The next day.
Sienna, Kellen and Vivi happened to look into Axel's apartment alley, where Vincent used to live before.
Because-
According to Vivi, there might be some clues to every mishap that is going on.
There was nothing special about the alley.
Just a broken fence, a few beer bottles, a trail of old cigarettes that told stories no one cared to remember. But something about the way the wind moved—slow, circling—made Vivi stop before stepping in.
Sienna didn't pause, and moved forward. Kellen followed, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, eyes sharp.
Vivi lingered at the edge.
She didn't know why this place felt off. It just did.
They were only there because someone—had been spotted entering into this alley the night before. That should've been reason enough. But for Vivi, it wasn't about Vincent.
It was the feeling.
Like walking into a memory you're not sure is yours.
"You good?" Kellen's voice snapped her out of it.
She nodded, lying "Yeah. Just cold."
They moved farther in. The light was fading fast, and Sienna's flashlight didn't do much except throw shadows.
"Look," Sienna said after a moment, crouching near a wall.
Vivi stepped closer. The bricks looked unusual. Something had been carved into them. Sloppy. Uneven.
But they couldn't understand what was carved...
Was it a question?
Was it a clue?
Or just random scribbles?
Sienna's breath caught, but she tried to play it down. "Weird."
Kellen read it again, frowning. "What the hell does that mean?"
Sienna straightened. "Could be a message. Could be nothing."
But Vivi was still staring.
Not at the words, exactly—but the space around them. The way the wall curved slightly inward, like someone had leaned against it before carving. The cracks in the stone that looked too familiar. The faint rust mark below, shaped like something that used to hang there.
It wasn't the message that got to her. It was the way it felt like she'd seen it before.
But that wasn't possible.
Was it?
"You alright?" Sienna asked.
Vivi didn't answer right away. Her fingers hovered just near the wall. Not touching. Just close enough to feel the cold.
"I think…" she said slowly, "I think I know this. Maybe I've been there."
Kellen looked over. "What?"
She pulled her hand back like the wall had burned her.
"I'm not sure," she said. "It just feels like... like this isn't new."
Sienna glanced at Kellen, then back at Vivi. "You mean before today?"
Vivi nodded, but it didn't feel right. Not exactly.
Before something.
"I don't remember when." Her voice was quiet now. "I don't even remember if."
Kellen's expression softened. "Vivi? Is it—"
"I know," she said. "I know my brain messes with me. I just…" She trailed off, suddenly unsure why she was even saying it.
She continued after sometime " I hate that my brain always tends to forget things, I remember, but my thoughts regarding this are blurry, I'm not even sure if this is even true..."
It was a feeling. That's all. A strange, crawling, weightless feeling like something had happened here. Not just to someone. To her.
Sienna kicked a bottle aside. "Well, whether you've been here or not, someone was. Recently."
Vivi said in reply, "Maybe, Maybe not..."
After some time,
Sienna picked up a lighter which was lying nearby. "Looks suspicious"
Vivi stared at it.
Kellen took a look at it, "The kind of lighter which Vincent usually uses"
"We should go," Kellen said. He didn't sound nervous. Just sure.
Sienna didn't argue. She started walking, "Whatever"
Vivi stayed behind for one more second. She wondered.
And the thought that —this wasn't the first time she'd walked this alley, seem that message, seen that lighter.
Maybe this just wasn't happening again.
Maybe it had never stopped.