Tales from the Inkwell

Blood of the Corrupt

-Continued from last newspaper-

I stared at the headlights. My mind screamed at my legs to move but they seemed as frozen as my eyes. Finally my legs listened to my mind. I ran and jumped out of the way of the corn harvester. I heard the machine move behind me before stopping. I sat up and looked at the machine, its headlights casting an eerie glow on the unharvested corn in front. I saw a man around 5’8 get out of the harvester. He spoke in a calm but concerned voice. 

“You good?” I stood up, dusting off my pants as I looked at him through the freshly harvested corn. 

“Yeah. I am…” My voice trailed off as I thought about how close I had been to seeing if there was a god or not. The man nodded before speaking again, his voice sounding more firm. “What the hell are you doing in the middle of a corn field after dark?” I thought of ways to explain that I had dreamed about finding a body before thinking about how strange it was for someone to be out at night. Most of the time it was only cops who would travel after dark, especially with the missing people. My mind wanted to add a word to people but I shook my head. No one was dead yet… I thought about how back in school they would say the power of yet. The man tilted his head and spoke again. 

“Are you going to explain or do I need to call the cops?” I shook my head no as I sighed. “No sir, I'm actually with the cops. I was searching the corn field for a missing person; Aria Robbison. Have you seen her?” The dude got off the harvester and walked over to me. I could make out some parts of his face in the darkness. I smelled something like the faint smell of mildew. “No officer, I haven't. I have heard of her though.” I nodded and the man spoke again, this time seeming more urgent. “Why are you searching for her in the middle of a cornfield with no one else though?” I pondered how to answer. “Why are you harvesting corn after sunset? Most farmers do it before then. A lot of folks also don’t go out after dark because of the missing people.” The man stepped back, almost like he had been caught stealing. He started to stutter as he spoke. “W-Well, um, s-so you see, it’s a t-tradition in my f-family to harvest at n-night.” I looked at him before pulling out my handcuffs. “Sir, under suspicious activities I have observed you are being detained.” He started to run and I tackled him to the ground. I fastened the handcuffs on his wrists before roughly yanking him up. I started to list out his rights before pushing him forward to the station. 

We walked down the road and he fought me a few times to get free. I took note of each time, starting to add the different crimes he was committing. Finally, we got to the station. I forced him into the station before dragging him to the interrogation room. Before getting there, I mumbled to an officer to get me everything they could on Riko Stoneheart. I could tell by my dream it was him. 

The room was gray with a simple table and two chairs. It was dimly lit by a lightbulb that gave the room a cold feeling. I forced the man into the chair, unhandcuffing him momentarily. We had two cuffs secured to the table and I clamped them to the man's hands before sitting in the other chair across from him. I kept my eyes on him and I could tell he was uncomfortable by the way he shifted. I spoke harshly as I started to ask questions. “What's your first and last name?” He stared at me before speaking. “Riko Stoneheart.” I acted surprised as I looked at him before smiling softly. “Oh, good. I have been meaning to talk to you. Now, first things first, you are being detained for suspicious behavior.” He rolled his eyes. I took note of that and smiled. “Now, you said it was tradition for your family to harvest corn after the sunsets.” Riko nodded. I saw the officer I had told earlier to get the information on Riko come in. He handed me a file that was pretty hefty and I took it happily. The officer walked out and I started to go through the file. I found what I was looking for, harvest records. All farmers had to sign and stamp when they harvested their crop, so that they couldn't accuse anyone of stealing their crop. It was a stupid law that was actually coming in handy. 

I looked at the records and then put them in front of Riko. “It says here from past harvest records that your family usually harvests around four o’ clock. Is that correct?” He looked at the paper before speaking quickly and clearly without thinking. “Well, it was my first time harvesting so I did it a bit later.” I pointed at the past five harvests that all had his name as the main harvester. “Are you sure about that? Because according to these records, you have harvested before, so either you waited to harvest after the sunset or you really had some bad timing.” He looked up at me before snapping. “Why the hell does this even matter? Just because I decided to harvest a little later in the day doesn't mean I kidnapped my best friend.” I knew he had a point but I felt like I was getting somewhere. The body, the dream. Something wasn't right. The dream showed me Riko when I had never seen him. What did it mean? My mind paced as I sat down across from him. “You have a point, but every bit of evidence means a step closer to finding Aria. Now, I was told that you had a fight with Aria before she disappeared. Is that correct?” He nodded and I wrote that down. “What was the fight about? Did it get physical? Was anyone else there?” Riko seemed pained at the thought and I guessed the fight had been bad. I wrote down my thoughts as he started to talk. “She had just caught me and her mom…” He looked to the side and I knew exactly what this was, slightly disgusted I spoke. “You were dating her mom?” He nodded, sighing softly. “Well, yeah, I was, I left her mom after the fight. I know it sounds wrong but I didn’t think the 13 year age gap mattered that much… Aria was livid, though, and she yelled at me for two hours straight when she found out. Her mom tried to defend me but that just made Aria even more angry. She slapped me, saying she never wanted to see either of us again.” I took notes of every single detail. It all was adding up now. Why the mom was so angry, why so many friends mentioned Riko or a close friend. They probably all knew about the fight and thought he did it. I could see where they were coming from, though. Especially because Aria hit Riko, it would make perfect sense that he would get angry and kidnap her. I looked at him again and then at my notes. “Well, Riko, I would like to say that right now you are the primary suspect.” He looked at me, anger burned in his eyes. “What?” His voice was cold and I was slightly taken back by how angry he sounded and I repeated my statement. “You are the primary suspect of this case. You and Aria had a fight and it is clear you could have many motives to kidnap her, or worse. So until we find Aria or her body, you are to be placed under police custody.” All of a sudden Riko lunged at me. I felt his hands tighten around my neck. It was getting hard to breathe as I tried to get him off of me. His grip was strong and I could make out the signs of him working and getting cut in the fields. The scars made interesting shapes on his arms and hands but I didn’t have time to just stare at his arms. I heard the door open and saw two officers rush in. The guards quickly yanked Riko off of me and handcuffed him. I took a deep breath as I looked at Riko. He looked furious as he shouted curses at me. I stood up and nodded at the officers who told Riko that he was under arrest for assaulting a police officer. Riko looked livid as he was dragged away, to the jail, I assumed. I got up and gently traced the area where Riko had grabbed my neck. I walked out and into the med bay to make sure that I would be fine. 

I walked into the med bay and was immediately hit with the stench of disinfectant and vomit. I could see some officers that looked super sick. They were pale and most had bloodshot eyes. All of them had at least one hand cuffed to the bed. I knew exactly what this was. A new disease had been going around. It was said to make you violent and I had only seen a few people with it. Of course, all of those people were hostile and one even tried to bite me. 

I thought about Riko and wondered if he had the disease. People really didn’t have a true name for it. Doctors couldn’t identify it so they just referred to it by its nickname. White blood. It was called white blood because one of the few symptoms we could recognize was that when an infected person of white blood was starting to get to the final stages they would start coughing up a white liquid, which was later discovered to be their own blood. I walked past the people quickly and to the doctor. He seemed tired but I also noticed he looked a tad bit pale..? I thought about Riko again. He had been hostile but he didn’t look as pale. Not as the victims did. I shrugged a shoulder and went up to the doctor to talk to him. 

“Hey doc, I need you to check my neck out. I was strangled by some dude and I'm worried it might be serious.” The doctor nodded and he told me to sit down. He started to check out to make sure it didn’t affect my spine. He then looked at my neck before speaking in a very tired, groggy voice. “It looks fine. Just maybe a few bruises on it, but other than that, you're good.” I nodded and thanked him for his time. He only half nodded as I stood and started to walk out. I looked at the white blood people and shivered. They were all staring at me. One looked practically like he was about to die. 

I saw clipboards at the end of each bed. I looked back and saw the doctor was staring at the wall. It wasn’t really clear to the public the different stages. I grabbed a clipboard and started to go through it. I learned the officer's name was Romi Ronki. He was stage 2..? I looked at the person and then at the others. I looked at the symptoms and read them. I moved over to the next stage, which was also stage 2. I kept moving through the things and I noticed a pattern. Almost everyone was stage two or three. I finally stopped at the person who looked practically dead. His eyes were sunken in. He had both of his hands cuffed and he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a good bit. His eyes were unfocused and I looked at his chart. It said he was stage 4. They had already started to estimate when he was going to die. The highest amount was a week. The lowest was a couple of hours. I looked at the dude and felt bad for him. It was an incurable disease that clearly took a toll on him. I walked out of the room thinking about how horrible it would be to get the white blood. 

I walked through the halls feeling good. I had caught my main suspect and everything seemed to line up. I went into my office and sighed as I closed the door. I sat down in my chair and looked over Aria's office. The one thing that didn’t make sense was where she was. We hadn’t searched the surrounding area and I knew we wouldn’t be able to. I shook my head and grabbed a flashlight. I knew I needed to at least try to find her before I truly blamed Riko. 

I held the leash firm in my right hand as I walked the dog. I had asked the chief to borrow one of the dogs to find a missing person. He accepted, knowing that it was only me and was still worth a shot. I walked with the dog into the forest. The leaves crunched under my boots as I walked. The dog sniffed the ground, wagging its tail as it walked. It kept sniffing and I sighed as I looked around. I could see the signs of fall. Crisp, orange and yellow leaves littered the forest floor. The crisp chill and smell of autumn was stronger than the bright moon at night. I sighed as I thought about how nice fall was. I shivered as a wind blew through the forest. The dog sneezed before continuing to sniff. I sighed softly as my mind thought about how weird this was. I had jumped to the conclusion that she had been kidnapped and I found a suspect who had a good motive, but no body. No nothing… I shook my head. I had jumped too fast and my mind had told me to slow down but I didn’t. 

The dog started to pull on the leash and I looked at it, wondering if it was misbehaving or if it had picked up on something. It started to pull more on the leash and I moved forward. It stopped, looked around before sprinting forward. I fell forward and the dog dragged me through the forest. I felt leaves in my mouth and twigs were cutting my skin along with a stray rock. Finally the dog stopped in a clearing. I stood up and wiped some blood off of my face. The clearing had clearly been visited lately. I looked around and the dog stood, looking at the ground barking. I pulled off my backpack, which I had brought just in case of anything. I pulled out a small shovel and I started to dig. The dog, which I had just planned on naming Kyle, started to help. It threw dirt behind it as it started to dig deeper before stopping. I wondered what it was doing and I pulled some dirt away. The dog finally got out of the hole it made and stared intently at me. I looked at it before looking down the hole and held back a scream. Staring right at me was a dead body. 

I looked at the pale skin of the body. It was female, or at least looked like it because of the face shape. I quickly grabbed the backpack and pulled out the walkie talkie. I clicked it on and spoke in a quick tone. “This is officer Rein Surgian, I am in the forest east of the city. I have found a dead body. No suspect nearby. Requesting a search party.” I waited and heard static before the static broke and I heard a voice. “We are sending a search party your way. Don’t move.” I nodded, putting the walkie talkie in my bag before looking at the hole and started to dig the hole bigger.

After what felt like an hour I uncovered the body. It was clearly female and I noticed what looked like bruises around her neck along with many along her arms and legs. I studied her body, taking notes and figured out she died recently. Her muscles were stiff so it could be anywhere from a couple of hours to a day. I put on some gloves and hoped the search party would be here soon. We needed to search the surrounding area to see if there were any other bodies or suspects. I touched her body, hating the fact that I was touching a dead body. She was cool to the touch so she had been dead for more than 12 hours, but since her muscles were stiff, it was under 48. I looked for any other signs or clues but couldn’t find any. I tried my best to keep calm as I heard footsteps. I looked behind me and I saw the familiar face of the girl who let me borrow her umbrella. Her round glasses were higher up and she was carrying a polaroid. She started to snap pictures of the scene and told me to back away and certain areas. I stepped out of frame and my mind raced as I thought about what we needed to do. We needed to identify the body while another team searched for any other bodies or the killer. Since her body was so fresh it would mean the killer had to be around here. We were working under 48 hours but over three. I pushed some of my blonde hair back as I thought quietly. Everything needed to add up but none of it did. This was a small town and I knew we had around 10 missing cases but now we had one cop dead and a person too. This town barely had 300 people. The girl looked at me and I sighed as she started to go back to taking pictures before stopping. I saw Charleigh, who was carrying a pen pad and pencil and looked completely distracted. I sighed quietly as I saw the search team and the chief. He immediately started to bark out orders. People started to run around, doing what they were told. I was asked a few questions before being put on a search team to see if we could find any other killers. I grabbed Kyle's leash and held it tight as I stood with the others. They had brought a few other dogs and I looked around the forest as we started to walk. 

I went deeper into the woods with the others. It smelled more damp here, the air was colder and damp. Kyle was sniffing the ground intensely and suddenly got distracted by a bug. I snapped my fingers and he went back to sniffing but I soon found out that he must have not passed his training and if he did it wasn’t flying colors. He got distracted by a butterfly this time, but it was cute to see him jump around and try to catch it. It made me completely forget about what was happening. He finally stood and went cross eyed as he stared at his muzzle, where the butterfly landed on his nose. I smiled softly, my eyes drifting as I looked at a small pond nearby. I walked over to it, the water gently moved as I put my fingers against the calm surface. I then noticed something and I quickly jumped into the water. The coldness of the water rushed over me, chilling my bones. The water was murky so it was hard to see. I didn’t care though. I knew what I had seen under the surface of the water. I used my hands to feel around and I saw bubbles before feeling something furry next to me in the water. I saw it was Kyle and he must have finally understood what I was looking for and he searched. I surfaced quickly. Kyle surfaced right after, holding an arm. I got back onto shore, shivering as I looked around. I knew there would be another search party around here somewhere. I got up and told Kyle to keep the arm as I walked in the direction that I thought would have another search party. I looked up at the ground, the sky obstructed by the trees. I sighed quietly as I looked at Kyle who looked like he was about to eat the arm. My mind started to ponder everything and I started to come up with a list of stuff we need to do. A large search of the land, autopsies, witness asking and hopefully we would be able to find people who did this. My mind went to Aria. The body didn’t look like hers but the arm could be. I kept walking, hearing voices. I started to head towards them and suddenly Kyle let out a low growl. I turned and looked at him. His ears were all the way back and his teeth were showing. I thought about how I always trusted animals and I stepped back. I crouched down next to him. He dropped the arm and kept growling. I let go of his leash and as soon as it touched the ground he bolted away, barking and growling. Leaves flew into the air and one gently landed on my head. I picked it off, listening quietly. I heard a scream and what sounded like whimpering from a dog. I jumped up immediately and ran where Kyle ran off. 

I ran and saw a cabin. A dude had a stick and he was trying to hit Kyle who was biting down on his leg. I ran over and shouted over the woman who was screaming for Kyle to let go.

 “POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM AND DROP THE WEAPON!” The man looked at me and I whistled for Kyle. Kyle let go and ran over to me. He stood right next to me and kept growling as he stared at the man who was looking down at his leg. His pants were almost drenched in blood from the bite and I knew he would need a hospital. He looked at me and spoke harshly at the woman. “Maria, get inside now and stop your screaming, you will wake the dead.” The woman shut up quickly and went inside the house. The man looked at me before walking to the side of the house where I couldn’t see him. I was about to call out but he came back with a gun. I froze as I looked at the Musket. He pointed it at me and spoke harshly. “You and your dog have thirty seconds to get off my property before I pump you both full of lead.” I stepped back and Kyle kept growling. I held up my hands and had Kyle heel next to me as I stepped back, staring into the barrel of the gun. I kept going back before bolting away. 

Kyle ran next to me as I ran through the forest. I realized we had lost the arm but I didn’t care and kept running. We finally reached a field and I stopped. Kyle skidded to a stop and looked up at me before barking, almost happily, like we hadn’t just run for our lives. I sighed and crouched down to pet him gently. He started to lick my hand and I smiled softly. I sat down fully and Kyle looked at me before climbing onto my lap. I was taken aback and started to laugh as he sat on my lap and obstructed my view. I guess he thought he was tinier than he actually was. I gently patted him behind his ears. He wagged his tail before standing up and getting off my lap. He looked around and I got up. He seemed on edge… I got up and wondered if the dude was back. I then saw some people and realized they were officers. Kyle eased up and I started to walk over to them with Kyle. 

I saw it was a group of five people. One of them was the girl who had let me borrow her umbrella, she immediately ran over to me and started to ask me questions, making me sit down as she asked a bunch of stuff. I was wondering why but I realized then that she was the medic for the team. I spoke quietly about how I had dove into a pond and tripped over some stuff but that was it. She nodded and started to patch up my hands along with telling another officer to go and call some more medics with clothes. Kyle looked at her and let out a soft growl before laying next to me. I sighed and looked up at her and she smiled softly as she put the stuff away before pausing. 

“I don’t think we have properly met. My name is Ollie. I work in the photography department. Well, now that I’m thinking about it, I think that's obvious.” She chuckled and I couldn’t help but smile as well. “Oh, I'm Rein. I kind of work on everything, but mostly missing people.” She nodded and I saw a police car pull up. Two official medics got out and walked over, handing me fresh clothes and they said I could just change in the woods. I nodded and got up to go to the forest. Ollie looked at me before stepping forward to say something. I don’t know why she couldn’t speak without stepping forward but Kyle didn’t like it. He jumped up and let out a growl. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up and he stood in front of me. I wondered if he would attack Ollie and she was taken aback by his actions. I smiled, hoping Kyle wouldn’t do anything drastic and grabbed his leash pulling him towards the forest. 

I got into the more wooded area, making sure I couldn’t be seen before quickly changing. Kyle even turned around when I took off my pants. I wondered if he was secretly a human in a dog but I shook my head and sighed. I took my wet clothes and grabbed Kyle's leash, pulling him back. I thought about the arm and how stupid I had been for not grabbing it. That was evidence and I had lost it. Kyle looked up at me and I knew I would adopt him. All the dogs that we had were strays so I could adopt him and use him for work. I started to do the calculations on how much it would cost to keep him. It would be doable, at least somewhat. Then I wouldn’t be lonely anymore. I looked back at Kyle who was already getting distracted. I sighed as I kept walking and got out of the forest. 

Ollie was talking to the medics and Kyle was immediately on edge again. I sighed quietly again as I walked over and started to talk to the other officers. I told them about what we found and about the man and the woman in the forest. They listened and called over the radios for a search around the area where I had found the arm. I talked a little bit more before getting into the police car and sighed as Kyle got in the back. He whimpered as soon as he realized that there was a barrier between me and him. I thought about how cute he was as I looked in the rear mirror. He looked so sad and I shook my head as the officer started to drive. I hated cars, they were too modern in my opinion. They also weren't safe at all. I read somewhere that last year alone 49,301 people died from car related deaths. I shook my head quietly and looked at the floor of the car. My mind went straight to the body and the case. Was she a missing person? Was Aria dead? Did Riko actually do it? I sighed quietly. Riko would be charged with attempted murder of a cop, so no matter what he would go to jail again. I looked out of the window. The fields passing by made me slightly uneasy. How fast were we going? Was it legal that we were going this fast? I looked at the speedometer. 72 mph. I looked around and saw a speed limit sign coming up ahead. I focused on reading it and made out the 4 and knew immediately we were speeding. 

“Slow down.” I looked at the cop next to me, who kept  speeding. Kyle started to whimper and I knew he didn’t like this. I didn’t either and I spoke again more harshly. “Slow down now.” The cop seemed to be thinking and started to slow down. I was relieved before seeing him throw the gear into six and he immediately gunned it. The engine roared as we passed the speed limit by a lot. I panicked internally and looked at the speedometer. We were approaching 120 and I started to breathe more and more heavily as we kept going faster and faster. Kyle started to bark and throw himself against the bars. I looked over at the officer and he turned, looking me in the eyes. I saw what looked like blood filling them. “I always wanted to fly like an angel.” He then turned the car right into a ditch. 

I woke up and saw the front windshield of the car was broken. I felt blood drip down my head and I looked next to me. The other officer was dead, his head had gone through the windshield and I realized what happened. He hadn’t even put on his seatbelt. I thought before looking immediately back and noticed finally that we were upright so that was good. I could see what looked like fur but no movement. I panicked and unbuckled my seatbelt or at least tried to. It was jammed shut. I kept trying to get it off and I grew more and more scared for Kyle and myself. The officer was dead but what had been wrong with him? His eyes weren't normal and when we talked he seemed normal. I wiped some blood off of my brow and realized it was a strange color. It was pure white. I thought before taking a deep breath. Kyle could wait for one moment. I just needed to know… I lifted up the guy's head and immediately dropped it. His whole face was covered in white blood. He had the illness. I fought harder this time and got my seatbelt unbuckled. I kicked open the car door, crawling out of the car quickly. My breath shook as I went to the back of the car and forced the door open. I saw Kyle laying on the floor. He actually looked okay for the crash and seemed to just be passed out. I pulled him out of the car and threw him over my shoulder. 

“Don’t worry buddy. I'll get you home and I'll adopt you then we will get you all the treats. Just stay with me.” I never thought I would be that person who loves dogs but it felt like he was my only friend. I started to walk and realized quickly one of my legs was injured. I didn’t care and kept dragging it behind me as I thought about the easiest way to get help. I kept half walking half limping, my mind pacing as I thought. I saw a car coming towards me and I started to wave my right arm. Since Kyle was on my shoulder it was kind of hard to move that arm. The car was a police car and for some reason I got nervous again but it stopped and out got Ollie along with Charleigh. Charleigh looked sick and I worried about her but Ollie seemed more focused on me. Ollie ran over and started to tell Charleigh things. Charleigh seemed to take a moment before actually starting to do the things. I mumbled that I was fine as Ollie and Charleigh started to help me. Charleigh took the answer but Ollie didn’t as she kept bandaging this and that. She started to ask me questions as Charleigh took Kyle. 

“What happened? Was anyone else involved? Did the other officer make it?” I looked up at the sky wondering how to explain this but started to explain in the best way I could. “Well, the officer is dead, he didn't have his seatbelt on and he went through the windshield. He just started to speed and became super strange, talking about how he always wanted to fly like an angel and then crashed us into a ditch. Before that, though, his eyes looked fully bloodshot like blood was filling them, and his skin was super pale. Along with that he was bleeding white blood…” Ollie paused from where she was bandaging my leg and looked up at me. 

“He was a white blood..?” Her voice was barely a whisper, like she didn’t want Charleigh to hear us. I nodded and she looked behind me, where I assumed Charleigh was, then back at me. 

“Don’t mention the white blood part to anyone.” I tilted my head but heard footsteps behind me and looked back enough to see Chareigh walking over. She looked at me then at the ground and started to bite her fingers before speaking. “I'm going to take Ky-guy back to the station. I'll walk though.” I looked at her wondering how she even knew his name was Kyle but didn’t even bother asking as Ollie spoke next. “Alright but be careful, that dog is something…” I looked at Ollie with kind of a glare. Kyle was perfect. I thought about the fact that I had become attached to a dog I met only four hours ago. I rolled my eyes and sighed internally as I heard Charleigh’s footsteps fade and looked at Ollie. “So, why do I not mention the officer being a white blood?” She looked at me again before sighing. “Because, well, think about it. People are already hysterical over the missing people and if they find out about an officer being a white blood and no one knowing till he died, then people will lose trust in the police. Out of anyone I expect at least you to know this. People are already scared to leave their houses and if they find out there's a chance the people who are supposed to protect them might be infected with a disease then they might never leave the house again.” 

I nodded. She had a point. People would grow even more scared and paranoid. I looked at the car and then back at Ollie. Even though this was deep South America, she had a nice olive skin tone. Someone in her family must be from somewhere else. She had light blue eyes. The glasses somehow seemed to frame her face so perfectly it was almost intoxicating. She finished patching me up and looked at the car and smiled at me. 

“You can drive if you want, but I swear I'm not a white blood.” I hated driving. Ollie held up her arm and made a small cut with her nail, and she was right. Her blood was pure crimson red. I smiled softly. 

“Nah, you can drive.” She got up and held out her hand for me to take. I took it, noticing how soft her skin was. I blushed as I stood up and got into the car. She got into the driver seat and I couldn't help but feel nervous as she started to drive. I noticed she purposely turned around even though it would take us an extra ten minutes. She didn’t want me to see the crash again. 

I looked out the window but kept looking over at the speedometer. She was going the speed limit and had her seatbelt on. I kept thinking quietly about the other officer. Ollie was normal; she even proved it. I started to calm down and she started to ask me some questions. “Sooo, did you grow up around here?” I thought about my family and sighed. “Yeah, my family owned a farm about five miles away from town.” She nodded and I thought about asking about her but she kept asking questions. “So do your folks still live around here?” I sighed quietly as I thought about my parents. A small lie wouldn’t hurt. “No, my mom died in 72 and my dad followed her in 74.” She nodded quietly. “Any siblings?” I shook my head no this time. I was an only child due to my mom’s infertility. I was actually adopted but I didn’t mention that. Ollie smiled at me as we stopped at a stop sign. “I don’t have any siblings so it's good to meet someone else. It feels like nowadays we always have large families. My mom couldn’t really afford multiple kids and my dad died when I was young.” I nodded, thinking about how strange it was to see a single mother but shrugged. I looked at Ollie as she started to drive again. “Well, do you have any pets?” Ollie shook her head no and she took over before I could ask another question. “So where do you live? Downtown or in one of the fancy neighborhoods, or on your family farm?” I thought about how the family farm wasn’t even mine to begin with. In the will it stated that I could not have it. I thought and decided I could at least trust Ollie to know the area where I could live. “I live downtown near the station. I always walk there.” She nodded and smiled. I wondered if that would be the end of her questioning. I looked out the window and gently leaned my head on the cold glass. Fields of wheat and corn passed by, along with the occasional soybean field. I sighed as the car pulled up to another stop sign. My mind wandered around as I thought about why Ollie would ask questions like that. I mean, she was probably just trying to get to know me. I smiled softly as I looked over at her. 

“So, what's your favorite color?” It was a basic icebreak but it would work. She started to drive again and seemed to think for a moment before speaking. “It's blue and it has been for about three years. It's a nice color, it's calm and like the water of the ocean and blue of the sky.” I nodded and wondered why she was going into specifics. She kept driving and seemed to get nervous as we passed a building. I looked at the building and noticed it looked like a military base. “You know, that building looks new. I don’t recall any buildings being built around here. Did you hear anything about it?” Ollie seemed to freeze but started to speak in a more harsh tone. “No, it must have been a secret, it just looks strange.” I nodded and kept my gaze on the building as we passed it by. Ollie seemed to ease up as we passed and I looked ahead again. My mind paced as I thought about everything that had happened. Maybe a day off… I shook my head. No, I was super close to finding out what happened to Aria. Ollie stayed silent for a good bit before randomly speaking. “You know, I think Riko did it.” I looked at her confused. “What do you mean?” She sighed before speaking. “I think Riko took Aria. I was looking over his file and your case notes and it all seems to add up.” My mind jumped and I wondered why she was even looking at the case and realized she probably had just been curious. Nothing wrong with being curious right? I mean she was a part of the station after all and she just gave off this nice aurora that said she could be trusted. I nodded and looked back at the road, my gaze flickering to look at her before going back to the road again. Ollie had a point though I mean it all added up to go towards Riko but where was she? Was she alive? These questions keep haunting me and I sighed quietly. 

Finally I saw the outlines of buildings and before I knew it we were driving into town. Ollie seemed to be thinking and pulled over in front of a stop sign. She cut off the engine and looked at me.  “Well, this is your stop. Downtown. Now, umm…” She looked to the side and I suddenly felt like she was forcing herself to be nervous. She looked back and gave a shy smile. “Why don't we meet up for coffee Wednesday? Around 10 am, if that's good with you.” I nodded, it was fine and I had time before my shift. She seemed to light up and she smiled even wider. “Well then, I suppose it's time for us to part.” I rolled my eyes as she said the last part in an olden time voice, like she was a knight in a fairy tale. She giggled and I got out of the car, feeling relieved to be out of that death trap. I watched as she pulled away and I headed off to my apartment. 

I walked in and almost jumped out of my skin as I saw Charleigh sitting on the floor and Kyle right next to her. She looked at me before looking at Kyle and then back at me. “The door was unlocked and, well, I hope you don’t mind.” I shook my head, saying I didn’t care, and smiled down at Kyle. He jumped up as soon as he saw me and ran over, wagging his tail happily like I was his favorite person. Charleigh got up and started to pick at her fingers. I felt the pain in my own hands and quietly walked over, gently grabbing her hands. 

“Stop.” She looked up at me and I swore I could fall into those beautiful eyes of hers. She stopped picking her fingers. I smiled softly at her before gesturing for her to sit down on the couch but she just sat right back on the floor.  I looked at Kyle again who was licking the floor for an unknown reason. I shook my head, turning to face Charleigh. “So, um, do you want anything?” She shook her head no. I nodded, wondering what to do here. “Well, um, thanks for bringing Kyle here? You can leave now if you want.” She seemed to get nervous and got up quickly. “Yeah, that sounds good.” She made sure her jacket was on before going to the door and I walked over to it, opening it for her. “Don’t forget, tomorrow at 1 we go to the park.” She nodded and I could tell she did forget beforehand. I watched her leave and walk on the sidewalk, my eyes tracking her till she disappeared behind a building. I closed the door with a sigh. I looked back at Kyle who was still licking the floor. “You know, if I knew beforehand that you were this special, I wouldn’t have adopted you.” I hadn’t even adopted him yet but it was still nice to talk to someone. He looked up at me and wagged his tail before barking. I took it as he didn’t understand what I was saying. I thought about what he would eat before cursing myself silently. I needed to get him bowls and food. I didn’t really have money for it. I grabbed two random bowls from my cabinet and filled one with water and grabbed some random meat in my freezer and put it into the other bowl. I decided that Kyle would figure it out as I set the two bowls down. Kyle walked over and drank some water before bumping his head into the food bowl. I shook my head as I put my hand to it. “You are the definition of special.” I looked around my apartment. I didn’t really need to clean anything. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. I let it warm up before jumping into the shower. I got off all the blood and mud on me, making sure none of my bandages fell off as I got out and wrapped a towel around my waist. Water droplets hung from my hair and ran down my face as I looked in the mirror. I used my hand to wipe away some of the fog on the mirror. I looked normal, my mind going back to the white blood. Was I infected? How long did it take before you noticed the symptoms? Who else is a white blood? I shook my head to myself. I was fine, it probably was just some genetic disease and I couldn’t get it. I changed into my sleeping clothes before walking out. Kyle was chasing his tail and I watched in pure amusement. He was trying really hard and yet kept failing. He finally stopped, looking up at me as I chuckled. I opened the door to my room before walking in and heard Kyle bolt after me into the room. He jumped up on the bed and barked at me. I closed the door and as soon as the door clicked shut Kyle started to whimper. I looked at him and gently opened the door, just a crack. He stopped whimpering and seemed to be happier. I walked over to the bed and laid down as he did a circle before curling up next to me. I sighed as I felt his body pressed against me. I gently scratched between his ears before falling asleep.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Kyle whimpering. I sighed as I got up and saw the door had been shut while we were asleep and he had been locked inside the room. I walked over and opened the door, realizing it was about an hour before I had to get up. I felt dead tired but I got up anyway. I changed into a fresh uniform and sighed as I walked into the kitchen to start making coffee. I watched the coffee drip down and into the pot. I looked over at Kyle, who was chasing his tail again before stopping and sniffed the floor. I wondered what act of stupidity he would do next and noticed him looking at his paws before starting to chew them. I thought before clapping my hand which made Kyle stop and look at me. “Stop-” He let go of his paw with a whimper and seemed to just instinctively get up and walk to a corner. He sat down with his tail on his paws. I felt bad and crouched down, clicking my tongue so he would walk over. He walked over to me slowly, keeping his tail tucked between his legs. As he stood in front of me I started to gently scratch behind his ears. He seemed much happier and started to wag his tail. 

“Yeah, you're a good boy.” He barked happily, my smile seemed to grow as I kept petting him and he started to lick my face. I laughed before standing up, wiping some slobber off of my face. I grabbed a pot of coffee, pouring myself some before looking at Kyle. He grabbed his water bowl and brought it over to me. I looked at him before putting some water in it. He looked saddened and I looked at the coffee before at him. “You are not getting any wakey wakey juice.” Kyle looked even sadder and I sighed before pouring a tiny amount into his water. He immediately drank it like he hadn't had any water in three days, I rolled my eyes as I sipped my coffee. Kyle seemed more than happy now and I wondered quietly if coffee was bad for dogs. It was probably fine, since he had little. I thought quietly before grabbing Kyle's leash. He looked at the leash and happily trotted over. I attached it to his collar before opening the door.

 I was hit by a wave of cold and shook quietly as I practically froze half to death. Kyle looked up at me and barked again. I sighed and saw a puff of cold air form around my mouth. I closed the door behind us as I thought about what to do. I would probably get sick if I didn’t get a jacket soon. Of course, I really only had money to get Kyle stuff, and he needed food more than I needed a jacket. I walked down, shaking the whole time as goosebumps ran up my arms. Kyle kept looking at me like he knew I was freezing. I kept walking and kept my eyes on the ground. It was so cold, I practically felt sick already. Suddenly I bumped into someone. “Sorry,” I mumbled and heard a familiar voice. 

“Rein? What the hell are you doing with no jacket out in this weather? You're going to catch a cold.” I looked up and saw Ollie. She was smiling and took off her jacket, handing it to me. I shook my head. “No, it's fine, you keep it.” She tilted her head before shoving the jacket in my hands. “Take it. I have another one at my house.” I was taken aback but couldn’t help feeling like her jacket was special. I put it on and smiled at her. “Thank you.” She nodded. “Any time.” She walked past me and I couldn’t help but blush again as I smelled her perfume. It smelled like fresh flowers mixed with fall. It was so lovely. Kyle looked pissed off and his ears were back. I couldn’t help but laugh. He just looked so silly being mad. I kept walking with him, grateful for the jacket. We finally got to the store and I walked in. 

The store had basic white tiles with fluorescent lights. The walls were decorated with posters of smiling employees and managers. The employees seemed to force their smiles and I couldn’t blame them. Most were teenagers who just needed some money to buy whatever they wanted. A single cashier, who looked dead tired, was standing at the register. I walked past him and to the pet area. I heard eating and turned into the aisle. A dog that looked just like Kyle was eating what looked like roadkill. It looked up at me and its eyes were blank. I got suddenly concerned as I wondered if it was a white blood. Could animals become white bloods? Kyle seemed to know the dog and let out a small growl. The other dog looked at it and I swore it smiled. Charleigh suddenly walked into the aisle and looked at the dog that was staring at me. 

“Jax, sit down.” The other dog looked at Charleigh before growling but sat down. I looked up at Charleigh, curious on why she knew the dog and if it was hers. “Is that your dog?” She nodded. “He's my son. So is Kyle.” I looked down at Kyle, who was glaring at Jax. I looked up at Charleigh again. “So what's wrong with Jax? Does he have some kind of disease?” Charleigh looked at Jax before shrugging. “He probably does.” I sighed quietly. “So where did you find him? On the side of the road eating a corpse?” She looked surprised but nodded. “Actually, yeah, I did.” I was dumbfounded. Why the hell did she adopt a weird looking dog that was eating a corpse? Jax looked like he was smiling again and I was about to lose my mind. “He's weird as hell.” She nodded. “Just like me.” She looked so proud, too. Jax also looked proud, like it was his goal to be weird. Kyle just looked upset but didn’t growl or whimper. I started to look at dog food but avoided Jax, who went right back to eating the roadkill. Charleigh was looking at milk bones and I was looking at dog food. I finally got a bag of it and looked at Kyle. Kyle was in the process of eating one of his legs. I looked at him and he looked up at me and let go. I sighed quietly and went to walk away but suddenly felt a horrible pain shoot up my leg. Something had clamped down on my leg. I looked down, seeing Jax latched onto my leg. He looked up at me with a ‘What are you going to do about it?’ face. Kyle looked annoyed and bit Jax. Jax let go of my leg, growling as he bit Kyle. They started to fight and Charleigh looked at me. “Next time just bite Jax.” I looked at her in pure confusion. “W-What?” Her face was dead so she was being serious. “Bite him back.” I was left speechless as she walked away. I looked back at Jax and Kyle who were still fighting. I looked around the aisle, grabbing a random bone and shoved it into Jax's mouth. Jax seemed taken aback but started to chew on the bone. Kyle looked up at me and I could see the area where he had been bitten. Jax looked around the same and I shook my head. “Dumb muts.” I grabbed Kyle's leash again and started to walk away but suddenly looked back. Jax was about an inch away from my leg and he was about to bite it again. “Don't-” He seemed to smile again before biting me again. I cried out in pain and I was about to beat Jax with a stick. Kyle looked like he was about to attack Jax but I reached down and grabbed Jax by the scruff of his neck and forced him to let go before holding him up in front of me. He was skinny and his fur was matted. 

“Listen here you little sh-” I held back the curse as I looked at Jax. “You’re lucky Charleigh adopted you.” I threw him, watching him land on the ground. He seemed annoyed but walked off. I looked at Kyle then down at my leg. It would be hard to walk with it. I started to limp out of the aisle and made it to the register. The cashier rang me up and I paid before limping out of the store. I started to breathe heavily, the pain worsening in my leg as I limped. I kept limping before seeing a familiar figure. It was Ollie again. How did she keep finding me? She saw me and started to wave before seeming to realize my limp and she ran over. She immediately pulled out a first aid kit from her bag that I didn’t even realize she had. She pulled out bandages and disinfectant. She glared at Kyle who was growling at her. “You know, if he attacks you again you should put him down.” I was taken aback as I looked down at her. “What?” She looked up at me. “He attacked you, didn’t he? This is clearly a dog wound and if he is dangerous then he needs to be put down.” I shook my head. “No, he didn’t attack me, another dog did. Kyle fought the other dog, actually, and I would never put him down.” She nodded but looked skeptical. She kept patching me up before standing up as she put away her supplies. “You're lucky I found you. If that went untreated you could get a lot of diseases. Rabies or caine infection. Nasty stuff, you really don't want that.” I nodded, she had a point. I was grateful that I had run into her. “Are you just walking in a circle?” She looked to the side and sighed. “Kind of? I'm just walking around before my shift.” I nodded, I understood that. Just doing something meaningless before our shift. She shifted around on her feet before looking at me with a smile. “Why don’t we drop off Kyle and the stuff at your place before walking around together? Our shifts start in a little bit and we both know the boss would rather us be late so he doesn't have to pay us.” I nodded. It sounded like a good plan and she had a point. Kyle didn’t look happy at all but he would be fine. I started to walk in the direction of my apartment and Ollie followed me. I noticed she was quiet normally unless it was to ask a question. She just seemed so reserved like she was hiding something. I started to get suspicious but realized how ridiculous I must be. Ollie was a good person. 

We got back to my apartment and I dropped stuff off along with Kyle who was not happy at all about going into the apartment. As I shut the door behind me I looked at Ollie. “So, I guess now we just walk?” She nodded and we started to walk together. Our conversation was light hearted and made me smile. I was able to make her laugh at some random stuff and it felt nice to walk around with her. We stopped in front of some train tracks as the bar went down. I heard the train in the distance approaching. I thought about how nice the wind would feel as that giant thing passed by. Ollie was tapping her shoe against the asphalt and I was zoning out when I suddenly felt her hand in mine. I looked down and blushed as I saw us holding hands. It was too soon but it felt nice to hold her hand. It was warm and comforting, almost like a hug. I sighed, content as the giant train passed. I watched the cars go past us one by one. Some had been vandalized so the train must be from a big town. It was nice to see the random flash of color. It was like finding a rose in a bed of white tulips. I looked at Ollie. Her presence felt like a rose in a bed of white tulips. Beautiful and fragile. I looked back as the train finally passed and the bars went up. Ollie let go of my hand as she started to walk again. I felt sad but I followed behind her. We kept walking and I noticed that we wern’t heading towards the station. I started to feel on edge as I walked with Ollie. I started to wonder where we were going. Ollie was quiet as though she was planning something. “Hey, Ollie, where are we going?” She looked back momentarily but kept walking. “Don’t worry about it and keep following me.” I nodded. I trusted Ollie and whatever or wherever she was leading me to must be important. We kept walking and I noticed the terrain shifting from park to field to beginning of a forest. I started to get a bad feeling… Something wasn’t right about this. I kept walking. I looked at the ground, hoping to calm my nerves as I counted the different leaves under my feet. I enjoyed listening to the crunch of each one. My mind seemed much calmer and the worry of where we were going seemed almost to vanish but it was almost like a bug bite that's just about to heal. It's itchy but it's so close to being out of your way. 

I kept walking behind Ollie as we walked into the forest. The path turned to dirt which soon became just grass and leaves under our feet. I worried about being late to work but my mind seemed to only focus on Ollie. I felt like I was under some kind of spell and I just had to follow her. She suddenly stopped and looked around. She looked like she was trying to hear something I couldn't. I saw her mouth start to move and I moved closer to hear her. I could make out two words; No and doesn't. I stepped closer and a twig snapped. Ollie turned around and slapped me. I was taken aback and put a hand to my cheek. She looked at me before softening her gaze. “Sorry, I didn’t think. I was just deep in thought and you scared me.” I nodded and smiled. “You got a good punch to you.” She smiled proudly and I rubbed my cheek slightly. She stepped closer and took my hand away from my cheek and studied it. “You will be fine, it will just be a little red.” I nodded and blushed. Every time she touched my hand I just felt like everything was warm on the inside. I hoped the blush was blending into the slap as she let go of my hand. “We should probably walk back to the station but first, come on, I know a shortcut.” I nodded and she grabbed my hand again, dragging me deeper into the forest. 

She finally let go and we walked side by side. She looked at the ground deep in thought again. I noticed how cold it was in the forest even with Ollie's jacket on, it was still cold. I looked up, the leaves fully covered the sun and the forest was practically pitch black. I realized then that a light seemed to follow me and Ollie. I looked around to see where it came from but it was hidden. I wondered if Ollie noticed it but she seemed distracted. She looked at me suddenly and seemed to be reading off of something as she asked me some questions. “Are you morally gray or do you believe your morals are good?” I tilted my head, wondering why she was talking like this. “Ummm, I guess I have good morals? Why are you even talking like this, are you okay?” She seemed to be thinking or listening… I couldn’t tell, but she just seemed off. She looked to the side then back at me. “What's your blood type?” I was now on edge. “Why do you need to know this?” She kept silent and she looked expectantly at me. I thought before sighing. I didn’t know why she was asking this but it was fine to answer. “-O. Happy?” She nodded. She then started to walk again. I was confused and weirded out but shrugged. Maybe it was just important to her for some unknown random reason. We kept walking through the forest and I heard voices and saw buildings come into view. It was the town and I smiled, glad to be out of the cold damp forest. We walked up to the station doors and Ollie paused before turning to me. “Well, this is where we part. I guess this is a bye? I'll see you tomorrow though.” She smiled brightly and I nodded. I walked into the station and clocked in before going to my office to start the cases. 

I walked in and noticed that I had more cases on my desk. I sighed and started to sort through them and realized something. I didn’t have Aria's case. I double checked but it was gone. I was curious as to where it went when I heard a knock on the door. I walked over and saw another officer. He looked just as rough as anyone else in this place. He looked at me before speaking in a soft voice that didn’t match his face. 

“If you're wondering about the first case, we found her body in the forest. You got some more cases because it was you that helped find her body and it was her case that you were working on.” The officer then just walked away. I was dumbfounded and wondered why he would just give me that information before moving on. I closed the door and sat at my desk. Aria was dead… I felt saddened. All her friends seemed to care about her. I sighed quietly as I started to look through the cases. I then paused. It looked almost like a pattern. Some of these were dated but I swore there was nine days between each missing person. Most would be kidnapped at night. I started to write the dates down and wondered what was all tying them together. I also noticed that they all had high-rank jobs. Like pharmacy companies and lawyers. One was even a politician who had been visiting the town when he vanished. I read everything and my mind paced as I thought about the next day. It would be in two days, if my pattern was correct. I thought and couldn’t even figure out what was connecting them. Nine days apart. What was in nine days? I thought of events but it was nothing. One thing was for sure. Someone or maybe multiple people were doing this and I was going to find them. 

I sat in my office. Coffee cups littered my desk, along with papers. Case files were everywhere and you could barely see the desk underneath. It was 12 in the morning and I'm pretty sure everyone else was asleep or in the same disheveled form I was in. I had Ollie as she left to go to my apartment to feed Kyle. I hoped she did, anyway. My mind paced as I thought about all the cases. Nothing made sense. They all had just vanished without question. I ran my fingers through my hair as I started to look through the papers again. I cursed silently as I tried to figure out what to do. Nothing absolutely nothing- I felt useless for not even being able to figure this out. I started to sort papers before yawning. Screw this. I needed more coffee. I got up and looked back at the cups. “I'll clean tomorrow,” I mumbled. Well, later in the day I guess. 

I walked out of my office, looking around at the darkened hallway. Only every other light was on. I walked through the hallways and caught glimpses of people sleeping at their desk or had their lamp on and pointed down at their desk. It caused them to look so much older with the shadows. I kept walking and went into the break room. I looked around and felt strange. Something wasn’t right… I looked around again. It was the same, and nothing had changed from the last time I was here. I rubbed my eyes. Maybe it was just the tiredness. I walked over to the coffee pot and started to brew some. I heard what sounded like walking, but like an animal. I was confused and felt something wet drop onto my head from above. I moved my fingers up and saw a clear liquid almost like slobber… I looked up and held back a scream. Jax was on the ceiling, looking down at me.  That same weird look he had to him, like he was smiling, seemed to beam. “What the actual hell-”  He started to bark but it sounded more like a laugh. What the actual f- I swore this dog was something else. “Go back to hell you demon-” He stopped his weird bark laugh and growled. I realized a little too late that I probably shouldn’t insult the weird dog. He all of a sudden dropped down right on top of me. I felt his body hit mine and I fell to the ground in pain. He started to bite my arm and pulled hard. I let out a yell, panicking. I grabbed a part of the counter, hoping Jax would let go. He seemed to grab on tighter and had a look in his eyes. In pure panic and desperation I bit Jax. The first thing that came to mind was Charleigh’s words. I tasted fur and then blood. I felt Jax let go and he backed up as I let go. He looked at me, almost flabbergasted. I heard quickened footsteps and saw two officers who looked like they had just woken up run in. They saw Jax and me. One grabbed Jax by the collar and called in for a rabid animal while another ran over to me and started to dial 911. I panicked and said I would be fine. I couldn’t afford going to a hospital. The cop looked at me but stopped dialing the number. He told me to go to the medbay and I just nodded. I got up and applied pressure to it with my hand as I walked. What the hell was wrong with that dog? First it's eating roadkill, then it's sitting on ceilings and laughing. Charleigh needed to send that thing back to where it came from. 

I walked into the medbay and looked around, confused. All the patients and white bloods were gone. None of their charts were there. I kept walking and walked past the curtain into the doctor's office. I saw that someone had clearly wanted him dead. He had 23 stab wounds and the knife was sticking out of his head. I suddenly felt sick at the look of his body. In horror movies they always had a build up before you saw a body. Like the character is walking slowly, but to see the doctors... It was like a hit to the face. I rushed out and started to call for the other officers but paused. The closet door was slightly jarred. I walked closer, my heart pounding in my ears as I darted my eyes back and forth. Each shadow felt dangerous now. Someone had killed the doctor and I knew the white bloods were dangerous. I pulled the door open and vomited immediately. All the white bloods’ bodies had been shoved into the closet like unwanted items. It was horrible to look at. I backed away. I turned away and sprinted out of the medbay. We needed to get back up and the chief. I ran back to the break room but found no one. My blood was still on the floor, along with what I assumed was Jax’s. I turned and ran to one of the offices. No one. I ran to another one. No one again. Both of these had officers, I swore. What the hell was happening? I ran down the hall and past the interrogation room. I ran into the holding area and saw the five guards who were guarding the cells were dead. I crept closer, feeling a shiver run up my spine. Nothing was right here. Was I dreaming again? I pinched myself but nothing happened. I took a deep breath. I had to see about the prisoners. Thought something already told me what would have happened. I stepped into where I could see the cells and it was confirmed that someone got them, too. I kept walking and confirmed the worst of my fears. Someone had killed what looked like the whole station. I then noticed Riko’s cell was open… 

My heart sounded more like a drum in my ears as I looked at the empty cell. No body… I turned and was ready to run when all of a sudden I saw another officer with Riko. Riko was in handcuffs but he had no blood on him. The officer looked tired but his eyes went wide as he saw the bodies and my arm. “What the hell happened?” I looked at him, then Riko, and panicked. Most of the offices couldn’t lock, but clearly someone killed all these people and by how fresh the blood was they were still in the building. I looked at the officer and spoke quickly. “I'll explain, but the killer is still in the building. We need to get into the interrogation room.” The officer gratefully didn’t question it and dragged Riko to the interrogation room. I followed quickly and closed the door behind us, locking it. I knew that, in theory, you could unlock it from the outside but it would need a special key. Riko was forced to sit in one of the chairs and the other officer looked at me. I read his name tag. Dean. I remembered that and started to speak. 

“I don’t really know what happened but from what I saw everyone else is dead in the station. I was walking in medbay and they were dead and I couldn’t find anyone else.” Dean nodded. I could tell he had questions but he didn’t want to answer them right now. Riko looked at me and growled out his answer. “So then, why are we hiding in the building and not leaving?” I looked at him and sighed. “Because if we tried to get out, there's a chance we could get attacked by the killer. Now, I don’t really know who to call in this situation, since we are the cops.” Riko just rolled his eyes and I sighed quietly. Dean looked around before jumping as the fire alarm started to blare. I looked in alarm at the fire alarm before seeing the sprinklers cut on. I covered my head as I started to get drenched by them. I ran over to the door and tried to unlock it. Someone had locked it from the outside… I cursed audibly and Riko looked at me. “What the hell? Just open the god da-” Dean ran over and panicked as he realized what had happened. “We can't open the door Riko- It's locked from the outside.” Dean looked terrified as he spoke. I started to notice the water at the bottom of the room. “Whoever that killer was knew we wouldn’t be able to get out, so they are going to drown us-” I spoke in a hastey voice. Riko looked terrified for once. Dean started to kick at the door and I looked around. The glass had just been replaced with some new bullet proof glass. I grabbed a chair and chucked it at the glass. It didn’t even crack it. Riko looked at me and cursed audibly. I panicked more as I looked at the ground. The water was at my feet now. Dean looked like he was about to cry and so did Riko. I kept trying to break the glass but nothing worked. It was almost like the glass was invincible. I started to breathe heavily as I tried to break the glass again. Nothing- Riko started to cry and so did Dean. I felt the water reach my knees. I'm going to die here… I accepted that. I stopped trying and just walked over and hugged both of them. They hugged me back and I thought about Ollie… her beautiful smile and everything else. Then my mind went to Charleigh. She had that weird dog, so she would be fine. I sighed quietly as the water reached my legs. All of a sudden the door broke open. I looked at it and standing there was  Charleigh. Her hair was soaked and I could see Kyle and Jax behind her. Both looked grumpy at their wet fur. Riko looked at Charleigh and so did Dean. We all shared one thought as we ran out of that room. I dragged Charleigh out and was so relieved when I saw the outside. Kyle shook out his fur and so did Jax. Charleigh shook her hair and I sighed, feeling relieved that we had just escaped dying. Dean looked at Charleigh and hugged her tight. Charleigh was taken aback but gave him a semi hug. I looked at Charleigh. “How did you know that we were in there?” Charleigh tilted her head. “Because Ky-guy kept barking at the door.” Kyle looked happy and Jax growled. I think Jax would have preferred if I drowned. Charleigh still looked grumpy and I wondered if she didn’t like being wet. She shook her head again before picking at her fingers. “So um… Are we still going to the park?” I totally forgot and I sighed. “It's one in the morning and I just almost died. Can we reschedule?” She nodded quietly. She looked sad… I felt bad but I just didn’t feel like dealing with interactions. Kyle looked tired and Jax had that smile again. I swore that dog was possessed. I sighed as I looked at Dean and Riko. “Riko, for the love of god, don't do anything stupid. Due to the fact we don’t have anywhere to keep you technically are free.” Riko nodded and just walked away. Dean looked at me and I sighed again. “Stay safe, man. Whoever tried to kill us in there will definitely be back to do solo attacks.” He nodded and I turned to Charleigh. “You also need to be careful.” She just nodded and walked away. Jax followed her and I watched as they all walked away. I looked at Kyle. 

“I would say let's go home but I have a feeling that I can find something in there.” I looked at the station and Kyle growled. I started to walk towards the building. Someone had tried to kill me, but why? Was I getting close? I mean, I wasn't the only person they killed, or tried to. They must have just wanted to get rid of a bunch of cops.

 I walked into the building and through the halls. I stepped over the bodies and started to search. I did notice it only seemed like the guards and any person who was standing in a certain area, so everyone in the office was just gone. I sighed quietly again. I looked back and saw Kyle following me. He looked on edge but I didn’t care. I had stuff to do. I kept walking and stopped. I saw my office and knew it had been purposely targeted. I walked in. All my papers were destroyed by what looked like fire. Maybe the person didn’t know that we were in the integration room and started a fire, triggering the alarms and only realized when they were running by to get out that we were in there. I started to go through the papers. It was all destroyed. I kept searching to find anything. Kyle was sniffing around and growling. I looked at him and he seemed to have found something. 

“What is it, Kyle?” He barked as if he wanted me to follow him. I did so and walked behind him through the station. He went down into the basement where it surprisingly hadn’t flooded. I realized why. The sprinklers down here were disabled. I walked through the tight dark corridor, following Kyle. He suddenly stopped in front of a door and started to bark. I looked at the door and made out the words. “Ollie Stingburg. Lead photographer.” I opened the door and flicked on the lights. The red dim lights lit up the room. I could see that she had purposely done red because she was developing photos. I wondered why she didn’t just use the main photography developing room. I closed the door behind me and Kyle. He was sniffing around. I looked around the room. It was neat, too neat. It looked staged, almost like I was on a set in a movie and this room needed to look perfect for the shot. I walked over to the clothesline she was using to let the photos dry. I saw some of them were finished developing and froze in my spot. They were photos of me… Each one I was in a different frame. I walked over to the newest ones and could make out with Kyle… It was taken today. I touched the bottom and I shivered quietly. She hadn't just run into me by accident. She was following me, but why? I thought back to how she mentioned the case. She had been looking at my cases to see where I was. Almost like she knew something that I didn’t. I stepped back. It felt like a puzzle. I had barely known her for three days, but she knew me. I turned around and started to search through the cabinets. I tore through the case files and kept searching. Nothing- It was like she had just taken the pictures and left. I got up and started to look through her desk. I found a locked drawer and tried to pry it open. I couldn’t with brute force but… I looked around and smiled as I found a bobby pin and a nail file. Thank god Ollie was female. I picked the lock with ease and put both items in my pocket. I opened up the drawer and gasped as soon as I saw what was inside. The top thing was a case file with my name. I picked it up and looked through it. It had everything about me and more. Like my adoption certificate, and even my birth one, too. The will from my adopted dad along with all my medical records. She had circled certain things like my blood type and how I was free of all genetic diseases. I kept sifting through the papers and noticed the dates. She had been collecting data on me for two months. Almost like she needed something from me. I kept looking and paused at the last paper. 

Notes: Subject Rein Surigan seems like a good fit for project cure. He should be ready to be taken in a month. Give or take less time. He does have a dog but the dog can be handled. Apartment has faulty locks and he doesn't own any firearms. He does own two knives but both are located in the kitchen and are dull. Agent Charleigh has already reported her findings on him. Proceeding to the next step. 

My blood ran cold. Agent Charleigh…? Charleigh was working with Ollie? I felt tears in my eyes. I trusted both of them. Now I understood why I was told I was too trusting. I trusted random strangers that I met in two days. I noticed the stamp on the top of that paper. It was an official government seal. I thought about how nervous Ollie was around the military building. She must work there. I looked at the folder and then at Kyle. I had a bad feeling they would try to hurt him. I went over to Kyle and told him to go. He looked up at me sad but walked out of the room. I waited a few minutes as I collected my thoughts. I needed to know what they wanted from me and what was project cure? I held the file in my hands, my fingers digging into the vanilla folder. I would find out what the hell they wanted with me. I walked out of the office, determined to get to the bottom of this. 

I crouched down behind a bush as I looked at the military building. It wasn’t heavily guarded at all. Actually I didn’t see any guards. I wondered why but shrugged. Maybe it was an all you can eat pizza party. I moved slowly, the vanilla folder still in my hands. I moved slowly across the way, staying low to the ground to make sure that I would be practically invisible. I kept half walking and half crawling as I moved. The air was cold and I could see the steam coming out of my mouth. I finally got to the building. My hand ran over the stones. It stuck partly to my clothes but I didn’t care. Now, how to get in was the fun question. I traced my hand along the wall as I thought. I could pick a lock as long as it wasn’t high tech. I finally found a door and saw a basic lock. I breathed a sigh of relief before pausing. I was about to break into a government building because they were taking information about me. I mean, I wanted to know what Project Cure meant, but maybe this wasn't the option. Maybe I should just get a taxi and take Kyle, along with my stuff, and just leave town. Would they hunt me down? It seemed almost like they didn’t care about how good of a subject the person was as long as they were nearby. So in theory… No, this was probably what they wanted. For me to run so they can drag me back like cat and mouse. I had to find out what this project was and if I could stop it. I put in the bobby pin and nail file. I moved the bobby pin before smiling as I heard a soft click. I opened the lock and gently opened the door.

The inside of the building was clean but bland. It was just gray walls with white tiles. I walked slowly through the halls. Paranoia seemed to be the only thing in my mind. It was so weird that no one was here to guard this place. I kept walking quietly, praying that I wouldn’t run into any guards. I saw a door to my right and I walked more quickly to it. It didn’t have a window to look in. I saw a small little plaque next to it. File room number 1 classified level: 2, it read. I wondered how classified could this place get as I opened the door. I walked in and closed the door swiftly.

 “Who the hell are you?” I looked and saw a guard. He looked confused but also angry. He was sitting at a desk but looked ready to stand up. I panicked and looked around before grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall and chucked it at the guards head. It hit him square on the head and he let out a grunt as he fell to the floor. Blood started to pour from his head and I saw his eyes open. They were lifeless and I suddenly felt very calm. He was dead. It was almost like part of myself was at peace with this idea and enjoyed it. I walked over to him and checked his pulse. Nothing. He was dead and it just made me happy. I smiled as I stood up. This felt right. I walked over to the filing cabinet and started to go through it. Nothing on Project Cure. I kept looking through each file. Most of it was about different chemicals, but I paused as I found one with my name. How many files did they have on me? I opened it and quickly closed it. I gently opened it again but it was just confirmed on what I saw. It was a full sheet of how compatible I would be with different diseases. It was almost like they chose me to be the next test subject. It then hit me what this was. It wasn't just a military building, it was a lab. This was a mistake. I shouldn't be here. I was right where they wanted me. I walked out of the room, holding my file still. I looked around and started to head towards the door when I suddenly heard a flute. Why would there be a flute in a lab? Something about its melody seemed calming. I felt like I couldn’t control my feet as I turned around and started to walk towards the sound. My mind yelled at me to move away and I snapped and turned around, running away. The melody kept playing and it was like a fight but my mind was winning. I got to the door and I tried to open it but it was locked. I cursed and hit the door, trying to kick it open. It wouldn’t budge. I looked back and saw something. It was wearing a top hat and was holding something. The melody was louder. Suddenly, the melody stopped and I heard what sounded like a match lighting. A small flame appeared and I could see the figure was wearing gloves. He was holding a lantern and lit it. The flame lit up the figure's face and I held back another scream. Maybe I should start screaming. I looked the figure up and down. He was wearing a crow mask which showed his white eyes. They were fully blank. His hair was black and put into a man bun. He was wearing a suit with a cloak over it. A bag was at his side and he tilted his head. The figure spoke, his voice cool and calm. “Who are you?” I didn’t want to answer at all. The figure waited before letting out what sounded like an aggravated chirp. He stepped closer and asked again. “What's your name?” I kept silent, hoping he would leave me alone. He stepped even closer to me. “I asked a question, now answer.” I shook my head again and he seemed to be even more enraged. He opened his bird mask which I realized wasn't a mask. It was his face. I saw what looked like thousands of sharp teeth.  They started to move as he stepped closer to me.