NOVEL NEXT B1-CH45: Cathedral of Horrors
This contract was looking more and more hopeless the longer we were out here searching. It felt like a wild goose chase. I hated wasting time, and I had a feeling that we were going to come up empty in our next stop, too. If we couldn’t find these victims soon, then I was going to pull all of my goddamn hair out.
CONTRACT LEVEL: TWO
MISSION: Locate the missing family.
MONSTER GRADE: Unknown
REWARD: 200 Fame Points .ph (per hunter)
EARNINGS: $2,000 .ph (payment pending during evaluation phase)
Max was a warehouse worker, so upon Hayashi’s request, we stopped there to ask a few questions. For the majority, he hadn’t been to work in over three days, but some swore they saw him a few hours ago at various points of the warehouse at random times. Max was a manager for the local packaging plant, a major employer in Utoro. He was a lanky man with shaggy black hair and round thick glasses, and he was not the type to slip by unnoticed. The guy had a signature look—button down shirt with khakis, and about ten zillion pens and pencils in his chest pocket. He also walked around with a clipboard, scribbling his safety violation tickets to staff on a regular basis.
Safe to say, no one really missed poor Max. We had initially planned to interview his coworkers, friends, and acquaintances. Maybe someone would have seen or heard something that could help us in our investigation. But our lead turned cold when we reached Olivia, Max’s direct subordinate and closest confidant at work. She claimed that Max had been acting strangely for the days before his disappearance, but she hadn’t seen him since he’d stormed out of the plant a few days ago.
Again, we searched the place thoroughly, and then headed to Greystone bar in search of Maria.
“Their marriage was rocky,” Raven, the purple-haired bartender said as she wiped down the counter with a rag. She turned her brown eyes over to me, the heavy black eyeliner around them accentuating all of the piercings she had on her face. “They had their fair share of fights, like all married couples do. Usually about money woes, and then stupid things like Max not taking out the trash, or Max missing for long hours of the night. You know, the small shit. But this time it was different, I had never seen Maria so out of it.”
“When does her shift usually start?” I asked Raven.
“Nah, Maria doesn’t work here. Not anymore. She got that new fancy job in the law-firm a little over a week ago. And kept it on the hush hush.”
Reina turned to me and gave me a look I immediately understood. Yeah, I know, intel was never perfect in this industry.
Didn’t matter though, because it sounded like Maria was a regular.
“She’d pop in here once or twice a day. She had a routine, you could almost set your watch to it. Morning coffee with a side of eggs benedict, and at exactly 1:30 PM, she’d walk in, order a gin and tonic, and sit quietly at the far corner table. But not for the past couple days,” Raven explained, absently pouring shots for a couple of frat boys at the end of the bar. “The last time I saw her, it looked like she’d skip work because she came early and stayed for hours. I tried to sit down and talk to her, and she told me how angry Max has been. He’s a temperamental bastard to begin with, but….” She sighed. “Maria is a good friend. And trust me, I’ve seen Max upset, but this was something else. According to her, the night before was nasty. He came storming in with his face purple with rage, veins popping out on his forehead, pent up shoulders, like he was ready to beat someone up. Maria said he’d been throwing stuff around the house. Broke a mirror, smashed a vase—”
“Was he trying to attack her?” Reina asked.
“No, he was just out of his mind! Totally nuts! Maria said that she remembered him mouthing off something under his breath over and over again: ‘I’m running out of time. I’m running out of time.’ It crept the shit out of her. At first, she thought he got into some kind of trouble. Cause, you know, Max... he’s always been a handful. But the kind you could handle, you know? But that day… man, he swore someone was coming after him. And then just like that, he disappeared. Ran right through the front door and into the night from what she said right before she left. That was the last time I saw Maria.”
“But not the last time you talked, right?” I asked. “According to our intel, you spoke to her the morning after?”
“Oh yeah, I did. She was trying to give me that fake ‘I’m happy and everything’s okay’ voice, but I knew better. She said Max was changing. He had apologized and wanted to be a better man. Starting with going to church. You know, that huge cathedral a few blocks from here? Saints? Honestly, if you ask me, it sounded like a cry for help. That was the last I’ve heard of her.”
Naomi asked her some follow up questions, but nothing worthy of trying to wrap my head around. Besides the fact that Max had been recently promoted to manager, and his frequent nightly escapades, it was clear that the man was acting like a jackass toward his wife, as well as acting like he was swinging it single in the streets.
The new car, the new job, and the new lifestyle. Everything was looking good for Max, up until now.
Raven told us where the law firm was, but it was too damn late to check it out. Unlike the warehouse that was open 24/7, we had zero way of gaining access into the building. Naomi suggested some B&E, and I emphasized it was unnecessary. There was no reason Maria would be there at this hour, unless she was thinking that her body was stashed up somewhere inside.
Besides, Reina felt like we’d be wasting time by going there. We’d already burned hours into our search.
Looking back at my team, their faces looked just as weathered and worn out as mine did. Since 8pm, we’d been moving, and the little sleep I had last night was taking its toll on me. Though, despite my exhaustion, I kept my head high. I had to. The night was dragging, and it was 2am already, but I wasn’t about to fail a rescue mission for the sake of my tiredness.
We walked the distance to our last destination when it began to rain heavily. The Cathedral of Saints stood tall in all of its Gothic glory, its marvel a centerpiece in twilight. Its massive size drew long shadows across the cobblestone block. I stretched my neck to see the soaring spires and arched windows, its beauty taking me in. I didn’t think there were cathedrals in Japan, but then I thought about where we were. Utoro was a cornucopia of cultures and influences, and also a melting pot of the old world and the new century.
From its bronze bell tower, to its decorative carved stone and statues—for the first time tonight, I had a moment of thoughtlessness, my mind lost to this ancient piece of architecture.
“When you’re finished daydreaming, I’d like to get back to reality,” Reina said as she passed by me. I jerked my head over to her as she stopped walking a few feet in front of me, her eyes scaling the building as well. “Why do I have a hunch that we will end up just as empty-handed as our previous destinations?”
“We need to search it, anyway,” I said, and then Naomi walked to my right and stared at the cathedral vacantly.
“Maybe you should sit this one out…” she suggested with no context.
I turned to her, lost. “What do you mean sit it out?”
“What I meant to say is that I think we should all sit this one out.”
“We can’t cross this location off of our list without searching it first,” I reminded her.
“I say we vote,” she countered. “All in favor of going inside?” she said, and I was the only one who raised my hand.
I snapped my head to Reina and protested, “You? You two can’t be serious, right? I mean, this is a joke?”
“I’m not the type to complain,” Reina said, Naomi already giving her the side eye, “But I must agree with Naomi. My feet are killing me, my hair is soaked from the rain, and we haven’t found a shred of useful information in the last two places we’ve searched. We’ve been at this for hours with nothing to show for it. The chance that we’ll find anything in that godforsaken cathedral is lower than a starved snake’s mercy toward a fat, slow rodent.” She sighed deeply, rubbing at her temples. “I am overdue for a nice, warm bath… and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries.”
Naomi turned to me with a stoic look. “We’re just asking for a couple of hours. We can start again tomorrow, fresh and rested.”
“But what if they are in there?” I demanded, pointing back to the cathedral. “Those victims—”
“We’ll help them; we always do,” Reina responded, her voice too calm and relaxed. “We’re just not at our best right now.”
“And going in there half-cocked isn’t doing them any favors,” Naomi co-signed.
“That’s not the point,” I argued back, “The point is that we’re here to do a job. A job that requires us to be vigilant and thorough, not pampered and well-rested.”
“Spoken like someone who hasn’t been on their feet for hours, soaked to the bone,” Reina shot back at me. “What’s the big deal, anyway? Can’t you smell a snuffed mission? We are probably being played for fools,” Reina persisted. “Eaters bait, don’t they? And, we voted. It’s best we go home now.”
“No… something’s off,” I said to both girls. “Are you two actually agreeing with each other?”
“Even the sun shines on a dog’s ass,” Naomi quipped.
“That only indicates how tired we really are,” Reina said, her eyebrows raised. “Shouldn’t that tell you something, oh powerful and relentless leader?”
I looked at the two of them and their unwavering stance, struggling to suppress my disappointment in them. The thick rain continued to fall, adding to the miserable chill seeping into the souls of my shoes. I couldn’t care less for exhaustion, it was part of the job. That being said, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t let this go. I just had to follow through with the mission.