Chapter 18

After Skyleene and Old Dulles set road to find the field, Aper went to the agency. He parked his car in the back of the building and made his entrance.

All the workers looked at him with a bored look, nodded a "good morning", and continued their work. He wore a stoic face and just went to the elevator. As he pressed the button for the second floor, a hand stopped the elevator doors from closing.

"Boss Koden!" J. exclaimed. "How are you feeling? Boss Nique told us you weren't feeling quite good, and that is why you didn't show up for the past few days."

Aper just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Thank you for your concern, J., but I'm fine. I just needed to take care of some things. I don't know why Nique told you that but whatever. Are you getting in or not?" he said, gesturing to the doors of the lift.

"Oh, yes!" J. said as he scooped inside, next to Aper. "I got some reports from last night. The sergeant brought some papers regarding the female body and the details of the crime scene."

"Have you looked over it?"

"Well, I managed to glance at it. I noticed the similarities to the Charlie Nim case. Should we worry?" he said, looking at Aper.

"I can't say we have the time to worry. Anything new for Charlie Nim?"

"Well, nothing new. That dust was the only lead to miss Cathle. Also, the alley. Close to the Gates and yet far enough, no ordinary soul would be able to notice it at first sight."

"Who reported the body?"

"Some teenage girl, Sophia Albaro, I believe. She said she was going home and that alley was a shortcut. Oh right! She came here yesterday and confessed more about the case. She heard some noise, like a falling sound, and went to check, that's when a man attacked her. She said she fought him for a minute until he collapsed and stopped moving. She must've been in shock and couldn't give all of these details when she first came here. I mean, she did get attacked by a random rabid vessel in the middle of the day; I don't blame her."

At the sound of rabid, Aper shot his eyes at a calm J. The same thing happened to Skyleene that day, he thought. The woman attacked her and then disappeared. The difference was that they found her days later in her apartment, all covered in the purple dust.

The doors opened, and Aper walked in a hurry past J. and headed towards his office. He had to complete the file of Sasha Shaw and add the details that Skyleene told her, not to mention adding him as a witness to the scene.

He entered his office and found Charlie's file on the desk. He looked through it and saw pictures of Sophie's wounds, which she claimed were from the man. A big bruise was noticeable on her abdomen, from her left breast to the hem of her pants - nasty looking wound. It was not Sophie's fault for dying at such a young age and having to live again to get to Lights City. His mind could not comprehend the fact that children lived in that damned place, children that in his eyes were pure.

He opened his laptop and started typing.

Sasha Shaw

victim 2,

main detail: purple dust.

❧

Skyleene, Old Dulles and Mushu were in the car, heading to their hotel for five days in District 4. There was this odd atmosphere between them - no one dared to talk. The radio was the only thing that made a sound throughout the whole journey.

They reached their hotel and unpacked once they got to their apartment. It had two rooms, a bedroom and a living room; the former had a balcony door while the dorm had a bathroom. It had a beige interior, with some black and gold details from here to there, nothing too grand. Skyleene kept thinking about the purple flower. For years she had been trying to find it, and the fact that Old Dulles knew where the field might be just angered her. He could have just given her the location if he was that scared to go there himself. The thought of all the years she just lost looking for that flower in the wrong place just made her sigh defeated.

"What were you trying to do, old man," she thought.

A slight knock on the dorm door made her winch. She turned around, and her eyes met Old Dulles's figure, smiling fatherly at her.

"How was the trip for you? You didn't say much - not a word actually", he said from the doorway.

"It was ok. I'm a bit tired. It has been a long time since I've last been this far from my home."

He just hummed in response, nodding his head. Old Dulles noticed she did not want to talk, so he did not bother her anymore.

"I know it's a bit late, and you might be tired, but now is the perfect time to be in the field. I'm going there right now; you can come if you want."

"Sure, I will change and meet you down in five minutes."

Old Dulles nodded and let her change. He wanted to find out if she was alright, but something told him to wait until she felt ready to talk about it.

Skyleene got her pair of black shorts and a blouse that looked like a dress. She grabbed her bag with a notebook, pen, small jars and bags for any samples she might want to get.

Mushu eyed her carefully and noticed how quiet she was but did not dare to ask about it. He, himself, was a bit unsure of why Old Dulles could not have just told them where the field was and kept giving them false leads. But who knows what the reason was. Mushu could not interfere even if he wanted to, so he had to wait.

They walked out of the hotel, finding Old Dulles waiting for them in the car. When he saw them, he smiled widely, trying to lighten up the mood. Skyleene sat in the passenger seat and Mushu in the back, keeping quiet. The man just sighed and started the engine.

The field was not far from the hotel, but they still had half an hour to drive.

The man could not take the quiet anymore, so he thought of a subject to discuss, but the only thing that came to mind was:

"The field is beautiful. You'll see."

Skyleene scoffed. "I'm sure it is. You knew about it and didn't want to tell me that."

"If I had told you that, your mission would have ended before it even started. You needed more knowledge about the flower, and not only Awo Aro but other plants as well - not to mention the animals."

"How could I learn about them if I don't have the books to tell me the information?"

"By doing the groundwork. I'm pretty sure many souls came to you these past few years, and you've learned how to help them with the help of what you've found out from the books you already had."

"Yes, but I'm still not good enough. I don't have the training, the knowledge and the instruments. You've said so yourself!"

"That is because we were supposed to practice together! I am your academic! Of course, you need my guidance to become the best! But first, you needed to know the basics by heart. What better way to do that than by finding it out yourself?!"

"Yeah, right. I had sleepless nights, tons of stress, headaches and tiredness, all because you couldn't have made my job easier. Thank you so much for being the best academic I ever had", Skyleene sarcastically said.

"I know I made mistakes. But I did all of this to help you! If I hadn't kept you in one place all this time, what would have happened now? Let me tell you! You wouldn't have my guidance anymore! I would have been in Lights City, and you would have been all alone!"

"Yes! All alone but with the knowledge to finish these cases faster! You did all of this so you could stick around more because you're a coward!"

At that remark, Old Dulles made a sudden break. The wheels screeched, and their bodies went forwards. Skyleene almost bumped her head on the dashboard if it was not for the seat belt, but Mushu came flying straight into the windscreen. The man and girl looked at Mushu with worry, but the cat just hissed and blabbered curse words.

"Where did you learn to drive! You dumb, old, tired man that needs glasses and a punch in the balls-"

He blabbered intelligible words and went back to his seat.

Old Dulles's eyes widened in surprise. Not only did he get insulted, but a cat also cursed at him.

"Listen here, young lady. I may be old and made mistakes in my lifetime, but I'm sure of one thing: I am not a coward. I ran away many times, but not this time! I tried to be there for you more than I was supposed to!"

"Why did you do that!"

"Because I love you!"

Skyleene gasped. What type of sudden confession is this?

"What-"

"Oh, not like that! I mean, I love you like my daughter. I always wanted a child, but I died before having one. I became an academic, and I met you. You're important to me. I can't just leave."

"Oh, so you grew attached to me. Are you fucking serious?! You are obsessed with me! You don't love me! You're not my father!" she screamed.

Skyleene got out of the car and walked away from it, going straight forward. They were on a paved road between two fields of what seemed to be the same time of flower. She heard the car door open behind her but did not pay much attention.

It was almost 10 pm, the dark covered the entire sky, and everything seemed so serene. The field was close to a forest, and from it, millions of tiny lights flew towards them. The road got lit up by fireflies, and the flowers turned their faces towards Skyleene. She noticed how each flower had some shiny pollen on top that attracted the flying lights. The scenery was beautiful; every lit detail made it look like a fantasy scene.

Skyleene watched in amazement and got impressed. Old Dulles came next to her, sighing heavily. His sudden confession might have ruined the whole mood, but he did not want that. He meant every word; he truly loved her as his daughter and nothing more.

"I am sorry", his voice echoed.

Skyleene just nodded her head.

"It's alright. I should apologize."

"You had every right to get mad. All these years, I kept you away from your goal, only for me to spend more time with you. It's not like I haven't already spent enough time; you're my student, after all. It's just that I didn't have children when I was alive. My wife left me, and I became an alcoholic. You can think I was pathetic, and I won't blame you. I guess I only wanted to feel loved again."

"But you were wrong. You can't keep a person by force next to you. That will only damage your damn relationship with that person."

"Yes. You're right. And I promise I won't do that anymore. Just please don't take this away from me."

She turned her head to him.

"Take what?"

"My time with you."