[REND] 12.1 - Adore Your Core

“Floating…?” I couldn’t see shit. Wasn’t this the usual scene when someone was about to die?

They’d hallucinate heavenly light or an angel coming to fetch them. I didn’t believe in heaven or hell. My concern was Deen dying on me. It was the dead of the night. I wanted to sleep instead of calling an ambulance or the morgue.

Would the morgue guy—I think they were also called undertakers; very cool term—know that something was wrong with Deen? Right, the Core. I could bury Deen in the backyard. Or I could cut her up and dissolve her in acid—I had seen that on a true crime episode. Oh, wait, Deen couldn’t disappear. Her older sister would ask me questions. I didn’t want to talk to her.  

“Deen, don’t go to the light!” I shook her. “This isn’t your time yet. Don’t leave me.”

“Wha…? I’m not dying,” she weakly said as a trickle of blood ran down the side of her lips. “Can’t you see… see this creature?” She gestured at an invisible something that seemed to hover two feet above her chest. “It’s telling me not to touch it.” Her eyes glazed over; she was hovering at the edge of consciousness.

“Then don’t touch it,” I said, pulling her arm down. “Just rest and let your regeneration—”

She let out a small gasp.

“What?” I asked.  

“You brushed against it.”

“I did? I’m… fine. I think.” I stared hard at the air. There truly was nothing there.

But I knew better than to assume that Deen was going crazy—that was always the mistake of side characters when the protagonist claims there was a ghost or a stealthy monster. Since I was educated by movies, I helped Deen up and pulled her away from the invisible thingy.

“Is it still there?” I asked, propping Deen up against the side of her massive bed. This was probably the power granted by her Core. Or this house was haunted—it looked too new to be haunted, though. The Core, then.

“Ye-yes… It followed us.” She tried reaching for it again.

“Don’t.” I swatted her hand. Dazed Deen was like a curious child. “Is it a ghost?” I asked. “The spirit of someone you know?” Given what happened to me during the past week, I really wouldn’t be surprised to find out that ghosts were real. I wish I had the power to see ghosts. It would be so much fun talking to the spirit of a person I had just killed.

“N-no… not a ghost,” Deen said. “It’s circular in shape, about this big.” With her hands, she mimed an object slightly larger than a basketball. “It looks like a gargoyle, but egg-shaped. It’s not as creepy as those statues on cathedrals in Europe.”

“What else?” I asked, trying to imagine it in my mind.  

“Its body is shining white, as if made of ivory. There are faint gold writings all over its body. I’m not sure what they are… Oh, and feathery wings. Small wings hug the side of its body like the shells of a pistachio.”

Pistachio? Deen could’ve compared it to a regular nut. She just had to refer to an expensive one.

“It has a small beak,” Deen continued. “With the wings, it resembles an owl a bit. It also has these large eyes… They’re pitch black, like a void. I can just start at them forever and—”

I swiped a hand past Deen’s gaze to snap her out of it. “Don’t stare at the abyssal eyes of a creature that only you can see.”

Deen turned to me. “You believe me, right? Are you thinking that I’m… crazy?”

“I completely believe you. And not just because we’re best friends. There’s an actual reason.” I pointed at the Core on her chest. Its light had dimmed now, but it appeared to have grown a tad larger. I buttoned up her open top, outwardly appearing as a caring friend. In truth, it was distracting to see her airbags while we figured out this invisible creature. “Reo’s power is summoning those fairies. Maybe yours is something like that, too. I don’t think Reo can talk to his fairies, though.”

“I’ll try asking it some questions,” Deen said. “What’s your name?”

No answer.

“What… are you?” Deen pressed on. “What are your powers?”

Still nothing. “Did it respond in words only you can hear?” I asked Deen. She shook her head. “Any reaction at all? Like, maybe shaking its wings?”

“It’s just floating,” Deen said, wiping the blood off her mouth. “If I touch it, maybe we’ll have another reaction.”

“The only words it had spoken so far were not to do that. I very much suggest listening to it.” Why was she so fixated on touching this thing? Was the artificial Core affecting her mind?

“What do we do then? If only I can see it, and you can’t even feel it, then… maybe I’m hallucinating.”

“We can test that thing. I have a few ideas. But first, wash the blood off you. Then let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll make a chocolate drink. Sugar to wake me up and fuel my brain. You hot choco too?”

“I’ll go with black coffee.”

I exasperatedly exhaled. It was a genuine reaction. I couldn’t believe there was someone who’d refuse chocolate.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting by the island counter. Only the lights in the kitchen were turned on; the rest of the house was dark. Deen had some difficulties cleaning the blood stuck to her hair. She eventually gave up and decided to take a shower later. She was eager to know about my idea.  

“Weirdly, it’s just hovering near me,” Deen said before sipping her coffee. She watched the space to her right. “It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t staring at me all the time.”

“They say powers are connected to the person…” I pointed an accusatory finger at Deen. “I bet you’re a closet voyeur. Your desires manifested into this invisible thingy that looks at you. Hang on. The voyeur is the one who watches, right? You must be an exhi—!”

“I’m not an exhibitionist, Erind. Anyway, do you see anything on the security cameras?”

I shook my head. I was holding Deen’s phone; the security system of the house was connected to it. One of the cameras was in the kitchen. Deen’s ghost pet should be in the camera’s view, but it wasn’t showing up. But when Deen looks at the screen, she can see it.

I tested the cameras of every other cellphone we could find inside the house, and this weird thing didn’t show up for me. Only Deen could see it, even if both of us looked at the screen at the same time. It didn’t have any reflection in a mirror. Looking at it through my fake glasses did nothing.

“Maybe something like an infrared camera would work,” I said. “Let’s try ghost hunting equipment on it. I’m sure we can buy some on the internet.” I was super invested in finding out what this creature was. I pictured myself as a scientist on the Animal Channel, documenting a newly-discovered species. “Okay, next idea. Touching it with stuff.”

“I doubt it’ll work,” Deen said. “When I moved into the bathroom, it simply phased through the wall, the door, and even the shower curtain.”

“One of Reo’s fairies can make itself invisible,” I said, remembering his story about how he tailed the 2Ms’ truck. “But the fairy can still be touched. We just have to find out what works with your summon.”

Definitely not soy sauce, cooking oil, or apple cider vinegar. I dusted it with pepper, paprika, and cinnamon. Everything I can find in the kitchen. All I managed to achieve was making a mess on the countertop.

“Are you trying to cook my summon?” Deen asked, giggling.

“I swear I’m going to clean all of this up,” I said. “Now, let’s test it with this.” I swished a spatula in the area where it was supposed to be. Knives didn’t work either. “I’ll try touching it with my hand. Is it saying something?” Deen shook her head. I grabbed at the air.

“Your hand is inside it,” Deen said. “It’s not saying or doing anything.”

“I can’t feel anything either.” This was a useless superpower. Annoying too. I wouldn’t want a creature following me around all the time.

“Let me touch—”

“It already told you not to.” I looked around the kitchen, wondering what else to do.

Deen sighed. “What if that’s its power? Telling me not to do certain things and nothing else. It’d be just like my family. That’s the connection with my life that you’re looking for.”

I rolled my eyes. Deen couldn’t help but insert her family problems into anything. I wouldn’t allow her to ruin my fun. I turned on the stove. “What if we burn it? Can you move it over here?”

“I don’t think I can order it to do that. If you want to try fire, use a torch. We have one in the—” Deen’s eyes suddenly widened as her head snapped to her invisible friend. It must be doing something. “Erind, I think we should clean up here and go upstairs.”

“Huh? Why?”

“The creature tells me to,” Deen pulled paper towels off the roll and scrubbed the countertop. “Help me. It’s tone—it is persistent, and I am not sure if I want to anger this thing.”

Not even a couple of minutes later, we were back in Deen’s room. We didn’t turn on the lights, thinking that the 2Ms were going to attack. We’d want them to think we were asleep. Or was Deen’s pet playing a prank on us? Deen and I discussed in hushed tones when light filtered in through the slits of her blinds. The lights on the front lawn had turned on.

Deen checked the CCTV camera on her phone to see what was happening. Her sister was approaching the house; someone had dropped her off, probably one of her gazillion boyfriends, if Deen was to be believed. She walked barefoot while holding her high heels, visibly wobbling in her steps.

“Drunk,” Deen muttered. “It’s fortunate that we avoided her.” She switched on a night lamp. “We finally figured out my power. I think this creature—” she pointed at the air “—can sense danger? And then it warns me about it.”

“That’s an insanely strong power if it works that way,” I said. All the more reason I should keep Deen by my side. “Uh, can you listen at the door if your sister is coming up? We don’t want her overhearing us.”

Deen went to the door and pressed her ear to it. I raised my arm and aimed at her butt. I swung my arm, palm wide open. She evaded it at the last second, jumping to the right. I swished the air.

“Erind! Were you going to slap my butt?”

“I plead the Fifth. And quiet down. Your sister might hear us.”

“Were you going to slap my butt?” Deen furiously repeated in a whisper. The yellow light from the lamp betrayed her blushing cheeks.

“I was testing your power,” I explained. “Would you rather that I tried to punch you? And your power works. Wow, with enough training, you can be like unkillable. What else can—? Ow!” Deen pinched my side.

“That’s what you get for trying to spank me. I also know that didn’t hurt you. I can feel it—your skin has become more durable. The artificial Core is working on you. Thank goodness…” She covered her mouth. “I-I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Say what?” I wasn’t listening to her. My brain was busy planning how to make Deen loyal to me. She’d be my most important asset. She already had her own assets, anyway.

Deen held my arm and led me away from the door. “Erind, I'm glad I'm not alone in this…” Her voice cracked. She sniffled.

“Um, are you alright?”

She took a very deep breathe, sucking all the air in the room. She then dragged out her exhalation. Super dramatic. “I’m… kind of relieved that your artificial Core is affecting your body too. That it’s not just me. I hope you’re not angry at me for thinking this.”

“What? I’m not angry at—”

“Let me finish. I was incredibly relieved when you also asked for the Core. I could’ve pushed against Dario more, argued that it’s enough that only I should test the Core. But I didn’t.”

“Oh, Deen,” I said, giving her a hug as every cell in my body threatened to revolt. I couldn’t believe she was making my job of chaining her to me so freaking easy. “Don’t think that. This is all because of me. I’m at fault here.”

“No! I told you not to bring that up again.”

“Then don’t bring that nonsense about being alone again, too. Deal?”

Deen weakly nodded. “Deal. Thank you, Erind.”

“Cool. Now, I was going to say let’s go to bed, but I can’t really sleep. I want to learn more about your power. Do you want to keep testing it?”

------

Monday again.

It had been officially a week since I got turned into an Adumbrae. In that short time, a load of bullshit had happened, and I got through all of that. I even almost died twice. It warranted a small celebration, and so I bought an ice cream cup on the way to our hideout. Deen was going to reveal her powers to the hero wannabes.

She bent down to remove her gladiator-style, high-heeled, summer sandals. “If it’s not too imposing, can we have like a mock battle? But do go easy on me. You can try to guess what my power is.”

“Sure,” Dario said. “Do you have any experience fighting?”

“I took up taekwondo lessons when I was a kid because my mother was adamant that a girl should know how to protect herself. But that was just a casual thing, and I hated those lessons, so I made every effort to miss them. I pretty much stopped in high school. To answer your question…I repeat that, please go super easy on me.”

This should be interesting, I thought.