Fragments of glass scattered across the plank floor.

Florence squeezed the handle of her leather briefcase. She inched backward and towards the doorway.

Sunlight poured in through the balcony, reflecting onto an army of empty glass bottles of giggle juice within the room. The wallpaper with a wilted lotus flower design peeled off from the walls.

But in front of her was her sister, who had the same old blond unkempt hair and gray baggy eyes. Her sister sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket, her cheeks flustering as she slumped over her lap.

Even from a distance, her sister’s body odor wafted through the air, tickling Florence’s nose.

Her sister looked up and grinned. “More,” she said in a high-pitched voice.

Florence shook her head. “Did you not have enough already?”

“I need it!” her sister shouted. “Give it to me!”

The floor creaked outside the room, getting louder.

A shiver ran down Florence’s spine. She bit her lip.

Suddenly, there was a gentle tap on the oak door.

Her heart stopped. She knew she was not supposed to be here, especially at this time of day. But she had to do it. She could not turn another blind eye… not again.

At that moment, the door swung open.

She wheeled around.

However, standing in front of the entrance was Martine. She tapped her black heels on the floor. Her knuckles pressed on the belt tied around the apron over a dress. Wrinkles formed at the corner of her yellow eyes as she glared at Florence.

Florence shifted her weight from left to right, rustling her apron. She chuckled, cupping her mouth.

Martine stomped into the room, each step getting closer.

In a swift motion, she flicked her finger on Florence’s forehead.

Florence recoiled. “Seriously? Why are you always like this?”

“Well, at least I found you.” Martine smiled. The wrinkles around her eyes disappeared. She then placed her hands behind her before letting out a sigh. “You know… you are really in deep trouble right now.”

Out of the blue, a deafening thud, followed by a clattering of glass, vibrated Florence’s eardrums.

Martine’s eyes widened. She gaped at something that happened behind Florence.

At this point, Florence spun around, discovering her sister wrapped in a blanket and drooling on the floor. But, more importantly, her sister’s face almost landed on the fragments of glass inches away. Florence carried her sister without a second thought, gently lowering her on the bed.

Footsteps got closer to Florence, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Martine peeking into what was happening.

Immediately, her sister stretched her arms out of the blanket, revealing her bloody bandaged forearm. She said, “More…”

“Florence… finish up whatever you have to do,” Martine said. She walked away from Florence, exiting the room. “I will be waiting for you in the corridor.”

Setting the leather briefcase next to the bed, Florence opened it, and she reached inside to pull out a dressing pad, gauze bandage roll, and a scissor.

Her sister’s body trembled, staring at those three medical items. “I don’t want it,” she said. Pressing her arms against her chest.

“Look at me. Nothing is going to hurt you,” Florence said. “Because I am here now with you. You are going to be safe.”

Without responding, her trembling sister curled up and turned away from Florence.

“Tell me whatever you want. Well… except for that one thing,” Florence said.

And again, her sister remained silent on the bed.

Florence nodded, kneeling and packing everything she had into the leather briefcase. However, before she could leave…

The blanket rustled.

Afterward, someone tapped on Florence’s shoulder. She looked up to find out it was her sister.

Her sister pinched Florence’s cheek and pulled it upwards, forcing a smile on Florence’s face.

“That’s a lot better. You really should do it more, just like our mother and brother used to do,” her sister said.

Florence nodded. However, if their mother and brother weren’t… gone. Things might be different.

The pinch on Florence’s cheek disappeared, and her sister’s eyes closed.

Standing back up, Florence adjusted the blanket to adequately cover her sister. She then picked up the leather briefcase and trudged to the doorway.

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Before she left, a rumble shook the entire building. She glanced around but spotted nothing. Everything in here stayed the same.

“Is everything okay?” Martine asked somewhere in the corridor.

Florence exited the room. “Absolutely, everything is fine,” she said. She closed the door behind her.

She looked down the corridor, which had the exact wallpaper as the one inside the room, expecting to see Martine. But it was another person within arm’s reach instead.

That person was a sparkling-eyed young gal with ginger hair tied into a ponytail. Her hands raised up to the ceiling. On one of her hands, she released her dagger, which clattered on the floor. However, oddly enough, she wore a navy blue hooded shirt, ripped jeans, and boots.

The ginger-haired young gal said, “Hi, I’m Aisling. Please don’t kill me.”

Florence’s mind went blank.

“Please?” Aisling asked.

Florence blinked. “Pardon?”

Suddenly, another rumble shook the building. The light bulbs above flashed on and off.

Florence lost her footing, leaning against the wall.

“So you aren’t gonna use that laser gun implanted in your body to kill me?” Aisling asked. Still appearing to be completely unfazed by what just happened. “Or is that bag of yours gonna transform into a plasma chainsaw.”

Florence raised her eyebrows. “Laser gun? Plasma chainsaw?”

Silence filled the air.

Aisling swept her arm downward, whamming Florence’s head.

Florence stumbled backward and rubbed her head. “Was that even necessary?” she asked.

Aisling smiled, bursting into laughter. She snatched up the dagger and sheathed it. “Well, at least now, I’m sure you’re not one of them.”

Suddenly, an incoherent screeching echoed in every direction, cutting her laughter short.

Immediately, she grabbed Florence’s wrist and breezed away. Both sides of the walls loomed and crowded them into this narrow space. Hints of sharp slash marks scratched on the wallpapers. While they went deeper, more corridors manifested out of nowhere and branched off.

Aisling gasped as she and Florence turned the corner, reaching the door at the end of the corridor. But, finally, they burst into a vast empty room.

A biting wind blew through a massive opening in the wall and swooped their hairs up. Immediately, through that hole in the wall, Florence’s jaw dropped as she stared at the skyscrapers with the harsh and futuristic architecture of steel and glass scraping the clouds. An array of colored lights from the streets below illuminated the dark sky. Even from this high up, the wailing of sirens vibrated her eardrums. It was not a place of shelter but a place of the unknown. The bile rose up her throat, losing her breath.

The tight grip around her wrist faded away. From the corner of her vision, Aisling sauntered towards the photo and a fresh lily at the edge of the room. She picked it up and placed it into the pocket of her hooded shirt.

Aisling took a deep breath, in and out, and asked, “So what’s your name?”

Florence froze. Not a single word came out from her.

Afterward, Aisling repeated the same question.

But, again, Florence was unable to respond.

While this happened, Aisling pulled out a flat metallic cuboid with a dozen camera lenses from her ripped jeans pocket. She then walked with bouncy steps as she tapped on the dark screen on one side of the cuboid.

Finally, Florence came to her senses. She asked, “Why am I here? I mean, I was like…”

Aisling flipped her cuboid and showed it to Florence. Florence read the message, which said something about a group of three occult detectives working on a contract for the Wellor System. Wait… three occult detectives? Aisling might be one. But where were the others at right now?

“Pardon me, but how does this have anything to do with me?” Florence asked.

“Look. I know this might be kind of overwhelming.” Aisling moved the cuboid closer to Florence’s face. “But to answer your question, yes, you’re involved. And please tell me your name.”

Florence pressed her palms together and bowed to Aisling. Then Florence trudged to exit the room. But immediately, she was stopped as Aisling grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna do exactly what I think you’re gonna do,” Aisling said. “Are you gonna do it before you’ve got your stats up and running?”

Florence shoved Aisling’s hand aside. Florence removed her black heels and pushed her feet against the floor, dashing into the corridor.

“Come back! My partner is gonna be here soon!” Aisling shouted. “Couldn’t you wait a bit?”

“Absolutely not,” Florence replied, waving her hands. “And by the way, my name is Florence.”

Out of the blue, a rumble sent a shockwave throughout, followed by an incoherent, high-pitched screech echoing in all directions.

The light flickered.

Immediately, Florence wheeled around. However, nothing had changed at all, with only Aisling pursuing her.

“Do you really wanna go back there?” Aisling asked, pinching Florence by the ears and dragging her back. “Plus, you’re gonna have to complete the Wellor System’s contract first.”

Florence resisted and moved in the opposite direction. “Aisling, you poor little bunny,” she said. “I will be dead if I do not head back now.”

Both of them struggled and pulled at each other for a short time.

“That’s not how it works,” Aisling said. “And couldn’t you wait a bit. My partner might be here soon.”

At this moment, Florence’s brain clicked. “Aisling, did you see another gal with yellow eyes in the same clothing as me that came out from the same doorway as I did before we met?”

Aisling stopped, tilting her head.

“Did you see anyone else that came here?” Florence asked again.

“I promise…” Aisling smiled. “You’ll… eventually meet her again.”

Florence’s muscles tensed up. She knew Martine exited the same way she did. So, what did Aisling mean by that?

Afterward, a distinct bang reverberated in the distance, rattling Florence’s spine and unfreezing her muscles.

“On a positive note, I think we’re not alone anymore,” Aisling said.

From afar, the scratching on the wallpaper zoomed closer with each second. However, nothing could be seen making all the commotion down the corridor.

Aisling grabbed Florence’s wrist in an instant. The plank floor creaked underneath Aisling’s boots as she breezed past numerous doors while dragging Florence to come along.

“So here’s the deal,” Aisling said. “If you help us with this supernatural case, then I’ll help you—”

Suddenly, she let go of Florence’s wrist.

Aisling flew into the air, crashing through the oak door.

Splinters dispersed everywhere.

Without hesitation, Florence ran to help Aisling. But before Florence could do it, a strong wind pushed her down. A transparent force pulled at her fingers and knocked the leather briefcase and black heels out of her hands.

Something invisible and sharp dug into her forearms, penetrating her skin and veins.

A dull ache pulsated in her muscles. The air got sucked out of her lungs, preventing her from screaming.

Although nothing was on top of her, she couldn’t move, and the air above her body became heavier.

A warm gust blew onto her face, sending goosebumps across her skin.

This might be the end…