The Reaper Saga [Book 1-3]

CHAPTER 3 (EDITED)

VERMON

"Let's play a game, yeah?"

I found a gentle touch on my cheeks, reminding me where I was. I wasn't in my office anymore but in a long hallway, holding something cold in my hands. A dagger?

My lips moved suddenly. "Hide and seek?"

"Hide and seek." A woman whispered, finally kissing my lips.

"Wake up, Hernandez!"

Someone screamed in my ears, tearing me away from the woman. No, it's too soon. I was just about to see something! Just as my eyes snapped open, those blurry ones met Aaron's.

"Aaron." I gave him a perplexed look before noticing that his eyes were red and he was holding a loaded gun in his hands. "Fuck. What happened?"

He looked just about ready to drop on the floor the way he was swinging from one foot to another. Even then he managed to keep eye contact with me. "I'm afraid. For the first time in my life, I'm afraid."

No shit. "Dammit, Aaron, you're scaring me!"

"No, no. Tell me this. Do you even care about your life?" His sudden change of tone had me startled. Before I could say something, he gestured toward the door. "I can't find Mr. Deilon downstairs, your front door is broken. What do you want me to think?"

I poked my head a little to see that Aaron was right. The door was barely hanging from the hinge and some of the files were scattered around the floor. How did I sleep through that?

"That's not even half of it. Last night I went home to find the same warning writing neatly in my bathroom mirror! What do you think went through my head that time, Hernandez?"

I shrugged, calculating how I was going to explain that one. "That you should have called the cops?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, choking out a laugh. "Seriously? I thought the killer finished you off and I'm next on their list. What's wrong with you?"

Good question because even I was struggling between imagination and reality. Especially when my temple suddenly started to feel warm and my eyes closed on their own only to see her again.

"Something is gravely wrong. I think I'm sick. I am thirsty all the time but can't keep anything down. I think this place is changing me. What do you think?"

What did I think?

That I was getting insane. Seeing things that I shouldn't see.

Like her past memories.

"You are the one who opened your mind to me. See this? This is what I went through. Months upon months. There's no one coming to save me."

I'm here, can't you see me?

"I'm dying, love. I don't know what to do with this thirst. It doesn't even make sense. Nothing makes sense these days. I'm so afraid about the fact that one day I'm going to lose my sanity in real."

Where am I?

"I told you. Didn't you listen? You're in my head, searching for answers that you'll never find. I can't let you."

No!

"Back to earth, Hernandez! What the hell?" I blinked, only to get the shock of my life to find a gun in my hand. When did I reach for my gun?

"Lower the gun." He rasped, taking his own down slowly. "Let's talk, yeah? You were rambling a number. 5132."

Keeping the gun where it was in the first place, I shook my head. My muscles were already sore and my bed was calling for me but going home felt like suicide at this moment. Also, the spooky thing I saw was just a cherry on the top.

"Did you forget to take your insulin?" He asked suddenly, seemingly afraid of the answer.

"No, that's not it," I murmured, aching to get my hands on the diary again. Whatever I read before, she showed me in person. You are the one who opened your mind to me. Was it even possible?

"What happened then?"

"I don't know. I really don't. That's new. Have I ever told you what happened in that first case?" I wondered aloud for the first time. "Why was I fired?"

He shook his head, frowning. "Not if it benefitted you. But why are you even bringing that up now?"

Because everything was connected and I would be a fool to pretend that it wasn't.

"Because you never-" I paused, looking back at the diary again. No. I couldn't do this. No one would believe me. Certainly, not my best friend who lived his whole life based on facts and logic. "Never mind. I'm getting backtracked. Blame it on stress and this shitshow."

He wanted to say more, I could see that. But he ended up whispering. "Should we call them now?"

Dammit. He was right. I should have called the Chief and tell him about the break-in by now. Mr. Delion was nowhere to be found too. And here I was, tangling in things I had no business of.

"I'll let the Chief-" Before I could finish, my phone rang, forcing me to drop the subject for now. But picking up the phone, I felt my body go rigid. The words went to my ears but I couldn't wrap my head around to believe them. And when the call was done for, I only managed to clench my fists so hard that I could hear the crack of the knuckles.

Aaron noticed the sudden change just as quickly. Before I could even utter a word, he was beside me in a minute. "What happened?"

"Chief called, they found a body-"

"I knew it!" Aaron slammed a hand on the desk, anger overthrowing his ability to think. "First the trashing our places and now this. Still, want to tell me the killer isn't onto us?"

I shook my head, laughing. I could barely stand as I gritted out. "They found a body in an alley and it's hers. 5132. She is dead, Aaron, she is dead."

***

Sorry to leave with a cliffhanger but the updates are going to be slower these days as I'm continuing my semester again. Due to mom's situation, I was basically on absence but since midterm is coming closer I have no choice but to go back. Hopefully, you guys will understand.