Ty gradually regained control of his mind, focusing on the cinder block walls adorned with a dimly lit torch in the right corner, his empty eye sockets absorbing the surroundings.
Dazed and disoriented, he tried to figure out what was going on before cursing out aloud, "Damn it, don't tell me I'm in a dungeon."
As he tried to move his skeletal arms, he felt as if the flame was surging through every inch of his body, causing an endless amount of pain to surge through him, jolting through his being. Nonetheless, he gradually managed to shrug off the discomfort.
Although the shackles holding him seemed minimal, and it should have been easy for him to be able to move his bones through them, an unseen force seemed to be pinning him firmly against the wall. The more Ty struggled, the brighter the chains glowed, reinforcing their grip to hold him in place.
"Well, this is just great. I hope Elithira is okay. I'm sure she can manage it. She did mention that she has a plan, after all," Ty pondered as he dangled from the wall.
As if thinking of something, he muttered, "Maybe I can play 'dead' when someone comes to check on me. Though it could take a while... I sure hope Jade is having a better time than I am right now."
_____
Meanwhile, back in the Mortal Realm,
A Day Prior
Jade lay there, clinging onto Ty's lifeless body as his vitality faded. A solitary crow observed this scene from a nearby lamppost, its intent gaze focused on the unfolding tragedy.
Desperation filled Jade's cries as she muttered, "No, no, no! You can't die. You've always been the strongest person I have known. There's no way," her voice got hoarse as she started breaking into further tears.
A moment later, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her, sending a shiver down her spine. The faint echo of those light footsteps gave rise to a thought that crossed through her mind: What if Ty's killer was still nearby?
In a moment of panic, she spun around, screaming, "The cops are on their way here, so don't try anything else!"
Jade cautioned in her hoarse voice with tears welling up in her eyes as, but much to her shock, she saw a tall woman, standing at 6 '2", dressed in a business suit with a light tan complexion walk up to her before she squatted down.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I came here to investigate the call we received beforehand. I was hoping to arrive before anything tragic could happen, but there seemed to be some kind of Barrier that was preventing me from getting in."
Confused, Jade wiped away her tears and asked, "Barrier? What are you talking about?"
Ignoring Jade's question, the lady inquired, "Who was this person close to you?"
Asking that, she reached for a vial and a syringe before she gently slid aside a strand of her red hair that fell in front of her face.
Seeing this, Jade hesitated, her attention completely on what this woman was doing.
"He... He was my love," Jade answered the question, her voice tinged with defensiveness as she watched the woman's every move while she was near Ty's body.
Seeing what the woman was doing, Jade couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing with that syringe?"
"Don't worry," the woman said reassuringly, "Every monster that attacks leaves some traces of their essence behind. Once my lab team runs some tests on his blood, we will be able to identify the culprit and devise a plan of action to deal with this monster."
Jade, bewildered and confused, who was solely focused on the woman's explanation, didn't quite comprehend the motive behind her words and only seemed to have heard that the woman could find out who had killed Ty.
"You can find out who did this to Ty?"
"Of course," the woman replied, "It will only take a day or two of tests. But you shouldn't concern yourself with that. Let me walk you home, just in case the creature is still around, okay?"
"Oh, okay, but shouldn't we wait for the ambulances to show up, though?" Jade shot back half-heartedly.
"You can if you want to, but they will ask a few questions to you before sending you back home. But I prefer not to talk with them much so that I will go off on my own from here."
"W-wait, you said you can find who killed Ty; you have to let me help you!" Jade said, with a flash of determination in her eyes.
After taking a brief pause as if she was in deep thought, the woman responded, "Let's just first get you back home so that you can get some rest before doing anything like that, okay?"
"S-Sure," Jade responded, her eyes still welling up with tears, the skin under her eyes had started to swell and her eyes had already turned dark red after crying for so long.
As they left the park, the sounds of sirens of ambulances and police cars could be heard past them as they rushed towards Ty's location.
Jade stated, "I don't know why I'm trusting you so much, and I don't even know if I should be trusting you, but the last thing I was able to say to Ty before I saw his life fade was that I would find out who did this to him. So, my rational thinking may be a little warped tonight."
The woman put a hand on Jade's shoulder as they walked up the street and towards a set of apartments while assuring Jade, "It's okay; almost anyone in your situation would be facing a breakdown. So, get yourself some sleep and let your heart out. If you want to be of assistance for helping out who did this to your husband or need anyone to talk to, you can come visit me by the local coffee shop down the road."
Saying that she gave Jade a hug before parting ways and walking away.
After she left, Jade was once again left in the dark night with tears beginning to fall down her cheeks once more before she somehow brought herself inside her house and fell onto the couch while the TV that lay in the corner flicked on and off, due to the change in the news Channel.
*-* News Channel 8 *_*
With the recent events at play, homicide rates have been rising in New York over the last 3 years and it has risen by 200%. We're also getting reports of an incident in Chicago where 5 police officers and a drug lord died after a drug raid went wrong and the entire compound exploded.
Our hearts and prayers go out to –
*-* News Channel 8 *-*
Feeling irritated by the news, Jade promptly turned the TV off with the nearby remote before eventually succumbing to tears as she drifted into sleep while tears still continued to stream down her cheeks.
As the night grew silent, a final tear rolled down her cheek before it was wiped away, jolting Jade awake.
"T-Ty! I knew it. I knew you'd find a way, or maybe I'm just losing my mind and having any wild dreams of what I want, but this is a start."
After shaking her head and thinking of what she had experienced she muttered to herself.
"He told me to trust myself, and that's what I'm going to do." Glancing at the clock, which now displayed time 7:00 AM, she resolved to take a hot shower before getting dressed in a stand white T-shirt and some slacks with a winter coat and heading out.
Walking out the door after drinking a whole bottle of water, Jade's mind was only filled with the thought of Ty's last words which she had heard during her DREAM.
"I would be back for you, you have to stay safe and trust in yourself."
She was determined to find out who killed him and ensure to bring him or her to justice, so by the time Ty returned, there would be nothing that he would have to worry about!