Hey readers, new chapter here.

I like to put in subtle(ok, maybe not so subtle) hints into the story at what the story leads to, or what will happen next;and then there are times i'll throw a curveball,because life does not always work in a straight line or as expected.

I'm hoping to make the story feel organic and alive, but i can't really judge it as such as i know too much. :p

Enjoy!

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Alex stepped out onto the red carpet, feeling the soft cloth even with his boots in between them. He passed by a tall man with a scar down his closed left eye, dressed in a business suit, with several women crowding around him. The two met eyes briefly, but they passed each other without incident. He opened his phone while walking toward the street, doing his best to get as far away as possible from the place.

The phone had stopped ringing when he had left the table, so he pulled up the missed calls and dialed the number. Matt’s voice carried over after the first ring.

“Hey, man! What’s up?”

Alex could just imagine Matt’s hand come up in his iconic gesture when he greeted him.

“...You called me, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yea! Derp, completely forgot. Listen, i just got a call in near you that needs a checking out. Think you could do me this favor, man?”

“...Is there really no one else nearby?”

Surely, there has to be one of the task force from Matt’s precinct nearby. The real police force, which Matt works for, are the ‘grunt’ workers that deal with a lot of the small stuff. How could there be no one else near where he needs them?

“Oh, there are several people, but they all have their hands full searching for the perpetrator. I had to call your precinct and they said you're the only one who might be able to help right now.”

Alex thought over it for a moment, wondering if it would be best to help out. On the one hand, the B.R.E. currently had their hands full finishing up the ‘Ruby’ killing that happened tonight; which meant he really was one of the few people with their hands free as he had gone to meet the family again.

On the other hand, he had a severe lack of sleep to contend with. If the case was anything other than investigating something, he’d likely not be of much use. The anger as well, was starting to subside and be replaced with fatigue.

“...I haven’t had much sleep lately Matt. I’m not sure i could be of much help.”

“Oh, come on dude! All i need is for an area to be scanned over quickly that has no one in it searching till a few hours from now. That’s all i need, man.” Matt pleaded, who Alex felt likely wanted to get out into the field himself right now judging by his impatient tone. Alex could only sigh at how gullible he could be for the people he actually cared about.

“...Fine. But only checking it out. I don’t have my car where i’m at, so i’ll need to rent one.”

“Oh, that’s all you need? Just take my car in front of my apartment, no biggie.”

“...Are you sure?”

“Yea, man. It’s near where you're at as well, so it shouldn’t be too far even in a cab. The place is on twenty-third street in the northern district, about a mile from where you are. Apartment complex is called ‘Roger Dan’s’ next to a mechanic shop, my car is the sleek silver one.”

“Yea, i know the area. Sleek silver car, huh? Seems like the type you’d drive.”

“Hell yea, man! Fucking beautiful car, dude, you’ll love it when you see it.”

Alex heard another voice on the line in the background, followed by some rustling.

“Alright, man. I gotta get off here, but i’ll text you the location i need checked out.”

Alex heard the call end and closed the phone, reminiscing about old times with Matt in high school. He hailed a cab that was about to drive by, which pulled over to pick him up.

---

“Well, he wasn’t lying. It is a nice car.” Alex stated while looking at the interior to the car, which looked brand new judging by no signs of wear. The middle console where the radio should be was replaced by a giant touch screen, and was currently playing the news from channel ten on mute. Alex would glance at it now and then, only using it really to keep him awake to prevent himself from crashing.

The mechanic right next to Matt’s apartment complex handed the keys over without a word, so it was likely Matt had called ahead and explained the situation. He’d feel bad about using this new car in case it was broken, but Matt would probably just tell him he had insurance on it and laugh it off. He also couldn’t use his own hunk of junk as it was currently parked in front of his parents mansion several hours away; which would do him no good to go get, as it would defeat the purpose of filling in for this area.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Alex glanced down at his phone, which read the house number and street name Matt had given him. He pulled up to the street rather quickly, this quiet and normal housing location rather lifeless at this time of night. More likely than not, this was the area a lot of the ‘daylight’ citizens were living in. Most of the houses had no lights on whatsoever, and the street lamps were few and far between.

He pulled up and stopped the car across the street from the house, pulling up short of where he aimed to park from not being used to a car that had such good brakes. He stepped out into the cold night, eyeing the house in question Matt wanted checked out first. The house was dark and rather dreary looking with no street lamp nearby, and Matt had stated for Alex to update him when nothing looked suspicious to him; which he did, pulling his phone out and texting to Matt nothing seemed weird about the place. He closed and pushed the phone back into his jacket pocket as he shook from the slight chill in the air.

Alex leaned against the car as he felt light-headed, likely from the lack of sleep. He cursed at himself as he shook his head quickly, but it only made him dizzier and didn’t wake him at all. If not for the cold, Alex would likely have already fallen asleep just leaning against the car waiting. He heard his phone ring out that someone, most likely Matt, had messaged him. When he opened the phone, a noise across the street pulled his attention away before he could read the text.

When his eyes came up to look at what the noise was, his mind stopped for a moment. Time seemed to slow down as his head began pounding again, watching the scene in front of him unfold. Something, or someone, had sent a large green dumpster flying straight at Alex against Matts car. Alex slowly walked out toward the street out of the way of the dumpster, in a daze as he watched it slowly arrive at Matts car. When the dumpster touched the car, time seemed to move again as the dumpster and car flew into the front of the house right behind it.

His ears ringing, Alex looked toward the direction the dumpster came from as blood red eyes met his from the shadows. One moment he was staring at the eyes, and the next the eyes were cast in a silhouette in the sky as they flew toward him menacingly. Time seemed to slow again as the headache grew stronger, his feet moving on their own again as he dodged out of the way. His shoulder met the pavement hard, and he could hear concrete cracking behind him where he used to be.

Buzzing began ringing out in Alex’s head as he turned his head back at the silhouette, getting a better look at what it was. A massive figure, feral looking and hunched over like a beast, had its hand lodged in the concrete as its red eye watched Alex unmoving. The beastly man looked down at his other hand that dripped blood down onto the pavement below, hunger in its eyes.

Alex noticed his right side hurt, and felt a sharp pain as he touched it that affirmed it was his blood on the beast's hand. He stumbled to his feet as the beast tore its hand from the ground, turning its body around and standing as well. Alex noticed the creature had the physique of an adult male, but was at least three feet taller than him who was just over six feet. The muscles on the man bulged to an enormous size, like a bodybuilder that had trained themselves most of their life in competitions. Scars lined the barren chest of the man, some fresh and bleeding from what he hoped was a recent fight and not self inflicted.

What Alex found the strangest part though, was how the man’s face was always hidden in shadow, obscuring everything but the feral red eyes that watched Alex like a predator. 

The beastly man brought his bloody hand to his mouth, a tongue snaking out as it licked the blood off. It's eyes bulged in reaction, and it's body shook for a moment.

“Now that...That tastes heavenly.” The man said in bliss, as a huge and creepy grin spread across his face; A cackling laugh echoed in the empty streets, sending chills up Alex’s spine.