Chương 13: Detective

In movies, whenever a character asks about the danger they have been trying to escape. It screams and starts to come after them at that exact moment. I expected something similar to happen. It didn't.

"Orand is not there? Where could he be then?"

"Obviously, with Ms. Bochi," Lania remarked.

"Sorry, Mr. Alien, but don't be jealous. Ms. Bochi is already taken. I forgot to tell you earlier."

"Wait, this guy likes Ms. Bochi?"

"Yup, he asked me to describe how beautiful she looked because he couldn't gaze at her himself."

"Whaaaat?" Pyiari and Lania got back to their teasing, but I was already lost in my own thoughts. Another anomaly, I haven't ever heard of a rift-creature leaving their territory. Well, there's Pyiari; her bounded territory should have been the Maze, yet she travelled to Learning Area and Playground. Then, there's Lania, from my guess, her territory should be Playground, but she can leave it. Something has changed in the rift. Is it like a butterfly, its origin being Pyiari going off script?

If so, what brought that change?

"So, what do you like about Ms. Bochi the most?" Lania asked. Ignoring her, I spoke.

"Should we head to the sewage then?"

"Yup, lead the way, mister."

"Okay. Wait. Lead the way?"

"Yeah, you lead the way."

"I don't know the route."

"What?" Lania exclaimed.

"How do you know it exists if you don't know how to reach it?"

"I have my sources." In the story, the travelling part was always skipped with a scene change. The author didn't even bother to add a transition effect for better flow.

"And that source didn't tell you the path."

"No, besides Pyiari, didn't you say you know all the routes?"

"Mister, do you expect a child to remember everything?"

"Arrgh, okay, my fault. So, what do we do now?" The records room should have a map." Lania added.

"I hope you know the way there."

"Of course, Pyiari knows all the routes." She said with a smug grin.

"But you just…never mind, just take us there." I expected to encounter Moark with how much noise Strange Toy's steps and the girls' singing were making, but nothing like that happened, and we safely made it to the record room. Record Room Nothing escapes documentation. Every employee hired, every credit spent, every hallway constructed, every kid brought—it all ends up here. Recorded in the Akashic System in the year 13477 Pyiari was about to push the door open when I stopped her.

"Wait."

"Hm?"

"Is there someone who manages the record room I should know about before they spot us and come after us?"

"Oh yeah, Mrs. Filki is the archivist and always here."

"Great, so we will have to sneak in. Do you know what her superpower is?"

"She does maths superfast," Lania answered.

"What?"

"Haha," Pyiari laughed.

"That really is her superpower, and you don't need to worry about her." She pushed the door open. This door did creak as they do in the horror movies. Pyiari stepped in, followed by Lania. I hesitated before following them in. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. When I saw the pharmacy, I thought it was packed. Even then, it at least had enough space to let two people walk shoulder to shoulder. This didn't even have that.

Heck, even one person wouldn't be able to fit. They will need to move sideways. Rows and rows of shelves filled the room, each filled with files till the brim. It was so full that in some places the steel had bent. If I were to push one, all of them would fall like dominoes. The room's silence was broken by small and sharp rhythmic sound of metals striking each other.

"Mister, why are you just standing there?" I tore my gaze away from the room to find Pyiari and Lania already halfway across it. Their small figures darted effortlessly through the maze of shelves. I turned sideways and dragged my feet forward.

"What is that sound?" I asked when I was closer to them.

"It's Mrs. Filki, typing on her typewriter," Lania answered.

"Let's go greet her," Pyiari said enthusiastically.

"Is she… friendly?"

"Mrs. Filki is the only one I like. Don't you, too Lania."

"Yeah, she played with me and my toys." It didn't sit right with me. Every time Pyiari introduced someone as Mister or Miss, they turned out to be a black sludge monster. Yet to Pyiari—and, I assumed, Lania and the other children—they appeared perfectly normal, just as they had before taking the immortality drug.

"Okay, I get that she's friendly toward you two, but what about me?" I still hadn't told them how I saw the others, or asked how they saw them. They'd taken everything else surprisingly well, but I didn't want to overwhelm them. One thing at a time.

"She is friendly to everybody," Pyiari said.

"You might be wrong. She is friendly to everyone who lives or works here. I don't. I am an outsider in a secure place. She wouldn't react friendly to me."

"Wait," Pyiari paused.

"That's true. What do we do?"

"I guess I have to hide. You two try and get the way to the sewage out of her." I will stay close and keep an eye on them. Filki might be like Bochi, someone they can converse with, while I can't.

"Or we can just say you are new here, and we are showing you around," Lania suggested.

"Wait, what a great idea." Pyiari said.

"Lania, you are so smart."

"I-I am not." There was more than a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"That doesn't—" Before I could complete my sentence, Pyiari pulled my hand. It was so sudden that I stumbled forward. This area was a bit wider, so the shelves were safe.

"Come on, mister, Lania's plan is foolproof." She said it louder than she should have. After a step, I gained control back and stopped.

"No, it isn't."

"It is," Pyiari shouted. Why is this kid acting like a kid right now? The sound of the typewriter stopped.

"Who is it?" Called an aged female voice.

"It is us, Pyiari and Lania, and we brought another friend with us." No, no, no. What are you doing?

"Pyiari and Lania together? Well, that hasn't happened in a long time. Come, come and bring that friend of yours." Pyiari pulled at my sleeve.

"Mister, come on now." Shit. Ok, calm down, Clark. Shit has already gone down, now you have to face it. At least what Filki is saying, maybe she is a riftperson and not a monster. I hope she isn't another black sludge monster. We slowly moved forward, the towering shelves eventually giving way to an open circular space. I had expected the files to be piled across the floor without shelves to hold them, but there wasn't a single one in sight. An ivory desk sat at the far end.

Files were stacked neatly on one side, beside a lamp and an old typewriter. Behind it sat a figure, and it wasn't a black sludge monster. Filki was an old woman. Grey hair tied into a loose bun. Wrinkles gathered around her eyes and mouth. Her cheeks had sunk with age, leaving her face gaunt. Thin, bony fingers rested on the desk, veins standing out beneath papery skin. A pair of round spectacles perched low on her nose as calm eyes quietly followed our approach.

Filki the Astute Filki's father was a detective, and she was even better than he was. At five years old, she had sneaked into her father's study and solved the biggest serial killing case of the century just from the hints available. She was bound to succeed her father and became the greatest detective. She refused it all. She packed her bag, took a desk job and sat behind it doing her job diligently. No discrepancy ever escaped her eye.

Impressed by her work, she was offered to do it for eternity, she responded: "Fuck no". Recorded in the Akashic system in the year 13503 When I saw that Felki really was a person, I felt a wave of relief. She wasn't a monster I would have to fight for my life, and somehow, with Pyiari's and Lania's help, I would have bluffed my way through. But after reading her story, all hope was lost. How was I supposed to lie in front of a master detective? She leaned back into her chair, relaxing.

She gave a big smile, showing her teeth. Some of it had fallen out, but there was enough for her to chew.

"Pyiari, Lania, I haven't seen you two together for so long. Have you two made up?" The jolliness on the kid's face disappeared. They locked eyes with each other, then immediately looked away. They still hadn't talked it out. Pyiari hadn't told Lania the reason she avoided her. However, Lania had guessed the reason and didn't want to bring it up. Both of them preferred to forget what had happened and be friends again. Filki observed them for a few seconds.

"Looks like you have not, but that will find its way to you eventually. Anyway, why don't you introduce me to this new friend of yours?"

"Ah, um," Pyiari had lost her enthusiasm. She tried answering the question to distract herself.

"This is Mister. He just started working here, so we are showing him around." I am fucked. It won't work. Even an idiot would be able to tell. She can clearly see I am not in any work attire, whatever it is. Then she can ask for an ID, which I don't have. I got ready to run. No matter how great a detective brain she possessed, her old body won't let her catch me. Filki noticed the slight shift in my body weight. She noticed the drop of sweat racing down my forehead.

She observed me for a second, then looked at Pyiari, who was trying her hardest to bring back her jolly self. Then, at Liana, who was doing some kind of breathing exercise to gain her composure back.

"I see, you are mister?"

"Clark""Mr. Clark, and you are a new joinee here. Well, I am Filki, the archivist. I welcome you to Life's Last Hope, where we are researching to save our species from the foretold doom. I hope you like your work here." What? She believed us, or she decided to ignore the issue? Why?

"I do."

"Great, why don't you drag those stools here, and we have a chat?"