Chapter 1
A blond man walked briskly along the dimly lit streets, casting shadows when he passed every street lamp. The cool autumn breeze gently swept the flame-coloured leaves off their branches; they floated around him, creating a picturesque atmosphere. But the man took no time to admire the scenery, and seemed to be in a hurry.
The strange thing about the city streets was that- it was empty. No shop was open, no apartment lights were on. There seemed to be no inhabitance at all. The man quickened his pace, and the opposing wind ruffled his hair and coat. He passed a few benches, and was about to turn a corner when a familiarly playful yet tender voice stopped him short, [Steel, did you miss me?]
Steel turned around and saw his partner, sitting on a bench with her legs crossed neatly on one side. She wore a blue trench coat and blue boots, perfectly matching her eyes, with her wavy blond hair cascading behind her in the wind as a finishing touch. Her witty remark had two implications, one being that they had not seen each other for a long time since their last assignment, and the other being that Steel had- in literal fact- missed her.
Steel couldn't help but smile a little. "I thought you were tired of me," he said light-heartedly.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Sapphire smiled and stood up to join him, and they walked down the street together.
"I did miss your presence," he admitted to her. He realised that he was more than glad to work with her again, it was also a bit of a relief. But he quickly reverted to his usual serious disposition and changed the subject to their assignment. "We've been briefed that everyone in this city has disappeared since eighteen hours ago, save for one single person, am I right?"
"Yes."
The two wandered through the streets for quite a long while, and an edge of impatience creeped into Steel's voice, "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
Sapphire looked up at an obscure apartment building, hidden from view by the larger ones. "Much less difficult than that." Steel followed her gaze to see a yellow light coming from a room on the tenth floor.
A loud rattling came at the door. Deserale groaned and pulled the covers over her head. The knocking came again, this time at least two times louder. Deserale tried her best to block out the noise, but she couldn't help thinking: What idiot would come knocking at my door? Shouldn't they be at the celebration? Or, have they come to ask why I'm not at the celebration?
The pounding went on and on, and she wondered why the door hadn't been knocked off its hinges yet. Ignore, ignore, ignore, she told herself. Finally, the racket stopped. Appeased, Deserale fluffed up her pillows and dropped off to sleep.
And intriguing dream had just begun to unfold, when she felt her covers being violently yanked away from her, and her body was hit immediately by a cold gush of air. She let out an ear-piercing shriek.
Two people loomed over her, but she couldn't make out who they were in the dark. One of them somehow managed to turn the light on from where they were standing. That was when she realised how exposed she was, wearing nothing but undergarments. She hugged her covers to her body and shrieked again.
Sapphire spoke first, apologetically, "I am so terribly sorry, but we knocked several times and you wouldn't answer the door."
Deserale couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Knocked? Several times? I'm surprised you haven't pulverized my door, for God's sake!"
"I said we are sorry, but we need to see you for some urgent matters," Sapphire explained calmly.
Deserale was exceedingly vexed. "You disturbed my sleep! I don't know who are or what your business is here, but I don't care! You disrupted my sleep!! And your intrusion into my personal... space... is obnoxious! Do you expect me to look presentable at this time of night??"
"I'm afraid we have no choice, but we seriously need to talk about-"
"I AM NOT EVEN PROPERLY CLOTHED!"
Steel slammed his hand down on her bed frame, his voice overpowering hers, "I can see that you are in the worst state possible, but WE NEED TO TALK!!"
The impact Steel's hand had on the bed frame shook the whole mattress tremendously, and it gave Deserale a nasty shock. She stared at the two odd people, open-mouthed. After a minute, she finally recovered and breathed, "Fine... Just give me a moment to dress."
Sapphire gave her a polite nod, and she and Steel exited the bedroom.
After about ten minutes, Deserale came outside to see the two people seated still on her couch. They were so unmoving that she thought they were frozen.
"What is it you want?" she asked impatiently.
"Please sit," Sapphire told her. Reluctantly she sat, choosing the chair furthest from them.
"I understand that just now was the most unrefined way to confront you, and for that we'll now start with proper introductions," Sapphire began, her voice warm, but firm. She stood up in front of Deserale.
"My name is Sapphire, and this is my friend Steel. It is a pleasure to meet you, and we seek your cooperation." She held out her hand, but Deserale did not take it. Instead, she was glaring at them. "What sort of cooperation?"
Sapphire withdrew her hand, perplexed by the lady's behavior. She took a step forward and said, "To recover the missing population of this city." She sent to Steel, [Name: Deserale Debouti. Race: human. Age: thirty-five...]
"I do not know what you are talking about," Deserale stared at her, uncomfortable with their proximity.
[Profession: clerk. Marital status: single. That's about all I can gather from this distance. She is completely unaware of the events since eighteen hours ago.] Sapphire backed away and sat down next to Steel.
"You are saying, you are not up to date with whatever is going on outside your apartment? Steel uttered incredulously.
"I told you, I was asleep!" Deserale said, looking indeed like she wanted to get back to bed as soon as possible.
"If you must know, your fellow town dwellers have disappeared eighteen hours ago, and you seem to be the only person present in this entire city."
She just stared at him stubbornly. "So what do you expect me to do?"
For awhile even Steel looked perturbed. He gave Sapphire a quick glance before rising, signalling for her to follow him.
Sapphire joined him in the kitchen. "What is wrong with that woman?" Steel blurted in a whisper. "She doesn't seem to care that everyone in her city has dematerialised."
"Not forgetting she is the only person who hasn't dematerialised," Sapphire added.
"There must be something different about her, or something that she had done differently," Steel surmised.
"She is very different from most we have encountered," Sapphire said thoughtfully. "Her mannerism is contrary to most people. As you have seen, she wouldn't shake my hand, neither is she curious about us or how we have teleported into her room. She asks no questions."
"And for that, I am thankful," Steel remarked, relaxing his shoulders a little. He was sick and tired of having to deal with humans and their irrelevant questions.
"And given that she lives alone, she does seem rather outcast."
"She does remind me of someone," Sapphire gave him a fleering look, which he took no notice.
"What do you know about this city?"
"Nothing, except that it is the third smallest city-state, after Monaco, and is very disconnected from the rest of the world. We do not have much information."
"Then we need to find out more. From her," Steel said resolutely, and headed back to the sitting room.
Deserale watched disinterestedly as Sapphire and Steel re-entered. Steel sat down and began, "Tell me about this city of yours."
The reluctant woman mumbled, "Elliria, the most imbecile and backward nation you'll ever know."
What she said struck a chord with Steel. "Elaborate on 'backward'."
Deserale sighed and shook her head. "We can't do anything around here. Nothing at all, except overwork, obey and worship our leader."
"How old is this state?" Steel probed. Sapphire, in the meantime, was doing some probing of her own. She went around, touching the furniture and walls. She leaned against a particular wall at the edge of the apartment and listened. Her eyes widened, as if something had caught her attention. She cast Steel a quick glance before disappearing out of the front door.
"A hundred years. We haven't progressed since. There has been no elections, no new leader, everything is-"
"Hold it. No new leader?" Steel said, confounded.
Sapphire reached the bottom of the stairs and breathed the atmosphere. She could hear the sounds of merry singing, in the distance. She stepped out onto the road and walked down...
"We are being ruled under a necrocracy."
Steel furrowed his eyebrows, unfamiliar with the term.
"Our government still operates under a former, dead leader."
Steel stood up abruptly. "We've got it, Sapphire!" He looked around and realized that his partner wasn't with them. "Sapphire?" He searched the kitchen and bedrooms, but to no avail.
Sapphire approached the city square. Bright red banners hung from the buildings, with words such as "Hail!" and "Rejoice!" printed on them. The singing was now much louder and much clearer. She stepped onto the open ground and spread out her arms, trying to take in as much information as possible. She took a step forward, and suddenly disappeared from view.
