To make the search easier and faster, they split up. Elyas with Asper, and Dena with Raaz. Straining his hearing, Elyas followed the sound through the thick walls, sometimes going left and sometimes right.
It was as if the anomaly was playing with them. It kept moving. One second they heard the trickling of droplets from behind, the next, the roaring splash of rushing water was heard in front of them. As far as Elyas could tell, its movements had no rhyme or reason.
Looking over his shoulder at Asper who hadn't spoken a single word since their conversation about her powers, Elyas felt slightly perturbed.
The girl was… eerie.
Bone-white hair, movements too swift or precise for someone of her age, eyes that caught light where none existed. The way she looked ahead at the dark as if it owed her answers…All of her properties were strange.
For a second he even considered her to be the shapeshifter, but then he remembered that the anomaly hiding among them could only copy someone's appearance or mannerism. Not their Wish.
It would have been a great way to identify who the shapeshifter was, but sadly the only one who could use even a bit of their powers turned out to be a little girl.
And speaking of, Elyas wanted to get closer to this child—make acquaintance of Asper, and this was a good time to make some progress in that regard.
"Hey—" but as soon as he opened his mouth, the albino snapped her head in his direction. Elyas could swear he heard a few bones breaking.
"What?" Asper said.
"Nothing, just wanted to check if you're alright. A place like this isn't for children after all."
The taping of her shoes stopped. "You're all the same."
"...What are you talking about—"
"You either look down on me because of my age, or you want to get close to me because of my Wish." She turned to face him, her tone unnervingly cold for someone of her age, "Am I wrong?"
Elyas pursed his lips for a moment, then furrowed his brow and spoke. "I just wanted to make sure you're alright." He then hastened his steps, skipping ahead of her.
Although I feel bad for doing it, she's my only ticket to getting out. Ever since Elyas caught a glimpse of her power, he knew that he needed to utilize it to some extent.
Yes, he might be powerless for now, he might be weak, but that doesn't mean he can't use others to get what he wants.
Asper stood in place, a sliver of doubt beginning to bloom on her face as he stared at Elyas' back.
He halted, turning over his shoulder, shouting with a hint of resentment in his voice, "Are you coming or not?"
Seeing her uncertain expression told Elyas all he needed to know. She had taken the bait. She's still a child after all.
One that, unlike the small detective who had been on his trail, did not have any experience with criminals. To catch malefactors, one needed to think like them, act as them, one was required to put themselves in their shoes. That was one of the main reasons Elyas was a good detective.
He didn't need to act.
Asper rushed over to his side, her shoes squeaking on the clean tiles of the floor. She kept her head down for the next couple of minutes as they searched, only stealing glances at Elyas every so often.
Maybe it was the distant sound that they had not gotten any closer to catching the source of, maybe it was the cold shoulder she got every time she attempted to spark up a conversation. Regardless, the eerie girl opened her mouth, her tone no longer cold but that of an ashamed kid scolded by their parents.
"I-I'm sorry." She waited for a long time, fiddling with the buttons of her uniform before adding, "I'm sorry Mister… I was rude. My mom used to tell me to not be impolite to people… so, sorry."
...Now you're making me feel bad.
Despite his uncomfort, Elyas pushed on with his plan. He had done worse before. Things that if exposed back in ancient times, would get him a sentence for life. Playing with her emotions, while not something he was proud of, was necessary. If he wanted to see another day, to survive, it was a requirement.
To live as someone as weak as him, he needed to use others.
No matter what came in his way, what calamity or awful situation he found himself in, he would live to tell the tale. And his ticket to freedom, his exit door…this time, it took the shape of a gullible kid.
…
"It's fine. Just don't jump to conclusions next time." The man said, still holding onto his distant attitude. After a long minute of awkward silence, he added, "Also, do you mind me asking a question?"
"Sure." Asper said, not wanting to appear like an entitled child. She hated even being called one, let alone perceived as a spoiled brat.
"I know you said your power doesn't come from your Wish, but can you elaborate? I'm new to this whole Dreamer thing, and what you said about your companions intrigued me. How do you make deals with them?" He asked, a tinge of curiosity in his voice.
After thinking for a while, Asper answered. "I like to think of them as poppies. They can think, feel, or be hurt, at least some of them do. If you treat them well, they follow you around, attaching themselves to your soul like lost poppies picking a home."
"So a symbiotic relationship?"
A what? She had never heard such a phrase.
Probably noticing her confusion, the man explained, "You do things to help them, and they reciprocate. That's what it means. Also, based on what you said, doesn't that mean you have to constantly keep a favorable impression or you lose your power?"
Asper stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide. "What's wrong?" The man asked, a soft, concerned look on his face.
How did he guess my Cost with so little information?
"Nothing, I'm fine… by the way, I never got your name Mister."
"Oh, I'm Elyas." He said with a smile, looking her face up and down as if searching for the answer to some question.
Just as she opened her mouth to ask how he had guessed her Cost, the shadows spoke. Approaching. Danger. Need to flee.
"What?"
Destroying food. Hurry.
Destroying food…? What does—
Trickle! Trickle!
While conversing, they kept following the sound, trying to pinpoint its location. That search had led her and Elyas to stand before the barricaded office door.
Staring at the metal cabinet acting as the threshold between the anomalies and safety, watching through one of her shadows outside, she saw the opposite room in the hallway. She heard the sound of running water coming from inside.
The storage unit.
Its door had been bashed in.
Her mind churned as her body sprung to action, immediately attempting to push the heavy metal cabinet aside.
Elyas stopped her. "What are you doing—?!"
"One of them is inside the storage unit!" Her words made Elyas' face fall near instantly.
"What?" Raaz asked from behind with a raspy voice.
When did they come? Doesn't matter. It's good.
"Come help me push this thing!" Elyas shouted instead of her, letting go of Asper's hands and now pushing alongside her.
"Are you insane?! They're going to come in if you remove the barricade!" Dena said, her face pale as she caught up with Raaz.
"It was their plan. We underestimated the anomalies." Elyas said, gasping while exerting all he had in a single forward motion.
But the cabinet stayed in place.
Raaz rushed by his side, leaving Dena alone to argue. "But if we do this—"
"They are attacking the supplies. If we don't act now, we're all going to starve to death." Asper's statement finally seemed to shake Dena to reality. With her help, they pushed, putting all of their collective strength into one goal. Moving the barricade.
But despite all of their efforts, the mountain of iron didn't budge, holding firm. "How did Claire move it on her own…?" Dena murmured through gritted teeth while pushing.
Without wasting time, Asper called on her companions, asking them to lend her strength. Suddenly, four dark, futureless figures rose out of the ground, joining the group.
"Go!"
Raaz signaled, and they pushed once more, rattling the barricade before making it groan as it scraped against the floor. They finally managed to move it. Dropping on the ground with a loud thud that reverberated in the silence of the office, they walked past the cabinet and hurried into the hallway.
Seeing the bashed unit entrance, they didn't stop, Instead the group picked up speed as they drew their firearms from their holsters, taking aim. Entering the unit, with one look, their worst fears turned to be true.
The shelves were empty.
Emptied out bags on the floor, canned goods crushed into dirt. There was no water in the tanks leaning against the wall. No bullet, food or supplies.
They stood rooted in place, unable to look away from the massacre. Each one of those empty cans, every drop of water sliding on the ground and forming a puddle, every ounce was an extra day they could live. Now, they had run out of time.
But besides their shared despair, Asper noticed something else.
Elyas…he wasn't looking at the food.
Raaz and Dena were in the front of the group while he and her were in the rear. Maybe that was why he looked troubled. Maybe he had noticed it as well.
That It was silent.
Pure, distilled tranquility had replaced what they had grown accustomed to over these past few hours. The sound of running water coming from this room till mere moments ago…it was gone.
"Hey, can you tell me if there's something there?" Elyas asked her without turning his head.
As Asper followed his line of sight, she froze. In one corner where shadows pooled thickest, something lurked, watching. Through the darkness occupying the small room, through the emptied shelves, she watched it back.
Eyes
The first thing she noticed were its red eyes. Next, was the hands. Conjoined elbows and palms rose up and up, tugging at each other and forming a shifting, writhing mass of arms and dismembered limbs rising to the ceiling.
Now, that mass was looking at her.