When Jojo was contemplating why he couldn't sense any sins from inside the truck that had just passed through the highway, his narrowed eyes reflected the crazy thoughts crossing his mind, which he soon shook off.
"That was the truck that was following us?"
Noticing Jojo still looking in the direction where the old truck had left, Darry broke the silence.
Previously, David and Dana had not fully believed what Darry had told them when he pointed out the old truck passing through the highway.
But after the forensic report and David's terrifying experience with the Creeper when he tried to follow the old truck, the atmosphere became very heavy.
"Freya... be careful while coming through. Stay alert while arriving,"
Jojo said with a serious expression, warning Freya to stay cautious while travelling to the location of the rundown hotel via the highway, and then ended the call.
Huff~ Huff~
David, succumbing to his panic, began to feel as though he couldn't breathe properly.
Seeing this, Dana immediately tried to calm him down, reassuring him that he was safe here.
Sigh~
Looking at her superior, once known for his cold and calm demeanour whenever he handled tough cases—a trait that had earned him the respect of many colleagues—Dana felt a pang of sadness seeing him in such a state.
"You don't understand, Dana. That thing has wings on its back... and eats us humans like a late-night snack."
Chuckle~
Hearing his assistant deputy trying to calm him down, David let out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head.
He told Dana she didn't understand the gravity of the situation they were in and revealed that the monster that attacked him had wings.
Gulp~
"Sister... let's leave. Let them handle it from here."
When Darry saw the serious expression on the police officer's face, he gulped involuntarily.
The gruesome images of the stitched-together dead bodies he'd seen in the old church resurfaced in his mind, sending a shiver down his spine.
"____"
Trish, who had been silently listening to everything happening, couldn't fully comprehend or believe the situation.
However, she distinctly remembered the old woman mentioning that the killer—who wasn't human—was after her brother.
"Why is the killer after my brother?"
After some thought, Trish turned to Jojo, her voice laced with both fear and determination.
Even though the situation seemed surreal, she wanted to know the full truth before deciding what to do.
Looking at the state of the cop, David, only strengthened her resolve not to take any chances with her brother's safety.
Cough~
"Well..."
Noticing her determined demeanour, Jojo asked her to take a seat.
He began explaining why they were being targeted, who was after them, and what that thing truly was.
This time, even David remained silent, eager to hear the explanation.
He wanted to understand what kind of crazy things these siblings had done to provoke a demon to come after them as if they were their sworn enemies.
With some thought, Jojo began to explain.
"When Darry and Trish noticed the Creeper throwing its prey into the tunnel beneath the old church, they panicked and got caught in its attention. The Creeper suspected the two might have seen something they shouldn't have, especially when it saw how quickly they fled."
Jojo's tone turned serious as he continued,
"With its secret potentially compromised, it decided to follow them and tried to kill both of them in a hit-and-run attempt—partly to silence them, and partly for some extra snacks."
He paused, sighing heavily.
Sigh~
"But due to sheer luck, they escaped its initial attempts. The Creeper, realizing it had fresh prey waiting back at the church, left them alone to devour what it had already caught."
Jojo stopped for a moment, his gaze turning toward Darry with a complicated expression before continuing.
"This entire situation could've been avoided... if Darry had better control over his curiosity."
Jojo's voice carried both frustration and resignation.
"Now the Creeper is on your trail like a vengeful ghost. It had to destroy one of its favourite hideouts because someone couldn't resist breaking into the church and running off. Darry's luck was the only thing that saved him—he didn't trigger any of the traps the Creeper had laid, except breaking the door."
Jojo's expression darkened as he dropped the final revelation.
"The Creeper isn't human. It's a demon that has lived for thousands of years, hunting humans every 23rd year for 23 days. And now... it's holding a grudge against you, Darry."
He looked directly at him, his tone grave.
"It's locked onto you, and you just so happen to have perfectly healthy organs—prime cuts to its 'preferential taste.'"
"____"
Hearing the full explanation, Trish, David, and Dana turned to Darry, their faces dark and incredulous.
"You're telling me this whole mess is because of... you?"
Their accusing eyes bore into Darry, who squirmed under their collective gaze.
Avoiding their eye contact, he muttered,
"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"Darry,"
Trish hissed, her tone low but quickly escalating.
"How many times have I told you—we should've never gone back to that church! And now... look at the mess you've dragged us into!"
Her voice rose with every word, her frustration palpable.
Sigh~
David, trying to ignore Trish's scolding, turned to Jojo, his expression weary.
"What's next?"
he asked, his voice carrying a faint hope for a solution to their predicament.
David's question hung in the air, heavy with tension.
He looked at Jojo, desperate for an answer.
"Is there any way to escape this thing? To avoid being killed?"
Chuckle~
Jojo let out a small, awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.
"Well... there's not a simple solution,"
he began cautiously.
"But for now, we're going to wait until my team arrives. I came here ahead of them to prevent any mishaps from happening while we set up."
Jojo's casual demeanour contrasted sharply with the gravity of the situation, but his words carried a calm assurance.
David frowned.
"Team? What kind of team?"
"You'll see,"
Jojo replied, his tone cryptic but firm.
"They're professionals—trust me. If anyone can help us out of this mess, it's them."
The room fell silent again, the weight of Jojo's words settling on everyone.
Trish crossed her arms, still fuming at Darry but focusing her frustration on their current predicament.
Darry, meanwhile, looked more uncomfortable than ever, avoiding everyone's gaze.
Dana broke the silence.
"So, we just wait? That's your plan?"
"For now, yes,"
Jojo replied calmly, leaning back slightly.
"Anything else would risk drawing it to us sooner. The Creeper's smart—too smart. We need to be ready before we make our move."
The group exchanged uneasy glances, realizing they were trapped in a deadly waiting game.
Freya's Side...
After arriving in Florida, Freya and her assembled team rented two cars from a local rental service.
Guided by Sara's directions, they began their journey toward the downed hotel where Jojo was currently stationed.
The team consisted of a diverse group: Leah Clearwater and Jacob Black from the Quileute tribe, three Cullen family members—Alice, Rosalie,
and Edward—who joined under pressure from Edward's family and girlfriend to decide on her transformation,
and finally, the Mikaelson brothers, Elijah and Klaus, who decided to tag along after hearing of Freya's involvement in this supernatural mission.
As the cars sped along the highway, Sara kept them updated via phone, relaying the tense situation Jojo was facing.
"You should consider joining the DMC, Elijah,"
Freya said casually, breaking the chatter in the car she shared with her brothers, Leah, and Jacob.
Chuckle~
Elijah raised an eyebrow, his lips curving into a small smile.
"I appreciate the offer, Freya, but I already have my hands full with Klaus."
Hearing this, Klaus rolled his eyes and huffed.
"Oh, very funny,"
he muttered though he made no effort to refute the claim.
Elijah's words, while delivered in jest, held an underlying truth.
Over the years, Klaus had been the source of countless headaches for his siblings, his volatile nature often testing their patience.
Klaus sighed, turning his gaze out the window, letting the conversation move on without further argument.
Laugh~ Laugh~
Freya chuckled at her brother's reaction.
"Well, when you put it that way, it does make sense,"
she said, shaking her head.
Though spoken lightly, Freya couldn't ignore the validity of Elijah's words.
Klaus had indeed changed since the birth of Hope, his daughter, but his siblings remained cautious.
His past instability had left deep scars, and they all feared he might relapse.
Still, for now, Klaus seemed determined to stay on the right path, motivated by his desire to be a good father.
The car fell into a brief silence, the hum of the engine the only sound as Freya's team pressed onward toward their destination, where the fate of Jojo and those with him awaited resolution.
As Freya's team drove down the highway, they passed an old church surrounded by fire engines and police vehicles.
Yellow tape cordoned off the area, barring unauthorized entry.
Ambulances lined the roadside, their workers moving stretchers carrying deformed bodies in awkward positions—many of them stitched together in grotesque forms.
"It seems like their bodies were somehow preserved,"
Elijah noted, his sharp eyes catching the disturbing details on a passing stretcher.
The team, consisting of vampires, hybrids, witches, and shapeshifters, detected the stench of death that lingered in the air.
It was overpowering.
Unlike regular humans, they could discern much more in a single glance—yet even for them, this sight was unsettling.
Realizing Jojo was still waiting for them at the downed hotel, they didn't linger long.
They moved past the scene quickly, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention.
After some time on the road, the team encountered a far more horrifying sight.
A massacre stretched out before them.
Police vehicles lay destroyed, torn apart as if by some monstrous force.
The roads were slick with blood, scattered with severed body parts—hands, feet, even half of an old man's gnawed head.
Lub-dub~
"____"
Dub-lub~
Amid the carnage, Alice's keen senses picked up on something.
"Someone's still alive,"
she announced urgently.
Leah and Jacob's ears perked up at the sound, confirming the faint heartbeat.
"Yeah, I hear it too,"
Leah said, glancing at the others.
"But don't rush out, Alice. We don't know what did this."
The group paused, scanning the area for any immediate threats.
After a brief conversation with Freya, they decided to investigate cautiously.
Klaus, using his supernatural strength, flipped one of the overturned cars.
Beneath it, they discovered two survivors.
One was an old man, his body battered and his arm grotesquely broken.
Beside him lay a young man, unconscious, his legs completely crushed and bleeding profusely.
"Save... save us,"
the old man croaked weakly before succumbing to his injuries.
Elijah crouched by the young man, who was on the brink of death.
Without hesitation, he bit into his wrist, letting his blood drip into the young man's mouth before snapping his neck to begin the transformation process.
As Elijah turned to the old man, Rosalie placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.
"He's already gone,"
she said softly.
Klaus surveyed the bloody scene, his lips curling into a grin.
"It seems we've got quite an artist on our hands,"
he remarked, the carnage reminding him of someone from his darker past.
For a brief moment, Klaus's thoughts turned to his daughter, Hope.
He silently thanked himself for not telling her about his visit to Freya in Forks—otherwise, she would have insisted on tagging along, no matter how much he protested.
Still, Klaus's curiosity was piqued.
The sheer brutality of the scene intrigued him.
"Whoever did this,"
Kalus mused in a low voice,
"Might be worth meeting."
the chaos before him made him remember his old friend.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
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