Do vaporwave kitsune count technicolor sheep? - 27. Chapter 27

Ahead of us, the road is a dark ribbon unwinding its way out of the city limits. Usually I am filled with a sense of calm upon escaping Gatsby, but today I am filled with the unavoidable pall of dread and sadness at what awaits.

“After this curve up ahead, pull off to the shoulder on the right. There is a stand of trees you can park underneath.”

In the mirror he nods at my directions, slowing down as we grow near and putting on his blinker for the truck behind us. Engines killed, Hikaru helps me step out of the car before leading me to stand far from the road. The assistant walks up to shake my hand.

“A pleasure to officially meet you, Ma’am, and you may call me Clay. Wish it were under more pleasant circumstances.”

He has a cheerful smile and stands about at my height as veritable mountains of men gather to surround us. As I am absently musing upon how only three of the eight assembled persons are under six feet tall… it dawns upon me.

“Hikaru?”

“Yes, Mi Tiefal.”

“I appreciate everyone coming to help with this, but I’m afraid there are only three of us who will be able to fit inside of the tunnel. Mr. Clay, this gentleman…” I gesture to one of the guards who is 5’9 and could crouch and fit. “And myself.”

He doesn’t look pleased at that prospect.

“It was my sincere hope that leading us there would be the limit of what I would have to impose on you today.”

“There was no way you could have foreseen something like this. Even Doctor Honore is just too tall to fit.”

“My name is Lorenzo, and I will aid you in any capacity I can.”

“Excuse us a moment.”

Hikaru pulls me aside, out of earshot of the others.

“Moon, I did not plan on you having to… get personally involved in this venture. Why not lead us there and then let my people do what they came here for?”

“I appreciate that you want to protect me from this, and I know that on the way here I did not present myself as the picture of mental stability… but please, Hikaru, trust that this is something that I HAVE to do. If you want me to have closure, then let me put my friends to rest. Will it be easy? Of course not. Will I be satisfied leaving it in the hands of strangers while I stand idly by and cry and wring my hands? Absolutely not.”

He refuses to look me in the eye, hands fisted on his hips.

“Is there nothing I can say to dissuade you? This is a crime scene, Moon. Ein has already spelled out what awaits us, and seeing it in person is going to be infinitely more graphic. They are beyond saving… I just don’t want to put you through more pain.”

“I really need to do this. Thank you for trying to save me from the pain, but I am already destroyed by their loss. This is something I have to face… to endure for their sake. Let me be a part of the recovery and see with my own eyes what they suffered. I promise that I will not lay this blame on anyone else for what I am asking.”

Grasping his hands, I pull them to hold fast within my own.

“Don’t make me beg. I will if that is what it comes to. They deserve to be shown the same care that they gave me. In my heart I have come to terms with the fact that my kin is the root of the atrocities committed against them, and no matter what hurt I am about to face it’s nothing compared to their suffering. Please, Hikaru.”

A heavy sigh passes his lips before nodding in acquiescence.

“Don’t beg me, Moon. I respect your decision… I really do. Let’s return to the others and I will leave things in your capable hands. Please just don’t let yourself be overset by what awaits, and I mean it. Just say the word and I will take over.”

Pulling his face down to mine, I press a kiss to his lips.

“What I need at the moment is to change out of these clothes because I will need to be in kitsune form to do what is needed.”

Beside me I can feel Hikaru dropping his hold on controlling his dragon’s aura. Overwhelming pressure oozes off of him as he growls at the men assembled behind us.

“Everyone, turn around now.”

As a collective their faces pale in fear, eyeing his bared fangs they immediately turn to face away from us.

“Maybe a little overkill…”

“Nothing is too far where you are concerned.”

Making quick work of shedding my clothing, I hand them over to him before letting my shape change. Dropping down to stand upon four paws in the tall grass I jog out from behind the hood of the sedan. Doctor Honore and Genghis are the only ones who don’t have a look of shock upon their faces when they turn around to see me in my natural kitsune state.

“I’m ready to lead the way if everyone is good to go?”

Lorenzo is the first to recover, tossing a canvas duffle bag over his shoulder.

“After you, Ma’am.”

Omore leaves sway in the breeze above our heads as I weave my way through the trees. Adjusting my speed to theirs, my vulpine ears swivel atop my head to track the footfalls trekking through the dense foliage.

The trek is eerily quiet except for the sounds of nature around us. No one says a word as they follow close behind me. By now the trail is engraved in my memory, and every step is bittersweet in that it may be my last time following it. When we are nearly there, the faint scent of brimstone is carried to me on the breeze and my footfalls visibly falter.

“It’s just up ahead. Not much further now…”

Hikaru stops to stand beside me.

“Are you truly sure this is what you want to do? I feel your sadness resonating within me.”

“Of course I am sad, but I said this is something I have to do and I mean that. I am glad that it’s not something I have to face alone.”

Nodding in assurance, he gestures with his hand for me to continue. Up ahead I can see the tree set off by itself in a small clearing, almost as though the rest are keeping a respectful distance. Reaching the fronds of foliage that conceal the entrance, I come to a stop beneath the towering tree.

“The entrance lies below here. It’s a tight squeeze but I think Clay, Lorenzo, and myself will manage.”

Doctor Honore hands off a palm sized slab of crystal to Clay, resembling a smaller version of the computer like machines.

“Record all of your findings. No detail is too small.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen you do it enough times besides my own handful of experiences.”

As he places the crystalline tool in his pocket, Hikaru pulls Lorenzo off to the side.

“You lead the way. Make sure that it’s safe for them to enter.”

“Got it, boss.”

Pulling his shoulder length blonde hair back out of the way of his eyes, he untucks a round pendant from under the vee neck of his skintight black shirt. It appears to be a witch light that has been polished into the shape of a round orb. Rubbing his thumb down across its surface, an inner light springs to life.

“You two stay here for a minute. I will call back when it’s safe to proceed.”

From his left pocket he pulls out a metal cylinder with a black button on the side. With a flick of his wrist, a long crystalline rod shoots out the tube to lock in place with a sharp click. Depressing the button with his thumb, the crystal begins to glow a brilliant cerulean. Arm outstretched, he sweeps aside the foliage that conceals the tunnel's entrance before lowering to a crouch and venturing inside. Long minutes pass before we hear his voice echo up to us.

“All clear.”

Daring a glance behind me I see Doctor Honore unzipping the large canvas duffle bag and removing a roll of smaller body bags and laying them out on the grass. My stomach turns a sickening little flip and I quickly turn back to where Clay is waiting for me to enter the tunnel.

Preceding me down along the packed dirt path, he pulls the crystal slab from his pocket and slides his thumb horizontally across the bottom of the screen. An equivalent of an Operating System brightens to life within the depths of the magical ore, much like the computers I saw before.

Ahead of us Lorenzo is crouched beside a tiny still figure lying in a bloody pool in the dirt. The glow of his pendant illuminates the wide empty eyes of Katia with her throat slit wide. She never had a chance.

“Subject is a female kobold, first to be found roughly thirty feet into the tunnel…”

His voice sounds as though it is coming from very far away, tiny words appearing on the surface of the stone as his monotone voice dictates his findings with a mechanical accuracy. My vision tunnels in on where she lies so very still beneath the glow of the witch light. Suddenly it feels as though there is not quite enough air and I force my gaze aside before I shame myself.

“Hey… Ma’am?”

With a shake of the head, I shift my focus to Lorenzo’s visage.

“Sorry…”

“If it causes you undue anguish, you don’t have to look.”

While my body continues its shaking, I feel a measure of control returning to me.

“If you need a moment, perhaps you could go get a bag. You are better equipped to maneuver back and forth.”

“Of course.”

Inside I am grateful for the easy out he provides me, and I let my head hang low in shame. This was not how I intended to face my demons, but when presented with the sight of her small mangled corpse… any measure of bravery fled me like a coward.

Poking my head out I grasp a still rolled bag in my teeth. From behind the others Hikaru’s gaze traps mine and with only a look I can sense his displeasure. I am sure he can feel my unease through the power of this bond which seems to connect us. Tails drooping low, I turn my gaze aside and attempt to play it off in returning to the tunnel’s depths.

Eye’s remaining low, I pass behind Clay’s back and drop the body bag at Lorenzo’s bent knee.

“Thanks. I respect your will to see something like this.”

Sheepishly my eyes rise to meet his brown ones, and there is something surprisingly comforting in their chocolatey depths. He has an inner kindness and I can see why Hikaru would have chosen him to take part in a venture such as this.

“You don’t have to push yourself… I think that perhaps they would not want you to be haunted by them in this way. I promise that no one will think less of you if you need to return outside. We will treat them with utmost respect and take our time.”

My hesitation is obvious.

“Boss would not mind, I can feel his agitated aura from here. Let him comfort you in your time of need. We will bring them up as we record them.”

Looking out beyond his shoulder, I cannot make out what lies beyond in the central living area. The witch lights are doused and darkness prevails here underground. I imagine it is the same grisly sight that lies before me, and something tells me that Lorenzo is correct.

Katia would be devastated by the knowledge of me seeing her like this. Her warm and vivacious acceptance of me… gifting me with the opalescent pendant that even now hangs amid my violet ruff of neck fur, that is how she would want me to think of her.

“I’m sorry…” Unbidden I can feel the warm salt tracks of tears dampening my fur. “The last thing I wanted to do was be in the way.”

Clay finishes his dictation and swipes his finger in the opposite direction across the crystal screen, darkening it.

“You are anything but in the way. In all honesty, this is certainly no place for a lady and pardon me, but I think we all have borne witness to your devotion to your fallen friends. Please let us assist in showing due honor.”

Aside from my own feelings, I take a step back in my thoughts. What do I know about working a crime scene? In all fairness, I am assuredly very much in the way all while they are catering to my wishes.

“Thank you for humoring me. I have no doubt that you will both go above and beyond to do what is expected. If there is anything that is needed of me, please do not hesitate to ask or call me back.”

Quite literally, I turn my tails and retreat back up towards the tunnel entrance.

This is not cowardice.

You were only in the way.

“Moon?”

Hikaru moves to the fore, rushing to my side when he sees me again so soon.

“Is something wrong?”

Ears folded back in dismay I shake my head as I gently nose my way past the rest of our gathered group to sit on my haunches beneath the myriad Omore trees.

“I just finally let some sense be talked into me,” my eyes mist once more with unshed tears, “ and it dawned on me when I saw Katia lying there…”

My words falter and I look away from him as I feel the tears breaking free to run unchecked across my fur.

“No matter what I tell myself, nothing could prepare me for something like that. I feel like I’ve failed them sitting here… but I also accepted that I am probably just in the way anyway…”

The secure feeling of strong arms wrapping around me only makes me begin to cry harder. Hikaru continues his embrace when one by one the small body bags are laid in a neat row upon the grass.

Eventually the tears dry and I watch as each is lifted up and it is time to make our way back to where we left the vehicles parked. The procession is solemn and silent as the occasion deserves. Reaching the roadside, they gently hand up the body bags into the back of the flat bed truck before covering them with a tarp.