'Sup everyone, Yubitsume here with my first Halloween fiction. GerBel, vampire and crime show fans rejoice and please enjoy. Reviews are greatly appreciated. :3
Summary: A Night To Forget. Halloween Night, All Night. All Ages. Belle Defoe and Ludwig Bielschmidt are private investigators, who receive an unconventional murder case on the most infamous night of the year. Halloween. The two know to stay leery of this time of year, but what will they do, or what will Belle do when the case leads to a questionable nightclub and her partner going missing, but returning with bite marks and a strange attraction for blood. Vamp!Germany x Belgium. Possible multiple P.O.V.s, but I'm still not sure.
None of this registered in my mind. I'll admit, the past few days weren't exactly what I'd call ordinary, but this was just too much.
As the kannines dug deeper and deeper into the flesh of my neck, I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to how this all began. The situation still didn't quite click in my now twisted mind but I braved it, trying to think optimistically. And hey, maybe I'd manage to make some sense of it all in the process.
I had woken up and gotten ready for work, just like any other day, only this day was different somehow. It was...lacking in chaos, I might say. Not that I missed it, but I still couldn't help but find it a bit odd, especially in an insomnia ridden city like this one, that never seems to sleep or take a break.
The air was cold and soggy, revealing to the public that a certain holiday was coming up. And if you're a private investigator like myself, you tend to be leery of said time of year.
My job has always been composed of utter madness, yes, but it only festers and becomes more severe when October peeks its shameless head out from around the corner. I'll admit, it's an interesting time of year, easy to occupy my mind and all, but it can easily overwhelm you with its absurdity. With that, you must be cautious.
I pressed the button to access the cross walk and waited patiently as a variety of colored cars passed by. Most people walked in this place, so it was another thing that caught my attention when I was a loner at the corner. And I mean that in a very literal term, as in ther being not another living soul on the curb, or anywhere in sight for that matter, other than me. Or so I thought, before a hand placed itself on my shoulder, uninvited.
I jumped, nearly loosing my footing, but was caught before I could fall. The hand helped balance me in my heels and I was welcomed by a voice, heavily dipped in an English accent.
"Woah, woah there." The voice spoke. "A bit clumsy, now, are we?" He teased in a friendly way. After regaining my composure, I turned to adress the stranger.
He was short. Really short actually, but that wasn't what caught my attention.
"I'm sorry to have startled you, my love." I stiffened a bit at what he chose to call me, but decided to brush it off. Judging by his size, I figured I could fight this guy off if he decided to rape me in an alley way ( not that I planned to walk into one any time soon ).
And still, I couldn't help but stare at...
"Perhaps I could count on you to accompany me on my journey." He smiled brightly, but I found myself preoccupied.
Eyebrows.
"It's not far, if you think you're up to it..."
Eyebrows.
"I mean, if you're busy, I won't mind."
Eyebrows.
They barely peeked out from under his hoodie ( which looked like a cloak for some reason. Weird ), but that didn't thwart the attention they were self prophecized to bring.
"Well, anyone with a brain can see that you're on your way to an important event. However, that is redundant, for..."
God, each line must of had their own timezones. I had to touch them.
"Miss, are you feeling okay?" He asked, probably noticing that I didn't give a rat's ass what he was saying. He leaned back, a bewildered look on his face, when I brushed my fingers up against them.
They felt surprisingly- oh, damn. What was the word - thin? No, that wouldn't be it...
Creased? Glazed?
"Ummm, my love...?"
I blinked as I realized I had allowed something to slip from my mind.
"Gyah! The cross walk!" I turned on my heels and found that my time to cross was almost up, so I ran. Unfortunately, the light changed before I had suceeded in crossing the street, making it to where I had to do the tango with several moving cars and their impacient, coffee-spilling, red-faced drivers.
"Get out of the fucking road, bitch!" One of them honked their horns at me and I took the time to flip them off before continuing on my route to work, the stanger with the freakish eyebrows now a insignificant memory in the back of my head.
...
When I arrived at work ( if you could call it that ), I had discovered that I was nearly ten minutes late and ended up practically glomping the nearest chair, disguarding my shoes in the process.
"Unsensible little bastards." I complained into the seat's false leather.
"Then why do you wear them?" Asked a familiar voice. I repositioned myself in the chair to what might be somewhat decent and saw my partner, Ludwig, staring at me disapprovingly, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands.
"Expectations." I answered simply with a cat's grin, then noticed the coffee. My eyes must have given away my desire, because he nodded, sitting in the seat across from me while setting one down on the makeshift desk and pushing it towards me. I latched onto the cup and began chugging the liquid greatfully before spitting it out and rubbing my burnt tongue.
He furrowed his brows and pinched the bridge between his eyes, sending his glasses slightly ajar. "Still haven't gotten any better at that?" He took a modest sip of his drink, almost in a mocking gesture.
"Bahhh," I groaned. "You can only do that because your heart is made of ice and your soul is as black as the coffee you're drinking." I managed to take a drink, this time much slower, then set down the coffee and placed my cheeks in my hands, smiling genuinely. " So what is on the serving menu for today?" I asked, jokingly.
He frowned at my dry humor, taking another sip of his bitter drink. I noticed bags under his eyes and felt a flower of sympathy bloom in my chest. He really does over-work himself. After years of working with the guy, I had come to realize that, but then again, it can also be quite obvious at times. Like how he passes out in his chair every once in a while, his face still not unwinding even when his conscience is at rest. Not to mention that he has to support his unemployed brother, but still manages to bring me coffee in the mornings. What a sweetheart.
"Murder, it seems like." He murmers, his lips hovering the lid of his cup. I blink, glancing at the center of the room, which was actually a warehouse/crime scene. I couldn't see much, but I really didn't have to. It's my job to find the murderer, not how the victim was killed.
The air in the room was brittle and cold as a voice called,
"I think I found something."
...
We both stared at the victim's neck where there were what looked like...
"Bite marks?" Ludwig questioned, a perplexed look on his face.
I blinked, looking at Ludwig, then back at the body, slightly disturbed. I had never seen something like this, like what this girl...was this even a girl anymore?
Just the sight of her made my stomach hurt and I soon found myself struggling to hold down my coffee. She had long red hair and skin like paper, in both color and stability. Under said skin ran a series of black, swollen veins that resembled grotesque tree branches in all their morbid glory. Even her wide, glazed eyes were flooded with the black substance, to the point where the whites had become pitch black.
I watched Kiku, our specialist, as he inspected the body, his movements full of dexterity and care, knowing that the slightest touch could very possibly break her skin. Every so often, I'd see him pull away and write something on a tiny notepad ( Is that Hello Kitty? WTF?). This time, he put "Hyphema". I recognized the word, remembering that it was related to a fracture to the eye, also known as an "eight-ball fracture", in which the iris of the eye fills with blood, making it appear a sickening black color. It usually wasn't permanant, but I figured that didn't matter with this one.
Plus, I had never heard of it effecting the veins like this, nor have I heard of anything-illness, disease, nor toxin-doing something this horrifying. It was utterly sickening.
I pushed away the thoughts and forced myself to focus. Now, I saw that Kiku had become infatuated by the bitemark again. Swallowing my fear, I forced my knees to buckle. I gradually leaned down and tried to see what he was seeing. Then I noticed it.
"Was she...injected with something?" Ludwig asked, taking the words right out of my mouth. I peered over Kiku's shoulder and noticed Ludwig staring at me, even though his question was obviously aimed at Mr. Honda. When I saw concern in his eyes, I turned my head instantly, not wanting to show weakness. I cursed my squeemishness and directed my attention towards Kiku, not dreaming to deal with the dead body, nor Ludwig's sympathies.
"It's very possibre." The Japanese man spoke in an accent, similar to mine and Ludwig's in heaviness, but completely different. He leaned in closer, pressing his gloved fingers against the two puncture marks in the girl's throat. "If that is the case, then who ever did this crealy meant for it to rook rike a bite mark." He massaged the wound again, this time just pin pointed enough to draw some of the black substance. It oozed slowly and sickeningly, dripping like syrup into a small vial that Kiku held under it. However, it seemed that he had used too much force, and the skin gave way like paper placed in water, baring the insides of the victim's throat and spilling the foul liquid everywhere.
I gasped, stumbling backwards in order to avoid the stuff touching my bared toes. Ludwig grabbed me and assisted my retreat. I began to shake as the acrid smell of rot filled my nostrils. I was really beginning to regret that coffee now, and judging by the look of nasea on Ludwig's face, I'm sure he was too.
"Very intersting." Kiku noted, as if he didn't even notice that his gloves had been painted with a fresh coat of black venom.
"And sickening." I commented stalely, my hand against my mouth and my eyes burning from the stench.
"I know." Ludwig agreed, releasing me and eyeing the body. By now, the puddle of black goo had ceased its expansion, but still held a heavy radius.
God, how much of that stuff was inside her?
Unable to take it any longer, I turned back to retreat to the chair I had rested in moments ago. After I sat, Ludwig placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?" He questioned, his face all stoic and businessy like always, but with an intense gleem of concern in his eyes.
I nodded, coughing and rubbing at my eyes. "God damn, have you ever seen anything like that?"
Ludwig shook his head. "Never. I work with you, remember?"
I gazed at my desk, the sight of the red-head still in my head. My emerald eyes flickered up to Ludwig's icy pools of blue as I asked. "What do you think did that to her?"
He sat back down and his face told me that he was taking my question with all seriousness. I loved watching how his face softened when he would think. It was about the only time it ever did. Perhaps thinking was the only thing that felt natural to him.
"Well, it seems like poison, but I can't see what the goal would be. It's certainly a bit showy."
"Maybe somebody wanted to draw attention to themselves." I offered.
"A cerial killer?" Ludwig questioned, his eyes perking at their rims. Then they calmed as he thought it over. "I suppose that's possible. hey can get...creative at times." I saw him glance back at the crime scene.
"Well," I drew his attention back to me, not wanting him to be exposed to that brutal sight a second time. "We'll have to find a place to start first."
Had to cut it off somewhere. It would really help if you guys tell me what you liked, what you didn't, and if you're looking foward to anything. Also, if something confused you, just tell me and maybe I'll be able to shine some light on it. Thanks and have a very pasta day, as well as a spooky Halloween. ;)