19:30, VOID Headquarters, Beach Road, 04 Jan 2075
“How long will it take?” Joel asked as he and Ellen watched one of VOID’s resident mediums, currently possessed by Hood, drew pictures after pictures of what Hood had seen in the death memories of one of the victims from what the news were now referring to as the Jalan Mempurong Massacre.
“Almost done, I think, and a good thing too, considering that it’s almost the end of our shift.”
“What’s Zai and Shawn doing?”
“I’m not sure. Major Crimes Division gave the Cold Case Unit orders to forward a number of unsolved cases involving the Scorpions four hours ago and they’ve been combing through all the documents with the new marshal.”
“Any notable cases?”
“Actually, all are murder cases and some of which involves violent sexual assault being committed upon the victims. Andy from the Cold Case Unit told me they have never taken so many cases out from their lockers. Wait, don’t tell me Hood saw something in the death memories from those dead Scorpions in the morgue-”
“A crime of the worst nature being committed by the dead man when he was still alive. That’s what Shawn said. Who thought dead men tell no tales?” Joel commented, looking refreshed all of a sudden only to then frown as he continued, “Problem is, even if we are able to identify the victim from what Hood saw in the deceased’s death memories, the court does not accept death memories as evidence. We’ll need to use them to find actual physical evidence that are submittable in court.”
“Yeah, I can see why that is going to be a problem...”
The medium suddenly let out a gasp and his entire body bent backwards, arms in an unnatural chicken wing position as he began to shudder violently, followed by dark smoke emitting from his mouth and reforming into Hood, who gave the now panting medium a look of concern before dissipating into thin air.
“Are you all right, Mr Huang?” Joel asked as he grabbed a bottle of water off his desk and handed it to the elderly medium.
“Yes, yes, I am fine, just very tired… Sometimes I forget that Hood is the type of ghost that throws exorcists out the door instead of being banished.”
“Have a seat. Not a lot of mediums can handle allowing Hood into their bodies for more than fifteen minutes. You were doing it for almost an hour,” Ellen said as she and Joel helped Mr Hang to a chair.
“I know, but when Hood possessed my body, I saw what he saw in those death memories and I felt just as disgusted as he did. I hope those pictures will help.”
Joel took a look at the pictures Hood had drawn using the body of Mr Huang. One depicted a set of razor-sharp jaws from a person’s frontal point-of-view. Another showed a webbed feet on what seemed to be mud. A third showed some sort of aquatic entity standing over a corpse and the fourth was a huge claw grabbing a human arm.
“I’m guessing this is our Othersider culprit? Is it a gill-man?”
“Doesn’t seem to be the case. Gill-men are short. This one seems towering.”
“A kappa? No, kappas are harmless except for the ones with red shells. And they’re even smaller than gill-men. Perhaps it’s a buaya jadian? No, too slim. Buaya jadians are fun-sized.”
“Better be careful saying that to Kobi. He’s trying to lose weight by adopting a herbivorous diet as of recent.”
“What the hell is he trying to do, poison his own guts going against the cycle of nature?”
“Ismail eats beetroots like no tomorrow, what are you implying? Meanwhile, our resident lembu jadian who runs the bubble tea stall at the mall likes his steak medium rare. You know, that guy who literally turns into a half-bull? I swear, if Singapore has a food shortage crisis, he’ll happily eat himself.”
The look on Ellen’s face upon hearing what Joel just said was a mix of shock and confusion, but Joel’s attention was quickly lured to some of the other drawings, which depicted a particularly graphic scene was what looked like…
“Oh, God, what the hell did Hood saw in those dead guy’s death memories?” Joel groaned in disgust at the drawing.
“What? Let me see- Oh, shit, that’s too graphic. So, at least we know now that the dead Scorpion did force himself on a female victim. Problem is which one, or was it an unreported case?”
“Nevertheless, this might help us determine the culprit’s motives, actually.”
“How so?”
“When we first found out that the deceased were all members of the Scorpions, we’ve been assuming that this was most likely a hit by rival gangs. After all, a lot of street gangs have been recruiting Othersiders into their numbers. But I’ve confirmed with the guys that secured the scene earlier today that none of the victims’ smokes and drugs were taken nor were their stashes at Jalan Mempurong raided.”
“Okay… So, what then?”
“Well, I’ve been forming a theory that there is an off-chance that the killer had personal reasons to go after them. After all, when Othersiders kill, they do it quick unless they have certain needs like a fear-eater needing their victims to be frightened or a jorogumo waiting for her venom to completely melt her prey’s insides. Why the need to rip someone into two and only take a bite out of them instead of devouring at least half the bodies? Then Hood saw in the death memories of one of the victims a past event where the Scorpions”
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“You are suggesting that the massacre was a revenge killing? Why would an Othersider want to take revenge for humans?”
“You need to realize that like us humans, Othersiders are capable of feeling anger, grief and empathy. Othersiders like aswangs, gagak jadians and fox fairies are known to retaliate with extreme prejudice against those that harmed their human friends.”
“So how do we proceed with this case?”
“We might have to face the Scorpions on their turf, see how many their leaders are willing to give up… Or we’ll have to call in the Special Combat And Rescue Unit and arrest as many as possible. After that, we’ll need to find out who is involved with what case in the past… Either way, things are going to be complicated…”
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20:30, Singapore Boundary Gate 7, 99 Beach Road, 04 Jan 2075
“You’re going back?” Shawn asked as he and Zai saw Hai Yue off, the latter performing some sort of spell while demonstrating her unique power of hydrokinesis, having drawn a sigil in the air using water from a small bottle she had Shawn buy for her from a nearby convenience store.
“Yeah, I have not prepared for a stay on the Human Side. Your squad leader, Mr Shankar, had made arrangements for an apartment near your headquarters, but I will only get the key tomorrow. Might as well go back and pack first, no?”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”
“It’s a shame Joel and I only met you for a short well today. Maybe we can talk more tomorrow, tell you all the stupid shit Shawn here got into before he was transferred to VOID,” Zai said in a joking tone.
“What? No, Zai, you do not reveal a man’s secrets to anyone, least of all a woman!”
“You mean Shawn’s bar brawls aren’t the craziest things he’s done?” Hai Yue asked as she gently shoved Shawn aside to talk to Zai who replied, “That’s just the tip of the iceburg. You should hear how he drove a truck into a brothel at Orchard Road last year.”
“Oh, shit, please, no. That one was freaking embarassing,” Shawn begged when the air around them suddenly began to shift, with a light but fast wind blowing against them as a portal began to open up in the space in front of them and Hai Yue like ripples across the water surface, revealing a large archaic path in a bustling city filled with nineteenth-century buildings with designs consisting of a mix of various Southeast Asian and British motifs.
“So this is what the Night-Sea looks like… Damn ,Shawn, you weren’t kidding about how beautiful that place was,” Zai commented.
“Ha, you were the first to accuse of lying about having visited the Night-Sea before,” Shawn replied accusingly.
“And I take my words back and offer you my most sincerest apologies.”
“I don’t reallly trust that apology but I’ll accept it since beggars can’t be choosers.”
A male, human-like soldier with sharp facial features and pointy ears wearing light metal armour over a set of green baju melayu is seen approaching the portal, a keris by his side. He was accompanied by a smaller figure wearing the same armour over what appeared to be traditional Vietnamese clothing with their face hidden by a helmet.
“High Marshal Arif, Marshal Tien-Noh,” Hai Yue greeted.
“Marshal Hai Yue, welcome back to the Night-Sea. I hope things went well on the Human Side,” the one named Arif replied as he gestured for her to step through the portal.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Hai Yue said to Shawn and Zai before waving goodbye as the portal closed, leaving the two men staring at an empty alley as the wind died down.
“I won’t mind visiting some day,” Zai commented.
“Yeah, but this just got me thinking: Why do we not have ICB station officers at each Boundary Gate to prevent illegal Othersider immigration?” Shawn asked.
“Eh, good point siah… Oh, wait, then we have to build sixteen different mini-checkpoints, one for each Boundary Gate. That might be financially and environmentally problematic, not to mention manpower issues.”
“Huh, so it’s a bad idea, after all. Darn it.”
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02:50, Gerald Drive, 05 Jan 2075
“You sure this is the place?”
A young man with a buzzcut and a small tattoo on his neck stood near the bridge over the canal with expensive bungalows and a petrol station on the other side, talking over the phone to another person.
“Yes, Billy Boy, that’s one of the routes Garky’s boys use when transporting pixie dust. Unless got someone tip off or the runner suay, cops are a rare sight in that area.”
“Okay, if that’s what you say.”
“Just make sure you’re not at the road junction which goes to Lorong Buangkok. Cops do drive past there at night. Stay on the jogging trail. Garky’s boys disguise themselves as midnight joggers and drop their stuff along the trail where their customers come to pick up after midnight. Just don’t jump the wrong guy.”
“Bro, I can tell the difference between Garky’s boys and normal people. They like to wear ear cuffs.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I heard that the other branches of Scorpions are already questioning the leadership of the northern branch. I think they’re about to throw us under the bus for what we did to those Japanese siblings-”
“Damn it, Yithish, I thought we agreed not to talk about it? No evidence, no identification, nothing to tie us to it! You don’t so paranoid can or not?”
“Billy, of the ten of us including Vance, five are dead. I don’t think it’s coincidence or bad luck. You be careful.”
“Yeah, and you be careful also. Better make sure you jump the right guy yourself or it becomes everyone’s problem,” the man known as ‘Billy Boy’ replied before hanging up.
Despite his harsh tone, Billy understood why Yithish was nervous. In fact, he was quite uncomfortable about the fact that he was alone. Richie and the others were dead, torn apart by some unknown according to news reports. Of the ten that formed the leadership of the Scorpions’ Northern Branch, only him, Vance, Yithish, Stevie and Liquid were still alive.
Vance was getting more and more unhinged over the last few weeks. The deaths of Richie and the others were just making his mind worse, and Billy knew he won’t be surprised if Vance grabs a knife and charges into a police station one day, only to get shot to hell. Yithish has been hiding at home while Shim and Loke didn’t seem to care about the situation.
Billy began walked down the jogging trail that goes all the way to Punggol Waterfront, being mindful to stick to the canal side of the trail, well aware that the clusters of trees on the other side of the trail were home to various spectral Othersiders such as pontianaks, pocongs and the restless spirits of Japanese soldiers from the era of the Second World War. He did pass by a couple of midnight joggers, but none of them appear to be Garky’s men and they did their best to avoid staring the intimidating Billy in the face as they jogged past him.
As he reached the midpoint of the jogging trail, Billy caught sight of a young man wearing a hoodie jacket dropping off a plastic bag filled with small vials under a bench before running off. Knowing immediately that he has found one of Garky’s men, Billy broke into a run, eager to catch up with his quarry.
Something in the canal had other ideas, though, and without warning, Billy is knocked to the ground by something that had leap out of the water. Surprised, Billy scrambled to his feet and pulled a switchblade out from his pocket while the sound of metal being bent was heard.
Turning around to face his assailant, Billy Boy barely had time to register who or what was standing in front of him right before he felt extreme pressure clamping down on both sides of his head, several sharp objects puncturing his face as a scream escaped his lips, a scream that barely lasted a second before silence fell upon the jogging trail…