It is pending daylight. The sun had just begun to smudge the expanse of blue sky with a brush of scarlet, a dot of yellow, and a streak of purple; the grasses were still dewy under my feet.
My vision rocketed to the clouds with its sluggish progression. The ivy rose the barricades, and spiders trudged on the web concocted in my line of sight. My younger self would've been frightened of the poison it retained. But the only poison to be found right now was not within the ivy or spiders but found woven into my being.
I loitered a few minutes understanding my name was likely to be yelled as my gazes followed the spider weaving his generated web with seriousness and then cut it off before forming a new string. Sweat wriggled down my cheekbone and plummeted to the lines of my neck. My lips and throat had run dry from running and jogging that morning and the hunger for something warm almost swarmed my brain. But I shook my head and raised from the ground, patting the inhaler at the side of my pocket as I prepared to resume jogging.
I had stayed in a corner, a little distance from others as I attempted to soothe my pacing thoughts. Things that happened after the mock-turned-real investigation.
"Twenty extra laps Quinn! You're lazily behind as usual." The trainer ordered, and the need to correct his sentence played forward to the tip of my tongue. But correcting him propels an extra on the laps. "Getting extra credits for discovering a murder and actually solving it are different things, Quinn, don't get your hopes up." It wasn't meant to sound mocking, but it did. However, I took no offence. If the coach's mean words were my problems right now, I would have been grateful.
I continued my lap as annoyance slowly built inside me. After taking out the fake corpse underneath the house, I told them that the woman in the kitchen was a real corpse and even misstepped by keeping ajar the heart hole. A mistake. The brunette and dark girl threw up, partially on my new pair of trainers and suddenly couldn't stand being beside the dead woman. And after that, I called Mr Berlin on the latest discovery about the recently dead body. We were discarded after fingerprints and other stuff for investigation were sucked off from us.
The male called in sick, which leaves me to uncover the mystery of the murder. Although Agents were on the case, it was a test on me and I honestly didn't want such a test. I can't tell him I'm acquainted with the heart hole-r? Or a certain blue eyes transformer that sucked off her entire blood. It will only subject them to danger. Lazaros was ruthless.
I was thankful they wouldn't be able to snuff out the almost unidentifiable stench of undead. What I didn't understand was why the killer killed her. Or why bring her after killing her to a deserted building meant for mock investigations? Only people at the agency know me and my team are going there.
From what Lazaros said, I understood that whoever this banny was wanted me caught and branded or simply annihilated. But the address information couldn't have been linked out just after a few hours of receiving the notification. Especially when it's a rule not to disclose it until after exploration.
This made me realize one thing. There's another intelligent vampire like Lazaros. A mole at the academy/agency. A female. A female who disliked him. A female that needs to be caught for safety.
"You're slacking off Quinn!" The coach yelled at me from a distance. I hastened my movements. I couldn't bring my gun to the academy, the gun was licensed and meant as a tool for protection on patrol.
I cleaned my face as I took a quick bath after the race. I had just one lecture. Criminal law.
After this class, there's a practical training which happens to be how to interview witnesses. But I was summoned by the Director. It was unexpected and odd to be called by the Director, especially for a trainee. Panic blasted through me as I heard this.
A string of baffled stares met my face and a few awed females desired to be in my place. I should have been fascinated, enthusiastic and honoured to have been summoned by the Director of the agency, but right this moment I wasn't.
The man was said to be massively vigilant.
The scratching sounds of doors unfurling and closing let loose along the hallway. I could make out the activities of people pacing up and down as thoughts of the renowned Director gracing his presence at the academy.
Anchoring at the door to Mr Berlin's office, I drummed my knuckles gently, softer than usual.
"Come in."
Taking notice of the confirmation, my arms extended to gently push loose the door. Inside the office were three individuals, my vision sauntered through the faces. Mr Berlin, the director and a female. They were posing on different sides of the room. I didn't watch them much so as not to seem rude, but despite just looking at them for a second, I was frozen at the female. I however got hold of myself.
My frame twisted, tilting, folding my hands behind me. "Good day sir," I spoke respectfully to the Director, the same to Mr Berlin and a nod greeting to the female.
"Roman Quinn," My name rolled off the Director's tongue and I almost grimaced. He said it with a tone that made me know he wanted something from me. My service or my head.
And I was right.
He proceeded after saying my name.
"I'm aware you understand the crises the country is encountering; the bat virus subjecting people into wild beasts which results in great loss of lives." He explained.
"Yes sir," I responded.
He puffed out as he moved his relaxed back off the body of the chair and inclined at the tip of it. "From our data, you're the only one presumably more knowledgeable about it since you've experienced their cruelty and yet survived it unharmed and uninfected. So, you- or rather your body and mind know more about them than any other sane person."
I silently waited for what he was aiming to do. But the female responded this time. Her legs crossed over her knees with an intimidating posture. Her black gown in conspiracy with her hair seemed to firmly yet perfectly illuminate her curvy shape despite sitting down.
"So, we want to recruit you as a pre-agent to help solve this case. If this threat isn't taken down it might contaminate the entire country, or become a global virus, leading to destruction of many sorts." The words rolled off her mouth like they'd been said a million times. Her facial expression has been the same since I stepped into the room. Embodiment of boredom.
My eyes spiralled to Mr Berlin to hear him say what he deemed about this. I knew Mr Berlin didn't agree with this, I could see the helpless sparkle in his eyes. He nodded his head and forced a smile. I wished for his usual non-smiling face since this suddenly came off scary. No wonder he rarely smiled. "It would be a great experience, much better than the academy since it is a real-life adventure." He simply said, nodding his head to me in reassurance.
The Director's feet stamped on the ground as he raised from the chair. He walked closer to me and said. "Then let me formally introduce myself; I'm Director Donald Beck of the Counterterrorism Division," His head twirled over to the sitting female and gestured with his arm at her. "And this is Agent Alice Hunters." He pats me softly on my shoulder and speaks again. "She's overseeing this case and you'll be assisting her. You'll get to meet the rest of the team when you arrive at the agency tomorrow." He removed his palm from my shoulder and meandered towards Mr Berlin.
"We'll be leaving now. Got something to settle." He said and Mr Berlin nodded. He turned to the female, whose bored mask didn't seem to peel off.
My eyes watched as she dropped her lapping foot on the floor and proceeded to stand up. And I was right. Her curves were situated in the right places and the wiggling of her hip on the floor-length gown with each step she took. Her sluggish steps teased the visions as they compelled eyes to keep watching. Her body movement held a taste of elegance and a tinge of indifference. I wondered why she was almost bored out of her mind.
She'd been watching me. I knew. Observing me, her eyes unwavering as if trying to see what was underneath my skin. And her eyes almost seemed like she could actually see underneath it. Goodness.
Finally, she shifted her eyes off me and proceeded to the door with the director, and the door closed behind them. I watched as Mr Berlin's back stamped on the rear of his chair; he'd been sitting on the tip.
"I'm not sure how long you'll survive this, but you have to, Quinn." He warned softly, releasing a breath I knew had hoarded up his chest for long. "You can leave now, you can go home." His head bowed to the table and he began filling a file.
I nodded, then reached for the door. This was more than solving the murder case I'd been worrying about.
My heavy legs stomped back to the practical training grounds, I noticed they were halfway done. Curious and awed eyes fell on me, and I understood they already knew.
"Congratulations Roman!" A girl at the side said loudly, evident excitement at the thought of her being next to be picked.
A few more congratulations and I could feel my head spinning. I wanted to go home, then I realized I could. So I discarded the rest of the lessons for the day and picked up my cross bag. The lecturer didn't complain and even seemed proud.
Since I was off patrol for the time being, the car was taken from me and given to another person serving punishment. So I stopped a taxi and went to Williamsburg.
The agency had given me a new apartment to compensate for burning down my own 'accidentally'. So I planned to move out tonight since tomorrow things were going to be different.
Thomas was getting better, but his sickness hadn't been cured yet; probably because I hadn't received a task from Lazaros. This made me almost believe he was waiting for this moment. The moment I had a different control backing me.
Later that day at the dining table.
"So, you're moving out tonight?" Mrs Williamsburg asked as she paused her eating, her eyes drifting between me and Thomas.
"Yes ma'am," We simultaneously replied.
Mrs Williamsburg nodded her head and didn't say much as she crunched gently on her greens. Which leaves Grace who doesn't agree.
"But Thomas needs treatment." She said, not liking the thought of us moving out. "He could be in serious danger if it's not tended to."
"I know, but I'll find a nurse by dawn," I assured. But her words next surprised me, knowing how she disliked him at the beginning.
"I can be his nurse." She said. Mrs Williamsburg didn't bother raising her head at her daughter's words as she continued eating.
"Sure." I didn't think much about it since I'd been seeing improvement in Thomas since she started tending to him. My eyes drifted down to Thomas who also didn't mind.
The evening and conversation went off better than I'd expected. Later that night me and Thomas moved to the new apartment, which was already furnished and equipped with the necessary amenities.
I proceeded to my room alongside Thomas who slept off after five minutes of climbing into his bed.
I turned off the light and sat on my bed. I tried not to fill my head with thoughts about my new assignment. My first and legal assignment.
I should be happy. But I wasn't. Sleep gradually washed me away.
That night I had a dream. My father, a middle-aged policeman, was telling my younger self and Thomas about the bad guy caught by him that evening. He said the bad guy killed a woman by cutting her off her breasts and carved some words on her body with a scraper blade. It wasn't smart telling a kid such gory details but my father had always believed to train our minds at an earlier age to help us face the cruelty of life.
"That man is a monster!" Young Thomas said, frowning and authentically grimacing at the thoughts of the physical pain the woman had been subjected to.
My father just chuckled and shook his head at Thomas's claim. Then he calmly asked. "Draw a monster in your head, and tell me why it's a monster?"
Young Thomas thought about this for a while, unable to find the word to use. But I replied quietly, which was quite unexpected since I was always the muted type during these conversations.
"Because of the darkness in it."