Me: I found a 1 rply txt. Wht can get dr. Elliot to rply twice in a row?
Might as well go directly to the source.
Elliot R: Maybe start with not texting like a teenager.
I choke out a surprised laugh and get a confused look from an officer for my troubles.
“Someone just told me I text like a teenager,” I explain to her.
She tilts her head. “Oh my god, you totally do. All those missing vowels.” She shakes her head and walks away.
Huh.
Me: Apparently, that’s the general consensus.
The guy deserves to know he’s right. Maybe that’ll make his day a little better because mine was hopeless.
Elliot R: Wow, you can use punctuations other than . and ?!
Wow. He’s so judgmental.
Me: You’re so judgmental.
Because he deserves to know in case someone searcheshisphone someday.
That brings an image of Elliot tied lifeless to a chair, chaos surrounding him. His eyes still, skin pale like we found the other human victims.
A sharp crack brings me back to the break room. I look down to see I’ve cracked my phone case. My fingertips itch with the need to maul someone.
My phone buzzes.
Elliot R: And yet you’re texting me half-written words.
I place the phone on the counter, and I take a deep, long breath. I breathe out slowly, getting myself back in control.
Everything is fine. Everybody is safe.
I take another one because my fingers are still tingling.Fuck, this is so unlike me. I don’t lose control. I’m the calmest fucking person ineveryroom.
Another breath. There’s no danger. No one needs my help. I clutch the counter tightly.
My phone buzzes again.
Elliot R:Anyway, I’ve already judged you pretty much entirely.
This time, when I breathe out, the tension leaves with it. Deep breaths, a solution to unexplained mental breakdowns since time immemorial.
I fill my cup with the horrible coffee and walk back to the desk, leaving Elliot on read because he deserves it. Not that I’ll be able to hold out for long.
I open Nathaniel’s phone again and look through the main screen. Something catches my eye. I open an app on the main screen namedWhack-a-Wolf.
What the fuck?
The screen blacks, and a low, howling noise follows. A white circle starts in the middle, then brightens the entire screen. Followed by words floating on the screen in brightred.
Welcome back,wolfslayer56
Continue Level 2739
