In a cramped train room, Lux sat cross-legged on the floor, fiddling with his phone. Beside him, Lavinia clutched a pillow, while Cillian sat on the bed, arms crossed.
"Who," Cillian said, already sounding irritated, "booked this train room?"
Lux raised his hand without hesitation. "Me."
"And why would you book one room when you knew all three of us were going?"
Lux turned his phone screen toward him. "Look at my bank account. I'm almost in debt. How do you expect me to afford a seven-star luxury suite?"
Cillian narrowed his eyes. "Didn't Suntel give you mission funds?"
"Nope. He said if he gave us money, the whole Third Affiliate would be bankrupt." Lux remembered Suntel's virse like face and the middle finger he'd flashed before hanging up.
Lavinia tilted her head. "And you didn't think to tell us? We could have pooled our money."
Lux groaned. "Do you two ever reply to my messages? Pick up my calls? Check my voicemails? No. You just dump all the responsibility on me, so I did the best I could."
"So…" Cillian said slowly, "how do we plan to sleep?"
"What do you mean? You two take the bed, I'll take the floor if you are that of a butterfly."
"This," Cillian said, pointing, "is a single bed."
Lux froze thinking to himself '' shit, shit , shit I forgot to add on an double bed god please only this time save me''.
Both Lavinia and Cillian turned to glare at him. He averted his eyes—too late. Lavinia covered the pillow in an thick coating of a metal know as naxos and smashed it on lux's head, and Cillian joined in. Lux ended up on the floor, groaning.
---
Two Days Later
The train screeched to a halt at Yolka Village.
Lavinia's eyes lit up at the sight of sprawling rice and wheat fields, the bright green of fruit trees, and patches of wildflowers swaying in the breeze. Lux, equally impressed, muttered, "Wow… this place is actually gorgeous."
"Mm-hmm," Lavinia agreed, inhaling the fresh air.
From a few steps ahead, Cillian didn't even look up from his phone. "We're here for work, not to join a nature appreciation club."
As they walked, Lavinia leaned toward Lux. "Why's he always like this?"
Lux smirked. "I'm pretty sure he reads instructional manuals on 'How to Be the Most Annoying Person Alive.'"
A voice called out, "Hello! Are you the team from the Third Affiliate?"
They turned to see a woman in her early thirties, dark hair tied back neatly.
"Yeah," Cillian replied. "And you are…?"
"My name's Davina. The mayor sent me to guide you to him. Please, follow me."
They fell into step behind her.
"So, Miss Davina," Cillian said, "can you tell us what's been happening here?"
She gave a weary sigh. "We've had an unusual spike in thefts, people going missing, and even… murders."
Cillian frowned. "Any CCTV footage?"
"Yes, but none of the faces are recognizable. If the culprits are from the village, we can't prove it."
The path took them past tidy wooden houses and curious villagers who paused to watch the newcomers. The air smelled faintly of grain from the drying rice, mixed with the sharp scent of the nearby forest.
After a few more minutes, they reached a modest but well-kept building with the village's emblem—a gear-like symbol—painted above the entrance.
"This is the mayor's office," Davina said, opening the door. "He's expecting you."
Inside, the mayor's office felt strangely modern compared to the rest of Yolka Village. A desk made of polished steel dominated the room, and behind it sat a stout man in a green jacket with silver lining. His hair was graying at the sides, and his eyes carried the kind of tiredness.
"Welcome," the mayor said, motioning to three chairs in front of his desk. "Please, sit."
Lux flopped into his chair like he'd just walked through a desert. Lavinia sat neatly. Cillian, remained perfectly straight-backed.
Davina closed the door behind them and stood to the side.
"I'll get to the point," the mayor began. " As Davina must have told you about the mission people, theft and all that, but there is one more thing we haven't told" he hesitated "—things started showing up in the river."
Lavinia tilted her head. "Fish?"
"Yes… but not like any fish we've seen. Their bodies are covered in black, metallic growths. They're dead when they float in, but when we try to examine them, the… growths fall apart into dust."
'' it was first said to me by some fisherman of the village at first we don't believe it but after so many of there complaints I went there, at first I didn't saw anything weird but then I saw an dead fish on the ground but as I touched it its eyes open and then it falls into dust ''
Lux frowned. "Weird. Could be some kind of contamination."
The mayor leaned forward, voice lower. "It's not just the river. At night, some villagers claim to see shapes crawling along the forest edge. Too fast for an animal… too quiet for a human."
Cillian's eyes narrowed. "And how many bodies have been found?"
The mayor's gaze dropped to the desk. "…Six in the past month."
A moment of silence stretched between them.
Cillian "We'll need to examine the river, the forest perimeter, and speak to any witnesses. Also, I want the CCTV footage."
The mayor nodded. "Davina will provide everything you need. Just… be careful."
Davina opened the door again. "I'll take you to the footage room first."
As they stood to leave, the mayor called after them:
"And remember… don't go near the river after midnight."