Chapter 8

Nadia let out a scream.

Varg came to the rescue, grabbing the woman by the waist and pulling her into the room.

As they entered, we saw a small figure: a child about six or seven years old, her tiny hands clutching the woman's tattered top.

"Mom..." she whimpered, her big eyes brimming with tears and her red nose a testament to her wailing.

"Come here!" Varg urged the small child.

She dragged her feet without looking a Varg, completely focused on her mother. She didn't seem to notice us at all, continuously calling out to her mom, who was likely beyond hearing.

Despite the woman's strength, Varg managed to hold on to her, bumping into the wall multiple times but keeping his firm grip on her waist.

"Do you need help?" asked Aidan carefully.

Varg shook his head in a hurry. "Just stay there. Don't come closer!"

Then he disappeared behind the curtain door, bringing the woman and the child with him. The child followed quietly, but I could see tears streaming down her face.

A moment later, Varg emerged from behind the curtain with a frown. "I told you not to scream," he said, making a sudden move toward Nadia. Aidan and I jumped between them. Aidan extended his arm to keep Varg at a distance, while I stood in front of Nadia.

"Easy. You don't want to be reckless with Nadia. She has us, in case you're oblivious," I said.

Varg groaned through his teeth and stepped back. "Of course, I wouldn't want to mess with Monsters."

He took a seat, his face contorted with a mix of anger and frustration, as if we had pushed him to his limit. However, he restrained himself from acting out. "She's my wife. As you can see, she's become like this. I don't know what happened to her. One day, out of the blue, she just turned into a crank."

"And that child?" I asked.

"Oh, she's my daughter, Roxy," Varg replied.

Feeling the tension in the room, Nadia tugged at my jacket, signaling that we should leave. "We'll go now. Let us know if there are any developments in your sister's whereabouts," I said to Varg.

I pulled Aidan along with me, and we stepped out of the house.

Once we reached the surface, I checked on Nadia to make sure she was recovering from the shock. "Nad, are you okay?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I am now. It was suffocating in there, not because of my mask or anything. I just didn't like being there. Anyway, I noticed a few things."

She drew out Sanna's letter that she brought with her. She traced the texture of the paper with her fingers.

"Something is fishy. This is too fancy a paper for someone from the Copper Zone to use. No offense, Tes. Even though Sanna is one of the Monsters, as you said, she wouldn't have the coins and access to this kind of paper. The Public Store didn't sell this."

Aidan scrutinized the paper and gasped. "She's right. This is the paper that our parents use for official letters and memos. How did she get a hold of this?"

"She must have gotten it from someone on the higher-up."

"Let's verify it."

"How?"

"We'll ask her husband. Anyone knows where we can find her?"

"She's a customer. I know her address."

Aidan winced and pressed his index finger to his temple, staggering slightly. I supported him and asked with concern, "Aidan, what's wrong?"

"Is the headache back?" Nadia approached.

Right. He had that thing he wanted to hide from us. He pushed me away and turned his back to Nadia. "I'm fine. Let's go."

***

We sped through the streets in Aidan's automobile, powered by solar energy it gathered during the day.

It was a stark contrast to my own vehicle, cobbled together from spare parts and purchased at exorbitant prices on the black market.

Thanks to Aidan's vehicle, the journey from Zone C to Zone E took only twenty minutes, half the time it would have taken in my own.

It was a reminder that this world favored the wealthy.

He parked the automobile near the gate, and we entered on foot.

Sanna's house was two blocks away from mine. Zone E, the largest zone throughout Genesis, housed the most citizens. We had five blocks in total. After entering the sole gate of Zone E, visitors were led to different front doors leading to different blocks.

We took the manual elevator down fifty floors underground to reach Sanna's residence. Her door, painted red, would have the name 'Casimir' on it to identify the resident.

Aidan found the house with a red door. It was exactly as I described, except for one thing. The door was opened.

Aidan entered the empty room, giving himself permission to inspect the interior. Nadia and I followed suit.

The place was messy, as expected of a house rarely occupied by its owner, especially a single person living alone. However, Varg mentioned that Sanna had a husband, yet there was no sign of him.

"Where could this so-called husband be?"

I carefully scanned the area for any possible clues. "I have no idea. I have never met Sanna or her husband."

"We can't be sure if he's telling the truth," Nadia stated, still holding a grudge from their previous encounter.

"Who?'

"That Varg guy."

"For now, that's the only truth we know," I said.

Aidan clicked his tongue, frustration on his face. "There's definitely something going on. We have to find out more. Tes, let's take turns keeping an eye on Varg. Visit him while you're out. I'll do the same. If he does something bad, we'll know. If he receives new information, we'll know."

"Will do. Now tell me about your condition. Tell me the truth, Aid."

"What are you talking about? There's nothing to tell."

"Lies! You've been feeling pain, right? I know that you're taking more painkillers these days," Nadia retorted.

"Shut up, Nad! It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

"Let's get you checked out. My mom would drop everything to evaluate your symptoms."

"Come on! You're overreacting. It's just a headache. What's so grave about it?"

"It's not normal to have constant headaches, Aid. There must be something," Nadia insisted.

"If you want us to shut up about this, you have to do this. Once my mom clears you, I'll be out of your hair."

"Geez. Seriously?" Aidan made a gesture.

"Yeah. Seriously."

We walked back to my house. It was fine until we were right in front of my door.

Aidan suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his head. He grunted in pain and began punching his head, seemingly trying to alleviate the agony.

Nadia and I tried to intervene and prevent him from hurting himself, but his pain seemed to overwhelm him. He even threw Nadia against the wall.

But I held on. I had to step on the wall to prevent him from throwing me too.

Nadia banged on my door, desperately calling for my mother's help.

"Mrs. Rho! Please help us! Aidan is in pain and needs your help!"

To be continued...