The inside of the lab was a mess. Dozens of papers were scattered all over the floor and on top of the rows of workstations. A cloud of smoke rose from a corner, giving the room a hazy appearance and a burnt smell. Elizabeth sneezed a few times as she entered. The dust was giving her allergies. On the sight of the explosion rested a rectangular machine, with dials, buttons, and a screen. A vertical depression in its center served as slot for a… glass of water. Or a clear liquid. It wasn't easy to distinguish from a distance. A hard, plastic cover shielded the container, which is what Elizabeth assumed protected the glass for shattering. Al approached a rack that held thirty small vials and attempted inspect one of them by grabbing it.

"Don't touch that!" said Alex, a tremble of fear present in her voice. "Shake it the wrong way and you'll lose your arm when it explodes."

Al gulped, retreating his hand from the rack. Passing computers, gas extractors, and delicate-looking instruments, they reached a small office door at the end of the lab. Alex opened the door and gestured them inside, dragging in some wooden stools before she entered. A small desk met with a wall and a ruffled mattress laid on the opposite end. On the corner nearest to the desk, empty bottles of water and torn ramen bags were spread around a trash can that was filled to the brim. As she lined up the stools and sat on a cheap, wheeled chair, Alex then said:

"I'm sorry, we don't have chairs. When I'm in this office, I'm usually alone doing paperwork and everyone else is outside. We don't get many visitors here."

"It's okay." Elizabeth sat on one of the stools. "We won't take long. I'm sure you're very busy."

"Not really," said Alex, "now that my team fled the lab, they probably won't be back until tomorrow. I usually sleep here, so it's not like I'm starved for time. I'm probably gonna be up all night cleaning this mess and doing some tweaks on the project."

"Yeah," Al sat on the other stool, "about that… What the hell happened here?"

"Science!" proclaimed Alex, striking a mad scientist pose. "Well, it was actually a series of complicated tests to measure our project's performance under nonoptimal conditions, but I just really like shouting that." She smiled. "Anyway, everything was going too well. I mean, since our controlled environment is hardly the same as a third world country, you can't really test for the unpredictably it'll face once its deployed. It's meant to be used in war-torn regions, you know?"

"I guess?" said Al. "What does that have to do with what happened?"

"Well, I was getting bored with the tests, so I decided to test its durability in a… non-standard way. I'm not gonna put my name on something that's shoddily built…"

"Oh god…" said Elizabeth. "I think I know where this is going…"

"I took one of those vials you saw and threw it at the machine. To see if it could endure an explosion. Turns out the test was a success. It still works!"

Al raised his eyebrows, widening his eyes. "Did you at least warn your co-workers?"

"No… I'm pretty sure they would've stopped me if I told them. They're too invested in it working. That's what pisses me off about them. They're too scared to test the machine properly. It's like they're afraid of it breaking, but that's the freaking point! If it breaks, then it means we needed to make a better one anyways. Mediocrity is not something I aspire towards."

"Or maybe they were afraid of getting injured?" said Al, as if explaining something to a child. "Did you ever stop to think that they didn't wanna get blown up?"

"Oh please," Alex crossed her arms and glanced downwards, "they knew what they were getting into when they joined this lab, and they were far away enough that they wouldn't get hurt. I was actually the one closest to the explosion, and I'm completely fine. "

Al sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but Elizabeth cut him off and said:

"Let's just focus on the interview, okay? Miss Duke is competent enough to work here, so she probably knows what she's doing. We aren't really qualified to question her methods." She got out a notepad and a pencil. "Before we begin, I'd like to warn you that we're here to talk about Professor Martin's death. Are you comfortable speaking about him?"

Alex took a deep breath, closing her eyes before nodding. "I figured it was about that. I mean, why else talk to the resident nutcase of this place?"

"That's not…"

"No, it's okay." Alex waved her hand. "I'll answer any questions you guys have. Provided it's not classified, of course."

"Thanks" said Elizabeth. "So, let's start with the basics then. When did you last see him?"

Alex looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "I've already told this to the police. The night he was murdered I was working with him right here. It's on the keylogs. We're on a very tight deadline, our prototype has to be shipped by the end of this week, so recently all we'd been doing is working on it. I… haven't even been able to grieve for him…" Tears welled up in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "He'd probably tell me to mourn after I finished this project, though." She smiled wistfully. "So yeah, last I saw him was in the courtyard. He'd forgotten some documents when he left, so I met him outside to give them to him."

Elizabeth started scribbling on her notepad. Al then said:

"I see. You two worked very closely, right?"

Alex nodded. "He was my mentor. We saw each other pretty much every day."

"I realize this might sound strange," said Al, "but did he ever mention anything about his family? Any big fights?"

"No, not really. He wasn't married or anything…" Alex trailed off into silence and gasped. "Actually, now that I think about it, he did have a heated argument with a few of his cousins. He never mentioned what it was about, but he seemed a bit perturbed by it. It was around the time I was named head of this project. They started getting frequent afterwards, but he always avoided the issue with me, so I just dropped the topic."

"Hmm… Okay" said Elizabeth, still writing down notes. "Any notable enemies he might've had?"

"Really?" said Alex. "You do realize who we're talking about, right? Henry was hated by half the school. Specially by those people at the XSMG."

"The XSMG?" said Al. "What's that?"

Alex and Elizabeth looked at him as if he had just said something stupid. Elizabeth then said:

"Xiestorian Society for Marginalized Groups. It's a club founded by the student council president. They're the ones who protest everything in this school. You really haven't heard about them? They have a rally every other week!"

"Yup," said Alex, "one time, they protested around Henry's car and didn't let him through until the police came. They're the ones who smeared his reputation all over campus. Sure, he was a bit of an ass, and he was always making comments about women getting special treatment, but they never really meant anything to him. He just thought it was funny. The really nasty rumors were totally off base."

"What about Felix Veritas?" said Elizabeth. "That was three years ago; the XSMG hadn't been founded yet."

Alex stiffened up. She then remained quiet until she said:

"I can't really defend that. It was unfortunate, but still... I can guarantee Henry didn't know that would happen. He went over the line on that occasion, but he never did anything like that again. He was riddled with guilt over it up to his death."

Elizabeth noted a few things on her pad. Al pursed his lips, as if he was censoring himself, and then said:

"So… about this XSMG, what exactly did they exaggerate about him?"

"He wasn't a rapist, for starters." Alex frowned at nothing in particular. "Gah! There's so many things. He doesn't beat his wife, you know, considering he doesn't have one." She flushed. "I meant to say didn't. Sorry. Just talking about the XSMG pisses me off. They're a really nasty bunch. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was killed by one of them."

"But what would they gain from it?" said Al. "I get where you're coming from, but I don't understand their apparent ferocity."

"Social justice" said Elizabeth. "Empowering people who would otherwise be disadvantaged by circumstances out of their control. It's a noble goal, really. It's just that as a group, they're… misguided. An extremist member could've used Mister Martin to send a message; that his type of behavior wouldn't be tolerated. They've had a few assault charges pressed against some of their members, so it's not like they haven't acted aggressively before. Murder, though… That would be new for them." She turned towards Alex. "Miss Duke, thank you for your time. I think we have enough here. Al, you wanna ask anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good. We should get going before the morgue closes."

Elizabeth nodded, wrote something on her notepad, and ripped off a page for Alex. "Here's my number if you remember anything else."

"Thanks." Alex smiled. "I'll give you a call if I think of anything."

[Break]

On the outskirts of the university, near the monorail station, Al and Elizabeth waited for Joshua to arrive. It was six in the afternoon, but fall was ending and winter was approaching, meaning nighttime came earlier than usual. Rain hadn't fallen after the earlier downpour, but the sky was still cloudy. This made this particular twilight rather sudden, completely skipping a bright sunset and jumping straight into dusk. Al hated days like these. Sunsets gave him a sense of closure for the day. A smooth transition from light to dark, allowing the contrast to be less jarring. Rows of lampposts lit up in unison, just as a biting wind passed by. Al gripped his hooded jacket and tightened it around himself. Even so, he still felt the need to tremble because of the cold.

He and Elizabeth were more comfortable with each other's presence now. They didn't really talk much after leaving the research lab, but it wasn't nearly as awkward as it had originally been. She looked pensive, distracted with the information they had just collected. He couldn't blame her; he was the same. Along the way, he asked her about Felix Veritas. He didn't want to be seen like an idiot again; asking about the XSMG made him feel dumb enough. Elizabeth didn't seem to mind, though. She only knew about that because of her research on Professor Martin. Al thought that made sense. The incident happened three years ago, and was only marginally related to the case.

Apparently, Felix Veritas was a promising engineering student that committed suicide after an incident with Professor Martin. He was a cocky guy and Henry decided to take him down a peg. The professor picked on him in every lecture, went out of his way to humiliate him whenever he could, and even wrecked a prototype for an assigned project because of one small flaw, giving him a failing grade. This last event is what pushed him over the edge. Xeistoria University is world renowned for its engineering program, so its curriculum is very demanding. It usually plagues its students with a boatload of anxiety and dread, but most of them survive it. The added stress of Professor Martin's scrutiny was too much for Felix, and really, no one could've endured that regardless of mental fortitude. It shouldn't have surprised people when he blew his head off, specially after running away from the classroom in tears.

It was a regretful event on everyone's part. Al understood why Henry had such a reputation surrounding him, even if a lot of it was embellished. Alex's interview revealed a lot about his character, though. Originally, Al thought he just a cranky professor, like he'd heard from the usual chatter of his classmates. Al never considered someone would be sad because of the murder. Most people were morbidly curious about his death, others were neutral on it, and a few were even happy someone as hated as Professor Martin was gone. Al gritted his teeth for a second. The fact that he made a quick judgement of the guy made him angry. He was better than this. A familiar voice then rung in his head:

"Inquisitors never assume a conclusion. They use their evidence to predict; not explain."

It was his father. The lessons he and Joshua had been taught from youth were still engrained in his memory. Sure, in a way, he had done this with Professor Martin. He knew the guy was famous for casual misogyny, and Alex confirmed this, so when he searched for his lab assistant, he expected a male. The fact that she was a woman had thrown him for a loop. This made Al update his mental profile on the victim, which is exactly what he should do. That still doesn't make it right to be surprised at the fact that someone cared about him. That was still a assumption he made without even realizing it. Everyone has someone that would be sad if they died. Even a misanthrope like Al would be missed by his brother. Al shook his head slightly. He had a long way to go before he reached his father's level.

"Hey, Al," said Elizabeth, "I… I have a question that's been bothering me for a while now. It's kinda strange, though. You mind if I ask you?"

"Sure, shoot."

"How come your jacket dry right now?"

Al was taken aback for a moment. He then said:

"Why the question?"

"It's just… you were totally drenched back at your office. That's made of cloth, right? Why isn't it damp?"

"Has anyone ever told you you're weird? I mean, who notices stuff like that?"

"But..." Elizabeth scowled. "Screw you then. Pretend I didn't ask."

Al chuckled. "No need to get that way, I'm just messing with you. It's because of a crest I made." He took off his jacket and showed her the inside. Swirls of lines, circles, and triangles covered the back. "Like the paper I used on that guy. It's a spell packaged into shapes. When I realized how frequently it rained during this season, I made a few adjustments to a basic heating crest to automatically dry my jacket." He put it back on. "When it gets wet the jacket heats up, with the added side effect of keeping me warm. It's really convenient in this city."

"So you just scribble something arbitrary and magic suddenly happens? How does that even work?"

"No, it's a bit more complicated. The symbols are just a pathway for the mana. Like instructions for the specific things it needs to do to trigger the effect. One symbol triggers another symbol and the mana keeps transforming until it escapes the crest in the desired form."

"Huh… that sounds like programming."

Al smirked. "Why do you think I'm studying computer engineering?"

"Oh… cool. So, follow up question. What's mana?"

"That's… you're asking a question mages have been trying to answer for millennia." Al sighed. "Simple answer, it's a type of spiritual or psychological energy, depending on who you ask. Every living being has a field of mana, or aura, that we use to live. It fluctuates with our emotions and mental state. Magic is the basic manipulation of mana to achieve an extraordinary effect. Basically, it lets us bypass the natural laws of the universe, to a certain degree. It's weird. You can't really measure it with instruments, it's something can that only be sensed or felt. Anything else?"

"I guess this is obvious but…" Elizabeth glanced downwards and lowered her voice. "C-could I learn to do magic?"

"No."

Elizabeth shot a sharp look at Al. "Why not?!"

"Look, it's not that you can't, it's just that it would take you a lifetime to learn. A lot of it has to do with mental models and belief. It requires years of meditation, inner body awareness, and mental visualization. You've grown up thinking all your life that magic is impossible. Even if I showed you something mindblowing, part of you would still refuse that the laws of physics are guidelines at best. You can't do magic thinking like that. There's also some people that speculate that it has a genetic component as well, but that's a bit of a controversial issue in the mage community."

"I don't get it. If you can easily prove you can shape reality with ease, why isn't it common knowledge? I can't imagine the number of societal issues that could be solved with some of your crests. Heck, that thing you did to your jacket could be a million dollar idea! Even the sleeping crest would sell! Just think of all the insomniacs out there that would kill to sleep without the help of drugs."

Al rolled his eyes. "You missing a lot of historical context here. Mage culture barely tolerates showing magic to normies. A couple of decades ago, I would've been hunted down if word got out that I showed you Requiem."

"I really doubt it's that complicated."

"I could spend a whole month giving you history lessons and still not be finished explaining." Al frowned. "You done now? I'm not a professor or a freaking search engine, okay?"

Elizabeth winced a little. "Yeah… Thanks…"

Al quickly realized he was a little too blunt just now. Why was he suddenly so cranky? Maybe the stress of the day was waning him. A hint of nostalgia lingered on his mind, like he had already experienced this conversation before. Had he? A curious girl that questioned everything he said about magic, with a habit of blackmailing him into action… Al shook his head vigorously. He suddenly remembered why this felt familiar and decided abort that train of thought. The last thing he wanted was to think about her again.

Al then felt relief when Joshua showed up in the distance. The distraction was sorely needed at the moment. His brother sported that usual grin of his, the one that Al lovingly referred to as his sociopathic smile. It's not that Joshua meant any harm by it, it's just that Joshua always had trouble understanding social interactions. He always chose to err on the side of happy over neutral, with the unintended side-effect of making those around him feel like he's always hiding something. Carrying a large, plastic bag on his hand, Joshua walked up to them and said:

"Hey you two! How did it go?"

"It went… okay" said Elizabeth. "We managed to speak with the professor's assistant, but I don't think we got anything out of it."

"I dunno," said Al, "I think it was productive. We found out he'd been quarreling with his family for a while now. Plus, there's this group in the university that always antagonized him. Apparently they're a little unhinged, so we should look into them."

"I already suspected the XSMG, though" said Elizabeth. "I'm trying to consider other avenues. You think the family thing is connected to your little... 'run-in' with those mages? They clearly wanted something to remain hidden about him if they tried to kill you. "

Joshua shook his head. "We don't have enough information to speculate. All it could do is lead us astray further down the line. We don't even know if he was killed by magic yet."

Al gave an agreeing nod. "Right now we need to focus on the facts. Knowing the specifics of how he died might clue us in. So, Josh, you think Lenny will be excited to see us?"

"It's been a while since we last visited him." Joshua grinned. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

[Break]

Elizabeth was excited to find out the city morgue was in the seventh district. Not because she had a weird fixation with death or anything, but because her studio apartment was only a few blocks away. After having her article rejected, being hypnotized by a talisman, finding out magic is real, and sneaking into a classified research facility, she felt pretty tired. Elizabeth furrowed her brow and shook her head. To say this day had been weird would be an understatement. A touch of pride then swelled her chest. Considering everything that's happened so far, things could be worse. She hadn't freaked out yet over what she learned. An average person wouldn't be this calm, knowing things like runes and auras are real. She didn't even mind that there was a secret cabal of mages controlling the city. Hidden rulers and shadowy councils were something she always assumed were real. The fact that they used magic didn't really change much of how they operated. She then pursed her lips with embarrassment. Al was right. She is weird.

Before her train of thought could sink deeper into self-loathing, the trio reached the city morgue. It was a normal building, square in shape with two floors. On an alley to the right, a pack of filthy dogs lurked behind a dumpster. Elizabeth assumed the alpha must've been the rottweiler in front. His left ear was clipped off in the middle and a hole on his right side exposed his ribs. How was it even alive? Coagulated blood lined the border of the injury, with a green mucus covering some parts and flies swarming around it. Elizabeth almost gagged from watching and decided to stop thinking about it, following Joshua and Al inside the building. Behind a greeting desk, a bored secretary fiddled with her smartphone. She had a messy hair bun supported by a pencil and blue eyeshadow, the jarring type common to cheap makeup. When Joshua and Al approached her desk, she pretty much ignored them. They signed a clipboard, strolled past her desk, and looked back at Elizabeth, gesturing her to follow them. Was it really that easy to get into the morgue? Maybe they were known here. From the way they talked before, they implied they were familiar with this place.

Walking through a long hall with green walls, they turned a corner and reached a tall double door. Without any hesitation, the brothers flung the doors open and entered the cold storage, where dozens of small, metallic squares covered the far end of the room. A skinny man in blue scrubs worked with his back facing a corpse, distracted by the music blaring on his headphones. His face was very pale and bony, giving him a similar look to walking skeleton. His greasy, black hair flickered around as he hummed and moved rhythmically, tapping a small table to a beat while searching for a tool. He raised his forceps and turned towards the slab, widening his eyes with fear once he saw Joshua and Al. The forceps fell to the ground with an echoing clatter, just as he tried running for a door behind him. A small gust of wind swept through the room and Joshua was already in front of him. Elizabeth blinked a few times. She then looked to her left and back at Joshua. He was right next to her when they entered the room. How the hell did he get over there so fast?

"L-look Joshua, I swear I haven't done anything" said Lenny, taking a few steps back. "I've been good, man. I hazen't stalked Suzy again. I swear! Not even with a corpse! Whatever it is you think I did, I was framed!"

"Of course, Lenny! I know that!" said Joshua. He approached Lenny and patted him on the shoulder. "If I found out you were up to no good again, I wouldn't even bother speaking to you." He narrowed his eyes. "You'd already be crying on the floor, choking on your own blood. I thought I made that clear to you last time!"

"R-right." Lenny swallowed nervously.

Elizabeth felt amused by the scene, though a little intimidated by Joshua. She reasoned that she should just stay out of the way for now, leaning next to a cold slab with a corpse on it. Al then walked up to Lenny and said:

"We're here for an autopsy report. Have you ever heard of Henry Martin?"

"Heard of him?" said Lenny. "Are you kidding me? Some Martin goons just left this place a couple of hours ago. I uhh, I really don't want to mess with them. Please, they told me to keep everything about him secret. D-don't make me tell you about him."

Al cracked his knuckles. "Lenny…"

Lenny tensed up and made a pleading gesture. "I'm begging, Al. Joshua. Don't get me in trouble, please."

Joshua put his arm around Lenny's shoulders and said:

"Now, I want you to consider this situation very carefully. Which do you prefer, potentially earning the fury of the Martins… or pissing us off? One has a slight chance of happening, but it's not guaranteed. The other… Well, Al's been having a bad day so I'm sure he'd be happy to blow off some steam on you."

"Trust me," said Al, "you do not want to be my punching bag today."

"Okay, okay!" said Lenny. "Just don't hurt me. I still have some scars from last time…"

Lenny made his hand glow bright with purple light. He then raised it and aimed in Elizabeth's general direction. The corpse next to her sprung upright, causing her to shriek loudly.

"Who's the chick?" said Lenny.

"Chick?" said Al. "She's right there, you know." He glared at Lenny. "You should be more respectful."

"R-right." Lenny looked at Elizabeth. "Sorry."

The body limped towards a desk on the corner and grabbed a file, bringing it to the man at a slow pace. The corpse then returned to its original position on the slab, causing Elizabeth to shiver slightly. Lenny opened the file and said:

"Name, Henry Martin. Blood type, negative O. Cause of death, asphyxia. Inhalation of water caused an obstruction to the air passages, resulting in circulatory and respiratory failure. These two occurred simultaneously due to anoxia in both the myocardium and the respiratory center." He looked up from the file. "Pretty much a standard drowning. Nothing fishy there."

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "But…?"

Lenny sighed. "But, I found some contusions on the front of his neck and under his left armpit. Not from a hand, though. It was like he was held with a forearm in both bruises. Which is weird, because that would mean that whoever killed him held him from behind."

Elizabeth walked slowly towards them and said:

"Why is that weird?"

"Just try to visualize it" said Lenny. "The killer had to be in close proximity to him, using their weight to drag him down, which means that they were both submerged at the same time."

"But…" said Elizabeth. "How does that make sense? Why didn't the killer also drown?"

Lenny shrugged. "That's the million dollar question. Also, the water I found in his lungs wasn't… normal."

"How so?" said Al.

"It wasn't seawater or even fresh water. It was completely pure. Even more so than your average purified water. Normally, commercial water has trace amounts of minerals to give it some taste. Most people hate the taste of one-hundred percent clean water, so you can't really find it easily in stores. Only in water treatment plants or through a special order."

Al looked at Elizabeth. "Well then, I guess that throws your university pool theory out."

"Why?"

"Pools have chlorinated water. It couldn't have been done there."

"Oh, right. Well shit…" said Elizabeth. "So, this pretty much confirms it was magic, huh?"

"Not necessarily," said Joshua, "but it certainly makes it a lot more likely."

"Look guys," said Lenny, "I've given you everything I have. Can I get back to work now? I still have to process five more bodies."

Joshua smiled. "Of course, Lenny. We wouldn't want to keep you." He walked away with Al and Elizabeth, but stopped at the door and looked back at Lenny. "Oh and remember, if I ever catch you being anything other than an upstanding citizen, I'll kidnap you in your sleep."

Lenny then froze with fear and nodded before returning to his work.

[Break]

It was night now. The full moon loomed over the city with its pale glow, but not many stars could been seen in the sky. It was the light pollution. Even after the rain clouds dispersed, the night sky was still pitch black. Al and Joshua were on their way to the monorail station, after parting ways with Elizabeth a couple of blocks back. Apparently, she lived nearby so she didn't have take a long trip home. Al felt jealous. Sure, he was happy that they were done for the day, but he still wasn't looking forward to the long trip back. It would probably take them an hour to arrive home, considering the fifth district was on the other side of the city. Al sighed. This day had left him drained. At least he would finally get to enjoy his much coveted weed session. Al then heard a distant clatter, like a trash can had just fallen over. He turned around and saw some dogs in an alley. They were very ugly, with injuries and flies all over them. A rottweiler stared at him with a threatening glare, but Al just shrugged and kept walking. The animal probably thought they were invading on its territory or something.

"So..." said Joshua, holding on to the large bag he had at the university. "What do you think?"

"I dunno, man. This whole case is strange. I'm having trouble thinking why the Tribunal is so eager for war. I get that they're sick of the status quo and that the only way each family can establish their supremacy is by taking advantage of the mayhem they create, but is it really worth it?"

Joshua laughed loudly. "That's not what I was talking about. I meant the reporter, Elizabeth. Doesn't she remind you of someone?"

Al stopped walking. "Don't."

"Oh come on. Inquisitive, stubborn, clever, not to mention beautiful. It's pretty hard not to draw a parallel to-"

"I said, don't."

"Fine, but at least admit they're a bit alike."

"Elizabeth is flat chested. She's blonde, not a redhead, and I'm pretty sure she's not royalty. The only thing they have in common is how annoying she can be. Now can we just drop it?"

"Okay, okay."

They resumed walking when they heard a loud howl in the distance. Around thirty birds fluttered above them and landed on the powerlines. Some were crows, others were pigeons, and Al could've sworn one of them was headless. He paused, shook his head, and continued walking. Probably an optic illusion. Al then said:

"What's with the bag, anyway?"

"Oh, this?" Joshua raised the bag. "Food. I bought a bunch of meals so that we don't have to travel to the university every day."

"Ahh, smart. But what about the budget?"

"It's fine. It costed a bit, but we were spending it anyways. We can't let it go to waste, though. Otherwise, we'll have to go without eating dinner for a while…"

"Heh. I'm surprised you're not treating it like a child. You usually act like an overzealous father when it comes to these things."

A pack of dogs walked under a streetlamp ahead of them, their bleeding flesh exposed under the yellow light. Al and Joshua stopped in their tracks, looking puzzled. Turning around, they saw another pack of dogs behind them. It was the same one Al had just seen, with the rottweiler leading it. The brothers attempted to cross the street, but they stopped as soon the rottweiler growled at them. The birds started cawing at an ear-piercing level. The putrid smell of the animals filled the street, causing Al to cover his nose. The pack of dogs barked in unison and began to surround them, their rotten paws rasping against the pavement. Al then said:

"So… odds that these are just normal dogs?"

"Pretty low. I saw them back at the morgue, but didn't think much of them."

"Huh, zombie animals. That's a first, right?"

"Yup."

Al brought out Requiem and turned it into a gun. "Is it animal cruelty if they're already dead?"

"Don't know." Joshua placed his bag on the ground. "I'm not gonna let myself get mauled just for the sake of being humane, though."

"My thoughts exactly."