Days had passed since the police arrived on the scene. According to the statement, they found Ty sitting on the living room couch, grabbing his busted arm and crying while wearing shirts and pants covered in his own vomit. When they went down into the basement, they found Jessica leaning against Karina’s chair, with Karina’s head lying in her lap. According to Jessica, she was still alive, so they took her to the ER immediately, where they hooked her up to life support. She managed to live throughout the entire beating, and her heart continued to pump.

As for Tiffany, she was taken to a coroner and given an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The cause was as suspected upon first glance. Her neck snapped, severing her spinal cord, ceasing all brain functionality, shutting her body down immediately. She died immediately on snapping, and that led to the interrogations. 

They went to Jessica first since she was in overall better condition than the other two. She said that Karina and she were hit in the back of the head while Jessica walked Karina home at night. She then stated that as Tiffany was walking down the basement stairs, she had tripped and fell, snapping her neck. 

When they compared her reports to the death statement, several factors didn’t line up. For instance, the way her neck snapped wasn’t like that of falling down a flight of stairs. It cracked in a way that suggested traumatic force squeezing on it. Much like a noose being continuously tightened until it couldn’t tighten anymore. That was also the only injury on her body besides the internal damage and a few bruises solely located on the back of her head, which wouldn’t be the case if she fell down a flight of stairs. 

They went to Ty next. Once he could speak again, he backed up Jessica’s statement. He, too, without knowing Jessica’s statement, said the same thing. She tripped and fell, and that’s how she snapped her neck. So, with no other leads, that’s how the investigation ended. A crazy woman kidnapped three people, and after torturing one, she snapped her neck upon coming down the stairs. 

***

“And that’s everything?” I asked.

“Pretty much.” Zihao said. 

We sat in a waiting room in the ER. Miranda had gone to check up on Karina, and I had just gotten back from checking up on Ty. Granted, I had to do my own check up as well, but it’s not like I could do any more damage than I already have. I’m back to normal and can perform without losing a bit of my free will.

“I still can’t believe I’m talking with a succubus.” Zihao muttered under his breath.

“Shut up about that. We can’t let anyone hear you.” I told him.

“You can hear me?”

“Cubbi have heightened senses compared to humans.”

Zihao leaned forward and whispered as low as he possibly could. “Well, if you want to stay hidden so badly, why’d you show your tail to us?”

“I was under a bit of pressure, you know. If I hadn’t gone right then, then Karina wouldn’t even be alive right now.”

“Yeah, but you could’ve hid your tail until you went outside.”

I couldn’t even retort that since he was absolutely right. I could have done that, but in my narrow-minded brain, I didn’t think of that. The only thing on my mind was saving Ty and making sure I didn’t hit day three of hunger. Nothing else came close to those priorities. Not even my own identity getting leaked.

The door to Karina’s room opened, and Zihao and I shot our attention to it. Miranda stepped out of the room, makeup running down her cheeks from her continuous crying and stress. She padded her eyes with a napkin, but all it did was smear the makeup, making her look even worse than before. 

“Is she doing alright?” Zihao asked.

He stood up and approached Miranda. She leaned on his shoulder and cried into his shirt, staining him with black makeup. 

“Is she-” 

From the way she cried, I prepared for the worst. Karina wasn’t in the most amazing of conditions, to put it lightly. It wouldn’t even surprise me if her injuries turned out to be lethal with the amount of blood that poured from her face. 

“She’s alive, but-”

Miranda didn’t finish her sentence. I walked past them and headed into the room. Sunlight broke through a curtain at the end of the room. A gentle breeze came through a slightly cracked window. A single ray of light shined directly on Karina’s face, and I couldn’t help but think she was meeting angels. 

Her face settled down, all the swelling dissipating with time, letting me get a good view of the damage. Several scars littered her face, ranging from small cuts to a single scar that went halfway across her forehead. Stitches kept her face together, keeping her life constrained in that prison. Most of her injuries were focused primarily on her head, but I could see a few scars and stitches on her neck and shoulders.

The heart monitor beeped in succession with her heartbeat. It was stable, and I don’t know why, but that monitor seemed like it was lying to everyone that saw it. Karina’s chest moved rhythmically with her breathing, which moved the tubes that entered her body. A machine next to her whirred with an ongoing breath of life, transferring its cold existence to her in order for her to live for just a few more seconds. 

Zihao came in beside me, and he lowered his head with the sight. Miranda stood just out of the room enough so she could see inside without actually having to step in. Harvey, who was sitting in a chair next to Karina’s bed, stood upon our entrance and walked over to us.

“You’ve arrived.” Harvey said, looking at both Zihao and me. “It’s nice to see her friends caring about her.”

“What about her parents?” I asked. “Shouldn’t they be here instead of you?”

“I am master’s and mistress’ Illia’s eyes. They are too busy to visit Miss Illia, so I am to report on their daughter’s condition.”

“I would’ve expected y’all to be in a rich hospital instead of the one here.” Zihao pointed out.

“Master Illia asked for his daughter to be treated at a private hospital of his choice, but they said that her condition is too unstable to perform such a drastic change so quickly. The doctors are attempting to keep her here until her episodes become less unpredictable and they can treat her accordingly.” 

Rich people aren’t my favorite type of person to exist, but at least they can see some version of sense, no matter how twisted that sense may become later down the line. I give it a week tops before they decide to have her transferred, no matter what condition she’s in. Right now, drastic movement shouldn’t even be on the menu, but it’s the endgame these people play for since it’s either their way, or someone gets hurt or dies.

Zihao looked around the room before approaching the window and shutting it. The curtains stopped blowing, and the light vanished off of Karina’s face. The angels disappeared. 

“Fall’s coming soon.” Zihao said. “The wind’s getting colder.” 

“It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything.” A voice from the hallway said. “This place doesn’t get snow too often.” 

I looked at the door and saw Jessica walked in. She’s not wearing her signature trench coat this time. Instead, she wore a loose shirt tucked into a beige skirt that fell to her ankles. A purse hung over her shoulder, and out from the opening, I could spot the handle of a taser. 

“What are you doing here?” Zihao asked. 

“I’m checking up on Karina before heading to Ty’s room.” Jessica looks over at me. “He’s supposed to go home today, right?” 

“Yes, he is.” I answered her, but her mood didn’t seem to improve. “Is there something you need from him?” 

“Nothing in particular. It’s just the time of the week is coming up. We usually go out around this time, and tomorrow is the day for this week. I just need to tell him that I rescheduled it for today.”

“Why today?” Miranda asked.

Jessica sighed before looking at Karina. Her brow furrowed as she looked at the sleeping, broken figure of a girl who was full of sunshine moments prior to the incident. I still remember eating that overly salty meal she made. The way she smiled as her taste buds went numb when she ate her own creation was the first thing that came to mind. Now that smile will be a little bit wider, thanks to a scar at the corner of her mouth. Although, I doubt there’s going to be much times she’ll smile after this.

“The reason Karina and I were there in the first place was because she called in a hint. She told me she saw something on the recordings you illegally took,” Jessica stared at Harvey, but he showed no remorse. “And she gave me a deal. If I took her to meet Tiffany, then she’d reveal the location of a potential body that would help me get closer to solving the serial killings. 

“So I took the deal, and that’s how we got there. In order to avoid all code red scenarios that I concocted in my head, I took a few precautions. I drove Karina there and made sure she couldn’t memorize the route. I called Tiffany, not knowing her mental state as well as her kidnapping Ty, in order to warn her about Karina’s arrival. I did all of that to avoid anything like this happening.” 

Jessica sat on a chair next to Karina’s bed. She laid her hand on Karina’s unconscious head and rubbed the large scar stretching across her forehead. Karina stirred a bit, but her eyes refused to open.

“Look how that turned out.” Jessica sighed before continuing on. “Before I went to pick up Karina, I sent Richie to check out the location that Karina pointed me to. It turned out there was a body there, and it had all the signs of being a victim of the serial killer I’m searching for. Though this one is a lot more brutal. There’s a lot of work on my desk, and I’m expected to get it started tomorrow, which is why I want Ty to come with me tonight.”

Jessica stood up and headed back through the door. Before she disappeared, she looked back at me. 

“Are you going to show me to Ty’s room?”

She and I locked eyes for a bit. Those suspicious eyes let nothing go to waste as they scanned my every movement. She peered into me with such force that it would look like she was reading my mind. Or at least she looked like she attempted to read my mind at least.

“I’ll show you.” I answered.

Jessica nodded and stood outside the door, just out of visible range. Her arm peeked around the door frame, otherwise, I couldn’t see what she was doing on the other side. 

Before I left, I laid a hand on the railing of Karina’s bed frame. She hasn’t woken up since she passed out during her torture. Is she dreaming? If there’s indeed a dream to be had within such a beaten face, what would it be? Endless pain and suffering, bathing in a hell of one’s own mind? Could it be them living their wildest dreams, finally fulfilling the goal they aspired toward since getting blasted out of the womb? Is her mind relieving her pain, or does she dream about dreaming?

That thought should best be left unfinished. Letting go of the bed frame, I head into the hallway, where Jessica is leaning against the wall. A doctor walks past us with a tray full of sharp looking utensils. Another person somewhere is fighting for their life, just like Karina. But do they deserve to be tortured for another few years until they shut down for good and invited to a never ending dream? 

“We going?” Jessica asked.

“Yeah,” I say as we begin moving. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

I checked Jessica out from the corner of my eye. She didn’t look like she was trying to prod me for more information, like when I was her main suspect. I couldn’t be too unsure, however. She could scheme up lots of tricks in order to make me say something to incriminate me. Even though I know I’m not guilty, it wouldn’t matter. All she wants is proof that she’s not running around in circles.

“I’m just thinking about your advanced medical facilities. Back where I grew up, the closest place we had to a hospital like this was going to a back alley and praying to Falya that they have the slightest inkling of what they’re doing.”

Jessica sped up and began walking beside me. We passed through the waiting room before hitting another hallway full of rooms upon rooms with people fighting. One man screamed in pain behind one door, and I could hear a child crying behind another. Uncomfortable memories wormed their way back upon hearing the scream of that little girl. Let her be okay, at least.

Once there was no sign of anyone else coming from the front or behind us, Jessica began to ask questions again.

“Is my suspect going to be another demon?” 

That term panged in my ears. Back when I read a lot of human literature, I scoured for all sources of cubbi. In every single one of them, we were mentioned as lust demons that suck men dry so we could live longer and be virtually immortal. I can count the number of inaccuracies on fifteen different hands, if not more. My pet peeve, which appeared in around ninety-eight percent of sources, was when we were brought down to nothing but Lucifer’s butt buddies. 

“We aren’t demons.”

Jessica had nothing to say to that. However, I had nothing else to say except just restating that my species isn’t similar to the hellings that many of the world’s religions believe in. We couldn’t convince each other of our views, so there was no more need for words. If we couldn’t convince one another, it’s better to just hide from each other.