Chapter 128

“Mm-mm-mmm, we need to dress you up like this more often, darling,” Rarity cooed as she adjusted my tie with those dainty, white fingers.

“Oh?” I said, looking over the top of her head into the distance, past the rolling sea of dull grass and headstones.

“Most definitely,” she replied. “So handsome and dapper; it is refreshing to see you looking like the gentleman that I know you are.” She turned to her left, where Fluttershy was standing. “What do you think, darling?”

The shy girl smiled. “Mm-hm! He looks wonderful.”

“If only we could shave that five o’clock shadow…”

Fluttershy shook her head in disagreement. “I like it. It’s like a signature, to remind us that he’ll always be our rugged, dirty old Goldie.”

I shifted my eyes onto her. “Wow. Thanks, Flutters.” Then I let my eyes drop to re-explore my girlfriends’ outfits. “You two look pretty good yourselves… as usual.”

Both of them wore a simple black frock, snug fitting, but not overly revealing. Tasteful. Their make-up was the same as usual; where they differed was their headdress: Fluttershy’s hair was put up into a loose bundle behind her head, her face kept clear by a black butterfly-shaped clip. Rarity‘s hair was up as well, but was largely hidden by a black, wide-brimmed hat, her face shaded by a coarse, black blush.

Fluttershy’s cheeks became rosy and Rarity giggled, waving me off before placing her hands on my chest.

“Oh, pssh! These old things? There’s no need to pander, my love.”

Rainbow Dash’s voice stole our attention just then, sounding from a dozen feet away. “Hey, guys! It’s starting.”

A dull, cloudy Saturday, February the 18th. It was cold, but not unbearably so—although the occasional breeze that wisped through the cemetery certainly did its job of sending a chill up the spines of those who were susceptible to it.

A modest-sized group of darkly-dressed people were gathered around a row of four graves, each with a casket that had been placed upon them one-at-a-time by a group of eight busy pall bearers—Applejack and Big Mac being two of them. The big farm boy had become noticeably distraught when they were carrying Marble’s casket; it was explained to me afterwards that before he’d gotten together with his wife, Cheerilee, he had a crush on Pinkie’s twin sister, who may have reciprocated his feelings, but was unfortunately too shy to allow anything to happen. And so nothing came of it.

Apple Bloom was also present, as was Sweetie Belle and their friend Scootaloo. The only person who wasn’t present, who I thought would have been, was Sunset Shimmer.

Wherever she was, she must have been hot on the killer’s trail to be willing to miss this funeral.

With the service now underway, I stood between my girlfriends, hands folded. Fluttershy was to my left, Rarity on the right; next to her was Pinkie, wearing a black jacket with a red blouse and black skirt underneath, her long, straight hair tied haphazardly behind her head into a bundle of ribbons and loops. Maud was next. Sitting in a wheel chair with a cast leg extended from beneath a plain black dress, she stared vacantly at the row of caskets containing the remains of her family. Next to her was Sonata, and then finally, Rainbow Dash.

On the far side of the plots stood a group of unknowns —most likely friends and relatives of the Pies— as well as the pall bearers, including AJ and her brother. Next to them was their green apple-skinned Grandmother, along with the already mentioned Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and finally, on the far end, stood a lonely-looking Twilight Sparkle.

At last, after much sobbing and sniffling, the service came to an end with the reverend pouring white powder on each of the caskets in the shape of a cross, followed by silence as everyone bowed their heads while the coffins were lowered into their graves one by one. I stared down at the dead grass somewhat impatiently, waiting for it to end. Religion was certainly not my forte; having personally witnessed the time period in which these events supposedly took place, I knew it to be a sham—nothing more than a form of control for the masses. The architects of these ideologies knew the truth: more powerful than any written law was the fear of a higher power and the threat of eternal damnation. Though, to be fair, the rules of general decency prescribed by these followings did have a positive effect on society—when they were followed properly, that is.

Despite this, and the fact that the impact of death had become passé to me, I obligated myself to show respect to my friend Pinkie, who’d been utterly shattered by this tragedy, this cruel turn of events.

Once all four caskets were lowered, the attendants turned to one another and began to mingle quietly.

Rarity faced me, her cheeks streaked with black. “Mm… a lovely service,” she sniffled. “Didn’t you think?”

I unbuttoned my suit jacket and put my hands in my pockets. “Yeah.”

Fluttershy took my arm, prompting me to face her. She too had dark run-marks dividing those pretty, yellow cheeks of hers.

“You OK?”

She forced a smile and nodded.

A sniffle came from behind Rarity, and she turned to find Pinkie facing her with red eyes and blotched eye-liner. The fashionista was quick to wrap her arms around the pink girl for a comforting hug.

“Oh, Pinkie Pie, darling, I am truly sorry. I simply cannot imagine how you must feel right now.”

Pinkie squeezed the fashionista. “Don’t worry, Rare-Bear. I’ll be OK,” she said, releasing her friend to face me and Fluttershy. “Thanks for coming, you guys.” She wiped her cheek, further smearing her make-up.

“We wouldn’t dream of missing this,” Fluttershy sniffled. “We’re all here for you, always. If there’s anything you need, all you gotta do is ask, OK?”

Pinkie forced a smile and then nodded, looking down at her feet. She swallowed hard, and then looked up the shy girl again. “Happy birthday, Fluttershy, by the way,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t throw you a party.”

The shy girl’s jaw dropped. “Oh… no, Pinkie,” She stepped forward to wrap her arms around her friend, squeezing her tight. “You don’t have to worry about that right now. It can wait ‘til next year.”

A new voice came from our right.

“Hey, P? Did you want anyth—“

Sonata stopped immediately when Rarity, who she’d unknowingly approached from behind, turned to face her. The two locked eyes and paused, spawning an awkward tension that flew immediately skyward.

After a short moment, Rarity gathered herself and cleared her throat as she turned away to face someone —anyone— else.

Unable to stomach this drama, I let my eyes wander the cemetery. Before long, they made their way across the Pie family plot to study the group on the other side, watching the crowd of people conversing quietly.

Then, something caught my eye: Twilight Sparkle was looking directly at me.

I perked up when I noticed this.

Knowing she’d caught had my attention, she raised a hand to wave me over.

I glanced at Rarity and then Fluttershy, then back at Twilight, who waved again—more insistently this time.

I gave her a nod and then turned to Rarity, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, can you excuse me one moment?”

She glanced up at me, her sapphire eyes obscured by the black netting that hung over her face. Then she nodded. “Of course.”

After giving her shoulder a light squeeze, I turned and made my way around to meet the lavender girl, who was dressed in a simple, but nice black dress with a dark gray plaid pattern on the skirt, her hair tied into a simple pony-tail.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hi,” I said, stopping in front of her, cocking a curious brow. “How’s it going?”

“Uh…” She scratched her ear, glancing at the gravestones. “I’ve had better days, I guess.”

I looked over my shoulder to study them for myself, struck by the cold, cruel reality when I read each one:

With a sigh, I turned back to Twilight, whose eyes, upon closer inspection, were glistening.

“I hear ya,” I replied. “I think we all have.”

Twilight paused for a moment, distracted by her thoughts.

“So what’s up?” I asked, prompting her to lock eyes with me again. “Why’d you call me over here?”

She blinked twice quickly, and then shook her head. “Oh, right. Um…” She paused as she reached into her shoulder bag, rooting around and then finally producing her phone. “So… I was scanning the city cameras last night, and I found something of interest,” she explained as she navigated through the app.

“Of interest how?”

She didn’t answer immediately; she was busy with her search. “Um… sorry. I’m just trying to find it… Ah! Here.” She turned to stand next to me, holding the phone so we could both see it. “OK, so this is actually from just over a week ago, as you can see by the date, but it’s… I mean… well, just watch.”

I drew a breath and moved my eyes from her to the tiny image on the screen. It showed a cement driveway across the bottom, set on a slight incline; the camera that filmed this must have been mounted on a pole or a rooftop, looking down from up high. Next to the driveway was a small ledge, with a ladder mounted off to the right, extending down out of sight. Beyond that was a moving darkness, which I presumed was water. The footage was obviously filmed at night, but a nearby lamp post and internal enhancement of the camera insured the image was clear enough to see.

“Where is this?” I asked.

“At the harbour, in the big city,” she replied. “Where many of the larger warehouses receive shipping crates by carrier ships.”

“Oh, OK. So what am I looking for, exactly?”

She pointed at the screen. “Just watch.”

Roughly half a minute passed, and I was about to ask again what was so significant about this footage when a large, black luxury car entered from the right and stopped with its front half cut off by the left edge of the screen, leaving only the trunk in view, covered in a thick layer of dust, which made the licence plate unreadable.

This grabbed my attention, obviously, and so I began to watch more intently. Two men emerged from the rear doors and made their way to the trunk, their faces obscured by the angle of the camera. After flipping the deck lid open, they both reached inside to grab something—something that appeared to be moving.

After wrestling the package into their arms, they extracted it from the car. It was wrapped in a blanket or tarp of sorts; while one of the men carried it toward the water, the other hoisted a pair of cinder blocks from the truck, which appeared to be chained to one end of the thrashing bundle.

I watched closely as they carried the load to the precipice and, without hesitation, dropped the entire works over the edge, into the deep water below.

“Huh... wow.” I looked at Twilight, who turned to me with a grim expression. “Looks like we just witnessed a murder.”

She nodded. “I would agree.”

I rubbed my chin and ruminated for a moment, looking down at the soggy, brown grass that surrounded the uncharacteristically shiny shoes I was wearing. After a sigh, I glanced at her again, wondering why she would show this to me here. “OK… so? Did you have a question about this, or…?”

Twilight nodded. “I wanted to ask if you could go check it out.”

A scowl creased my brow. “Me?” I glanced across the plot at the other girls. “But I—“

Twilight brought a hand up to stop me. “Look, I know you don’t want to do the whole ‘masked vigilante’ thing, and I can respect that. Normally I would ask Sunset to go, but she’s still away on her search, and I seriously doubt she wants to be interrupted from that to start another one. And the rest of the girls, well…” She looked over at the others. “They’re… kind of preoccupied right now. They’ve got a lot on their plate with Pinkie and Maud, and I don’t really think it’s fair to send them on a mission with all that going on.”

I pointed at her. “What about you? Why didn’t you go? It happened in your city.”

She cocked her head, surprised. “You think I’m ready to go out alone?”

I paused for a moment and chewed the inside of my cheek. “To check something like this out? Probably. Don’t get into anything too involved, though.”

She sighed. “Well, for starters, I just saw this footage last night and the harbour front is on the opposite side of town from the university, so I would’ve had to take a bus or cab to get there —which I can’t do with the suit on, obviously— and I couldn’t rent the car until this morning. There just wasn’t time for all that.” She paused and wrung her hands together. “That, and I... wasn’t sure if I was ready.”

I watched her for a moment, then I sighed and turned to look at the other girls, who were still talking quietly with one another.

“Golds…” Twilight continued. “Like I said, I normally wouldn’t ask you, but you’re the only person here who’s in the right state-of-mind, and who’s qualified to do it. I mean, if Sunset was here, I’d ask her—“

“Where is she, anyway?” I cut in. “Have you talked to her since she left?”

She nodded. “Not for a few days now, but yeah. She said she was heading out of town, along the highway that leads through the mountains.”

I shook my head. “That’s what your brother was saying. I wonder what would bring her that far out?”

Twilight shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea, but it’s Sunset. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”

I drew a deep breath and rubbed my forehead, groaning softly as I exhaled.

“Please, Golds?” Twilight pleaded quietly, leaning closer. “The person in that video, whoever they are, is dead. They have a family, just like them.” She pointed at Pinkie and Maud. “They’re probably worried sick. Someone they love is missing, and they need answers. It’s our job to—“

I raised my hand, stopping her. “OK-OK, fine. I’ll go. Tonight, after this thing is over.”

Twilight gave a grateful smile and then nodded. “Thank you, Golds. I know it’s not wh—”

Applejack stepped past us just then, interrupting the lavender girl. “I’mma go talk ta Pinkie Pie; you two comin’ er what?”

Twilight and I both studied the farm girl, noting how different she looked in a dress, especially with her hair so elegantly styled, rather than being squashed under that grimy old hat. Underneath all that dust, cigar smoke and profanity, Applejack really was a beautiful woman.

“Sure,” Twilight replied with an obligatory smile, and we followed the blonde to join the others.

*****

It was a few minutes past 9:00am when I pulled up to the harbour front in my truck, double-checking the app to verify that I was in the right spot. Twilight had relayed me the camera number so I could pinpoint its location by driving along the ledge until I saw my truck come into view on the screen—which is what just happened.

I hadn’t left home until 6:00am that morning, which was fine because I preferred to do this in the daylight so I could see under that murky water. This was also why I had a plastic sheet draped over the truck seats, because I knew I was going to get wet doing this.

It was actually not home that I left from at 6:00, but rather Applejack’s farm. After the funeral, we returned there to spend some time together and have a light dinner, and also because that was where Pinkie and Maud were staying.

Pinkie, being the sweetheart that she is, managed to cobble together a little festivity for Fluttershy’s birthday in the form of hijacking one of Granny Smith’s apple fritters and jamming a single candle into it.

Everyone joined in to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, but we quickly trailed off when we realised Sonata was drowning everyone out with… well… what sounded like actual drowning… of a cat.

She belted out the last few lines on her own, eyes closed, not noticing that everyone was staring at her, mouths agape. As soon as she finished and opened her eyes, however, she immediately turned a wicked shade of red when she realised everyone was watching.

The embarrassing silence that followed was eventually broken by Applejack, who said, “hold up… are ya sure ya ain’t still got yer magic? Cuz hearin that just now kinda made me wanna hit someone.”

After giving her friend a comforting hug, Pinkie, along the other ‘regulars’ retired to bed, and the rest of us stayed downstairs in the kitchen, wasting the night away in conversation until the time came for me to leave. After a kiss from each of my girlfriends, I hit the road to begin the three hour trip to the big city.

Which brings us to the present: me hopping out of my truck by the edge of the harbour on a Sunday morning. Looking down at my phone to use the camera angle as a guide, I approached the edge and looked down into the water. It had rained since the night in question, which had effectively erased any footprints and wheel tracks left in the sparse bits of dirt that covered the cracked, algae-ridden cement.

The view looking down to the water was no better. No marks from the cinder blocks hitting the breakwall on the way down, no scraps of cloth caught on anything sharp, nothing of interest to be seen at all. If it hadn’t been for the footage, there would have been no sign that a murder ever took place here.

Who were these people?

In all honesty, I really didn’t care. At all. There were plenty of other things to worry about.

I was interested in who killed the Pies, not whoever stiffed this poor schmuck. I left it to Sunset to figure that out specifically because I’d always disliked this kind of work, and now here I was, doing it anyway. And for someone I didn’t even know. Granted, I had considered the outside chance that this crime might have been perpetrated by the same people, and even though I knew the odds of that being the case were extremely outlandish —given that this crime scene was a three hour drive from the Pie house— that thought was really the only reason I was standing there, looking down into that heaving, dark green water. At the end of the day, Sunset’s journey had taken her great distances, so perhaps the idea wasn’t so far-fetched.

The deep blast of an air horn sounded in the distance, prompting me to bring my eyes up to look out across the water; a large vessel ambled by in the distant haze, loaded with shipping cans decked out in an array of colours, looking more like a stack of Lego bricks from where I stood.

After watching it for a moment, I sighed and looked back down to the water. As much as I didn’t want to go into those frigid depths, I had promised Twilight I’d check it out, plus I’d already made the long drive, so there was no point in stopping here. I knew what I had to do.

After a quick look around to make sure I was alone and then double-checking that I’d turned the camera off —just in case somebody happened to be watching— I put my phone in my coat pocket before taking it off and opening the passenger door of my truck to toss it inside. Then I grabbed the waterproof flashlight I’d brought along.

I approached the ledge once more, stopping to look down at the light as I turned it on one last time to be sure that it worked. Then, after drawing a deep breath, I stepped forward and dropped the ten or so feet before being hit by the harbour’s cold surface.

It was dark, grainy, and murky under that water. The current was strong. I couldn’t tell how deep it went. It was cold. The light didn’t travel far, so I reached back with one hand, searching for the wall to use as an anchor before the current had a chance to make me to lose my place.

My hand found the rough, slimy surface without much trouble. I held onto the metal rib to keep myself steady as I swept the light in a wide arc, away from the wall. I saw nothing of interest; though I couldn’t see very far, either. I aimed the light downward, feeling the grit of that filthy water begin to make my eyes grainy. I blinked a few times to clear them, but it was still difficult to see anything—including the bottom.

I needed to go deeper.

I shifted my grip on the rail and pulled myself farther down into those murky depths. It got dark fast, and the light penetrated less and less the deeper I got. Eventually, my feet hit the soft floor, its surface covered with seaweed, sand and rocks. Another sweep of the light revealed nothing.

After taking a moment to consider what to do, I decided to try going right. I made my way along, using the wall to keep me on course and at the bottom. I knew from the footage that they hadn’t thrown the victim very far; rather it was more of a straight drop, so the body must have been close.

I already knew what would happen when I found the body: it would be bloated beyond recognition after being submerged this long, and would likely have been nipped at by fish, meaning identification of this person would be difficult, unless he happened to have his wallet on him. If not, then it would have to be done via dental identification or a DNA test—not that any of that would have been my problem.

Just as I was thinking this, a shape emerged in the distance, roughly ten feet away. I paused for a moment to study it, noting its shape. I rubbed my eyes and blinked them a few more times to clear my vision, and after taking another look, I began to make my way toward it.

As I got closer, I could see the distinct shape and height of a person, wrapped in a shroud; below it was a length of chain, attached to a pair of cinder blocks on the floor, obscured by the surrounding plant life.

This was it; this was the victim in the video.

I left the wall to approach the corpse, shining the light on it to see if there were any openings in the fabric. None were obvious, so I decided to tear a hole so I could have a look.

I reached out to grab a handful of the loose fabric floating just under the chin, then I turned the light off and stuffed it under my belt. Next, I placed my other hand on the shoulder to hold the body still while I pulled.

As soon as I touched it, however, the body jerked and began thrashing around.

My heart leapt and I recoiled backwards, shocked into stupidity.

What the…!?

I gathered my thoughts as quick as I could and reached down to grab the chain with both hands, placing my foot between them and pushing with all my might. The link under my heel promptly snapped, freeing the thrashing body, which I wrapped my arm around and then brought back to the surface.

When I burst out of the water, I searched the wall for a way to climb out. There was a rusty, old ladder a short distance away; it didn’t look very stable, but it would have to do. Treading the water with one hand, I reached the ladder and pulled myself up and out of the water, reaching for the next rung after stepping up, holding the squirming bundle under my other arm.

At the top, I climbed over the ledge and laid the bundle down, then I grabbed two handfuls of material. I yanked outwards to tear the mucky, brown layers open, revealing a pile of tangled red and yellow hair, a pale, gray face, and a pair of turquoise eyes, full of terror.

My chest wound into a tight knot when I saw her. “SUNNY!?”

The second her eyes locked onto mine, her face contorted with panic and she began to thrash around. Her hands tore free of the wrap, bound together by handcuffs; a rush of anger went through me when I saw them, and I quickly grabbed her wrists and pulled them apart, snapping the chain. A sharp ting echoed off of the building and out across the water when Sunset’s hands were freed, and they began to flail about, grabbing at my shirt and then, unintentionally, the back of my neck.

When the inevitable yet unexpected rush of history forced itself upon her, she let go and arched her back, opening her mouth to let out what was meant to be a scream, but was instead a gush of filthy green water, spewing straight up from her mouth and then landing on her face, making her shut her eyes and grimace. She turned her head to the side, trying to shake it off.

The sight of her like this broke my heart, which raced along at full speed, driven by panic, fear, and rage.

How did this happen? Who did this to her?

“Jesus, Sunny…” I whispered as I placed my hand on her shoulder and turned her over so she was face down on the concrete, still flinging her arms around and squirming wildly. “Stop, Sunny; slow down!” I placed my hand between her shoulder blades, holding her steady as I leaned closer. “You’re full of water! I’m gonna try to squeeze it out. You’re gonna feel some pressure, OK?”

She didn’t seem to hear me. I didn’t know if it was because she was so flustered or if her ears were full of water. I bit my lip and paused, preparing myself for what I was about to do: something that would easily kill an ordinary person.

With a stiff jaw, I slipped my right hand beneath her, just under her bust, and with my left hand, shoved downward between her shoulder blades with all my might. A massive jet of cloudy water fired from her mouth and sprayed several feet, splattering the cracked concrete under my truck.

I released the pressure, but kept one hand on her back, watching the poor thing inhale deeply, her back rattling and gurgling as the air rushed in amongst the residual water and gunk that remained in her lungs.

It wasn’t going to come out that easily.

Distraught, Sunset turned onto her side, clenched herself into a ball, and attempted another scream. Again, there was no voice, only a stomach-churning gurgle that sounded from her throat, accompanied by a spattering of water droplets from her mouth.

Another rattly inhale and she rolled to her back again, grabbing at me with her hands. Fearing she would get another unwanted dose of my mind, I held her forearms and leaned close to her.

“Shh-shh… Sunny, don’t touch me. Just be still, OK? It’s gonna be alright. Take it easy.”

Her legs continued to squirm, her chest gurgled with each breath.

“I’m sorry,“ I said, pinning her arms to her chest. “Please try to calm down. You’re safe; I’ve got you.”

At last, she slowed, her movements reduced to random twitches and rapid, shallow breaths, her back vibrating as the air burbled through her chest. After lying relatively still for a moment, Sunset squeezed her eyes shut; a grimace found her lips, which then began to tremble as she sobbed in silence, tormented by her inability to speak.

I watched her, mouth covered. I didn’t know what to do. This was one of those moments when you are reminded that being invulnerable to damage cannot rid you of all types of torture.

It was an agonizing sight: her lying there with her hair a tangled, filthy mess, her skin gray after her blood had long since been depleted of oxygen. Unable to watch her cry any longer, I leaned down and put my cheek against hers, feeling the cold, wet clamminess of her skin against mine.

“Shhhh. Sunny… it’s OK; don’t be scared. I’m here.” I kissed her cheek, earning the taste of fish and polluted water on my lips. “I’m sorry…”

She quaked each time she sobbed, her lungs rattling as more air rushed in. I ran my fingers through her hair in a vain attempt to straighten it, hoping to clear it from her face.

“Come on, let’s get you outta here,” I said softly, cupping her cheek in my hand to get her to face me. “I’m gonna take you home, OK?”

I sat up again and ripped the cover open to expose her feet. Her ankles were cuffed as well, her boots removed so they would fit, leaving her barefoot.

“Son if a bitch,” I whispered as I grabbed the cuffs and snapped them to pieces. Then, after peeling the rest of the material away, I hooked one arm behind her knees and the other under her shoulders. “OK, babe. Let’s go,” I whispered, using the most comforting tone I could as I stood with her in my arms and then carried her to my truck.

Sunset pressed her cheek to my shoulder as I walked, her hands clutched together against her chest. She slipped into a vicious coughing fit after a few steps, prompting me to stop and watch her; slugs of water shot from her mouth, her body jerking violently in my arms.

Once she settled and rested her head on me again, I shook my head and continued to the passenger door.

Whoever did this is gonna pay…

*****

Two hours later, the door to Sunset Shimmer’s apartment burst open, and I stepped inside with the still-damp red-head in my arms. I swung the door shut with my heel and kicked my shoes off, then I carried her around the corner to the bathroom.

After using my foot to pull the shower curtain aside, I bent down and set her in the tub. Then I quickly left the bathroom to find the thermostat, which I cranked to the max.

I returned to the bathroom, shut the door and kneeled on the floor next to the tub. She was lying still, eyes closed. I leaned over and reached between her feet to plug the drain, after which I reached for the faucet to turn the hot water on.

Sunset’s eyes popped open the second she heard water running, and she sat up quickly, grabbing the sides of the tub while trying to shout ‘no,’ but her voice came out only as a raspy gurgle.

“Whoa, hey!” I placed my hands on her shoulders to hold her down.

She grabbed my wrists to pry herself from my grip, but in doing so touched my skin. She threw her head back and thrashed her feet, kicking water out of the tub and onto the floor.

“Sunny, stop!” I shouted, holding her in place.

Eyes closed, she shook her head and hissed from her throat. “Don’t want…“

“Shh! Don’t try to talk, OK?” I said, quietly this time. “Look, I know you probably don’t want to be wet anymore, but I’m using the hot water to raise your temperature so the water in your lungs will evaporate faster.”

She slowed her squirming and faced me, her chest rattling as she continued to pant.

“Please,” I said, just loud enough for her to hear me over the running water. I moved my hands from her shoulders to her cheeks, cupping their cold softness in my palms. “I don’t know what else to do, Sunny, just… please let me help you. Please.”

Sunset stared into my eyes, her irises the only part of her that still carried their true colour. After a raspy sigh, she allowed herself to relax and lay back against the tiles.

I placed my hand on her head and tried to smooth her hair out, to no avail. “Just rest for a bit; let yourself warm up. I know that water’s hot, but it won’t hurt you. K?”

She paused for a moment and then swallowed, followed by a nod. Staring down at herself, she noticed that as the water deepened, her filthy, tattered jeans were bleeding out their telltale filth, dark ribbons that wiggled and dissipated into the churning water. After watching it for a moment, she decided not to let the bath become too dirty, so she reached down to unbutton and unzip her jeans. Then she peeled them over her hips and down her legs, panties and all.

After handing me the ball of soggy clothes, Sunset sat forward and pulled her shirt over her head, handed it to me, then reached behind her back to unclip her bra, which then fell away, freeing her bust. She set it on top of the bundle in my hands and then laid back again, closing her eyes.

I took the wet clothes to throw them in the laundry bin before returning to the bathroom. Sunset was lying perfectly still, arms resting on the sides of the tub, her breasts slumped to the sides. I sat on the floor next to her, feeling the growing heat as the steaming-hot water rose around her skin, which had finally begun to regain its natural hue.

When the tub was full, I reached across and turned the faucet off, filling the room with silence, aside from the occasional drip that hit the water and echoed in our ears as if it was the loudest thing ever. Her breathing was noisy, her chest rattling softly as she lay there with her eyes closed, completely motionless.

I folded my arms and leaned on the tub with my shoulder, watching her. “Hm. You sound like a big old kitty-cat, purring like that.”

Her eyes opened and she turned slightly, staring blankly.

I gave her a playful smirk reached out with my fingers curved like claws, pawing gently at her shoulder. “Meow.”

After staring at me for another moment, Sunset rolled her eyes and closed them again.

Unsure if she was amused at all, I sighed and turned to face the other way. When I’d returned to the bathroom after disposing of her clothes, I had failed to close the door again, giving me a view of outside through the balcony doors. As I watched a blanket of gray clouds roll through the sky, I began to wonder what had happened during the red-head’s search, and how she ended up in the predicament she was in.

My thoughts were interrupted, however, when I felt something tap my shoulder. I turned to find Sunset looking directly at me.

After a short stare, followed by a blink, she raised a hand to place her index finger just below her right eye. She held it there for a moment, and then brought her hand down to lay it flat across her chest. Finally, keeping her eyes glued to me the entire time, she lifted her hand and pointed her index finger directly at me.