The evening was calm and only the sound of waves hitting the shores could be heard. The sun was setting, and it was halfway above the ocean. The moon appeared opposite the sun, waiting for its turn to shine. Couples were holding hands while walking along the beach.
Three men were packing up their equipment and were beginning to close up shop. They were loading all the stuff into the truck to bring back with them.
"What a shitty day..." Ian depressingly said. He arranged the condiments inside a box before storing it in the truck.
"I felt like a slave working non-stop with no breaks." Ian continued. He let out a deep sigh.
"You had a shitty day? Get your head out of your ass." Ray glared at Ian and Conner. "You two are going to kill me before my age does with all the bull crap you put me through."
"I already have a coffin waiting for you to get in, old man." Ian snidely replied while gesturing himself opening a coffin to Ray.
Ian laughed hysterically before getting hit in the head by a flying, empty box. Ray immediately tackled him afterward and the two of them scuffled. Sand flew everywhere as they rolled around the beach.
"Guys, guys! Can you both stop fighting for once? Both of you always have different reasons to fight every day. Let's just finish packing up our stuff, okay?" Conner persuaded as he tried to separate them.
"Shut the hell up, Conner!" Both of them yelled and pushed him away before fighting it out again.
....
The three of them finished loading everything onto the truck and said their goodbyes. Ian watched both of them drive off towards town before walking to the pier where he left his bike at. He walked at a steady pace while enjoying the view of the ocean. People who were walking close to him slowly backed away when they saw his frightening gaze. Ian didn't mind as this happened regularly for him. He looked around and saw a couple sitting down on the beach while watching the waves come in.
"Damn, I really need a girlfriend." Ian sullenly said as he looked down. He was jealous of the couple acting romantic. When he looked back at the couple, he noticed something protruding out of the water.
"What the hell is that? A dolphin? A shark? That thing is huge!" Ian shouted in surprise. He couldn't see it clearly as it's still too far away to catch a good glimpse of it. He tried taking a closer look at it by walking towards the water, but it disappeared from his sight. His stomach started growling. He looked at the sky and saw it darkened. The lights from the town brightened as the sun slowly descends.
"Ahh...whatever. Hopefully, I still have more leftover chicken in the fridge." He said as he turned and walked back again towards the pier. He walked upon the wooden stairs next to the sand dunes and head towards his bike to unlock it. It took him fifteen minutes to reach his apartment as it was fairly close to the beach. Ian had been living alone in this apartment for three years since he left his dad.
Ian lived on the first floor of the apartment complex. It was a small apartment unit fit for one person. The living room had a door leading to his bedroom. He doesn't sleep in the bedroom because it's been used for storage space. Cardboard boxes were spread across the floor of his bedroom. Adjacent to the living room was the kitchen that looked like it hasn't been cleaned in days. Pots and pans were still on the oven while dishes were stacked up in the sink. Ian was living a frugal lifestyle with minimal furniture with only a TV, and his phone to entertain him. He's been saving up years worth of money to buy his dream car.
He felt the exhaustion from working so he ate the leftover chicken in the living room before directly passing out on his grey couch.
....
"There has been many reports of people missing and several dead bodies found throughout various beaches all across Condria's east coast. Several bodies had been mutilated while in some cases, blood was only found. Condria Investigation Bureau had stated that groups of individuals or gangs may be the cause for the deaths of these victims. However, no traces of evidence were fou-"The reporter said before the TV turned off.
"So many crazy people in this damn world!" Ian exclaimed. He tossed the remote on the couch and was getting ready to head to work. Ian grabbed his bike by the window and left out of his front door. He hopped on his bike and was about to leave when he heard a girl calling his name.
"Ian, wait!" A young woman called out to him while running, "I uh- my mom made you some food in case you ever get hungry while working..."
Her gaze never moved from the ground. She didn't want him to see her flushed face. She stuck her hand out to give him a bag. The young woman had beautiful, silky brown hair with the colors of black mixed in that glistened in the sunlight. Her wavy hair reached her lower neck, but it was flowing along beautifully with the gentle wind that passed by. Just like many people living in this town, she had a nice, lightly tanned skin which complemented her hair color. She had loving, grey eyes that shined like crystals. Her nose was small and cute and she had red cupid bow lips. It accentuated her beauty when she smiles. She was only a year younger than Ian, but she was about a head shorter than him, standing around five feet and three inches. She was wearing a plain, blue shirt that couldn't hide her chest and denim shorts that exposed most of her beautiful legs. Ian had a crush on her for a long time but never had the guts to tell her his feelings.
Ian reached out as he grabbed the bag from her. His heart warmed as he grinned and said, "Lily, you and that dumb old hag have been taking care of me for the past three years. Really, thank you."
Ian never had anyone treat him this kindly since he was young. From his high school days up until now, many thought of him as a delinquent so he never made that many friends. Ever since he came here, Lily and her mother had treated him like family which made him happy.
Lily pretended to be angry and shouted, "H-Hey! That's my mom, you idiot!" She couldn't hide her bashful smile when he thanked her. Ian blushed slightly when he saw her smile. They both looked at each other but were too nervous to say anything.
"Lily! I need you to come back and help me with the laundry!" A voice that came from a middle-aged woman interrupted their mood.
"Okay, I'm coming!' Lily turned towards the voice and shouted before looking back at Ian.
" I-I have to go now." She timidly said before running towards her apartment that was three doors down from where Ian lived.
Ian looked at her back, the tingling sensation in his chest still hasn't gone away. He couldn't stop thinking about her.
"If only I had my dream car to show it off and drive her around town, then she would think I'm cool." Ian shamelessly said. His motivation built up as he kept thinking about it. He hastily rode his bike to work with a grin.
At the beach, there were many police vehicles on the scene. Barrier tape was there to prevent unauthorized access to the crime scene. Blood stained the sand around the areas of the two heads that were cleanly cut off. Screams could be heard as some people looked away at the horrible sight. More people gathered around as the policemen tried to scatter them away. Ian walked towards the crime scene to see what's going on.
As one of the policemen was shrouding the two heads, Ian caught a glimpse at one of their faces and his pupils shrunk.