PART 1
POV: Tanya Cirkinsal
The 07 police department or 07PD for short and coincidentally there are 7 Provinces in the country, and this one is spread across the borderlands. It was new, only just over 200 years. new compared to other regions, and the only one with a number for a name.
In my office, head of criminal investigation was me at my varnished table, littered with documents, pens and my favourite ash tray made of jasmine stone.
The cigar left to burn was in it, fogging the air with a pleasant tobacco smell. On the other side of it was a fellow I detective with his open deep purple coat with a colourful floral shirt under it.
"So... Jean update, make it quick." I demanded closing my dossier file.
A tall and lanky figure stood in front of me, with cloths that stuck to his wiry frame. A hand resting on the two open seats besides him, the other in his pocket. His report was brief, the contents of which was about Ms. Frei. About the inccident that took four lives and incurred public damage to the railway.
A sloppy kidnapping attempt gone wrong, and that's what my report in the dossier in front of me was going to conclude as well. Even though we all knew that it was clearly something more sinister. With a turf war on the horizon I can't afford to have to focus on this case.
I dismiss the man out my office as I absently think about the survivor, a girl playing detective too. Playing with wolves too. The thought leaves with the puff of smoke I exhaled after taking a long drag of my cigarette. Joining with the delicate smell of the cigars' smoke.
PART 2
POV: Panam
I jolted awake in a silent scream. My muscles fired moving in a blur instinctually fighting the covers off me then air for a brief second. I sat in my bed, my heart still racing. I could still feel it, the weight and steely impact of the train slamming into the car and It's been the same dream everyday just a different variation. At school, in the fields, in a car and just recently in bed and in all of them besides me was Reina. Oddly enough the train found me- found Reiner quickly taking her before I react and slams me away.
I shook the thoughts away. I check my phone; 23:43, it was almost time. Then I turned my attention to a girl cautiously watching and judging me behind a mask. She nodded and I avert my gaze getting up.
I wasn't used to staying up so late so my body tried to force me to sleep, and I relented to take a nap in the rooms while we wait. She suggested waking me up but I knew it was also to guard me from the other boys.
I nodded to her back finally and we took off. We had a plan to "persuade" a man by Iseop. Who has information about Reiner's death. We joined the group in the alleyway by the bar. There were only four of us and one more who went ahead to keep watch. The group consisted of Vinny, two of his friends and one of the girls- Currency beside me.
"Finally awake, Easy?" Vinny half asked, half teased.
I narrow my eyes, "What?"
"E. Z. Yeah." He clarified, "Your new nickname, everyone has to have one to be here." He shrugged giving me a surgical mask to wear.
"I'm not sure I like that name." I protest.
"Yeah, good, most never do sometimes. You'll grow into it though." He retorts before leading us down the alleyway.
Then the back door of the bar flung open as a man stumbles out into the dark cold, the warm light of the bar is quickly gone as the door is shut by another girl. She nodded to Vinny then glances through all of us before leaving simply calling back, "You owe me, you prick."
The man slowly realised his situation as we surrounded him, a boy stood guarding the bar door now.
"Iseop, my goodmen." Vinny mocked elite lingo to a growl, "I want to know something. You know what, what I want man."
Iseop sighed into the chill air, "Listen man, I'm sad she's gone too. But I can't tell, I don't know."
"No, tell us. Don't play, who are the connies? Don't be you man."
Then Vinny walked forward slowly, and Iseop ran. To me in fact and charged right through me. I fell and the others ran barking too. Then I got up with a numbing pain on cheek and followed behind. Spilling out the alleyway onto the street. I felt embarrassed seeing all those people stare as I bolted past them apologising. While a few desperate cries is drown out by footfall drawing closer to him. My exhaustion following them made time stretch as we finally end on a empty parking lot.
There is loud grunts and a scuffle on the floor when I reach at the epicentre of the noise, a pile of three bodies writhing on the floor. A fleshy thud rang as one got punched, it was Iseop who did under the two. Then they started punching him too and the boys barked more.
I look at the one girl then to Currency beside me as I panted heavily taking off my mask for breathe. I gesture at the fight, whether we should stop it, they shrug letting them continue. Looking back at the pile again. I look away when the boys draw blood from Iseop's mouth trying to get the information from him. He just sobs and now I feel bad. When a car rolls by us, the headlights blinding to look at as a figure get's out.
It moves in a throwing motion and there is a shocked gasp. The boys turn too when a knife is embedded into Currency's belly, she silently gasps. Everyone came for her aid as I watched frozen in place. Not Vinny, he cried out angrily threatening the broad figure. He walked forward to face Vinny who charged forward, with wild swings and the man simply stepped back from them. All while holding his chambered fist with another. He stepped in, ducking past Vinny's fist countering with one of his own. He burst up with his large fist crashing Vinny's jaw. His sweat took on the shape of his skull where it once was from impact, as he reeled back dazed falling to his knees. He was on the floor now with Iseop before the man dragged him over his shoulder into the car and left.
All we could do was watch it happen when I finally came to helping Vinny up, he spat a mouthful of blood and spit. I look away, but I can't avoid it anymore. It was everywhere I needed to look.
The girl and two guys with Currency argued whether to call the ambulance.
"Can't have people asking questions, we'd be jailed." one boy argued.
"She'll die if we don't, you bastard." She's probably not wrong either. The blood is leaving her around the knife.
"We take her to the hospital." Vinny decided.
I left alone before the ambulance could come. They called me here and said I could help, that I was one of them.
I was couldn't. I was not.
I came home past midnight, my parents watching a movie backs towards me. Board games littered the dinning table on the left, I told them that I felt like running. They would have said no to the idea before, oddly they didn't. The panting and sweet coming down my brow convinced them. Showing only one side of my face hid the bruise swelling on my cheek well enough for them not to notice. My legs shake as I weakly pull myself up the stairs, into my room and collapse on the bed.
What a bloody mess, what a bloody mare... mess. Nothing came out of it, it's been two bloody months and nothing. Who the hell was that? I didn't catch the licence plate, not that it matters. The police gave up helping me a month ago.
I start again, I start another day and try again until I know who did this and get justice. I don't know what to do, or where to go.
I don't take my shoes off when I fall and curl myself into a ball on the bed. I failed Reina, all I can do is remember her now. Images of her flash behind my eyelids closed shut, and I feel like a lost puppy yearning for her attention one more time. I don't have tears to cry anymore so I weep silently, inwardly to sleep. Past the pain, I feel numb.
I woke up confused hearing cries and noises coming beneath me, my parents were shouting about something. I stood up in a daze opening my door and walked to the stairs across me.
Peering over the handrails I froze overlooking into the dining room and saw five figures.
There were three men in black standing before me, my mom is beneath one of them, lifeless with an open throat. My dad laid on his side clutching his blood soaked side almost wide eyed, he stared at me with life fleeting from his eyes.
One of them followed his line of sight to me.
My dad stood up, wrestling the knife from one of them, "PANAM!" He lets out a roar, "RUN! RUN!"
I am fully awake, fatigue and pain felt like a distant memory now as adrenalin flowed. I hurried back up to my room locking it. I need to leave, I hurriedly shook out books from my bag. Shoving the phones in it, fiddling with the zip to close the bag.
I heard thunderous thuds from my door, shaking violently back and forth in it's frame. I grabbed the knife and rushed to the window.
The door gave in and flew open exploding wooden shrapnel flung.
A masked man walked in bloody machete in hand. Without a second thought, I leapt out off the second floor landing into my backyard.
No, not land, but crashed into the ground. My leg folded in on impact, my ankle twisted to the side, the other leg crumbled under me, concrete and bone met my head too and it echoed in my skull. My vision was now under a crimson tint and stars assaulted my vision. I covered my face groaning in numb pain, rolling on my back.
Heavy booted footfalls approached me and I felt how Currency felt tonight, but arguably worse. My body experience cold steel cleave through flesh and chip into bone. I didn't scream, there was blood in my lungs already before I could when they hacked my throat open.
Part 3
I close my eye, letting the life leave me with my blood and failing organs. My consciousness fading in and out until I was finally embraced into the void. I felt safe in it, swallowed into the earth that was warm and soft, I felt the sensation and I revelled in it.
It felt off, there was no such thing as words here. So I couldn't grasp why and it warred with the comfort I felt. I remembered to breathe and sucked in fluids into my lungs, I was drowning and the void became deep thick abyssal waters. I struggled to find which way was up or down. There was none.
I writhed and convulsed fighting for breathe until finally I did. My eyes open and I saw the blinking stars, I was relaxed and the whiplash of emotions made me regret being human for a moment.
I reached to grab the stars and pause after seeing with refocused eyes my unscathed hands in front of me. A brief sense of Deja Vu swept across my mind.
Then my noses began to sense a pungent odour in the air, I sat up and looked around, it only took a glance behind me to see the horror that sprawled on my pavement.
maimed corpse were littered about, two heads were cracked open and their entrails spilt on the bloody ground, the one had it's chest carved into the body. All their ghastly faces were contorted seemingly telling the agony they experienced before they passed.
I wanted to look away, but my eyes were fixed on it. I dry cough bile at the display, the smell of dead bodies, vomit and dung made me puke more. I couldn't. I struggled to my feet, still in a gaging fit, I retreated backwards from the scene with my back against the wall. My dreadful gaze still on the display my eyes began tearing up, I couldn't hold my emotions back anymore. I felt my heat rise in my head, followed the wetness on my cheeks.
I wipe it away, I can't cry now. I wiped away more, my eyes became submerged in tears blurring my vison. I cupped them with my hands hoping to hold them back, I fell into my thoughts.
My mother, father and Reina are dead. The only people I ever knew are gone, they're dead...
I could feel my face contorted letting out sobs I thought dried a long time ago. The invisible weight on my shoulders felt unbearable as my weak legs collapse beneath me. My sobs grew into mournful wail, drowning my thoughts in the flood of tears from a broken broken dam. Curling my body, bringing my knees close to rest on my head on and wrapping my arms around it tight.
My cries began slowly breaking into a soft laughter.
tears kept flowing kept laughing, like my life was the biggest joke to ever exist, so much so that I could hardly breathe. All sense of decency left me, I felt all manner of fluid on my face from snot running down into my mouth, saliva spat out in my fit.
I slammed my fist into the course concrete wall, again and again. I kept slamming it as I could my smile fade from my face, and the next emotion couldn't be described into words anymore. Going numb from the pain and the skin tear off, I kept slamming my hand.
I struck the wall again, hearing my bones produce an audible crack.
In fact.
It was the exact opposite. The wall now had lost it's integrity and cracked at the seams. My arm was now coloured in a matte black substance. I opening my fist in disbelief, soaking it's familiar comfort. Curiosity raised from the torrent of feelings. Slowly it crept away, the coating finding home under my skin harmlessly as if it was never there.
I gripped my hair as I could feel an unbearable headache started spurring, and I heard the sirens blare from the distance.