In the middle of the sweating heat, Fishy stood forcing his eyes open to see the body in front of him. A corpse that dripped in blood, bitten in half by something unknown. The street that the body rested in was blocked off with the help of the triplets, Tim, Tom and Tam, whilst the Elder, Clara and Ziu all joined Fishy in investigating the body.
"So, how long has this been going on?"
"About 1 week ago," The elder spoke, his voice getting harder and harder to speak as his bones cracked from just sitting down. "We had to make sure to protect the druid king but I think Elmaris was doing a better job at that then we were."
"Do we know what happened?"
"There were reports of knocking being heard during the night, people kicking about and making noise, and then the next day a body would turn up. This is the 13th victim."
"So it's not going to stop anytime soon."
Fishy slumped down in front of the body as he sipped a small potion that was filled with similar ingredients to what a normal energy drink would have. He walked over to sit down next to the elder as Ziu started to move the body to a resting place. A small graveyard the villagers build next to a shrine that helps comfort them during this obscure time.
"Do we know what it is?"
"I believe it to be an Echo Wolf." The elder spoke as Clara interrupted him, shocked at hearing what he had just said.
"There's no way it's an Echo Wolf. That's just a creature from a children's bedtime story."
"I promise you it is definitely real." No one dared to question the Elder's words as no one fully knew how long he had lived for. Ziu and Clara were petrified with fear from being reminded of the hellish children's story, whilst Fishy rested his head in his hands, not fully grasping the situation.
"So what's the story?" He asked.
"To sum it up, at night, when you are trying to get to sleep but for some reason can't, you end up moving around a lot. And maybe, whilst moving you hit your hand on the wall next to you and the wall knocks back. The exact same note, as if an echo answering back. Someone on the other side of the wall. But even then, every noise you dared to make would get copied, your breathing as it became heavier from fear became louder in your ears as you feel it's saliva pour all over you. You close your eyes thinking that you're in a dream, but when you open them, a large creature with harpoon teeth smiles wide as it stands over you on its four legs and shadow fur. Before you can make your next sound, he bites you, stealing your voice. If you're lucky, he'll bite your head off. But, it seems as if this person was unlucky. It's said to only bite once, no one has lived it's bite. You'll bleed out quickly and painfully."
"This is a children's story?" Fishy asked whilst Ziu cowered behind him, eyes darting around looking for the echo wolf.
"Every story must have some truth behind it." The elder spoke.
"But even then, no one has reported on such a creature, why is one appearing now?"
"Because, Clara," The Elder continued "there is a part of the story that goes untold. A part that says the wolf hunts those that are filled with guilt. Guilt from committing a crime and getting away with it, but they are too scared to come clean."
"We have a similar story that is told to young Vampire children," Lilith said to Fishy's mind through his shadow. "Although our story says that it hunts those that escaped death when the world decided they should die."
"So either way, it's a mythical creature," Fishy said
"Exactly!" The elder, Clara and Lilith all said simultaneously, with Clara and her grandfather staring weirdly at each other as neither of them understood who was truly in charge of this conversation.
"We just need a plan to capture this thing, Right?"
"Yes, but sadly no one knows how. The story doesn't have a happy ending. It says there is no way to destroy the creature, and we don't even fully understand if the creature is real or not.
The story of the echo wolf is different for everyone. A story with an unknown origin that has changed and shifted along with history.
Fishy looked over to Clara who worryingly sat next to the elder who seemed as if his face was being weighed down by old age. Ziu rested behind Fishy as the group turned silent as if they were faced with the impossible. Without any information or even an idea of what they had to deal with, it was guaranteed defeat.
"I might have a way to beat it," Lilith said to Fishy, initiating the conversation in his head. "If we can actually see it, then it's possible that some vampire magic can harm it. It's the most unique magic we have access to, it's better than nothing."
Lilith spoke in a relaxed tone as Fishy lied facing the above sun. She spoke about the story of the Echo wolf to Fishy but he passed it off as nothing more than a possibility. Still, even if it was a risk that the magic would have no effect, it was a better idea than anything else he can come up with.
"So, you want me to try and lure it out so you can kill it?" He responded to Lilith.
"Yes, you might not be able to sleep tonight, we need to keep an eye on the whole town for any strange noises and jump into action when possible."
Fishy understood as exhaustion continued to fall over him. The last time he was able to sleep was on the giant flower when returning from Tanba, but that was now 3 days ago.
"Ok," Fishy jumped up after swallowing a large amount of oxygen. "I think I've got a good idea."