"It's been a week, Janitor."
"I guess it has, and?" A grizzly voice rang out from the darkness.
"Surely you get it."
There was silence for a while until stomping boots approached Steele.
"Tell me, mate. You a bastard?" A silhouette hung from the shadows.
"They're expecting you, I'd think—whoever they are," Steele said as he turned towards him.
"Are you a bloody bastard?" The silhouette grunted with extra grit in his voice.
Steele turned around to face the direction of the voice, covered in the shadows.
"We'll have to see, won't we?"
"It's out of my job description, mate."
"It's extra pay, Hunter. That's what you got this job for, no?"
Hunter's breath was heavy, "Ah never mind it already, shut ya cakehole. I'll do it."
A grin spread across Steele's face as he sipped his coffee, "Good, "mate"."
"Pass me a cold one," Hunter turned and lifted his hand to the sky.
"Alcohol isn't good for asthma, Hunter."
"I'll be right, drongo." He cackled before catching a beer, cracking it open immediately. "I never whinge."
Steele's eyes lit up, "That's a new one, two actually. Drongo and whinge."
"Stupid person, and complain. Easy." Hunter mocked him bubbly as he closed the door, leaving Steele alone in his dark office.
"I'll be sure to make use of them!"
Time passed as he sat in the dark. Finally, he turned his chair around to his computer and stared at it as he opened a video. He clicked play.
Colorful lights lit up Steele's face, but he remained unbothered.
"Atlas, Atlas!" Someone yelled as the camera steadied in someone's face.
Aaron waved at the camera with a smile on his face, "Hello, my name is Atlas and this is my first drink of the night!" He giggled before the video cut to a more drunken image of Atlas.
"It hasn't even been 30 minutes my guy," The cameraman hiccuped as the camera lost focus.
"Damn, at least hold the-" Atlas hiccuped, "Hold the camera up." Atlas grabbed the camera as the cameraman ran away, his cheeks bloating.
"This...is definitely my last drink tonight." Atlas started laughing as he was cut off by a click of Steele's mouse. Next, play.
"Smile, Atlas! You're graduating high school!" A woman's voice called out to him. Atlas forced an ugly grin, and the woman groaned, "Sweetie, please! For the video!"
"It's not that big of a deal mo-" Atlas winced as he was pinched in the arm. He rubbed the red spot on his arm and smiled the smiliest smile with distress in his eyes.
"Wooho-"
Steele closed the tab. The light on his face returned to a plain blue. Then the room returned to darkness.
I think I enjoyed that conversation, Hunter. I think I really did.
———
"Here's the plan. We're going to be the ones who find him first, right at the 7 Avenue station. The—em..." Machida tapped his lips and scoffed, "I'll just call them the Omega team. The Omega team will be over here—" Machida pointed at another station along the subway. "This station at Noman, got it?"
"We try to cut off this thing before it gets to Noman. If we can't do it in time, then—and I hate to say this— the Omega team will have to take it from there while we recuperate." Machida looked at Iseri and Kitt in anticipation.
"Got it." Iseri saluted.
"I still don't see how this is more important than the Gila. I mean—I mean what if that's not the only place they're doing that in? What if it's happening all over the damn globe?" He groaned with his face in his hands. "And we're staying here, catching a dumbass ghost."
Machida looked down at him and winced, "I get how you feel, Kitt, but there's nothing we can do right now unless we can prove that he's actually behind that. This is first on the chopping block, then we'll investigate the Gila case."
Kitt stuttered in his retort, and sighed with a defeated thumbs-up in the air, "Got it, I guess."
The Intelligence team took their post in the station and waited, blending in behind newspapers on the bench. People passed by obliviously, coming and leaving, Iseri and Machida eyed each person. Kitt whined, "Seriously, what is up with you and acting like you're in a movie screenplay?! The "inconspicuous" coats, the tacky sunglasses, the—the newspapers even more so!You are not Sherlock Holmes!"
Machida turned his head to him nonchalantly and pressed his finger on his lips. "Quiet down, normal, inconspicuous civilian, I think I found our culprit..." He whispered as he slowly stood up from the rusty bench. Iseri looked past him and saw the floating, white head. "That is definitely it. Same route as usual too—we have him."
Machida motioned for them to follow him. The thing passed by them without a sound, and Machida followed behind.
"7 Avenue station leaving in 30 seconds. 7 Avenue station leaving in 30 seconds." An intercom blared out.
Shit, is it even going to make it on time? Machida thought as everything began to speed up around him. As he was distracted by the people's faster footsteps, he looked up to see that the thing had already reached the car. The ghost through the door before it even opened, and Machida rushed towards the door, Kitt yelped as he grabbed hold of Machida's jacket, being dragged behind him. The door opened and the three nearly crashed into the car. The "thing" was already relaxed in the car, its nonexistent eyes felt unfocused, staring blankly ahead. The door closed and the three of them took their seats further from the "thing".
Iseri breathed heavily, "Kitt, wait before you glitch us, okay? I'm not ready."
"I'm not either!" He whispered as he clutched his heart. "Why is this so tense all of a sudden?" He leaned back into the seat.
"Calm down. It'll be alright." Machida grits his teeth under his stone-like face.
Time passed, and the rocking of the subway was the only sound in the car. They were all ready.
"Now." Machida whispered, and almost immediately, the three of them and the "thing" glitched out. Everything went black. Kitt looked around and saw Machida and Iseri beside him, and the "thing" in front of them. The black room glitched into an abstract piece of art.
"Okay, you guys ready?!" He took a fighting stance and faced the floating mass. "It's a 3 on 1-this time!" Kitt didn't hear any response, he looked to his side again and noticed Iseri banging her fist against an invisible wall between the two of them. Her mouth moved in a panic-stricken manner.
"What?! What's wrong?!" Kitt lurched his neck as he felt the invisible wall around him. He turned to his left and saw Machida also banging on the wall. "Oh shit! What is this?!"
Without a moment to think, the glitchy canvas he painted was splotched with black spots all over, and the floating "thing" remained.
He looked back at Iseri, whose body was being covered in the same black paint until she disappeared into the darkness. "No no no! Iseri!"
He jerked his neck towards Machida, who stared at him with intensity. He said something before being engulfed in the paint. Kitt put his hands on the wall, feeling around for some way out.
"No, no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this is my fault! Oh, it's all my fault..." His vision began to blur as splotches of the paint covered him he tugged at his hair, "I'm sorry..."
———
"Hey! Can anyone hear me?!" Machida shouted into the dark void, "Shit, this wasn't supposed to happen!"
He kicked his foot out and hit an invisible wall. Recoiling in pain, he grabbed his foot as the environment changed around him. The black seeped back out of his world.
Suddenly, the sound of the desert filled his ears. Buildings materialized, and sand blew in his face.
Machida's eyes darted across the vast desert, bewildered.
"This place seem familiar, mate?" A grizzly voice burst into his ears from behind him.
Machida held his ear for a moment, then turned around to face him. His arm quickly morphed into an assault rifle and he lifted his chin.
"And who the hell are you?"
The desert breeze filled in the moments of silence between them. The burly man's dark, curly hair blew in the wind. A dog tattoo peeked past his loose t-shirt.
The man hiccuped and wiped his mouth, scratching his messy beard in the process, "Well that ain't nice, cobber. Regardless though, the name's Hunter, what's yours? "
This place...is Ishbel? Machida shook his head, No, it's just an illusion, Machida thought as he raised his rifle to Hunter without a word.
"Ah, no introduction eh?" He grimaced, "Crikey, people like you..."
Machida pulled the trigger, aiming at his foot. The bullet burned as it left his arm and landed in the sand, sending an eruption of sand into the sky. Shit...Another weird one.
"We're already dukin' it out?! Bloody hell, I just wanted to talk first!" He laughed, "I fancy learning about people like yous. Ya really are up yourself mate." The source of Hunter's voice was nowhere to be found until a rush of erupting sand could be heard growing louder.
Machida fired shots in the general direction, the bullets stirred the sand again.
"Where's Iseri?! Where's Kitt?!" He turned, clutching his rifle.
"Hm, don't know 'em. Sorry mate."
Machida felt his heavy breathing through his hair.
Hunter looked down at him with sweat rolling down his forehead and chuckled, "Hehe, you ain't scared, are ya, cobber?"