Chapter 4 - Just believe the Lies

Tala battled to keep his eyes open and successfully managed to avoid falling face-first into the pool of his pancake syrup. Henry had already left and today was a holiday for school. Tala had used this to his advantage and stayed up all night to research Kai Hiwatari. He was the hot topic on the net and his 'portfolio' was pretty impressive. So far there were about 4 eyewitnesses who saw him at different points of the city but none had been reported next to the station. It wasn't surprising, in a crowd like that, searching for Hiwatari was like searching for a peppermint seed in a pot filled with different black seeds. Then there were about a dozen teens out there playing the 'bad guy' look with black hoodies just like Hiwatari's. predators like him were hard to spot, even in broad daylight. He would have missed him too, had they not collided.

After lying awake for a long time and pondering over the situation, Tala had decided to report his chanced encounter to the cops. But he still hadn't found a way to do that without discussing it with Henry. He did not want to tell this to his foster dad, and he had his reasons. Henry was an overprotective coward. As much as he hated to admit this, his dad would just make things worse by trying to feed him lines and asking him not to mingle in such dangerous cases. He wouldn't care about all those other kids whose lives were in jeopardy with an experienced killer like Hiwatari on the loose. Everything was okay for him as far as his son came home at the right time and obeyed all orders. They had had many fights regarding this stance. Though he had lost his memory, Tala had a mind of his own.

So, he concluded to just hang around the corner and wait for an opportunity to share his experience with a cop who wouldn't ask him too much about his identity and would sympathize. The chances were almost nil, but if he gave it a go, at least he could sleep with a clean conscience.

It had just been around an hour of passing in front of the station when a cop accompanied by a young man cornered him. The officer asked, "What ya doing kid? Got something to tell? Rat on a friend maybe?" he gave a short laugh after the last line.

'Yes, just had some drugs and I'm here to confess. Since you are being so encouraging, I might as well list our whole gang.' Thought Tala with dry sarcasm. But he didn't dare voice his opinion. Instead, he locked his gaze on the policeman's companion. His face lit a lightbulb somewhere in his brain, and all at once, it occurred to him. Ray.

Hiwatari's keeper was a man with peculiar looks and was hard to miss. He had excellent features and golden eyes that complemented his raven black hair. But on a whole, he looked typical. Nether less, Tala would have bowed with respect if they had met under a different situation. He was Hiwatari's third keeper. One of his predecessors had committed suicide, thanks to Hiwatari's charming self, and the other was currently in an asylum along with Kai's childhood moral counselor. This man looked worse for wear but still rational. Moreover, he was amiable.

Did I just win a lottery? Tala couldn't believe his luck. This was way better than any officer. So he made up a believable story of searching for his lost bus pass and excused himself from the cop. Thankfully he wasn't the brightest one in the department. They parted ways and Tala ran after Ray. When Ray spotted him, he stopped in his tracks and said, "you lied."

Tala just gaped... was it so obvious? Hell, it had worked fine on that officer.

Ray raised an eyebrow at his expression and smiled. "But I think there is more, you are here to talk, right?"

Could this guy read his mind? Now that was a spooky thought. Again, Ray took him by surprise and said, "don't worry. Trying to understand people is a part of my job. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes totally wrong. You can call this an educated guess"

"Oh..." was all he could say. Ray didn't respond, and that brought him back to his senses.

"It's about Hiwatari. I saw him"

Ray looked like he had been struck by lightning. Before he could bombard him with questions, Tala explained the reason for his visit and narrated the whole incident. It was short. When he was done, Ray said:

"Gotta admit kid. You have got guts."

"Thanks. By the way, this kid is Tala. Tala Ivanov."

"Ok, Tala. Thanks a lot for this, Kai being at the station opens a lot of escape possibilities. We would have missed it if you kept quiet."

"Not to mention sir. I just hope you can catch that heartless beast fast and send him back to whatever hellhole he crawled out from"

Ray assured him that he would do his best to give the police the right lead without getting Tala into too deep waters. They shared a few more pleasantries and had bid each other bye when Ray called out to him. The keeper rushed to him and gave him a piece of paper.

"I will let you know if we need you at any point of the investigation. This is my number. Save it. I also need yours, just in case… with the likes of Hiwatari you can never be…. too sure"

He didn't need to finish the sentence. Tala got the hint and did the said task immediately. He didn't know whether it was Ray's unfinished sentence or had the feeling been there from the very beginning. He felt like he was being watched. Something made him check before taking every turn, frequently glance back while walking, and sleep with the lights on at night...

Tala couldn't wait to get out of this nightmare. And no this wasn't the usual one with Kai, This was the real one: school. He was currently starring out of his window and watching the heavy rain. A part of him just wanted to go and get wet in it, but instead he was stuck inside in his math class. He had already done the questions the teacher had given them, and was currently waiting for her to tell the answers. The last two days had been unexciting. He did have a few weird dreams, but with every passing day he was getting more and more convinced that he was being paranoid. There wasn't anyone following him or plotting against him. His anxiety was just a result of watching too many crime movies.

The bell rang and finally all students were free to go home. Tala hurried back home and went right to his room. He had his lunch and took a quick nap. About an hour later, his phone's vibration woke him. It was a missed call. He sat up drowsily and pulled his phone to check. What he saw, made him jolt. there was a message. From RAY.

Hi Tala, Ray here.

We have just hit a bullseye with Hiwatari. I wasn't expecting this. We still don't have him, but I would like to speak with you. Could you meet me asap.? Not sure whether I can pick up if you call back. A bit busy at the moment. So, I'm attaching the location of my place. Just follow it.

He could barely contain his excitement. He stared out of the window. It looked like it was about to rain again. There was still a few hours left before his dad got home. Tala grabbed his coat and followed the message without a second thought.

Ray's house was in a remote part of the town. No, this was wasn't Ray's house. Tala couldn't believe how foolish he had been as he stood in front of the remote abandoned building. How had he been blind enough to trust a person he had just met once? He expected Ray to come charging at him any moment now. But nothing happened. It had started to drizzle. In his excitement he had forgotten to take his umbrella. There wasn't a cover anywhere for miles, so Tala went and leaned against the warehouse's door for shelter. He would have to walk back to the main road to get a cab back home. While he was leaning, he noticed that the door was open. Now that was strange… he knew that he should leave all this and go straight home. But something wasn't right in here. Somehow, he felt that he was safe, yet uneasy at the same time. When the downpour became stronger the roof provided little shelter. So he decided to step into the warehouse. It was dark and Tala was glad for the small light from his phone. He just walked a few steps and halted when he felt a drop of water fall on him. Great, now the roof is leaking, he thought. One more drop fell on him before he moved away, but this time it was on his hand and came under the illuminated path of his flashlight.

Tala stopped dead on his tracks.

Water wasn't supposed to be red

As though in a trance, he flashed his light just above him. Tala's scream lumped in his throat when he saw gold eyes wide open with terror staring down at him. Ray's mutilated body hung in an awkward angle from the first floor. Half of it was a bloodied blur on the tiles while the other half was over the railing. It was about to fall on Tala. But the worst of it was that Ray's tongue was missing. He watched with unimaginable horror when he noticed that Ray was still alive. Just barely, yet alive…

Suddenly there was movement on the right. Tala, pumped with adrenaline, directed his light in that direction. He stood petrified. Standing there with blood-soaked clothes and a gun pointed at him, was the very man he had ever trusted.

" Da- ad?"

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing that frighteningly familiar voice, Tala felt the world fall around him. He did the only thing he could think of: he ran at the top of his speed. In this senseless frenzy he banged his head somewhere and all he heard before slipping into unconsciousness, was the sound of gunshot and a new voice saying, " caught him red handed, didn't you?"