The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 82: Contagious Madness

Chapter 82: Contagious Madness

...Lane didn’t care.

Or so he claimed.

Even when jumping into his car, and driving to Forbidden Zone No. 74 in the dead of the night on the first opportunity he had. He left Aidan’s phone there - he had to, in case Damien gained access to the data from the cell towers - so now he was forced to make the trip in order to text with the man.

Which he did, even though he absolutely DID. NOT. CARE.

Back in his trunk, there was Xavier, unconscious after taking sleeping pills, handcuffed and wrapped in high-grade monster leather that could withstand Toxic Ooze, at least to some extent. Lane could have left him in his apartment, of course - his own apartment had good soundproofing, after all - but he didn’t want Xavier to damage his floorboards in case he woke up earlier than intended. In his car, at least he would hear him wake up, and could feed him more sleeping pills when needed. Or simply electrocute him to knock him back again before he’d damage anything.

And all this trouble was only to reassure Damien that he was still alive, and try to put a stop to his search.

Even though he...

Speeding along the highway, Lane pressed a few buttons on the dashboard, dialing the Zone. It only took two signals, before Vulcan picked up.

-Hello, Boss?

"I’m going to drop by tonight, in like... two hours or so. Make sure there’s someone waiting at the gate."

-You’re visiting again? Then-

"No need to do anything. I’m just stopping by for a day on personal business, so don’t bother gathering anyone."

-I understand. Should I...

"No need," Lane cut the conversation, ending the call and putting on some music instead. With energetic, cheerful tunes filling the car, the tension within his chest started slowly getting washed away. He leaned back in his seat, humming under his nose, as he pressed on the gas, zooming forward past speed limits.

Despite his words, there was still a team of Espers greeting him at the gate. That could have been the standard though, considering that just as many people ’welcomed’ him when he arrived as Aidan. Except that the atmosphere was different back then, of course, far less reverent. Lane nodded at the group, without even stopping the car, and drove ahead, straight to the apartments.

Once he arrived, the first thing he did was open up the trunk. Xavier was still unconscious, but who knew how long it would last? Not wanting to take the risk of having his car damaged, Lane took him out, stuffing him in one of the basement units - the very same one that Aidan was previously in, since it already had a singed pit melted in the concrete floor. Due to the lack of ventilation, the acrid scent of smoke and toxins was still heavy in the air...

But Lane was not going to hang around there anyway, so it wasn’t an issue at all.

With his spare body taken care of, Lane finally headed upstairs, to his apartment located on the top floor. It was spacious and comfortable, and well-maintained. Always sparkling clean, even when Lane dropped by practically unannounced. All of his important belongings were hidden in spatial bags in the safe, so the apartment could be left under his underlings’ care without any worries.

Lane unlocked the safe, taking out Aidan’s phone. As he turned it on, it instantly started buzzing.

74 unanswered calls and 128 messages.

Not all of them were from Damian... But a good chunk, 17 calls and 42 messages that is, were.

Lane scrolled through Damian’s messages, ignoring everything else. The man was mostly asking about his well-being, talking about the dangers of the Forbidden Zones, asking ’Aidan’ to come back, and apologizing for everything that happened...

A heavy sigh escaped Lane’s mouth, as he threw himself on the couch, staring at the screen.

How did they get there? He was certain he did everything as usual. Maintaining a distance, avoiding forming an emotional connection, keeping things casual... Well, at least at first. Things got a bit complicated after Damien discovered his ’reincarnation’ or whatever. But even then, they didn’t get too personal...

But people were all different in the end. Not everyone needed much to get attached.

What was done was done though, there was no point dwelling too much over it. After giving it some thought, Lane typed a simple [I’m alright, really, there’s no need for you to worry about me.] and tossed the phone to the side.

A dry laugh escaped his throat.

Really? That was it? He drove all the way here just for this?

He must have lost his mind... Damien’s madness was contagious, it seemed.

Rrring! Rriiing!

The phone rang all of a sudden, almost startling him.

Incoming video call from Damien.

Lane couldn’t help but lift his brows, starting at the screen. It was only 4 AM. What the hell was Damien doing at that hour?

[I can’t talk right now,] he texted, rejecting the call.

[Why?] The response arrived mere seconds later.

Why? Because Lane was his real pink-haired self, of course! He couldn’t say that to Damien though, so he just wrote, [I don’t want to.]

Ping! [Are you injured?]

[What? Of course not! Why would you think so?]

No response. This time, it took a while, close to an hour, before Damien messaged again. [I thought you might be, and you don’t want me to see.]

Lane paused for a moment.

Well... Depending on how one looked at it, Damien was not wrong. Aidan was, in fact, injured in a way. His body melted down and then the sludge that remained burned, until absolutely nothing was left...

Still, he typed, [That is not the case.]

[Can you send me a photo as proof then?]

Lane paused again. He obviously couldn’t...

Perhaps he made a mistake. Maybe he should have kept Aidan locked down in the Zone, under watch. It came with plenty of risks, such as the man being found by Damien one day, for example, but... If Aidan was still alive, then Lane would have been able to switch between him and Xavier, since he brought his new body with him anyway. And if he did so, he could have this damned video chat with Damien, and dispel all of the man’s doubts away...

It was too late for regrets though. The only thing he could do was type [I’d rather not. I don’t like taking photos of myself.]

***

A few hours later, Lane was swinging his legs high up in the air, observing the streets from above, as he sat on the edge of the roof. The sky was overcast, the dark clouds presaging heavy rain, the cold wind tugging on his clothes and hair. Lane, however, didn’t mind any of it, enjoying the cream puffs from the bakery downstairs.

Or at least trying to enjoy. It used to be one of his favorite bakeries, even when compared to the ones in the Capital, but... Did they have a drop in quality or something? Because the dessert tasted nowhere as good as he remembered it. It was still sweet and fresh, melting on his tongue... Just that, if he could, he would much rather have one of those homemade pastries that Damien sent him instead...

Ping!

Yet another message from Damien arrived. [Are you hiding something?]

[Not really hiding. I guess you might think so because there’s simply a lot you don’t know about me,] Lane quickly typed back, and sent.

There was no answer though.

It’s been like that throughout the day. Damien messaging him at one or two hour intervals. Was he busy? It was supposed to be their day off, but knowing Damien, it wouldn’t be unexpected if he took on some extra work...

Or went to test the Guides, searching for Lane again.

If so, then his texting pattern could mean... That he was texting Lane when he was around some Guides, seeing if anyone would get a message, and respond back.

At least that’s what Lane would do in his place. Which was why he tried to respond as soon as he could.

Of course, Damien wouldn’t be able to find Lane either way, so it didn’t really matter...

With a sigh, Lane swallowed the last bite, dusting off the crumbs from his lap. He needed to be heading back soon. The next morning he had to be back at work, and there was a long drive ahead of him. Then he also had to put Xavier back in his apartment, return to his place, and switch back...

He waited for another hour or so, but with no response from Damien, he turned off his phone and put it back in the safe.

As such, the last message, sent only ten minutes after his departure, never reached him...