Meeting Brenda
Sylph arched her arm backwards with a tight grip on the bat while squinting her eyes to try to see the figure which was quite far away.
Fortunately for her and unfortunately for him, this alley was long and straight so she could still see him although some things were in the way.
She stared at him for three seconds before hurling the bat forward with a powerful trail of wind behind it.
Everything the bat passed were either destroyed or blown away and after two seconds a loud scream reverberated in the alley.
The man who stood beside her gulped when he saw this and was sure that if his boss came out alive from that attack, his injuries would be grave. He was just glad that the beautiful yet scary woman beside him chose to spare his life.
Well, that's what he thought.
A beam of wind slammed into his side as he crashed on a wall and fell back to the ground with a bleeding forehead, falling unconscious immediately.
Without wasting any more time she came out of the alley and resumed her walk.
**************************
20 minutes later,
Sylph was standing in front of a white bungalow which she believed to be the house of Alice's friend.
She walked to the door, sighting a door bell which she rang.
After waiting for a minute but got no answer, so she rang it once more and after some seconds, a woman in her late thirties opened the door.
"How can I help you, miss," she asked the hooded figure which was obviously a woman. By the look on her face it seemed that she was about to sleep.
"Id like to speak with your daughter."
The woman frowned slightly after hearing Sylph's reply. "Is there a problem.
"No. I just want to ask her some questions. " The woman didn't feel any malice from her, rather her voice was calm and soothing. Which meant that it wasn't trouble.
"Well, you see, my daughter hasn't been feeling well for some days now. We're really worried about her so I suggest you come another day," she said in worry.
"Is that so?" Sylph muttered. "Then the more reason I have to see her."
"Who were you again?" She asked, curious about what business she has with her daughter.
"You can say I'm an important acquaintance of your daughter," Sylph replied.
The woman scanned her from head to toe, and she couldn't say she was comfortable with this especially as she couldn't see her face completely. After seconds of contemplation she decided to let her in but would be keeping an eye on her.
"Come in," she said, as they both walked in.
They walked past the living room into the corridor before stopping in front of a closed door. The woman heaved a sigh of exhaustion before knocking on the door.
She has been constantly visiting her daughter to get a revelation of what was bothering her, but she kept saying she was fine which was obviously a lie and her mother was beginning to get tired of it.
"Honey, someone is here to see you do you mind opening up?" She said still knocking.
The waited for some seconds but go no answer or reply. She continued knocking but the person inside didn't show any sign of opening the door.
"You see," her mother said, slightly annoyed.
"I'll visit later then," Sylph voiced out and began walking towards the entrance of the house.
"I'm sorry if you suffered any in convenience, " she apologized for her daughter's attitude.
She bided Sylph farewell before shutting the door.
But Sylph who had something else in mind began walking around the house.
She was a little tired of putting on the hood so she took it off, fixing her gaze on a particular area of the house.
Her wind sensing could distinguish living things by the way the air around them vibrate when she sends hers out. So she could differentiate between plants, animals, humans and abyssals but she can't individually differentiate between them.
For example, if a dog was in a house with humans she could tell that there is an animal there but she wouldn't know if it is a dog, panther or tiger. She can give a rough estimate of the size of what she senses, so she wouldn't mistaken a frog for a fox.
This was the same case with the abyssal in the forest and now even though she could tell that there was someone in the room she was staring at, she wasn't completely sure it was the girl she was after, as the possibility of someone taking her place to cover up for her absence was possible.
She ruled out the possibility of it being the girl's father as she knew that the room in her sight was the same one the woman had taken her to.
So she decided to go in.
*******************************
A girl, about sixteen, laid lifelessly on her bed, with so many thoughts going through her head which was not something someone of her age would normally think about, suddenly noticed another presence within her room.
Startled, she turned around and was about to scream but it got stuck in her throat as she stared at the intruder in shock.
"Brenda, right?"
She snapped out of her stupor when she heard the question and didn't know when she nodded her head. "W-who are you?" She asked still staring at her.
Brenda had a shoulder length brunette hair with light brown eyes which were swollen, most probably from a lot of crying. She resembled her mother which meant they were biologically related.
"I'm here to ask you some questions," said Sylph while walking towards her bed and sitting beside her.
Brenda's heart thumped abnormally when she heard this and even found it hard to swallow her saliva.
"I-I-I don't know anything. You should leave." Brenda stood up while gesturing towards her room's door with slightly shaky hands.
"Why don't you calm down and take a seat. Don't worry, I won't be hurting you."
Brenda heard Sylph's soothing voice, but what she felt right now couldn't just be calmed down by few words.
"No! I want you to leave. You broke into my house and now you're telling me to calm down? If you don't leave I'll.....I'll, call the police," she bawled.
Sylph sighed when she saw the way she was acting towards her. It's been a long time since someone talked to her in such a manner, even before the meteor apocalypse, because of her background.
Without saying anything more, Sylph pulled out a red hair band from the pocket of her jacket and threw it towards Brenda who subconsciously caught it.
Her eyes widened when she realized what she was holding in her hands which began trembling as her legs wobbled until she could no longer control herself ending up falling to the ground as the memories which had been haunting her flashed in detail before her eyes.
Tears streamed down from her eyes as she continuously stared at the hair band and shortly after, began murmuring something.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry Alice...…."
Sylph who felt that the girl in front of her might go crazy if she doesn't do anything walked towards her and lifted her up like a feather before placing her on the bed.
Sylph squatted in front of her while raising her head to meet her gaze.
"I'm sorry, it wasn't my fault, I couldn't do anything." Brenda wept while shaking her head continuously.
"I know. I'm investigating what happened to your friend and I'll need you to give me as much information as you can," Sylph voiced out as Brenda stared at her with a horror filled face.
"No! You can't! You'll end up like her. Yes, We need to tell the Sentries, only them can handle that….that….. thing." She could remember a sight which she was sure would traumatize her for the rest of her life.
"Believe me, I won't concern myself with something I can't handle." Sylph assured her but Brenda wasn't sure about it. She believed that the young woman in front of her, won't say such outrageous things if she knew what she was actually putting herself into.
Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Sylph opened her palm as the wind around the room slowly became fiercer and unsteady. Brenda looked around in surprise as the lighter objects in her room were being blown around and even her hair danced with the wind.
She closed her hand as everything came to a stop, leaving Brenda's room messy, but she wasn't bothered by this at all.
"You're an aberrant, "she stammered in disbelief.
"Now, I need you to explain everything that happened on that day."
Brenda's eyes teared up after hearing Sylph's request.
"Fine," she wheezed, recalling what had happened before their encounter with the abyssal.