Carmen Alvarez’s POV
Carmen halted before Evantra’s door.
She glanced towards Noelle, who was standing beside her, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Trevor had woken them up with his arrival, informing them of what happened. Evantra had returned to her room immediately, shutting the door behind her.
It had been two hours, and she hadn’t been out since.
Carmen gently knocked on the door.
“Hey. Eva? Can I come in?”
All was silent on the other end. Carmen bit her lip, gritting her teeth. Her own eyes were sullen and bloodshot.
She had known Millie herself.
The sassy girl with quick wit, Evantra’s only friend. One of the few, rare people she had let into her inner world, even if it was to a small degree.
Carmen reached for the handle, gently pushing the door open with a soft creak.
The room was dark, and the lights were turned off. Evantra was standing by her desk, and Carmen could hear the soft click of—
“Eva?”
The girl turned towards her.
Empty, white eyes stared back at her. Clouded, the characteristic trait of the Wraithmarked. Those who had been touched by the paranormal.
Entirely dry, devoid of tears.
Evantra’s face was expressionless as she turned back to her task.
Carmen watched as the girl loaded the magazine into the Liberty Astral M5 with a precise click, her Nagantra already holstered at her side. Carmen advanced heedless of the girl’s weapons and enveloped her in a gentle hug.
Evantra didn’t move, even as Carmen tightened her embrace around her.
She felt cold, lifeless.
“Evantra. You just got back—”
Evantra pulled herself out of her grip, stepping backwards and calmly picking up her assault rifle, placing it in her backpack while it was folded. Carmen could see her hands trembling as she did so, the only evidence that the girl was feeling anything at all.
She watched as Noelle approached, extending a hand towards Evantra.
“H-hey Evantra, I can help you if you w—”
“Get out of my home.”
Noelle visibly flinched at her words, rocking back a step, her outstretched hand darting back as if wounded by her acidic words. Suffocating silence occupied the air between them. Her bright green eyes instantly grew damp, and Carmen watched Noelle’s skin blanch, turning pale.
She nodded wordlessly before turning on her heel and leaving the room in a flash.
“Wait, Noelle! Evantra, what do you think you’re—”
Carmen watched helplessly as Evantra slipped past her, making her way out of the room.
---
Wisptown’s police station was deserted. Even its single flickering streetlight that illuminated the parked police hovervans had been turned off, seeing as it was around 3am at night.
Evantra strode forwards, past the hovervans, rounding the edge of the station towards its side. The windows were blacked out and opaque, and Evantra halted right next to them. She experimentally gripped the sliding window, but failed to find any give.
“The entrance is this way.”
She froze, turning to stare in the direction of the voice.
[Darkvision]
She glimpsed the familiar features of Officer Trevor Foster in her vision.
“C’mon.”
---
Evantra trailed the man, staring at his back as they walked through the dark halls of the police station. They strode in silence, Trevor not sparing even a single glance towards her as they walked on.
Eventually, they halted before the doors to an office area, and one of the computers inside was lit, casting its harsh light on the dated swivel chair in front of it. Its edges were fraying, and it had seen a fair bit of use.
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Trevor waved Evantra over, taking a seat in front of the screen. He turned to spare a single glance at her before gesturing in front of him.
“Why did you let me in?”
Her words came out as a whisper, her throat still ragged from her screams. Evantra couldn’t help but stare at him in confusion, though part of her was too tired to care.
“I would rather not have to take you in tomorrow for breaking and entering.”
Trevor paused, finally letting out a sigh as he thumbed the badge that was resting on the desk.
“Look, if I lost my best friend, I wouldn’t just leave it to authorities that I didn’t trust,” Trevor’s lips curled upwards in a sardonic smile. “That’s half the reason why I joined the force in the first place. Here’s what we’ve found so far.”
Trevor brought up a series of images on his screen, and he clicked on the first one.
“The first victim we found was a twenty-two-year-old childcare worker by the name of Loshini Subramanium. Murdered in the restroom of her workplace after hours about a week and a half ago. Single shot to the forehead. Seraphim CCTV in the area was inoperative due to poor maintenance of the hardware. It wasn’t a malicious shutdown.”
Trevor clicked to the second image.
“The second victim that we found was Amelia Dunn. She was a baker found murdered in her home about a week ago. Same MO.”
Evantra recognised the woman to be the one she had seen in the image of the tribute, outside the bakery. She seemed to be in her mid-to-late twenties, had long brown hair and an agreeable smile.
“The next was the one I told you about. Abagail Yannick. 29 years of age, an elementary school teacher. Again. Same MO – single shot to the head, in yet another blackout zone. That one occurred about two days later. Millie was the fourth.”
“Do you have any suspects?”
At her question, she watched as Trevor’s body language turned rigid. He twisted in his seat to face her with a stony gaze and expression. Evantra could feel the shift in the man’s attitude almost immediately, but she resisted the urge to back down, like he no doubt intended for her to.
“Well?”
“This is where I draw the line,” Trevor leaned forward in his seat, his voice grave. “I was willing to tell you what we knew about the victims, because I know what it’s like to have it eating you up from inside, Evantra. I do. Now you know all there is to know about it. I’ve extended you a courtesy, and now I’m asking for one back,” the man shifted in his seat, taking a deep breath which he let out slowly.
“Leave this to me.”
“No—”
Trevor raised a hand, cutting Evantra off.
“You don’t have the training to deal with this situation, or the necessary support. If I need your help, I’ll call on you. Focus on helping Carmen and Lucas get out of town, just like you’re planning already. Keep your head down and let me do what I do best. You might not be able to trust all of the other stuffy arseholes in the precinct, but you can trust me to do my job. I’m asking this one thing of you and trusting you to keep your head out of trouble. I won’t be able to get to the bottom of this if my attention is divided. Got it?”
The low drone of Trevor’s computer was the only sound that filled the air between them, the darkness of the room around them all encompassing. Evantra had a clear view of Trevor’s face from the light cast from his monitor.
“Do you suspect Caliburn?”
Evantra’s voice came out as a whisper, but her eyes lingered fervently on Trevor’s every movement as the man sat back in his seat. She watched as he crossed his arms, his eyes not wavering or moving away from her own. His body was facing her front on, and he didn't betray a single tell.
“No. If Caliburn wanted to kill them, they could have strolled in, left a souvenir for us and published it in tomorrow’s news. There’s no reason why we would have any reason to suspect th—”
Evantra turned away from him and made for the station’s exit.
He’s lying.
Convincing, but a lie nonetheless.
“Evantra? Evantra!”
She heard his voice call out for her, echoing in the empty office. Evantra strode forwards, only halting when the tone in his voice changed, making her hesitate.
“I got word that they’re planning on holding her funeral in two days. You should go, Evantra.”
Evantra turned away from him.
“I’ve been there. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
---
“Eva.”
Evantra turned towards her door, Carmen’s voice echoing behind it.
“Are you ready to leave?”
Carmen gently opened the door, and Evantra saw a flash of another emotion cross the woman’s face, before it fell. She was dressed in a simple black dress, to match the black shirt and pants that Lucas was wearing beside her.
In preparation for their departure to Millie’s funeral.
Evantra stowed the vials of her blood that she had prepared into her pocket. Her Nagantra was holstered at her side, while her Liberty Astral M5 was slung around her front. She had spent the previous day purchasing rounds and stims with whatever funds that she had remaining.
“You aren’t coming, then?”
Evantra didn’t reply, her gaze averted from Carmen’s.
Afraid of the judgment that would be wrought across the woman’s face. Instead, Carmen Alvarez stepped through the doorway and up to Evantra. She gently pulled the girl into an embrace, and Evantra felt the dampness of her cheek on her skin.
“Stay safe. I don’t want to be attending your funeral next.”
Evantra let out a small shuddering sigh in relief.
“Thanks for understanding.”
She strode past her, pausing to crouch down and give Lucas a tight hug.
“Bye, Evantra.”
“I’ll see you soon, ok?”
The boy nodded before hesitantly releasing her hand.
Evantra cast a quick glance towards the vacant room that Noelle had occupied, now devoid of the girl’s belongings. True to her word, she had left the previous day. Evantra turned away, her grip tightening around her Nagantra holstered at her side.
---
“All volunteers, proceed to Sergeant Trevor Foster situated on my right to be equipped with vests and equipment. The raid will commence at exactly 1300 hours. In the event you encounter a Veilcreature above Draugr rank, immediately radio in your location and evacuate if the opportunity presents itself.”
There was a small congregation in front of the police station, comprised of officers in uniform equipped with vests and armed with various forms of weaponry. Accompanying them were volunteers from Wisptown and Bastion, who were equipped with similar vests and a mixture of their own weapons, and those supplied by the police force.
Evantra could make out a couple of familiar faces in the crowd, including Minh Tran – owner of Gale’s Gunstore. He gave her a curt nod, which she returned.
Trevor, on the other hand, frowned when he saw her.
Evantra met his gaze unflinchingly.
“Alright, everyone. Let’s get a move on. Move into your assigned groups, and for those without them, head to Sergeant Trevor. I cannot stress enough that if any of you encounter a Veilsurge, radio in on channel 3 – that is our highest priority threat. Do not, I repeat, do not enter any Veilsurge you may encounter.”
Evantra watched as the crowd shifted uneasily at the mention of an active Veilsruge, before eventually filtering into different vehicles, presumably assigned to the various groups.
The raid on Wisptown’s sewers had begun.
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