Deviated

Shadow ?

The driver pressed on the brake and the car stopped infront of an old three storey building. Five years from now and it would be kissing the surface of earth. The bricks were showing through the falling plaster. Water was leaking from the pipes running on the side of garage while the rotten stench from decomposing cat filling up the space. No houses near it were in the condition of accomodation. The school infront of it was shut down ten years back because of a massive protest against the director which also resulted in death of fifteen people. Now the school was home of rodents, creepers and ghosts, according to the residents living few kilometres away from here. This part of the city was pictorially present in map but actually wiped out of reality. 

Si-Oh opened the door of his car and stepped out, closing the door back again. The sun hitting directly on his face. He closed his eyes as the light caused a stinking pain due to lack of sleep since past six months. He breathed deeply but the rotting stench made him gag on the food he had for breakfast. He looked around and found the cat, lying there with his intestines ripped open by scavengers.

He walked towards it and bended down, covering his nose.

'This is not as painful as being alive, missing someone who will never come back and wishing to die every moment, buddy. '

He smiled sadly and stood straight.

' I wish I could sleep like you. Once and for all. '

He was so busy in the dead cat, he failed to notice the shadow coming from person hiding behind one of the pillar in the garage.

The person closed their eyes and leaned back on the pillar, listening to him but the phone vibrated in their pocket, breaking the stance for both Si-Oh and them.

They quickly ended the call, but Si-Oh was alert. He saw the shadow of the person.

' Who is there ? ' He asked in his authoritative tone but there was no answer.

The person started to be scared and feared him walking towards them.

' I SAID, WHO THE FUCK IS THERE ?! ' He growled, his voice amplifying in the empty garage. The phone dropped from their hand out of shock.

Si-Oh walked towards them, one step at a time, his hand going to his back to bring out the gun. He brought it out and recoiled it, pointing towards the pillar.

Three steps away but the driver called for him.

' Sir, there are some kids playing in the backyard. ' The driver said. Si-Oh looked at him and in the meanwhile, the person removed their shoes and ran away, pushing the phone inside their pocket while holding on to the shoes - the white coat sliding on the dust accumulated over the pipe.

'Kids ? ' Si-Oh asked. Strange, he had never found any human in the premises of this building during his past visits.

He walked with the driver towards the backyard and found three kids playing there, covered in dust. He approached them and hearing the sound of boots , the kids looked back. Fear taking over their playful mischievous eyes. Immediately, they stood up from the ground and arranged in a line infront of him.

' This is not the right place for y'all. Go and play some where else. ' Si-Oh said.

' But we li....like this place. ' One of the kid said.

He took a deep breath. Ordering kids was not the way to deal with them and neither did he wanted to scare them off, which could also backfire if they told their parents.

Si-Oh smiled at them and eventually, they smiled at him too. He sat on one of his knee and asked the kids to come closer. They did.

' This is not a safe place. There are wild animals. ' He said, softly . Patting one of the kid's head.

' And I have heard there is a ghost living in the school ' He added, pointing at the school some metres away - the condition of the school affirming them about his lie.

The kids were once again scared, focusing on the darkness behind the broken glass of one of the window of a classroom.

' Ho ..How will we go ba....back ? ' One of them asked, his eyes shifting to and fro between Si-Oh and the school.

' The driver uncle will take you. Where do you live ? ' Si-Oh asked, feeling a bit bad about scaring innocent kids but they were safer with a lie than roaming around in a place like this.

The kids told him their address and Si-Oh looked back at the driver. He nodded and got the kids inside the car. In a minute, it was headed out of the building.

He looked back at the direction of the pillar, where the shadow was. And observing it for some moments, he shook his head discarding the thought - taking it as one of the four kid who was hiding there.

He walked through the garage and then by the staircase, reaching the space beneath it. He bended down to fit in his broad posture in the narrow space and pushed open the rusted metallic door.

The door opened to a storage room, which hadn't been cleaned for years. Spider webs covering every corner of it while some utensils, bedsheets and three chairs remained scattered on the floor. He walked past them and stood infront of a shelf filled with old books covered in dust. He picked up a stick lying around and through the stack of the books, pushed the green button hiding behind them. The shelf shifted to right and there was another door.

Si-Oh pulled out his wallet and from one of hidden cover, he took out a black card. Pressing it on electronic box kept beside the door. The card got scanned and the door clicked opened.

There it was. The laboratory where Retsen was being engineered.