Autopsy of a Mind

Chapter 63: Perfectly Normal

You are safe. 

Just inconvenienced, but safe. 

"Evie?" So close. "I found you." The water seemed to thin, his voice grew clearer. I felt a cool sensation on the back of my palm. It was the cold fabric of my jacket covering my shoulders and back. I shuddered.

There was a strange sense of security. The claustrophobia was there but my mind was split between the two worlds, fighting for dominance in their own dark ways. In one, I was the one trapped in that blazing pit. In the other, I was constrained and tight down to the floor, my back, my head and my body exposed to anyone and everyone to wanted to harm me. The prickle of someone watching me overcame me. No, it was not the feeling I had when Sebastian looked at me, or just someone looked in the passing. It was a penetrating gaze of malice. 

I had felt it for years, in my darkened room as I tried to sleep. 

Others laughed it off, making memes about the proverbial demon lurking in the dark. But the demon was always there. Always following me. I was conscious of it. 

He wanted me. He wanted me dead. And he would soon have me. 

But that jacket? It seemed to shield me from the weapons that the demon would use to destroy me. 

I don't know how long it took me to calm, but I knew Sebastian was standing at a distance, not wishing to interrupt me. 

I sighed in relief as I turned to him. The EMTs were there, as were the police. The bull was open in front and the fire put out. A gurney was taking the person inside out of the building. I followed their pace and sighed. The auditorium was engulfed in silence. 

No one spoke.

I could hear the clicks of the camera and the scribbles of pen on paper. 

Sebastian didn't ask. I didn't answer. His eyes held no curiosity, just a deep understanding for which I was thankful.

I must have looked crazy. For him to come out of his usual personality and stand amongst all those people and help was mind boggling. He wasn't one to help in such a public display. He could have very well abandoned me and pretended that he didn't know me, but he had done it nonetheless.

I stood up, my legs slightly shaky and I walked to him. I was conflicted. Should I thank him or just pretend like nothing happened? I knew he would bring it up later on, but now was not the time. 

"Who called emergency services?" Sebastian pointed at himself. 

"I called them when you were moving towards the stage." Nice way to put it. He wasn't sarcastic or alluding to what just happened.

"And how long has it been?"

"They arrived within seven minutes, actually. I'm impressed that they cleared everyone out and controlled the situation so well." I nodded. 

"Any progress?" I asked. I needed a download on what happened. 

"They pried the bull open and got the person out. The mirror was almost melted and the person inside has third degree burns all over the body. He or she is alive, though. Identity unknown, but we will soon find out."

"And Earle Desmond?" Sebastian scrunched up his brow. "The magician," I told him. 

"I don't think that was Earle Desmond on the stage, at all. He wouldn't be jeopardizing his position in society to make a spectacle out of killing someone. If I had to bet, the victim was him." He paused and looked at me curiously. "And to answer your actual question, the person on stage had a mask on. He might have slipped out before the police arrived or he could still be outside." 

"What do you mean they could be still outside?"

"The police locked all gates and didn't let anyone out even though there was a fire alarm that rang." There was a weird look in his eyes. Yes, there was something extremely suspicious about the whole thing. 

"CCTV footage?" Sebastian shook his head. "What the fuck," I found myself cursing. 

"Oh my, I don't think I have ever heard you curse, Evie." He did look slightly surprised, but not as taken aback as others who I had sworn in front of. 

I would usually swear after an episode or if I was beyond frustrated and the stress would lead me to get an episode. One could say it was a method of letting off the pressure. 

Studies in linguistics showed that using words that are considered 'taboo' can often make the person saying them feel a rush of joy. Not unlike a crime, language could also exhibit such things in people. It was perfectly normal, so I didn't like to think much about it. 

I shrugged. I could see a man coming towards us. From the way he held himself and the uniformed police officers following him, I knew that he was the lead detective of the case.

"Simon Nash," Sebastian leaned in and told me quickly as the man came to a halt in front of us. 

"Mr. Butler, what brings you here?" I looked between the two of them, not shocked by their acquaintance. Sebastian had been in the industry for a while and he worked a lot of high profile cases. 

"Evie, meet Detective Simon Nash. He is one of the leading members of the criminal behavioral studies department in the city bureau. He recently took on the roll on the departmental head. He has worked some very high profile cases in the past and is an excellent detective." In short, this meant that I was supposed to keep myself in the good books of this man and try to get as much information and knowledge out of him as possible. 

Sebastian was not one who worked on connections within the system, but if he was implying that I should talk to Simon Nash more, I would be doing it. I could learn a lot from this man, and I was never one to shy away from putting effort into gaining more knowledge.

"Ah, you're his assistant, I assume?" I nodded. "Well, nice to meet you. I would like to talk to the two of you as per the procedure. We are interviewing every member of the audience to gauge what happened."