"Ahhhhh!"
A loud shriek echoed in that empty tunnel; the cries of a young girl followed the growling of a hungry creature, one that had attacked her out of nowhere. Blood drenched her clothes, sadness numbing the pain of death as she laid there like a feast, mourning over her last wish. A wish to live, to survive that dreadful nightmare!
Only if she hadn't come out tonight... Only if she hadn't come all alone... Only if she had the last chance to meet her family... To bid goodbye...
Her thoughts vanished along with her last breath. Her eyes widened the next minute, turning completely black as her soul got devoured by that ghastly monster.
Satisfied with the feed, the creature licked its lip and then ran out of the ash-grey tunnel. It sprang up the thick hills, disappearing into the dark forest that surrounded the empty highway.
Soon the creepy tunnel which was never built in the first place slowly began to fade away. Its walls evaporated in the heavy rain and the dead girl slept there alone, soaking in that harsh cold storm.
-----
A few hours later.
Sirens silenced the chirping crickets, and the rain continued to silently mourn for the pitiful girl. Reporters covered the whole scene as the response team took care of the dead body. They almost trespassed the restricted area, throwing questions and trying to claim exclusives from the guarding cops.
"Is it a human?"
"Was it a vampire that fed on her?"
"Do werewolves have a hand in this murder? If so, which pack was it?"
"Was it someone from the underworld? A demon or a troll?"
"Are the Black Banes involved in it?"
The police and forensic team sighed looking at the crowd. But all they could do was wait for the KNIGHTS Agents to come over and handle them.
Amidst this mess, a loud rumble silenced the croaking reporters. As everyone turned around in confusion, lightning hit the ground before opening into a purple halo portal.
Soon, a girl covered in a thick coat walked out of it with a grim expression. Her black clothes matched the expression she wore, angry and hungry to devour someone alive.
"Kyra Yang, JD from KNIGHTS!" The girl introduced showing her ID and reporters rushed to her.
"Mam, Mam!"
"Do you have clues?"
"Were you able to trace the culprit?"
The cops immediately went to guard her as she squeezed through the bunch of stubborn reporters. They opened the laser yellow straps of the restricted zone and walked her inside.
"This bunch of sticky frogs!" Kyra grumbled as the cops closed the straps and pushed away the reporters. For god's sake, they needed to wait at least until they completed the basic protocols!
"Can't you do something to silence them?" A man wearing a black uniform walked to her and sighed out loud. "They are quite troublesome."
Kyra looked at the stupid reporters and sighed. Her hands were tied from trying something dangerous but she couldn't just sit quietly. The guards were having a hard time and she needed to help them.
"Terraterrum Defendere!"
And as she cast that spell, a huge square-shaped magical shield was set around the crime scene, covering the widest range of cops that were standing at the yellow straps. The green transparent shield soon shot up a warning for the reporters to stay away, as protruding inside would only cost them a life, at least a burnt hand.
"Anyone who dares to touch this green square, trust me you will lay next to that dead body!" Kyra warned, with a threatening glare that the reporters immediately took a step back at her order.
Some even showed their fangs in displeasure but still moved back, aware of the fact that witches were superior and more powerful than them in their world. And, though this witch standing in front of them looked pretty, her blazing blue eyes told a different tale about her.
"Thanks for that!" David, the cop from earlier mumbled, still awe-struck by her magic skills. She was new but impressive, he couldn't deny that!
"David, captain at Harbor's highway station!" He then introduced himself with a smile and led her to the dead body.
And when David removed the white cloth, Kyra shuddered in displeasure.
"Argh," She gasped as her eyes fell on the parts open with flesh and blood. The whole body was ripped apart and she winced in sympathy.
"Tina Ranger, Age 21, Human race." David briefed her, showing her the Driving license they had collected from the crushed-up car.
"Who would kill her so brutally?" She groaned squatting down to examine the body.
"Wasn't killed but eaten raw," David replied passing her a pair of gloves and then he squatted down to show the parts where flesh was missing, mostly over her hands and neck. Her abdomen was completely ripped apart, with blood turning black over time.
Kyra gulped in discomfort and leaned forward to take a deeper look at her neck which had sharp scratches. Her eyes moved upwards searching for more marks and then they stopped at her eyes. She blinked, and later gasped in shock.
"Sorry, my juniors must have forgotten to close them," David exclaimed realizing that the dead girl's eyes were still left open, slant, and sunken.
He bent forward to cover them but Kyra held his arm, "Let me have a look."
Taking the flashlight closer, she enlarged the dead body's eyes and skimmed through them. Shockingly, they weren't just black but also lacked something.
"I think it's because they were left open for a longer period. The rain might have made it worse that they are this black." David guessed the obvious facts of the black eyes.
He was true to some extent, usually due to lack of blood supply to the eyes, especially in dead human bodies, they turned black when left for a couple of hours. But something was more than that, Kyra could feel it.
"Were there any other places scratched?" She asked moving down the torch and looked for more clues.
"Except for a few scratches on her legs and waist, no other injuries." David answered, "Maybe she was trying to escape."
Kyra nodded, "And what are they like? Vampires, Werewolves, or any known creature's marks?"
Showing the marks on her waist, David added, "They are quite unfamiliar!"
Kyra nodded and went back to look at the black eyes. She needed to confirm it and get done with her assessment before that goody daddy prince of her unit arrives, and makes a fuss about his psychometric skills.
"What are your views?" David couldn't help but ask as Kyra kept looking at those sunken eyes.
"I bet her soul was eaten!" Kyra answered staring at the girl's eyes and when he stared in surprise, she smiled turning at him, "which I am sure you won't believe."
"Of course! Soul Eaters only exist in comic books." He mocked her stupid comment. Soul Eaters were destroyed along with their nests during a mutiny revolt decades ago, at least that was the tale many believed!
"Look here," Leaning a bit forward, Kyra held the flash and added, "carefully."
"There should be at least some liquid, or even say water flowing out prone to this current rainy condition. But they are completely dry, emotionless to add!" And when David observed them, she added, "there is absolutely nothing but black color, darkness to be precise. So, this body has nothing left but the flesh inside it!"
They had been here, for an hour almost looking after the dead body but none found that part suspicious.
"I can even feel a dark mysterious energy around it. I am sure the culprit is someone we don't know." David blinked before nodding when she ended with a sigh.
"Do all KNIGHTS detectives are this skilled?" He joked still admiring her clear and quite acceptive explanation. He looked at the black eyes again and Kyra seemed right, at least about the first half of her thesis.
"I doubt it!" She smiled and got up to look around for more clues.
But before they could continue, outside Kyra's green shield, a branded car stopped in front of the reporters who were sulking at her.
Two men walked out of it and they all stared at them in confusion. One was a man in his early forties, stern and sturdy with a superiority that could make anyone bow. While the other was a guy, handsome yet stylish, the one that could make women beg for his attention.
Kyra scoffed crossing her arms at their flashy entry, while David just stood there, a little surprised and curious about that limited edition sportscar.
"As you can see, the whole scene is covered in a defensive shield," A reporter who was standing in front of the shield, continued her live report showing the green shield, "The KNIGHTS agent is just curbing our rights, our virtue to deliver the best to you!"
The old man looked at Kyra who sighed before opening the shield for them.
"Is this your another foolish magic show of yours?" Kevin commented as they walked toward them.
"Yeah." She nodded and crossing her arms, she mocked him, "Just like your another flashy foolish entry." Turning to the old man, she continued, "Which you foolishly thought was faster than my teleportation."
Her eyes mainly focused on the old man, the one who denied to teleport with her and chose his stupid sports car.
"It was dangerous to teleport in this rain," Kevin answered instead of his chief who ignored her and scanned the area.
"Yeah! Dangerous only for old men and freaking puppies like you." Kyra ridiculed them and that only made Kevin scoff out loud while David gasped in surprise.
But before he could argue back, Chief Adams interrupted him moving towards the dead body, "Did you have a look?"
He had important things to do than wait for their silly fight to end. Given their dislike for each other, he was sure they would fight all day.
"Look at her eyes." Kyra answered as Andrew wore the gloves and squatted in front of the body. "Not just the flesh but I think even her soul was consumed by the culprit."
"So now you are even making tales! Haha, kudos Kyra!" Kevin laughed, mostly surprised by her new uncanny theory that lacked facts and sense as well.
"Look at her eyes! It's quite visible!" Kyra pressed again and pointed at those black eyes.
"Dear, the eyes of a dead body can turn black if kept open for longer hours," Kevin stated the facts but knew very well Kyra wouldn't stop just by that mere fact.
"Let's send it to the forensic team first. We can discuss your unrealistic theories later." Chief Adams uttered and nodded to David to continue with the further processing of the body.
"No!" Kyra stopped David and looked at her chief, "Let's call a grim reaper first,"
And that caught everyone's attention. The cops who were working on the other side, even turned around to look at her. Calling out people from the afterlife? She was insane!
"Are you nuts?" Chief Adams glared for she had already crossed her lines.
Calling those death-awaiting creatures? She was sure crazy thought a few reporters who had already heard her and were busy taking notes of their whole conversation.
"Yes, I am!" Kyra grumbled annoyed that he was ignoring the true facts.
"Now, will you summon them," And when Andrew's fangs came out in anger, she calmly added, "Or should I do it?"