Light Against Shadows

Chapter 31

When he received Wei's text the next day, Yunlan was already on his way to catch another, possibly, missing person.

A woman in her fifties had been reported creating troubles outside a diner. Hong was driving, and Yunlan was in the backseat with Chu when his phone rang.

"Good morning."

Something so simple made Yunlan's heart warm. He checked the hour, Wei had just woken up and his first thought had been to text him.

Yunlan didn't make a sound and quietly sent a quick reply.

"Don't worry Wei, this time I'll be prepared and won't need your lucky charm."

He put his phone back in his pocket. Looking out the window he saw that they had arrived. He rushed out as soon as Hong stopped the car. Chu and Hong hurried after him; not knowing what they'll be faced with, they kept one hand close to the holster, ready to draw their gun.

It would have been a surreal, almost comical scene to watch if people weren't actually being hurt. A woman in a very elegant cream dress and pearl earrings was terrorising everyone.

She was the kind of woman you would imagine to always be perfectly composed, hosting charity parties or drinking tea with her high-society friends, and yet here she was thrashing about as if in a rage. The tables and chairs outside the diner showed signs of having been in her way, suffering the consequences. A small group of young people was crouching behind a table trying to stay away from her rage.

Yunlan would later learn that a man had tried to stop her, but she had twisted his arm with unexpected strength and thrown him against a wall. Those who had tried to escape had been hit and were now on the ground.

Chu and Hong went forward, speaking the way they had been trained to do trying to calm her down and reason with her, but Yunlan knew they'd get nowhere. He was observing everything carefully, and there was no doubt in his mind that this woman was not in control of her actions, or of her body.

He considered the situation while in front of him his colleagues' words were being completely ignored. They needed to stop her, of course, but he didn't want to kill her, she was a victim too. Maybe he could shoot her in the arm, or in the leg, that would stop her from moving... but Yunlan thought back of the men in the hospital, who had kept moving long after their bodies had screamed for them to stop.

Pain wouldn't stop this woman, he reasoned, because it wasn't her choice at all. He looked at Chu and Hong trying to hold her without much success. Usually Chu would have been able to stop anyone, and Hong was a trained officer as well, but they didn't know the peculiar circumstances they were in.

Much like the guy who almost strangled Yunlan, this woman was showing an incredible strength, much more than it should have been possible, because the Shadow controlling her didn't care about her heart, her limbs, her pain; it only cared about letting out its aggression.

Yunlan raised a hand to touch the pendant. He had been so sure he could deal with everything this time, but what choice did he really have? She would not stop until her body was able to function, but they couldn't let her go on like this.

When he saw Hong drawing her gun and yelling for the woman to stop or she'd be forced to shoot, he knew he didn't have any more time. He sighed in defeat, tightening his grip on the pendant, and yelled Takeo's name in his mind. He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, it still felt absurd and surreal, but he couldn't deny anymore that something was going on, and there was more to Wei's story that a news article could explain.

A few seconds after Wei's friend's name resonated in Yunlan's mind, followed by the silent plea free her, the woman's body shook and then fell on the ground.

That was all that Yunlan could see. He watched her for a moment longer then he let the others deal with everything while he took his phone out and made a phone call.

"I'm fine, everything's alright now, but we need to talk. Take a leave from work and come here, I'll wait for you."

Yunlan didn't give him time to ask questions, he closed the call and texted him the address, then he simply waited.

The woman was handcuffed as a precaution, but she wasn't going anywhere, she wasn't moving at all now.

Ambulances were called to take care of all the injured, but Yunlan stayed back, waiting for Wei.

When he finally arrived, he quickly got out of the taxi and ran to him.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Yunlan smiled tiredly. "I told you I'm fine, and as to what happened, I guess you just saved a woman's life, somehow."

Wei's eyes went from him to the ambulances driving away with those who needed to be taken to the hospital, while a few paramedics tended to the minor injuries of the others.

His eyes were full of questions, but when they landed again on Yunlan they roamed over his body as if to check that he was really alright, then he moved and threw his arms around him in a desperate hug.

"Woah, calm down, I told you I'm alright, not even a scratch."

Wei didn't pull back, instead he hugged him tighter, burying his face in his neck. Yunlan stood still, not sure of what he was feeling at that moment. Slightly uncomfortable for sure, as they were in a public place, but also touched by how much Wei seemed to care about him. Of course he was also feeling a warmth inside, radiating from Wei's arms to his whole being.

He settled for a quick hug back, then he patted his arm in comfort.

"There's no need for such drama," he said laughing awkwardly. "I was never in danger and everything's fine now, but I need some answers, I can't go on like this. Things are getting worse now, and I want to understand what's going on."

Wei finally freed him from his embrace and nodded slowly.

"Let's go somewhere else," Yunlan said and they walked together until Yunlan stopped and entered a semi-empty bar. He didn't really want anything, but it was as good a place as anywhere else. He didn't want to talk standing on the sidewalk, nor he wanted to waste time going back.

This place was big but at that hour there weren't many people inside, so they sat at a table away from other people. A waiter quickly approached them and Yunlan was about to order coffee for two when he remembered Wei's home and changed it to a tea and a coffee.

Wei quickly added, "Do you have chocolate cake?"

Yunlan smirked and shook his head before fixing his eyes on the man in front of him. There was just something about Wei that was different, and Yunlan wondered how was it possible that a simple, innocent question like that could make his heart skip a beat.