Faceless Instincts

Burned in Cold

I perched there in the milky lighting of Nikolai's cabin. It was cold and bleak and my mind was reeling from the state of drowsiness and anxiety. Nikolai stood in front of me, leaning against the table with arms folded across his chest. His posture was defensive, but whenever he spoke a tinge of pain coated his words.

His apprehension made me fearful, I had already started imagining the worst. I recalled how Nikolai was in the homicide department before he met me, and now I was trying not to go into the dark places. Worst case scenario that popped into my mind was what if it's related to Dorian?

"Are you okay?" He inquired, leaning a little forward.

"No" I admitted, "I am not okay Nikolai, you just called me here in the middle of the night"

He closed his eyes and took an intense breath, "I know this is not the most convenient scenario but this is important"

"Then what is it" I stressed in my words.

He ran his fingers through his hair in  exasperation and bit his lower lip, "see" he said looking at me, "I want you to answer me very honestly okay?" He crouched closer to me, "come here, sit down first."

"Okay, what is it?" I asked again, sitting down.

"I will ask only once, and whatever you say will be my final answer"

I nodded.

"Now, do you remember that old woman that we saw when we were leaving Dorian's house?" He was so close to me that I could barely think straight.

"Yes, I do."

His brows laced together, "do you know her?"

"No"

He cocked his head to the side in confusion, "are you sure?"

"Of course I am"

He gazed at me as of having uncertainty in his mind, "you don't believe me?" I said astounded and aghast while sitting straight in my chair, "why would I lie about it?" My voice faltered

He leaned closer to me again, placing tips of his fingers on my jawline, I looked sideways and caught a glimpse of a few officers looking at us through the window. Nikolai seemed to have noticed it and looked in the same direction, I noticed a certain shift in his demeanour, his pupil shrunk when he noticed them; he became more stoic.

As soon as Nikolai peered his head to look at them they all at once looked away and carried in with their work, he walked up briskly and closed the shades sternly, separating us from the world.

When he walked back he pulled the second chair and sat in it shifting it closer to mine," I believe you, Kiara, there's no doubt in it" he studied my face, "it's just really strange for it to be called a true situation "

"What happened?"  I raised a question.

"That old woman"

"What about her?" Even I know my voice was shaken at the moment.

"She is dead," he said in a swift motion and took my hand.

His words brought chills to my bones, I sat there gaping at him. I did feel his hands taking mine but this time they weren't enough to warm me up.

I tried to form words in my brain but failed, fortunately, Nikolai read me like a book, "the nature of death is not yet clear."

The confusion stabbed me like a dagger, "what do you mean?"

He shifted in his seat, "remember the call I got?"

I gave an uncommunicative yes.

"Well, it was from my colleague, right after an unknown person made a call to report an unnatural activity in the neighbourhood"

His hands were like anchors and I clung to them, he responded with the same zeal by tightening his grip.

My heart was thumping so hard that for a second I thought it might as well explode. Nikolai moved his chair closer, "I want you to be very thorough with your memory Kiara okay?" He said, "and strong as well"
I gulped and he continued, "the caller reported that the activity was bizarre, almost psychotic..." he halted looking into my eyes, "where that old woman allegedly set her own house on fire and then..." He trailed off "and then walked back inside it."

My eyes went wide and I could hardly breathe. My pulse rate went high as tiny beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I clutched the armrest as I looked back at Nikolai with a horrified expression, I didn't know what to say so I simply sat there looking at him, "I know this is a lot to take in" he spoke in a gentle voice.

"Is she?" that is all I managed to muttered.

And he nodded, "she died shortly after the EMT took her to the hospital, eighty-three per cent of her body suffered severe burns, inhalation of carbon monoxide had filled her lungs damaging them. Shortness of oxygen supply into the brain for an extended period had damaged her neurological function. She did regain consciousness while we were taking her out but the damage was irreversible."

I took it all in and all along one question clouded my brain, what does it have anything to do with me?

Before I could bring myself to ask a selfish question amidst such news we heard a single knock and someone poked their head inside. Nikolai immediately put some distance between him and me and looked at the man, "the girl's here" the man said and went back outside. Nikolai looked at me, "I will be back soon, okay?" He squeezes my palm softly and then went out.

I watched his retreating back and leaned back into the chair closing my eyes. What the hell is even going on in my life. I cursed out loud and opened my eyes. A woman was dead, but what do I have to do with it?"

I stood up with a blowup and started pacing the room thinking about how that woman had come up to me just a few hours ago. Her words echoed in my mind when she said that she knew I would come back, did she know me?

In the process of pacing and traumatizing my brain, I walked up to the viewing window and pushes the shades aside a little to see what's going on outside. I saw Nikolai talking to a girl, her face was red and streaked with eyeliner because of crying, I simply presumed her to be a relative of the old lady and sharp pain in my chest made its way. I felt sad when I imagined the pain she must be going through.

To avoid it further I put the shade back on and moved to go away when something ticked in my mind and I moved the shades aside once more to have a better look at the girl. I knew her. She was the nurse that attended to me while I was hospitalized; the one that has a tattoo that matches the trinket.