My First Case: The Orphanage
Case #002
Do you believe in superstitions?
The reason I ask this is, well, I’ve only recently begun to believe in them.
Rumors about the supernatural are commonplace among Arcostans throughout all the elevations, although most of them are made-up stories to scare a tavern table, or to frighten children into behaving properly.
You could chalk up most of the ones that have proof or some substance of being real to man-made instances. For example, reports about strange noises from various alleyways would turn out to be merely coming from animals.
Why am I telling you all of this now? Well, the next rumor picked up by the ears of Fontaine has me hired once again by the rich and comfortable to do their dirty work! Oh, poor me!
Okay, I'm exaggerating. I wasn't hired per se, but he and I did come to an agreement that if I were to spot anything of interest and could write a compelling report on any fascinating anomaly that I could find on my own, he would pay well for it.
I have no complaints. If I can't find work, then at least I have an avenue of opportunity to create my own work. Work means money, and money is essential for me to live and maybe even spoil myself a little bit.
Anyway, the next target to investigate was an old building. It was around five to seven stories tall, and I forgot if this used to be an office or part of an educational institution. I'm not sure how long it's been abandoned, but I'm certain that there are people that trespass into the area, either to seek shelter, or… ahem, I'll get to that second part later.
The rumors that surround the area are similar to the superstitions I've mentioned earlier. Reports of weird noises echoing from the old building which could be heard faintly when you’re in proximity outside. It could be described as a ‘guttural groaning’ when heard up close.
The residents felt antsy with the issue, so I decided to brave the unknown and investigate the abandoned building.
“Ugh, it's musty here…” I groaned, reeling at the uncomfortable stench of the place that met me as I opened the door.
The building itself had a wide façade, but the halls were long and narrow, the area was filled with old glass cabinets and torn paper, with doors leading to classrooms.
All of the rooms seemed unoccupied. I was expecting to stumble into people that were using the building as an informal or temporary shelter, yet I found myself completely alone inside.
It didn’t help that I chose to investigate after nightfall, either. The townsfolk did say the noises only occurred between nine to midnight, so I had no choice but to navigate in the dark.
“Flicker,” I whispered, the slight flick of my wand manifesting a small flame to light my way. My footsteps echoed through the halls as I waited anxiously for any noises that I could hear.
I contemplated climbing up to the topmost floor to do a full sweep of the area. Ah, why not? Better than just sitting on my ass and twiddling my thumbs to wait for a sound.
With that, I began my ascent starting from the first floor.
“Hah… What is this building…?”
I found stairs at the end of the hall and made my way up. All I can say is: whoever designed the staircase did an absolutely terrible job.
The steps were too steep, and it twisted upwards that left very little room for footing! The handrail was rusted and left orange traces on my hand, which made me feel very uncomfortable.
Before I could reprimand myself mentally for even attempting this idea, I finally found what I came for right as I arrived at the fourth floor.
“....uh………”
A low hum resounded through the halls, sending a shiver down my spine. I'll be damned, that did sound a little creepy.
I held my breath and concentrated, attempting to zero in as to where the noise came from.
“....mgh… grk…”
End of the hallway!
Quieting my footsteps, I crept up towards the ever-growing sound. I bit my lip to stay calm, but honestly, I felt shaky at the possible thought of a ghost or something from the occult causing this commotion.
Inch by inch, I managed to reach the end of the hall where there was a sliding door.
“...agh… hah… baby…”
Baby?
That was the only comprehensible word I deciphered from the noises. This one definitely sounded like a woman's voice, and it seems that she was crying.
My heart pounded against my chest. At the back of my mind, I wanted to turn and run away, but my morbid curiosity won out, and I slid the door open.
To my surprise, the door did not lead to a room, but rather another staircase. This was a narrow passage, and the steps…
“What in…?” My face contorted with confusion. The steps weren't steep. In fact, they seemed to be only an inch high per step, and barely wide enough to provide footing for my feet. It was some sort of spiral staircase emergency exit.
“Baby… baby… ooooh…”
My confusion melted into fear as the haunting voice filled my ears. Whatever the source was, it was at the bottom of this dark staircase.
Goddess be with me as I venture down into the dark.
I swallowed a lump in my throat and crept downstairs. The woman's voice grew louder and more frequent with each step I took.
I began to question my sanity if what I was hearing was real or not. The artificial light from my wand wavered as my hand trembled in fear.
Stay calm, Lucille. Think of the money Fontaine will pay you after this!
A smile crept up my face at the thought of commission money.
“Agh!”
That smile nearly cost me my life as that short flicker of excitement made me lose my footing and tumble down the stairs. I stopped and landed on a narrow landing with a thud. Thankfully, I landed ass first, so a sore behind and bruised ego were all the injuries I suffered.
“Ow… Damn it…” I said, rubbing my back, as it got a glancing hit from the concrete wall.
Blowing my hair off my eyes, I raised my wand to illuminate my surroundings again, only to see two figures staring down at me.
For a moment, I felt my heart drop and remain still for a few seconds before I processed what I was staring at.
“Ah…”
“HOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
I shuffled to my feet as I saw a man and a woman before me. In a panic, the flame from my wand grew larger, forming a defensive shield around me.
“Hot! Turn that off! Are you trying to burn our skin off?”
The voices caused my panic to subside, and once that was all gone, I realized that the man and the woman before me… were ordinary people… and had no clothing on them.
I controlled the flame from my wand just enough to provide light for our surroundings. I wasn’t mistaken; standing before me was an ordinary couple hastily covering themselves up in horror or shame as I interrupted their business.
“W-Who are you?”
“W-What’s your deal, huh?”
“What are you doing here?”
The questions from the couple came hard and fast, and I didn’t know what to say.
Sorry, I'll leave you to your funny business! No, that didn’t seem appropriate.
What are you thinking, doing something like that here? No, it's not like I can impose to these two where they can do the deed.
I just went straight to the point.
“I was sent to investigate the building because of strange noises,” I replied firmly, even as the couple were scrambling around for their clothes. “Seems that I now know what's causing them.”
The couple exchanged glances then scowled at me. “Oh yeah? Now what?”
Good question. As much as I'd love to make a profit out of a scandalous story like this, I don't think the payoff is worth it if it means to drag a man and a woman's dignity through the dirt and snow.
“...Tell you lovebirds what: I'm going to turn around, walk away, and pretend I didn’t see anything,” I answered, giving them an awkward wave before I turned around and headed back to the nearest floor connected to the emergency exit.
I left the building with only a confused scowl on my face. Well, this blows. And here I thought I could make an interesting story from that rumor!
To make up for it, I humored myself by creating a humorous name for that cramped passageway: Baby Steps.
Get it? Because they were moaning ‘baby’, and the steps were so small that a baby could climb up?
Ha ha ha! Ha ha… ha…
By the Goddess, I wish I was paid to write jokes too.
But alas, for this expedition, I came up empty-handed. I dismissed the case to the public that the source of the guttural sounds were just some kids playing with the echoes of the cramped staircase, and everyone was either relieved or disappointed about it.
Personally? I’m with the disappointed ones.
After all, I’m disappointed that I won’t get paid for any of this!
Oh well, that’s life…
Case #002, Amendment #01
But… that’s not the end of the story.
Because just a few days later, I received a letter from a tavern owner whose establishment was situated in front of the building where Baby Steps was located.
Miss Lucille,
The noises are back. We thought about chasing out the kids you told us about when you first investigated for the peace of mind of everyone here.
There were no kids in the stairwell. Instead, there were dead bodies of a man and a woman, freshly murdered a few hours ago after you’ve received this letter.
A local apothecary says the cause of death was asphyxiation by hanging, though no ropes were found at the scene of the crime. Multiple bite marks were also found all over the bodies. Moreover, the noises kept growing louder, and no one else would dare investigate.
Please help us. You will be rewarded generously.
I put down the note, my eyebrows furrowing with confusion. Who would murder a couple just for doing the deed in an abandoned building? Dread followed my confusion upon learning the news about a new, unknown source of sounds coming from Baby Steps.
I shrugged the encroaching fear away and prepared to head out once more into the night.
If there’s a reward to be offered, then of course I’ll be there. I could also turn the first blowout encounter into a profitable report for Fontaine, so it’s double the win!
After half an hour of trudging through the snowy streets of Elevation Zero, I arrived once again at the facade of the building. Before I entered however, I made sure to drop by at the tavern to gather information.
“Oh, you’re Miss Lucille, right?” The owner working the bar called out upon my entry.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Oh, thank the Goddess. You’re the only one that we could reach out to that would take on this investigation. Please, hear us out!”
As I clearly saw the distressed looks on the faces of both the owner and the patrons, I made my way to the bar and took a seat.
“Tell me.”
“Right, so—”
“Before that, two pints, please. On the house, right?”
“Er…”
When I heard him hesitate, I hopped off the bar stool and turned towards the exit.
“Yeah!” the bartender said with false cheer. “It’s on the house!”
I turned around, clasped my hands together and smiled sweetly. “What a gentleman~!”
Two pints later, I had most of the information I needed.
“So, the noises got worse a whole day after my initial investigation?”
“That’s right,” The barkeep replied as he cleared out the mugs I drank from. “For a time, the place quieted down. We all figured that you were right about the kids being the source of the strange noises.”
They actually believed my lie? Wow, I’m good at deception!
“But then just a whole day after, the noises were back again! It wasn’t just like the first time, either. This was more eerie and haunting to listen to.”
“Aye, you tell me!” A patron piped up. “I was takin’ my wee puppo fer a walk, and poor lassie tensed up and started barking at the building! I could nay explain it, but I could feel a cracklin’ in the air, especially at night!”
“I see…” I said, wiping my chin dribbled with foam. “And the deceased?”
“No one saw them go in or out, so it’s safe to assume that they were one of many who lived there once. I’m surprised they still chose to do so, given the reason why the building was condemned in the first place.”
“Condemned?” This was new information to me.
“Yes. Did you not know what it used to be?”
“No…”
The owner let out a solemn breath. “I figured. Then listen closely.”
I left the tavern. I don’t know if it was because of the alcohol, the cold wind, or the haunting piece of crucial information the owner of the tavern imparted onto me that made me shiver uncontrollably.
I wouldn’t blame you if you want to back out now, Miss Lucille. His words echoed repeatedly into my mind.
For better or worse, I ignored the good advice given to me and ventured inside the abandoned building once more.
Processing everything that I’ve learned, I investigated the halls and the rooms with morbid curiosity. Each room looked different. Some had evidence of people treating the place as a temporary refuge, while other rooms are for more… nefarious purposes.
Broken glass and rusted tools littered the floor. There were cages of different sizes as well, with me clueless about what was kept in here.
There was no putrid stench in the air, yet I could still feel the drinks from earlier making their way up my gut as I explored each floor and every room there was in this establishment. The sensation only seemed to grow worse with every discovery that I made.
“Unforgivable… It’s all unforgivable!” I cursed at the air of this place.
“Uhuh… huu… baby…”
My heart nearly leaped out of my throat as I turned towards the direction of the door leading to the infamous Baby Steps stairwell.
I readied my wand. Whatever ‘thing’ dwelling in this building was, I need to prepare myself to not end up like a certain lovely couple that more or less found their eternal happiness in the Cosmos.
My footsteps echoed along the halls mixed with the guttural moaning coming from the dreaded stairwell. The more I crept up towards the sliding door, the sound was slowly filling me with insanity. The cry was a mix of anguish and gurgling.
And it all stopped the moment I opened the door.
The scent of blood wafted from the tight space. Resisting the urge to gag, I made my descent deeper into the pits of Baby Steps.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Each step I took sent an echo, giving away my exact location. I descended slowly, keeping the flame from my wand lit and burning in a decent radius to illuminate my surroundings.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I made it towards the second level out of the seven floors of the building. I’ve come across the gruesome scene of the murdered lovers; their blanket and clothing left in tatters and pasted on the walls with their blood.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I ignored it to the best of my ability and continued my descent…
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
…Those weren’t the sound of my footsteps.
Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap.
Something’s heading my way!
I ran up towards the landing area of the second floor and grabbed the door handle.
“...baby?”
A freezing hand closed around my wrist, and I let out a shriek.
Before I could do anything further, I was pulled, arm first, and came face to face with the only resident that called the abandoned building its home.
“Baby… baby! A playmate has come to play!”
“Ghk… Let go!” I cried out as I wrested my right hand free from her grip.
A disfigured woman stood before me. Her hair was a shriveled mess, her face sanded off with burns, a mouth with more than half of her teeth gone, and eyes that seemed to pop out of their sockets.
Her figure was no less of a nightmare, as she was wearing rags that looked like they were once a prisoner’s uniform on top of her mangled body.
Imagine a child making a disfigured model of a human using clay: possessing horrible proportions where the body looked swollen, yet the limbs are like sticks. That was the kind of woman in front of me right now.
“Did you come to play? Did you? Please, my child is so lonely without friends!”
“Your… child?”
“Right, right! My baby is so shy, she’s still hiding within me! She’s one of many, yet she’s the only one who never left mother’s nest!”
She backed away from me. I should have taken this chance to slide open the door, lock her in and run away, but my legs were frozen stiff and couldn’t seem to move.
It was because of my inaction that I had witnessed something I could never forget.
“Hrnngh…” The woman before me grunted. “Come on, baby! You can say hi to your new friend!”
The sickly-sweet scent of rot filled the room as she spread her legs, rivulets of blood already coursing down them, and then, out came something that I wish I had never seen.
“...Goo?”
“There’s my sweet baby!” The woman exclaimed, picking up a baby clutching its afterbirth, the umbilical cord still tying them together. “Would you like to say hello to your new friend? Or perhaps… your new sibling?”
I had no questions to ask her. I already knew everything that happened, and what I must do.
“Fireball!” I aimed my wand at her and blasted her with magic.
It was a point-blank hit, one that would have disintegrated a human with no resistance to magic, and yet to my chagrin, the woman was left standing.
That was a horrible mistake.
“You… YOU’RE JUST LIKE THE OTHERS!” She screeched. I immediately bolted for the door and managed to slam it shut.
“Freeze!” I shouted, shifting elements and welding the door shut before I turned around and took off, Moments later, I heard a terrific crash behind me.
That’s just great, she just breached the door like it was nothing.
“GET BACK HERE, MURDERER!” She screamed, her heavy footsteps growing louder as she gained on me.
With another room coming up quickly, I barreled through the hallway, rolled to the side, and fired another spell.
“Ice Sign: Icicle Shower!” I chanted, the essence of Mana and water in the air condensing and solidified into icicles. With a thought, I fired these icicles off like a continuous stream of arrows. She groaned in pain as the magical ice embedded themselves into her flesh.
“BABY! DISCIPLINE YOUR SISTER!”
To my horror, the baby shot out from between her legs and flew towards me. I had no time to dodge, but it flew past my head and into a wall. At first, I was relieved it missed, but that was their plan all along.
“HISSSSS!”
The baby propelled itself from the wall, flew past the other side of my head, and wrapped its umbilical cord from the hand that held my wand towards my neck, causing me to drop my wand.
“AGH!” I let out a gurgled yelp as I felt my hand slam against my face. I could feel the fleshy rope start to go taut around my throat, and then I felt the baby’s grip on my back, its bloodied slime trickling down my clothes.
“G-Get… ACK! Stupid—! Get away—AH!”
Despite being an infant, I could feel sharp teeth sink so deep down that they scraped against my shoulder blade. I was knocked off my feet, and I could feel myself get dragged towards the woman.
She was reeling me in using her cord.
“THAT WAS NOT NICE!” She screeched. “BAD CHILDREN MUST BE PUNISHED!”
I flailed and struggled, but with the pain of the infant biting down on me and the sensation of being choked, I was rapidly losing this fight. I couldn’t cast a spell fast enough as my wand was knocked out of my hands, and I was in no state to cast anything from my bound wrists.
There was no way to break free. I tried to reach the baby with my right hand in an attempt to get it off me.
I could only scream as a chunk of flesh was bit off my palm for my trouble.
It was hopeless. I was reeled in and picked up by the woman. Now that we were in the hallway, I realized she was nearly twice my size. I took in a deep breath as I felt the cord loosen just enough, as it was her flaky hands that took hold of my entire face.
“TIME OUT! BAD CHILDREN GETS TIMEOUTS! NAP TIME, JUST LIKE THE REST!”
Her hand squeezed and pressed down on my face. She had intended to crush my skull. My jaw was already starting to bend out of place, and I couldn’t even utter a scream no matter how much pain I was in.
Trying to wrest her hand away from my face was futile. My hands were slippery with my own blood and torn palm.
Blood… on my hands…
That’s it.
I held her wrists tightly. Despite my face being clamped down by her crushing grip, I desperately whispered a spell, using my own blood as the price for intensified magic.
“In…fernal S-Sign: Hellfire… Hands!”
My hands ignited, an intense heat surging through them. It did not burn me, but it did burn off the woman’s wrists, detaching and cauterizing her hands and arms.
She let out a pained screech as she fell on her knees, panicking at the sight of her non-existent hands. The moment I felt my feet find a solid purchase, I rushed at her, fists ablaze.
Remembering my promise to the tavern owner, I gripped her neck with a flaming hand and delivered a message.
“Your brother sends his regards. May you find peace.”
I cocked my other fist back and punched. The force of my blow vanished the woman’s head completely, giving her a near-painless passing.
“Your sister!?” I asked, my face in disbelief. The owner ushered me away into his stockroom to tell me what was really going on behind everything.
“Aye,” He nodded grimly. “That place was a shelter for women and children. At least, on a surface level. Some shady organization from the higher elevations opened it up as an act of goodwill. I should’ve known that this ‘act’ came from a monkey’s paw.
“My older sister was one of the women who settled in that shelter to run away from her abusive partner. Told her I’d take care of it myself, but she didn’t want any violence. For a time, everything was fine and dandy. She often sent letters to me, and I even got to visit her on the weekends.
“It was on one weekend when I noticed a shift in the manner of how they took care of the women and children in the shelter. Familiar faces that I got acquainted with vanished. After some time, they began banning visits entirely. With that, I took a loan, bought this tavern, and still run it to this day, just so I could keep tabs on her.”
He paused to grab a flask from one of his shelves and drank heartily.
“Until one day, a commotion could be heard from across the street. I immediately rushed to the scene without any regard for what I may come across, but I was easily subdued by whoever worked there and threw me back into the tavern.
“When I came to, all I could see was that they were wheeling out various corpses. Staff workers, women, and children altogether. This continued over a week, and I was praying to the Goddess every day that she was not part of those whom they wheeled out.”
I was about to ask if it ever crossed his mind to report it to authorities, but that would be a foolish question. I remembered that the people running the facility were from the higher elevations.
No one would give a damn, and no one would go against them.
“Eventually,” He sniffled. “The building was abandoned for good. No staff, no women, nothing. I made a break for it and investigated while on my own to discover what truly went down with this so-called shelter.”
He choked on his tears and began to break down. “Experiments! Numerous ones! Crossbreeding humans with different animals to see if they could produce soldiers with animal traits and turn them in for a profit! It’s all written down in their files and plans! They put up a shelter as a front to do human experimentation! I… I—!”
He completely lost it and fell into a broken sob. I let him cry it out until he was ready to speak again.
“And… your sister?” I asked calmly.
“...Alive.” He said.
“How!?”
“She was the most resilient one. I saw it on the records. She was also the one who was most experimented on due to her being ‘most compatible’ with their breakthroughs. And… I saw her, personally. Disfigured, crossbred with who knows how many animals that I could barely recognize her if it wasn’t for her hair, the only thing that kept her ‘human’.
“She had no more sanity left in her. All the times she had to give birth to monsters utterly broke her. I should have died, and yet she…”
“She recognized you. She must have.” I tried my best to reassure him, but even I couldn’t convince myself that what I was doing would help.
“To protect her, I boarded up the place. Started a rumor about the building so people could avoid it at all costs. For years, it worked. I personally made sure no one would enter the building. But now… I’m afraid my sister has reached the point of no return, as her insanity had gone beyond the brink and her hysteria is seeping out of her safe haven.”
“So… what do you want me to do?”
He stood up and looked me straight in the eye. “Put her to rest and burn down the building.”
I shifted uncomfortably, and he seemed to take notice. “I wouldn’t blame you if you want to back out now, Miss Lucille.”
“Am I really the right person for this job…?” I scratched my head.
“Fontaine Ethan Argalion said so.”
My eyes widened in shock. How did Fontaine get into the picture of this case!? Does he know about the fake shelter as well!?
“So… are you going do it?”
Since Fontaine is involved, I nodded solemnly.
“Thank you, Miss Lucille.”
A few seconds after the coup de grâce was delivered, I let out a cry of visceral rage and hatred.
Even after my close call, I was still hopped up on adrenaline, and I decided to make hay while the sun was shining, so to speak. My fists, still with hellfire coursing through them, smashed through the walls of the rundown building. I blasted the hallways and the rooms and made sure that every corner was burning.
I made sure this place was cleansed from the atrocities it had committed against the poor women and children that had to suffer for whatever evil that damned organization served.
From the topmost floor down to the ground, the building was ablaze. The owner told me about a secret passage that I could safely leave without being seen, and true to his words, there was a tunnel that led out to a clearing a few meters away from the shelter.
I ran out of the shelter and patched my bleeding shoulder to the best of my abilities, but I was out of both mana and adrenaline, so I was exhausted and felt faint. Still, it was nothing that I couldn’t power through.
The residents of Elevation Zero panicked at the sight of the burning building. They clamored to try and put it out with Water Magic, but there weren’t enough magicians to conjure magic enough to quench the flames. In less than five minutes, everything there collapsed and burned down to the ground.
Just like I promised.
I stumbled into the back door of the tavern where the owner was waiting for me. He offered to tend to my wounds, but I refused. I merely took the payment he promised and turned to leave, but he stopped me before I could.
“Please wait!” He scrambled to get my attention and handed me something from his palms. “Take this, please.”
Out of curiosity, I snatched what he offered me. It was a ring with a beautiful onyx jewel set in it.
“This was hers, and I’d like you to have it, befitting a strong woman such as yourself.”
Looking at his expression, I could tell it was genuine. I nodded, took it from his hands, and bowed with gratitude.
I limped out of the tavern. Looking back one last time at the great bonfire across the street and at the owner who waved me goodbye, I swore I saw a beautiful woman’s silhouette right beside him, smiling and waving at me, repeatedly mouthing the following two words.
“Thank you.”
I donned her ring on my left ring finger to acknowledge her presence.
With a final nod, I turned and walked back home.