"Mr. Engel, you're in a daze."
Yael flinched, realizing he was just as stiff as Mikhil. He shook his head, then slumped down, wrapping his arms around himself, his fingers trembling. Mikhil had returned to normal, walking up to Yael and watching him the way Yael did the first time he entered the apartment room and discovered Mikhil under a pile of books.
Mikhil bent down, moving his hand up and down in front of Yael's eyes. "Hello, is anyone there?" he asked in a sing-song voice, meeting his eyes lazily.
"I'm... fine." Yael pushed him away, looking to the side, his mind elsewhere. Back to the bottom of the stairs, to the woman with rosy red lips and...
Mikhil stood back up, his face contorting into mock amazement. "Wow, who knew the robot could also display such emotions?" Yael ignored him, making his way unsteadily to his feet, holding Mikhil's shoulder for support and clutching his head. When he touched it, it throbbed, his whole world shaking. The ground threatened to pull him down and choke him.
"Mr. Mikhil," he managed to choke out, before stumbling to the left, his feet tripping over each other. Mikhil grabbed his waist, sitting him onto the ground and bending down once more.
"What was outside?" Mikhil wouldn't stop looking into his eyes, which was making Yael extremely uncomfortable. He pushed the other man's face away, trying to think about what to say, and how to say it in a way that didn't make him seem crazy. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and the way Mikhil's bright orange eyes bore into his soul wasn't helping.
Finally, swatting Yael's hand away, Mikhil snatched his face with one hand and turned it forcefully, so that they faces were too, uncomfortably close together. Yael's hands went limp, and he had to lean forwards to follow the motion Mikhil's hand lead him in, until he could hear the other's ragged, uneven breathing.
Yael had compared Mikhil to a doll, and the way he looked into one's eyes was unsettling enough to make your mind go blank, not in fear but in surprise, made him seem like something that wasn't human. The way his face was as white as a sheet, and the way his hair was cut in such an unnatural way, made him everything but normal in B2. He seemed to come from a place so different and so far off that Yael couldn't possibly look at him and go, "Oh, yes, I know him. I understand him, and I can relate to him."
However, the way his amber eyes were wide in confusion, the way the hand digging into Yael's cheek was trembling slightly, the way his façade was changing from condescending arrogance to genuine terror, made him suddenly all the more human.
Just in a second, it was there. Like Yael had captured a moment, one that he could never come back to. The next second, it was gone. Mikhil wore a face of lofty arrogance, and the hand not on Yael's face was pushed against the door, pinning Yael down.
"Tell me what was outside, you shithead," Mikhil whispered in a quiet, angry voice.
Yael gulped, snapping out of his trance. "A dead body. T-There was a dead woman on the stairs."
Mikhil sighed in exasperation, pushing Yael out of the way roughly and reaching for the door, then deciding that maybe taking somebody with him would be more ideal.
"So, the robot can splutter now," he hissed under his breath, dragging Yael up to his feet and pulling both of them out the door.
With his hurried half-run, Mikhil got to the staircase faster. Yael closed his eyes, clutching his waist and leaning on the side of the wall for support. He heard Mikhil whisper "Shit" under his breath before hurrying down the stairs and bending down next to the body.
"Engel! Call your police station," Mikhil snapped, but Yael stood unmoving at the top of the stairs, his eyes accidentally meeting the crimson body. His mind spun with endless possibilities. If he took a photo right now, he could frame Mikhil for murder. If someone passed, he could break down into tears and shout. If he...
"Engel! The hell are you doing, just standing there??" Mikhil yelled again, standing up and stepping over the corpse, glancing at her severed legs.
In B2, gossip carried more weight than facts. If he called the police now, the story would be all out by dinner, and he would be in the center of it.
"Was it Mr. Engel who reported it? How horrible, I heard the corpse's neck was snapped off." This would lead to,
"Isn't it suspicious that Engel seemed so scared of the body? It was almost fake." Then at last,
"Yael Engel killed her."
Some twisted way or another, the rumors would pinpoint him, and he would be the main suspect, the killer, the detestable man sentenced to death...
The police station at B2 was unspeakably poor, as the tradition was to blame whoever seemed more suspicious, despite what evidence said otherwise. Yael barely left his apartment, and many of his acquaintances were only connections from his brother. The way he had survived these six years was through Ms. Floyd, and through a skillful method of doing the exact opposite and any rumors. Now, there was no way he could get out of this situation if he reported it, and soon, all fingers would be on him.
Engel!" Mikhil reached Yael's side, grabbing his arms and patting his down vigorously for a device. "God, why can't you listen to me? Call the police already, you shithead!"
Yael shook his head, and before Mikhil could ask why he was acting like this, or what his problem was, he grabbed the other's hand and started running down the stairs.
"Hey! Why are you running??"
"Just go," Yael muttered, his voice barely audible with the pounding of his heart. "If you don't get associated with trouble, they'll never hang you."
"Hang you?? Hang you my ass!" Mikhil struggled free from Yael's grasp, jolting backwards and tripping on his feet. Yael lunged towards him, swinging for his collar and grabbing air, watching as the other man fell. Straight into the pool of blood.
A dull thud sounded as Mikhil dropped to the ground, soaking his shirt in blood. He groaned, his eyes freezing in panic and laying stiffly on the concrete floor, holding his head. He didn't look at Yael, perhaps blinded by the pain of getting two concussions in one day. Yael didn't give him time to rest, however, pulling his body up and wrapping Mikhil's arm around his neck, awkwardly dragging him to Yael's room on the same floor. Without looking back at the body, he slammed the door shut.
Little did he know, Ms. Floyd was hidden behind the stairs, wide eyed, as she watched the events unfold before her.