Chapter 9: Compromise

In his 18 years of living, Lars Sykes had never been an early riser. He never saw daybreak nor sunrise unless he was awake the whole night, hanging out with his friends or playing video games. Hence, it was a peculiar sight for Len to woke up alone and found the bed next to him had long cold.

Len looked around and noticed the room key was missing from the nightstand he left it on. It was still an hour until breakfast time so Len deduced they had enough time to pack before that and leave immediately afterwards. Len had thought to call Lars with the disposable phone he left him with, but decided not to.

Something unnatural just happened to them and it was not just about the monster attack, Len knew that very well. He remembered seeing his brother's mangled body when the monster brutally tore him apart. The darkness might've dulled the redness of the scene, but Len saw enough to piece the puzzle into a grotesque picture of horror.

Len saw the scene because back then, he decided to turn back for his brother. He witnessed everything unfold from the crack on the plywood wall the monster broke through. He couldn't bear the idea of leaving without Lars, so he went back either way. But then, Tirana showed up, and soon after, his brother was brought back to life by a blinding light.

Even though everything turned out fine then, Len knew that his brother must be having his own crisis about it. He perfectly understood if Lars was having a nightmare of the incident and wanted to be alone for a while. He perfectly understood because he had one himself.

The door's keyhole rattled, and Lars walked in soon after. "Oh, you're awake already."

"I should be the one saying that," Len said. "Where have you been?"

"Just taking a walk. I've called Mom again."

Lars just sat down and Len didn't press him for more. They quietly packed up their luggage, each wordlessly passing on each other's scattered belongings. After they finished, they took a shower and had breakfast ordered to their room. Lars had scrambled eggs with sausages while Len ordered blueberry waffles.

Len secretly lamented that he couldn't enjoy the splendid buffet Angel's Snack had to offer for the last time but he had no choice. They were too paranoid to be seen by then, rightfully so since they were involved in someone's inexplicable death. That is why Len heavily objected when Lars suggested him this idea that could jeopardize them.

"Hey, before we leave, can we maybe... stop by at the beach to pay respects to Seth?"

"What?"

"I know, I know. But - "

"Lars, are you out of your mind? Someone could've seen us with him yesterday and they would interrogate the hell out of us if they did. We can't risk it! And it's not just about yesterday, either. If they traced the whole thing to what we did back home - "

"Damn it, Len! You think I don't know that?" Lars roared as he slammed the table, shaking their entire breakfast. It took a moment to brought him back to be calm, shaking his head and taking a deep breath as he did so. "Look. I just can't shake off this guilt I have about him. Yes, we got lucky, somehow, someway, but he didn't. Can we please do this? I just wanted to pay my respects. He deserved that."

Len was quiet. He had never seen such strong reaction from Lars addressed to him. Although, Len was perceptive enough to let it slide. They were living a stressful time and he understood what this meant for Lars' survivor guilt. He understood that when he remembered what he felt when Lars sacrificed himself back in the Hibiscus House.

"Fine," Len said, "but we're going immediately after."

Lars smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Len."

"Yeah, yeah. Now look what you just did. My blueberries flew all over the place," Len said, addressing his waffles.

Lars made an apologetic laugh and shared Len his sausage in return. Though Len was not much of a savory breakfast enjoyer or a risk taker, he compromised, because that is something he knew his brother needed at the time.

After much deliberation afterwards, Lars and Len decided to not check out just yet so they didn't have to go around carrying their luggage. They went to the Lesath Beach with hearts pounding along the way, worrying that someone had seen them with Seth yesterday. It was a quiet, tense walk for them.

The beach was still as lively when Lars and Len got there. Len was a bit in disbelief that the place was still opened despite what happened yesterday. It was only when they reached the Hibiscus House rock gate that they were obstructed by yellow police lines. The lines were stretched including the woods area and guarded by several policemen, effectively repelling Lars and Len.

"Hmm... guess we can't go there," Lars said.

"I'm gonna sound like a jerk but can't you just pay your respects from here? I mean, come on, getting any closer would make us seem suspicious, Lars."

Lars did not answer, which worried Len. There was no way that they could slip away through the police investigating the scene and Len hoped his brother was sane enough to not attempt it.

"Oh, thought you two are skipping town already."

Tirana was behind them, startling Lars and Len to a cut off yelp. She was amused with the reaction, laughing very cheerfully.

"That's twice now you scared the crap out of us!" Lars said.

"What are you doing here? What if someone sees you?" Len said.

"And what about it? I told you we'll be fine, didn't I?"

Len just sighed in frustration at this. "How can you be so sure?"

"Do you have connections in the force? VERSE bought the police or something?" Lars added.

"Well, normally, yes... but not here," Tirana said. Her hazel eyes glanced aside in avoidance. "How about we talk somewhere else, shall we?"

Lars looked hesitant. "Uhh... actually, we're just here to pay respects to Seth, so..."

"Well you can wait with me for a while until those police are gone. There's something I'd like to show you, anyway. Might be useful for you guys."

Lars and Len conceded and followed Tirana to the eastern edge of the beach. The walk along the way was just as tense for both of them so they did not talk much, just cautiously keeping their heads down. They eventually arrived on a residential area made up of stone houses and narrow pathways. Shrubs of rosemary and blue sea hollies brought the much needed color to an otherwise dull neighborhood here.

Tirana stopped at the house second from the last in the row. She unlocked the door and excused Lars and Len in to the dark. They were hesitant based on a horrible experience, but they relented either way. Tirana then muttered her salam before she set foot inside.

"What are we doing here, again? And whose house this is?" Lars asked.

"Mine," Tirana said. "I'm sorry that it's a mess and dusty here. I only use the basement."

Indeed, the place was dark, dusty and heavily disorganized. Some of the furniture were covered in white cloths and those that didn't, with cobwebs. Len particularly found it hard to believe someone as demure as Tirana would intentionally let her home be in such state.

"And what do you use this lovely basement for?" Len asked, carefully.

"To store my tools and stuff I need to hunt VEIL, of course. I can't store them in Angel's Snack, and I can't live here because it's too much work cleaning out everything for just a temporary stay."

Tirana pulled a red book in the bookshelf and the bookshelf moved aside, revealing a descending stairways to a warmly lit room. She glanced at Lars and Len with a giddy smile.

"You have a secret door to a secret basement?" Len said excitedly.

"I know, pretty neat, huh? My dad built this because he thought it looks cool, and it's also practical for us. Come on, I'll show you what's inside."

The moment Lars and Len stepped into Tirana's basement, their jaws were opened in astonishment. It was a spacious workshop full of strange tools and machinery, they couldn't quite make heads or tails of anything. Most of them were bronze colored, such as a shield with functional clockwork on it or a floating, winged faberge egg.

However, what really drawn much attention was the shelves. The shelves were filled with glass spheres in myriad of colors, much similar like the bomb Tirana used yesterday. Aside from the spheres there were also separated assortment of mundane materials such as various chunks of alloys, vegetables, unknown powders and more.

"Woah, what is all this?" Len asked.

"Everything me or my dad made," Tirana said. "I came from a family of alchemists."