It was close to noon.

In the quiet nook of a dimly lit restaurant, two men sat across from each other at a table, their silence broken only by the soft clinking of dishes in the background.

Shino observed the man before him. Shen Yu wore a light yellow jacket and, curiously, had entered with both a hat and sunglasses. Shino wasn’t sure what purpose the disguise served. After all, the two of them had barely kept in touch since middle school.

After what felt like an eternity, Shen Yu finally broke the silence.

“Shino, this… it’s a bit complicated. I don’t even know where to start, but I hope you’ll believe what I’m about to tell you.”

Shino gave a small nod. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Shen Yu drew a long, steadying breath. “After high school, I ended up working for a small, mostly unknown tabloid. I spent my days snapping shots of celebrity scandals or chasing petty leads to pass the time.”

“It was a mediocre job, to be honest. The salary was low, so I started taking private detective work here and there, just to make ends meet.”

“One day, an old classmate reached out. You remember Liu Jiayi from our middle school class?”

Shino nodded faintly as Shen Yu continued.

“She said her boyfriend had been acting strangely—wouldn’t even touch her, always found an excuse to avoid her.”

“She suspected he was cheating and wanted me to find out the truth.”

“It was an old favor, so I gave her a fair deal. Wasn’t a lot of money, but I took the job anyway.”

“Over the next few days, I started following her boyfriend in secret.”

“Turns out, he’s a fisherman. He sails out to sea every third Tuesday on a fishing boat, comes back after about fifteen days. Works half the month, takes the other half off.”

“Earns a good forty to fifty thousand a month, too.”

“I couldn’t board the boat, so I watched it from the docks. Spoke with the workers around there, picking up bits and pieces of information.”

“They told me this boat was the most successful in the area. Every time it returned, it brought in a catch that could rival what other boats make in two, even three months.”

“They don’t skip a beat, either. Doesn’t matter if there’s a storm or clear skies—they go out and come back like clockwork.”

“Then, there was this odd thing—they’d always stop for a day by a tiny fishing village near the coast, every trip. The crew would head ashore for a few hours. No one could say exactly what they did there.”

“Everything seemed normal, up to that point. I told Jiayi what I’d found, and she paid me a little extra, asked me to check out that fishing village.”

“No bargaining this time. I thought, fine, I’ll go take a look. The pay was good enough to justify the trip.”

“But that… that was when my nightmare started.”

“It’s because of going to that place that I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a week!”

“Every single night for seven days, I’d lay there in bed, tossing and turning, barely able to close my eyes before the nightmares would start up.”

“Wet footsteps… always wet, slapping footsteps. And hoarse, guttural howling in the darkness.”

“See these dark circles?” Shen Yu gestured to the purple shadows beneath his eyes, his voice breaking slightly. “It finally stopped last night, but for seven days, I couldn’t escape it.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Shino remained composed, taking a calm sip of his coffee. “All right. First, tell me what you saw.”

Shen Yu exhaled shakily. “I… I went to that fishing village, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Everyone there seemed like any other fisherman.”

“They were simple folk, warm and hospitable. Every home had fish drying out in the sun. The only strange thing was the smell—fishy, heavy, cloying—but nothing unusual beyond that.”

“I told them I wanted to stay a couple of nights, and they nearly fought over who would host me.”

“That first night, I dined on their local seafood, listening to their stories of hardship.”

“All seemed fine until dawn. That was when I heard it.”

“Wet footsteps.” Shen Yu’s voice grew tense, his eyes wide as if reliving the moment. “I was lying there when I heard them—sloshing, dripping footsteps. I sat up, glanced out the window, and—you won’t believe what I saw.”

“It was… something scaly, gleaming under the dim morning light, with two large, golden, unblinking orbs for eyes. It looked like… some kind of Fish-Man.”

“I don’t even know how to describe it. It was dark, and I couldn’t see it clearly, but it was ugly, unnatural. Something that wasn’t human.”

“Then, I heard more. Footsteps, dozens of them, echoing in the night!”

"Can you believe it?" Shen Yu’s voice was hushed, yet fervent. "The villagers, one after another, began to gather around me. Scales and fins erupted across their faces, their human features contorting until they became those same foul Fish-Man creatures!"

Shino raised an eyebrow, listening intently.

"That’s when I realized," Shen Yu continued, eyes wide with horror, "every single one of them, men and women, old and young—everyone in that fishing village—was a monster!"

A shiver of revulsion flashed across his face. "I didn’t dare look any longer. Outside, I heard these awful, grinding sounds. Like teeth gnashing together… like bones being crunched!"

His voice dropped to a whisper. "They were muttering to each other, like they were deciding how to cook me up."

"I felt so sick, Shino. I nearly threw up all that seafood I’d eaten earlier."

Shino’s gaze was unwavering. "So… then you ran?"

Shen Yu nodded vigorously. "Of course, I ran. You think I was gonna wait around to die?"

"But getting away wasn’t as easy as you might think. I threw myself out a window and took off, running toward the woods."

"But they noticed me almost instantly!" His eyes darted as if reliving the moment. "They let out these high-pitched screams and cries that chilled me to the bone!"

Shen Yu’s hands were shaking. "They found me fast, too. I sprinted through the forest, the branches scraping my arms and legs until they bled, but I didn’t feel anything. My whole body was numb with fear. I was so terrified I nearly lost control of myself."

He gulped, his words tumbling out. "Their footsteps—they were so quick. And the sounds, those screams, echoing through the woods, like a pack of wolves hunting… it was worse than any nightmare."

"Then, out of nowhere, I tripped and fell. My legs gave out, and I just collapsed!"

He looked down, fists clenched. "Those things caught up to me. I thought I was done for."

"But then," he said, voice dropping to a reverent whisper, "the moon suddenly turned red. You remember the Blood Moon, right? Everyone knows about it!"

"But it usually shows up later here in Asia than in North America. When that blood-red light washed over everything, it felt like the world had turned into a horror film."

He laughed nervously. "It sounds impossible, but those creatures—those things—just froze. They stopped dead in their tracks and stared up at the Blood Moon, motionless, hypnotized."

"I somehow managed to scramble back to my feet and run. I kept running until I reached the main road. I don’t know who found me, but they took me to the hospital."

Shen Yu rubbed his temples. "But after that, I had seven nights of nightmares."

Shino put his cup down, his gaze steady. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Shen Yu locked eyes with him, unblinking. "Ever since I realized the world isn’t as it seems, strange things keep piling up."

He pulled a photo from his pocket and slid it across the table.

It was a grainy image of a man with crimson eyes and gleaming fangs.

"I happened to come across vampires one night. They seemed to be looking for someone, and I overheard them talking in a place they frequented."

"They were looking for someone named Shino."

Shino tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanged. "And?"

Shen Yu’s voice trembled. "You’re… a vampire royal, aren’t you?"

Shino’s tone was cold. "No."

"Right, there are many people named Shino. But… the Shino they’re looking for is rumored to have come back from overseas. You’re the only one I know who fits that bill."

He took a deep breath, lowering his voice. "I’m not asking you to convert me or anything…."

"I won’t turn you into a vampire."

Shen Yu blinked, stunned by Shino’s response. "N-No, that’s not what I meant."

Shino’s voice was calm but firm. "Then what do you want?"

"I… I want to go back to that fishing village. I can’t live with these nightmares hanging over me. I need answers."

Shino sighed. "Can I refuse?"

Shen Yu reached out, grabbing Shino’s hand desperately. "Please, Shino! For old time’s sake!"

Shino rose from his seat, Shen Yu scrambling to stand. "Wait—are you sure? I’ll pay you. I—"

Shino met his gaze, his expression unreadable. "Let’s go."

Shen Yu stared, stunned. "Wait… go where?"

"Didn’t you say you wanted to go to the fishing village?" Shino replied, a glint of resolve in his eyes. "Then let’s go."