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EyeWatch: Retraced

The gates were opened. We all saw it with our eyes. Yet our reactions were different compared to the still uncomfortable air surrounding us. Some of us growled. Others remained silent and their eyes narrowed in anger. I, on the other claw, remained silent too and kept it while slowly turning my head towards the others and nodded. Everyone got the memo and split up immediately afterward which ultimately ends up with me being with Quichie. Doax went with Kyro. Lutica stuck with Lizrow. Zander ended up with Lutica. The pairs left and I turned to Quichie who smiled in response to me. We both said nothing in the following silence.

We were in the abandoned airport. The atmosphere here was tensed and moody where darkness overshadows us and prevents us from being able to see farther away. We were in front of the opened gate. Silver bars shone in our eyes like twinkles from a bar when reflected by the sunlight. The smell inside rolled to our noses, making our faces hardened as Quichie gnashed her fangs together. Regardless, we knew R7 had something to do with the opening of the gate, no one else would. Yet we were only clinging to one proof. The fact that the key was already missing from the hole of the silver bars raises thousands of questions in our minds. Quichie stepped forward, breaking the line between us, and entered through the gates before grabbing onto her flashlight. She turned it on and shone the light inside, allowing us to be able to see what was contained inside the room. To our surprise, the room was small. Nothing was inside of it. Quichie turned her head to me expecting me to comment but I remained silent.

A claw was raised in front of my face as I motioned her back to my line. Slowly, she nodded and stepped back from the silver gates and to my side. I looked at her, her face was riddled with thoughts and questions that it was almost hard to see her actual face. "We know that the R7 had done this. But why would they want to open the gates?" "I could think of a reason," I remarked, adding my voice to the silence between our voices as she looked at me with silence. Shaking her head, smiling before nodding. "Right. If we were thinking the same thing then, I will not hear it." "Regardless, we should keep looking for proof it was them and their location if they were to say in here." "Away from the monster..." Quichie trailed, pulling her eyes away. I nodded slowly in answer and overtook her while moving westward. She followed behind me while we entered the big room.

We saw huge squares of chairs sitting in front of us. Huge windows were to our sides, allowing us to be able to see the outside. Nothing was indeed worth watching out there. There were a pair of lamps sitting in the corners of the room. Both of them were shut off it seems. The floor we walked on changes from brown to navy at times. Complimenting with the dark environment surrounding us. I peered around the area then pushed myself forward and neared the first row of chairs. Quichie commented, "This reminds me of the graduation we did at the police station." "Yeah," I answered in reply, keeping my eyes upon the chairs remembering the memory. But shook my head and motioned her as we continued forward through the blocks of chairs sitting surrounding us. And as we walked, I was pondering over questions. But it was snapped short when my ears perked up, listening into Quichie's voice while I turned over to her. She was staring at something in the fourth or fifth row from the front. I blinked in curiosity and stepped forward to her, she leaned forth and stretched her claws. Grabbing onto a red orb which air was circulating inside of it, she turned to me. Our eyes met and she held it high above her shoulders, smiling and replying. "I found this. What does it do?" "Who knows," I remarked, staring at the orb following my words. "That orb could mean a lot of things." "Yeah." Quichie finished, nodding as she walked past me. I turned to her again but found myself staring at her backside. As I averted my eyes and gave an exhale, I followed her down the remaining chair rows ending up upon the other side.

A flag was stationary upon the center of our visions and horizon. To its sides were opened doors. There were green-lit signs that appeared above those doors, both of them says 'Exit'. I went for the door and grabbed onto the knob. Pulling the knob back, the door opened and revealed the contents inside. I found myself staring at a pitch dark hallway. A faint drumbeat echoed from the other end of the halls. Quichie stepped to my side and peered in too as she listened to the sound that I was hearing. We looked at one another and frowned before I closed the door, walking away from it. I rose my walkie and pressed onto the red button on the side as Quickie walked towards the opposing door in front of us. "Have you guys found anything yet?" "Nope." Spoke to everyone immediately after I released the red button. I exhaled again and blinked, raising my eyes upward, and stared at Quichie momentarily as she looked inside through the door. I did not bother to look, anticipating that the halls were revealed beyond the door and that same sound echoed our ears.

However, before I could motion Quichie again to follow me, the walkie came to life again and Doax started speaking. "Guys. Do you hear something?" "Like what?" Responded Lutica, "Like a faint drumbeat or something. Where is it coming from? Why did it appear now and not earlier?" "All good questions," I popped into the conversation unknowingly having pressed the red button after listening to them for a short while. That seems to startle both Doax and Lutica as I and Quichie chuckled inwardly. "Ling! Stop scaring us like that! This is not a horror-type story." Doax grumbled angrily while I responded, "Sorry. Could not help myself. It was easy picking regardless." "Besides the fun and games, have you guys checked out the cage yet?" Lutica started, "We did." I answered with seriousness in my tone. "The inhabitant has escaped I believed, too far ago." "'too far ago?'" Questioned Lutica which I replied, "Yeah. The cage was already opened and the inhabitant had already escaped. Most likely going after the R7 as well." "In which the possibility that the R7 are stuck inside here is higher than them having to escape." Quichie interrupted as her face met with mine, I smiled in response to her nodding agreeing with her statement.

"You guys could be right about this." Lutica started, we both nodded in response. But silence came in answer to Lutica and with that came a dead walkie. I set aside mine onto the pocket of my pants while I shifted my attention towards Quichie who frowned in response. She spoke, "Ling. How are we going to find the R7 in this big of a place? Much less than finding the monster whom they have released at the time." "Patience," I replied, resuming walking as Quichie followed me again. "We will find them. Just a matter of time." I added with confidence. However, I was second-guessing myself. We only had a few clues to deal with and not enough time due to perhaps the monster already seeking out our counterparts. I grew worried and anxious about the stupidity of their actions. Yet to my surprise and perhaps others, we could not condemn them for it. So instead, I clicked off my mind and returned to the reality that was surrounding us. A few minutes into my thinking and we had found ourselves adjacent to the abandoned snowcone shop.

A narrowed circle stands before us. There were cones, a different flavor of ice creams, and snow cones flavors on either side of the circle. A trash can sits a few inches in front of us and the wall was between us and the can. Opposite the can was the cash register, its box was opened. A small rectangle shape LCD appeared above the register, but nothing appeared upon it. "Did the battery die or something?" Quichie question, whispering to me or herself as I unknowingly shrug before stepping to the side. I found an opened gate. It looked like it was stuck like that for a while. Moles and the dry paint peeling from the gate were indications of this. I entered through the gates and into the circle. I looked about in silence. Nothing was inside the shelves, they were all empty, to begin with. A white sign in black letters appeared in the corner of my eye, I grabbed it and rose it high. Quiche's voice interrupted me with her claw pointing to the sign that I was holding. "Hey, Ling. Turn that sign over, something is glowing on the other side of it." I blinked at her and did as she asked. Just like that, I saw something there. "Good eye," I muttered just loudly for her to hear. She smiled in response as I ripped off the object from the sign.

A key ring. There were at least ten of them stuck inside the loop. The keyring was small, so it could be beneficial to stick it inside my pants momentarily. As I looked to Quichie, she said nothing for her attention was elsewhere. I looked in the following direction of where she was looking at. But found nothing there. I frowned and exited from the circle, tossing Quichie the keyring with a growl at her. Her attention snapped immediately and snatched the ring midair while she breathed silently and in relief. I blinked in surprise and decided to nag her a bit. Whispering, I questioned her. But before my mouth could say the words in my mind, she covered my mouth with her claw and rose her other towards her mouth. Her eyes narrowed at me. I nodded but was curious about what she saw. A walkie arouses to life which snapped our attention to it. "Hold on. We are getting out of the situation that I led us in." "What situation?" Questioned Lizrow, "Was the monster we were looking for down there?" "You mean the beast?" Doax started which came to a sharp reply from Lizrow, "No. Not the beast, I meant the monster that lives inside the airport." "This is an airport?" Quichie asked me with a whisper, I nodded silently as an argument broke out between Doax and Lizrow. "Quickly, we need to get out of here." She nodded and we tipped toe away from the place. Reappearing back upon the rows of chairs.

"Where to now?" Quichie questioned, giving me a side glance while I pondered. I stared at the rows of chairs then gradually turned my attention towards the walls that surrounded the two. There were a pair of doors there. Both opened, I blinked in silence and rose my walkie asking the others, "Did anyone entered through the doors and found something there yet?" "Yeah." Responded Zander, Kyro came afterward. "Your unit was scared as kits, so we 'brave souls' decided to enter in." Zander replied, "Brave souls..." Quichie snuffed, nearly chuckling while I forced myself to put up a smile. Sometimes I just loved these two being overconfident and boastful, really helps with the depressing dull mood we have here. "What did you guys find inside?" I asked, shaking the comment in my head while I waited for the results. Zander answered again, "Nothing. The place looked like a hotel or something." "A hotel?" I asked curious and interested. "Yeah. But we tried all the doors inside. None of them worked." "Where are you guys now?" "At the end of the hall, looking to regroup with your unit. Seems like they took the easy way out." Thus came thousands of arguments from Doax, Lutica, and Lizrow which forces me to shut off the walkie for a while. I turned to Quichie, she laughed in response but said nothing afterward. I smiled back before pointing towards the doors. She nodded and walked to one of the two which left me the other. We entered in.

The hallway was exactly what Zander had said. It does look like a hotel of some sort. An endless row of doors appeared before me and was on either side of where I was standing. Small lamps and light posts were between the doors acting like a light as if the hallway was some sort of street which surprises me. As I resumed walking and trying out the doors on either side of us, I perked and stretched my ears outward and listened to the silence that came into my ears. A slight ringing echoed, but I disregarded it afterward. Continuing to walk down the halls, I noticed that the lightbulbs above me were flashing. I tilted my head to one side and frowned, my thoughts circulating my head while I stared at the flashing lightbulbs. Then I had an idea. A curious one but I had to know if this was right or not. Immediately, I dashed towards one of the adjacent doors and grabbed onto its knob quickly pulling against it. Yet the door remained locked. I blinked in surprise but relaxed a bit, sighing in response before turning my attention to the horizon. With a thought residing in my head, I pushed onward as my feet started walking forth deeper into the halls.

The doors on my sides were slowly disappearing until they were faint. The lights stopped flashing. I continued, never stopping. The halls echoed my footsteps but my ears are hearing something different. As I blinked again, I turned my head over my shoulder and expecting someone to be there behind me. But all I got was emptiness. My walkie woke and Quichie started speaking through it. Questioning me of where I was. I ignored it and continued walking. I had wondered if I was going crazy.

At the very end of the hallways was the last door. I grabbed upon it and pulled back before getting through the door. Reappearing back upon the airport was where I spotted Doax, Lutica, and Zander as they waved me down running to me while I put on a smile towards them, before nodding. With half of the group together, I had decided to review the things we had seen so far. Starting with Doax, he explained about a nearby kitchen room and how the place was emptied. No food. No audience. Nothing. Afterwhich, he turned to the hallways of the left wing of the airport, opposite where the kitchen was of course. The halls, according to me, were empty as well. The windows were covered by blinds. Yet at the very end of the halls, the window there was not. An object appeared before his eyes while it was lying against the surface window. "What was it then?" I questioned him and he pulled the object out.

"An ID. Perhaps this is the identification of the monster." Doax answered my question, I stared at the card momentarily before slowly nodding. I turned my attention to the others. Lutica was the next to speak, "I found some fur close by the entrance of the airport. They were thick yet thin and the color of purple." "A color of purple?" I questioned her, she nodded in silence adding. "Yeah, they were everywhere. Luckily, a vacuum was nearby so I grabbed it to clean the place up. I have stolen the container that holds all the fur together." "Stolen?" Shrieked Zander in surprise while Doax chuckled in silence, Lutica smiled and blushed before revealing the container. She had indeed stolen it from the vacuum. But it is not like anyone would be forgetting about it anyway. As I stared at the container, I noticed the purple thick and thing fur about. My mind was racing, wondering what the clues meant and where were they pointing towards it. "Can I see the card again, Doax?" I requested, Doax nodded and fished for the ID before handing it off towards me. I lowered my eyes to the card and studied it for a few seconds. Returning the card to Doax, I remarked. "Just one last thing. Did anyone check the exit doors?" They blinked, turned their heads to one another. Silence had filled the room.

I continued, "It is just a precaution." "Sure." Doax answered in a single breath, adding "But why do you wanted to know." "Something had been bothering me lately. With all these four clues we have here. The power orb, a key ring with the missing cage key, fur shedding, the ID card. It all adds up to something. In addition to the hallways that I and Quichie had seen. The windows with covers onto them and other windows that were not. The square of chair-" "Get on with it." Zander growled impatiently, Doax and Lutica glared at him. He snuffed in response and crossed his arms, allowing his silence to get me to speak. "As I was saying... In conclusion, I think we are not dealing with a monster here." "Are you sure?" Lutica replied, an eye raised in interest and I nodded. "I am positive. Although I cannot say for certain that this was right. But I am leaning to it, you all should too. Otherwise, stick to your own belief." I ordered, they all nodded before looking to one another again then nodded in response before turning their eyes to me. I exhaled, my thoughts dug deeper into my brain. Everything about this operation was so confusing to me that I never knew where else to end. Or how to end it at all and head towards the next.

I repeated the items in my mind hoping that it would help jog towards my conclusion. But my mind remained foggy at the time. I began to wonder if there were more items out there, already obtained by my coworkers and were discussing theirs at the time as ours. As I stationed myself towards the railing to my side, I lowered my eyes and kept sight towards the floor below us. I watched the floor as it stared back. It went on like this for a few minutes before I felt something tapped my shoulder. Shifting my head to one side, I looked spotting Doax. The background officers were staring somewhere in the distance and were pointing claws upon it. Sparking my interest, I released myself from the railing and joined them as they continued talking obviously towards my approach. I turned to them then away for a moment, staring at the horizon and squinting my eyes was where I noticed something black at one of the walls.

It looked like a black ball. It stretched outward, covering the walls with its blackness as the conversation to my side continued. My eyes widened in surprise, but my claws went to my pistol. Raised it high towards the horizon, I squeeze the trigger and fired two bullets. Both of which hit dead on upon the ball. It died quickly, smoke rose from its body as it shrinks down to size before it was gone. "What was that thing?" Doax questioned, shifting his eyes to me then to the others while silence fell over us. None of us spoke about it in the end, but the question remains as the recent memory burns in our heads.

"Come on." I started, taking a step forward away from Doax "We should gather up with the second group." "Do you even know where they are?" Lutica commented after me, I shrugged and follow up with a reply, "How should I know. You are better reading the map than I am." "How did you get into Vaster town anyway, Ling?" Joked Doax as Zander chuckled to himself. I smiled in response while leading the group down the halls.

"Ling." Doax replied, his voice so sudden that it snapped my attention away from the halls. "You said earlier about the close exit doors right? What do you meant by that." I stayed silent, formulating my thoughts while I stood my ground. My eyes lowered staring at the flooring below me for a few minutes before rising my eyes towards his and replied, "This is a strange theory and I may be wrong about this. But, based on the clues and hints we had received so far during our investigation that..." I frowned, "My conclusion towards our culprits, the R7 are relocated inside a secret room somewhere within the building. Their purpose was to hide themselves from the truth and to hide themselves psychically because of the monster that they had unleashed to the realms." As I ended, my coworkers turned to one another muttered amongst themselves before nodding slowly. I caught a few "Yeah, that makes sense." "mhm." But taking a look towards Zander whose eyes were narrowed to me, silence fell again. The conversations and talks were over and dealt with. As such, I spoke directly to the skeptical black dragon who replied to me,

"That is all dandy and all. But where do you think they are located? If not the one of the four exits."

"Its a tricky one however." I explained with a frown, "But knowing them. They would chose a spot that no one would be able to think about." "Like a complicated spot?" Lutica added and I nodded in reply, "A complex spot is the word for it, but I like Lutica's better. Now come on, we should find them eventually!" I ordered as everyone splitted up leaving me alone with Doax this time.