Afternoon
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A strange feeling hangs in the air as I drive myself and Colette to the location I got. Looking at Colette, I see her eyes are focused and her hands tremble slightly.
Taking one hand off the wheel, I place it on top of hers, gently squeezing her fingers with mine. "Remember, I'll be by your side there."
Colette looks at my face without a clear expression for me to read, and as I can't take my eyes off the road, I don't try much.
I see her taking a deep breath, her fingers slowly relaxing. "If you wish to go with me, then I can't stop you." Colette's eyes travel out of the window, and in the distance, the hospital starts to appear.
Stopping the car in the empty parking lot, I notice some vegetation taking over the building. Grabbing my phone, I search for the name of the hospital just to be sure, and what I find is nothing much.
The place was left to rot after a cut was made to the money supply to keep the place up and running, and apparently, there were some disappearances and mysterious deaths.
Not creepy at all...
Turning off the engine, I open the door and exit the car, with Colette doing the same. I start walking towards the entrance, finding the heavy sliding glass door broken and fallen to the floor, shards dangerously painting the floor.
A big corridor extends itself to both sides, as well as a reception stand in front of us. Empty, of course.
The white walls and floor still remain, even though some parts are covered in stains from what I assume is mold. While looking around, I'm able to spot some blood on the shards, and the trail stops at a flight of stairs leading up. Colette's hands stop on my shoulder and pull me behind her.
"She's on the third floor," Colette says, sniffing the air one more time to make sure before nodding to herself. "Stay behind me."
I nod, noticing how Colette positions herself like a shield in front of me, her broad back not letting me see much of what's ahead.
And so we proceed with our climbing, step by step creating unsettling echoes around us, going as far as it can. Even for someone like me who is used to entering dark and abandoned places, this is something that I never get used to.
Especially given how cold these places generally are, my hoodie does little to nothing to provide me warmth right now.
Our ascending stops as we reach a metal sign on the wall, indicating we are currently in the third-floor hall. I notice something as we stop—a faint beeping sound in the distance apparently muffled behind a closed door.
It only increases as we reach the source. In front of us is a white door with the number plate taken off, and the metal knob has visible scratch marks on it.
Colette puts her hand on the knob and turns it. The door produces a 'click' sound before opening slowly and painfully, making a painful creak.
The inside of the room is revealed, and a low flickering light illuminates the room. On a bed in the middle of the room is a figure of a very old man with his eyes closed and breathing with the help of equipment.
Medical equipment beeps slowly, and the heartbeat sensor indicates the person in the bed is barely alive. A chair stands on the side of the bed, and looking at it, a person is sitting.
Familiar cyan hair moves as the figure turns her face towards us. Camie's eyes lock on me before moving to Colette, and on her lips is a strained smile.
"Long time, no see, Sis," Camie says in a low voice, mirroring a whisper, her hands resting on her elbows as she hugs herself.
Colette doesn't say anything, and for some seconds nothing happens. But, as I start to think nothing will happen, Colette walks forward.
Camie rises from her chair and hugs herself tighter. In a moment, I was sure Colette was about to hit her sister, but to my surprise, she wraps her arms around Camie and pulls her into a hug.
With a surprised sigh, Camie accepts and hugs her sister back. Not wanting to disturb the moment and to give them privacy, I exit the room and rest my back against the wall of the empty hall.
Some time goes by, and my feet rhythmically hit the floor as I look at an invisible point in the ceiling. Thoughts pass by about everything that has happened so far.
I see my messages to JB about Tina have no reply, something that leaves me troubled. As my phone goes back to resting deep inside my jeans pocket, Colette exits the room and looks at me before approaching.
"How did it go?" I ask, approaching her more so I can carefully look at her face.
She looks directly into my eyes and takes a step closer to me, to the point where we are only a step away. "Everything that needed solving here is done."
"You sure?" Gently, I place my hand on her arm, not bothering to hide my worry behind a smile. Colette reacts by resting one of her hands on top of mine.
She nods her head with certainty. "Yes, the rest will need to be solved with time, but the agency will take it from here."
Tilting my head, I express my curiosity. "The agency?"
"Yes." Colette nods her head once again. "The situation with the alpha and your kidnapping needs to be looked into more closely, and my sister will provide us with the information necessary to do so."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"And about her, will she stay here?" I feel Colette's muscles tense slightly as my hands still linger on her arm. She looks away and sighs.
"I prefer to talk about it later, please." Her words carry a tone of 'a problem that will happen soon' to it, but I brush it aside for now.
Lowering my hand, I grab hers and gently start pulling her to the stairs as I notice that she appears to want to go home now.
We get outside and enter the car, taking off to the cabin once more. Colette informs me that the trip will end sooner as the situation has been resolved.
Meaning that tomorrow night we will need to go back to the house. To Wayhaven.
Getting home was fast, and once there, I noticed Colette walking toward Dalia. With some time on my hands, I entered my room to study some more about other supernaturals.
I grab the book and start to read, and after what I believe is three minutes, I hear a knock on the door.
"Come in," I shout, closing the book and putting it aside.
Looking at the door opening, I watch as Flora enters the room with a silver tray, bowing to me and walking to my side. She rests a mug of tea on the desk; the fruity aroma of it makes me unconsciously relax.
"Thank you, Flora." I grab the tea and take a quick sip, tasting the hints of honey mixed with the drink.
Flora watches me drink with a small smile, taking a seat near me and looking at the book I was reading with curious eyes. Noticing it, I open the book and start to show her its contents.
Without even noticing, I start to read it to her, showing her the drawn pictures in the book and watching her cute reactions as she deeply immerses herself in our activity.
It's a nice feeling; I feel myself connected to her somehow, like every time she smiles, I feel myself wanting to smile too. Strangely, it is the same feeling I have with Flamma...
I'm starting to understand some things now.
...
In the end, we finished the whole book, and the night passed, and I didn't even get to eat dinner because of how tired I was.
The coldness of the night came, and the warmth of the covers on the bed quickly took me away to a deep slumber.
But even while sleeping, I felt a comfort I was desperately missing without noticing—the comfort of sleeping on a full bed.
And waking up the next morning, I figured out why I was feeling the bed full. It seems that everyone decided to invade the room while I was asleep and slept in the same bed as me.
Flamma's tiny hands cover one of my eyes as she sleeps on my forehead. Dalia hugs my side and has her face buried in the crook of my neck.
Colette hugs my waist and nibbles on my shoulder gently in her sleep as Yui lays her head flatly on my stomach.
Even if this trip ends, I'm happy it happened, as I feel closer to everyone here. Deciding to bathe myself some more in this feeling, I close my eyes and return to sleep.
Night
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After everyone was awake, we discussed while eating breakfast what to do, with everyone reaching an agreement to explore the city and have some fun.
Our first stop was the Louvre Museum, where Dalia explained to us everything as we passed by the art and the relics, telling us the story behind the items so well that she even left the guide speechless.
Next, Yui insisted we go to a clothing shop, and so we did. We spent most of our hours shopping in some fancy places; in the end, the bill almost made me pass away, but Dalia happily paid for the clothes she wanted me to have.
And the last stop is where we are now: the Eiffel Tower.
The moon hangs high up in the sky, casting its light upon us gently as Colette shows her agency ID to some security personnel to let us go to the very top of the tower.
We enter an elevator and watch the city get further and further away until it stops and we reach the top.
Exiting the elevator, Yui rushes to the edge and starts producing happy sounds that mirror purrs. The tourism season was over, so it's kinda cool that Colette thought ahead and used her ID to get us permission to get here.
I, as well, approach the edge and start watching the city below, the lights and cars on the street moving, remembering that the world keeps on going even as I stop moving.
Dalia and Colette seem to exchange some glances before approaching me, both stopping by my side and looking at the city as well. The feeling of someone grabbing my hand startles me for a second before I realize that it's Dalia.
She grabs my hands and interlaces her fingers with mine. I look at Dalia's gray, shining eyes, and I notice that she looks away from mine, shifting her focus to Colette and nodding her head.
At this nod, Colette too grabs my hand and squeezes it. Avoiding at all costs my eyes with a serious expression, only because I have my trained eyes, is that I notice an almost perfectly hidden pout in her lips.
In the end, all three of us stay there. Watching the city and enjoying the cold wind on our faces.
That is, until Yui, as always, looks at us and smugs. But this time they don't make any funny comments, instead choosing to join us.
The time goes by, and eventually, we all go back to the cabin. While making my bag, I receive a message on my phone, and looking at it, I see that Yui took some pictures of today and sent them to me.
And with that memory forever saved in my gallery, I finish my bag. Ready to face whatever we may encounter in Wayhaven.
The enemies, possible allies, and problems we will have to solve. At least we will always have each other's backs... right?
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**End of First Half**