TECHNOCYTE: BEYOND HUMAN

BY: SAINT

NEW BEGINNINGS

   It had been 4 days since the events that took place in the alley and everything for the trio has quieted down. Or rather has been as quiet as quiet could be for two detectives and an amnesiac. Beatrice wakes from another, terror field night with a groan. Her puppy was sleeping on the pillow next to her soundlessly. She cursed as she got up, careful not to wake the sleeping pooch as she glanced at the digital clock under her lamp to her right. The cool blue numbers on the clock read nine-thirty A.M. CST. She stretched her body as she hopped out of her bed. Her hair was in a fray, and she wore some black shorts and a baggy white shirt with “I LOVE SHIKO,” written on the front with a blue heart in place of the word love. It was was one of a few things she “borrowed” from an ex-boyfriend. She slipped on some fuzzy black slippers and walked out of her room and towards the bathroom to begin her morning routine. On her way there she smelt the aroma of bacon sizzling on a skillet wafting throughout the house. She had forgotten that she had a guest staying in her home during her sleep. She raised an eyebrow in a bit of surprise.

   ‘So, he can cook? Guess he isn’t completely useless after all,’ she thought to herself before walking into the restroom. What she saw upon opening the door made her recoil in utter disgust as she visibly cringed.

   On the counter of her sink lied a singular razor covered in hair and shaving cream. Her eyes twitched as she stared at it for what seemed like an eternity. She picked it up with the tips of her pointer and thumb like she was caring some hazardous material and proceeded to vocalize her anger.

   “LAWSOOOOON, WHAT THE HELL,” she yelled out loudly as she turned briskly on her heel and stormed into the living room area, spooking the man in the process. He dropped a bowl filled with two egg yolks leaving a glass and egg-filled mess on her floor. The man yelped in surprise as he looked down at the ruined eggs and shattered bowl on the floor. She stared at him completely devoid of any emotion as he slowly looked from the floor to Beatrice with a fearful expression on his face. He gulped before he chuckled nervously running his right hand through his curly hair.

   “G-Good morning,” he choked out nervously. “I thought I’d uh, make breakfast as a thank you for giving me a place to stay.” He flashed her a nervous smile as she continued to stare at him expressionless before she slowly moved forward. She stared down at the mess on the floor then up at him.

   “Beatrice,” he uttered before her fist quickly reeled back and struck his jaw sending him stumbling unto the counter behind him.

   “Ow,” he uttered before he glanced up at the woman who was giving him her signature death glare that he has become all too familiar with.

   “You useless dumbass, you can’t do anything right can you,” she hissed out condescendingly towards the man. “You’re going to clean this shit up,” she tossed the hair-covered raiser down at his feet and pointed towards it. “And if I see this shit again, you’re dead.”

   Sherlock looked down in shame as he apologized. “Sorry,” he whispered out.

   The woman scoffed at him as she turned to go back to her bathroom. “Fucking slob,” she uttered as she walked away. Sherlock sighed closing his eyes and rubbing his slightly sore jaw as he began to clean up the mess in the kitchen. After the two ate breakfast Beatrice went to change into some casual clothes as Sherlock sat on the couch in the living room running his right hand through Spike’s fur. He managed to gain some ground with the puppy over these past few days. Beatrice walked into the living room now wearing a black shirt with dark blue jeans and a grey hoodie. She addressed the man sitting idly on the couch.

   “Get your shoes on, we’re going,” she said plainly. Sherlock looked at her with slight confusion.

   “Where are we going exactly,” he asked the woman.

   “To get you some proper clothes. You look like a bum just wearing the same damn sweats and shirt every day,” she said to him.

  His eyes widened a bit as he responded with a simple, “Ok.” He was surprised that Beatrice would be willing to do something like that for him. Especially after that mess earlier. He threw on his black boots as Beatrice put Spike out on her patio with a doggy pad and two bowls with food and water respectively. They walked out into the main hall and down two sets of stairs before opening a door and stepping out. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Sherlock behind Beatrice. They passed a few shops and small restaurants on their walk. It was a bit crowded this morning as evident by the swarm of people the pair kept bumping into. Sherlock glanced up staring off towards the hanging power lines and powered off lamp posts above as he started getting lost in thought for a bit. He felt a flick on his chin and looked down to see Beatrice looking up at him.

   “You alright,” she asked, trying to sound as plain as possible. She didn’t want to have to deal with him having a panic attack here of all places.

   “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied simply. The woman gestured her head to her left, his right. He looked over and saw a moderately sized clothing store, a small neon sign flashing signifying the store to be open was attached to the door. He watched Beatrice move towards the entrance before moving behind her. A small bell dinged as the pair entered followed by a greeting from an elderly Asian with black hair pulled into a bun and a shirt with floral designs, glasses, and khakis adorning her form. The lady was folding clothes near one of the display shelves.

  “Welcome,” she stopped as she stared at Beatrice who smiled and waved back. The lady removed the round glasses she wore from her face and rubbed them before placing them back on and blinking as if she had to adjust her eyes to see who exactly she was staring at properly. Upon realizing who it was in her shop she smiled moving forward quickly to give Beatrice a hug wrapping her arms around mid-section as she spoke.

   “Oh, little Betty, it’s been so long,” she spoke out in pure joy.

   “Yes, it has Mrs. Mai,” Beatrice said back giving the short, elderly woman a hug in return. Sherlock just stared at the two, wondering about their history.

   Mrs. Mai Chen let go of the woman and backed up a bit placing her hands on both of Beatrice’s arms and looking up at her.

   “My you look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. Yuri would be so proud of you becoming a bigshot detective taking down all the bad guys like that one character from that novel,” Mai spoke with a joyful energy that seemed to dwarf even the brightest star.

   “Oh, what was it called again. Shoelock Holmes,” she questioned, struggling to remember the name of the novel.

   Sherlock suddenly spoke up. “Sherlock Holmes,” he said without really thinking. Mai looked behind Beatrice towards the man and stared at him. Then to Beatrice. Then back to him.

   “Oh, you have a new boyfriend now,” she shouted a bit too loudly. Beatrice looked a bit taken back as her brows furrowed while Sherlock looked away trying to hide the blush on his face.

   “What? No, hell no,” Beatrice said back to the woman who simply ignored her and walked up to the man having to really tilt her head back to look up at him.

   “Oh, my you’re a tall one aren’t you,” she said before poking his arms a bit. “Not too flabby on the arms either. And he’s quite handsome and easy on the eyes,” she said concluding her assessment of the man and nodding to herself.

   “Yep, you definitely chose well on this one Betty. I can already tell he’ll make a great man. A lot better than that deadbeat ex of yours,” she said.

   Sherlock looked at the energetic elderly lady as he uttered, “Ex?”

   Beatrice cut in quickly, trying to move on from this awkward conversation. She was thankful that no one else was in the store currently other than the three of them.

   “Yeah, whatever. Mrs. Mai we were hoping to find something for him,” she said gesturing to Sherlock.

   “Oh of course,” Mai said gleefully as she gestured to the man. “Anything for your handsome partner here. Come, come.”

She ushered them towards the back of the store and into the men’s section where Beatrice and Mai helped Sherlock pick out a few outfits and had him try them on in a fitting room. After a few go’s and no go’s, they settled on a few outfits and a tannish brown leather jacket that Sherlock insisted on getting.

   “Thanks, Mrs. Mai. How much do I owe you,” Beatrice asked the woman. Mai shook her head.

   “Consider it on the house. Just stop by to share a cup of tea with me every now and then. And bring your boyfriend to,” Mai said with a warm smile.

   “Sure thing,” Beatrice said with a warm smile and a roll of her eyes. Sherlock stared at her for a bit. He has yet to see her really smile. Especially that warmly. Mai looked over at the man, addressing him.

   “Make sure you take good care of her you hear,” she said with her radiant smile. Sherlock was taken back slightly by the request and quickly glanced over to Beatrice before nodding at the elderly woman. The pair bid the woman fair well before leaving. They walked on in silence for a few moments, Sherlock walking a bit behind Beatrice. The man decided to break the silence between them.

   “Soooo,” he began. “That lady was really nice. Especially with giving us these clothes for free,” he said. Beatrice grunted in response as they continued walking.

   “How did you to meet,” he asked trying to make conversation.

   “She used to watch over me sometimes when I was younger,” she said as she stared down a bit. Silence fell between the pair as they continued.

   “Um, what is an ex if I may ask,” he said suddenly. The woman chuckled out a response.

  “Really? Of all questions you ask me that one,” she said with a slight smirk. “It’s basically someone you used to be romantically involved with,” she explained.

   “Oh,” he responded. He remained in silence for a bit, lost in thought, before he continued.

   “So, it’s someone you loved but for some reason stopped loving right,” he said.

   “Yep,” Beatrice simply responded.

   “I don’t think I could just simply stop caring and move on from or forget someone I loved,” he stated looking down at the bags in his hands. Beatrice shrugged but didn’t respond. He could tell she didn’t really want to talk to him. He doubts she even wanted to be seen in public with him, so he remained silent for the rest of their walk.