Metamorphosis

7. Discovery

After the experiences she had just been through, she could not close her eyes for a long time, but soon sleep overcame her, and she rose only when awakened by L.

Did the nocturnal events really happen?

It seemed too fantastical to be true, but the dried blood on her palms spoke otherwise.

Lucy washed her hands in the river and returned to the spot to gather her belongings.

Apparently, her appearance was so tense that L, finally breaking his morning silence, uttered:

'What happened?'

He glanced at her palms.

'What's with your hands?'

Lucy fastened her backpack and looked at him.

'I'll tell you on the way,' she said. 'I need to check something.'

Somehow she felt that she might not find the abandoned building for the second time. Besides, Lucy suspected that L might not believe another one of her crazy stories.

However, contrary to her doubts, the strange derelict structure stood in place. It did not seem as eerie as it did in the dark, but Lucy still heard the same inexplicable whisper. This time, it was barely perceptible, as if muted by the sounds of the awakening nature.

'What is this?' she asked L, pointing to the building.

He stopped and looked at the structure. 'It's a simulacrum.'

'What?'

'A simulacrum. Side effects of the Tunnel's presence.'

'You mean like ghosts?' Lucy frowned.

L nodded.

'Almost. Simulacrums are material and almost don't differ from real objects.'

'The five-story building near Sod is also a simulacrum?'

'Yes.'

Lucy hesitated.

'And... Is there anything else... unusual about them?'

L shrugged.

'Mostly, they're ordinary buildings. But it's better to steer clear of them, as they also tend to disappear spontaneously.'

'And no voices are heard from them?' Lucy dared to ask.

'What?'

Lucy sighed.

Nevertheless, if she wanted him to believe her, she should not keep anything back.

'Last night I woke up,' she began, 'and heard whispers. I walked down the path and saw this... simulacrum. It seemed like the voices were coming from inside the building. I went in through that entrance,' she pointed to the doorway in the centre of the building. 'But as soon as I found myself in the corridor... the entrance disappeared. Instead, there was an ordinary wall."

She took a breath.

'I started to panic and ran to the window. And it turned out I somehow got to the third floor. I had to jump out the window, but when I did... I realised I had jumped from the ground floor.'

She looked at L. He remained silent, furrowing his brow.

'How is that possible?' Lucy asked. 'Have you heard of anything like this?'

L stared at her intently, as if contemplating something.

'Something similar happened to me once,' he finally said. 'It was a long time ago, in my childhood. I got lost in a simulacrum, and it felt like madness. No one I know who's ever ventured there has experienced the same. For them, it was just an ordinary abandoned building. After that, I never went into simulacrums again. And now you describe the same thing that happened to me back then.'