Then

Detective Julieta Ordonez was pissed, to put it mildly. She had the mauler dead to rights. Except Cruces somehow got in her way and ended up with a spray of pellets in the back of the head. She was horrified for a second before she realized that Cruces was still fighting that thing. There wasn’t even any blood.

To add to the indignity of it. She ended up shooting him again. This time in the back.

The detective missed the time when the world still made sense. There were no monsters, magic and superhuman douchebags running around ignoring the laws. What right did a civilian have getting involved in this matter? They didn’t have the proper training and experience. They were liable to hurt themselves or others.

Case in point. Cruces just left the three of them to go chasing after the mauler. Sure, there was something up with that Bennett weirdo. He disappeared as soon as the mauler showed up. Like the shadows in the living room had swallowed him up. He had showed up just as quickly. If they got attacked again then she figured it was on her and Jake to do anything. Bennett looked like he was scared of everything.

And where the hell was Flo? The kid decided to disappear somewhere the one time she would’ve been useful. Detective Ordonez wanted to scream. The entire investigation had turned into a shitshow. She had been saddled with a rookie, loose cannons and civilians.

The next house was completely dark. The light from her small candle lantern barely illuminated the rooms. It was a small blessing. What little she saw was enough to display what the mauler had done to the people living in them. She wasn’t looking forward to studying the scene in the light of day.

“It’s not fair,” she whispered.

These people had been the fortunate few to make it through those terrible early days after the spires appeared. To make it through monsters, bad people and other hardships just to get torn apart in their beds. Especially now that they were finally clawing back a semblance of normalcy.

“I’m sorry, what was that, boss?”

“Nothing, keep sharp.” Detective Ordonez had a thought. “Hey, pale man?”

Silence.

She almost turned back to check.

“Yes?” Bennett’s voice was hesitant.

Detective Ordonez clenched her jaw. That man was going to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

“That blood sensing thing you can do. How bout using it to track the monster?”

“There’s too much blood around us. Sorry.”

Detective Ordonez swallowed a curse. It was a fair point. Couldn’t bite Bennett’s head off over it.

“Hey boss… uh… ma’am…?”

“What part of quiet do you not understand, Gates?”

“That’s just it. Don’t you think it’s too quiet?”

The rookie was right. She couldn’t hear anything outside of the heart beating in her chest and their breathing.

That meant Cruces still hadn’t caught the mauler. The sounds of their fighting would’ve been impossible to miss.

They had checked the second floor of the middle home and had just finished going through the first floor of the next home. Which meant after they cleared the upstairs there was only one home left in the row. Unless the monster and Cruces had doubled back through the homes that they had already been through then…

“Shit!”

“Boss?”

“What if we’ve lost them and they’re out on the streets?” Detective Ordonez didn’t want to think about the bloodshed an out of control mauler was capable of. “Never mind. Let’s check upstairs.”

She was halfway up when she heard something. Scratching on a wooden surface. Like a mouse. She snapped her shotgun up and shined the weak light from her lantern. Nothing.

A high-pitched scream curdled their blood.

Detective Ordonez saw a flash of movement. Pale white on the ceiling.

She pulled her shotgun up and squeezed the trigger. The blast temporarily blinded and deafened her in the tight confines of the stairwell. Splinters rained down and she instinctively closed her eyes and turned away. A fatal mistake when faced with a monster.

“Look out!”

A beefy hand roughly pulled her by the back of her tactical vest.

A loud crash.

She tumbled down the stairs and hit the landing hard. Through bleary eyes, she could make out something small and white on top of a large shape in dark clothing down on the first floor.

The mauler was on top of Jake.

----------------------------------------

Jake hit the screen of his smartphone at the same time that he yanked Detective Ordonez back. A dim, blue glow shimmered into being and outlined his body.

Something small and pale smashed into his chest. He felt the impact through the shield. He had taken on full swings of a baseball bat without issue before. He knew instinctively that the single collision took a good chunk out of his mana. He felt it in the sudden onset of fatigue.

The next thing he knew he slammed through the wooden stair rails. He tumbled once and landed on his back with a thud. His Mana Shield took the brunt of the blow.

The mauler was still on him.

Jake tried to bring the smartphone with the Shock spell to bear, but the monster’s frenzied slashing kept knocking his arm away. He felt every hit through the shield.

He couldn’t believe what was happening to him. He realized that this was it. That maybe, magic powers weren’t so cool after all if it meant having real monsters in the world. He was about to die.

A flash of light was accompanied by a loud bang.

The mauler stopped savaging Jake.

He had a moment to finally get a good look as it crouched on his broad chest. He almost wished that he didn’t. It wasn’t what he wanted to see right before the end.

It resembled a monstrous toddler. Except its limbs were unnaturally long, thin and wiry. Their appearance belied the great strength they possessed. Enough to pin a large man down with ease and hit with much greater power than strong men wielding baseball bats. Pale, almost white skin, covered in the red of the people once living in the homes. Ghastly. Its face was the worse though. Eyes that glowed with hunger and malice. A mouth and jaw that was grotesquely over-sized and filled with pointed teeth and bits of what had to be human flesh. Stringy, lank blond hair that didn’t fit the picture completed it.

Jake’s mind couldn’t handle it. He suddenly felt as if he was watching everything happening to him. Not experiencing it.

Detective Ordonez shot the mauler again.

It turned its face away from the pellets, which peppered the back of its head.

There was no blood aside from what was already on it.

Bulletproof.

Jake had seen enough. His shield was almost down. He had lost the strength to lift his arms. All he could do was close his eyes and wait.

The end didn’t come this time.

Jake felt the weight swept roughly off his chest. He opened his eyes and stared up at a dude’s crotch.

“No blood. You’re alright.”

Cruces was standing over his head one moment then was gone the next.

Jake turned his head and tried to follow the fight.

The mauler and Cruces were almost too fast to follow. It was like watching a movie fight in fast forward.

They came together in a furious roil of ax swings, clawing, punching and biting. Furniture was broken, walls smashed. Nothing was spared in the titanic struggle.

“Get up Gates, we need to get out of here.” Detective Ordonez didn’t like the admission. It was plain on her face.

“Boss… can’t…” Jake could barely get the words out. He was having a hard time catching his breath.

“Shit. Is it that mana thing?”

“… drained… all… leave…” Jake wheezed. He remembered his fat kid days and having to run laps. It wasn’t a good memory.

The sound of something heavy crashing to the ground from the kitchen brought him back to the moment.

“Not without you.” Detective Ordonez swung her shot gun over her back and placed her lantern on the floor. She tried to pull Jake up by his arms. “Jesus Christ!” She huffed. “How are you still so heavy? After you lost all that weight.”

“Muscle… dead… weight…”

Detective Ordonez gave up. “Going to have to drag your fat ass out of here.”

“Um…”

Detective Ordonez dropped Jake’s arms and spun around with her Glock leveled at the voice.

Bennett’s pasty face was right in front of her pistol. “Uh… that was really fast. I didn’t even see you drawing it out of its holster. How did you do that?”

Detective Ordonez kept her pistol trained on Bennett’s forehead. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry. I just reacted. I’m not really a fighter,” Bennett said. “Was that a Skill? I mean, I didn’t even see it.”

Detective Ordonez’s face was calm. Her hands were steady on the grip.

“I’ve got superior perceptions. I can slow things down—” Bennett’s eyes widened. “Crap! Wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“Opsec… man…” Jake’s voice was weak.

“I’m thinking you’ve got other things you can do,” Detective Ordonez said. “How about helping me get Gates out of here?”

“I can do that.” Bennett move with deliberate care around Detective Ordonez, even though she had already holstered her pistol. The freakishly thin man bent over and picked Jake up.

“No… not… princess…” Jake groaned.

Bennett cradled Jake in his arms and followed Detective Ordonez as she led the way.

“After we drop Jake off we’re heading right back.”

“What?” Bennett nearly dropped Jake.

----------------------------------------

Cal swung his ax down at the tiny monster. It dodge out of the way and crashed into his leg. He was forced to jump forward into an awkward roll to avoid his knee bending the wrong direction.

The Midtown Mauler was not exactly what he expected. It was definitely not a gremlin nor gremlin-adjacent. The sense he was getting from its thoughts was disturbingly familiar. He didn’t want to consider it, but as they kept fighting. It was getting harder to ignore. It didn’t have a mind like a monster. At least not entirely.

The mauler landed on Cal’s back. He felt the sting as its thick, sharp nails pierced through his motorcycle jacket and clothes to prick his skin.

It bit down through to his trapezius with ease.

Cal grit his teeth against the pain. How many times was he going to get bitten in the same spot?

He punched the mauler in the head until it relinquished its bite and pushed off Cal’s back.

The mauler was strong. Almost as strong as Cal. It knocked him to the floor on his face.

Cal rolled over desperately and kicked out with the bottom of his boot. He connected hard with something and was rewarded with a pained yelp.

It sounded so human-like.

Cal scrambled to his feet, but the mauler had already scampered out of sight.

The living room, judging by the smashed couch that he and the mauler had crashed through, was dark. There was only a single, almost burned down candle on the coffee table. The tiny flame flickered and danced in the slight breeze from the gaps in the boarded up windows. Shadows danced on the walls and ceiling.

“Bennett, now would be a good time to suddenly appear and make a key contribution in our victory…” No response. Cal figured it was worth a shot. “Guess I can’t complain too much.” He supposed that anyone other than a pacifistic man, scared of his own shadow with the Vampire class would’ve posed problems.

He couldn’t tell where the mauler was. It was too quick to pin down.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

There was a scratching sound to Cal’s left. He punched out with his telekinesis. The invisible force shattered the bricks around the fireplace.

He caught movement out of the corner of his right eye. The mauler’s white skin stood out starkly against the black shadows as it jumped at him. He swung his ax out. The blade caught the mauler in the side and sent into flying into the kitchen. Cal took a moment to check his ax head. There was blood, red, like his own.

Cal grinned as he chased after it. If it bleeds, then he could kill it. Wise words from a great sage. If he remembered the saying properly.

The kitchen was devoid of light, aside from what little came through the boards across the windows from the stars in the sky.

Cal had his telepathy and superior vision to make up the difference. He felt the same hunger and malice, but now it was joined with pain and fear. The thought jolted him. Again, it wasn’t what he expected from a pure monster.

He tried to keep his breathing under control. The needles in his brain had been steadily growing stronger as he used his powers.

He heard it then. A strange sound. A sad sound. Someone was crying? A child?

Cal frowned. It was definitely a child sobbing. Not child-like. It was muffled. His eyes widened. There was a child hiding somewhere in the kitchen. A survivor from the mauler’s earlier rampage? That changed things. Now he had to prioritize the child’s safety. Find them and get them to safety before the mauler got to them.

A thought crossed his mind. The mauler was definitely not like the other monsters. Was it using the child as bait?

Cal zeroed in on the soft sobs. It was coming from a cabinet next to the fridge. The darkness made it difficult to see clearly, but it looked like there were little scratches on the cabinet door. He cautiously stepped closer and reached out with a hand. He stopped. Thought better of it. He stepped backed, readied his ax and reached out with telekinesis.

The cabinet door wiggled a little as Cal’s invisible grip started to open it.

It burst open to reveal the mauler as it leapt at Cal.

He stared into its open mouth, hinged-jaw wide enough to bite his face off.

Fortunately, he was ready. He swung his ax and caught the mauler right in the nose with the handle.

Drops of something wet sprayed Cal. He had broken the mauler’s nose.

There was a plaintive wail as the mauler scampered back to the fridge.

Cal followed, ax held high ready to finally end this nightmare.

The mauler grabbed the fridge in its tiny hands and sent it sliding across the floor.

Cal was caught off guard. The fridge crashed into him like a car and pinned him against the stove. He blinked away the spots in his eyes and pushed the fridge off.

As he did so the mauler appeared on top and jumped down at Cal. He was forced to jam his ax into its mouth as it tried to bite into the top half of his head.

The mauler’s jaws snapped shut and turned Cal’s venerable camping ax, a constant companion over the last four years, into splinters. It spat the ax head right in Cal’s face. The blunt end smashed into his nose, which watered his eyes.

Blinded, Cal stabbed the jagged edge of his broken ax handle. He felt it dig into flesh.

The mauler gurgled as Cal pushed it away.

At the same exact moment Cal’s head rocked back as the mauler kicked him in the jaw. There was an old adage. It was the shot that you didn’t see coming that knocked you out. His vision grew dark, but he fought against it. Forced himself to stay out of the dark hallway that loomed in front of him.

Even though he didn’t go down it was a close thing. His head spun and his legs wobbled.

The kitchen was dark and he was struggling to see through the tears in his eyes, but Cal could make out the white shape of the mauler as it writhed on the floor and clutched at its throat.

“Stupid demon baby thing,” Cal mumbled as he staggered toward the mauler.

Cal was ready to stab the mauler when an overwhelming feeling of hatred and worry hit him. It was so powerful that he momentarily forgot where he was and what he was doing.

The feeling was accompanied by the fridge flying at him. Again.

Cal tried to deflect the giant, metal battering ram with telekinesis. Unfortunately he wasn’t at his best. He merely nudged it enough to one side that it only clipped him. As he fell with the fridge, his left foot got pinned and twisted against the floor.

The pain was sharp and shot up his leg. It was a familiar sensation from his sporting days. An old nemesis that he had thought was long behind him.

He pushed the fridge off his leg and was glad to note that his foot wasn’t pointing in the wrong direction. He looked around for the mauler. It was gone.

Standing in its spot was Flo.

Cal saw the glint in the teenage girl’s eyes as the starlight briefly illuminated them. Her face was blank, but he saw the rage hidden. Sensed it.

He stood gingerly. Tried to play off the twisted ankle. For some reason he instinctively knew that he couldn’t look weak, vulnerable.

“What the hell was that?”

“I thought you were in trouble,” Flo said. “That… whatever… was about to kill you.”

“I stabbed the mauler in the throat. I was about to end this.”

“Are you sure?” Flo quirked her head. “I didn’t look that way to me. Although, it’s dark and I can’t see too well. So, maybe you’re right. Sorry.”

“You don’t sound too worried about it.” Cal was certain that Flo wasn’t being entirely truthful. The question was why?

Flo shrugged. “You’re supposed to be this big shot superhero. I figured you could handle a little friendly fire. I mean, a little collateral damage is worth it if you take out the monster, right?”

“Nope, not dealing with you right now.” The mauler was injured and it was getting away. He had read enough Corbett books and had watched enough animal documentaries to know that a predator was at its most dangerous when wounded.

“Whatever, old man. I don’t think you can move too fast on that ankle. Don’t worry, I’ll chase it.” Flo darted out of the kitchen and back into the living room. No doubt through the hole in the wall to the next and last house on the block.

Cal tested his ankle then limped after her.

Flo was fast. Faster than him and faster than the mauler.

He had a sinking feeling that he had just blown the opportunity to put an end to the Midtown Mauler’s killing spree.

----------------------------------------

“Hurry it up, Twilight.”

Bennett could feel the barrel of Detective Ordonez’s shotgun on his back. Sure it wasn’t actually directly pointed at him and bullets probably wouldn’t kill him. But damn it, they would’ve hurt and he didn’t deserve to get shot. Especially after he had gone above and beyond to help out in this insane hunt for a terrifying, tiny monster that looked so much like a toddler that he didn’t even want to consider the possibilities of its nature and origin.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You remind of those vampires. Minus the sparkles and male model looks… no offense.”

Bennett was glad that the detective was behind him and couldn’t see the look on his face. It would’ve given his secret away.

“Why’re you stopping? We need to catch up to them.”

“Um… sorry, it’s hard to track with all that mingling of the blood back in those houses.” Another memory that he wasn’t going to be able to scrub from his brain. A truth and a lie. The trail was clearer now that they had gone a few blocks away from the townhouses. Perhaps it was helped by the actual drops of blood on the ground.

“You sure this stuff is from the mauler and not Cruces?”

“Positive. I know what human blood is like and this stuff is distinct. Almost like a blend of monster and human. Except that isn’t accurate. You could take a vial of monster blood and mix it with a vial of human blood and it wouldn’t be exactly like this.”

“Sounds like you know what you’re talking about,” Detective Ordonez’s voice was light. Conversational.

It’s why Bennett knew that he had said too much. “Er… I think they went this way.” He hurried down the street.

A few blocks and several turns later they found Cal standing outside an apartment complex. He stood with most of his weight on on leg. His left foot gingerly touched the ground. He was covered in blood and there were dark circles underneath his eyes, like a raccoon.

“You look like you got hit by a truck,” Detective Ordonez said.

“It was a fridge… twice,” Cal said.

“I thought you were like, invincible.” Bennett couldn’t believe what his eyes. It strengthened the case that he had made the right decision hiding from mauler instead of trying to fight. He shuddered at the thought of what he would’ve looked like if he had been in Cal’s place.

“Just harder to hurt than most.”

“What happened? Where’s the mauler?”

“I had it dead. Stabbed it in the throat,” Cal held up the bloody, jagged end of his ax handle, “was going to finish it when Flo threw the fridge at me.”

“What?” Detective Ordonez frowned.

“I’ll tell you what happened from my perspective later. Anyways, due to the bum ankle, I lost them around here. Judging by the bloodstains,” Cal pointed to the pathway into the apartments, “they went that way.”

“Why didn’t you go after them? You let Flo go in there by herself with the mauler,” Detective Ordonez snapped.

“I had some time to think while I was hobbling after them. In between the stabs of pain from my ankle, that is. And things weren’t making sense.”

“You’re the one not making any sense, Cruces.”

“Tell me, detective. How much do you know about Flo’s background?” He stared into her eyes. “And will you share it with me? Please.” He smiled.

Detective Ordonez was about to snap when the person in question suddenly came walking out of the apartment complex.

“She doesn’t know much. Doesn’t care enough. I’m just the stupid kid they saddled her with,” Flo said. There was a blank expression on her face. “I lost it,” she shrugged, “sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was small and fast. Got out of a tiny bathroom window that I couldn’t fit through.” Flo rolled her eyes.

There was something off about the girl. Bennett could smell it.

“You’re covered in blood,” Detective Ordonez said.

“I got some on me going through those houses and then just now when I almost got the mauler.”

Detective Ordonez didn’t take her eyes of Flo. For her part the teen held her gaze steady and didn’t blink.

Police sirens broke the spell. An SUV screeched around the corner and came to an abrupt stop near them. A group of men and women jumped out with their weapons drawn.

Bennett didn’t fail to notice that they were pointed in his and Cal’s general directions.

“Welllll, I think that’s our cue to leave,” Cal nudged Bennett in the ribs.

“Cruces—”

“I’ll talk to you in the morning, which is basically two hours from now.” Cal cut of the detective. “You know what, let’s make that after lunch. It’s been a long night and we all need our rest.”

Bennett kept his mouth shut until they were several blocks away from any potential listeners.

“So, you smelled something off about Flo, didn’t you?” Cal prodded him.

“How—”

“It was all over your face.”

“The blood on her… was from different sources. Some were from the houses we were in. Maybe even your blood, I’m not sure… but I’m sure that some of the blood was from elsewhere and I think it was pretty fresh.”

“Something definitely sucks shit, man,” Cal frowned. “This is bullshit. They go for the face every time.”

Bennett looked at the thin lines of blood across Cal’s face. At the cut on his chin.

The Vampire pulled the flask out of his jacket’s pocket and took a long pull, while Cal eyed him closely.

“I’ll see what Detective Ordonez has to say about it. If I don’t like it then we’ll have to do our own investigating.”

Bennett didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit. The night had felt like it had taken forever. It was an experience that he didn’t want to repeat.

----------------------------------------

Now

Cal, Rodinian and Adahn ran straight for a group of Corrupted Threnosh.

“Okay, I’m going to smash them like tomatoes—”

“I do not understand the term,” Rodinian said.

“… I’m going to smash them. We’re not stopping. We’re going to run right through to the command center,” Cal said.

Less than a hundred feet separated them from the charging corrupted.

Cal reached out with telekinesis to slam the monsters into the floor, walls and ceiling with deadly force. A world of pain exploded in his brain like nothing he had ever experienced before. He staggered and almost tripped.

He immediately knew something was wrong. His telekinesis wasn’t responding to his will. His telepathy was gone. It was as if someone had cut the volume out. With one exception. There was music? No? A song? He heard it clearly. Then it was on the very edge of his perceptions. It vacillated from one extreme to the other. Or both came at the same time.

Cal’s head swam.

“Designation: Honor, what is wrong? You’re leaking fluids from your facial orifices.”

Rodinian’s voice sounded like it was coming from a great distance and right in his ear.

“… ‘sss okay,” Cal slurred. “Still gonna sssmmassshhh…”

Cal ran forward off-balance into the thick of the corrupted. He had to draw all the aggro to himself. Rodinian and Adahn wouldn’t last long if he didn’t. He punched, elbowed, kneed and head-butted every monster that he could get his hands on. Naturally, being consumed by an unrelenting rage, they obliged.

Cal painted the long length of corridor in the blood of his enemies. He emerged on the other side with his armor torn open in places. His face-plate had multiple cuts and scratches marring its outer layer. He could taste blood at the back of his throat, but it was his own.

It took him back to his black out drunk college days, minus the monsters.

“You… guyysss… ‘kay?”

There were multiple Rodinians and Adahns in Cal’s vision. As far as he knew their power armor didn’t have illusion or duplication abilities, though the latter would’ve been awesome. Clearly, well not really, something was impairing him.

“I am uninjured,” Rodinian said.

“I was able to kill one with my electric rod and two with my blades,” Adahn said.

“’Kay… les go.” Cal staggered off in the direction of the command center.

They made it one piece and were greeted by Unseen, who opened the door.

Cal stumbled in and mumbled instructions that were somehow understood by the Threnosh. Unseen covered Rodinian with their recoilless rifle, while the latter set their last set of traps in the corridor. Adahn went straight to the command console and got to work.

Meanwhile Cal sat down and tried to figure out what the heck was wrong with him. Why did it feel like he had just downed twelve shots of grocery store brand whiskey? The kind that came in a plastic jug. Cheap and terrible, but perfect for getting hammered on a budget.

The incessant sounds wouldn’t leave him alone. Music? Singing? Both? Neither? He wanted to shout in frustration. He tried to picture that strong telepathic sphere that had served him so well in the past for protection and to quiet the unwanted intrusion from others’ thoughts and emotions. It didn’t answer his call. Nothing did.

“Designation: Honor. I am ready to reinitialize the automated defense system,” Adahn said. “I await your command.”

“That was fast. Feels like I just sat down.” At least he wasn’t slurring anymore. That was an improvement. Maybe the mind powers were next.

“I do not understand. It has been nearly fifteen minutes.”

“My freeze trap will not hold for much longer. Judging by the dents appearing in the door. The corrupted have made their was past the wall of ice,” Rodinian said.

Unseen had their rifle trained on the metallic door, which was being battered open.

“Alright, Adahn. Just make sure that we aren’t on the target list, but you can turn it on,” Cal said wearily.

Adahn’s face grew blank.

The pounding from outside the command center stopped.

A loud chime sounded in their ears.

Congratulations!

You have completed a Quest.

Reclaim Orchestral Meridian City Section 115.

Claimed: Energy Substation 115

Claimed: Security Substation 115

Hostile entities have elected to cede all remaining subsections.

You have received 45000 Universal Points and additional rewards.

Enter a spire to claim your rewards.

Note: This Quest is part of the Epic Quest: Reclaim Orchestral Meridian City.

Claiming City Section 115 increases total rewards.

“Well… that just raises a bunch of questions,” Cal said. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a little bit. Let me know when the automated defenses have take care of the corrupted, so that we can get back to base and I can wash the blood off.”

The Threnosh blinked at him. They nodded their heads as one.