My Lost Soul

Chapter 17 - Your Shadow

The world was changing around him. He was sure of it.  The slimmers of orange light that should have illuminated past the windows of the parking garage were suddenly shut off. He couldn't see a thing, but he kept walking. The clinking of his shoes on concrete was all he could hear. The sound of the outside world was shut out. He felt his way around the walls, coming to a stop to evaluate his surroundings.

Clink clink clink clink.

Omega held his breath. The clinking stopped. He felt around the wall until he felt a slope. The way up, he thought. He walked around the pillar and started to walk up the slope.

Cli-clink cli-clink cli-clink.

Omega's forehead became drenched in sweat, and he realized how cold it was. He felt the skin of his arm and quietly gasped, feeling it's strange bumps. He quickly straightened up and made his way to the second floor.

Drip drip.

Something wet dropped on his shoulder. Getting a little bit on his finger, he smelled it carefully. It's iron-y... he thought. Soon the clinking of his shoes turned into squishes. He could feel the splashing of the liquid on his shoes, and then something tapped on them. He stopped suddenly and looked behind his shoulder.

"I can't believe-" A strange voice gurgled weakly,"that this is the real you."

Omega's eyes widened. The liquid continued to rise up to his knees.

"You're just scary, you're not special!"

"Look at what you did!"

The darkness suddenly lifted, the orange light returned. Omega squinted his eyes and tried to look around.

What- why is this...

The floor was completely submerged in dark and murky blood. His hand aggressively grabbed his throat, his muscles restraining himself from throwing up. He tried to run through the blood, but he could only trudge through it like mud.

"This is what you did! You remember don't you?! At the very place you were born! You murdered them!"

"What?! No!" Omega tried to scream through his tightened throat. His foot tripped in the thick blood, and he fell into the pool. He tried to scream, but he could only inhale the blood. Consciousness slowly fading, his voice croaked as tears filled his eyes.

"That's enough."

Omega's bloodshot eyes opened, immediately he held his throat softly, flipping off of his back and onto his knees.

Why why why why why?!

Omega growled right before he threw up on the concrete. He gasped for air, feeling his throat erratically.

"You're alright, for now at least." The same voice rang out to him again.

He tried to stand back up, but his head ached horribly.

"I quite enjoyed that show you put on, Omega."

Omega rubbed his scalp until the ringing in his head went away. "What-What's happening..." He groaned.

"You almost lost yourself, but I couldn't let that happen. I want episode two."

Omega looked up and saw a woman wearing dark clothes paired with her dark eyes. "Did you do that to me?" He grit his teeth.

She smiled devilishly. Omega grunted as he kicked himself up off of the ground and began running at her. "You! You..!"

He threw his fist at her, but she quickly disappeared, and liquid splashed as he recoiled. He looked down to see the pool of blood had returned. His face shifted and he brought his hands to his face.

"Don't cry yet..." The woman's voice rang out,"...the show has only just begun."

Omega slammed his fists into the blood.

"This place will flood with the blood of the people you've unknowingly killed. And if you don't make it to the top, you'll drown." The woman maniacally laughed.

Omega trudged through the blood with malice.

You... I'll..!

———

Beep.

"Requesting Iseri Katsumi to come to my office. Requesting Iseri Katsumi to come to my office."

Iseri was shaking around an open soda can, and the message blasted in her ears, causing her to spill her soda.

Her body went limp as she groaned in annoyance. I was just about to go home. The one time I stay longer because I didn't clock in last time, this! She thought to herself as she marched down the corridor. She knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

She opened the door to an office that was full of darkness, aside from a computer's glow on the desk. Machida's rough, grey hair covered his eyes as he looked down at the keyboard. Iseri's eyebrow furrowed,"General..?"

He suddenly looked up from the screen,"Oh! Oh, sorry. Just put on the lights for me, won't you?"

Iseri turned on the lights and walked to Machida. "Is something wrong, General?"

"Well I'll need your help with this predicament." He continued to type,"Before we left the park, I placed a tracker on the Omega."

"How many bugs and trackers have you planted in your life..?"

Machida sighed and continued," Okay, so I thought the Omega would do something reckless after I told him about the case, it seems that my hypothesis was right."

"You have his location? Is he alone?" She leaned onto the desk to peer at the computer.

"I can't tell until I get the visuals. It won't work for some reason, so that's why I needed you." Machida took his hands off the keyboard and spun his chair towards Iseri. "There's a building across from the parking garage, where he is now. Its roof should be high enough to have a view of where he is. I want you to go there and keep an eye on him until I get these visuals to work."

Iseri's eyelids lowered,"Oh, alright then."

"But, in the case that you need to defend yourself-" He looked back at the computer,"or him, you'll want this."

He raised his finger to tell her to wait as his other hand reached for a drawer, and pulled out a key. "This is the key to the armory, take all you think you'll need. Who knows how much danger he's in."

He handed her the key and she saluted him,"Yes, General."

In the armory, she selected a sniper rifle, optical scopes, and field glasses. How long has it been since I used this beauty? She thought as she packed her equipment up.

"Hello. I've been requested here by the Shacian Investigation Department. I require access to your roof." She flashed her badge in his face.

"Pfft, this is an apartment. The roof is for recreation. You can't do that." The manager scoffed.

"Well, it doesn't usually look like there's much recreation happening here. So I do believe I can." Iseri grinned.

"You-" The manager groaned,"Fine then, do what you want."

"Appreciate it!" She exclaimed mockingly.

Iseri set up her equipment at a ledge of the roof.

Beep

"I have a visual on him."

"Good, now what else do you see?" Machida buzzed through the headset.

"Uh, nothing. But if I zoom in..." Iseri quickly changed her optical scope,"He's standing still. He's got...vomit on his mouth?" Iseri quickly scoped out the rest of what she could see of the surroundings and floors again,"Something's wrong!"