5BH, Imperial Highway, New Manston.
"We have reached the destination." Kevin's car beeped reaching the empty road and he sighed out loud hesitating to step out.
It was rare, completely rare for a psychometrist to encounter a soulless body, and touching it was the worst experience one had to overcome in their entire career. But here he was, willing to get more for that lost soul, to touch things and relive all her wronged memories.
To his disadvantage, the whole place was silent, so silent that he could hear his own heartbeat slowly racing in fear. The street lamps were lit dimly, and the breeze was cold, harshly cold that indicating another wave of storm. And he couldn't help but gulp.
Taking a deep breath, he walked near the yellow straps. The cops and cleaning agencies cleared the place after forensic validation and he sighed seeing the drying blood stains.
Reaching the spots covered with little blood, he rolled up his sleeves and sat down to touch those stains. He couldn't stop feeling uneasy about the memories he might encounter tonight. Worse, even get trapped in them.
Kevin shook away his thoughts with a long sigh. He stretched his fingers and murmured under the cold breeze, "Let's finish it soon."
Placing his fingertips on the stains, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his mind and connect with his inner self.
He pressed his fingers harder, forcing his mind to connect with the dots, and luckily, blurred memories started to settle in the back of his mind. Slowly, those vivid memories turned clear, louder with the girl's cry, so agonizing that his mind instantly withdrew in defense. He forced out a long breathe, panting as his body started shaking in terror.
It was painful and heartbreaking to see the girl's flesh being torn apart that he retracted his hand. It looked like even she didn't wish for anyone else to see it and that numbed his eyes.
"Focus!" He muttered and stretched his fingers to read those memories again.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, this time determined to get past that emotional blockage. Placing his fingertips on the spot, he pressed harder and used all his strength to connect with that disturbing memory.
He heard cries of the girl, her flesh being torn apart and later the same pictures flashed in front of him, that oozing blood making his body shudder in discomfort. His mind started giving up again, trying to push him out of that awful scene but he was busy, too involved in figuring out the next phase of that memory.
Her flesh was continuously eaten rotten just in front of his eyes, the girl's cry almost forcing his hot tears to burst out, but that didn't stop him! He sustained that feeling, her excruciating pain, and waited to see the creature's face that was now being blocked by his wavering emotions.
Soon enough, due to his strong connection with the girl's heart-wrenching pain, and his stronger rage to tear apart that creature, he was pulled inside that timelapse, inside that distressing memory as a side-effect of extreme entanglement in the scene.
His body fell to the ground on the empty highway while his other self, his inner soul was now trapped inside that memory. He was now going through a phenomenon that psychometrists were usually warned to avoid at all costs. A trap inside the memory of the victim. A phase of being split into different worlds, into the past and the present.
Yes, he was now in a Memory Trance!
He looked at his translucent self seized in that memory; then at the creature that was ripping the girl apart. His blood boiled, his fist clenching harder in fury but he couldn't just intervene and stop that creature. Meddling in the past and disturbing the scene would only cost him to get trapped inside, maybe forever if either of the two noticed his presence.
But before he could calm himself down, the creature suddenly stopped feeding upon her. Its fur soon started glowing with a blueish hue, and its eyes then glowed in gold, so dark that it almost hurt his eyes. And the next moment, the girl was held by her bruised throat, and her white soul was consumed like smoke by that soul eater.
Standing just a meter away, Kevin's translucent body stumbled back witnessing that horrifying scene. Tears didn't hold back as the poor girl was dropped on the ground, her body left with nothing but darkness.
Licking its lips, the creature smirked in satisfaction. Soon its posture went back to its normal state and Kevin could easily predict its race. But what shook him was the tunnel soon started vanishing, blink by blink.
And worse, the creature that should have run off by now according to the dashcam report suddenly turned to his side and stared at him. Its eyes glowed gold again, piercing right through his eyes. Kevin took a step back, petrified by the sudden change of events.
'Can Can it smell me?' He thought as the creature continued to stare, its nose twitching in suspicion.
'What if it can also see me?'
'Will I forever get locked inside this memory?'
'Wi-will it eat me up as well?'
Those thoughts continued to shriek him out as the creature didn't stop staring in his direction. Sweat covered his whole face and he even felt chills running down his spine, unsure if it was because of the cold weather or the creature's menacing stare.
His worries worsened as it took a step forward. But his body denied reacting now that it was crawling in his direction. Damn! Why was he unable to move?
And in the next second, it rushed in his direction, howling so loudly that Kevin almost cried, his eyes shut tightly waiting for that creature to devour him. He would be stuck in here forever, he was now sure of it.
But to his shock, the creature just ran right through his transparent body. And the moment it passed out of him, he fell down on the road with a thud.
The creature didn't look back and sprang up the hills, soon vanishing inside the thick trees on the right side of the highway.
And Kevin lay there, his translucent body completely numb, while his mind worried about his almost shortened lifespan.
----
Crime unit-3H, Homicidal branch, Supernatural Crime Division.
Kyra's desk was a complete mess. She had papers spread all over her table, her screen playing the dashcam video while she was busy studying the old reports on her tablet.
Adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses, she played the video again, pausing when the creature showed its face, and then looked through her tab.
"This isn't just a normal soul eater." She mumbled biting her lip as she checked the pictures and descriptions of a soul eater. It was a case report recorded back in the 1900s and she found something similar in all the culprits that involved soul eaters.
Shuffling through the papers, she noted down all the suspicious clues in her small journal. It was her safe locker as everything they did on digital devices got backed up in the KNIGHTS log.
Taking out her phone, she tried connecting with the Forsenic team who asked for a few more hours to complete the report since the culprit had very rare marks and fingerprints.
"Okay, but please get it by four." She requested before ending up the call.
Stretching her arms, she leaned back on the chair and looked at the time that was now ticking almost at two in the morning. Collecting all her drafts and her tablet, Kyra walked towards Andrew's office chamber to submit her report.
She had pretty much completed her job and that made her sigh in satisfaction. Reaching the office, she didn't care to knock and just barged in only to find Anna watching something on Andrew's screen.
Anna glanced at her and then concentrated back on the screen as Andrew gestured for her to come in.
"You are just in time." He exclaimed as she walked past his desk and stood beside him.
"We got a blueprint of the CT(Culprit Tracing) department's current progress," Andrew spoke moving his mouse and Kyra looked down at the screen.
"According to their report, the GPS shows that the creature's movements are still around the crime site and inside this thick forest." He explained pointing at the green zone on the right side of the highway.
"They still need time to trace its exact location, but for now they are speculating that it's still hiding somewhere in these hills," Anna added crossing her arms as they observed the map.
"You mean to say that the creature is still somewhere around here?" Kyra asked pointing at the red dot that was moving aimlessly on the screen.
"Around the highway?" She asked again moving her finger with the red spot and when both of them nodded, she scoffed out loud.
"Holy Hell! How can you both be so calm?" She grumbled placing her hands on her waist, her face grim in disappointment.
And when Andrew just looked at her in confusion, she scolded him, "Don't tell me, you forgot you sent Kevin to collect more memories." Pointing her finger at the screen, she groaned, "To that bloody damn highway!!"
"What?" Anna gasped in surprise while Andrew's brows creased in realization.
Yes, she was right! How could he forget such a crucial thing?
"Now don't tell me, he went all alone with no pack?" Kyra questioned again crossing her arms. She was truly annoyed by his carelessness.
For goodness's sake, how could he forget such a trivial matter?
"I didn't receive any message from the defense division. So I am not very sure," Andrew mumbled making both the ladies sigh out loud.
"I am going there right now!" Kyra declared and in the next second, she was reciting her teleportation spell.
"No, wait!" Andrew tried to stop but Kyra was already gone. Anna sighed shaking her head and rushed out of the office.
What if the creature was still roaming near the highway? Kyra and Kevin both would be in grave danger!!