So those were the wrong files… dammit. I guess I could surf through them while I got time. Maybe there might be some Curio relations in the wrong files. Thank Cana I can read, I guess. Most of them say “Minor Crime Do Not Pursue” while the rest say “Contained”, though one of them is gone now. Should I rip it up, cross out his face for good measure?

  I remember the vision as I look at the newspaper. I take it and stare at the girl on the front page, another victim of Knives I assume. It’s her picture along with the light-haired man from the other day and Jyrasck’s dad.

  I didn’t realize he’d strike again so soon. TRU waits for no one I guess. I wonder how the guys’ll react. I creen my neck once hearing Jyrasck the Giant’s footsteps with Ross the Mediocre’s following soon after.

  “Did you find anything last night?” Jyrasck asks.

  “Nope, but your killer did,” I tap a finger on the newspaper.

  Jyrasck snaps up the paper, reading the front article as Ross comes to over, leaning over Jyrasck’s arm to see.

  “That was quick,” Ross exhales.

  “‘These recent murders are now claimed as the RTU killings, if you have any information, please inform your local police station.’ We’re the ones needing information, dang it.” Jyrasck huffs.

  I distance myself for a moment, focusing on the wall behind the boys. Ross glances at me, observing as I feel my vision blur. I must be a good actress, pretending to have a vision is working. I twitch slightly while I act to sell it before “returning from space” as Ross once called it.

  “I… saw a bunch of files with lots of hate and rage,” I blink, looking up towards the two.

  “Just now?” Jyrasck asks.

  “Yup.”

  “No other information? Like a name o-or a place?” Ross chirps.

  I pause for a moment. Should I say Honeycomb? Or maybe just Honey. Some people called her Honey.

  “It was like ‘oh, Honey’.”

  “Honey? That doesn’t give us much…” Ross sighs.

  “The nickname honey? Like ‘Honey, I’m home from work’ type honey?” Jyrasck chirrups. How did they figure out it wasn’t her actual name already? I shrug in response.

  Should I even be giving them this information? Knives is a former Tested like I am. The others don’t kill though, and they knew Honeycomb. The whole reason we’re here is to shut down the Labs because the Curio were killing us off. … Meh, I didn’t really like him anyway.

  “I assume this killer is tied to the Honey person, if they aren’t the Honeyman themselves.”

  Jyrasck’s eyes light up hopefully, “keep track of them then. If we get names and faces, we’ll eventually get the killer’s.”

  Ross nibbs his lip, “we can’t let whoever’s doing all this get to us. It might be a traumatized Lab-dweller for all we know. I feel like we should promise each other that.” He turns to his fellow male.

  “You’re a good mediator, y’know that?” Jyrasck pats Ross’s head.

  “I don’t need compliments, I need yes sirs.”

  “What are you, a teacher?” I joke, refusing to say “yes sir” to him.

  “No, but I’m the one with no ability and can ditch you three in seconds without problem. I’m risking my life for you idiots and I don’t want anyone else to be doing the same.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Yes sir!” Cana startles everyone with a flat hand in front of her forehead.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m saluting, it’s common for people to do it, I think,” Cana replies in a proud-ish manner.

  I roll my eyes as Jyrasck turns to Ross, nodding with a smile, “don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”

  Ross squints at him before succumbing to Jyrasck’s line. “Okay, but when did Cana learn about this whole thing?”

  “Approximately yesterday,” Cana chirps.

  “Okay.. If we find Honeyman, your job is to either befriend or spy on them to confirm they’re the ones killing.” Ross pats Cana’s shoulder.

  “They might already know we’re onto them.” Jyrasck says, “the first two were a week apart, this new one was two-three days afterward.”

  Ross nods, “you’re right. They might keep with this new schedule to bring more attention to themselves. I guess they’re as mad as we are about the government cover-ups.”

  “It just makes it all the more urgent,” I deadpan, “‘maybe’s aren’t gonna cut it, a killer’s loose and we will put them out.”

  They all nod in agreement before myself and Cana set out to Mrs. Soleil's.

  ??????

  “Can’t we just learn the alphabet and be done?” Antadon whines.

  “Because grammar is important, and so is roots,” Cana chides.

  I roll my eyes, “‘so is roots’? The irony.”

  Cana pouts, “you know what I mean.” She turns to Knives and Antadon, “if you wanna write, you’ll need to learn this as well.”

  “All we really need is our names, we won’t use anything else. It’s not like we’re gonna write apology letters to the Curio ‘cause Gordon took down their door.”

  “That was Gordon? I thought it was Auzzy!”

  “Nope, Gordon was the one. Remember when he pitched the ball in the Yard that one time?”

  Cana laughs, “didn’t the Curio get super mad ‘cause it left a huge hole in the wall?”

  They chuckle, sharing tales that feel like a dream you have to think really hard to remember. Are they even memories? I guess I was being tested on or too zoned out to notice a crater being formed and covered in the wall along with prank wars and further drama. Thinking about it all, all these stories of the time in the Laboratory, now the past, they all feel so surreal.

  “Oh yeah..! Like that one time when Honeycomb gave Sam her drawing and Knives got so jealous he didn’t talk to the both of them—”

  “Shaddup or you’re gonna get more than a beating, poison boy,” Knives threatens.

  “Sorry, I’ll stop talking about your thing with Honey— okay okay! I got the message. I got the message!”

  “C’mon, everyone knows. You don’t have to threaten people to be all hush-hush about it,” Cana pokes playfully, receiving a glare of hatred and murderous intent.

  He has a thing for Honeycomb? I guess I’m not a part of “everyone” then. I assume “a thing” is referring to romance, as it does most of the time relating to girls. And I just thought it was the first person he thought of when reasoning his serial killing.

  The three converse as I stray away, walking over to where Sam and Iris were. The two were sitting in silence, Sam hovering over the girl’s shoulder while she read a book, I slide past them to the opposing side of the couch. I sit and quickly find my eyes locking onto the wooden table, mainly the way the grain of the wood weaved through the rounded table’s shape.

  As the air swirled in the dome-shaped area, two people formed, though only their top halves as they were laid on their stomachs. One was female with a silvery earring and brown-rooted, blonde hair. The other was a muscular male with dark brown hair that kicked out in the back with a small lock of hair that was sticking up more than the rest of it. The two faced each other, but didn’t make eye-contact, staring at faintly glowing slabs or holding said slab up to their ear. The girl swirled a blurry glass cup that she handled with little care.

  “I miss you so much, Ari,” the man smiled at his slab, his folded arms balancing his tired head.

  “I miss you too, ‘night Jace,” the lady cooed before the two wisped away like mist. I smile ridiculously, AD times were probably just like that, just short of paradise! I giggle, squirming about on my bed and squeezing my pillow.

  “DJ..? Are you okay in there?”

  “I’m fine, Mom! Just fantasizing!”

  I jolt, a Tested? No, that was a house, and she said “Mom”. A non-Tested with an ability only Tested could have? Then Curio are coming for her right?

  How close was she? Could I find her before the Curio can..?