If I could hear my own heartbeat, I’m pretty sure it’d be stopped by now. What’s going on here? She knows who Simon is? Who saw us there and lived, then?

“I… I don’t know. They weren’t dead when we got there, and—” Shit, that only makes the sound in her heart more aggravated. She thinks we had something to do with it, and I don’t know what would convince her otherwise.

“Of course they weren’t. I hope not to offend you when I say that the both of you shouldn’t be alive. Did you see what happened?” Her voice is cutting now.

Hopelessly, I shake my head. “We were talking, that was all, and before we knew it, two people were sick, and he kept me from looking back, so I didn’t realize there were more sick people.”

“Seems hard to miss twelve other bodies.”

Twelve corpses. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Too many to be around. Answer her.

“I didn’t know. He didn’t let me look back. Someone vomited fleshy strings, and another was surrounded by them. We were scared.”

The shock in my voice makes her pulse soften a touch. She sighs with a hum, and she almost looks away, but seems to remember that she’s dealing with some kind of anomaly, and stops herself. She moves on, not having an explanation for or lingering on what little we saw. “I don’t find it coincidental that both you and your sister survived these events, but like I said, neither of you are the first. I’ve questioned Rhoades before, but he seems utterly clueless.” For some reason, the idea of Simon being pulled in for questioning when he knows just as much as we do is jarring. It kind of hurts to think about. He’s too soft for this stuff.

“Why did you question Simon? Did he… do something?”

“No, not anymore, but he was found near a scene similar to the one at Echo Park. We feared he might’ve been tampering with evidence.”

“So you don’t think he caused anything?”

Kazami shakes her head once, but I hear some kind of hurt in her pulse too. I wish I could tell you what that’s like, hearing pain in a pulse. I can feel it the more I hone in on the sound, like it’s my pain. “No,” she says. “We’ve had K9 units investigate him for possible biological hazards and came up with nothing, aside from endless barking from the dogs.”

“Wouldn’t that mean something was wrong?” I hate playing devil’s advocate, but I want to stop this thing happening as much as anyone else. If Simon is somehow accidentally causing something to happen, we should all know about it.

“Yes, so we put him through further testing-” Like what? “-but we believe the dogs set off a false alarm all because Rhoades was so nervous. At least, we figure they were just picking up on his nerves. Quite honestly, he shivered so much during each interview that it was difficult to continue the questioning.” Sheesh… I wish for a moment she wasn’t so harsh on him. “We confirmed he wasn’t a hazard and let him go. Was he with your sister by chance, when she was at Dual Shriek Studios?”

“No,” I respond quickly, but emphatically, in hopes to defend my friend. “They’ve never even met.”

“How do you know Rhoades?”

“He’s a friend. I met him at the café I work in when he started coming in a couple of months ago.”

“In June?”

“Yes.”

“When all of this started?”

“Er… yes.” There’s little I can say to redirect her suspicions, I know that. I didn’t even think about the timing of the suicides and Simon showing up, but what the hell does he have to do with people doing that to themselves? I don’t know what else but the truth to tell her. It’d be stupid to even think of bullshitting her. I look back down at the poster for Rhea. Harbor City… I look at the detective.

“I’m worried that my sister is sick. She has no business being in Harbor City; it’s the opposite direction of Dual Shriek, which is in Glendale. The sick tend to attack other people, right? I saw it happen just this morning while I was looking for her.” I tell her about the sick person at Hidden Trove, how she attacked Isabelle before someone ‘stepped in’ and stopped them. She nodded along to this, and that lessens the feel of her pulse drilling into my chest.

“I see. I have also witnessed those who are sick getting violent with others. This only means we must have more urgency finding her, but, Ever…” Now she looks away, her eyes lowered to the floor before she looks at me again. “Two things. We don’t know of any way to heal someone who is sick. Once they are unwell, only death or permanent disappearance follows. The second thing…” She sighs, her eyes closed now. She speaks slowly. “Do you suspect that you are unwell?”

I pause. My fingers feel a little cold now. I hadn’t really given it much thought until just now. Yes, I think I thought it once or twice in passing, but never stayed stuck on it. I can only shrug. I think if I talk my voice will crack. Kazami feels bad for me. I wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at her, but her pulse is telling me so.

“Simon Rhoades is sick.”

“What?”

“I cannot divulge into the details on why we suspect so, but we believe he may be running out of time.”

I can’t process this yet. I’m sure it’ll hit me later. Too much information right now.

Kazami continues. “I suppose it makes sense that if you, your sister, and Rhoades are already sick, you can’t be affected more than once.” Kazami sits back down, no longer on high alert.

I guess I did what I wanted- avert her suspicions- but now I’m left with this sense of impending doom for not only myself, but Rhea and Simon. If she’s right, I have a general sense of what’ll happen to me. I hope I lose consciousness quickly, surely the people that are unwell aren’t conscious. It’s confusing sometimes. Sometimes they kill themselves, sometimes they just disappear (which I guess is a kind of suicide, to go into permanent hiding), or I guess that vein thing I saw at Echo Park happens. What does that mean, though? I don’t want to know. I hate the idea of any of those things happening to me, Rhea, or Simon. None of those are fates any of us deserve. No one deserves it. I feel stupid for not thinking harder about that before, just like Rhea wanted me to. She just wanted me to care, and I failed her. Now here we are.

“Ever?”

“Yes?” I snap out of it.

“I think it would be best if you stayed away from both Simon Rhoades and your sister. Like we discussed, sick individuals have a chance at becoming violent with others, and for the safety of all three of you, it’s best to keep your distance. If someone spots her, they will call us, and I will keep you updated. Please let me know if you experience any odd symptoms.” I can’t. You’d shoot me on the spot. She turns off the tape recorder. Her heart is heavy. She speaks slowly. “Are you aware of the commonality among the deaths related to this phenomenon?”

“That they all… cut their skin to bleed themselves out?” Yes, that’s how we’ve been keeping track of the numbers of victims. They always find those stripes all over their arms, sometimes their chest.

“No.”

My brow furrows.

“Their hearts.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

“They are missing.” Kazami’s stare is cold. “The victims lose their hearts, and we have not found a single one.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t think of anything at all. No one has mentioned this at all, unless I… Well, maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. No, Rhea would have said something about it. Was I not listening? The biggest thing I’ve learned from being in the middle of this is that I’ve been more selfish with what takes up space in my mind than I realize. I didn’t think it was my problem, but in crises like these, you can’t afford to think you’re the exception. How stupid was I?

“Someone is behind, at least, the taking of their hearts. We don’t know why or how it’s done, considering the hundreds that have died since June.”

I can only stare into space.

“I want to thank you for your time and cooperation, Ever.”

I just nod. I can’t think of anything useful to respond with. Maybe it’s the shock. She also takes back the poster looking for Rhea.

“This has been hard for everyone, but I can’t imagine the stress you’re under. I find it admirable that you were able to come in and discuss this with me. I’m sorry all of this is happening to you.” Her words sound flat as usual, but her heart… I can feel that hurt again. I guess she’s not as cold as she seems. I wonder why she feels like she has to do that, act so standoffish. Is it because of her job? Just as I try to zero in on her pulse, my own voice interrupts me.

“What should I do now?” I ask her, the feeling of my voice in my throat somewhat bringing me back to the surface.

She isn’t sure of what to say initially. “Continue your daily activities, but if you feel unwell, I would highly advise you to stay home. It’d be the first place we look if we need to find you.”

I shudder a little. I haven’t stopped feeling unwell since this morning. “I get it.”

“We’re going to find your sister. And again, please stay away from her, as well as Rhoades.”

“Rhea’s my sister, and Simon’s my friend. They would never do anything to hurt me.”

Kazami’s pulse pauses before continuing. “Then I suppose there is nothing I can do to stop you then, is there?” Silence, aside from her steady pace. “It was a pleasure speaking with you.” My cue to leave.

I nod again, standing up and heading for the door, but the handle twitches before I’m able to touch it. I gasp as a figure stands in the doorway. I didn’t hear anything… No thuds or pulse or beating. Nothing that told me someone was behind the door. I startle a bit, gasping because at first, I’m unsure if there’s really a person there or not. He’s impossibly tall and really… broad. I didn’t even think he was a person at first, just some apparition or hallucination from stress. He doesn’t say anything, or even react to my surprise. Maybe he isn't there. He just… stares for a moment, his eyes looking all over me. I guess I don’t realize right away that I’m staring too- I’m sort of stuck on the patterns- markings? Scars?- on his face. Splotches of a different color than the rest of his skin with no obvious consistency. He looks really stiff, standing uncomfortably straight, but his eyes are way too attentive, and always moving. There’s something oppressive about his energy, and I don’t like it. Suddenly, I notice there’s some kind of boyish giggling from behind him, and a second person- a kid- pushes through the space under the man’s arm into the room. The kid comes up to my side, looking up. He must be 12 or something.

“H-hi, again!” he says with a wide smile on his face. I hear a mustardy kind of yellow in his voice. He’s way too excited for my liking right now. Wait—

“ ‘Again?’ “ I ask out loud, not really meaning to.

“Miles, please,” the man mumbles monotonously. It sounds like he’s talking through his teeth, but very calmly. His voice sounds like a burnt orange plasma. It’s kind of formless, but it has the potential to spark into something bigger. He ushers the kid, Miles, into a chair, brushing past me without a greeting, and Miles hums while softly kicking his legs in the chair. Neither of them have pulses that I can hear. I’m a little freaked out, even though I probably shouldn’t be. The detective speaks up again.

“Sorry,” I’m not sure which one of us she’s apologizing to. “Maldov, Miles, this is Ever Belmonte. Ever, this is Maldov, and his brother Miles.”

“What?” I can’t save the question from escaping out into the open air.

“Maldov is my assistant.”

“Oh.”

Maldov. What a strange name. Guess I’m one to talk, huh? I think I need to go home. I’ve met way too many weirdos for one day. I look over my shoulder and wave at Kazami. She lifts a hand up, sending me off. Miles waves energetically, and Maldov… well, he’s just staring, so I’m just gonna go now. Something is up with those two, but I can’t stick around to find out right now. I’ll worry about them later if I have to, but I have bigger problems right now.

The walk back to the lobby feels way longer than it was when I first walked in, but eventually, I’m finally outside again. I have two options now, I think. Standing in the oddly cool summer air (never thought I’d ever say that sentence in my life living down here), I’m having a hard time deciding. I think about Kazami's words. Is it really time to go home? Or should I see what there is to do in Harbor City?