"And who could that be?" I asked, raising a brow.
Klaus pointed ahead and I followed his gaze.
"Long brown hair, deep black eyes and to top it all off- a curvy waist."
I frowned.
How does that prove anything?
But Klaus continued anyway, "Judging from her facial appearance, I'd bet a hundred bucks that she's in her early thirties."
"….!"
I stared at him, too dumbfounded to say a word.
I tried to speak, but no word escaped my mouth.
I closed my mouth and opened it once again, and eventually, I regained my ability to speak.
Throwing him a glare, I said, "Seriously?"
Klaus coughed lightly. "Alright, alright."
Then, with a smile, he added, "But what does she have in common with the other victims?"
I arched my brow. "Curvy waist?"
Klaus let out a light cough. "Do you really think your elder brother is that thirsty?"
I nodded, completely serious. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."
Klaus sighed. "Even my own younger brother has no faith in me."
"…."
I rolled my eyes.
Can't you be serious for once.
Shaking my head, I sighed inwardly.
Klaus chuckled, but then his expression sharpened. His fingers drummed against the edge of the steering wheel.
"Anyway, let's get back to business," Lightly shaking his head, he added. "If you weren't always off on "school" trips, maybe you wouldn't have missed this.
"....?!"
I frowned. "Are you going to bicker, or get straight to the point."
Klaus reached for a newspaper and handed it over.
I looked at him skeptically. "And what am I supposed to do with this?"
His demeanor turned serious. "Pay attention."
"And tell me the similarities between each one of the victims."
I was silent for a while.
'Did I fail to notice something while going through the report?'
But,
"Alright."
I still nodded in reply.
If Klaus was this confident, then I must've overlooked something.
Tick...
Tick...
I skimmed through the article. Then-
"How did I not have realized?"
I face-palmed, eliciting a light chuckle from Klaus.
"As you can see, every single one of the victims are all in their~"
"Early thirties."
We both said at the same time.
Klaus nodded. "Now. All we've to do is wait. And we'll have the shapeshifter falling right into our trap."
I watched as Klaus rubbed his hands together, likely fantasizing about how he'd handle the creature.
Letting out a yawn, I stretched. "Well, until then, I'm gonna have a few minutes of reprieve."
Klaus nodded.
I reclined against the seat, closing my eyes.
Klaus glanced at me and smiled.
Even with all our fights and grudges... I really missed my brother.
With a light smile, he pulled out a camera.
Since shapeshifters practically resemble humans in every sense of the world.
Unless one was an awakened or a transcender, the only way to spot them would be by capturing the flare of light which occasionally flashes within the depth of their eyes. And usually, without any supernatural-related item, the next best option would be to make use of a camera.
And that was exactly what he was doing.
***
Three hours easily clocked by with the crimson rays of the moon illuminating the ground beneath it.
Klaus kept his eyes open in hopes of catching a flare of light.
Yet as the surroundings grew more and more desolate, he still hadn't found anything suspicious.
He was even beginning to question their analysis.
"Were we wrong?" he muttered.
But he still decided to keep it up.
If there still wasn't anything after one more hour.
Then he would probably hand the case over to the military agents or... the security companies.
Coming to this conclusion, he nodded and moved the camera to his face once again.
***
Twitch~!
My brows twitched, and the tremors only worsened.
It was growing faster and faster and before long,
Click... Click...
I suddenly found myself standing in a dimly lit room.
The crimson rays of the moon illuminating the room's contours.
The surrounding was white and I thought I saw eerie, dark shadows moving across the walls.
Thump... Thump...
"Where is this?" I said softly, my voice trembling.
Silence.
It stretched. Thick and suffocating. Then-
Ba- dump! Ba- dump!
A deep, pounding heartbeat reverberated in the room, rattling my ribs. My breath caught as I tried to move...
Just then-
Creak...
A voice echoed from somewhere behind me.
Thump... Thump...
I turned, my breath hitching-
But,
"...."
I was met with silence.
A silence so stifling, it sent cold chills slithering down my spine.
Forcing down the unease swiftly rising within me, I approached the door before me.
Tok...
I took my first step.
Tok...
And then, another.
Tok…
Each step was a battle against the suffocating pressure pressing in on me from all sides.
Then-
A smell of rotten corpse suddenly filled the air, causing a sonorous tremor to run through me.
~Trembling.
I blinked as my heart thundered in my ears.
And then-
Flick-!
A sudden shift.
The white walls vanished and so did the shadows.
Now, I stood in a kitchen.
Knives. Cups. Pestles. They said it all.
'What the hell is going on?'
I muttered with strained difficulty, disbelief and fear seeping into my voice.
I struggled to keep my composure.
I felt I was running mad.
I mean,
What else can explain all these strange things?!
But still, I forced myself to calm down. Forced myself to breathe.
And,
Tok…
Tok…
I slowly moved towards the door, and then,
Katcha-!
I heard it, loud and clear. It came from…
Whoosh-!
Turning back-
I saw shards of broken plates on the floor.
How...?
My gaze darted around, searching for an answer. But,
Whoosh-!
There was... nothing.
Everything seemed relatively normal.
But still, I dared not relax.
I had questions but I knew to get any answer, I had to somehow manage to survive through whatever this was.
Clenching my hands, mostly to stop the sonorous tremors running through them.
Tok~
I headed for the door once again.
Tak...
Arriving before a set of knives.
I bit onto my lower lips. I knew it was better to go in prepared.
Hence, I reached for the set of knives. But then-
Whooosssh!!!
Swiiissssh!!!!
They all flared to life!
Ba- dump! Ba- dump!
My eyes widened in horror as I tried to move out of harm's way.
And just as my life flashed before my very own eyes. Just when the knives were inches away from sending me to hell.
Thump... Thump…
~Flick-!
Another shift occurred.
"....?!"
I wasn't in the kitchen anymore.
But this time around... I wasn't alone.
A woman sat bound to a chair.
My stomach twisted, realization creeping in.
'The woman Klaus pointed at earlier...'
Tok~
Tok~
A man slowly stepped into my line of sight.
I frowned.
Who's he?
I had questions. But somehow, I knew they would be answered soon.
The man squatted before her.
Sometimes, he stood up.
And sometimes, he laughed- a sick, twisted laugh.
I watched in silent horror as he lifted a sharp tool and began to torture her.
Before long, I came to the cold realization that this was:
The shapeshifter?
But I wasn't fully sure. Not yet.
But as time went by,
I frowned.
Torturing young ladies. The psychopathic personality.
I was now more sure of it, likewise I was certain about it.
Thump… Thump…
This was definitely the shapeshifter.
Creak-!
I immediately tried to move. Tried to save the young lady.
But,
Thump. Thump.
'Fucking move you damn body!'
I couldn't.
I was frozen, and paralyzed- An unwilling spectator to the nightmare unfolding before me.
And slowly, something stirred within me.
A familiar emotion.
Anger.
It slowly crawled its way towards me.
Slowly ate me from the inside.
And the longer I watched, the more it grew.
My fists clenched.
And slowly, I could feel it building up.
Anger.
It was slowly overwhelming me.
I-...it was slowly trying to consume me.
***
The man continued with his gruesome act, clearly oblivious to my presence.
Drip…!
Drip…!
Tears streamed down the corner of the lady's eyes as she struggled to speak. Yet no words came out.
I could see it. Not only that.
But,
Thump… Thump…
I could also feel the pain.
Drip…!
Drip…!
The agony.
I felt them all.
A-almost as if I was the one going through them.
Clench~!
My fists trembled, and I had to clench them tightly in order to stop the sonorous tremors running through them.
But,
Thump… Thump…
It wasn't working.
Clench.
Nothing was working. If anything, the tremors only increased in intensity.
And in the process of quelling it, my fingers dug deep into my palm.
Drip...!
Drip...!
Blood dripped onto the ground beneath me.
Yet,
"....!"
I was oblivious to the bright red liquid flowing through my hands.
And to make matters worse. Despite the fact that the young lady was in so much pain. So much agony...
The shapeshifter simply held an eerie wide grin, laughing wildly without any restraint.
His maniac grin and laugh said it all.
He was clearly enjoying t-his... this inhumane act.
And that only further served to amplify my anger.
And what made it even worse.
Thump… Thump…
What heightened the anger swiftly rising within me?
Drip…!
Drip…!
It was the fact that I could do absolutely nothing about it.