Splash!
The sound of someone washing their face in the restroom could be heard from behind the closed doors.
Raising his head to see his reflection, Elias lips slowly parted in fear of seeing a hollow shell of his former self.
Judging from his pale complexion, like all blood was drained from him, his bloodshot eyes that appeared as if they would easily pop out from his eyelids and skull at any moment, his purplish chapped lips, his sharp cheekbones that stuck out nearly cutting his flesh and then...
The voice that was just as cold as it was insistent in convincing him to end it all...
He could tell his days were numbered.
"Boo hoo, Seven is now a part of your team..." The voice mocked him, laughing nonstop...
"You weren't very important to start with, and now...now, you might as well be forgotten, left aside to gather dust," Henry continued.
"Do you think they'll kick you out? No, no, no, that'd be very lenient if you ask me; I think you deserve much worse."
Elias' eye twitched, he was going nuts.
"Hehe...you don't seem to enjoy this as much as I do. Trust me, don't you think it's better being dead?"
Elias remained silent...
"Cheer up bro, I'll make it stop. Just a word and snap! Just like that, I'll take your pain away..." His voice was soft, very convincing.
"Hell is definitely not as bad as they make it out to be; I know a friend, so I should know."
It kept going on and on and on and on and on...
He was sick of it!
Tears that were indistinguishable from the water on his face, flowed down ceaselessly...
Gurgle...
Elias bent down immediately vomiting whatever it was that he managed to have earlier that morning.
With his stomach practically empty, the nauseous feeling remained. And as his stomach squeezed tightly threatening to push out his visceral too, Elias shut his eyes tightly and suppressed the urge to scream in pain.
'Didn't he deserve everything he was getting? What right does he have to complain? He was the demon that murdered his own brother after all, but—but he didn't want to die
Running his hand through the sink in search of the tap...he let the water flow, the sound masking whatever inhuman sound he made afterward.
No amount of sound could drown out the scream though.
Good thing he made sure no one would hear.
"Maybe you're right."
"When have I ever been wrong?!"
"I'm sick of this life!"
"Dear, dear brother, now, what are you suggesting, we end it?"
Looking up once more to the mirror, his wet hair sticking closely to his forehead.
His purplish lips curled up to a grin, and as he grabbed his neck and head with his two hands...
Snap!
Elias fell down limp, his head twisted in a different direction.
He died, didn't he?
---
Slinging his backpack over his shoulders as he prepared to leave for his dorm after the day's packed schedule, he caught a whiff of Zephyr's scent.
Pouting a little, he ghosts a smile thinking of how lonely Zephyr might be. With school, the team, and everything going on, they had little or no time to chitchat.
He hated to admit it but he was missing the red hoodie guy. Shutting his locker, he was startled by a very unfamiliar sight...
"Elias!" He called out, noting his recent lively nature. He stared at him without blinking, and though his smile was as nerving as it was wide, it was better a look on him than the usual depressed expression.
"You're done right?" Elias asked, walking towards him; Seven stepped back impulsively, afraid he wouldn't stop coming forward.
With very little space between them to breathe properly, Seven gave a nervous chuckle:
"Why? You need me?"
Leaning awfully close to his ear on his tiptoes to balance the height difference, Seven was emptying his reserve to stop himself from sprinting away.
"The group? Remember? They requested I bring you along..." He said softly, lingering on each word like it rehearsed.
Taking another step away in the pretense of a nod, he was in for another surprise as he felt Elias hold his hands. He grasped them in his so tight, that he yelped mentally.
The next second he found himself being dragged across the hallway. Elias didn't seem to care about the looks they were receiving, but he, Seven did—for the first time in a long, long while.
It was too fast and abrupt; he didn't react on time, but before they could cut the corner, he stood rooted to the floor, stopping their momentum as he raised an eyebrow at Elias.
"Why did you stop?" Elias asked innocently.
"You can let go," he said flatly, frowning a bit.
He must have imagined it, but it took more than a while for him to let go.
Wetting his lips and holding the weird smile, Elias maintained eye contact all the while, scaring the living daylight out of him.
'Is he on something?'
"Are you okay?" Seven asked, searching his face.
Tilting his head to the side, Elias smiled and answered, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
"I'll meet you there. Have to use the toilet..." Seven excused himself, not buying the whole crazy act. The closeness was infuriating.
"I can wait..."
"No, you won't!" Seven stated, already a few feet away.
Walking into the restroom, his eyes caught something as he reached out for the tap...
"What the—"
Right above his bracelet, red marks of Elias's hand prints stood proudly in stark contrast with his pale skin.
'What the—?"
---
With the light in the hallway flickering a bit, Elias grinned under the lights, taking a casual look around him.
With his eyes stopping over a particular section, his head tilted innocently to the left...
"What do we have here?" Zephyr, who leaned casually against a locker, arms crossed, smirked, his eyes flickering with curiosity.
With the tension increasing the longer Elias stared at him, Zephyr didn't dare to move a muscle.
'All Seven's friends, I know well. Elias? Very well. My brothers below, sure! But who's this?'
Click!
Turning his head dramatically as he continued to sway it playfully, he clicked his tongue repeatedly and began walking the opposite way.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Henry," with a little chuckle he completed:
"Elias's sweet little brother..."
Zephyr's face still had the usual grin, but with his brows knitted, concern could be sensed.
---
The golden glow of the sunset peeked through different windows as they, the team, walked through a dimly lit hallway.
Their footsteps were soft, and the man in a formal black suit who was leading them stood a good six feet and several inches. To Seven, that was a lot of tall, and coupled with the suppressive aura the man exuded, he felt secure with him around.
It was a strange feeling.
Good strange...
Creak
The man that was leading them—Seven and others, opened a door that led to a room stocked with papers, files, and documents.
"Here! They're all yours till tomorrow morning..." He informed, turning his head so that his black shades were in view. It made Seven question why he had that on, although they were inside.
And a notable characteristic which was very obvious about him was absolutely nothing.
As strange as it sounds, that was it!
He looked like those types of people who had one of those faces, except he was sure he could stare at him all day and still struggle to remember what he looked like the moment he looked away.
"Thanks to Seven, we were able to figure out that the victim was, in fact, a student, and that brings us to the next mission towards solving this case...Find the student," the man said, entering the rather dusty room as they followed.
"Remember, you have till morning. Now this place contains the records of students over a couple of years. I'm trusting these with you, don't make me regret it!"
And with that...
Slam!
He shut the door on his way out.