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Chapter 37

The day started off strange. There were no startling nightmares, no lingering sleepiness and no nodding off. Every time I walked past my work space, I felt a small tug at my fingertips. I brushed it off thinking it was just my imagination. The last time I tried to work again, I had a scolding coming my way from both parental figures.

Another sight that was strange was the captain pacing up and down the hallway, also pausing a little every time he walked past the office space. Throughout the day, I felt something beckon me to the area. I couldn’t ignore it much longer. I noticed Hongjoong was still in the area. I grabbed and pulled him along with me into the office space. 

I heard a soft hum coming from the cabinet. I recalled that Cromer was held there. A faint glow emitted from the gaps of the cabinet. I stalked up to the cabinet and wrenched it open. I opened the door halfway and the glow was more prominent. We silently exchanged looks. Cromer was beckoning.

It coincided with the night before the blood moon. According to Hongjoong, it was the first blood moon to happen since Cromer was in his possession. Hongjoong took Cromer out of the drawer. Little shapes moulded by mist danced around before shifting rapidly to change into other shapes. I peeked at the hourglass in his hands to find something constant amongst the shifting mass. The only thing that caught my attention was a hat and a bow that always seemed to dance around the edges. 

I followed the captain back to his office where he instructed me to note down the shapes I saw in my view of Cromer. The captain had settled down and noted the mist figures in his view of Cromer. He was very quiet and soon the only things heard around the room was the rustling of paper and the scratching of pens. Some of the misty shadows were uninterpretable blobs whilst others were clear, leaving very little, if any, to imagination.

Amidst the task, a knock sounded at the door. I faintly heard a call for them to come in later. After what seemed like hours, we compared the notes to find patterns between high rise buildings, blimps, flyers and vague depictions of weaponry. He could only hope it was not an ominous sign or an invitation for some otherworldly being. I relocated myself to a small couch and stared off tiredly at the wall in his office. I heard him mutter every now and then at his notes and that was when I began to slip. I had fallen asleep. 

* * * 

I find myself in the dark prison of galleries, though this time the artworks are gone. The statues of human emotion were smashed into pieces on the floor. The frames were void of their riots of colours. The heavy door creaked open and I slink into the shadows. Footsteps clattered on the marble floor, each step resonating off the walls. I braced myself, half-expecting a figure clad in all white. The footsteps slowed to a stop just where a glassbox stood as the centrepiece of the dead gallery. The silhouette of a person casted by the sparse light was very familiar. 

“Aren’t you going to come out?” The voice was all too familiar. 

I stepped out towards the light and stood next to the person. 
“Hongjoong?”

He stepped back in surprise. “How do you know my name?” 

I frowned. It was strange that we were in the same gallery after falling asleep. He seemed shorter than I remembered. I caught a glimpse of myself on the glass surface. What stared back wasn’t a face I recalled. The uncanny feeling of it being right raised goosebumps all over my arms. 

“You know this is a dream right?” I treaded carefully. 

Hongjoong’s eyes flicked to the side so quickly and his expression hardened. I was too familiar with that look. I was yet again subjected to suspicion. There wasn’t any time to ask as the mist began to condense inside the glass box. We both watched in tense silence at the mist clouding and a darkened spot developing at the very centre. The dark spot grew into a shadow of a person.