Day 5

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On the corridor, I do my best to ignore the many, continuous stares from the passing people and choose instead to look for my phone as I move forward; at first, I remember that they were last resting in the pockets of my pants, the same one I'm not wearing right now, but, by luck or something else entirely, the search ends up being not a complete waste.

The feeling of something on the inside pocket of the overcoat steals my attention as my fingers graze by, and on a quick search, I find my phone in it.

Bring it to full view; fragments of broken glass dust my fingers, and once out, are blown away, revealing the screen shattered, probably from me falling over it when I got attacked.

With a heavy sigh, I reluctantly click on the side button just to be sure; who knows, maybe it still works.

Then, to my shock, the screen lights up, showing that the damage was merely on the glass and not on the components; that knowledge forces a relieved exhale to leave my lungs.

Even with the cracks taking over most of the screen, I learn some important information simply from the home screen, starting with the time that, by what I can see, is near evening already, making me question just how long I've been sleeping for.

Looking at the date, I'm soothed by the numbers that help me understand that it hasn't been even a full twenty-four hours yet; it would be a big problem if a lot more time had been wasted away from the investigation.

Actually, thinking about it, it is strange that I woke up so soon after an injury like the one in my head, or is it? At this point, I can't tell.

I push the thought aside and check for any new messages, finding none—not that I would be able to see anyway; the signal bar is zeroed, making it impossible for me to message or call anyone.

Great, back to where I started then, not that I left at any moment really; the useless phone goes straight into my pocket once again, where I can forget it exists for the next hours.

Now, with my eyes promptly locked on the way forward, I try to find directions to where I should go, especially because the way that I've been going isn't exactly in my control; it is more comparable to swimming on the same river as the other people, who end up serving as a guiding current to someplace I don't know yet.

More and more I am pushed around, but it gets repetitive really fast, forcing me to find a way out of it before I get totally lost. It takes only one look around to notice a clear path open to my right, which I take without thinking twice and finally finding freedom from the current.

This time I'm able to breathe properly and calmly pinpoint more or less where I currently am; looking back at where I came from tells me I've only just crossed the intersection that would lead me back to the hospital area where I woke up, the same one with the big window that gives sight to the training area.

In my mind, the only thing I can make sense of is that if I want to find anyone in this maze of a place, I should actually go back to my room as I know the way and leave them to find me instead, but, before I can complete my logic, something strongly bumps against my side, painfully knocking me out of my feet instantly in the process, worse yet due to the walls having nothing for me to grab on besides a handle I awkwardly miss.

The figure responsible for the bumping, holding a box, lowers it just enough to see what stopped them, and upon noticing my falling body, is quick enough to act, immediately dropping the cardboard box they have in hands on the ground with little to no regard for its contents and taking a big step forward to close in the distance between us.

It feels so strange; at this point, falling has become something so mundane that my reaction to it nowadays is almost non-existent, composed simply by silence; that is true until the alien feeling of a warm hand stopping the motion causes me to let out a surprised gasp.

One of their hands passes by my side, traveling until reaching the center of my back, where they hold onto the coat's material and seize the fall, apparently without much effort. In sequence, I feel their other hand take upon mine lightly, fingers brushing against mine if only for a moment before tightening to pull me up and near their body, causing the gap that once existed between us to be no more.

Being as close as I am to them right now, it becomes impossible not to meet their gaze and instantly recognize a familiar face belonging to a certain agent; Dalia's mouth opens to apologize for the almost incident and stops shortly as her eyes fire the same recognition as mine.

"Oh, detective, I didn't expect to encounter you here, worse yet to almost be responsible for injuring your already wounded head."

Her words, even if catching my attention, are almost totally drowned away from my mind as I feel, with each sentence that leaves her lips, the warmth of her breath mingling with mine on the air, and the vague, sweet scent of tea accompanying it.

If she catches on to that, I can't tell, especially since she casually relaxes her grasp on my hand and back, letting go slowly to allow me time to find balance once again.

"If you allow me to ask, I have one question for you." Before asking whatever's on her mind, she squats down, grabbing the plastic handles on each side of the cardboard box, only to notice the lid is missing; one look around, and both she and I notice it a few steps to our side. "In a second, actually."

"Uhm, sure, go ahead; it's no problem," I say with a simple smile, watching as she moves her focus to the item on the ground.

Her moving to grab it presents me with the perfect opportunity to give in to my curiosity and spy on the box's contents, unfortunately only superficially, yet I do it.

Inside, most of the items seem to be files and unorganized papers, probably belonging to some of them who got free because of the fall; interestingly, one of the things I notice in common with all of them is the bold letter message in red, warning that only authorized personnel are permitted to see the content they hold.

As soon as I read it, she manages to catch the lid and turn back to me, and I decide to help her by grabbing the box and lifting it off the ground; doing so, with a little bit of unexpected difficulty as I find myself still a bit weak, she approaches and places the lid back in place before taking it from my hands.

"Thank you, detective." She smiles kindly, her eyes moving across my form in search of any injuries before stopping at the gauze wrapped around my head, causing her lips to contort bittersweetly; as I catch that, she impedes me from even thinking about it by talking, winning over my thoughts. "I'm sorry for bumping into you so hard; I was deeply lost in thoughts as I walked, and I failed to notice if there was anyone in the way. I'm glad my lack of focus didn't cause you any harm."

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"Hey, it's fine; like you said, nothing bad happened, so no worries." Her words manage to make me feel a little awkward, not because they are uncomfortable or exaggerated, but because I can hear in her words how sorry she is, causing me to feel bad in return. "Besides, I can't say I wasn't lost in my own mind as well; so if anything, I'm guilty too for stopping in the middle of your path."

Feeling that she wants to make a comment about my words, I do as she just did and talk first, changing the subject. "So, what was that thing you wanted to ask me about?"

"Oh, yes, I was curious as to why you're wandering around; I'm sure I heard Doctor Yavia, the one who took care of you, saying that we shouldn't allow you to if we wanted to see you fully healed until tomorrow morning. Wasn't Colette to be at least accompanying you around?"

"Actually, I'm just following the suggestion from your boss, Julia; she said I should talk to all of you about moving forward. I was with Yui a moment ago, but they had to leave. Something about helping the medical team find some ghouls? I don't know; the only thing I do is that they were gone in a flash, and I went to look for you since they said you were the one to ask the questions to."

Dalia nods her head along my words as she takes them in, the expression on her face softening enough for me to notice the tension slowly dissipating, and then her serious eyes lock on mine.

"I see, well, I was going to the library up the corridor to do some research regarding the case on our hands; if you want, you can come with me, and there I can answer some of your questions. The only thing I can't guarantee is that you'll like them, but, I promise you, no more lies from now on. Temporarily as it may be, you're one of us now, and we don't lie to each other unless there's a good reason."

I don't react to her words verbally, not because they don't get to me, because in truth, they do, but rather for what it causes me to feel; strangely, seeing that there's truth in them for some reason makes me, I don't know, happy, I guess. Maybe it is because I know the importance of such words, or maybe, it is something else completely, but that matters not.

This time, it is easy to see that, upon her notice of the involuntary relaxation of my shoulders, her smile only seems to fuel.

"Well, shall we?" Dalia asks composedly, gesturing forward on the corridor with the box in her hand.

As a quick way to respond, I simply nod my head, and we set on back to the stream of people.

I'm no longer being directed without any control by it as a bystander, but instead, the woman beside me steers along the river masterfully, closely keeping me on the path while still leaving me with a sense of independence.

The way she confidently strides on makes me confident as well, managing to make me forget about the anxiety that, by now, would normally have taken over me being surrounded by so many.

Piercing through the many voices echoing around us, Dalia gets a step closer to me, seemingly to grab my attention, something she does easily. "There's one more thing I would like to ask you, detective; could I or do you perhaps prefer if we reach the library first where we can have some silence?"

"Oh, I have no problem with you asking it now, so, please, go ahead." I encourage her, getting a step closer as well to hear her better before adding something important. "And, for the next time, feel free to do it straight away; no need to ask permission first."

"Well, I'll gladly take your word for it, then; thank you. I'll make sure to keep that in mind from now on." Her smile becomes more of a thin line, a mere shadow of what it was seconds ago; her eyes wander aimlessly from the box's lid up onto the moving figures that pass us by, searching for something, not on the crowd, but on her own head; the right words, perhaps?

'What type of question would leave her nervous like that', I think to myself, and to senate the question, I wait for her to continue.

"In the time that you were with Yui, did they, perchance, sound or act weird? Perhaps a little depressed or quieter than usual?"

"Yeah, they were a little sad back when I woke up; they were talking about feeling like what happened to me was in part their fault for not checking my message when I sent it. We even talked about it, and after a quick conversation, they appeared better. Why do you ask?"

"Well, in parts because I feared they would still be a little overwhelmed by those foolish thoughts; in truth, Yui isn't one to talk about their feeling very often, and that leaves me preoccupied, especially when something as big as yesterday's events happen and I can't help in any way."

By her words and the heavy feeling lingering in them, I begin to feel bad in a way. But the things she said leave me to question...Why would Yui talk to me about it then? Is it because I'm an outsider to their group?

"I'm glad you managed to help them overcome the weight, and, as you have given me permission, I believe this to be the right time to give you an important piece of information they might not have commented on, knowing them."

Coming to a full stop, Dalia, using her head, points to the door out in our left and walks out of the stream, waiting a moment for me to follow; once fully out, she stations herself near the door but makes no attempts to open it yet, choosing instead to use the sudden change in pace to talk without a chance of interruption.

"There's a reason why we were not able to get to you any sooner yesterday, and that's solely due to our killer's action. By the letter he left for you, you might have already connected the dots and noticed that, who his after, is none other than yourself, detective; you're his new target, and unfortunately, we knew that already, but could not do anything until recently."

Avoiding my gaze, Dalia takes a deep breath, preparing herself to say something, which leaves me to believe I won't like it. "Two days ago, we were tasked, knowing this information, to lie in wait near your home,"

Hearing her words makes me want to puke, a sentiment fueled by anger; knowing that this monster has been targeting me for god knows how long pulls on my nerves and leaves me sick to my stomach. But the anger can come later, after I hear the rest of her story.

"There, we came to find the killer stalking by, close, waiting to get us to follow him and leaving out the consequences of not doing so very clearly, displaying that he could, at any given moment, hurt you. Of course, seeing that, we gave chase to him; after all, we wouldn't in a million years allow him to get to you."

She makes sure to stop avoiding my gaze and look straight at me in a way to emphasize her point as true. "He then led us into the harbor, where he had transformed the workers into ghouls, servants of his will; luckily, as a newborn, he wasn't able to make the change permanent, so Colette and Yui knocked them out, leaving them alive for the agency's medical team to help them later. The only problem is that, using the opportunity, the killer attacked Yui, injecting them with something called dead man's blood, which, to vampires, is like venom—deadly. The situation had escalated very quickly, and then we had no other option than to retreat here and get Yui treated before the worst could happen."

Dalia, finishing her story, turns to look at me, softly gazing upon my face. "That is the story behind why we couldn't make it in time. I'm happy you managed to help Yui, and for that, I felt like sharing with you the reason so you can now have a clearer picture of what were the emergencies that led to our late arrival. To add one last thing, I want to let it be clear that I'm not fishing for your thankfulness; I'm only selfishly unloading my own mind."

I don't know how to react to the full story now that I've absorbed it; from what I get from it, I wasn't the only one wrapped around with a lot of things to deal with; they were too, and worse yet because they tried to help me.

There aren't words that I can muster out of me that I think would be adequate for this moment, nor to express the right emotions, so I choose to be quiet.

The good thing is that Dalia, acting according to what she just said, doesn't wait around for any thankful words and instead, manages to free one hand from the box to open the door near us, snapping me back to the moment as I catch her having some trouble trying to balance the box against her body so it doesn't fall.

Moving, I take the empty space beside her and help her with the task, twisting the knob and pushing it open; momentarily, I feel a strange sensation, like I'm being watched, and when I turn my face to the side, I catch a single frame of a smile on the woman's lips before she steps inside, disappearing alongside it, leaving me being the next in line to do it as well.

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