A U R O R A PART 1: THE VISIONS

A putrid smell ran through the house as she opened the door. “I found him,” screeched Aurora. Blood drizzled down his body, like rain drops down a window. A team of officers rushed through the huge but dilapidated door. “He is dead,” an officer murmured, as he felt no pulse.

“What did you hear?” asked Aurora, to the person who reported the crime. He stood there, trembling. Sweat ran through his body. “I heard screams as I was walking by. I tried to break the door, but couldn’t,” he said.

“He was stabbed,” said Elizabeth, the forensic scientist.

“Look what I found,” screamed Aurora. It was a card.“ George Rottmyer, owner of Rottmyer pharmaceuticals,” it read.

Aurora looked at the body. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she saw an unusual tattoo on the man’s hand. “How did this tattoo appear?” she asked.

“What tattoo ma’am? There is nothing here,” replied Elizabeth.

Aurora was terrified. Only she could see the tattoo. “The visions are back,” she mumbled.

Aurora Garfield, an exceptionally prepossessing lady, had led a miserable life. Her parents died in an accident when she was young. She was then adopted by a couple. Her mother used to threaten her. She was a fashion addict and used to organize parties every weekend. Aurora wasn’t invited to any, but instead, she would sit, locking her ears through the door, trying to listen in on conversations and imagining how parties could be. Her father was a drug addict. He didn’t care about her either. All he cared about was work and his drugs. Although they had enrolled her into a good school, they didn’t love her. When she was 18, she had decided to move out.

It wasn’t the first time that she was seeing unusual things. When she was young she used to see a world in her dreams; a malevolent invincible crimson eye, drenched in hues of red, stared at her. But there, in the arid region, it was Satan’s eye. She walked on, but the place was endless and unbearable. She was always the only one there, until someone kept their hand on her shoulder. Just as she turned to see who it was, she would wake up. These dreams were recurring, but she never saw the person who touched her.

She had been taking treatments from various doctors and psychiatrists, but her condition was inexplicable. To her surprise, these dreams had stopped after two to three months and she was relieved. It was then that she joined the detective agency. This was the first time she was seeing weird tattoos, but what could this mean?

“We should visit the Rottmyer pharmaceuticals”, to gather more details about George Rottmyer,” said Aurora.

On their way to the Rottmyer pharmaceuticals, Aurora saw another tattoo, but this time, it was in the air. It was an entirely different one from what she had seen on George’s hand. As she touched it, the tattoo vanished.

It was almost nightfall. Upon arriving at their destination, a baronial building stood ahead of them, with a big heading that read:

“The Rottmyer Pharmaceuticals.”

They heard music, as loud as thunder, as they were about to enter. Lights scintillated over their faces as Aurora opened the door.

“It’s Christmas eve, ma’am,” screamed Elizabeth, as she bopped to the beat.

“We are not here to dance, miss Elizabeth,” Aurora commented.

“ I’m sorry, ma’am,” Elizabeth sighed.

Pushing everyone, Aurora made her way to the stage.

“Stop this party-”, she screamed through the microphone, “- we regret to inform you all that the owner of this company, George Rottmyer, was murdered this evening,” said Aurora. Everyone started whispering and talking about it. “We would like to interrogate all the employees and staff, about Mr. Rottmyer,” said Aurora.

After interviewing the employees, they found out that George Rottmyer was an autocratic person. He didn’t respect his employees despite their efforts and hard work. However, his secretary shared some useful details. He said that Mike Harris and George had a rough past, and they hated each other.

“It’s late, I think you all should go home. We will visit Mike Harris tomorrow,” Aurora said, tired. It was almost midnight when Aurora got home. Christmas had begun. She wished for her visions to stop and everything to be normal again.

As she slept that night, she witnessed another dream. It was the same world that she used to see. The sky was darkly foreboding. A creature stood in front of her, it’s malicious eyes seemed to be hypnotizing. She was terrified for a second, but the next moment, she moved towards it, as if she knew it. Darkness had suffocated her, until someone pulled her from behind and she woke up.

It was ten ‘o’clock and she realized that she was late for work. She told the team to reach Mike Harris’s office. They had to wait for some time for Mike to arrive. Aurora thought about her dream. “What could this mean?” she wondered.

“Good morning detective. Let me escort you to my cabin,” Mike said, as he entered the office.

“So, how may I help you?” asked Mike.

“Mr. Harris, I assume you know that George Rottmyer was murdered at his apartment yesterday evening,” said Aurora.

“Yes, I heard. How did it happen?” Mike replied.

On being asked about George Rottmyer, and why they both hated each other, Mike replied that they had been friends at first. Mike explained that George was very arrogant and used to hate mistakes. He used to threaten his wife, Lucy, who had then started meeting Mike and explaining the things George did to her. They used to spend a lot of time together, but they didn’t tell George. Soon, they fell in love. Lucy was keen on leaving George. When George got to know about them, they had already been married in secret. George was very angry at Mike, but Mike was mad at him as well, knowing how he behaved with Lucy.

This had occurred three years ago, but Mike and George hadn’t met since.

“I was saddened to know about his death. After all, he was my friend, but I didn’t kill him. I would never do such a thing”, Mike said.

“Alright. We are leaving now, Mr. Harris, but you would be called whenever we need you”, Aurora said.

As Aurora was on her way home, when she heard whispers. They were coming from a lane. She decided to go and check it out. As she went in, she saw a woman standing next to a wall. Her thick, blonde hair tumbled over her face, like swirls of ice cream. She had a fair complexion, with perfectly curved eyebrows. Her eyes were as green as a dark, mossy forest. She had a pointed nose, wore a bright red lipstick and had a delicately rounded jawline.

“Who are you, miss?” asked Aurora.

“Are you talking to me? Can you see me?” asked the woman.

“Yes, of course I can see you. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“I can sense something different in you. You are special. I can see things you are capable of doing,” said the woman.

“I don’t understand what you are saying, could you please explain it clearly?” said Aurora.

Aurora noticed a tattoo on the woman’s hand, but couldn’t see it clearly.

“Could you please show me the tattoo on your hand?” asked Aurora.

“Oh! So you can see the tattoo as well! You are indeed very special, of course you can see it,” said the woman.

As Aurora went closer to see the tattoo, she saw that it was the same tattoo that she had seen on George’s hand. With the tattoo, Aurora also saw a golden bracelet, which sparkled. It had unique stones on it, which she hadn’t seen before.

“My friend George Rottmyer has the same tattoo as you do.” Aurora said.

“Oh, really?” said the woman, “ - wait did you say George Rottmyer? I killed that guy yesterday.”

“What!” Aurora screamed.

“You are under arrest for the murder of George Rottmyer, miss,” Aurora said, as she took out her handcuffs. But when she looked up again, the woman had vanished.

“Looking for me?” squeaked a voice from behind her. The woman stood there, as Aurora turned back.

“How did you do that?” Aurora asked.

“I can do a lot of things, which humans can't do.”

“You are a murderer. You killed George Rottmyer, why would I believe you”?

“That man was a threat to humanity, he had to die. You are special. If you come with me, I can give you all the answers that you are looking for,” said the woman.

She twirled her hands and opened a gateway. It looked like a portal.

“Come with me.”

TO BE CONTINUED

- KAHYL SOAZ