The Girl With Metal Claws

Alongside You

ELLIOTT

The grip loosens, the light turned faint and the hopes to get back up falters. Till we fall again into the hands of our culprits, it doesn't stop. The mind never stops working, pushing further and further into the pits we created for ourselves.

Elliott realised how peaceful the nights looked in Wellspring. Even if the night welcomes gory crimes and human acts, everything remains still and silent. Nothing breaks the peace.

Even the girl, who ruined Elliott's calm and composed demeanour, couldn't change the delicacy of the night by her ruthlessness.

But she remained silent as Elliott followed behind her, again.

Maybe it wasn't so bad following, fighting for dominance, challenging and roaming around the hushed streets with her. He wasn't supposed to feel this way.

"I'm going home," Elliott blurted out, instantly regretting his words. Asami stopped and turned slightly to face him.

"You said you'll join me," she said.

"So?"

"I'm taking you somewhere," Asami said, turning back around and continuing moving forward.

"Did you think I'll join you that easily?" Elliott crossed his arms across his chest and speculated his response. He didn't know what he wanted from her yet but more than anything, he wanted clarity.

"You said so," her responses were short. Elliott hated that he was being able to read her face, she had a little bit of anger on her face.

"If you still want me to join, you've to obey my condition," he raised his eyebrows at her, asking for her opinion on his statement. He had a flimsy smirk on his face, strongly expecting her to turn him down.

A frown replaced Elliott's smirk when he saw Asami nod quietly. She was too hung up on having Elliott beside her and it felt surreal to him. He wasn't able to read her motives yet.

"Now, YOU come with me," Elliott said, walking past Asami and leading the way. But in a minute, he abruptly stopped again, disappointed. The momentary dominance he had gained by leading the way to Asami was gone with his realisation. He turned to Asami and said, annoyed, "take me to one of your dumping grounds."

~

The place smelled like rotten flesh, garbage and human faeces. Asami had taken him to a cabin in the woods. It was a fairly bright night with a clear sky but the filthy area made Elliott feel like puking.

"T-this?" Elliott asked, cringing. "This is your dead body dumping area?"

"Hm," Asami hummed and moved ahead. Getting a hold of himself, Elliott stood up straight.

"Wait!" He called out. "I'll tell you what to do."

"What do I have to do?" Asami said in her cold voice, putting up a wall between them. Elliott felt bothered by how indifferent she was trying to look. But it looked anything but normal to him.

"First, look at me," Elliott said.

Asami didn't react to it for a few seconds before slowly, turning to look at him. Her dark eyes stared right at him with a cruel gaze on her face. She was trying to figure him out. Elliott seized the opportunity of her attention and killed the distance between them, standing face to face. He scanned every part of her face with an obstinate gaze.

"Good," he said as his eyes held her in place, "now, we will clean up the mess you've created."

"Mess..", She murmured.

Elliott backed off and moved towards the cabin. Turning the doorknob and pushing it, he opens the door to several dead bodies of unknown people locked inside the cabin.

"We will... no, you will give these people what they deserve," Elliott breathed in deep, watching her face contort, "a proper burial."

~

"12?" Elliott asked, exhausted. He wasn't surprised at the twelve bodies lying around with dried up blood on the floor. Being with Asami, he surely has seen worse. But his main concern was how he would bury each of them single-handedly. "Use your powers to did the graves."

Elliott was done counting the total number of bodies and for the pungent odour, he stepped out of the cabin. He looked to his side to see Asami standing silently.

"What? Do it!" Elliott said. She turned to look at him and shook her head side by side.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I.. can't tell you," Asami had a serious look on her face which meant she wasn't messing around. Elliott realised after the day Gabrielle died, there had been no cases of murders around Wellspring. People had started going back to their normal lives without the fear of Phoenix.

"Then," Elliott decided not to push her, "bring out the bodies."

After that, he picked up the shovel he had found inside the cabin and started marking the area of the first grave. Then he started the process of long tiresome digging. He looked up a few times to find Asami cooperating in the worst ways possible.

She was being reluctant to touch the dead bodies, swarming with flies, and she seemed to argue with her mind. But finally, she settled on maintaining minimum contact with the bodies. She got hold of their arms or legs and dragged them through the floor outside the cabin and lay them down.

Elliott smiled ironically and felt guilty for the people who died. She was struggling inside.

"I didn't think you'd agree to this," Elliott pointed out, sweating rivers while continuing to dig with his aching hands.

"I had to," she said, concentrating on the work given to her.

"You're keen to have me beside you to the point that it's doubtful," Elliott said but no answer came. When he looked over to her, he saw her place the last body out and back off, wiping her hands on her blue clothes.

"Burial?" Asami scoffed, staring at Elliott wincing in pain now and then, tired. "They're dead, it doesn't f***ing matter."

"They were destined to live longer and you took it away from them," Elliott murmured.

"No, they were destined to give up their lives to me," Asami said.

~

After the graves were dug, Elliott watched Asami sloppily drag the bodies and, as instructed by Elliott, gently place the bodies inside the grave. He observed her with a triumphant smile. Once the twelve graves were filled, Elliott helped in burying the people by shutting the graves.

In the back of his mind, he knew he should've reported the police about these victims. But the thought of the same police disposing the bodies on their own to wipe the evidence crossed his mind. He didn't want the bodies to be treated as trash even after they die.

It was a small start, but a start nevertheless. The start of Asami and Elliott's cooperation.

Soon, they were out of the woods and back to the alleys of the city. Their pace was laid back and thoughtful but they were walking side by side.

"You are with me now," Asami said. It sounded more like a declaration than a question. Elliott nodded, not even sure what she had planned for him.

"The way you said it, it sounds like an achievement," tired, Elliott sat up on a ledge on the footwalk of the main road.

"It is. I've gained your trust," she said, confident in herself.

"Huh?" Elliott blinked at her for a few seconds, in confusion. Then he burst out laughing. "What made you think that? What gives you the idea I'll ever trust someone like you? Did you forget everything that happened all these days?"

Asami shot him a glance. She had a defensive look on her face that spoke volumes about how she felt. Elliott had always noticed how she took the things he said to heart. She remembered, she analysed them, she kept her promises. But staring at her moonlit face that had a hint of anger, pride and hurt in her eyes.

Elliott strangely affected her.

"Are you mad at me?" Elliott asked, to test his theory further. Asami scoffed, not letting what she was feeling go.

Elliott stared at her for a long time and she continued to pay no attention. Then, he spoke.

"Can you push your hair back?" He asked in a soft voice.

"What?" Asami glanced at him, a little shocked.

"Push your hair back," he raised an eyebrow. Asami raised her hand to touch a strand of her white ruffled hair but she did not attempt to do as Elliott said.

He didn't know what had gotten into him at that moment when he leaned closer to her. His hand reached out on its own with newfound confidence and a sense of safety. Under her alerted eyes, he brought his face close to her and slowly struck his fingers through her hair. Gently, holding her gaze in his, he tucked her stray strands of hair behind her ears.

Asami was locked in. Her alerted eyes slowly fell to the ground in relief. She wasn't worried about herself anymore. Elliott saw an almost smile on her lips and realised what he was doing. He moved back, letting his fingers slip away. But now, he could see Asami's whole face at once.

"Better," he said, turning away from her and staring into the sky. Elliott didn't know if he was imagining it, but Asami looked flustered or just.. embarrassed.

"Hey.. next time.. don't touch me," her voice sounded shaky but her words were firm. Elliott smiled and nodded, knowing he had crossed his line.

~

They sat there silently for a long time. It was the first time in weeks that the stars were visible that clearly. They spread across the huge night sky, brighter than the light itself.

Playfully, Elliott leaned back on the ledge and let out an exaggerated sigh. He glanced at Asami who was busy pricking herself with her sharp nails.

"I joined you expecting you would bring back the thrill in my life as you said you would," Elliott rolled his eyes, pretending to regret his decision. Asami looked up.

"I thought you weren't ready."

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have come here with you," Elliott said matter-of-factly. Asami got off the ledge and started walking away along the footpath without any explanation. "Where?"

Elliott called out behind her but she didn't stop. Only her voice sounded.

"Follow me," she said.

"Why?" Elliott wailed.

"I'll teach you how to murder someone," Asami said.