Jackson stood under the Eiffel Tower of the East, he searched around Tianducheng for over three hours. He only had five more hours till sundown.
It took him a while to figure out how to operate the video and audio recorders. Technology like that to a person who was underground for 75 years naturally threw him off. The radio of his time was to him a wonderful piece of technological engineering, one that he would spend hours listening to classical music in his free time. Though that was when he was free.
He continued to travel around the city; he wandered north to catch the creature. Yet it refused to show itself, either because it knew of the reptile, or they were not ready to confront them. The reptile stopped halfway at Tiandu Park and pulled out a picture of the monster. The park should have greenery, but it was full of sand and dead plants that hadn’t been watered for years. A place that looked like it was still under construction.
Tianducheng was made to house the growing Chinese population. By 2007 it had a population of 2,000 residents. It had the opportunity to grow, it should have over 30,000 people living there a decade later. But tragedy struck when a string of violent murders took the lives of over 300 people. Locally it was believed that it was a deranged psychopath, but in reality it was a wild Jiangshi. But even if the truth was hidden, the Chinese government labelled Tianducheng a failed project as people refused to move into the city as they rightfully feared the place for in the official statements the “killer” wasn’t caught, even when the Butterfly Legion exterminated the monster in 2010. The population never exceeded 2,000 people, instead it is predicted the place would be abandoned in 2020.
Jackson wrapped his tail around the camera so he could use his hand to set the photo of the beast on fire with his lighter.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
It seemed to work, as the audio recorder on his chest started to blare static. Jackson took the camera from his tail and scanned the location and found nothing. No creature, not even a person. He fumbled with the camera until he figured out the replay button. As he rewatched the video, he found the creature peering out of the alleyway.
The hunt continued as he marched into the creature’s general direction. This led him to the residential area still under development, its buildings echoed the breeze as it danced through their empty corpses. The towering concrete structures lay dormant as they await further construction. Even when no one had set foot almost half a decade later.
The audio recorder hummed as the voice of a young girl could be heard, ‘we see you.’
Unfazed, Jackson walked to the centre of the structures and filmed them. This time, the creature was spotted without the use of the rewind feature. It stood on the tenth floor, overlooking Jackson. It too was emotionless, its arms hanging down as it rooted itself into one spot. Either it was trying to intimidate Jackson, or it was inviting him for a fight. It mattered little for the reptile for it was a potential threat to humanity.
While technologically illiterate, he was no fool at the potential of the internet and the spread of information. He could find humour in the easy access to classical music or the instant enjoyment of cat videos. But what he could find enjoyment, though not expressive as others. He was aware that others could find entertainment in horror or the strangeness of the world. Targets for creatures like that.
Jackson walked into the building and entered an operable elevator. A miracle for it shouldn’t be possible. He pulled his Uzi out as he readied for the duel to come. Though he was unsure what that fight might look like.