Chapter 18: Chapter. 18: Interlude: Visions of Delusion

Officer Carter enjoyed his job. He really enjoyed the leisure of the night shift, or more specifically how calm the nightlife was in his area. After all, it was the countryside. He did think it was a bit of a pain to end his shift, given how tired he felt after it was over, he wasn’t much of a night owl compared to a lot of his coworkers. 

However, he had lucked out. He wasn’t a hardworking man, or well. He didn’t consider himself a hardworking man. Always choosing the easiest option whenever possible, or the one that required the least effort. So while his hours were a bit hellish, the calm that they brought him was worth it. 

Carter set his black polished shoes on the steering wheel of his car, the hum of the standby engine bringing a pleasant form of relaxation to him. Sometimes he would do some patrolling and then shut down his car for a few minutes to clear his mind, though he couldn’t sleep on the job⁠— well he could⁠— he just didn’t want to sleep on the job. 

Even though he believed in doing the least effort as humanly possible, he did believe in doing a proper job in that little effort. Through his dark, nearly closed eyes he looked at the fogging windshield, the streetlights distorted into spheres of light bringing a special type of calm to his heart. 

A sigh exited his mouth, his chilly breath visible in the air. He liked the cold night. But unfortunately, he liked it too much. Carter grumbled ever so slightly as he turned the heater of the car. It was uneventful as always, and the night was pleasant as always. Or well, it was pleasant till the ground shook. 

His eyes snapped open and he leaned in on the steering wheel. It was close. But he couldn’t see anything through the blur of the glass, and the streetlights did not help either. Carter had a bad feeling. Nothing ever happened. In his two years of patrolling the area nothing had ever happened. 

He scrambled to get his things ready as well as the keys to his car. The door handle was pulled only for him to realize the lock was still on, after a short inconvenience he left the car. On the intersection he parked, there was an apartment complex⁠— quite a run-down one, but to his knowledge the new landlord had recently renovated the rooms. 

But⁠, now⁠— smoke endlessly poured out of the place. Moreover, he felt difficulty breathing and his heartbeat was rapidly going up. What was this feeling? Fear? However, as quickly as he experienced the oppressive feeling, it vanished. He quickly gripped at the radio on his chest before pausing. 

What was he going to tell them? Nothing had ever happened⁠— that wasn’t relevant. 

His brain rushed for answers⁠. What could cause such an explosion? Was it an explosi⁠— it was an explosion. And as quickly as it raised, it pausd. Homemade bomb? Terrorists? No why would there be terrorists. 

He gripped the radio and grit his teeth. 

“This is Officer Carter, requesting backup and the fire department. Explosion at an apartment complex at Windower Street, near the Inter Highway. Causes unknown.” Carter didn’t remember the code, or what to even say into the radio. 

He got a short but effective reply back. But it did nothing to calm him down. He simply stared at the apartment that now had some flames coming out of it, before finally awakening from his stupor. 

He had called for help, and now it was time to act. As he ran towards the nearest door, he wondered if he was even qualified for this, or even knew how to go about things. 

Carter banged on the nearest door.

“Police!” He screamed. “Please evacuate as soon as possible!” 

He repeated the action with all the doors on the first floor. Some people were slowly exciting their apartments as he finished up but others remained closed. A lot of the residents wore expressions of confusion, and some others anxiously awaited for him to inform them what was happening. 

“Please evacuate the area, an explosion has occurred in the second⁠— 

His voice was interrupted by the beeping of the fire alarms going off. Carter finished his statement with slight confusion, before regaining his senses. He still had another floor to deal with. 

After some more instructions, and having some volunteers to help evacuate the ones who hadn’t left on the first floor. Carter moved to the second floor as fast as he could. Thankfully the fire wasn’t spreading. The fire seemed to be nothing more than dying embers which calmed his mind a bit. 

As soon as he set foot atop the stairs he saw most people evacuating already. He was hopeful that no one had gotten caught up in the explosion as he saw every door open by the time he assessed the situation. 

And soon, every single person he could evacuate was out of the building. Unfortunately he couldn’t get information about the information that had blown up⁠. Or rather. He couldn’t get valuable information from the people that claimed to have seen something. 

Some described reality itself being distorted, and others claimed to have seen black goo or even moving tentacles. Which was obviously ridiculous, and probably their stress talking.

By the time the assistance arrived, Carter felt absolutely exhausted. He was in his 30s, and exercised during the weekends while carrying out a modest diet. Sure he wasn’t fit, but he wasn’t exactly fat either, yet, in spite of all of this. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest. The events that had occurred were a total blur;  from the beginning of the explosion, to the point in which others took his place. 

He didn’t know how long had passed, but as soon as he thought he had caught a break, a hand was placed on his shoulder. Turning around he almost sighed in relief. It was the Deputy Chief. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Carter wearily paced around. The questioning did him no good either. His superior just didn’t take no for an answer⁠— moreover he hardly knew what was actually going on himself. Those factors coupled with the fact that he slept subpar hours made him feel tired, and helpless. 

Everything was going so smoothly for the past two years, moreover, the night was calm too. Then all of the sudden his world had been shaken, quite literally. It didn’t help that the Deputy Chief wanted him to join the investigation team for the explosion site. 

In the end, he simply sat on the sidewalk as he waited for things to simmer down until it was time to head out. Though he didn’t really know what to expect. 

Investigation? Carter thought to himself before quietly scoffing. Never done a damned investigation in my life, let alone one that involves an explosion of an apartment building. 

After about thirty minutes of peace and quiet⁠— of not being bothered. A team was finally assembled, it involved some experienced firefighters and some police officers. Other smaller teams had gone to search the other guest rooms for remaining people or pets, and now it was time to look for the cause of the explosion. 

Carter felt his head pounding with blood, and his breathing somewhat stifled as he spearheaded the operation. There was a gaping hole on the apartment, the light was flickering and the entire place was burnt. Was it even a normal explosion? 

He had to take a pause to not inhale too much dust, and at the same time to analyze the situation. Others simply took the lead from there. 

“Hey, take a look at this.” One of the firefighters signaled, causing everyone to gather around him.

Bones and pieces of metal were scattered on a small area of the floor making Carter lift his brow. They were definitely bones, but the piece of metal almost looked like a barrel. Though it didn’t have rifling, nor did it have any type of spring⁠— hammer. Nothing he recognized as core parts of a weapon. 

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It did not take long before said objects found themselves in an evidence bag. Others searched deeper into the living room, leaving Carter to wander around in confusion. He still had no clue about what he should be doing, moreover the random holes in the ceiling and ground did not help alleviate his anxiety. 

Upon closer inspection with his flashlight, some parts of the ground seemed to have been melted by acid, or at least a powerful corrosive agent. He wanted out. 

He paced around for a second before noticing something. The hallway is completely intact. Carter carefully made his way through the hallway when he heard hushed voices. He didn’t know who they belonged to, but there was one thing clear on his mind. Survivors, witnesses. He made a move towards the door he heard it from and slammed it open with a flashlight in hand. 

“Eeee! Get away!” Carter felt his heart skip a beat. The ear-piercing shriek making him pause before he regained his wits. 

“Calm down. I am a police officer!” Carter stated before speaking into his radio. “I have found two-girls on site, requesting immediate assistance.” Making sure to repeat himself twice he finished the call. 

“Help is here…” He tried to extend his hand as gentle as possible, but the girl with the pajamas seemed to recoil, and the red-haired⁠—

She was full of blood. Carter felt his anxiety skyrocket once again. She was severely injured. 

He pushed his radio again. “One in⁠—

“Wait, you’re the police?!” The pajama girl seemed to scream, making him pause. “Sorry, she’s not injured, she’s just covered in⁠—” Even though she explained hurriedly she came to a full stop. 

“It’s fake blood!” The other one elaborated. 

Carter felt his brain pause. Fake… Blood? “Please allow me to assess the situation.” He requested before getting a nod. 

Getting closer to the bloody girl whose clothes were oddly clean, he took a look at where most of the blood was, but⁠ as one of them had claimed, there was no injuries present. Carter nodded to himself feeling alleviated, though he wanted to do a more thorough check up he didn’t have the qualifications for it nor the audacity to request it. 

In the end, all he could do was wait for help to arrive and try to ease the girls. 

◇ ◇ ◇

Carter felt his headache building up as the Deputy Chief left the room. Shit! He slammed the table helplessly, the dull pain echoing in his wrist and arm. Interrogation on the two girls? Thankfully they were surprisingly cooperative and calm so far. But it was too weird. 

He remembered the red-haired girl who dressed in full black, and still was covered in fake blood. She just looked around like a kid as soon as they got to the station. And moreover, she started saying weird things about the weapon racks and almost tried to grab one! That had almost gotten him fired. 

Soon a helpless sigh left him. First was the pajama girl, and then the bloodied one. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Carter examined the information provided for the second interrogation. The first one was fruitless to his dismay. Ash, or well that was her nickname. Ash claimed to have seen nothing, simply stating that she was asleep in her room when her roommate reached her. Everything Carter could imagine was denied with the fact that she was asleep. 

In the end, he could only wait as they got done talking. Ash had whispered something to⁠— Kaiti, who seemed to be surprised, but Carter didn’t think it was worth pursuing. Perhaps it was biased of him, but he just couldn’t picture how these two girls had anything to do with the explosion. 

The investigations had confirmed it wasn’t produced by any type of household item so far, therefore he was taking it easy. He no longer felt as agitated after the questioning with Ash. Then again, he also felt ill-fitted to do the questioning, but he had no choice. 

Soon, Carter found himself with the other girl whose name was Kaiti Necros. Both of their names were strange to him, but perhaps both of the girls were foreigners. Bringing a notebook and pen with him, he sat across Kaiti and began speaking. 

“You’re a police officer right? That means you punish the bad people?” At least he was supposed to begin speaking. Kaiti asked across from him. 

Carter paused. “You could say that?” Then promptly shook his head. Even though he was full of skepticism he had to carry on. “This is a questioning, please refrain from making more questions.”

Kaiti seemed to pause. “Sorry, but I have one more.” The girl seemed truly sorry to him, whether it was her odd fidgeting or sincere eyes. In the end, Carter sighed. 

“I’ll allow it.” 

To his surprise, she lit up. “What is that metal construct you carry? The ones with the metal nibs that you pull and explode!” 

Carter once again, was confused. Metal construct? Metal nib? Explosion? It took a bit of effort for his brain to come up with an answer. But eventually, he said in confusion. 

“You mean the pistols and rifles? Weapons?” 

Kaiti nodded hearing his answer, seemingly satisfied. Finally. He could finally begin questioning. However, nothing had prepared him for what came after. No amount of studying, academy training, or tales from his fellow officers was able to prepare him for what came. 

At first it was mild and slightly meek. But soon, it became different. It became more. It became something that Carter couldn’t even believe he was hearing while doing his job.

Weapons. Tentacle monsters. Ash killing an eldritch being whose words shook the very air. Weapons of light. And a different world. Halfway through the thirty minute tale he had stopped paying attention. He had heard of the tentacles from other witnesses or gossip, but this? This was another level in its entirety! 

“Oh, and I am a Grim Reaper!” She finally added with a bright smile. 

Carter almost facepalmed right then and there. In the end, both girls were let go and offered a ride to anywhere of their choosing.