Raining Comets (Part 1)

Cher Harrison had been staring at her computer screen for the past two days. After the two major incidents at the research center, she and Yeong were immediately arrested for misconduct and detained in a holding cell. Neither of them spoke a word about the incidents nor did they plan to. That was, until they were unexpectedly bailed out of jail by a strange man in a black suit. He was someone completely unfamiliar to them nor did he say anything to them as he drove the two researchers home. But their sudden act of bravery and betrayal from Cher and Yeong still came with their own set of consequences. Yeong had been released from duty and fired from the Black Lotus Research Facility.

Meanwhile, Cher, strangely, didn't receive any severe consequences at all.

Cher Harrison had received a series of text messages from her superior. He somehow continued to keep up with the updates on the ongoing project. Due to his involvement, Cher’s new task involved tracking down the Wolves and bringing them to a new location.

The plan would require Tazuna's body. He’d been equipped with special grade optical eyes and a bio-species microchip which could be tracked over vast distances. The beta testing of the microchip was repurposed for the Wolves, who were viewed as a more valuable test subject.

Which was exactly what was being done now. Only there was nothing to be found. Cher’s bewilderment was as clear as crystal. The blinking blip on her radar disappeared the morning after the Wolves escaped. Cher was confused and very rightfully so. Animals, no matter how big or small, don't just vanish into thin air. Unless they went extinct. Tazuna and his friends fought to survive. The female researcher doubted they'd allow something as disheartening as extinction.

She knew Tazuna better than any other researcher.

She also knew if Tazuna wanted to be found, he would've done so by now. Cher took an intake of air and leaned her head against the back of her chair. She straightened up before she reached over and grabbed a picture of herself and baby Tazuna. Memories of that fateful moment flooded in her mind.

Her phone rang, sending her back into the present day. Cher carefully sat down the picture and reached into her pocket, removing her cellphone and answered it. From the moment she heard the voice on the other end, she felt her chest heave a heavy sigh.

“Have you called to keep me entertained?” Cher asked, as she spoke without even bothering to properly greet Yeong.

“Still being a killjoy.” Yeong joked, while his voice sounded lazy and uninspired. “Can't your colleague call you from time to time?”

“And why would you do that? You got fired from your job, remember? You really caused us researchers through an awful lot of grief.”

“It's a small price to pay to save your credibility.”

The relationship between the two seemed to strengthen further, after the incident at the research center. Yeong knew despite how much Cher deeply cared for him, he knew her job and research came first. Meanwhile, Cher knew the rules and regulations of the research center were not only strict but confidential. In other words, if someone were to lose their job, during their time at the Black Lotus Research Facility, their records, files, research, and even their existence were erased from the data files.

As if they were never employed to work in the research center.

And this very thing happened to Kim Yeong. He became unemployed from the Black Lotus Research Center. The only thing he had going, was his recent contacts with Cher and his reception job at a local animal hospital.

“Anyway, how's the veterinarian job?” Cher asked, after a few minutes of silence.

“Overnights are quiet as usual." Yeong answered, with a bored sigh. "What about you? Did you manage to find your precious Wolf?”

“It's strange.”

“What is?”

“I didn't think all this time, I'd be spending all this time with an actual Wolf. Even saying it out loud makes me feel like I've been living in some sort of weird dream.”

“It's to be expected. When an animal gets rediscovered again, it's like a shock to a researcher.”

“But that's what's strange about it. Nobody has seen a Wolf in hundreds of years.”

“Seems like the stories about them seem to be true.”

“Stories? You mean those fairytales you've been obsessed about since college?”

“Still the critic, aren't you? Don't you know the saying Cher? 'All fairytales have a little bit of truth in them.'”

“And what does that have to do with my job?”

“Well, maybe the stories surrounding the Wolves aren't any more different.”

“Is that the reason why you called me this late in the night?”

“Actually. I was wondering if you could see the Aurora Lights from your apartment.”

“The… Aurora? Didn't they also vanish over twenty years ago?”

“It's been a long while since I've seen them. I read about it in a book once. The book said the Aurora Lights were seen as a gateway to another plain of existence. Or something like that.”

“Again with this?”

As Cher listened to the rambling voice of Yeong through her cell phone, she cradled her body with her left arm as she held a glass of cold red wine. Her eyes swept over her room. Her bedroom was small, yet spacious enough to accommodate a full sized computer desk, a TV, and a full sized bed. Walking across the room, she gently moved aside the sun filtering curtains. But the only thing she saw was the dark sky filled with dimly lit stars.

Stories were once told about how the stars were seen as souls, left behind by deceased ancestors. As heavenly innocent as it sounded, the stars couldn't hold a candle to the beauty of the Aurora. The bands of colorful lights would explode and dance above the earth. These lights became a phenomenon once observed by all of Mankind. But under mysterious circumstances, the Aurora Lights vanished without a trace.

While no person had concrete evidence on the Aurora Lights’ sudden disappearance, rumors turned into wild conspiracy theories. No one knew when the stories of the Aurora started exactly, but there was one theory that slowly began to circulate in the smallest corners of the world: Wolves were directly responsible for the Aurora Lights’ disappearance. Why else were Wolves known for their nightly howling? Do they have a way of communicating with the Heavens? And if so, what other secrets are the Wolves hiding?

Cher shook her head at the thoughts. Wolves weren’t creatures who had control of the cosmos. In fact, Wolves were often blamed for everything that couldn't be explained with science. She'd been subjected to these outlandish stories since meeting Yeong in their college years. Yeong may have looked like a man who seemed like he was just existing just to exist, but he was smart as hell. In fact, the first time Cher heard of the Aurora Lights phenomenon was from Yeong, who coincidentally mentioned a book he was told about during his first research investigation.

Thinking back on that day, Cher felt her heart start to tremble unexpectedly. A small smile formed on her face. She always enjoyed seeing the Aurora Lights as a child. Her body would feel the electric impulses of the lights radiating in her body every time she turned her eyes to the sky. So why couldn't she feel that same emotion in her adulthood?

“Cher? Can you hear me?” Yeong asked, breaking Cher's train of thought, as he was still on the phone.

“I’m sorry.” Cher apologized, her voice suddenly sounding exhausted. “It’s getting late, so I think I'm going to get some rest.”

The researcher stared back at the skies, her hand pressed against the window, the bitter cold from the outside, stinging her fingers. Memories of playing with Tazuna in the snow and spending time with him made her face trickle with tears. They'd been through tough times, both good and bad. Even now, as an adult, deep down, her body had begun to react without being near Tazuna.

And it was in that moment, sparks of colors flashed in the reflection of her glasses.