Chapter 10 - Coercion

"This is mine… This is meant to be for me."

7:37 am, September 3rd, 2019

The metallic floor of the control booth, though lined with cardboard and cloths to stop every wisp of body heat from escaping, was hard and uncomfortable no matter what position I slept in. I tested at least a hundred during my life in the junkyard, and they only got to 'good enough.' Though our living situation was scuffed in every possible way, it felt like my place. A place for us Elementals to rest, without the threat of humanity peering in. Ironic how the junkyard itself was a place where things unwanted could be tossed and ignored, only for it to fall into disrepair itself, left behind to be taken back by nature.

Kaden was awake, I could tell by the footfall in the room. They were slow, methodical, like a human taking a stroll. Meanwhile, Ollie's were faster and lighter despite him having a larger form, and Cody's footsteps pretty much matched a cat or dog perfectly.

Something itched at the back of my mind. 'Now, what was it that we were gonna do today?' Oh, right, it was the Repco raid day. "Yo, Kaden, when are we doing the vanwork today? Like getting all the stuff." I asked, motioning to the still-sleeping Lucario.

"Hm? Oh yeah, that. It'll be pretty late. I reckon I'm gonna be busy this morning. Just sit tight mate, and I'll get back to you eventually. Or you could help me and speed this all up? You could be a coach!"

"No, thanks. I am not good at that. We can wait 'till the afternoon to do the fraud."

"Don't call it that, please," Kaden said, rearing his head back in exasperation.

"Is it literally not just fraud? Or is it counterfeiting? How about forgery? Wait, those are the same… Actually, what would it be called?" I turned to reach for my phone from the shelves. 'Dang it, who moved my…' I headed to the other shelf to search for my phone. What it would take to break a habit…

"None of those sound good! I don't wanna dwell on it too much. How about… I dunno mate, a permanent loan? Repco's a big company. What's a few hundred dollars taken from their profits gonna do to them?"

"That's a very generous definition of a loan, Kaden. I like how you're thinking, though. It's quite amusing."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is, Jazzy."

I whipped around, not expecting my nickname to come out of his mouth. "So it's spread far and wide, huh? Was it Ollie? Or Cody?" I smiled. 'Five bucks it was Ollie.'

"Cody let me in on that. Hope you don't mind, mate."

'Alight, I take that back.'

'Not so fast, I can feel your pettiness. What did you doooo?' Ollie's voice crashed around my head. Without needing to look, I knew he had woken up.

'Shut up Ollie, please get out of my head.'

"Fine Jason, I'll talk to you normally," He said, his voice finally coming from a single direction.

"Thanks. How'd you know that's what I thought about, though?"

"I didn't, I just assumed that from your emotions. Amused with a hint of pissed off."

"Okaaaay then…" I looked out the window of the control booth, at the golden streaks of light cast through the dusty air. Still fetching, but nothing new. I watched them shimmer for some time, before getting bored and turning away. "Kaden, where's Cody off to?" He just shrugged.

Without anything to do, after pacing around the factory for a while, I found myself assisting in taking more targets from the factory to the range. Apparently, they had run out and resorted to using the twisted, sharp scrap metal instead. As I was delivering a piece that looked like a shield, I ran into Cody in the courtyard. "Morning, Codes. How's life?"

"It's fine, alright? Alright." I watched as he stalked away. He seemed to be wandering, with no destination in mind. Shortly after, I was joined by Tyler in observing Cody.

"Hey, Ty. Ollie's friend?"

"The one and only. Thank goodness you're here."

"What's up with Codes?" I whispered, looking at the Jolteon in question. "He's very pressed."

"I've been trying to find out myself. I mean, I hate seeing him in that state."

"Let me have a go. He's… well, more familiar with me."

He nodded. "I get that, bro. He's all yours. Good luck," He said, reassuring me with a pat on the back. 'Okay, it's my turn. Let's go to the roof. We'll have more privacy up there.' I walked briskly across the courtyard, ensuring I went right past Cody.

"Jason? Hey, Jase, could you-" I heard him say from behind. 'Worked like a charm.'

"What? Oh, sorry Codes, I must've zoned out for a moment."

"Can I just… Hang out with you for a bit?"

"Sure, sure. I'm heading up to the factory roof, c'mon." I loved being up on that roof. In a place as flat as Australia, it was like being on top of the world, the perfect place to watch life go by. Sure, maybe there was some despair to be found in knowing we were hated by most of humanity. But I didn't need them anymore. None of us Elementals needed to look back - we had each other, together under the same predicament. 'They may as well be the only part of the bigger world that I can fully trust. And they have faith in me, too. I can't let them down.'

The roof just felt nice, too. It was mostly covered in leaves, blown up here by the wind, but there were a few years old cans and bottles from a time when the junkyard was the host of many more illegal parties and gatherings. I wondered what was going through the heads of the people when they threw their litter up onto the roof. Perhaps they were winning a bet, or however many points they got in whatever game they played. But it was probably just alcohol, judging by the labels. 'Must've been a hell of a night, to drink away all your worries.' I reached out for a glass beer bottle and threw it as far as I could toward the vehicular graveyard. A few seconds later, it smashed against the roof of a car and shattered.

Far in the distance, there was the same old highway, warehouses, and oddly shaped buildings on the horizon. Thanks to Cody's mapping the other day, I had a much more intimate knowledge of my surroundings, something I more or less turned a blind eye to throughout my life. It was an electrical substation. Always running, always distributing power to the city, always serving the world's needs. No, it really couldn't ever stop without causing some sort of public freakout.

"Look at all that. There's so much we're missing out on," Cody said, finally sitting down.

"Some of it is, uh, better to not experience."

"I don't care about that! At least I know I'll be getting the facts."

"Really? Even if it means losing whatever faith you had in humanity?" I said, thinking back to the fallout from the Chrysler disaster.

"Why lie so much? It makes it hard to think."

"Fair point. Same goes for being on the receiving end, too. I'm sure many of us know a lot about that." I glanced at Cody, his head was tilted and ears perked up. I sighed, lamenting on behalf of Victoria's Elementals. Those damned rules - was there anything that could crown that? "Imagine if you dedicate yourself to something or someone, work yourself to the bone, and one day for no reason they turn their back on you. Kind of like if you and Kaden–"

"W-what are you insinuating!? I trust him, I really do. I just wish he'd… reciprocate," Cody said, becoming barely audible at the end.

"I didn't mean… it wasn't always like that, I'm guessing."

"Nope. Only after. Before, he loved taking me places. The arcade, the cinema, bike rides… It was always the two of us, together."

"So what do you want to do, then? We can't do those kinds of things anymore."

"I don't know! I just want to go somewhere and do something again."

Suddenly, I realised why Cody was getting so worked up. 'He just wants to live. He's finally escaped his household from hell, but he's being kept safeguarded by Kaden. Unfortunately for him, it means… staying in the bounds of the junkyard, huh? He's just… bored. That's it.' Cody was just a teenager. What was there to expect from him? At that young age, everything appears so grand and welcoming, practically begging to be explored. I would know, I wasn't much older, either. Memories of being reckless with my own friends floated through my mind. "I'll see what I can do for you, Codes."

After our conversation, I climbed down from the factory roof. I stopped by Tyler, who had seated himself in the courtyard and was deep in dialogue with a Pokémon I learnt was a Toxtricity. "D'you find anything out?" He asked, looking up.

"One word dude. Boredom. Ever since August, it's been day after day of the exact same thing, that's what's frustrating Codes. I might have a hunch on why."

"Really now? Well in my humble opinion, it sounds like something that needs to change. You should talk to Kaden about it."

"I think I will." I turned and made my way straight for the control booth in the factory. It wasn't just a hunch. Cody had explicitly told me his brother had a role in his strife. 'Be straight to the point. There's no use in dillydallying on small talk. It's better to do this ASAP.'

I stood at the doorway to the booth, our makeshift room. Fortunately, the Grovyle was still in there. "Kaden, you said something to me yesterday, and it really stuck for some reason. What do you think it is?"

"Being honest, I don't remember. My words don't tend to stick for myself."

"They do for me, though. Here's the thing, Codes genuinely hates being left out. I mean, whenever you go somewhere and do something," I said, mirroring Cody's words.

"There's always a risk to doing those types of things. But if I don't, the people here become… quite unruly. I know I'm putting a few of us in danger every time I do it. It's a bloody hard game of seeing who is the most sensible, but– Well, even in the best-case scenarios, things can go wrong. I can't control luck, and I'd rather die than let my brother potentially get hurt out there."

"You're the one who said that life is short. There's a difference between surviving and living."

"You can't live if you never survive."

"But some people can't survive without living. Everyone lives for different reasons. Some of us strive for perfection. Some of us just live to have fun. Maybe you're able to travel along just fine. Isolated and losing faith in humanity. I know I am. But your brother on the other hand, absolutely craves living. What he's feeling is boredom and it's killing him."

"That can't be right, he's never mentioned anything of the sort."

"Well, what do you think it is then? Jealousy? Loneliness? Betrayal? All three at once?" He didn't say anything. "Listen, Kaden. Shielding just doesn't work sometimes. Cody is one of those times."

"Jason, mate…"

"I'm not lying to you, am I?"

"No, you're not," Kaden muttered. He took a few steps away, looking through the skylights and taking a deep breath. "Old Bradmill."

"Come again?"

"We'll get Ollie's van working. And we can take it to the Old Bradmill factory. For Cody's sake, it's only fair. Just the four of us. Will that work?"

"I'm sure it will, Kaden. I promise."

3:38 pm, September 3rd, 2019

Kaden and I managed to get to the Repco and had hidden ourselves behind some decorative shrubbery just off to the side of the store. There was some greenery, a big yellow brick wall, and the occasional sound of human activity, whether it was a vehicle or a foot shopper. We'd made our way around the back and side to avoid detection and were sitting, waiting to make a move. Well, it moreso that I was hiding. Kaden seemed to be camouflaged enough just standing among the bushes. "Get ahold of just the battery. Try to be quick and keep interactions with people to a minimum."

"And what if the disguise collapses?"

"Don't think about it and it won't happen. I've… practised my moves enough to be able to do something in that event. I'd just hate to have to use them, though, so please don't."

'Reassuring…' After about a minute with no activity, Kaden took a peek above the bushes, deciding it was go time. "Do it, illusion up now."

It barely took a moment. Casting an illusion had become second nature for me. 'Hello again, old Jason Samry.' I turned to face Kaden. "This good?"

"Of course it is. Now go on, before you get seen with me."

I stood up and quickly got out from behind the bushes, scanning for any threats on the paths or road. No one was around. Entering the store, the few people inside didn't bat an eye. I wandered through the aisles, waiting for the perfect opportunity to approach the cashier based on the criterion of absolutely nothing, finding myself in a section full of containers and canisters. 'On second thoughts… Kaden said just go for the battery, but If we want to get Ollie's van running, we're gonna need to fuel it.'

I started searching the catalogue, acting as any lost customer would. 'Do I really need to take this? Okay, consider the vehicle. It's a bloody van. Even if it somehow had a little bit left in the tank, it probably wouldn't go very far.'

So, I grabbed a bright red ten-litre canister and swiftly made my way to the registers. It wasn't something that I could exactly smuggle out, but I needed to ask for a new battery anyway. "That all?" The cashier asked.

"Oh, no. I have–" Reaching into my satchel, I took out the battery and placed it on the bench. The satchel felt significantly lighter after relieving it of the dead weight. "I've got this. Would it be possible to fix or, or…"

The cashier looked at it, spinning it around and examining the top. I suppose everyone who worked at an automotive company would've had some level of mechanics experience, or at least interest. "I doubt it. The terminals look a bit too damaged, it won't be good for much longer. Would you be fine with a replacement?"

"Yeah, sure. That'll be perfect."

"Okay, give me a minute." The cashier disappeared behind a staff-only door. As I waited, my eyes fell upon a display shelf of miscellaneous items. Pocket-sized tools, packets of nails, pipe fittings. Utility knives and box cutters. Without thinking, I swiped the first thing I touched - A small folding knife - from the display and slipped it into my satchel. It wasn't like I was actually paying for anything in the first place.

"Lucky day. We've only got a few of these left." The cashier returned, placing the new battery on the table as I fastened my satchel's seals. "We'll dispose of the old one for you. Alright, the total is two-fifty."

I handed the cashier the illusionary banknotes, holding my breath as they went inside the register. Finally, it closed with a satisfying clunk. 'That's that… but I don't know how to replace the battery. I could ask, but… Oh, damn it. I feel like I'm spending too long here. I hope someone in the junkyard does.' I quickly thanked the cashier, turned around and beelined for the exit with the fresh battery in tow. After checking that the coast was clear, I ducked behind the bushes again.

"Got it. And some other fun stuff, too."

"What!? Why? What did you get?"

I lifted up the canister. I was about to take out the knife as well, but decided against it last moment. "May as well. I mean, we need it for the fuel, don't we?"

"For goodness sake, Jason. I told– You know what, it's fine, let's go get the petrol now. It's not far." Kaden led me for twenty or so minutes through the brush just off the main bike trail. It was fairly uneventful as we remained in silence, stopping momentarily whenever a human passed. Moving around undetected was a critical skill to learn in navigating the new world.

"Come around to the back with me," Kaden whispered as we arrived, knowing the area much better than I did. Behind the station was a large dumpster, which he knocked on. When I took a look inside, it was filled with several empty petrol canisters. 'Ohhhh…'

"I came out here early morning the other day to prepare this. And you know, that neon red and yellow thing you're holding makes a pretty good beacon for the humans to find us."

"Sorry… I didn't realise you already considered that."

"Well, now you know. Trust the process, mate, I think about about every detail."

I took out one of the canisters to inspect. Aside from a slight coating of dust and dirt, it was practically the same as the one I had. "Hey, maybe these all happen to be structurally unsound and prone to leaking. Just maybe," I joked.

"Yeah, right. Get this done and we can go home, mate."

Fortunately, I didn't have to think as much at the petrol station. All I did was fill up the canister and 'pay' my fee, taking less than two minutes. I didn't need to talk either, which was a bonus. I like to think it made up for the shambles that was Repco.

By the time we returned to the junkyard, it was late afternoon. I set the battery and petrol canister on the ground in front of Ollie's van, while Kaden went to bring him over. While he was gone, I went to find a toolbox from the depot. I brought it over, arriving just as Ollie and Kaden stepped into the sunlight.

Ollie looked down, at the van parts and tools. He didn't say anything. He was completely rendered speechless. "These are for you," I said.

"I-I… Dude." He immediately understood the assignment, getting to work repairing the van. I stood next to him as he worked, hoping to learn a little something. Really, he just gave a description of things which didn't make too much sense. "Positive is red, negative is black. Don't mess that up, it can seriously screw over the vehicle." He said as he finally slotted the new battery in the van, about halfway through the procedure.

After a few minutes of what looked to me like just rearranging parts, Ollie shut the bonnet. "Alright, you want to do the honours?" He didn't have to say it twice. I reached for the ignition handle, an old screwdriver sticking out of the dashboard. The engine started, and the celebrations ensued. Well, it was mostly Ollie's. Kaden and I made pitiful attempts at applause while he bounded around the now-running van, giddy like a young kid on Christmas morning.

"The van's all yours, Ollie. Kaden can't drive anymore and I don't know how to."

"I can teach you later, dude! It's a miracle this poor old thing can even start, but I am very glad she does." He drove around the depot for a few minutes, getting a feel for the vehicle. Eventually, on the other side of the depot, he rolled down the window. "Well, she doesn't like turning right and half the lights on the dash don't work, but other than that everything is good," Ollie yelled.

Finally, after a few more minutes of driving, he parked the van and stepped out. "Jason. Kaden. Thank you guys. Seriously. You've helped me so much. I don't even know how I'd be able to do what you guys did."

"You thought you could get away with doing this alone, mate?" Kaden said. "Yeah, nah, we're in it together."

"If I can find a way to return the favour, I will. Even if it takes until the end of time."

11:20 am, September 4th, 2019

I spent most of the morning up at the top platform in the storage warehouse, in privacy. I needed to avoid any and all distractions as I expended most of my phone's battery looking at maps. I was routing a path between police stations in the area, trying to maintain the shortest possible distance. All to look for one person: Someone named O'Landric.

'Alright… That's good, but it's still several hours of walking around. But I can definitely be done by sundown if I go now. Unless there's another…' My ears twitched as I heard someone walking up the metal stairs to my platform.

"If you're coming up, be quiet please," I said aloud, not looking up.

"There you are. I've been trying to find you all morning, Jase!" Ollie said. He crouched in front of me. "I mean no offence here, it's about your illusions again. Listen. I want to believe you when you say you're good, but you don't have anything for me to even start with. You have to show me - No, you have to prove it to me."

'You'd be willing to take me anywhere? Isn't that convenient!' I picked up my phone, stood up and started heading down to ground level. "None taken. It's all a bit funny, 'cause I was thinking of going outside myself, too."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I don't know if you know, but about a week ago, this guy Mark got his house raided. No one knows who the culprits are, so I'm hunting down another person I think is involved with the investigation. Someone who goes by O'Landric. It's… not much to go on, I know, but this is something I want to do, and… that makes me feel more in tune with myself. I– Every part of me wants to do this, I don't know how else to say it."

"Well, that's… not what I was thinking of, but if this is what you're most comfortable doing, you're up."

We arrived at the new home for the van, the rightmost garage in the depot. Ollie climbed into the driver's seat. I opened the door of the front passenger's side and got in.

"I'm reading your emotions right now, Jase. It's clear, like a warm, sunny day. I know you can do this, bud. For me and you both." Ollie turned the screwdriver that was stabbed into the dashboard, and the van's engine came to life. He let out a sigh of relief as the engine kept making that gritty noise, signalling that everything was going well.

With the route saved in my head and on my phone, I set up the directions for Ollie and balanced it on top of the stereo. I was relieved to be in the van with him, and that Kaden and I decided to get it working the other day. If not, I'd have had to walk it, increasing the time spent by tenfold.

After a short drive, we arrived at the first police station. I put up a disguise, confirmed it with Ollie, and exited the van. The reception of the station was very sterile and official, but quiet. It felt like dust lifted from the carpet as I stepped across, as if I was the only citizen to enter for the entire week. "Is, uhm– Do you work with someone with the last name O'Landric? A detective, possibly?"

"Detective O'Landric… No, not here."

"Okay, thanks," I replied meekly. Every interaction I had could be summed to something like that. Most of the time, I didn't even sit down. 'I don't think anyone I know has ever visited a police station before. I literally might be the first in my life. And I'm the last person who should be here, too.'

Eventually, I entered a station with someone else in it: A man who looked like he was starting to doze off. He was seated at a line of chairs on the back wall, wearing a brown blazer and chinos. He had a big, bushy beard, like the spitting image of Ned Kelly, but in a suit and tie. Ignoring him, I approached the empty reception desk and leaned over. I knocked on the desk, trying to get anyone else's attention in the station. After a few seconds of nothing, I hit the desk harder.

"Oi, you gotta wait in line," The man suddenly said, rather gruffly. I guess my rampant hammering must have woken him up. "It starts and ends right here."

He was pointing at the empty seats next to him. From what I could hear through the walls, it didn't seem like anyone was coming. 'This… might be a while.' Sighing, I sat down a few chairs away from the man.

"What're you after?" The man asked, probably trying to break the tension in the room.

"I'm trying to find some–" My eyes fell on the nameplate pinned to his lapel. It read, 'Harvey R. O'Landric'

"I think I just found him. Mr O'Landric?"

"Call me Harvey, if you will."

"Harvey, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," He held out a hand, wanting to shake mine. 'Okay… Would it be a good idea if I book it and run back to Ollie?' Of the many illusions I had made, barely anyone had physically interacted with them, and zero people with a disguise. Perhaps they too were sensory, but by this point, Harvey had held his hand out for a few moments, and it was starting to get awkward. Hesitant, I finally leaned over and gave it to him.

Fortunately for the both of us, he was fooled by the illusion. "I'm Jason. Umm… if you could, would you be able to tell me about what happened to Mark Scraughtly? You're doing something with that case, right?"

"Mmm… Yeah. What's the point of hiding it, all this stuff's public. You see, his father was affected by that Mass Transformation Event. After he got taken in the sweep, the kid posted some… well, simply, pro-Elemental stuff online, and some ruffians took offence. Broke into his house, held his mother and younger sister hostage, robbed them and beat him half to death."

"What the f- Jesus Christ…"

"Mhm, that sums that whole mess up in a neat little package. Ya knew the kid?"

"Uh- Yeah, we went to the same school, shared some classes. He was a nice guy."

Harvey began ruffling his beard for a moment, before turning to me. "Hey. Give me your phone number. I might be able to get you the name of the hospital he's staying at. Look Jason, I'm gonna help you out here. We're in trying times, and we need all the help we can get. If I can help, I will."

"Okay… Thanks a million, Harvey. It's worse when you know the victim personally."

"No doubt in my mind about that," He said. I unlocked my phone, opened my contacts and gave him the screen. "What's with the stylus?" Harvey asked as he entered his own number.

"Oh, this, I uh… I-I draw. It's… more familiar," I stuttered, fumbling for an excuse. 'Why the heck was that such a close call?' I barely let out a breath of relief as Harvey seemed to believe me, before being interrupted again.

"Do you need anything?" The receptionist said to me, in a pushy tone. Apparently, she had finally returned and had been silently watching me and Harvey. 'Rude…'

"Jason has what he needs. It's me, apparently," Harvey responded.

"When I went to read about the incident, I kept seeing your name everywhere. That's why I came looking for you," I whispered.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I reckon I was a little too vocal with the journalists."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, Mr O'Landric. What about you?"

"Ah. Right." Harvey stood up and made his way to the reception desk. He opened a leather case of his own, and slid a manila folder across. The receptionist took it, looked at it and walked through a door into what looked like an office space.

"What was that all about? Something you can tell me?" I asked quietly, eyeing his satchel as he sat back down.

"That was my report for the Werribee River incident. You see, everyone says it's an open-shut case of murder, but I asked to have another look at it. The victim was stabbed with a, uhh…" Harvey wagged his finger, looking for the word. "A karambit, yes, then fell down the hill," He continued, clicking his fingers.

A karambit. A knife with a sleek, curved blade. And he said something about an incident at the Werribee River? I vaguely remembered hearing about that from somewhere. But before I could fully piece together where, he suddenly opened his case, pulling out an assortment of documents, eventually revealing multiple photos of the scene. 'Harvey, what are you- Is this legal!? That's straight up court evidence, is it not?' I looked up. The receptionist was still away. 'Must be a busy day. Or maybe you're working someone else's shift since a third of your department are Elementals. Real smart move to get rid of us now, huh?'

"These are copies I made. Now, about the fall - It explains the bruising and cuts on his body," He said, showing me an autopsy report of the victim. It contained a few photos, but they had no effect on me. I suppose it was because I never had a relation to the victim, unlike Eric Bellevue. "But I say that an Elemental was involved. See those scratches on his chest? They're longer and deeper than all the other ones, and quite parallel… And there's no other cuts like that on his body. To me, it's more like a large animal pounced him. We don't have wild tigers or leopards here, do we? I mean, god I hope not."

'Yes, because they can wield knives and karambits… Hate to say you're not the brightest, Harvey.'

Harvey kept on talking. I let him continue, hoping something more would slip out. "Speaking of Elementals, there was this other incident recently. Ah, you might know about it but… Perhaps I can bless you with a little more. So some new fellas from my department, Eric and Georgia, were assigned a patrol at an abandoned junkyard. Does the name Bellevue ring a bell? Well, turns out it wasn't abandoned. They found an Elemental there. Three, actually!"

My heartbeat sped up as I did my best to remain nonchalant. "Go on…"

"Okay, so. He was searching the junkyard and found an Elemental trying to hide. When they ran he gave chase, as he should, and eventually cornered the Elemental on a walkway and tried to arrest them. They resisted though, and Eric was overpowered. According to him, the main one that he chased was a Zoroark, backed up by a Lucario and Sceptile." The words seemed forced out of his mouth, as if he had learnt how to pronounce them five minutes ago. And they weren't entirely correct, either. 'I suppose Eric wasn't exactly in the right headspace at the time. The inaccuracy is better for us, though.'

"Those rogue Elementals… Oh, damn then. They can't just get away with injuring an officer - not my officer - not like that!"

"Good luck with that." I didn't feel like digging my own grave, but considering he brought up the topic first, I just had to press Harvey on another matter. "What do you think about the rules for Elementals?"

"Uh, well… Personally, I think they're a little much. I mean, I like going for night walks sometimes, and I'd prefer to be able to do that," Harvey whispered to me.

'Interesting opinion you've got there. And I see you've got a bit of a vendetta against me for my scuffle with Eric. Again, apologies for that, but you can't expect me to just sit and let myself get run over.'

"Anything else ya need from me, Jason?"

"No, that's all. Thank you again for the help. I'll be visiting Mark as soon as I can." With that, I stood up and exited the police station. I started wandering around the area, looking for Ollie. He had merely stopped by the side of the road to drop me off at the station, and we hadn't gone over where he was going to park.

'I see you, Jase. Turn around. Keep going forward. There you go, bud.'

I put on a smug expression as I walked toward the van. "We got our man. Harvey O'Landric, a detective," I said, dispelling the disguise after shutting the door behind me. Ollie emerged from the back of the van and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Thought so, you were gone for ages. I was starting to get a bit worried, and only being able to look through mirrors didn't help. What did he say?"

"Probably a little too much for his own good, but it's not like I stopped him. He, uh… he gave me his phone number, showed me a case report, an autopsy, and told me about what I did to that officer in the junkyard. They are not onto us, dude."

Ollie stifled a laugh. "Wow, alright. So all the good stuff." He started the van and began the drive back to the junkyard.

Overflowing with information, I explained to him everything about the incident with Mark, until he was probably starting to get tired of it. "Hey, Ollie, you know what would be great? If I could check out the crime scene myself. I spent hours sifting through everything, man. But y'know, seeing is believing."

"Did you used to want to go into CSI or something? Because you're obsessed with this."

"Hah. Mark's the first and currently the only human besides my family and friends who didn't treat me like some sort of monster. He came to my aid, as a matter of fact," I retorted. "He's a good person who didn't deserve what he got. I feel like I need to return the favour."

"You've got a point there, Jase. Why not ask Mr. O'Landric? Considering how much he's willing to tell, I reckon you can get something from him."

"That's true, but there is one thing Harvey can't tell me,"

"Mhm?"

"I want to hear Mark's words for myself."

5:47 am, September 5th, 2019

I woke up to a series of faint noises. It first sounded like glass shattering, followed by something akin to colliding billiard balls. After successfully finding and meeting Harvey the day before, Ollie and I agreed to wrap everything up for the day. Though it was now early morning, the sun was yet to rise, and my eyes darted around the room to search for anything that might have fallen and broken. Nothing seemed amiss, so the source must have been from outside the control booth.

Slowly, quietly, I stood up. I felt my way to the shelf, my claws tapping like light rain on the metal floor, and searched around for my torch. I located it but hesitated to switch it on for even a moment, for the sake of the Elementals sleeping in the room. Instead, I reached around my back for my mane, bringing its tip around to my front. Shining the torch through it made a very dampened spotlight. 'Perfect, now this shouldn't wake anyone up.'

Holding the torch with the tip of my mane covering the beam, I headed out of the control room and down toward the ground level of the factory. 'It sounded like glass. I'll search the perimeter of the factory, and if I can't find anything I'll just go back up.'

Though slightly unsettled by the thought of venturing through the factory alone in the dark, even though I knew the layout by heart, I felt safe in knowing my fellow Elementals were just a few seconds away at all times. 'Better watch where I step, though. Places like this don't tend to be so quiet for the careless.'

With a touchdown on the concrete, I made my way to the factory's entrance. Facing the courtyard, I took a right along the long wall, directly under the platform. Nothing. The ground at the back of the factory along the short wall was considerably dirtier than the rest of the floor - probably from many years worth of rain - so I avoided treading there. Then there was the outlet side of the massive shredders. If I looked out the control booth's window, this was where I'd be facing. 'And that was where I pushed Eric down…' Then, one more short wall and it was back to the courtyard entrance. I noticed nothing along my route. 'And… I'm right back to where I was. What could I have missed?'

Risking the sleep quality of the others, I uncovered the torch beam, shining the light upward. I pointed it at the upper windows, which looked like an array of large squares. One of the squares on the rainswept-outlet corner seemed far too clean as I moved the beam across the windows. It was missing the grime that was present on the other windows, and as I approached, it also seemed to be lacking a reflection. I put two and two together and realised that somehow, it had exploded inwards.

I made my way to the area directly under it, where my beliefs were confirmed. Glass shards lay strewn across the ground, though hardly out of place in the other junk that came with a derelict property. Bricks, scrap metal, old pipes, bottles and cans, dirt and plants taking over. However, among all the litter spread across the entire junkyard, one of the bricks in this particular patch simply didn't fit in. It was too normal. I must've looked insane staring at a brick with this intent, but a creeping suspicion was crawling up my spine. While all the buildings in the junkyard had been constructed out of cinderblocks, girders and corrugated metal, the brick was a run-of-the-mill red, clay brick.

It was partially wrapped up, almost like a drug brick. There was a cloth or paper folded around it that was haphazardly stuck down, covering about half the brick. I snickered as I picked it up and unwrapped it, the laughter quickly stopping as I shone the torch onto it, revealing itself as a note.

'To the Zoroark~'

My heart leapt out of my chest, so much so that I went breathless in an instant. 'T-To the–!? What the hell…'

For some reason, my brain took me back to the campsite. I slowly panned around, looking at every single one of the Elementals. No Zoroark there. 'I'm the only one. Th-This is mine… This is meant to be for me.'

The rest of the note still beckoned, begging to be read. Whatever it contained, I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. After all, if someone's going out of their way to contact you through a handwritten note before the sun even rises, is it ever a good sign? The only thing I could do was read the rest of it.

'You seem very well merged with your little pack at the junkyard. Yet, you're so dedicated to your life back home.'

'It's upsetting, really. Hurry up and commit to a side.'

'Actually, let's have a test of how much humanity you still have, don't you agree?'

'Text me through the number below by 10 pm today. Do not attempt to notify the police. Do not attempt to notify your friends. Not unless you want to see everything around you fall.'

The note slipped out of my claws. I made no attempt to stop it, letting it fall. I doubt it would have been possible, even if I tried. My limbs felt immovable, tethered down by invisible chains. Every word sunk me deeper into the hell I found myself in. I felt like passing out, my already poor night vision fading and blurring. I'd never liked alcohol, but I imagine that was what being intoxicated feels like. I sat down right where I was, in spite of the glass shards scattered on the ground, and raised a hand– paw? What was I trying to convince myself of anymore? What solace was there in sticking a knife into my own eyes?

My thoughts, like thundering clouds, collected into a storm - A cyclone. A whirlwind that left a path of destruction in its wake. I grasped where my temples would be, trying to alleviate the pressure. Instead, a claw well near pierced my head. Funnily enough, that was what brought me to my senses. I'd rather not have had to explain why I was bleeding from the head, and then have to go bother with cleaning myself up. It would only raise suspicions on top of that.

'I swear to god I hope this is a prank. But… why would it be so directed… to me? Why now? Why at all? Who did this?' Questions, so many questions. Coming and going, but never staying.

'How could he have seen me? I've only ever left when it was dark out… No, there was one time. Kate.' I always knew it was a bad idea to move in the daylight hours. Even though I had been driven to the junkyard, or as close as possible, there was still a short window of time where I could have been seen running across the parking lot of a warehouse near the junkyard.

'The warehouse? Hold on, who could have seen me? There are the drivers on the highway, but I'm sure none of them would've made the effort to come back here to do this to me. They would've barely had a glimpse, anyway. So that leaves everyone in that warehouse. Yes, there were probably security cameras, recording me and Kate. Alright, you bastard. I'm onto you just as you are to me.'

It must have been blind confidence - The brief moment of clarity that comes out immediately after getting hit with something that should shake you to your very core. But as I made my way back to the control booth, it quickly waned into nonexistence, leaving behind the burning doubts and second-guessings. 'This is a bluff. Most of this is a bluff. There's no way this dude knows anything about me. But… what about the junkyard? What about all the Elementals here tonight? I can't run the risk of us getting caught out, again.'

Desperate, I took one last scan of the note. 'Okay, they've given me a time. 10 pm today. Whoever this is, they won't be making a move until then. I hope…' I felt uneasy clutching the note as I headed back up to the control booth. I silently placed it in my satchel and sat down next to Cody. I didn't get another lick of sleep. Anything like that was entirely off the table. At least it was early morning, so it wasn't a long wait until dawn.

The unease never subsided as the sun rose, made its arc through the sky, and sunk into the horizon. Attempts to distract myself through practising illusions only intensified my fears, if it meant the thought that I'd have to make use of them very, very soon. Watching the sunset, something that had brought me to peace many a time in my past, was now an endeavour in vain.

"Ollie?" I said. It was long after sundown, and I had become so paranoid I couldn't risk the hour or so that it took to walk home in the open, even under the veil of darkness and a looming curfew for everyone. "Could you, uh… drive me back home?"

"Why?"

"It– It doesn't feel right… I-I just have a gut feeling that-"

"Take him home, Ollie," Kaden interjected.

"Alright, I'll be in the van," Ollie said before reluctantly leaving the room.

Kaden turned to face me. "I don't want to stop you from doing whatever you need to do. But if there's something wrong, come to me about it tomorrow."

"Thanks," I quietly said before retrieving my satchel, the note packaged inside, and leaving the control booth. 'Would Kaden be allowed to know about the note?'

As we drove, I gave Ollie the directions to my house. I kept one arm in my satchel, repeatedly scrunching up the note in a blend of confusion and anger. I didn't say anything or let it out in any other way. I didn't want to risk breaking the terms. Of course, Ollie could sense every bit of it, but for some reason didn't say anything, not until we arrived. However, I could tell for the whole journey that he was itching to ask. "Please, Jason–"

"It's just… anxiety. I can handle this. I promise I'll try my best to stop it from taking over."

"Please do, anxiety catches on. Communication and sleep, Jason. Some of the best cures for that. See you tomorrow."

"Laters." I watched as the van disappeared back down the street. 'Communication and sleep, huh? One of those is off the table entirely, and the other won't be coming at all.' I turned and walked to the front door, which opened to the slightest touch, and crept inside, silently shutting the door behind me. I made myself a quick, scrappy dinner with some leftovers and took it up to my room.

'Right. Now, this thing.' I took the scrunched-up note out of my satchel, unfurled it on my desk, and sat down. My hasty stuffing of the note into my satchel, as well as the rage-fuelled scrunching of it, made it pretty damaged and hard to read. Whoever this person was, at least they were kind enough to write in a black marker. For convenience's sake, I opened my contacts on my laptop. Slowly, I punched in the number written on the note. 'The moment I send a message, any message, there is no going back.'

I checked the time on my laptop. It was quarter to ten - A mere fifteen minutes until the deadline. Time flew by as I hovered my paws over the keyboard. It could have been an empty threat. But, in a world turned wild, anything and everything was possible. And when anything could happen, one could only expect the worst.

'9:50'

Pessimism wasn't something that could just go away. It is something that is hardwired. It makes us weary of danger, should it show itself. And so when danger does emerge, we were the most prepared for it. But can one ever truly be ready for the absolute worst? Could you ever be prepared to face off a threat that held everything dear to you in the palm of its hand? 'Everything is… I feel like I'm burning… Oh, fuck off, ten minutes…'

'9:55'

Fire… if I never said anything, was that what I was going to see? Arsonists were often depicted as the first things to rise in anarchy, for good reason. Fire doesn't take prisoners. It doesn't separate good from bad - Everything burns. And in anarchy, everyone falls. Society crumbles and everything you ever knew is reduced to ashes. That is, everything but the loyalties of a past life - the strings that connect, determining the lone wolves and the packs of survivors. Tense, charred and frayed, but still there. 'Where do my loyalties lie? Who do I care about most? Myself, or those around me?'

'9:59'

'Fuck this. Fuck everything about this.'

Fearful of what could be, I typed a message and sent it. 'Are you the one who's been starting fires all over my city?'

A short moment later, I got a reply. 'There is a codephrase below the phone number I provided. We are not talking unless you repeat it to me.'

'Wait, codephrase? I didn't even…' I looked closer at the note. Indeed, there was another line, at the edge of the note and lightly written in pencil. Now that I knew of its existence, it looked so glaringly obvious. How could I have missed it? I remembered when I received the note initially, I was only reading it under a torchlight and then avoided even touching it for the rest of the day. Hence, it had gone unnoticed. 'So this person isn't an idiot… They're covering themselves well.' I typed out and double-checked the phrase - some weird quote in Latin or French - ensuring it was correct.

'Perfect. I take it you found my note?'

'Yes, and I had a horrible day because of that. Thanks a lot. So who do you think you are, trying to corner me anyways?'

'You don't need to know, it won't help you. On the other had, I already have everything I need on you.'

'The hell do you mean?'

'I don't know, Jason Samry. Perhaps it would be better if we talk later? I'm a busy person, and I'm sure you're all tied up with your little pack there.'

'Are you kidding me!? Say it to me upfront. You're the one who told me commit to something, you goddamn hypocrite.'

'Watch what you say. I was simply setting a deadline to see if you were going to take me seriously or not.'

'Kindly, why don't you go fuck yourself?'

'Alright. I'll leave you with a little gift, and maybe you will reconsider? I'm sure you'll come crawling back up to me in a couple of days. Sleep well.'

'Go to hell.'

While the blackmailer was busy threatening me, I was doing everything I could to find a lead on them. I tried tracing the phone number, seeing if it was associated with a company or person. They remained anonymous. I also had a look at the warehouse Kate had parked in when she dropped me off the other day. It was some nondescript distribution warehouse that kept their employee list close to their chest - Another dead end. Admittedly, I had no idea what I was doing - This type of work wasn't exactly a strong suit of mine - and so my lack of results was at least expected. 'I'm guessing the number's a burner, anyways. Most people wouldn't be stupid enough to do this on their actual number. And my guy has already proven themselves not to be a complete moron. Just my luck.'

Without any clues on who I was dealing with, I went to bed paranoid. Scenarios kept going through my head like a dozen locomotives. I was shrouded in uncertainty. What was going to happen, what 'gift' was awaiting me? Should I have not just brushed the blackmailer off? Swearing at them was a surefire way to have things spiral down, fast. Why did I do it, then?

'I'm angry. This… this fucking bastard has no right to threaten me, to coerce me into this bullshit.'

Eventually, after what felt like hours, my thoughts became more theoretical - Pondering on things that didn't happen. But that didn't do anything to alleviate my stress. In fact, it only made it worse. I was a Pokémon, yet, what if I wasn't? What if it was Kate, or Mum, or Dad? Alex? Marty? What if… everyone but me? Uncertainty has a way of driving those who contemplate too much to insanity.

The only certain thing was the end of my blackmailer's tormenting of me. I didn't just want it; I was going to make sure it happened personally.

Author's notes:

Damn it, I don't know how I pull it off but I keep one upping myself when it comes to the gap between chapters. Sigh. This is such a key chapter for the plot so I don't know how it took so long to write, considering the coercion letter has pretty much been a set-in-stone event since the week I conceived this story. Actually, I spent maybe like a week or two writing the letter scene. Literally everything else took the rest of the three months.

So this got dark quick. I'd say it's about here where the story will start to pivot much more to that 'M' rating. Lots of incoming traumatic experiences for our characters to go through. Hopefully, I can start changing the overall tone and atmosphere of future chapters to something darker to suit this. I'm no professional writer though, just some idiot who's seen way too many unfinished and abandoned stories.

I want to give you some insight into how I've been planning this story. Harvey as a character is relatively new - He's the last "major" character I added to the plan. That really just means someone who has a relatively large influence on the plot. Though his role was originally way smaller, I promoted him to a major character after I realised there was a lot of thematic potential in him. This happened only like a few months ago.

However, the conversation between Jason and Harvey was written way earlier than all this. Snippets of it predate the release of Chapter 4. That means parts of this chapter were written in 2023. I have a few little parts written for future chapters that were originally made before that, too.

I've also started to realise I may be at a point in this story where I am repeating phrases, quotes or scenes. For example, I swear I remember doing a really similar part for Cody and Jason on the roof. I feel like it shouldn't be happening only 70 thousand words in, but I can't remember every word I've written. So if things do end up repeating, even though it probably means they were good since I actually bothered to remember them, I apologise.

Finally, there's a quote in this chapter that I stole from the film Sunset Boulevard. See if you can find it. I also lifted a nightmare scenario from the original 30% story, because it's just that good of a concept.

Adios!

P.S. If I weren't going for these stupid one-word chapter names, I'd probably call this "The Illusion of Choice" or something like that.

Actual word count: 8,652
Published February 1st, 2025

Index:
'Thoughts/telepathy'
"Speech"
'Typed/written text'