The sun shines directly on my face as I lay in bed. I looked for my cell phone to check what time it was. 11:24 a.m.… Man, I slept for a long time. My cell phone was almost empty. The phone rings. I was too exhausted to get up. So, I slowly rolled out of bed and a fall on the floor. The phone kept ringing all the time and at some point, it stopped, the answering machine went on and a voice could be heard.
"Hello Ace, it's your mother, you're probably still asleep. Hopefully you haven't been up late in the last few days. I hope the first week at the new school was good. I wish I could hear from you personally. I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me. The bad news is that I don't know when I'll be back. But I'll let you know when I know when I'm coming. But it will take a few weeks. Well, then I have to go back to work, I love you so much, feel very hugged by me and enjoy your Sunday".
I really can't believe it was my mother. I wish I was quick then I could tell her everything I experienced. She probably has to stay longer... she said several weeks... I wonder what she's working on and for weeks...? Could it be that Haru is right...? My mother will never be behind this "breaking out" in her life… I mean, she's not that kind of person. She was always the nicest and sweetest of everyone I knew. She couldn't even kill a fly. And now she's working on something that's killing people... I have to tell Haru tomorrow when we get there to look for clues. I went into the kitchen to make my coffee. In the meantime, I went to my room to see if my phone was charging a bit. I got a bunch of messages. By Haru, Casy, Anna and Ethan. Anna wrote to me last night and thanked me. Ethan just texted me that he was in town now and could come if I wanted. He wrote the message at 8:27 a.m.... what is he doing so early, he must have gotten home at the same time as me. I texted to him saying I was sorry I read the message so late. Haru texted me and asked, if I was home. I replied quickly, wrote to him why I replied so late and apologized for the late reply. Casy was just as worried. I really have no plan what to do today. Yes, I could play something on the PC, but I don't feel like it right now. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I think I'll stay at home today. I went back to my room and threw myself into my bed. I didn't lie down for long and got up to turn on my PC. Maybe I can take a look at the article myself. As Haru said, the page will be blocked after a while, I should immediately copy everything and save it somewhere. I asked Haru if he could send me the link to it, and he sent it to me after a few minutes. I'm already preparing to copy it quickly. I opened the link and… The site is… blocked already? I could swear I have never opened or seen the link or this page. I texted to Haru that the page blocked as soon as I opened it. Haru texts to me that it is very strange. He is calling me.
"Ace, can you hear me?".
"Yes, I can hear you well," I answer.
"You clicked on the link and the page blocked immediately, is that true?"
"Yes, that's exactly what happened. I couldn't even read or see anything, it just threw me right out".
"That's very strange…" says Haru.
It became quiet.
"Try it on your phone".
"Ok, wait a minute" I answer him.
I tried opening it on my phone and… it doesn't work either.
"Haru, it doesn't work either, the site is blocked on my phone too".
"Why does it block you on your PC and on your cell phone?".
"We can ask Casy if she can try it out, right?".
"I told you yesterday that I can only trust you with this".
"Oh, that's right, I'm sorry".
"It's okay, I can still send you the copy on your PC so you can read it through".
"Yes, do it please".
"Well, we hear each other, let me know if you find out something, I'll keep looking for clues here".
"Alright, hear you" I hung up.
He sent me the copy.
Heidelberg 7.14.21 Wednesday,
In the evening, around 7 p.m., a violent explosion was released in the second laboratory building. Some creature that can only be imagined in fables emerged from this explosion. Eyewitnesses report that it was several meters tall, some reported that it was very dark in colour and was not recognizable. The creature destroyed nearby cars and buildings were devastated. People who were near the wall were killed instantly; it is said that their bodies were never found. Others who were nearby were injured, with more than 50 injured and 12 fatally injured. But the strangest thing of all is that none of the eyewitnesses involved could remember how the creature disappeared. Some believe it vanished into thin air, or it created a bright light that blinded everyone nearby. Emergency services arrived within a few minutes and couldn't believe the destruction it had caused. The buildings were very badly damaged and produced a lot of smoke, requiring the entire area within a 4 kilometer radius to be evacuated. The police also questioned laboratory workers and, according to their statements, they said that an experiment failed, which may have triggered the explosion, but they cannot imagine that something broke out and devastated buildings...
This all sounds way too suspicious to me... Are the employees trying to act as if it didn't happen? That doesn't make any sense... When I think about it, I've heard rumours like that at my old school, but I mean, it's a rumor and rumours can't always be true. But it's strange that everything is hidden about it as if it never happened... As if someone was trying to hide something. There must be something bigger behind it... Just as I was about to turn off my PC, my cell phone rings. It was Casy.
"Hey Ace, did you get home safely yesterday?".
"Yes, I did, don't worry, I'm fine".
"Well, I was just worried that something had happened".
"Don't worry, everything is ok".
"If you say so… How about we go into town today?!" asks Casy.
"What do you want to do in the city?".
I've never really been in the city with anyone, and I have no idea what to do there. The only thing I did hear from my old classmates at the time was that they just walked through stores and looked at things like clothes or other small things.
"Just look at the town, walk around, maybe sit down somewhere and eat something".
"It's Sunday, there's no shop open".
"When was the last time you were in town? Of course, there are shops that are open in the city on Sundays" she answers me.
"I'm never in town".
"Okay then, let's go together today, shall we?".
Either way, I wouldn't have anything else to do... so I answer.
"We can do it".
"We'll meet at the entrance to the big store at 1 p.m".
"Okay, let's do it".
"Okay, see you!" Casy hung up.
As I was getting ready, I realized it... that she really asked me out... could it be that she... No, she can't... She just wants to meet me, nothing more, period. But if... I should get that thought out of my head quickly. It's way too early to tell her that I like her... I looked around carefully at home to make sure everything was closed and then went out the front door. I left the house a little earlier so that I would arrive on time.
I arrived in town 30 minutes earlier. My mother always told me it was better to be earlier than late. I looked around and some people were running in pairs or in groups. Nobody is really alone here. Except me right now. Everyone here goes in and out of stores or sits on benches and talks to each other. There are also some who eat something together. I was really thirsty, so I decided to buy a drink in a store. Just as I was about to start walking, someone tapped me on my shoulder and said...
"Where are you going Ace?". It scared the shit out of me. I turned around and saw... Ethan...
"Oh hey... uhm... Ehtan... w-what are you doing here?".
"Do you have a small memory? I texted you that I'm in town today".
"R-Right…".
I've never been scared like that before.
"So Ace, what are you doing here?".
"I have arranged to meet a girl here".
"Aha, with a girl…".
"Don't get the wrong idea, okay?" I said immediately afterwards.
"Yeah, yeah, I won't don't worry".
"Okay, so what are you doing here exactly, have you met someone and are you just chilling here?" i ask him.
"Let me explain it to you straight away".
"Okay?" I answer him with a confused look.
"But first buy yourself something to drink".
I went to the store and bought some water and went back to where Ethan was sitting on a bench.
"Okay Ethan, tell me now".
"Understood. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I'm here looking for something".
"Did you lose something again like yesterday?".
"Haha, you're funny, no of course not".
His expression suddenly becomes more serious.
"Have you heard about what happened at the lab in town?"
My eyes grew huge, and I looked at him with a stunned look...
"If not, there was an accident outside the lab-".
"Outside the laboratory, I know that".
Ethan also looks at me with wide eyes.
"You've heard about it too?".
"Yes, it's a long story".
"Wait, you know the story too?".
"Eh, yeah? There's an article about it on the internet".
"No, listen to me, what if I told you… that not everyone remembers and doesn't know this article".
"What do you mean?".
"Let me show you."
Ethan got up and went to a person and ask them.
"Excuse me, can I ask you something?".
"Yeah, sure go ahead".
"How long have you been living here in Heidelberg, if I may ask?".
"Why do you want to know?".
"It's for a school project, we want to find out who has lived here the longest.".
It's amazing that he can improvise so quickly.
"Oh, if that's the case, I've been living here with my wife for 17 years".
"Oh, that's great, how long do you plan to live here?".
"The city is so beautiful that I don't even want to leave, to answer your question… possibly for the rest of my life". The man laughs.
"All right, thanks for the information, oh right, I forgot to ask you something else... Do you remember what happened at the laboratory building 2 years ago?".
Why does he ask him something like that? He's been living here for years... Of course, he should know something about it.…
"No, anything happened there?".
"No, everything is fine, but thanks for the answer".
"No need to thank and good luck with your project".
"All right, thank you, have a nice day". The man disappeared into the crowd.
"I'll ask someone else" he says to me.
He asked other people the same question and always got the same answer. "Never heard of it". After a while Ethan comes back and sits next to me again.
"Why can't anyone remember this?" I asked him.
He became quiet for a moment and answered me.
"It's just a theory but... It may be that most people can't remember it because it has been removed from their memory".
I looked at him and wondered if I should believe it. But it could be true.
"It's really strange, the article also said that there were people who couldn't remember any of it".
"That's why I want to find out why there are people who can't remember it and a few who remember it"
I will pass this information on to Haru.
"Yo Ace, I have a question".
"Yes, what is it?".
"How about we team up to solve this case faster?".
"I've already teamed up with a friend".
"Wait, he knows something about this?".
"Yes, his parents died on the day of the accident".
"Oh... My condolences... But he knows something about it?".
"Yes, and he also asked me if I could help him find an answer to that".
Ethan thought for a moment and looked at the floor. Suddenly an answer came.
"How about we all do it together? We all have the same goals and it's better if we can all work together".
I thought about it for a moment and decided to accept his offer.
"All right, thank you" he tells me.
"I'll be on my way then, we'll hear each other later".
"Then I'll make a group chat and introduce you to my friend".
He disappeared into the crowd just like everyone else. I looked at the clock and it was already over 1 p.m. No sign of Casy anywhere yet, and no new message of her either. Surely her bus was just late. I sat on the bench for a while and watched all the people.