Behind the Mist

Remi sat at their desk and stared ahead, nothing to do. Most of the cases were taken, and no new ones had come in yet. Which left Remi alone, with their thoughts. So, Remi started thinking about how Halloween was coming in two months. Two months, and fourteen days, Remi thought to themself.

Though they thought they were too old to go trick or treating, Apollo, Jolly, Holly, Bubbles, and Andie all still trick-or-treated as a tradition. Remi thought about what their costume should be. Perhaps I shall be Echo Cyrus from Mushrooms, Remi thought.

Echo Cyrus was the main character in their favorite thriller novel, Mushrooms. It was a story about a blind girl who has an encounter with the supernatural, and is taken away to work and be trained at this secret underground organization. Later in the book, Echo discovers that she may be a supernatural entity like the other anomalies that they keep captive at the foundation. Remi always thought that the title of the book was weird, though the book itself made up for it.

Though Mushrooms is Remi’s favorite thriller novel, Remi’s favorite genre is mystery. Who committed the crime? Who killed who? That sort of stuff. Remi just liked solving things. It was why they became a detective in the first place.

It was when Remi was two years old, when their mother walked out the door. Leaving Remi alone with their father in a cheap apartment. Remi’s father had worked two jobs, yet he somehow managed to make enough time just for them.

Now, unlike other kids' parents- who bought their children all the hottest stuff- Remi’s dad didn’t have enough money for toys to entertain Remi. Instead, every week at the end of Friday, Remi’s dad would bring a new puzzle of some sort. The first time Remi’s father had brought them a puzzle, he simply plopped the word search in front of them, and said solve. Solve this.

Remi, being the obedient child they were (because why put more stress on your struggling, single father?), did complete it. Yes, it was hard, yet it was also satisfying. Seeing that Remi had solved something on their very own. Then, the puzzles became more frequent. It was the highlight of their weekend. So frequent that they had become too clever for it. Even then, Remi still did puzzles from time to time.

Another thing that Remi liked to do was read. Remi’s dad had a lot of books in his office. When their dad worked, Remi opened up a random book and read. Nothing interesting, it was always stuff about how to do this or that, what to do with your money, how to be good at money, and so on. Unless it had charts or diagrams or lists. One day, Remi had picked up a book and opened up to a random page. They saw that it was a book that listed addresses and locations. Remi was about to put it down when they saw Kelisin Town Library. Basically what happened was this.

Remi: Dad.

Dad: What?

Remi: Do we have a library in Kelisin?

Dad: Yes, why?

Remi: I want to go.

Dad: I’ll see what I can do.

Eventually, Remi’s father managed to get four hours off and took them to the library. While Remi’s dad walked off to a different area, Remi approached the librarian. The librarian had looked down on them

“Hello dear, looking for a book?”

Remi nodded. “Yes please.”

“Would you like a book that has lots of pictures?”

“No.”

“Hm. Then perhaps you should tell me what you’re looking for.”

“Something that has to do with puzzles and solving.”

The librarian had led Remi to the ‘mystery’ section, where Remi had picked up the third book they saw. The Silent Patient. Definitely not appropriate for kids. After that, Remi constantly checked out book after book.

How odd, that Remi had grown up much differently from other children, yet was just as happy as a child receiving their own water park.

“Remi!” Deyl- their boss- call out. Remi snapped out of their thoughts and turned to look at him.

Deyl was a calico cat with one green eye, one blue. He was thirty-two years old- A little bit young to manage in Remi’s opinion. Though, Remi didn’t object to him being their boss. Deyl was obviously chosen because something about him was different. He was a hard thinker and worker, and Remi liked those types of people. They saw potential in them. Deyl was one of the two people that ran where Remi worked. Before Remi’s interview, Remi was told to wait outside for a moment. They could hear the conversation between Deyl and someone else.

“Who is this person's name again?”

“Remi.”

“Remy? So, a boy.”

“No, R-E-M-I. Also, they go by they/them.”

Remi laughed, that was a funny time. Remi looked up once more when Deyl had called their name again. “Yes?”

Deyl threw a folder onto Remi’s desk as it landed with a soft thud. “Case,” Deyl said simply. Remi noticed how Deyl hadn’t said New case. Instead he simply said Case. Remi looked at the folder more closely. They noticed how the edges of the paper folder were slightly ragged. Remi even noticed that there were a few stains. Remi looked back up at Deyl.

“What is that?” Remi asked.

“Blaire Mansion,” Deyl replied. Remi tilted their head slightly.

“That old abandoned mansion? Wasn’t a few people already on that case?” Remi asked. Deyl nodded.

“Yeah, there used to be,” Deyl said slowly, as if trying to make Remi understand.

“I don’t want it,” Remi said back.

“Tough.”

Remi stared at the folder once more, then looked back up at Deyl. “Fine.”

Deyl was about to walk away, but turned back towards Remi. Remi looked up at him once more. “A group,” Deyl said.

Remi could feel their shoulders stiffen. “No,” Remi replied flatly.

“Yes. This isn’t a one person job,” Deyl informed. Though he wasn’t invited, he stood next to Remi’s desk now.

Remi to some extent could say that they and Deyl were friends. Deyl knew them well, and their preferences, as did Remi. So, Deyl knew full well that Remi preferred to work alone. The only times Deyl ever made Remi work in a group was if it was serious. Remi frowned.

“Is it that bad?” Remi asked. Deyl nodded.

“I haven’t heard from Geo in a while. This case has been around for almost two years now,” Deyl responded. Remi frowned more, they didn’t want Deyl to feel bad.

“I’ll do it,” Remi said. Though, their skin crawled at the idea of having to work with other people. It’s not like Remi disliked other people, they just didn’t grow up with many friends. Working with random people felt weird.

Deyl seemed to have noticed Remi and their crawling skin. “Don’t worry, I think you’ll like this group. Especially Bubba, smartest of the group I think,” Deyl said. And with that, he turned around and walked away.