My spirit animal is a F–Rank gecko-Chapter 58: Bar investigation (3)
Walking along the sidewalk, Jaster ignored all the pedestrians and the noisy ads displayed on the big screen.
He kept looking at his phone, trying to search for any news about the fedora gentleman. But as he expected, the man had erased all evidence of his previous crime.
"Is that why Zara is getting involved? So he could frame her?"
Jaster remembered specifically the time when Troy faced the Nightroot Clan. The fedora gentleman was one of the most annoying and tedious members to get rid of, even Adam had to replay seven times. At that time, he almost broke his computer.
The difficulty was mainly because the gentleman liked playing closed door, making it hard for the player to face him directly.
"But..." Jaster knew exactly what his weaknesses were. He even posted them on his blog back on Earth.
At that time, people called him their savior for helping them get through that part of the quest.
Just then, his phone started ringing. Displayed on the screen was Anastasia calling him.
Confused, Jaster picked up the phone and put the rectangular device near his ear. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Yeah, Ana?"
"Jaster, where were you?!" Ana’s voice came out rushed and panicked.
Raising his eyebrows, Jaster asked, "What do you mean? I came out to eat."
"..." Instead of replying, the loud fox girl went quiet. Then she spoke from the phone.
"You.... Why didn’t you leave that teacher’s class?" Her voice was now low and soft.
"What do you mean? I wanted to get the extra credit." Jaster answered flatly to Anastasia’s question, oblivious to his selfish action back in the garden.
"You know what—Whatever." Anastasia sighed heavily. Even though he couldn’t see it, Jaster could tell she was rubbing her head through the screen.
He was confused as to why Ana was making it sound like it was a big deal. In fact, if he was Reza, he would’ve respected his own decision because he knows how to separate personal feelings to achieve his goal.
He was so distracted talking to Anastasia that he accidentally bumped into a wall.
Looking up, it turned out he had finally reached his destination: the police station.
Jaster saw the police car parked in front of the station. It was the same car that took Zara.
"Found it!" He realized he was still on the call and decided to end it.
"Hey, Anastasia, I’m busy. We can talk later."
"Wait, Jaster! Reza is really—" Before he could let the fox girl finish her sentence, he had already hung up.
Putting his phone in his pocket, he looked up at the station again.
Oh boy, I hope things won’t get too rowdy...
Just before Jaster stepped inside the station, the door swung open and the glass door hit him right in the face.
Staggering back a bit, a girl in a hoodie passed him. Jaster’s eyes shot up when he saw the same bob haircut.
"Zara..." Before he had a chance to speak to her, she was already gone from his sight.
"Wow, what just happened?"
"CATCH HER!" Jaster heard a man’s voice shout, followed by many cops passing him and looking aimlessly at the busy street.
"Shit, we lost her!" One of the cops face-palmed.
Are they searching for her? All of a sudden, an idea appeared in the white-haired boy’s mind. Either it was gonna work well, or he was gonna regret it later.
But he shrugged his shoulder and decided to follow his heart.
"Hey, mister." He waved at the police. They all looked at him with confused expressions.
"Yes, kid?" A cop raised his eyebrows.
"Were you chasing that hooded girl?" All of their eyes shot up after hearing the boy.
"Yes! Do you know where she is, kid?" The cops’ voices were full of eagerness and desperation.
Jaster covered his smiling face. He almost couldn’t contain his laughter.
"Yes...." He took a deep breath, trying to swallow the laugh away.
"I saw her running that way." He pointed in the opposite direction from where Zara had gone—toward a crowded street where many students gathered to hang out. A perfect place to stall the police longer.
They all looked at each other and nodded.
"Thanks, kid. You’re a lifesaver."
No.... I can’t laugh. I gotta hold it in....
The man patted his shoulder, and they all scurried off toward the busy street.
"Man, that was easy." Jaster glanced at the direction where Zara had run off. It was near the back alleyway. He suspected Zara must have run there.
He decided to chase after her, unbeknownst to him that a girl wearing a Bondspire uniform was watching everything the whole time.
---
Facing the back alley, Jaster couldn’t help but feel nervous. He was about to chase after a girl into a very dark alleyway, where the city light couldn’t reach.
He was relieved that it wasn’t some old dude, rather than a schoolgirl....
Wait, does that make me the creep, then?
He shook his head and got his priorities straight.
I’m here to help Zara, not do some creepy shit!
Just then, he heard wet footsteps coming from the back alley.
His eyes immediately shot up. He grabbed a metal pipe and pointed it toward the dark alley, shouting, "Come out, whoever you are! I’m not scared!" That was definitely a lie, since he was currently peeing in his pants right now.
The footsteps grew closer and closer until a figure emerged from the dark, and it left Jaster... confused?
What came from the alleyway was a zebra—small, like a baby zebra. Its mane was colorful white that stood out in the dark. It had pastel stripes that shimmered when light hit its body.
Seeing the colorful zebra made Jaster even more confused, until he remembered that Zara had a zebra as her spirit animal.
The zebra had very thick eyelashes. Its eyes scanned Jaster, then landed on the gecko on top of his head.
The gecko noticed the equidae staring at it. Purpleberry’s instinct kicked in. Its eyes dilated, and it bared its teeth.
"CHAAAA!!!" Purple hissed at the horse.
"Purple, no! The zebra is not a threat!" He tried to calm Purple down, but it was too late. The zebra furrowed its eyebrows.
"HA-HA-HA!!" The zebra barked loudly at the purple gecko, and Purple hissed back.
"Purple, please, no!" While Jaster was trying to calm his animal, the equidae had prepared its legs. Suddenly, it lunged forward, hooves pounding against the wet ground as it charged straight at him and Purple.
Jaster’s eyes widened. He wasn’t fast enough. The zebra slammed its head into the boy’s chest, sending him flying backward. He crashed onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Purple fell off Jaster’s head, bouncing with each drop until the gecko stopped and lay flat on the floor.
Jaster felt his body shaking from the impact. When he tried to move, it immediately sent a sharp pain through his stomach.
"Ah.... Fuck." He touched his chest and saw the pastel equine slowly walking toward him. Somehow, its cotton-candy-colored eyes looked straight into Jaster’s soul.
Oh God...
Just before the zebra reached him, he heard a girl’s voice shouted.
