Ch.59New Beginning! (3)

#059

-Knock knock.

“Ms. Goswell, it’s Dexter. Are you there?”

Dexter gently knocked on Judy’s front door, tense with worry about what might have happened.

“The door’s open, come in…”

Judy’s voice came weakly from inside the house.

Dexter was about to enter without hesitation after hearing Judy’s voice, but he paused with his hand on the doorknob.

‘Someone might be threatening Judy inside.’

Dexter, who absolutely hated the idea of getting shot again without being able to properly respond like before, carefully opened the front door.

‘First, check for other people using hearing.’

Dexter lowered his posture and listened carefully to his surroundings.

He could only hear the breathing of one person—something an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to detect.

‘Next, smell.’

Though he would never say this in front of Judy, Dexter remembered her body scent and perfume.

He slowly took a deep breath and began to smell his surroundings.

‘Cookie smell and Judy’s musk perfume…’

Dexter sniffed around more, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else present.

‘There can’t be someone who doesn’t breathe or have a scent.’

Even the gang members who had shot at him reeked when they got close.

Dexter carefully entered the house and looked around.

‘Finally, sight.’

After scanning the area, he found nothing unusual.

Judy, who had called him, was sitting on the sofa clutching her phone tightly, trembling slightly, just as she had mentioned in her text message.

“Ms. Hughes.”

“Are you alright?”

Seeing Dexter carefully enter the house, Judy got up from the sofa and rushed to embrace him.

“I was so scared…”

“Ah, yes. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

Dexter, who hadn’t expected Judy to hug him, patted her back as she clung to him.

‘She’s quite small.’

Not just her height, but everything else seemed small too.

Dexter continued patting her until she calmed down, waiting for her to naturally pull away from his embrace.

“…I can’t see it with my eyes.”

“Pardon?”

“I couldn’t see it with my naked eyes.”

Due to Judy’s disjointed speech, Dexter had to deduce what she meant, but soon realized she was talking about the dark figure she had sent in the photo.

“You mean that figure.”

“Yes… I could only see it through my phone’s camera app.”

As soon as Judy finished speaking, she started trembling again at the thought of that figure.

“What, what on earth was that thing?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I think you should calm down first. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Yes, yes…”

The usually gentle Judy was gone, replaced by someone consumed by fear.

Dexter rummaged through the kitchen cabinets while thinking:

‘Isn’t this a bit excessive?’

More precisely, Judy’s reaction seemed excessive.

‘Being anxious about a figure that’s invisible to the naked eye and only visible through a camera lens in your home is understandable. But she’s too anxious, too afraid.’

Dexter took out a peppermint tea bag from the cabinet and put water in the kettle, thinking about Judy’s condition.

‘Nervous breakdown?’

Or perhaps she was overly stressed from meeting Robert, the prison warden, at lunch.

‘Of course, if we figure out what that figure is, this will be resolved…’

If that happened, there would be no need to worry or be sensitive, and Judy’s condition would naturally improve.

“……”

Dexter approached Judy holding two mugs filled with steaming hot water.

Before he could hand her the mug, he noticed something unsettling in the way she was looking at him.

It wasn’t the kind gaze she usually showed, but rather eyes that seemed to view him as someone untrustworthy.

‘She really does seem to have some issues.’

Dexter placed the mug in front of Judy.

“It’s hot, so let it cool down before drinking.”

“……”

It was frustrating to see Judy looking at him with suspicious eyes, when just moments ago she had trembled with fear and sought comfort in his arms.

Unable to bear her gaze any longer, Dexter spoke to her.

“If you have something to say, please say it. If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll feel too uncomfortable to even drink my tea.”

When Dexter spoke with a mix of humor and jest, Judy hung her head low and said:

“I-I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I was just asking.”

“It’s just, it’s just too strange…”

“What is?”

Judy blew on the tea in her mug and said:

“Everything…”

Hearing Judy’s strange words, Dexter drank his hot tea without cooling it and thought:

‘Paranoia?’

“You weren’t like this at the prison, were you?”

“…That’s why I can’t sleep well whenever I come home. Everything seems suspicious, everything makes me anxious.”

The difference in Judy’s behavior between when she was at the prison and when she was at home was too stark.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just thought it was because I had a lot on my mind lately and living alone made me anxious. But it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”

‘Doesn’t seem like that’s the case?’

“What doesn’t seem like the case?”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s my imagination. No matter how I look at it, it really feels like someone is watching me, stirring up my mind every time I sleep! That shadow-like thing I sent you, I’m sure it’s the work of that nameless entity!”

When Judy suddenly shouted, Dexter looked at her with slightly bewildered eyes.

“Am I, am I the one who’s strange?”

Judy’s eyes trembled slightly as she looked at Dexter.

‘If I leave her at home, something bad might happen.’

He feared she might cause an accident if left alone.

“…Wait a moment.”

Dexter took out his phone and sent a message to Himena.

>I’m sorry for contacting you so late. I think we need OSA to investigate a private residence. My colleague’s condition seems off.

Himena’s reply came immediately.

-I’m still at work, so it’s fine. Is it urgent?

>She keeps showing symptoms of paranoia. She’s fine at work, but once she gets home, she becomes anxious and seems to fear her surroundings.

Himena’s reply came a bit later than usual.

-I’m not sure what’s going on, but I understand. Send me the address, and I’ll immediately dispatch OSA agents to protect your colleague.

>She’s a civilian who doesn’t know about OSA, so I’d appreciate it if they could disguise themselves as police.

After Dexter sent his reply requesting a disguise along with the address, Himena sent back a thumbs-up emoji.

– 乃 🙂

Dexter chuckled when he saw the emoji.

“Ms. Goswell? I’ve contacted a police officer I know who’s coming to protect you. You should just pack your work uniform and some clothes to change into. Is that okay?”

“What? Police?”

As soon as the word “police” came up, Judy’s eyes filled with bewilderment.

“Is, is it serious?”

“Hm? No, it’s not. They’re just coming to check if there’s anything strange in your house. Police would know better than correctional officers like us, wouldn’t they?”

“I, I guess so?”

“Now, hurry and pack your clothes. You have to go to work tomorrow, and you can’t go in jeans and a t-shirt.”

Dexter kept urging Judy on, not giving her time to think about anything else.

“Come on, come on. Let’s move quickly.”

“Um, um… so socks…”

Just as Judy’s belongings were being packed into a duffel bag, there was a knock at the front door.

-Knock knock.

“LVMPD. Is anyone home?”

When Dexter opened the door, a familiar man and an unfamiliar woman in police uniforms were standing there.

“Jake?”

“Ah, Mr. Hughes! It’s been a while!”

Jake, who had helped guide Dexter when he first returned to Earth, stood at the front door with a surprised expression.

“Wow, what a coincidence. Please come in.”

Dexter felt a bit strange being in the position of receiving guests in someone else’s home.

When Judy appeared with her duffel bag full of belongings, Dexter pointed to her and said to the female agent disguised as a police officer:

“That person carrying a bag almost as big as herself is the one who needs protection.”

“Ma’am? Please come this way. We’ll keep you safe.”

“Hu-Hughes. Is, is this really not serious?”

“Like I said, it’s not. Call me right away if anything happens.”

After the female agent left with Judy and the front door closed, Agent Jake looked at Dexter with a serious expression and said:

“What exactly happened?”

Dexter told Agent Jake everything—about Judy’s suspicions from a few days ago, how she kept saying she was tired while working at the prison, and the paranoid symptoms she showed today.

After Dexter finished speaking, Agent Jake slowly nodded and said:

“Actually, OSA is investigating this case internally.”

“Is it serious?”

“We’ve seen an increase in people reporting milder versions of what you described—slight paranoid symptoms.”

“So it’s not just happening to Ms. Goswell?”

“Unfortunately, that’s correct. However, the affected individuals are only in the Summerlin area.”

Wondering if Agent Jake might know something, Dexter showed him the photo of the black figure that Judy had sent.

“I came here after receiving this photo today. Do you think it might be related to this figure?”

“Just an ordinary wall photo…”

Agent Jake was about to dismiss it, but when he noticed the dark figure similar to what Dexter had seen, he brought his eyes closer to Dexter’s phone.

“This is something I haven’t seen before.”

“Right?”

It was a phenomenon neither Dexter nor OSA Agent Jake had seen before.

“Looking at that dark phenomenon, it really looks like a shadow.”

Hearing Agent Jake’s words, Dexter nodded and said:

“Then it’s a ‘Shadow Man.'”

“Oh, I like that! Shadow Man. I was just going to call it a generic ‘strange life form.'”

Jake grinned at Dexter and took out a palm-sized silver device from his pocket.

“Oh, that?”

“You remember. It’s the same device I used to examine you back then.”

After answering Dexter, Agent Jake began waving the silver device around different parts of the house.

“It’s a machine that detects extraterrestrial substances.”

The silver device made sounds like a Geiger counter, just as Dexter had seen before, and then eventually fell silent.

Agent Jake stared intently at the screen of the silver device, and his face suddenly froze.

“What is it? Did you find something?”

In response to Dexter’s question, Agent Jake spoke urgently:

“I think we need to leave.”

“What?”

“No time, we need to get out now.”

As Agent Jake hurriedly left the house, Dexter followed him with questions in mind.

Confused by the sudden order to leave without explanation, Dexter finally asked when Agent Jake stopped in front of the police car:

“What on earth is going on?”

Agent Jake looked at the silver device once more, as if he couldn’t believe it, and said:

“Your colleague’s house is filled with ionized gaborium, according to this.”

“Ionized gaborium?”

Though it wasn’t a term he used regularly, it wasn’t completely unfamiliar to Dexter.

‘I’m sure I’ve heard this term somewhere before.’

He could remember that it was a synthetic compound created by alien scientists working together, but he couldn’t recall what it was used for.

“For now, your colleague will have to stay at the same lodging where you stayed before. We need to conduct a thorough investigation of her house.”

“Well, that can’t be helped… but Ms. Goswell won’t suffer any permanent damage, right?”

In response to Dexter’s question, Agent Jake shook his head.

“We’ll need to do a detailed diagnosis, and since I’m not a doctor, I can’t give you a definitive answer… but I’ll let you know the results as soon as they come in.”

“I understand. And I’m really sorry for calling you out so late.”

“Not at all. I was on duty today, so it’s part of my job.”

Agent Jake looked at Judy, who was anxiously waiting in the police car, and said:

“Why don’t you come along? Your colleague seems very anxious.”

“Ah, would that be alright?”

“Let’s go. I’ll have another agent bring your car to the motel.”

When Dexter got into the enclosed back seat of the police car, Judy, who had been anxiously waiting, looked at him as he tried to sit next to her.

Dexter took Judy’s trembling hand and patted it, saying:

“Why are you shaking so much?”

“Am, am I okay? You’re not taking me away for something bad, are you?”

Hearing Judy’s frightened voice, Dexter smiled and said:

“Come on, why is a correctional officer so afraid of the police? I’m sitting next to you, so stop worrying and get some rest.”

“Y-yes… I’ll just trust you, Dexter…”

Judy was clinging to Dexter’s solid right arm—something she would never do normally.

Though her chest was flat, he could immediately feel her body heat and rapidly beating heart.

As Judy’s trembling gradually subsided, Dexter casually asked Agent Jake:

“It’s the place next to Nellis Air Force Base, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Oh, and don’t worry about the accommodation fee, Ms. Goswell. We’ll cover it.”

“Y-yes…”

Soon, the police car carrying Judy and Dexter departed.

Sitting in the back seat of the police car with no door handles, looking outside, Dexter felt like a criminal rather than a correctional officer.

‘No wonder Judy was scared.’

Judy, who would never have reason to ride in the back of a police car in her life, naturally might have been frightened.

Thinking it was good that he had decided to sit in the back seat, Dexter caught a whiff of the faint musk scent rising from Judy’s head and carefully turned to look at her.

Judy, who had been clinging to Dexter’s muscular right arm, slowly began to close her eyes and nod off.

“If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep.”

When Dexter spoke in a soft voice, Judy replied in a drowsy tone:

“No, no… I’m not sleepy yet…”

“I said it’s okay to sleep. Go ahead.”

“Then I’ll sleep just a little… just a tiny bit…”

As soon as she finished speaking, Judy fell fast asleep, making Dexter smile.

‘What a day, really.’

Dexter lent his shoulder and right arm to Judy until they arrived at the lodging.