The security room was near the main entrance. Crescent and Misty walked for almost twenty minutes before getting there.
Misty was having an adrenaline rush, thinking of all the possibilities. She was damn sure what she had seen was real.
But the question arose, why?
If she was alive, then what was up with the pretence of death?
She couldn't understand that at all.
Reaching the security room, Crescent knocked at the door. They had already written the application to get the security cameras of the parking lot checked and had it stamped.
So the next few minutes passed on quickly before they were sitting on the chairs with a guard behind them. Misty had told the timing, so right now, what she saw on the screen was her entering the parking lot.
"Are you sure you lost your wallet here?" The guard asked once more as he zoomed in.
"Maybe," Misty muttered and her fingers went on to increase the speed of the footage. For almost an hour, she sat on the pedestal, sketching the parking lot and the valley visible at the back.
Sometime in between, the guard went out on the call of his name.
Misty sped up again, feeling more liberty now as they were alone. In the footage, finally Misty was keeping her things back. Their eyes were fixed on the screen.
Misty pointed at the place where she had seen that girl standing. No one was there yet.
Almost two minutes passed when the parents of that girl entered the parking lot. The camera was angled right towards the gate of the parking lot and the building behind it.
Misty was having her back towards the camera but they could see the exact expression on their faces.
They looked inconsolable.
However, at this time, they were staring at the place on the second floor where that girl should be. It was the backside of the IT building. Three buildings for IT were interconnected through a glass bridge.
And it was the last of the buildings. It was very unlikely for anyone to be here just for no reason.
The couple came all the way to their car, but no one appeared there.
Even after the car was gone...there was no one.
Misty looked shocked.
Her eyes couldn't believe it.
She knew she had seen somewhere there.
Misty replayed the same scenario and this time, zoomed in exactly to that point.
No one was there.
No hand appeared.
At the same time, the guard came back. "Did it help?"
"Yes, I think we found it. Thank you." Crescent smiled and grabbed her wrist. She practically dragged her blank form out.
Crescent knew Misty was not lying. She could tell that much.
And that girl not appearing in the CCTV footage strengthens what she had formulated a while back.
Crescent was correct. A small smile appeared on her lips, hidden from Misty.
That night, Misty ended up running a high fever, and the next morning, she did not go to college.
Crescent, on the other hand, was called to Professor Smith's office the first thing in the morning. As she walked down the same path, Crescent hoped that it was only for what she thought it was.
A knock and then a come-in, and the next thing Crescent knew was that she was told to go to the History Research Department with a document in her hand.
Her calm breaths were mixed with her hyped-up mind. On the surface, she appeared calm.
Too calm.
On the contrary, her insides were inflamed. She had wanted this since the moment she stepped in here. There were promises that she made to her people. They were waiting for her back at home.
She came this far, not just on the sacrifice of one but on many. And she needed to get to find that thing.
There was no other option, she had to.
The building in the history research department was one of the two oldest buildings on the campus. It was still on the same foundation on which it was not centuries back. The structure was the same, the building was the same, and the material was the same.
Crescent looked up at the three-storied structure, she closed her eyes and let the distant scent of this building get to her.
She caught that whiff and then felt the sharp sensation of it in her brain. Eventually, she opened her eyes back and got to the small cabin before the building.
Unlike other buildings, this place needed access.
Professor Smith had handed over a letter with a stamp and sign. It was for her to hand over to the guard.
"Excuse me, Professor Smith sent me here."
The guard looked back from the computer and eyed her. "Are you the student assistant for that researcher?". It was a middle-aged man, and at a glance, Crescent could tell he must dislike that researcher.
He harrumphed and took the letter from her. "Your access card is to be made." He muttered under his breath. "Alright, alright!" He soon waved his hands.
"Leave your ID card here and take it in the afternoon along with the access card. You can enter for now." The old man nonchalantly placed the letter on the side and got back to his computer.
In the end, Crescent did as she was told and got in through the small gate.
The only thing she knew was that she had to go to the third floor and there was he, Icarus.
Through the stairs, Crescent rushed up. The stairs were in spiral formulations. As soon as she reached the third floor, she stopped.
Only the stillness and hush lingered in here. For some reason, her heartbeats quickened.
She extended her one foot forward and then the other.