Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Nick's eyes flicked open, seeing the brown eyes of Richard looking back into his green ones. He sighed, softly, letting a smile grace his muzzle. The hyena was wearing a white shirt from Trauma Sect and his underwear, while Richard was only in his boxers. "I really need to start wearing the blindfold to sleep," he yawned. "Morning," Nick mumbled, his cheek against the soft pillow in the bed. "How'd you sleep?"
"Well, for once." Richard gave him a small grin. "You seem less tense today. I suppose going to Trauma really helped?"
"It did," Nick nodded. "Spewing out all of the feelings that I had to Dante was incredibly relieving. I cried for, like, ten minutes straight, too. It doesn't make the case we're on any easier but it definitely was healthy for me to go. I'm sorry I didn't the first time."
Richard exhaled. "Well, you had never seen death like that before, so it's understandable. I don't blame you for wanting to be alone. That's all I wanted when I returned from the alternate timeline."
"I'm so glad I was able to come here after and just lay with you and talk for hours about whatever. You're a good listener," Nick sniffed. "Sorry I went on about Astrid so much. Guess I'm still kinda into her . . . Plus, I don't want to forget, you know. Like with Jack."
"Don't worry about it," the raccoon answered. "It was nice to listen, only because what you had to say was incredibly interesting."
Nick blushed, scooting all the way forward and putting his arms around the animal, pressing their chests together. "When did you take your clothes off?"
"Shortly after you fell asleep," Richard explained. "Despite them being TempRes, I don't want my garments rubbing against my fur all night."
"And you're okay with being with me like this? I don't want to push anything or make you feel like I'm pushing anything . . ."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm alright. I trust you and know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me."
"Never," Nick stated, running a claw up his chest, sighing. "Is it stupid that I'm totally in love with you and we haven't really gone on any missions together?"
Richard froze, feeling his cheeks heat up immensely. "I . . . don't think it's stupid, no. We've known each other for a long time, in mortal terms. I find myself quite taken with you as well, Nicholas. You're a very special and caring animal and something about you just pulls me in. I feel as though I only want to lay here all day and listen to you talk."
Nick laid back and covered his face with his arm. "I just don't want to make you feel pressured or anything. I don't wanna rush things. I can't help how I feel, though. I just wanna be with you and take care of you and save you."
"Nick, look at me," Richard told him, moving a hand to the hyena's cheek and turning his head. "While it will take me a very long time to be able to do anything, I don't want to keep my heart closed forever because of what happened. As hard as it's been, you've been there for me since we met and I . . . well . . . I love you, too. But I also need time before I commit to anything. You understand, right?"
Nick couldn't help the smile that formed. "I completely get it. Take as long as you need. It's enough knowing that you love me back. I wasn't afraid you didn't or anything. I was just scared you felt like you couldn't . . ."
"I am scared," Richard admitted. "Terrified, even. But I know what I'm feeling, too. I want to be with you and go on missions with you and save you if things get tense, too. After seeing how much this job affects you, I want to be the one you can lean on when you feel like you can't stand it. I want to catch you. We can be there for each other and make it through this, as hard as it will be. I just don't want to commit to anything yet."
Nick leaned in and gave a long kiss on Richard's gray cheek. "Then I'll wait as long as it takes. Even if you're never ready."
The raccoon huffed, understanding the slight joke. "And I'll work on improving constantly, so I can be ready."
"I love you," Nick buried his face in his chest.
Richard rubbed his back up and down slowly. "I love you, too." He had no idea what this animal had really done to not only break down his walls, but infiltrate them as well, and he was happy with the result. While he may not have been ready to take the relationship further, it was enough for them both, for now. That's all that mattered.
During their cuddle session, both animals had drifted back to sleep and now they were awake again, discussing the case they would have to deal with soon.
"So you and I both noticed that there is a clear point where Sandy goes from her normal self to being very sad and that's after she saw the movie Darkest Sun," Nick explained, laying with Richard's arm around his shoulders.
"Yes," Richard nodded. "And that she was seeing a girl named Stephanie behind her boyfriend's back. She felt guilty about it but it couldn't have been enough to cause her to take her own life."
"Not only that," Nick continued, "But she also stopped communicating with everyone after she saw the movie. Everyone except for Hailey . . ."
"So we know what we need to do," Richard said, rubbing the hyena's ear between his fingers affectionately.
"Yeah. We should investigate the movie theater. It's the only place where all of the stories intersect. I think we should call Adrian first and find out what they learned in their investigations yesterday."
"That sounds like a plan," Richard stated, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and ringing the mouse, who didn't pick up. "I'll try Dmitri, then." The raccoon called Adrian's partner and he picked up quickly.
"Hello? Richard?"
"Good morning, Dmitri," Richard said, clearing his throat as he continued messing with Nick's ears with his free hand. "We were just calling to see what you and Adrian found out yesterday. Anything that might help us with this case."
"Oh, yeah," the wolf answered. "Well, we were investigating Stephanie Moore. She didn't leave a note, so nobody knows why this happened. It was noted that she did struggle with depression and dark thoughts and has even attempted suicide once before, so it wasn't that surprising to anyone that this happened."
"That's the animal Sandy was cheating on her boyfriend with," Nick inserted. "Wait, did you hear anything about a movie theater or a movie? Darkest Sun? That's where all of our information intersected."
"Yes," the grey wolf stated. "That is something we wanted to tell you yesterday, but you were busy at Trauma Sect. One of her friends said she had seen the movie with Sandy Mitchell. Both of them are victims, so clearly, there's a connection there. My best guess is that we should search the theater to find some more information."
"We should make sure that it's shut down for the day, then," Nick commented, looking at his partner. "You should contact Iwai and make it happen."
"I will," Richard told him. "Can we meet you and Adrian at the Buffalo Cinema on South, Dmitri? It would be best if in a case like this we had more manpower, especially if King is involved."
"We'll be there," answered Dmitri.
Walking along the side of the theater, Nick noted all of the upcoming and released film posters on the wall. "I always thought these were so cool. You know, how they light up and everything? Damn, I used to love going to the theater with Tyler. I always got candy, and he always gorged on popcorn. Simpler times . . ."
Richard looked at the large building. "I've never been to the theater. Before I was in the Mortal Guard, my father never made time for me like that, and when I was in the alternate timeline, I was far too busy on the King case for trivial things like watching movies."
Nick gawked. "Holy shit, you've never been inside a movie theater?! That's so annoying that we have to do it for this case because we could have done it on a later date!"
Richard threw him a gentle smile. "We still can, eventually." They turned a corner and walked to the glass doors marking the entrance of the building. The raccoon had called Iwai and tried to get the movie theater shut down for the day, so when they got there, they were relieved to find that there seemed to be no one in the front. Walking inside, they discovered the lights were still on, but all of the screens showing the movies were shut off.
"It looks like it worked," Nick pointed out. "No animals will be in danger now."
"That will make the investigation much easier," Richard nodded. "If there's a chance that there's something dangerous here, we don't want anyone to end up like Sandy."
"Hey, look. Here come Adrian and Dmitri," Nick stated, the pair turning toward the doors. From the outside, the mouse was walking up to them with his many piercings and the big gray wolf. They were chatting amongst themselves when Adrian noticed Nick and Richard standing in the lobby. He waved and sped up his walking, holding the glass door open for Dmitri.
"Hey, you two! It's good to see you got this place shut down for the investigation, especially knowing what we know," Adrian smiled.
"So, what do we know?" Richard asked, crossing his arms as the group formed.
"We have some more info that is updated in our Cases apps and should have updated for you, as well," Dmitri stated. "It was found that all of the animals being investigated in this case all saw this movie before their deaths, which connects Darkest Sun to it. However, further investigation revealed that the movie never previously caused reactions like this."
"We saw that on the way over here," Nick told him. "It's really concerning to think that anyone else might have seen it in the time between when Sandy saw it and now."
"There haven't been any more reports of mass suicides so far," Adrian explained. "Since there are four of us investigating the theater where it happens, they have other members investigating other movie theaters playing the film to see if they find anything suspicious."
Richard nodded. "There are quite a few cinemas within the Austin area, which means this could potentially lead to hundreds of suicides. If King is behind this, why would he be going after mortals?"
"One theory is to lure us out," said Adrian. "Catastrophe doesn't want us to sit idly by and let something like this happen."
"Fortunately, the movie doesn't seem to be the problem itself. Truth Sect is having a hell of a time investigating the director and staff members that were on the production, but so far haven't turned up anything we can use," Dmitri told everyone.
"This is all getting a little mind-boggling." Nick put a hand to his head. "We should start our investigation of the theater. So far, if it's only animals that have come here, it should have something to do with this theater specifically, right?"
"We'll just have to see," Richard stated.
"We should make sure to stay with our partners," Adrian said, "In case this does turn out to be a trap. Dmitri and I will start on the left side of the theater; you and Nick start on the right."
"Sounds good," the raccoon agreed. "Come along, Nick." The hyena followed as they all walked through the lobby and into the long hall that extended the rest of the length of the building. Adrian and Dmitri disappeared into the first door on the left while Nick and Richard kept walking forward. The first door on the right was a little further down.
"I wonder what could be going on," Nick huffed. "When you said it could lead to hundreds of suicides, I got really nervous."
"Potentially," Richard corrected. "For all we know, it's only a matter to be solved in this theater. As Dmitri said, it doesn't seem like the film is the problem itself."
"Yeah, yeah . . ." Nick nodded. They reached the heavy wooden door of one of the theaters, opened it, and walked down the dark hallway toward the theater. Because of the lights overhead, their shadows extended from their feet, then disappeared and grew again as they walked underneath each one. Turning right, they found themselves in a medium-sized auditorium with about seventy chairs. The seats and armrests were all folded up due to there being no patrons. The considerable masking of the screen remained dead as they looked around. "It was nice of them to leave the lights on for us, at least," Nick joked.