[Shadow world]
The shadow world of the crime scene was different to say the least and I am using the word 'different' loosely from my perspective.
Everything beside the shop names were smeared in red paint. At least it was red paint that I wanted to believe to the alternative.
The atmosphere here was the complete opposite feeling from the school. The feeling could be described as helplessness, sadness and loneliness.
"Someone has come to play with me."
I raised my revolver and aimed at the direction in which I heard the voice came from. I did not lower my guard for once as my eyes scanned for possible dangers.
"He look lost like the others…Did he suffer?"
This time the voice came from the back.
"Should we keep him?"
"Shall we kill him?"
The voice was coming from both sides. I looked both sides and there was nothing that could have made that voice.
"He will make a great mad hatter."
"Or dress him up as the Cheshire cat."
"Show yourself" I shouted out while fighting my instinct to curl my hand on the trigger.
Two girls, both with beautiful blond hair and long blue dress revealed themselves. They were skipping happily around me, as if did not noticed my gun that was aiming at them.
"Who are you?"
"Alice" The first replied.
"Alice" The second followed up immediately.
"Why did you attack the girls?"
"We did not, Alice."
"They look a lot like us, Alice."
"We simply ask them a simple question afterwards, Alice."
"And what is the question?" My eyes stared at them, my body was prepping itself for a fight or flight scenario. I could see a smile revealed on their face.
"Will"
"you"
"Die"
"For"
"Me?"
"DIVE TO YOUR LEFT!" Sherlock shouted out and I quickly followed his order, smashing against the garbage near me.
If I had stood still, that black vortex that they summoned underneath me would probably kill me.
"He did not die, Alice."
"He survived the question, Alice."
"If he stays, the very bad king will kill him, Alice."
"His head will roll off from his body, Alice."
Alice, it seems that both of them are calling each other by that name. Are they both shadows? I couldn't tell the different even when they stood side by side.
"We must retreat for now." Sherlock advised as I backed off with each step they took.
"Tch!" I lowered my gun as I ran for the nearest exit point.
Just as I was about to transit back to my world, I could hear a faint cry coming from the Shadow world.
"My body….it feels so cold….why did you kill me?"
I tried to catch my breath as I collapsed onto the hard ground of the street floor.
This case, there were much more than a simple attack of the shadow of a human. Their words did not make any sense as I recalled.
Alice, the mad hatter, Cheshire cat. The characters found in Alice and the wonderland. The king part was the only thing that does not match the theme.
Who was the king that they are referring to? They spoke of him as if he still roams the shadow world, searching for someone to kill.
Could it be that Alice was killed by this so call king? If so, who is the one standing beside her shadow?
Could it be that they are referring to a killer roaming in our world itself? Free from the hands of justice?
I pulled myself up, feeling a pain at my left leg. I must have sprained it from dodging the attack and the adrenaline must have suppressed the pain until now.
I limped my way back to my house, rampaging through the medical box for supplies to fix my leg.
Should I really be dealing with this case if it involved a killer on the loose? Wouldn't the police be a better option of taking this case?
I should value my own safety first before others. If I were to get injured every single time a case would be solved, my luck would eventually run out and death will be knocking on my doorsteps.
As I looked at the mirror, Sherlock was tearing through notes and pieces of paper, scattering them as if thief had broken into the house.
"Data, Data, Data! I could not build bricks without clay!" He screamed while scurrying towards another cupboard.
The other me, he really wants to solve the case. Why am I holding back myself every single time? I could have been as great as my other self if I just allow myself to free from my own restraints.
This case, I am not backing out of it. I would need the inspector and his team to get ready to assist me if danger arises.
The inspector must be working late night at this hour….
"Inspector, This is Shun Chihara."
"Another troublemaker? This better not be a prank call! Your call will be traced!"
Oh, the inspector must have somebody nearby that made him unable to talk as usual. I immediately hung up the call.
No good, what else could I get more information from beside the police?
The internet was one option but I had to filter out and cross reference in order to get the details that I will be looking for.
Most cases of murder had their culprit caught and trail within days.
One article caught my eyes.
"The bloody Alice"
I clicked it, skimming through the pictures and details of the crime. It doesn't look like a hoax or someone writing a fantasy horror story.
The killer in the case wasn't found.
The details written on the investigation made me wonder if someone in the investigation force during that time did it.
Typing Bloody Alice shows more, many accounts were the same as the one before.
A girl, teen in age, found dead at that street. Her body was badly mingled, as if something inside her exploded out. Her head was found a distance over and blood splashed all over the nearby shops.
There wasn't anyone that claimed her body till now. It was as if the girl simply appeared without anything to identify her.
Alice, the name they ended up calling her. Dead in the wonderland. Not even the best detective of that time could solve the case.
It fits the scene in the shadow world to a glove.
That raised a question, if the persona user dies, his/her physical body at least, does the memories retain to the shadows and other selves too ?