“Mom, Dad, I am home,” Apricot hollers while she kicks off a pair of red and white sneakers. She runs up the stairs into her safety and salvation, her bedroom and closes the door behind her. Flipping open her laptop she sits at her desk. “Now let’s see about the murders. Solenne you have me curious.”
She discovers most of the articles are restricted or removed by the government. It seems that someone is manually censoring the forums in real time. As soon as a topic on the subject pops up, they are immediately taken down or edited blank by the user who posted the topic. A burring of her phone diverts her attention. She grabs the black slab and flicks it with her finger revealing a message from Bonni. “Hey, girl wanna meet up at the park. I got something to offer you.”
Going to the park this late at night fills Apricot with dread, although, if Bonni were to find out she was with her friends earlier, it might hurt her. Against her better judgement she texts back “Sure.”
~
The park is a shadowed nightmare. Apricot looks at every tree where light prevails. She twitches from every sound until she spies Bonni sitting on a distant bench. “Bonni,” Apricot calls out as she picks up pace towards her. “I am so glad to see you. The playground is creepy at night.”
Bonni crosses her legs resting a magazine on her lap. Apricot could not make out the cover image with Bonni’s fingers splayed over it but, she could see the title, Eerie Truths Monthly. She would have rolled her eyes but after the events that played out last week she found herself curious. “It’s nice to get a seat. With the train being out it takes a little longer to get to this side of town.”
“I know right. It is a pain. I would show up at your place but I could not figure out how to get over there so I texted you instead.” Bonni lifts the magazine. “I wanted to show you this,” her fingers flip through the wagging pages. “I know, I know, this is a weirdo magazine but,” she chirps stopping at a page she has folded. “This is what I was talking about.”
The page is filled with poorly taken photos from low-resolution cameras. Bonni points to one photo of something jumping off a building. The image struck Apricot as a fake. “Bonni, I appreciate,” a finger interrupts her sentence.
“Wait, before you say anything.” Bonni flips the page. A high-resolution photo shows the silhouette of something that looks very much like the reaper she saw floating over the city. Her heart stops. “See what I mean. That is not normal. This thing is seen all over the place. They call him Claw Fingers.” Apricot’s mouth shuts tight. Her mind races for what to say. She could not let Bonni know she has seen that thing. “They have reported him to offer people powers in return for servitude.”
“Bonni, these stories. How long have they been around?” Apricot asks in a cute tone hoping to mask the utter horror embracing her.
“Only a few months. I’ve been reading this mag for years and it got first mention two months ago. Something else that you may find even creepier is the string of murders that happened last week.” Bonni turns several pages ahead to a bent page. As she unfolds it, the header reads “The Ikijoji Street Murderer.”
“Bonni!” Apricot shouts standing up from the bench. “Stop it!” She grips her fists scowling at a now wide-eyed Bonni. “You need to get away from these fantasy stories. If you want to believe in this thing, don’t include me in it.” Apricot screams. Her fears swallow her sinking heart.
Bonni lowers her gaze folding the magazine. “I thought you would be interested in this stuff too,” she moans with a sullen tone.
“It creeps me out,” Apricot croaks folding her arms. “I walk down that street almost every night and don’t want to hear about someone butchering people around there.” Apricot took a few short breaths. “I’ve got enough on my plate with work and school. I can’t be worried about some imaginary spooks.”
There is silence. Bonni gets up off the bench with a faint smile. “Well, I can tell this all got you scared. Tell you what Api, I won’t bug you about it anymore. However, if you want to talk about imaginary spooks, I am always here to listen to you.”
“Ah, sure Bonbon. Catch ya later I guess.” Apricot utters. “I am sorry, but you’re right. It scares me. I don’t like it.” Bonni nods and gives her a shallow hug.
Bonni smirks. “Before I go, I should tell you. I heard more from those SDP police. That lady, the other day. They said bullets bounced off her because of some kind of spectral anomaly. That they had not seen that before.” Her blood froze. “That is why they had that mech. They needed a projectile large enough to overpower whatever protected her. I know it is silly to listen so closely on their conversations but Apricot, they are hiding something. I just thought you should know.”
“Why me?“ Apricot asks.
“Not too sure. I just got the feeling. Call it intuition or maybe superstition.” Bonni softly says. “Well, it is really late. We should get out of here before we look suspicious.”
Apricot waves before they both head their separate ways down the dark park road. Apricot lifts her sights towards the starless sky. “This is all getting real. Too real,” she says to herself the haunting suspicion of being followed coming over her.
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