Alice : ecilA

Echoes of a long overdue night resonating within her head:

“How would you feel If I told you I’m the reaper?”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not, but imagine I was. Would that make you afraid of me, disgusted by me, or would it be the opposite? After all, I had a motive to kill Mal. Don’t you remember? We never got along. I mean, he did leave me to die. Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him, but I won’t lie. I was kinda glad he ended up the way he did. After all, he too committed the same sin as I did.”

“What are you getting at?”

“You really don’t get it, do you? Listen, how about we play a little game? Let’s call it suicide number #21. I find the reaper and ask him to kill me and you will try to find the reaper first and keep me alive. What do you think?”

“You’re insane…”

“Am I? The way that I see it, you’re the crazy one…”

“… Wake up…”

The words, “Wake up”, echoed through my head, climbing over one another, dancing in strange rhythmic patterns, creating music that shifted to and from incomprehensible muttering.

Yet again, I woke up in cold sweat. A couple of days have passed since then, yet it seems like what he told me back then shook me to the very core. It felt like something within me changed, like in some twisted way that’s when I became self-aware. Almost like one part of me understands what’s really going, but the other simply wants to remain ignorant.

But was Thane serious? Was he for real? Does he really intend to find the killer? How will he do that? Although his self-confidence is admirable, I doubt he meant what he said. Even the police force doesn’t know where to start.

He’s changed. I wonder what happened to him during the years we spent apart. He used to be a brave and charismatic kid. But now it seems like all that charisma has twisted itself into something bitter, self-destructive. He more resembles a wounded beast writhing in agony than a confident, accomplished, private investigator. Maybe I shouldn’t have provoked him in the first place. He seemed to be doing just fine before.” Those were the thoughts racing through my head as I was getting ready to go to work. A gloomy mindset, but it’s all I’ve got.

I left my apartment at 7 am and headed towards the parking lot. On my way there, I was greeted by the gentle smell of lilies. “have they always been there” I wondered to myself before realizing that I had to hurry or I was going to be late.

I entered the parking lot, got into my car, and took off. Sadly, it seems like luck wasn’t really on my side that day. It seemed like the main road I usually take to work was closed off for renovation. Now that I come to think of it, my boss warned me about it, totally slipped my mind.

And just like that, I was late for work. Just as I walked In I could already see that big stack of papers graciously waiting for me on my desk.

“It seems like the boys gathered more intel. I better do my part as well.” I calmly thought to myself.

Half a day, that’s the time it took me to review all of those papers, various witness and patient statements, those who saw Mal outside the hospital. So many witnesses and not a single one could help him, dying right outside the hospital. Reviewing all of that seems like a tedious job, I know, but it had to be done, and who else better for the job than his closest friend? “Don’t worry Mal, I’ll get him back for you”, I whispered to myself before heading straight to Mr. Chern’s office.

During lunch, I was called over to see his office. Apparently, he wanted to have a quick chat with me.

Upon walking in, I’m greeted with an unusually firm welcome. Usually he’s nice and welcoming, but today, something seems off. It’s like he’s holding back some unbearable emotion that could come exploding like a bomb, wrecking the entire building.

“Oh, Alice, I’ve been expecting you. Come in and sit down”, the lead investigator said in a rough tone, clearing his throat the second I made eye contact, something was off.

Astounded by his unusual manner, I sit down and, in order to avoid unusually awkward eye contact, point my gaze to the wall behind the man. There, I see the usual family picture, proud dad and his two sons, the younger son is still in highschool while the older one is a proud university student, I heard his wife passed away a couple of years ago, must have been tough.

“Now the reason I called you here is because more information came up regarding the death of Mal Cipher. Honestly, I don’t know how to put it, but Mal wasn’t as innocent as we thought. Upon further investigation of his apartment, it seemed like he was obsessed with you, Alice. We found multiple incriminating pictures and further evidence to support this. The guy was a stalker.” The investigator stated in a concerned tone.

“It can’t”, this single thought echoed through my head, spinning in circles akin to a carousel.

“I Don’t believe it, he must be joking. There’s no way, all this time, he… What’s wrong with me? I didn’t notice… How… Why… Mal..”, I doubted grabbing on to my hand, digging my nails in to it without noticing.

“wake up…” Those words began resonating in my head as if I my mind comprehended the actual situation I was in. I started thinking, “Thane, he must have some answers”…

“Listen, Alice, I know this is a tremendous shock to you, first having your closest friend be killed and then finding out about his true nature, but you need to snap out of it and get back on your feet. You should go home early today, take the time and think about everything that happened. Don’t rush yourself. I understand exactly how you feel.” Those were the last words I could remember Steve Chern say to me that day.

As soon as I walked out of Mr. Cherns’ office, I saw a tall, dark-haired man. He was wearing a white casual, no sleeved shirt, black skinny jeans that seemed to be a little too tight for him and dress shoes that didn’t seem to fit his clothing at all. Big, jagged scars could be seen coming out from under his shirt, making it seem like they cover his entire body.

It took me a few moments to realize that was no one other than Thane.

“Hello beautiful”, Said Thane the moment he saw me walk out of the office. “want to go on a date”, he continued in a playful tone that made it obvious that he wasn’t serious one bit.

“What are you doing here?” I said in a stressed manner.

“Having an unscheduled meeting with my favorite police officer, of course, or would you like me to book you ahead of time, next time that is,” he replied with a devilish grin on his face while handing me a hot cup of coffee.

I grabbed the cup, my hands still shaking from what I heard at the office. I was sure he noticed, but didn’t say anything. He just stood there in silence for a moment, before turning towards the door and saying: “mind coming with me, I want to take you somewhere.”

I really had no choice. I had to go with him, more for myself than for him. We went to his car and as soon as I comfortably position myself in the seat he said, “You’re not here as a cop right now, so don’t get too frustrated if I break a few laws okay?”. That immediately made me feel nervous and rightly so because not even 20 seconds into the ride as he drives greatly above the speed limit, to the point where I had to hold on to the front panel of the car.

“You should get a speeding ticket”, I said while maintaining a tight grip on the passenger handle.

“Fine me”, he said before putting on a wide smile and emitting an obviously fake laugh. He was doing it just to annoy me. What’s wrong with him?

We drove for around an hour. I told him what I learnt about Mal, but I was right. He already knew, mockingly offering his “condolences for my shattered reality”, while driving and partially ignoring most of the things I was saying. He seemed unusually fixated on the road right until we reached the mountain we used to traverse as kids. Droving up as high as he could until we had to get out of the car and walk. On our way to the top, I got a feeling like we’ve been friends all this time. It was almost as if we never stopped talking and remained the same kids we were back then. This episode of nostalgia it was like a sudden outburst of uncontainable emotion. Emotion that surpassed both logic and reason, emotion that, for a split second, for a single split second, had my complete attention. While navigating those winding mountain pathways, I couldn’t help but to find myself looking at his back, at those broad shoulders and notice all the scars covering them. The pain he had to endure. He’s likely seen and felt things I can’t and never will be able to comprehend. Sure, some of his actions may be strange, but I don’t exactly think they’re unreasonable. I just hope that one day, he will heal those scars instead of letting them, one day, devour him…

After a 2 hour hike, we finally reached a familiar place, the cliff where Thane cast away his naïve, childish nature and fought off that wolf.

“See that cliff over there?” said Thane

“Yeah, are you okay being here?” I replied in an attempt to somewhat comfort thane.

“The reaper is much like that wolf, the only way to take him down is to go down with him” he suddenly said while also morphing his tone into one that sounded much more brutal than it was before, with no regard to my showcased empathy. His facial expression shifted into an almost blank stare. He no longer felt like a living person, but a ghost almost fading out of his man-suit.

“Thane, do you know who the killer is?” I said while simultaneously getting flashbacks of his comment about him being the reaper, thinking that if he wanted to kill me, this would be the perfect place to do it. “If you do, please tell me…”, I continue in a shaking tone and almost break down crying, “… I will ensure your safety”.

Everything that happened since that moment feels like a blur.

ThAnE: Come on, you already know who the killer is, you just don’t see him.

AlicE: what?

ThAnE: He is someone you know very well. To be honest, he is right here with us, so close, yet so far. I would gladly tell you who it is, but that would spoil the fun of the game, wouldn’t it?

AlicE: Thane, if you are in some way associated with that man, I will never forgive you.

ThAnE: To call a hunter an associate and make him plead for forgiveness, you’re a cruel one. I guess you’re my number 20#, be a good sport.

Upon saying those words, young thane unexpectedly kissed Alice, lifted her up and threw the both of them off that same ledge he once had already jumped. It almost seemed like a faint shout could be heard in the distance.

After the splash, I finally remembered what he told me that night, “wake up, and stop living in that fake world of yours, you need to open your eyes or you will never see things for what they really are, look back and remember how you ended up in this mess.”