Night Vale Unsolved

12

"Earlier today the city council announced that all public restrooms are closed. They did not say for how long, but their masked representative assured us that it would be temporary. According to reports, water has been-"
A sudden knocking at the studio door distracted Carlos from whatever Cecil was saying over the air. Getting up from his seat where he was supposed to be working on science (but had really spaced out listening to the radio), he went to see who it was.
"Um, hi," Ryan and Shane stood awkwardly in the open doorway. Ryan glanced around the lab as he continued, "You...asked us to come? To talk about...yeah."
Carlos felt like kicking himself. He'd completely forgotten about that - he's gotten so distracted; he should have cleaned up, or at the very least cleared a table for them to sit.
"Yes. Yes, I'm sorry, I completely lost track of time. Come on in! Just...don't touch...anything."
He guided the two around tables covered in samples of some gooey substance, piles of papers, machines registering earthquakes that no one could feel, and more. The other scientists didn't hide their stares - Carlos had told them about Shane and Ryan, but not much. Just that they weren't from Night Vale...and that they knew. No, that they Knew.
Sitting down at a smaller table in the back - miraculously clear of experiments - The three men were silent for an awkward moment. Ryan kept looking around at everything, curious more than anything else. Shane, though, looked around as well, but didn't seem to be as interested. Carlos could tell that he hadn't gotten much sleep. Hopefully it was unrelated to yesterday's events, but those chances were slim.
"Alright, so.." Carlos started, immediately aware that he had no idea what to do. "Um, how are you guys doing?"
"I'm doing fine," Ryan answered first, "I mean, still kinda reeling, but...well, we saw that cat. What was his name again?"
"Khoshekh."
"Um...yeah. That."
Carlos turned to Shane. "And you?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Fine."
Ryan nudged Shane with his elbow, giving him a pointed look. Shane sighed.
"Fine. I guess this...just doesn't make sense. I mean, Bigfoot? Aliens, even? Those make sense to me. But a cat floating in the air for no reason? How...how does that work, exactly? Like, I believe it, because I saw it, we all did, so I don't think I'm going insane. But..."
Carlos sighed. "That reaction makes perfect sense. That's even how I felt when I heard about Night Vale, seeing it was...an experience. Unfortunately," Carlos stood up and grabbed a file from a nearby filing cabinet. Handing it to Shane, he sat back down. "Khoshekh is one of the many things in this town that we still cannot explain. Not logically, anyway. Actually, most things we're still unsure about."
Ryan read the file over Shane's shoulder. "Wait..."
Shane looked up, a smile twitching at his lips. "Khoshekh had...kittens?"
"Yeah. It's...a long story. Well, we don't actually know the story, but...yeah."
After another minute, Shane closed and returned the file.
"What stuff can't you explain?"
Carlos leaned back in his chair, considering. "You really want to know? I mean...it's a lot."
"We do." The two men nodded.
Carlos sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you. But there's some stuff you have to know first."
"Ok, shoot."
"About how this city is run."
Ryan and Shane glanced at each other. "You mean like the city council you guys mentioned?"
"Kind of. Those guys don't really do much, most of the time they aren't even here. But it's the vague yet menacing government agency you have to watch out for."
Shane stared at Carlos, a weird amusement in his voice. "The what?"
"Yeah, they're everywhere in Night Vale. Probably listening now, though I did check for bugs..."
Ryan looked like he wanted to get up, but was suddenly fearful of potential cameras. "Bugs? Like, microphones and cameras? Is that even legal?"
"Probably not. Welcome to Night Vale."