—my house." Once again, everyone's eyes stop on me, only this time holding a drowning skepticism towards the idea.
"Wait, that sounds dumb." Yui voices their opinion without holding back. "If the whole point is that we keep the surprise factor, we shouldn't risk going to the place he will obviously be expecting us. Right?"
"I'm not so sure he will be there. Today is Monday, and at this time, there should be a bunch of people walking their dogs down the streets, which gives us an hour at minimum. Believe me, those dogs catch one shadow moving in the wrong alley, and then we will hear a chorus of barks from a mile away. If there is a safe place somewhere in the city, this is the one."
"I see. Nice plan, cutie; super crazy considering how we will have to rely on a coin flip, but just enough that it might work." Almost too strongly, they plant a hand on my shoulder and give me a thumbs up, accompanied by the most flirtatious grin I've ever seen—at least that seemed to have gotten them riled up. "I'm so happy you're working with us now; it sure makes life a lot easier."
Dalia, who has been quietly munching over the suggested plan, nods her head. "From all of us, you know the city the best, detective; if you believe that is the way to go, then I am in no position to say the contrary."
"I do believe that the plan is settled then; everyone on board?" She asks, looking over the rearview mirror to meet Colette's quiet gaze; I'm unable to see any sign of an answer, but apparently, it happens by the way Dalia soon after returns full focus to the road.
"Yeah! Let's get this show on the road, baby—" Before being able to get too excited and end up slipping into the front seats, Yui is pulled back into the backseat. "Killjoy."
Life returns to the car as it picks up speed, now with a clear purpose—only minutes away from back home.
Things have been happening so fast that I almost forgot about Saturday night—almost. Still and all, that is something I can't run away from if I want this case over one day.
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