The Preying City

"How did it go?" Vincent asked Elias who had just entered the room.

Elias was shocked. The room was locked and he had just used the key to get in. How had the doctor got in? He had no idea but he repressed his emotions and answered. "She woke up at 7:24 and headed for the settlement district west of the old station. There she met up with a big man who goes by the name of Big Joe. They exchanged some words and headed for the half built mansion.

The place had been completely cleaned up. No traces of any of the previous activities remained at all. It was just as you said it would be."

Vincent nodded in acknowledgement and asked again. "What did the two do after that?"

"They went to the Pears estate in the ruby district. There the girl and the man rested for a while and they left once again. This time for the slums where they spent the entire day distributing food and cloth to the starved and homeless." Elias answered professionally. He found the actions weird but didn't put in his inputs. He was tasked to tail the girl and report her actions and that's all he had to do.

The girl was indeed acting strange ever since she visited his office yesterday. Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't be surprised even if the girl did something crazy. Doing charity was actually a surprisingly normal course of action coming from her.

"Did you find their identities?"

"Yes, the girl's name is Amelia Pears. She will be twenty this year. She is said to have inherited the estate and all her fortune from a man named Rocco. For a more detailed report, I will need more time." Elias stopped to observe Vincent's reaction. Seeing that he didn't show any dissatisfaction, he continued, "The man's name is Joshua Grim. He moved to his current place of residence two years ago. He makes a living as a person who does odd jobs. But that is all just a cover. He seems to be secretly doing some other things late at night every now and then."

"That's good enough for now. You don't have to dig any deeper." Vincent got up and handed a ten pound bill to the investigator. He then picked up a paper and pen from the desk and wrote a few lines. "Warn Miss Pears exactly as I have written here. Make sure to do it anonymously. As for how you do it, I think a private investigator would know better."

Elias bowed in gratitude and escorted the doctor out. Coming back in, he read the paper once and carefully folded it. He was going to place it inside his pocket but after thinking carefully, he burned it to ashes.

A myriad of thoughts ran through his head. He began wondering what had been done with all the people present inside the mansion. They were all unconscious but still very alive. The doctor said that someone else would come clean the place up and he hadn't given it much thought at the time. But after having seen the mansion once again personally, he couldn't help but start questioning what could have had happened. Were they held somewhere? Were they even alive?

His guts told him that they were probably all dead. He knew that it was the answer that was most likely to be the truth but he just couldn't rest easy knowing that. There were many people among whom were the staffs just working there as well as people with family. The thought left a bad aftertaste in his mouth and he couldn't help but feel upset.

Lost in thought, he sat there like a grumpy old man. He sobered up eventually and looked at the clock. It was already nearing six and he would have been home by now. Locking the place up, he headed home. His gait lacked the usual boldness. He was still not feeling like himself and he didn't realize that he was already standing before his room.

The laughter of his young daughter and loving wife came from inside. They seemed to be playing and Anna burst into laughter every now and then.

Listening to this, Elias resolved himself to do whatever it took to keep his family happy. The upset look on his face was replaced by a bright smile and he turned the doorknob. Walking in, he greeted his angel of a daughter and wife warmly.

"How was work today?" His wife asked him worriedly. Though he had a smile on his face, she could make out the distress in his heart.

Touched by her concern, he smiled even brightly and answered. "A little tiring. But it's only to be expected. I am a private investigator now after all. Can't be slacking off."

*****

Vincent threw his briefcase and slumped on his bed. He was mentally spent. He hadn't had a proper rest for almost half a month now. The event last night had specially taken on a toll on him both mentally and emotionally. He knew he needed some rest but he couldn't afford it. The messenger of the temple had told him that he needed to bring the Emoss bug when he went to the next gathering.

That sentence had bugged him and he still couldn't get it out of his mind. It was a simple sentence but it implied a lot of things. First of all, it hinted that a danger he couldn't handle with his current strength would be laying there. Second, it was a warning to him. That he shouldn't try anything funny because they knew everything about him. The bug was his trump card and he had hidden it really well. The fact that the temple knew about it meant that they could read him like an open book.

This bothered him greatly. He didn't feel safe with them because he knew for a fact that the temple never did things that way. If he was really made a seeker then they would have given him a token by which to identify and contact him. He had already been offered the position and he had accepted. But he still hadn't received a token. This only meant one thing. They would test him to see if he was worthy.

And the reason why he had been advised to take the Emoss bug on the next gathering. There could only be one, because whatever obstacle he encountered there would be his test. To pass it, he had to overcome it. If he couldn't do so he would have failed their test. How they would deal with him then, that he didn't know.

Even after sorting all this out, he still couldn't figure out why the messenger told him to take the bug with him. With it, his safety was as good as guaranteed. It didn't make sense. If he used the bug, it wouldn't be a test as it wouldn't reflect on his capability.

If the messenger wanted him to know that he had no secret in front of them, then just mentioning about the bug would have been enough. There was no need to advise him to take the bug. He couldn't make head or tails out of it. It didn't suit the style of the temple at all.

In the end, he gave up. He was already tired, it felt like working on a task that would get nowhere. Catching some rest would be a lot more fruitful.