The Girl With Metal Claws

Undertaking

ELLIOTT

43 Joseph Street.

The place where everything started. He met her and she never left. The terrors of that night inhibited his wreck of a mind.

He knew it was pointless coming here. It had been 15 hours till the time he was supposed to reach. But even after that, he stood in the street.

Elliott started walking, keeping a low profile. And when he saw the opportunity, he seeped through the cracks and changed routes. If he hadn't been a detective, he'd have made a good thief.

He crossed people and the numerous pubs with comparatively lesser audiences. He just wanted to not be put under suspicion so he tried to fit in with the depressed people spilling out of the bars, drunk to their necks.

Then he changed paths again and reached Willow Street. The street was as abandoned as it has always been but this time, Elliott wasn't lost.

He kept changing passages and lanes, reaching the alley he had walked into to chase after the hooded man. He had thought that the hooded man, who was originally Garry because of his drug peddling business, was Phoenix. But even if he was running after the wrong person, he met the right one when the alley ended.

As Elliott stared at the end of the alley, he remembered the way he felt. He stood at the end of the alley, glancing at the opposite side of the road he had seen Asami for the first time.

He remembered her unhinged appearance and the greyness of her face. He wanted to...

"I waited for you," the shrill voice sounded from behind Elliott. He felt his body stop and settle the voice in his head.

Elliott turned around to look at Asami. She knelt in the corner, in front of a wall. Her face showed no emotions, not even anger. Slowly, she extended both of her hands in front of her and Elliott looked down at them.

Her fingertips were wounded red. Her nails looked disfigured and the blood rolled down her hands to her arms. Wide-eyed, he stared over her shoulder and looked at the wall.

The wall was filled with signs, words, lines, and scratches, all drawn in red. She had marked all those with her fingertips, like a psychopath. He couldn't read the words, the signs made no sense to him. He just watched her.

She withdrew her hands and hid them behind her back. He didn't speak but raised an eyebrow at it, asking her why had she done such a thing.

"You took too long," she said. "I was bored."

Elliott held up his hand and turned around, starting to walk along the footpath of the empty road. He knew she would follow.

He tried not to turn to confirm her behind him, nor the urge to hold her hands up to his face and examine her wounds. He just kept pretending.

"You like nights..", she said.

Silence.

"I should've known..", she said, again.

Silence.

"Talk," her voice had turned colder. Elliott slightly faced her and then turned back around. He shrugged a little.

"I am-", Elliott stopped immediately. His face started flushing with embarrassment at how his voice had come out.

Because of the last day's rain, Elliott had a sore throat. His voice sounded like a broken tape recorder which felt humiliating itself.

Hesitantly, he turned around to see her staring at him dead-eyed. For a moment, he expected her to laugh but for the other, he thought she would leave. She did neither. Instead, she walked right in front of him.

"Why did you stop?" She asked, a hint of a frown on her forehead.

"Because..", he stopped again.

Asami reached up and tightly clutched his collar. She pulled him to her and looked straight into his eyes.

"The voices in your head aren't mine. It's you." She pushed him aside and he stumbled to the ground. He watched Asami's demonic sight set itself back in her eyes as she watched him get back on his feet. "You're too aware of me."

Elliott stood up as she started walking away, pushing past him. He had nothing to say. But as he watched her drifting farther away, he found himself calling out to her.

"You said coming here would benefit me. But I gained nothing," he yelled out.

She kept walking for a few more seconds and then she stopped. She turned to him with a tired look spread on her face.

"I said I'd take you places..", Asami said, "Follow me."

Elliott crouched down to wipe off the dust from his jeans and Asami started walking away again. Reluctantly, he started following her.

He didn't try to match her pace or walk beside her. He just stared at the back of her head, watching her stride the way. She wasn't too tall, she somewhat had a lanky posture and a very strange walk.

Then, Elliott watched her exit the footpath and enter the main road. She started walking in the middle of the road in her quick steps. He stuck to the footpath, observing everything she did. The road felt neverending and the walk went on.

Suddenly, a car drove up from behind, charging straight up to her. She must've heard the car revving but that didn't stop her steady walk. Alerted, Elliott climbed up the edge and shouted out to stop her.

"Hey!" He yelled as the car drew in too close to her.

Asami turned her head to meet Elliott's perplexed look, as he held on to the edge, watching her expected end.

Suddenly, the car, inches away from hitting her, took an abrupt turn. The reckless drift drove the car out of control and it smashed through the railings of the footpath and slammed onto the wall protecting a property.

Appalled at the accident, Elliott skipped over the guardrail and ran towards the crashed car. Smoke and high-pitched beeps protruded from the car. Through the car windowpane, he could see a woman sitting in the driver's seat. Her face was buried in the airbag.

With shaky hands, Elliott reached in through the shattered glass pane and placed his fingers on her neck. As the throbbing pulses settled in below Elliott's fingers, he sighed in relief. He didn't even see any blood which meant the woman had just fainted.

He backed off and looked at Asami. She stood with her back turned to him. He wanted to say something but couldn't even sort out his feelings. He was glad that she didn't kill the woman. Expecting more from Asami would be foolishness.

She started walking once again and he followed her. They left behind the woman and the car which felt tantalising.

"If you pull up something like this again, I'll leave," Elliott said, knowing that wouldn't make much difference.

But to his surprise, he saw Asami change her direction and return to the footpath. Elliott entered the footpath again and tried to not walk too far apart from her.

The walk went on but it was slower than before. Elliott found himself going restless.

Soon, Asami seeped through the gap between two buildings that led to another passage.

Elliott followed.

Asami walked through the alleyway with small houses and wild dogs that barked too loud. But at the mere sight of her, they all fell asleep.

Elliott followed.

Asami entered a property through a huge c***k in the wall. The property was covered with trees and grassroots, the sound of insects and the smell of wet mud covered the area. At a distance, a long brick tunnel could be seen. She entered the tunnel.

Elliott followed.

He walked with anticipation of what was coming and the fear of her wrath. But he couldn't bring himself to object or ask the questions he wanted to.

On the other side of the tunnel, Elliott saw a swampy black water pond that had a peculiar smell. And over the pond, a short bricked bridge was built. He watched her climb up the bridge and stand in the middle. She looked at him as if hinting at him to come up.

"Do you live here?" He asked, kicking a crushed plastic bottle aside.

"I'm more human than you think," she said after a pause. Elliott's eyes snap up at her, wondering if he had heard her right.

"You call yourself human?" He let out a bitter laugh but his gaze remained cold. He was amused. "A sadist lunatic like you?"

Elliott noticed her sombre smile.

"If that makes you follow me all the way here, yes, I am a psychopath." She had a cunning gaze that made Elliott break eye contact.

It was ironic but he had no reason to follow her. He was allowed to back off. He was allowed to not even come to Willow Street to find her. But he did, again.

"Why did you bring me here?" He managed to form out words.

Asami held out her hand and motioned him to come up. He walked ahead, crushing the dried leaves under his shoes. He climbed up the bridge, holding on to the stone railing.

Elliott stood beside her, looking down at the pond that looked like a black hole. The peculiar smell had turned into a horrible stinking odour and he tried not to wince.

"What have you been expecting?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He replied, glancing at her.

"You say you followed me because you wanted to gain something out of it, but you don't even know what you want from me?" Her voice was low and hoarse.

"I want you to surrender," Elliott confessed.

"They can't keep me," she looked at him, grinning with her crooked lips. He could feel the goosebumps on his skin.

"Yes," Elliott nodded, realised that she had invaded a whole police station on her own. "Then, I'll just have to kill you."

The words felt easy to say but tougher to face. Especially, when the person he talked about was right beside him, watching him with a smile.

"You'll need a lot more than a kitchen knife to kill me," she laughed strangely. He scanned her distorted face.

"What do you offer?" He found himself asking.

Her laugh faded away and her eyes looked straight ahead of her, into the tunnel.

"I'll show you everything to convince you to join me. But if you still say no, you can use everything you saw against me." She flashed her grim smile that matched the night. Elliott was taken aback at the deal she was putting forward.

He wondered why someone like her who had so much to hide, would make such a statement. The line between truth and a trap was blurred and he couldn't understand or see through her.

"I don't believe you," he said.

"Let me prove my loyalty to you," she smirked and then her gaze shifted to the pond below her. She let out a sigh and made clicking noises from her tongue like she was pitying something.

"Tell them to look inside, they'll find people." The words escaped her tongue.

Elliott's startled face met the pond as the smell grew unbearable. He noticed how just as she mentioned it, he could see the shadow of the remains of human bodies floating up to the surface. He couldn't even tell the number of bodies were dumped in there. Elliott was hollow. He felt like puking as he backed away, crouching down on the ground.

"Go home," Asami said. The winds had risen and the sky was darkening again. She walked backwards a few steps and then she turned around to leave.

Elliott found it difficult to speak up but he clutched his fists tight, on his knees. He croaked out a few words to stop her.

"When will I see you again?" He said.

He breathed heavily on the floor as he watched her smile down at him.