"Ow…" I groaned when I woke up in the morning. I wanted to roll over, but as soon as I moved, I noticed the dark stain on the side of my shirt and on my bed that was still a bit damp. I sat up to survey how much stain remover I'd need, but then I remembered that this wasn't natural. I lifted my shirt to see the bandage had come off partway and peeled it back.
"…S-Seriously?" I whispered, looking down at where my small stab wound should've been in shock.
It was now at least two centimetres bigger and swollen. When I touched it, I hissed in pain and had to blink rapidly to keep the threatening liquid in my eyes where it was supposed to be. Out of pure frustration, I threw my pillows at the wall and started to angrily rip the blanket and sheets off my bed.
"Goddammit! Why are you such an idiot?! Yeah, rub vinegar in a wound! Great idea dumbass!" I yelled at myself half-sarcastically.
After at least two hours of throwing a fit, fixing my bandages, and scrubbing at the red stain on my mattress, I collapsed on my back and sighed heavily. I didn't care anymore, I just laid on the floor of my room and sobbed. I really didn't want to go back to the hospital and explain that I pissed off a guy that stabbed me then proceeded to take a random stranger's advice and rub vinegar in my wound. I gave a muffled, frustrated screech with the thought.
"What is wrong with me?! Shouldn't…" I paused to sniffle and sit up. "Shouldn't I know better? What happened? Why is this so hard now?"
That's when it hit me. The thing from before I was in a coma that I had been forgetting. I had taken a video a few nights before I ended up in a coma and salvaged it from a destroyed camera in a haze of some sort. I don't remember what was on it though. I raced to my laptop, typed in the password and searched through my folders for something whilst trying to stop crying so pathetically.
"That has to have something on it. Something I said. Something…Please…" I quietly whispered to myself. "Tell me what I'm forgetting."
I finally managed to find the hidden video file and played it. It was a video of me, two men, and three women talking. I think the camera was hidden, but it was definitely broken at some point because the picture was grainy and looked like it had been just barely salvaged. The sound wasn't much better. I guess I'm not so good at that kind of thing. Then again, I'm fairly sure it was shortly before I fell into a coma and at that point there was something seriously wrong with me that could've impaired my abilities.
"You know your father doesn't want to see you, don't you?" A woman who's back was to the camera and head out of the shot was saying to me.
Actually, I was the only one in the shot that had their face visible. I was visibly dirty and bloody in the video, but I had a blank expression on my face, as if I didn't even notice the blood running down my forehead. My clothing consisted of an oversized ratty black long-sleeve t-shirt, a plain pair of jeans that weren't in much better shape and I didn't seem to be wearing any shoes or socks. I appeared to be sixteen in it. I cringed at the sight of myself, but shook my head and focused on what was being said by the people who were mostly obscured by shadows.
"He wants you to go back to your normal life." The same woman continued.
"She already knows that, Hina. Don't repeat yourself to this brat." A second woman told the first.
"Why haven't we just taken her out? She's not much use to us now, is she?" One of the men said.
The me in the video's eyes shifted to glare toward him and my upper lip twitched up a bit to bare my teeth at him. An odd display of displeasure, but I did already seem to resemble a canine from the streets, judging by my attire and the wounds visible through the torn fabric.
"Not since we were busted because of her father tipping them off." The second man added, making my eyes shift to him and lower myself a bit. It was obvious I was getting ready for a fight, but I couldn't remember ever fighting anyone in my present state, so this was a bit surprising.
"Everyone, knock it off. It wasn't her father who tipped them off, Yuu. You know that." The last woman said with the authority of a leader. "Besides, we need to stick together, what with the cops sticking their noses in now. Little Rin isn't going anywhere, are you?"
The me in the video stood up straighter and just stared intently at the woman without a word. Still, I got the sense that despite not showing aggression now, the me in the video was still annoyed by the woman calling me that.
"See? She's obedient. Just like a mutt would be." The apparent leader gave an obnoxious giggle like a school girl. "And she just wants to keep her mommy off the streets. She won't leave if she continues getting the money. She'll still be useful."
"How? The fighting got broken up and it's gonna be a while before we find a new ring for them." The man addressed as Yuu argued.
"I'll take care of it." Hina said and quickly walked out.
"Thanks Hina." The leader called after her, then turned to the other three as well as me. "Well, for tonight, we're going to…Warehouse downtown…And…" The video started cutting in and out and blacked out for a little bit, so I fast forwarded until the picture and sound were back. Now it was only me and the two women in the shot.
"I'm not sure how, but we'll have to erase the file from the task force's computers." The leader was saying.
"Hm." The other woman hummed in thought, then they both turned to me and she said, "Didn't your mommy set up their computers? Know how to get in?"
The me in the video just stared at them for a few seconds before closing her eyes and giving one, sharp nod. I'm not sure, but I don't think I spoke at all during this entire thing.
"So you can erase the file for us, can't you?"
The younger me just gave them a blank stare.
"Oi! Answer me!" The second woman shouted, making the me in the video glare at her.
"Miki. Don't yell at her. She doesn't listen when you do." The leader said, though there was a venom in her voice that made me shiver even though it was just a video.
The me in the video, however, didn't show any fear and just nodded slightly with the same blank expression. It was like I was just dull and hopeless when this was shot. Like the only thing I had to live for was making sure my mother was safe and sheltered, whatever the cost.
"Good." The leader said as the other three came back into view. "Status?"
"We tracked him down, but he just said to tell her "vocare spíritum lupi aureum luscum" whatever that is." Hina said.
"Call the spirit of the golden-eyed wolf?" The leader mumbled, deep in thought.
"What language is it?" Hina asked.
The leader ignored her. "Why would he-" She was cut off when everyone's attention focused on the dog-like growl coming from the me in the video.
A hand instinctively covered my mouth when I saw that the me in the video had glowing golden eyes, small fangs, and some kind of shadows coming from the tips of my fingers that resembled claws. There was a fast movement and blood spotted the camera lens, but then the thing that looked almost like me grabbed the camera and smashed it, ending the video abruptly, but the sounds still picked up were static and screaming that cut in and out for the last three minutes until the video stopped.
"Oh my god…" My voice cracked and I started hyperventilating.
I closed the laptop and slid it away from me as I stumbled to the kitchen and searched for paper bags. Once I had one, it took a long time for me to calm down enough that I wouldn't just start hyperventilating every time the image came to mind. I was sitting on the floor with my back to a cupboard and my thoughts wandered back to the injuries the nurses said I had when I was brought in. It might have something to do with what happened in that video.
"What the…?" I breathed, still unable to piece together what was going on.
I jumped at the sudden noise that scared me completely out of my thoughts and into a subconscious defensive stance. I stayed like that while the noise came another two or three times. I hesitated, but snatched the phone off the counter, seeing a pay phone number as the caller I.D. and put the phone slowly to my ear.
"Hello?" I asked suspiciously, trying to mask the sheer terror and confusion in my voice as I wiped at the wetness on my face with my free hand.
"Did it work?" A slightly familiar voice asked.
"Uh, sorry?" I asked in confusion, not knowing what this guy was referring to.
There was a sigh. "The vinegar."
It clicked when he said that and I suddenly forgot my fear and confusion, instead boiling with rage now. "Who the hell do you think you are?! It made it worse! I can't believe I even listened to you in the first place!" I yelled into the phone.
"What?" He seemed surprised by my outburst. "What do you mean it didn't work? It usually does. Did you do something wrong? You're usually so collected. You've done it so many times before, so what happened?"
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped, still angrily clenching my jaw as I tried to calm down enough to listen.
"Rin, what's going on? You're different."
I blinked, taken by surprise by the concern in his voice. "What? Who are you? How do you know me?"
There was a long pause, followed by, "You don't remember?"
"Don't remember what? I've been out for three years, I'm pretty sure my memory being weird is a pretty reasonable side-effect." I snapped defensively.
"I'm your father, Rin. I'm the one that tried to treat you and took you to the hospital after you fought to recover that camera. I know that wolf was risky, but I didn't think it'd take a toll on you like that." There was a tired sigh. "Did your spirit get lost or did the thing not let you get back into your own body the second time?" He mumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'll explain later. I have to go."
"Wait-" I was cut off by the click indicating he had hung up. I sighed and hung up too, tossing the phone back on the counter and deciding to eat something instead of worrying about it.
That didn't last long though, since as soon as I wasn't focused on cooking, my thoughts wandered and came back to the video. I started to panic again.
"No, no way." I told myself, trying to keep my breathing even. "It's not real. Yeah, that's right. It was a short horror film for school or something. No way it was real. It was all just acting and special effects. I can even check all the newspapers and I won't find anything about five people dead or missing." I tried to reassure myself as I sat down to watch television and eat, but it was on the news.
I sat for five minutes listening to the latest on Kira, fidgeting and biting my lip before I stood abruptly. I started to throw on suitable clothing and a jacket. I then grabbed the things I needed to and put on my shoes. I put my hand on the door handle and hesitated before reaffirming my resolve.
"I'll feel a lot better when I confirm that they didn't actually get hurt." I told myself, giving one sharp nod before I made my way to the local library.
After a long walk, a ton of convincing and begging, and getting the librarian a coffee from a shop four blocks away, I finally managed to convince her to give me photocopies of all the newspapers from up to four years ago. It took all day and well into the night for us to copy them all, but I thanked her profusely before I picked up the large box full of copied newspapers and headed home. When I got home, I dropped the box in my room and noticed an odd red spot on the side that was against me when I carried it. Looking down, I confirmed that I must've strained my body too much and sighed. I was getting used to the fact the wound would open easily and I would need to redo everything, but it's still a bit irritating.
I finished bandaging my wound and sat down on my bedroom floor with a bag of chips sitting in between my crossed legs. I munched on them for a little before deciding I was ready to start and going to grab the first paper out of the box. I paused before I could grab it and glanced at the computer I left in the same spot as when I had pushed it away.
"Wait a second. It would help to know what might've triggered the thing. I need to watch it again and pay more attention." I told myself, going to my laptop and putting the video back a few minutes from where it had been left at the end.
"Oi! Answer me!" Miki was shouting. I watched myself glare at her, but the eyes looked normal then.
"Miki. Don't yell at her. She doesn't listen when you do." The leader said harshly. I shivered again, but myself in the video just stared at her with no expression as I nodded slightly. Again, the eyes were still normal and I still seemed to be calm at this point.
"Good." The leader turned to the other three that entered. "Status?"
I watched myself in the video closely as she somewhat lazily dragged her eyes over to look in their direction. Still normal, still calm, and somewhat unnerving, but not murderous.
"We tracked him down, but he just said to tell her "vocare spiritum lupi aureum luscum" whatever that is." Hina said with a shrug.
I tensed up as I watched the scene, knowing what came next. I had to focus on breathing steadily, so I missed what I was doing in the video.
"Call the spirit of the golden-eyed wolf?" The leader mumbled to herself.
"What language is it?" Hina asked, but was ignored.
"Why would he-" She was cut off by a dog-like growl coming from the me in the video.
I flinched and paused it quickly. I steadied my breathing, wiped my face, and briefly thought about how this was almost physically painful and I really didn't want to watch the video again. I shook my head to clear those thoughts though.
"I need to do this. I need to know." I told myself, nodding to reaffirm my resolve and going to rewind the video a bit. "I think it was probably somewhere between here and when the growling distracted them…" I trailed off, focusing on the voices and my expression in the video.
"We tracked him down, but he just said to tell her "vocare spiritum lupi aureum luscum" whatever that is." Hina's voice said.
I noticed I had nodded at the words and closed my eyes in the video.
"Call the spirit of the golden-eyed wolf?" The leader was mumbling while I hunched up my shoulders a bit and lowered my head.
"What language is it?"
"Why would he-"
I quickly went back and noticed my body became completely relaxed for a second when Hina had started to ask her question, but then it tensed again and the low, growing growl started just as she said the second word. I paused the video and closed the computer, feeling rather disturbed.
"Okay, so it must've been what whoever they tracked down said to tell me. I think it was my dad that they mentioned finding earlier in the video? So, now that I'm thinking of it, the language is familiar…" I trailed off, going deep into thought about what it could be.
I remember my dad taught me a strange language when he was still with us, but it was hard to remember what it was. Speaking of, why could the leader translate it? Did she know a lot about me and my family? She probably knows more than I do now. Hell, I knew more in that video than I do now. Unless it really is just a fake story and it was just special effects. Either way, I'm curious about what language it is. I know I can't speak it fluently, but I do know a lot of things in it. Enough that if I needed to ask for something basic I could and a lot of weird phrases that would probably get me looked at like I'm insane.
"Oh! It's Latin, isn't it?" I snapped my fingers, then smiled proudly at myself. "I remembered something important for once." I paused to think about it, then deflated. "But that just raises more questions." I shook my head and went back over to the box. "Okay, time to really get to work." I told myself, picking up the first paper, which was from yesterday.