Chapter 3
Kapura grumbled when Keika and Nuhrii showed up at his door. "What do you want?"
Nuhrii couldn't resist the opportunity to make a reference. "Besides a girl worth fighting for?"
"Thanks a lot, Nuhrii-ai," Keika snarked, "now that song is stuck in my head!" She huffed, then spoke to Kapura. "We want your ethical hacking skills."
That made Kapura brighten up. "Count me in! What security cameras do you need me to tap into?"
"Metalworks Career School, welding hall, this morning." Keika recited the information.
"Is this about the missing student? Because I can do you one better... I can hack their ID badges. The tracker is difficult, the body cam should be easier."
Before Keika could make any protest, Kapura projected a hologram from his tablet. It split into two screens - the security camera and Hakdari's ID badge. Even though the tracker had been ripped out, the body cam was still functional.
The security camera footage looked normal - until a few minutes before lunch break. A formless, translucent shadow materialized. Then it hovered through the halls, pausing every now and then, as if looking for something.
"What is THAT?" Keika, having a deep connection to Light, felt more than a bit unsettled by the presence of an uncanny Shadow.
"Not sure," said Kapura. Just then, the footage from the security cameras faded to black. The body cams, however, continued to record.
"What do you think is back here, Tiyan?"
"I don't know, Hakdari." Tiyan had the exact proportions of the skeleton Keika found! Once again, Keika's stomach heaved.
"Tiyan! RUN!" Hakdari pushed Tiyan out of the way. Tiyan stumbled down the hall, while Hakdari started sparring with the shadow. The once-formless shadow turned opaque and became a gigantic biomechanical brawler. Hakdari's swift footwork and powerful kicks eventually made her enemy tired. But in the chaos, Hakdari's ID badge had fallen off. The shadow giant grabbed it, ripped out the tracker, and went after Tiyan.
Tiyan had hidden in a janitorial closet, trying to activate her ID badge's distress signal. But the button was stuck, and she couldn't use voice activation for her own safety. She tensed up her fists, preparing for the fight of her life. That fight arrived sooner than she thought. The thick glass door, meant to withstand immense shocks, shattered in its frame….
…and right in front of her was the shadow giant!
From there, everything happened too quickly for Tiyan to react. The shadow giant grabbed Tiyan by the front of her shirt, then knocked her on the floor. Tiyan felt her life-force being torn out of her chest. Her eyes, once like jade-green flames, went completely dark.
Kapura ended the footage. Nobody needed - or wanted - to see what happened next.
"That still doesn't tell us what happened to Hakdari," pointed Keika.
"Or anyone else who's gone missing," added Kapura. He found his roller skating helmet and put it on. Then he pushed on the sides to switch on the electromagnets that kept it in place. And his roller skates were always in reach. He headed outside, with Nuhrii and Keika behind him. Then he locked the door and buckled his roller skates.
Keika wanted to say something about safety, but decided against it. "Come on. We've got a case to solve."