Life Jacket- Sia.

NEW YORK; 2023.

THE ELEVATOR OPENED with a ding. Julienne casually walked out, hands in her pocket, whistling. She wore a tank top with cream coloured khaki shorts and sneakers. Her hair was in a pony tail and her stature as small as ever. Although, she looked much more matured.

It was summer and the heat of the sun was at its peak. People sweated profusely, cursing at the weather while some appreciated it. Julienne for one, definitely appreciated the weather.

She walked out of the building where her apartment was located and made her way towards her small lair or at least that was what she called it. Her ear buds were plugged in her ear, music at the loudest volume. She was listening to Roar by Katy Perry. She danced a bit as she walked, completely free of worries.

It was summer after all.

She soon reached her destination. Her lair was a small underground bunker she had received from a...friend. A one night stand who was so obsessed with her he gave her his expensive bunker. Not that she wasn't appreciative of his kind gesture but she was sure he only did it because of her body.

Nincompoop.

She sighed as she removed her earbuds and removed the leaves that had covered the door on the floor. She grabbed the lever and pulled, looking down to see the steps to the lair. She smiled and entered it, closing the door as she did so.

She climbed down the steps and inserted the key into the door knob of the small door to her lair. She opened it and walked in.

The lair wasn't exactly an astonishing one, just an average bunker with a black board and a computer system. It also had monitors that allowed her to see what was going on outside through the security cameras outside. This was mostly installed to let her know when her one night stand decided to pay a visit so she could hide. She didn't hate him but she wasn't one to keep in touch with her one night stands.

There was a refrigerator by the corner of the living room which took up most of the bunker. Then there was a small toilet at the far end of the bunker. Even if the lair wasn't much, it held a lot of information.

Aside from being a waitress who never did her job right and a regular customer at a sham night club, also an aspiring drug addict, Julienne was an amazing detective. At least, that was what she called herself.

She dropped her phone on the table right in front of the black board and instantly got to work investigating. It had been fifteen years since her sister died and she had finally succeeded in narrowing down her suspects to four people. One man and a group of three gangsters which were two men and one woman.

The first man, Richard Thompson, looked like a blow fish. He was literally the male version of Miss Puff. He was bald, way too pale, had a humongous belly with short thin legs, his cheeks were red while his forehead was pale and his eyes looked to big for their sockets. Julienne still doubted whether this blown up balloon could actually be the murderer of her sister.

The reason why she suspected him was because he was a member of the dancers that day. However, shortly before they had commenced the festival, the coordinator had told him off saying that her sister was going to be the leader of the dancers that night. Aside from taking his spotlight, she had also rejected him on a couple of occasions when he had asked her out.

Motive, check.

He also had a criminal record for sexual abuse and attempted murder on his god mother who had died already at the hands of cancer.

Criminal record, check.

Also, after checking footage from various places the dancers had passed that day it was glaringly obvious that he wasn't present. So where was he? At first thought it would seem he got pissed off and left for his house after he got replaced but what if he got pissed off and sought revenge?

Julienne had gone as far as to run investigations to find out if he was at home at the time of the murder and he wasn't. He couldn't have been at any supermarket or bar because everyone was at the festival that day. So where was he? His whereabouts were unknown until the time of the murder where he had been spotted by another camera carrying a brown paper bag he hadn't been with before disappearing.

Julienne had been curious to find out what was in the bag but unfortunately there was no way to figure that out. But, assuming it was a gun, then that would've been the jackpot she needed.

However, something else didn't quite add up. The murderer had killed every single one of the dancers and even some civilians. Why would he go as far as to murder so many people? It was a question she constantly asked herself.

Unto the gangsters. They were notorious for many murders, theft, burglary and drug possession. Julienne didn't understand why the police never arrested them or at least conducted an investigation. She didn't really have anything solid on them but by elimination, these were the only four people that day that could've had any means or motives to have killed her sister and so many people too.

She glanced at the black board Infront of her and sighed. It had been fifteen years already. She was twelve when she lost her last relative and she had sworn to find out who was responsible for her murder but even after so long, she hadn't succeeded.

She sank into the chair by the table and threw her head back as she ran her palm down her face and pinched her nose bridge, exasperated. What was she to do now? She was at a dead end, with no leads or clues to further her investigation.

She opened the locket on her neck and gazed at her sister's picture. She sniffled and held back the tears biting at her throat. She couldn't cry, not anymore. She fought it, swallowed it and buried the pain.

No more of this, she thought as she stood up and walked sluggishly to the refrigerator. She opened it and grabbed one of the many bowls of ice cream she had stashed in there. This was her everyday life. Come down here, investigate a little, get sad and then eat some comfort food.

Sigh.

She dragged her feet back to the table and sat down to eat her bowl of ice cream. She opened it then paused. She had heard a small noise. She looked around but didn't spot anything. Shrugging, she decided it was probably just the cover of the ice cream she had removed that sourced the noise.

She heard it again.

Now she was all too aware this was no ice cream bowl cover. She remained silent and closes her eyes, letting her ears and her nose do all the sensing. A small shuffle from the toilet. She turned her head towards the far end of the apartment and stood up quietly, walking swiftly towards the toilet.

She stopped at the door to the toilet and the noise stopped. She assumed that whatever was behind that door had heard her footsteps and had kept quiet. So that means, whatever it was, it did not want her to see it.

She put her ear to the door and closed her eyes again, trying to pick up any sound that would give her some idea of what was behind the door. Nothing. She sniffed, perhaps it had a scent. Nothing.

She walked back to the living room, looking for a defense weapon. She grabbed a knife and a pillow as her shield then walked back to the toilet door. She grabbed the door knob and twisted it, opening the door a crack.

No light.

Was it a human in there? If it was, why were the lights turned off. The bunker was as dark as the bottom of the ocean without lights. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and opened the door all the way.

A shriek escaped her lips as she came face to face with the largest human being she had ever seen. He was so tall he had to bend his head so he wouldn't hit the ceiling. Their eyes met and his grey eyes held alarm.

He had been caught.

He slowly walked out of the toilet and Julienne shrieked once more and moved backwards. He kept walking until he was all the way out and closed the door. He was even bigger now. He wasn't bending his head any longer and it was like he grew even bigger.

He looked like a basketball player, probably competing with Michael Jordan for height. The only thought that crossed Julienne's mind was

What does he eat?!

He looked down at her like she was a thirteen year old girl. Although she wouldn't be surprised if that was how she looked. She had been told she was extra small. Not necessarily a dwarf but very short and with a slim figure.

She studied his face and he was very handsome. His clothes were super clean and even looked designer. He wore a button up shirt and slacks with a pair of black shoes that were so clean they reflected the light.

His extraordinarily blonde hair was long and messy but still clean. He was clean shaven and had big grey eyes.

He was definitely a neat freak.

His lips were the only thing small about him, every other thing was annoyingly huge. Julienne suddenly felt smaller than she usually did and she didn't even know that was possible.

He looked at her weapon and then at her with an unimpressed look. She wanted to slap him so bad if it wasn't for the fact that her head only reached his stomach.

"You come into my house like some creep and you have the guts to look at me like that?!" She yelled and he looked surprised. She didn't even care that he looked strong enough to lift her with his pinky, she was so pissed all she saw was red.

"I could stab you!" She yelled even louder and he gave her that unimpressed look again.

"Get out!" She yelled. She didn't even want an explanation of what he was doing here because she needed him out before she committed murder.

"You don't recognize me?" He asked and she  almost shrunk at the authority of his voice. She decided to calm down before she got him angry too. The difference between their strength finally began to sink in and she mellowed down.

"No." She stated flatly. She still held the knife pointed in his direction but she was as good as helpless in this case. Worst case scenario he'd kill her and get what he wanted. But what exactly would any human being want from her lair? There was literally nothing here of concern to anyone but herself.

He sighed and tucked one of his large hands into the pockets of his slacks, using the other to ruffle his hair. He pinched his nose bridge.

He lowered his gaze back to hers and she stared at him skeptically. What did he want? She thought.

"It's Asher." He said.

A/N
Oh la la...