INT. C.H.R.U.C.H BUILDING(ENTRANCE) - AFTERNOON. NOVEMBER 1ST, 2025, 4:00 P.M
Gabriel gradually turned to face the voice that was talking, trying not to aggravate his injured shoulder. The white room they had appeared had now turned into a burnt, dirty mess. The massive fire attack that Gibby shot earlier left behind a blackened room. Admittedly, Gabirel didn't inspect the room before he ran to go puke in the bushes, though he couldn't help but feel mildly ashamed for the part he played in the damage to the room. Letting out a sigh, he really didn't want to turn around, but he knew it was safer than keeping his back to a potential enemy.
When Gabriel finally faced the stares, he was taken aback by how beautiful the lady who spoke was. The woman's skin was slightly bronze, with light green hair going down her back while still being spiky. Covering her left eye was an eyepatch. Her lips were bright red. The most shocking thing to Gabriel was her height. She had to be six foot five maybe and even taller. To go along with her height was her very muscular physique that had to come from more than just exercise.
The lady continued to come down the stairs, the slow clapping still echoing around the room. Trailing on either side of her were twenty soldiers, dressed the same as the ones they had fought before. "Blakey, no Al, is it okay if I call you Al?"The woman shrugged after asking, not waiting for a response before continuing to talk. "It doesn't matter, I'll call you Al, anyway." To Gabriel's ears, the woman's voice was ethereal, almost unworldly in how it sounded. Her voice was like a really soothing tone that made Gabriel want to listen to her.
Gabriel saw Blake's teeth clenched, but didn't say anything as he focused on the woman making her way across the entrance hall. His eyes widened in shock as he saw after every step, the place started reverting itself back in the blink of an eye. It was as if the room were reverting to a time before the fight had happened. This fascinated Gabriel, but kept his thoughts to himself. "So rare for you to be so quiet Al, that's the one pleasant change I see from you.", The women commented.
Gabriel watched Blake take a deep breath. "I can't believe they let an evil bitch like you still work here." He replied, his tone venomous, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her.
The woman stopped clapping, instead using her left hand to cover her mouth. A small laugh echoing around the room, a small soothing melody. "Bitch? Is that the best you can do? What happened to the hateful words, the angry retorts?", The woman chuckled
"Just get the director, and we'll gladly be on our way."
"Oh, bad news, I'm sorry to say the director is out today dealing with a situation today.", The woman replied, the laughter stopping as she pointed in the direction behind Gabriel and Blake. "I'm pretty sure Captain Gibson already told you that though. I have to admit I am disappointed he was defeated by such a greenhorn." She added, shaking her head sadly.
Gabriel cleared his throat, doing his best to project his voice. "If we may talk to the second person in charge, it'll be helpful since we may have some information that could prove useful."
The woman, now a few feet away, stopped walking, her eyes narrowing as she cocked her head to the side. "Aye, so the boy does speak,but before you ask such important questions, don't you think it might be nice to exchange pleasantries first?"
"Stop playing games already, Thea", Blake interrupted, his hand clenching and unclenching as he stared directly at her. "If the vice director isn't in, we'll leave, simple as that."
Thea glanced at Blake but ultimately ignored him, her one eye trained on Gabriel as she sat there waiting. Gabriel gulped but decided to speak up. "My name is Gabriel Owen. It's a pleasure to meet you." Bowing his head slightly before staring back at her. He bit the inside of his lip to hold back the small groan wanting to escape from the pain he was in.
Thea's eyes widened in shock while looking at Gabriel before she masked it quickly with a small smile. "Splendid, I see you were raised with good manners," she stated quickly, clapping her hands at the end of the sentence.
"My parents did their best in teaching me good manners."
Thea let out another small chuckle, her teeth flashing in the light. "Indeed, I shall follow suit. My name is Thea Aetos. Nice to meet you."
"A pleasure to meet you, as well, ma'am."
"A pleasure indeed.", Thea hummed, her tone trailing off as she studied Gabriel. Making Gabriel feel uncomfortable as the look was intense.
Blake stepped forward, getting into Thea's face, his shield appearing on his right hand. Multiple guards went to move, but Thea put her hand up, stopping them in place. "Listen, Thea, we both know I dislike you, so let me make it clear all I want is information. Now let us talk to one of the directors!", he demanded.
Thea let out a fake shiver, "So demanding, a tone like that can make a woman scared." Gabriel couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Thea turned her head and winked at him before looking back at Blake. "Sigh, I suppose enough of the shenanigans. You've been talking to the assistant director. In layman terms, I am the new assistant director."
Blake's shield disappeared as the news sunk in. Gabriel kept quiet since he felt like the conversation had become more than something that he could join in on. "About three years ago, I got promoted after Andrew was sadly murdered.", Thea finished, her tone becoming sad.
"When did he, um when did Andy pass?" Blake asked, his tone coming off confused.
"Oh, so you do know how to be nice I'm shocked."
Blake rubbed his left hand against his face, indicating to Gabriel that he was trying his best to calm down. "Look, he was an old friend of mine, just…just tell me how he passed."
Thea's small smile left her face. Her lips turned downward as tears glistened in her eyes. "Director Andrew died in an ambush at his house. We found him with his limbs cut from his body including the head, mutilated.", She paused, her voice shaking as she tried her best to not let the tears drop from her eyes. "We never found who did it, though recently we've been hearing from our connections in the police force that a couple more bodies have turned up the same way."
Gabriel opened up his mouth, but paused. He chose not to speak, given the nature of the situation. Gabriel glanced at Blake and saw that he was shaking with anger. He let out a sigh, happy there was finally a new lead in the case. He was mildly sad how the new lead came at the expense of someone Blake once knew. The quiet stretched for a moment. The only thing you could hear was the sound of sniffling as Thea dabbed at her eyes. Gabriel shifted awkwardly, but stayed quiet as she watched Thea lifted up her left hand and snapped her fingers. A couple of the soldiers quickly walked past Blake and himself, presumably going to grab Gibby out of the wall he was stuck in. "Don't think I didn't notice the look on your face when I mentioned how Andrew died.", Thea spoke up, looking at Gabriel with an analytical eye, trying to change the subject from the sad atmosphere that had taken over the group.
Blake decided to speak up, though his tone was rougher than usual. "That's what we needed to talk about. Just like Andy, we have about six more victims who all died in similar ways."
"Wait, was the body missing blood?" Gabriel interrupted, wanting to make sure they could have the same killer and not a copycat.
Thea tapped her right index finger on her leg, her gaze up towards the ceiling, which looked to Gabriel as she was thinking. "Hmm, now that you mention it there was little to no blood where we found Andrew's body.Also, there was a blood message that was written above the body that said, 'I know the truth'.", She explained.
Blake and Gabriel shared a look before facing back towards Thea. "That sounds like the same prep we've been chasing for the past few weeks." Blake told her.
"He has victims going back about six months ago", Gabriel added. "Actually, with your friend Andrew's death, there could've been more bodies that we didn't find."
Blake shook his head sadly, "I didn't even know Andy died, I thought he was just busy with running this place why I haven't heard from him."
Thea shrugged, "We did our best to keep everything on the hush. We thought it might've been a demon or something he pissed off in the past. And we didn't want to make the regular populace scared."
"I see", Blake mumbled.
Just then the two soldiers came back with Gibby between the both of them. "Ma'am, we are taking Officer Gibby to the infirmary for broken bones.", The soldier finished. He then saluted before marching off quickly down the left side of the room. Walking into the white wall as it spread open into a long hallway.
"So it's more than just a white wall", Gabriel spoke out in awe as the hallway vanished, turning back into a plain white wall.
Gabriel felt Thea's eyes on him as she let out a small chuckle. "How cute, it's been awhile since someone has been so interested in the design of this place." She spoke. Gabriel felt heat coming up the back of his neck as he felt embarrassed at what she was saying. "Now, now, don't have that look on your face. It's okay to want to know something. If we have time, I can explain this building better later. Pretty much this place is an illusion that keeps you trapped here in white walls unless you get mine or the director's approval."
"Yeah, that's all good or whatever. Can we go ahead to your office now?"Blake cut in, his voice sounding annoyed.
Thea tilted her head before nodding and turning around. "I'll lead the way since it's been a while since your last visit, Al," she said before stopping in her steps. She waved her hand, and suddenly Gabriel felt a small pulse go through his body. The parts of the room that weren't fully fixed quickly began repairing themselves at a rapid pace. Gabriel glanced down as a small green light appeared around his body before the pain in his shoulder disappeared. He looked back up at Thea, who winked at him once again before turning around. "There everything is as it once was, including any injuries, now follow me so we can exchange information."
Gabriel felt in awe as the room finally stopped putting itself back together. He wanted to ask if whatever magic she used could be used to bring people back to life. Like it seems like it is a localized version of time magic. Not that Gabriel knows anything about time magic, or magic in general, he's just keeping an open mind about things. After the last few weeks, he really didn't want to stay so closed minded. Hell, legit saw one of the people he's working with fight a giant skeleton to the point anything is possible.
"Come on Rook don't just stand, let's get moving on.", Blake called. Gabriel looked up and saw that Blake and Thea were already on the stairs.
Not wanting to be left out jogged to quickly catch up to them. The only thing on his mind is the fact they can finally make some headway with the case. Hopefully, they can get some information or see something that in the files the old investigators had missed prior.