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Chapter 4
Leisure Time Of A Daredevil Journalist
Apricot tossed and turned throughout the night, her eyes squeezed shut to shut out the insidious whispers that seemed to crawl through her head. The unsettling voices convinced her that the eerie sounds did not originate from within her mind but rather emanated from every corner of her bedroom, from beneath the floorboards, and from the fringes of her sanity. An oppressive darkness now filled her room, isolating it from the rest of the house. The twilight shadows appeared to harbor unseen beings watching her, and with each furtive glance, she grew more certain of their presence.
Her stomach churned with fear as phantom fingers seemed to grip her sheets, tracing lines along her legs. Nightmarish visions of an abyssal pit haunted her dreams, and from it emerged an ancient, ruined city. Its architecture was distorted, with doors leading nowhere and inexplicable openings in walls, protruding rods adorned the faces of crumbling buildings, and sagging towers stretched toward the ground. Within that sinister vortex, a demonic world swirled, inhabited by innumerable creatures that gazed back at her from a realm unlike her own. As they lurked in the shadows, they called out to a dark king and whispered of a time when they would breach the boundary between worlds. She could feel their eyes piercing her soul as she sat, isolated, in her desolate room. Deep within her, something told her that the dreams were merely a thin veil away from reality.
“Quite the daredevil, aren’t we, Apricot?” Miss Akagi’s voice boomed through the lecture hall, sending shivers down Apricot’s spine. She suspected the other students could hear every word outside the room. Her instructor’s stern finger waved reproachfully, her brown eyes following its movement. “Your task was to report on current events, not to become part of one.” Miss Akagi straightened her posture, clutched Apricot’s paper, adjusted her glasses, and paused her reprimand.
As the tense silence lingered, Apricot dug her nails into her thigh. Miss Akagi resumed, exhaling dramatically, “That said, I must commend your work. It is quite captivating.” She focused on Apricot, stepping away from her podium. “Were it not for the trouble you caused, the story could be from a novel. But breaking into a crime scene is a serious offense, young lady.” She shook her head, disappointment etched on her face. “I should expel you,” Apricot’s breath caught in her throat, “but it’s not often we encounter someone so audacious. I’ll let it slide this time!” She raised her eyebrows for emphasis. “Fortunately for you, the Ministry has left the severity of your punishment to me. Don’t let it happen again, or you’ll lose your state license and be forced to find work in the private sector.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Apricot stammered, her face flushed with shame.
“Good. Now, let’s discuss your paper.” Apricot looked up, relief washing over her. She knew she had narrowly avoided disaster. “Considering you’re a junior journalist, it’s quite an exhilarating piece. It would be a shame to let it go to waste, don’t you think, Miss Apricot? I could submit your story to an actual publication, could I not?”
“A publication!” Apricot exclaimed. “Really? A real publication, like a state paper?”
Her response elicited a smirk from Miss Akagi. “No,” she replied, a well-timed chuckle making her appear somewhat haughty. “Not a state paper or an undergraduate journal. Such attention is better suited for independent publications. A weekly, perhaps. Would you be willing to sell it to me? I might be able to arrange for its publication.”
“Sell you my story?” Apricot asked, her eyes wide with wonder. “I would love to.”
“Good, good,” Akagi hummed, flipping through the pages. “Keep this up, and you might pass, Apricot. That is, if you can remember to attend class.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she nodded, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
As the city buzzed with high-frequency jingles and flashing holograms from advertisements, the downtown metroplex was awash in entertainment. People bustled along the streets as Apricot and her friends walked, caught up in the day’s excitement. They spent their time window shopping at side shops, savoring delicious grilled chicken skewers from an outdoor stand called Oorudo Chiifu, and enjoying a thrilling cart racing session.
During their ascent in a large glass elevator, known as “The Big Tower,” Apricot’s friends’ conversation faded as she took in the sprawling city below. The Big Tower housed thousands of businesses and employed about two-thirds of the city’s population. It was also the hub of Okabe’s government operations.
While the panoramic view of the city usually fascinated Apricot, today it felt like a labyrinth. Something about the city unnerved her. The sprawl of metal and concrete seemed to conceal unimaginable dangers lurking in the shadows. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something primal or alien was waiting for her in that urban jungle. Fearful, she began to nervously bite her nails, leaving jagged edges.
To distract herself from these troubling thoughts, she looked at her longtime friend Solenne, who was wearing a cute blue sleeveless hoodie with white stripes and a black shirt with an obscured white logo. Despite Solenne’s petite frame, Apricot found it hard to believe she was a police officer. Her boyfriend Arjun, an Arslanian immigrant from the county of Stezyl, held her in his muscular arms like a doll. Arjun’s physique matched his namesake, the great bear.
Apricot knew that Stezyl was under the grip of a terrible authoritarian regime. The harrowing stories Arjun shared about his childhood and her own research on the topic painted a bleak picture of the place. Likewise, it seemed that Okabe was heading in a similar direction. Her heart ached for her homeland of Castor, her soul’s true home.
Her gaze returned to the city below as the window beckoned her. “The city below, so far away,” Apricot mused.
“What do you think, Apricot?” Solenne asked, snapping her out of her reverie.
Unsure of the context or how to respond without revealing her inattentiveness, she settled for honesty. “It’s scary,” she mumbled.
Machi furrowed her brow in confusion. “Huh?” she exclaimed. “How is it scary?”
“It’s not that… it’s just that we’re so high up. Imagine if a bird flew into the tube. The air pressure might cause us to fall to our deaths,” Apricot explained, turning away from the glass to see Arjan smirking and Solenne looking concerned.
“Apricot, are you sick in the head? Who talks like that?” Machi chided, shaking her head.
“Oh, sorry, I…” Apricot rubbed her arm, avoiding Machi’s piercing glare.
“Don’t worry, I feel ze same. I always do on zese things. It’s… at least a mile up, right?” Arjun’s thick accent distorted some of his words and verb conjugations. Despite his limited grasp of the Uchellian language, he was easily forgiven.
“The distance isn’t even half a mile!” Machi protested, flailing her arms. “Stop talking crazy! I don’t need to think about stuff like this.” Apricot snickered, and Arjun and Solenne soon joined in, leaving Machi dumbfounded. “You’re all horrible people.”
In the dimly lit alleyway, the echoing footsteps of a man filled the air. “Damn it, they can’t keep doing this,” he muttered. Apricot tensed as Machi’s grip tightened around her arm. Silently, the audience watched the large silver screen with its semi-holographic display. As she munched on her popcorn, Apricot tried not to disturb anyone with the jarring crunch. Why serve popcorn in a theater, she wondered? It was one of the noisiest snacks imaginable. The rustling of candy wrappers was also audible. They seemed to choose the loudest foods, as if they wanted the movie to be interrupted, prompting people to watch it again. The scene on screen, featuring a long, dark alleyway, drew her attention back as it panned away from the man, his approach from the opposite side shrouded in shadow. A close-up of his shoes filled the frame.
Apricot braced herself, anticipating a jump scare. She glanced at Machi, whose face appeared ghostly in the screen’s glow, eyes glued to the unfolding scene. It was evident from the way Machi’s nails dug into her arm.
“T-Tobei? Is that you?” the young man stammered. As he walked deeper into the darkness, the man halted. “Thank God, Tobei.”
Tobei’s grinning face emerged from the shadows, revealing long, tapeworm-like eyes. As his mouth opened wide, the terrified man screamed. Tobei’s monstrous form latched onto the young man’s face.
At that instant, Machi’s shriek filled the theater, drowning out the on-screen horror and prompting a chorus of screams from the audience. Panic surged through Apricot, her hairs standing on end. Realizing what she’d done, Machi fell silent, her face contorting into a pout as she shrank into her seat. Apricot noticed Machi’s cheeks flush with a rosy hue. “Sorry,” Machi mumbled. Suppressing a giggle, Apricot gave her friend’s hand a reassuring pat.
Amidst the cacophony of electronic sounds, Arjan teased, “Gee, Machi, you nearly scared me to death. Your little scream made the movie terrifying.” He leaned against a machine resembling the nose of a fighter jet, resting his arms on its console.
As she piloted the digital plane, Machi glanced over her shoulder. “I wasn’t scared, it’s just… that thing looked so strange.”
Arjan snickered. “That’s what being scared is.”
The screen flashed as a barrage of rockets struck a plane, setting it ablaze. Across the arcade, a man shouted, “Ah, damn it!” A sly smile spread across Machi’s face.
“Alright, Machi!” Apricot cheered, while both she and Solenne observed Machi’s expert maneuvers over her shoulder.
Arjan huffed. “Think you’re hot, Machi? Bet you can’t beat me,” he challenged.
“Arjan, let her enjoy her game,” Solenne chided, causing him to roll his eyes. He slouched against the arcade machine, arms resting behind his head.
Machi laughed modestly. “If I did, you’d be an embarrassment to the military. Besides, I wouldn’t feel safe knowing they let in people who can’t even compete in arcade games.” Machi’s playful retort made Solenne sigh.
“Those two,” Apricot murmured.
“You’d think by now they’d get used to each other,” Solenne agreed. “I’ve been swamped with filing reports all week. It’s like this city has gone mad!”
“You don’t say?” Apricot asked, curiosity piquing.
“Yeah, my poor baby has been coming home late most nights this week. Sometimes she doesn’t even get home,” Arjan mused, wrapping his arm around Solenne’s waist and kissing her cheek. “Leaves me lonely.”
Solenne nodded. “It’s true. Though I can’t discuss the details, there have been murders and that bank robbery the other day. But you know all about that already.” Apricot felt her cheeks warm. As Solenne paused, her eyes softened. “Apricot, what I’m about to say is off the record.”
“I don’t know why you’re singling me out,” Apricot said. “Okay, fine, I won’t write an article about it.”
Solenne continued, “Something happened that disturbed me. We received a report this morning about a singer who had her face chewed off by her fans backstage. The photos were gruesome, and the report was unclear. It’s as if some evil force controlled them. We have the kids in custody, and they’re behaving like wild animals. There are rumors in my department that it’s some Arslan biological weapon.”
A sense of dread filled Apricot. She heard an indistinct voice grunt, “Someone chews your face off.”
“Was I the only one who heard that?” she wondered. “That’s awful,” she whispered.
“You said it. As if the movie wasn’t bad enough, now you’re telling us people are being poisoned to eat each other? Thanks, Solenne,” Machi grumbled.
Arjan shook his head. “Don’t worry, this is just war hysteria. Arslana wouldn’t release biologicals here. It would be a terrible weapon.”
“The war between Arslana and Castor is causing problems even in Uchella,” Apricot said, gazing down at the stained red carpet of the arcade floor.
Solenne looked at Apricot with concern. “That reminds me. Apricot, consider changing your route back home. If you ever need a ride, just call Arjan or me, and we’ll help you out.”
“Why do you say that?” Apricot chuckled, attempting to hide her growing sense of unease.
Arjan shrugged, looking away. “Just listen, alright?”
“Alright. I’ll be sure to,” Apricot agreed.
“Did you see or hear anything last night, Ventaro?” Solenne inquired.
A lump formed in Apricot’s throat; it was in Ventaro that she had encountered that strange thing. “Ah, no, why do you ask?”
Fear welled up in Solenne’s eyes as she spoke. “They found some bodies after people reported… things.” Something like boiling black sludge seemed to fill Apricot’s insides. Solenne hugged her tightly, arms wrapped firmly around her. “My heart goes out to you. I know how hard that robbery was on you. Like I said, just call us if you ever need a ride.”
Apricot peered past Solenne, scanning the crowd at the arcade machines. A shadow stood in the darkness behind the people, moving along the wall. A flowing cloak trailed alongside its twin horns, which bent in various directions. “Sure,” Apricot replied as the shadow disappeared into the crowd.
“Is it just me, or is it hot in here?” Machi asked as she stepped out of the machine’s cockpit.
Arjan nodded. “Thought I was the only one thinking that.”
The thing was gone, vanished. It had passed her by this time. She guessed it was because of the crowd. It was watching her for sure. Her heart pounded. “Well, it’s getting late,” she said. “I should probably head home. Thanks for the fun day out.”
“Sure, need a ride home?” Arjan asked.
Apricot couldn’t tear her eyes from the shadows. “No, I’ll be fine. The train station isn’t too far away.”
Apricot called out, “Mom, Dad, I’m home,” as she kicked off her red and white sneakers. She hurried up the stairs and closed the door behind her, finding sanctuary in her bedroom. Settling at her desk, she flipped open her laptop. “I need to learn more about these murders. Solenne, you’ve piqued my curiosity.”
The government had restricted or removed most of the information. The forums seemed to be manually censored in real-time. Topics discussing the subject were immediately edited, left blank, or removed by the users who posted them. Suddenly, her phone caught her attention. Picking up the sleek device, Apricot swiped it with her finger to reveal a message from Bonni. “Hey, girl, wanna meet up at the park?” she asked. “I want to show you something.”
The prospect of visiting the park at such a late hour filled Apricot with dread; however, if Bonni found out she had been with her friends earlier, it might hurt her feelings. Against her better judgment, Apricot texted back, “Sure.”
The park was a shadowed nightmare. Apricot examined every tree lit by artificial light, every sound making her twitch, until she spotted Bonni on a distant bench. “Bonni,” Apricot called out as she approached her. “I’m so relieved to see you. The playground is spooky at night.”
A magazine rested on Bonni’s lap as she crossed her legs. With Bonni’s fingers obscuring the cover, Apricot couldn’t make out the image, but she could see the title, Eerie Truths Monthly. After the events of the past week, she wasn’t sure whether to roll her eyes. “It’s nice to sit down. Since the train is out, it takes longer to get to this side of town.”
“I know what you mean. It can be a real pain. I would have come to your place, but I couldn’t figure out how to get there, so I texted you instead.” Bonni lifted the magazine. “I want to show you this,” she gestured to the pages, waving them in her hands. “I know, I know, this is a weird magazine, but,” she chirped when she reached the folded page in her hands. “This is what I was talking about.”
Photos taken with low-resolution cameras littered the page. One picture showed something jumping off a building. Apricot realized the picture was fabricated. “Thank you, Bonni,” she replied. One finger interrupted her.
“Wait, before you say anything,” Bonni interjected. High-resolution photos revealed a silhouette that closely resembled the reaper Apricot had seen floating over the city. It made her heart stop. “See what I mean. That is not normal. I see this all the time.” Apricot clutched her mouth tightly. “He’s called Claw Fingers.” Her mind raced, searching for what to say. There was no way she could tell Bonni she had seen that creature. “The report says he offers people power for servitude.”
“These stories, Bonni. When did they start?” Apricot asked in a light tone, hoping to hide the horror engulfing her.
“Only a few months ago. I’ve read this magazine for years, and it first mentioned him two months ago. Even creepier is the string of murders that happened last week.” Bonni turned the page to reveal a bent corner. She unfolded it to expose the header, “The Ikijoji Street Murderer.”
“Bonni!” Apricot shouted, standing from the bench. “Stop it!” She snapped, scowling at a wide-eyed Bonni. “You need to stop reading fantasy stories. Don’t include me in this if you want to believe it.” She felt her heart sink as fear gripped her.
As Bonni folded the magazine, she lowered her gaze. A sullen tone rose in her voice. “I thought you would be interested in this stuff as well.”
“It terrifies me,” Apricot croaked, folding her arms. “I walk down there almost every night, and I don’t want to hear about someone butchering people around there.” Apricot took a few deep breaths. “My head is spinning enough already with school and work.” She explained. “I don’t need to worry about imaginary paranormal activity.”
Silence reigned. A faint smile flared up on Bonni’s face. “Clearly, this has you scared. It’s okay, Api, I won’t bother you anymore. If you ever want to discuss imaginary spooks, I’m always ready to listen.”
“Ah, sure Bonbon. I guess we’ll catch up later,” Apricot muttered. “I apologize, but you’re right. This is frightening.” A shallow hug from Bonni followed. “I don’t like that.” Bonni nodded.
A smirk spread across Bonni’s face. “I have something to tell you before I leave. I heard more from the SDP police. The lady from the other day. There was some kind of spectral anomaly, causing bullets to bounce off her. They had never seen anything like it before.” Her blood froze. “That’s why they had that machine at their disposal. They needed a large projectile to eliminate whatever was protecting her. It may seem silly to listen in on their conversations so intently, but Apricot, they are hiding something. I just thought you should know.”
“Why me?” Apricot asked.
“I’m not sure. I just have a feeling. Maybe it’s intuition. Maybe it’s superstition,” Bonni softly said. “Well, it is really late. We should leave before we look suspicious. The guard may think we’re doing something wrong.”
Apricot waved as the two started down the dark park road in separate directions. She fixed her eyes on the starless sky. “This is all getting too real,” she thought to herself, an eerie feeling that she was being followed taking over her.
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