Cachexia - III

Date: 14th of August 2030

Time: 21:00PM

"So you're saying that Niles Cormagrion ever came here before?"

That, brought a suprise to Jean, who is supposedly asking the bartender that looks younger than him. The bartender nods and hands him a glass of coffee, knowing Jean comes there for gathering informations about the missing person case; he was the one who provide him with informations before, but under an anonymous name.

"Yes, but he doesn't stay long before taking his leave." The bartender said with a small smile that made Jean perks up. "Did you see his face? How was his expression?"

The question seems to baffle the young bartender at first, but he nods and starts closing his eyes as he starts to recall few things prior. He wipes the glasses slowly while trying to remember on a lot of things.

"He was around your height, sir. But probably a little bit taller. And he has the white hair that truly stand up under the dark. His eyes, too, had different colors of life. The day he came here, he seemed to be exhausted, and has paler than white colored skinsーit was as if he was the undead. His black hoodie covers his head and he merely folds his hands as he ordered a glass of coffee here. I don't exactly know what happened to him, but his hair is really wet; when it doesn't even rain outside." The bartender said with details that actually provides Jean with more than informations he can take from the internet.

"And do you still remember on what time he came to visit here?"

The bartender nods. "Precisely at eight in the nighttime. Because our wooden clock always rings when the time is nigh to our closing time: which is nine."

'Again, another matching number, clock, and date. What actually happened during those hours, back in the past and now? Is this some sort of riddle game for me to solve? I'm a police, not some sort of detective and private investigators hired by the riches, but this doesn't make sense. It feels like some sort of codes in a site and needs to be cracked on the spot, but what on earth is the lead aside from these mentions of repeating eight?' The male ponders as he starts to nod and taps his pen to his notes now things gets even more confusing for him now his mind starts to run everywhere. The wrinkles starts to form on his forehead now he doesn't get what on earth is happening. The bartender seems to notice that so he actually shows concern.

"Sir, if I may ask, what actually happened?" And that made Jean merely stares at the bartender with a simple smile.

"Nothing really happened. I am just trying to solve as to why he is missing. And what is happening during the time of his visit. But this person, isn't dead, is he?" And Jean only had to confirm his suspicion when the young bartender shakes his head. "No, he is alive. I'm pretty sure he is alive, breathing, and sipping his drink just in the place you take seat of right now, sir."

'In my seat, no less.'

"But I heard he is turned into the police, sir. For his crimes...?" The bartender asks as his eyes wanders to the ceilings and to the wooden clock that was located not far from where they are.

Jean knits his eyebrows.

"Do you think the Niles you met last night would try to kill and hurt people like what you read on the news?" And that made the bartender slowly shifts his gaze to the young officer that already curls his hand into fists.

"No. I noticed they are different in appearance. But we never know who is the real criminal beyond this point, and I am sure you know about that too, sir. No one is predictable. And we never know who is the wolf in the sheep clothing... nor a wolf that is waiting."

Jean shakes his head hearing that one piece of warning and advice, in a sense. He immediately finished his beverage and smiles.

"Thank you for the piece of advice, young man."

And just like that, Jean actually stood up from his seat and thanked the young male who helped him thorough his investigations. Without further ado, he storms out from the building and starts tinkering with his brain to solve the crazy-riddled puzzles that seemed to be more and more crazier and leads to nowhere the more he tried to match the informations he just gathered. It doesn't take him long to get out from the cafe and to the stree now he gets one important fact to be reported with: that Niles is still alive and mostly not the one who is detained in the police office right now.

'So that means... whatever happened in his registry, biography, or even the folder I received? It feels like two different Niles, but they are oddly the same. The description I was given from the bartender earlier too, fits. Did something actually happened?'

And as deeper as things goes, Jean actually starts to get himself even more focused to the current situation he needs to assess; and finds possibility. He instantly takes a detour from the cafe and supposedly about to take turn to the road ahead, but when his arms were yanked behind, the male doesn't really heed on what was going on nor remembering to put his stance in case the criminals might just crush him at this point. Just before he can even fought back, the moment he feels a blunt object already hits the back of his head hard and painfully, Jean actually lose half of his consciousness and slowly blacks out, with only a small whisper to drift inside his mind for seconds,

"Goodnight, Mr. Jean,"

before having his entire consciouness drifts away to the other land and leaves him out cold, on the concrete.

❖❖❖

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick...

Tock....

Time passed. The clock kept moving its gears. Then the whole world will entirely move and change just in few days.

And when every day is just moving ahead without even noticing a single person had disappeared for who knows how long, even Jean knows he isn't going too make it out alive.

Not when he just woke up several hours ago, inside a basement that doesn't have any kind of lighting, not even any kind of comfort inside. Nothing, but a wet and damp place, abandoned, and totally a foreign abandoned place that seemed to be... warehouse.

With just a bed and a chair inside.

Jean doesn't exactly know how he had gotten himself into this mess nor remembering what even happened to him previouslyーnow he is all tied, gagged, and all above all, feeling hurting since he doesn't know how long had he been tied to the wooden chair, with the strenous position. He can feel the strain starts to kill his body inside and made his muscles screamed, but he can't say anythingーnor letting out screamーand just letting out a muffled groan of struggle as he tried to release himself free.

He can listen to the water dripping from somewhere, his own erratic breath, and the loud clatter of his chair.

Until the blunt feeling on his back starts to eat him away and invited a muffled scream from his lungs. And that is how he recall what had just happened on the fateful night.

'Right, I was hit by something. And no, instead of running my mind free on where I am right now, I should focus on what is happening, registering on how should I escape, and lastly, where... where are my shirt, my belongings...?'

His eyes wanders to his slightly numb body that is not dressed, at all; his realization just sunk to his brain and into his focus now he is in a dangerous position. He can see his skin slightly scraped by the ropes that seemed to be going to kill him beyond this point. The male sighs and winces when the rope holds him stronger when he tried to move or break free, at least, to no avail.

Until sets of loud claps came from somewhere takes his entire attention.

Jean instantly turns his head to one side and to the other when he can't find the source of the clapping itself. But when a shadow came into his sight and befall upon his tied body, the male gulps his saliva and turns his head into the direction where it came from. He instantly glares his eyes to the silhouette that starts to shape into a man's body for not long, wincing slightly to take precautions on what will happen next. He trembles in anticipation as he listens to the clap that grows closer and closer...

...too close to ring inside his ear, even.

Until it stops, along with the small steps that stops just right in front of him.

Jean gulps his saliva when he saw the hooded figure that still stood in front of him. Bullets of sweats starts forming on his forehead and streams down to his neck as he recognizes the person who took captive of him. The darkness combined with the eerie, unknown feeling starts to fill in the room once the person before him smiles and lowers his hood, revealing the pale ghostly like skin under the dimmest light. Jean's eyes traces after what he can see at that time: a male that is definitely the same as the photograph he hold onto during his search.

He'sー

His eyes widens when a hand reaches out to his cheeks and stroking it gently. Too gentle, even, Jean doesn't believe if he will be able to survive at this point.

"Are you afraid, Mr. Jean?"

A hoarse, soft-induced tone can be heard from that thin lips of his as Jean merely fixates his eyes to the other person that was already crouched just in front of him and pretending to be all attentive now he is a hostage. Jean merely looks away when the male smilesーa fake smile of a psychopath, he noted.

'Now I wonder where did he come to know my name?' Jean cursed inwardly as he tries to mantain his rationality now he has to breathe in the same room with the man he seek, but not predicting such turns of events, at all.

"Oh come on, look at me." He said that softly at first, but when Jean doesn't heed what he said, the older male before him instantly grabs his jawline harshly and ensure Jean would 'look' at him. Jean gulps his face and shuddered greatly when the other male smile even widerーlooking as if he finds a toy. He can feel the fear haunting him now the missing person he seek for is definitely in front of him. Still alive. But committing a crime worse than what the newspaper even give: kidnapping an officer like him and holding him hostage, naked. He'll definitely get charged with more than treasons if this came to the media.

"That's a good boy." He laughs like a kid as he strokes Jean's jawline slowly, which makes the officer feels disgusted now he doesn't even need such touch, especially when he is tied and has no freedom now he feels more than restricted.

And as if the disgust isn't visible to Jean's sight, the older male before him pretends to introduce himself now.

"My name is Niles, Mr. Jean. Or should I call you Jean, the detectiveーfrom a police officer?" A sarcasm that lands straight to Jean makes the officer glares his eyes and huffed as his mouth is still gagged. Niles, however, merely laughs it off as if he is just joking; he wasn't, this person is smart. He even holds out my police badge, my police ID, and all the things I carry with me and scatters it on the floor when I didn't even ask him to; certainly he knows how to play things out.

"Now then, would you let me know why are you so fixated on my case, Jean?" The male asks like he was having a quiz with me, but waving my notebook and shows it to me. I back away for few seconds but the male smiles. "Was it because of the same triple eight numbers? Are you going to ask me about what happened in the past? What are you going to do?" Niles asks hurriedly as if he is excited with the whole thing now, he suddenly wear one unreadable expression and clenched my jawline too hard, I winced in agony.

"...or are you going to ask why I haven't die yet?"

A question and a mysterious smile etched on his lips suddenly made Jean actually feared everything he'd come onto and gathered now he seemed to be pulled into something he doesn't even know what.

Especially when Niles's smile haunts his mind now he creeps even closer to Jean's face and yet, another question that seems to be going to make him regret why he involved himself into this whole mess now.

"And why the living is still here. Shouldn't you ask that, Mister who searched through my case from years ago? For what?"

A real horror.

"I heard everything about how you are actually trying to find me after all the years of my disappearance. Or no... acting on your ownーseparating yourself from the division... to find the truth? What is the truth for you? Jean."

To have someone know your every movements. It takes minutes for the young officer to learn everything necessary, especially what Niles had just said; it gives him more than enough information to know what is happening.

Jean's eyes widens when he just came to learn about what Niles had just said to him just now; Niles had every of the things Jean brought with and the young officer's important files are definitely in his captor's possessionーnow he follows each and every progress he did. The young officer knits his eyebrows when the reality just sinks in; he wrote his progresses in the note he kept with him ever since and that might be the reason why Niles follows the recent and updated progress on the missing person case.

Certainly Jean admits the victim is not a victim, but something else.

Now he realized he might just be a captive of another set of perhaps, a mystery game, he knows he should put a fear to what came to bite him when all he wanted was... to find out the truth. Especially when a dagger had came to slice his skin slowly, awaiting to dig even deeper inside his flesh when he couldn't say anything or even answering the question by his captor.

Lesson learnt: truth hurts.

Just like the tearing and bleeding flesh of his.

❖❖❖