Chapter Text
“Look, ma'am, I find it very hard to believe you didn’t hear anything last night.” Miss Collin’s face flushed a brilliant crimson as she angrily jabbed one of her fingers into your chest.
“I already told you all I know, now kindly leave!” With a huff she crossed her arms, suffice to say you wouldn't get anything else from her.
“Alright, I understand… Thank you for your time and corporation.” She walked you to the door, all the while keeping you away from the stairway. It seemed odd that she kept you away from it so adamantly. With one last glance over your shoulder in that direction you were outside, the door slamming shut behind you as the sound of a lock falling into place could be heard. Nothing here either. … Pulling out a smoke, lighting it with a long sigh you begin your short trek to the car, only to stop dead in your tracks. The police car you had driven here is covered in graffiti, the windshield smashed in, and the wheels slashed. Shit! How should I write this report? The familiar pull of a migraine tugged at the back of your mind, these cases were causing you some serious stress. Pulling out your phone you walked over to examine the wrecked car, the phone rang once, twice, three times before being picked up. Chief Breks answered, his voice sounded sleep deprived as well as frustrated. You considered hanging up to avoid the outburst that was sure to follow your report, but you knew you had to.
“Ebott Police Station, Chief Breks speaking.”
“Sir, its y/n l/n from the third division.” A long silence hung in the air as you waited for him to respond or to acknowledge you in any way, when that didn’t happen you spoke again. “I have a report about the monster found in the back alley of Miss Collins house… Chief?” He huffed as you heard a pen begin to write something down, most likely starting your report early. “The back alley showed signs of a struggle, there are five different sets of footprints as well as blood stains on the ground and walls. I believe the victim put up a good fight, injuring a few of them before being killed. When I questioned Miss Collins, she continued to say "she heard nothing and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Judging from the look of panic when she spoke to me, I am lead to believe she was forced to comply with whoever had done the deed, though...” Breks cut you off with a heavy sigh.
“So it’s all circumstantial evidence… look, I can’t write a report about devil's proof.” The sound of his pen tapping the paper was audible, as well as his increasing frustration. “I know it’s almost impossible to prove that there was a murder without a body, but that doesn’t mean to do a half-assed job L/n! You are assigned to these cases because you're a great detective.” A part of you scoffed once he said that, you knew full well that the only reason you were given these cases was due to the fact that you had no problems with monsters. “I expect results!” It was hard to fight the urge to snap at him, yet somehow you did it. Suppose its just a matter of biting your tongue.
“Yes sir, though I have something else to report as well.” He huffed again. “The car I took out was vandalized, I believe it is no longer usable.” The line went dead, you waited for a minute or two before speaking again. “Sir?” There was a loud slam on the other end as well as something being knocked over.
“Take your possessions out of the vehicle and report back to base!” You could hear the receiver slam down and miss the hook before a mess of curses rang out. After hanging up you stared at the car with empty eyes. Why do the people hate the monsters to such a degree? It’s not like they’re walking the streets at night and raping or killing people… Taking a long drag off the cig you open the car door to see something unexpected. In the teared up leather seats was a pristine letter, your first name written in cursive on the front. Picking it up with caution and opening it up with just as much you stared blankly at the address. It was kind of funny in a strange way, a perfect letter with just an address written in it. Clearly, it was some kind of trap, though on the off chance it was a lead… Just as some ashes fell onto the ruined seats you came to a decision. Shoving the letter in your pocket, pulling out your firearm and clicking off the safety you step out of the car. No rest for the wicked, huh.
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It took around five minutes to hail a cab and another thirty to get to the location, once you were there though you definitely could tell it was a trap. The location was in the ghetto of the human side of town, covered in gang markings. The building itself was abandoned, that much was clear as the structure was half falling apart and old bullet holes could be seen. The instant you had stepped out the cab burnt rubber, leaving you without a ride back to the more populated area. Pulling out your phone you glance at the bars. “Nothing, well that's to be expected.” With a sigh you walk to the entrance, hand hovering close to your holster, but in a manner that looked relaxed. After all it was best to not alert whoever to the fact you were armed. Pausing outside the entrance you scanned it over for any traps, still not satisfied you walked around the building, making a mental map of all the exits and unboarded windows. Once that was over with you went to the back entrance, the heavy metal door dragged as you forced it open.
“Who the hell! What are you new! You’re not supposed to use the back.” A man yelled at you the second you took a step inside. He looked young, short brown hair with brown eyes, lightly tanned skin as well as a neck tattoo. Should be easy to identify. Putting on a dumbfounded face you walked over to him, acting nervous as you shifted from foot to foot.
“Sorry, I wasn’t sure which entrance it meant.” He scoffed at you before gesturing for you to shut the door, following the order he handed you a mask.
“I’m sure you already know the plan, right.” You looked the man over as you placed the mask over your face. Seems to be all brawn and no brains, should be useful. Placing you right hand on the gun you spoke in a tone that would come across as unsure.
“I just got a message to join, didn’t get anything about a plan…” The man whipped to face you fully, shock clearly on his face, he looked to fight with himself for a moment for sighing.
“You really are a newbie… well shit, don’t really have time for a trial… ok, here’s the thing. We’re here to bring out the freaks for tonight's show, though we can’t do that until we get the signal.” You forced a smirk as you nodded your head, the man then turned away to face the direction that you assumed the signal would come from. In that second you pulled out your gun, bringing it down hard on his head. Needless to say, he was out cold. Thanks for making it easy. You thought to yourself as you frisked him, the only things you found were a set of keys and a pocket knife. You half wondered if you should turn back right now and try to call for back-up than again you’d been chasing dead ends for the last seven months and in that time you couldn’t even solve one of the thirteen monster cases. Plus the chief did say to get results, maybe it was the sleepless nights or the pure exhaustion and rage, but you really thought it was a good idea to continue infiltrating whatever this was. Gun at the ready you start your descent further in the building.
As you walked down the hall you noticed curtains at the very end as well as a door with a lock, being wary you knocked on the metal door softly. Whimpering could be heard on the other side, pulling out the keys you whispered as quietly as you could. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but everything's going to be okay. I’m unlocking the door so please step away.” You hear nothing but unsteady breaths, taking care to not alert anyone you hold the chain well fiddling with the lock. Once you managed to get it undone you took a step back, hands in place to pull the doors open.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!” Spinning around you accidentally threw a punch, the man falling to the ground with a loud thump before he hissed in pain. You acted rash, but you knew you had to knock him out now or he may alert others. Jumping on the man, knees hitting him in the stomach as you land on top of him. He wheezed for a moment before you swung the gun down hoping to end it quick. The guy somehow caught it, flinging you backwards into the door. Now normally you would have gotten right back up, but a woman whom you hadn’t seen, let alone heard, pressed the barrel of her gun to your head.
“Put your hands up.” You could tell she was seething with rage as she jabbed the gun harder against the your skull. You glance towards the woman, studying her as the guy got to his feet. Her hands were shaking slightly, clear signs of never having killed anyone before, though that's not to say she hasn’t killed a monster before. Monster haters saw monsters as inhumans that could be killed without care, not dissimilar to that of killing a bug. Just something to get rid of, though the man definitely has ended his fair share of lives. Just from the sheer power from his throw or the fact that he can take a punch like it was nothing, he has to have either done military or at the very least been in a gang for a long time. As your thoughts raced the guy grabbed the gun and aimed just to the right of your head. Pulling the trigger with a grin, the sound was deafening. Still, you and the man never looked away from each other, the woman however covered her ears as she shrieked.
“Get up and no funny moves or else.” You let out a dry chuckle as you did as you were told, knowing far better than to do something stupid to get yourself killed. His eyes never left yours as he spoke to the cowering girl. “Open the door for our friend.” She gave out a whimper as she compiled. You moved to the side as to give her space, still actively looking for a chance to get his gun. Once the door was open he grinned. “You’ll stay here until we decide what to do with you.” With that, you were shoved and the door slammed shut. Well, this is a real shit show. A soft voice called out to you, probably the source of the whimpering form earlier.
“Wer-were you shot?” Glancing up from your position on the floor, you were face to face with a Shyren.