Snow continued falling and my footsteps followed. Each breath filled my face with mist, and as I walked through, the worried expression I had had already melted into something else.
I came past the television shop nearby, then would stay to watch the news hoping it would fill my emptiness—even if just a quarter.
The mist had already painted the glass window; I wiped it, only to see it crack. The crack deepened further with the loud announcement:
"Featuring a man in his late 30s, known as the second holder of the world-famous BW company that had long been successful for their 'miracle medicine' and products. He is known as Leo More; despite the title of 'The Cloud,' he still faced his fate until the end with such ambition. The time of death is estimated exactly at 3 PM yesterday, and he was buried on the same day. Up next is the death of C—"
I heard what I heard. I would continue to listen to more deaths of everyone from everywhere, but I had no time to waste—I was late.
"So the second master died... yesterday, around the same time I came in, and was also buried the same day, huh?"
The news left me confused, even more so since I was a witness. Though I was glad I figured out why the company was empty, there was still another thing: my attempted murder, the person on that third floor, and this ball of flesh from last night.
Not to mention—
"Hmmm!" A finger hit my chest hard, as if I'd crossed a line, which I did.
"Hmm?"
A man in a police uniform didn't care enough to bat an eye, standing there behind the yellow-and-black tape wrapped across each corner of the building. Well, it was obvious now: an investigation.
"Great..." I cheered to myself as I walked off as if nothing happened.
Well, I couldn't care less, nor did I have time to waste on a company that had wasted my time all this time.
I was as free as a bird now that the law was involved. But... not as free from poverty, as I still hadn't received my pay this month. God's taking his sweet time, huh?
Freedom was one thing, but money and food were another. My stomach growled to the point it felt as if my organs were getting torn apart, especially with how much I threw up yesterday.
I had a couple of bucks that would at least fill my stomach for the day, so I decided to spend the money on cigarettes.
I sat on a nearby bench with a bloody corpse that had no pulse but was still warm. Well, this type of thing was the norm here in the edge city whenever it was winter.
This murdered guy aside, I forgot a lighter. "Man..." I lowered my head along with my scarf to calm my nerves.
Then a shadow appeared, it blocked the flakes that should've landed on my hair. "Need a light?"
The voice was familiar, but when I lifted my head, it felt as if I were looking at a reaper with a gun pointing into my eyes. I leaned back and chuckled, "No thanks."
But despite my answer, he still snatched the unlit cigar from my mouth, and from his gun—instead of bullets—what came out was fire.
"Here."
"Thanks... So what're you here for again?"
He laughed, "I should be the one to ask you that. The guy next to you is my bad."
"Eh...? Who's he?"
He pushed the body off and sat beside me. "You live under a rock? This guy's one of the famous people at our workplace, y'know. But hey, you're famous too."
"How so...?" The smoke went up, bit by bit, into the gray sky where the crows roamed.
"You're mysterious, and surprisingly spared by the master himself. It's understandable, after all—no lowly errand boy has lasted a week in all these years." His gun clicked and pointed at me.
Just like the corpse he just killed, I was next. I played it off cool and looked into the space below that cap with dead eyes, but in reality, death is what I fear most.
Even then, I must play that character, it works almost every time.
"And that is why..." He tightened the grip on his gun, ready to shoot in the next second.
"You lasted a week. You're quite interesting." I didn't take my eyes off him when he pulled the trigger, I hid my shaking hand only for confetti to shoot into my face.
I sighed. "Let me guess, the master said something like 'kill all witnesses' now that the second master's dead?"
"Somewhere between those, but the master's been arrested, so there's no need. No hard feelings, 'kay?"
I stood up and handed him the pack of cigarettes. "You had no intention of killing me off from the start, huh?"
"I told you yesterday I'd see you tomorrow, remember? 'Course I wouldn't."
I left him, but he followed. Thinking about it, it was weird for a cleaner to let me go—like a predator marinating its prey.
I turned back. "Hey, so... don't follow me."
"And why not?"
"Well, as a cleaner, your main job is to kill the pests in the house. Kinda weird for you to follow and befriend a pest. What if I infest the place?"
He shrugged. "If we're talking about it that way... then I guess it's okay since there's no more house, and because you're not a pest unlike many others."
For a bit he paused, then patted my back. "By the way, don't take my job as a joke. We're called cleaners for a reason. We pave and clean the path so companies like ours find their way to light, and so we 'clean' the obstacles, not 'murder,' 'kay?"
I yawned and fanned my hand, gesturing for him to keep a distance from me. "Alright, alright. What happened to that place anyways? Since winter started, it's started to fall off. Yesterday the second master died, now the first master got arrested."
"Well, about that." He pointed north, where the huge mountains were—the entrance and exit of this city. "The border broke, and a new leader has been presented. If you want..."
The eyes that were hidden behind a cap this whole time finally showed themselves, and for good reason. His eyes were a mix of black and blue. "I could tell you everything. From your past, what's happened beyond the border, what our company's about, and—your essence. You spit out a part of you last night, right?"
"But first, I'm gonna go back to the building. I lost a handkerchief there yesterday."